2016 Team Challenge Cup - Day 1

[ice coverage]

This is an ISU sanctioned event, but not an ISU event, so will not count.

Really appreciate the definitive word, Mrs. P .

And thanks for making note in your GS articles re TCC:

... The event, organized by U.S. Figure Skating, is an International Skating Union-sanctioned international event. The scores earned during the head-to-head competition will not count toward ISU’s personal or season’s best. ...

http://www.goldenskate.com/2016/04/2016-team-challenge-men/ (Apr 23)
http://www.goldenskate.com/2016/04/2016-team-challenge-ladies/ (Apr 23)​

Mrs. P, cannot thank you enough for the high quality and frequency of the reporting you have given us from Spokane. Tweets and videos galore.
Great stuff :luv17:.

---

Thank you very much Golden411 for all the detailed info on this competition.
I have been to the TCC site several times to try to understand this comp. but this kind of detailed info that you have is not on their site.
I'm always in awe of folks that can find out information as well as those that post video's so quickly!

So, I will suck it down that your posts make me feel rather like a school child that didn't read all of the text the first time and should have remembered and memorized where to find the info that has already been posted!
I guess this means I should go to remedial TCC class after school! Sign me up plz!

My thanks also to those who have been posting videos .

I hope that I have not been overbearing re TCC.
I am waaaaay behind others here on GS who can recite by heart the multi-layered process for how GP assignments are made, for example. Am grateful when they shed light on details that escape me and when they quickly debunk misconceptions.

When plans for TCC first came to light, I guess I got intrigued b/c it was something brand-new. Although I am not crazy about its seemingly infinite number of complexities, I was able to get in on the ground floor, so to speak, of trying to digest them.

 

[Ekm]

I think some people are making too much of this, at the end of the day despite being elite athletes they are just teenage girls, maybe they just don't care for one another (isn't Elena pretty good friends with Julia, who does not get along with Evgenia) it's not really that big of a deal. They can both be perfectly lovely girls that just don't click for whatever reason too, it happens. Or it could be literally nothing.

 

[Li'Kitsu]

Yes, nothing, she's not even looking at her and Kolyada (he might be collateral damage). And she hugs and smiles at Brezina, Dean and Buckland.

And there are other teammates she didn't hug either - does she hate all of them too? IMO, it's just reading too much into this. It's possible she might not have realized them standing there because she was in her own bubble while walking to the bench - due to being angry with herself. The interaction with the others only comes after she stopped to sit down, and it doesn't look to me like she really wanted to hug anyone but rather sink into the ground right there.
These skater A doesn't like skater B things kind of kill the fun of the group K'n'C.

 

[charmblade]

Yeah, I wouldn't read too much into their greeting their teammates on the benches. Gracie didn't exactly rush to hug Ashley either, no one seems to be complaining about that. Also, none of Shoma's teammates gave him a hug and I felt like they probably all should have. Instead it was smiles and congratulations only.

Elena hugged the guys who were right there, which I thought was cute considering that the women of Team Europe had been the ones to give a group hug to Brezina. (Not that I blame them for wanting to give cutie Michal a hug!)


ETA: Also, can i just mention how much I'm loving Christopher Dean as team captain? He is always the first to give a big hug to each of his skaters and seems really supportive and encouraging. He seems a little more into the whole thing than Kristi and Shizuka IMHO. Not to say that the others aren't doing a good job but Chris is just so enthusiastic. I feel like he's the kind of guy you'd want greeting you after skating, whether you did well or poorly.

 

[puremagic]

ETA: Also, can i just mention how much I'm loving Christopher Dean as team captain? He is always the first to give a big hug to each of his skaters and seems really supportive and encouraging. He seems a little more into the whole thing than Kristi and Shizuka IMHO. Not to say that the others aren't doing a good job but Chris is just so enthusiastic. I feel like he's the kind of guy you'd want greeting you after skating, whether you did well or poorly.

Yeah. Christopher is very nice man. I like him.

 

[Krunchii]

Evgenia has been competing all season too and she just gave another perfect skate. However, I also think Radio has been wonky and sloppy most of the season. Russian fed should have sent beautiful Anna here.

Honestly I think Evgenia shouldn't have gone either even though she did well, Russian Fed every year has a new it girl, I think they should nurture Evgenia carefully for the future and letting her rest. People might disagree with me but oh well. I just don't think it's necessary to go all out again after Worlds. Russia especially has it easy since they have so many big name girls. I personally would have nominated Yulia and Adelina. A huge shame Eliza was injured and couldn't go.

And really people are overthinking Elena hating Evgenia thing, they're friendly to me, she's not obligated to be close to her but really I think she's just frustrated by Evgenia sometimes, she's been Russian No.2 for 2 seasons now so I guess while dealing with growth problems and not being able to win has her a bit down. Also Elena looked really confused when she got off ice after her skate and not knowing where to go, really I think she just felt really awkward the entire time because she wasn't exactly sure what was going on due to language barrier and being with a new group of people. We shouldn't judge relationships based on a few seconds on the TV screen.

 

[moriel]

Also, about sour loosers...
We should all remember the previous year Worlds, and Radio cuddlying with Liza.
Or this year worlds and her cuddlying with Anna =)

I think people are looking for stuff where is none.

 

[alskling]

Or this year worlds and her cuddlying with Anna =)

Cuddlying with Anna? Are you sure it was Elena?

 

[Mathman]

Mrs. P, cannot thank you enough for the high quality and frequency of the reporting you have given us from Spokane. Tweets and videos galore.
Great stuff :luv17:

:yes: :thumbsup:

 

[Skater Boy]

Evgenia has been competing all season too and she just gave another perfect skate. However, I also think Radio has been wonky and sloppy most of the season. Russian fed should have sent beautiful Anna here.

I don't think it was up to the Russian Federation to decide who they wanted to send to this event as the selection process had nothing to do with the national federations. That being said for those of us who love skating it is always good for another event. Yes, this doesn't have the same tension of competition of some events but it is always good to see top skaters compete. Good or bad some seem to use this event for practice or to try new things. Nice try by Shoma on the quad flip - ratified or not I am wondering if there is no real attempt at steps into the steps into a triple or quad jump if it should be a zero or considered a miss.. Not sure what is fair. As for Elena I think we have to give her some slack as we should any young girl. It is what it is but it seems apparent her wonky jumps or struggles is due to a huge growth. She is really fighting it. I may not love her skating but I give her full credit for fighting so hard in something that can be devastating to your skating - look at Nam. The pressure she must be under in a nation where 2015 world champion and olypmic champion are not even in the top 5 skaters in their country.

 

[Zhenya is DIVINE]

Elena was extremely successful as a junior (the only 2 time Junior World champion) and had a very impressive senior debut including being crowned the Russian National Champion. She clearly does not like being the #2 Russian (now #3), and poor Zhenya is just a casualty of this. She can't help it that she is a much better skater than Lena. The way Lena was acting at Europeans spoke volumes. You could feel the bitterness through the TV screen.

I do like the passion that Lena has. She is definitely a fighter and will never give up. I just hope she can address some of her glaring weaknesses during the off-season. That posture isn't going to fix itself.

 

[Mathman]

I like this format of having a short program "trophy dash" (to use a stock car term) for a cash prize, independent of the main event. The ISU should think about using this format for other events, such as the Grand Prix.

It creates a big hoop-la for the short program as a self-contained competition, and removes the anticlimactic situation where one skater gets so far ahead in the SP that there is no point in holding the free skate at all.

 

[TwinnerA]

Yeah, I wouldn't read too much into their greeting their teammates on the benches. Gracie didn't exactly rush to hug Ashley either, no one seems to be complaining about that.

Nor did Ashley exactly rush to hug Gracie.

 

[TwinnerA]

She simply rushed to prepare for her own performance.
If she hated her, she would have not watched her skate at all

I agree that once Evgenia came off the ice, I'm guessing that was probably Elena's cue to leave to go backstage to get ready for her own skate.

 

[winky97]

Cuddlying with Anna? Are you sure it was Elena?

I don't recall Elena cuddling with Anna, at least at an event. Evgenia and Anna cuddled at Worlds this year. However, Elena and Anna certainly seem ok at competitions. At the European medal ceremony Anna comforted Elena. At this years Worlds, after Anna skated her FS and got her scores, Elena came out and gave Anna a big hug. This was after Elena had been knocked off the podium and was not scene on tv broadcast.

 

[charmblade]

Nor did Ashley exactly rush to hug Gracie.

Exactly.


(Although I don't think Ashley was in the K&C after Gracie's skate, and I assume she was preparing for her own skate to come. However, none of Team North America hugged Gracie. There just wasn't a lot of hugging happening last night in general, so I don't think anyone can blame Evgenia or Elena for not hugging each other.)

 

[Sabrina]

According to the schedule, pairs should skate now. I tried the Chinese link, but they show snooker.

 

[winky97]

According to the schedule, pairs should skate now. I tried the Chinese link, but they show snooker.

According to IN not until 3:30 central time

 

[MsLiinaLii]

Dear people engaged into Elena&Evgenia discussion,

Medvedeva has posted in VK group under one of the posts. She answered to some posters (and it was her real VK page)
(rough translation)
"I don't understand your reaction. Lena and I are good. Not heart to heart as one may say, but we do not hate each other and communicate well. She left because she had to warm-up before her own skate and I am very happy that she sat in team box and cheered for me. It is very hard to do that vefore your own skate. Have some respect."

 

[mirai4life]

How is that 4F ratified by the judges? Shoma pre-rotated and then under-rotated that jump. It's more like 3F if the judges are not blind.

you can say that about everyone's quad jump.