2014-2015 GPF Pairs Free Skate 12/13

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

I appreciate your passion for S/K but again they do not make decisions. It does not work like that in Russia.

Well, hopefully S/K will make more efforts to include their harder elements now that they understand that they're vulnerable without them.

Don't get me wrong... I absolutely love S/K and think they're a fantastic pair... I just don't like the fact heir SBS jumps are easy and they recycled their spins and lifts from last season, whereas other teams are making efforts to mix things up and try harder difficulty.

 

[Snow63]

I think now they will include something new before Worlds.

 

[apple123]

At the moment S/K talk the game but never do it. The reason they are up there is simply that they do easy stuff consistently and the judges reward ridiculous GOE and PCS for them. If they try difficult elements and pull off clean skates, that will silence all the criticism. But can they really up their game?

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

I think now they will include something new before Worlds.

Well, Russian Nats and Euros are perfect arenas to try new things, since they'll likely win regardless of what they put out there, so they can afford to try riskier moves.

IMO, the top 3 at Worlds should be teams that attempt two different SBS triples, and at least one throw harder than a throw 3L. We're not in the 90's anymore, people. :sarcasm:

 

[whatif]

Well, hopefully S/K will make more efforts to include their harder elements now that they understand that they're vulnerable without them.

Don't get me wrong... I absolutely love S/K and think they're a fantastic pair... I just don't like the fact heir SBS jumps are easy and they recycled their spins and lifts from last season, whereas other teams are making efforts to mix things up and try harder difficulty.

Quads are NOT something that is particularly encouraged in Russia. Many Russian teams practice and land them but the Russian system discourage injury-inducing unnecessary risks. The focus has always been on pairs elements over there. Even Moskvina does it only with Yuka, as the last resort.

 

[LisaM]

Pfft, whatevs... they attempted SBS 3Z and landed a throw 4S. He can only dream of being capable of doing that. What's he impressed by, S/K's double axels?!

You don't have to be able to do big tricks in order to not be impressed by them. I mean, the ones of us that aren't impressed probably can't do any of that either. That's a useless comment.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

At the moment S/K talk the game but never do it. The reason they are up there is simply that they do easy stuff consistently and the judges reward ridiculous GOE and PCS for them. If they try difficult elements and pull off clean skates, that will silence all the criticism. But can they really up their game?

I totally think they can. And they should.

 

[Snow63]

Sui/Han are also relatively new to the senior circuit (this being their 4th season) and they attempt quads and have also been attempting two SBS triples since last season.

They weren't at Olympics, were they? So they had a lot of time to prepare for the season.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

You don't have to be able to do big tricks in order to not be impressed by them. I mean, the ones of us that aren't impressed probably can't do any of that either. That's a useless comment.

Also a useless comment for Trankov to make that D/R are unimpressive outside of their tech content, when it's the sport of figure skating... not the Oscars of figure skating.

I don't see him saying S/K have unimpressive tech content. But then again, they're his Russian teammates and he'd land a triple lutz before he ever badmouthed S/K.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

They weren't at Olympics, were they? So they had a lot of time to prepare for the season.

I don't follow your reasoning. They went to Worlds, they went to 4CC, essentially at the same time as the Olympics. And wouldn't the Olympic season be the time to upgrade your tech content in order to win?

 

[Snow63]

Also a useless comment for Trankov to make that D/R are unimpressive outside of their tech content, when it's the sport of figure skating... not the Oscars of figure skating.

He didn't said they were unimpressive, who told you that? He just said they PCS should be lower.

 

[diane044]

I haven't been a big fan of D/R in the past, but they have at last won me over. They'll never be able to do anything about their height difference. There's no romantic connection. Their personal styles are totally different. Does this mean they shouldn't skate together? They WANT to skate together. Their "thing" is pushing the technical envelope, and they're doing that brilliantly. They may not be everybody's cup of tea, but they're putting in the time, putting in the effort, capitalizing on THEIR strengths, and pushing past some fairly big disappointments. Really, what's not to love (or at least admire) in that?

Exactly what I've been thinking for years!

 

[Snow63]

I don't follow your reasoning. They went to Worlds, they went to 4CC, essentially at the same time as the Olympics. And wouldn't the Olympic season be the time to upgrade your tech content in order to win?

After Olympics skaters tend to rest a little bit more. Especially if they have won medals, thay had a lot of post-Olympics shows and procedures, you know. Maybe it's not the main reason, but still.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

He didn't said they were unimpressive, who told you that? He just said they PCS should be lower.

Ironic, given that him and Volosozhar were continually boosted in their PCS mark, to the point that it didn't even matter if they made errors.

Again, a useless comment by Trankov, as D/R won by 7 points. What should their PCS have been? 64 points?

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

After Olympics skaters tend to rest a little bit more. Especially if they have won medals, thay had a lot of post-Olympics shows and procedures, you know. Maybe it's not the main reason, but still.

D/R won a silver medal at the Olympics.

 

[Snow63]

Ironic, given that him and Volosozhar were continually boosted in their PCS mark, to the point that it didn't even matter if they made errors.

Again, a useless comment by Trankov, as D/R won by 7 points. What should their PCS have been? 64 points?

At least their SS should clearly be lower than S/K.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

At least their SS should clearly be lower than S/K.

I do agree with that. IMO, both D/R and S/K had inflated PCS. But the results should stand.

 

[Sackie]

Can we have one event that is won by CAN where posters are happy for them and not constantly running them down. Jeff Buttle wins worlds without a Quad and the comments are that he shouldn't have won over someone with more TECH content. Now D/R win with more Tech content and they shouldn't have. Why not just come out and say it - no CAN should ever win.

 

[apple123]

BTW, since Trankov talked about transitions. I'd like to point out, D/R and S/H have difficult transitions, for example before the throw, but S/K didn't. I wonder why the judges didn't reward more GOEs and PCS for them instead of S/K?

 

[wallylutz]

Reading all these comments lamenting about the death of Pairs skating as we know it because somebody dare to win a competition doing Triple Lutzes and Quad while the closest competitors can't even successfully complete a Triple toe combo with the only clean SBS being Juvenile level double axels - you gotta love how dramatic some people can be. It makes me wonder Trankov should take them out to watch Ice Dance instead, last I heard, Marina Anissina is looking to come back...with a Russian Prince and Trankov is perfect I think.

By definition, Pairs Skating -- unlike Ice Dance -- is a display of athleticism and showcasing big tricks (e.g. over head lifts, throws, jumps and etc.) where two people skate in good unison throughout the entire performance. In other words, the expectation of "unison", skating as one, is also not at the same level. Whereas Ice Dance often has specific requirements regarding expression and a chosen theme, no such requirement exist in Pairs. For example, with the Paso Doble SD, any team who skated it with smiles from beginning to the end will get ding big time. In fact, a key point of Spanish theme dance is how serious they are with the very occasional and specific exception allowed for a short duration "break" on the part of the woman. But for the man, if he smiles even once, his team is done. Seems to me, some people are watching Pairs with idea the skaters should be cooking their steaks to their exact personal preference -- wrong sport, I say. It reminds me how teams like Shen/Zhao were put down using the same kind of lame excuses for years but look at what they have achieved? Shen/Zhao could never be great ice dancers, likewise, for the last 15 years, China has dominated the Pairs discipline with good reasons but haven't been able to replicate the same success in Ice Dance.

If some people find watching those big tricks boring, they really ought to switch channel to Ice Dance instead. Don't go to a coffee shop to complain their tea is bad.