Xen

I saw something finally in Chinese news (but it's not in Xinhua net yet): http://sports.eastday.com/a/180613162045197000000.html There's a part that has me laughing, because the diplo-speech is so evident: "据悉，为了迎接2022年北京冬奥会，中国滑冰协会和中国花样滑冰协会对在中国举办的国际滑联相关赛事，无论从场地设施，还是办赛质量方面，都有了比以往更高的自我要求和标准。有关负责人说：“通过对近几年在我国举办的部分国际滑联赛事进行综合评估，我们认为这些赛事尚未达到国际滑联与中国滑冰协会和中国花样滑冰协会共同期待的办赛效果。通过与国际滑联沟通，我们认为暂时不在2018-2019赛季举办相关比赛，可以使我们有更充足的时间对各方面加以完善，在未来呈现更为精彩的赛事。” According to what is known, in order to prepare for the 2022 Beijing Olympics, the Chinese Skating Association and the Chinese Figure Skating association plan to improve all aspects and go for stricter standards, whether it is in terms of venue or even overall competition quality, in all events related to the ISU. An authority related to the events said, "Through the ISU related skating events held in our country in the past years, we have evaluated, and we think that these events have not met the expectated results held by the ISU and the Chinese Skating and Chinese Figure skating associations. Through communcation with the ISU, we think that not holding the related events in the 18/19 season will allow us to have more time to complete the work in all related areas, and show much more exciting events in the future."

Been looking at the baidu bars. The general tone seems to be if this is true, it sounds like not just skating, but more winter sport events in China will be cancelled, and that this is a larger move, the idea being that if just skating alone is not enough to get ISU notice, getting other winter events which China hosts, would push buttons (if not ISU then IOC). The impetus still seems to be from the issue in speed skating (here is one article) with figure skatinb eing just collateral, and for such moves, the reason why it may have taken so long may be because the chinese sports governing agency had to approve of this move (so it's probably much higher than just CSA).

For Baidu bars, the general tone there seems to be this move might be prompted more by Speed skating, and figures is just collateral. Then there are some who suspect this is China's own OC pushing for something against the IOC, since the larger picture might involve all winter sports events this season. Additionally, the IOC has came in to inspect progress in Beijing, and given some precedence and how contracts kind of changed in the initial bids up to 2022, I wonder if there are some new stipulations that IOC wanted to add in, which China does not want to give in to if it is indeed a larger issue. The general tone on the baidu bars is this move has to have came from, or at least been approved by the chinese sports governing bodies. And something must have happened later than just Pyeongchang for this to have happened. Also, if the events get relocated to other places, does the ISU have to also pay the new temporary hosting country to hold the event? It seems for normal GP events, the hosting skating association/country covers the cost, but in the case of emergency relocation, does the ISU have to pitch in its own funds? If yes, then it's a pretty strong move from China, since it's drying up the money for the international sporting bodies indirectly. For your layouts: Yuzu-he could start the season with 4Lo only and see how much traction it gets, and then gradually work in the 4Lz. Also my originaly BV was right, but the GOE addition was wrong, so without 4Lz, with 3/2 GOEs, Yuzu gets around 110 TES in the LP. So more likely he could break WR in SP than LP. Boyang: hmm...if he's going to work more on SS, I suspect a repeat 4T and not 4Lz though, since he hasn't done it before. But he'll probably repeat the 3A. Nathan: I think he'll repeat the 4F, because why not, he's done it before and his 4F usually gets pretty decent GOEs. Actually his 4F, IMO looks prettier than his 4Lz. =/ Shoma: I'm also worried about the 4Lo, but also his 4S. Think he'll repeat the 4S more likely?

The funny part is, in China everyone is talking about the twitter thing as if it is really true, and the guy who runs the QQ live stream for competitions also has a wechat, and there he even posted stuff from Tong Jian and Han Yan's weibo, that seems to indicate skaters are telling people to calm down and be patient. Most of the rumor in China seems to indicate this move was more short track driven, and short track takes precedence in China over figures.

And it might not be just olys, it might be more along the lines of "accumulated complaints" is what I'm also hearing elsewhere. We might be a figure skating focused forum here, and figure skating is gaining traction in China, but the closest equivalent to ping pong in the winter games for China is short track/speed skating.

.....this could be really hilarious. What if he can handwash, but can't work a washing machine? Edit: btw, Nishikawa pillows are nice. I tend to fall asleep faster with them. XD

I do have a question for those who thinks this is bad move for China to not host this season. Look at the landscape of figure skating in China- Sui/Han, Boyang and then who else has even a shot anyways of making it to the GPF? What does China lose from not hosting it for 1 season? Seriously. =/ And if you follow the Chinese narrative, it's not like we ever rely on benefiting in rulings in short track.

prepare some nice cupcakes to go with the popcorn and coffee. And we wait.... Well, the universe is in balance, there were too many good coach changing news, Yuzu recovering during shows, that the skating gods had to show that they are still the same old same old.

Well it's not working for me right now, it just gave me +50% GOE with a +3 on a 3A. So...hmm, I guess if all guys start getting GOEs to the skies, then yes, Yuzu would win anyways. But I think the BV is correct. Anyways, if I avg out the GOEs, I'm closer to around 110 TES, is this closer to what you're getting?

T_T I missed that...agh, alright I'll have to recalculate via excel then. Didn't notice that at first, so yes, it would be lower.

I'm just using that app....nothing manually by hand or via excel sheets. o_O Gimme a day to redo the layouts via excel sheets. But essentially, I think due to the GOEs now tied to BVs, he can actually make up for a jumping pass and more via GOEs.

No disagreements with me in regards to Zu, I'm least worried about him. If he wants to break records, without a 4Lz using the layout I have above, if Zu skates clean and gets above 93 PCS (doable), he can break his own FS record again. I'd be more curious how judges score Boyang, since technically he should be getting the first 3 bullets too on most of his jumps. Technically Kolyada, when he's clean, should also be able to deliver on the first 3 bullets, Aliev maaaybe, Jason Brown when on, and Cha Junhwan should be alright usually. I'm more curious how certain other skaters will be impacted, because they can't just hit random bullets anymore, they have to hit specific bullets now. Don't follow US men much, but anyone think Zhou could get higher GOEs than Nathan under new GOE system?

There's a world of puns, like "Today, in this episode of Golden Pond and Floras" but if I switch to "on Golden pond" it feels like an insult to Karen Chen. >_> I'll also post this over in Gen Skating chats, since I guess layout guessing games will be starting soon:

Jumping on the layout guessing games a bit early, I think, but hey, why not.

I'm trying to figure out how we could rescore the GOEs of old programs under previous GOE bullets, with the new bullets. Here's roughly how I think it comes out to be. The "Old" bullets I'm using are from here: https://www.usfigureskating.org/content/2017-18 SP GOE Guidelines.pdf New GOE bullets are: 1) very good height and very good length (of all jumps in a combo or sequence) 2) good take-off and landing 3) effortless throughout (including rhythm in Jump combination) 4) steps before the jump, unexpected or creative entry 5) very good body position from take-off to landing 6) element matches the music My feelings based on a cursory readings are: New Bullet 1= Old GOE bullet 4 ("4) good height and distance") and I'm not sure how judges will apply the "very" quanlifier New Bullet 2= old bullet 5 ("5) good extension on landing/creative exit") I'm not sure what they want to do about "take off" since PR hasn't been punished so far New Bullet 3= Old GOE bullets 6 and 7 ("6) good flow from entry to exit, including jump combinations/sequences"; and "7)effortless throughout") New bullet 4= Old GOE bullets 1, 2 ( "1. Unexpected/creative/difficult entry" and or "2) clear recognizable steps or elements") New bullet 5 = Old GOE bullets 3 and 7- the wording is where I'm lost, because it sounds like a weird combination of old bullets 3 (varied positions/delayed rotations) combined with the old 6 and 7 (flow and effortless jumping). It's weird, but I guess some combo of the 3 together New bullet 6= old bullet 8 (matches to musical structure) If my above hypothesis is right, and judges actually follow, I would have to say, we should be seeing less high GOEs. Mainly because before, you could get an assortment of bullets to get a +3 GOE, while now, you must get New GOE bullets 1-3 first (unless I'm mistaken), and those bullets are actually equivalent to hitting 4 bullets under the old GOE system. Hence previously, under old GOE system, you could get any random set of 6/8 bullets to get GOE+3, but now you have to get 1-3, plus 2 more, which ends up being 6 bullets but in a very specific order. And new bullet 3, if read strictly, I think should be 2 bullets must be combined together, not an "or" option between old bullets 6 and 7. So if we had to rescore old programs under the new GOE: if old program got original OLD GOE bullets 4, 5, 6 and 7= +3 GOE, can try for +4/5 GOE under NEW GOE system If old program got Old GOE bullets of any form but misses any of old GOE bullets 4, 5, 6, 7= capped at +3 GOE under new system Hmm....The only guys who could probably score+5 GOEs under the new system, are probably skaters whom even under the old systems got consistently high number of +3 from judges (and specifically must have hit bullets 4, 5, 6, 7). Currently, unless I'm very mistaken, other than Yuzu's 3A and maybe some of his quads (like 4T and 4S), possibly Javi's 4S, and perhaps Boyang's 4Lz jumps, other guys haven't been that consistent. If the skater hasn't even been able to consistently get +2 GOEs from many judges on a panel under the old system, then probably don't even consider the possibility. Edit: I've refrained from arguing over at Golden Pond and Floras, but in so far as layout is concerned, the one I'd probably choose if I were Yuzu are: //4T1Lo3S 3A2T 3A for my second half 3 jumping pass -If somehow I miss the first combo, I can immediately switch to 3A1Lo3S and 3A2T for ending, which minimizes loss. Scoring wise: 4T1Lo3S+3A2T+3A: 34.76 4T+3A1Lo3S+3A2T: 34.76 Equivalent in BV, and if +3 across the board in GOEs, both are at 47.51 TES. Not bad.

I think the article was one with FS RU or something? But yes, that's what Brian said, that many junior men find the time constraints of the senior men's program better for stamina than the juniors version (which is 4 mins). For Yuzu, this is where the fact he's so used to doing jumps from steps will benefit him-a lot of muscle memory to help him, whereas other guys have to retrain their muscle memory. But more than that, the cut in time to fit everything in makes it even more important that the skater has fast, tight spins and can hit the position for levels fast. That and the skater needs to be faster than before to hit turns and steps on the stsq where the major bulks of time are spent. Now, I could be wrong, but Yuzu does have very good spin speed, and he can hit positions very fast, and he is quick in his step sequences. While I think other guys are fast too, they are relatively slower than Yuzu, and with the push for more speed in step sequences, I think we can expect a lot more messups and LV3s incoming. I actually think that if the guys go for just 3 jumps in the second half, it's actually the first half that is a time crunch-you need to fit in 4 jumps and potentially a stsq (because stsq is more tiring than a chsq) and possibly a spin. Though I guess you could also move all your spins to the latter half of the program, and go chsq spin spin spn (but how boring?), but I think most of the time crunch might actually impact the spin levels, and if you spend too much time on the stsq, it would rush your jumps and spins even further.

Well Mozart would be interesting when mixed with Zu...both capable of depth, but usually prefers to troll their friends (one with far jokes and the other with Koi dance). But Lacrimosa with a signature hydroblade and ina bauer would be neat. I also wonder if anyone has bothered to do programs to Mozart's operas...that little duet of the papagino could be interesting. But they can also get cheesy fast if you're not careful.

Guess this isn't that surprising, but still...

Hmm Namonaki Oka and Carmina okay...never heard of the last one.

You mean GOE right? I don't think the -1 deduction additional per fall was rejected, was it?

Doing a ritual dance to ward against ills for the following season? o_O

Honorable Lady 4Lo is definitely coming back....*mutters* he's going for that layout he didn't do at Olys right?

I don't know...I think he just uses the media declaration as some form of pressure on himself to deliver and face things. Kind of like "I declared it, so I must execute it, no regrets allowed."

...His idea of enjoy is probably a bit extra...like image training at 2 am, knocking over stuff... And yes, his idea of slow....our wigs are going to be on fire this season right? We should ask Brian how he manages to still have some hair left.

I now have a really weird image of a swan themed wig.