EisElle

I didn't know Dima was injured he must compete in two Russian Cup stages too, right? darn, he can't even say "I'll take time to recover for Nats" since he still needs to qualify. Do we know when he was supposed to skate? I only remember seeing ladies' assignments. I hope he can fully heal by then As for Misha, sometimes love google translate A chic 3A Hopefully he too has a bit more time and will be much better conditioned

@sweetwater thanks for the clarification for Nishikawa campain as for fan art being sold, opinion WE HAVE A DATE! I guess that will count as our September update too. Crossing fingers for audio message, pics or a White Wall vid (maybe even all of them, if we truly hit the jackpot). Pretty sure media are dying as much as us for a glimpse of the ceremony The impression Yuzuru gives me is of calm and dignity, steadiness. He just looks very reliable and assured and but not in an obnoxious or aggressive way (then I remember the fan slipping from his hand Yuzu doing the most adorable uwu face LOL)

with Jordan filming, footage will be spectacular for sure (though some people are saying that Gadbois are giving every team different vaucher codes to share with fans and that the amount of codes used by fans will result in some kind of funding benefit....I haven't been able to verify this claim, though I did notice that Gaby has a different vaucher code on her insta, while Jordan has the same that's on IAM insta) re: ISU decision to go on with GP and GPF meh especially after the speed skating branch cancelled lots of events. And some fs challengers were cancelled or postponed too re: ISU guidelines hallelujah!!!!! finally they made it! (better late than never) I had a look and everyhting sounds so very reasonable, we'll see if they'll make it work (still thinking that mixed zone aren't truly a necessity in a "domestic" GP. Just ask for comments by skaters later and let people leave as soon as they can! Use videochat! Or have a nice gazebo outside, if you must) It looks like there will be some medical personnel in charge of covid measures (every accredited person must have a medical check too, other than daily measurement of body temperature). Maybe it's finally time that FS has some more care about skaters' health (no more competitng thorugh pneumonia, despite how inspiring such show of resilience could be). I find very unfair, though, to ask skaters to get tested before the event on their own. It should be on the feds and ISU to provide and pay for those tests (i'm not even sure how feasible it is in some countries for a layman to get a pcr test, nevermind several of those) To be honest, the thing that annoys me the most is they still want GPF as test event (especially when Chinese government didn't look so keen on hosting international events this autumn). Like, if you wanna go for "domestic" (and rightfully so)GP, then fields are gonna be all over the place, so how do you pick a top6(or 12) for a GPF that's remotely "fair"? by highest ranking, with unbalanced fields you get a whole mess by scores it would mean that every GP will be like Nats, trying to one up each other, so you get another whole mess I can see a combo of ranking and scores being the closest thing to a reasonable selection, but...why don't consider the chance of scheduling a different test event, later? (heck, even a WTT, if it comes to that)

ah, Starry Night! I was so happy when they skated it in Turing gala, truly a big gift Loved them in comp too, but that EX was truly the cherry on top (and I urged the people sitting next who didn't know them or the program to go and check the full version, it's truly unforgettable) interesting concept showing skaters' programs to starved fans + some behind the scenes while ISU mulls over what to do with real comps...why not? It's a smart idea (and they'll also raise some money, which particularly now isn't half bad). Gadbois has a lot of teams for such an event and they are being more proactive than... ISU other people in the meanwhile, dreaming of when Zuzu will forego his White Wall updates in favour of updates from White Floor(meaning: the ice rink)

what is this? Pure as Ice certificate? So all it takes is to just follow and then one gets merch? (is it normal that ISU gives merch for a course? Shouldn't they just make this kind of course manadatory for every offcial, skater, coach etc etc) ETA: actually... I've done this Now I'm certified as Pure as Ice WHERE ARE MY GOODIES THO? (unless 50 people beat me to that... but they should at least be gracious enough to let me know...unless this, too, was a scam and merch was only ever meant for fed buddies&co, not for a nobody who doesn't even skate LOL) RE: Universiade so it's postponed. I guess that cancellation in a strong possibility, but puzzling that ISU would go ahead and say "cancelled" instead of "postponed" as per official news I wonder though, with a comp scheduled for as late as January being "postponed"....will ISU still run GP? Of course Universiade is by far a bigger comp compared to a fs event, even more so a "modified GP", but it's kind of ironic we're all still here, waiting for an update. Not one word yet about the logistics for comps that will start in two months @Rinnarsev re: the multiple falls deductions, the rule was changed after 2014-2015 (in part I think also after Yuzuru's CoC14 FS), before that every fall just got -1, and the negative GOE of course (indeed, Yuzu's FS in CoC with 5 falls got a -5 deduction) I think they have further tweaked the deductions at least one more time, maybe after olyimpic season when they introdced the +-5 GOE system. On ISU website there should be all communications chronologically (when you don't get a broken link...which...is not as rare as one would wish and expect) and usually every new communication mentions the number of the previous one that gets replaced, so that helps tracing back to what set of rules existed in a certain season. After 2010 there were big changes like suppression of one stsq (replaced with chsq) and big change of BV of quads vs triples. The other big change was of course after 2018 with the new GOE system (and change in definition of UR jump), but "small" changes happen basically every season re: IceDance I wouldn't touch ID scoring with a teen foot pole (also, because I still haven't felt the kind of burning desire to learn that Yuzu gave me re:singles, and I don't fancy studying another whole-ass handbook and dive deeper into steps just to open another salt mine whenever I look at scores. Singles are bad enough, no thanks) It's common knowledge that ID scoring is especially maddening, sicne it's heavily based on reputation The scoring became even more arbitrary after the +-5 GOE and after they introduced 3 different choreographic elelement without levels: choreo elelemnts without level kill any difference in actual skill/difficulty. It was supposedly to encourage individual expression and variety, but in reality judges score them however they like. Basically... like they score PCS In ID, there's little a team can do to "stand out" in terms of BV: GOE and PCS are what matters the most. Additionally, falls and other big, "disruptive" mistakes are the exception, so upsets are rare (which is why P/C losing Euros was ). RE: Pairs, actually, probably one of the events I usually enjoy the most and certainly the most spectacular (though yes, it is scary). Possibly the one discipline with less scoring mess (though it happens. Ironically, the famous 2002 fixing scandal was in pairs) RA: Ladies my genuine advice: RUN AWAY TILL YOU CAN! Or at least, don't get too attached to any lady! Or if you do get attached(hard to resist, so many wonderful skaters!), do NOT look at the scores (and never open the protocols) Because even if, by luck, you manage to get yourself attached to someone who isn't chronically and hopelessly underscored, you just know it's only matter of time before they are gonna be dropped like hot potato by their own fed&judges

that's good to know! (and a relief) hopefully that's truly what he thinks and JSF support will be for real. Till now, I have to give credit to them for behaving better than some other feds, with their announcements about JGP and earlier challengers (before ISU decided to cancel JGP and announced those changes about challengers and GP)

noooo way to ruin my hopes (LOL joking, that's probably how things went) my addendum to the casino guy thing, under spoiler Edit: aww thank oyu for this! What a walk down memory lane... sometimes a traumatic one. Gosh the axis is scary sometimes, but I'm so happy Yuzuur has conquered it! Sad 4Lo wasn't borught to play in 4CC @Hanmgse welcome back, take care and stay healthy&safe you too

gosh I'd be so disappointed if she knows about the quad axel but she doesn't like the Yuzu skating trying to keep enthusiasm in check, it's possible they've heard about 4A in passing when american media celebrated the first ladies 3A(by american woman) or the quad king who has all the quads(but not the quad axel) though I reckon that, to know such an info with accuracy, one has to be at least mildly interested in the subject (and in that case I hope she is a fanyu, I need her to have good taste) An aside, wow, unexpectedly P*il did a good job in his tweets (certainly better than Oly channel). Coupled with his tweeting about Yuzu's thesis, I'm almost willing to bestowe a benevolent smile upon him

this is absolutely true, but it is also true that ISU has never been particularly forward-thinking...in anything so was any of us actually expecting more than they did from them? I am already quite impressed with the choices they have taken so far (my expectations were much much lower) and I have hope that they'll make a few more sound ones, in the end. As for other skaters, true, many of them will need to compete to keep a bit of a spotlight on them, for much needed medals, to fight for a spot at Nats (and for the big comps in the second half of the season and, in perspective, for Olys)... Choices won't be easy, and probably there won't be just one right answer, but that's why ISU should take the biggest part of responsability and not leave the whole burden of the choice on skaters. Not leave them in an impossible position where they feel they must compete while feeeling scared for themselves and their teams (as it would have happened in Montreal). ISU and feds, as "leaders" and as supposedly knowledgeable (and, even if not, at least with the sources to to get in touch with experts) can get the most accurate picture when it comes to real health risks and logistics. They are in the position to consider all the variables and make a sound evaluation, while the single skater (especially since many are very young and not always as aware of everything in the outside world) has a much more limited perspective, and can only control their own behaviour. Then, of course, in the end skaters will have to still make a choice (if a comp happen), but they should make it knowing that the risk has been evalued, taken into account, minimized as much as humanly possible, and the rest is in their own hands and sheer luck. after the planking challenge, he's bestowing on us the drought challenge. We must surpass ourselves too! (well, contrary to most previous droughts, at least we have the comfort that he is (probably)healthy, and that he means to come back possibly with a bb Nessie in tow) ...in other news, we should seriously plan a series of streaming parties. For survival reasons Since there are quite a few bb fanyus (way to start the Hanyu experience, starting with the harshest drought ever ), it wouldn't hurt to plan on some doc rewatch too, other than focusing on shows and comps request to admins and mods: can we have a cactus/drought yuzumoticon, pretty please? the sad cactus from our cactus chart would be... quite appropriate, right now (ETA: though we aren't angry anymore with beauty quad lutzifer)

LOLsob, when I saw the skatingjapan tweet (basically the moment it was posted) the link to the statement was down (I'm guessing people had been flooding there) but since it was JSF account, I could be sure it was Yuzu's official decision As a YuzuSkating-deprived cactus, I'm really sad about that (and about the Droguth season extending to autumn) but I also totally understand Yuzu's reasons and I admire him so much for making this call. Ad for making it now, two months prior to the start of GP. He isn't suffering of the "I'm invincible, so who cares if I get it" syndrom that some other sportsman have shown (not that I had any doubts about that). Understandable that he would especially pay close attention since he has asthma, and I appreciate that he is keeping himself posted about the fact that even in fit young people sars-cov-2 can have serious consequences (however less likely than in older people). And especially after what he said about 4CC and Montreal, we know he truly cares about this matter, and about how things were being (not)handled by those in charge. He's proved once more he isn't just doing pretty talks. He's the first making such a radical announcement, so probably, on top of his personal concerns about covid, he also felt that, as public figure (and most followed skater) he had the duty to make things very clear and kind of "pave the way". He's also giving a not-so-sublte hint to ISU (and to other certain feds that seem to believe they can, after all, go on as usual sideeyeing Russian test skates and USFSA that still has not cancelled SA. Don't think Rus fed will care, they have their own internal audience and all their ladies, but maybe ISU will). Gosh, his trust towards them must be below zero, if he took matters in his hands like this I wonder how much, going into MontrealWC, but also 4CC, it weighted on him the knowledge that he is the one *moving* crowds. That *because of him*, so many people were torn and some were still willing to travel because his presence was the one thing tipping the scale towards the choice to go to a comp. He must have known that many were weighting "watching Yuzu skate live" against the possible health concerns. He must have known that many had bought tickets(for Montreal, unrefundable ones, and very pricey), booked flights and accomodations mainly for the chance to see him. He knows his presence in any event isn't just about himself. It's such a heavy burden: even if he wasn't to be "blamed" (since every one of us makes the choice to go to a comp for themselves), even if fans' choices weren't on him, I bet he still felt a lot of anxiety about this, too I hope he stays healthy and can have safe training in the meanwhile and play with his fancy tech equipment and Nessie to his heart's content (but safely!) If there is one athlete that you can be sure won't behave like a d*ckhead, it's him, so I hope skating gods are taking note and are giving him all the healthy ankles and lungs &everything And I also hope that JSF can have a few small&"safe" domestic comps so this selfhish cactus can get a bit of watering. Autumn looks sooooo bleak Though I can still look forward to the Yuzu crumbs, I'm sure they'll keep coming 'cause Zuzu is the bestest & most caring ninja Dreams on Ice and Mao's ice shows being organized with online viewing tickets hints that they're trying to find solutions to still have live skating (and some revenue out of it) while minimizing risks. If it can be done for an ice show, it can be done for a comp too, as long as domestic situation is under control. This might be the option that JSF is testing and it is certainly more doable than any option involving international travel and live audience ETA: I'm kinda assuming NHK could still take place but as a domestic event only, so not really counting as "GP" (I mean, without the main star the comp is probably gonna be "downsized" anyway)

Painful. Nataliia Godunko makes a lot of good points in those 18minutes. For some reason one of the parts that saddened me the most was the bit about going to OG. That she just wanted for Olympics to be done Like, athletes train their whole life for something like that, to compete at OG. And then, when they finally got there, they couldn't even enjoy it. After sacrificing everything for a dream, and even when they reached it, they were stripped of that very dream The story about the girl who wanted to break her hand, and the other girl who accepted to do that for her.... just how desperate someone must be to go to such lenghs to get away from training? How huge the fear for consequences if they themselves chose to say "I quit"? All these stories that are finally being told only now, and yet they must have been known for long by every insider of the sport, and by the sports governing bodies too. The news about the 20 french FS coaches accused of abuse are not surprising in the slightest. We've said it already, it's the system that is rotten to the core, that allowed abusers to get away and prosper. It feels like both in gymnastics and FS awareness is spreading among a younger generation of former athletes who are now starting to coach: they might be the people in the best position to finally bring a real change through their "inside" work as coaches -- not only they can refuse to be abusive, they can also further educate the upcoming generations of athletes, teach them that abuses are NOT ok -- and thorugh their words. As we are seeing in gymnastics, the more the issue of abuse is talked about, the more media covers the stories and gets tractions among general public, the more athletes will start feeling empowered and speak out. Even just make them question if the way they have been trained was truly acceptable is a step forward. Sports governing bodies are fossils most often than not: rather than hoping that change will start from them, athletes and media need to kick their arses in motion

yeah, and such a different attitude compared to neighboring Sweden. I hope finnish skaters will manage to get some training and comp experience all the same though thank you for the info

Idk if I'm really happy that Nebelhorn is, after all, going on, even if without spectators. I should trust organizers and teams to take all the necessary precautions, I guess, but right now I don't really have much trust in individual responsibility not when people have been selfishly throwing caution to the wind just so they could "have fun" as usual this summer(and make money out of that) Many european countries are experiencing the second wave right now (despite the expectations that summer + less indoors activities would significantly reduce the spread of the virus). Even if afaik most cases are young people (hence, hospitals aren't being overhelmed...yet), in response to this spike, some travel restrictions have been brought back (like requests to people from certain countries to quarantine). So, it looks like travelling, even within Europe, might not be as "easy" as it looked back in June/July (an aside, I hope that this second wave will at least remind goverments and general population that they must avoid other dangerous missteps). Still, it will be a chance for skaters from small european countires to take part in an international comp. I'm guessing many skaters training in Champery might head there, for example. (wondering if Asahi streaming is partly because they know Koshiro and maybe, who knows, Rika or Shoma, too, might be there too) Anyway, the radical choice of cancelling Finlandia throphy entirely actually surprised me more than the news of Nebelhorn taking place. I expect other comps will take place like Nebelhorn, even if without audience and only with a limited pool of skaters. Still waiting to see what the heck will happen with GPs, and still hoping no "GPF" will be taking place

Sorry for replying late (weeks in the lando of no wifi meant I had to use data sparingly 😅) The White Wall must definitely be addeed, the Plank too! I also see around the Schrödinger Graduation, maybe that could be added too, to explain to posterity that fanyu detectives work hard but our ninja TrollZuzu works harder in keeping things under wraps (Btw hey I'm back to the land of wififinally gonna download all the Zuzu content I've bookmarked ) Belated congrats to Zuzu for his graduation thesis!!!!!!!!!! An aside: my face when I read what it was about looked like proud papa Brian and also (wanna read it so bad!) Also, belated gushing about the long-awaited but unexpected Yuzu crumbs we got thanks to Citizen and that 5 min footage of Yuzu being Yuzu (nerd, thoughtful, adorkable, healing) I guess Yuzu crumbs needs to be added to Glossary too😆 Eta: I love that Zuzu is a whole nerd (said in the best and well-meaning way)😆😆 of course he'd pick audio devices as an alternative to skating😆😆😆 though I'm glad he became a skater, otherwise I (the whole world, truly) would have missed so much

....And how are they going to "select" those 12? Why only 2 out of 4 disciplines would suddenly get twice the usual number of entries? We already knew pairs don't exist, but now ID too?😱 and what even would be the sense of randomly adding 12 more skaters to a comp during a pandemic? And at this point, if "gpf" is to be delayed till Feb and even lose its traditional top6 format, just host the Australian 4CC in Beijing instead and use that as olympic test event (especially since it looks pretty unlikely that dozens of foreign skaters will be allowed into Australia, come February) The sensible thing at this point would be to just let go of a "final" that would only be a major joke (since panels deciding who to send there will be 100% biased) and focus, instead, on how to organize 4cc and Euros in the best possible way: it looks they haven't spent these past month to make proper plans in that sense..

By "represent Sambo", do they mean that Alyona is gonna skate "for them" while training elsewhere? iirc Zhenya after moving to TCC still represented them, right? So does this "only" mean that Sambo will still get a cut of her earnings/get fundings on her behalf? (And who's paying Plushenko then?) I wonder what makes a skater more "marketable" than others. In theory, Alyona has everything: she is sweet-looking, smart, successful and beautiful too, a combo that would certainly attract sponsors. It would be honestly baffling if the reason that kept sponsors away would be her plans to retire after 2022: Anya and Sasha may have very different plans rn but, with a scarily deep field and unforgiving training regime wearing their bodies mercilessly, odds are against them (and a company making investments would be naive not to take that into account). Alyona is almost universally loved by fs fans &commentators, she is a gorgeous skater with gorgeous elements and 3A too... so is she, as as a "character", less appealing to a general public? Would it be the lack of quad or of a cute dog or of a pretty change of dress? was it "only" one failed negotiation? But then why didn't she had more offers?

LOLsob, I've realized only now that ISU doesn't say anything about "domestc GP" scores NOT counting towards PB and SB...so it's still possible they will count. With whole panels from the host countries. What could possibly go wrong? As if Nats scores weren't enough of a joke as it is I'm ready for ISU to use those extremely reliable scores to determine who goes their "gp final" As for 4A, who knows. We don't even have an inkling about if and how seriously Yuzu has restarted training or. I guess it is possible it could still be ratified if it were landed in some "domestic gp". After all, ISU ratified the first "quad" "lz" from... YT footage of a USFSA-sanctioned comp 🙄 https://web.archive.org/web/20120210092447/http://www.isu.org/vsite/vnavsite/page/directory/0,10853,4844-205151-222374-nav-list,00.html?id=929

I didn't expect ISU would have heard my request for official statement and promptly provided said statement LOL I shoul complain more often then Honestly it's a better statement than what I would have expected, though the issue for skaters outside of GP host nations holds. I truly hope that if a GP truly goes on in a neighboring country, they, too, will get the chance to safely compete there From how things look, I can't imagine on which criteria a gpf can be held, when getting a traditional top6 will be...difficult, to say the least (and there would be massive int travel involved), but I guess we'd be asking too much from ISU too soon, so I'll wait for more info Also, I still don't see how a GP in places where pandemic is far from under control Also, I guess this means Yuzuru, UtaShin might not go back to Canada for...a while. (If Canada lifts their restrictions towards Korea, on the other hand, I could see JunHwan going back to TCC and compete in SC, if SC goes on...and uf he trusts leaving one of the few places that have been handling pandemic the best) (Nooooooooooo don't remind me)

Chatgroup it is, then (Not surprised someone like P*il would think judging from home would be a good idea. Also...work on what kind of software? 'Cause you can't just go on play store, download the one ISU uses on your laptop and just... score with it) I'll wait for ISU to kindly give a more official(and detailed) statement, 'cause everything sounds way too vague, but if there's gonna be some kind of virtual comp, than I really hope that 1) they solved the issue of how to make sure everyone has same equipment, same camerawork, rink conditions (including also things from rink size to ice quality, to audio quality) Or 2) these "comps will be used ONLY to give skaters some training and feedback about their programs., but no ranking points, no official PB, no prize money. If they go on with making official stats without conditions being remotely as reproducible as when everyone competes in the same venue, with judges all watching whole comp from the same position etc, ISU might as well start including Nats scores in their stats (and kiss goodbye to what remains of their credibility)

thank you for the info. I hope Shingo especially takes care the rise of Tokyo cases just shows how unpredictable things are, even domestic movements might become difficult anytime as for Yuzu

Isn't the red cross one old? Like from when he was a wee 20yo? And yes, we are cacti because we haven't seen him skating since early feb footage from 2019 doesn't count😤 Zuzu, could you please give is a glimpse of the ice in your August update? Despite how nice your white wall is, we'd prefer to see you with ice-chan

You gave me a heart attack for a moment with Bruce because I knew he also competed in singles, but...a quad was a bit too wild 🤯 Glad to see Joseph and Conrad are having fun😁

I do wonder why Shoma isn't in Champery with the rest of them - especially since he hadn't been working with them for long (training camps aside). He clearly could travel if he wished to. Maybe with the season being up in the air he sees no reason to rush in foreign land Rika's timing for her part time training in Canada was unfortunate, sadly - at this point, with cases in Japan being on the rise again, I see it hard for her (or Utashin or Yuzu) to be allowed in Canada any time soon, even if they're not living any close to the Tokyo hotspot (where are Utashin training btw?) Nor I expect them to chance an intercontinental flight with feds' letters as the only thing to sway border officers to let them in And with chances of borders closing again at any moment, early challengers out of question per JSF choice and the uncertainty about GP series, I can see why skaters would prefer to stay put and wait instead of going to Canada as soon as they would be able to Those are beautiful pics and the place looks stunning An aside, tomorrow I'll leave for the land of no wi-fi (aka my parents' holiday house) and I'll have the chance to go and watch a similar sunrise only, a few thousands miles from Satton's, on a different sea

I hope Alena Kanysheva can have a successfull partnership and career (and hopefully Russian ID field can be slightly less cutthroat than Ladies'), but I'll never not be sad thinking what a good and well rounded singles skaters she was - with such good jumping technique too, which is so rare I wanna thank Russian FS drama for being one of the few reliable things in these uncertain times (the others being Zuzu being the bestest and most adorkable GOAT and ISU being...well, ISU) also, this unexpected move of Alyona's feels a lot like karma for that Best coach fakeaward jokes aside, I'm utterly surprised by the move, but also kinda glad, but also not much hopeful about Plushenko's coaching being actually that different from Eteri's Though at least there Alyona will "only" have Sasha as rival, and not a whole army of novices and juniors breathing on her neck and quadding left and right... ETA: aaand I had forgotten Zhilina had decamped to Plushenko too Still, less crowded that Eteri's camp, at the moment (Wonder how the internal politicking will work out...will the Eteri bonus be split with Plushy? Will it become Plu bonus?) two weeks would make it consistent with a split happening around 18 July It feels unlikely a skater had organized a move as far back as May and then waited two whole months...for what? I can believe that Alyona had started mulling over the idea of changing coach earlier - quarantine gives people plenty of time to reassess - but she still chose to stick around and see. Then a combinatins of things - the ...unsatisfying choreo/choice of music, the not-yet-recovered 3A and so on - might have pushed her to change plans. (Anyway, why does Rus fed even bother with having a deadline for coaching changes? It looks like lately everyone does as it pleases them) Plushenko is such a savage I do hope Alyona can have better programs, like programs with stsq that fully highligh her skills instead of keeping her confined in a tiny portion of the rink (honestly, watching her stsq live was a bit disappointing for the lack of the ice coverage I'd expect from her) Though I don't know what to expect from the choreographers Plu uses... I hope whoever does choreo won't do another generic how-many-meaningless-moves-can-I-fit-in-4-minutes with some unnecessary and overdramatized story to "elevate" the program (no more exploiting real tragedies to get bonus points. Also, we've already got enough souls, angels and paintings subjects wandering around, thank you very much)

Glad to hear about your friend, praying for your grandfather to get better too. Take your time, we're here if there's anything you need. Sending virtual hugs and thank you for the vid, those quotes + the music + the scenes are so touching Marina is still lifting Gwendal like the boss she is LMAO this is so funny especially coming from USA LOL "best performer on ice since Yuzuru Hanyu" (it makes it sound as if Yuzu happened ages ago) I wonder if they just googled best skater, got Yuzu and went with that can't fault the comparison tho so... after Yuzu's programs being like good cheese & wine, now we have wine being like Yuzu