What's Happening in U.S. Regionals and Sectionals?

Joesitz said:

Not only that but different scores from different judges does indeed play into the graph. Best way to compare is by base points.

Check out this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk8NU2mRhWc

She's 15 and elected to skate senior (maybe to avoid Zhang)

Joe

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If she's trying to avoid Zhang, then the tactic is a good one. I don't think her spins or sprials are as good as Zhangs (though i've only watched both on youtube) and Flatt looked pretty tired and laboured in that liberty open clip. I know Zhang also flutzes but Flatt has that cohen thing of doing her flutz and flip in exactly the same way. My preference would be Zhang over Flatt.

Ant

antmanb said:

If she's trying to avoid Zhang, then the tactic is a good one. I don't think her spins or sprials are as good as Zhangs (though i've only watched both on youtube) and Flatt looked pretty tired and laboured in that liberty open clip. I know Zhang also flutzes but Flatt has that cohen thing of doing her flutz and flip in exactly the same way. My preference would be Zhang over Flatt.

Ant

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Again, it doesn't seem likely that Flatt is trying to avoid Zhang. Flatt finished 2nd last yr as a Junior, Zhang was 8th. What was the point of Flatt sitting in Junior another year. ALL of the junior ladies from 2006 have moved to Senior except Wagner (4th last year IIRC and Zhang). Flatt may not have the flexibility of Zhang (but then again, there are few who do). Zhang had under-rotated jumps for years. If anything, Flatt is looking ahead, because it really is ALL about being an Olympic elegible skater, isn't it?? And she has taken on the challenge of moving to Senior ladies this year, which it looks like she is ready. (the YouTube clip did not do her LP justice as we saw it last weekend at Mids). Enough said.

Nigel said:

Again, it doesn't seem likely that Flatt is trying to avoid Zhang. Flatt finished 2nd last yr as a Junior, Zhang was 8th. What was the point of Flatt sitting in Junior another year. ALL of the junior ladies from 2006 have moved to Senior except Wagner (4th last year IIRC and Zhang). Flatt may not have the flexibility of Zhang (but then again, there are few who do). Zhang had under-rotated jumps for years. If anything, Flatt is looking ahead, because it really is ALL about being an Olympic elegible skater, isn't it?? And she has taken on the challenge of moving to Senior ladies this year, which it looks like she is ready. (the YouTube clip did not do her LP justice as we saw it last weekend at Mids). Enough said.

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I did wonder, which is why i caveated my comments by saying they were based strictly on the youtube clip. I have heard many different peope hyping Flatt whcih is why i felt a little disappointed viewing the youtube clip (something that despite the hype didn't happen with Zhang).

Hopefully i'll get to see more performances on TV of her in the future.

Ant

I don't believe that any of these skaters try to avoid competition. If that were their game, they wouldn't be doing sports at all.

waxel said:

I am sorry to see that Wesley Campbell (apparently) didn't skate well at Mids. I really enjoyed him as a Jr. skater and have been waiting for him to make the leap to Sr.

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Actually, Wesley Campbell skated quite well at Mids -- I especially enjoyed his free skate performance -- but the Mids senior men's field was the toughest/deepest of the 3 Sectionals unfortunately for him, Rohene Ward (who really didn't skate badly, IMO, just not well enough) and the rest of the talented senior men. In my view, Jeremy Abbott, Braden Overett, Ryan Bradley, and Parker Pennington skated their two programs the most consistently and deserved their top 4 placements and Nationals berths.

In senior ladies at Mids, Rachael Flatt landed all her planned jumps in her SP (3Z-2T, 3F, 2A) and FS (6 triples, plus 2A-2A sequence as mentioned above) -- a very impressive jumping display for someone who is recovering from a back injury that curtailed her JGP debut this fall. I look forward to watching Flatt continue to develop the "presentation/artistry" aspect of her skating.

Speaking of Jr. skaters... any idea whatever happened to Jordan Brauninger? I was really looking forward to following him .. and then he just seemingly dropped off the face??

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Unofficial word is that he just developed other interests and quit skating. I'm glad I got to enjoy his skating in person (through 2005 Junior Worlds) while I could.

The Southwestern Regional videos were just added today by USFS at: http://web.icenetwork.com/index.jsp

During this free preview period (not sure how much longer it will last), be sure to watch senior man BRADEN OVERETT's highly entertaining short ("Havana" soundtrack) and long ("Pirates of the Caribbean" soundtrack) programs from SW Regionals if and while you can! Overett scored the highest of the senior men that competed at regionals (198.48 points - 65.73 in SP & 132.75 in FS). He really rocked the house at Midwestern Sectionals with these two programs this past weekend -- the audience really responded enthusiastically to his performance ability and deft footwork to the music.

For your convenience, here's a list I've compiled, by regional, of all the skaters (Novice, Junior, Senior) who will be at 2007 U.S. Nationals that competed at Regionals in October.

Of course there are performances at Regionals by skaters who did not qualify for Sectionals, let alone Nationals, that are also worth watching (including the Intermediates and Juveniles that have qualified for "Junior" Nationals coming up in late November/early December), and so don't just go by the names on my initial list here. Also, some skaters skated better at Sectionals than at Regionals (i.e., Rachael Flatt, Adam Rippon, Erin Reed, Sherry Barnes, Taylor Firth, to name a few).

Southwesterns:
SR: Braden Overett, Rachael Flatt, Ambar Kaiser
JR Ladies: Alexe Gilles, Chaochih Liu
NOV: Angela Maxwell, Jon Felder
Results/detailed protocols: http://www.usfigureskating.org/event_details.asp?id=31194

Southwest Pacifics:
SR: Becky Hughes
JR Ladies: Mirai Nagasu* (see note below), Victoria Rackohn; also Laney Diggs (did not qualify for Nationals but skated well at Regionals)
JR Men: Richard Dornbush, Andrew Gonzalez
NOV Ladies: Ellie Kawamura, Carolyn-Ann Alba, Molly Aaron, Victoria Hecht
NOV Men: Max Aaron, Grisha Fournier
Results/detailed protocols: http://www.usfigureskating.org/event_details.asp?id=31197
*Note: Nagasu scored slightly higher in her Junior Ladies qualifying group A FS (101.08) than in her final round FS (98.56) if you want to check out her qual. round video.

Central Pacifics:
SR: Margaret Wang, Erin Reed (had jump problems at Regionals but good programs)
JR: Princeton Kwong, Kelcie Lee
NOV: Will Michael
Results/detailed protocols: http://www.usfigureskating.org/event_details.asp?id=34877

Northwest Pacifics:
NOV Men: Keegan Messing
JR: Chrissy Hughes
Results/detailed protocols: http://www.usfigureskating.org/event_details.asp?id=31195

South Atlantics:
SR: Derrick Delmore, Shaun Rogers, Craig Ratterree; Christine Zukowski, Megan Williams-Stewart;
JR Ladies: Sherry Barnes
JR Men: Adam Rippon (not his best skating at Regionals)
NOV Ladies: Kristine Musademba, Masha Leonov
NOV Men: Alexander Aiken, Armin Mahbanoozadeh, Scott Dyer, Alexander Zahradnicek
NOV Pairs: Tracy Tanovich/Michael Chau, Minna Lee/Taylor Toth
NOV Dance: Sara Bailey/Kyle Herring, Isabella Cannuscio/Ian Lorello, Genevieve Deutch/Alexander Lorello
Results/detailed protocols: http://www.usfigureskating.org/event_details.asp?id=34876

New Englands:
SR: Michelle Boulos, Kylie Gleason
JR Ladies: Brittney Rizo, Michaelee Scarincio
JR Men: Schuyler Eldridge, Q. Kelvin Vu
NOV Ladies: Emily Young
NOV Men: Ross Miner (who unfortunately did not qualify for Nationals after having skated well at Regionals)
Results/detailed protocols: http://www.usfigureskating.org/event_details.asp?id=34740

North Atlantics:
SR Ladies: Taylor Firth
JR Men: Daniel Raad; Jane Ruan (she came close to qualifying for Nationals after having skated well at both Regionals & Sectionals)
NOV Ladies: Ksenia Makarova (13-almost-14 year old daughter of Selezneva/Makarov)
Results/detailed protocols: http://www.usfigureskating.org/event_details.asp?id=34875

Videos still to come: Eastern Great Lakes (Alissa Czisny, Wesley Campbell, etc.) and Upper Great Lakes Regionals (Rohene Ward, Angie Lien, Megan Hyatt, etc.).

Sectionals videos will be available for viewing at some point in the future but the cost (reasonable, I'm told) has not been announced by USFS yet.

Thanks, Go Taylor!!!!

Or should I say,
"Oh Taylor
She wonders around
unaffected by
the way the wind blows....."

Great song, sorry to go OT.

Thanks for all that information, Sylvia. I can see my weekend is going to a very skating weekend.

Joe

Just watched Braden Overett at Regionals. WOW. Now I must see his Sectionals.

Spun Silver said:

And what did you think of Abbott?

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Abbott was out for blood and it showed. He had real fire in his programs. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

antmanb said:

I don't think her

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(Rachael Flatt's)

spins or sprials are as good as Zhangs (though i've only watched both on youtube) and Flatt looked pretty tired and laboured in that liberty open clip. I know Zhang also flutzes but Flatt has that cohen thing of doing her flutz and flip in exactly the same way. My preference would be Zhang over Flatt.

Ant

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Check out Rachael's FS performance at Southwest Regionals on IceNetworks. Sylvia posted the link above. Her FS has come very far since Liberty in July. She has a wonderful flow on the ice, is very musical, and best of all she makes it all look so easy!

Sylvia said:

During this free preview period (not sure how much longer it will last), be sure to watch senior man BRADEN OVERETT's highly entertaining short ("Havana" soundtrack) and long ("Pirates of the Caribbean" soundtrack) programs from SW Regionals if and while you can! Overett scored the highest of the senior men that competed at regionals (198.48 points - 65.73 in SP & 132.75 in FS). He really rocked the house at Midwestern Sectionals with these two programs this past weekend -- the audience really responded enthusiastically to his performance ability and deft footwork to the music.

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Wow, wow, wow! I can't believe the layout of his SP: he opens with a huge flying sit, then FW into a 3Lo, continuing into circular FW, and his combo is his last jump element! Then he opens his LP with SL footwork. (I think Katy Taylor did in one of her programs at Nationals in Portland, too.)

Definitely worth catching before the free preview period expires

Many, many thanks, Sylvia!

childfreegirl said:

Abbott was out for blood and it showed. He had real fire in his programs. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

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Thank you!

Hey Abbott!

BTW i think I figured out the issue with the vids, I was using the browser Safari which seemed to work with it but it never did in the past. anyhoo, here is a new link for the 1.7mb file.
http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=4688DBD85488AE0B

euterpe said:

(Rachael Flatt's)

Check out Rachael's FS performance at Southwest Regionals on IceNetworks. Sylvia posted the link above. Her FS has come very far since Liberty in July. She has a wonderful flow on the ice, is very musical, and best of all she makes it all look so easy!

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I just watched the LP and it has definitely improved (plus the quality of the clip is much better than youtube!) i still think she make it look quite laboured though - and that hideous flutz/flip is very distracting. I thought the spins were lovely though but i didn't see much choregoraphy in the start of the program which just seemed to be skating from one of th erink jumping and back again. Maybe she's one that's better appreciated live?

Ant

Rachael is just adorable to watch. She needs to keep learning to stretch out in those spins and spirals. Otherwise she will look juniorish, since she looks so young anyway. But I love her.

Sylvia, as always, I enjoy all the inside tidbits. I am glad to hear that Wesley Campbell skated well at Mids-- just hope to see him at Nats again. Think he'll keep at it?

Boy, can't imagine that Brauninger may have just quit skating--- he seemed so ambitious and driven. And all that talent ... I hope maybe he'll stay/get back in.

Really liked Overett's programs-- looked like really strong attack and speed.

antmanb said:

I just watched the LP and it has definitely improved (plus the quality of the clip is much better than youtube!) i still think she make it look quite laboured though - and that hideous flutz/flip is very distracting. I thought the spins were lovely though but i didn't see much choregoraphy in the start of the program which just seemed to be skating from one of th erink jumping and back again. Maybe she's one that's better appreciated live?

Ant

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Comparing Flatt's two most recent performances...regionals vs mids....regionals did look labored, but she was most likely still recovering from her back injury incurred in september as the content of her program was not what she had at Liberty when we saw her earlier this summer. If her performance in Alabama is any measure of the status of her back, Flatt is well on her way to recovery as her performance did not look labored at all...the triples looked very easy. (Not sure what the reference above to the hideous flutz/flip was??) Thinking back on it now, her spins aren't what they were earlier this summer, but that is probably due to her back. With 8 weeks to go to nationals, she has plenty of time to continue her recovery.

Lastly, we want to thank the senior men at mids for making the trip to Alabama worth it for our viewing/cheering section. What a great group of guys, with tremendous performances from Jeremy to Braden to Ryan to Wesley...the list goes on. Even to Casey McCraw, who after talking to his Mom, we found out that he had exams at Tufts the day before, so his training time was less than he had hoped! What a great event!!!!!!

Yes, the Senior Men's competition alone was well worth the four hour drive for me. Then you add in the great performances by Rachel Flatt and the spectacular third place performances by hometown boy Ashley Deavers and his partner Amanda Loyd and it goes "off 'da hook!" as they say.

Wow, Braden Overett is HERE! Johnny better be on top of his game at Nationals. This guy is channeling Yagudin and Antonio Banderas. What great rhythm, and he *likes* COP spins. Oh, boy!

Still don't understand the Rachael Flatt excitement. More impressive, IMO: Carolyn-Ann Alba (SW Pacific - novice), the one whose spiral we were admiring a few months ago. Her legs are almost too long for her to control in jumps, but what a spinner and her spiral was as beautiful in motion as in the still photo - she held it so long she almost zoomed into the wall. Also, she has a great stylistic flair, already. If she keeps it up, she will be giving Zhang a headache. Uncle Dick would not care for her fan spiral as it's more than 90 degrees... wa-a-a-a-y more.

Ellie Kawamura - another future headache for Zhang. Does Zhang do this terrifying move where she bends over backward in a Biellman so it turns into a haircutter? It made me gasp - I thought little Ellie's back would break! This one sells it too hard for my taste though. I find that little beauty queen look disturbing. But she's a phenom for sure.

Hurray for Ice Network!