Andrew Torgashev

[Absurda]

Yesterday I wrote here that "Andrew's free skate was not too bad, all things considered." As a very big fan who devours all his performances in detail and has listened to his interviews and learned his skating history, I can easily see the subtle differences between performances and recognize the progress he is making. I still am so moved by his Nationals free skate, for all the reasons I already said. I like looking for the positive in general, especially in a Fan Fest.

Today, though, I realized that if you're not a super fan who knows what Andrew has been through all throughout his career, it's very easy to look at that program and say, "Oh, that was terrible." He landed only a 3Lo, a 3F, and a 3Lz+3T. That's it.

Understand you...
I'm not a new fan of Andrew's skating. I got interested in figure skating because of the 2018 Olympics and then found Andrew right away at JGP 2018 I liked him because he's actually dramatic. Not posed, not artificial. Naturally dramatic and passionate.
Oh, and it's a really dramatic experience to be his fan for many years
But I was so happy when he came back. And also when he jumped that 3L-2A. And today l'm happy too, because his jumps in SP looked cristal clean ☺
For me every of his programs is a story that he is able to convey. Each one brings me many images and thoughts. And it’s interesting to explore the feelings he skates about.
But figure skating is a sport. It's funny, you perceive it as art but an athlete needs to jump so you love this all with jumps, skating skills, scores and adrenaline of competitions. In figure skating the sport makes the art more intense in sensations.

A little bit about why I love figure skating, Andrew in this sport and why jumps are important

 

[gsk8]

 

[skatingfan4ever]

Andrew did Andrew things, along with a new sense of reliability. I am so glad Andrew is satisfied with his 4CC free skate. This time the 3T at the beginning looked planned to me. I understand why he wants to add quads, but I hope he realizes that he got PBs in the FS and Total with zero quads attempted, and his SP here, with no quad, got only 5 points less than Lombardia, which had a landed 4S. He finished substantially ahead of Max and Tomoki in points as well as in placement. Now, maybe Andrew can eventually feel this prepared and trained while attempting quads. Time will tell.

The only thing is I felt like his energy choreographically was a little low in the FS, which is completely understandable. He still did really well. I think he feeds off the crowd and this crowd didn't give him much to feed off of. Nonetheless, I so enjoyed watching him completely savor his on-ice bows. He stayed out there a long time and seemed to thank every part of the crowd. I am thrilled with how he skated. He stayed where he was in the standings after the short, which for someone with no quads who isn't Jason Brown, is quite an achievement! I love Andrew's edge quality and speed across the ice. At this competition, I could really notice his training paying off. That was not easy to do, so soon after Nationals, but he seemed very business-like. He was business-like and yet passionate; aggressive and yet very controlled. He seemed to be in a good headspace to compete.

As far as keeping programs, it is up to him of course. But, I hope he doesn't keep both. Only because he loves choreography so much and I would definitely look forward to something new from him. If he keeps one I hope it's the SP (to no one's surprise). If keeping one or both programs will give him comfort in landing quads, then I wouldn't mind. Granted, putting in more quads means maybe taking out bits of choreography since the setups take more time, so it will be interesting to see what Andrew does next season choreographically. And I'm happy that he is committed to training smart. Please, no more injuries.

If I were USFS, I'd make Andrew 1st alternate for Worlds. He currently has lower tech content, but he showed reliability at 4CC. Then again, I hope no alternates are needed. because Andrew needs to rest and heal fully, especially given what he wants to work on in the offseason.

 

[Absurda]

Andrew did Andrew things, along with a new sense of reliability. I am so glad Andrew is satisfied with his 4CC free skate. This time the 3T at the beginning looked planned to me. I understand why he wants to add quads, but I hope he realizes that he got PBs in the FS and Total with zero quads attempted, and his SP here, with no quad, got only 5 points less than Lombardia, which had a landed 4S. He finished substantially ahead of Max and Tomoki in points as well as in placement. Now, maybe Andrew can eventually feel this prepared and trained while attempting quads. Time will tell.

The only thing is I felt like his energy choreographically was a little low in the FS, which is completely understandable. He still did really well. I think he feeds off the crowd and this crowd didn't give him much to feed off of. Nonetheless, I so enjoyed watching him completely savor his on-ice bows. He stayed out there a long time and seemed to thank every part of the crowd. I am thrilled with how he skated. He stayed where he was in the standings after the short, which for someone with no quads who isn't Jason Brown, is quite an achievement! I love Andrew's edge quality and speed across the ice. At this competition, I could really notice his training paying off. That was not easy to do, so soon after Nationals, but he seemed very business-like. He was business-like and yet passionate; aggressive and yet very controlled. He seemed to be in a good headspace to compete.

As far as keeping programs, it is up to him of course. But, I hope he doesn't keep both. Only because he loves choreography so much and I would definitely look forward to something new from him. If he keeps one I hope it's the SP (to no one's surprise). If keeping one or both programs will give him comfort in landing quads, then I wouldn't mind. Granted, putting in more quads means maybe taking out bits of choreography since the setups take more time, so it will be interesting to see what Andrew does next season choreographically. And I'm happy that he is committed to training smart. Please, no more injuries.

If I were USFS, I'd make Andrew 1st alternate for Worlds. He currently has lower tech content, but he showed reliability at 4CC. Then again, I hope no alternates are needed. because Andrew needs to rest and heal fully, especially given what he wants to work on in the offseason

I agree with every word you say ☺

He looked so confident and mature throughout this event l like this kind of Andrew And I'm really proud of him.

Many Russian-speaking spectators appreciate his excellent skating, I know

 

[el henry]

Andrew skated so well at 4CC, with the quick turnaround and so soon after Nats, I am so happy

The quality of all of his moves, his skating skills, his passion. I think it shows the wisdom of "slow and steady wins the race". Do the elements you can do with quality, do them well, and build on that.

I am scared that he will try too much, too soon. He has injured himself in the past, he did not take the time needed to recover (by his own account) and we have not seen his wonderful skating for years due to these injuries. Just recover.

And as much I would love to see new Andrew choreo every year, "L'enfer" is such a great program, I want him to bring it back.

and @Absurda, now that Andrew sits in the KnC with Artem, I would appreciate your linguistic expertise if you hear anything between the two of them.

 

[skatingfan4ever]

Andrew was not invited to the 4CC gala. I did not expect him to be. Romsky and Donovan were, however. But Andrew finished higher than both of these lovely skaters. Oh well.

Andrew definitely enjoyed eating noodles in China and posted a picture on his IG stories. If you don't have IG, click here and then go fullscreen. It's adorable.

I would like Andrew to bring back the 3A+2A he did at Skate America. It was lovely!

 

[Absurda]

I am scared that he will try too much, too soon. He has injured himself in the past, he did not take the time needed to recover (by his own account) and we have not seen his wonderful skating for years due to these injuries. Just recover.

"I aim to train smarter"
"I will focus on strengthening my body until summer"

These are highlights.
I hope Andrew will be consistent in implementing this

 

[Absurda]

And as much I would love to see new Andrew choreo every year, "L'enfer" is such a great program, I want him to bring it back.

and @Absurda, now that Andrew sits in the KnC with Artem, I would appreciate your linguistic expertise if you hear anything between the two of them.

I will gladly translate
But every time when Andrew is in the KnC with Artem or Ilona I can’t hear anything

"L'enfer" is truly a masterpiece!
I know many people who experienced an emotional shock for several days after watching this program

 

[FSluvr]

This is my first post. I was a fan of Andrew before, but seeing his short program at nationals was an unbelievable experience. It was so beautiful to watch. I'm so impressed with his skates at Four Continents- no quads, but such good scores, and after such an exhausting week. I hope he can get some rest and be happy with his performances. I am wondering about the alternate situation for worlds. And, did anyone see any photos from the 4CC banquet?

 

[el henry]

This is my first post. I was a fan of Andrew before, but seeing his short program at nationals was an unbelievable experience. It was so beautiful to watch. I'm so impressed with his skates at Four Continents- no quads, but such good scores, and after such an exhausting week. I hope he can get some rest and be happy with his performances. I am wondering about the alternate situation for worlds. And, did anyone see any photos from the 4CC banquet?

Welcome FSLuvr and please post as much as you can/want to, either here in Andrew Fan Fest or elsewhere in GS

Andrew's SP shows what can happen when a entrancing program is skated clean: magic.

There was a banquet? I would love to see those photos as well.

I don't believe USFS has named alternates to Worlds yet. Andrew has certainly made a case for an alternate, and maybe, thinking ahead, two GP spots next year?

 

[Jeanie19]

I will gladly translate
But every time when Andrew is in the KnC with Artem or Ilona I can’t hear anything

"L'enfer" is truly a masterpiece!
I know many people who experienced an emotional shock for several days after watching this program

Welcome to Golden Skate. Post often. And I truly want Andrew to keep L'enfer for next season.

 

[Absurda]

Welcome to Golden Skate. Post often. And I truly want Andrew to keep L'enfer for next season.

Thanks a lot!
I'm glad to be here and meet other fans of Andrew and figure skating in general

 

[skatingfan4ever]

What a difference a year makes!

When I started posting in this thread one year ago today (yes, I looked it up), it had only 9 pages. It didn't take me very long to read the entire thing. From December 2017 to February 2023, there were only 9 pages of posts in this thread. A big reason for this, I'm sure, was Andrew's injuries and lack of competing. It's incredibly eerie to look back and see how his competitions right before 2023 Nationals did not go very well. But we all know how 2023 Nationals turned out.

Now, one year later, Andrew has done several competitions and we're up to 21 pages. He is competing more and skating some clean programs in the process. Granted, by myself I have over 80 posts and counting, so some of the growth is simply because I have a lot to share. But it's not all me. In the beginning it was almost like @el henry was by herself here. Not anymore!!!

Andrew has made tremendous progress and given fans a lot to celebrate in the last year! May we have many more reasons to celebrate in the coming years. I enjoy hanging out with all of you here.

 

[FSluvr]

I was a little bit surprised that Andrew was named 2nd alternate for worlds. I thought he should have been 1st alternate ahead of Naumov. USFS decided to wait to name alternates until after 4CC. Why? They basically went with the nationals standings. Andrew skated better than Max at 4CC, placed ahead of him, and Andrew's season ranking internationally is 23rd, compared to Max's 87th ranking. In the end, it probably doesn't matter because the chances of an alternate going are pretty low. But, I feel like it would have been encouraging to Andrew to see that USFS views him as the 4th in line. I guess it just means he can start looking forward to next year. I just hope he realizes how amazingly talented he is and what a great year this was, even if it didn't meet all of his goals. He learned that even without a quad, the international judges value and appreciate his skating.

I'm also so glad I found this place and people who value and love Andrew's skating as much as I do!

 

[FSluvr]

I'm also wondering if anyone has a link to his skates at US nationals last year. I can't find them online anywhere.

 

[el henry]

I am so happy for all the company of people who love Andrew's skating (and the page count)

Also to be fair, Andrew did not make it easy in those years when he was injured. His social media presence was not, shall we say, extensive and if I saw one more IG story from Andrew of the beach and the Pacific Ocean ... I wanted to see frozen water. There wasn't much to post.

So here's hoping for more great skating to come in the next season!

 

[skatingfan4ever]

I was a little bit surprised that Andrew was named 2nd alternate for worlds. I thought he should have been 1st alternate ahead of Naumov. USFS decided to wait to name alternates until after 4CC. Why? They basically went with the nationals standings. Andrew skated better than Max at 4CC, placed ahead of him, and Andrew's season ranking internationally is 23rd, compared to Max's 87th ranking. In the end, it probably doesn't matter because the chances of an alternate going are pretty low. But, I feel like it would have been encouraging to Andrew to see that USFS views him as the 4th in line. I guess it just means he can start looking forward to next year. I just hope he realizes how amazingly talented he is and what a great year this was, even if it didn't meet all of his goals. He learned that even without a quad, the international judges value and appreciate his skating.

I'm also so glad I found this place and people who value and love Andrew's skating as much as I do!

YES! I thought about posting something similar but didn't want to sound super negative. Why wait to announce the alternates if you're not going to treat 4CC as a skate-off (which was my interpretation for why they would choose to wait). Yes, Max has quads already and Andrew doesn't at the moment. But score-wise, if Max doesn't land the jumps, Andrew scores higher. He has beat him twice this season, in fact. He finished higher than Max at Skate America despite a short program with two very damaging jump mistakes.

I'm also wondering if anyone has a link to his skates at US nationals last year. I can't find them online anywhere.

I downloaded his Nationals programs last year, through VK links I found on GS. Good thing I found them, because I had completely missed the opportunity to see his SP. Here are both programs, and a bonus surprise, with no commentary at all. Soak it in and enjoy!

2023 Nationals Short Program
2023 Nationals Free Skate

Bonus: 2023 Nationals Short Program Warmup - Andrew's footwork is divine, with any music or no music.

Dropbox does have a download button, if you want your own copies.

I am so happy for all the company of people who love Andrew's skating (and the page count)

Also to be fair, Andrew did not make it easy in those years when he was injured. His social media presence was not, shall we say, extensive and if I saw one more IG story from Andrew of the beach and the Pacific Ocean ... I wanted to see frozen water. There wasn't much to post.

So here's hoping for more great skating to come in the next season!

Yes, I know. And I understand, too. When I'm having a difficult time, or even simply a busy time, the last thing I want to do is post about it. That wasn't a judgment on my part, of Andrew or of any of his fans. It's simply interesting to notice the differences in the thread now, which have happened quite naturally as things have changed/progressed for Andrew.

 

[ladyjane]

Thank you @skatingfan4ever. I recall hearing about Andrews great FS last year but couldn't watch, and now here it is and it is sublime. I liked watching this year as well, don't get me wrong, but what a skate!

 

[Absurda]

I was a little bit surprised that Andrew was named 2nd alternate for worlds. I thought he should have been 1st alternate ahead of Naumov. USFS decided to wait to name alternates until after 4CC. Why? They basically went with the nationals standings. Andrew skated better than Max at 4CC, placed ahead of him, and Andrew's season ranking internationally is 23rd, compared to Max's 87th ranking. In the end, it probably doesn't matter because the chances of an alternate going are pretty low. But, I feel like it would have been encouraging to Andrew to see that USFS views him as the 4th in line. I guess it just means he can start looking forward to next year. I just hope he realizes how amazingly talented he is and what a great year this was, even if it didn't meet all of his goals. He learned that even without a quad, the international judges value and appreciate his skating.

I'm also so glad I found this place and people who value and love Andrew's skating as much as I do!

But Andrew needs this time to recover.

He planned to take the off-season after the national championship last year. But he got the opportunity to participate in the World Championship. And then in September he said
"The last months were good, but I actually was injured again, and was off the ice from May to July as I has a stress fracture in the back, I skated with that for four months and it just went unnoticed. I thought I was just sore but finally got it checked when it didn’t go away."

So this means he continued to train and compete with a fracture in his back that was not identified. All this time during Challenge Cup and the World Championship his back hurt.

At that time he had no opportunity to recover. Now the long off-season gives him this opportunity. U.S. Figure Skating needs Andrew healthy for next season. We all need Andrew healthy.

 

[noskates]

Naumov has the quads!!! Maybe "they" figured he had a chance to be more competitive internationally. I like the idea of Andrew having time to get healthy though.