2020-21 U.S. Men's Figure Skating

[Makemi]

Ilia at Skate America! Now I know why he was training all those new quads. Huge opportunity for him, it'll be fun to watch! (Congrats to Maxim too!)

I noticed Torgashev isn't on the list of competitors for Skate America. Given that skaters with lower world ranking and scores from last season were invited, I found this surprising. Is he injured?

You beat me to it. It was strange that he didn't enter the ISP (I sort of just assumed he'd be in the second go around) but to not see him on the list at Skate America is kind of shocking. He was at least in pretty good shape earlier this year when he entered Peggy Fleming Trophy (which, if I recall, was not long after lockdowns eased and skaters could start training again). Does anyone have any updates?

 

[Fireplace7890]

I’m also happy to see Ilia Malinin getting a chance at Skate America. I saw him last year at the JGP in Lake Placid and was very impressed. I remember seeing his mom Tatiana skate years ago and ended up sitting near her during Ilia’s free skate.

 

[TontoK]

I’m also happy to see Ilia Malinin getting a chance at Skate America. I saw him last year at the JGP in Lake Placid and was very impressed. I remember seeing his mom Tatiana skate years ago and ended up sitting near her during Ilia’s free skate.

I really liked him. Except for the glitter on the sleeve of his Sons of Anarchy costume. That was a miss.

Looking forward to seeing him again.

 

[mrrice]

I’m also happy to see Ilia Malinin getting a chance at Skate America. I saw him last year at the JGP in Lake Placid and was very impressed. I remember seeing his mom Tatiana skate years ago and ended up sitting near her during Ilia’s free skate.

I remember Tatiana from a Worlds practice session in 1999. She hung out with my Diva, Maria Butyrskaya the entire time. They seemed to be very good friends in spite of the fact that they were rivals.

 

[YuBluByMe]

Torgashev’s glaring absence concerns me. He hasn’t competed since Peggy Fleming and USFed couldn’t have shafted him. He’s either injured (most likely) or simply not interested (doubtful).

At 166: Exactly! This is precisely why I’m worried. This could’ve been a blessing for disguise for Torgashev - a talented up-and-comer with a well-documented problem with nerves - as these competitions are essentially pressure-free but they’re still an opportunity to get his name out there. And he needs to do this if we are to assume the Olympics goes ahead next year.

 

[TontoK]

If I'm looking for some sort of "silver lining" to the COVID cloud as it relates to figure skating and the GP...

This is a unique opportunity for young and rising skaters to get some experience at important competitions and benefit from early senior international exposure and feedback.

When life gives you lemons...

 

[TontoK]

Nathan's SP from Japan Open. 4F, 3A, 4T-3T. Good spins, energy, steps looked good (but I'm no expert there).

This is an improvement over the ISP.

Credit to @Victura who shared the video on Nathan's fan page, post #18,849... but I'm including the link here for ease of reference.

Nathan Chen | JO2020 SP

*Nathan Chen | JO2020 SP

www.youtube.com

 

[Dogo]

Thanks for posting those links.

Nathan SP is a such a delightful thing to watch. His energy is contagious even though there is no audience. You can also see the progress he's made in a matter of weeks. I'm so glad to see that he's putting a lot of effort on creating such a vibrant performance despite the surreal covid circumstances.

 

[TontoK]

You can also see the progress he's made in a matter of weeks.

Yes, I see improvement for sure. The jumps in this SP were all very well executed and landed. Nothing remotely scratchy or awkward.

A nitpicky observation... but, that's out bread and butter here... he switched the 4Z out for 4F.

Now, is that a matter of finding the proper layout? Or is it indicative of some work that still needs to be done on the 4Z?

The 4Z he landed in the ISP SP was not great quality, and then in the LP he downsized to a 3Z as the second jumping pass. So, maybe there's a slight problem with the jump he's still working out. Because I can pretty much guarantee that a 3Z as his second jumping pass isn't in the longterm plan.

 

[lurkz2]

Yes, I see improvement for sure. The jumps in this SP were all very well executed and landed. Nothing remotely scratchy or awkward.

A nitpicky observation... but, that's out bread and butter here... he switched the 4Z out for 4F.

Now, is that a matter of finding the proper layout? Or is it indicative of some work that still needs to be done on the 4Z?

The 4Z he landed in the ISP SP was not great quality, and then in the LP he downsized to a 3Z as the second jumping pass. So, maybe there's a slight problem with the jump he's still working out. Because I can pretty much guarantee that a 3Z as his second jumping pass isn't in the longterm plan.

Doesn't he always downsize if it's not a scoring competition? He even downsizes for WTT. I think the next round of ISP will tell.

 

[Dogo]

Yes, I see improvement for sure. The jumps in this SP were all very well executed and landed. Nothing remotely scratchy or awkward.

A nitpicky observation... but, that's out bread and butter here... he switched the 4Z out for 4F.

Now, is that a matter of finding the proper layout? Or is it indicative of some work that still needs to be done on the 4Z?

The 4Z he landed in the ISP SP was not great quality, and then in the LP he downsized to a 3Z as the second jumping pass. So, maybe there's a slight problem with the jump he's still working out. Because I can pretty much guarantee that a 3Z as his second jumping pass isn't in the longterm plan.

Good point, I think given that he has a tendency of changing layouts as he makes progress with his jumps it is probably safe to say that he is just testing waters. A precedent for this can be Japan 2019 Open, where he was literally testing jumps at the beginning of the season.

Note: It's kinda ridiculous that he is physically that strong to "test" and "move things around" when it's hard already for a good number of skaters to even aim to have a consistent and clean jump layout... More power to him and to the few skaters who can achieve this

 

[TontoK]

Doesn't he always downsize if it's not a scoring competition? He even downsizes for WTT. I think the next round of ISP will tell.

ISP was a scored event. He probably wasn't very concerned about losing it, though.

 

[lurkz2]

ISP was a scored event. He probably wasn't very concerned about losing it, though.

Just meant he was more likely to take it easy this time around because it was an exhibition, ISP layout would be more telling.

 

[sheetz]

A nitpicky observation... but, that's out bread and butter here... he switched the 4Z out for 4F.

Now, is that a matter of finding the proper layout? Or is it indicative of some work that still needs to be done on the 4Z?

At the beginning of the season Nathan normally switches between 4Lz and 4F in his programs. My guess is that he wants to include all his quads in his programs but that he is currently lacking the stamina to skate a 5+ quad FS.

 

[Makemi]

Thanks for sharing the video! If I recall I think it was filmed back on Sept 20, basically not long after the ISP filming. I like the fact that there are different camera angles in this one so you can get a different look at the choreo. I'm quite in love with this program!

As for the jumps, I'm not worried. This is actually par for the course for Nathan in the early season. He'll usually swtich out and do 4F in the short and then a 4Lz in the free (or vice versa). That way he trains both but only needs to worry about one per program. I remember reading somewhere that the 4Lz is his most physically demanding jump so he likes to be selective on where he puts it. The 3Lz in the FS is absolutely going to be a 4Lz later, it's just a placeholder. Here's his past GP layouts for the last two seasons:

Skate America 2018
SP - 3A, 4F, 3Lz+3T
FS - 3Lo, 4Lz, 3F+3T, 3A, 4T+3T, 4T+2T+2Lo, 3Lz

IDF 2018
SP - 3A, 4F, 4T+3T
FS - 4F, 4T, 3F+3T, 3A, 4T+3T, 3Lz+2T+2Lo, 3Lo
(I think he was ill so he took out the 4Lz entirely)

Skate America 2019
SP - 4Lz, 3A, 4T+3T
FS - 3Lz+3T, 4F, 4T+1Eu+3F, 3A, 4S, 4T, 3A+2T

IDF 2019
SP - 4T+3T, 3A, 4F
FS - 4Lz, 3Lz+2T, 4T+1Eu+3F, 3A, 4S, 4T, 3A+2T

I think he went for the 4F for the JO because it's a more comfortable jump for him and he probably wanted to put on a good show for the Japanese audience.

What I want to know is if/when the 4Lo is coming back. Because I'm pretty sure that's the next thing on the to-do-list.

 

[Dogo]

Nathan performed Rocketman for his Free program at COI.

As always, the beginning of the program gave me such calming vibes and the step sequence was him being so free and confident on the ice. He also displayed a bit of insanity doing a backflip near the end. Honestly, I am so happy to see a skater like him develop and truly become a force to be reckoned with in this sport.

 

[el henry]

@Dogo I just wanted to ask is your avatar Benny the Skating Dog?

 

[Dogo]

@Dogo I just wanted to ask is your avatar Benny the Skating Dog?

It is! I am still waiting for his official senior skate debut. I know he will destroy all human competition with his 4-leg take off Quad Axel

 

[Seven Sisters]

Any Pennsylvanians here, who may be curious about how to go about voting there?

Here’s a little PSA, featuring one of our favorite Pennsylvania-born US men!

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[el henry]

Any Pennsylvanians here, who may be curious about how to go about voting there?

Here’s a little PSA, featuring one of our favorite Pennsylvania-born US men!

Bei Facebook anmelden

Melde dich bei Facebook an, um dich mit deinen Freunden, deiner Familie und Personen, die du kennst, zu verbinden und Inhalte zu teilen.

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Good to see Adam in the rink again And I had no idea that Andrew McCutcheon was such an engaging speaker, but then I don't follow baseball that closely.

Now that I have such good instructions, all I need is for my county to send out the ballots. They say this week.