2015 Canadian Nationals Senior Free Dance, Jan. 24

cocofeliz said:

I could not agree more with you. I am still hoping for P/I to surge ahead. They are beautiful skaters and it is about time they lived up to their enormous talent...

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I agree. P/I are beautiful skaters and I do love their new program which really shows their deep edges and gorgeous body positions. I also agree that P/G are over-marked. I appreciate their interesting, unique choreography and FD music & wonder -- is that's why the judges score them so high because their skating skills - especially Piper's - lifts, lines, not great IMO.

Would love a video clip of Gilles and Poirier's Canadian Nationals Free Dance. Anyone?

colleen o'neill said:

Now if you want to compare G/P to P/I, I don't think you can believably argue that G/P are superior skaters. Period.

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Well, I think you can make the argument that G&P are stronger skaters overall than P&I, and certainly more consistent in terms of their results and their skating.

You can tell that P&I have some issues with their skating and their consistency because it's not just G&P they often have trouble competing with - they are losing ground to other Canadian dance teams, too. Look at how close O&W and P&O finished to them this year. P&I actually finished 5th in the FD which means that O&W and P&O were also ranked above them. So this isn't just a G&P v s. P&I thing.

I do give P&I credit for making far fewer mistakes than they used to and for not having the major falls & crashes they used to have a few seasons ago. There used to be a time when they had trouble just staying up (eg. when they both fell in the 2013 FD at Nationals). Most of those major issues seem to have been worked out since the move to Krylova. So I think the worst is behind them now. But it may be that the inconsistency & major falls they had in the past have stayed with the judges and had lingering effects. Consistency is one of the most important things you can have in skating. It's one of the reasons Davis & White became #1, even though elements of their artistry weren't always as good as Virtue & Moir.

peg said:

FWIW, the point spread between W/P and G/P at the GPF was 23 points.

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Yes, valid point. But the point spread between W/P and G/P earlier on the GP wasn't quite that large, nor was it quite that large at Worlds last year. GPF was kind of the exception in that regard. It was at the high end of the points spread between the two teams.

slider11 said:

Would love a video clip of Gilles and Poirier's Canadian Nationals Free Dance. Anyone?

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdkGqKhwez4

here you go

Ryan O said:

Yes, valid point. But the point spread between W/P and G/P earlier on the GP wasn't quite that large, nor was it quite that large at Worlds last year. GPF was kind of the exception in that regard. It was at the high end of the points spread between the two teams.

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I would stick to comparisons from this seasons just because then you're comparing the same programs. The only other time that they skates against each other this season, W/P beat G/P by 18.5 points. Then 23 points at GPF. Another thing to consider is that due to the complexity of their program (esp FD) W/P tend to have more noticeable improvements compared to other teams. I definitely think the gap between them and G/P should have been closer to the 18-20 point range.

ETA: Anyway, I just checked scores from last year's Worlds and W/P beat G/P by 21.55 points. So the average is a little over 20 points difference.