2021-22 U.S. Pairs Figure Skating

[BlissfulSynergy]

That's what I said, or thought I said, or hinted perhaps. Maybe (hint to self) less hints, less subtlety.

To tell the truth, I didn't remember Kate's fall till now! That's a good sign.

For the record, I'm already a fan of Matej, as discussed in an earlier post.

^^ Yes, @skylark, I remember you said earlier you are impressed by Matej Silecky's admirable intellectual heft, his upbeat life philosophy articulated on his website, and his renaissance man talents. From the videos of his competitive performances as a young skater, Matej was well-trained (he trained with Mishin when growing up in Ukraine); he appears to be well-rounded as a pairs skater, and he demonstrates very competent pairs partnering skills. In fact, he looked to have better skills than his former partners in the videos posted here earlier. His pairing with Kate is another situation where it couldn't have happened sooner in either of their careers, as Matej is a little over 10 years older than Kate. They seem to be physically well-matched, and on the same page in terms of current goals.

You said he looked 'game' in their debut, which I thought is intended to be praise, but I don't recall seeing that expression before in regard to complimenting a skater, so I wasn't sure what you meant. It could have meant that you thought he was trying to keep up, or that he was very energetic and capable in his performance, and ready for anything he's called to do.

What I noticed is that Kate & Matej are new to each other obviously, and that like all new pairs teams, they are learning each other's rhythms and tendencies, and movement qualities, in addition to getting used to each other's personalities on and off-the-ice (i.e., during training practices and in competition).

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

@moonvine, were you able to see Liu/O'Shea's performance via the link and numbered setting I provided last evening?

ETA: Overnight, my link has since changed and I can no longer access the Junior and Senior pairs sp performances. I guess I had the accessibility yesterday to go back and review the pairs sp performances because I had the link up all day, and I went back to review the pairs events immediately after they ended, without following in real time any of the events that came afterward. I might have lost the accessibility had I not gone back to immediately review the pairs performances. The video just stayed there for me. But overnight, it has all disappeared, except for the young ladies programs that are there which you mentioned was all you could find.

Apparently, there will be no retroactive access to any videos of this event. Too bad. I wish they would upload at least Liu/O'Shea's sp to YouTube, as @SylviaUnseen has indicated Hurd has done in the past for sought after high profile skaters.

Junior Pairs FS is scheduled to begin at 5:25 pm local time today (Sat Jul 10) at Los Angeles Open, per the EntryEeze schedule reachable at the link that I have quoted.

To be followed by Senior Pairs FS at 6:05 pm local time.

(What is seen at the bottom of each start order page is a time/date stamp for when the page was created.
The time/date stamp there has nothing to do with the competition scheduling.)

Thanks @ice coverage for clearing up my confusion regarding start times and dates for the pairs free programs. So now I get that the link I was reading from gave a date and time that the information was posted. It was not referencing the start times for the individual events.

ETA:
Start orders for junior and senior pairs free programs at LA Open:

2021 Los Angeles Open Championships

Event Results for 2021 Los Angeles Open Championships

ijs.usfigureskating.org

2021 Los Angeles Open Championships

Event Results for 2021 Los Angeles Open Championships

ijs.usfigureskating.org

 

[skylark]

^^ Yes, @skylark, I remember you said earlier you are impressed by Matej Silecky's admirable intellectual heft, his upbeat life philosophy articulated on his website, and his renaissance man talents. From the videos of his competitive performances as a young skater, Matej was well-trained (he trained with Mishin when growing up in Ukraine); he appears to be well-rounded as a pairs skater, and he demonstrates very competent pairs partnering skills. In fact, he looked to have better skills than his former partners in the videos posted here earlier. His pairing with Kate is another situation where it couldn't have happened sooner in either of their careers, as Matej is a little over 10 years older than Kate. They seem to be physically well-matched, and on the same page in terms of current goals.

I kept trying to figure out their height difference; I do think he's taller than Balazs. But it's hard to tell when they're skating. I've noticed that with Ashley and Timothy; their height difference seems less when they're actually on the ice. Also with Evelyn Walsh and Trennt.

You said he looked 'game' in their debut, which I thought is intended to be praise, but I don't recall seeing that expression before in regard to complimenting a skater, so I wasn't sure what you meant. It could have meant that you thought he was trying to keep up, or that he was very energetic and capable in his performance, and ready for anything he's called to do.

More like that last. Energetic, capable, ready. Also he seems comfortable, not edgy or anxious. And trained by Mishin, very impressive. I'd forgotten that detail in his bio. I also wonder, whimsically because it doesn't really matter, who had the idea to team him with Kate. Dave Lease has suggested that Kate's mother is very energetic in all matters to do with her kids' skating.

 

[moonvine]

Who is warming up now? It isn’t pairs. Are they just way behind? It is confusing and frustrating.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

I kept trying to figure out their height difference; I do think he's taller than Balazs. But it's hard to tell when they're skating. I've noticed that with Ashley and Timothy; their height difference seems less when they're actually on the ice. Also with Evelyn Walsh and Trennt.

Definitely true. I've noticed that when a pair are skating, it is hard to tell exactly how tall the male is vs the female. I think that's because both skaters are not standing straight up when they skate. Both are leaning at different angles over the ice. It's only when they stop skating and are relatively vertical, or when they are off-ice in gym shoes that the actual differences in height are more detectable.

Matej no doubt is somewhat taller than Balazs, maybe 5'8" or 5'9", not sure. More-so, Matej appears to have a larger frame overall than Balazs. I had felt that Kate needed a much taller partner. But tall pairs guys do NOT grow on trees. LOL! In any case, Matej is tall enough, even though Kate appears to be fairly tall. She's probably only 5'4" but that's tall when compared with pairs girls who are between 5'0" to 5'2" or shorter. I believe Ashley Cain is 5'6" which is my current height. Anything over 5'4" to 5'5" is seemingly considered very tall for a pairs girl.

Kate's body proportions, I think may possibly make her seem taller than she is. Kate has a long neck and graceful but short arms and legs, with a long torso. Matej appears to have a long torso with a stocky build, but also somewhat medium to short arms and legs proportionally. So in that respect, Kate & Matej are physically suited in their look over the ice.

I found another interesting article about Matej, referencing his stint on U.K.'s Dancing On Ice, in 2018:

Verifying Device

 

[moonvine]

Anyone have any idea when the pairs are coming on?

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

Who is warming up now? It isn’t pairs. Are they just way behind? It is confusing and frustrating.

Here's today's schedule @moonvine. Perhaps this helps:

Rink Schedule

Just click on the 'Session Timed Out' link and the full daily schedule comes up. They must be competing Pre-preliminary girls A and B right now. No, for July 10, it's probably Open Juvenile girls. But in the live chat someone thought it is Novice Ladies. I'm not sure. The junior and senior pairs will come after an ice-resurfacing break follows these current events.

ETA:
@moonvine, it also depends upon what time zone you are in. There will probably be a long break like yesterday after the ice-resurfacing before the pairs events will begin. I estimate that for eastern time the junior pairs should start around 8:30pm eastern time, and the senior pairs should start around 9:05pm eastern time. But they could be running late.

 

[moonvine]

Here's today's schedule @moonvine. Perhaps this helps:

Rink Schedule

Just click on the 'Session Timed Out' link and the full daily schedule comes up. They must be competing Pre-preliminary girls A and B right now. An ice-resurfacing break follows, and then junior pairs.

I have been looking at the schedule. If it is in Pacific time they are way way behind.

 

[moonvine]

Junior Pairs FS is scheduled to begin at 5:25 pm local time today (Sat Jul 10) at Los Angeles Open, per the EntryEeze schedule reachable at the link that I have quoted.

To be followed by Senior Pairs FS at 6:05 pm local time.

(What is seen at the bottom of each start order page is a time/date stamp for when the page was created.
The time/date stamp there has nothing to do with the competition scheduling.)

---

Yes, I feel fortunate this week that free live streaming is available both for Skate Milwaukee and for Los Angeles Open .

I'm planning on giving a small donation to both clubs as a thank you.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

I have been looking at the schedule. If it is in Pacific time they are way way behind.

I revised my previous post about the schedule, as I'm not sure where they are at. If they are running late, then the pairs events will surely start well after 8:30pm eastern time, unless they cut back on the length of the scheduled break in order to start the pairs events at the scheduled times.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

More like that last. Energetic, capable, ready. Also he seems comfortable, not edgy or anxious. And trained by Mishin, very impressive. I'd forgotten that detail in his bio. I also wonder, whimsically because it doesn't really matter, who had the idea to team him with Kate. Dave Lease has suggested that Kate's mother is very energetic in all matters to do with her kids' skating.

Indeed, Matej is very experienced and professional. He's probably late 20s or early 30s by now. It looks like he's called 'Matt' for short, as per the earlier U.K. article I linked.

I agree with your definition of your 'game' assessment in reference to Matej Silecky's partnering and overall skating skills.

Regarding skating mom, Finster, it's nice to have a mother who pushes hard to help further your career prospects, as long as she/mothers in general butt out when it comes to the coaches training and making on-ice decisions for their kids. It looks like Kate/Chase's mother doesn't interfere with the coaching. But she's proactive about their training and helping them find good partnerships, as needed.

Regarding Silecky and Kate pairing up, who knows? Maybe Silecky was on icepartnersearch. Surely, he's also fairly well known in the skating community. And there's also such a thing as word-of-mouth. Plus, he likely gained a higher profile when he skated with Dancing on Ice in the U.K.

 

[ice coverage]

Junior Pairs FS is scheduled to begin at 5:25 pm local time today (Sat Jul 10) at Los Angeles Open, per the EntryEeze schedule reachable at the link that I have quoted. ...

The current local time in LA is approx. 4:20 pm. (Where I am, 7:20 pm Eastern time.)
Junior Pairs is not scheduled to start until 5:25 pm local/Pacific time, per the EntryEeze schedule.

(I have not been checking the live stream to see what it is showing at the moment vs. what is on the schedule.
FWIW/IIRC, last night the pairs and senior men started more or less on time.)

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I'm planning on giving a small donation to both clubs as a thank you.

Very thoughtful of you.

---

On Katie McBeath's Instastory today, she mentioned "competition week" -- apparently meaning this week.

My guess would be that she is referring to Los Angeles Open?

(2021 LA Open Quick Links: https://www.lafsc.org/events [scroll down]
Start orders are not posted yet, but Junior and Senior Pairs SP on Friday Jul 9; FS on Saturday.
The event will have a live stream.) ...

... As there is no thread (that I am aware of) for Los Angeles Open I only became aware of the pairs via @sylviaunseen on Twitter.

FWIW: On Monday in this thread, I had posted about Los Angeles Open.

It is true that there is not a GS event thread. Just sayin' that at least via this thread, I did my best to spread the word early in the week.

In any case, it is absolutely true that the tireless Sylvia always is a good resource.

 

[moonvine]

I revised my previous post about the schedule, as I'm not sure where they are at. If they are running late, then the pairs events will surely start well after 8:30pm eastern time, unless they cut back on the length of the scheduled break in order to start the pairs events at the scheduled times.

The way I read the schedule (530 pm) would have been 330 central which is where I am. It is now 620.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

The way I read the schedule (530 pm) would have been 330 central which is where I am. It is now 620.

If you are in central time zone, I believe you are two hours later than pacific time, i.e., 5:30pm pacific is 7:30pm central. The eastern time zone is 3 hours later than pacific time (i.e., 8:30pm start time here).

Regarding time zones, for example, London is 6 hours earlier than eastern time, and 9 hours earlier than pacific time. I know differences in time zones can be extremely confusing.

 

[Weathergal]

If you are in central time zone, I believe you are two hours later than pacific time, i.e., 5:30pm pacific is 7:30pm central. The eastern time zone is 3 hours later than pacific time (i.e., 8:30pm start time here).

Regarding time zones, for example, London is 6 hours earlier than eastern time, and 9 hours earlier than pacific time. I know differences in time zones can be extremely confusing.

London is 5 hours earlier than Eastern time. Continental Europe is 6.

Not a big deal, just wanted to mention in case anyone in that area was trying to time watching a live stream.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

Pairs fps have started at LA Open.

Meanwhile, U.S. pairs news abounds:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CRCoJe5rCoD/

Heard that Mark Sadusky is now paired with Nica Digerness!? What the heck happened to Ian Meyh??? Did he get tired of waiting for Nica to heal from injuries? Has he retired to pursue other endeavors? Inquiring minds want to know:

TikTok - Make Your Day

Interesting still is that Nica and Mark appear to still be with Dalilah Sappenfield in Monument, CO.

Nice OIP clip of Matej and Kate:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CRHT9hKjzzS/

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

McBeath/Bartholomay have skipped the fp, unless it's an injury withdrawal. They aren't on the warm-up...

Liu/O'Shea practiced 3-salchows, and what looks like 3-toe, 2-toe combo? for their second jumping pass. They appear to be wearing all black costumes. Interesting: red for sp (red w/ black pants for Danny); and black fp costumes.

ETA:
Actually black and dark purplish for Chelsea and all black for Danny.

Aarrgg, can you believe it. When it came time for Chelsea/Danny to skate, the feed started messing up. Murphy's Law, I suppose. It's fine all day and through all the other pairs programs, and then starts stuttering when the main draw begin to skate!!!

Can anyone who watched tell what the music is for Liu/O'Shea's fp? It sounds like a film score, but I can't identify it. What an interesting fp though. The jumps aren't spectacular, but obviously they can both land gorgeous sbs 3-salchows because they did it in the sp. In fp, Chelsea overthought it and after landing, she tumbled out of the jump, but she got up quickly. Their 3toes-2toes looked better in the warm-up. They stood up but Chelsea had what looked like a forward lean on the first jump landing in the combo, but both jumps were completed. Chelsea double-footed the same throw landing again, so she needs to correct that tendency. What was fascinating for me is the way Chelsea's long, lovely legs were highlighted and taken advantage of throughout the choreo. It was so lovely throughout.

Does anyone know who did the choreo for this fp? Was it Adam Rippon again, or someone else? Maybe Cindy Stuart? @MashaOfficial try to get Chelsea & Danny on for a nice interview? Thanks in advance.

So cool that one of the lift dismounts in the fp included a variation of the legs twined around Danny's neck and Chelsea leaning straight out with arms extended with a couple of turns or 2 1/2 turns. Plus Danny put his arms behind his back with these turns, which is such an amazing looking move. Then that surprising lift entry where Danny throws Chelsea in the air and she flips over into a flat out overhead position with her legs apart and then into a catch-foot position. It is unexpected and it looks heart-in-mouth. I haven't seen that move before, but there have probably been some variations of it. Wow. Then the interesting lift that ends with Chelsea's legs straight up and she's in an upside down position. We've seen this move before by a few pairs, with the former Canadian team of Lubov/Charlie. Who can remember others? I think Mishina/Galliamov have tried it too.

There were a number of carry lift positions utilizing Chelsea's long legs. There's a lot that's really interesting in this program, and I look forward to seeing it develop further throughout the season. Someone needs to interview these two in a fun, yet revealing interview. I think @MashaOfficial is the one who can do it for us. Maybe Claire will do a print interview with Liu/O'Shea. Thanks to both of these super skating fan reporters in advance!

A minor point that's secondary, but I wonder what Chelsea will do with her hair to make it look more fab when she competes in major competitions?

 

[moonvine]

Oh man I wanted to see McBeath/Bartholomay. Thanks for correcting my time error. What a dumb mistake.

 

[moonvine]

Is it just me or do Liu/O’Shea look amazing for such a new pair?

 

[skylark]

Is it just me or do Liu/O’Shea look amazing for such a new pair?

Not just you. They look incredible ... even with the fall on the salchow by Chelsea and two-footed landings on both throws. It was pretty impressive how they did the triple toe-double toe right after the fall. Good recovery, good spirit. Actually, I feel like it's something almost intangible that comes across to make them look so amazing. Like an unspoken harmony already exists between them to the extent that it comes across to spectators, even through the video! Someone who knows people in the Great Park arena said that a few weeks ago, when Fed representatives came to monitor some of the pairs, they were "blown away" by Chelsea and Danny, and that's why they were assigned to Skate America. So it's not just us