Chapter 54 Song Selection: Your Road Ahead Is Still Long

With the conclusion of the final event of the World Championships, a new wave of enthusiasm has swept through domestic figure skating forums.

The top post summarizes the achievements of this season and the quotas brought back from the World Championships, including two quotas for women's singles, two quotas for men's singles, three quotas for pairs, and one quota for ice dance.

The atmosphere would probably be better if the list of disabled people at the end of the article were removed.

The person downstairs also casually mentioned that my country had qualified for the team competition.

Only ten countries participate in the Winter Olympics team event. In the Grand Prix of the season preceding the Winter Olympics, the best results of one or two athletes in each of the four events are taken, and the corresponding points are added together to rank them.

If a country is missing an event in the Grand Prix and its overall ranking cannot be calculated, then the results from the European Championship or the Four Continents Championships are used as a second choice.

Many countries have a weak event in figure skating, but China made up for its weakness in ice dance by achieving good results in the other three events, ranking seventh among all countries.

Below this post is a prediction thread for the Winter Olympics spots, mainly a discussion thread about women's singles. This is because there's not much to discuss about the other three events; basically, each spot is filled.

The most popular comment was a detailed analysis by a tech expert of my country's three top female singles players.

Jiang Shuyu: She has successfully passed the development stage, with the highest difficulty level being 3LZ+3T. Her jump success rate this season is over 50%. In international competitions, 70% of her ratings are at level 3 and 30% are at level 4. However, her weaknesses are also obvious, and she doesn't have a good rapport with judges.

Zhang Mengyi: Deeply stuck in the development stage, the highest difficulty is 3lz+3T. This season, I have only skipped it four times and succeeded once. Nearly 90% of my international competition rankings are all three-star, and 40% of them are all four-star. The P score is friendly, but the development stage has too much of an impact, and my performance is extremely unstable.

Yang Yiyan: Will be promoted to a higher group next season. Currently in the development stage but her body size has not changed much. The highest difficulty is 3A, 3lz+3lo. The success rate this season is 80%. In international competitions, 80% of the ratings are all 3 and 30% are all 4. The P score is average but the difficulty is high enough. The treatment in the adult group is unknown. Whether she will develop during the Olympic cycle is unknown.

As soon as this analysis came out, it was immediately followed by a lot of opinions from ice hockey fans, some analyzing, some inciting conflict, and some trying to balance things out. The number of comments was more than the number of posts.

Meng Xin was lurking on the forum using a secondary account. She had just finished voting for Yang Yiyan in the "Best Newcomer Athlete" selection thread when she discovered this post that was full of criticism. She read it carefully and thought it was very fair, so she forwarded it to Xia Yuezi.

Coach Xia was leading Yang Yiyan in land training when her phone vibrated. She glanced at it, saw the link sent by Meng Xin, and clicked on it.

Meng Xin: [What do you think of what I said?]

One in three hundred: [Spot on.]

After saying that, he sent a meme of Yang Yiyan looking dazed, then turned off his phone and focused his gaze back on what was behind him.

Yang Yiyan was gritting her teeth as she finished the last set of pull-ups. Her light-colored sportswear was soaked with sweat and stuck to her back, and her arms were starting to tremble.

Before the high school entrance exam, she only had time to train on weekends. Monday to Friday evenings were filled with various tutoring classes, and Xia Yuezi divided her training time into one-third ice training and two-thirds land training.

Rather than increasing the difficulty, her priority now is to maintain her weight to preserve the difficulty level.

Just as that tech expert analyzed, Yang Yiyan is currently only growing taller and shows no signs of gaining weight. If she gains a lot of weight during the Olympic season, that would be a disaster.

In fact, Yang Yiyan's jump height has improved, but she still hasn't broken free from the positioning of speed-driven movement, including 3A and even 3LO, which rely on body movement to drive the speed.

Although the debate over whether high-flying or low-speed jumps are better has never stopped in skating, skating fans have always adhered to one principle: a good jump is one that lands on the ice without fading.

Based on what Xia Yuezi has seen of female singles players who have successfully overcome puberty, they all share a common characteristic: their body shape does not change much during puberty, and they have enough muscle to support the newly grown fat.

In other words, even if Yang Yiyan gains difficulty by relying on her speed and weight advantage, as long as she can build enough muscle and maintain her weight, she still has hope of getting through the developmental stage.

"Come down, rest for a bit, and then do another set of leg exercises."

Yang Yiyan was panting heavily, sweat dripping down her chin onto her clothes. She picked up a towel from the side to wipe her sweat, and after a while, she went back to the barbell.

Xia Yuezi glanced at Yang Yiyan without making a sound. The little girl had grown to 157 centimeters tall, and her latest weight recorded in her notebook was 42.4 kilograms with a body fat percentage of 21.71%.

Yang Yiyan did squats with a barbell, her leg lines were firm and strong, and her contours were very clear. She silently adjusted her breathing rhythm, and only her exhalation could be heard in the room.

"take a break."

The dull thud of the barbell being dropped echoed in the training room. Yang Yiyan remained standing until the blood rush to her head subsided before slowly walking to the bench and sitting down.

She picked up her thermos and took a small sip, then heard her coach ask, "What are your thoughts on the new program this season?"

The Olympics are just around the corner, and if you can't get good scores from the judges in the first half of the season, even if you do get an Olympic spot, you won't have an advantage against those athletes who have already honed their skills in the senior division. So this season's program is extremely important.

Xia Yuezi remembers that both of her programs were quite popular, and it was "Battle Dance" that won her the grand slam in the youth group. If it is really impossible to find a good one, it is not impossible to use these two programs. It's just that the current choreography is a bit simple and needs to be re-choreographed.

Getting down to business, Yang Yiyan put down her thermos, her eyes showing some hesitation: "I contacted Teacher Mi, and he agreed to choreograph my free skate, but he rejected my choice of music."

Xia Yuezi frowned upon hearing this: "No, how come I've never heard that you've already chosen your free skate program?"

When this was mentioned, the little girl immediately lowered her head, not daring to look at her coach.

"It is... 'The King of Qin's Battle Song' or 'Bolero'."

When she announced the first song she wanted to sing, Xia Yuezi's head was about to explode.

At first, she wondered why Teacher Mi would refuse to choose a song; if it were her, she would refuse too.

"Bolero" is more acceptable. Like Roju Mask, it belongs to the category of pieces that have been thoroughly played. The rhythm gradually intensifies and the melody is monotonous, with various symphonic instruments constantly being layered, making it suitable for timing.

However, given Yang Yiyan's age, whether she can express the passionate emotions contained in the music is a huge question, and how to demonstrate strong expressiveness in monotonous and dull music is also a problem to be solved.

As for "The Song of Qin King Breaking the Enemy's Formation," she thought Yang Yiyan was really crazy. Even Xia Yuezi at her peak wouldn't dare to choose such a song. Its momentum was too grand and overwhelming, and it would only make her look like a clown.

Xia Yuezi stared at the little girl in front of her, took a deep breath to suppress her anger, and reached out to poke her little head: "I gave you the initiative in choosing the song, not so you could have wild ideas. Hasn't Polina's performance last season made you realize the truth?"

Yang Yiyan shrank her neck, moved her buttocks back, and glanced at the coach with her head half-lowered, pretending to be obedient while secretly judging her current mood.

Seeing her like this, Xia Yuezi shook her head angrily: "Did Teacher Mi recommend any songs to you?"

"Swan Lake, Cinderella, Romeo and Juliet, they're all fairy-tale themed pieces."

Xia Yuezi lifted her eyelids and glanced at her: "Don't want to go for the fairy-like style?"

Yang Yiyan pursed her lips, her fingers unconsciously fidgeting with the hem of her tracksuit, her attitude very clear.

Xia Yuezi recalled the pieces she had chosen herself. If she couldn't skate the pieces she had chosen, even if they were lyrical, she was unwilling to skate the more common fairy-like style in women's singles events.

Having your own style and personality is a good thing, but it doesn't mean you have to completely exclude other styles.

"Xiaoyan, what do you think the first thing the judges see when you stand on the ice? A small girl, whose features haven't even fully developed yet, is it appropriate for her to skate the pieces you mentioned?"

Yang Yiyan raised her head, her eyes flashing with a stubborn light: "But coach, I think an excellent player shouldn't be confined to just one style."

"And what about you?" Xia Yuezi sat down next to her. "By rejecting the fairy-tale style, aren't you also limiting yourself?"

Yang Yiyan was stumped by the question and lowered her head without saying a word.

Xia Yuezi looked at her and remained silent for a moment.

She knew how stubborn Yang Yiyan was, and she was also aware that her experience in the youth group had gradually fostered her ambition. But as a coach and as one of the best female singles players in China, she was even more aware of the gap between ideals and reality.

"Xiaoyan, I understand your thoughts, but you also need to understand that the reason why so many female singles players prefer the fairy style is because this style gets the highest score from the judges."

“I’m not saying you shouldn’t try, but I hope you can find a balance. Let’s compromise and have you choose some pieces that fit your personal style but also allow you to shine in your free skate. If you can handle it, I’ll talk to Mr. Mi and persuade him. But if you can’t, then listen to us and choose a safer approach.”

Yang Yiyan bit her lip and reluctantly nodded in agreement.

Xia Yuezi patted her head, her eyes filled with smiles.

She whispered to herself, "Keep going, Xiaoyan, you have a long way to go."