meoima

Hello everyone, I am back...

4 hours ago, Geo1 said:

Hi @meoima! I missed you, too! Where have you been hiding?

Oh how are you, Geo1? Have you been ok? Please stay safe. 
I am glad that the big communities in Yuzu fandom have decided to boycott this event. Hopefully majority of us will have something to do by that time.

5 hours ago, Figure_Frenzy said:

 

...slightly OoT but

  Reveal hidden contents

...to my understanding, it didn't seem like JSF backed Mao either during her competitive days? And this despite her coming from one of JSF axis of powers (Nagoya). I mean, I thought her (first) coach is placed at about as innermost as an inner circle could be??

 

Like I understand JSF being all yucky about Yuzu (as infuriating as that is), but not supporting Mao?? (Especially given where she came from??) Stupefying!

 

Well to be fair when Mao really got a change to go at the Olympic in 2010, there was a strong attack on her technique and the rule changes did not benefit her jump issues. In 2014, she did have a great momentum but that time they did not inflate PCS significantly yet and she had a very bad SP. After Olympics 2014, the PCS inflation started by the big feds so JSF was slow on that... the rest is history.

1 hour ago, LadyLou said:

it makes sense. Probably to throw us a bone after yet another scoring robbery at WC

They can't let the season end with the wrong narrative, can they?

Hi, long time no see.  IMO this "awards" have always been aimed for the North Americans who have not many idea about figure skating. IMO they intended to make you-know-who 3 time WC like Patrick and throw tons of PR for the awards etc all for that Olympic momentum. But the pandemic blew up everything and now the bio and the awards look so out of place.

Let's not forget if WC 2020 happened, there would be a huge change for them to justify giving the MVP award to their chosen one given the way they have been scoring. But hey now everything starts from zero and we might not have a GP season at all if you look at how US is dealing with the virus. They had everything in plan to create a momentum for their favorite but the world stays still. 

2 hours ago, Henni147 said:

Between all the scoring mess I totally missed THIS:

Yuzuru Hanyu has completed his first LV4 step sequence in a freeskate since WTT 2017!! (That was in Hope & Legacy) 

 

In fact it's been more than two years since his last one. Crazy.

Okay, it's another question, whether all those LV3's were legit or not...

To be fair, the majority of single skaters' step sequences have been judged easily. If they were judged by the ice dance standard, they would just get level 2 or 3 at most.

But that is ok, single skaters have taxing elements like quads and triples. So their "less than ideal edge quality" in the step sequence could be overlooked.

The biggest issue is that "some skaters" are overlooked more than some others. 

For example, you can see that Javi tended to get level 4 a lot... Or at WC 2019, Vincent step sequence was HORRIBLE and should just get base level or level 2 yet they gave him the level 4.

The issue with step sequence is that the more you look into it, the more errors you find to deduct. So for many cases, it is mostly about the "first impression". Some skaters tend to execute their step sequence slowly and clearly before the judging table. But sometimes it backfires. Either the tech panel could not see your turn as you execute the turn too far from their camera, or that you turn your back at them so they ding that turn as blurry. Fact is, if they review seriously, the single skaters would tend to drop down one or two levels. 

My point is that, if they want, they could easily give him level 4, just like they have done it to many of their favorites. Because it is easy for the tech panel to justify their level calls by saying "that turn was not clear enough" because the majority of turns are flat if you compared them to ice dancer qualities. 

At times like this, we feel so useless. I do understand that judging itself is not easy and I do not ask them to give Yuzuru like 95 PCS or so. But giving out wrong calls affecting his scoring potential, and not even a sorry or a review (because he won anyway, right). This is just ridiculous. They should have a reviewing team regarding the technical calls even though the placements might not change.

Edit (found it) Yuzuru's FS at WC 2019 BBC: https://streamable.com/9o9vz

28 minutes ago, rockstaryuzu said:

Wow. Do they not understand that a)megastars aren't made, they just happen, and b  ) you have to have one first (Yuzu) in order for there to be more? 

 

That explains why Shoma's suddenly being pushed forward more... they're hoping for magic lightning to strike a second time. My fear is that they start thinking they can manufacture skating stars like pop idols, Johnny's-style. 

 

 

 

I think their reason is more reasonable is that Yuzu will retire (like Shizuka and Mao did) and they need new faces for Japan Skating. But the truth is we all know, megastars do not rain down every season. Even a huge sport like tennis only has ONE Federer, ONE Nadal, One Novak and they consider it a HUGE blessing. FS is a much smaller sport we cannot expect many megastars appear like mushrooms. 

I think the method JSF is approaching is not smart. The only way for them to develop a strong skating nation is to push all disciplines like the US, Russia, and Canada have been doing. They want to be considered a true powerhouse in the skating world, they need ice dance and pairs. Their unbalance support make them less powerful and less influential compared to the top 3 nations. 

1 hour ago, KatjaThera said:

Quotation marks doesn't mean that is exactly what was said. It should be, but it's not. And I can actually say that from personal experience. I was interviewed by Nikkan Sports in Sendai for the parade and what I said and what was published was not the same. And actually, I was also interviewed by New York Times at NHK '17 and again, what I said and what was published was not the same. It's sadly common 'journalism' nowadays and not typical of a country or other. But again, I didn't say they were, I just pointed out that there is a possibility they might have been.

 

Has there been any other media source posting these comments? That's often an argument in favor of the story being accurate. (Though far from a confirmation, because sometimes all newspapers will run with a story that is too good to pass even without verifying accuracy.)

 

As for the sports newspapers, everyone is free to choose what approach they take. I personally take everything they write with a big dose of salt. It seems safer that way.

 

As for pushing for many skaters... I doubt he ever meant that politically. He meant by providing training grounds and coaching options and choreographers and finances. And the Japanese skaters were in the top, they just didn't get to the very top. Unless there was some failure on this front last week, I don't really get it...

First of all, if this were the usual tabloid post they would have done this

- Do not post full name and said something like "a source from JSF said".

- Add another controversial line saying "another reliable official from JSF said".

So, while I do agree that there is a possibility the words were not 100% correct, I would say, the possibility of the reporter quoting everything the chairman said is higher. Another note, the words were even put in a dialect, which means the writer did not even bother to "edit" the words or standardize the statement. Please notice that there is a name and a position in there. If the reporter lied outrageously, the chairman could always make a clarification, which he did not.

Second, the translation did not use the word "politics" for the skaters.

And last but not least, as many comments have stated, there is nothing morally wrong in the article to the point it needed to be twisted from the original meaning. The whole thing is not something too controversial to the point the reporter had to "make up lies" to grab attention. It does not worth it.

Does the Federation want to support many skaters all at once? Nothing wrong with that. Do they want to brag that they have done a lot for the sport? Fine. But the way they talked about it and the way they executed their ideas at WC make people angry.

17 minutes ago, KatjaThera said:

I looked through several of the twitter posts in the thread and found no link. I don't think the link should require that much searching when finding a translation, but that's just IMO.

 

I agree the wording is maybe not the most fortunate, but I think the reaction is disproportional to it. By all means, crucify JSF for not supporting their skaters politicially, for inner faction wars and so on. But for badly worded statements?

 

On top of that, I believe it's worth noting that Tokyo Sports, the source of the article is, like most Japanese sports newspapers, also a tabloid of sorts and is not a stranger to twisting words or even making up stories. I'm not saying they did it now, but fans are just so quick to bring out their pitchforks these days that it's getting mildly annoying. Yes, we're all upset, but we need to chill a bit and stop blowing up at every little thing, especially when they're not as clear cut as they're made out to be.

The link was shared in other posts in other threads. Twitter is messy like that. This was the main reason I used to hate twitter a while ago. It was difficult to keep track with posts and replies.

Also, per my understanding, many sport newspapers in Japan are half-half. Sometimes they have ok news and sometimes not. There is almost no "absolutely trustworthy". As I have said, it's not just the wording, but "the thing you have said before WC" vs "the thing you have done for WC".

Most people who replied said they understand JSF's need to continue the line, to push for many skaters etc. BUT... in the end what have they done? The whole thing actually focused more on ladies, and they ended up without any lady on the podium. Yes, unwanted issues happen, but they all combine. 

Also, the majority of that interview was posted in quotation mark, so it is not really correct to say all the words were twisted.

9 minutes ago, KatjaThera said:

I have to better analyze this and maybe some native speaker can take a look at the original article, but my first impression is that it's not really as bad as it's made out to be...

 

The last part particularly... I mean, given that everyone retires eventually, focusing 100% on just one star means they'll be completely lost when that star retires. If you want an example look at Spain. Because there was no investment in upcoming skaters, now that Javi is retired, they're back to zero. And then, any federation should want to aim to have skaters where each and every one of them has a good chance of winning.

 

As for the beginning, yes, taking the credit is not ideal, but they're mostly doing it for the skaters who train in Japan, who have Japanese coaches and are generally more federation focused. Though at the end of the day they did support Yuzu in going to Canada, too, as they supported their other skaters. The fed does nothing to help them from a political pov and yes there are still many things to improve, but we can't really say they haven't done anything. IMO, this was just team speak. As in, we Team Japan achieved this.

 

I agree the organization of Worlds seems to have been an epic disaster, but I think this article has led to more knee-jerk reactions.

 

Also, while I know the twitter poster is someone trustworthy, I personally have issues with anyone who provides translations without an easy link to the source. Most people do not have the patience to type out a link by hand like that, so they'll choose to believe the translation.

 

That said, native speakers' take on this is greatly welcome.

 

Nah, I think they have their points about not focusing on one star and they have their reasons to be proud of their system etc but their wording is the most troublesome. Same meaning could be re-written differently and make it sound more reasonable.

As a federation, they deserve to get some credit and it is fine but their words combine with all the things happen before, during, and after WC make the whole thing look worse. Like they want to have many megastars but what have they done for their skaters? They could easily take credits for themselves but with different wording, note that they have other ways to word it around and still make people see "Oh, JSF have worked so hard". Also, the JSF VP's posts which fueled fans' reaction, the organization issues. It's a whole mess when they combine everything together. Like "What you said before the WC" vs "What you have done at the WC".

What sounds annoying the most is their attitude towards the whole thing.

Also, the link to the source was posted on Twitter earlier in other several posts, you just did not follow it. Twitter has limited characters so they have to calculate every word they post on Twitter, hence the final post included the link in the screenshot. 

On 2/24/2019 at 10:37 PM, SuzyQ said:

 

It's nice we can welcome you to Japan, meoima 

 

What's your magic spell to get the ticket 

 

Enjoy! and give all the power to Yuzu for us. 

 

With love from the one fell in the bloody ticket battle 

My friends brought more tickets than they needed. They were the lucky ones. 

I am going to WC. I drop here to ask if there will be a gathering for PH? 

Btw, long time no see, everyone. I hope you are doing well.

A very great posts for new fans who want to study the basic turns and steps, this blog has all the examples for all the steps and the examples are very great http://illyria-and-her-pet.tumblr.com/post/182237416574/figure-skating-stepsturns

Hello @katonice and @Yatagarasu do you mind telling me if you know anyone who saved technical handbooks of the last season (the season before this). Thank you.

Hello, I have a friend asking for Kenji's room raw files. Anyone know how to get these? Thank you in advance.

Hello this one says anything I wonder if anyone can summarize it? It is not his new interview right? Thank you.

https://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20180920-00000123-dal-spo

8 minutes ago, Yatagarasu said:

 

Ah goodness when I remember the discussions over that one.

It's amazing! But I can't see anything. It's amazing! But we can't see anything! Back and forth, back and forth .... until PPOS happened. 

I remember someone said this when he changed his SP costume: “OH, finally Hanyu gets his body back.”

4 minutes ago, BWOZWaltz said:

I'm sure this has been posted here before but I just wanted to share it.

 

 

 Yuzu skating freely and that is just beautiful and I don't need anything else. 

I just love watching him skates that's all I ask for.  

And some folks on other forums dare say Yuzuru "skated on flat edge"... words of those who never skated. Also they even said Yuzuru "burrowed his blade on the ice".

I am just saying, if any of you ever skates, surely you know those people are faking. 

Hello, I am asking if anyone know the video of this scene: 

Thanks in advance!

10 hours ago, Yatagarasu said:

 

*raises hand*  Mmm with long hair just divine.

Maybe he can have a longer top, like a slight skirt...

 

ETA

@Hydroblade ahaha jinx. At the same time. Maybe something more subtle but yes.

 

Also I get the feeling @meoima is going to murder us all.

 

I have found some perfect murder weapon, just saying: 

Yuzuru should dye his hair gray-blue. Blue suits him. 

Commentators have a huge impact on the general audience. Where do you think the current "artistry narrative" of many skating fans come from? DICK BUTTON's commentary for many many decades. New skating fans lament that the old NA skating fans have this kind of certain biased view on skating.You know where to look at. Dick Button, who else. He did contribute much to the sport, but his comments came across as not so nice many many many times.

The guys at British Eurosport have not been professional, and this is what I want to point out. When I was small on tivi they show Russian broadcast of figure skating, so there was not much to understand. When I got the internet and started listening to British Eurosport, I relied on them a lot. Then you know... just years after years I realize they repeat the same mistake and same phrase for some certain circumstances, making the same mistakes over and over again. So now I am GLAD just to get No commentary or commentary of a language I do not understand.

I do not need the commentators to gush over the skaters. I only need them to give correct information and not some biased statement. 

44 minutes ago, rockstaryuzu said:

Considering that they're doing it live in the moment and probably have a bunch of other things they have to pay attention to offscreen ( because making TV is like that) , they might not realize right away. All I'm saying is, it's pointless to expect a perfect call from the commentators every time. What matters is the judge's scores, not what the commentators say. 

 

Personally, I tune them out unless it's Kurt, and the only reason I listen to Kurt is because he knows a lot of the skaters as friends and has interesting anecdotes to tell about them. 

No, I do not expect a perfect call from them. But they are not professional. First and foremost, they are at the position to connect the audience to a "not so easy to understand" sport. So their wrong calls might give the audience the wrong feeling and make them misunderstand the sport and the judging. They said Yuzuru's 4T3T was UR which was not a true statement. And I have seen numerous new fans (and even antis) hung up onto that to go around asking people or to attack Yuzuru. Because of a combo he rotated ok, that is kind @_@. I do not expect the commentators to give a correct call. But they should refrain from giving calls or making statements if they do not have a clear view of the situation. I remember Robin Cousin of all people said something like "Hanyu only gets level 1 for choreographic sequence"... while even fans know choreographic sequence has no level. And I am not talking about they mispronounce the skaters' name.

23 minutes ago, rockstaryuzu said:

I think that often the commentators don't have any better of a view of the skating than we have. They're not sitting down where the judges are...so depending on the vantage point they might not see everything well. Something to keep in mind when you don't agree with what they say...

I understand that if in case they have no clear view should they voice out their possibly wrong statement?