Pairs long.

[fumie_fumie]

OMG YAY

Yay! Another yay for D/D.

And congratulations. Duhamel and Buntin. Not bad for the first Worlds, eh?

 

[sillylionlove]

Way to go D/D!! I am so happy for them.

As for S/S...well that's a whole other story. Can't wait to see these programs.

 

[Saundy]

WOOOOOOOO!!! Sooooo happy for Dube and Davison! Finally we have another pairs team that can contend with the world and perform. This just made my day!

 

[mizu_iro]

Interview - Robin says "well we were not perfect but in the end it was enough" - they don't seem 100% convinced of it. Aliona continues to look a bit perplexed.

 

[c_e_ahlen]

Does anyone have the points?

 

[rain]

Yay for D/D winning bronze. With the Russians landing the quad throw I thought it was over. Still grinding my teeth over S/S's big win with such a sloppy, error-filled program (and not small errors, either). Disappointing performance for a gold-medal.

 

[inskate]

The judging is crazy!!!

I actually preferred K/S over S/S,,,

Congrats to D/D for medalling, but my joy is spoiled by crack judging in both ladies and pairs. I used to be able to predict how well a program will score, not anymore!

 

[mizu_iro]

Top 8:
1 Aliona SAVCHENKO / Robin SZOLKOWY
GER
202.86 2 1
2 Dan ZHANG / Hao ZHANG
CHN
197.82 1 3
3 Jessica DUBE / Bryce DAVISON
CAN
192.78 4 2
4 Yuko KAWAGUCHI / Alexander SMIRNOV
RUS
191.33 3 4
5 Qing PANG / Jian TONG
CHN
186.78 5 5
6 Meagan DUHAMEL / Craig BUNTIN
CAN
169.61 7 6
7 Maria MUKHORTOVA / Maxim TRANKOV
RUS
166.64 6 9
8 Anabelle LANGLOIS / Cody HAY
CAN
164.67 9 7

 

[rosee]

I still can't believe that they won the bronze They had the second TES of the night! If that doesn't show they are strong technicians!

D&D must learn triple twist.

I'm sure they'll put it next season because they are already landing it in practice

 

[_Ladybug_]

Interview - Robin says "well we were not perfect but in the end it was enough" - they don't seem 100% convinced of it. Aliona continues to look a bit perplexed.

Yes, they hardly believe it. Maybe Z/Z had some downgrades? Maybe S/S had insanely high +GOES for their lovely throws. I can't wait to have their protocols.

 

[merrybari]

Not having seen ANY of the competition but reading here, once again it sounds like the judging needs a MAJOR overhaul.

Hope the ISU really addressses this come summer. There's lots that needs to be fixed.

This sort of thing is what keeps figure skating from having any credibility in the world of sports. ARGHHH!!

That said, congrats to D/D - they are a charming pair with very good presence and a bright future.

Also congrats to I/B and C/O of the US - neither of whom skated in any competitions prior to US Nationals - in securing two spots for next year.

What a worlds! :scratch:

 

[museksk8r]

Interview - Robin says "well we were not perfect but in the end it was enough" - they don't seem 100% convinced of it. Aliona continues to look a bit perplexed.

Oh, that's such a shame to feel like you were gifted a World Championship. It seems even they think Zhang/Zhang were robbed. Hopefully, skating fans place the blame on the judges and not on S/S. Protocols would be very helpful right now to figure out exactly what Z/Z were downgraded on.

 

[Jasper]

This is the first time I've EVER felt this -

I want CoP to be scrapped. It's not working. The judges are confused or just simply not fair. The performance mark is a joke. The technical mark is also a joke. The whole thing is a joke. We need something different.

 

[skatingfan04]

Yay! Congratz to Dube/Davison on a BEAUTIFUL free skate and a bronze medal!Well deserved. As for the German's, I really like them, but I'm upset. Now way did they deserve to win, especially with that score. hwell: That being said, I still love them and I have a tremendous amount of respect for them. Even they looked perplexed, and a little unhappy on the podium. Oh well, congratulations to them anyhow. They have been the best overall this season.

 

[Bruin714]

For me, Pang and Tong skated best tonight, cleanest. Not being in the last group really hurt their PCS scores.

 

[mizu_iro]

This is the first time I've EVER felt this -

I want CoP to be scrapped. It's not working. The judges are confused or just simply not fair. The performance mark is a joke. The technical mark is also a joke. The whole thing is a joke. We need something different.

I don't know. The judging wasn't that bad with the exception of gifting the Germans...but hoo boy were they gifted.

 

[feraina]

That was totally ridiculous. I don't remember a single good-looking element from S/S aside from the first throw triple. Even the spins were out of sync. I thought she was going to fall at one point when she was getting out of a lift -- he was just cradling her, it was a total gaffe. And they didn't show any of their usual polish, speed, or flow. That was absolutely unbelievable.

I thought they deserved to go behind D/D, who skated almost flawlessly, if with slightly less difficult content.

I hope this inspires a total revamp of IJS!

 

[kappa_1]

I disagree that S/S didn't deserve the win. Yes they stumbled out of a couple jumps but remember they were fully rotated. They were also more into their music tonight than they have been all season. They did all of the other major elements with no problems. Some posters are making it seem like they stumbled all over the place. Their throws and many other elements were all solid. The Zhangs were sloppy tonight and had absolutely no connection with the music whatsoever. They didn't seem to skate with the same speed as usual. She also singled her 2A. Their footwork was slow and clumsy, and they skated out their like two different individuals who happened to be out on the same patch of ice at the same time. D/D had the performance of the night but taking all things into consideration S/S deserved to be first.

 

[Jasper]

S/S were very off tonight on the jumps and the spins. They didn't sing together, the pressure got to them even though the Gold was up for grabs because Z/Z only scored a 197. I know they will be bummed because they are perfectionists and have had much cleaner skates this season.

Honestly though, what were both Z/Z and S/S thinking this year with their LPs? Just absolutely terrible musical selections. I think S/S's music was even worse and more boring and blah than Z/Z's, which is hard to do! I think the Germans will win Worlds eventually, but hopefully with a fun program...

This is what I wrote right after S/S's performance. Little did I know they would have the Worlds title in about ten minutes. My goodness, I just can't get over it. They are nice people but should not have won at all.

 

[mizu_iro]

Protocols are out.

The Germans received positive GOEs on everything but their jump sequence (-1.29 for Aliona's wild landing on the first and Robin's stepout on the second, which isn't enough I think) and the 3S (judged as a fall). All of their lifts were judged level 4s, except the triple twist was a level 2. Their throws also got high GOEs - 1.56 on the flip (too low) and 1.00 on the salchow (about right). Their steps were level 3.

Dube & Davison got level 2 on their twist and level 4s on everything else save the steps (level 3). They got a very small -GOE for the throw lutz (0.50) and everything else was positive GOE. This looks about correct - they were kept behind by their lower base mark.

The Zhangs were hurt by level 1 on their steps (ABSOLUTELY) and negative GOEs on their SBS jump elements. Their triple twist only merited a level 1, and their spiral sequence, spins and one of their lifts were level 3 (as opposed to 4 for the Germans and Canadians).

Kawaguchi/Smirnov were hurt by level 1 on their steps (I think at least level 2) and twist. The 3T sequence really hurt them (credit for just 1 3T at 80% value and negative GOE) and they had one level 3 lift, level 4 on all other elements. The quad received very slight negative GOE.

Pang/Tong - OK, THIS is where the judging was seriously screwed up. Underrotation calls on the 3T and the second 2A in their sequence, which I don't think were deserved. Apparently one of them only did a single axel on the first one - didn't catch that. Their triple twist was also level 1, as was their pairs spin (I think it was at least level 3, in comparison to the other teams) and their spiral sequence was level 3 as well.

I don't necessarily think it was the judging. I think it was more the technical caller's fault. The Zhangs have been getting higher levels all season.