Pairs - Free Program - Comments | Golden Skate

Pairs - Free Program - Comments

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
yeay for Katie and Garrett rocking out in the LP! Way to come back fighting!!! :clap:
 

Frau Muller

Final Flight
Joined
Mar 1, 2005
FABULOUS PERFORMANCES from the Canadian teams. I can't wait to see these on TV! :rock: :rock: :rock:

on the other hand...

Not a 'banner year' for Team USA, is it? And I see that Rena & John have won the unofficial competition among the USA couples. Hmmm.... :cool:
 

Hikaru

Final Flight
Joined
Sep 23, 2004
OK, the chinese and russian teams are ready to go!!! I'm so excited and all I'm watching are the scores!!!
 

Frau Muller

Final Flight
Joined
Mar 1, 2005
Last group set to go!!! So Pang/Tong barely squeek above Obertas/Slavnov into 1st? O/S seem to have gotten considerably higher tech scores (with 4-twist) but still not enough, overall.

Here's hoping for four great, clean programs, to end!
 

Hikaru

Final Flight
Joined
Sep 23, 2004
I am so sad about Shen and Zhao having to withdrew, but I'm sure that they did it because he really couldn't skate :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

I hope that he gets well soon.
 

Frau Muller

Final Flight
Joined
Mar 1, 2005
Sorry for Shen/Zhao but...


WOW for RUSSIA!!!! MAGNIFICENT!!! Chalk a Gold & Silver up for the Russian Federation! Woooo-hooo!!! :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:
 

Doggygirl

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 18, 2003
Hikaru said:
I am so sad about Shen and Zhao having to withdrew, but I'm sure that they did it because he really couldn't skate :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

I hope that he gets well soon.

I'm totally :cry: about S/Z.

I think T&M put together awesome programs this year that totally fit their style. Good for them on Gold!! P&T have never "moved" me like some other teams had, but I think the silver is well deserved for them in this comp. P&T and Z&Z have a ways to go IMO to reach the level of S&Z. But you can't help but commend the success of the Chinese pairs program. I'm not counting S&Z out for the future as I have zero clue about their plans. But I sincerely hope their plans include coaching. :)

I'm glad for teams Canada and USA who seem like they put down good performances for THEM today. Awesome.

DG
 

Ptichka

Forum translator
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
Really want to hear some opinions as to O&S vs. Pang&Tong. According to Rosaleen, O&S' s program was not a really cohesive whole which would explain the difference in marks for choreography. Their elements, though, were considerably higher than Pa&To's.

By the same token, Z&Z had higher marks than Pet&Tik. There, however, the components score was very high for Pet&Tik. All components fot them were in very high 7's/ low 8's range.

Also wanted to add that I am really happy for Savchenko & Szolkowy for establishing themselves on the elite scene.
 

Antilles

Medalist
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
O&S really didn't have a cohesive program. It looked like they were trying too hard to add a lot of really difficult elements. They do have some really cool moves though. M&B did a good job, considering their lack of training time. Too bad for S&Z, but they wil rebound. Glad for T&M and P&T. I'm one for one in the gold picks contest!
 

soogar

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 18, 2003
O&S v Pang & Tong

I don't know how they were scored but O&S had a lot more risk in their program than Pang & Tong. I also really liked O&S's program b/c they skated with more energy (in the beginning) and the crowd really got into their traditional Russian music. Pang & Tong have much better control and stamina than O&S. Toward the end of the program , O&S were having problems with the lifts and he looked really tired like he could barely hold her up. She's a small girl so I don't know what's his deal ... I don't know what's with today's pairs, but in the past I have never seen a team falter with a lift (let alone a Russian team)... maybe all those triple jumps take it out of them.
 

rain

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 29, 2003
Well, that was a lackluster pairs final. Obviously Totmianina and Marinin deserved the win - they were the only ones who delivered in any sense of the word. Still not thrilled by this team, but I did appreciate that they actually looked like a bona fide pair out there on the ice with some sophistication and unison.

As for the rest of the field....
I thought Pang and Tong got shafted. I'm not sure why international judges don't seem to really like this team and there are constant criticisms of their artistry. For my money, they are the most artistic and musical of the top three Chinese teams, with the best finish. They had a few technical mistakes here, but I really appreciated the fact that they put out an actual program, rather than a series of tricks. Zhang and Zhang were robotic, as I always find them, and I thought their program looked fairly juniorish, expression-wise. And with the several major mistakes on the tricks - usually their strength - I was surprised they beat the other Chinese team in the long.

Speaking of a series of tricks strung together, I was really disappointed in Obertas and Slavnov. I really like this young team, but give a reluctant thumbs-down for their free. It was a series of elements with little pretense of being an actual program. The music was awful and didn't help matters. While many of the things they did were extremely difficult, very few of them were actually executed smoothly. Lifts lost speed to the point of coming almost to a full stop, often with messy, messy exits. The fall on the throw was an obvious error, as was the jump error. Between the tricks was nothing much. The quad twist was impressive, but again, the slight error on the exit. This team is capable of much better.

How many years has it been now that Petrova and Tikhonov have used that exact same program? Some technical errors, as well as not the greatest expression made it pretty blah for a silver medal skate. I did appreciate, like with T/M, that they looked like a real pair.

Further down the list, I'm betting on the Germans to one day be world champs. They obviously need some time to develop, but very impressive so far. Was happy for the Canadians who had relatively good skates. Yea for two teams in the top 10.
 

emma

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 28, 2004
So, of course THIS week has to be like my busiest week at work ever and I'm sick too...but have managed to sort of keep up with skating, and OMG this is awful! So many injuries, the damn sky cam that absolutely makes me even more nauseous that I already am....and NOT seeing Shen/zhao skate....I'm glad they didn't risk more injury, but was startled by the withdraw since the one shot I saw of them in the warm up looked good. any thoughts about that?

I too really think Pang and Tong are very artistic and don't really get how they are marked.

I was really impressed by the german team (I don't know their names, last night was the first I saw of them) and the Canadian team W/F (wow, they are really, really beautiful to watch), and last night was the first I saw of them too....and then was all like, 'just my luck, maybe the last I'll see of them too' ...and M/B from Canada were really great too (god, but injuries, injuries, injuries this year).

I am happy for T/M and do wish them much sucess in the future too....but now that this competition for pairs is over....i have like a year or so to just fret over the olympics, and yes with great trepidation I'll admit...i'm rooting for S/Z. urgh, hope i didn't just curse them. and a question, are P/T (russians) planning to stick around for next year?
 

Ptichka

Forum translator
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
emma said:
I was really impressed by the german team (I don't know their names, last night was the first I saw of them)
Savchenko and Szokolwy (sp?). She was a Junior World champ in 2000 with Stanyslav Morozov.

are P/T (russians) planning to stick around for next year?
I'd bet on it. This silver shows that they have a real shot at the bronze in Turin, and I doubt they'd pass it up. Had they finished off the podium again, they I think they would have retired.
 

Linny

Final Flight
Joined
Aug 13, 2003
Guessing on P&T

I thought Pang and Tong got shafted. I'm not sure why international judges don't seem to really like this team and there are constant criticisms of their artistry

Just guessing... haven't seen it yet. Perhaps the judges feel like I do, where I can hardly watch them. This sport is about beauty and she just ain't beautiful. Not in this condition.
Linny
 
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rain

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 29, 2003
Linny said:
Just guessing... haven't seen it yet. Perhaps the judges feel like I do, where I can hardly watch them. This sport is about beauty and she just ain't beautiful. Not in this condition.
Linny

If you're referring to her weight, I agree that she is painfully thin. However, I have to say I find Zhang (the girl) just as disturbingly skinny if not more so. And it is NOT up to the judges to comment in the marks on such a thing.
 

Linny

Final Flight
Joined
Aug 13, 2003
Not up to the judges?

Not up the judges to determine whether or not they find a program to be beautiful or not? Huh? If the judge thinks a particular program isn't pretty, then they mark it as such. Has nothing to do with skinny, fat or the heath risks there in - it is a subjective quantification of the beauty of the skate.

There's a category under PCS called Performance/Execution. Under that is the directive "Style and individuality/personality". If a judge doesn't like Tong's "style", if they find her painful to watch, they are fully empowered to mark this pair down.

Linny
 
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