Satoko made the right choice. Hope she has a speedy recovery, though next year her place as no. 1 at home may not be so secure with Marin's arrival to seniors.
I feel a bit underwhelmed with ladies skating lately. It seems to be that the art of holding positions or extensions has been lost. This is very apparent to me whenever I rewatch Kwan's programs or other skaters from that era. Or Mao, especially her earlier programs. I believe this is the long-term consequence of COP and getting rid of the spiral requirement. Even charismatic and musical skaters such as Marin and Eun Soo don't hold positions like they used to. I think current programs are missing a bit of the magic as a result.
I'm not as outraged about the outcome as many are. Skaters with more difficult content won even under 6.0. (given that they have the reputation and federation support already). Tara won over MK. Irina at her peak was not getting second marks that far off MK's. Not to mention Plushenko. However, what I do realize is that I find skaters back then more interesting and exciting in general. Athletic skaters like Ito still did moves in the field. Even hot mess programs from Irina and Plushenko were entertaining to an extent. The problem is not just backloading but a code of points system that hinder skater from showing of their unique personalities and style. Therefore, good well balanced programs still lack the magic of a Kwan or Lulu program, and obvious code whoring programs are just plain boring without the enjoyment that one might get from seeing a weird, voidy program that showed off personality and charisma, if not artistry.
I feel a bit underwhelmed with ladies skating lately. It seems to be that the art of holding positions or extensions has been lost. This is very apparent to me whenever I rewatch Kwan's programs or other skaters from that era. Or Mao, especially her earlier programs. I believe this is the long-term consequence of COP and getting rid of the spiral requirement. Even charismatic and musical skaters such as Marin and Eun Soo don't hold positions like they used to. I think current programs are missing a bit of the magic as a result.
I'm not as outraged about the outcome as many are. Skaters with more difficult content won even under 6.0. (given that they have the reputation and federation support already). Tara won over MK. Irina at her peak was not getting second marks that far off MK's. Not to mention Plushenko. However, what I do realize is that I find skaters back then more interesting and exciting in general. Athletic skaters like Ito still did moves in the field. Even hot mess programs from Irina and Plushenko were entertaining to an extent. The problem is not just backloading but a code of points system that hinder skater from showing of their unique personalities and style. Therefore, good well balanced programs still lack the magic of a Kwan or Lulu program, and obvious code whoring programs are just plain boring without the enjoyment that one might get from seeing a weird, voidy program that showed off personality and charisma, if not artistry.
