Figure Skating

[herbz]

It was Canada I was initially more concerned about with regards to spots, but they pulled through. Great skate when they needed it most. Poor Alexa. Worlds after the Olympics is notoriously difficult. It must be so mentally and physically challenging to turn straight back around into competition mode again.

Edited March 22, 2018 by herbz

[Jeddah]

I can’t believe the Knierims messed up a death spiral. That’s an unusual mistake. I felt bad for them. I wish Stellato/ Bartholomay had done better. Alexa shouldn’t feel like this was all on her.

Savchenko/ Massot are gorgeous.   I don’t want them to retire! Surely Aliona has another Olympics in her! I want them to just keep doing great programs like that.

[displayname]

XDDD

 

Vincent Zhou got 18.90 points for an "4"Lz< + 3T< XDD

 

That's not even close to a quarter under.

 

Maybe the ISU needs to invest in cataract surgeries for its technical panel.

 

Is Skating While American a thing, now?

Edited March 23, 2018 by fan94

[boaty mcboatface]

Savchenko and Massot are simply magical, a totally higher class of pairs skaters. Who would have imagined this after Sochi? Their story is really incredible, from both of their sides--they should jointly write a book. I suspect from their emotional reaction that this was their swan song, and while I love watching them skate, I do sort of hope that this was the end. They are at the absolute supreme peak right now, there is no higher way to go out.  What else is there to accomplish? They deserve this legacy. I want to see Aljona go out on top like she has earned, not to show any decline. And Bruno needs to stop before his back deteriorates to the point that it affects his everyday quality of life, he's barely 29 and it's not worth it. 

 

245.84, I'm still shaking my head in disbelief. 

[Jeddah]

I thought Morgan Cipres had the cutest Kiss & Cry reaction, but then Bruno Massot was even more adorable! I love their enthusiasm!

[ChicksDigScars]

1 hour ago, fan94 said:

 

Is Skating While American a thing, now?

 

I must have missed the windfall of medals that have been awarded to undeserving US skaters the past few years.  Because to me, it’s been a shitty ass drought with a few bright spots (Davis and White and.....Davis and White).  Aside from Dance, the other three disciplines have seen very little US podium presence the past couple of Olympic cycles.

 

Speaking of futility, I can’t remember the last time I saw someone splat on a death spiral. I wonder is something was going on with Alexa. I love the Italian crowd, though. Supportive. 

Edited March 23, 2018 by ChicksDigScars

[halopub]

7 hours ago, fan94 said:

GOE doesn't make up for the fact that their rotation was lacking, even more than Boyang's supposedly was for his 4T. And if they'd been properly called, then their GOE would have gone down even more, just like Boyang's GOE for his 4T. Vincent also doesn't have a 4Lz -- he pre-rotates excessively, and has a full-blade take-off, so ratifying it as a quad already is an insult to Boyang and Nathan who have a real 4Lz. He also doesn't have a 4F, but I can't call that an insult to Shoma, who has similar technique on it.

I don't have your trained eye for this and have to rely on the Olympic Channel and Eurosport commentators to point out any under-rotations. I don't recall either pair mentioning them for Nathan - though the Eurosport folks did point out a potential double footed landing and generally how the jumps had to be gutted out. The Olympic Channel coverage did discuss potential under-rotations and the need for additional review for other skaters, I think including Vincent. It would be interesting to hear what the Russian or Japanese commentators thought.

For my untrained eye, I tend to notice much more obvious things like a quad fully downgraded to a triple, or a rushed, iffy landing.

Nathan told Fuji TV that he's currently thinking five quads for the free.

 

6 hours ago, ChicksDigScars said:

If the U.S. men get two medals out of this, I'll be shocked. 

ETA: Jesus. The Knerim's are nice people, but can they just retire now and make cute babies? That was hard to watch. Like Pogorilaya levels of hard. 

The last time was Rudy Galindo's magic season, wasn't it?

The crowd really tried to buoy their spirits and cheer them on. I'm glad they acknowledged it wasn't an injury or boot issues - just a really off day.

[displayname]

14 minutes ago, ChicksDigScars said:

I must have missed the windfall of medals that have been awarded to undeserving US skaters the past few years.  Because to me, it’s been a shitty ass drought with a few bright spots (Davis and White and.....Davis and White).  Aside from Dance, the other three disciplines have seen very little US presence the past couple of Olympic cycles. 

 

It was a joke -- because people here talk about "Skating while Russian" when their mistakes are overlooked. Just like how people were talking about "Skating while Chinese" when Boyang beat Nathan in the Olympics, because they didn't necessarily agree with the results.

Quote

A: A couple of Jin's jumps looked two-footed to me, but they didn't get yellow boxes.

 

B: I saw that, too.  Is skating while Chinese the new SWR?

10 minutes ago, halopub said:

I don't have your trained eye for this and have to rely on the Olympic Channel and Eurosport commentators to point out any under-rotations. I don't recall either pair mentioning them for Nathan - though the Eurosport folks did point out a potential double footed landing and generally how the jumps had to be gutted out. The Olympic Channel coverage did discuss potential under-rotations and the need for additional review for other skaters, I think including Vincent. It would be interesting to hear what the Russian or Japanese commentators thought.

Not if they're held up to the same standards as Jin's. Uniformity in tech calls is all I demand.

Edited March 23, 2018 by fan94

[NUguy514]

I think the order is as follows:

1. Skating While Russian

2. Skating While Canadian

3. Skating While [Home Country Nationality] in Home Country

4. Skating While Everyone Else.

2 minutes ago, PoshSprinkles said:

"We all have to learn how to deal with disappointment." <3 (I love this picture)

I like that picture, too.  Too bad Komova has been such a poor sport in the aftermath of the London Games, though.

I hope P/C keep breaking records if only because it so annoys V/M stans so much, which I find pleasing.

[annzeepark914]

On 3/20/2018 at 7:08 PM, boaty mcboatface said:

Very disturbing interview with Bruno Massot in L'Equipe yesterday about the true details of his release from FFSG. I can't find a link to the full French article directly but a Russian site has picked up on it and Google Translate at least gives the gist: https://www.sports.ru/tribuna/blogs/darling/1624416.html

 

@boaty mcboatface:  Geez, I love your name!  I just emailed my sister & told her she needs to use it for internet stuff ;>)  Thanks for the link. Didier needs to leave figure skating now (cripes, he was given a second chance after 2002 SLC...must be a man filled w/ pure evil).

[ChicksDigScars]

The only bad thing about James and Cipres winning a medal is that that shitweasel Didier gets to crow about it and use it to his advantage. 

[herbz]

https://www.isu.org/inside-single-pair-skating-ice-dance/figure-skating-rules/inside-communications-fs/16863-isu-communication-2148/file

New ice dance requirements to delve into.

The name of the SD is now likely to be changed to the 'Rhythm Dance'. Next season the only required rhythm is Tango, so we won't have to have any unholy mashups like the Blues/Hip Hop/Swing/Disco season, but there's no restriction on the optional second rhythm as there usually is so if a team really wanted to do something wacky like Tango and Quickstep or Polka for some reason there's technically nothing stopping them...

Two sections of Tango Romantica next season. Good. I feel like it's an easy escape when you only have to do half a turn of a set pattern. Plus I just really love the Tango Romantica. 8 key points altogether as well, and two sections of the TR takes over a minute. This year the Rhumba pattern took 15 odd seconds with 3 key points. 

Interesting about the 'one foot' step sequence and the twizzles. It sounds to me that they're going to evaluate the elements of both skaters separately, but I can't decide from the wording if they mean just the base values or the GOE as well. I think this could be a good idea in theory in more effectively judging teams that are unevenly matched in skill but we don't have enough information on that right now to really speculate on how it might work. It might have the impact of lessening a twizzle flub by one partner on the overall score. FD step sequence requirements potentially easier now? 

A 'choreographic sliding movement' is now a FD element. Zach Donohue must have lobbied for that one (I jest). Is it too much to ask for teams to just skate a whole program? 

Pending Congress decision, there may be a new 'entertainment bonus' of a whole point in the FD to be decided for an 'enjoyable/colorful/engaging overall Dance program'. A mark is a lot in dance. What any of that has to do with the quality of the actual skating escapes me. Who cares about edges, do some colorful jazz hands! We've already got components for both Performance and Composition. Making anything in Ice Dance more open to 'subjective' interpretative judging seems like a poor decision to me. Because I'm cynical and I've been around too long, I'm presuming off the bat that you can't be eligible for bonus if you're ranked 38th in the world and from, say, the Czech Republic. 

I'll wait until we have more information on some of these changes, but I'm sceptical of a couple of points as things stand. 

Edited March 23, 2018 by herbz

[herbz]

Death by Despacito

[ChicksDigScars]

Maybe it's because of the Olympics, but I think it's actually a combination of an Olympic year paired with the Olympic Channel, which has shown every Grand Prix event, short and long programs, the US Nationals, Europeans, 4CC and now World's.  It's been GREAT compared with zero coverage in the US of the post-Sochi World Championships.  It's been Skateapalooza, and I've enjoyed it all! But the music is SOOOOOO repetitive this year. Oy! Just the opening notes of some pieces of music make you groan and stuff your face in a pillow. 

Edited March 23, 2018 by ChicksDigScars

[herbz]

14 minutes ago, ChicksDigScars said:

Maybe it's because of the Olympics, but I think it's actually a combination of an Olympic year paired with the Olympic Channel, which has shown every Grand Prix event, short and long programs, the US Nationals, Europeans, 4CC and now World's.  It's been GREAT compared with zero coverage in the US of the post-Sochi World Championships.  It's been Skateapalooza, and I've enjoyed it all! But the music is SOOOOOO repetitive this year. Oy! Just the opening notes of some pieces of music make you groan and stuff your face in a pillow. 

Perhaps you should be disqualified from this new entertainment bonus if you use a piece of music any other team uses in the same competition :P Also Hallelujah. 

[herbz]

Oh no, poor Kaitlin. I'm not sure what happened there.

I love love love watching Jean Luc. He's so good.

[herbz]

Some mega inflation going on today in general (H/B got hammered though). What's the point? End of quad, congrats on making it to the finish line bonus? 

[ChicksDigScars]

If I were Gabby, I'd have shit canned that green dress.  "Get me another. NOW."  Because as soon as I say her warming up,  seeing that dress made me think of the wardrobe malfunction. 

I'm sure the top has been "reinforced."  And glued.  Maybe even a teeny tiny padlock at the back of the neck. 

Speaking of dresses...Madison Chock's.  Yikes.  It's SO bad. 

And so disappointed for H/B. But, man, can that boy MOVE. 

Edited March 23, 2018 by ChicksDigScars

[MaryMitch]

I don't know who the announcer is for the NBCSN coverage, but I like him; he's not overly talky and I can actually hear the music. I do wish he could work on his "kindergarden teacher" delivery.

I also like the fact on the NBCSN coverage we can see the detailed score for each element. I find that interesting.

[herbz]

9 minutes ago, ChicksDigScars said:

If I were Gabby, I'd have shit canned that green dress.  "Get me another. NOW."  Because as soon as I say her warming up,  seeing that dress made me think of the wardrobe malfunction. 

I'm sure the top has been "reinforced."  And glued.  Maybe even a teeny tiny padlock at the back of the neck. 

Speaking of dresses...Madison Chock's.  Yikes.  It's SO bad. 

And so disappointed for H/B. But, man, can that boy MOVE. 

 

Papadakis and Cizeron were moronic for not having back mesh or an extra strap on that dress. Guillaume designs costumes! That many stones and tassels on a top only connected round the neck was a disaster waiting to happen. You just can't leave anything, anything like that to chance at an Olympics, it's all part of the preparation process. If you've got to be sewn in at every practice, change. They were too experienced for that mishap to have been allowed to happen, as were their coaches.

Kind of got to salute her though, I would've burned the thing. 

Edited March 23, 2018 by herbz

[annzeepark914]

1 minute ago, MaryMitch said:

I don't know who the announcer is for the NBCSN coverage, but I like him; he's not overly talky and I can actually hear the music. I do wish he could work on his "kindergarden teacher" delivery.

I'm not watching (will watch the repeat) but that might be Ben Agosto.

Re: the dreaded music--for me it's anything with that high pitched whiney accordion, usually when ice dancers have to do the tango. I grab the mute.  And now, that wailing "singing" in Moulon Rouge.

[herbz]

I'm still annoyed by H/D's lack of grace, but that was genuinely very very good indeed. Fantastic NtMiSt.

Edited March 23, 2018 by herbz

[herbz]

8 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

I'm not watching (will watch the repeat) but that might be Ben Agosto.

Re: the dreaded music--for me it's anything with that high pitched whiney accordion, usually when ice dancers have to do the tango. I grab the mute.  And now, that wailing "singing" in Moulon Rouge.

Next season is going to be torture on your poor ears, an accordion is practically a required element. 

[herbz]

Weaver and Poje were also great, I'm impressed that there hasn't been major post-Olympics letdown. 

[ChicksDigScars]

It's not Ben Agosto. It's a non-ex-skater announcer. I forgot his name.  He annouces for skating a lot on the Olympic Channel. 

Damn. I was hoping that C/L would get some home cooking score inflation to go ahead of the Entitlement Twins. 

[carrier76]

Steve Schlanger? He is fine, but gets a lot of things wrong. Like, general facts. Called some non-Russian pairs the current Russian national champions. Stuff like that.

[herbz]

53 minutes ago, herbz said:

Papadakis and Cizeron were moronic for not having back mesh or an extra strap on that dress. Guillaume designs costumes! That many stones and tassels on a top only connected round the neck was a disaster waiting to happen. You just can't leave anything, anything like that to chance at an Olympics, it's all part of the preparation process. If you've got to be sewn in at every practice, change. They were too experienced for that mishap to have been allowed to happen, as were their coaches.

Kind of got to salute her though, I would've burned the thing. 

 

Glad Gabriella could put her demons to rest. She's tough. This saga was extra moronic considering they just broke the month-old WR with only a Level 3 Rhumba. Too high for what they did, but then just about everyone was scored too highly today. School's out! No more 'Latin' beats! 

They have to reset the scoring at the beginning of the GP season. There's nowhere to go and none of these teams are flawless.

Edited March 23, 2018 by herbz

[SeanC]

Not that I was particularly worried about this, but Kaitlyn/Andrew and Piper/Paul look good to keep Canada’s three spots in ice dance.  This is the only one of the three events where we’re defending three spots that that’s genuinely important, rather than a nice bonus.  Particularly once Laurence/Nikolaj get their “Made in Canada” stamp next year, there’ll be four top quality teams in the game (unless Kaitlyn/Andrew retire); three spots will be hard enough, two would be a disaster.

[herbz]

Lajoie and Lagha will be coming up in a couple of seasons too! Canadian ice dance might not be as dominant post-V/M but you've definitely got depth.

I think Kaitlyn and Andrew might stay on until at least 2020 now if they can carry this momentum to the FD and get a medal- I believe both the GPF and Worlds are going to be in Canada over the next two years? With Tessa and Scott (presumably) gone they should be able to stay #1 until then. All three Canadian teams did well, I was pleased for them. 

Edited March 23, 2018 by herbz

[herbz]

6 minutes ago, PoshSprinkles said:

I'd say the same thing for the ladies singles side of things as well....

Ain't that the truth.

I really really hope this ice dance 'entertainment bonus' doesn't pass. It's one of the most genuinely awful ideas the ISU has had in a while. Might as well have an audience applause meter. It's just one more device for the judges to arbitrarily raise or drop couples (and don't we already have PCS for that?) 

Hawayek and Baker need to move coaches straight after this event. Krylova moving back to Russia might have forced their hand anyway, but even with the fall they were sent a message today. Ugh, politics. 

[SophiaD]

I think the commentator is Ryan Bradley.  He knows his stuff, even though his delivery is on the calm side.  Unless they brought in Charlie White for Ice Dancing.

[halopub]

3 hours ago, MaryMitch said:

I don't know who the announcer is for the NBCSN coverage, but I like him; he's not overly talky and I can actually hear the music. I do wish he could work on his "kindergarden teacher" delivery.

The NBC press release says it's Steve Schlanger with Tanith White covering ice dancing. Ryan Bradley is working with Schlanger on the other events.

[ChicksDigScars]

Yeah, Ryan Bradley did the men's, pairs and the ladies with Steve Schlanger. Tanith did the Dance with Steve. 

 

Ryan has more of a sing songy delivery, reminscent of a kindergarten teacher explaining shit. But, he seems to explain things well, as does Tanith. 

 

I'm not seeing the Ladies competition yet, but I have looked at the results page, and I guess Mariah Bell did pretty well. She's in first, up from 17th, with the final two groups left. 

 

I don't know what happened to the third Russian girl, but she has 4.00 in deductions. Sounds like she had a Pogorilaya type of day. 

 

Jesus. Someone teach Bradie how to hold her arms gracefully. She's like a crane. All legs and wings. 

 

HOLY CRAP. I hope someone keeps an eye out to make sure that Eteri doesn't feed Zagitova to her other skaters. 

Edited March 23, 2018 by ChicksDigScars

[Omeletsmom]

Holy Hannah; what happened to Zagitova and Kostner??  That was very...unexpected.

Edited March 23, 2018 by Omeletsmom
Spelling is imprtsnt. (Totally unintentional, but too funny to correct.)

[SeanC]

KAETLYN!

[herbz]

Gosh what a turn up for the books! 

[specialj67]

What was HAPPENING in that final group of skaters in the women’s free?! It was like everyone but Osmond was going “no, no, YOU take the medal.”

So excited for Higuchi’s second place finish! I really like all of the top Japanese women’s skaters, though, so any of them medaling is great.

It was so hard to watch Alina Zagitova’s. The wheels came off the bus with that first jumping pass. I wonder how much of it is that this is the end of a very long season or this just being one of those performances even the best competitors can have. It definitely illustrated the pitfalls of backloading a program—there’s barely any time to recover before you have to get into the next jumping pass.

Bradie Tennell finishing 4th in the free skate portion was a nice surprise as well. I really hope she can work on the PCS to make her a real contender next season.

Edited March 23, 2018 by specialj67

[Jeddah]

Good for Kaetlyn Osmond!

It’s okay, Alina. You’re still Olympic Champion. She looked so sad.

[Quof]

Haven't seen Osmond's skate yet, hope it was awesome. But I did just catch her interview with Italian tv.  Kaetlyn, sweetie, the word you wanted was "well".  Not "good". 

"I just wanted to skate well." 

"I wanted to do well."

[Moxie Cat]

Can someone who watched explain what happened to Zag and Kostner? Can't watch due to work.

Happy that Osmond and Bradie both did well, as well as Higuchi, whom I liked during the GP. I was disappointed she wasn't at the Olympics.

[herbz]

I hope Alina's ok. She's so young with so much pressure on her shoulders and I felt terrible for her. 

[displayname]

Wow.

WOW.

 

And those tech calls were so present today.

14 minutes ago, Jeddah said:

Good for Kaetlyn Osmond!

It’s okay, Alina. You’re still Olympic Champion. She looked so sad.

She knows what's coming with Eteri.

 

Also, saw an interview where she talked about her eating habits. Troubling, but again. Eteri. 

 

Extremely sorry for her.

[specialj67]

5 minutes ago, Moxie Cat said:

Can someone who watched explain what happened to Zag and Kostner? Can't watch due to work.

Happy that Osmond and Bradie both did well, as well as Higuchi, whom I liked during the GP. I was disappointed she wasn't at the Olympics.

Alina had 3 (?) falls. On her first jump combo on the opening lutz, on another solo triple, and again when she tried to make up for the first missed combo—she fell on the second jump in that one. There may have been something else, but I can’t stand to rewatch that again. 

Carolina doubled her planned opening triple lutz, had a fall, popped or fell out of a double axel that was supposed to be the first jump in a three jump combo (so she missed out so many points there), and had landing mistakes on another, I think.

[displayname]

Yuna still the only lady to possess a career grand slam under IJS, after 8 years.

 

Yuna still the only singles skater to possess a career grand slam under IJS, after 8 Years.

 

(Assuming V/M and D/W for Ice Dance, and S/Z for Pairs.)

[sweeks]

Thank you to everyone who commented and recapped that Hubbell and Donahue interview. I can't even bring myself to read it because of the tone I got from the quotes included in the posts. The  petty part of me hopes they fall (preferably numerous times) while C/B, C/L, and Weaver/Poje skate lights out in the free dance. I honestly don't care who gets a medal as long as H/D don't get one because I'm over the bitchy entitlement. 

Edited March 23, 2018 by sweeks

[Moxie Cat]

43 minutes ago, herbz said:

 

I hope Alina's ok. She's so young with so much pressure on her shoulders and I felt terrible for her. 

 

It's only this year. By next year the ice world will fixate on the Russian girl with the quads. Alina has to know, or at least think, that this could be her best, maybe only, opportunity to win World's. 

[displayname]

9 minutes ago, Moxie Cat said:

It's only this year. By next year the ice world will fixate on the Russian girl with the quads. 

Not yet. Not yet at all. Not even because she's just 13.

 

On the other hand, Rika Kihira's showing up with her 3A+3T and 3Lz+3Lo.

Edited March 23, 2018 by fan94

[Enero]

1 hour ago, fan94 said:

Yuna still the only lady to possess a career grand slam under IJS, after 8 years.

 

Yuna still the only singles skater to possess a career grand slam under IJS, after 8 Years.

 

(Assuming V/M and D/W for Ice Dance, and S/Z for Pairs.)

What season was her Grand Slam? Because if I’m recalling correctly she lost worlds in the 2009-2010 season, right after winning the Olympics, which is the only season I remember that she won several competitions. But no Grand Slam that season. I think all the other seasons she lost at least one competition. 

Anyway, the ladies event was shocking. I think everyone was either too tired from the Olympics or too aware of the opportunity to win (if that makes sense) and were just too keyed up to make it happen. I wasn’t impressed really with anyone except Wakaba and I really like Miyahara too, but it looked as if she was barely getting through her jumps until finally the struggle caught up to her with the last two jumping passes. 

Osmond was good, but I’m just not a fan. Congrats to her though.

I felt terrible for Alina. I agree with others that backloading a program does have its pitfalls. First off you have no time to recover because another jumping pass is coming up so quickly. Secondly, you have no time to improvise and maybe add/change an element to make up for the one missed. I hope this loss doesn’t weigh on her too heavily. I’m sure she’ll feel she has a lot to prove though come next season.

Edited March 23, 2018 by Enero

[displayname]

17 minutes ago, Enero said:

What season was her Grand Slam? Because if I’m recalling correctly she lost worlds in the 2009-2010 season, right after winning the Olympics, which is the only season I remember that she won several competitions. But no Grand Slam that season. I think all the other seasons she lost at least one competition.

Career grand slam, at least on Wiki, is that she has all the titles from her senior and junior career.

So she's JWC, JGPF, OLY, GPF, WC, and 4CC winner.

 

A grand slam as you're describing it has only been achieved by Yuzuru Hanyu, I believe, under IJS.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuna_Kim#Records_and_achievements

Edited March 24, 2018 by fan94

[annzeepark914]

19 minutes ago, Enero said:

I felt terrible for Alina. I agree with others that backloading a program does have its pitfalls. First off you have no time to recover because another jumping pass is coming up so quickly. Secondly, you have no time to improvise and maybe add/change an element to make up for the one missed. I hope this loss doesn’t weigh on her too heavily. I’m sure she’ll feel she has a lot to prove though come next season.

Maybe TPTB will finally do something about backloading/frontloading.  They need to show a balanced program. That's what figure skating is all about--athleticism and artistry (or, preparation for all the shows figure skaters would move on to after competition).  I still hope Alina will find another coach.  Eteri was shown chatting with someone while Alina was making her final end of program pose.  And Bradie?  Please, please, please get thee to Lori Nichols.