2015 Four Continents Pairs SP Feb 12 Seoul Time | Page 15 | Golden Skate

2015 Four Continents Pairs SP Feb 12 Seoul Time

Sandpiper

Record Breaker
Joined
Apr 16, 2014
Having rewatched the top programs without a stuttering stream ruining everything...

D/R actually look pretty fast--faster than S/H and P/T on the night. Perhaps that's where the PCS come from. However, they--or rather, Meagan--seemed to slow down significantly on the StSq. I'd have them in the lead but with 72-73 points (1 point less PCS due to INT, P/E, and CH; lower GOEs for the jumps, throw, and steps than what they received).

Judges giving S/H the early group PCS. :no: Maybe they should lose out on SS compared to D/R or P/Z, but they deserve great marks for all the other components. I'd have them second with 70-71 points (TES unchanged, but PCS at 33).

Marks for everyone else seem fine as they are.
 

matmuh

what are levels anyway
Record Breaker
Joined
May 2, 2014
How can get any better technically? Sbs jumps are wonderfully synchronized, throw jump best in the field, twist is amazing, lift - simply marvellous... They don't have to improve anything, thes are judges who have to start appreciating them... :biggrin:

cant look at the protocols still but if i remember correctly they lost pts on death spiral? and sbs spins werent that great today :D but i agree on other parts, they are the only pair to get level4 on twist :love:
 

burntBREAD

Medalist
Joined
Mar 27, 2010
cant look at the protocols still but if i remember correctly they lost pts on death spiral? and sbs spins werent that great today :D but i agree on other parts, they are the only pair to get level4 on twist :love:

From what I recall, I think S/H got a level 2 on one of their elements.

Denney/Frazier also got a level 4 on their twist! Sui/Han are probably the most consistent at getting level 4s on their twist, though. I recall D/F getting level 2s, 3s, and 4s this season for the same twist :laugh:.
 

matmuh

what are levels anyway
Record Breaker
Joined
May 2, 2014
From what I recall, I think S/H got a level 2 on one of their elements.

Denney/Frazier also got a level 4 on their twist! Sui/Han are probably the most consistent at getting level 4s on their twist, though. I recall D/F getting level 2s, 3s, and 4s this season for the same twist :laugh:.

ohhh i probably missed them then :laugh: i couldnt check before i commented thanks to isu :eek:hwell:
 

Art&Sport

Medalist
Joined
Apr 28, 2011
...
Yes most definitely, and for a while I hoped she might try to rise to his level a bit, but she either hasn't or she can't and it is what it is. I'll never be their biggest fan but like I said already I admire/respect what they have been able to do and what they do well. I won't cry when they retire but I can't begrudge them their results or success (though some of these scores are maybe just a biiiiit high....)

I have full respect for D/R's ambitious technical elements, given they are not young skaters. But what I don't like them and their programs is that their transitions, various and innovative as it may be, are for the sake of transitions, and they simply do not blend with the programs at all. You can easily spot the transitions, which is not the way a good progam looks like. For me their programs are like: trick, transition, trick, transition...
BTW, I can still remember their entry of the death spiral of their last year's SP. Simply outrageous:eek:

I respect D/R technical skills and they deserve the scores they get, but I don't like them together. They lack any chemistry and that is reflected in their artistic expression. Eric said that they don't chose sentimental stories due to his orientation. But this is figure skating! Not all pairs or dance partners are lovers! Maybe they just need some drama classes...
My favourite Canadians are I/M, even MT/M...I love I/M but I also miss the old couple MT/M.
My God, I liked all the Chinese pairs!

Yes, it is definitely to each their own regarding likes and dislikes in figure skating. While I can agree with some of the specific explanations as to why some don't like D/R, but do respect their abilities, I happen to disagree with anyone who feels D/R don't have great chemistry. Meagan and Eric are definitely a team who demonstrate huge desire, never-give-up attitude, hard work, and gutsy risk-taking excitement. When I first saw them years ago, I didn't like them very much, and I also thought perhaps they were a mismatch. But by God, they made their partnership work. They clearly have a great deal of respect for each other, and I find them magical to watch simply because of the joy, desire and excitement they exude for figure skating. They have very different physiques and contrasting aesthetics that they have blended together in a way that works! I would disagree with anyone who feels that Meagan has not improved aesthetically. Meagan has been taking ballet classes, and both she and Eric have worked hard on improving their presentation and PCS scores. There is no way to grow taller or change the way your body is structured. Clearly Meagan rocks who she is, and she has done a lot to stay in great shape and to find what works for her in expressing who she is on the ice. Personally, I can dig it! D/R are a fiercely competitive team with great unison, unbeatable difficulty and confidence that shines. The fact that they have risen to the level they are at now in spite of not being the traditional lyrical pair team speaks volumes.

Re the competition, I respect S/H for how they are improving stylistically as they mature, and they are without a doubt great with the tricks and difficulty, but I still think they have a long way to go in terms of depth and nuance of presentation. In the latter respect, I think that Peng/ Zhang have a great deal more potential, but that young Peng is still learning and gaining consistency with every outing. Peng's consistency and need for more maturity and competition experience with her partner will tell the tale for them. I do think that P/Z looked good here but were slightly over-marked overall. I think S/H were over-marked on PCS. The Chinese pairs teams of course are known for their huge throws and jaw-dropping triple twists. S/H definitely have a great deal of flash and dash, but they simply are not one of my favorite teams. I could warm more to P/Z, as they grow. I agree with those who feel P/Z need to develop more chemistry and excitement. S/H do have the chemistry and excitement since they have been skating together longer, but P/Z are a more elegant team. I have loved Pang/ Tong over the years, and it is nice to seem them competing again and skating well, but I would have preferred to see the younger up-and-coming Chinese team who competed on the GP circuit with some good results. It seems to me that P/T are out there mainly for patriotic duty. To me, even though they still can skate and do it well and competitively, it's not up to their former level, and their age does show. They were clearly over-marked in the sp (perhaps respect for their reputation).

Alexa and Chris were a slight bit nervous, but they worked through it, and I agree they scored well considering. With the over-scores given some other teams, perhaps Alexa and Chris might have been given an extra point and a half or so too! :) If Alexa and Chris can keep it together and skate their best with a quad twist in the long, I think they should be able to move up, even over P/T (who may not have as much endurance in the long program). It will also be interesting to see if P/Z can maintain their consistency in the long program. I think S/H are very consistent and the judges love them too. They are generally always on with their arsenal of tricks, and they are always packaged well to hide their weaknesses, plus they have been working to improve on PCS (even though the judges have always tended to score them highly all around because of their wow tricks, neglecting to recognize the limitations of their one-note style).

Very good skate for Tarah and Danny, and they have a very nice long program too. Still, Brandon and Haven are overall better than K/O, M-T/M and I/M at this point. So, I'm sad at the moment for Brandon and Haven. They are a quality team and should be up there in the same range at this competition with Alexa and Chris IMHO. M-T/M are just okay, and Michael is still battling to catch up with Kirsten; their lifts are still weak, although Michael has obviously been working and he seems more steady (but his posture is not great on the lifts). I love Luba and Dylan -- they simply need more mileage and I think they will be able to sometime soon jump over the Chinese teams and be competitive with the top Russians too eventually. At the moment though, D/R are boss!
 
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SashaJuliaSpins

Final Flight
Joined
Jan 10, 2014
Yes, it is definitely to each their own regarding likes and dislikes in figure skating. While I can agree with some of the specific explanations as to why some don't like D/R, but do respect their abilities, I happen to disagree with anyone who feels D/R don't have great chemistry. Meagan and Eric are definitely a team who demonstrate huge desire, never-give-up attitude, hard work, and gutsy risk-taking excitement. When I first saw them years ago, I didn't like them very much, and I also thought perhaps they were a mismatch. But by God, they made their partnership work. They clearly have a great deal of respect for each other, and I find them magical to watch simply because of the joy, desire and excitement they exude for figure skating. They have very different physiques and contrasting aesthetics that they have blended together in a way that works! I would disagree with anyone who feels that Meagan has not improved aesthetically. Meagan has been taking ballet classes, and both she and Eric have worked hard on improving their presentation and PCS scores. There is no way to grow taller or change the way your body is structured. Clearly Meagan rocks who she is, and she has done a lot to stay in great shape and to find what works for her in expressing who she is on the ice. Personally, I can dig it! D/R are a fiercely competitive team with great unison, unbeatable difficulty and confidence that shines. The fact that they have risen to the level they are at now in spite of not being the traditional lyrical pair team speaks volumes.

Re the competition, I respect S/H for how they are improving stylistically as they mature, and they are without a doubt great with the tricks and difficulty, but I still think they have a long way to go in terms of depth and nuance of presentation. In the latter respect, I think that Peng/ Zhang have a great deal more potential, but that young Peng is still learning and gaining consistency with every outing. Peng's consistency and need for more maturity and competition experience with her partner will tell the tale for them. I do think that P/Z looked good here but were slightly over-marked overall. I think S/H were over-marked on PCS. The Chinese pairs teams of course are known for their huge throws and jaw-dropping triple twists. S/H definitely have a great deal of flash and dash, but they simply are not one of my favorite teams. I could warm more to P/Z, as they grow. I agree with those who feel P/Z need to develop more chemistry and excitement. S/H do have the chemistry and excitement since they have been skating together longer, but P/Z are a more elegant team. I have loved Pang/ Tong over the years, and it is nice to seem them competing again and skating well, but I would have preferred to see the younger up-and-coming Chinese team who competed on the GP circuit with some good results. It seems to me that P/T are out there mainly for patriotic duty. To me, even though they still can skate and do it well and competitively, it's not up to their former level, and their age does show. They were clearly over-marked in the sp (perhaps respect for their reputation).

Alexa and Chris were a slight bit nervous, but they worked through it, and I agree they scored well considering. With the over-scores given some other teams, perhaps Alexa and Chris might have been given an extra point and a half or so too! :) If Alexa and Chris can keep it together and skate their best with a quad twist in the long, I think they should be able to move up, even over P/T (who may not have as much endurance in the long program). It will also be interesting to see if P/Z can maintain their consistency in the long program. I think S/H are very consistent and the judges love them too. They are generally always on with their arsenal of tricks, and they are always packaged well to hide their weaknesses, plus they have been working to improve on PCS (even though the judges have always tended to score them highly all around because of their wow tricks, neglecting to recognize the limitations of their one-note style).

Very good skate for Tarah and Danny, and they have a very nice long program too. Still, Brandon and Haven are overall better than K/O, M-T/M and I/M at this point. So, I'm sad at the moment for Brandon and Haven. They are a quality team and should be up there in the same range at this competition with Alexa and Chris IMHO. M-T/M are just okay, and Michael is still battling to catch up with Kirsten; their lifts are still weak, although Michael has obviously been working and he seems more steady (but his posture is not great on the lifts). I love Luba and Dylan -- they simply need more mileage and I think they will be able to sometime soon jump over the Chinese teams and be competitive with the top Russians too eventually. At the moment though, D/R are boss!

^^ I love your thesis!:clap::laugh2:

Edited to add: I can't believe I read it all! That's to show you how good I found it!
 

slider11

Medalist
Joined
Jan 12, 2014
Me too! Pang and Tong bring such class to the ice. She was such a timid, stick-like figure 8 years ago and now she is this mature, sophisticated lady. I love them! I was disappointed in Scimeca and Knierim. They seem too focused on the technical side and seem to be going through the motion of artistry. Maybe the LP will show better artistry. Dylan and Lubov (sp?) are quite cute. I like what they bring to the ice. Good skills and a nice spark. I notice Dylan more although she is very appealing.
OMG Pang is soooooo beautiful!!!!! I am soooo happy to see them again, I just can't help it...
 

Skater Boy

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 24, 2012
Hahaha...
Actually, now that I think about it, K/O were more or less clean and S/K had great elements aside from the salchow. I just like D/F the best, and they clearly performed the worst today :cry: not just the fall but they seemed really tight the whole time too.

Can't complain too much about the Chinese teams! Two pristine programs and a very solid comeback.
I would have had that "new" Canadian Russian combo team ahead of the Americans S and K from the US were shakey and there is a natural lilt about this new Canadian team I appreciate that the Canadians are really the third Canadian team but still they deserved to be ahead or at least S and K not marked so generously I suppose it may seem odd to have two Canadians ahead of the top American team to some but it was deserved in this case. P and T did wonderful though a little shakey; you can see their experience. I really have to say, and I appreciate this board may have extreme voices or opinions that I do not know why there is so much hate towards D and R. One could easily argue but for some very strong Davis and White fans that D and W did not nearly have the chemistry of Virtue and Moir and at times seemed better suited for show skating to Disney songs (nothing wrong) but they were not real artists like I and K when they skated together or Virtue and Moir. So D and R are different artistically like Chan was too Dai or Hanyu and Fernandez - you may not like it but it can score well still. I personally never really saw the magic of sale and pelletier (well let me rephrase it; it wasn't all that strong; I thought B and S were far better artists and had and intrinsic beauty between them with heart felt emotions. (I still never understood why Sale had so much trouble with her jumps considering she was a singles skater). But D and R have their own look and really it is nice to see - one can say P and Z have a creepy look still but their pcs have been very generous as have the other Sui and Han. Russia could be off the podium with three Chinese teams and a Canadian team looking for blood. THe Americans have some hope but I do think the judging has been pretty nice to s and k. I do think the Chinese teams as they mature all start looking a bit alike -- all sort of follow the mode of Shen and Zhou. I kind of wish they were more like the Russians who have had many different looks in their teams. and no, a rag doll and Godzilla is not really differentiating them from other Chinese teams.
 

hippomoomin

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 30, 2012
I think Pang/Tong need more competition this season to get to their top form, but sadly 4CC is the only one before Worlds. I am actually surprised to see they are better physically compared with previous two seasons. That may be the exact reason they decide to compete one more time. It looks like they are still getting familiar with their programs. In practice, they did much better with jumps and throws but when putting together in a competition, they made some mistakes.
 

Crossover

All Hail the Queen
Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 31, 2014
I was a bit of heartbroken for Pang/Tong after watching the pair SP. Time is flying by. I love their program though; the program with lyric is so beautiful and touching. I really hope they can deliver the program in a complete status, so they can retire with a good result as a reward.
 

Meoima

Match Penalty
Joined
Feb 13, 2014
I was a bit of heartbroken for Pang/Tong after watching the pair SP. Time is flying by. I love their program though; the program with lyric is so beautiful and touching. I really hope they can deliver the program in a complete status, so they can retire with a good result as a reward.
their programs are beautiful. and isn't she beautiful? :shocked:
 

Crossover

All Hail the Queen
Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 31, 2014
their programs are beautiful. and isn't she beautiful? :shocked:

Yes, their programs are so mesmerizing. I gotta give a credit to the choreographer, Morozov for creating such the beautiful works. (but his recent exposure about Ando is a big nono :disapp:). Pang is of course beautiful on the ice. As a fan of them, I'm lucky enough to see them compete at 4CC and Worlds. I'm pleased with that although I'm still rooting for them to have a medal.
 
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GF2445

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 7, 2012
I was a bit of heartbroken for Pang/Tong after watching the pair SP. Time is flying by. I love their program though; the program with lyric is so beautiful and touching. I really hope they can deliver the program in a complete status, so they can retire with a good result as a reward.

I hope so too.
 
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