specialj67

Go, Yuma!!

Heh, yes! One too many design elements going on.

Hehehe! But aren’t there rules against that for the Olympics, anyways?

I know it is a slim lead that likely won’t last, but I am pleasantly shocked to wake up to see the U.S. in first in this team event right now. Almost wish I had stayed awake to watch it live, but at least I know watching the playback won’t be stressful or disappointing lol.

Regarding Adrian Diaz: I watched a TSL nterview recently where his partner Olivia said they hadn’t made a decision whether to continue after this season. She said there had been some casual discussion about continuing for another season, if they both felt the desire to continue, but that they aren’t making a firm decision until after the Olympics and Worlds.

Yes! I was so pleased to see them deliver a great FD yesterday. I hope they get the chance to compete at Worlds this year; they could do really well and get great momentum for next season.

My vague understanding for team U.S.A. skaters is that they get some amount of financial support from U.S. Figure Skating to help pay for the direct costs associated with training and competing—for stuff like coaches, choreographers, ice time, off-ice training, physical therapy, and logistics help/support when traveling for a competition. I think the amount of support depends on ranking and competition history? Like, the better you do and the more consistently you compete, the more support you can get? And the monetary support U.S. Figure Skating gives probably isn’t enough to cover all training costs, but it does alleviate some of the burden on the individual. Not sure, but that is my understanding. I know other skating federations get more support from their governments, which means more financial support for skaters and more resources devoted to developing a talent pipeline.

I think Russia is less vulnerable in dance without S/K, if S/K decide to opt out of one or both team event segments, because Russia is so strong in women and pairs. And honestly, looking at how Stepanova and Bukin scored at Euros this month? They could place higher than the Canadian team in the RD. And if, hypothetically, Davis and Smolkin were picked for the FD in the team event, they could only hinder Russia’s final score (and likely team gold medal) by a few points with a 5th place finish. Not that I’m actively hoping this will happen—I just think it would be hilarious that Davis and Smolkin could be certified OGM* skaters(*team) in their first int’l senior season.

After their win with that stupidly inflated score at Warsaw Cup a couple of months ago, it sure seems like anything could happen! And to be honest, I don’t hate them as a team. Are their programs tacky? Sure. Do I loose interest in their free dance about 90 seconds in? Yeah. But I do like their gumption, and that they do their best to sell the hell out of those tacky Igor Shpilband programs.

What I want to know is how much politicking is going to go on to get Davis and Smolkin named for the team event? Oh the drama that could ensue!

I have no idea if their FD twizzle sequence is the best in a technical sense, but it’s certainly one of my faves this season for wow factor. I hope they do well next month; I applaud them for not playing it safe, programmatically, in an Olympic season.

The debate over messier programs with quads vs. less messy programs without them in womens skating now feels similar to the same debate in mens like 20 years ago. It took time for the quad talent pool to develop. for a few seasons in the early ‘00s it was kinda just Yagudin, then Plushenko, and maybe a couple of others on a level of their own, and everyone else a level or two below them, in terms of jump content. But by the late ‘00s and early 2010s the rest of the elite field caught up.

As far as I know, they aren’t competing anymore. I also enjoyed them a lot and would have loved to see them continue, but at least they finished on a competitive high note.

Given how many people are having to withdraw from stuff after testing COVID positive, I wouldn’t be shocked of Ilia did end up going to the Olympics because one of the other guys tests positive.

Hehe! I thought it was hilarious, as falls go.

He competed in the junior Grand Prix this season. Was going to be in the JGP final before it was cancelled.

Yes! I think the free dance at US nationals is my fave event because it’s the only one with a real depth of good and great teams, many which also perform consistently well internationally.

So pleased for Madison and Evan! Though my fave of the night was Hawayek and Baker; their program is so elegant and sophisticated, and they delivered such a beautiful performance of it.

I would think that the selection committee or whatever would ask Nathan what he wants to do and assign Vincent to whichever phase Nathan doesn’t want to do (I’m assuming Nathan will not want to do both). Vincent definitely has higher scoring potential than Jason, no question, and could possibly be first if he skates cleanly.

Chock and Bates in 1st after the RD! Hubbell and Donohue in 2nd. Was not expecting that, TBH. Have they tweaked their RD since their last competition? It was really good here—and the lift position punctuated by the “duh” in the vocal track was perfect! I know that Hubbell and Donohue have better skating skills, but Chock and Bates are better performers, in my semi-informed estimation. Green and Parsons in third is also a bit of a surprise. They really nailed it after Hawayek and Baker had a stumble on their opening twizzle. I like both of these teams a lot, and either would be a good 3rd choice for the Olympic team. Hawayek and Baker are sentimental faves just because they’ve been working at this for so long, and their free dance this season is really beautiful.

Russian girls and women are in a league of their own at the current time—their top training groups are leading the way right now with quads and triple axels. Japan and South Korea have several women who regularly compete with triple axels, I don’t think any at the senior level who also compete with quads. Pretty much every other country is the next tier down from that—no senior level girl or woman consistently or cleanly competing any triple axels or quads. I’m honestly okay with that for now, because the Russian girls and women coming from team Tutberidze competing all these quads don’t seem to have the greatest longevity at the senior level. I’m interested to see how other training centers approach quad training for girls and women, and to see if they are able to develop more sustainable jumping techniques—or to see if the Tutberidze group changes or improves their jump training to allow their senior level girls and women to compete for longer.

I do feel bad for Alexa and Brandon. This will definitely make the pairs competition this week even more interesting, and I do agree with the earlier post that if Ashley/Tim and Jessica/Brian do well in Nashville, they should be selected to go to Beijing. None of the top pairs could expect something better than a top 10 finish, so the selection committee could really pick any 2 of the top 4 U.S. teams and be able to make a reasonable case. I know Audrey and Misha don’t have the same polish or presentation as the other U.S. teams yet, but they’ve been consistent and did well at Golden Spin last month. If they don’t end up getting selected for the Olympic team, I could see them medaling at 4CC (assuming 4CC doesn’t get canceled).

The international judges certainly like the other top Russian ice dance teams of Stepanova/Bukin and Davis/Smolkin, but neither are currently at the same level as Sinitsina/Katsalapov.

I think this ruling only applies for triathlon events, since the entity placing the sanctions is World Triathlon. Skating is governed by the International Skating Union.

THIS!