Junior Pairs warm-up is starting now at 9:30pm Eastern time...
ETA:
I don't know if this championship is now in the events thread or not, but I seem to be the only one watching the stream. LOL
Unfortunately, the audio on the livestream is admittedly (by the film company) not good quality. They are charging $55 for video copies of individual performances, which will include top-notch audio and video quality, if I understood the notation in the stream correctly.
First group - junior pairs
I found the final team, Baram/Tioumentsev to have the most polished and confident look together on the ice. They aced their elements for the most part, especially their sbs double axels. Perhaps they have been skating together longer than the other two teams. The second team, Fletcher/Brown, were clean and looked nice together, but at this point they are in the early stages of development and don't have great speed. The first pair, Cate Fleming/ Chase Finster appear to be a work-in-progress as a new team. They completed a competent 2-twist, and they landed their 2-axels fairly well. Chase had a slight bobble out of the jump. Cate could not hold her landing on the throw, and she stumbled slightly on footwork, both of which seem due to nerves or anxious excitement. The throw landing miscue maybe indicates a need to firm up her core strength. The last team, B/T had the most interesting and well-executed lift position.
Second group - senior pairs
McBeath/ Bartholomay got things off to a great start with a very good performance of their sp (bringing back the same lovely sp from last season). Nate had a slight stutter out on the sbs jump, but otherwise a nice showing with an excellent throw, good 3-twist and other elements smoothly performed.
New partners, KFinster/ MSilecky had a good debut performance. Kate fell on the sbs jumps, but I think it was nerves more than anything. They look like a promising team, and are well-matched physically. Matej is clearly an experienced and very capable partner with strong performance skills. I look forward to seeing their growth as a team.
Debut of new partners, Liu/O'Shea: They look very good together. Chelsea fell in the warm-up on the sbs 3-salchows, but she aced the jump in unison with Danny during the performance - the sign of a pro.
Chelsea had an obvious double-footed landing on the throw, but that was the only noticeable error in an otherwise very pleasing competitive debut. Of course, with the lesser quality of livestream in-arena audio, we didn't get the full effect of this dynamic sp. I like their bold red costumes (red & black for Danny). Their chemistry is palpable. although the money elements we saw during the OIP clip didn't pop the same way simply because we are not as up close and personal as Jordan Cowan provides for us with his great video clips. So, this simple fact should be a great promotion for the wonderful work that OIP shares with all of us skating fans! Mucho gracias, Jordan!
They have a very good 3-twist which is not surprising since Chelsea has always had good height and execution on twists since juniors with Brian Johnson. The jaw-dropping lift dismount didn't have the same effect, once again because we are not right up on the ice with them. Plus, it looks like they are being cautious in competition by having Danny not place his arms behind his back. They seemingly reduced the dismount turns out of the lift to 2 1/2 turns, instead of 3 1/2 sweeping turns. That could be because it requires just the right speed, rhythm and synchronicity to remain on the beat of the music while performing the dismount smoothly and safely. During the OIP clip when Chelsea landed on the ice, there was a slight click of Danny's boot into her foot -- so maybe they cut down the turns and had Danny keep his arms out rather than behind his back for safety reasons. It would be nice if they could work up over the course of the season to the same exciting execution we witnessed in the OIP clip. However, the difference in experiencing the full debut performance vs the OIP clip has to do with seeing everything in the OIP clip close-up and with great views at various angles because Jordan is moving on the ice with them and he circles with them and around them in a way that cameras at rink side simply can't do.
Alissa Korytek (Ellie's sister?) and her partner, Carter Griffin skated their sp -- the only pair competing in intermediate division. They look good together for a young team, and obviously are coming together slowly but surely. I think they are a recent pairing. Ellie (who may be Alissa's older sister) is the young skater who is shown in OIP clips practicing a quad twist with Chris Knierim.
BTW:
Nathan Chen will be skating later in the men's sp! Ooops! Make that
Nathaniel Chen. My bad misreading!
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Yes, I feel fortunate this week that free live streaming is available both for Skate Milwaukee 
