Recent content by bytheriver

I will say that recent events do have me wondering how feasible quads are for women, especially after puberty. Liza has a good 4T, although not consistent enough to compete it. The whole situation calls into question the only school with skaters over 15 who can land quads even somewhat...

We talk about skating skills being emphasized too much at the lower level, but if that’s the case why are our current young ladies struggling with speed and edges? The Japanese ladies, even at the lowest levels, have great skating skills. They also have far less ice time and often train in rinks...

Now this I would definitely read, especially given Gracie’s natural sense of humor and the fact that she isn’t under Yuki’s PR agent thumb.

I’m glad that Karen got her redemption. I know people are coming to tear her apart over her under rotations and placement, but she stayed on her feet and performed better than she has in a while. I’m proud of her for performing through what was some very harsh criticism from the press and social...

I just don’t see the point in engaging in fantasy scenarios here. Mariah doesn’t have a 3-3, Schizas overperformed, Wakaba really came through, and Alysa’s status is unknown. All three of the American ladies have underrotation problems, it’s our national landmark at this point. Yes, if Alysa...

I agree. And it wasn’t like Mariah or Alysa would fait much better with a judge that’s tough on URs.

I think eventually prerotation and other issues with the harder jumps in women's skating will be addressed. It will almost certainly take some exceptional skaters being able to pull off those jumps in a more textbook manner. If we saw ladies with quads and 3A's like the top men (in quality, not...

Praying to the skating gods that she makes it to the junior/senior level so that we can have an Eteri and Inna reunion. 🙏🏾

Sofia’s birthday is August 2010 so she will be 16 in 2026 but on the wrong side of the age cutoff for the Olympics. In Sofia Akatieva’s position, but not a bad position to be in. :)

If the USFS wants to build a competitive program that is capable of being the Russian ladies, they need to invest in skating starting at the lowest levels. It’s great to give money to skaters already at the novice and junior level, but very few skaters make it to that point. I think of Simone...

Not to be a Debbie Downer here, but this same rhetoric was used re: Alysa three years ago and look what it did to her. Isabeau hasn't matured yet, so we'll have to see how everything shakes out down the road. She also doesn't currently have the pressure that is attached to being the US #1...

The rumor was that Raf wouldn’t take her because of her father. He has seen what overly involved parents can do with Nathan. It also seems that he would be looking to take on someone younger, as it takes years to solidify his technique. It’s not too late for her to improve by any means, but if...

Pretty sure this is Starr’s last real season, so it might be a sort of farewell bid. Hanna will certainly have more opportunities in the future.

It’s going to anger a lot of countries, I don’t disagree. I just don’t see it changing. We’re living in unprecedented times. In my opinion they should have just cancelled the games, but China seems set on hosting come hell or high water. And the rest of the world has bigger problems right now...

It may be overly cautious to require 2 negative PCR tests, but Omicron is terribly contagious and without extreme measures it could be a massive superspreader event. We’re in a much different place in 2022 than with the Tokyo games - this variant is no joke. Yes, many of the big stars might be...