barbara

P&G Thank You Mom made me cry. And I think it's the most genuine Yuzu because he really does know how much his mother has done for him and appreciates it.

Not that it'll make any difference here, but we are being told now that we only need to quarantine for 10 days after testing positive, so maybe the 14 days number will be changing.

Plushenko has Sasha training on one -

4CC will either have to change it's date or location. The chances of Australia being open to foreigners by early February are slim to none.

https://this.kiji.is/663187045258364001?c=39550187727945729 Tomorrow's news - English translation (not mine): 　"It was revealed on the 4th that six Grand Prix (GP) series tournaments that will start in October in figure skating will be held as scheduled, according to interviews with related parties. The International Skating Union (ISU) confirmed the policy of the decision at an online board meeting held on the 3rd." So, I don't know how they can hold Skate America. We can't even get through a couple of fan-free baseball games without dozen of players and staff getting sick. And I'm curious how SCI can be held if only 50 people are allowed in the rink. Maybe a lottery? Since this is an Aug 4 Kyodo article, maybe SC have an extra day to think about it. And who could come to skate anyway if the border is still closed?

I remember reading an article (ostensibly about dancers spinning) about spinning and brain changes but just found it. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/scicurious-brain/practice-spinning-tiny-dancer/ Skaters also have a slightly different way to train the dizziness response away that is slightly different than dancers. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-don-t-figure-skaters-get-dizzy-when-they-spin/ You don't have to read all of both articles to get some scientific info on how skaters can spin without getting dizzy and losing balance. Think of how many years Yuzu (and Shoma) have been practicing spins. If you had a 6 yr old do the same number of fast revolutions than a skater with years of experience does, they'd fall over. It's practice. Start with one spin and train from there.

It would be SO much better if there were English subtitles....

It is a given that there will never be any official information about Yuzu's whereabouts given out by his coaches, JSF or himself. Ever. His privacy is respected. Based on all manner of sources, it's safe to presume he is in Sendai, has been in Sendai since shortly after TCC closed and will remain there until he returns to Canada. And that won't be confirmed, either. We'll just have to wait for photo evidence of him appearing at TCC.

Rika could increase her stamina at high elevation because there is less oxygen and the body produces more red blood cells; lung capacity is increased. When she skates at a lower altitude, her muscles would be getting more oxygen than they are used to and this would be an advantage. Jump height would only be affected by increased strength - gravity isn't that much different at high altitude. But, any advantage from high altitude training for a few weeks is not going to last for a very long time. And Champery isn't any higher up than Calgary. And thousands of feet lower than Colorado Springs. I would think she is going for the coaching only.

Neither Jun or Yuzu would be traveling via the United States. I totally understand the US/Canadian border closures but won't people (perhaps with letters from their federation) be allowed to arrive in Canadian cities on direct flights from countries that have the virus totally under control (like Japan and So Korea)? Of course, they would have to quarantine, but I think I'm unclear if Canada is closed to ALL international travelers, regardless of origin. What if, for instance, someone from New Zealand needed to travel to Toronto? Landing at a major international airport, an Asian citizen wouldn't, I would hope, face the same sort of prejudice one might find at a US border. And, wow, that's sad - this is what happens when misinformation is rampant and prejudices come out, as if any one nationality is somehow responsible for this virus. In the states, we can thank our bigoted president who still calls it the Chinese Flu.

I think she was planning on TCC at the end of July, so she's probably just waiting (and training there) until she can fly to Canada. Where is Shoma?

Pre-rotation evidently is worth extra GOE. Maddening.

Shouldn't be a violation - though the sock color is all wrong, and he is wearing something underneath, which is not traditional, but they'd have definitely gotten a violation for that. It's also too short. A kilt should end at mid-kneecap. But I'm just being picky. Love a man in a kilt. (Sure beats wearing a half Nazi/half concentration camp costume -that one should have been disallowed.)

His mother would have been there, too. Had to have been gut-wrenching. Truly, after seeing that collision (over and over and over), I wonder why there aren't more collisions. They must have some developed sixth sense for shifting ice position in the nick of time. There has to be so much consciousness of what is happening on the entire rink. When one skater has his music playing for a run through, the other skaters tend to almost hug the boards, or at least know where not to be. But when it's in those first minutes of practice I am surprised there aren't collisions regularly.

Which one is the "despondent" emoji?

Well, Australia closed. I am going to try and not slide into complete FS and Yuzu deprivation mode- at least until actual news of all competitions are announced. How long can the ISU hold off announcing cancellation of the entire season?

Let's be perfectly clear. Testing has zero to do with cases. Zero. If we did no testing at all, there would still be close to 140K dead in the US - we just wouldn't know why. The positivity rate is what matters. And, seriously, think of testing this way: If I don't take a test, does that mean I can't be pregnant? Can we avoid all cancers by just not testing? And - the source of the false narrative - if testing is pointless, why does the president get one every day? Now pushing kids going back to school as if nothing is wrong. Why educate people of you aren't going to listen to the educated ones? Enough on my rant.

Nevada is doing only marginally better than other states in the "red zone". Travel restrictions currently vary state to state but, for instance, if I were to travel to New Mexico from Arizona, I'd have to quarantine for 14 days. Nevada at least has a mask mandate (AZ does not!). We need a federal mask mandate. It is insane that we do not.

I wonder how set in stone this is - SCI bridges Oct into Nov - and there are only four other GP events before the final. If Yuzu (and Shoma and Rika) can't compete in two of the final four, they won't qualify for the Final - so would they compete in any at all? Perhaps - and I am being as optimistic in these uncertain times as I can be - JSF will recognize that and allow the senior skaters to go to SCI (?). Otherwise, what? No international comps until 4CC?

Not all OLY games lose money - the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City turned a profit. (Kudos to Mitt Romney for part of that and, yes, I wish he was the president right now). So many of the cities hosting think they have to have all brand new venues and that's one area where they could save. And so many of those venues are never used again. Perhaps slimming down and using existing venues would help. Or even choosing a city per continent to host and re-host every five cycles, so their infrastructure costs were kept way down. City/country egos just over-promise on spectacle when the emphasis should be on sport. I think they must be run in a more fiscally sensible manner or they will devolve.

Certainly he has sacrificed having a lot of intimate relationships. But that isn't at all uncommon for someone with a singular passion. And not just confined to elite sports. I know too many brilliant scientists who never took the time, in college and graduate school, to date or do anything not related to their research. For most of them, learning to communicate with another on a personal level was so foreign to them that even adult "regular" dating and relationships was too difficult to ever engage in. Yuzu has known love. He is well loved by his family. He has seen it. He knows what it is. And, I expect, when his competitive career is a ways behind him, he will have no trouble at all connecting with someone special.

Science Technology Engineering Math (and I'm one of those science geeks, too.....)

I am so gutted by this announcement that I can't even speak about it. Not that I'd have been allowed into Canada in early September (though I had hopes), but I'd have done what I could to go to at least one of the other CS competitions - because they are reasonably priced and in venues where I could ninja my way to the front row. Fingers crossed for SCI.

Agree - usually the Olympic Channel is more in tune with how important Yuzu is to them and to the sport. And "His American rival simply does not have that hubbub around him, enabling him to be more focused on what he is doing."??? How insulting. There is "hubbub" (that would be us) around him when we can see him compete, but no one, no one is more focused on skating than Yuzuru. We know he is virtually invisible to everyone outside of his training mates and TCC and is "enabled" to focus on his skating. He has said many, many times that his whole life is skating. It isn't, really - he is also so attentive to the people of Sendai and Japan and everyone facing tough times and/or disaster. He is the whole package.