2023 U.S. Nationals Sr. Men's Free Skate

[msteach3]

Samuel is 18. He has medalled in the past at junior nats. This is his first year skating as a senior at Nationals

Actually Sam is 19. He missed Nationals last season due to a positive Covid test, but In 2021 placed 3rd in juniors.

I wasn't sure about his music choice for the free, but it really grew on me. This guy though can skate to just about anything.

 

[moonvine]

^^ Exactly. We were very short-changed in the good old bad old days of only network television coverage. My first live, in-person U.S. Nationals was such an eye-opening, fun experience!

It's great in the era of live-streaming, to be able to see all the competitors. But aside from tech issues and often poor quality video, Ice Network gave us so much more accessible content than we are getting these days. We need archived replays for at least the entire season! And where are the press conferences and the backstage coverage we used to get?! Sigh

Oh man. I wouldn’t even complain about the video if we could get it back. I think it actually went back for years. And I didn’t watch Juniors back then but they interviewed every single senior skater when they came off the ice, from first place to last place. Nationals is so important to the athletes. And what happened to Ice Desk???

 

[moonvine]

Actually Sam is 19. He missed Nationals last season due to a positive Covid test, but In 2021 placed 3rd in juniors.

I wasn't sure about his music choice for the free, but it really grew on me. This guy though can skate to just about anything.

Sorry 19. Yes he missed last year, yes came in 3rd. Sorry about the misinformation.

I was worried he may not make it this year because he was injured at one of his NQS events. Instead of not showing up he came to cheer on his fellow skaters and help patch the ice. This will win my heart every time. Fortunately he recovered from his injury as we all saw.

 

[moonvine]

During the pandemic, some competitions eliminated the draw process and had the skaters do their FS/FD in strict order of placement after the short program. I suspect this was to avoid gathering in groups for the draw to reduce the potential for exposure.

We seem to be gradually returning to the draw method, which I prefer due to the increased potential for unpredictability.

My friend, I think they always drew within groups. I distinctly remember asking Starr at the first Philly comp I attended if they had drawn yet.

But the ISU has (I believe) gone to skating in opposite order of rank, if that makes sense. So #1 always skates last. Which is soooooooo boring, most especially in Ice Dance.

USFS still draws within groups at their domestic events, where they can do what they want.