2012-13 ISU Grand Prix Assignments

[Zemgirl]

Cup of China: Ying ZHANG(CHN) IN
Trophée Bompard: Jenna MCCORKELL(GBR) IN

http://www.isu.org/vsite/vnavsite/pa...v-list,00.html

You just had to figure that McCorkell would eventually get a GP. Good for her

Re Mirai Nagasu: yes, it's pretty strange that someone so high on the SB list can't get a second assignment. But obviously the only way to guarantee yourself two spots is to do well at Worlds, which is really difficult if you skate the way she did at Nationals. And Nagasu was in a better position than skaters from smaller countries, who don't have a chance at a host pick. As others have noted, the USFSA must have figured that someone else would give her one - but Mirai is too big a threat to be attractive to organizers, and too small a draw to make up for it.

[Coco]

Or...it's expected that Alissa will withdraw from NHK, and Mirai is understood to be the alternate for that competition?

[smarts1]

I hope ISU goes back and takes a hard loook at their alternates rules and rewrites them for next season because this is a disaster. The French are being ridiculous, and it's obvious they don't want Mirai there because it will make their skaters look worse. Good thing that their skaters never even had a chance of medalling in the first place.

[l'etoile]

Or...it's expected that Alissa will withdraw from NHK, and Mirai is understood to be the alternate for that competition?

I rather like this perspective. I seriously doubt that French fed intentionally left out Mirai for that reason you mentioned, smarts. Just because people tend to perceive skaters as medal contenders and the others.

[Proustable]

There is a degree of bad luck in that one of the fields currently experiencing such attrition is one she's already participating in.

[olympic]

But, Mirai's only obstacle is the French Fed continually passing on her, right? I mean, if a skater withdraws from any of SC, Cup of Russia or NHK, then Mirai would still have a great shot at a 2d assignment, wouldn't she?

I assume SA would be out of the question: Flatt or Gao (other Americans) would have to withdraw for SA to replace them w/ Mirai and the competition starts this week which means too little time left on the clock.

Maybe SC, too?

I find the NHK theory interesting - Alissa might not be in shape and I don't think the JSF would pass up on Mirai, or at least she'd have a fair shot there

[Fridge_Break]

This is.. unreal. Poor Mirai! I hope she's able to get a second event somewhere.

[Iceman]

Just so we're clear, how many skaters is all?

Any skater who is selected to participate in the gp series. I certainly didn't mean every skater in the world lol.

[Iceman]

Mirai's world standing is higher than both Wagner's and Caroline Zhang's, yet they both got two assignments. I guess that doesn't break any of the gp rules, but it is still perplexing.

[aftershocks]

You just had to figure that McCorkell would eventually get a GP. Good for her

Re Mirai Nagasu: yes, it's pretty strange that someone so high on the SB list can't get a second assignment. But obviously the only way to guarantee yourself two spots is to do well at Worlds, which is really difficult if you skate the way she did at Nationals. And Nagasu was in a better position than skaters from smaller countries, who don't have a chance at a host pick. As others have noted, the USFSA must have figured that someone else would give her one - but Mirai is too big a threat to be attractive to organizers, and too small a draw to make up for it.

^^ THIS.

[Libertango]

Mirai's problem is that she is a former TEB medallist.
The french fed doesn't want their ladies to finish last : both Silete and Meite beat McCorkell at Europeans last year, Silete beat Geblova and J.Helgesson. At worlds she beat Glebova and McCorkell again and Korobeynikova who had an bad event (but now of course Yretha is out because of injury).

Kostner and Ando were big question marks during the off-season and I think the french fed played on it.

[morqet]

I really don't think it's about not wanting the French ladies to finish last - at this late stage I would imagine that arranging transport and the associated costs is going to be a much more important priority. To be honest I can't blame the French Fed for that; unless there is a superstar like Yuna or Mao, TEB is never the best attended event & over the last couple of seasons they have been hit with a disproportionate number of withdrawals & last minute replacements - I remember being really excited by the men's line up when assignments were released last season, but the skaters I got to see when the event actually happened were very different... Belgium to Paris is always going to be easier & cheaper to arrange than California to Paris. It does suck for Mirai, but we're now in an age where skating doesn't generate that much revenue and cost is going to be an important consideration for any federation hosting an event.

[wonderlen]

How did Takahashi and Hanyu end up in NHK together???? Aren't all world medalist not supposed to meet until GP final??

[kwanfan1818]

Apparently, host picks trump all other considerations, and if Japan had swept the podium, NHK could have all three.

It's not necessarily the best strategy for getting each into the GPF, but it is meaningful to the Federation and their event.

[mgobluegirl]

Clearly ISU needs to revise their alternate selection rules. If they want to do it in groups of 5 from the season's best list, that's fine, considering that costs do play a rule. But ALL the skaters from one group of 5 should have to be selected before any from the next group can be (barring maxing out on the number of entries allowed from a single country).

[Lara]

Just wow. I agree there's still a reasonable chance for Mirai with NHK, but it shouldn't come down to that. It's not right.

[RD]

Clearly ISU needs to revise their alternate selection rules. If they want to do it in groups of 5 from the season's best list, that's fine, considering that costs do play a rule. But ALL the skaters from one group of 5 should have to be selected before any from the next group can be (barring maxing out on the number of entries allowed from a single country).

yes, the only way to bring about change in the rules is to have the current ones exploited & something crazy happen.

I wasn't convinced before, but now I have to say something is up...Nagasu not being able to get a 2nd event even after all these WDs is a bit perplexing indeed. I say her biggest hope at this point is that Czisny won't be ready for NHK and pulls out with enough time to name an alternate.

I mean, Gao of all people got a 2nd event...it's probably not far-fetched if Flatt gets a 2nd one, too if there was yet another WD

[Frau Muller]

Mirai's world standing is higher than both Wagner's and Caroline Zhang's, yet they both got two assignments. .....

It doesn't matter. Mirai dropped like a rock after her glory days. Hopefully she'll be able to rebuild and return to high standings (like Caroline did after her 4Cs bronze medal win a few months ago). Ashley's and Caroline's ISU championship medals came just in the last season. I believe that accomplishments in the most recent season are of utmost importance in these determinations. We all know that Mirai is lovely and capable of more than what she achieved last season but it was still a terrible season for her (mostly).

[victoriaheidi]

I am of the legitimate believe that this is a kick in the pants for Mirai (another try...obviously, leaving her home from Worlds--twice--didn't work) and the hope is that she will do super-well at CoC and then continue that streak throughout the season.

That or USFS is moving on from her.

It would be really nice if Mirai could get back to her peak and overcome her nerves. It just depends. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for her.

[pinky166]

I'd be more concerned for Mirai if she kept getting passed up for more events than just TEB. But so far, all the withdrawals have been for TEB or CoC, where she is already competing, so clearly it just means the French Fed either doesn't want a 3rd American lady at that event or doesn't want to invite Mirai because she's medaled at that event before and is likely to place ahead of their own skaters. It's not like a bunch of spots have opened up at other GPs and Mirai's been getting passed over, it's just TEB. So while that sucks for Mirai, I don't think the ISU or USFS is really trying to punish her as some seem to think. I feel like if another spot opens up at another GP that doesn't already have 3 US ladies competing at it or is CoC or TEB, Mirai will be given the spot. Of course, that really only leaves SC, NHK, and COR because SA is this week, but there is still a chance Mirai could get a 2nd event, and if she doesn't, maybe it will work out for the best. So far she seems to be getting back on track with her skating and as per her Twitter, she does not appear to be depressed or upset and rather seems to be enjoying college and getting to live a more "normal 19-year-old" life now that she's training closer to home and not spending all that time in the car.

Mirai is still a lovely skater, but she didn't deliver last season so it's not shocking to see her only get 1 GP. It seems like she's trying to make her life more balanced between college/normal things and skating, and if that's the case, having 1 GP and no shot to make the final works better for that. If she decides she really wants to make a run at the 2014 Olympic team, then there's still time for her to reshape her priorities, buckle down on training, and show up at Nationals in great form so that she can hopefully compete at 4CC and/or Worlds afterwards and prove she's still in the mix. But if not, she seems to be pretty content with where her life is at right now, and honestly, if she continues to underperform/choke/appear unfocused at big competitions, having other things going on in her life will likely make it easier to deal with and less upsetting for both herself and her fans. I know Mirai is not at Stanford or Harvard like Rachael and Christina, but it's still hard balancing being a student anywhere while being an elite athlete, and clearly, she has interests outside of skating, so as much as some of us really want her to finally reach her potential, at some point I think we maybe have to accept that it might not happen and skating might not be her dominant priority in life anymore. Certainly, she still takes it seriously, but maybe she realizes that even if she focus entirely on skating and push really hard, she still might not achieve what people want or believe she can achieve, and that's the reality. So in light of that, maybe she deems its not worth it to follow such a regimented sleep, training, eating, stretching, etc cycle and to just do the best she can with skating while continuing to go to college and enjoy other things in life.