Figure Skating

[Sew Sumi]

9 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

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).

He also cited the difficult ice situation in Providence as a reason for withdrawing.

[annzeepark914]

2 hours ago, healthnut said:

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

83 pounds? No wonder she reminded me of Giada (especially her head in relation to her body).  That is truly outrageous, this weighing of skaters every daggone day. So if you want to succeed in ladies, don't have a healthy body cause you won't be able to rack up the pts doing quads. What a message this is becoming to young female skaters.

[Mellowyellow]

1 hour ago, annzeepark914 said:

83 pounds? No wonder she reminded me of Giada (especially her head in relation to her body).  That is truly outrageous, this weighing of skaters every daggone day. So if you want to succeed in ladies, don't have a healthy body cause you won't be able to rack up the pts doing quads. What a message this is becoming to young female skaters.

I get that they need to keep their weight in check but I really question whether they need to be that thin to jump.

Rika and Alysa (although very slim) don't have that scarily thin skeletal look and they jump just fine. 

I really hope it's just her build. It could very well be. My bestie was 90 pounds until she hit her mid 30s despite eating anything and everything. Hehe was a shock when she started processing food like the rest of us mere mortals 🤣

[annzeepark914]

I'm watching a tape of the FD at Skate America. Think I've found my new young team to love: Carreira & Ponamarenko. I saw his parents twice at COI back when I lived in Raleigh (this FD reminds me so much of them!)  I'd followed them since they won bronze at the '84 Olympics. Uh-oh...H/D are on. They're good skaters. But I'll never forget these two not showing up to support their fellow Americans during the team segment at the Olympics. 

[meep.meep]

20 hours ago, healthnut said:

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

It was actually uncomfortable to watch her skate.  That's the face of anorexia.  It will be a miracle if she doesn't sustain permanent damage from this regiment.

[Darknight]

19 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

83 pounds? No wonder she reminded me of Giada (especially her head in relation to her body).  That is truly outrageous, this weighing of skaters every daggone day. So if you want to succeed in ladies, don't have a healthy body cause you won't be able to rack up the pts doing quads. What a message this is becoming to young female skaters.

Eteri said she often looks at the parents especially the mother when she chooses skaters. Reminds me of what Martha and Bela use to do when gymnastics was about girls staying thin and preventing puberty. They're fighting puberty. Eteri is literally starving them to delay puberty. Like I said before, I think women can do quads  the right way. The thing is the judges want a certain look. Especially for the ladies. So a skater with Serena Williams body type or Simone's wouldn't be accepted. Quads require a  ton of power. I don't understand the need to keep girls thin so they can depend on fast rotation especially since puberty changes how fast they rotate. 

I've never heard a coach say puberty doesn't exist. That's scary to say this publicly. 

Edited October 24, 2019 by Darknight

[Mellowyellow]

I've got a very bad feeling about my injured and lutzless Rika at SC.

*Freaking out*

[redpencil]

Nathan appears in this video from Lead Together Utah, which is a collaboration of Utah sports teams/athletes started by the Utah Jazz:

[healthnut]

20 hours ago, Mellowyellow said:

I've got a very bad feeling about my injured and lutzless Rika at SC.

*Freaking out*

Have no fear so far, she’s leading after the short program. 

So what’s up with the ISU? They’ve removed all the Skate America videos and not streaming Skate Canada at all. Could I only watch last weekend because I was in Jamaica?

Edited October 25, 2019 by healthnut

[annzeepark914]

The less shown, the more disinterest in figure skating. What is the ISU thinking?

[Mellowyellow]

I just watched the saved Livestream of Skate Canada for ladies. Can you guys not find it? 

***

One hurdle down, one left. That triple axel was like butter. I've been reading reports on her practice sessions from fans and people were freaking out so I freaked out even more. 

I'm hoping for silver because once Trusova throws down those quads I think silver is the best I can hope for.

Going back in hiding for the free. After the last competition I'm going to pesimistically make room for a meltdown like the other Japanese ladies melted down at SA.

Rika is such a complete package though 😍😍😍. That triple axel is so smooth and then she just moves her body so well. If she gets the quad sorted she'll be where I'm hoping figure skating will land.

Far fetched but still hoping Bradie can sneak in a bronze. I would have had her above Trusova. Bradie has some of the best spins in the business. 

***

Poor Zhenya. Her practice sessions were reported to be very good. I really wonder what the deal is. 

[KittenPokerCheater]

I was not as impressed with the Russian girl (she truly looks about 10) as I thought I would be.  Khira slayed it, and I felt so badly for Evegenia.  I hope she is okay; part of me wonders if she is fighting an injury.

The Pairs in Skate Canada were amazing- even if there were a few questionable music choices. 

[CheshireCat]

10 minutes ago, KittenPokerCheater said:

I was not as impressed with the Russian girl (she truly looks about 10) as I thought I would be.  Khira slayed it, and I felt so badly for Evegenia.  I hope she is okay; part of me wonders if she is fighting an injury.

Judging from her coaches reaction, I'd say no. (You could hear him say that he doesn't know what to say at one point. I also think you heard him whince when she crashed on the jump. That did look painful!)

[healthnut]

1 hour ago, Mellowyellow said:

I just watched the saved Livestream of Skate Canada for ladies. Can you guys not find it? 

Says video not available 😐, are you in US?

[Mellowyellow]

Just now, healthnut said:

Says video not available 😐, are you in US?

No Australia

I was blocked from Skate America and had to rely on the other YouTube clips but it's happily sending me notices for SC and all the links work.

Do you have a VPN? If you do just switch it to say you're from Australia or something!

[HartofDixie]

Skate Canada results link

http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1920/gpcan2019/

[healthnut]

26 minutes ago, Mellowyellow said:

Do you have a VPN? If you do just switch it to say you're from Australia or something!

I was thinking about using my VPN app, definitely will tomorrow for free skates. 

It has to be NBC that is blocking the ISU on YouTube. I refuse to get their NBC Gold so I can watch competitions. 

[redpencil]

The Skate Canada men's field is pretty weak after Hanyu, but I still wouldn't have expected Camden to be in 2nd after the SP. Good for him in his senior debut! He's a beautiful skater, but needs to work on his levels. Also, I don't really expect him to go clean in the long (he doesn't seem to be able to put together two programs very often), but with this field, who knows.

[specialj67]

Watching Trusova felt like watching a junior skating—both because of her tiny size and her presence on the ice. She doesn’t seem as musical as her fellow pint-sized compatriot who won SA last week.

The ice dance event was thoroughly enjoyable. Even H/D were okay after I turned down the sound on the first part of their program so I wouldn’t have to hear “da-da-da-da-da-daddy!” again.

I wish I could feel anything when I watch Tarasova and Morozov. Objectively, they have many great skating qualities, many of their elements are big and well-executed, and their music and costuming for the short this season compliments everything they do well. But I feel nothing—nothing toward them and nothing coming from them.

Compared to Hanyu, all the other dudes this week seem...also-rans. Personally, I don’t like that he’s reusing last season’s short program, but he delivered it well. I’m looking forward to seeing how the other guys do. I could feel Nam and Camden’s joy radiating through my screen, and I’m so excited for them.

[specialj67]

Piper and Paul beat Madison and Zach! And Lilah and Lewis finished third! The results were pleasantly surprising but warranted given the performances today. I feel bad for Hawayek and Baker; their free dance is an interesting and different look for them, which is good, but it doesn’t feel fully formed yet.

[healthnut]

They won decisively, too. Three points ahead. Not surprised, definitely sending a message to H/D and a huge opportunity for Chock & Bates. 

ETA: Trusova just slayed the field. Fell on her quad salchow but landed the quad lutz and a quad toe-triple toe combo, put up 100 points on technical elements. 

Edited October 26, 2019 by healthnut

[Moxie Cat]

Only watching the scores, not a feed...but is Trusova another one who has quads? Her score is insane compared to the others.

I'm really starting to feel uncomfortable about these tiny, undernourished, replaceable Russian skaters, especially after reading upthread. I am not as familiar with all the skating history as others here, but I recognized Eteri with last week's winner and thought UH-OH.

And another question: how did H/D get both the USA and Canada slots? Why didn't Chock/Bates get one of those? They had a great season last year.

[CheshireCat]

8 minutes ago, Moxie Cat said:

Only watching the scores, not a feed...but is Trusova another one who has quads?

She attempted four and landed three. She'll probably need hip replacements by the age of 25 but hey, she had quads.

[SeanC]

1 minute ago, Moxie Cat said:

Only watching the scores, not a feed...but is Trusova another one who has quads? Her score is insane compared to the others.

Trusova is the original quad queen of this era.  She did it first among Eteri's skaters, and she has three types of quads; nobody else competing in ladies does more than one.

Quote

And another question: how did H/D get both the USA and Canada slots? Why didn't Chock/Bates get one of those? They had a great season last year.

The top six skaters at Worlds (or the top six minus anybody not competing) are seeded at the next season's Grand Prix in brackets of three.  This year the order of seeding was:

1. Papadakis/Cizeron
2. Sinitsina/Katsalapov
3. Hubbell/Donohue
4. Stepanova/Bukin
5. Chock/Bates
6. Gilles/Poirier

So 1-3 and 4-6 cannot compete at the same events as other skaters in their brackets.

Selection is then made with the Grand Prix hosts making host picks (i.e., they can pick their own skaters), then the remaining seeded skaters in order of their own preference.  Hubbell/Donohue would have been host-picked for Skate America, because the USFSA wouldn't want to invite another top-ranked foreign team, and then for their second event they got whatever the top two seeds didn't want, which in this case was Skate Canada International.

The USFSA could also have invited Chock/Bates to Skate America if they had wanted to, but they chose not to, presumably not wanting their top two dance teams competing against each other.

[specialj67]

7 minutes ago, Moxie Cat said:

Only watching the scores, not a feed...but is Trusova another one who has quads? Her score is insane compared to the others.

I'm really starting to feel uncomfortable about these tiny, undernourished, replaceable Russian skaters, especially after reading upthread. I am not as familiar with all the skating history as others here, but I recognized Eteri with last week's winner and thought UH-OH.

And another question: how did H/D get both the USA and Canada slots? Why didn't Chock/Bates get one of those? They had a great season last year.

2 minutes ago, CheshireCat said:

She attempted four and landed three.

Plus both quad toes were in combination, one of which was after the half way point. And she did a triple lutz-triple loop in the back half as well.

[Ohwell]

Admittedly, I don't follow figure skating nearly as much as I used to, but I happened to tune in today, just in time to see the last three men.  The first two were ok (didn't know their names, of course), but the third one who skated was so spectacular, he made me sit upright in my chair and put the Doritos down.  He looked familiar, turns out he was Nathan Chen.

Edited October 26, 2019 by Ohwell

[Moxie Cat]

13 minutes ago, SeanC said:

The USFSA could also have invited Chock/Bates to Skate America if they had wanted to, but they chose not to, presumably not wanting their top two dance teams competing against each other.

Thanks for the detailed explanation! I get that. I do hope that C/B have a great season this year and start to pull even with H/D.

I'm also thrilled to see that Great Britain has another dance team doing well, following Penny Coombs and Nicholas Buckland.

[carrier76]

So I was just at a nail salon, and they had NBC on. It was supposed to be Skate Canada, but they were replaying the men’s long program from Skate America? Wtf?

[Moxie Cat]

3 minutes ago, carrier76 said:

but they were replaying the men’s long program from Skate America? Wtf?

Damn, really? I was pissed last week when they only ran an hour of the ladies' long programs for their recap of Skate America (a WHOLE hour! women singles only! forget about who actually won!). There is a real argument to be made that NBC's ridiculous programming of skating contributes to the decline of interest in ice skating in the U.S. That said, thanks for the heads-up - I missed the men last week and now I'm going to check it out.

[carrier76]

1 hour ago, Moxie Cat said:

Damn, really? I was pissed last week when they only ran an hour of the ladies' long programs for their recap of Skate America (a WHOLE hour! women singles only! forget about who actually won!). There is a real argument to be made that NBC's ridiculous programming of skating contributes to the decline of interest in ice skating in the U.S. That said, thanks for the heads-up - I missed the men last week and now I'm going to check it out.

Yes, I ffwded through the recording was some ice dancing and men’s long. I had just watched the men at home on DVR, and I looked up and saw Alexei Bychenko amd realized I had JUST seen that.

[annzeepark914]

NBC is killing this sport thanks to their greed.  They want people to sign up for their special broadcasting of the Grand Prix events and pay for it.  I wonder what it's going to be like when Nationals and Worlds are held. Disgusting.

[crimsongrl]

Skate Canada airs tomorrow on NBC @ 4:30 Eastern for 90 minutes.

[carrier76]

12 minutes ago, crimsongrl said:

Skate Canada airs tomorrow on NBC @ 4:30 Eastern for 90 minutes.

Thank you!!! 

[SeanC]

1 hour ago, annzeepark914 said:

NBC is killing this sport thanks to their greed.  They want people to sign up for their special broadcasting of the Grand Prix events and pay for it.  I wonder what it's going to be like when Nationals and Worlds are held. Disgusting.

That's the changing of sports broadcasting models.  Much like last year, where, for instance, much of Nationals was broadcast live on NBC, other parts on NBCSN and the earliest parts just on Gold.

[Mellowyellow]

I ❤️❤️❤️Rika. Munchkin pulled through and did the best she could under the circumstances. I loathe her LP music but I'll watch it for Rika cuz I adore her skating.

I've decided Bradie has my favorite programs this season. I'm puzzled why her tech is watered down based on the score sheet though. I know she got dinged for URs but her base value is low and she's a very capable skater. Is she taking it easy because of the injury?

[specialj67]

As impressive as Hanyu was tonight, I think I was more in awe of how well Nam Nguyen did following him. I can’t imagine the kind of mental skill or whatever it takes to perform after someone like Hanyu goes out and skates like it’s the GD Olympics and not let the energy of the arena overwhelm you. That Nam was able to feed off that energy and do as well as he did was so delightful to watch.

I still don’t love that Yuzuru is using the same programs, but 100% love the purple/black costume. I sincerely hope he can maintain his physical health and finally make it to another GPF. 
 

ETA: Camden Pulkinen, WTF happened? There is no good reason why you shouldn’t have been able to beat Keiji Tanaka for third place!

Edited October 27, 2019 by specialj67

[wintrygal]

Way to go Nam!  So impressive, and I'm so happy for him, highlight of the night for me.

[SeanC]

33 minutes ago, specialj67 said:

ETA: Camden Pulkinen, WTF happened? There is no good reason why you shouldn’t have been able to beat Keiji Tanaka for third place!

Camden typically disintegrates completely in the free skate when he's done well in the short (see:  2019 Junior Worlds, 2018-19 JGP Final), and often even when he hasn't (see:  2019 US Nationals).  So his performance here was a huge positive step for him, even if it wasn't enough to stay on the podium.

[Sew Sumi]

Yup. I was proud of Camden tonight. Nam and Keiji just had great skates to nab the silver and bronze. Nothing for Camden to be ashamed of.

[displayname]

3 hours ago, Mellowyellow said:

I'm puzzled why her tech is watered down based on the score sheet though.

This is typical content for someone who has neither a 3A, nor a quad...

[Mellowyellow]

8 minutes ago, displayname said:

This is typical content for someone who has neither a 3A, nor a quad...

Evgenia had a higher base value for some reason and Bradie only did one flip. 

[SeanC]

10 minutes ago, Mellowyellow said:

Evgenia had a higher base value for some reason and Bradie only did one flip. 

Bradie did two Lutzes; her other repeat triple jump is, as is normal for ladies, the toe loop.

Evgenia’s BV is higher than Bradie’s because Evgenia does an atypical loop combination and thus does two loops instead of two toe loops (which Bradie tried last year but couldn’t make work consistently), and also Bradie’s URs.

[Mellowyellow]

6 minutes ago, SeanC said:

Bradie did two Lutzes; her other repeat triple jump is, as is normal for ladies, the toe loop.

Evgenia’s BV is higher than Bradie’s because Evgenia does an atypical loop combination and thus does two loops instead of two toe loops (which Bradie tried last year but couldn’t make work consistently), and also Bradie’s URs.

Ahh for some reason I thought she could repeat but didn't repeat the flip.

[displayname]

Bradie also missed her 3 jump combo for that matter.

[Darknight]

Watching Trusova and her falls scare me. The way she lands I would hope they fix it before she gets hurt. It seems like her quads are a hit or miss. Sometimes she lands sometimes she doesn't. A person who saw her live said her jumps aren't all that big and the choreography was just her skating around the ring.  At least Anna has musicality and flows with the music. It's also interesting to see how she scores without quads. She needs quads to win because it's clear as day her team isn't working on anything else with her. Rika was only 11 points below her with four quads. Alena was I believe 4 points away from her with her quad layout. I thought she would score higher based on TCS alone. 

Hanyu was so amazing. He keeps improving and improving. 

Evgenia in my opinion will not make a World's team this year. I still can't believe this is the same skater who broke records and went undefeated for two seasons. 

ISU is replacing the gala with an awards show. Someone replace the ISU please. Do they just throw ideas out there? Some fans are pissed because they brought tickets already. 

[ChicksDigScars]

On 10/26/2019 at 3:51 PM, specialj67 said:

Piper and Paul beat Madison and Zach! And Lilah and Lewis finished third! The results were pleasantly surprising but warranted given the performances today. I feel bad for Hawayek and Baker; their free dance is an interesting and different look for them, which is good, but it doesn’t feel fully formed yet.

Wow. So I guess H/D can't blame the Shibs, now. Seems like they're being sent messages by the international judges that face clutching, bodice ripping, faux romance on ice isn't doing it AGAIN.  Unfortunately, they'll probably continue to be overscored by U.S. judges, like all the top U.S. skaters are. 

Personally, I prefer Chock and Bates, Ponomorenko and Carriere, AND Hawayek and Baker to H/D (you're shocked, I know). 

And count me in with the crowd who does NOT like watching tiny little replaceable Russians being starved to death for the Almighty Quad. 

Edited October 28, 2019 by ChicksDigScars

[annzeepark914]

@ChicksDigScars: did you hear a distant voice from across the miles yelling, "Yessssssssssssssssss"?  I'm trying to find my copy of a schedule showing when this week a tape of Skate Canada will be broadcast so I can see the expressions on H/D's faces. And I can't get over how much Carriera and Ponamarenko remind me so much of his parents skating style (well, his mom *was* his/their original coach I believe).

Not a fan of C/B's FD this season but they still look so much better after moving to Canada for training. Someone up there performed a miraculous transformation with this team.

[Maelstrom]

3 hours ago, ChicksDigScars said:

And count me in with the crowd who does NOT like watching tiny little replaceable Russians being starved to death for the Almighty Quad. 

Same here! It's one of the main reasons I've stopped watching Ladies skating for the most part. Though I actually watched the other women that NBC deigned to show us from Skate Canada, and really enjoyed them. Bradie's come a long way since I saw her last, she impressed me.

Loved watching Yuzuru, which I always do, but Nam Nguyen was an unexpected delight! Kurt Browning's one of my all-time favorites, and I could really see him coming through in the choreography. Nam did a wonderful job bringing the program to life and letting himself shine - especially having to follow someone like Yuzuru.

[KittenPokerCheater]

I hope that someday a russian skater will be able to write a novel, a la Dominique Moceanu about their experiences and what it is like to train with Eteri.  

[Sew Sumi]

Med's in a position to write it any time now. But if she's smart, she should wait until those jumping beans force her to retire because she's no longer invited to Russian Nationals.