Figure Skating

[absnow54]

6 hours ago, Is Everyone Gone said:

Anyone getting a bit frustrated with Chock and Bates? I know they're getting great scores and results so there's no need to change, but I feel like their programs have gotten stale. I'm tired of Madison making the same sexy faces and arm waving. 

I feel like Carreira/Ponomarenko and Green/Parsons are more interesting, if not as consistent.

Chock and Bates are obviously bidding their time for the Olympics next season so they can finally get their individual medal and retire. I imagine they’ve been channeling all of their creativity into next year’s routines. 

3 hours ago, Salacious Kitty said:

eta Ashley is reporting that Jason is not petitioning. Bye 3 spots. 

Andrew Torgashev might be able to pull off a top 10 finish. He had a decent showing at his Grand Prix assignments this season. 

[Salacious Kitty]

5 minutes ago, absnow54 said:

Chock and Bates are obviously bidding their time for the Olympics next season so they can finally get their individual medal and retire. I imagine they’ve been channeling all of their creativity into next year’s routines. 

Andrew Torgashev might be able to pull off a top 10 finish. He had a decent showing at his Grand Prix assignments this season. 

Torgy hadn't skated yet when I posted. If he can pull that off at Worlds, that would be most excellent. 

Also, Jackie Wong tweeted about an hour ago that Jason hadn't said anything either way about petitioning. So, I guess there is a chance that he'll be the third guy. 

[TwoBitUsherette]

7 hours ago, Is Everyone Gone said:

Anyone getting a bit frustrated with Chock and Bates? I know they're getting great scores and results so there's no need to change, but I feel like their programs have gotten stale. I'm tired of Madison making the same sexy faces and arm waving. 

I feel like Carreira/Ponomarenko and Green/Parsons are more interesting, if not as consistent.

I'll admit I'm tired of all the top teams right now - C/B, G/F, and G/P. I foolishly assumed most, if not all, of them would have retired by now. It feels like they've all stalled out creatively and are just treading water until the Olympics.

[Is Everyone Gone]

1 hour ago, absnow54 said:

Chock and Bates are obviously bidding their time for the Olympics next season so they can finally get their individual medal and retire. I imagine they’ve been channeling all of their creativity into next year’s routines. 

I get that, but I still wish they'd come up with something different other than Madison making sexy O-faces and waving her arms around.

[Salacious Kitty]

 

[specialj67]

I still enjoy Chock and Bates, but their programs this season are not doing it for me. There are individual cool moments, like the slide move in their FD that really covers a lot of the ice, but they don’t add up to overall interesting programs (in my opinion).

Andrew T seems to be having a pretty good season so far; his scores have been steadily improving all season. If he does what he’s capable of, he could finish in the top 10.

[Is Everyone Gone]

I have a question. I notice that many of the times skaters do those knee slides yet their tights don't rip. Are skating tights much thicker than regular tights?

[ChicksDigScars]

22 hours ago, MaryMitch said:

I've always liked them - I actually like watching her expressions. It was nice seeing their moms in the audience.

I prefer Madi's face to a certain Canadian pair whose female partner has her mouth open like a blow up doll "O" all the time. Not naming names...

I saw a photo of the podium in the post dance presser. Evan was there. Not Madi. C/P and G/P were all there. She must have really been sick to not go. If she had the ick that has been making the rounds, that I had this past week, I don't know how she actually skated. That shit busted right through my Covid/RSV/flu/pneumonia shot firewall, too. 

I laughed when Anthony slammed right up against the judge's table in that dramatic move, and even Terry yelped. And is it me, or is Adam Rippon ALSO now referring to Terry as "Terrance?"

I thought that the ladies podium worked out. SO many people online with the "but Alysa didn't fall, she was robbed," argument. Uh yeah, but did you see how exhausted she was at the end? Did you see her fall out of her spin because she was too tired to keep up? Amber's 3A was ridiculous (in a good way). Aside from the fall, she was fast and more sharp. And she received the proper 1 point deduction for that fall. I think it was the correct placement. 

So, has Alysa cut off her overbearing father? Is she free of him? I'm hoping so, but she is still only 19 so Pops could still be in the shadows. 

I didn't see it online, but did they put Kam and O'Shea on the World team. It's wouldn't actually surprise me, being their results this year overall. 

 

[Is Everyone Gone]

13 minutes ago, ChicksDigScars said:

So, has Alysa cut off her overbearing father? Is she free of him? I'm hoping so, but she is still only 19 so Pops could still be in the shadows. 

Idk if she's cut him off but she's older now, and probably less completely under his thumb. It's like there were a lot of rumors that Nathan Chen's mom was extremely overbearing and pushy, and that it wasn't until he went to college and became more independent that he started pacing himself the right way.

[iMonrey]

Quote

And they named Kam/O'Shea over McBeath/Parkman in Pairs.

That pisses me off. I mean, I get it, but I strongly disagree with it. It's not like they had a few minor errors here and there, they really fell apart. You have to earn it, and prove you can perform under this kind of pressure.

19 hours ago, Salacious Kitty said:

eta Ashley is reporting that Jason is not petitioning. Bye 3 spots. 

It's not incumbent on Jason Brown to go to Worlds every year so we have three spots for men. He's gotta retire some day, we need new skaters to take his place. And ultimately, the third spot is just going to . . . Jason Brown. So if no one else finishes is the top 10, we'll just have two skaters, instead of two skaters and Jason Brown. I'm fine with that.

Does one fall "prove" that Ilia Malinin is human? Or does he fall on purpose to make us think he's human? 🤔

[Is Everyone Gone]

No, Jason Brown was just added to the worlds list.

[honeywest]

Amber has withdrawn from 4CC, to be replaced by Bradie.

[ML89]

1 hour ago, ChicksDigScars said:

I laughed when Anthony slammed right up against the judge's table in that dramatic move, and even Terry yelped. And is it me, or is Adam Rippon ALSO now referring to Terry as "Terrance?"

I missed that but I did have to note that Terry wore a couple of very modern jackets instead of his usual suit, so good on him (now he just needs to go gray and stop the dye job).

I love Alyssa's MacArthur Park program but the end needs a rethink - the slower MacArthur Park verse works, but the ending had another piece inset (the original disco cut is 17 minutes) that sounded garbled and it ends so fast I could see her thinking "uh oh, I need to end this NOW." I still find it hilarious that now even some of the coaches wouldn't have been alive during disco.

I felt so sorry for Lindsey Thorngren, she looked like she wanted to be anywhere but on the ice. Sherry Zhang was a lot of fun to watch.

I think C/B's worst bit is their rhythm dance, which is one of the compiliation "dance records" from the early 80s (Hawaii 5-0???).

[Avaleigh]

10 minutes ago, honeywest said:

Amber has withdrawn from 4CC, to be replaced by Bradie.

I think this is the right call. Just let her focus on worlds and save her energy for killing it there. I also wouldn't want her to have a performance that would leave her second guessing herself right before worlds. Also, it gives Bradie the chance to finish her season with a big international competition. Seems like a win/win. 

Edited Monday at 06:26 PM by Avaleigh

[Avaleigh]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

That pisses me off. I mean, I get it, but I strongly disagree with it. It's not like they had a few minor errors here and there, they really fell apart. You have to earn it, and prove you can perform under this kind of pressure.

I pretty much agree with you. There was a time when Nationals was a big, big deal and if a skater/s blew it there, they knew they wouldn't be on the world team. Now it seems like it's much more about what the skater's GP season was like and whether or not they're in favor with TPTB. It's happened so many times where a skater has had a terrific skate at nationals, has earned their medal, and then just gets passed over because they don't have the body of work of another skater/s.

At the same time, I don't really have confidence that any of the other teams would necessarily place better than Ellie and Danny, so in this particular case, I'm not super fired up about it, but I definitely get where you're coming from because Ellie and Danny's long was a disaster from start to finish. That final lift actually made me gasp out loud. I'm glad they weren't seriously hurt.

Edited Monday at 06:35 PM by Avaleigh

[absnow54]

25 minutes ago, honeywest said:

Amber has withdrawn from 4CC, to be replaced by Bradie.

I’m kind of shocked they named Amber to the team in the first place. Definitely the right move. The worst thing would be to have Amber mentally blocked going into Worlds. 

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

It's not incumbent on Jason Brown to go to Worlds every year so we have three spots for men. He's gotta retire some day, we need new skaters to take his place. And ultimately, the third spot is just going to . . . Jason Brown. So if no one else finishes is the top 10, we'll just have two skaters, instead of two skaters and Jason Brown. I'm fine with that.

I get what you’re saying, that Jason would basically be entitled to it, but I think it’s also a prestige thing. It would be an embarrassment to USFS to lose the third slot at something as big as the Olympics. I guess there’s an additional rule that all three skaters have to make it to the FS to qualify for the third slot, and Camden’s scores from for Grand Prix this season wouldn’t have qualified him for the free skate, while Jason’s (subpar) scores would have. So even with the Torg buffer of a Top 12 finish potential, they need skater #3 to make it past the short program. 

[Avaleigh]

21 minutes ago, ML89 said:

I felt so sorry for Lindsey Thorngren, she looked like she wanted to be anywhere but on the ice.

I feel for her and I think some comments I've read about her elsewhere have been a little harsh. Does she need to work on her facial expressions and musicality? Of course she does, and the fact that her team still hasn't properly addressed this isn't doing her any favors.

That being said, I think there's so much to appreciate about her skating, and I find it a little unfair that she's under a microscope for her URs in a way that some skaters aren't. I'm not saying don't call her on her URs, but ideally everyone will be called on them. I had similar feelings for when Mirai was active. Their PCS were generally, IMO, lower than they should have been, and it sometimes gives me the impression, whether accurate or not, that there are other elements at play that don't necessarily have to do with what's happening on the ice.

[ML89]

23 minutes ago, Avaleigh said:

I feel for her and I think some comments I've read about her elsewhere have been a little harsh. Does she need to work on her facial expressions and musicality? Of course she does, and the fact that her team still hasn't properly addressed this isn't doing her any favors.

The song selection in the long gave her no help either. I know it'd be a cliche but if you're going to skate Hozier, "Take Me To Church," unless the lyrics were wildly off (I can't remember at the moment), has a lot of build and push to it that would carry her. I felt like she was struggling with the music as well as what had happened.

 

[Jillibean]

4 hours ago, Avaleigh said:

I pretty much agree with you. There was a time when Nationals was a big, big deal and if a skater/s blew it there, they knew they wouldn't be on the world team. Now it seems like it's much more about what the skater's GP season was like and whether or not they're in favor with TPTB. It's happened so many times where a skater has had a terrific skate at nationals, has earned their medal, and then just gets passed over because they don't have the body of work of another skater/s.

At the same time, I don't really have confidence that any of the other teams would necessarily place better than Ellie and Danny, so in this particular case, I'm not super fired up about it, but I definitely get where you're coming from because Ellie and Danny's long was a disaster from start to finish. That final lift actually made me gasp out loud. I'm glad they weren't seriously hurt.

 The other issue is that both their 1st and 3rd place teams are ineligible to compete at the Olympics next year. So I think they HAVE to put their eggs in the Kam/O'Shea basket, because, unless they get injured, realistically they're going to Milan and competing in the team event. After that, I don't even know who you're tapping...Shin/Nagy, maybe? Chan/Howe seem like an absolute disaster. They need to build some political momentum for the teams that are Olympic eligible and continue to push them at international events.  

6 hours ago, ChicksDigScars said:

I prefer Madi's face to a certain Canadian pair whose female partner has her mouth open like a blow up doll "O" all the time. Not naming names...

Exactly this. 

[Is Everyone Gone]

12 minutes ago, Jillibean said:

Exactly this. 

Except Tessa Virtue was also a very strong skater with good basic skating skills. Feel like Madi and Evan's programs have a lot of dead stops and posing. Especially since Beijing. It's as if they're not really pushing themselves to do anything different.

[Jillibean]

47 minutes ago, Is Everyone Gone said:

Except Tessa Virtue was also a very strong skater with good basic skating skills. Feel like Madi and Evan's programs have a lot of dead stops and posing. Especially since Beijing. It's as if they're not really pushing themselves to do anything different.

I wasn't referring to Tessa. 

[Is Everyone Gone]

14 minutes ago, Jillibean said:

I wasn't referring to Tessa. 

Oh I think I know who you're talking about now. Yeah, not a fan of Gillies/Poirier either.

[Libby96]

On 1/26/2025 at 7:54 PM, absnow54 said:

Chock and Bates are obviously bidding their time for the Olympics next season so they can finally get their individual medal and retire. I imagine they’ve been channeling all of their creativity into next year’s routines. 

Andrew Torgashev might be able to pull off a top 10 finish. He had a decent showing at his Grand Prix assignments this season. 

Andrew’s short program was the best part of the entire Nationals for me.   His long program was amazing too, and it was great seeing him come off the ice knowing he had probably medaled and grabbed a spot for Worlds, but that short … the music, the choreography, his energy and speed…it’s just something very special.  I have rewatched it about 5 times before it gets deleted off of the Peacock app forever here in a couple of hours.

[ChicksDigScars]

On 1/27/2025 at 6:55 PM, Jillibean said:

I wasn't referring to Tessa. 

Neither was I. I was referring to a CURRENT competitive dance team from Canada. Her facial expressions... 😮

So, there is no possibility for Efimova to skate for the US next year? Can she get citizenship before then? Does Christina have her U.S. citizenship, now?

Edited Wednesday at 09:24 PM by ChicksDigScars

[Salacious Kitty]

Christina is expected to get her passport before Milan. She's driving over an hour each way from her home in MI to train in Canada to establish residency. 

I don't think Efimova is anywhere close to citizenship. 

[annzeepark914]

On 1/27/2025 at 7:09 PM, Is Everyone Gone said:

Oh I think I know who you're talking about now. Yeah, not a fan of Gillies/Poirier either.

Don't ever mention this over at Golden Skate 👀.  Oh, well I'm not a fan of Green/Parsons--their music selections are too dreary for me. He also looks too short. You can tell he and Evan Bates are holdovers from the Virtue/Moyer era, where the skaters stare lovingly at each other as they skate to center ice. V/M started this, I think.

[Is Everyone Gone]

35 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

Don't ever mention this over at Golden Skate 👀.  Oh, well I'm not a fan of Green/Parsons--their music selections are too dreary for me. He also looks too short. You can tell he and Evan Bates are holdovers from the Virtue/Moyer era, where the skaters stare lovingly at each other as they skate to center ice. V/M started this, I think.

I think Krylova and Ovsyannikov were actually the first to do those really choreographed, emoted skates to center ice.

Scott Moir is now Carreira/Ponomarenko's coach and he's also getting them to do that.

 

[annzeepark914]

It looks ridiculous (IMNSHO 😁). So, V/M were copying K/O. I'm glad most of the teams aren't doing this. 

[Is Everyone Gone]

45 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

It looks ridiculous (IMNSHO 😁). So, V/M were copying K/O. I'm glad most of the teams aren't doing this. 

Chock and Bates do it too.

[annzeepark914]

1 hour ago, Is Everyone Gone said:

Chock and Bates do it too.

They're from the V/M era. It looks so fake.

[ChicksDigScars]

2 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

They're from the V/M era. It looks so fake.

Well at least we know C/B being newlyweds, aren’t actually faking anything (unlike Mr and Ms Fake Kids in the Basement did). 
 

————
 

I’m watching coverage of the plane crash tonight in Washington DC. The plane originated in Wichita, Kansas. The USFSA has released a statement. There were “several members of the skating community”  who stayed in Wichita after Nationals to attend the Development camp. They were on the plane involved. MSNBC just read the statement over the air. They are not naming names yet. MSNBC has said that about a dozen victims have been pulled from the Potomac so far. No survivors yet. 
 

Skaters that train in Virginia. I’m thinking of a couple big names who won medals this past weekend. One very big one. I wonder if they hung around to help out with the developing skaters. God, I hope not. Bless them all, skaters, coaches, family members. And those they left behind. :(

Edited 16 hours ago by ChicksDigScars

[Avaleigh]

10 minutes ago, ChicksDigScars said:

Well at least we know C/B being newlyweds, aren’t actually faking anything. 
 

I’m watching coverage of the plane crash tonight in Washington DC. The plane originated in Kansas. The USFSA has released a statement. There were “several members of the skating community”  who stayed in Wichita after Nationals to attend the Development camp. They were on the plane involved. MSNBC just read the statement over the air. They are not naming names yet. MSNBC has said that about a dozen victims have been pulled from the Potomac so far. No survivors yet. 
 

Skaters that train in Virginia. I’m thinking of a couple big names who won medals this past weekend. One very big one. I wonder if they hung around to help out with the developing skaters. God, I hope not. Bless them all. :(

Apparently, there's confirmation that Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were on the plane in addition to others from the skating community. 

I feel terrible for Maxim. Just a terrible tragedy all around. I feel so awful for the families. 

[ChicksDigScars]

Horrible. And it’s something that the U.S. figure skating community has unfortunately experienced before. :(

Edited 16 hours ago by ChicksDigScars

[CherryMalotte]

Devastating...those poor families.  I can't even imagine.      

[SweetSable]

It's been confirmed that there were no survivors.  

[ChicksDigScars]

Edited 9 hours ago by ChicksDigScars

[Avaleigh]

7 hours ago, ChicksDigScars said:

Horrible. And it’s something that the U.S. figure skating community has unfortunately experienced before. :(

I've been thinking about all of the coaches and people from the skating community who were alive when that happened, and what they must be feeling.

The kids who were on board were so young. It feels terribly unfair. 

They had a moment of silence at Euros. 

This is all so devastating. 

[ChicksDigScars]

Leave it to the Russian press to jump the gun and throw names out there last night before anything official was ever released. 

There is a Canadian article with names and photos of those known to be on the plane. I don't see the U.S. press doing this quite yet. Grain of salt, then. 

Ilia posted on his Instagram stories with condolences, so he is okay. His name popped into my head, being that he trains in Virginia. Sarah, too. 

Edited 8 hours ago by ChicksDigScars

[Is Everyone Gone]

Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov's names have now been confirmed by guardian, which is pretty reputable.

[ChicksDigScars]

Maxim was assigned to 4CC, and was second alternate to World's. He finished fourth, and with Jason Brown a question mark, could be elevated. His head will certainly not be in it, but then again, coming from a family of skaters, may decide to honor his parents by forging ahead. 

[proserpina65]

3 hours ago, ChicksDigScars said:

Ilia posted on his Instagram stories with condolences, so he is okay.

He's the one I thought of immediately.  Probably because he's one of the few skaters in the world whose skating I find appealing anymore because it's not just all jumps.  While I'm glad he was not on the plane, my heart goes out to the families and friends of those who were, and to the skating community in general.

[Salacious Kitty]

What a tragedy. My thoughts are with the families of those who perished. 💔