Analysis

Written by Paige Summers in GoldenYuna

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For those who wonder (because Yuna critics mention it all the time) why Yuna didn't plan her program with 3Lo (3 loop) or 2A3T so her technical base marks can be higher... Here's something you can work with if you wanted to counter argue as to why Yuna had to choose her elements the way she did and why she didn't need 3Lo and 2A3T to win.

I. WHY YUNA DIDN'T DO LOOP JUMP ANYMORE

http://www.goldenskate.com/forum/showthread.php?49533-Evaluating-Step-Sequences

On a Golden skate forum thread (link above), the top post by ladyepheu said ― “YUNA IS A PERFECTIONIST”. She doesn't settle for anything less than perfect.

It's not that Yuna can't do 3Lo. In fact, no other skater, not even Mao whose signature jump is 3Lo (besides 3A), has the level of execution as Yuna does. (Yuna's height and distance and textbook posture can't be compared with other skaters) However, very unfortunately, Yuna didn't have much luck in racking up GoE with 3Lo & had less success rate of landing clean 3Lo jump in the actual competitions all throughout 2007~2008 & 2008~2009 seasons. Well, not as high as the success rate of landing good quality 3F-3T & 3Lz & 2A anyways. - Even though she landed 3Lo perfectly fine during the practices. AND the funny thing is, since Yuna goes into 3Lo with so much speed, if the bending of the legs goes wrong, it can make you lose balance and eventually fall ? CBC commentator says this after Yuna’s fall after attepting 3Lo at 4CC 2009. (loop jump is when you make crossover x shape with your legs before take-off ? and it requires great balance skill because there’s bound to be bending towards a side when the skater gets ready to take-off) Also, Yuna does it with so much power that Loop jump often led to injuries - meaning, doing it the right way with great speed and power built up the pressure on her hip joint and right ankle (mainly affected by Loop jump) - So possibly with high probability of injuries in mind, Yuna somehow jinxed herself with 3Lo especially during the performances, which is very unfortunate because she does it so well.

Now, unlike Mao who pursued 3A regardless of very low success rate, since it awarded her such high base points (even with under-rotation deductions, she walked away with good 6~7 marks), Yuna had no reason to include 3Lo if she didn't have high success rate. (She often lost good 3-4 points when she poped it or fell during the jump - after the deductions, she only got like 1~1.5 points) Yuna already had solid 3Lz, which awarded her more point than 3Lo (5~7 points) and after 2008/2009 season, Yuna substituted 2A for 3Lo, which guaranteed her good 4-5 points (3.3 + GoE) ― Yuna's Ina Bauer or Spread eagle + 2A has been a very difficult signature routine.

* Note from Yuna’s score sheets that Yuna always had good success rate of 3F-3T racking up GoE of +2 ― except in 2008~2009 season ― a tech specialist was suddenly obsessed with giving Yuna an attention edge call on Yuna’s perfect 3F.

<2008/09 season>

Vancouver 2010 - Start of jump elements compositions 3Lz-3T, 3F, 2A-2T-2Lo, 2A-3T, 3Lz, 3S, 2A

The tactic to include 2A jump instead of 3Lo worked just fine in Vancouver season in terms of working around the ISU rules. Back in 2010, the rule said in FS, only 2 kinds of triples are allowed to be repeated - meaning hypothetically you can have 2 3Lz and 2 3F but while keeping these jumps, you can't have 2 3Lo, 2 3T, 2 3S, 2 3A. (Only one of each four kind will be allowed.) And this limitation didn't apply to 2A so Yuna was able to include 3 2A jumps (2A2T2Lo, 2A3T, 2A) Even without 3Lo, Yuna entered the competition with a technically difficult program with base values of 61. - 3Lz-3T, 3F, 2A-3T, 2A-2T-2Lo, 3Lz, 3S, 2A. High base value plus massive GoE gave Yuna 78 TES. In this case, Yuna did have 2A3T, but didn't need 3Lo for her to win.

* ISU changed the rule after Vancouver, however, as if to find ways to disadvantage Yuna, so that 2A was a subject to the limitation as well. Not only that, they increased value of 3A & 3Lo (Mao’s two favourite jumps), decreased value of 3S (always a part of Yuna’s program). 3T went from 4.0 to 4.1 ? but no increase in 3Lz at all. (3Lz is Yuna’s signature jump - so many skaters struggle with wrong edge and only Yuna nails it with nearly 95% success rate) The biggest change was Scale of Value system. Up to Vancouver, GoE were applied as 1:1 ratio ? meaning the average of what 9 judges gave, after trimming out highest and lowest, are the GoE points you get. With Scale of Value system, it reduces the amount of GoE you can get. For instance, if all nine judges gave +1 GoE on 3Lz, up to Vancouver, you would have gotten 6.0 +1.0 = 7. But with scale of value of 1:0.7, you only get 6.0+0.7=6.7.

http://static.isu.org/media/108107/1790-sptc-sov_levdiff_2013-2014.pdf (Scale of Value)

https://www.usfigureskating.org/content/First%20Aid%20Singles.pdf

ISU rule for FS program 2013-2014

- Composition;

7 jumping elements (at least 1 must be axel jump (2A or 3A)), 3 spins, 1 Chreo, 1 Step seq = total of 12 elements

- 2 triples can be repeated

- if repeated, one of them has to be a part of a combination - 3-3 or 3-2 or 3-2-2

- 2A can't be included more than two times.

- A jump combination may consist of the same or another single, double, triple or quadruple jump. There may be up to three jump combinations or jump sequences in the Free Program. One jump combination could consist of up to three (3) jumps, the other two up to two (2) jumps.

So, new rule prevented Yuna from having 3 2A jumps. It meant that Yuna had to give up on one of the 3 2A jumps - now, there are a couple scenarios assuming Yuna keeps other jumping elements the same (3Lz3T, 3F, 3S, 3Lz) ;

1) Keep both 2A-3T & 2A-2T-2Lo;

Yuna has 2 3Lz & 2 3T, 1 3F, 1 3S (3S2T automatically gets thrown out - 3S can't be repeated and Yuna already would two 2-jump combinations - 3Lz-3T & 2A-3T)

So, 3Lz-3T, 2A-3T, 3F, 3S, 3Lz, 2A2T2Lo so far - but Yuna needs one more jump element to replace 2A - now, Yuna already has 2 repeated triples and three other single triples, so she has to include 3Lo/3A. (very similar to Vancouver, but Yuna must do 3Lo/3A instead of 2A)

2) Keep 2A3T and 2A & drop 2A-2T-2Lo;

Yuna has 2 3Lz, 2 3T, 1 3F, 1 3S (drop 3S2T since she can't have more than two repeated triples and can't have three 2-jump combinations), one 2A - she needs a combination of three jumps, so she can turn single 3F into 3F2T2Lo or 3Lz into 3Lz2T2Lo

So in this case, she has 3Lz-3T, 2A-3T, 2A, 3S/3F/3Lz (any one of these can turn into three jump combination with 2T/2Lo instead of single)  - Yuna has 2 3Lz & 2 3T so she can’t repeat 3S or 3F as 7th jumping element. So Yuna needs 3Lo or 3A. (this is exactly the layout of Adelina's program - she has an extra 3F instead of 3Lz - she has single 3F and 3F2T2Lo)

* MANY skaters usually choose 2A3T as a 3-2 combination because it has relatively high base value (3.3+4.1) - 2A is a 2.5 revolution and has higher value than any other double jumps. But actually since 3T has one of the lowest base value out of all the triples, 3Lz-2T(6.0+1.3) or 3F-2T(5.3+1.3) have almost the same base value. So, 2A-3T does not have to be mandatory when trying to get high marks - although skaters and the judges value its difficulty for it being an axel jump combination.* And in order to include 2A3T, you can see how you need 3Lo or 3A to work around ISU rule.

3) Keep 2A & 2A-2T-2Lo (what Yuna had for Les miserables and Adios nonino)

Yuna has 3Lz3T, 2A2T2Lo, 3F, 3S, 3Lz, 2A - this leaves room for one 3-2 two-jump combination ? almost anything other than 2A3T would go - 3(S,F, not Lutz because that means 3F or 3S need to be repeated but when you repeat a triple, at least one of them has to be in a combination)2(T,Lo) would work out. This give Yuna an option to not include triple loop. She could have done 3F2T instead of 3S2T, which would have had higher base value - but not too much difference anyway. I personally think 3S2T was placed perfectly into her routine for both Les Miserables and Adios Nonino. - I love the Yuna's Salchow because they are always so artistic and fitted so perfectly with music. I even think only Yuna can nail 3S properly.

4) Choose to have only one of 2A or 2A-3T or 2A-2T-2Lo

#1 If single 2A; 3Lz3T, 3F, 3S, 3Lz, ()2T2Lo, 2A, 3()2() - maybe 3F2T2Lo and 3S2(T or Lo) or vice versa - not having to include 3Lo

#2 If 2A-3T; 3Lz3T, 2A3T, 3F, 3S, 3Lz, (3F or 3S or 3Lo)2T2Lo, 3(Lo/A) - must include 3Lo/3A

#3 If 2A-2T-2Lo; 3Lz3T, 3F, 3S, 3Lz, 3(F or S)2(T or Lo), 2A2T2Lo, 3(Lo or A) - must include 3Lo/3A

* So in order for Yuna to have a program without 3Lo, she could only choose option 3) or option 4) #1. And she chose option 3) with 3S-2T for Les Miserables and Adios Nonino (exact same elements)

Written by Paige Summers in GoldenYuna

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II. WHY YUNA DIDN'T NEED 3LO/2A3T TO WIN

http://www.goldenskate.com/forum/showthread.php?49533-Evaluating-Step-Sequences

TES = Base Value + GoE

As the top post on this thread by ladyepheu says, while some skaters derive their technical points from the base value of their elements (hence they come up with a program with elements with relatively higher base value), Yuna is a perfectionist who focuses on overall quality of her elements (hence she aims for high GoE). They both carry risks of their own - it’s not that only skaters who have higher technical base value carry risk (of executing difficult elements), but skaters like Yuna carry the risk in that she needs higher GoE to rack up the points. But it’s about where the emphasis lies - BV or GoE.

If you actually look at it in a different perspective, skaters who plan a program with higher technical base value have logic that they don’t need high GoE (meaning execute the element in high quality) and even if they fail to execute the elements, they can still walk away with good amount of points even after the deduction of marks. - so it is worthwhile to try out harder elements even though they are not at a level to execute the difficult elements with high quality. So their emphasis is aiming for better/harder “tricks or stunts” to impress people and insure high marks - Like Mao’s 3A. Now, this is not a bad tactic - if the skater can bring themselves to the level that allows them to handle difficult elements, it will be even more effective. But in this case, skaters tend to put less weight on artistry and overall quality on each element because they have hard time just to keep up with executing the difficult elements they can’t master. It is very rare that we see full quality/choreographic transitions on the all elements and good interpretation of music. (music and elements make good harmony and are in sync)

Yuna’s emphasis is on striving for executing a perfect program and applying inarguably flawless technical quality to all of her elements when executing her elements. Her technical strong points don’t stand out like Mao’s iconic 3A attempts, but Yuna has her own signature skills overall - Her textbook jumping technique, unbeatable consistency & high success rate of landing clean textbook 3Lz/3F (she was known for her 3F-3T/3Lz-3T combinations - she is the only skater who has three 3Lz & two 3F all throughout short & long program), Ina Bauer/Spread eagle entry + 2A, and Yuna camel spin (variation from camel spin - leg bent 90 degrees and upper body facing upward - requiring great flexibility). What makes her stand out the most is that she goes beyond simply executing the elements and completes a masterpiece of storytelling by reflecting the very emotion and essence of music into her program. And this kind of artistry and connection with music were founded upon her mastery over strong basic skating skills and proper jumping techniques. In Yuna’s case, she has to give the skate of her life every time (meaning she has to make tremendous effort in executing the elements in perfect quality) to get super high marks - this is a risk no different than the risks that the skaters who aim for higher technical base value programs take with their programs.

Now, 2013 Les Miserables was a classic case of how Yuna’s overall quality was truly reflected in her marks. I want to do a comparison between Les Miserables vs Sotnikova’s FS in Sochi vs Adios Nonino. This was partly motivated by a blog site posted on Golden Yuna, comparing Les Miserables and Sotnikova’s Sochi FS;

- http://blog.daum.net/jwvoice/12105063 (This site was posted by someone earlier in Golden Yuna and has nice gifs to help you see the huge diff in quality of elements btw Yuna and Adelina ? and this website motivated me to do GoE comparisons)

Protocols / Score sheet of the three programs

01. 3Lz-3T 3-3 Combinations

Les Miserables    12.0 = 10.1 BV + 1.9 GoE 

Simply perfect textbook - clear outside edge, great height and distance & flow in and out of the jumps, and good in-air position/axis, her head stays in-line with her upper body, her upper body stays straight, not twisted

Les Miserables    7.2 = 5.3 + 1.9 

Perfect/flawless jump with solid, almost non-slanted (close to 90 degrees vertical) inside edge ― and with massive three-turn before take-off.

Sotnikova FS   6.8 = 5.3 + 1.5 

Notice unstable and shaky edge right before take-off - it moves sideways just like her flutz, pre-rotate.

Adios Nonino    6.5 = 5.3 + 1.2 

Again, not much difference in quality from Les. Should have been at least 1.7 GoE ― and look at her choreographic transitions afterwards.

* Send in the Clowns; 6.4 = 5.3 + 1.1 

The jump that was same, if not better, than Les Miserables 3F - really deserved at least +1.8 GoE.

Written by Paige Summers in GoldenYuna

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II. WHY YUNA DIDN'T NEED 3LO/2A3T TO WIN

03. 3S

Les Miserables   5.6 = 4.20 + 1.40

Out of all of Yuna’s jumps, the most artistic & musical jumping element

Adios Nonino   5.52 = 4.62 (2nd half bonus) + 0.90

Sotnikova FS   5.82 = 4.62 (2nd half bonus) + 1.20

Is it an axel jump? Can’t really tell the difference…

04. 3S-2T vs 2A-3T

Les Miserables  7.35 = 6.05 (2nd half time bonus) + 1.30

Adios Nonino   6.60 = 5.50 + 1.00

Same quality, 3S-2T in Adios Nonino had choreographic transition element right before the jump. But GoE 1.30 → 1.00

Sotnikova FS   9.94 = 8.14 (2nd half bonus) + 1.80

For god’s sake… she nearly stumbles in between her jumps? looks like she carries heavy weight leaning forward & lacks flow. Doesn’t look effortless at all. And she pre-rotates on 3T? Oh and is her 3T an axel? She kicks of with full blade... This got GoE of 1.8??

Yuna Kim Vancouver FS   9.50 = 7.50 + 2.00

Yuna nailed this jump with spread eagle (difficult) entry, crazy height and distance, great stability and control on landing, beautiful flow/transition after the jump.

05. 2A-2T-2Lo vs 3F-2T-2Lo

Les Miserables   7.83 = 7.04 (2nd half bonus) + 0.79

Spread Eagle entry + massive ice coverage/distance travelled going into the jump, perfect flow in and out of the jumps ? but only 0.79?? Even at 2013 Worlds, Yuna didn’t get max GoE she could get…

Adios Nonino   7.83=7.04 (2nd half bonus) + 0.79

Same quality on the jumps (same as Les Misrables), Ina Bauer entry

Sotnikova FS 3F-2T-2Lo   8.34 = 9.24 (2nd half bonus) - 0.90

Again, Sotnikova’s persistent flaw in her toe jumps (the jumps that use toe pick to take off - 3Lz, 3F, 3T) is that she takes-off on full blade when it’s not a blade jump like 3A, 3Lo,3S (even if not as severe as full blade, she doesn’t take off on clear toe pick) and she tends to pre-rotate. And her 3F here is not an exception. And two foot landing 00:03:30(gif clip above), stepped out 00:00:46 - all these flaws and only -0.90?

06. 3Lz vs 3Lo

Les Miserables 3Lz   8.40 = 6.60 (2nd half bonus) + 1.80

Perfect textbook. Very visible clear outside edge 00:00:49, Speed, Great control of in-air position (axis, straight upper body, not twisted, head not turned sideways), fully rotated, beautiful light-as-a-feather landing, effortless throughout… And look at the transition right after the jump. One of Yuna’s best single 3Lz - and in second half too. Yuna derives big points from single 3Lz with 2nd half bonus

Adios Nonino 3Lz   7.60 = 6.60(2nd half bonus) + 1.00

Shaky landing, hard to expect highest GoEs but she had everything else in tact - great speed, great control in air, entry with outside edge (the second clip 00:03:19~23). But GoE of +1 seems quite generous considering how strict they were with GoEs on other elements that were done flawlessly - like Yuna’s 3-3, 3F. It’s funny a judge gave +3 GoE on this jump as if to mock her jump. It shows they didn’t really mark according to what they saw - they simply gave out GoEs they wanted.

Personally, even her shaky landing seemed a part of her routine - it’s amazing how she managed not to fall because it would have taken her a godly sense of balance.)

Sotnikova Sochi FS   6.70 = 5.10 + 1.60

Yuna 2007 ISU Grand Prix Cup of China

5.80 = 5.00 (base value of 3Lo before post 2010 rule change) + 0.80

Remind you, this was Yuna when she was 17. How is it that Adelina, who claims she was ready to claim gold, meaning her skills are ripe and established at high level, lands 3Lo with less quality than a 17-year-old and walks away with 1.60 GoE? (There are also clips of Yuna’s 3Lo in practice in earlier slide)

07. 2A

Les Miserables   4.77 = 3.63 + 1.14

Ina Bauer Entry, massive height & distance

Sotnikova Sochi FS   4.70 = 3.63 + 1.07

Right after 3S, no transition into the jump whatsoever…

Adios Nonino   4.42 = 3.63 + 0.79

Right after her choreographic sequence - Look at the speed & flow (after choreo) going into the jump

Send in the Clowns   4.70 = 3.63 + 1.07

Look at the deep edges in both directions during her Spread Eagle entry. This deserved at least 1.2 GoE

Sotnikova Short   4.63 = 3.63 + 1.00

Difficult entry, but she just doesn’t look confortable doing the entry element - her edges are unstable. I would say, however, that this was a good quality jump. Don’t know how she got +1.07 in FS 2A

Written by Paige Summers in GoldenYuna

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II. WHY YUNA DIDN'T NEED 3LO/2A3T TO WIN

08. Step Sequence; Les Miserables & Sotnikova Short

Les Miserables StSq4   5.30 = 3.90 + 1.40

Sotnikova Short StSq4   5.40 = 3.90 + 1.50

Notice how Sotnikova extends her free leg ― leg with foot not on ice (called “swinging” ― specialty of ice dancing teams) A LOT but that is to hide her lack of edge control ― when non experts see her steps, they will think she did better because of her seemingly flamboyant free leg movement. ― looks like she did more, but it’s the deep edge use that counts towards step sequence level. It’s about how to do turns and steps with both side of edges and how to include body movement that will affect balance during the steps. GoE of 1.5 is bogus. +1.70 in FS Steps also was a massive bogus for the same reason.

Yuna is known for her deep & clean edge use during her step sequence . but she got level 3 on both short & long program step sequence.

Technical Specialist -in-training Tim Gerber’s analysis on Step Sequences

08. Step Sequence; Send In The Clowns StSq3 level 3

http://www.goldenskate.com/forum/showthread.php?49801-Analyzing-Sotnikova-and-Kim-s-footwork-in-the-FS/page45

1. Chasse, clockwise

2. Rocker, clockwise

3. Chasse, clockwise

4. Choctaw, counterclockwise

5. Chasse x2, counterclockwise

6. Mohawk, counterclockclockwise

7. Crossroll (executed with a spiral), counterclockwise

8. Curve with change of edge, clockwise - ATTEMPT, the edge is shaky and doesn't get onto the new edge long enough, rolling her back onto the starting edge (may count if not too strict)

9. Rocker, counterclockwise

10. Counter, clockwise

11. Rocker, clockwise

12. Free foot comes down onto the ice on flat of blade, changes over to inside edge

13. Chasse, clockwise

14. Three turn, clockwise

15. Twizzle x2, clockwise (however, the second one isn't actually complete)

16. Mohawk, clockwise

17. Toe step x2, clockwise

18. Mohawk, counterclockwise

19. Two-foot mini curve, counterclockwise

20. Choctaw-like step (was on two feet), clockwise (This can be argued for a Choctaw)

21. Cross step, clockwise

22. Counter, counterclockwise

23. Twizzle x2, counterclockwise

24. Three turn, counterclockwise

25. Rocker, counterclockwise

26. Two-foot curve on ice (into full stop), counterclockwise

27. Push onto RFO 28. Three turn, clockwise

29. Loop, clockwise

30. Two-foot push onto LFO, almost with a mini hop

31. Rocker, counterclockwise

32. Curve with change oaf edge, counterclockwise

33. Loop, counterclockwise

34. Chasse, counterclockwise

35. Cross step, counterclockwise

36. Toe hop, clockwise

37. Push with toepick onto new skating foot

38. Toe step, clockwise

39. Chasse x2, clockwise

40. Rocker, clockwise

41. Bracket, clockwise

42. Counter, clockwise 

She has 5 types of turns in both directions - Counter, Rocker, Twizzle, Three, Loop (Bracket would be here as well but her one shaky edge caused the turn to change to a Rocker) 

She has 2 types of steps in both directions - Chasse, Mohawk 

The one shaky edge cost her the level, by negating a step that she needed. I wonder if she was supposed to have another choctaw in there as well, though. It almost looked like she did one in a different direction during the second part of the sequence, but she was on two feet too long for it to count. That would have saved the level.

The “mistakes” or flaws #8 & #20 that Gerber mentions are counter-argued by “yyskate”on the same thread that Gerber posted his analysis on (Golden Skate);

“Yes, Yuna made a mistake there, if you watch her korean national SP step sequence, that part is suppose to be a curve with change edge + bracket. because of that mistake she lost the bracket and curve with change edge, both of which could be counted towards to levels. Although I still think the curve with change edge should still be counted if been lenient. I also think #20 should be counted as a choctaw step. I watched that step of her sochi performance and korean national one super slow-mo, they looked exactly the same to me, and the change of foot is pretty clear to me, and I dont see too foot during the change of foot. So I think the Sp step sequence is still level 4 even with that mistake and definitely will be a level 4 if lenient.I also tried to analyze Adelina's step sequence, but I give up, for the exact reasons you mentioned above, I dont know what level Adelina's step sequence will get, if we scrutinize hers using the same strict standard as we analyzing Yuna's here.”

Send In The Clowns StSq3   4.44 = 3.30 (Base Value lv.3) + 1.14

If this was properly graded as lv. 4,   5.50 = 3.90 (Base Value Lv.4) + 1.60

GoE 1.60 = (1.4*5+2.1*2)/7 

Yuna got three +3 GoE and six +2 GoEs - trimming out highest & lowest, 5 +2s and 2 +3s left. Scale of value translates +2 into 1.4 and +3 into 2.1 (lv.4)

08. Step Sequence; Adios Nonino StSq3 level 3

http://www.goldenskate.com/forum/showthread.php?49801-Analyzing-Sotnikova-s-FS-step-sequence&p=885819&viewfull=1#post885819

1.) Toe step, counterclockwise 

2.) Back edge pull with free foot toepick push, clockwise 

3.) Mohawk, clockwise 

4.) Waltz hop, clockwise

5.) Cross step, clockwise 

6.) Change of edge from inside to outside with free foot in quick ina position, counterclockwise 

7.) Change edge from outside to inside with free foot placed on ice 

8.) Rocker, clockwise 

9.) Bracket, clockwise 

10.) Counter, clockwise 

11.) Cross Roll, counterclockwise 

12.) Rocker, counterclockwise 

13.) Change edge from outside to inside 

14.) Loop, counterclockwise 

15.) Full turn on ice while changing feet, counterclockwise 

16.) Toe steps, clockwise 

17.) Rocker, clockwise 

18.) Cross step, counterclockwise 

19.) Choctaw executed with a hop, clockwise 

20.) Twizzle, clockwise 

21.) Chasse, clockwise 

22.) Choctaw, clockwise + Choctaw, counterclockwise 

23.) Top hop, counterclockwise 

24.) Twizzle, counterclockwise (x2) 

25.) Rocker, counterclockwise 

26.) Edge change from inside to outside 

27.) Three turn, counterclockwise 

28.) Brief back inside two foot glide with back free foot mini-kick 

29.) Choctaw, clockwise 

30.) Three turn, clockwise 

31.) Loop, clockwise 

32.) Toe hop, clockwise 

33.) Chasse, counterclockwise 

34.) Curve with change of edge, clockwise 

35.) Bracket, counterclockwise 

36.) Cross step, clockwise 

37.) Cross step, counterclockwise 

38.) Half turn and edge change from inside to outside with free foot push, clockwise 

39.) Toe step, clockwise 

40.) Counter, counterclockwise 

41.) Twizzle, counterclockwise (x2) 

42.) Three turn, counterclockwise 

43.) Rocker, counterclockwise 

44.) Half turn and edge change from inside to outside with free foot placed on ice, counterclockwise 45.) Change of foot with free foot push, counterclockwise 

46.) Illusion turn, counterclockwise 

47.) Chasse, counterclockwise 

48.) Toe step, clockwise 

49.) Cross step, counterclockwise

50.) Chasse, counterclockwise 

51.) Toe step, counterclockwise 

She has 6 types of turns in both directions - Rocker, Bracket, Twizzle, Loop, Counter, Three 

She had 4 types of steps in both directions - Toe hop, Toe step, Chasse, Choctaw 

She has full body rotation covering at least 1/3 of the pattern in total for each rotational direction. 

She most definitely has upper body movements for at least 1/3 of the pattern. 

She has 3 different combinations of three difficult turns executed with a clear rhythm. 

This footwork sequence is clearly Level 4.

Adios Nonino StSq3   4.44 = 3.30 (lv.3 BV) + 1.14

If this was properly awarded lv.4,   5.50 = 3.90 (lv.4 BV) + 1.60

GoE 1.60 = (1.4*5+2.1*2)/7

Yuna got three +3 GoE and six +2 GoEs - trimming out highest &lowest, 5 +2s and 2 +3s left. Scale of value translates +2 into 1.4 and +3 into 2.1 (lv.4)

08. Step Sequence Sotnikova FS StSq4 level 4

http://www.goldenskate.com/forum/showthread.php?49801-Analyzing-Sotnikova-and-Kim-s-footwork-in-the-FS

1.) Three Turn, counterclockwise (x2) 

2.) Curve with change of edge, clockwise 

3.) Twizzle, clockwise 

4). Toe Hop, counterlockwise 

5.) Rocker, counterclockwise 

6.) Change edge from inside to outside 

7.) Three Turn, clockwise 

8.) Twizzle, counterclockwise (barely makes it around and free foot comes down quickly) 

9.) Curve with change of edge, clockwise 

10.) Loop, clockwise 

11.) Three Turn, clockwise 

12.) Choctaw, counterclockwise 

13.) Illusion turn, counterclockwise 

14.) Toe Steps, clockwise 

15.) Rocker, clockwise 

16.) Counter, clockwise 

17.) Bracket, counterclockwise (FAILED attempt, edge is flat before the turn and unsteady on exit, with free foot coming down) 

18.) Mohawk, counterclockwise 

19.) Loop, counterclockwise 

20.) Toe Hop, clockwise 

21.) Chasse, clockwise 

22.) Rocker, clockwise 

23.) Rocker, counterclockwise (barely, edge is shallow and immediately changes over) 24.) Rocker, counterclockwise 

25.) Chasse, clockwise (x3) 

26.) Edge change from inside to outside 

27.) Edge change from outside to inside with free foot placed on ice 

28.) Rocker, clockwise (barely, edge is shallow and immediately changes over) 

29.) Three Turn, clockwise 

5 types of turns need to be executed in both directions. By my count Sotnikova only executed 4 types of turns in both directions - Three Turn, Rocker, Loop, and Twizzle (and this one is very questionable on the counterclockwise attempt). 

3 types of steps need to be executed in both directions and I only see 1 type of step executed in both directions - Toe Hop. 

She not only failed to achieve the #1 criteria for Level 4, but she also failed to achieve the #4 criteria. Other people who are able to, analyze this step sequence with me and let's uncover the truth.

Sotnikova FS StSq4 (should be lv.3)   5.60 = 3.90 (lv.4 BV) + 1.70

If this was properly awarded lv.3,   4.51 = 3.30 (lv.3 BV) + 1.21

GoE 1.21 = (1.0*4+1.5*3)/7

Sotnikova got four +3 GoE and four +2 GoEs and 1 +1 GoE - trimming out highest &lowest, 4 +2s and 3 +3s left. Scale of value translates +2 into 1.0 and +3 into 1.5 (level 3)

09. ChSq1

Les Miserables   3.60 = 2.00 + 1.60

Massive quality lunge, interprets music on a godly level

Adios Nonino   3.50 = 2.00 + 1.50

Nearly at the end of her program, she attacks her Choreo seq. with so much energy & speed with various moves executed with deep edge use and great sense of balance, in perfect sync with music

Sotnikova FS   3.50 = 2.00 + 1.50

Really? Spiral element and saying hi with your hand gets you high Chreo sq GoE??????? Without much elements packed into Choreo sq.?

10. Spins

This is a comparison between Layback spins of Kim and Sotnikova. You can see that Yuna has less range of travelling away from axis. It shows better centered control. But Yuna got less than 1 GoE.

Written by Paige Summers in GoldenYuna

Web Edited by Ene  

▶ You can download the original file updated by Paige Summers in May 23, 2014

- Full version (223MB)

- Video & Gif & Image sources (352MB)

- Compatability pack for preview

III. PCS (PROGRAM COMPONENT SCORE)

PCS cover five areas

Skating Skills

Transitions/Linking Footwork/Movement

Performance / Execution

Choreography/Composition

Interpretation

http://iceskatingresources.org/ProgramComponents.html

01. Skating Skills

Definition: Overall skating quality: edge control and flow over the ice surface demonstrated by a command of the skating vocabulary (edges, steps, turns, etc.), the clarity of technique and use of effortless power to accelerate and vary speed.

Criteria: YUNA KIM

Balance, rhythmic knee action and precision of foot placement √

Flow and effortless glide √

Cleanness and sureness of deep edges, steps, turns √

Power/energy and acceleration √ (Her effortlessness/poise degrades her power in the eye of the beholder, but she overflows with energy - her program’s filled with transitions/elements(restless) and she keeps great speed till the end

Mastery of multi-directional skating √ (Yuna fulfilled lv.4 step requirements 5 turns and 3 steps in both directions)

Mastery of one-foot skating √

Equal mastery of technique by both partners shown in unison (pairs and ice dancing)

Balance in skating ability of individual skaters (synchronized)

* Jumping Technique

- Yuna’s jumps are textbook in terms of proper entry & posture & edge, speed & height, in-air position/axis, and stable landing. With Yuna, t’s very easy to tell the differences between different jumps.

Yuna’s skating skills worthy of 9.2~9.6 points

Criteria: SOTNIKOVA

Balance, rhythmic knee action and precision of foot placement

Flow and effortless glide (she stumbles in her footwork segment… lack of flow)

Cleanness and sureness of deep edges, steps, turns

Power/energy and acceleration √ (she does carry herself with energy)

Mastery of multi-directional skating (didn’t even fulfill 5 turns/3teps in both directions)

Mastery of one-foot skating √ (Lots of free leg swinging ? so she does A LOT of one foot element)

Equal mastery of technique by both partners shown in unison (pairs and ice dancing)

Balance in skating ability of individual skaters (synchronized)

* Jumping Technique

- Sotnikova’s toe jumps (Lz, F, T) are mostly pre-rotated and take-off with full blade (naturally looks like an Axel jump). And her blade jumps that take off with full blade (A, S, Lo) are unrecognizably similar that you can’t tell the difference. (you can barely tell from the entry ie) three turn before 3S, cross x shape for 3Lo)

Sotnikova’s skating skills worthy of 7~8 points

02. Transitions/Linking Footwork/Movement

Definition: The varied and/or intricate footwork, positions, movements and holds that link all elements. In singles, pairs and synchronized skating, this also includes the entrances and exits of technical elements. 

Criteria:

Variety

Difficulty

Intricacy

I’m not going to post all the transitions here, Adelina seems to have good amount of movements/transitions going in and out of the elements. Even more so than Yuna. (check out gifs of all the jumps and other elements) But if you look, only Yuna matched all the transitions with the music - the movements best complemented the tone of music ? make it a true part of her routine. And You’ll see that Yuna has better quality & flow of the transitions. Sotnikova does lots of three turns/movements in and out of elements but they are not with much quality and they are mismatched with music and they don’t help with the overall flow - it’s too much & overflowing & messy - don’t serve any purpose. But she got GoEs for supposedly difficult entry into the jumps when her jump themselves have cheating/bad technique.

03. Performance / Execution

Definition: Performance is the involvement of the skater/couple/teams physically, emotionally and intellectually as they translate the intent of the music and choreography. Execution is the quality of movement and precision in delivery. This includes harmony of movement in pairs, ice dancing and synchronized skating. 

Criteria: (I’ve removed pairs/synchronized criteria)

Physical, emotional and intellectual involvement √

Style and individuality/personality √

Clarity of movement √

Variety and contrast √

Projection - Very unfortunate that Kim skated in front of Russian crowd, waiting for Yuna to make mistakes (Adelina surely got lots of crowd response out of patriotism)

Look at the variety of tempos, rhythms, expressions, and characters/personalities - emotional connection, poise, style of tango/mature feminine - all of these translated into her intricate footwork & clean/clean-cut upper body movement requiring balance, tango moves give it a distinct style? again in full style. SHE DESERVED 9.5~10

04. Choreography/Composition

Definition: An intentional, developed and/or original arrangement of all types of movements according to the principles of proportion, unity, space, pattern, structure and phrasing. 

Criteria:

Purpose (idea, concept, vision); Yuna (Tango) Send In The Clowns (reminiscence of long lost love) Sotnikova??? Doesn’t have a clear concept… for both Carmen & Saint-Saens

Proportion (equal weight of parts) / Unity (purposeful threading)

Utilization of personal and public space

Pattern and ice coverage; Yuna tops Ice coverage ? she moves from one end of the rink to the other in a speed of light while executing her elements. Sotnikova lacks ice coverage.

Phrasing and form (movements and parts structured to match the phrasing of the music); Yuns’s every movement matches music ? Yuna incorporated tango moves into her routine, staying true to the music’s nature ? in perfect sync with tango melody (ie. Abrazo & Voleo in step sequence) Adelina had nothing that was dedicated to the essence of the music piece.

Originality of purpose, movement and design; Tango is often not a common choice for FS - the rhythm/tempo are dynamic ? meaning the music carries various tones - sadness, passion, etc. - hence, the music is very hard to interpret. Yuna included unique tango-on-ice moves that match the music perfectly.

Shared responsibility in achieving purpose (pairs, ice dancing and synchronized skating)

Yuna deserves 9.5~10 in this category

(from upper left; Abrazo, Voleo, Enrosque, Gancho)

So basically, Yuna evenly placed her elements and it would have taken her great energy to carry out all her elements till the end. Notice how she put her step sequence before half way point. It takes great energy out of you to cover ice and do steps/turns that require balance ? she does it for nearly a minute and then without a resting point she goes into 3Lz ? first jump past the half way point. Yuna didn’t play it safe at all ? this would have been very challenging.

On the other hand, Sotnikova stalls in the first half only completing three jumping elements (3-3, 3F, 3Lo) & spin ? Notice how it took her 30s to get to her 1st 3-3 jumps (she didn’t even cover ice for the 1st 15s) and after 3-3, it takes her another 30s to get to her 3F. Did she put any choreography in between there that interprets the music? Nope, not at all… just pointless transitions that still would count towards program component, but it is very cowardly to stall for so long because her lack of actual elements in 1st half was to save energy for the second half -she has difficult combinations planned for second half ? 2A3T, 3F2T2Lo. She planned to have these combinations in the second half for higher marks ? now, she wanted to save energy for those so she fills first half with lots and lots of transitions… Have Adelina do it in a similar order as Yuna ? do you think she can handle it? Also, she finishes all her jumping elements before 3 min into her program. No other skater has that composition of elements in their programs. Lastly, it was very cowardly of her to put Step sequence and ChSp1 back to back so people don’t notice that she lacks elements in her StSq. Her step sequence only lasted 25s vs Yuna’s 50s. And her Choreo sq wasn’t really Choreo sequence ? it was a 8s spiral ? nothing related to her music… How on earth can you call her program difficult? And how on earth did Adelina get over 70 PCS?

05. Interpretation

Definition: The personal and creative translation of the music to movement on ice.

Criteria:

- Effortless movement in time to the music; √

- Expression of the music's style, character, rhythm; √

- Use of finesse* to reflect the nuances of the music √

- Relationship between the partners reflecting the character of the music (pairs, ice dancing and synchronized skating)

- Appropriateness of music in ice dancing, short dance and free dance

* Finesse is the skater's/team's refined, artful manipulation of nuances. Nuances are the personal artistic ways of bringing variations to the intensity, tempo and dynamics of the music made by the composer and/or musicians.

Again, this shows how Yuna reflected changing/dynamic tones/nuances of the music and made it all part of her character. You see how she marks the change of tempo/tone with various expressions. This piece of Adios Nonino is unique and creative in that it was colorful despite the overall sorrowful tone ? Piazolla wrote it in memory of his late father. (Moments like 2. and 4. ? bring a different dynamics/tempo from the original music piece.) And with Yuna’s interpretation, it comes natural to do a story telling from her various expressions (through her facial expressions/poses) THIS PROGRAM DESERVED 9.8~10 for interpretation.

I’m not even going to bother going into performance, choreography, interpretation with Sotnikova’s performance because it is an insult to even compare it with Yuna’s performance. All I’m going to say is that Sotnikova had a very weak program that doesn’t fulfill all the required criteria for program components. And she got one of the highest PCS (nearly perfect) simply for putting on a seemingly clean performance without a visible/major flaw (falls).

NOW, TO WRAP UP WITH WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN...

Total TES&PCS of both short program & FS after taking all technical errors into account and with more reasonable GoE