Viewing Single Post From: Trophée Eric Bompard

Viewing Single Post From: Trophée Eric Bompard
svengaliesque	Nov 18 2008, 02:13 AM
Intermediate Posts: 30 Group: Members Member #243 Joined: July 26, 2008	I would hesitate to blame Emily's poor performance entirely on her college attendance because Emily has had problems with her technique for quite a while now and they remain a persistent and problematic part of her skating. Underrotation is one of her persistent errors and it is leading to her falls. This problem was apparent way before Emily went to college -it continues and will be very difficult to eradicate. During her performance at Mid Atlantics in September, she skated pretty much as she did here in Paris. When I spoke to Emily, Bonnie , her father, John, and her brother Matt, they were confident that as the season progressed her programs would be stronger. She said that she had worked very hard on her long program, but as I saw it, the technique was just too weak. Jumps are a really big part, but they aren't everything. If you look at the protocols for each skater you'll see that jumps are a big part of the scoring, but skaters can do boost their scores with spirals and spins (Emily's are great) and footwork (Emily's are very weak). You can also get bonus points for jumps done after the two minute mark, but Emily failed to pick up points there. You can also get bonus scores for well executed elements -Emily picks those up easily for her beautiful 2A, spins and spirals. but, you also can get downgraded for underrotated jumps, pops and falls. Then there are the Performance Component scores which judge: skating skills, performance, choreography, transition, and interpretation. An elite skater like Emily should rack up a lot of points here by getting high sixes and sevens.She got three 6s and the rest were 3s, 4s and 5s. These marks reflect exactly what is wrong with her performance. And these are what I have seen deteriorate since last year. (See her protocols on page 5. TEB http://www.isufs.org/results/gpfra08/gpfra08_Ladies_FS_Scores.pdf) And at the same time, Emily is not regaining her lost jumps - her loop disappeared in 2006,and she can't land a 3F or a 3Lz , and the 3S and 3T are inconsistent and she's underrotating worse than ever. So college may be partly but not completely to blame for Emily's problems. It's her history of uncorrected bad technique that is coming back to haunt her. But, she sincerely wants to keep trying to make it to the top three. She believes that she is capable of doing so. It's my impression, from talking to her, that competing and college are equally important to her and she intends to continue with both. My feeling is that if she has a good showing at Nationals (top 6), she may take off a year to try to make the Olympic team. .But, correcting all of the unfortunate skating habits she's developed over the years might be too difficult to do at this point. Meanwhile, I will continue to support her and enjoy what I've always enjoyed about her and hope to see her on the ice for at least another Olympic cycle. She is a joy to talk to, her family is warm, gracious and supportive and Bonni is accommodating,dedicated and loyal and Emily has the love of her fans. It's perfect and no skater could ask for more.


Trophée Eric Bompard · Emily Discussion