Live v. Memorex

Tonichelle said:

and I dunno about Michelle's speed... but as you know I wasn't really paying attention to her I think she skates faster in practices... that's just how I saw it...

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Don't use 2005 Bolero as the judge of how she does in competition. I've been to Nationals since 2002 and managed to make it to 2003 Worlds. Bolero was the least impressive performance out of all of them. She seemed a little stressed at 2002 Nats but loosened up a lot for the footwork. She can do a lot better.

I saw Skate Canada live in Halifax and there were a few huge differences that I lovedddd.

First of all, you get to see all of the competitors not just the ones that finished in the top five. It was great to watch the whole process as it went on and not have any cheesy profiles and montages before and after commercial breaks.

Also, the practices were absolutely amazing. You got to see who of the skaters had the real work ethic and athletic drive that you'd expect. Also you got to see who went for everything in their run throughs, who popped a lot in practice (a huge factor) and all sorts of other little quirks that you don't see on tv. Also you get to see a certain coach/skater dynamic that's nowhere else.

CDMM1991 said:

Also, the practices were absolutely amazing. You got to see who of the skaters had the real work ethic and athletic drive that you'd expect. Also you got to see who went for everything in their run throughs, who popped a lot in practice (a huge factor) and all sorts of other little quirks that you don't see on tv. Also you get to see a certain coach/skater dynamic that's nowhere else.

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ITA! My best memory of Skate America 2003 was a practice session where Ann Patrice McD gve complete run-throughs of both her long and short programs, after all the other skaters had left the ice. It was the best I ever saw her skate. She held the (sparse) audience in the palm of her hand.

Then after consulting with her coach, she practiced both endings to her LP (with and without stabbing herself as Madam Buttlefly, LOL. Without was better, )

Mathman

Mathman said:

ITA! My best memory of Skate America 2003 was a practice session where Ann Patrice McD gve complete run-throughs of both her long and short programs, after all the other skaters had left the ice. It was the best I ever saw her skate. She held the (sparse) audience in the palm of her hand.

Then after consulting with her coach, she practiced both endings to her LP (with and without stabbing herself as Madam Buttlefly, LOL. Without was better, )

Mathman

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I don't recall ever seeing a completely "on" performance of AP on TV. (that's not to say she didn't have some...I just didn't see them myself). It must have been awesome to see such a captivating performance - and live at that!

ITA with the posters who have said you get to see all the skaters - not just a few. That's something I'm REALLY looking forward to.

DG

The best part about seeing an entire competition, particularly among singles, is noting the really wonderful aspects of the lower-ranked competitors. You may go away thinking -- if only that girl had more than two triples, because I'd pay to see her skate in a show, or if only he could land the 3A, he'd be a star -- but it's a privilege to see these kids skate.

Besides speed, the other things you'll see live that the camera misses are the choreographic pattern and ice coverage. It will be very clear when a skater, even a top skater, lands the combo and then circles around the rink and lands the next jump in the exact same spot; has multiple changes of direction or skates circles; lands a lot of elements in the same place -- in front of the judges or hiding from the judges; and/or uses the entire rink vs. cutting it short.

You'll also see the relative speed: is the skater losing speed while performing the elements and doing furious cross-overs to regain speed vs. maintaining speed during and after the elements and adjusting speed to the music and choreography.