Practice reports? | Golden Skate

Practice reports?

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MissIzzy

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 26, 2006
There are a bunch of photos on IceNetwork. One of them, of Miki Ando, claims she landed several quads in practice, but hoh boy, she does *not* look happy.
 
H

HCOSurfer

Final Flight
Joined
Feb 25, 2007
After watching those short programs, you can tell this is going to be one nail-biter of a competition.

BTW Kimmie looked great, I really hope she does well.
 
F

feraina

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 3, 2007
Yeah, all these very strong skaters in good shape! It will be quite an opening for the new skating season. :)

Kimmie's jumps look higher and more confidence, and she seems like her old cheerful self again! :clap:
 
Tinymavy15

Tinymavy15

Sinnerman for the win
Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 28, 2006
thanks for posting guys!

Not impressed with Johnny, but he only skated little bits of the program. Marai's program will bring down the house. Is she can keep up with the great music during the footwork... that will be a great program for her. Kimmie looked good, but her 3 toe was still cheated.
 
lmarie086

lmarie086

Medalist
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Any ice dance videos? I've been looking for some but haven't found any...

I won't comment on Johnny's practice since he only did sections of the LP, but I will say that I think his music is just lovely. Hope the quad doesn't set him back, as I'd like to see him win SA.

I like Kimmie's SP. She surprised me with a more gentle quality to her skating. Still a little rough around the edges, but much improved. Her posture in the crossovers is a lot better, as is the centering on her spins. Looking forward to seeing this one in competition a lot. She made the right move going to Callaghan.

I also won't comment on Yu-Na Kim's because she didn't complete it all, but that popped jump was very uncharacteristic of her I thought! But better to get that out of the system in practice than in competition (just as I'm hoping for Johnny and his quad). I think the music works well for her though.

Mirai's SP is very charming. If she lands all the jumps cleanly she'll definitely be a contender I think. She's very musical, I appreciated that as I watched.

Now off to watch all the others!
 
E

eliza88

On the Ice
Joined
Aug 6, 2003
I was at the practices today...brrrrrrrrrrrrr, so cold in the arena!! Must wear more layers tomorrow!

My overall impression is that the skating was really high quality...almost everyone had good practices...now, was I so happy to be there that I overlooked everyones flaws? It's possible!! Let me see what I can remember:

Men: Johnny, Johnny, Johnny...were there any other men out there skating??? I have a hard time taking my eyes off of Johnny because he is so exquisite on the ice. He did a semi run-through of his program...he fell on his quad attempt and didn't add any other jumps during the run through. He worked mainly on his in-betweens, spins and some footwork. His LP music is perfect for him...very Johnny Weir. I think that fall on his quad might have been his only fall throughout practice...he looked great otherwise landing jump after jump with mostly beautiful and smooth landings...after his run through he worked on his footwork sequences...I loved his straightline sequence and think it will be amazing along with the music! He wore all black with a small sequined american flag on his upper arm.
(okay, I will move onto other skaters...)
Evan: He was Evan. Solid practice...some smooth jump landings but many were of his typical variety with a turn out or a scratchy landing. His footwork included much arm flailing but was good...
Adam Rippon: I really like this skater...he seemed at ease out there. I liked what I saw of his run through...I find him very pleasing to watch and if he can skate well at this level he will have a huge fan base soon.
Nothing else really stood out from all the other men except everyone had really good practices...oh I love Shawn Sawyers flexibility!
I apologize for being so pro american here (I will make up for this in the other
disciplines!)

Dance: there are few things that rival 4-5 dance teams entering the ice...if you have never experienced this I highly recommend it! They just come flying out all in costumes, they all have such command over the ice, speed, flair, and silence! You can hardly hear thier blades on the ice! The dancers did CD and either OD or FD run throughs. The quality of this field is really high and I almost got dizzy trying to watch them all! There were some very innovative lifts with creative exits...the Kerr's had one I can remember and the French as well. I can see how the Kerr's have such a fan base, they really know how to bring the audience in! D/S looked so confident and happy to be here. Tanith and Ben were beautifully dressed! Wow! He was in tails she was in a stunning peach/pink dress...her hair is quite short! Did I see a "new" Tanith and Ben? I think Tanith's leg extensions were better on many moves plus she pointed her toes too! The had great speed! They did thier OD, not all of it, but what I saw was nice. They worked on many parts of their OD after the run-though and these had more energy and zip. I think it will be a fun OD. I really enjoy watching Samuelson and Bates...I saw them win thier novice title and it was a thrill to see them again...they are so charming on the ice!

Ladies: WOW! What a field! Like the other disciplines there was pretty much solid practices from all the ladies.
Yu-na, Yu-na, Yu-na...were there any other skaters out there? Perhaps! She is my current favorite and did not dissapoint. IMO she does just about everything incredibly well except a classic layback spin...other then that she is mind boggingly magnificent! Great speed, GREAT jumps, beautiful arms, lovely facial expressions...just stunning. She looks so tall compared to the others!
Poykio: I was so excited that Yu-na was attending this even that I forgot about Susanna! She is lovely and you cannot hear her blades!
Tugba: many many jumps landed well! She looked very good...
Miki: I didn't remember her being so petite (but have since read she dropped 10lbs for the quad)...I guess that is the jump she was falling on...she skated in the group that had all the AMericans and Yukari, so my attention was clearly divided. She also looked strong in practice and had some nice in-between moves and a lovely spiral sequence.
Yukari: she didn't spin as fast as I thought she would, but maybe she is just saving it up for the competition. I swear some of her non-axel jumps didn't have the leg wrap! I think it was Yukari that had this spiral position where she twisted her torso and looked upward...hard to explain but it was very effective.
Kimmie: she looked like she was having fun out there...always a smile on her face...she started out with some spins faster then I have seen her do, but they slowed down during her run through (saving energy?), she had some nice arm movements at the beginning of her program...she had some falls, some popped jumps, but in true Kimmie style she just popped right back up and then did it correctly.
Rachel: she did more of her run-through with jumps then probably anyone else. She looked good...she did several 3/3's...sometimes two-footed, sometimes not. I couldn't tell if any were underrotated.
Mirai: She looked very VERY good...lots of speed and tons of personality. She has a few too many cutsie moves in her program for my taste, but they do suit her.
3/3's: Yu-na, Yukari, Mirai, Miki, and Rachel were the only ones I am recalling working on this jump. Yu-na's were the best. Miki has her second triple being higher then her first...very exciting to see!

Pairs: The majority of the falls today came from the pairs, but that is understandable when you are getting thrown! There were many exciting entrances and exits to lifts that I had not seen before. I saw some outstanding lifts today by all pairs! Some new entrances/exits to the death spiral too! No one had an outstanding side by side spin...
S/S were very solid today but I hated thier SP music! Perhaps when they are in costume and doing the whole program I will like it better...it is VERY different music for them. She landed many throws. I was thrilled to see this team in person and they did not dissapoint.
Rena and John: if there were any skaters that seemed lost out ther it was this team. Yes, they did some nice moves, landed some sbs jumps, had the best sbs spins...but they seemed to be spending most of thier time talking or working on their throw 3 axel.
Keauna and Rockne: this team for me stole the show...in fact if I could say who won the practice from all the disciplines, I would say hands down the young Americans! They seemed to have the most fun and they just looked great. Beautiful lifts, great speed, incredible connection with each other. Just stunning.

I am sure I have forgotten many details...if during the competiton the skaters can reproduce much of what I saw in practice, then it will be a great competition! If not, then I am at least happy I got to see it in practice!

eliza88
 
demarinis5

demarinis5

Gold for the Winter Prince!
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 23, 2004
Thanks for the links. I liked all of the programs and the ladies are looking very good. But I have to say WOW for Kimmie. I see quite a few improvements, her jumps (she landed them) flow across the ice, footwork, fast spins and her overall presentation impressed me. To quote Dick Buttons "that is a lady skating out there"

ETA: Thanks so much eliza88 for your report. How lucky you are
to be at SA which I am sure will be quite the competition.
 
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M

mystichaze

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 7, 2007
Thanks so much for those practice videos! I enjoyed watching them and a big thank you for Eliza for that practice report! I can't wait for the competition to start!
 
B

bubbleyum

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 6, 2006
thanks eliza for that practice report! am so excited that skating season is here even though i should be studying and not replaying youtube videos over and over...
your practice report is encouraging in terms of yuna! cause after watching her youtube practice vid i was worried for her. she seemed low energy and her spins looked slow, not much improved... but her free leg during the spiral looked a lot higher, i know that's one of the things brian orser said they were going to work on. i am hoping during the actual competition she will pull out the energy and charm as is custom for her :)

and kudos to miki for getting a mention of her *spiral* of all things! yay.

here is a slightly better quality vid of yuna's practice:
http://kr.youtube.com/watch?v=b-0tlHyMUXg
(hit the "high quality" link at the bottom corner.)
 
ks777

ks777

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 15, 2003
does anyone know what time the offical practice time for the ladies tomorrow? I would like to go see them tomorrow since I live like 10 mins from the rink...
 
Tinymavy15

Tinymavy15

Sinnerman for the win
Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 28, 2006
bubbleyum said:
here is a slightly better quality vid of yuna's practice:
http://kr.youtube.com/watch?v=b-0tlHyMUXg
(hit the "high quality" link at the bottom corner.)
Click to expand...


wow. i love that program. I love the drama and the attitude... and that music I will be humming all day. So much better than the girlish waltz of last year.

Mclaughlin and Brubaker look amazing. I love the changes they made to the program since Liberty. I love all the little dance lifts and the chemistry they have together. Thier chreographer did a great job with that program. The pair spin actually fit the music perfectly, not like most pair spins I see these days.
 
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S

skateaug

Rinkside
Joined
Aug 11, 2008
ks777 said:
Yes! Thanks!! what much does it cost?
Click to expand...

http://www.2008skateamerica.com/tickets.htm

Practice Sessions
Weekend All Event Pack ticket holders are welcome to attend all practice sessions. In your pack, you will receive a General Admission ticket to Thursday's practice session. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, your All Event Pack lanyard will gain you admission to the practice sessions.

Single practice sessions can be purchased for Thursday only at a price of $5. This pass must be purchased at the Arena Box Office.
 
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