Analyzing Kamila Valieva’s short program at Cup of Russia 2020
This is my personal evaluation of Kamila Valieva’s SP at the Cup of Russia (2nd stage - Moscow)
Coach: Eteri Tutberidze
Music: Storm by Eric Radford
Score: 85.10
I’m not a huge fan of the costume, to be honest. In terms of matching the music/program, it does decently, but the details on the dress look too crowded and don’t really create a pleasant shape to look at, especially on the bodice. The gloves are a bit long for my taste. Also, the costume’s not super original - the overall aesthetic it goes for reminds me (and others) of Alena’s Departure dress.
The program starts with a bit of choreo. Then Kamila does a triple flip (rippon), which looks passable. Her arms during the entrance bothered me a little, but otherwise the jump looked fine.
She does some crossovers, a Besti squat that doesn’t fit the music at all (wtf Daniil) and an Ina Bauer that is nice but very short. After that, a double Axel (rippon), which by itself was nice. I don’t really like how she only draws one arm back to prepare for the jump, though, and her transitions out of it lacked fluidity.
Next a change-foot combo spin. It starts from basic camel position, she changes edge, then goes into a donut spin with a lovely arm variation. Change of foot, then a forward sit position, and she goes into her signature spin position, a very beautiful Y(?) spin.
She does a spiral that lasts like half a second (Daniil please), then goes into a triple Lutz - triple toe loop combination (rippon for both). I have a bone to pick with this combo. She hunches over a lot before both jumps, and the combo lacks flow. I especially don’t like how, in between jumps, she pauses, re-hunches her back, then jumps the toe. This is a pretty common problem with Eteri’s ladies - many of them take too much time and visible effort to prepare for the next jump in their combos.
Kamila does a nice flying camel spin, then goes into the step sequence. I feel like her turns look a bit labored and she sometimes appears to struggle with maintaining her speed, especially when doing multiple turns on the same foot. I also don’t really dig the way the step sequence was structured in relation to the music, but whatever.
The program ends with a layback spin, in which Kamila does a hyperextended Biellmann. Not gonna lie, it’s super impressive, but I do not like the way she transitions from the layback position to the hyperextended one. Just my personal preference - it looks kind of awkward.
Overall, in terms of program components, it was kinda meh. Skating skills need some work, transitions were nice but not outstanding, and performance wasn’t great - the program lacks a distinct personality and doesn’t offer much in terms of variety in movements and energy. Also, it didn’t really evoke much emotion, which is a main factor in evaluating a skater’s performance. The composition was, well, very Daniil. Interpretation was good, but not excellent.
In short, the program was okay, but doesn’t at all merit a score of 85. Both the TES and PCS were overscored. Plus, how does one get that kind of technical score without a triple Axel? And no quads, because ladies can’t do quads in the short? How? When comparing that score to those of Usacheva’s and Trusova’s, it becomes really clear who’s being favored by the Russian federation.
I want to make it very clear, however, that Kamila is not at fault for her scoring. I blame the federation and the judges only, and I don’t ever want to bash a skater for being overscored. Kamila is a young skater with a lot of potential, and she needs good training and a supportive environment, so please be respectful when you discuss these problems.
Thank you for reading!
