Free Dance

[dorispulaski]

The first part was run this morning, and shown on skatebuzz. (Check the right hand column)

Those programs can be viewed as separate performances in Archived Videos. The dance programs are below the Men's SP performances on this page.
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/canadi...pionships-2012


The following competitors have already skated their FD's earlier today.

Their protocols

http://results.skatecanada.ca/2011-2...gesDetails.pdf

Summary so far

Rank Competitor(s) Section SD FD Points
1 Nicole Orford / Thomas Williams BC/YT 56.58 88.95 145.53
2 Tarrah Harvey / Keith Gagnon BC/YT 53.87 83.54 137.41
3 Larissa Van As / Troy Shindle BC/YT 38.52 71.28 109.80
4 Mélissande Dumas / David Mackay Perry QC 39.40 66.82 106.22
5 Shanna René De Cotret-Laporte / Alexandre Laliberté QC 42.60 63.42 106.02
6 Anoushka Ritchie-Hervieux / Philippe Massé QC 39.02 66.13 105.15
7 Olga Lioudvinevitch / Benjamin Mulder WO 38.37 66.12 104.49
8 Helene Letourneau / Kevin Boczar EO 37.21 59.30 96.51
9 Jazz Smyl Joly / Nicholas Jesionek AB/NT/NU 31.60 54.75 86.35

[Mathman]

Jazz Smyl(e) Jol(l)y deserves bonus points for cool name!

And Anoushka Ritchie-Hervieux is no slouch, either.

[Olympia]

I was just noticing Melissande Dumas, namewise. I agree about the other two, Math.

Some years ago, there was a female skater named Tristan Vega. Both first and last name are high in cool factor.

[dorispulaski]

Coolest is Kevin Bozcar who at 22 is in his second year of med school, if I have it right.

[museksk8r]

Results are in! Virtue/Moir, Weaver/Poje, and Ralph/Hill go to Worlds. Gilles/Poirier break the 100 mark in the FD and win their first senior National medal as a team!

Senior Dance
Rank Competitor(s) Section SD FD Points
1 Tessa Virtue / Scott Moir WO 68.41 111.61 180.02
2 Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje NO 68.27 106.26 174.53
3 Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier CO 62.78 100.76 163.54
4 Kharis Ralph / Asher Hill CO 58.92 88.59 147.51
5 Alexandra Paul / Mitchell Islam CO 57.30 89.18 146.48
6 Nicole Orford / Thomas Williams BC/YT 56.58 88.95 145.53
7 Tarrah Harvey / Keith Gagnon BC/YT 53.87 83.54 137.41
8 Larissa Van As / Troy Shindle BC/YT 38.52 71.28 109.80
9 Mélissande Dumas / David Mackay Perry QC 39.40 66.82 106.22
10 Shanna René De Cotret-Laporte / Alexandre Laliberté QC 42.60 63.42 106.02
11 Anoushka Ritchie-Hervieux / Philippe Massé QC 39.02 66.13 105.15
12 Olga Lioudvinevitch / Benjamin Mulder WO 38.37 66.12 104.49
13 Helene Letourneau / Kevin Boczar EO 37.21 59.30 96.51
14 Jazz Smyl Joly / Nicholas Jesionek AB/NT/NU 31.60 54.75 86.35

[blue_idealist]

I thought Gilles/Poirier were overmarked and Ralph/Hill should have won the bronze medal. But I'm happy Ralph/Hill are going to worlds.

[museksk8r]

^ Strangely, Ralph/Hill only managed to place 6th in the FD. Their SD is what saved them.

[heyhey]

Well at least both Weaver/Poje and V/M had clean skates - so that's a good sign. Weaver/Poje have a FD that works for them this year. The challenge will be next year and what they come up with. Gilles/Poirier were overmarked as I predicted. Definitely politicking there.
Positives: V/M did come out and skate a strong FD after yesterday's so-so SD performance. Weaver/Poje skated cleanly for 2 consecutive dances. I am also glad that Ralph/Hill will be going to Worlds - that experience will be HUGE for them. Paul/Islam at least finished their season on a positive note and can work from here.
My two cents...

[skatingfan04]

This event was really weird. Heck, this whole weekend has been weird.

Paul & Islam skated pretty well, considering, and posted a nice score. While it was a shame to see them miss worlds by such a small margin, their FD was not as good, IMO, as the one they skated at SA early in the season. I thought they had more speed, expression and chemistry this time around, but Mitchell looked off balance from start to finish, and he seemed to be jerking Alexandra around a bit during the footwork as well. Stll, their lines are gorgeous, and the FD itself was abeautiful piece. I have no doubt they'll come back blazing next season.

I'm really happy for Ralph & Hill. They skated really well tonight. I will say, though, that I found myself liking this FD less this time around. Parts of it seemed a little cluttered to me, and other parts didn't flow as well as I had hoped. Still, they've improved greatly in the past year, and deserve their trip to worlds. I particularly liked their chemistry and performance level.

Now, here's where I got really ticked off. I'd really love to know where the judges found Gilles & Poirier's marks, because all I saw in that FD was a bunch of disjointed moves that had nothing to do with the music and Paul dragging Piper through some of the technical sections. Am I missing something? Honestly, I'm lost. If anyone can fill me in, please do. I just don't get it.

I'm really proud of Weaver & Poje. While it wasn't my all time favourite version of this FD, they still knocked it out of the park. I don't think its possible for me to love them any more than I do right now. Their marks were way to close to G/P's if you ask me.

It was great to see Virtue & Moir looking like themselves again tonight. I really liked the changes that they made, although the new lift could have gone a little smoother, and artistically this might have been their best of the season. I'm liking this FD more and more every time I see it. Their marks were quite low, though, when you consider what the others scored, so I'm assuming they got hammered on their levels once again. It seems that no matter how well they perform this FD, the marks just aren't going to get where they should be this year.

[Kara Bear]

I'd really love to know where the judges found Gilles & Poirier's marks, because all I saw in that FD was a bunch of disjointed moves that had nothing to do with the music and Paul dragging Piper through some of the technical sections. Am I missing something?

I totally agree. They have great personality but there is still a lot missing. A lot of people in the audience were outraged that they didn't receive higher marks.

My other free dance comment; Weaver's fist grabs are totally annoying. We get it; the music is powerful, please don't pump your fist to show us.

[heyhey]

Well we all knew that the ice dance event would be interesting to see in terms of politicking...we saw a clear message that Gilles/Poirier will be supported and to think that they broke 100 for their FD speaks volumes. You almost have to wonder if Skate Canada slightly nudged the US Figure Skating Federation to not release Hubbell to skate with Vanessa Crone - and the interesting thing is that Crone and Hubbell were supposedly skating at the DSC - I think Ms. Krylova and Mr. Carmenlago will be having some hmmm moments. And the drama continues...LOL...we'll see what the US nationals in ice dance will display in terms of politicking....

[ImaginaryPogue]

If W/P don't medal this year at Worlds, I'm gonna predict G/P beating them next season. Which would be a crying shame.

[tulosai]

I love Virtue/Moir and I know this tech panal was kind of rough,but they really need to start getting their levels again. I saw the protocols a bit ago but I think there were 3 or 4 level 3's. I definitely appreciate how hard it can be to get a level 4 on some of these step sequences/lifts but Davis/White are going to get level 4's or (possibly literally if you listen to White) die trying and I think this year that would definitely make the difference.

Otherwise it was a great competition. I just LOVE W/P this year and am really happy for them. Agree with all that's already been said about P/G though I do enjoy watching them and think they are doing just fine for where they are right now in their partnership.

[museksk8r]

You almost have to wonder if Skate Canada slightly nudged the US Figure Skating Federation to not release Hubbell to skate with Vanessa Crone - and the interesting thing is that Crone and Hubbell were supposedly skating at the DSC - I think Ms. Krylova and Mr. Carmenlago will be having some hmmm moments.

You are REALLY REACHING with this sort of semi-accusation of foul play and political manipulation. Wild speculations like this is what circulates untrue rumors. It has been stated plenty of times that Keiffer was not released by USFSA to skate for Canada because the USA still sees him as a valuable team asset, having been a 4CC bronze medalist in 2010, a 2-time US pewter medalist in 2009 and 2011, and Junior Grand Prix Final Champion in 2006-2007. He also has not sat out of competition for the required amount of time to be released to skate for another nation; just last season he was skating with his sister on the GP circuit representing the US. Yes, the rules and restrictions suck, but they apply to everyone.

[13KJC13]

If this happens - it will turn my stomach...

Wow! I really hope the skaters and their families aren't reading comments like this one. SO insulting.