Going down the backstretch - Skating year in review

[Skater Boy]

Well another skating year is quickly coming to close as we head towards World's and World Team Trophy afterwards. What are people's thoughts on the Season and skaters so far? Who are the favourites heading to worlds and why? Who are the break out stars?

 

[noskates]

Well to pretty much sum up my thoughts - this was a building year for some and a swan song for others. The Japanese have definitely roared to the front and are a group (all disciplines except maybe dance) to contend with. But from US Nationals - Sam Mindra and Kirk Hugueto were outstanding. Kirk is great fun to watch. I think Maxim Naumov and Andrew Torgashev had great skates. Camden Pulkinen was a big disappointment to me...another skater who skates with his head instead of his feet. Isabeau Levito threw down the gauntlet. Next year for her is going to be outstanding. But the woman skater who touched me the most was Bradie Tennell. Her comeback was nothing short of amazing. And this will not be a popular comment, but Amber Glenn still has issues. In Pairs I was happy to see Danny O'Shea and his partner do so well after only 4 months together. But I thoroughly enjoyed watching Emily Chan and Spencer Howe he's such a showman.

For France, Adam Siao Him Fa was brilliant. I think he's flown under the radar for a while but not any more. The Italian pairs teams were a surprise. Good on them! The Japanese men and women were outstanding. And many of them were fairly new to the world scene. Their Nationals until the next Olympics will be a blood bath!

And probably my favorite performance of the year was Keegan Messing's long program at 4CCs. The joy he exuded was just heart-rendering.

I must have been half asleep when I posted this because how could I possibly forget Jason Brown. His skating just defies description. He embodies everything I love about the sport and his performances at US Nats were just beautiful. This is the 4th time I've seen him "live" and hopefully it isn't the last. I wish more of the male skaters would get inspired by him,

 

[TontoK]

Mixed bag.

I miss some longstanding favorites who have moved on to other phases of their lives.

I've enjoyed some programs, but thinking back, I've not rewatched very many of them - one viewing is generally enough. I don't think any will be included on the sacred list of those I return to frequently over the years... aka "The Pile."

I'm heartened by the improvement/resurgence of some I've kept my eye on for a while.

I've sadly come to the conclusion that I need to cut a few loose from my "favorite hopefuls" list because I've lost interest. I reserve the right to move them back, but they'll have to show me something first.

 

[DancingCactus]

A mixed bag but the good has been making up for the bad I think.

Ice Dance is still great and the most interesting discipline this season imo, despite some really strong teams quitting. Piper and Paul were in the form of their lifes before her surgery and that was kind of a great surprise for me because last year they seemed a bit defeated. Kind of like a mini comeback?

And so many ID teams are getting better and better - the Danadiens, the Fins, the Taschlers, both French teams, the Brits...ID is the only discipline where you can watch say the last two or even three groups at major competitions and find lots of amazing and unique high quality programs.

Men: I miss Yuzu, that's a given. But Shoma has been sublime this season. And there are several skaters who are doing interesting stuff and keep up a high level of skill. I had a lot of fun watching Europeans. I've really become a fan of Adam last season and this season he really proved himself to be a contender. Some great performances from Deniss, Matteo, Kevin etc. And of course there is Keegan, skating better than ever at 4CC. All my favourites delivered this season.

I don't really know about the Japanese men who aren't Shoma or Yuma. They have great jumps and skating skills but all of them are missing the x factor in my opinion. They probably need more time to grow, but except for that one skate by Yamamoto at the GPF, I wasn't really moved by any of their performances.

Then there was Jason of course. He remains a magical unicorn and I'm so happy he'll be at worlds.

I don't like Ilia's skating despite the quads and I'm also glad that the judges seemed to realise that Grassl just isn't that good just because he has a questionable 4L.

Overall I was mostly happy with the judges.

Women: I hope Kaori pulls herself out of her funk because she is the only female skater I really like 100% at the moment and her programs are great.
The Koreans are lovely, especially Yelim, as is Mai Mihara and Loena is a fighter -but last year there were more interesting programs overall. I don't know about Isabeau, I hope she is alright but I really wonder if her technique is sustainable.

Generally I don't miss the Russians but I wish the women tried to be a bit more original. To borrow a phrase from TSL, generic loveliness just isn't enough.

I know nothing about pairs.

 

[rinkside_user]

For me, the season feels like an afterthought. With so many household names missing - Chen, Hanyu, Kihira, Sui/Han, Papadakis/Cizeron, Hubbell/Donohue, Higuchi, and to some extent Gilles/Poirier -, I haven't found a true interest in what's going on the ice lately. Still, I'm glad for the newcomers and some long-time favorites seizing the moment (Chock/Bates, Miura/Kihara, Hendrickx, Miura, Yamamoto, Guignard/Fabbri).

 

[Skater Boy]

Well another skating year is quickly coming to close as we head towards World's and World Team Trophy afterwards. What are people's thoughts on the Season and skaters so far? Who are the favourites heading to worlds and why? Who are the break out stars?

I would be remiss not to admit or acknowledge not having Russia compete on the skating scene has a huge effect on almost if not all the skating categories - even men. Ladies is wide open who will win in part because none of the Ladies have clearly taken charge or been successful enough. Kaori has struggled, Mai has not been consistent enough at top. Loena never really established herself this year as the one. So far. Isabeau Levito looks so promising but after 4CC's we need to see how she recovers or what is going on. The other European ladies have shown promise but they all are up and down. Bradie and Amber from the US could even win a bronze but also could be out of the top ten.

Pairs is Japan and K/F - they are the cream of the crop - more of a light cream but nonetheless they are the best by far. And to be frank they do not compare with Sui and Han or the Russians. The programs, the speed, the technical difficulty and amplitude. The battle for bronze is interesting -two Italian teams, Chan and Howe and the Canadians who had the early lead and then due to her illness have faltered at GPF and 4CC's. Chan and Howe were impressive at 4cc's though I am charging for the feel good story of Deanna and Max. Nothing negative about the Italians they are developing nicely but quite frankly were fortunate to be in the medal discussion. You can tell pairs is so weak when new teams doing double throws or having been togehter only for a few months are in contention for top ten even top 8. IT sonds mean but even the top two current teams would not even amount to being equivalent to the "weak"years with Shishkova and Naumov, Radka and Novotony, Eltsova and Bushkin??? Woetzel and Steuer were winning world titles. It is definitelly a "valley" in pairs skating right now as harsh as that sounds.

In the men Ilia brings interest with his quads and youthfulness. And yes they are trying to improve his artistry (much like Nathan Chen) but like Chen they are not artists ala Jason Brown. I don't tire of Brown BUT he and Shoma have been around. There's not a lot really new. Another jumpin gbean trying to make himself artistic and imporve skating skills. Adam from France brings a glimmer of hope and as "per usual" we have a bunch of possible bronze medallists Cha, the french including Adam, the Italians, Morisi, any of the Japanese men, Messing, with the exception of Jason Brown whose skating is an art. But his tech skills are even lower than Chan and that was ten years ago.

Dance. I think Chock and Bates and most though this was a cornoation which is why maybe their programs seemed to lack thought. They are so good or experienced that they are taking something which they really seemed to have no concept and "giving it a concept to say it is ar ttistic. Kind of giving purpose or meaning to something after it was done. They got pushed by training mates left and right and they rebranded their programs especially the fd. They are selling it and g etting a way with it plus got some help with Gilles and Porier out with injury. They probably will get away with it because the Italians while good are boiring. Piper and Paul have lost the momentum and probably will not be at their best coming back from theh appendectomy. The Italians while good are a snore. Fear and Gibson, don't have the tech skills. The Danadians tend to make mistakes and he has a torn meniscus I believe. HB are dealing with their MH issues. LaLa can't compete at worlds. IT is like CB are being given the world title to lose. ON a side note the Japanese team with Dai honestly need to be hammered. He is a personality and great singles skaters. But ther eare so many issues with this team. the technique is lacking and maybe strength for th elifts and some of the spins seem off.

Thisis a big year in some ways. Skaters will decide to go for 2026 or retire. Not to many retire with only one year left before the olympics.

I look forward to Jason Brown's beautiful skating come worlds but in ladies, pairs and dance this is not a stellar year. At least in men you have Shoma and Jason.

 

[Ali81]

I have found it a bit underwhelming. Several events have inadvertently coincided to make it rather drab. The loss of the talismanic Hanyu, the post Olympic season blues, the negative political climate have all contributed . You can’t deny that being deprived of a powerhouse skating nation like Russia is having a detrimental effect on the sport . All 4 Olympic gold medallists are out of the picture as well as some charismatic performers like Wakaba and Jason Brown.If not for Shoma bringing the A-list star power, I don’t think I would have tuned in much at all.

 

[noskates]

I respectfully disagree about the missing Russians and their impact on the sport. I feel like we are now witnessing a level playing field! I have never believed they have superior athletes - just superior training methods! I am actually enjoying the competitions a little more. I do have sympathy for the Russian skaters who have worked hard for their skating goals. I hope the situation is resolved to everyone's satisfaction and agreement.

 

[Skater Boy]

I am not sure there is a level playing field ever. A pipe dream. But I don't think you can say everything is drugs or whatever. And when you look at interest including if you look at discussions on GS you will see posts have dropped and arguably that does say something - I know others will say well it is because there is less controversy/drama or... Everyone has different views ie do we miss the Russian skaters or not. Its sad. But truth is we will never have a level playing field and fair is what suits you. Some countries have more clout, money in skating. Fair or not some skaters have amazing and generous sponsors. Someskaters have wealth families and some not. Some suppliers might like you or a certain skater and give you stuff or Vera Wang might for free design your outfits. Sometimes disasters happen ie health issues, Covid, out of your control. A bad flash at the wrong time by a photographer, ice issues. I personally miss the Russians because for me it is hard to say they aren't missed when they were winning 50% of the medals. But life will go on.

 

[DancingCactus]

They aren't winning 50% of the medals because they don't compete internationally this and probably next season.

I've rarely found watching figure skating as relaxing as since last year's world cup. There is less sketchy judging and less of Eteri's sour face in the kiss and cry.

 

[kolyadafan2002]

In terms of men, I miss Yuma. Yuma vs Ilia vs Shoma would have been a developing battle for the upcoming seasons, so I hope Yuma is back in the mix and challenging for next season. There have been a few gems that emerged seemingly from nowhere, so that's exciting.

In terms of women, I enjoyed a lot of the women. But nobody other than maybe Kaori is doing it for me emotionally. I miss Wakaba and hope shell be back, but also feel nostalgic for skaters like Carolina Kostner, who gave me somethig that many of the current skaters are missing.
I'm not missing the Russian skaters as much, as honestly for the majority I would watch the jumps and the rest didn't do much for me.

However, I'm a little dissapointed with the ISUs minimum TES for worlds qualification. It's pretty unreasonable given the average standard, and also prevents skaters with really strong second marks who are overall better from qualifying whilst allowing for easy qualification for jumping machines. ISU should look at balancing everything for an overall qualification score.

im pleasantly surprised in a way with pairs. There arent many good teams left compared to say, 2018, but the Japanese pairs team have delivered and are rightfully been rewarded (as imo, they are better than the US team).
The Italians are also coming into their own, with all of the Italian teams giving something different and producing performances that I honestly really enjoy to watch. There is a lack of depth, but this gives me hope for the future of the sport.

Well, I miss the pattern dances. But also skating in hold. It seems that most of the top ice dance teams have forgotten how to skate in hold, and prefer standing 1m apart or hold hands, that is until they need to lean on their partner to get turns done. I am really happy that Guignard/Fabbri got rewarded for their skating skills, and whilst I love watching Fear/Gibson, I preferred some of the juniors that incorporated traditional holds and stronger technique (like Bekker/Hernandez).

Piper and Paul being injured has kind of impacted the showdown at 4CCs, but again both know how to come back and deliver so worlds will be very interesting between Piper & Paul and Chock/Bates (although on skating technique I'd have Italians over Chock/Bates). Daisuke & Kana have been an emotional journey. I'm positive for worlds despite the 4CC slip up. Both are seasoned competitors, and know how to reset and deliver.
Sad for Hawayek/Baker, but I am happy they are taking the time needed to recover and sensible move to ensure longevity through this olympic cycle.
Ice dance this season has frustrated me, with favourites being undermarked and some couples being pushed far higher than they should be, I hope P/C come back next season to keep me focused.

 

[GoneWithTheWind]

However, I'm a little dissapointed with the ISUs minimum TES for worlds qualification. It's pretty unreasonable given the average standard, and also prevents skaters with really strong second marks who are overall better from qualifying whilst allowing for easy qualification for jumping machines. ISU should look at balancing everything for an overall qualification score.

Completely agree. I also think it's unfair that the men's minimums allow skaters who fall twice in the SP to qualify (such as Torgashev at Challenge Cup) while the women with a 3-2 have to be squeaky clean, get all L4s and pray for a generous tech panel.

 

[Skater Boy]

They aren't winning 50% of the medals because they don't compete internationally this and probably next season.

I've rarely found watching figure skating as relaxing as since last year's world cup. There is less sketchy judging and less of Eteri's sour face in the kiss and cry.

okay you know what I mean Look at the Olympic results. I respect you have your opinion. But if you look at the skating forums and even ratings with TSL vierwership and other posters, youtubes viewership is down, discussion is down. I think maybe part of the challenge is the people on these forums are the elite or the huge skating fans. The rest of the world couldn't tell or care about a lutz or a flutz. They will know the Russians are gone. It is only my view but I like inclusion and I would love to see the Russians AND developing countries competing - though I prefer they not be ie Americans dressed up as countries not know for skating.

 

[skatingfan4ever]

Completely agree. I also think it's unfair that the men's minimums allow skaters who fall twice in the SP to qualify (such as Torgashev at Challenge Cup) while the women with a 3-2 have to be squeaky clean, get all L4s and pray for a generous tech panel.

Agree. But Torgashev didn't make it by much. Weaker spins/steps, or even a 3F+2T, and he would have been out. He was only 1.5 points clear in the SP. But, considering that the men's "standard" is one quad, one 3A and a 3-3, which automatically gets more points than the women's "standard" of a 2A, a solo triple and a 3-2, I'm not sure why the women's min is so high. It's like the ISU really wants all the women at Worlds to do 3-3s. Baffling.

 

[noskates]

Another take on this - from my non-figure skating fan friends - is they don't like what Russia allegedly did. Don't want to open that for discussion but the general opinion I've heard from various people is that they agree with the sanctions so far and want our skaters to get their medals. There's always two sides to every story and so many good things happened this year in figure skating I don't think the focus should be on that negative one. Having sat and watched Juniors at Nationals we have some skaters coming up that really show promise and just need some seasoning. In Seniors we saw some skaters and teams starting to hit their stride and it's only the first year of the quad. I guess I would want to know on what facts you're basing all this viewership is down. In the USA if we find fault with anything I would point directly at Peacock and their decision to not library the skating events. If you work or are out of town or any other reason you were not in front of your TV during an event you were just out of luck. USA and E! tried to pick up the slack but IMO it wasn't enough. OR you could tune in to the watered down coverage on ABC and listen to the ever-annoying Tara pontificate. OOPS...NBC.

 

[el henry]

Observations about posting on forums and YouTube views is not an indication of skating popularity in general. Certainly the absence of any one country does not affect popularity in general. If anything, there is a stronger argument that the absence of one particular skater, who is not Russian, has affected worldwide attendance.

Aside from the obvious ability to manipulate social media numbers, they also don't indicate admiration. Can anyone guess, 30 years later, the highest ranked figure skating competition ever??? (by actual surveys of TV watchers, not bots on YouTube)

KERRIGAN-HARDING TV RATINGS 6TH ALL-TIME

Even though the results were known nearly four hours earlier, still they came, they saw, they almost set a record. CBS’ Wednesday night prime-time telecast of the ladies’ figure skating…

www.chicagotribune.com

So not a meaningful metric. And the non-figure skating fans I know don't care about a "country" appearing in the Olympics, they have no idea which countries are good or not. That's for dedicated fans. They may be homers, and want to see their country win, but that's the extent of it.

And back to the subject of the thread, any year that both Andrew Torgashev and Jason Brown are on the US men's World's team is The. Best. Year. Ever.

 

[JimR]

I like ladies skating therefore it has been very enjoyable.

The Russian skating fed has brought all kinds of innovations with a jumping tournament and an exciting exhibition tournament in a couple weeks. First prize is something like $66k. How long would it take to earn that kind of money winning ISU tournaments? Incredible show of support to the athletes let's hope it catches on with rivals.

The Russian Nationals were packed with drama and high quality skating, GP final this weekend has such high stakes for Valieva and Akatieva. Valieva has more or less recovered her ultra-c and is in top form and Akatieva in similarly good form.

We've been treated to skaters like Gorbacheva and Yametova establishing names for themselves. Resurgeance of Tuktamysheva.

If someone told before the season Shcherbakova, Trusova, Kostornaia would retire or semi-retire and we'd have this kind of season I wouldn't have believed them. Other skaters have stepped up. Next year Zhilina will be in seniors jumping three quads and a 3A. Gorbacheva has quads, Muravieva trying to add them. The days of only TSHT skaters jumping quads are long gone. Other coaches have figured it out. This is just evolution we see in every sport.

The Russian fed has done an excellent job of making all these events freely available on Youtube. It's made it so easy to follow the sport. Well done.

This division in the sport also helps the sport grow in Russia since all these great athletes are performing regularly to big crowds in their own country, inspiring the stars of the future. Plus, with this intense level of competition against one another, it pushes athletes to higher levels.

The ISU skating I have enjoyed although they can make it hard to watch. I was a little dismayed by the GP final, but I thought there was great drama in the final 6 at Europeans. Gubanova held her nerve to take a memorable win under intense pressure. If Russia competed, what would three Russian medals really prove that we didn't know beforehand. Gubanova battling for 4th wouldn't have had the same intensity. It doesn't help the Russian skaters at all just swapping positions on the podium with each other, they need intense competition regularly which is what they are getting.

The Asian domination at Four Continents and the junior world championships is wonderful for the sport. Asia is the present and the future. It's a shame these skaters didn't get recognition at the ISU awards because they certainly deserve it. Hopefully the ISU can adapt to this in terms of representation and diversity at an organisation level.

I feel like I've had twice the skating to watch this season, and as a fan I hope this continues for years to come.

 

[Magill]

For me and so far this season has belonged to Japanese skaters - and rightfully so.
Yuzuru is back at the peak of his mojo and has completely dominated the non-competitive skating world with his state-of-the-art solo shows and new commercial records, unthinkable for anyone else.
In competitions, Shoma has finally owned the spotlight to himself - and I hope he adds another world title to his collection as there is no better rounded skater on the competitive ice now. Sota, Kao, Shun, Kazuki - I am so happy that in this post-Olympic vacuum season they were able to emerge, draw attention and win new international fans (me included). In women, Mai has finally reached out to the skies after years and years of underscoring and bad luck - and I hope to see her joy many more times to come, as it is so enjoyable to see in itself. I hope Kaori gets back her consistency as otherwise she is obviously a powerhouse of beautiful female skating. And Rinka, I will always root for her.
Not to mention the Japanese juniors!
As for the others.
In ID, I admit I had watched mostly for Papadakis/Cizeron and without them I lost interest so cannot say much. So in pairs.
Adam Siao Him Fa was to me the non Japanese revelation of this season. Fingers crossed for his future.
Jason's new programs and his come back to US Nats from his semi-who-knows-what was a happy surprise. Cannot wait to see him first in Yuzuru's Notte Stellata show next week and then in the coming Worlds. Fingers crossed, too.
International judging was a positive surprise, too, with no showering of undeserved PCS and GOEs on TES-focused skaters. That's a change.
And, no, I did not miss Russians and their dramas.
Daniel Grassl's decision to be coached by Eteri can be easily called the disappointment of the season.
Followed closely by the complete national bias of this edition of ISU awards.

 

[Skater Boy]

Observations about posting on forums and YouTube views is not an indication of skating popularity in general. Certainly the absence of any one country does not affect popularity in general. If anything, there is a stronger argument that the absence of one particular skater, who is not Russian, has affected worldwide attendance.

Aside from the obvious ability to manipulate social media numbers, they also don't indicate admiration. Can anyone guess, 30 years later, the highest ranked figure skating competition ever??? (by actual surveys of TV watchers, not bots on YouTube)

KERRIGAN-HARDING TV RATINGS 6TH ALL-TIME

Even though the results were known nearly four hours earlier, still they came, they saw, they almost set a record. CBS’ Wednesday night prime-time telecast of the ladies’ figure skating…

www.chicagotribune.com

So not a meaningful metric. And the non-figure skating fans I know don't care about a "country" appearing in the Olympics, they have no idea which countries are good or not. That's for dedicated fans. They may be homers, and want to see their country win, but that's the extent of it.

And back to the subject of the thread, any year that both Andrew Torgashev and Jason Brown are on the US men's World's team is The. Best. Year. Ever.

 

[Skater Boy]

I totally respect el henry but I am not sure Andrew T is in the same league or on the same planet as Jason B.