2021 World Team Trophy: Thoughts and observations

[gsk8]

2021 World Team Trophy: Day 1

The 2021 ISU World Team Trophy kicked off a three-day competition with the Rhythm Dance, followed by the Ladies' and Men's Short Program in Osaka, Japan,

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2021 World Team Trophy: Day 2

The second day of the 2021 ISU World Team Trophy began with the Pairs' Short Program, followed by the Free Dance and Men's Free Skate in Osaka, Japan, on

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2021 World Team Trophy: Day 3

The 2021 ISU World Team Trophy concluded with the Ladies' and Pairs' Free Skate in Osaka, Japan, on Friday. Team Russia won the event with 125 points,

www.goldenskate.com

 

[alexocfp]

Respect to Rika for giving it her all despite her injuries. Would have been easier to just not show up, but she didn’t let the home town crowd be disappointed.

Kaori was fabulous.

And of course, the 1-2 punch of Liza and Anna absolutely lapping the competition.

Those are performances that crush the opposition’s will. Leaves no doubt who the leaders are.

 

[Mathman]

Anna Shcherakova was perfection in the SP.

 

[figureskatingandrainbows]

Shoma struggled, but he was happy afterwards. His boots are shot, which is why, but his positivity such a change from last season. Kaori was flawless and the standout in the ladies' short program for me. We're finally getting the close Yuzuru-Nathan short and it was amazing. I can't wait for the free.

 

[BearryBear]

It was nice to see Roman have a great skate, I was worried about the pressure for that second men’s spot but he looks really happy and composed out there. My heart breaks for Nam though. I didn’t expect to see Canada last since Italy is down a competitor.

I loved Kaori, looking forward to her free. And someone get Rika a jump coach, that 3A was super scary, I’m glad she wasn’t hurt from what could have been a nastier fall.

 

[Adjesusluvsu]

Happy for Roman's new personal best!

Sad about Rika; I want her to have a good competition again, and I hope she doesn't get discouraged!

Stunned by Kaori's 2A. The flow out of it was the highlight of her program for me!

Entertained by Yuzuru. Yikes on the 3A (amazing save but we want stable 3A again lol) but stunning 4S and 4T+3T. Hoping he can keep this focus for the free!

 

[icetug]

The greatest surprise: Liza, fresh and energetic as if it was her first competition this season.
The greatest fun: Yuzuru entertaining us in every possible ways, including presentation of cat-like ballance skills.
The greatest pleasure: Kaori's grace of powerfull skating.

 

[el henry]

Of course only watched my the men so far. then again, if I'm ever going to watch the other disciplines, it would be with these semi cheesefests where skaters take it seriously, but not too much. (Not that I haven't watched the others in the past of course. But not with the intensity of my fav discipline).

Jason. You knew I would start there Sinnerman is a program for the ages, and having watched FS for ages, I feel comfortable saying that.

Roman: way to go with fighting lockdowns and lack of comps to prepare.

Kevin: so passionate, so entertaining. Not to mention Yuzu entertaining me as well. I really like this SP for him.

Feeling bad for Shoma and Nam

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

The greatest surprise: Liza, fresh and energetic as if it was her first competition this season.

Liza loves competing and tends to get stronger the more she skates. She did 11 competitions the season she won her world title, winning 8 golds and 2 silvers (and finishing first individually at WTT). I don't think she'll make the Olympic team, but I'm rooting for her to and hope she'll make that race more exciting by skating her best.

 

[Joekaz]

Kaori skated pretty much the same as in World's except she improved her lutz from inside edge to flat edge, which is still incorrect, yet this resulted in a 7 point swing, including higher pcs. Im not saying either score was more correct, but the lack of judging consistency is what drives skaters and fans crazy.

 

[Myr]

WTT showcased once more why men's is rapidly becoming my favourite discipline!

The top 6 was an absolute delight, almost all of them are the full package they have the pcs, the jumps and on top of this, each had his own style and a program to match.

I was thrilled for Roman a wonderfully lyrical skater with excellent spins! I've missed Kolyada and am really happy about his newfound consistency, I can enjoy watching him far more now i am not scared for him (take his example Roman pls). I love Kevin Aymoz, he always gives a 100% and uses transitions so well+ he pays attention to every part of the program, his Axel was great this time. Jason was amazing, Sinnerman is indeed one for the ages! I know this might not be Hanyu's most intricate program but it certainly lives up to its name, he performs the hell out of it and watching it makes me happy, there is sth to be said for that! Nathan looked like he was having a blast, we love to see it

I'm rooting for clean skates all around tomorrow and redemption for Shoma , Nam, Daniel and Rika. Good luck!!!!

 

[LutzDance]

Today's competition further cemented the men's as my favorite discipline Loads of fun programs (in fact it's hard to find a program that I don't like) and great performances. Pumped for Misha, Kevin, and Nathan and bummed for Shoma. Kaori is definitely the highlight of the ladies' short program for me. Her flow is just mesmerizing.

 

[LutzDance]

WTT showcased once more why men's is rapidly becoming my favourite discipline!

The top 6 was an absolute delight, almost all of them are the full package they have the pcs, the jumps and on top of this, each had his own style and a program to match.

I was thrilled for Roman a wonderfully lyrical skater with excellent spins! I've missed Kolyada and am really happy about his newfound consistency, I can enjoy watching him far more now i am not scared for him (take his example Roman pls). I love Kevin Aymoz, he always gives a 100% and uses transitions so well+ he pays attention to every part of the program, his Axel was great this time. Jason was amazing, Sinnerman is indeed one for the ages! I know this might not be Hanyu's most intricate program but it certainly lives up to its name, he performs the hell out of it and watching it makes me happy, there is sth to be said for that! Nathan looked like he was having a blast, we love to see it

I'm rooting for clean skates all around tomorrow and redemption for Shoma , Nam, Daniel and Rika. Good luck!!!!

I absolutely did not see this before I posted my extremely similar reply

 

[ladyjane]

I wrote small reviews on the individual events on the WTT competition page Day 1, but looking back to the whole:

Men's was the best (but then, pairs are still to come) of the day with all those wonderful programmes and the great variety between them in music, style, skills and performance. My absolute stand-out was Jason's Sinnerman. No one, absolutely no one, can do that except Jason and he doesn't even need a quad to be impressive. Don't get me wrong, I was thoroughly entertained by Yuzu and impressed by Nathan. But Jason is something else. The musicality, the steps, the transitions, the skating skills, the spins....wow!

The women were also enjoyable to watch, although I missed Loena and Olga, but the Italian women made up for that to a certain extent. And of course there was Liza. In 2019 Liza was the star of the show, and so she was again today.

In Dance I was pleasantly surprised by the French couple, a tad disappointed by the Canadians, thoroughly enthusiastic about both the Americans and the Italians, irritated by the not using of Takero's Japanese name, and resigned to the Russians winning. Not because of their Nationality (I suspect I would have felt differently if it had been 'the other Russian Dance couple'), but because I'm not really a fan of their skating. That's just me, has nothing to do with getting key points, levels, and so forth. I'm no judge, so I'm sure they deserved their 1st place.

 

[sailormoon]

Kihira uncharacteristically fell on the opening triple axel. Kihira has become more muscular to cope with the quad era. Probably this is why she makes too many mistakes now compared to previous seasons. However, she doesn't care about mistakes she makes in practice because she thinks this is only a phase she has to go through to be more perfect in the next season.

 

[BearryBear]

Kihira uncharacteristically fell on the opening triple axel. Kihira has become more muscular to cope with the quad era. Probably this is why she makes too many mistakes now compared to previous seasons. However, she doesn't care about mistakes she makes in practice because she thinks this is only a phase she has to go through to be more perfect in the next season.

Apparently she sustained a pretty bad injury lately so it’s affecting her skating.

 

[Manuel Pablo Arnao]

Can someone please post a link to the videos of the performances? I can't find them on YouTube...

 

[Colonel Green]

Can someone please post a link to the videos of the performances? I can't find them on YouTube...

If you're looking for the ISU YouTube videos, you may need a VPN access from a country where they aren't blocked (e.g., Canada).

 

[moonvine]

The thing that struck me first was the subdued fans. I could barely tell them from the cutouts.

The men did not disappoint. Poor Nam.

My babies slayed!

Why do I have to wait another day for pairs?

 

[Weathergal]

Dance
Galiyeva / Thauron continue to improve. I was sad when Abachkhina / Thauron split, but Galiyeva has proven to be a great match for Thauron. I didn't realize until now that they switched from Krylova to Fusar-Poli.

Sad for Soucisse / Firus. I've always been a fan of theirs, but they've struggled quite a bit the past few years and I believe had some injuries. They seemed nervous, which is understandable, considering that they haven't been to a competition in a while. And I believe they didn't start training regularly until sometime this past winter because of injury. I also thought they were a little lost in the shuffle at IAM after initially showing a lot of promise. I hope things go better for them now that they're with Carol Lane and Juris Razgulajevs.

Ladies
Liza was a real highlight for me. She looked joyful and confident. It's great to see her enjoy so much success after all the ups and downs she's been through. I respect her persistence. I also really like her relationship with Coach Mishin. Their mutual respect and affection for each other are so nice to see.

Kaori was another highlight. Her program was skated so smoothly, and she had great attack. She also looked like she was having a wonderful time.

And special shoutouts to the two Italian skaters: Ginerva Lavinia Negrello did such a great job with her first skate on such a big stage, and Lara Naki Gutmann redeemed herself after not having the SP she wanted and missing out on skating the free at worlds. I enjoyed her program and am looking to her FS.

Men's
Like several other posters here, it's my favorite discipline, and I also thought there were some great skates.

I was looking forward to seeing Roman skate yet nervous for him because he can be hit or miss, but after that first stunning jump, it was obvious this skate would be a hit. Such beautiful expression in his skating!

It's also great to see Kevin back in form again, after the disappointment at not making the FS in Euros in 2020.

Jason's “Sinnerman.” Yes, please. What a masterpiece indeed!

I really like Yuzuru's “Let Me Entertain You” program even though it isn't a beautiful, lyrical program like many of his others. Maybe that's why I like it. Of course his “Parisienne Walkways” program is one of my other favorite SPs of his, so what do I know.. But honestly I just think it fits him well, and he looked great!.