2014 U.S. International Figure Skating Classic

[ice coverage]

Congratulations to Max for the three-peat! :yay:

If these scores are official Max will have a new Competition Personal Best as well as Short Program Personal Best after all is said and done.

Max's 2013 Salt Lake SP score was higher. I love Max, of course, but I love accuracy even more.

...

His 2014 and 2013 SLC SP scores for comparison:

2014 // 78.96 = 41.01 + 38.95 - 1.00 deduction

2013 // 81.49 = 44.57 + 36.92 - 0.00 deduction​

 

[essence_of_soy]

We had Steady Sarah. Then Reliable Rachael. If Polina keeps this up what's the alliteration we'll have for her?

Proven Polina?

 

[samson]

All told not a bad skate for Ross. He hit both his triple axels nicely, and he went for the quad. You could tell the altitude was getting to him at the end, he kind of ran out of steam jumps wise. It's well off his personal best pace, but a big improvement from what he was delivering last season. Definitely a step in the right direction for him. I think a lot of these men showed that they have good foundations to build off of for the rest of the season. Hopefully we'll see that come to bare later in the season!

 

[samson]

Proven Polina?

That's a pretty good one. Maybe Polished Polina too?

 

[essence_of_soy]

I imagine he probably still has it long and curly on top and short at the sides. I loathe it.

Me either. The photo of Max on the Ice Network home page makes him look like Kramer from Seinfeld.

 

[samson]

Congratulations to Max for the three-peat! :yay:



Max's 2013 Salt Lake SP score was higher. I love Max, of course, but I love accuracy even more.

aaah ok thanks. Sorry I missed that one. Yeah I was going off of what wikipedia and the ISU site say. All the same, a solid start for him. I will say though after watching both his program I think his biggest weakness is his carriage. I think that's what makes him look like he's not an artistic skater. His focus through his eyes and where is head is pointing has a tendency to be down and towards the ice. If he lifted his eyes and lifted his chin it would do wonders for his presentation style.

I really do enjoy Max's skating but sometimes it almost looks like he's apologizing for what he's doing. I know that's a kind of harsh comment, but I mean it with the best of intentions.

 

[Mrs. P]

All told not a bad skate for Ross. He hit both his triple axels nicely, and he went for the quad. You could tell the altitude was getting to him at the end, he kind of ran out of steam jumps wise. It's well off his personal best pace, but a big improvement from what he was delivering last season. Definitely a step in the right direction for him. I think a lot of these men showed that they have good foundations to build off of for the rest of the season. Hopefully we'll see that come to bare later in the season!

I agree. Ross also got all level 4s, which is pretty noteworthy given that it seem this was a tough tech panel. I think overall, tonight was a much better night for the men then yesterday.

 

[essence_of_soy]

That's a pretty good one. Maybe Polished Polina too?

Thumbs up from me. I like Edmunds. She has Russian flair and the competitive mindset to match which will serve her well, I'm sure.

 

[semosk8tfan]

Medal ceremony: the medals are acrylic but at least they are large enough to see!

 

[ice coverage]

aaah ok thanks. Sorry I missed that one. Yeah I was going off of what wikipedia and the ISU site say. All the same, a solid start for him. ....

Re the ISU site: it would not count SLC scores toward ISU SBs or PBs, if I am not mistaken.

~~~~~

‏@SarahHughesNY

.@MaxTAaron 's #Gladiator program is solid. Looking forward to seeing it's development over the season!! #SLC2014
9:24 PM - 12 Sep 2014
https://twitter.com/SarahHughesNY/status/510645284376825857​

 

[samson]

Well that's a shame about the scores. I thought it might but I'd be curious to know what criteria they use to decide this. Will any of the Challenger Series events be considered?

 

[ice coverage]

Well that's a shame about the scores. I thought it might but I'd be curious to know what criteria they use to decide this. Will any of the Challenger Series events be considered?

AFAIK, Challenger scores will not count toward ISU SBs and PBs. [ETA, correction: never mind what I said re SBs. Thx to BG for the post below.]
But Challenger scores can be used to meet minimum TES for ISU Championships.
And Challenger results earn points toward ISU World Standings.

http://static.isu.org/media/142889/1858-challenger-series-version-april-1-2014.pdf (five pages)​

eta, VIDEOS of Team USA's interviews reacting to their Friday skates are at the link below. (Bonuses: Murakami and the two Canadian dance couples.)

http://skatingmagazineblog.com/2014/09/12/americans-take-home-hardware-on-friday-at-slc2014/​

Individual links for all the reaction interviews:

Senior Men (Free Skate)

Max Aaron (USA) – 161.26 (240.22) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYpITPSSjCk (1:23)
Ross Miner (USA) – 142.72 (209.78) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4hbd9ILFWU (0:51)
Daisuke Murakami (JPN) – 136.11 (204.67) http://youtu.be/oTPAMKjGwJw
Douglas Razzano (USA) – 133.42 (199.57) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgQRbvW1tE0 (1:23)
Jordan Moeller (USA) – 125.60 (189.81) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Glxd-nRUUk (1:27)​

Senior Pairs (Free Skate)

Alexa Scimeca/Chris Knierim – 114.24 (163.24) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=md6zSbXYC6c (1:48)
Jessica Calalang/Zack Sidhu – 104.26 (156.18) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJvorFz_H6M (0:59)
Madeline Aaron/Max Settlage – 90.36 (138.52) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gqp65vYWiiY (0:56)​

Senior Ladies (Short Program)

Polina Edmunds – 63.27 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9vu7qjGsUc (0:30)
Courtney Hicks – 58.90 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLBDIRiOXEM (0:36)
Mirai Nagasu – 55.46 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkJuRNGJrqs (0:36)
Ashley Shin – 49.83 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RuDeoWgKPE (0:23)​

Senior Dance (Short Dance)

Alexandra Aldridge/Daniel Eaton – 54.08 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veohnbwvd5c (1:17)
Nicole Orford/Thomas Williams (CAN) – 53.74 http://youtu.be/Plr5eifpSq4
Marjeve Cyr/Benjamin Brisebois Gaudreau (CAN) – 46.96 http://youtu.be/hIf7hK7MxZQ
Anastasia Cannuscio/Colin McManus – 46.34 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weyfIFfq1HU (1:20)​

 

[breathesgelatin]

My interpretation of the ISU communications is that Challenger Series events can count towards ISU SBs. From the revised criteria document:

http://static.isu.org/media/165576/1894-challenger-series_revised-criteria.pdf

From that document (emphasis mine):

Provided that the above mentioned criteria are met, the event in question will be considered to be
a full part of the ISU Challenger Series with all further consequences, e.g. full ISU contribution,
higher World Standing Points, ranking within the ISU Challenger Series, participating in the
Challenger Series Prize Money etc.

In the case that one discipline within an event of the ISU Challenger Series does not meet the above
mentioned revised minimum number of participants, this discipline will not be considered as part
of the ISU Challenger Event. Consequently no World Standing Points would be awarded for this
discipline and the participants of the discipline in question would not be awarded points for the
special ranking of the series. The event, however, would still count for “Seasons Best Score” and
“Minimum total Technical Score”.

 

[ice coverage]

My interpretation of the ISU communications is that Challenger Series events can count towards ISU SBs. From the revised criteria document:

http://static.isu.org/media/165576/1894-challenger-series_revised-criteria.pdf

From that document (emphasis mine):

Provided that the above mentioned criteria are met, the event in question will be considered to be
a full part of the ISU Challenger Series with all further consequences, e.g. full ISU contribution,
higher World Standing Points, ranking within the ISU Challenger Series, participating in the
Challenger Series Prize Money etc.

In the case that one discipline within an event of the ISU Challenger Series does not meet the above
mentioned revised minimum number of participants, this discipline will not be considered as part
of the ISU Challenger Event. Consequently no World Standing Points would be awarded for this
discipline and the participants of the discipline in question would not be awarded points for the
special ranking of the series. The event, however, would still count for “Seasons Best Score” and
“Minimum total Technical Score”.

Thanks, BG. I stand corrected re ISU SBs. Apologies to samson for my error.

Then would Challenger scores count toward ISU PBs also? :think:

 

[jenaj]

Mirai Nagasu SP
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9ufNgyhUG6A

Mirai's program is really beautiful. Too bad about the combo. But if she hits it, she will be right in the mix. I think she was underscored on PCS.

 

[ice coverage]

More VIDEOs of Senior Men's FS:

~ Max Aaron's Gladiator FS:

http://youtu.be/A1r5RVORMew (8:13)​

~ Daisuke Murakami FS

youtu.be/3NdZUHiCKa8 (8:18)​

~ Ross Miner FS

http://youtu.be/q649lierLrI​

 

[waxel]

Um... a big NO to Polina's program. The elements showed promise and will probably eventually be solid, but artistically and choreographically it is a fail. Terrible music choices, hideously edited. She deserves much better than this shlock.

On the same hand. Max's SP was entirely shlock as well. Does he deserve this or not? I thought starting out that this juvenile piece played to his strength, but it was nearly grotesque... poorly performed and he looked uncomfortable... almost embarrassed... maybe by the choreography, maybe by his execution. Any way you look at it, if Max doesn't have the elements he has nothing else to fall back on. This SP is taking him nowhere. And yes... get a haircut.

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

More VIDEOs of Senior Men's FS:

~ Max Aaron's Gladiator FS:

http://youtu.be/A1r5RVORMew (8:13)​

~ Daisuke Murakami FS

youtu.be/3NdZUHiCKa8 (8:18)​

~ Ross Miner FS

http://youtu.be/q649lierLrI​

Thank you for posting these.

What is up with Max having insanely odd falls at this event. Another bizarre fall and this time he hit the boards.

On the sunny side of things his gladiator program has loads of potential IMO and I wouldn't mind having this music in my head all day where as having Footloose stuck in my head all day was a bit frustrating.

 

[ice coverage]

Thank you for posting these.

What is up with Max having insanely odd falls at this event. Another bizarre fall and this time he hit the boards.

On the sunny side of things his gladiator program has loads of potential IMO and I wouldn't mind having this music in my head all day where as having Footloose stuck in my head all day was a bit frustrating.

Max Aaron on his FS performance (emphasis added):

“It was a push in the right direction. This was about pushing the components out and showing transitions. That was my main goal. I took another fall on something silly, but that’s okay. I’m trying to make things bigger and sometimes that takes me off my balance. I’m learning where those limits are and that’s what it’s going to take.”
http://skatingmagazineblog.com/2014/09/12/americans-take-home-hardware-on-friday-at-slc2014/​

I'm already looking forward to Max's programs at Skate Canada. Can't wait to see his progress both with his SP and FS.

And you're welcome for the vids. (I have not checked whether the same YTer eventually added the five remaining Senior Men's FS.)

eta, VIDEO of Senior Men's medal ceremony is at the link below. Nice to see Max smiling a lot. Ross and he are so chummy , reminding me of how Ross was the first to congratulate Max with a big hug when Max won Boston Nats and Ross placed second.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yleGpqX5AmM (8:10)​

 

[coolboogie22]

Mirai Nagasu SP
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9ufNgyhUG6A

Wow, this was great! and her facial expression looks more like a release person who find a balance in her skating. She reminds me a little bit of Miki Ando, she is elegant in her style and mature.
Tom is great for her. I like him as a coach compare to a lot of people in this forum, I like the work he did for Agnes, Rachael and Max.