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Entries JGP Austria

DianaSelene

Medalist
Joined
Aug 2, 2011
I think A/E can go to the final because O/W are eliminated with 1st and 6th places so that's one less pair for them to worry about. Plus, they finished 2nd and 3rd. With that, you usually can go to gpf.
 

dorispulaski

Wicked Yankee Girl
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Country
United-States
Unlikely, but just barely possible.

A&E are currently in fourth in the overall standings with 2 events left to skate, behind Galyeta and Shumski who have 2 second place medals to A&E's one. And, of course, as a result, because every team with any team which ends up with 1/1, 1/2, 1/3, or 1/4 results. And any team with 2/2. Their high scores here should put them ahead of any team with 2/3.

Consequently, in the next 2 events there are 4 teams who could pass them for 2 slots-teams finishing 1st or second there. Stepanova & Bukin and Kosigina/Moroshkin almost surely will pass them. After that it depends on what the situation is with the 2nd and 3rd place medallists in Italy & Estonia. It is just barely possible they get the last spot, and they wouldn't have that chance if Orford & Williams hadn't completly self destructed in the FD here.

In Italy, surely Stepanova & Bukin will pass them, because they will win it or even with a meltdown place 2nd or 3rd. It is possible if somewhat unlikely, for Bonacorsi/Mager to pass them if they finish second (which they could, in which case they will make the JGPF). I expect B/M to have trouble placing 2nd. Brisbane was an incredibly weak field. It is more likely that Zenkova/Sinitsin will finish 2nd. They have a previous third place and also will not be going to the JGPF. The next event is in Estonia, and it is entirely likely that Kosigina/Moroshkin will win it. It is a very weak field. There are 2 teams with 11 points, and it is unlikely for either of them to beat K&M, which is what they would need to do to qualify. That would be Bent/McKeen and Yankovskaia/Mozgov.. If either finishes second, they would have to score a higher total score than A&E, a thing not likely since their previous total scores were lower than A&E's in their previous event, so they would have to be getting Sinitsina / Zhigashin level scores to pull it off.

Now granted, teams could drop out or get sick.

Meanwhile, Aldridge & Eaton finished 2nd in the FD and second overall with the highest scoring FD not skated by a team named Sinitsina and Zhiganshin, 81.37, with a base score 0.5 higher than S&Z at this event, level 4's on everything but the 2 step sequences, which were level 3. Unfortunately since S&Z are at this event, A&E finished 2nd overall, which finish, coupled with their previous 3rd place finish, means that they will almost surely not make the JGPF. (I thought A&E were a bit underscored there in Latvia).

Nosulia & Kholoniuk finished 3rd overall, with an FD score of 73.58, and almost surely will make the JGPF, since they won their previous event (over A&E), since they win the first tiebreak over Galyeta & Shumski and all other teams who have not won an event.

So we're looking at a situation where A&E, who are probably the third or fourth best team on the JGP, not making it to the JGPF. I am not liking this 6 JGPF slots for 7 events format.

But a lot of this is USFS's fault. I wish A&E had not been switched to this event. There were scheduled to skate against next week's somewhat weaker field, but USFS switched them with the far weaker team of Bonacorsi / Mager. Nice going.

Also, Orford & Williams bombed to 9th in the FD with a fall in the circular step. Despite winning Brisbane, they will surely not make the JGPF.
 
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DianaSelene

Medalist
Joined
Aug 2, 2011
I guess the grand prix is sort of like chess- where you go and where your federation puts you makes a big difference. If your figure skating federation is stupid, you may suffer.
 

CARA

Final Flight
Joined
Oct 16, 2009
Country
United-States
I guess the grand prix is sort of like chess- where you go and where your federation puts you makes a big difference. If your figure skating federation is stupid, you may suffer.

Agreed, and it stinks! :disapp:
 

colleen o'neill

Medalist
Joined
Nov 3, 2006
DianaSelene..you said a mouthful ! (I'm at a complete loss to understand some of SC's thinking much of the time )...:rolleye: Some of these federations need to hire a tactician to help them make their assignments.
 

CARA

Final Flight
Joined
Oct 16, 2009
Country
United-States
DianaSelene..you said a mouthful ! (I'm at a complete loss to understand some of SC's thinking much of the time )...:rolleye: Some of these federations need to hire a tactician to help them make their assignments.

Or a chess master. ;)
 

oleada

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 27, 2007
My thoughts on the FD:

Sinitsina/Zhingashin - I thought they were in a completely different level than anyone else. Great skate - it was better than their last GP. They are passionate, fast and expressive without losing control. Fantastic.

Aldridge/Eaton - fun team to watch. Still unpolished in a few ways and obviously junior in ways that S/Z are not, but they did a good job. I like their expression.

Nosulia/Kholoniuk - I thought they did a really good job of using the music. I like them a lot more than the other Ukrainians. Seemed slower than the top 2 teams. She's very expressive. I think the program is less cohesive than S/Z or A/E.

Koch/Neuchtern - What a pleasant surprise! Nice potential for slutty voids in the future as they are already quite sultry They come across as really powerful. Looking forward to seeing more of them. That said, I HATE "Big Spender".

Edwards/Pang - very smooth and good flow. Still very young and very unpolished, obviously. She's very dramatic, which I like. I have to wonder about their future, as their height difference is not very big and she's very young. Not really a fan of the program, but some of the lifts were quite nice.

Orford/Williams - Sorry, I don't get this team at all. Good speed, but this was a sloppy mess. I think they were very lucky the field in Brisbane was so weak.
 

dorispulaski

Wicked Yankee Girl
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Country
United-States
DianaSelene..you said a mouthful ! (I'm at a complete loss to understand some of SC's thinking much of the time )...:rolleye: Some of these federations need to hire a tactician to help them make their assignments.

Yes, USFS and SC both seem to be very clueless at times.

I also was happily surprised by Koch/Neuchtern! It's good to see Germany get some depth in dance.

I haven't had time to watch below 4th place yet, though, in the FD.
 

colleen o'neill

Medalist
Joined
Nov 3, 2006
I finally have a chance to post about the ice dance .;)

I really liked S/Z when they did their exhibition at World's, and was looking forward to seeing them this year. I must say I'm a bit let down with their programs. While I give them credit for their abilities, and can't begrudge them their 2 firsts , I find both their programs pretty boring. I'd be delighted if I didn't have to hear Phantom again ... and I don't find their Latin all that Latin. Also , I'd love to see her more upright instead of bent over quite so much of the time , and can't believe that wouldn't be possible . ( I'll hope to be entranced by them again in the future , but it won't be this year.)

Aldridge and Eaton were a lovely surprise to me at their first assignment., and didn't disappoint here.I thought their SD had the most Latin feel , really nice costumes and what seemed to me very nice content. They both have good posture , but hers is just excellent. Their FD doesn't really blow me away , but they have one of the better attempts at Irish dance we've seen. ( It just doesn't translate easily to ice )...It's a real shame they could do so well and still miss the final.

I find N/K pretty boring , frankly. Their SD was so un-Latin, it seemed they were in the wrong competition. Her shoulders are almost always up, her fingers almost always spread , which is distracting. Pink Panther is another music selection I'd be quite happy to never hear again, and why stick the theme from Peter Gunn on the end ?:confused:.. I fear this is not the only PP out there this year..I don't know if I can forgive Savchenko and Szokolwy for waking that sleeping monster.:biggrin:

Koch and Nuchtern had some nice stuff and seemed quite neat , but they also seemed slow , and I didn't much care for their music choices. In their SD, they dipped from the same unfortunate well as H/G for their costume design, and why did her FD costume have to blouse at the front ? Neither costume did her any favours. I found enough to like that I'll be watching for them in the future though.

I haven't watched everyone yet , but of course I watched the Canadians. I really don't understand people worrying too much about height differences when the couples are still likely to grow. After all, it's always been true that one partner can outgrow the other when we're speaking of the younger juniors, but marks should not be held back in case they do. They're skating now. Edwards is 15 , Pang is 16 and there's something like a 5 in. height difference in his favour , at the moment. She's much more likely to have reached her full height, or something approaching it, than he is.
I like both their programs.Their Latin was Latin ,they got good levels except for room for improvement on their step sequences. They project well and equally. Here they are at their international debut , and I think they achieved SBs in both segments.Their FD was very nice..the music not over used. Good lifts, nice speed, some interesting holds , a bit of drama ,but not too much..and for both dances very nice costumes. All being well, they'll probably be at JRs for a while and we'll get to see them mature a bit before they have to move up.

As for O/W , I was simply gutted for them , because of course , they're better than that.That was quite a fall ( nifty recovery, though ). Poor Thomas looked like he was in shock. What a time to have your " character building " moment.:disapp: ... I hope they'll be able to shake this off , go home and just focus the next 3 1/2 months on really honing their senior programs for Canadians.
 
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Turbo-Mom

On the Ice
Joined
Sep 27, 2011
Lord of the Dance

"tnaesa commented on "You Tube":
Good to see them take the silver but honestly I don't think Riverdance ever translates too well onto the ice."

Thank you for acknowledging Aldridge & Eaton's 2nd place finish. Regarding the music which worked well for Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz. Under the ISU Rules, as we understand them, the music must be selected so that if there is any story or theme in the routine it has to be clearly understandable to the audience and the music must have an uplifting effect. Skater's are required to submit a Form describing the theme of their Free Dance in 30 characters or less, including spaces and punctuation. Alex and Daniel's theme to Lord of the Dance, is "Celebration of Life & Freedom" (29 Characters).

Instead of using a music selection that reminds one of the last days of Carton and his young seamstress reaching the guillotine, or possibly the uplifting story of disfigured musical genius terrorizing a theater company for the benefit of a women whom he trains and loves; Alex and Daniel choose Michael Flatley's "Lord of the Dance"

All of these skaters do the best they can with what they, and their coaches select. In Alex and Daniel's case, they love skating this Free Dance, love entertaining the audience, and are somewhat connected to the music based on their Celtic/American heritage. (Alex being Scot / Czech and Daniel Irish / Romanian).

Regarding Thomas catching a toe pick or edge - it was really heart wrenching. Alex and Daniel met Nicole and Thomas last year in Lake Placid and Sheffield. We look forward to seeing them at World's. :)
 
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dorispulaski

Wicked Yankee Girl
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Country
United-States
Turbo-Mom, Who knew that now they have a fill-in the blanks test for the FD? Not me. I hope that the ISU tires of this soon.

I think it is fair to say that dances with very fast rhythms like Irish dancing, some Russian folk, and flamenco are more difficult to bring to the ice under the IJS. Those quick steps are difficult to reconcile with the requirements to have pronounced edges needed to get high levels in the step sequences. Either the timing gets wacked, the edges turn to flats, or the character of the dance is likely to get lost. That's why it always impresses me when a team manages to bring off the trick well. It's even more impressive when a junior team does a good job of it!

Congratulations to Alex & Daniel for putting on a really nice River Dance.

colleen, I first noticed A&E at their last JGP exactly because their Latin had a really nice Latin feel, and even a good cha cha character, another trick that is difficult to bring off.

I'm really happy they finished so well.
 

NorthernDancers

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 15, 2010
Finally got to see most of the performances from this week.

S/Z: definitely the champions in this bunch of skaters, and in a league of their own. Although I do agree with Colleen that they have some posture issues. Too much bend at the waist, which causes the behinds to stick out, instead of bending more from the knees.

A/E: really liked this team. I have a hard time looking at Riverdance without thinking of Shae-Lynn and Victor a number of years ago. They did such a spectacular job of that program, and it was so different from everything else at the time. In a world this year of too many Pink Panthers and tangos and Phantoms, I rather enjoyed Riverdance again. I am a fan of many things that come out of Krylova/Carmelengo camp. It is really too bad that A/E will likely miss the JGP final.

N/K: Seriously? Pink Panther? It really lends itself better to pairs, and the Germans really did a good job of that last year. Just not a fan of any of this.

K/N: lovely job, and yes they definitely need some help on the packaging. And it's so simple to do. One just needs to admit that one is not an expert on packaging, and find someone who is.


And about the Canadians:

I actually really liked Edwards/Pang. She is a lovely skater, and so is he. But I tend to only really see her. I highly doubt there are 5 inches in height between them anymore. She seems to have a natural, long/lithe skating body, and will probably need to find someone taller soon unless Pang grows some more. Some guys don't grow until their late teens. It all depends on genetics. But height difference does begin to matter with the new skating system. It is a lot easier with lifts to have a reasonable height difference. Easier on both partners. The Kerr's sort of made the lack of height difference work, but they also were not able to climb to the top of the world podium, either. They are great show skaters, but competitions were always harder for them. In the old judging system, it was unusual for 15 and 16 year olds to be at this level of skating. By the time there were up near the top of Junior, they were ready to age to Senior, and by then were mostly all grown up. If partners out-grew each other, it was easier on the skaters and their international reputations to switch up at Novice or Junior. I'm glad they are young enough to be at Junior for a few more years. While it is great they can do big tricks, I am looking forward to seeing them develop the maturity in their skating. I see some real improvement over last year in that department, and I'm looking forward to seeing what they do this year yet.

Now, about Orford/Williams. I'm with Oleanda here. I don't really get this team. They have a lot of flash (ie. speed), but no substance (ie. quality). This was a hot mess. Now, everyone can have a bad day. And sometimes the ice is just too slippery. It can happen to the very best teams. But this is really the difference between S/Z and O/W. With S/Z, their skating is fast, but it is very controlled and there is really quality matching edges, skating to the music, etc. With O/W, it always seems like a race to the finish. I don't see the real connection with the music. I see learned choreography (ie. arms this way, look that way, etc.), but the skating itself is not connected, and so they do not find the passion in the music with their skating. Gone with the Wind is an epic movie. And this, even in Brisbane, was not epic skating. It's out-of-control skating, and therefore not unpredictable that eventually one of them would slip. Just because they are fast skaters doesn't mean they are great skaters. This is still a young team, and they need to work on line, unison, edge, etc., beyond the tricks. He needs to work on finishing his movements, and overall connection with her and the music. In this case, I feel she is very much the better skater, and he is always scrambling to keep up. They need to slow down just a bit in order for that quality to happen, and for the skating to look less out of control. There are no short-cuts in skating. It starts with the basics.
 

ImaginaryPogue

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 3, 2009
The Kerrs had issues because he took up ice dance very late (he was 17) and lack of funding (they couldn't actually get proper ice time when training for the 2006 Olympics). They were still able to get level fours on lifts.
 
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