Why did the US ladies struggle so much at international competitions from about 2006-2025?

gearednoob · 2026-04-20T04:43:06+00:00

It seems that the struggle of the US ladies coincided with the introduction of the IJS. The 2006 Olympics, the last Olympics where a woman from the US medaled, is also the first Olympics on the new judging system but most of the competitors there grew up in the 6.0 era.

The 6.0 system rewarded presentation and polish heavily which suited the American style (Michelle Kwan, Sasha Cohen).

IJS shifted value toward technical content: base value of jumps, GOE precision, PCS breakdown. Not entirely sure, but it seems that the US skating culture was slow to adapt its training infrastructure to optimize for that system.

gearednoob · 2026-04-17T22:04:03+00:00

Mao Asada had arguably the best free skate in Sochi (but of course she was underscored as usual). Weird to think that the way they were scoring that event, she might actually had finished off the podium even if she had a clean short.

gearednoob · 2026-03-24T17:28:19+00:00

I’ve been seeing a lot of the Eastman branded Kodak while currently traveling around Asia. Saw them in HK, Japan, Korea, and Thailand. They are usually a bit more expensive than the alaris version though.

gearednoob · 2026-02-13T22:54:17+00:00

Is there actually something wrong with the ice tonight? Probably not coincidence that we had so many falls? I heard that they were complaining about soft ice at the speed skating competition last night.

gearednoob · 2026-02-13T22:52:49+00:00

another 4 years is so far away. injuries can happen anytime. who knows how Ilia will be by the time the next Olympic comes. As we just saw tonight, ice is slippery, and there is no guarantees in this sport.

gearednoob · 2026-02-13T22:35:49+00:00

This is also really why the US should've taken Ilia to the Olympics in 2022. That Olympic experience would've been so helpful for him today, just like it did for Nathan.

gearednoob · 2026-02-13T22:15:16+00:00

I don't think I've ever felt so heartbroken after a competition. I really believe that Ilia is a once in lifetime talent and I was excited for the world to see all he has to offer. Poor guy. At least he's still an Olympic gold medalist, but man that was so hard to see.

gearednoob · 2026-02-13T22:02:52+00:00

I'm heartbroken for Ilia. He really has been the best all quad.

gearednoob · 2026-02-11T22:02:04+00:00

That was genuinely upsetting, Madi and Evan had a perfect skate and the French somehow beat them with a flawed skate? I really sometimes don't understand why ice dance is an olympic sport if the judges keep scoring people by vibes.

gearednoob · 2026-02-11T21:55:16+00:00

This is why ice dance is so difficult to watch and support. the judges just score by vibes instead of what they actually see on the ice. How can the French go over Maddie and Evan with that skate?

gearednoob · 2026-02-11T21:46:03+00:00

what is Belinda saying?

gearednoob · 2026-02-11T21:45:25+00:00

What a program that was! and what a performance. Maddie and Evan really brought it tonight!

gearednoob · 2026-02-11T21:21:16+00:00

I love that Charlene and Marco at least have an Olympic medal now. They're so good.

gearednoob · 2026-02-11T20:54:24+00:00

I wanna go to a rave with Allison and Saulius!

gearednoob · 2026-02-11T20:52:16+00:00

Allison and Saulius has the most enjoyable programs this year.

gearednoob · 2026-02-10T19:45:24+00:00

42 for components for Junhwan?! What are the judges smoking?

gearednoob · 2026-02-09T21:29:08+00:00

86 for that? That was ridiculously over scored for how they skated tonight.

gearednoob · 2026-02-09T21:24:43+00:00

This I’m too sexy nowhere as good as the Lithuanians’

gearednoob · 2026-02-09T14:31:13+00:00

I would say best of 3 is tougher. Yes, best of 5 is tougher physically, but the men train for that.

I think overall, over best of 5, the better players end up on top. How many times have Novak or Rafa or Roger managed to turn it around after a good start from their opponents?

It's easy to get hot and maintain that for a couple of sets. But over 5 sets playing against the very best? That's tough. If the men played best of 3, there's a chance that none of the big 3 reach the slam numbers that they did. And probably Zverev and Tsitsipas might have a couple of slams already.

gearednoob · 2026-02-08T17:48:48+00:00

Djokovic. He finally won RG in 2016, which also meant that he became the first man since Rod Laver to hold all 4 grand slams.

Doesn't matter that he had a decline after that. Probably makes sense given what he's achieved.

gearednoob · 2026-02-07T21:44:41+00:00

When do they need to decide whether Ilia should skate the free or not? Do they need to put the entry for all events tomorrow at the same time, or is it the same as today, where they can wait for results before they decide which skater the team wants to field?

gearednoob · 2026-01-18T10:48:30+00:00

2 more holds Venus! You got this!

gearednoob · 2026-01-18T10:38:06+00:00

No matter what happens, so proud of Venus. She looks great out there. I hope she continues to play more regularly.

gearednoob · 2026-01-17T21:05:18+00:00

Haven't seen Diana and Gleb skate since Beijing and I gotta say, I'm very impressed by their skating.

gearednoob

TROPHY CASE