SitTwizzle

But performing what, on 2/3 of the rink, and warned so little time before? He is a skaters' agent, and doesn't know an exhibition program have to be prepared? That a choreographer must conceive it, be paid (here, only for one event), the skater learn it...? That was all ridiculous. And that "crowd bath"! I can translate to French, if needed to (broken) Spanish or Portuguese, but I am the worst dummy at social media, indeed I have no account. And I have no skating fan friend (though a close relative, when I wrote her about technical considerations regarding figure skating but in broader terms, told me she knew a French federal judge, at a lower level of course). Is there anything I can do? How? Here is a draft for a translation from English to French (as I don't read Japanese), it is not literal as I tried to convey the meaning I perceived and to write in a rather formal language. And I didn't understand the English/skating meaning of the part in bold, so this I translated rather literally. Also, I noticed probable little mistakes in the English version, such as reply for replay (twice). Justice pour tous les patineurs artistiques Pour une amélioration du système de notation Destinataires : Union internationale de Patinage (UIP, ISU) et Comité international olympique (CIO, IOC) Région : Monde Nous vous prions instamment d'améliorer le système de notation des compétitions de patinage artistique, en installant un nombre suffisant de caméras vidéo et en rendant publiques les informations relatives aux décisions de notation, assorties des éléments matériels correspondants; et d'envisager sérieusement la mise en place d'un système gyroscopique/d'intelligence artificielle dans un avenir proche. Le système de notation des patineurs artistiques peut prêter à controverse, car il se base sur une unique caméra de télévision en circuit fermé et sur les yeux humains, qui peuvent manquer de précision. Les patineurs n'ont pas le droit de contester les décisions. Néanmoins, ces décisions, qui peuvent être erronées ou imprécises, affectent de manière significative les résultats des compétitions, et font l'objet de nombreuses critiques par les media et sur les réseaux sociaux, donnant lieu à des débats où sont envisagés des théories conspirationnistes, du racisme, des partis-pris voire de la corruption. La carre (edge) des sauts et le nombre de leurs rotations sont particulièrement difficiles à déterminer, alors qu'il s'agit des éléments majeurs permettant de remporter une compétition. Les nouvelles technologies les calculent précisément, en quelques secondes, là où une personne a besoin de temps pour repérer tous les détails. La notation technique, liée à la qualité des sauts, devrait dépendre d'une technologie avancée, et non d'humains. Les juges ne disposent pas des ralentis (ce n'inclut pas nécessairement les juges techniques), de plus nous savons qu'il est impossible de toujours voir les carres à l'œil nu. La mise en place d'une telle technologie peut prendre des années mais ajouter des caméras et des écrans ne nécessiterait pas des efforts démesurés. La communication des notes avec les éléments matériels correspondants, aiderait les athlètes et leurs entraîneurs à corriger leurs erreurs, alors que les notations erronées plongent tout le monde dans la confusion et peuvent causer une perte de motivation, et de confiance dans l'Union internationale de Patinage. Les patineurs consentent les efforts les plus intenses en vue de gains de l'ordre d'un dixième de point par jour, et ces progrès sont reconnus et appréciés par un nombre incalculable d'amateurs de patinage dans le monde entier. N.B. : Comme notre unique objectif est de contribuer au bonheur des patineurs, nous n'approuvons pas le fait de brandir des panonceaux "Unfair Judgment" ("Jugement inique") lors d'une compétition, car cela peut gêner amateurs et compétiteurs et les rendre malheureux. Nous, soussignés, en appelons à l'Union internationale du Patinage et au Comité international olympique pour améliorer le système de notation des compétitions de patinage artistique, en installant plus de caméras vidéo, en fournissant les ralentis à tous les juges et en utilisant une technologie plus avancée; ainsi qu'en communiquant publiquement les éléments matériels relatifs aux décisions de notation afin d'assurer transparence et équité envers tous les patineurs.

Who wouldn't? Had Yuzuru Hanyu already spoken of trying the quad Axel before this interview? I have seen nothing before end 2017. Was Nobunari Oda instrumental in Yuzuru Hanyu's decision of working on it?

Because he gives me the impression of being a sort of man who, if something is important to him, won't stop at World censure — or too worldly considerations. So, should he some day have a mystical fit or a forever conversion (to a religion where there are monks) and of course after due reflection, I think he would go for it. But I don't know him enough to be sure, it is just how I see him.

From him, nothing would completely astonish me. ;-)

Such smooth takeoffs, but the landings were not to his standards...

Also "plan B is for losers"...

If only there was some audit of Montréal fiasco, it could also get us rid of that crap.

The journey of British Eurosport commentators on becoming fanyus. First part : with Nanami Abe. A second part is announced for the Brian Orser period. Warning : this is a sort of spoiler to ISU's upcoming release of Grand Prix Final 2015, as it is a report on the Exhibition after it, from a Japanese TV. The cameraman doen't seem to notice Javier Fernández until Yuzuru Hanyu embraces him. ;-) What struck me is in Yuzuru Hanyu's program, starting 3:16, his spin starting at 6:04 seems to draw a flower on the ice?!

Thank you! Long and interesting, indeed. I didn't know the horse riding origin of the Lutz. And there is a little sting towards a "war of the coaches"...

Aren't they undergoing puberty? I hope it won't lead to injuries when they go back to ice.

I got the impression that the order was that of World standing. As Yuzuru Hanyu is often first, and never less than second, Japanese men sit in front row. But I have never seen anything official (nor have I watched a lot of draws, I confess).

Is it already official? Novogorsk is the place for the summer camp, I think its normal opening is June 1st? I really really hope, with all these very young athletes who seem to have trained quads on hard floor, that they will be coached very precisely to go back on ice, in order to avoid injuries.

Nobody could work on it seriously, without showing huge improvements in his 3A, isn't it? And, isn't Yuzuru Hanyu the Axel King by very far?

I meant, will it be in addition to regular Exhibition (in which case, empty seats, visible on TV etc, will suffice), or instead of, as planned for Montréal?

That's fine exhortation. Yet there will be temptation. (Not to watch, but to vote for a candidate, unwilling as he may be.) But that announcement of a skating award in Sweden, does it mean the Gala will be replaced by crap, as was projected in Montréal? I really don't know if I'll be able to go to Stockholm, but I really wish to know, and if I can go, I wonder if it wouldn't be possible to express our disapprobation? In an orderly manner, of course.

To be honest, I was boycotting ISU videos since the GPF (19) robbery. This Helsinki WC was my first come back.

Here is Ivan Vassiliev. Haters reproach him not to be able to close a fifth position, well, it is just that his thighs are too thick. His more impressive variation is from 2:05 (he's probably never heard about Isaac Newton). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVrMnuSdvRw Or, more artistic, with a Japanese mother, and only 19, now dancing with Mariinsky, Aaron Osawa-Horowitz. He had two years at the Vaganova school (the feeding school for Mariinsky) in Nikolay Tsiskaridze's (GOAT ballet dancer) own class, at the end of the first year he was still unable to do those series of pirouettes (spins) with the leg at 90°. You can see the progression (this step is from 1:45 on the following video, and again from 7:55). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSyCNGZh57o And his jumps from 1:43. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvLRM-a8M9A I know there are more muscular thighs in the world, but we are speaking of artistic athletes, who must keep flexibility, smoothness, precision while jumping higher, which is indubitably extremely difficult, but I am sure Yuzuru Hanyu managed to do it, as he now jumps the quad-axel fully rotated, and would not have sacrificed his ability to express "anything" with his body movements. And probably his thighs became even more impressive than in that photo with Evgeny Plushenko as Sex Bomb. Now we are warned. ;-)

This hip surgery of his is new to me. It made me think. Could it be that he lands rather stiffly to protect his hip, at the expense of his knees or even ankles? It makes me worry even more for him.

One think I am not sure of : "high scores no matter of the quality" may make him rather uncomfortable. And my impression is now, Yuzuru Hanyu may feel this worry. He has such empathy and ability to guess.

If they can socialise at the rink, it's OK. If they cannot... Yuzuru Hanyu missed a lot of kindergarten, but then, he went to conventional elementary and junior high school, and a bit of high school. He certainly didn't have cramming school like most of his schoolmates of course. And he is speaking for the general skater. A skater like Yuzuru Hanyu, who lives for skating, doesn't work the same. I suppose there is nobody like him in the world of figure skating. AND of course, he is not working like a beast, he is focused but with a vision, of what he wants to get and how to achieve it the most efficient (including, energy-sparing) way. (And he has also earphones and video games.)

To be honest, it is not Nathan Chen who asks it, it is Rafael Arutyunyan, and I wonder if, like Alexey Mishin's, his message is not to be taken as a sarcasm.

Thank you soo much for all these informations. I didn't know about mora and tried to catch it in the examples you gave, it gives me a new vision of Japanese language yet I don't manage to find it intuitive, which proves I was wrong in my hearing, for instance of the songs he skates on. I should maybe watch them again. Just to try to hear the songs more accurately of course. ;-) Yuzuru Hanyu's rs and ls I find particularly pleasant to hear. I didn't know so many Asian languages had different ways of speaking for men and women, I thought it was a Japanese specificity. And had never thought about how native Japanese speakers could perceive Western languages, "gender-wise". Really interesting. It reminds the (probably apocryphal) words of Emperor Charles V : "I speak Spanish to God, French to men, Italian to women and German to my horse (or : to my enemies, there are other variants)." Edit : I did watch Hana ni Nare. It didn't work. After two sentences reading both Japanese (Latin alphabet) and English subtitles, and trying to "cut" the Japanese words, I couldn't get my eyes off him. I'm so far from being as clever and quick as him. ;-)

I haven't seen the CBC version for GPF 2013 FS in the Gallery, which a Youtuber posted yesterday. There are all finalists but Han Yan, with a few interviews (Yuzuru Hanyu was already speaking some English). The four first ones had great classical music : Tatsuki Machida's unforgettable Firebird of course, but Maxim Kovtun dared Tchaykovsky's First Piano Concerto at only 18, Nobunari Oda with William Tell (Rossini suits him so well with his humour, yet I didn't like the cuts that much, except the last part), and he got Bronze; and Patrick Chan with Corelli and Vivaldi, I love Corelli but I wouldn't have imagined anybody skating to it. And she also posted the victory ceremony by TV Asahi : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVi2FPYstfA In fact she posted plenty of really interesting videos. And this one, short program practice at Sochi before Plushenko's withdrawal, Yuzuru Hanyu watching his idol practising, and not believing he was there, on the same rink as him, at the same competition. So moving. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFfd0dXoSUY

Thank you for these opinions as native English speakers. I had the reverse observation, from a French native speaker who used to read a lot and had been in French schools of a level way above the average and who, after some months in a German high school, found that German language was much more precise and allowed more accurate expression; and was answered French language too... when properly used. (She checked later.) What is your opinion as to his English accent/way, "music" when speaking? I find it so charming.

Of course but precisely, in this trio, the girl dances rather separate from the boys, or only slow bits, so it is more about her acting talent. Do you remember who was this superb, expressive skater you sent a video of, she wasn't in the top with GP assignments because she had no ultra-C jumps (Japanese Ladies field have so many talents for so few spots, they should make a Ryukyu banner like American Virgin Islands, just an idle idea, no political meaning intended) but she skated so well... And the boys can show different talents.