U.S. Ladies [#18]: These Boots Are Made for Skating

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I think that Polina did well, taking into account all of the time that she took off. But even if she can regain her form and consistency, she had some issues with her jumps before her injury, despite scoring high at nationals. Even though scores have gone up in general, Mariah, Karen, and Mirai all have higher PB than her at this point, and Polina's last PB was from Worlds 2014. USFS has more options than they did a few years ago. One thing that Polina has going for her is her confidence.
 
The lack of jumps and speed didn't bother me. What bothered me is that I wasn't pulled into Polina's program/performance. With most skaters I feel like I can make an educated guess as to what music/style would suit their skating. I can't really do that with Polina. When she skates to slow stuff, she's pretty but boring; when she skates to faster music, it's good but she doesn't draw in the audience. I still think her best SP to date was her 2014 latin number. It was high energy and fun. I almost feel like she needs to overcompensate for her lack of star power/"it" quality by choosing bells and whistles music. It's nothing against her. Some skaters are magnetic; good or bad you can't help but watch. Others are lovely skaters but there's just something that doesn't connect. Polina is that kind of skater for me...kinda reminds me a bit of Rachael Flatt TBH: really solid but just kinda meh.:yawn:

Regardless of whether people connect with her or not, she knows how to compete and get it done. She's reliable which is more than you can say for the majority of the US competitors. As long as she gets her jumps back I think she has a great shot at securing a spot to Pyeongchang.
 
Hmm, what I though was that without the jumps it was obvious that her stroking wasn't the cleanest and how her speed didnt usually last that long (if that makes sense) . Her body awareness has improved but I feel that she can still extend her limbs just a tad more. The choreography itself I don't mind, it suits the way Polina moves very well. She's at a good place given its July and she didn't compete last season. Although I do hope they get her another arrangement of Palladio. This one feels more like wait on the phone music instead of Olympic program music.
 
I think Polina looks great in that unitard, and I like aspects of the program but it's hard to get a full sense of it from that. I got the feeling she wasnt going full out at times because of the planned singles, so maybe that's part of the lack of speed.

In this interview, Polina says she's doing Finlandia (along with the GP in France). I think that's news?

http://www.theextravagant.com/people/meet-polina-edmunds/
 
DimaToe said:
Hmm, what I though was that without the jumps it was obvious that her stroking wasn't the cleanest and how her speed didnt usually last that long (if that makes sense) . Her body awareness has improved but I feel that she can still extend her limbs just a tad more. The choreography itself I don't mind, it suits the way Polina moves very well. She's at a good place given its July and she didn't compete last season. Although I do hope they get her another arrangement of Palladio. This one feels more like wait on the phone music instead of Olympic program music.
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Yes... Her lines are still quite unpolished (bent legs on the camels, etc). She has long lines, but I wish her team would work with her on cleaning them up.
 
I'll wait until I see the jumps, but she seems really slow. Maybe because it was a practice run and she didn't need to go all out?
 
After some digging around:

Polina performed her SP at the 2017 Red White and Blue Competition held by Vaca Valley FSC. The competition schedule doesn't have a link to the list of competitors for the Senior Ladies SP (compared to all other listed events). I can't find the official competition announcement anywhere online, so who knows ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

It appears to me Polina was skating the program sans high-level elements for feedback from the judging panel on... the layout of the program, I guess? IJS results will show up here, but who knows if it will list Senior-level events.

The program looks fine to me (even with the elements as-is, it would slay at an adult track competition); she's clearly thinking about hitting her choreography marks and step sequences.
 
Sylvia said:
This was a small club competition in Vacaville, CA called Red, White & Blue Ice (no IJS results published yet). I think it was a good idea for Edmunds to do a low-key appearance in a competition setting after not having competed since 2016 Nationals.
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Theoreticalgirl said:
It appears to me Polina was skating the program sans high-level elements for feedback from the judging panel on... the layout of the program, I guess?
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That's my guess, yes. Since there was no Senior Ladies event listed at this club comp., I doubt that Edmunds will be listed in the results when they are published.
 
Skating skills do not disappear when a skater grows, poor skills in this area are just, for the most part, overlooked when a skater is small and landing the jumps. Polina got a pass for quite a few years but I suspect her significant lack of speed and power are going to cause her some issues this season.
 
Sasha'sSpins said:
I love that leap! I think it's exquisite! It's my favorite moment in Polina's SP! I re-watched it several times!
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Glad I saw your post. I went back and re-watched it - it was a better video. I stand corrected on my former opinion. I really like it for her. It is a huge departure. I agree about the leap - it is stunning. Can't wait to see it in competition. She is a fierce competitor.
 
One of the things that cost Polina the US title in 2016 besides the fact that Gracie had a vastly superior LP and skated with more maturity was her lack of speed and power compared to Gracie. I'm always amazed when Polina hits her 3-3 combos because she slows down so much with little power going into her jumps. It's something she needs to improve on and even Medvedeva while still not speedy has improved her speed and she was slow as molasses 3 years ago.
 
Everyone has a chance.....but I would not bet money on Gracie.
Hopefully she will prove me wrong.
 
Just published today: http://www.today.com/series/love-yo...e-gold-talks-body-image-2018-olympics-t114216
"Definitely athletes in the spotlight — figure skaters, especially — are under pressure to fit a certain mold, and fit a certain body type," Gold, who currently lives in Canton, Michigan, told TODAY Style. "It's really easy to be critical of ourselves in that way ... oh, this person's arms look a little bigger. It's easy to start playing that game. But people have different builds. I think a lot of athletes struggle with that."
...
"A lot of us struggle with (weight issues)," she added. "And maybe it's a bit closeted — I don't want to speak for all figure skaters. But I don't blame the sport for it. I think that we all have to take responsibility for ourselves. That's the game I got into, and it comes with the territory."
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