2019 US Nationals Pairs Free Skate

[bigsisjiejie]

That arena needs a cleanse before dance starts

More like an exorcism.

 

[WeakAnkles]

Sage burning as a cleanser of bad juju can be a powerful thing.

:agree:

 

[labgoat]

Hmm, given how she is as a commentator, do you think the word "we" is even IN her vocabulary?

She is small and fierce. Maybe if she was the boss like Ksenia..

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She just said on NBC broadcast that she would hate to be up in the air, so I guess pairs is out for her!

Is Tara on GS with us reading our thoughts (scary)...

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I know US dance is tonight, but when is Euros dance on NBC?

 

[apgold]

Congrats to Ashley and Tim on their first US title! Especially after the accident last month.

I met them at last year's nationals and they seemed lovely. So happy for them stepping up when the other teams faltered.

 

[NoNameFace]

Oh my...I can't even make my mind about this whole Pairs' event. The atmosphere was so dense it could be sliced by knife. I wish though it was only & all about competition and skaters, sadly it was not.

Haven and Brandon still have my fave US pair FS program, it was not perfect today, but they are making that ending of song just magical with combos of lifts.

Deanna continues to have time of her career, an ultimate revival. And good for them, her & Nate, I miss this kind of expressiveness Deanna has and maturity in carriage. They are not masters of consistency, but when they are on, they can be a spectacular sight.

Shame about Kayne/O'Shea, it was their big chance, but it just wasn't mean to be. They seemed quite nervous and the program did not pop enough.

And the heroes - I command Ashley's courage, confidence & professionalism in particular, looking back at what happened at Golden Spin in December, she bounced back 1000x stronger and driven. They were focused and a bit cautious at places, but it is fully understandable for me, yet the performance was strong, impactful, musical. I always find them quite original and off-mark as a team, embracing their individuality into team spirit, I always see their respective qualities and they somehow manage to make them shine skating together. It is unusual trait for a Pair where everything suppose to be so unison, unified, paralel, they stand out and I am beyond myself that their hard work paid off big, especially after what they have been through.

 

[Skater Boy]

His wrist is injured and will require lengthy surgery/recovery. So I doubt they will be going to 4CCs. No need to risk further injury or Gofdess forbid injuring her too (which I know he would never allow to happen if it were possible for him to prevent it.)

Oh there is no way I thought the Knerims were in the running but none of the other top 3 or 4 teams are that distinguished. I have no issue it is just that pairs skating in the US is kind of blur, a muddled mess. Any team could win amongst them depending on the day.

 

[CherylDee]

What a mess. The Knerims I thought were getting confident and building and had some good skates and placements leading into Nats and then this - disaster. I am wondering if they will wait to 4CCs to name the pair going to worlds.

Oh that's right! Tarah and Danny have another shot for the world spot???? My heart be still! :hap85:

 

[GGFan]

For those of you in the know: have the Knierims put their funding in jeopardy with this finish? I'm hoping the USFS would still realize they have the most potential internationally

 

[CellarDweller]

Just watched the US pairs event......shocked would best describe how I feel. I can't remember ever seeing a pairs event where there were so many issues on the lifts. The way things went, we were lucky to not see any injuries.

It was horrible to see Tarah's reaction during the skate, and after, and in the K&C.

His wrist is injured and will require lengthy surgery/recovery. So I doubt they will be going to 4CCs. No need to risk further injury or Gofdess forbid injuring her too (which I know he would never allow to happen if it were possible for him to prevent it.)

This.....in particular the part I bolded & underlined. I am not a trained athlete, so I don't know what the body is capable of with that kind of injury, but I really think SK & K's team should convince them to just step away from the ice and let Chris have his surgery. If the twist and the lifts are an indication of his reliability, the risk of worsening his injury, or injuring her, may be too high.

 

[Jeanie19]

Who will be named to 4CC?

 

[pearly]

I hope the top 3.

 

[Button's Niece]

Just watched the US pairs event......shocked would best describe how I feel. I can't remember ever seeing a pairs event where there were so many issues on the lifts. The way things went, we were lucky to not see any injuries.
.

I've been wondering if this has any relationship to the new COP. I thought I read that skaters were needing to add difficult entries and exits for all the lifts to max out the levels and GOEs. In the first year of the quad, everybody's stretching the limits of what they can do and maybe they don't have the reps down for the timing yet???

 

[moonvine]

Out of interest how does the team or funding work, If the Knerims aren't in the top 5 which is most likely are they off the team and funding? can they get B card funding or somehting like that? Does anyone get the feeling that may have been Deanna's last nationals? They need a big error to earn a medal.

I was told earlier in the thread that GP spots aren’t determined by Nationals results. It seems not much is other than Worlds, which is truly odd. Chris and Alexa are ranked in the top 10 in the world and he has a significant injury which will need surgery and lots of recovery/rehab. I feel much better about all this having met up with Chris in the autograph line. He’s surprisingly upbeat.

 

[Maribelle]

Does the U.S. only get to send one pairs team to Worlds?

 

[moonvine]

Does the U.S. only get to send one pairs team to Worlds?

Yes, one pair.

 

[SnowWhite]

I was told earlier in the thread that GP spots aren’t determined by Nationals results. It seems not much is other than Worlds, which is truly odd. Chris and Alexa are ranked in the top 10 in the world and he has a significant injury which will need surgery and lots of recovery/rehab. I feel much better about all this having met up with Chris in the autograph line. He’s surprisingly upbeat.

GP spots and funding are separate things. Funding is by Envelope and Tier, and Nationals results is one of the criteria that can get a team into a particular tier/level. Looking at the criteria for 2019-20, the Knierims should be Envelope B Tier I or Tier II, depending on how the SB list looks at the end of the season. They are currently 10th. Sui/Han will likely bump them down a spot, so it depends on whether a couple of teams pass them. That's less funding than they would have gotten last season, when being National Champs would have made them A tier I.

Envelope B Tier 1
Placements 11th and lower at the 2019 ISU World Figure Skating Championships
Placements 2nd - 4th in the championship events at the 2019 U.S. Figure Skating Championships
Placements 2nd - 3rd at the 2019 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships
1st alternate for the 2019 ISU World Figure Skating Championships
Champion at any of the six ISU Grand Prix competitions in the 2018-19 season
2019 ISU World Junior champion combined with a top 8 placement in the championship events at the 2019 U.S. Figure Skating Championships
Top 7-12 in season's best score for 2018-19 season for senior athletes and teams
Top 7-12 in world standings for the 2018-19 season for senior athletes and teams

 

[moonvine]

For those of you in the know: have the Knierims put their funding in jeopardy with this finish? I'm hoping the USFS would still realize they have the most potential internationally

I seriously, seriously doubt it. They are in the top 10 in the world and he has an apparently serious injury. If USFS has any sense both those items would be taken into consideration. OK having read above that is wrong. They are still getting funding but less than last year. I don’t know how that shakes out in terms of actual dollars. I will tell you he’s definitely not sitting in a corner crying. I just spoke to him 10 minutes ago.

 

[GGFan]

Finally watched the rest of the teams and Deanna won Nationals as far as I'm concerned. That woman hits the most beautiful positions, lands her jumps, and enjoys every moment she's one the ice. Bravo!

 

[blue_idealist]

I hope the top 3.

Yeah, even as a Kayne/O'Shea fan, they aren't so head and shoulders above the rest that they should jump over a team that's on the podium. I would hate to see Stellato-Dudek/Bartholomay lose out after skating quite well.

 

[Skater Boy]

I really felt for the Knerims with the injury.. But with four or five major errors that affected their program (pcs) how did they score almost 110 pts? Only in America.