Rachael Flatt

Rachael Flatt recently announced two things. Number one, she is going to attend Stanford. Number two, she is deferring her entry until 2011, which means that she will definitely be sticking around for another year, at least.

Now, I quite like Rachael Flatt. She seems really sweet, she's obviously talented, and I also feel sorry for her since she gets so much negativity thrown at her and it must be difficult to know that so many people feel that you're boring, you don't deserve your national title, whatever. I also think it's pretty tough that she keeps getting under-rotations thrown at her, which, I don't think, has ever been a real problem for her before.

However, there is definitely something about her that just makes her not really very captivating. We're frequently told what a bubbly personality she has, and off the ice, in interviews and the like, this definitely comes across. However, it doesn't often come across on the ice, which is definitely an issue, whether it's a problem of hers or just a problem in the types of programs she skates and music she uses. Personally, I'd say it's the latter. Rachael tends to skate to kind of bland, 'pretty princess' types of music that makes her programs inoffensive, but forgettable.

One program of hers I did really like is her short program of this last season, to 'Sing, Sing, Sing'. At Nationals in particular, I thought she did a great job performing it. She looked like she was having a lot of fun and she got a lot of spontaneous applause from the audience, which, as far as I can tell, her skating doesn't usually evoke. She showed a similarly fun side in her 2009 exhibition to 'Respect', which was the first time I saw her skate and thought 'hey, I like this girl'. I also quite like her 'Fame' exhibition that she used this season, although I only saw it a couple of times.

Another thing about Rachael that I think is kind of off is her 'packaging.' She's not fat at all and she's actually really pretty (I think she looks great in the picture above) but she has kind of a round face that doesn't really suit her hair pulled back; she looks really pretty with it down or with a side fringe. At the end of the day, there's not much she can do about that, since she can't exactly have it down to skate in competitions, but something she can do something about is her dresses, which are often kind of hit and miss. I think she needs to stop wearing pretty pastel shades and go for something bolder, like the red she wore in her long program this year (and, incidentally, the Respect exhibition I liked so much). I think she'd look good in richer colours like dark purple and navy blue.

Finally, I do kind of worry that Rachael may have achieved all the success she is going to achieve. When her main competition was the likes of Ashley Wagner (whom I love but who has flutz issues, just recently developed real artistry, etc), Alissa Czisny, who is a major headcase, and a struggling Mirai Nagasu and Caroline Zhang, Rachael was a great choice for the judges because she was dependable, inoffensive, a good, wholesome 'face' for the sport. However, Mirai definitely seems to have gotten her sparkle back and looks pretty much unstoppable as soon as she can work out those underrotations for good. Then there's the likes of Agnes Zawadski, who, I imagine, will be making her mark on the senior scene pretty soon, and Christina Gao, as well as any other upcoming juniors (Kiri Baga, for instance) or promising younger seniors (e.g Samantha Cesario, who has a great quality to her skating). All these girls seem to have a little more spark and presence than Rachael, and if she keeps getting hit with URs as she did towards the end of last season, I think Rachael Flatt could see herself sinking in the standings. Depending on what Wagner, Nagasu and maybe Zawadski come out with next season, she might even struggle to make the world team next year.

That said, she probably still has at least another year in the judges' favour and I do wish her all the best both in her skating, and at Stanford because like I said, I think she's very sweet and clearly very talented.

For good measure, here's that 'Respect' exhibition: