- Joined
- Jul 26, 2003
Thanks Doris for the report. Sounds like a terrible night for pairs.
Pairs Long program
- Thread starter AKardys
- Start date
Show. Demolition Derby or WWF wrestling. Many thanks, Doris. That's above and beyond the call of duty to send us such a great report on skating that must have been hard to watch. Glad you made the point about how all the top teams can do the jumps in the warm-up, but only I/B and S/D can really do the lifts. Also the thing about S/D not fighting to the end. Bad skates happen to everybody at some point, but to give up is a bad sign, IMO. Of course I'll have to wait until I see it to make my own decision, but we don't get to see the warm-ups and it sounds as if you saw some interesting things in the warm-up.Even in the GP series I felt S/D and I/B needed significant off-ice training. And with what you said about S/D not fighting through to the end, perhaps they need some help from a sports psychologist. That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with them. An SP can help a team find or regain their passion. It's one of the things Tamara Moskvina does so well. When Ina and Zimmerman first started with her, it was clear that their personalities were rather like oil and water. I don't know whose idea it was, but I know Moskvina encouraged it, that is, for Kyoko and John to have lunch together once a week and talk about anything except skating. The only rule was it had to be positive--things they liked, loved, anything like that. After they had had these lunches for a couple of months, they both said their working relationship had completely changed. That's just one example of one approach for one problem, but it sounds as if our pair teams could use more fight within them to want to get to the next level, plus coaches who have the skills to get them there.
I hope the other finals have better skating, Doris. It's sad for everybody when the skating is poor.
Rgirl
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2004
you beat me to it dewet! i was just about to come over and post that. i think it's only fair though. i honestly don't think tiff and phil will ever be back on that top step of the podium unless isabelle, lloyd, and rocky work some sort of miracle! the younger guns will be taking over that podium in full effect by next nationals i feel.
Just a little inside pooh to go with the news. John Balwin has a bum left ankle and it's affecting his jumping abilities. He staked through it at NHK, but has still been nursing it since. John and Rena are also a couple and you can sense there care and regaurd for one another on the ice...very nice. I hope they can get some good training time in before worlds and give it a go to keep the teams getting some worlds experience. As for their longevity, I'm not sure....John is now 30 and his body has taken a lot of punishment from training as a singles skater. Rena has a gorgeous line and a beautiful back. The way she hit her positions when they did complete the elements may have been the little "it" that gave them the edge in tonight's "Down South Splatfest"
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2003
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A little more info on I&B from the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
The paper referred to the event as demolition pairs.
By the way, it seemed to me that this arena is on the narrow side, which always brings on problems with better, faster skating pairs and men.
For those who are interested in the not for prime time pairs, here's how they did, according to me:
Rogeness and Rogeness had a bad SP, but their LP to Rach. Piano Concerto #2 went better. It has a nice, light quality. They landed good SBS 3t's, and their throws were quite good too!
The program lacks speed and is quite simple, but they have promise. She is 19, he is 21. I felt they could have been scored a little higher.
Matson and Hefron skated to Robin Hood. This pair really needs to work on their pair skills. There was no real steadiness in anything they did.
Mayne and Modro skated to Conan the Destroyer. If you remember, their SP was to Blackhawk Down. I don't think that either choice bodes particularly well for lower ranked skaters, with all those splat connotations, but apparently their coach, Burt Lancon, Jill Watson's pre-Oppegard partner, and choreographer Tamara Kuchiki, sister of Nastasha Kuchiki, did. I do like the drag into the BO death spiral, reminiscent of Jill and Peter's old programs. They did simple lifts well, They did a throw 3lp that was a little two footed, and a hand down on the other 3throw. I expect see better from them later. She is 15, he 21.
Appel and Harris. Harris looks kind like Elvis Stojko, and was dressed in a black suit with gold epaulets. They skated to Pearl Harbor, which IMO, is music way too big for a pair without very without very powerful skating skills. Morozov, their choreographer, should have known better. Harris managed decent throws using the fling her in the air style of Chinese pairs, and frankly, I think more American pairs should adopt this method, particularly when the boy is about the same size as the girl. They had a very, very interesting death spiral which I would have to see again to describe properly.
Howerton and Pottenger skated to Forrest Gump, which I think was a bad music choice again. They had a nice lift. He doubled the 3t. The 3throw only went around 2 1/2 revolutions. He dropped her in a lift. They finished with nice combo jumps. They're very young, though.
Sfikas and Weiss skated to A Classical Composition by Britten.
This was just a boring program and fell on 3t's, did only a double twist.
Vise and Trent skated to Nights in White Satin, and I like this music for pairs. They had a pretty good triple twist, a rarity tonight. They jump and spin in opposite directions, reminiscent of Kristi and Rudi and Peter and Jill. It is an interesting look, but only works if the real unison is absolutely heart stopping. Otherwise instead of a pair, it just looks like two people skating. They landed a 3t2t! Their death spiral was excellent! They did a throw 3S and it was good and SBS 2A's. Their spins and f/w suffered from unison problems. Their final death spiral (FO) was good, but they blew the pair spin. She's 17, he is 23. I hope they will stick around and make this work by getting the super unison to make this work.
Phibbs and McPherson skated to Legends of the Fall. Leave it there. It was a dull program not well executed. So often Ron Ludington programs seem dull to me.
Evora and Ladewig skated to Scherazade. They are from SW FLA where the junior champs are from. She is 19, he 23. There's something going on down there, because both pairs had very interesting programs. They have good speed, did a good lift with a nice flipout. Splat on the throw. Side by side 3 salchows! YES.
OK death spiral, Splat on the second throw. They did a chair lift that she laid back and went down his back. KOOL. He pushed her ahead into a FO death spiral. I wish I could describe this better and finish with one of those one hand lifts with her in a cartwheel position parallel to the ice. Work on those throws kids. It's coming together.
Spielburg and Joeright. Well, they finished in 6th, skating to Romeo and Juliet and they died. Falls on the SBS 2A. Falls on the SBS 3S. The 3throws were OK as were the SBS spins. They had a really neat lift, where he flipped her over and pressed up into an arabesque position. Somebody liked it. He threw his broad brimmed hat onto the rink She tried it on, but it didn't fit.
Roth and Hartsell. Steve is a little small for a pair skater. Roth is about the same size as Danielle is. I wish Steve could get a smaller partner. Scherazade again. She doubled the 3t. He singled the 2a. They had a fall on throw. Nice, nice side by side spins, and the Scherazade music is good for that. Throw 2a was OK and the FO death spiral was too.
Stiegler and Cording skated to Zorro. They make a striking couple on the ice, and she is really very tall. They did a double rather than a triple twist. She fell on a throw 2a. She singled the 3t, She fell on the sbs 2a. She fell on the throw 3s. She does positions reminiscent of Sasha, and they are indeed personal friends from what I've read. Their sbs spins were far apart and seemed short of revolutions. They did a nice lift where she slid head downward and hangs there. They had him dressed with a cummerbund so wide and low it looked sorta like a truss instead.
They should ditch this program.
Hinzmann and Parchem skated to Couvre Brave by Rodriguez and the Choreographer was Zuzanna Szwed, for those who wondered what she is doing. Chest crash on the 3 twist. She doubled the 3t and then fell. They had an ugly lift. She landed the throw 3lp but on 2feet. He did a 2a. I don't know what she did. They did a 2s 2s sequence. I don't understand why he can't attract a decent partner. His skating is still lovely.
Handy and Allen finished 5th skating to Rach. piano concerto #2 again. They are choreographed by Dmitriev and Ovsyannikov, but how they come out so dull in that case, I don't understand at all. They started with a double twist. He singled the 3whatever They did a throw 3s followed by a short, ugly lift where she falls out upside down, I think intentionally. The SBS spins were pretty good. The SBS 3t's were good. They do like to have her upside down in lifts, and finished with a really ugly FO death spiral.
Vise and Kole skated to Pirates of the Carribbean in appropriate outfits with power and speed. This is good pair music. I don't know why more didn't use it. The usual chest crash 3twist The sbs 3t's were good, but the throw 3s had a hand down. She travels on the sbs spins which makes your eyes blink as the space between them changes. SBS 2a's OK, sequence to sbs 2t's good. Boring lift. Fell on the second throw. only fair BO death spiral. Kicka$$ but simple footwork. Then they blew a stag lift. They got into a BO death spiral and couldn't get out of it, ending on a low note, but I want to see more of this pair.
She's 16, he's 20. Get with it kids, there's a power vacuum at the top.
dpp
The paper referred to the event as demolition pairs.
By the way, it seemed to me that this arena is on the narrow side, which always brings on problems with better, faster skating pairs and men.
For those who are interested in the not for prime time pairs, here's how they did, according to me:
Rogeness and Rogeness had a bad SP, but their LP to Rach. Piano Concerto #2 went better. It has a nice, light quality. They landed good SBS 3t's, and their throws were quite good too!
The program lacks speed and is quite simple, but they have promise. She is 19, he is 21. I felt they could have been scored a little higher.
Matson and Hefron skated to Robin Hood. This pair really needs to work on their pair skills. There was no real steadiness in anything they did.
Mayne and Modro skated to Conan the Destroyer. If you remember, their SP was to Blackhawk Down. I don't think that either choice bodes particularly well for lower ranked skaters, with all those splat connotations, but apparently their coach, Burt Lancon, Jill Watson's pre-Oppegard partner, and choreographer Tamara Kuchiki, sister of Nastasha Kuchiki, did. I do like the drag into the BO death spiral, reminiscent of Jill and Peter's old programs. They did simple lifts well, They did a throw 3lp that was a little two footed, and a hand down on the other 3throw. I expect see better from them later. She is 15, he 21.
Appel and Harris. Harris looks kind like Elvis Stojko, and was dressed in a black suit with gold epaulets. They skated to Pearl Harbor, which IMO, is music way too big for a pair without very without very powerful skating skills. Morozov, their choreographer, should have known better. Harris managed decent throws using the fling her in the air style of Chinese pairs, and frankly, I think more American pairs should adopt this method, particularly when the boy is about the same size as the girl. They had a very, very interesting death spiral which I would have to see again to describe properly.
Howerton and Pottenger skated to Forrest Gump, which I think was a bad music choice again. They had a nice lift. He doubled the 3t. The 3throw only went around 2 1/2 revolutions. He dropped her in a lift. They finished with nice combo jumps. They're very young, though.
Sfikas and Weiss skated to A Classical Composition by Britten.
This was just a boring program and fell on 3t's, did only a double twist.
Vise and Trent skated to Nights in White Satin, and I like this music for pairs. They had a pretty good triple twist, a rarity tonight. They jump and spin in opposite directions, reminiscent of Kristi and Rudi and Peter and Jill. It is an interesting look, but only works if the real unison is absolutely heart stopping. Otherwise instead of a pair, it just looks like two people skating. They landed a 3t2t! Their death spiral was excellent! They did a throw 3S and it was good and SBS 2A's. Their spins and f/w suffered from unison problems. Their final death spiral (FO) was good, but they blew the pair spin. She's 17, he is 23. I hope they will stick around and make this work by getting the super unison to make this work.
Phibbs and McPherson skated to Legends of the Fall. Leave it there. It was a dull program not well executed. So often Ron Ludington programs seem dull to me.
Evora and Ladewig skated to Scherazade. They are from SW FLA where the junior champs are from. She is 19, he 23. There's something going on down there, because both pairs had very interesting programs. They have good speed, did a good lift with a nice flipout. Splat on the throw. Side by side 3 salchows! YES.
OK death spiral, Splat on the second throw. They did a chair lift that she laid back and went down his back. KOOL. He pushed her ahead into a FO death spiral. I wish I could describe this better and finish with one of those one hand lifts with her in a cartwheel position parallel to the ice. Work on those throws kids. It's coming together.
Spielburg and Joeright. Well, they finished in 6th, skating to Romeo and Juliet and they died. Falls on the SBS 2A. Falls on the SBS 3S. The 3throws were OK as were the SBS spins. They had a really neat lift, where he flipped her over and pressed up into an arabesque position. Somebody liked it. He threw his broad brimmed hat onto the rink She tried it on, but it didn't fit.
Roth and Hartsell. Steve is a little small for a pair skater. Roth is about the same size as Danielle is. I wish Steve could get a smaller partner. Scherazade again. She doubled the 3t. He singled the 2a. They had a fall on throw. Nice, nice side by side spins, and the Scherazade music is good for that. Throw 2a was OK and the FO death spiral was too.
Stiegler and Cording skated to Zorro. They make a striking couple on the ice, and she is really very tall. They did a double rather than a triple twist. She fell on a throw 2a. She singled the 3t, She fell on the sbs 2a. She fell on the throw 3s. She does positions reminiscent of Sasha, and they are indeed personal friends from what I've read. Their sbs spins were far apart and seemed short of revolutions. They did a nice lift where she slid head downward and hangs there. They had him dressed with a cummerbund so wide and low it looked sorta like a truss instead.
They should ditch this program.
Hinzmann and Parchem skated to Couvre Brave by Rodriguez and the Choreographer was Zuzanna Szwed, for those who wondered what she is doing. Chest crash on the 3 twist. She doubled the 3t and then fell. They had an ugly lift. She landed the throw 3lp but on 2feet. He did a 2a. I don't know what she did. They did a 2s 2s sequence. I don't understand why he can't attract a decent partner. His skating is still lovely.
Handy and Allen finished 5th skating to Rach. piano concerto #2 again. They are choreographed by Dmitriev and Ovsyannikov, but how they come out so dull in that case, I don't understand at all. They started with a double twist. He singled the 3whatever They did a throw 3s followed by a short, ugly lift where she falls out upside down, I think intentionally. The SBS spins were pretty good. The SBS 3t's were good. They do like to have her upside down in lifts, and finished with a really ugly FO death spiral.
Vise and Kole skated to Pirates of the Carribbean in appropriate outfits with power and speed. This is good pair music. I don't know why more didn't use it. The usual chest crash 3twist The sbs 3t's were good, but the throw 3s had a hand down. She travels on the sbs spins which makes your eyes blink as the space between them changes. SBS 2a's OK, sequence to sbs 2t's good. Boring lift. Fell on the second throw. only fair BO death spiral. Kicka$$ but simple footwork. Then they blew a stag lift. They got into a BO death spiral and couldn't get out of it, ending on a low note, but I want to see more of this pair.
She's 16, he's 20. Get with it kids, there's a power vacuum at the top.
dpp
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