Figure Skating

[displayname]

10 hours ago, SeanC said:

I expect they will, but that doesn't help when it's the program itself that is subject to the copyright strike.  So effectively, for many programs it will be impossible to see them unless you watch live, which is never going to be viable for a large chunk of the global fandom depending on where the event is.

I don't understand. Do you mean because of music rights? Admittedly I don't go back and rewatch junior programs, but seems like the videos are still around on the YouTube channel. An entire stream is preserved too, in fact.

Edited October 16, 2019 by displayname

[SeanC]

5 hours ago, displayname said:

I don't understand. Do you mean because of music rights? Admittedly I don't go back and rewatch junior programs, but seems like the videos are still around on the YouTube channel. An entire stream is preserved too, in fact.

Most programs are up, but some aren’t because they get copyright striked by the owners of the music rights.  If you skate to the Beatles, for instance, it’s highly likely to be taken down.  Or muted (as is the case with Soucisse/Firus’ “It’s Not Unusual” from this season).

[displayname]

4 minutes ago, SeanC said:

Most programs are up, but some aren’t because they get copyright striked by the owners of the music rights.  If you skate to the Beatles, for instance, it’s highly likely to be taken down.  Or muted (as is the case with Soucisse/Firus’ “It’s Not Unusual” from this season).

OK. I'll take this over what was happening last season though, not to mention music strikes already did take vids off YT (and made them inaccessible to people who didn't have the competitions broadcast in their countries -- pretty much as is going to be the case now). This is essentially a substitute to the Eurovision streams from last season, which we won't be having anymore.

[SeanC]

1 minute ago, displayname said:

OK. I'll take this over what was happening last season though, not to mention music strikes already did take vids off YT (and made them inaccessible to people who didn't have the competitions broadcast in their countries -- pretty much as is going to be the case now). This is essentially a substitute to the Eurovision streams from last season, which we won't be having anymore.

That still means that if you’re in most of Europe or Canada, the quality of coverage has gone down.

[displayname]

8 minutes ago, SeanC said:

That still means that if you’re in most of Europe or Canada, the quality of coverage has gone down.

Sure, agreed. I think skating as a sport needs proper archiving of videos, so I'm still glad this is happening as it prevents random broadcasting companies making copyright strikes, although yes I wish the ISU had come up with a much better solution that could preserve those broadcasts, as well as properly archive videos.

I don't get why they were letting Eurovision handle countries without broadcasting rights, and not just casting a geoblocked YT stream themselves, so they could archive, for instance. But it is what it is.

I do want Browning to continue his job as a commentator, though. Hope he gets tapped for this.

Edited October 16, 2019 by displayname

[Darknight]

Eurosport was my favorite. I wish they would replace Johnny and Tara. ISU needs remarketing. 

Edited October 17, 2019 by Darknight

[displayname]

Apparently, CBC IS doing streams.

[displayname]

https://fsjudging.wordpress.com/2019/10/17/judging-bias-and-figure-skating-part-one-nationalistic-bias/

[SeanC]

The dance event at Skate America will be interesting, as it's got a number of prominent teams we haven't seen compete yet -- with both Hubbell/Donohue and Stepanova/Bukin we haven't seen their programs, period; Zahorski/Guerreiro were at the Russian test skates, but haven't done an actual event yet.

In pairs, hoping for Peng/Jin to get their first Grand Prix gold, though her triple Salchow is, as ever, a problem.

[Ruby Gillis]

23 minutes ago, SeanC said:

The dance event at Skate America will be interesting, as it's got a number of prominent teams we haven't seen compete yet -- with both Hubbell/Donohue and Stepanova/Bukin we haven't seen their programs, period;

Practice footage if anyone's interested...

[HartofDixie]

Results link for Skate Americahttp://www.isuresults.com/results/season1920/gpusa2019/

[healthnut]

BIG thumbs up to ISU for putting the Grand Prix competitions on YouTube. I’ve already watched the pairs and now I’m watching the men’s short program. Don’t have to listen to anyone’s commentary. It’s great!

[wintrygal]

14 hours ago, HartofDixie said:

Results link for Skate Americahttp://www.isuresults.com/results/season1920/gpusa2019/

Thanks for posting this!  It's great.

[redpencil]

The top 3 ladies were all so great. I LOVED Bradie's program. It really works for me. Also, her spins were glorious. Easily the best of the night for me.

Also a really nice return from Karen Chen after all the injuries and not competing all last year. Wasn't perfect by any means, but a really nice program for her, and a good start to the season.

Edited October 19, 2019 by redpencil

[Mellowyellow]

Go Bradie!!!!! Woot!!!!! She was so fast I actually checked to see if I'd gotten a dodgy clip that was speeding up her skating 😂

Absolutely awesome! She's evolving and making really smart choices in her programs. 

I love her free program too and her dresses this season are beautiful.

ETA: Just saw Kaori's program which was freaking awesome too! She really sold that! The energy was amazing. I didn't watch the Livestream but that would have been so cool to see back to back with Bradie's. 

Edited October 19, 2019 by Mellowyellow

[Darknight]

I just can't get into Chen's programs this year. He was over scored to the core. 

Bradie needs a makeover. I don't like her costume or her look.  

Poor Liza. It looks like she is changing and improving but with 3 other ladies doing 3a the judges are being shady with her tech scores. She needs better spins and and skating skills. Hopefully she'll work on them. 

Jason was awesome. Great skating skills and he deserved his PCS scores. 

Anna, should've stayed in juniors for one more year. I'm not saying that to be mean at all but she only had a short time as a junior because of her injury. She is a sweet girl with a mixture of musicality and personality but they need to get rid of the 4Lz. She can't land it and depending on fast rotation isn't good. And wasn't her score 67 a few weeks ago? Do judges just copy and past scores across the board? 

I can't get into Maddie and Zach's program. Maybe that will change throughout the season. 

[healthnut]

48 minutes ago, Darknight said:

And wasn't her score 67 a few weeks ago? Do judges just copy and past scores across the board? 

Anna fell on her step sequence otherwise she would’ve scored around 70-71.

LOVED Jason’s program, too bad he singled his triple axel, he’s a t such a disadvantage without a quad, but he’s so beautiful to watch. 

I really enjoyed Cain-Gribble & Leduc’s program, too. Again, too bad they fell on their throw triple lutz. 

Don't care for Hubbell/Donohue’s rhythym dance. Super boring music choice compared to a lot of the other selections and she looked really old. Their skills are good, they skate very big, hopefully I’ll like their free dance better. 

[annzeepark914]

All I've seen so far is the 2nd group of the ladies but I was stunned watching Bradie. Loved the choreography and noted that she's back to skating with confidence (the way she skated before winning Nationals last year). And I also loved her spread eagle entry to & exit from a double axel. 

Edited October 19, 2019 by annzeepark914

[KittenPokerCheater]

I didn’t get to watch too closely (so I will watch again later) but Bradie was spot on tonight.  Her movements and timing were flawless- I think anyway.

And Kaori/Hamaguchi were incredible.

There was a russian girl who scared me because her arms looked liked noodles they were so thin.  I hope she is still young, because if she is 18+ someone needs to call a doctor stat.  

Look forward to watching the other programs tonight.

[displayname]

2 hours ago, KittenPokerCheater said:

And Kaori/Hamaguchi were incredible.

Kaori/(Wakaba) Higuchi haha

[SeanC]

8 hours ago, Darknight said:

Poor Liza. It looks like she is changing and improving but with 3 other ladies doing 3a the judges are being shady with her tech scores.

There's nothing questionable about Liza's tech scores.  She got good GOE on the Axel, and then botched her other two jumping passes; and her spins and steps have never been a strong point (though especially with the spins I think she's got inherent limitations there, as all the back injuries, etc. have clearly affected her flexibility).  She looked tired throughout, which isn't really surprising since she competed last weekend (a choice I hadn't thought about the wisdom of at the time, but in retrospect, whose idea was that?).

I was thrilled for Wakaba, who hasn't had a good short program since the 2017 Grand Prix Final.  I definitely wasn't expecting that because after all the injury problems last season, her debut at Lombardia a few weeks ago was a disaster.

Impressed with Keegan's mental strength, considering recent events.

[healthnut]

What happened with Keegan Messing? I see something about a younger brother but I can’t find a story. 

[doodlebug]

31 minutes ago, healthnut said:

What happened with Keegan Messing? I see something about a younger brother but I can’t find a story. 

Keegan's brother was killed in a motorcycle accident at the end of September.

https://www.bing.com/search?q=keegan+messing+brother&form=EDNTHT&mkt=en-us&httpsmsn=1&plvar=0&refig=67670be13af940a7f042c6b19208c5b9&sp=2&qs=AS&pq=keegan+messin&sk=PRES1AS1&sc=8-13&cvid=67670be13af940a7f042c6b19208c5b9&cc=US&setlang=en-US

ETA: Keegan's brother, Paxon, was 26 years old, married with 3 very young children.

Also, as many already know, Keegan just got married in August.  Talk about your highs and lows.  

Edited October 19, 2019 by doodlebug

[Darknight]

4 hours ago, SeanC said:

There's nothing questionable about Liza's tech scores.  She got good GOE on the Axel, and then botched her other two jumping passes; and her spins and steps have never been a strong point (though especially with the spins I think she's got inherent limitations there, as all the back injuries, etc. have clearly affected her flexibility).  She looked tired throughout, which isn't really surprising since she competed last weekend (a choice I hadn't thought about the wisdom of at the time, but in retrospect, whose idea was that?).

I was thrilled for Wakaba, who hasn't had a good short program since the 2017 Grand Prix Final.  I definitely wasn't expecting that because after all the injury problems last season, her debut at Lombardia a few weeks ago was a disaster.

Impressed with Keegan's mental strength, considering recent events.

Liza also needs to work on her speed. She is very slow. I really hope she listens to the advice of the judges. It looks like she is. I also hope next season she sticks with choreography and doesn't change anything. I have a feeling Mishin is old school. 

3 hours ago, doodlebug said:

Keegan's brother was killed in a motorcycle accident at the end of September.

https://www.bing.com/search?q=keegan+messing+brother&form=EDNTHT&mkt=en-us&httpsmsn=1&plvar=0&refig=67670be13af940a7f042c6b19208c5b9&sp=2&qs=AS&pq=keegan+messin&sk=PRES1AS1&sc=8-13&cvid=67670be13af940a7f042c6b19208c5b9&cc=US&setlang=en-US

ETA: Keegan's brother, Paxon, was 26 years old, married with 3 very young children.

Also, as many already know, Keegan just got married in August.  Talk about your highs and lows.  

Omg. I didn't know Keegan got married in August. Wow. Poor guy is going through a lot but is also so strong. My heart goes out to him. 

[Matryoshka]

Considering how prevalent eating disorders are in this sport having (dieting app) Noom as a prominent sponsor seems a little tone-deaf to me.

[annzeepark914]

I skipped the men's LP until Nathan's performance. It was wonderful. He did his quads but he also put on a show. Great choreography + the Rocketman soundtrack + Nathan skating lights out. The only negative was that his music sounded tinny. I don't know if it was the sound system in that arena or what. But he got a standing ovation. 

[Sew Sumi]

Jason was also just sublime. 

Back to pairs for a moment, CG/L were a mess. Falls, popped jumps, aborted lifts...just about everything that could go wrong did. Congrats to D/F on their pidium. That was a PB LP for them. 

Can't wait to see how the ladies shake out tonight! I'll be happy with any of the top 3 winning. 

As for dance, Maddie Hubbell needs to fire mommy seamstress and find someone who can make flattering dresses. Her Marilyn dress was awful, and it hindered any enjoyment I got out of the program. I think they were overscored.

[alexa]

All of the lyric songs started to wear on me.  I don’t think so many skaters have used them in the past in one competition.  I really enjoyed Bradie’s anyway, but the music was a nice change.  

[Chaser]

I wasn’t sure about Nathan’s long program but by the end of that final step sequence I was smiling. Excited to see how the program grows over the season.

I’m happy for Bradie. She’s come a long way from ‘Cinderella’ and you can really see how she’s trying to push herself.

[specialj67]

The men’s free skate was rough. Is the Skate America men’s event always this iffy—since this is usually the first GP event of the season? Kudos to Nathan for only doubling one planned quad and to Jason for only doubling one planned triple today. They have wildly different performance energies, and I love that. Though their good cannot outweigh the rest of whatever the hell was happening with most of the other competitors.

The free dance just finished, and wowee, the judges are not effing around with putting H/D on notice with that free dance. Personally, I didn’t think Stepanova and Bukin were better in the free, even by that small of a fraction of a point, but I do think their program has more potential to grow. It serves them way better than that what they did last season. 

I was very impressed with the two lower ranked US teams—especially Carreira and Ponomarenko. Their flamenco free skate was my fave of the event.

[Souris]

So impressed with Bradie’s improvement. She really stepped it up. Though her short-program dress was tragic.

Really enjoyed the Japanese ladies, too.

So surprising (but also nice) not to see Russians all over the top three after the short.

Nathan was great, though I didn’t think the end of his music worked well. It seemed to just sort of trail off. But the step sequence was fun. That shirt sure was something. As a friend says, it was “a lot of look.”

I love Jason, but I just don’t like people skating to Schindler’s List. It doesn’t sit well with me. People applaud moves during it, and it jars me. It seems inappropriate.

[Mellowyellow]

Well done Bradie!!!!!! Terrific performance in the face of quads and triple axels.

Fantastic start considering she was in a boot not long ago *does happy dance*

Omg I want her to make the GPF so badly!!!!!!!!

Anyone know why they shipped her off to back to back competitions? Surely the Fed should protect their best skater a bit more?

[justmehere]

4 hours ago, Sew Sumi said:

Jason was also just sublime. 

I don't know much of anything about skating, but I love watching Jason Brown. Jumps are nice and can be quite beautiful, but artistry really does it for me.

I like Nathan Chen and thought his dance at the end was great. He seemed natural (although I couldn't hear the music for all the screaming!). I just wanted more balance rather than all the jumps and then the dance at the end. Incorporate some moves elsewhere. 

[healthnut]

Holy Sh#t Anna Scherbakova. She turns 16 March 28 so she’s not age eligible for world, right? No one outside of Rika Kihira has a chance in hell of beating these girls this season. Not sure how they will hold for Beijing but right now it really sucks to be Russian, Elizaveta and Medvedeva have zero chance of making the world team in my opinion, I think Zagitova can sneak in there but between Scherbakova, Trusova, and Kostornaia, it hard to see a path for anyone else if they stay healthy and relatively clean. 

[specialj67]

Purely as a viewer, I was quite impressed with Scherbakova’s quads—less so with the triple-triples later in her free skate, and her artistry in general. 

Also very impressed with Bradie’s skating in general, and that her performance ability and skating skills are nearing parity with her technical scores. Her competitive spirit is admirable. I am looking forward to watching her more this season.

Watching Tuktamysheva feels like watching a show skater—which is both good and bad. She’s very good at winning over the audience, but her programs aren’t very interesting when she’s not jumping. The choreography is minimal to nonexistent outside of a couple of neat moves in the field moments in the back half of her free skate. And because this is a competition program and not a show program, she doesn’t do more fun and crowd-pleasing things that audiences love because they don’t get much, if any, points in a competition.

[annzeepark914]

Well, as Southerners say...I swannee. So, is Sherbakova naturally this thin or is it a result of Eteri's starvation regimen? Anna will probably always be thin if she was born this way...born to spin. I bet she could do 5 spins. I feel my favorite sport moving away from me. Show skating has never appealed to me. Several years ago, Bradie's LP would have been gold, swooned over. Ice dance is the only discipline that still holds my interest but I didn't get to see it this weekend. 

[SeanC]

6 hours ago, healthnut said:

Holy Sh#t Anna Scherbakova. She turns 16 March 28 so she’s not age eligible for world, right? 

Worlds has the same eligibility as every other senior event.

[SeanC]

13 hours ago, Mellowyellow said:

Anyone know why they shipped her off to back to back competitions? Surely the Fed should protect their best skater a bit more?

Since Bradie wasn't one of the 1-2 or 3-4 seeds, other than being host-picked for Skate America the USFSA had no control over what her other assignment was.  It came down to what order the Grand Prix hosts made their picks and who each fed selected; the USFSA could in theory have tried to negotiate with the other feds in terms of who they picked, but that gets quite complicated with all the variables.

And as far as it goes, Kelowna is pretty near to Vegas so it's not a big travel issue, which helps.

[displayname]

I don't think 16 years is needed to participate at senior worlds? I think Scherbackova will be age-eligible. And yes, currently it is difficult for me to see anyone but her, Trusova, and Kostornaia standing a chance at making the team, except for Zagitova. Medvedeva's at Skate Canada, so we'll see how she's looking though.

[KittenPokerCheater]

Beautiful skating by Bradie- I am now a huge fan of her now.

Nathan was wearing the worst shirt ever.  What was he thinking?

Also, Jason Brown’s long program (I didn’t see his short) was touching.  He may not have quads, but he more than makes up for it in grace and beauty.

The Russian Skater with the quads is beautiful, her skating is stunning and she deserved the win.  But she is so scarily skinny.  I hope that she is healthier than she looks on tv, since looks can be deceiving.  

With the Russian women seeming to dominate for the next few years, I guess the race should be for Silver for everyone else- like it is with the G.O.A.T Simone Biles In gymnastics. 

[Jeddah]

3 hours ago, KittenPokerCheater said:

Nathan was wearing the worst shirt ever.  What was he thinking?

I don’t know. Michal Brezina’s shirt might be the worst. Did Raf get a deal on ugly shirts for his skaters?

I thought all of the costumes were bad. Kaori  had two awful costumes. Bradie’s short program dress was awful. Elizaveta’s long program outfit was awful. I could keep going.

I only like Anna’s dress because of the Cinderella moment where she changes. It was at least something different.

[annzeepark914]

I kinda liked Nathan's psychedelic shirt.  Elton would have been proud to wear it.  At least Nathan wasn't wearing feathers!

[CheshireCat]

On 10/20/2019 at 8:40 AM, healthnut said:

Holy Sh#t Anna Scherbakova. She turns 16 March 28 so she’s not age eligible for world, right?

She had to be 15 by July 1st of this year, so unless I'm missing something, she should be age eligible.

[Mellowyellow]

Love Nathan's step sequence although I imagine it would be hard to perform if he missed any quads in between. It's the perfect step sequence for when you nail all your jumps. Not so much if you missed them cuz it requires so much pep and happiness.

[redpencil]

Quote

Nathan was wearing the worst shirt ever.  What was he thinking?

Apparently he said in the post-competition press conference that his mom made it. They just went into the fabric store and picked out some fabric they thought was cool. Which I think is adorable and makes me love it. Though he also said it was never intended to be his final costume of the season.

I actually really loved Bradie's short program costume. I can see it could be improved a bit if the front and back wasn't so much the same, but I still liked it a lot. And the color is fab on her.

[Jeddah]

1 hour ago, redpencil said:

Apparently he said in the post-competition press conference that his mom made it. They just went into the fabric store and picked out some fabric they thought was cool. Which I think is adorable and makes me love it. Though he also said it was never intended to be his final costume of the season

Well, now I feel bad for hating it! His mom made it! That’s so sweet! 

[Mellowyellow]

I was a bit bummed last season that Bradie didn't get much attention despite having really good programs.

Now after SA I've been seeing all sorts of conspiracy posts about her and her alleged under rotations. It cracks me up and I'm pleased that she's managed to do well enough to bring out the conspiracy theorists. You know you're going up in the world when people start screaming UR at you 😂

[Darknight]

On 10/20/2019 at 1:10 PM, annzeepark914 said:

Well, as Southerners say...I swannee. So, is Sherbakova naturally this thin or is it a result of Eteri's starvation regimen? Anna will probably always be thin if she was born this way...born to spin. I bet she could do 5 spins. I feel my favorite sport moving away from me. Show skating has never appealed to me. Several years ago, Bradie's LP would have been gold, swooned over. Ice dance is the only discipline that still holds my interest but I didn't get to see it this weekend. 

Dani mentioned he is impressed how little she eats. She gets full off of three shrimp and he praised her for that. This after the fact Anna already broke her leg and was out for a season and had to relearn how to walk. 

I love ice dance but man the politics in ice dance is just as bad. 

I honestly believe Russia will choose Alina, Alexandra, and Anna, if they all hold up for worlds. Alena doesn't have a quad and that's what they're pushing. After seeing a ten year old land a quad, it looks like Russia fed doesn't care about anything else. 

Let's see if skate Canada will be strict like they're usually are. 

On 10/21/2019 at 10:56 AM, displayname said:

I don't think 16 years is needed to participate at senior worlds? I think Scherbackova will be age-eligible. And yes, currently it is difficult for me to see anyone but her, Trusova, and Kostornaia standing a chance at making the team, except for Zagitova. Medvedeva's at Skate Canada, so we'll see how she's looking though.

You have to turn 15 by June 30. So the cut off would be 6/30/2004. Anna was born in March. If she was born in July she wouldn't be a senior this year. 

[annzeepark914]

Vincent Zhou dropped out of the Grand Prix. He's a freshman at Brown & finding it difficult to successfully juggle studies and training. I'm not surprised. What amazes me is Nathan being able to do this (well, so far).

[healthnut]

On 10/20/2019 at 12:10 PM, annzeepark914 said:

So, is Sherbakova naturally this thin or is it a result of Eteri's starvation regimen?

Dave Lease (of the skating lesson) says rumor is she has to stay at 38kg, which is 83 lbs. Her arms are painfully thin.