Why do you watch European Championships?

[Anna K.]

Do you, actually?
I didn't for a couple of years and now it feels so good to be back home and watch it again from beginning till the end like I used to. Because, hey, this is interesting what the others have and what we have (which is mostly someone in the back of the field) and how it looks compared to them. Struggles and joys of small Federations are very familiar and easy to relate. There are competitors who have been champions of their country (and sometimes the single torchbearers of this sport) for years but never achieve much internationally. But then, on the other hand, they do it because they love to do it and they don't care about judge-friendly music choices, for instance. So it somehow brings in the atmosphere of a party

Of course, it is also interesting if there is someone who can challenge Russians for the top places (although those who actually can challenge Russians or elite skaters from other continents often skip this event and, in another year, so do elite Russians). And sometimes big joy for a small federation occurs. Which means that the party atmosphere grows much bigger

So this is why I love watching Europeans. What about you?

 

[iluvtodd]

I want to see the international competitors from Europe. I admire quite a number of them - especially Michal Brezina (probably his last competitive season), ditto for Alexey Bychenko (Team Israel does compete @ Europeans), Matteo Rizzo, Deniss V., Kevin Aymoz, Adam (from France), Loena Hendricks, the top Austrian pairs team (Miriam & her partner whose name I can't recall just now), the Italian pairs & ice dancers etc. Of course for years I was VERY invested in watching Javi Fernandez compete there & internationals. Needless to say, I was teary eyed when he won his last of 7 (!) European titles.

 

[lariko]

Do you, actually?
I didn't for a couple of years and now it feels so good to be back home and watch it again from beginning till the end like I used to. Because, hey, this is interesting what the others have and what we have (which is mostly someone in the back of the field) and how it looks compared to them. Struggles and joys of small Federations are very familiar and easy to relate. There are competitors who have been champions of their country (and sometimes the single torchbearers of this sport) for years but never achieve much internationally. But then, on the other hand, they do it because they love to do it and they don't care about judge-friendly music choices, for instance. So it somehow brings in the atmosphere of a party

Of course, it is also interesting if there is someone who can challenge Russians for the top places (although those who actually can challenge Russians or elite skaters from other continents often skip this event and, in another year, so do elite Russians). And sometimes big joy for a small federation occurs. Which means that the party atmosphere grows much bigger

So this is why I love watching Europeans. What about you?

The same reason I watch everything else, from JGP to all the nationals and Challengers I can get my hands on. I like figure skating. I also like juniors more than seniors, so if I get attached to them in juniors, I want to see how they do in seniors.

 

[4everchan]

i haven't in a couple years now... I usually watch it for Russian men and pairs but... since covid... i haven't.

 

[Ziotic]

I watch to see how outrageous the scoring gets.

 

[Anna K.]

i haven't in a couple years now... I usually watch it for Russian men and pairs but... since covid... i haven't.

Oh, you should watch at least the archived version then, at least pairs. I sometimes skip Russian pairs at Europeans because, hey, we all know what will happen but not this year. The inner competition between Russian pairs is very interesting right now so every competition is worth seeing. Yes, the judges have chosen their favorites but B/K and T/M clearly do not agree with it and they are close enough so they keep pushing. (And I'm actually praying for M/G not to win that Olympic gold because they are so young and with huge space where to develop artistically. This may not happen though if they win all imaginable medals so early in their career.)

I watch to see how outrageous the scoring gets.

Oh, yikes
If seriously though, yes, this is the downside of having around many small Feds that have little or no ambition: nobody takes the trouble to write a protest or demand explanation for "what was it that just happened here"

 

[4everchan]

Oh, you should watch at least the archived version then, at least pairs. I sometimes skip Russian pairs at Europeans because, hey, we all know what will happen but not this year. The inner competition between Russian pairs is very interesting right now so every competition is worth seeing. Yes, the judges have chosen their favorites but B/K and T/M clearly do not agree with it and they are close enough so they keep pushing. (And I'm actually praying for M/G not to win that Olympic gold because they are so young and with huge space where to develop artistically. This may not happen though if they win all imaginable medals so early in their career.)

Oh, yikes
If seriously though, yes, this is the downside of having around many small Feds that have little or no ambition: nobody takes the trouble to write a protest or demand explanation for "what was it that just happened here"

haha but though I think T/M are the best pairs with best elements probably in the world (with Sui/Han) I love M/G so I will watch how worlds/ogames turn out... never liked B/K (i know, unpopular opinion) and yes to the scoring.. it is quite something sometimes...

 

[TT_Fin]

I have had sone problems to fall asleep. In ladies the music choices never let me down - I fall asleep righr away I go to bed. So the answer is better sleeping affected by the skaters music.

 

[mrrice]

I watch Europeans to get a view of skaters I may have missed on the GP. Alexander Abt, and Elena Liashenko we're two skaters l had never heard of. I wanted to see them before going to Worlds in 2001

 

[islandpaddler]

Because sometimes we get to see skaters like Niina Petrokina, who was totally off my radar though I see she skated at some senior Bs, skate lights out. Remember when Julia Sebestyen won in her home country of Hungary? And because I watched the Grand Prix, the Challenger Series as well as other Bs throughout the season, it seems logical to watch those competitors at Europeans.

 

[lariko]

I have had sone problems to fall asleep. In ladies the music choices never let me down - I fall asleep righr away I go to bed. So the answer is better sleeping affected by the skaters music.

That’s me and ice dance.

 

[Anna K.]

That’s me and ice dance.

Same here
It's a shame but I have completely fallen out with ice dance. And it used to be my favorite discipline 20 years ago!
This year, I watched some ice dance in a long time because of Kana/Dai and Ko/Ko rivalry and also some of Europeans because it appears that Latvia has a dance team all of a sudden, but to watch the whole event... It was a hopeless attempt not to fall asleep Today, it's too complicated for me to follow what's going on. I would need a really good commentator who explains exactly what counts, what doesn't count, and what each couple is striving to achieve. In Latvia, we used to have such commentator in 2002-2006. She was a certified international judge (she still is, her name is Agita Abele) and she could, like, tell the point value of every lift from one sight. I'm missing the old good days

 

[lariko]

Same here
It's a shame but I have completely fallen out with ice dance. And it used to be my favorite discipline 20 years ago!
This year, I watched some ice dance in a long time because of Kana/Dai and Ko/Ko rivalry, but to watch the whole event... It was a hopeless attempt not to fall asleep Today, it's too complicated for me to follow what's going on. I would need a really good commentator who explains exactly what counts, what doesn't count, and what each couple is striving to achieve. In Latvia, we used to have such commentator in 2002-2006. She was a certified international judge (she still is, her name is Agita Abele) and she could, like, tell the point value of every lift from one sight. I'm missing the old good days

I like the lifts, and sometimes I can watch more energetic dances, like Smart-Dias or Stepanova-Bukin, but I don’t like the really old-fashioned stuff and too modern can be hit and miss. Overall, I just like disciplines with jumps more, so pairs, then singles, then ice dance as a distant fourth.

 

[Anna K.]

I like the lifts, and sometimes I can watch more energetic dances, like Smart-Dias or Stepanova-Bukin, but I don’t like the really old-fashioned stuff and too modern can be hit and miss. Overall, I just like disciplines with jumps more, so pairs, then singles, then ice dance as a distant fourth.

Lifts used to stand out. Today, dance routines have become very fast, very smooth, and lifts look like transitions. It's not a bad thing, apparently. It shows that ice dance has progressed a lot, but it is now impossible for an untrained eye like mine to spot a difference between, let's say, lifts of Smart-Dias and lifts of Stepanova-Bukin. Same with other elements. So it doesn't make a sense as a sport for me and, if it doesn't, then I may as well watch exhibitions straight away
It is a bit disappointing tbh. But there still are three remaining disciplines for me

 

[lariko]

Lifts used to stand out. Today, dance routines have become very fast, very smooth, and lifts look like transitions. It's not a bad thing, apparently. It shows that ice dance has progressed a lot, but it is now impossible for an untrained eye like mine to spot a difference between, let's say, lifts of Smart-Dias and lifts of Stepanova-Bukin. Same with other elements. So it doesn't make a sense as a sport for me and, if it doesn't, then I may as well watch exhibitions straight away
It is a bit disappointing tbh. But there still are three remaining disciplines for me

I never expected to understand the technical scoring in ice dance, so about the only thing I can see more or less is the difference between really high level skaters and the rest. I went to Skate America this year, and went to the practices because well, why not, but I was impressed out of my mind by the two top American teams and Smart-Dias. After that, I watched the discipline with far more interest.

 

[ladyjane]

I always try to watch European's but it sometimes just doesn't work out. This time I was able to watch Pairs (well, they are my favourite discipline) and the men (though I saw both the SP and FS later then at first broadcast), and I've watched some women (SP mostly) and no Dance. I do like Ice Dance generally, so I might still watch (parts of) it. It doesn't really matter that I already know the outcome, except probably to get annoyed about some of those when I actually see it! I'm rather a fan of S/B and G/F so probably it will annoy me that they aren't 1st and 2nd!

I usually also try to watch 4CC though whether it's an Olympic season or not. So, I hope I'll be able to make some of it this coming week!

 

[DancingCactus]

I think this was the first time I watched so much of the Europeans since my favourite skaters are mostly from Japan and North America, but thanks to the German semi-lookdown it's not as if there were many other things to do, so I watched quite a lot. The German commentator was annoying als usual, though.

Except for Smart/Diaz and Loparva/Brissaud I found most of the Ice Dancers relatively dull and I usually love ID. Not really interesting music, lots of really old fashioned stuff (all that swing in the FS - why?).

For Men I was interested in seeing the guys from the smaller federations, the Russians don't really do it dor me.

The most interesting thing about the Women was seing how Scherbakova and Trusova were going to do. That FS was the first time I actually kind of liked Scherbakova's skating or rather her performance. Trusova was as expected.

I don't follow pairs.

 

[Seven Sisters]

I enjoy watching the lower ranked dance teams, like Reed/Ambrulevicius, the very underrated Taschlers, and the always entertaining Arribert teams. They seldom get Grand Prix assignments, so Euros and the occasional Challenger (which may or may not be streamed) are the only opportunities to see them.

 

[Flying Feijoa]

Euros is a nice place to learn about lesser-known coaching teams and choreographers. Although a lot of small fed skaters are actually from, or train in, big skating countries, there are usually quite a few skaters who don't.

Also it's a good opportunity to see new programmes since some of these skaters don't get to go to major international competitions in the first half of the season. As much as I like the top skaters it can get a bit boring to watch the same programmes from top skaters so many times before Worlds/Olympics (e.g. 2x GP, 1x GPF, 1x Nationals), and as for Challengers I only selectively watch programmes from skaters I already know.

 

[lariko]

Euros is a nice place to learn about lesser-known coaching teams and choreographers. Although a lot of small fed skaters are actually from, or train in, big skating countries, there are usually quite a few skaters who don't.

Also it's a good opportunity to see new programmes since some of these skaters don't get to go to major international competitions in the first half of the season. As much as I like the top skaters it can get a bit boring to watch the same programmes from top skaters so many times before Worlds/Olympics (e.g. 2x GP, 1x GPF, 1x Nationals), and as for Challengers I only selectively watch programmes from skaters I already know.

Just wanted to give a nod to your second point. For sure.