2023 Skate Canada: Pairs' Thoughts?

[gsk8]

Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps dominate pairs at Skate Canada

2023 Skate Canada: Pairs Canada's Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps dominated the Pairs event at 2023 Skate Canada, taking the title with lots of

www.goldenskate.com

I really feel like Beccari and Guarise are a good match - they look good together and Beccari really seems to enjoy herself. I hope he stays healthy enough for them to have a successful career! I admit that I'm not a fan of the FS

I do like both of Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps' programs and hope they stay healthy throughout the season as well. She's a beast!! Loved watching her celebratory antics after the end of the FS So funny...

What are your thoughts?

 

[el henry]

Deanna and Maxime.

Really, nothing more to say. They were superb.

I love seeing great skates and I love seeing happy skaters.

 

[discodisco]

For the past four or five years pairs has been notably predictable and boring in the music choices and programs of the lead pairs. Think Eric radford's final program to Falling or whatever. All these emo songs that seem better suited to a show program or something. It seemed like there would be program after program after program and all the pairs look the same. It made me cringe and wish for the days of instrumental only music.

But Deanna and Max have been some of the few skaters who have really compelling music and theme choices. Last years long program was one of the few that stood out, and I didn't think they could beat it. But I think they have another winner this year. And while Max is a little more reserved, Deanna sells the hell out of every program they do. In fact I can't think of a single female pair skater at the moment who comes close. Her facial expressions are Epic and dramatic, and she is in character for the entire program. Of course they will never have either the lines of the classic russians, or the tech of pairs like Duhamel and Radford. But what they have they do well, and what makes them stick out is that they perform more than any other pair out there. And when they get the performance and the tech together like they did tonight, they are more memorable than most of the other pairs we've seen in recent years I would say

 

[rain]

Deanna and Max threw down the gauntlet for world gold.

The cats program is jaw-droppingly terrible, which is a shame because the skaters aren't. Everyone else was about potential, with the Hungarians being the cleanest.

 

[rain]

And to add, I mentioned briefly in the segment thread when talking about the Australians, but it's worth a note here: I'm very surprised how few teams are bothering to do anything with the choreographic sequence. Fortunately the judges judged accordingly here and only Stellato-Dudeck/Dechamps and the Australians, who were the only ones who did anything but a few perfunctory moves, were rewarded. I'm surprised they haven't taken note of how this works in ice dance — come up with something interesting and it's like piles of free GOE points. I guess they figure it's not worth enough, but it's one of the best chances for couples to put their own spin on a program and be truly creative. Bravo to the teams that have actually given it some thought and attention.

 

[discodisco]

Deanna and Max threw down the gauntlet for world gold.

The cats program is jaw-droppingly terrible, which is a shame because the skaters aren't. Everyone else was about potential, with the Hungarians being the cleanest.

I think that Cats is the worst 'musical' ever. It has memory which is epic, and the rest of it isn't worth paper the score is written on... and yes, the program is horrendous. The PCS scores were way too close

 

[rain]

I think that Cats is the worst 'musical' ever. It has memory which is epic, and the rest of it isn't worth paper the score is written on... and yes, the program is horrendous. The PCS scores were way too close

I think when it first debuted (on stage) it had a certain novelty factor. But time has moved on, and the stinker of a feature film (no, I haven't seen it, but it was universally panned and most of the actors tried to distance themselves even before it hit screens) certainly didn't help. I'm not sure what this program is trying to be, but it's not campy enough to be a fun send-up. It's just flat-out bad.

 

[4everchan]

I think when it first debuted (on stage) it had a certain novelty factor. But time has moved on, and the stinker of a feature film (no, I haven't seen it, but it was universally panned and most of the actors tried to distance themselves even before it hit screens) certainly didn't help. I'm not sure what this program is trying to be, but it's not campy enough to be a fun send-up. It's just flat-out bad.

my question is who thought this would be a good program for them? For Matteo???

 

[rain]

One of the commentators on CBC said Barbara Fusar-Poli is deeply involved in this project, and I kind of went "oh, OK". My catty comment for the night (pun fully intended).

 

[cheerknithanson]

I already said it in the Pairs FS thread, but I want to be like Deanna when I grow up.

 

[4everchan]

One of the commentators on CBC said Barbara Fusar-Poli is deeply involved in this project, and I kind of went "oh, OK". My catty comment for the night (pun fully intended).

she should have saved this program for G/F hahaha (okay i am just being a brat)

 

[auser]

Deanna and Maxime and Piper and Paul were inspirational today and why I love watching skating. Okay maybe I am a bit emotional but the enthusiasm stands.

 

[Diana Delafield]

I already said it in the Pairs FS thread, but I want to be like Deanna when I grow up.

I wish I'd been like Deanna when I was 40 .

 

[gsk8]

Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps dominate pairs at Skate Canada

2023 Skate Canada: Pairs Canada's Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps dominated the Pairs event at 2023 Skate Canada, taking the title with lots of

www.goldenskate.com

The Italians are still not sure why they didn't get picked up for a second Grand Prix event despite some withdrawals.

"There should be rules," said 35-year-old Guarise. "I know it's not the ISU who decides who gets invited. If you organize a show, you can invite whoever you want. But if you organize a competition, you should invite the next best team available. I have never experienced anything like this in 10 years! I hope the system will get a bit better."

 

[4everchan]

He is not entirely wrong. However, for my sanity, the least often I will see this Cats program, the better I will fare.

Matteo was lucky though if he didn't experience any issues in ten years : it means he had a stable career without interruption. New partnerships and new skaters to the scene (coming from juniors for instance) often have to wait a while before the " ranking system" guarantees them 2 spots...

 

[ladyjane]

Oh Deanna! I just watched the FS at SCI and what a wonderful experience. When they're good, they are just fabulous. I am so happy for Deanna to have found Maxime and vice versa. What a couple. I thought the whole pairs FS was enjoyable, although I am not a lover of the Cats programme either. But to hear one of my old time favourites in a pairs programme (The Chain by Fleetwood Mac) was another joy. Daria and Michel might not be perfect but their music choice is just great. Excellent to hear this number this season. Great pairs evening with a superb climax.

 

[icewhite]

Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps dominate pairs at Skate Canada

2023 Skate Canada: Pairs Canada's Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps dominated the Pairs event at 2023 Skate Canada, taking the title with lots of

www.goldenskate.com

The Italians are still not sure why they didn't get picked up for a second Grand Prix event despite some withdrawals.

"There should be rules," said 35-year-old Guarise. "I know it's not the ISU who decides who gets invited. If you organize a show, you can invite whoever you want. But if you organize a competition, you should invite the next best team available. I have never experienced anything like this in 10 years! I hope the system will get a bit better."

I absolutely agree with him.

 

[GoneWithTheWind]

"There should be rules," said 35-year-old Guarise. "I know it's not the ISU who decides who gets invited. If you organize a show, you can invite whoever you want. But if you organize a competition, you should invite the next best team available."

I think I agree with him on this point. It seems that hosting federations sometimes will pick lower ranked skaters on the alternates list to avoid a challenge for their own skaters. This season, it's going to lead to skaters who would otherwise have a shot at the GPF (B/G and Matsuike in the women's event) not getting the chance to compete for that.

 

[SnowWhite]

I think I agree with him on this point. It seems that hosting federations sometimes will pick lower ranked skaters on the alternates list to avoid a challenge for their own skaters. This season, it's going to lead to skaters who would otherwise have a shot at the GPF (B/G and Matsuike in the women's event) not getting the chance to compete for that.

Doesn't apply to Matsuike. Her problem is that there are already the max number of Japanese women at each event, so she can only be chosen if a JPN woman WD. Which she was, by SC, when Rika Kihira WD. And she wasn't at the top of the replacement list actually, she would have been ~6th, so if they were just automatically picking the next on the list without other considerations, she would have no spots.

 

[Jumping_Bean]

Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps dominate pairs at Skate Canada

2023 Skate Canada: Pairs Canada's Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps dominated the Pairs event at 2023 Skate Canada, taking the title with lots of

www.goldenskate.com

The Italians are still not sure why they didn't get picked up for a second Grand Prix event despite some withdrawals.

"There should be rules," said 35-year-old Guarise. "I know it's not the ISU who decides who gets invited. If you organize a show, you can invite whoever you want. But if you organize a competition, you should invite the next best team available. I have never experienced anything like this in 10 years! I hope the system will get a bit better."

I don't want to be that person, but the next ones on the replacement list would have actually been the baby Germans - Roscher/Schuster. Why? Because the Grand Prix series is based on last season's results, not this one's, and R/S had a higher SB last season than B/G.
And Matteo, as an experienced competitor should be well aware of that.

I understand the frustration, but how would we go about changing the system without making it unfair to others? If we go by PB, replacement spots might go to skaters who haven't achieved a high level in multiple years. If we go by the running season's best score, this would be unfair to teams who haven't competed at any Challengers yet (due to the price of travel, for example), as well as skaters who have a high ceiling but who started into the season later, and thus have a lower SB so far. In the end, even with rule changes, you will never be able to make everyone happy.