ISU Grand Prix Assignments 2018/19 season

Vagabond

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How the heck are Xiangning Li/Zhong Xie eligible to be selected?
Probably in the same way that "extra" Junior Pairs team was eligible to go to Junior Worlds a few years ago. Their Federation put their names forward and no one except for a few skating fans has noticed.
 
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suki

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515
Honestly..... unless something major happens with her training then yes.

I wouldn't be surprised if she hasn't skated all year so far either.
Thanks ANLove. I always thought Polina could have been a top competitor, but I guess an injury and other priorities (college) have changed her situation. Shame, I thought she had real potential.
 

SamuraiK

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:huh: He's unlikely to medal, but unworthy to be there? He's at least as good as other lower rung guys, and he has a 3A so it's not like he's an embarrassment to men.

Worthy in terms of merits to get invited not in terms of his actual skating. Like I said I think he's lovely and I was very happy he made it to Euros in 2017 after so many years but a guy who was only 67th on the SB list is not GP caliber IMO.
 

SamuraiK

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How the heck are Xiangning Li/Zhong Xie eligible to be selected?

Very good question.

And I dont see what's the fuss about the host picks. We should see them as a bonus. There's not a single sport where the host of an event doesn't get an incentive or something that makes it worthwile to actually host and pay for everything. Austman was not picked on her #100something SB but because she happens to be the 3rd best skater from the host country. Same as it had happened with CHN and its dances teams for over a decade.
 

AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)

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^^^ @SamuraiK

can you refresh my Cognac? When in the world did Li become a pairs skater???? Have I been taking too much Percocet unsupervised????

And Yes the whole thing about the Italian guy was that Rostelecom goes WAY deep in filling their fields. They pick their top skaters for host picks then water down a bit the fields. Nothing against the Italian guy, right, just that they dig deep to fill spots.

If you ask me Rostelecom did everything in their power to ensure Steps& Buks get the silver, if not gold. Talk about a field that was watered down. I had to use IN Bios to figure out 2 of those teams there.
 
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SamuraiK

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^^^ @SamuraiK

can you refresh my Cognac? When in the world did Li become a pairs skater???? Have I been taking too much Percocet unsupervised????

And Yes the whole thing about the Italian guy was that Rostelecom goes WAY deep in filling their fields. They pick their top skaters for host picks then water down a bit the fields. Nothing against the Italian guy, right, just that they dig deep to fill spots.

If you ask me Rostelecom did everything in their power to ensure Steps& Buks get the silver, if not gold. Talk about a field that was watered down. I had to use IN Bios to figure out 2 of those teams there.

Just right after the season ended CHN fed announced they were switching their pairs (again!) and Li was selected for pairs. They also claimed they were looking for some american ladies with chinese ascendence to improve their ladies field . ( I thought Wang would be a sure choice but she's still representing USA).
 

Dobre

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If you ask me Rostelecom did everything in their power to ensure Steps& Buks get the silver, if not gold. Talk about a field that was watered down. I had to use IN Bios to figure out 2 of those teams there.

Naw, Stepanova & Bukin would be fine anyway, I think. The low teams are invited to try to keep Evdokimova & Bazin from finishing last. (And possibly whatever team gets the host berth, but Shpilevaya & Smirnov can probably come in and best E&B). In any case, I think Rostelecom will have to try again because Tina Garabedian is on ice partner search. (Yanovskaya & Lukacs are probably the lowest ranked non-Russian team at Rostelecom--based on Worlds--but I wouldn't guess they're being invited for that reason. She is a former Junior World Champion from Russia and they train in Russia with Stepanova & Bukin).
 
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Vagabond

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Kailani trains for much of the year in the US, so it's not actually that much cheaper.
The bigger issue, though, is whether host federations should be expected to favor obskur foreign skaters at the expense of even more obskur domestic skaters. While misskarne cited a skater who trains part of the year in Los Angeles, she could have cited a skater who trains in South Korea, for example. And round-trip airfares between Seoul and Montreal are a heck of a lot more expensive than round trips between Vancouver and Montreal.
 

kwanfan1818

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Gao/Xie are 37th on the SB list and 22 in WS for pairs, Xie is eligible to picked with his new partner Xiangning Li based on 2.2b) on page 3 here. That's how Peng/Jin and Yu/Zhang each got 2 GPs in 2016 after the partner swap.
Peng/Jin and You/Zhang qualified because at least one partner placed 1-12 at Worlds the prior season. (That's in the linked 2.2.b for 7-12. 1-6 has been left out entirely.) There has been no rule to make them eligible based on SB it WS since split couple rules were implemented. However, the 2018-19 rules may differ.
 

haribobo

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9,169
Looking at those with one or no assignments for the alternate list

LADIES

The only top 50 SB ladies not from RUS or JPN (who both maxed out their spots) and probably not doing JGP are-

1. Eunsoo Lim - 34
2. Angela Wang- 39
3. Courtney Hicks- 41
4. Hanul Kim- 46
5. X. Li- 48

Russians who can fill in for other Russians-
29 - Samodurova
30- Leonova
32- Sakhanovich
36- Mikhailova

Japanese who can fill in for other Japanese-
26- Shiraiwa
27- Kihira
31- Hongo
------------

MEN
1. Jun-Hwan Cha- 25
2. Nam Nguyen- 28
3. Kevin Reynolds- 29
4. Brendan Kerry- 33
5. Yaroslav Paniot- 35
6. Paul Fentz- 38
7. Artur Dmitriev- 39
8. Nic Nadeau- 40
9. Denis Ten- 42
10. Alex Johnson- 44

PAIRS
1. Stellato/Bartholomay- 27
2. Ruest/Wolfe- 33
3. Hase/Seegert- 35
4. Esbrat/Novoselov- 40
5. Lu/Mitrofanov- 41
6. Walsh/Michaud- 42
7. Pfund/Santillan- 43
8. Suzaki/Kihara- 44
 
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Dobre

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DANCE
1. Min & Gamelin-34
2. Fear & Gibson-36
3. Evdokimova & Bazin-38
4. Muller & Dieck-39
5. Yanovskaya & Lukacs-42
6. Reed & Ambrulevicius-43
7. Torn & Partanen-45
8. Tweedale & Buckland-46
9. Mansourova & Ceska-48
10. Koch & Nuchtern-51

All these teams have one invite already, except for Koch & Nuchtern.

Note: I've read a couple different places that Mansourova & Ceska had split, but as they are assigned to Finland, I've put them in their spot on this list & will assume they are competing until proven otherwise.
 

millyskate

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Are we sure the organisers pay the travel? I remember Loena Hendrickx turning down a GP because she couldn't afford to go...
 

aka_gerbil

Rooting for the Underdogs
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Looking at those with one or no assignments for the alternate list


PAIRS
1. Ziegler/Kiefer- 24
2. Stellato/Bartholomay- 27
3. Ruest/Wolfe- 33
4. Hase/Seegert- 35
5. Esbrat/Novoselov- 40
6. Lu/Mitrofanov- 41
7. Walsh/Michaud- 42
8. Pfund/Santillan- 43
9. Suzaki/Kihara- 44

Ziegler/Keifer have two already—Finland and Rostelecom.
 

mysticchic

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my guess for the dance final is
P&C (30)
H&D (30)
C&B (30 or 28) could get beat by S&B in Russia
S&B (28, 26) could beat C&B in Russia
G&P (26) good for 2 silvers
and the last spot will come down to placement and points. either 24 or 26 points
H&B
S&K
Z&G
G&F
M&R (could surprise)
 

Meoima

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Dobre

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Am I crazy to think that Hawayek and Baker have a shot at the final based on these line ups?

It's possible, but it'll be hard. A 2 is possible at NHK (they would have to defeat Zagorsky & Guerreiro whom they split results with last season). Plus Muramoto & Reed at home, which seems likely based on overall results last year; but M&R bested Hawayek & Baker in the short last season 3 times so shouldn't be overlooked. Still, a 2 for H&B at NHK is quite possible.

However, France is the only event that has four previous GP medalists in it. A 2&2 will likely get you in. H&B would have to upset Gilles & Poirier, and I don't think H&B have ever done that. (Though Sinitsina & Katsalapov have). A 2&3 could leave you in a heck of a tie (and not be enough for everyone who could wind up in it). A 2&4 will be a big problem. Hawayek & Baker lost their last head to head with Sinitsina & Katsalapov and Gilles & Poirier. And that was at home at Skate America. I think none of those teams can afford to be fourth in France. And trying to get in with a 2&3 is often very tough in dance. You need a high score--which often goes to a team skating at home--and you need some luck.
 
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RoseRed

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Am I crazy to think that Hawayek and Baker have a shot at the final based on these line ups?

I'd say they have a chance, but it's a bit of a long shot. It's pretty dependant on them managing 2nd at NHK because two bronzes normally aren't enough. Their main competition at NHK for 2nd is Zagorski/Guerreiro. They can beat them, but I would give Z/G the edge at this point. They were ~ 15 points ahead at Worlds, which is more than the mistake H/B made in the SP.

Then at IdF, I have them fighting for 3rd. They could beat G/P for second if G/P make mistakes, but keep in mind G/P are now the Canadian #1, so probably not. Then it's between them and S/K for bronze.

If they get 2nd at NHK and 3rd at IdF, they have shot, depending on score tiebreaks. If they get 3rd at NHK it's very hard.
 

nimi

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The Finnish is counting money already, they made ISU assigning both Hanyu and Zagitova to them...
https://twitter.com/echotpe/status/1012564563122839553
Especially Hanyu... tickets will be sold out.
Yeah, choosing Yuzu as the host pick is a no-brainer for the organizers. They need those Japanese fans to fill the seats. And given Yuzu's competitive history in Finland, I'm sure his camp was okay with him getting assigned to Helsinki, too.

BTW, before people here start running around claiming the Finnish Fed is all-powerful because they "made" ISU assign Yuzu and Zag to Helsinki like @Meoima put it.... Looks like the tweeter Meoima linked to simply google translated the official press release, which just said Yuzu and Zag were assigned to Helsinki. That's it. Not very dramatic.
 

Meoima

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Yeah, choosing Yuzu as the host pick is a no-brainer for the organizers. They need those Japanese fans to fill the seats. And given Yuzu's competitive history in Finland, I'm sure his camp was okay with him getting assigned to Helsinki, too.

BTW, before people here start running around claiming the Finnish Fed is all-powerful because they "made" ISU assign Yuzu and Zag to Helsinki like @Meoima put it.... Looks like the tweeter Meoima linked to simply google translated the official press release, which just said Yuzu and Zag were assigned to Helsinki. That's it. Not very dramatic.
Full translation from Finnish to English here: https://twitter.com/quadrittberger/status/1012423790385561601

Of course, they will never say "ISU asked Hanyu and Zagitova to go for Finland because they messed up their issues with the Chinese fed and they were just trying to fix the chaotic situation". But IMO it is understandable for ISU to specifically assigned their most famous skaters to Finland as the event moving was so rushed and unplanned. Big names going to a new event will give Finland some comfort, don't you think?
 

Dobre

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I think it's just common to see top athletes go to the events held in neutral territory. Finland doesn't have any top ladies or top men so they have no conflicts with taking Medvedeva or Hanyu. We often see deeper fields in the events held in countries without heavy favorites in the discipline.
 

nimi

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Full translation from Finnish to English here: https://twitter.com/quadrittberger/status/1012423790385561601

Of course, they will never say "ISU asked Hanyu and Zagitova to go for Finland because they messed up their issues with the Chinese fed and they were just trying to fix the chaotic situation". But IMO it is understandable for ISU to specifically assigned their most famous skaters to Finland as the event moving was so rushed and unplanned. Big names going to a new event will give Finland some comfort, don't you think?
But Finland got 3 host picks like everyone, right? And they chose to use only 1 of them for a Finnish TBD skater, which means they could use 2 host spots to pick non-Finnish skaters of their choosing, right? And because Yuzu skipped Worlds, he was guaranteed only 1 GP assignment outright, based on his SB/WS, and had to get an invitation for the other assignment, right? So why is it unbelievable to you that Finland simply used their host pick option to invite Yuzu because 1) that was the smart thing to do and 2) the normal GP pick procedures allowed that? And isn't every skater in the GP announcement technically "assigned by ISU" because they co-ordinate the thing and make the official announcement? So... Why theorize some elaborate ISU scheme instead of just assuming the Finnish organizers wanted Yuzu and got him because they made him a priority? (I can't seem to remember exactly how the selection procedure goes, no matter how many times it is explained to me, but doesn't it start with the host picks?)
 
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Meoima

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But Finland got 3 host picks like everyone, right? And they chose to use only 1 of them for a Finnish TBD skater, which means they could use 2 host spots to pick non-Finnish skaters of their choosing, right? And because Yuzu skipped Worlds, he was guaranteed only 1 GP assignment outright, based on his SB/WS, and had to get an invitation for the other assignment, right? So why is it unbelievable to you that Finland simply used their host pick option to invite Yuzu because 1) that was the smart thing to do and 2) the normal GP pick procedures allowed that? And isn't every skater in the GP announcement technically "assigned by ISU" because they co-ordinate the thing and make the official announcement? So... Why theorize some elaborate ISU scheme instead of just assuming the Finnish organizers wanted Yuzu and got him because they made him a priority? (I can't seem to remember exactly how the selection procedure goes, no matter how many times it is explained to me, but doesn't it start with the host picks?)
I do not understand what you are trying to say. Yuzuru brings money to the event. Why would Finnish Fed not want him? They say ISU assigned Yuzuru and Alina to Helsinki. What is wrong with that? They are a new GP and they need big names to attract people. What I was saying is that originally Yuzuru was not sent to CoC. His supposed events were different. But CoC was canceled. so Yuzuru was moved to Finland.
 

Marco

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Just wondering if they are still hosting Finlandia Trophy a few weeks before the Finland GP?
 

nimi

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I do not understand what you are trying to say. Yuzuru brings money to the event. Why would Finnish Fed not want him? They say ISU assigned Yuzuru and Alina to Helsinki. What is wrong with that? They are a new GP and they need big names to attract people.
I guess we're just talking at cross-purposes here. You writing about how the Finnish Fed "made" ISU assign Yuzuru to them just made it sound as if you're seeing some out-of-the-ordinary maneuvering here and Finnish Fed strong-arming ISU or whatever (instead of the Fed just making use of their host privileges to try and invite the skaters they want to invite, like any organizing Fed would) but you probably didn't intend that with your phrazing? Hard to parse intent, sometimes.
What I was saying is that originally Yuzuru was not sent to CoC. His supposed events were different. But CoC was canceled. so Yuzuru was moved to Finland.
Uh... Where did you get this info? I mean, is there some reliable source, or was there just somebody on twitter speculating about Yuzu's future assignments at some point and people then treating that as a hard fact?
 

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