How do you think Tara did as a commentator at SA?

I didn't think she was bad, but I did find her to be quite repetitive. It seemed like she made the same or very similar comments about every skater. I also wish she didn't talk quite so much. If she could vary her commentary a bit it would make a world of difference.

I do think she has a good voice for commentating though and I think she would benefit from having another commentator with her to balance it out. Someone like Terry would be great.

Just noticed that the Ladies LP from Skate America is up on icenetwork.

you know they can script those commentaries . like just read them off so she would appear to be knowledgeable instead of just reading off of a paper.
all commentators have the sheets of what skaters are suppose to do in front of them.

so she did critique skaters, just stated nice things. well how about that. michelle couldn't because she didn't want to say anything bad abouta skaterand fans -yet tara gets a free pass for not saying anything bad.

did tara graduate high school through on-line.?

Hi! Tara commentated at Skate America for icenetwork for at least:
Mens SP
Mens LP
Ladies SP
(Ladies LP wasn't on icenetwork AFAIK.)
Not sure if she did any other events...
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Thanks for the info. I'll have to renew my icenetwork account so I can enjoy her commentating. Tara is one of my favorites

fairly4 said:

did tara graduate high school through on-line.?

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No. There wasn't much "online" available in 1995-1998. She was home-schooled by her mother.

My reason for wishing that Tara would go to college is the same as Dewey's--on general principles, for mental growth. You can certainly be good at a lot of things, including TV commentary, without it. But college (especially for someone who can afford it) has no disadvantages that I can think of and every advantage. Doesn't have to be a standard "scholarly" subject, either. There are things like studio art and costume design, as well as communications, journalism, public relations, and other fields that might be congenial to someone with Tara's experience and aspirations. Tara seems like a smart person who at the moment is working way below her potential, and college exposes you to all sorts of other careers and fields of endeavor.

I'm glad she gave commentary a try, and I'm happy that a good many of you were favorably impressed. (Alas, I haven't heard it yet myself.) Of course she's still a bit green at it, but everyone starts out that way. Remember how awful Kurt Browning was the first time out? And Peggy Fleming uttered everything in a near-whisper. Just about the only person I liked right off the bat was Brian Boitano. He hasn't done much commentary but was quiet and supportive, offering (as I recall) well-chosen details. Whether he was scripted or not I can't tell, but he did well. Oh, and I liked Susie Wynn and Tracy Wilson right away. Maybe there's something about ice dancers that makes them especially articulate about technique.

Tara did much better than I thought she would. I liked that she pointed out what a skater could do to improve a particular element.

I thought it was rather funny when Tara said a skater ought to step up to jump higher on the 2A. Tara's 2A was so tiny that she barely cleared the ice.

chuckm said:

I thought it was rather funny when Tara said a skater ought to step up to jump higher on the 2A. Tara's 2A was so tiny that she barely cleared the ice.

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:chorus: I noted that too! Still, it didn't bother me since her job was to comment on whatever the skater was doing and it would do a disservice to the viewer for her not to criticize something just because she wasn't perfect at it.
I think for her first time out Tara was swell. She was interesting and easy to understand, and I really appreciated how detailed she was in noting how a skater could improve. She could maybe build on it and become a little more entertaining for regular viewers, the way Dick Button is. But she has potential.

I liked her! Informative without being excessive, giving viewers a chance to watch and enjoy without too much unnecessary chatter.