10 hours ago, Toni said:

 

These are Fanyu Good Luck Charms I will be handing out at Worlds. (You can find me at seat: SECTION 101 - ROW R - SEAT 10)  Obviously, I expected Yuzu to be doing Origin there, but it's still good luck and will remind us of purple Origin. At least I added a Ballad feather  In Japan, 5 yen coins are considered good luck. They also consider KitKat bars good luck because "Kit Kat" sounds like the Japanese word for "sure win." Because of this, KitKat bars are very popular in Japan... and, well, they're yummy ,chocolate covered wafers, so...  Anyway, I'll post a reminder as we get closer. 

It’s gorgeous!!! Thank you so much for making those beauties! 💖💖

4 hours ago, SitTwizzle said:

I tried a little search about these Ice-scope or Eyescope, they seem to be made by a Qoncept and Fuji, but I find nothing else.
Are they on the market, or just prototypes, or?

 

The way I understand it Fuji TV *commissioned* Qoncept to make a measurement program (IceScope, then later the IStat) for FS, and it wasn't the first time Qoncept made such programs, they have made other measurement programs for other sports as well (eg. volleyball, sumo).

 

A brief breakdown on the basic program they use to build the Ice Scope

 

There is also ice::stat for the GP series broadcast a few months back (also from Qoncept btw) — let's hope that one will be used for Worlds as well... ...though judging from the recent Euros ice dance judging brouhaha it might end up being a moot point anyway (...the way judges insist to just use a footage from just one POV for their judging needs... 😩😫) 

2 hours ago, ZuCritter said:

This. As someone who used to find it hard to ask for help, I learned the hard way that there are times when the strongest of us (and I count myself one of those) need help. Today I salute anyone courageous and mature enough to take responsibility for their own wellbeing -- including seeking counseling when they need it. End of sermon.

I couldn't agree more.  The first step towards true wisdom is admitting one's insufficiencies and a willingness to ask others for help.  Being Catholic there are times (very frequent times) when I need input that isn't the result simply from prayer but times I need help deciphering what has come to me through prayer.  That's why I have a spiritual director who is able to shepherd me through problematic situations.  For some it can be a psychiatrist, for others it can be a spiritual director, and for some lucky few others it can be a friend who is truly wise and truly willing to give of his/her wisdom to help one through a particular crisis.  But like I began this post, the first step to wisdom is to know that one needs outside input and a willingness to seek it out.

3 hours ago, airi said:

Tbh, I'm so over this 'ISU made him doubt himself'. A perfectionist like Yuzu ia very rarely satisfied with himself (I really know something about that...) and that interwiew isn't really that bad like people made it to be, it's rather normal... imo ofc, but yeah, what do you expect after two bad (for his own standard) competitions. That doesn't mean I'm denying he may need help sometime (who doesn't), but I saw so many people overreatcting about that onterview...

I mostly agree with this. Yuzu's been skating a long time, and scoring has never been fair. If he couldn't handle unfair scoring, he would never have lasted in the sport. 

 

That being said, I still want to see the scoring become more fair and objective. Not just for Yuzu, but for everybody. Particularly I would like to see an end to Rusflation. 

 

And guys, it's a given that Yuzu has a sports psychologist or has worked with one in the past. Every top athlete does. Mastering the mental game is an essential component of high performance sport. Yuzu knows this better than anyone.

 

He's worn out and tired in this interview, for whatever reason. That doesn't mean he's on the verge of a breakdown. Why can't he just have an off day without everyone panicking? He needs a hug and someone to tell him it'll get better, for sure. But maybe that's all he needs right now. Or maybe he does need a therapist. Either way, it's not ours to speculate about.

 

 

 

 

 

8 minutes ago, rockstaryuzu said:

? He needs a hug and someone to tell him it'll get better, for sure.

His mum and coaches will have done that I bet, plus he’s changed his programmes, adapted his costumes (incl glow in the dark SEIMEI!!), and broken a WR and got the superslam since that interview, it’s likely he’ll be in a positive frame of mind for Worlds, it’s his job  

But still, I enjoyed the discussion especially cultural aspects of attitudes to therapy/mental health

1 minute ago, Pammi said:

But still, I enjoyed the discussion especially cultural aspects of attitudes to therapy/mental health

Can't really talk about Yuzu without taking his culture into account. 

17 minutes ago, rockstaryuzu said:

I mostly agree with this. Yuzu's been skating a long time, and scoring has never been fair. If he couldn't handle unfair scoring, he would never have lasted in the sport. 

 

That being said, I still want to see the scoring become more fair and objective. Not just for Yuzu, but for everybody. Particularly I would like to see an end to Rusflation. 

 

And guys, it's a given that Yuzu has a sports psychologist or has worked with one in the past. Every top athlete does. Mastering the mental game is an essential component of high performance sport. Yuzu knows this better than anyone.

 

He's worn out and tired in this interview, for whatever reason. That doesn't mean he's on the verge of a breakdown. Why can't he just have an off day without everyone panicking? He needs a hug and someone to tell him it'll get better, for sure. But maybe that's all he needs right now. Or maybe he does need a therapist. Either way, it's not ours to speculate about.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exactly. Off days are expected in sport at any level. They feel terrible at the time but usually you can look back on them and see the bigger picture of what was going on at that time. A lot of the time an off day or week or whatever at the right moment sets a build towards success in motion.

8 hours ago, KatjaThera said:

Honestly, I'm not a fan of this attitude. The idea that strong people don't need a therapist. So if you need a therapist, then you must be weak? As someone who saw a therapist for years and is now on the verge of needing one again, I take offense at it. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if Yuzu would not consider a therapist, while at the same time I hope his studies of psychology as part of his university studies have made him more open minded. I'm sure he knows the importance of psychology in his sport and I think he's probably aware of his own trauma stemming from the earthquake experience. Then there's the stuff he said at Continues. This all makes me hope he is far more open minded about it and is willing to ask for and accept help on the harder days. TCC has sports psychologists on call precisely to help the athletes. Asking for and accepting help in tough times, to help clear one's mind does not mean that person is not strong. I REALLY hope Yuzu knows that. He's been through so much stuff I just hope he gets all the support he needs.

Agreed.  Is there a cultural objection to asking for psychological help?  In addition to clinical depression (that I -self reliant, strong and bright - have) there is situational depression.  Who wouldn't be distressed and depressed when seeing how powerless they are over the shaking of the earth and subsequent loss of life?  

32 minutes ago, rockstaryuzu said:

Can't really talk about Yuzu without taking his culture into account. 

True! However Yuzuru is not isolated in his Japanese culture, he has been an international competitor for years, lived in Canada for years, has friends he describes as close from different cultures including Stephane Lambiel who he named in the interview as a close friend,  has had Brian, Tracy, Ghislain, and Javi as mentors and friends - their influence is thrown into the melting pot of culture and individual growth - Yuzuru seems to have a questioning mind, of course his culture, like all of our cultures, are important in shaping us, but I would include all those other influences as part of Yuzuru’s culture from his teens and into young adulthood, and that stage of development in a human being’s life is very important when it comes to shaping views and personality.

11 minutes ago, Pammi said:

True! However Yuzuru is not isolated in his Japanese culture, he has been an international competitor for years, lived in Canada for years, has friends he describes as close from different cultures including Stephane Lambiel who he named in the interview as a close friend,  has had Brian, Tracy, Ghislain, and Javi as mentors and friends - their influence is thrown into the melting pot of culture and individual growth - Yuzuru seems to have a questioning mind, of course his culture, like all of our cultures, are important in shaping us, but I would include all those other influences as part of Yuzuru’s culture from his teens and into young adulthood, and that stage of development in a human being’s life is very important when it comes to shaping views and personality.

Yes.

In other words, consider Yuzu in context, his context. Not the viewer's context. 

Recently I read so many comments like: 'Why are fanyus whining again? 3.66 GOE for a 3A is nearly perfect. Only +4s and +5s. He is not underscored at all'.

 

I think, there are currently three big issues that casual viewers don't see (or don't want to see):

 

1. Giving +4s instead of +5s for a single element is numerically not a big deal, indeed. However, for 7 elements in the short and 12 in the free these little differences multiply very quickly and the skater ends up with 5-10 points less than he or she actually deserves. I also can't hear the argument anymore that it doesn't change anything in the placements. As long as world records, personal and season's bests are officially recorded, every single point on the scoresheet counts.

 

2. Giving +4s to Yuzu's elements wouldn't be that problematic, if some other skaters didn't receive multiple +5s and other candies with much lower quality. But they do and that devaluates Yuzu's quality elements.

 

3. In case of Yuzu's 3A it's not only a question of raw points. I think, this is about honoring an iconic element and making a statement. +5s across the board would send the message to the skating world: Yes. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the standard for a perfect 3A and a perfect technical element in general. If you want a +5, you have to level or top this. By giving +4s to Yuzu's 3A the judges make the clear statement that this jump is not their standard (anymore).

 

 

Just to put things into perspective:

 

Between 2015 and 2018 in the short program Yuzu received the maximum 3.00 GOE for his triple Axel 8 times in 15 attempts. 2.00 was the lowest GOE he got in these 3 years for his Axel in any SP (average GOE: 2.77).

Since the introduction of the new +/-5 system he received the maximum 4.00 GOE only once in 10 short programs. This tells a lot about the new system and Yuzu's popularity among the judges.

30 minutes ago, Henni147 said:

Recently I read so many comments like: 'Why are fanyus whining again? 3.66 GOE for a 3A is nearly perfect. Only +4s and +5s. He is not underscored at all'.

 

I think, there are currently three big issues that casual viewers don't see (or don't want to see):

 

1. Giving +4s instead of +5s for a single element is numerically not a big deal, indeed. However, for 7 elements in the short and 12 in the free these little differences multiply very quickly and the skater ends up with 5-10 points less than he or she actually deserves. I also can't hear the argument anymore that it doesn't change anything in the placements. As long as world records, personal and season's bests are officially recorded, every single point on the scoresheet counts.

 

2. Giving +4s to Yuzu's elements wouldn't be that problematic, if some other skaters didn't receive multiple +5s and other candies with much lower quality. But they do and that devaluates Yuzu's quality elements.

 

3. In case of Yuzu's 3A it's not only a question of raw points. I think, this is about honoring an iconic element and making a statement. +5s across the board would send the message to the skating world: Yes. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the standard for a perfect 3A and a perfect technical element in general. If you want a +5, you have to level or top this. By giving +4s to Yuzu's 3A the judges make the clear statement that this jump is not their standard (anymore).

 

 

Just to put things into perspective:

 

Between 2015 and 2018 in the short program Yuzu received the maximum 3.00 GOE for his triple Axel 8 times in 15 attempts. 2.00 was the lowest GOE he got in these 3 years for his Axel in any SP (average GOE: 2.77).

Since the introduction of the new +/-5 system he received the maximum 4.00 GOE only once in 10 short programs. This tells a lot about the new system and Yuzu's popularity among the judges.

Well the fact is that there is supposed to be a reason for giving a +5 and it is not for the judges to decided this by how much they like the skater or not. They cant just throw around +5s and +4s at leisure. But they do, since apparently they dont need to justify anything they do ?

One can argue "there is too many bullets, you cant expect judges to make this decisions on the spot" well if they cant then just remove the system cause it is completely unfair to cover all the bullets by going that extra mile of sweat blood and tears and having some judges do whatever they want. If it is not clear then it is not good. 

30 minutes ago, Henni147 said:

Recently I read so many comments like: 'Why are fanyus whining again? 3.66 GOE for a 3A is nearly perfect. Only +4s and +5s. He is not underscored at all'.

 

I think, there are currently three big issues that casual viewers don't see (or don't want to see):

 

1. Giving +4s instead of +5s for a single element is numerically not a big deal, indeed. However, for 7 elements in the short and 12 in the free these little differences multiply very quickly and the skater ends up with 5-10 points less than he or she actually deserves. I also can't hear the argument anymore that it doesn't change anything in the placements. As long as world records, personal and season's bests are officially recorded, every single point on the scoresheet counts.

 

2. Giving +4s to Yuzu's elements wouldn't be that problematic, if some other skaters didn't receive multiple +5s and other candies with much lower quality. But they do and that devaluates Yuzu's quality elements.

 

3. In case of Yuzu's 3A it's not only a question of raw points. I think, this is about honoring an iconic element and making a statement. +5s across the board would send the message to the skating world: Yes. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the standard for a perfect 3A and a perfect technical element in general. If you want a +5, you have to level or top this. By giving +4s to Yuzu's 3A the judges make the clear statement that this jump is not their standard (anymore).

 

 

Just to put things into perspective:

 

Between 2015 and 2018 in the short program Yuzu received the maximum 3.00 GOE for his triple Axel 8 times in 15 attempts. 2.00 was the lowest GOE he got in these 3 years for his Axel in any SP (average GOE: 2.77).

Since the introduction of the new +/-5 system he received the maximum 4.00 GOE only once in 10 short programs. This tells a lot about the new system and Yuzu's popularity among the judges.

I completely agree with you. This is a sport of reputation and working hard on destroying, step by step, Yuzuru`s, is what should be troubling us. This is not just conspiracy theory, numbers never lie. But again, nothing to be done, unless something really shaking would make ISU change its doing.

 

6 hours ago, monchan said:

It is Fuji TV's sole property. ISU prob made a deal with them. Hope it comes back at Worlds.

So, not on the market, and probably won't be for long.
What do you think could be done with a Samsung S20 Ultra smartphone to be delivered early next month? They can catch up to 60 images per second, in 8k or maybe in 4k, and for every image of a video (I have asked the customer service) they can measure the height. Of course it wouldn't be the height of the highest moment which can happen between two of the images, yet I think it would be a good indication. And with 60 images per second, with human checking afterwards, I believe one could see edges, prerotations and underrotations, maybe with only one camera? Highly probably so if there are more than one, isn't it?

Well, it is 1350€, yiiik...

10 hours ago, IceWings said:

 

The best of luck always for Yuzu! Thanks so much for making these Good Luck Charms. They are so pretty! 

 

I love the Green Tea Kit Kat bars they sell at the local Japanese supermarket.

 

 

I almost bought some of those, out of curiosity, but they cost too much to have them sent from Japan. Because they are considered good luck, they have every variety you can imagine in Japan.