2021 Worlds: FD "Thoughts and Observations" | Page 2 | Golden Skate

2021 Worlds: FD "Thoughts and Observations"

rinkside_user

On the Ice
Joined
Apr 5, 2016
For me, this was an underwhelming event: COVID fatigue aside, none of my preferred skaters achieved what I had hoped for, even staying realistic, and a lot of performances were tepid at best. Of course, not every event can overwhelm us with guns blazing but this Worlds felt like an afterthought, something that was happening but without any kind of impact, at least for me. Congrats to those medaling and I hope Beijing 2022 will be vastly better.
 

meem

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 24, 2006
PIPER AND PAUL BRONZE!!! I actually cried at their performance (and then again when Piper cried lol) - it was completely mesmerising and I was captivated by it. I actually can't believe that for once the standings actually changed to reflect a great performance on the ice. I would have actually thought they could have been in silver had they had slightly better (and deserved) PCS scoring in the RD. It was also great to hear Mark Hanretty wax lyrical about them in the commentary - for so long it has often felt that their talent was going unrecognised so it was great to hear someone who really understands skating praise them so. Just incredible!!

Also a big shout out to my Disco Brits Fear/Gibson for moving up to seventh place, and provisionally getting a second spot at the Olympics (likely for Lilah's sister). I really saw big improvements in Lilah's skating in particular since before the pandemic, and they hit a new PB in the FD. I'm still not tired of that Vogue performance either!!
For me, the top performance was Fear/Gibson. They skated lights out from start to finish and as Tanith said, they danced through the elements (something the judges always ask for, she said).
 

Seven Sisters

Medalist
Joined
Jul 17, 2018
I found it a bit odd that S/B were very obviously held up in the RD through mistakes only to get the hammer dropped on them in the free dance, which they skated fine.
I wondered if any of that was a desire to provide a bit of “insurance” in the event S/K were to have difficulty in the RD. S/K skated later and proceeded to do just fine, so there was no need for S/B to receive scoring help in the free.

S/B’s time is coming, though, I am very confident!

I also wonder, given that H/D delivered here and C/B did not, whether USFS will dial back on their apparent preference for C/B as we go into the Olympic year. As a tangent, I also wonder if we might start to see a bit more interest in the teams just below these two, H/B, C/P, and Green/Parsons.
 

fzztsimmons

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 14, 2018
For me, the top performance was Fear/Gibson. They skated lights out from start to finish and as Tanith said, they danced through the elements (something the judges always ask for, she said).

Ah thats great to hear from Tanith! I had access to both Mark Hanretty's commentary and Simon & Chris from Eurosport, however all are understandably a tiny bit biased by being British, so good to hear from someone from a different country, and ofc someone with excellent ice dance knowledge herself! Putting my own bias aside, I was really impressed in the difference in ice coverage, speed and depth of edge shown by F/G here compared to when I last saw them - they're not the best in the field of course but they have made big improvements whilst still maintaining that excellent performance! I'm so excited for them in the future!
 

slider11

Medalist
Joined
Jan 12, 2014
The scoring for the teams that skated before the Disco Brits was noticeably lower than last season. The spacing of the teams was overall right, I'd say, but one got the sense that the judges were consciously reining in some of the scores that you saw handed out at Euros and 4CC last year (where, e.g., Lajoie/Lagha and Wang/Liu were 8-10 points higher -- though one should note that both of those teams were rougher here than they were there).
I am curious about this scoring pattern with the mid level teams. The judges didn't seem to have a problem giving the top groups big numbers but it seemed like no matter how well you skated in that third from the last group that you weren't going to get anything in a component score over 8.5. I thought Hawayek and Baker's edges and ice coverage were spectacular and I thought the program was choreographed and performed very well. They deserved higher than 113. I wonder if this is discussed in the post-competition meeting? How does the ISU defeat the "it's not your time" mentality? They might have stayed in 8-9th place but I thought that FD was more in the 120 range.

On another note, I thought S/K deserved the win even though I am not a big fan of that frantic Russian style. But Hubbel and Donahue were just not quite as dynamic as usual and the snake had lost her charm. Too bad for Chock and Bates-they might have won last year but it just lost some of its originality and there were small mistakes. The performance I will watch again and again is Gilles and Poirier. That was magical! I'm sure the Lanes are home thinking up the next breath-taking dances.
 

ladyjane

Medalist
Joined
Jun 26, 2012
Country
Netherlands
Better late than never, but here some remarks regarding the ID competition. It's a discipline I like watching even if I don't always get the judging (Except for the twizzles, although even there the giving of levels is not always clear to me). However, I didn't get the ladies judging either this time, but that's mostly on the PCS while in ID it's both on TES and PCS. Sticking to the top 11.

S/K: probably deserved win, even if the skate did nothing much for me (but, I'm no judge). I did think the point differential between them and the nrs. 2 and 3 seemed too big
H/D: nice watch. this is the kind of Dance I would expect from them. Better than the last two seasons.
G/P: the most fantastic moment of this ID competition. Moving, impressive, wonderful. Can't give enough superlatives about this skate. I thought their Vincent was pretty impressive, but this was stunning.
C/B: although I love their snake ID, it wasn't as good as last year. Add a few small lapses, and there's no medal. Still enjoyable.
S/B: did the judges lowball them in compensation for their too high RD marks? I thought this was pretty good.
G/F: love them. Good skate
F/B: yay, yay, yay! Getting better and better.
FB/S: Great result for them. Dance not so inspiring to me.
H/B: I think they were lowballed in both the RD and FD, although FD was awarded better, and they managed to climb in the standings. I really love their FD. Original.
Z/G: Nicely done. I always like them in energetic dances. And this fits.
H/K: a pity they didn't get a (provisional) second spot at the OG. With 2 ID pairs in the country who are at a very similar level, that would be great.
 

LadyB

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 7, 2016
Better late than never, but here some remarks regarding the ID competition. It's a discipline I like watching even if I don't always get the judging (Except for the twizzles, although even there the giving of levels is not always clear to me). However, I didn't get the ladies judging either this time, but that's mostly on the PCS while in ID it's both on TES and PCS. Sticking to the top 11.

S/K: probably deserved win, even if the skate did nothing much for me (but, I'm no judge). I did think the point differential between them and the nrs. 2 and 3 seemed too big
H/D: nice watch. this is the kind of Dance I would expect from them. Better than the last two seasons.
G/P: the most fantastic moment of this ID competition. Moving, impressive, wonderful. Can't give enough superlatives about this skate. I thought their Vincent was pretty impressive, but this was stunning.
C/B: although I love their snake ID, it wasn't as good as last year. Add a few small lapses, and there's no medal. Still enjoyable.
Agree on these points. I love SinKats and I'm happy they won, but I never liked their FD, but I ain't no judge either. Piper & Paul reduced me to tears, it was a true heartfelt moment of happiness for me. I still prefer Vincent, but that's personal taste. There is no deniying that 'Both sides now' is truly magnificent. These costumes!!!!!! :love:
 
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