2013 US WORLDS TEAM ANNOUNCED

[Marco]

I fundamentally disagree with choosing the junior team based on a senior competition.

And there isn't a prescribed solo triple in the short programs at senior competitions.

One year this girl was sent to Jr Worlds due to her strong senior Nationals showing but she couldn't do a 3flip which was the prescribed jump in the short at Jr Worlds that season so she only did a 2flip there instead. What was her name again? The girl with a very nice Y spin and went to Princeton?

[Marco]

Overall I think the US assignments for Worlds and Jr Worlds are fair, except I would put Wang on the team, put MIller as 1st alternate, and Siraj as 2nd alternate.

But let this be a lesson to Wang. She needs to fix her short program demons.

I am glad Rippon gets 4CCs - I respect him for by and large fixing the 3axel and he seems more powerful this season. Is he training the quad (toe/ sal/ lutz) still?

[euterpe]

As far as I can find, Edmunds didn't get any international assignments. She doesn't have an Ice Network page, ISU bio or Wikipedia. It's really a shame she couldn't have gotten a JGP or even a Junior B. Edmunds had a barn-burner freeskate with 7 triples and two triple-triple combos (downgraded).

Polina was 6th at 2012 US Nationals as a Junior. She and Mariah Bell (5th) had some terrific performances over this past summer, and were on the list of JGP substitutes, but never got an assignment. Long was 4th in Juniors at 2012 Nationals and she got one assignment (silver medal).

A similar example is Gracie Gold, who didn't even qualify for 2011 Nationals, and she got a JGP the following year. She won that, then won Junior Nationals and went to Junior Worlds.

Gold got her one JGP assignment, the last one of the 2011-2012 season, based on fantastic performances in the summer of 2011. She also lucked out in that there weren't quite so many talented ladies that particular JGP season who earned two assignments.

By that right, Wang won a JGP and should go. Some years they pick two from Juniors, other years only from Seniors, and it doesn't seem to be based on the same stuff year to year. It's confusing, to say the least.

I'm not saying Siraj will do poorly. Just that USFS seems to selectively use competitive history.

Siraj has skated senior nationals since 2011, when she 14; she finished 8th. She went to a JGP in the fall of 2011 and was 5th. After that, I seem to recall she was injured. She made it to 2012 Nationals and finished 15th so she got no JGP assignments this past fall. I think she got JW because she skated so consistently well in both SP and FS. I love Angela Wang, but she has a history of botched SPs.

[Sylvia]

I love Angela Wang, but she has a history of botched SPs.

Wang did skate a clean SP at the JGP in Croatia, landing 3Lz+3T, 3F, 2A with all 3 spins called level 4. She scored 58.47, which currently ranks her #18 on the ISU Seasons Best SP scores list, and won the gold there.

And there isn't a prescribed solo triple in the short programs at senior competitions.

One year this girl was sent to Jr Worlds due to her strong senior Nationals showing but she couldn't do a 3flip which was the prescribed jump in the short at Jr Worlds that season so she only did a 2flip there instead. What was her name again? The girl with a very nice Y spin and went to Princeton?

Katrina Hacker. She finished 5th at 2009 Junior Worlds (her last international) and started at Princeton that fall.

[euterpe]

Her Croatia JGP excepted, Angela Wang DOES have a pattern of messy SPs. It seems she has had a problem with the first jump in the program in four of the five SPs over the past year:

US Nationals 2013 SP - fall on the 3z, 10th; 8th in the FS and 9th overall.
JGPF SP - 3z+1t, 4th; although she was 2nd in the FS, she was too far behind and was 4th overall.
Lake Placid JGP SP - 3z<+1t, 8th. Although she was 2nd in the FS, she had to settle for 3rd overall.
US Nationals 2012 SP - fall on 3f, 16th; 6th in the FS and 8th overall.

Maybe she should start the program with the 2a?

[MacMadame]

I may be wrong here, but has Polina had any international events where she could have met the minimum TES requirements? Or Mariah Bell for that matter. I agree it does get weird though!

Not having the minimum TES complicates things but I was speaking more philosophically. Some years they've picked a gal or two from Seniors and then jumped to Juniors and ran down that list in order of finish. So my question is: at what placement in Seniors do you consider that equal to a win (or 2nd place) in Juniors?

As was pointed out, when you pull from Seniors and Juniors you are kind of comparing apples and oranges. With CoP, I guess you could go by raw scores to some extent. They don't really carry over like that but at least it gets you in the ballpark.

[Sylvia]

Remember 2007 U.S. Nationals? Rachael Flatt made an impressive senior debut in 5th place but she didn't have an international record that fall (she withdrew from her 1st JGP due to injury). USFS selected the top 3 Juniors for Junior Worlds that year: Nagasu (no international record), Zhang (JGP Final champ), Wagner (2nd in Final).

ETA:

I am glad Rippon gets 4CCs - I respect him for by and large fixing the 3axel and he seems more powerful this season. Is he training the quad (toe/ sal/ lutz) still?

He reportedly worked on quad toes at some of the Nationals practices.