U.S. Women [#1]: The Contenders Unmask Themselves

[vu2019]

What is Dody Teachman doing these days?

Last I heard, still (or again) coaching Tonya in Portland.

Tonya Harding on her continued love for figure skating and what her life is like today

“I want to get back and do the things that I loved to do, which were my triples," Harding said.

abcnews.go.com

 

[sk9tingfan]

What is Dody Teachman doing these days?

Sorry for my ignorance. Please elucidate. Thx

 

[meggonzo]

Sorry for my ignorance. Please elucidate. Thx

Tonya's coach from 1990-1992 and maybe part of 1993. I know Tonya fired her at one point because Tonya was in charge and Dody was her "employee".

 

[olympic]

I think Tonya had 2 different coaches right? Who coached Tonya in 1991 when she was at her best? Didn’t she and Roz have the same coach?

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

And Amber, at 22, has done little internationally (10th-Finlandia 2021: fall on 3a<< in SP, 4-triple F

Keep it up!

 

[meggonzo]

I think Tonya had 2 different coaches right? Who coached Tonya in 1991 when she was at her best? Didn’t she and Roz have the same coach?

Dody coached her in 1991. She and Roz had the same choreographer - Barbara Flowers.
Diane Rawlinson was Tonya's coach pre-1990 and 1992 Worlds and 93-94. I can't remember if there was a switch back and forth in 92-93.

 

[Jammers]

I feel like there will be a few notable names of past Nationals competitors who don't qualify this year. The hard cap of 18 skaters seems to be more of a factor in this than going from 4 to 2 per section.

Another thing that is different with this new system is skaters can compete outside of their region or section in their attempt to qualify. Not sure that is helpful if they aren't familiar with the panels, but it is new.

Why only 18 skaters in singles? That seems way smaller then it used to be. There should be 20 for the men's and ladies event.

 

[Vagabond]

Would it be too early for the next thread to have an Olympic-themed title? If so, then I would welcome your suggestions for something else.

 

[Karen-W]

Why only 18 skaters in singles? That seems way smaller then it used to be. There should be 20 for the men's and ladies event.

3 flights of 6 skaters each. I think it used to be up to 24 skaters and there were some skaters of questionable merit making it to Nationals. 18 seems reasonable for singles. It's 3 flights for each discipline, so 12 pairs teams and 15 dance teams. FWIW - Russia only has 3 flights in each discipline qualify for their Nationals and they have way more depth in pairs and women than we do, so I don't think the US is out of line with limiting the number of skaters who qualify for Nationals in this way.

 

[Wyliefan]

Would it be too early for the next thread to have an Olympic-themed title? If so, then I would welcome your suggestions for something else.

The current one has an Olympic-themed title ("The Contenders"). I think you're good.

 

[ЭPiKUilyam]

3 flights of 6 skaters each. I think it used to be up to 24 skaters and there were some skaters of questionable merit making it to Nationals. 18 seems reasonable for singles. It's 3 flights for each discipline, so 12 pairs teams and 15 dance teams. FWIW - Russia only has 3 flights in each discipline qualify for their Nationals and they have way more depth in pairs and women than we do, so I don't think the US is out of line with limiting the number of skaters who qualify for Nationals in this way.

Of course no one has asked me, but I think this is an area that USFS should consider changing. When you think just how expensive this sport is, and how much time, effort, family sacrifice, money, etc these skaters' families put into the sport, I think it would be nice if they could award their top national skaters an extra skating group. Throw the parents a bone, that they are being thought of and taken into consideration. Just having your kid make Nationals is a lifetime goal for some. Add another group. Please. And it's different in Russia, where skating is mostly paid by the government (though not everyone can get the full funding) so Russia limiting theirs to 18 makes sense. Just a thought.

 

[Coco]

Here is my thought:

*Add a qualifying round to Nationals that is FS/FD only. Have it take place the weekend before "finals," perhaps in a smaller arena. Let 18 skaters / 3 groups qualify to that through the Championship Series. Those 18 compete their FS, then those ranked top (18-# of byes) advance
*Skaters who currently have byes to Nationals will still have a bye to the SP/SD and not skate the qualifying round.
* 3 groups for SP/SD and 2 groups for FS/FD

Seems mean to some, but I think it will add prestige for the final 2 groups, reward skaters who compete well and make the championship weekend a lot more casual fan friendly.

 

[ЭPiKUilyam]

Here is my thought:

*Add a qualifying round to Nationals that is FS/FD only. Have it take place the weekend before "finals," perhaps in a smaller arena. Let 18 skaters / 3 groups qualify to that through the Championship Series. Those 18 compete their FS, then those ranked top (18-# of byes) advance
*Skaters who currently have byes to Nationals will still have a bye to the SP/SD and not skate the qualifying round.
* 3 groups for SP/SD and 2 groups for FS/FD

Seems mean to some, but I think it will add prestige for the final 2 groups, reward skaters who compete well and make the championship weekend a lot more casual fan friendly.

I like this idea. That way all those skaters can say that they competed at the Nationals level. I'm not sure how this new qualifying system works, it doesn't seem like it's Regionals/Sectionals qualifying now. But if they go back to four from each Section goes to Nats, I propose they take the top six from each section and do what you said. Or just having an extra skating group would do the trick too. Four skating groups, one ice resurfacing. No big deal.

 

[BittyBug]

Here is my thought:

*Add a qualifying round to Nationals that is FS/FD only. Have it take place the weekend before "finals," perhaps in a smaller arena.

Too expensive. Nationals is struggling as it is; they can't afford to add costs.

To do this you'd need to bring in judges and USFS staff in earlier = extra hotel and meals. You'd also need more volunteers. And you'd need an arena. As it is, it's very hard to compete with hockey to find ice.

 

[ЭPiKUilyam]

Too expensive. Nationals is struggling as it is; they can't afford to add costs.

To do this you'd need to bring in judges and USFS staff in earlier = extra hotel and meals. You'd also need more volunteers. And you'd need an arena. As it is, it's very hard to compete with hockey to find ice.

I wasn't thinking about all the logistics and financial considerations of a Qualifying Round. Yeah, they aren't much fun to watch usually and the time and expense never seems worth it. I think that taking 6 from each Section and adding an extra 4th skating group would not require any extra expense or logistical nightmares and might be the most feasible.

 

[BittyBug]

Exactly. Just go back to the way it was with four flights.

 

[Coco]

Hmmm...but what if the larger arena was only needed for 3 days? If the whole thing could be brought off in 7 days, they might get a break on hotels?

 

[Karen-W]

Someone with more knowledge of the changes to the qualifying system for Nationals can probably chime in but I believe that some of the rationale behind reducing the # of skaters qualifying from each section and creating what are, essentially, "at-large" spots, was to address issues with the skill-level imbalances found in the different regions/sections in different disciplines. This is only the 2nd year, IIRC, of the new qualifying system, so let's give it some time to see how it works.

 

[Debbie S]

This is only the 2nd year, IIRC, of the new qualifying system, so let's give it some time to see how it works.

The current qual system was put in place due to YKW. Pre-YKW, the plan was to continue Regionals and Sectionals and have the National Qualifying Series (NQS) in which skaters placing in the top 6 (I think?) in their section at summer comps in the series would get a bye straight to Sectionals. I think the 2019-20 season was the first year of NQS and then it was canceled last year and this year....it will be interesting to see if USFS goes back to the previous qual system or sticks with the current one.

 

[Sasha'sSpins]

The current qual system was put in place due to YKW. Pre-YKW, the plan was to continue Regionals and Sectionals and have the National Qualifying Series (NQS) in which skaters placing in the top 6 (I think?) in their section at summer comps in the series would get a bye straight to Sectionals. I think the 2019-20 season was the first year of NQS and then it was canceled last year and this year....it will be interesting to see if USFS goes back to the previous qual system or sticks with the current one.

I just can't figure it out - what does YKW stand for please?

 

[Sylvia]

YKW is a another term for banned word c0vid.

Fan Zone aricle on Amber Glenn (Oct. 20):

Heading into Skate America, Amber Glenn is Peaking at the Right Time - U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone

This time last year, Amber Glenn was mired in uncertainty.

usfigureskatingfanzone.com

Excerpts:

After some downtime, she came back hard in the summer, almost peaking too early as she was running clean programs with the triple Axel in June or July.
The intense training led to some overuse injuries, including multiple stress reactions in her foot and an ankle cyst that needed to be removed, forcing her to withdraw from the free skate of the Cranberry Cup in August and take three weeks off the ice to heal.

"The season before last was the first time I had two Grand Prixes, and one was the competition to get the TBD spot for Skate America, and the other was because someone else withdrew last-minute," Glenn said. "So this is my first year going into a season with two set Grand Prixes, having set competitions. I've never had that before. So that's been really nice because I can actually plan, and schedule things, and not be unpacking and packing and freaking out all the time. I actually have a plan, when to let myself heal and rest and when to push hard. Knowing when to peak is a big thing for me."

She trained quads this summer and was getting close before her body decided enough was enough, but is loath to give up on that challenge.
"That's one of my goals in skating, is before I retire, I want to land a quad," she said. "I think that'd be so sick. Younger me would never have thought that, and it's just really cool to go past that dream of what I thought I'd be able to do."
At 22 years old, Glenn is not looking to retire after this Olympic season.
"I don't feel like I'm done, or even close to that," Glenn said. "It really all depends on my body. Mentally I feel like I could keep going, for sure. I still have that passion and love for it, which not a lot of people at the higher level will have. They'll kind of just do it, get it done, move on. I really do enjoy the day-to-day. I enjoy competing. I enjoy accomplishing new things. And after getting a new jump last season, I want more."

ETA link to a fan's tweeted 3A clip from today's practice: https://twitter.com/courtneymilan/status/1451321604949041153

 

[Vagabond]

I just can't figure it out - what does YKW stand for please?

"You know what."

 

[Sasha'sSpins]

"You know what."

Thanks!