Figure Skating

[stealinghome]

Agreed--they were so much fun! One of highlights of the night. And their reaction is slaying me.

[Crankybroad]

It seems like too much of the team competition is on the pairs. Why do they have to skate twice?

I'm too anxious to enjoy skating sometimes. 

Edited February 11, 2018 by Crankybroad

[twoods]

The rest skate twice tomorrow with their free skates.

Did I miss the Italians' score?

Edited February 11, 2018 by twoods

[Silver Raven]

6 minutes ago, twoods said:

The rest skate twice tomorrow with their free skates.

Did I miss the Italians' score?

It was 137, I think.

I keep hearing during the speed skating that they brought in experts from Salt Lake City to make sure the ice was hard.  Why wasn't that done at the figure skating venue?

There are a lot of empty seats there.

And more Americans land on the ice.  Sigh.

[specialj67]

6 minutes ago, twoods said:

The rest skate twice tomorrow with their free skates.

Did I miss the Italians' score?

They had a new personal best—138! I hope they can replicate it in the individual event.

[MaKaM]

7 minutes ago, Crankybroad said:

It seems like too much of the team competition is on the pairs. Why do they have to skate twice?

I'm too anxious to enjoy skating sometimes. 

? Every discipline skates twice. US only has 1 pair so they can't be substituted. 

[Souris]

Not sure why the Knierems didn't go for the quad in the team event, since that is their shot at a medal.

[Thumper]

Casual viewer.  I loved Medvedeva's performance.  

Osmond's performance was much less graceful and smooth.  To me, she seemed to hit the skills (probably the wrong word), but she seemed rather clunky in her moves. 

[Crankybroad]

Is there a reason the US only has one pair? How many does everyone else have?

Clearly I know nothing about the sport. (I'm more of a soccer person.)

Edited February 11, 2018 by Crankybroad

[Dots And Stripes]

1 minute ago, Crankybroad said:

Is there a reason the US only has one pair? How many dies everyone else have?

Clearly I know nothing about the sport. (I'm more of a soccer person.)

Last season's international performance determines the number of spots each country gets. US only qualified one. Also, each country gets two substitutions in the Team event, so the countries switching out pairs will have to use an individual skater twice.

[scarynikki12]

Johnny said the Canadian woman had “slight hands down” after the throw quad...  Johnny, hon, she had both palms on the ice. I’d say that was full on hands down on the ice. 

[Quiet1ne]

The number of slots for each discipline is determined by placement at last years World Championships.  The US did not do well enough to qualify for more than one pairs slot.

[MaKaM]

Just now, Quiet1ne said:

The number of slots for each discipline is determined by placement at last years World Championships.  The US did not do well enough to qualify for more than one pairs slot.

And, even if they had, it is unlikely they would use one of the two substitutions on pairs. 

[Silver Raven]

I like the bar at the bottom of the score that shows whether it's a yellow, green or red on each move.

[Quickbeam]

Maybe out of sequence here but the woman who skated for France? Absolutely stunning to look at but seemed completely out of her league. Is she really the best French skater right now?

[stealinghome]

6 minutes ago, Souris said:

Not sure why the Knierems didn't go for the quad in the team event, since that is their shot at a medal.

Yeah, you hope they won't look back on that and wish they'd gone for the quad. I wonder if they put too much pressure on themselves to replicate the skate of their lives and decided to play it too safe.

[scarynikki12]

Just now, Silver Raven said:

I like the bar at the bottom of the score that shows whether it's a yellow, green or red on each move.

Agreed. It’s nice that it actually means something and gives us an idea of how they’re doing independent of our own reactions. I wish gymnastics would do something like this.

[Dots And Stripes]

1 minute ago, stealinghome said:

Yeah, you hope they won't look back on that and wish they'd gone for the quad. I wonder if they put too much pressure on themselves to replicate the skate of their lives and decided to play it too safe.

They're almost 12 points back from the Italian Team. My hunch is OAR will easily beat them too (basing that solely on Russia's rep bc I know nothing about this pair). If the quad twist wouldn't have changed their ranking, then playing it safe would be the right call. The ranking is all that matters.

[Crankybroad]

Thanks everyone. I didn't realize the team competition continued tomorrow.  I thought this was it and only the pair went twice.  

[Silver Raven]

I'm watching the live stream (which, oddly, is actually running a few seconds behind the NBC broadcast), and they occasionally show the skaters from the ceiling looking down.  An odd angle.

Who is the woman announcing the live stream?  She sounds Australian.

Edited February 11, 2018 by Silver Raven

[SophiaD]

I think I heard Tara say they'd only get 1-2 points for the quad instead of the triple.  From what I remember (from Katia Gordeeva's book), it's an extremely strenuous element that's really rough on the heart.  They may have played it safe to just get through the program.

[Souris]

Do we know yet who'll do the ladies and dance free skates? I know Rippon is doing the free for the men.

[specialj67]

5 minutes ago, Souris said:

Do we know yet who'll do the ladies and dance free skates? I know Rippon is doing the free for the men.

I think it’s Mirai for the women and the Shibs again for dance. That’s the scuttlebutt, anyway.

[gatopretoNYC]

5 minutes ago, Souris said:

Do we know yet who'll do the ladies and dance free skates? I know Rippon is doing the free for the men.

I'm pretty sure Mirai, and the Shibs

[DawnDavenport]

3 hours ago, PoshSprinkles said:

Nothing like Nickelback at the Olympics. 

Nickelback? I can't wait for a time when the required dance is hip-hop and someone does Baby Got Back. Imagine the possibilities.

[HartofDixie]

[friendperidot]

I wouldn't know Nickleback from Quarterback. I'm old, I listen to doowop and the Everly Brothers. Seriously, I do appreciate some of Tanith's commentary, explaining about the Christmas tree silhouette, it tells me something to watch for.

Is there no throwing flowers and stuffed animals on the ice now? Or is it reserved for the non team events? I enjoyed watching swarms of young skaters picking up all the stuff, but I can see how it could be a hazard if something got missed.

I am also enjoying many of the costumes, but the illusion netting for the backs of men's shirts is a look I could do without. I particularly liked Tessa's in the free dance and the Italian's in the long program. 

While I know that speed is important and separates many of the levels of the dancers, sometimes I think too much speed comes off as looking frantic, especially for the dancers.

[MaKaM]

If the Shibs get pipped for a medal because they can't do sexy, they should do a satire sexy routine next time. Copy Virtue and Moir's face grabby choreography and make everyone suuuuper uncomfortable as a screw you. 

Edited February 11, 2018 by MaKaM

[blackwing]

I suppose I understand the Illusion netting for women.  It's to make them look like they are wearing a strapless dress or have a plunging neckline while preserving their modesty.  But I really don't get the purpose of Illusion netting for men.  Is there a modesty issue there that prevents them from having bare arms or upper chests?  Would the men really care?  The sheer back look is just odd, and it's also odd seeing pit hair and upper arm tattoos through the sheer.  Either have bare arms, or don't.  But don't make it look like they are bare when they aren't.  It's just weird.

[NUguy514]

3 hours ago, voiceover said:

I ask this without snark: why are Virtue/Moir back? 

I will answer with snark: because Scott Moir is in love with his own self-hagiography and will not let Tessa retire until the two of them win a second OGM.  They were easily the best tonight, but their expressions were so overwrought.

Speaking of overwrought, Medvedeva's facial expressions – apparently, these now count as artistic, but they're really not.  Her technique really isn't that great, although she was certainly clean.  Blech.

I cannot handle Johnny's verbal orgasming over anything Russian.  I really can't.

[Avaleigh]

5 minutes ago, NUguy514 said:

.I cannot handle Johnny's verbal orgasming over anything Russian.  I really can't.

This. So much of this. 

[annzeepark914]

Watching 3 disciplines in one evening was almost too much for this skate fan!  Well, Adam better have his game on and fuhgeddabout having any anxiety (like he had at Nationals).  Counting on him to be focused on his LP and nothing else going on at the O's.  Even though the Italian pair team beat K/K, I really liked their LP.  I can't remember who he skated with before his current partner but that former pairing was never as sharp looking as this one (can't remember their names now...egads, it's almost 1:30 AM).

[displayname]

2 hours ago, PoshSprinkles said:

We are in desperate need of Hanyu to bring some sunshine back to these figure skating proceedings. ❤️

Yeah, especially because Evgenia's momentum is back, now.

Though really if she outshines what is currently an extremely weak ladies' field, I have no problem with that. Same for Zagi.

 

Hanyu FTW. If not, Boyang FTW. If not, Nathan FTW. If not, Shoma FTW. Else a worldwide blackout.

2 hours ago, MaKaM said:

If the Shibs get pipped for a medal because they can't do sexy, they should do a satire sexy routine next time. Copy Virtue and Moir's face grabby choreography and make everyone suuuuper uncomfortable as a screw you. 

:O A comedy cabaret!

 

They can probably pull it off, they have a great sense of humour, if you've watched their YouTube channel. They probably won't be able to contain their laughter, and the performance will be fun.

 

But I also suspect this might be the ShibSibs last season. So I really hope they medal in the individual, and it would be even better if they medal twice!

Edited February 11, 2018 by fan94

[HartofDixie]

[Dots And Stripes]

Canada is not using 1 of it’s available substitutions? I’m surprised Patrick is healthy enough for 4 programs unless he pulls a Plushenko and drops out of the individual event.

[healthnut]

It could end up close between US and Italians for bronze, it really comes down to men. Carolina should get a few points on Mirai and Shibs a point or two over C/L, if Rizzo skates out of his mind and beats Adam, they could win bronze.

[NUguy514]

Oh god, I just realized I'm going to have to deal with Patrick Chan as a gold medalist.

[specialj67]

3 hours ago, healthnut said:

It could end up close between US and Italians for bronze, it really comes down to men. Carolina should get a few points on Mirai and Shibs a point or two over C/L, if Rizzo skates out of his mind and beats Adam, they could win bronze.

I’m more concerned about Mirai than Adam. Matteo doesn’t yet have a quad in his LP, I don’t think, and his personal best in the long is still about 30 points behind Adam’s. Also, Keiji’s personal best is about 10 points behind Adam’s, and he’s not been delivering totally clean LPs this season. If Mikhail and Patrick both manage to stay upright, and Adam doesn’t choke, I could see Adam placing third behind them. Going by personal bests in the women’s field, Mirai on her best day is still 10 points Carolina, Kaori, and Gabby on theirs. Alina is in a class of her own, points-wise.

[absnow54]

6 hours ago, blackwing said:

I suppose I understand the Illusion netting for women.  It's to make them look like they are wearing a strapless dress or have a plunging neckline while preserving their modesty.  But I really don't get the purpose of Illusion netting for men.  Is there a modesty issue there that prevents them from having bare arms or upper chests?  Would the men really care?  The sheer back look is just odd, and it's also odd seeing pit hair and upper arm tattoos through the sheer.  Either have bare arms, or don't.  But don't make it look like they are bare when they aren't.  It's just weird.

I think it's less about modesty, and more about being cold, and it hurting less when you go splat on the ice. 

[Perkie]

8 hours ago, PoshSprinkles said:

So how did Sarah Hughes come out of nowhere?  Or was she not really "out of nowhere"?

Sarah went into those Olympics as the reigning world bronze medallist.  She'd been on the senior circuit a few years at that point.  Bradie came onto the senior circuit in the fall, with one competition before going into Nationals.  

[herbz]

Reviewing protocols and replays: that dance tech panel was hella strict but fair. The Shibs did have a flat Choctaw, and V/M's edge on the last key point was unclear. The only thing I quibble about is V/M's midline step sequence- not giving that was stingy. PCS make for interesting reading. In a reversal of the usual scoring progression throughout the season, V/M have actually gone down with certain judges who also judged them at their first outing at Skate Canada. Can't agree with that at all. The Shibs were judged tighter than I would've done on interpretation of the music/timing.

Not convinced on rewatch that B/S should've beaten the Italians. 

Edited February 11, 2018 by herbz

[Jeddah]

36 minutes ago, specialj67 said:

I’m more concerned about Mirai than Adam. Matteo doesn’t yet have a quad in his LP, I don’t think, and his personal best in the long is still about 30 points behind Adam’s. Also, Keiji’s personal best is about 10 points behind Adam’s, and he’s not been delivering totally clean LPs this season. If Mikhail and Patrick both manage to stay upright, and Adam doesn’t choke, I could see Adam placing third behind them. Going by personal bests in the women’s field, Mirai on her best day is still 10 points Carolina, Kaori, and Gabby on theirs. Alina is in a class of her own, points-wise.

I say this as someone who loves Mirai, but I don’t think anyone expects her to get over fourth or fifth in this group. In a head to head against Italy, the judges won’t put Mirai over Carolina unless Carolina falls apart. Mirai could skate horribly, and her placement will probably be what it would have been if she skated lights out. It really will come down to Adam and the Shibutanis. They should beat the Italians in their group, but you never know. Adam makes me nervous!

[blackwing]

1 hour ago, absnow54 said:

I think it's less about modesty, and more about being cold, and it hurting less when you go splat on the ice. 

Ok.  If it's just for warmth and protection, why not just have solid clothes then?  Especially the sheer back.  The sheet back makes no sense to me.  Is it supposed to be titillating?

[leopardprint]

9 hours ago, Quickbeam said:

Maybe out of sequence here but the woman who skated for France? Absolutely stunning to look at but seemed completely out of her league. Is she really the best French skater right now?

I believe the announcers said she was injured and was waiting until after the Olympics to have surgery. 

8 hours ago, MaKaM said:

If the Shibs get pipped for a medal because they can't do sexy, they should do a satire sexy routine next time. Copy Virtue and Moir's face grabby choreography and make everyone suuuuper uncomfortable as a screw you. 

My friend thinks they should just go for it and use the Game of Thrones soundtrack.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

[ombelico]

9 hours ago, Silver Raven said:

I keep hearing during the speed skating that they brought in experts from Salt Lake City to make sure the ice was hard.  Why wasn't that done at the figure skating venue?

It's the same venue (Gangneung Ice Arena). The figure skating competitions are in the morning (Korea time) and the short track speed skating races are later in the day.

Regarding the ice quality, as more of the competition goes on, it's evident that the "louder" sound of the skates scratching on the ice is there through all of the groups, not just the men, so I think it's more a result of some sort of different setup of cameras and sound equipment. I would like to give the men the benefit of the doubt that the poor performance overall in the short was because of the ice, but it doesn't seem to have affected the other events, so I'm thinking it may have had more to do with nerves from being the very first event, or something.

[Jillibean]

31 minutes ago, leopardprint said:

I believe the announcers said she was injured and was waiting until after the Olympics to have surgery. 

My friend thinks they should just go for it and use the Game of Thrones soundtrack.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

Love it! And if anyone could pull it off with the appropriate irony, it’s the Shibs. 

2 hours ago, absnow54 said:

I think it's less about modesty, and more about being cold, and it hurting less when you go splat on the ice. 

Isn’t there also an actual rule about no bare skin on your torso/midriff? I know there is for the ladies; not sure about the men. 

I’m nervous about the USA versus Italy for the bronze also. Carolina will likely gain 3 points on Mirai in ladies. They need a clean performance from Adam. I also worry a bit about the Shibs—they were barely ahead of the Russians with their much lauded short program, and it’s basically universally acknowledged that their long program is the weaker of the two. They could potentially finish third in ice dance. I guess ultimately the way it shakes out is that both the Shibs and Adam need to beat their Italian counterparts, which they should in theory, but...we all saw what happened with Nathan.

[peachmangosteen]

14 hours ago, PoshSprinkles said:

I can admit that Tessa and Scott are technically excellent, but, my word, I just-

 

Really though. I liked them last Olympics but this time it's like:

13 hours ago, Vera said:

Not one team scored a season's best here and I think all the top four had a Level two rhumba. That panel was harsh! 

Will it be the same panel for the individual event?

I'm an Olympics only figure skating watcher, so I have pretty much no idea what's going on lol.

I really liked Bradie's skate. I liked some of what the Russian girl did, but some of it was just boring. And I'm not a fan of her facial expressions. 

Edited February 11, 2018 by peachmangosteen

[methadonna]

(I can’t believe, after all my excitement last night, I fell asleep partway through the first program and didn’t wake up until 5:30 AM. I don’t think I’ve slept more than two hours at a time in years (I live with severe chronic pain), and I often go days without sleeping. Then, last night? Out. And, btw, thanks U-Verse for cutting off the long pairs program. I actually like curling, but I don’t need one-hundred-eleventy-twelve hours of it recorded but then you cut off the one sport I care to see most and that you’re making the poor athletes compete at whackass times solely for advertising dolla-dollas my viewing pleasure. Out of some weird respect for their sacrifice, I’d even watched the whole recording(s) this morning before going online strictly to avoid spoilers, only to have to turn to the web to find out how it ended BECAUSE MY DVR—ironically, I’d set Oly Ice to run long because I’d seen some track meet before it was running late—CUT IT. Obvs now I know to set all of the important stuff to record long, but I already have so many conflicts that figuring out what has PT repeats and such I can tape in their stead is like a four-star logic problem. TV shouldn’t be so haaaaard!). 

Anyway, I have to give it to Tanith Belbin. I don’t recall ever appreciating her announcing before, and I also never really liked ice dancing, but between her bit explaining it more on Olympic Ice and then her commentating, I felt like I understood what I was watching for the first time—what made something a competitively good program versus just something that might appear pretty to the untrained eye (and, as it had always seemed like pairs for also-rans coupled with a celebration of OTT perceived heterosexuality, I just didn’t give a crap)... I’m not sure how I’ve missed all understanding of it before, but I have an entirely new appreciation.

 

That said, I’m all the more conflicted on the whole “Shibs can’t bring the sex appeal because they’re sibs and ew” aspect. Sure, a few of them are actually couples and the romance or sexual tension is (or should be) real. But, as was clearly announced, some of them most clearly are not, like the pairs skater whose spouse is an ice dancer; they obviously (hopefully) have complete confidence in the legitimacy of their own relationship and the athletic coupling/romantic performance as part of the sport as to seemingly have no issue with it: they know it’s acting; they know it’s bullshit. (And, c’mon, Adam may be the only currently out skater, but ain’t no way half those men aren’t...). I’m not gonna lie: my gut instinct is the same with the Shibs, or any time I hear of siblings paired in skating or Latin dance. But, intellectually? I’m not sure why it should be any different. I mean, I don’t need them to play like they’re about to eat each other out on the ice er nuthin, but I don’t need to have V/M do that either: that’s what the Internet is for, duh. But, beyond that? They’re ACTING. Why should knowing who they are off-stage, so to speak, be a limiting factor in what roles they can play on it? On the one hand, you’re (the announcers, not, like, you, dear posters) are straight up telling me that one half of each of two sets of competitors on that ice are married to each other, and, unless out culture has changed more quickly than I’d realized, I don’t think polyamory is widely accepted among the general populace as significantly more moral or normative than incest, so we’re presumably being expected to suspend our disbelief that there is anything more genuine in these portrayals than there is when actors we know are not involved portray couples who are on stage or screen: why would it be so “wrong” for the Shibs to do the same? (Hell, unlike half of these pairs, they’ve been competing together most of their lives; while it’s not something I care about in the real-life practice these performances seem to emulate, a great majority of society at least purports to, and most of these “couples” have partner-swapping for most of their careers ;-) Skating sluts!)

[Dots And Stripes]

3 hours ago, specialj67 said:

I’m more concerned about Mirai than Adam. Matteo doesn’t yet have a quad in his LP, I don’t think, and his personal best in the long is still about 30 points behind Adam’s. Also, Keiji’s personal best is about 10 points behind Adam’s, and he’s not been delivering totally clean LPs this season. If Mikhail and Patrick both manage to stay upright, and Adam doesn’t choke, I could see Adam placing third behind them. Going by personal bests in the women’s field, Mirai on her best day is still 10 points Carolina, Kaori, and Gabby on theirs. Alina is in a class of her own, points-wise.

What are the odds of Patrick staying upright? He has always been known for falling while racking up points. Patrick’s biggest asset appears to be getting in 4 rotations before he falls. He’s also had a rough season and a rough short program. He should be very beatable here. 

I asked up thread, but does anyone know why Canada is not subbing him out? They appear to be using only 1 substitution. 

[MaryMitch]

12 hours ago, galaxygirl76 said:

I just read her bio and she was on the cover of Time the month before the Olympics, so not totally out of nowhere.

I subscribe to Time, and I remember the fans' outrage that they used "some unknown with no chance at a medal" over Michelle Kwan.  I also remember one of the announcers saying she had redone the second half of her program and added another triple-triple to beef up her technical content. That was a great competition!

 

11 hours ago, Silver Raven said:

I like the bar at the bottom of the score that shows whether it's a yellow, green or red on each move.

I think it was the Four Continents competition that actually showed the score for each element. I really liked seeing that!