2016 Worlds Pairs Short Program

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

Well, I'm not going to tell you they sucked.......They didn't. They had a fall, it happens in skating.

They didn't suck, but a fall in the SP is not okay at this level (assuming they want to push for top 5). But the rest of their program was great.

I still don't think a program with a fall deserves a personal best. Especially on the SP when there are fewer elements to afford errors.

 

[rollerblade]

I still don't think a program with a fall deserves a personal best. Especially on the SP when there are fewer elements to afford errors.

Does the judging panel even keep a list of skater's SB/PB anyway? Would they have to start doing that so they don't accidentally (or not) give out scores that overtake people's personal/season best?

 

[Osmond4gold]

As I have said before, I just don't get S/K (USA). From what I have seen this season, if they competed at Canadian Nationals, they would be lucky to be a bronze team at their best. Perhaps it's the over coloured hair, the "Dean Scream" in the kiss & cry, or the inability to land SbS

I tend to yawn every time they are on ice.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

Does the judging panel even keep a list of skater's SB/PB anyway? Would they have to start doing that so they don't accidentally (or not) give out scores that overtake people's personal/season best?

They don't. But the PCS given to Sc/Kn was a PB, and generally a performance with a fall doesn't get higher PCS than previous ones which were cleaner. Although I get that the scoring at Worlds is often higher.

 

[mrrice]

They didn't suck, but a fall in the SP is not okay at this level (assuming they want to push for top 5). But the rest of their program was great.

I still don't think a program with a fall deserves a personal best. Especially on the SP when there are fewer elements to afford errors.

True.

 

[rain]

I just had to come here to share my total and complete adoration of Sui and Han's SP. Stunning from start to finish. I haven't liked this team at all until this year. They were just a couple of cute kids whose enthusiasm was nice, but that was it. This year is a total game changer. Nobody this season can touch their choreography in SP or LP. Both programs give me chills. And it's not just brilliant programs - Sui and Han deserve huge credit for perfectly capturing the mood and intention of the music. They look like a completely different team this season and I'm rooting hard for them to win the gold.

 

[nolangoh]

Finally being able to catch up

Tsarina Ksenia is finally going a smile!! Everybody bow down!!! We are not worthy!!

And everyone on their knees before Empress Wenjing!!! For her regal charisma especially when her hair covers half of her face. May she live ten thousand years!!!

And kudos for their men-in-waiting too!


As a sidenote, Cong should be pronounced as "Tzong", the consonant C here is like TZ, like spitting air through the gap between your teeth. Please spread the message!

 

[age20]

I just had to come here to share my total and complete adoration of Sui and Han's SP. Stunning from start to finish. I haven't liked this team at all until this year. They were just a couple of cute kids whose enthusiasm was nice, but that was it. This year is a total game changer. Nobody this season can touch their choreography in SP or LP. Both programs give me chills. And it's not just brilliant programs - Sui and Han deserve huge credit for perfectly capturing the mood and intention of the music. They look like a completely different team this season and I'm rooting hard for them to win the gold.

You should see their free WC 2015, which was also stunning and very emotional!

 

[cptnhastings]

Just wonder why S/H didn't get level 4 while quite a few others got it, thought S/H's twist had more features and much better.

I think she didn't hit the 45 degree split. That's my only thought after re-watching the twist. She had the arm over the head point. Difficult entry and no touching on landing. That's 3 points there.

I think they were being really picky about that "5) Man’s arms sideways, being straight or almost straight, reaching at least shoulder level after release of the lady" feature today I'm pretty sure. Only 2 teams got 4s, and I'm not sure why some of the men's arms counted and others didn't. Mosorov's and Zhang's arms didn't look all that different from the others. Like Mossot's for instance. (Trankov's arms are really bent going down, so that one seems a little easier to justify on that mark if I'm looking for reasons why they didn't get a level 4.)

Unless they were being picky about some other feature? Difficult entry? Nah. A catch without contact except by the arms on the waist? Nah.

For some reason, I'm constantly analyzing twist levels each year, and I never do that with other features.

 

[Sugarpova]

sad to see VT only @ #3 But considering all the injuries pls keep it up!
Thanks to the audience such warm response!!:luv17:

S/H are indeed magical. Please stay healthy guys

the less I say abt Duhamel & co the better just not my taste I guess

& why no YJ! PZ is nowhere near them:disapp: Ch Fed what are u doing!!

 

[Giselle]

Just a personal opinion, I think it is about time that the Chinese Skating Federation pair Cheng Peng up with someone else. The age gap between Cheng and Hao is becoming more and more glaring to me. There are times in the routine when they are performing that I simply cringe. I don't feel that way when I watch Yu/Jin or Wang/Wang, that is because they are close in age and they match each other really well as pairs but Peng/Zhang just cringes me. Peng would look really nice if she is paired with someone her age.

I read in an article somewhere where Hao Zhang said he wants to continue skating to the next 2 Olympics, my immediate reaction was, please..........have some dignity, just retire and coach or something, you have much to give in terms of teaching pairs skating........let the young ones do it.

I'm afraid it's not going to happen. They think that Hao Zhang is the star and he is the one that has potential in the team. She was good with her former partner Tianci Zhang who was very talented but the Chinsese Fed decided to split up a young promising team so Hao Zhang could continue skating. IIRC Tianci Zhang was very upset and retired.

I am looking forward to their FS because I love "Les Pêcheurs de Perles" but frankly, I'm over her taking awful falls and him acting like he doesn't care. I can't believe he didn't help her get up and/or wait for her and went on to do his SBS jump. Nathalie Pechalat was doing commentary for Eurosport France and she was shocked too that he didn't wait for her.

 

[MidnightSkater]

D/R are one of my favourite pairs teams. I DO love their style & think at their best they are amazing.
But their SP last night was messy & did not deserve such a high score.
They had three messy moves in there. The throw, coming out of the lift & the split twist.
I would have had them 4th.
They were lucky & she way over-sold it at the end which probably pushed her score up.
I hope they do well in the free & justify their place.

 

[Lota]

I am looking forward to their FS because I love "Les Pêcheurs de Perles" but frankly, I'm over her taking awful falls and him acting like he doesn't care. I can't believe he didn't help her get up and/or wait for her and went on to do his SBS jump. Nathalie Pechalat was doing commentary for Eurosport France and she was shocked too that he didn't wait for her.

TAT was also shocked that he didn't stop to help her up, as he wasn't far away when she fell. I don't know what to say.
Oh, and I love their Free program too :agree2:

 

[matmuh]

sad to see VT only @ #3 But considering all the injuries pls keep it up!
Thanks to the audience such warm response!!:luv17:

S/H are indeed magical. Please stay healthy guys

the less I say abt Duhamel & co the better just not my taste I guess

& why no YJ! PZ is nowhere near them:disapp: Ch Fed what are u doing!!

ahh, thats a BIG ask, i hope they will get through all the quads :hap57: ( and be gold medalists! ) then she can have her surgery in peace

 

[Rissa]

Nathalie Pechalat was doing commentary for Eurosport France and she was shocked too that he didn't wait for her.

So was I. The show must go on and all that, but that didn't look normal. It was like, whatever, I'm gonna skate, you do whatever you want, keep up or don't.

About the age difference: my mom dislikes this pair intensly, and says that the age and size difference makes them look indecent.

 

[Li'Kitsu]

I am looking forward to their FS because I love "Les Pêcheurs de Perles" but frankly, I'm over her taking awful falls and him acting like he doesn't care. I can't believe he didn't help her get up and/or wait for her and went on to do his SBS jump. Nathalie Pechalat was doing commentary for Eurosport France and she was shocked too that he didn't wait for her.

I'm pretty glad to hear I wasn't the only one thinking that. I'm sorry to say, but sometimes he looks so little supportive of her it's scary. Hopefully that girl will manage to avoid long lasting injuries, I wouldn't be surprised if she had a number of concussions at this point


Otherwise though, what a competition! I this pairs field, and I enjoyed all of the top 5 so much!
D/R were never my favorites, but it's amazing how far they've come in the last years. And after such a difficult season, I'm very happy for them to deliver like that at worlds. The music choice kind of doesn't work for me, but their investment in it still sells me. I much prefer their LP though, so I'm really looking forward to that.
V/T's music still kills me, it's kinda half-drunken trash party material for me, but hey, they love it, so who am I to complain
S/K didn't look like they were back to their full potential yet, but it was still a really strong performance. Shame about the twist, but I love love love her flow-out out of the landings.
Compared to Euros, I enjoyed S/M a bit better here, and I'm happy for every little bit of improvement. Plus, the twist still gives me jaw-wants-to-meet-floor moments.

And of course, the absolute highlight of it: Sui & Han!!!
I was really nervous before their skate, with her injuries and everything, but they sold every last second of that and I'm so proud and happy. It nearly makes up for not seeing them live at the GPF (nearly!). But I'm so happy for everyone who got to see this live.

May all the Pairs skate at least as well in the LP too!

 

[GF2445]

i thought the pairs SP will set us up of an exciting free.

I believe the placements are right, but the manner in which they reached it was not quite what I had in mind.
In saying that, these are minute and very tiny.

About D/R's SP, I think they had a moment, and because of that, they were rewarded for it. It's hard not to be somewhat influenced by the crowd. I see what the fuss is about, but I am happy that they finally performed their SP to a higher standard.
The problem is that the other teams made an error which was more visible than D/R tinier errors.

This is only my opinion and I respect others opinions. But these results will make the free extra ferocious.
I can only imagine how Aliona, Tatiana (and Max) as well as Ksenia feel about being beaten by D/R atm.

 

[Osmond4gold]

So MAXIM...could you please repeat what you said last year about how beatable Megan and Eric are? Perhaps you would like some wine with that crow.

 

[Mrs. P]

Some thoughts on Pairs! I had originally planned not to attend and I'm glad I changed my mind as it turned out to be a lot of fun. These were my best seat of the competition. I was on the judges side and a lot of the elements were done right in front of me!

In general, I will note that the Russian pairs, despite with the final results show, still have the best overall skating quality.

Sui/Han - My favorites of this segment! Their SP was so sharp. They were so sassy and the packaging worked so well with this program, including her hair. They really have grown since their junior days and I think it's really much night and day.

Trankov/Volozshar - Top notch at everything. Not perfect, but they were so enjoyable to watch and their triple twist also huge!

Duhamel/Radford - While they are not my favorites, these two are not as bad as their detractors will tell you. They are great performers and they really know how to connect with the audience and their elements are wow.

Savchenko/Massot - The twist was just incredible. I have a blurry photo that is my momento. Generally, it's pretty amazing how well they gelled considering their short partnership and they didn't compete until quite recently

Tarasova/Mozorov - They are far entertaining live than they are on TV. They have a great presence and their facial expressions throughout their Sp were spot on with the nature of the celtic music.

Stobova/Klimov - Their elements are real high-quality, with the exception of the twist. This is why they score well despite a lack of a quad. The program, I could take or leave. She sells it, but him not so much.

Moore-Towers/Mariano - They really have improved. Their lifts were not as scary a we seen earlier in the season and they were clean. Great job!

Iliushechkina/Moscovitch- They have great chemistry and I'm glad to see they did well here. She is a little firecracker.

Scimeca/Knierm - So unfortunate on the SBS jumps but everything else looks great. They have shown great improvement since I saw them at Nationals in 2014.

Kayne/O'Shea - Not the bet day for them. But I enjoyed seeing them.

 

[icekiwi]

I'm afraid it's not going to happen. They think that Hao Zhang is the star and he is the one that has potential in the team. She was good with her former partner Tianci Zhang who was very talented but the Chinese Fed decided to split up a young promising team so Hao Zhang could continue skating. IIRC Tianci Zhang was very upset and retired.

I am looking forward to their FS because I love "Les Pêcheurs de Perles" but frankly, I'm over her taking awful falls and him acting like he doesn't care. I can't believe he didn't help her get up and/or wait for her and went on to do his SBS jump. Nathalie Pechalat was doing commentary for Eurosport France and she was shocked too that he didn't wait for her.

Just come back to this as I had been so busy with work, etc.

I agree with you, Giselle. I read somewhere that they had a test skate and both Wang/Wang and Yu/Jin skated clean but Peng/Zhang had mistakes but the Fed still made the decision to send Peng/Zhang. I think the Chinese Fed feel obligated to Zhang for what he and his former partner Dan did for pairs skating for China. I didn't know the background story with Tianci Zhang, if that was the case then it is just brutal and I feel very sorry for Tianci. To me, that decision is a mistake. It takes years to develop a good pairs team. Yu/Jin had been together for 11 years (I read somewhere), hence the unison, connection, softness in movements together.

Yes, I agree too on the SP where Zhang didn't wait for Peng when she fell. Glad that Natalie pointed it out. Also, I was quite annoyed with the 'finger wriggling' to signal to Peng to come close, that was quite a condescending and belittling move!! He just stood there and wriggle his fingers, that part just annoyed me heaps!! I could not see Maxim, Han or Fedor doing that to their partners should they have a big fall like that. It shows he only cares about himself!

The ranking of Peng/Zhang had dropped significantly at this Worlds. Can't count Wang/Wang as this is their 1st Worlds - their nerves and lack of exposure in the big stage really showed, otherwise I actually really like this team. So, I hope the Chinese Fed would go back to the drawing board and think very carefully about the future of the other teams and their pairings.

Will go to youtube and watch Peng/Tianci. Thanks for the info. Tell me what you think, Giselle.