Most Disappointing Moments of Last Season

Yes definitely US Pairs! Timmy Goebel at US Nationals. L&T At US Nationals and then splitting. Michelle's skate at Worlds.

- Orscher and Lucash not putting together a better short program at Worlds - they are capable of so much better.
- Naomi and Peter's split
- Shae and Vic's split
- Still no Tara Lipinski back out on the ice
- Sasha's LP at Worlds
- KVDP's inability to do a triple axel on many occasions
- Jennifer Robinson being wuzrobbed at Worlds
- Eman's inability to keep it together at Worlds
- Don and Hunt's pewter at Nationals, should have been bronze
- Timothy's problems at Nationals
- Jenny Kirk at Worlds :\
- Men's results at 4CC still a big

Kasey said:

disappointed that Yagudin had to officially retire from eligible competition...I would have liked to see him compete under the CoP....

kasey

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Besides that, I terribly missed seeing him at Campbell's. Hmmm...I wonder what his program might have been?

-L/T withdraw and subsequent split. I will miss them very much.
-AP's season. She has so much potential. I think the injury just zapped her confidence.
-Fumie's low placement at Worlds. Although IMO she was robbed in the LP

My disappointments:

Discovering the eye-opening beauty of Eman in the Worlds SP...only to watch him fall right out of medal contention

Lambiel not medaling at Worlds

Realizing qualis are never televised, anywhere

Discovering the eye-opening beauty of Sasha Abt...a couple of events before he announces his retirement

No Yukina at Worlds

BTW, lavender, I think all great, complete skaters experience the "growing pains" to get to an improved level of consistency without compromising choreography. I have faith in Sasha's ability to keep the past in the past and continue making progress towards better, more consistent programs with the complex choreography that brings out her strengths, namely progress in reining in her nerves (she did do a flawless Swan Lake at Campbell's to begin the season)...if not in Robin Wagner's choreography...which brings me to my NEXT disappointment...

Robin Wagner's Swan Puddle!!!!! (TM Rgirl )

One fall in an otherwise beautiful SP for Shen & Zhao

Vika's troubles

Let me not go on, as it was not that disappointing a season--if anything, it was quite the thriller!

Sarah

p.s. much as I love Alexei, I'm not disappointed by his retirement; I think Alexei was meant to shine at the very top of his sport, exhibiting an improving caliber of technical and artistic abilities that culminated in SLC, capping off a dream career, a very full career of highs, lows, and tremendous accomplishment, not to mention setting a new standard in men's skating (as opposed to men's figure jumping). Alexei had the 1-2 punch, and though so much jumping inevitably takes its toll on the body, as a fan, I wouldn't have had it any other way (him going out swinging--and winning--with the tough stuff and wonderful artistry), and I don't think he would have either. Had he stayed in, we would have seen a much more fallible Alexei, in decline (how does one maintain that sort of excellence that is so taxing on the body for a few more Worlds, let alone a second Olympics), and being the champion he is, I don't think he would have wanted to go out like that, never mind the fact that he wouldn't have had enough left in the tank to continue skating with SOI, with less difficult technical content but still allowing him, and us as fans, to enjoy his skating.

sarahmistral said:

My disappointments:

Sarah

p.s. much as I love Alexei, I'm not disappointed by his retirement; I think Alexei was meant to shine at the very top of his sport, exhibiting an improving caliber of technical and artistic abilities that culminated in SLC, capping off a dream career, a very full career of highs, lows, and tremendous accomplishment, not to mention setting a new standard in men's skating (as opposed to men's figure jumping). Alexei had the 1-2 punch, and though so much jumping inevitably takes its toll on the body, as a fan, I wouldn't have had it any other way (him going out swinging--and winning--with the tough stuff and wonderful artistry), and I don't think he would have either. Had he stayed in, we would have seen a much more fallible Alexei, in decline (how does one maintain that sort of excellence that is so taxing on the body for a few more Worlds, let alone a second Olympics), and being the champion he is, I don't think he would have wanted to go out like that, never mind the fact that he wouldn't have had enough left in the tank to continue skating with SOI, with less difficult technical content but still allowing him, and us as fans, to enjoy his skating.

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Sarah, This is beautifully put. I said earlier that I was disappointed in Alexei's retirement, but it wasn't his retirement so much as the reason he had to do it. I think he made a wise choice and I'm exceptionally grateful to be able to see him skate at all. I just wish his hip hadn't become a problem and he could do whatever he wanted pain-free.

Nan

sarahmistral said:

Realizing qualis are never televised, anywhere...

Vika's troubles

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CBC showed a total of about 2 minutes in total of some of the quali skates, just enough to make it frustrating to watch.

I though Volchkova skated a fantastic quali skate. She had one mistake, a fall on the second 3Z, but apart from that, her jumps were wonderful and her spin positions, especially the layback, were a lot stronger. I thought she should have been third in her round, behind Arakawa and Poykio. That she was behind Kostner, Slutskaya, and Ando was shameless, but the judges were counting the 3/3's in Kostner's and Ando's case and forgetting the rest of the skate. I think Volchkova was sacrificed as the third skater from Russia, and that she was under-placed in the SP as well. She had no legs at all in the LP, and it was so sad to watch. She may have been tired, not expecting to be chosen for Worlds, or she may have been so demoralized by skating well and getting such terrible marks.

Oops

Tried to edit again and quoted instead.

Why, thank you, Nan! ITA, it was such a privilege to have witnessed his career, which had it all, an incredible, gradual transformation, an intense dedication to the sport, winning the ultimate "prize", Oly gold, but also no Russian Nats, no doubt a disappointment, especially given the fierce rivalry with Plushy.

I'm going to go buy my SOI tix for next season now

So disappointing to not have seen Vika, though from reports from Dortmund by Rosaleen, hockeyfan228, and Joesitz, I got the overall feeling that her troubles also included that shameless undermarking you guys mentioned, as much as the trouble she's had with her skating in the past. I just hope she'll persist and persevere in the coming years, as it would be a tragedy to see her talent go to waste.

Sarah

sarahmistral said:

My disappointments:
Realizing qualis are never televised, anywhere

Discovering the eye-opening beauty of Sasha Abt...a couple of events before he announces his retirement

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AHH!! the Quali rounds not televised were such a shock for me considering they did televised last worlds in which Lambiel and Plush performances were way way much better than the ones they did at their FP, so I was hoping that this year they were going to do it again and no!! that was really sad

I hope Sarah that you can find Sasha Abt performances in the internet because he was such a joy to watch, truly truly beautiful, his SP, FP, EX everything, with the excpetion of his gladiator program that I've never got to like. I liked Yag's Gladiator way too much so the one that Abt did was a little dissapointing for me.

sarahmistral said:

Discovering the eye-opening beauty of Sasha Abt...a couple of events before he announces his retirement

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Was it recently that was the first time you ever saw him? If so, one to get your hands on is his LP from 2002 Europeans, in which he came 2nd. He was absolutely flawless in that performance (the performance of his life), and IMO should absolutely have beaten Yagudin (and a lot of other people think that too - yags made several mistakes). Unfortunately Abt couldn't perform like that again in the Olympics a month later. His Euros LP was brilliant though.