Chapter 36 Memory: The old man is defending it in his own way...
There were nine referees, three women and six men, sitting on the referee's table. A quick glance revealed that most of them were blonde and blue-eyed, with their Asian faces standing out among them.
Zhao Shuhua sat inside, with a computer in front of her, the screen showing details of Feng Simai's jumps.
His first jump was 3LZ+3T, with considerable height and distance, and not much scattered ice. He also added a short follow-up step when entering the jump. Zhao Shuhua raised the goe slightly and gave it a 1.3.
In the era of goe+3, there are a total of eight rules for adding points to goe: two points get one point, four points get two points, and six points or more get three points.
It looks very simple, but when you actually try it, let alone getting a full three points, even getting four points is considered a pretty good jump. Whether the athlete's score is from the water is obvious to the fans.
In the GOE+5 era, the rules were reduced to six, with each rule being scored out of one point – a simple and straightforward system. Furthermore, each judge had different perceptions and evaluation criteria, leading to a greater variance in the contestants' scores. However, the coordination between the contestants' movements and key moments remained one of the scoring criteria.
Feng Simai's program features the song "Memory," taken from the musical "Cats," with the lyrics omitted, leaving only the instrumental music.
However, as a classic song with a very high popularity, deleting the lyrics of "Memory" would obviously be a thankless task.
Zhao Shuhua was initially shocked when she received the program list, but she was completely relieved after seeing Feng Simai's performance on stage.
As the piano music faded, Feng Simai gently raised his arm, his fingertips trembling slightly, as if touching a painful memory. The sound of the blade cutting through the ice became clear, completely slicing open that memory.
Grizabella was once the most beautiful cat in the cat tribe, but when she left the tribe to explore the world and returned, she was old and faded, and was rejected by her companions.
Feng Simai had previous experience in cross-dressing, so she was even more adept at playing Grizabella this time.
His eyes held an indescribable sorrow as he wandered alone in a corner of the ball. Each time he looked up at the ice rink, he would look away again, both regretting his earlier escape and trying to muster the courage to ask for a sliver of kindness from others.
To match the melodious and slow melody, he skated slower than before, but his edge changes were clearer than ever, and each foot lift was precisely on the beat.
He leaped onto the ice and performed a front crouch spin, spinning faster and faster as the music became more melancholic, as if he were trying to release all the bitterness in his heart.
Zhao Shuhua heard the referee next to her exclaim softly, "His performance is amazing, he doesn't seem like a kid who just joined the group."
The scoring system in front of the referee clearly showed that he had given the previous set of spins a score of 0.7 (goe).
She lowered her head and looked at the boy through the screen, and inexplicably felt that in addition to Grizabella's emotions, Feng Simai's own emotions also existed in this program.
That long-suppressed desire to be seen by more people.
The rhinestones on the black kaostemma pen sparkled under the lights, the piano melody unfolded, and Feng Simai stepped on the key points, lifting his foot to execute a 3A.
As the music enters its final section, Feng Simai's gliding speed increases, pushing the emotions to their peak, which is also Grizabella's cry in the final scene.
He pressed his left foot inward and jumped 3F on the ice with almost no effort, leaving a considerable arc on the ice.
As the last note faded, he slid to the center of the ice, leaned back, and braced himself with both hands on the ice, unleashing his emotions.
The audience was silent for a few seconds, then burst into enthusiastic applause, and all sorts of dolls fell onto the ice rink.
After Zhao Shuhua finished scoring, she leaned back in her chair and looked with satisfaction at the skaters holding dolls on the ice rink. When she heard someone call Feng Simai's name behind her, she turned around and saw some older ice skating fans in the front row secretly wiping away tears.
She had to admit that the show, in terms of both the appearance and the emotions it conveyed, was very suitable for the child.
Xia Yuezi greeted Feng Simai from outside the rink and gave him a big hug. After putting on his skates, Feng Simai went to the waiting area with his coach.
The scores came out quickly: 42.34 for technical components, 38.13 for program elements, and 80.43 for the short program.
Logically speaking, the judges should have lowered his score in his first year of promotion, but he performed exceptionally well in this segment. In addition, Zhao Shuhua did not deliberately lower his score, which increased the average score of the GOE, allowing Feng Simai's debut performance in the adult group to break through the 80 mark.
Feng Simai hadn't fully recovered from the emotions of "memory" to begin with, and upon seeing the score, she almost hugged her coach and burst into tears while waiting for the division rankings.
Xia Yuezi hugged him helplessly and gently patted his back: "Alright, alright, the competition is over, so stop crying like Grizabella."
Upon hearing this, the young man sniffed and held back the tears that were about to well up in his eyes.
Backstage at the ice rink, Feng Simai's results also reached the ears of other skaters. This was not a big threat to the top skaters from various countries, but it put considerable pressure on the other skaters.
Canada's top player, Wayne, is a Chinese-Canadian who stands out among the two European and American players.
He was sitting on a yoga mat eating a banana, but his eyes were fixed on Davir. When he came out of the changing room, he saw the Russian star putting on a bandage.
"Dawa, would you like to try out cupping therapy in China sometime?"
Unlike other Chinese Americans born abroad, Wayne immigrated with his parents when he was in kindergarten. Although he doesn't have many memories of his homeland, he takes time to visit his parents every few years and still has a deep affection for his motherland. He has also learned a few Chinese songs.
When the results first came out, China also considered planning to train this player, but Wayne didn't even consider it. Firstly, he had trained in Canada since he was a child and his lifestyle was very similar to that of Canadians. Secondly, there was the issue of scoring.
Athletes prioritize results. He's not stupid; the scoring gap between the two countries is obvious. Staying in Canada, he still has a chance to compete for the world championship. Going to China, it would be a miracle if the judges didn't push him out of the top six.
"Was it useful?" Davil looked at the purple mark on Wayne's back, his eyebrows practically suffocating.
"Of course, my muscles relaxed a lot after the extraction. If you trust me, I can recommend a physical therapist to you."
Davil put his hand behind his back, touched the spot where he had applied the plaster, and took the business card that Wayne took out of his bag with some skepticism.
Anthony listened to the whole thing, put down his jump rope, walked over, took the business card from Davey's hand, and took out his phone to take a picture of it.
Wayne couldn't help but chuckle: "What, your back hurts too?"
French-accented English is also difficult to understand, but Anthony's English sounded fluent: "Can't I take preventative measures? Last time I went to the China Cup, I saw some Chinese players getting massages, and they looked quite effective."
Davil watched the two of them talking back and forth with suspicion, but still put the business card into his team uniform pocket.
When the top skater from the three kingdoms took to the ice, Feng Simai had already been dethroned by the other skaters and was standing next to his coach watching the ice rink.
The first to go up was Anthony, and his first jump was a 4T. When he landed, Xia Yuezi saw the long-haired handsome guy next to her raise his arms and shout.
This is also the first quadruple jump to be landed in the men's singles short program so far.
Xia Yuezi braced her hands on the barrier, staring intently at Anthony's figure, then casually asked, "What do you think of his 4T?"
Feng Simai paused for a moment before replying, "His preparation time is very long, which results in his height being not particularly high among men's singles players, but his rotation speed is enough to make up for the deficiency."
"If your muscle strength isn't enough to support a 4T in the future, you might be able to imitate his jumping style."
Anthony is tall but light enough that he can jump up to 65 centimeters in competition. Therefore, his 4T is not entirely based on the power type of jump, but is between the power type and the speed type, combining both height and speed, and has become one of the research templates for women's singles quadruple jump in later generations.
Anthony's score broke the 90 mark, widening the gap with the second-place player to nearly six points.
When the Canadian star took the stage second, the audience responded with enthusiastic applause. Due to his close ties with China, many Chinese spectators also held up signs supporting Wayne.
Wayne's first jump was also a 4T, but his jump was significantly higher and farther than Anthony's. From Xia Yuezi's perspective, the jump went directly over nine spectator seats from takeoff to landing.
Both players had the same program setup, but playing at home and having superior moves caused his GOOE to rise rapidly, putting him ahead of Anthony.
Davey was the last to perform, and Xia Yuezi keenly noticed that this top male dancer had been trying to do the Sakhov jump during practice six times and before going on stage. It was impossible for him to get a 3S in the short program, so it could only be a 4S.
Xia Yuezi squinted, carefully watching the performance of the current number one player.
The base score difference between 4S and 4T is only 0.2 points, but for a skater like Davil who excels at toe jumps, 4T is a safer choice in the short program.
It was probably the performance of his old rivals that spurred Davil on.
4S's takeoff was clean and crisp, but as he continued to spin in the air, Feng Simai's eyes gradually widened, and the sound of his landing on the ice also dealt a heavy blow to his heart.
"No way, this can actually happen!" Feng Simai blinked in disbelief.
Davey's jumps are most criticized for his axis of rotation. He can jump with three axes and still land beautifully, which is a miracle in the world of skating.
Although Feng Simai had watched videos of this world champion's matches before, it was far less impactful than witnessing it in person.
Davies' jumps weren't great, but his high technical difficulty made up for it, and he beat Wayne by one point in the short program.
Davil was sitting in the waiting area, secretly rubbing his knees under the cover of what was in front of him. Xia Yuezi happened to see this when she passed by.
Xia Yuezi lowered her head, lost in thought.
This guy was already thirty when he arrived in Sochi. Even in ice dance, where careers are often long, he would be considered a veteran, let alone figure skating, which is more about youth.
Moreover, he underwent knee surgery immediately after retiring, replacing his entire knee. His injuries were so severe that he couldn't even play in matches played in his hometown.
Recalling the 4S incident, Xia Yuezi pursed her lips and walked back to the backstage without saying a word.
That's the old man defending his throne in his own way.
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Author's Note: Last night, while brainstorming new program ideas for the kids, I suddenly realized I'd overlooked a crucial rule—a maximum of two identical jumps in the free skate. So, I had to revise the script urgently. However, our little goose's skill points are rather unconventional, so there might be some unusual consecutive jumps later on…
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