KendallKlaire Posted June 15, 2021 Share Posted June 15, 2021 11 hours ago, rockstaryuzu said: Actually, do you think we could maybe not? Because if what I'm seeing on Twitter is anything to go by, innocent bystanders (like Aljona's family) will get hurt. It goes way beyond just the previous accusations against the male skater involved. I completely understand that and agree, however, I am thinking of how Aljona's switch to represent the USA professionally just seems a bit... I don't know, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth as a fan. After Pyeongchang I had nothing but respect for Aljona since it was her FIFTH Olympics and she finally persevered to win gold and proved a woman in her thirties still has plenty left. I'm not at all surprised she would come out of her hiatus to compete again professionally and even switching nationalities to do it (Germany seems to be less than enthusiastic to support figure skating). With her resume Aljona deserves the best support any federation can give her so logically I know that the USA was probably the only country willing to give it to her. However...I don't know, perhaps I was being too hopeful, but I think it would have been great that a skater like Aljona would stay with a smaller federation to boost their profile or prestige in skating. Unfortunately figure skating is just on the edge of death in so many countries and smaller federations just don't have the support to boost S-tier figure skaters. At this point I would say only the USA, Russia, and Japan (and arguably Canada) have that power. I would have much preferred if Aljona stuck to coaching pairs in the USA as she would have been an amazing asset, but obviously she feels like she has more to give as a competitor. But wasn't TJ already paired with someone prior to Aljona? (Brynne?) Besides the allegations against him, he is also VERY young and inexperienced. It's an odd pairing, still it's Aljona's choice... I just think that if she had stuck to coaching (especially for the USA) she would have been a more valuable asset since she likely won't get citizenship before the 2022 Olympics. Logically - I understand her reasoning, she's not ready to quit competing yet. Personally - I find the change a bit strange and disheartening as a figure skating fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockstaryuzu Posted June 15, 2021 Share Posted June 15, 2021 8 minutes ago, KendallKlaire said: I completely understand that and agree, however, I am thinking of how Aljona's switch to represent the USA professionally just seems a bit... I don't know, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth as a fan. After Pyeongchang I had nothing but respect for Aljona since it was her FIFTH Olympics and she finally persevered to win gold and proved a woman in her thirties still has plenty left. I'm not at all surprised she would come out of her hiatus to compete again professionally and even switching nationalities to do it (Germany seems to be less than enthusiastic to support figure skating). With her resume Aljona deserves the best support any federation can give her so logically I know that the USA was probably the only country willing to give it to her. However...I don't know, perhaps I was being too hopeful, but I think it would have been great that a skater like Aljona would stay with a smaller federation to boost their profile or prestige in skating. Unfortunately figure skating is just on the edge of death in so many countries and smaller federations just don't have the support to boost S-tier figure skaters. At this point I would say only the USA, Russia, and Japan (and arguably Canada) have that power. I would have much preferred if Aljona stuck to coaching pairs in the USA as she would have been an amazing asset, but obviously she feels like she has more to give as a competitor. But wasn't TJ already paired with someone prior to Aljona? (Brynne?) Besides the allegations against him, he is also VERY young and inexperienced. It's an odd pairing, still it's Aljona's choice... I just think that if she had stuck to coaching (especially for the USA) she would have been a more valuable asset since she likely won't get citizenship before the 2022 Olympics. Logically - I understand her reasoning, she's not ready to quit competing yet. Personally - I find the change a bit strange and disheartening as a figure skating fan. Oh, on that level, I agree. I know Aljona said she and Bruno couldn't get sponsorship and financial support for another year of skating for Germany, so on that front, I can more or less understand a decision to change countries. But everything else about this makes no sense and is really wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melodie Posted June 20, 2021 Share Posted June 20, 2021 Mariah's new SP. It is still fairly new so I will give this program some benefits of doubt, but first impressions: - the music does nothing for me. - choreo is kinda generic - lots of two-footed skating and emptiness between jumps. Are all Raf's kids like this? *sigh* - her sit spin position is so high! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melodie Posted June 27, 2021 Share Posted June 27, 2021 Pairs: Chelsea Liu / Danny O’Shea are confirmed as a new pairs team and have been added to the International Selection Pool https://twitter.com/AnythingGOE/status/1408694053403873287 Haley Conrad / Kristofer Ogren have ended their partnership Mandy Romero / Jake Pagano have ended their partnership Mandy Romero / Kristofer Ogren are a new pairs team Haley Conrad / Jake Pagano are a new pairs team https://twitter.com/AnythingGOE/status/1408364120949338112?s=20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetwater Posted July 8, 2021 Share Posted July 8, 2021 Is it OK to post this one here? A beautiful performance. https://www.instagram.com/p/CRCK50nny4Z/ Looks like you will be able to watch it later on YouTube as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anni Posted July 17, 2021 Share Posted July 17, 2021 The Peggy Fleming Trophy is now available online. https://usfigureskatingfanzone.com/watch/?Archive=2530&type=Live Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melodie Posted July 17, 2021 Share Posted July 17, 2021 Alysa at the Peggy Flemming Trophy. The improvements she has been making are astounding Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melodie Posted July 19, 2021 Share Posted July 19, 2021 https://www.instagram.com/p/CRflP6KHOrJ/?utm_medium=copy_link Vincent doing something ...the costume really screams Haru yo, koi ft. Hana hi nare tho. Let's hope the costume is the only thing "borrowed" over... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KendallKlaire Posted July 19, 2021 Share Posted July 19, 2021 40 minutes ago, Melodie said: https://www.instagram.com/p/CRflP6KHOrJ/?utm_medium=copy_link Vincent Zhou doing something ...the costume really screams Haru yo, koi ft. Hana hi nare tho. Let's hope the costume is the only one "borrowed" over... It certainly screams Haru Yo Koi... I was seeing some Japanese fans get quite upset with Vincent for obviously "borrowing" from Yuzu and using Chinese music instead. I am neither Japanese nor Chinese so I can't really join in the conversation there, but it is not the first time Vincent has taken after Yuzu with something (he did attempt a Romeo and Juliet program before it was axed in favor of Moulin Rouge I believe...) Vincent is hardly my favorite skater for various reasons, but it feels like he has to take after other skaters rather than build his own identity. From interviews it seems his mom is quite overbearing and nagged him for not being "more like Nathan". I do feel bad for him if that's the case, but he's a grown man now and he needs to step up. Being like Nathan has not helped him at all (Worlds 2021?). He lacks the great jumping skills of Nathan and the performance skills of Yuzu. I remember listening to him being interviewed on Ice Talk a couple years ago and he was quite defensive over his under or pre-rotation problems he had (and still has). His interview really didn't make me like him (though I know he was still just a teen at the time). If anything Vincent makes me like Nathan a lot more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paskud Posted July 19, 2021 Share Posted July 19, 2021 1 hour ago, Melodie said: https://www.instagram.com/p/CRflP6KHOrJ/?utm_medium=copy_link Vincent doing something ...the costume really screams Haru yo, koi ft. Hana hi nare tho. Let's hope the costume is the only thing "borrowed" over... It's just some ad or collab. He tagged game developer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melodie Posted July 19, 2021 Share Posted July 19, 2021 5 minutes ago, Paskud said: It's just some ad or collab. He tagged game developer. Did he? I only saw Ben Agosto and Josh Farris being tagged. Oh well, even if it's for some sort of ad or collab for games, the costume still rubs me in the wrong way -.- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paskud Posted July 19, 2021 Share Posted July 19, 2021 BTW https://www.instagram.com/p/COjeBTThrA-/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melodie Posted July 23, 2021 Share Posted July 23, 2021 On 7/19/2021 at 10:59 PM, Paskud said: BTW https://www.instagram.com/p/COjeBTThrA-/ I see. Oh well, still poor choices of costume. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melodie Posted July 25, 2021 Share Posted July 25, 2021 Edit: Cleanup version thanks to @saltatorybund on Twitter (removing all the likes and you-knows in between) The undertone and implication are really not pleasant at all. Yagudin, Stojko, Navka and now this.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KendallKlaire Posted July 25, 2021 Share Posted July 25, 2021 I posted about Nathan's interview "flub" in the figure skating reddit, but I'll try to paraphrase my response. I haven't watched the interview that he did but from what I understand the interviewers weren't that interested in skating and Nathan was probably trying to vibe with them. That's probably why his answer was really badly worded and awkward. Regardless, his knee jerk answer/response is VERY reminiscent of American press coverage of skating in the early 2000s of Johnny versus Evan (favored to Evan because he's heterosexual and masculine so figure skating is NOT a gay sport). It's really disappointing that this mindset is still very pronounced, especially coming from Nathan. There's not really that many openly LGBTQ competing skaters so the fact that he says it's "dominated" by them is a very odd choice of words. I really hoped we were moving past this idea that traditional masculine = real sport. Blending "masculinity" with "femininity" is the true challenge of figure skating and it should be celebrated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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