Figure Skating

[displayname]

5 hours ago, Jeddah said:

That was such a weird fall. Even weirder than the one that injured Hanyu’s ankle. Although nobody does awkward falls better than Pogorilaya.

Watching it, I think he ended right on the music. I hope this competition doesn’t come down to 1 point because he didn’t deserve that deduction.

If he'd turned it into an Ina Bauer, he could've salvaged it, I think. But I don't know how long you have to make sure that you stay on one foot to make sure you don't get a GOE dedcution.

[Moxie Cat]

What happened with Adam Rippon's routine? (Could not watch.)

And that said, I feel like criticizing any of these skaters is futile. SOMEONE has to be sixth. This is the first year I've watched the Grand Prix all the way through, and damn it is hard to get into the finals! All of these skaters are awesome. Just making it this far is incredible. I can't imagine, barring some US nationals upset (or Trump/North Korea snafu!), that any of these three guys should worry about missing the Olympics.

[Jaded]

17 hours ago, Moxie Cat said:

Thanks for the YT links, @HartofDixie! I think the recap is this Sunday. They rarely show the short programs, though, and never the pairs. Apparently only two massive packages carry the Olympic Channel on Directv - i continue to be really annoyed about this, especially since so many here seem to get the Olympic Channel automatically (do you all have Comcast?) I wish they would put at least the men's and ice dance events on NBCSN since we have so many athletes competing.

I have U-verse.

[displayname]

I like Nathan's skating in his short program, and it's a beautiful program, but I want to shout "LINE!!!" whenever he makes fists during his StSq or ChSq or his spins.

[BelleBrit]

Ok, not to pick on Carolina because it's the judges who are overmarking, but...a 72.82 with a triple toe double toe? This sport makes me so angry sometimes.  Again, give her PCs to dickens for all I care, but I just don't get  her TES given the content. The judges just seem determined to make sure that she is within a few points of her competitors who are really delivering, and will just give her sky high GOE on her other elements to compensate. Happens all of the time. 

Edited December 8, 2017 by BelleBrit

[displayname]

Sotskova was so... pink. And had floppy-armed 'Tanos.

 

Don't know why Satoko didn't get +2/+1.5 for non-jump elements. Or why her PCS is virtually similar to Zagi's. Or why Wakaba's PCS is lower than Zagi's. 

Edited December 10, 2017 by fan94

[Jeddah]

19 hours ago, Jeddah said:

I hope this competition doesn’t come down to 1 point because he didn’t deserve that deduction.

Quoting myself here. I can’t believe it did come down to 1 point.@Good Queen Jane clarified that he started early, so I know he did deserve the 1 point deduction. But still, poor Shoma. Losing by .5 has to hurt, especially in his hometown. I really hope the Olympics doesn’t come down to one point. I can’t handle the stress.

That being said, good for Nathan! Being undefeated for the Grand Prix season is no small feat. He has all the momentum. I can’t wait to see what he does the rest of the season.

Edited December 8, 2017 by Jeddah

[displayname]

14 minutes ago, Jeddah said:

That being said, good for Nathan! Being undefeated for the Grand Prix season is no small feat. He has all the momentum. I can’t wait to see what he does the rest of the season.

He isn't in form yet! I sure hope he gets into it for Nationals, and then continues with that momentum.

[Moxie Cat]

23 minutes ago, Jeddah said:

That being said, good for Nathan! Being undefeated for the Grand Prix season is no small feat. He has all the momentum. I can’t wait to see what he does the rest of the season.

It's good for Nathan though that he didn't blow away the competition. A tiny win won't make him cocky and should keep him training hard.

Regarding the ladies: they are all within five points of each other, which is what I would expect from six ladies at the top of their discipline. It's actually a real contrast to the men, where Chen, Uno, and Kolyada scored significantly higher than the other three, in both the short and final result.

I wish Adam could have hung on to fourth.

Edited December 8, 2017 by Moxie Cat

[Good Queen Jane]

Oooh, Men's Free was a real splatfest! Do not watch if you are faint of heart.

[SophiaD]

I'm glad Adam finished ahead of Jason.  If he has a decent Nationals, he should make the team.  Fingers crossed.  

[Moxie Cat]

4 hours ago, SophiaD said:

I'm glad Adam finished ahead of Jason.  If he has a decent Nationals, he should make the team.  Fingers crossed.  

They are both inconsistent. Both have lovely choreography and capabilities. But both are capable of scoring way lower than they deserve. It's frustrating if you're a fan of skaters who value intricate programs. I want both of them to do well. And to those who say Jason had his time.....aren't both Adam and Voronov older? Anyone can break through and have a good season at any time.

Forgot to add earlier... Way to go Kaitlyn Osmond! Rooting for her in the free!

Did anyone check out the junior results? Literally five of the six junior ladies are Russians. The other disciplines all have 3-4 Russians present. Seriously, what is in the water over there? (Yes, that's partially snark, but we're talking about juniors, so it makes me sad too.)

[Libby96]

I love both Jason and Adam, but I'm kind of glad Adam edged Jason in the standings here.   I think he may need that little edge in the selection committee's mind.  And while he has a history of inconsistency, I think he's been very consistent this year.  The quad lutz has given him some problems, but he's been landing everything else well and he has engaging problems that are beautifully skated.  And to show he's a boss, he fixed his own injury and skated on to a silver medal at Skate America.  Plus 3 GOE for being awesome.

Which brings us back to the bleeping quads.  I know it's a sport, higher, faster, stronger, blah, blah, blah, but I think the quad race is sucking some of the life out of men's skating.  Hats off to Ryan Bradley for pointing out that the Grand Prix Final medalists had about eight or nine botched quads between them.  Turn in the air, land on one foot, or two, or your butt, but it's still worth double digit points.  I propose they start another event called skate jumping.  Dress in those Lycra body suits with the hoods that speed skaters wear, turn off the music (hey, at least we'd escape more POTO, Carmen, and that new warhorse, Moulin Rouge), set the timer for four-and-a-half minutes, and turn the guy loose to quad as much as possible before time expires. No limit on jumping passes.  Add up the scores.  The guys actually interested in being figure skaters will skate in a separate event.

[Maelstrom]

18 minutes ago, Libby96 said:

Which brings us back to the bleeping quads.  I know it's a sport, higher, faster, stronger, blah, blah, blah, but I think the quad race is sucking some of the life out of men's skating.  Hats off to Ryan Bradley for pointing out that the Grand Prix Final medalists had about eight or nine botched quads between them.  Turn in the air, land on one foot, or two, or your butt, but it's still worth double digit points.  I propose they start another event called skate jumping.  Dress in those Lycra body suits with the hoods that speed skaters wear, turn off the music (hey, at least we'd escape more POTO, Carmen, and that new warhorse, Moulin Rouge), set the timer for four-and-a-half minutes, and turn the guy loose to quad as much as possible before time expires. No limit on jumping passes.  Add up the scores.  The guys actually interested in being figure skaters will skate in a separate event.

I totally agree about the quad race taking over the sport. It’s gotten so ridiculous, and it’s frustrating that all other aspects of the sport now seem to count for so little. It leaves talented skaters like Jason, Misha Ge, Adam, and others in the dust just because their strengths aren’t quads. Didn’t we hear the ISU was thinking of revalueing the quad after the Olympics? I wish they’d do it before. And not to mention the focus on quads has IMO forced so many skaters to injury that just isn’t necessary. Frustrating.

That being said, I’m very bummed for my faves Jason and Shoma’s sake that they didn’t have a better outcome.   I was so hoping that Shoma could finally take home a gold. Though I’m happy that Papadakis and Cizeron are currently in first after the SP, I sure hope they can hold onto it and beat out Virtue and Moir. Hubble and Donohue continue to catch my eye, I don’t know why they always seem to get mentioned as an afterthought to Chock and Bates, who have never impressed me.

[legaleagle53]

On 12/7/2017 at 9:07 AM, HartofDixie said:

I have Cox and have the Olympic channel but I was always forget I have it because it's channel 1066!

Just remember it as the year in which William the Conqueror crossed the English Channel and invaded England.  By crossing Channel 1066, you're getting to invade the figure-skating world.

[Moxie Cat]

8 hours ago, Maelstrom said:

Though I’m happy that Papadakis and Cizeron are currently in first after the SP, I sure hope they can hold onto it and beat out Virtue and Moir. Hubble and Donohue continue to catch my eye, I don’t know why they always seem to get mentioned as an afterthought to Chock and Bates, who have never impressed me.

They did!!! Scott Moir must be steaming.

Can someone who watched tell us why the Shibs placed sixth in the free? That's unusual.

I agree about H/D too. I just "like" them, plus something about Madison Chock turns me off. 

[Maelstrom]

So it’s not just me who finds Madison Chock inexplicably annoying? That makes me feel better.

Wow, the Shibutanis must have had a rough night to place so low. :-(

[attica]

Shibs were def off their game. Bad unison on the twizzles, which I've never seen before. Better luck next time! 

[kitmerlot1213]

13 hours ago, Moxie Cat said:

They did!!! Scott Moir must be steaming.

Can someone who watched tell us why the Shibs placed sixth in the free? That's unusual.

I agree about H/D too. I just "like" them, plus something about Madison Chock turns me off. 

Scott Moir is going to have to get used to it because I think Papadakis and Cizeron are going to win Olympic gold :):)

I'm also thrilled that Hubble and Donohue got a 4th place finish because they are far better then Chock and Bates and I hope H/D get a silver medal at nationals this year :)

10 hours ago, Maelstrom said:

So it’s not just me who finds Madison Chock inexplicably annoying? That makes me feel better.

 

I sometimes feel that the pair rely on Chock's being pretty to carry them through, sort of like Belbin and Agosto relied on Tanith.

[displayname]

Because this deserves universal praise over any current Russian skater.

 

She's like a mix of Mao and Yuna. Definitely should be the next big thing of figure skating.

[Libby96]

Maria Sotskova skated well, and she's totally deserving of her silver medal, but that arm flopped up over her head in every single jump, twisting around up there along with her ponytail was totally distracting and not aesthetically pleasing.   The ISU needs to Zayak rule that arm variation next season.

And on a petty note, I thought her dress was the color of a piece of chewed Wrigley's double mint gum.

As for tha rest of the field, Carolina skates pretty and the judges love her, Wakaba... why?  I was rooting for her.  May she make the Olympics and have the skate of her life there.  Kaetlyn doesn't skate a clean free again ..... sorry, but not surprised.  I thought Satoko's was the most enjoyable to watch, URs or not.  I hadn't heard of Alina until this season, but I'm going to be mean here and just say I wish she'd take her tutus and ridiculously backloaded programs and go away until she learns to actually hold a position in her (frontloaded) footwork.

Obviously, this event put me in a Grinchy mood.

Edited December 10, 2017 by Libby96

[BelleBrit]

I felt like this grand prix final was extremely underwhelming, but I’ve also seen a lot of opinions on the skaters that are different than mine that I can completely understand. I’m mostly really annoyed by the scoring and all of these programs getting in the 140s, when I think that those scores should be reserved for skaters who skate perfectly. New era.  I don’t mean the below to be attacks on the skaters, it’s more of how the scoring has been going. All in all, this gpf just made me not very excited for the Olympics.

Wakaba: Her scoring seems to be mostly uncontroversial because she kind of melted down in the long, maybe she was comparatively underscored in the sp. The judges are really killing her on her flip edge in the short, but I also think that Kaetlyn has been getting away with an unclear edge on her lutz for the last year. Last year I think that Wakaba got a bit burnt out by the time 4CC and Worlds came around, so I hope that that doesn’t happen this year. She always seems to be able to do well at nationals, so I still expect her to make the team, but hopefully she can hold on long enough for the Olympics and Worlds. I’m guessing that US and Japan won’t send their top to 4CC, which always annoys me, because the skaters who go to Europeans before the Olympics get to seize on the momentum/improve their rankings when the US and Japanese skaters don’t get that opportunity.

Satoko: It seems like her skating and scoring is very divisive, and I can understand why. I didn’t always “get” Satoko. It wasn’t until her Firedance sp (not sure why that was the one that did it for me, because it wasn’t earth shattering) that I was really sold on Satoko as a skater, and now I just love her and all of her programs. I still thought that they could have given her a few more points in PCs in the free, but I also understand why people get annoyed with her jumps and the inconsistent judging of her jumps. I think that she and Wakaba will still be on the Olympic team, but it will be very interesting to see how Satoko is scored. I do think that part of the reasons for Satoko’s injuries is that she really has been trying to improve her jumps though.  She could have kept doing two double axel triple toes in the free like she had a few seasons ago, and getting by in the tes, but she seems really determined on the triple Lutz triple toe in the long. She was drilling it over and over before her Skate America performances and I was afraid that she would aggravate her injury. Let’s hope that Japanese (and Russian) nationals don’t kill these girls.

Carolina:  Good on her for skating a clean five triple program and skating beautifully, blah blah blah.  But one of her clean triples was a single triple toe, her combo was a triple flip double toe, and no lutz.  And it pisses me off that that content gets in the 140s despite her PCs perhaps being deserved (though I still think that she's getting too much tbh). Her skating is another one's who I’ve seen really divided opinions on that I understand, but I can also say that I’ve never really “gotten” Carolina (except her Ava Maria program) the way that some other’s have.

Kaetlyn: Ok…another skater who I don’t completely get (haha), but I can understand why her power and huge jumps (when landed) are appealing, and I respect that she can really sell her programs. But I don’t know if she is ever going to skate a clean free skate. The consistency in her short programs in the last two seasons is why she was able to make it to the top, imo, and I still think that she has been getting away with the scoring on her lutz (edge call here, but still with positive GOE).  Her skating seems sloppy to me, I’m annoyed that she can do her second “hard” (double axel triple toe) combination as her second jumping pass and get high enough GOE on it that it doesn’t matter if she does it in the second half, and the tilt to her jumps freaks me out.  But I again, I can see why people are drawn to her skating, I assume that it also makes a difference when you see her live.

Maria: Never really had strong opinions on her either way, but I can appreciate that she did well/exceeded expectations a bit here.  The tano is ugly as sin, but I also really can’t fault her for trying to throw anything like that in given Evgenia’s tano’s and Alina’s backloading. Good for her.

Alina: She skated how I thought she would, and was scored like I thought she would be scored. Sigh. I wish she would ditch the tutu and that she had another program, so many of these Russian girls could be given so much better programs and be instructed to hold their moves more. The backloading kills, but this could be our Olympic gold medalist. Not excited for Olympics or Worlds. 

Edited December 10, 2017 by BelleBrit

[carrier76]

Zagitova skates very junior, very dully, doesn’t hold any positions, has dumb costumes, and the backloaded programs remind of Plushenko’s front loaded jump-jump-jump-arm flap-jump. No choreography. Her skating is what I am told is not mature, according to this sport. Her skating is what I am told should not get high svores, yet here we are. I am developing a burning dislike for this girl, almost as bad as my dislike for Medvedeva. Which, she WAS NOT THERE, so why did we have to constantly hear about her? Why did I have to see footage of her and her :O faces at the beginning of the broadcast? Floppy tanos aside, I find watching Sotskova much more pleasurable. Overall, I am tired of these robotic Russian sprites. 

 

These me days I get far more excited about watching men and pairs than I do ladies. It’s not fun to watch.

[displayname]

15 minutes ago, carrier76 said:

Zagitova skates very junior, very dully, doesn’t hold any positions, has dumb costumes, and the backloaded programs remind of Plushenko’s front loaded jump-jump-jump-arm flap-jump. No choreography. Her skating is what I am told is not mature, according to this sport. Her skating is what I am told should not get high svores, yet here we are.

You forgot her shallow edges and lack of musicality.

[specialj67]

I will say this for Medvedeva, at least her arm-over-the-head is actually up and away from her head. Unlike Sotskova’s.

[AuntieDiane6]

Quote

Now it's possible that the US won't participate because of its proximity to North Korea.

No, we'll go ... Too easy for the North Koreans to call us cowards if we don't go.  Besides, the athletes aren't worried and MOST of the prior games have included non-existent fears of terrorism (Athens in 2004, Sochi).  NBC has paid way too much money for us to participate and for the US to abandon one of her foremost allies because we are "afraid."

[displayname]

4 hours ago, specialj67 said:

I will say this for Medvedeva, at least her arm-over-the-head is actually up and away from her head. Unlike Sotskova’s.

Only sometimes.

 

Lol the one saving grace of Zagitova.

Edited December 11, 2017 by fan94

[Libby96]

1 hour ago, AuntieDiane6 said:

 

No, we'll go ... Too easy for the North Koreans to call us cowards if we don't go.  Besides, the athletes aren't worried and MOST of the prior games have included non-existent fears of terrorism (Athens in 2004, Sochi).  NBC has paid way too much money for us to participate and for the US to abandon one of her foremost allies because we are "afraid."

I believe the US will go too.  It is sad when political strife gets mixed up in the Olympics, which is supposed to be about people coming together for athletic competition despite differences.  I still think the 1980 boycott of the Moscow games was a mistake.  I remember watching the Olympic trials for the gymnastics team; so bittersweet for those athletes to compete and be named to the team, knowing they wouldn't be heading to the Olympics.

[redpencil]

I didn't watch the Ladies GPF at all and wanted to see this floppy tano everybody is talking about so went and found video of Sotskova. Holy cow that is so unpleasing. And I thought Medvedeva's near constant arm-over-the-head jumps were annoying... Really hope some sort of limit is put in place on those.

Also watched Zagitova, and agree with those who hate her costume (the dang tutu plus the tights over her skate....yuck). I'm also flabbergasted at the degree of back-loading. I know there's a bonus for jumps in the 2nd half, but she didn't do a single jump until more than 2 minutes in. That's ridiculous. I'm cool with the bonus in general, to discourage front-loading, but there needs to be at least a bit more balance. There's almost literally nothing interesting in the first half of her program, other than one spin. Not even any interesting footwork sequences, just a bunch of skating and twirling around in circles.

Edited December 11, 2017 by redpencil

[doodlebug]

11 hours ago, redpencil said:

I didn't watch the Ladies GPF at all and wanted to see this floppy tano everybody is talking about so went and found video of Sotskova. Holy cow that is so unpleasing. And I thought Medvedeva's near constant arm-over-the-head jumps were annoying... Really hope some sort of limit is put in place on those.

Also watched Zagitova, and agree with those who hate her costume (the dang tutu plus the tights over her skate....yuck). I'm also flabbergasted at the degree of back-loading. I know there's a bonus for jumps in the 2nd half, but she didn't do a single jump until more than 2 minutes in. That's ridiculous. I'm cool with the bonus in general, to discourage front-loading, but there needs to be at least a bit more balance. There's almost literally nothing interesting in the first half of her program, other than one spin. Not even any interesting footwork sequences, just a bunch of skating and twirling around in circles.

I agree, there needs to be a change in the scoring so the programs are more balanced.  If nothing else, there should be a penalty for not including at least one jumping pass in each half of the program or putting a limit on the number of jumping passes per segment to prevent someone from skating around aimlessly for two minutes while waiting for the bonus to kick in.

Sotskova's arm position (if you can call it that) on her jumps is simply awful and there needs to be something in the code of points that penalizes a skater for adding an element to up their score and then doing it so poorly.  Same thing with the ugly skate-grab on spins.  If a skater cannot do it in an aesthetically pleasing fashion, he or she needs to be discouraged from attempting it.

[BlackberryJam]

I miss the beautiful layback spins and spiral sequences.

[herbz]

^ I spent hours the other day losing myself in old Sasha Cohen performances. Spectacular spiral sequences galore <3 

Migrating here from Golden Skate because I cannot take one more Virtue/Moir superfan screaming that the GPF silver was the worst, most corrupt result in the history of the sport EVER. Uh, no. We've known all season that V/M couldn't take it without going totally clean and they didn't. Papadakis and Cizeron have the superior free dance, were always going to have the superior free dance, but it's like these fans were expecting P/C not to address their short dance issues after last year's Worlds. In an Olympic season! It's madness in those threads. 

[ChicksDigScars]

Virtue and Moir felt slighted having to share coaches/rink time with Davis and White for so many years.  Well, isn't this the same deal?  Now they're sharing everything with Papadakis and Cizeron.  And are the V/M psycho Superfans as mean to Gabriella as they were to Meryl? Oh, and how many secret children are Tessa and Scott hiding by now? Good lord. 

That said, I am baffled that they lost.  P/D bore me a bit. Yes, they're pretty to watch, but maybe I just don't "get" the face clutching, bodice ripping, back exposing, romance novels on ice that seem to come out of Montreal.  I can't stand Douche Moir, but I do think they're the better team.  Must be the French team's  "turn."

Out of curiosity, I looked at the result of the 2014 World's, to refresh my memory as to who Cappalini and Lanotte competed against the year that they won World's. They really haven't come close since.  The Olympic gold and silver medalists did not compete, but the rest of the field seems familiar.  Also strange that Papadakis and Cizeron were 13th that year? Then they vaulted over everyone to win the title in 2015. That is almost unheard of, especially in Dance. Was it a coaching change? Did they improve that drastically, or did the French Federation's check clear? 

And PLEASE fix your Twizzles, Alex and Maia. That's the last thing I want to worry about. 

[herbz]

They're vile to Gabriella, who is obviously not as good as Guillaume, but then Guillaume is better than everybody.

I don't think it's confusing that they lost at all- there were errors in both programs and the Moulin Rouge isn't quite clicking yet. If they wanted to counter the idea that P/C are the true artistes of the dance world, a theatrical warhorse might not have been the wisest move. They lost the free even at last year's world and won because their Prince short was so far ahead of the relatively unprepared P/C. P/C learned from their mistakes, got competition ready earlier and have built momentum instead of allowing this narrative that they can't do the short dance to stick. Sure there's a lot of politicking going on but I think it's a perfectly defensible result looking at the skates of both teams at the GPF. 

From what I understand, that 13th at worlds was in large part because Didier and the French Fed were artificially holding P/C back (they were stopped from going to Sochi when they were good enough to be there). Why is anyone's guess. 

The Shibs feel like they're struggling to hold on all of a sudden. I hope they can get it together. I still feel absolutely nothing when they perform but I can't deny their technical ability. 

[MostlyC]

I operate on the theory that in the Olympic year, whoever wins the gold at the Grand Prix final does not win the gold.  Especially when the results are so close. I have no horse in the ice dancing race, but for excitment’s sake, I hope that somehow the Shibs get the silver.

Any news on how Javier and Hanyu will look when we see them perform next?

When they rewrite the rules, I hope they limit the backloading of jumps, hands over the head, and limit the number of quads, and start rewarding the spins and footwork sequences more.  More artistic stuff, less jump jump jump in the last minute of the program. 

[annzeepark914]

On 11/29/2017 at 7:44 PM, Libby96 said:

 

Unfortunately, once I become a real fan of a skater, I get very nervous watching them skate, so now I get to be tense watching the GPF and Nationals.  I really hope he makes the Olympic team.

Ain't that the truth!  I guess that's the price we pay for finding a skater (or skaters) whose style appeals to us (it's doubly good if they also have a fun personality.

[ChicksDigScars]

Oh good god, YES. Please limit the amount of times that a skater can throw her hand above her head during jumps. It's fine once or twice per performance  Like a treat.  Every jump is annoying. And it's not that artistically pleasing, to me.   

It was the same deal as the catch foot, right after the scoring system was revamped. I think it was the 2010 Olympics, and every girl was doing multiple spins while holding onto the skate blade, some in very unattractive positions.  I swear that Elene Gedevanishvili grabbed her skate boot 15 times in 4 and a half minutes that year. 

Edited December 14, 2017 by ChicksDigScars

[Minneapple]

On 12/11/2017 at 3:52 PM, BlackberryJam said:

I miss the beautiful layback spins and spiral sequences.

I watched a few of Michelle Kwan's performances not long ago and her layback and spiral sequences were gorgeous. She was an amazing artist on the ice, connecting so beautifully with her music. Her Fields of Gold performance makes me cry whenever I watch it.

[Crs97]

Unless your last name is Boitano, you should not raise a hand during a jump.  And at least he had the good sense to do it only once each performance.  

[HartofDixie]

4 hours ago, Minneapple said:

I watched a few of Michelle Kwan's performances not long ago and her layback and spiral sequences were gorgeous. She was an amazing artist on the ice, connecting so beautifully with her music. Her Fields of Gold performance makes me cry whenever I watch it.

Michelle is jumping ?

[BlackberryJam]

I love the arch in her back.

[displayname]

17 hours ago, Crs97 said:

Unless your last name is Boitano, you should not raise a hand during a jump.  And at least he had the good sense to do it only once each performance.  

There have been several skaters who've done it really well, in the past. But they, too, had the sense to do it only once per performance.

[Jaded]

18 hours ago, Crs97 said:

Unless your last name is Boitano, you should not raise a hand during a jump.  And at least he had the good sense to do it only once each performance.  

I quit watching skating for the most part for the past couple years with the exception of the U.S. Championships. So when I started watching the Grand Prix this year I wondered why all these skaters were trying to do multiple Boitano like jumps during their programs.

As much as I liked Tara Lipinski as a skater it's always made me sad to think about the toll skating took on her body. She was like a jumping machine in her prime back then. It's beyond time to shift more of the focus on artistry. I get tired of seeing programs with so many jumps and not much substance it between. I agree with the others who've mentioned the insane pressure there is on the guys to try and do multiple quads. I don't really enjoy seeing those jumps performed since they don't really seem all that natural.

[Crs97]

 Brian Boitano remains my standard bearer, and for all his amazing jumps my favorite thing he ever did (by far) was his move in Appalachian Spring when he weaves across the ice in the spread eagles - perfect lines, fast speed, and no movement of his upper body.  I have a hard time watching today’s performers because I just don’t see much grace anymore.  I blame Elvis Stojko.

Oh, and get off my lawn!  ?

[basiltherat]

At least Elvis had a style (karate on ice) all his own, but nowadays, it's jumping for the sake of points, points, points.

And, no, you get off MY lawn first, you whippersnapper!

[HartofDixie]

Named to the Olympic team

[HartofDixie]

Russian and Japanese nationals are going on right now. YT channel 1tvdance has all the Russian Skates. 

[legaleagle53]

On 12/19/2017 at 7:36 PM, HartofDixie said:

Named to the Olympic team

Huh.  Australia has figure skaters.  Who knew?

[HartofDixie]

US & Canadian Nationals preview:

http://www.rockerskating.com/news/2017/12/26/2018-us-and-canadian-championships-entries-and-schedule

[HartofDixie]

http://www.nbcolympics.com/news/how-watch-us-figure-skating-national-championships