Eclair

spreading out the PCS is a good thing in my eyes. This way, skaters can get high SS but low transitions or vice versa (Carolina/Alina) for example. But will the blatant biased judging stop? of course not. Will they adress it? haha, good one. So will anything change? nope. Who will score high? Big fed skaters will get higher GOE, higher PCS, less edge and UR calls than small fed skaters no matter what the rule changes.

it seems like Boyang has taken a likening in shoes, too .... not sure if that's a good thing or not .... oh Boyang ... click on the picture to see them in full beauty ...

I didn't see the original interview when he said that, but there is another translation out there which says about the mum, that she sometimes had to eat cheap crappy food when accompanying him and that he feels very grateful for the sacrifices she did. So I assume, it's a lot better than - "barely had a decent meal for the last 4 years". Especially since in one of his streams they went to a restaurant with his mum and some other lady and he also always has a lot of snacks with him. Don't worry too much!

@Xen wow this was so much work, thank you for translating! This certainly was no easy to translate interview. I listened to it in original and think you really did a great job to capture all the nuances! Content-wise, I'm a little disappointed in the approach HongBo sees for the future. He basically said, that they'll keep inviting specialists or have specialist-camps for a short time, but won't send skaters to foreign coaches to train full time. So no Papa Brian for Boyang. This also means, no PCS boost for Boyang and no Papa Brian mentality magic for him. He will have to relay on his own resilience fully in dealing with pressure. Also, Skating Skills as well as good jumping technique don't happen overnight with a 2-week specialty camp. You need people to push you every day in those issues to really make an improvement. Same goes for choreography. Another issue is, that it doesn't sound like they'll change choreographers. Lori is one of the best choreographers out there, no questions, but choreographing for all of team china - 15 programs in a few weeks is too much even for her. There is bound to be some good and some bad ones. Of course Lori is obviously inspired by Sui/Han, and very much likes Peng, but maybe Yu/Zhang could try someone else like Wilson or Shea-Lynn. I'd also love to see Sui/Han to skate to something Tom Dickson choreographed. Lori and Boyang, I can live with. She clearly knows how to hide weaknesses and accentuate strengths but I feel she could use a more modern approach with him. A cool SP à la Chafik Besseghier's Rap is not going to happen under Lori. Shae-Lynn is more creative in that regard, but I'm not sure if Boyang can already handle her choreography ... I really like, that in the future, figure skaters can both go to school and train. But one essential thing Hongbo forgot (or didn't mention) is learning English. It really is crucial for skaters to be fluent in it to advertise for themselves if their fed can't. Also, acting classes would help, too. I was astonished when XiaoYu said in an interview that she held back a smile because her character in Swan lake was supposed to be sad. I didn't see any sad expression during her skate. It was just neutral. Another disappointing tidbit for me, was how he stretched that professional athletes should prioritize skating over everything. Of course that's true- it should be a given for professional athletes. But we also need personalities, not only pure focus. That's the reason Brian always tells Yuzuru to relax more and not take everything so seriously. It's not helpful in competition and will create a lot of frustration and internal pressure, like we saw with Sui/Han in the FS. And their lost levels are purely a training /coaching issue, as I'm sure no matter what nerves or pressure, they are able to get a level 4 spin. watching a modern dance once a year is really not much. Skaters need more - books, movies, skating programs, all kinds of things. And not every one should get the same. Boyang doesn't need the same dancing classes or watch the same movies as Sui/Han.

you know who I now want to train with Yuzuru at TCC? Kaori. Would also fit into the type of skaters Brian often chooses - good jumping basics, potential in PCS. Another one I want to train there is Wakaba - the packaging Brian could do with her My dream TCC training team in the future is: Kaori, Wakaba, Boyang

Wakaba is now competing at Challenge Cup!! 2 skaters, until she skates her SP!

did you notice, just like Brian, Boyang's coaches hair is thinning, too ...

talk about flu meds^^

I saw that 4lutz-3Toe Rippon and I was like

lol then maybe the issue is my doctor. Whenever I went to him because of flu symptoms, it's like: as long it's nothing bacterial but only viral, there is nothing I can do about it. Just drink a lot and keep warm. But then I again, we have here pretty strict regulations to prevent resistances developing ..

yeah but never heard of doing that for regular flu viruses - quite the opposite, if you have the flu and it's due to a virus, you usually get told that there is only home remedies you can try, but no antibiotics or such. same goes for noro virus. but maybe Raf didn't mean virus when he said virus, but actually meant infection?

in that interview with Raf he said, that Nathan is out with a virus right now. It's pretty serous (but not life threatening or anything as I understand), as Raf got called and told to take medication, too (didn't understand that part - what kind of virus requires other people to take medication, too? (except for maybe STD's but I don't think Raf would be in immediate danger if that was the case^^).

what does the video show? it's not available for me ...

there is an translation of that article posted on FSU

the Chinese judge did his job the dumbest way he could I think, even if the US judge is investigated, she did the smart thing and didn't let her scores deviate too much from the rest, even though she accomplished the same thing as the Chinese judge by letting her scores get deleted to rise the average scores. Oh that last bit was interesting, I agree. I wonder, if it mean something that Brian doesn't have a US skater right now. Someone said, he once said it's because he can't because he lacks the papers to do it. But then TSL said, those paper are a formality that coaches usually let their assistant take online and that's an excuse because Brian doesn't want to deal with the crap of the US fed. I too think, that if Boyang asked Brian, he would probably agree to coach him. But I'm also not so sure that the Chinese fed lets him. The most they ever did was to let foreign coaches coach their skaters part-time or as 'specialist camps'. Zijun once was trained by Mishin full time and that didn't went well with her fed I think. And I don't think Brian would agree to only train Boyang as a 'secondary' coach or with the Chinese fed having too much of a say. Another issue it, that I could see Brian not wanting to take on Boyang/Nathan/Vincent as long as Yuzuru is still competing, because he doesn't want him to see them doing 4lutzes everyday and start trying those again... Since there is speculation that Javi will stay in Brian's coaching team after retirement, I think it would be awesome if Boyang trained there too, especially they both kind of are more the performer and not grand artist type. Apart from not speaking English very well, Boyang is used to his current coach since he was little, so that would be a huge change for him. Boyang was asked to commentat his SP and FS and it was very descriptive, like in 'this is the 4lutz' 'this is the 4sal, the landing was good, it got x GOE', this is the camel spin, the levels are needed for that and that.' It kind of showed what his priorities in thought process and training are and there was no explanation of the story or the feeling of the programs. No matter what, my personal opinion is, that if Boyang doesn't change coaches, he will loose out on PCS and GOE's big compared to Nathan, Vincent and Shoma. Especially if one of those would go to Brian instead. Gold in 2022 I would deem impossible, except there is a splatfest. A medal would be hard but not impossible. On the other hand, Boyang is really used to his current coach, so who knows how a new one would affect him.. But knowing Brian's team, I'd expect it to be a friendly place and Boyang is so likable that I guess this will not be huge a problem.. Of course the thought behind Brian coaching Boyang is that he improves SS, TR, packaging and keeps his Tech level. Brian couldn't do that with Nam though, so who knows how much he really could do with Boyang. On the other hand, I love what Brian did with Elisabet. She may not be very consistent right now, but her skating clearly showed the difference in school between Brian and Eteri.

double post

OMG if Boyang looses his 4th place finish because of that I've often thought, that the way the CHN judges score Boyang shows, how they have no clue how the system works. They just extremely overscore. While the smart judges know, that they have to over score a little in every GOE and PCS category, so that it won't be too glaring, won't generate the feeling of negativity in other judges, and maybe won't even get deleted...

that part didn't impress me that much just kidding, it was a cute moment

if you don't want to watch the whole thing (you should though^^) fast forward to 1:31 for the part with Yuzu

TSL posted a video with the (I think) tech coach from TCC. May personal recommendation: DON'T WATCH. I had hoped for more technical stuff and new insights, but I think you are all pretty knowledgable in Technical stuff. They didn't say anything gross or totally insulting, so no worries, but my guess is, that you all won't enjoy it... just a small warning. will save 2h of your life..

Zijun's last performance to 'East of Eden' the intended SP for this season: https://m.weibo.cn/status/4151234564318812 in HD and good quality!!!! the beginning is ! btw: ohhh I really like this thumbnail! hopefully it'll stay for a while!

nooooooooo!!!! I was so hopeful we'll see her compete again, as she posted a picture of her in the team-china jacket on her Instagram... This news breaks my heart .... all that potential ... all those unfair PCs and calls ... all these hardships in training and coaching she went through ... this is a real loss for ladies figure skating ... here a beautiful reminder of her wonderful skating: https://m.weibo.cn/status/4184854813753362

delightful interview with Sui/Han with English subtitles

Happy Birthday Yuzuru!!!!!!🎂🍰🥂🍾🎁🎈🎉!! heal well and enjoy some cake and good company today! May you still look a lot younger than you actually are in the next year, too!