Replay Lounge 2025 Skate America

[TallyT]

People have managed to get to events - skating and otherwise - with far more difficulty and expense if they want to. The people who did pay were well and truly stiffed (if not, I gather, as badly as those who paid for the Peacock thing). And the lacklustre level of skating wasn't at all the worst thing.

On the other hand, Starr was lovely and Kevin has his first gold. And I was able to enthuse about the charmingness of the frocks as predicted. I.... think that pretty much sums it up. I did try to be positive folks, but maybe I can keep the unused store of positivity for Finlandia (oh yes, it's all at night.)

 

[Janice4th]

I don't think it is bizarre at all. Many people believe the gap between Rinka with her clean 3A and Alysa with her imperfect 3Lx3Lo combo should be way bigger than 0.5 point, and see the result as a plain flag and reputation favouritism, despite the correct placement.
This is something ISU created themselves. When you reward big jumps, you should reward them consistently., especially that Rinka is also a beautiful skater, and Alysa, with all her undeniable charm, is not really such a PCS queen as judges make her to be, and yesterday it was not her best skate.
Hence the online rage.
Low placement of Kim is another point of dissent, as she is consistently loved by crowds but, alas, not by the judges.

They did reward her TA/TT. But there is more to the scoring than jumps.

 

[Magill]

They did reward her TA/TT. But there is more to the scoring than jumps.

Would Amber be scored the same or differently?
I think we all know the answer.

 

[SmileHappy34]

I paid for my Peacock. I just don't get figure skating on it.
I get my money worth through the other sports , shows, movies, replays that I can watch endlessly even the galas and medal ceremonies of sports

 

[Janice4th]

Would Amber be scored the same or differently?
I think we all know the answer.

Amber does not get any favors in scoring.

 

[Arigato]

How different countries consume sports, movies, and the news has radically changed over the years. I have never had an interest in going to a skating event. Ever. But my interest in the sport has lasted decades. I prefer to watch each performance up close. As close as I can get - right down to the blade's position on the ice. That's why I watch skating on my computer screen with the same event playing on my big screen TV. I watch tennis the same way. And skiing. And several other sports.

The behavior of waving a so-called report in the air claiming a sport—any sport—is on the decline because derrières are not physically planted in an uncomfortable red, blue, or vitamin b2 yellow-colored seat with a bunch of screaming people is lacking in intellectual rigor, as well as integrity. How the population in any country consumes sports differs and will continue to differ. This isn't the 80s or 90s where people gathered around their TV. That was centralized sports viewing. Those days are also long, long gone.

 

[DizzyFrenchie]

Chock and Bates got a dog food commercial! They just played it on the NBC coverage.

Now this won't get out of my mind about them so I think it's as well to spoil you the same way?

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

(The anti-hero of the movie is an actor who got this commercial then realises that he's struck with this image.)

The Umbrella Coup - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Magill]

How different countries consume sports, movies, and the news has radically changed over the years. I have never had an interest in going to a skating event. Ever. But my interest in the sport has lasted decades. I prefer to watch each performance up close. As close as I can get - right down to the blade's position on the ice. That's why I watch skating on my computer screen with the same event playing on my big screen TV. I watch tennis the same way. And skiing. And several other sports.

The behavior of waving a so-called report in the air claiming a sport—any sport—is on the decline because derrières are not physically planted in an uncomfortable red, blue, or vitamin b2 yellow-colored seat with a bunch of screaming people is lacking in intellectual rigor, as well as integrity. How the population in any country consumes sports differs and will continue to differ. This isn't the 80s or 90s where people gathered around their TV. That was centralized sports viewing. Those days are also long, long gone.

I don't think they compare it to 80s or 90s, just to any time before 2022.
Japanese Skating Federation, for example, accumulated a 3 million USD debt since then. Not since the 80s or 90s, just for the last 3 years. They had not been in debt before.
Events which were crowded just a few years ago are half empty now. There were always people who would not go to arenas and rather watch at home, but as they always did that, it does not explain the change.
Financial reports are the only docs here showing some objective reality and not a fan wishful thinking.

 

[Skatingcat]

Going the record here that I liked Rinka's skate the best. Liu's skate felt tired and performative to me.

I'm so mad I didn't get to see Jason Skate.

Chock/Bates all in black made it hard for me to watch their footwork and stuff against the ice. But they did a lovely job nontheless.

Glad Kevin won, not because I like him so much, but because he clearly cares so very, very, much.

 

[Jeanie19]

I don't think they compare it to 80s or 90s, just to any time before 2022.
Japanese Skating Federation, for example, accumulated a 3 million USD debt since then. Not since the 80s or 90s, just for the last 3 years. They had not been in debt before.
Events which were crowded just a few years ago are half empty now. There were always people who would not go to arenas and rather watch at home, but as they always did that, it does not explain the change.
Financial reports are the only docs here showing some objective reality and not a fan wishful thinking.

Do we think Covid caused some of the debt? I mean it hit figure skating hard. And once we could watch in person, some people don't like crowds anymore. Plus financially everything is so expensive, so people cut back on disposable spending.

 

[Mathman]

The ladies saved the day. The top five were a delight. I was so happy for Starr Andrews, This was the finest performance of her career. Clean, controlled, mature, good for her! Good for her!

Anastasia Gubanova was a lovely vision. Lara Naki Gutmann's shark was a blast. Rinka Watanabe got practically nothing for her second triple Axel and seemed a little off on her choreography at times, but she made a statement going forward. Alysa Liu did her Alysa Liu thing.

Wakaba Higuchi skated to MY Way and Wonder Woman. She's my wonder woman -- she did it her way!

 

[Magill]

Do we think Covid caused some of the debt? I mean it hit figure skating hard. And once we could watch in person, some people don't like crowds anymore. Plus financially everything is so expensive, so people cut back on disposable spending

I think it might to some extent, but it's been years since Covid and their debt has been increasing each year.
But it seems TV viewership dropped significantly, too, like Worlds would have been in Top 3 for gathering the biggest section of the audience at the time of live broadcast in Japan and it fell out of the Top 30 - which is like a huge drop. That's why TV networks were complaining to ISU which got reflected in ISU own audit reports. And it was at the time when both Shoma and Kaori were wining Worlds so they could not complain of a lack of patriotic enhancement.
I saw some Japanese fin analysts implying online it was mainly because of the drop in sponsorship money which could be explained by a drop in viewership, both at the venues and on screens.
A poster here suggested it was because FS had to "sponsor" speed skating as they are both a part of JSF, and their income from FS was not enough anymore.
As for the reasons, we can only guess.

 

[Mathman]

Amber does not get any favors in scoring.

This is so true. Amber never gets anything for nothing. Her whole career has been a constant uphill grind.

 

[readernick]

Do we think Covid caused some of the debt? I mean it hit figure skating hard. And once we could watch in person, some people don't like crowds anymore. Plus financially everything is so expensive, so people cut back on disposable spending.

This is the case for almost all live events in America now, isn't it? Beyond American football, it's hard to fill an arena unless the organizers choose a good location and don't overcharge for tickets.

 

[Magill]

This is the case for almost all live events in America now, isn't it? Beyond American football, it's hard to fill an arena unless the organizers choose a good location and don't overcharge for tickets.

But we're not talking just about America. In Europe selling live events is not affected anymore, it goes just as great as ever, but not for FS. Same in Japan.

 

[readernick]

I agree the increasing lack of popularity is a problem for skating but there's no easy solution for this. Get your friends and family involved if you can. I've made my family figure skating fans. Anyway, back to the skating.

My favorite program of the whole competition was the Browns' free dance. I watched it on both Peacock and the ISU stream and both Gabriella Papadakis and Ted also couldn't get enough of it. I think they've learned to perform in competition like they do in practice. Such good SS, edges, and difficult choreo and for a young team they skate in hold a lot. I liked both French teams too ( such a pity they can't both go the Olympics) . Chock/ Bates were a lot better. They take feedback and improve so much through the season each year. They got decent levels in FS from this difficult panel. CPom have never been my cup of tea and they aren't selling their programs this year. You need to be Charlie White to sell that cheesy drama correctly and Ponomarenko does not have the performance skills for it. L/L are great skaters but I hate the RD and the FD is just too much of the same we see from other teams. My favorite program of theirs is still their Rio program from 4/5 years ago. I also quite liked their cheesy Austin Powers program, too. Unlike CPom, they do cheese well!

In general, the women were good here. I think the results were fair enough. But, my favorites were Lara and Starr neither of whom medalled. Lara 's program is just phenomenal and Starr has always been a good performer and today she hit! Love Alysa's spins and her SP. Love Rinka's 3A when landed. Chaeyeon was great in the SP.

Men and pairs were difficult. But, I'm happy for the Champions. I love Kazuki's SP. Jason and Kevin are always a joy to watch. And, Litvintsev's FS was just so entertaining! The Japanese were a different level. So happy for them Canadians!

 

[reneerose]

I watched Starr Andrews free skate. And that is the best and most clean I have ever seen her skate! It was great! I also just caught up a little on the ladies press conference after the free and LOL Alyssa is so humble and honest, like she herself didn't think she skated the best and that tying her laces too tight on her skates is why LOL. Such the free spirit, so sweet! Ladies press conference post free skate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_4ZZKXU_T8

 

[TontoK]

Do any of the people complaining about home cooking in the ladies' event actually bother to look at the protocols?

The US judge scored Alysa 3rd in the free skate, behind both Rinka and Gubanova. THIRD. Meanwhile, the judges from the other podium contender federations - Georgia, Japan, Italy, Korea, plus Germany and France - all scored Alysa first.

Meanwhile, the Japanese judge scored Rinka FIFTH, coming in behind Alysa, Starr, Gubanova, and Gutmann.

You might not agree with the outcome, and I get it, but for the love of God, knock it off with the conspiracy theories. If anything, this appears to be the OPPOSITE of nationalism across the board.

 

[rabidline]

Do any of the people complaining about home cooking in the ladies' event actually bother to look at the protocols?

The US judge scored Alysa 3rd in the free skate, behind both Rinka and Gubanova. THIRD. Meanwhile, the judges from the other podium contender federations - Georgia, Japan, Italy, Korea, plus Germany and France - all scored Alysa first.

Meanwhile, the Japanese judge scored Rinka FIFTH, coming in behind Alysa, Starr, Gubanova, and Gutmann.

You might not agree with the outcome, and I get it, but for the love of God, knock it off with the conspiracy theories. If anything, this appears to be the OPPOSITE of nationalism across the board.

The Japanese judge also scored Rinka THIRD in the SP. That had the cleanest 3A a Japanese adult woman can land at the moment.

The GP circuit has always been fun to watch not because there is one overall conspiracy that everyone falls in line with, but because it's where all the contradictory interests collide with an actual outlet to do something about it, unlike the one-and-done nature of Worlds. And GP circuit leading up to the Olympics is even more messy because of this.

Japan does not want Rinka to score high and win this GP, because that would add another complication to their Olympic team selection process, with their Nationals podium likely to be occupied by Kaori, Mone and Mao Shimada- meaning it will fall on Japan to choose a senior skater for that 3rd spot and it's always a traumatic process for them without an eleventh hour challenger complicating things.

Meanwhile, US actually would love for Rinka to score high and win this GP, because any doubt that can be instilled over Kaori's dominance is a benefit for them. How can you win the OGM when you're not even the undisputed #1 in your country? Oh you won your home GP? Well, lots of Japanese skaters can do that! May we present to you... alternatives? Japan plays hard for Kaori at NHK to make sure she is presented as their #1 with the biggest scores this season, and this is how US responds.

It is nationalism. But every single skater regardless of the flag is useful in their own ways.

 

[DizzyFrenchie]

I didn't watch the Women but the usual proceeding for "cooking" has been, for some time now, that the skater's home country judge wouldn't be caught red-handed and there were reciprocal arrangements; not at judges' level I suppose. After a number of statistics have been released showing country bias, nowadays one will rarely find a judge from a country A being the highest-scoring judge for a skater from the same country A.