Random thoughts on TEB | Golden Skate

Random thoughts on TEB

Anna

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 26, 2004
Since I've been concentrating on photography this time (everything, but FD can be found at http://photo.fsonline.ru/main.php?g2_itemId=17426, I'll add FD later today or tomorrow), I did not keep any notes at all, so I could only share some general impressions from the competition.

Pairs

It was great to see Mukhortova-Trankov doing what as well might be their first clean competition ever. Could not have picked up a better place and time to do it if they tried, the first major event of the Olympic year and with reigning World Champions in attendance... I still think that Love Story is far from ideal choice for them (not to mention with OG in Canada I cannot imagine it going well with the local public), but apparently it is the music that Maria has always dreamed about and this year Vasiliev has decided to grant her her wish. Seems that it worked, cannot wait for Skate Canada to see if they keep it up. And major kudos for them for 'fixing' their triple twist. It used to be quite bad, but now it almost as good as Chinese.

Speaking of 3Tw, I don't see any progress in Dube-Davison's one, not even close to clear catch, and their Th3Lz was MIA: both at the warm up and in the performance it was the same 'hopeless' doublefooted landing... Having said that their new LP is really "the way they were" then they won bronze at Worlds. Soft, lyrical with decent amount of transitions... Just lovely. I'm not that certain about their SP, though (what's up with dozens of "Requiem for a dream"s during the Olympic year? There is your optimism, people?).

Speaking of 3Tw, what's up with Savchenko-Szolkowy's one? The quality has really deteriorated, the catch was not clear at all in the SP and they only did double in the LP (they did it at Nebelhorn as well). Did not prevents them from getting a couple +2 GOE in SP, though... I like the way they carry the clown theme throughout their SP, but I'm not as impressed with their LP. Of course, that was definitely not the performance to judge the program, but it seems to be quite monotonous without the benifit of being enchanting like their L'Oiseaux was. And is it just me or could one really hear the lyrics in the last few seconds? It seems they were as puzzled about possible reasons for the disaster. I've seen missed death spirals several times, but I guess it was the first time I saw anyone fall on the spiral. It was odd how she fell in absolutely the same way both times, may be there is an injury or there was something wrong with the blade.

Can anyone tell me with whom Inoue-Baldwin are working now? I kind of lost of the track on them in the past couple of years, but they (well, her) were really great in Paris. Th3A was absolutely clean and effortless, but even without it, it was amazing. I don't think I've ever seen her skating with so much passion, power and precision. Made me wonder who thought that putting him in front is a good choice for step sequences? She is just soo much better... I wish they could go to Olympics, because other than McLaughlin-Brubaker, I don't really remember any other US team being great. Costelli-Shnapir were good enough, but nothing really stood out about them.

Both French couples were Ok, but Bonheur's footwork during lifts is still scary. Chinese couple have the elements, but not much of anything else.
 
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merrybari

Final Flight
Joined
Oct 21, 2007
Inoue/Baldwin are training with Jenny Meno and Todd Sand.

Here's a few random thoughts myself. The two most standout men performers/performances for me were Adam Rippon - both programs and Oda's Chaplin. All delightful. I do think Od'as FS scores were a bit inflated and will wait to see if they hold up at his next event.

I think Oda's SP is too ponderous for him. Looks like he's having to work too hard to make it happen.

Brian - where in the world are his jumps? With them gone he doesn't have much else to support him imo. Think he'd be better served with a new SP but it's a bit late now. I don't see much progress since Worlds.

The one I feel really sad about is Ryan Bradley. He looked lost on the ice to me. No sparkle - no "it" factor. I think he's trying too hard, and I think it's sad that someone on his team hasn't helped him elevate his PCS. Not even one in the 6s.

Samuelson and Bates were also a delight and will be ones to watch in future. Virute/Moir deservedly stole the show.

Pairs don't excite me much but I was surprised at the upset.

Ladies. Kim is virtually unbeatable and certainly pure joy to watch. Eclipses the field easily. Gilles did very well at her first outing.
 

A.H.Black

Final Flight
Joined
Feb 1, 2004
Inoue/Baldwin are training with Jenny Meno and Todd Sand.

I was very aware of the influence of Todd and Jenni on their skating. The arabesque hold and turn out after the 2/axels was pure Meno and Sand (and by extension - Mr. Nicks). I like both of Rena and John's programs.

The theme of coaching influence ran all through the competition for me.

-Oda's short program was very reflective of Marozov to me - especially the step sequence.

-Adam Rippon's short was soo Brian Orser for me.

-Mao's programs were so Tarasova that Mao almost disappeared.

Sometimes the influences are good. Sometimes they aren't.
 

dorispulaski

Wicked Yankee Girl
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Country
United-States
If Meno and Sand could fix I&B's twist just a bit more and get John to land his 3T more often, they could definitely make the US Olympic team. Heck if M&B don't turn it up a notch from last year (which granted they suffered from injuries), I&B could win US Nationals a 3rd time.

May I say that all of Rena's throws were :love::rock::rock: at this event!!

Another effect of M&S's coaching of I&B would be that they are again getting level 3 and 4 for pair spins, spirals, SBS spins and steps. Even one of their death spirals got back to level 3. There is definitely a plus to being coached by a guy (Todd) who is a technical specialist.

I liked both of their programs, particularly the SP.

I imagine the reason you put the less powerful partner out front is so that the more powerful partner doesn't inadvertently speed away from them, leaving a large space between the team members (a no no in step sequences.
 

jcoates

Medalist
Joined
Mar 3, 2006
I/B definitely had a new softness to their skating. I was very pleased with them.

Regarding their twist, I think Meno and Sand are the perfect coaches to help I/B fix their issues for the following reason. Jenni and Todd's twist was never the highest, but all the mechanic were very correct so they usually go the most out of it. Because John is not significantly taller than Rena, they will need to employ similar measures to make their own twist cleaner and more consistent. Hopefully they will succeed.

It would be nice to see V/M smooth out some of their lifts as the season progresses. Most seemed very busy and not always the best fit for the theme or the music (especially the no-hands lift).
 

Trewyn

Medalist
Joined
Dec 10, 2008
Because John is not significantly taller than Rena, they will need to employ similar measures to make their own twist cleaner and more consistent.

Is that a typo??? Rena is soo petite and John is taller than average.

I liked Inoue and John very much at TEB; their 3A was the most amazing thing I've seen in the competition. I captured some very nice photos of them; they are very sweet together!

Other random thoughts; Adam Rippon is great! And he's also great with his fans; he took ages to give everyone and autograph and smiled for every picture. Voronov on the other hand completely ignored the screaming little girls that ran to him for his autograph. Rena and Inoue were also very kind with the fans; as well as the entire French team (though I think nobody saw Brian).

Caroline Zhang's programs are quite boring... And the crowd just laughs at her mule kick. I was so sorry that Carolina couldn't get it together because I think she's a lovely, elegant skater. Her dresses look good this year too. The most pretty dresses (as seen from the audience) were without a doubt Yu Na's FS dress, Rena and Tessa's FS/FD dresses!
 
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Joined
Mar 14, 2006
The comments here made me check out I&B's programs, rather unwillingly. You guys were right. I couldn't be more surprised to see their improvement. They are positively lovely to watch and they have two very attractive programs. Kudos to them and their new coaches. Woo hoo! :rock:
 

Buttercup

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 25, 2008
Continuing on with the I/B and pairs theme, I was pleasantly surprised by the pairs short (I wasn't there for the LPs). There were some lovely performances by pairs I didn't really expect to skate that well, not to mention S/S and M/T had wonderful SPs. The ladies' SP was also a nice surprise, I expected the top skaters to be good but the lower ranked ladies weren't too bad either.

Merrybari, if you're reading this, you were right - I don't know how I'll go back to watching on tv! Though Eurosport seems to have taken care of that for me :scowl:.

My last random thought is that there was a real disconnect between the judging and quite a few of the performances (or at least, the performances as perceived by the audience). The judging for men's SP was especially strange. :unsure:
 

Buttercup

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 25, 2008
How full was the arena of fans?
For the SP, the judges' side was pretty sparse, but then I'm not sure fans could access it. The other side was almost totally packed through the ladies', and pretty full during the ODs. I imagine there were more people for the LPs and the gala, but I wasn't one of them so I can't really say ;).
 

seniorita

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 3, 2008
In men's LP it was not full but quite lots of people, by ladies time there was no free seat and at the side of the judges it was almost full.
In ladies there was the biggest party with fans shouting, clapping , banners and stuff! Gala was full.
Queues to do anything in Bercy were pretty big, I somehow managed to miss all medal ceremonies, I got pretty upset.:scowl:
After Rostel I think I would not want to watch fs again for sometime on tv, it is too much of an overdose, especially if you stay from noon till night with no intervals (which I couldnt do, my head was ready to explode)!
And I have enough Alllleeeeeeeeeeeeez for a life time;)
Side effects of watching FS live is jumping on the street half loops..has it ever happened to anyone else?:laugh:
Glad I met the girls from here:)
 

*Sniper*

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 17, 2006
Anna, thank you for sharing your great photos! :thumbsup:

I have to say though, some of the ladies' costumes seem to have exposed more skin than I've ever seen collectively in one competition (not counting dancing). :confused:

Maybe I never paid enough attention to it before, but I was :eek: when I saw Elene G's SP catsuit, which had half of her chest bare.
The Polish lady had a pretty low cut SP dress on.
Then of course, Carolina Kostner. :eek::eek::eek:
That was a major wardrobe malfunction in SP, and then her LP dress did nothing to disguise her sweaty armpits, which I had never noticed happening to any skater before, either.

And in Pair's FS, Dube's uhm.... yeah her tits didn't help at all convey the mood they were going for.
:scratch:
 

*Sniper*

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 17, 2006
In men's LP it was not full but quite lots of people, by ladies time there was no free seat and at the side of the judges it was almost full.
In ladies there was the biggest party with fans shouting, clapping , banners and stuff! Gala was full.
Queues to do anything in Bercy were pretty big, I somehow managed to miss all medal ceremonies, I got pretty upset.:scowl:
After Rostel I think I would not want to watch fs again for sometime on tv, it is too much of an overdose, especially if you stay from noon till night with no intervals (which I couldnt do, my head was ready to explode)!
And I have enough Alllleeeeeeeeeeeeez for a life time;)
Side effects of watching FS live is jumping on the street half loops..has it ever happened to anyone else?:laugh:
Glad I met the girls from here:)

:rofl: Like trying karate chops after watching Bruce Lee movies. :biggrin:

I envy people who manage to go and catch these things live.
I live in Los Angeles right now and about 10 minutes away from the Staples Center where the World Championships were held this March.
I was too lazy to even look up for ticket prices.
 

*Sniper*

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 17, 2006
Did you really just say that? :confused:

Yes..... what are you saying? :confused:
You didn't notice them at all??? (if you watched their free, that is.)
I guess the top part of her dress was fitted too tight, or she just has large chest.
But it was definitely way past noticeable.

Considering the tone of their music and the rest of their get-up, I don't believe it was intentional.
Of course, if they knew and didn't mind it at all, then I have nothing more to add to this subject.
 

i love to skate

Medalist
Joined
Dec 13, 2005
Yes..... what are you saying? :confused:
You didn't notice them at all??? (if you watched their free, that is.)
I guess the top part of her dress was fitted too tight, or she just has large chest.
But it was definitely way past noticeable.

Considering the tone of their music and the rest of their get-up, I don't believe it was intentional.
Of course, if they knew and didn't mind it at all, then I have nothing more to add to this subject.

Girls have breasts...they are normally noticeable. I don't quite get what the problem is...
 

*Sniper*

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 17, 2006
Girls have breasts...they are normally noticeable. I don't quite get what the problem is...

Uhm... her tits... as if she was wearing no bra.
Okay, never mind.
I guess I was just overly struck by it because apart from dancing, I had never noticed the ladies wearing anything that reveals too much.

Oh, and to add, also because they were skating to "The Way We Were" and were basically dressed up like Amish people, especially Jessica with her hair and everything.
 
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sillylionlove

Medalist
Joined
Oct 27, 2006
Yikes!!! (about the boobs...and seriously....if we are going down that road..I will just say this...Elene!!

Anyway here are my thoughts about the TEB....

Adam Rippon....You have a new fan here!! A really huge fan!! I never really followed juniors that closely and maybe I should have!!

Carolina...apparently coaching was not her issue her head is! I was like deja vu from worlds...but in a smaller time frame!

Brian....he claims he needs more training..I am going to say he needs a better excuse, a new costume that doens't include netting and some new music.

S&S.....I have never seen anyone falls on those moves! That's just bad really bad. They almost looked like they wanted to stop their program....maybe they should have...and really the clown faces in the short...bad just bad!!

D&D..it's an ok program but Jamie and David you are not.

Yu-Na....why bother going to the Olympics...just take the gold medal now....stay home and let them battle it out for the silver and bronze.

Inoue and Baldwin...whatever you do...don't ever leave Jenni and Todd! You were like a new pair team out there!!

Dance......please who picked folk music...if I heard another country and western song or music I was going to scream!! I am sure there are like 10 other teams out there using country and western music.....please rethink this. It was like three in a row at TEB! And I would also like to add Russian folk music in there as well.
 
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Buttercup

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 25, 2008
Yikes!!! (about the boobs...and seriously....if we are going down that road..I will just say this...Elene!!
Yes, Elene has breasts. She's curvier than most female skaters. Should she hide this? That's such a great message to younger girls in the sport :rolleye:.

Adam Rippon....You have a new fan here!! A really huge fan!! I never really followed juniors that closely and maybe I should have!!
You should have. He was even better at 2009 Junior Worlds. If you are going to follow juniors, check out Yuzuru Hanyu, who's just fantastic and not yet 15.

Brian....he claims he needs more training..I am going to say he needs a better excuse, a new costume that doens't include netting and some new music.
Saying you need more training is not an excuse. Blaming external reasons is an excuse. He probably does need more training; he's been so focused on getting his LP right, it's probably a distraction by now.

So true about the SP costume. The amazing thing is that it is even worse in person - shinier and more see-through. I wish he'd wear something simple and athletic like he does for exhibitions.
D&D..it's an ok program but Jamie and David you are not.
That's a good thing.

Dance......please who picked folk music...if I heard another country and western song or music I was going to scream!! I am sure there are like 10 other teams out there using country and western music.....please rethink this. It was like three in a row at TEB! And I would also like to add Russian folk music in there as well.
Folk ODs were awesome! It was so voidy. I had a fantastic time watching and the costumes were hilarious. :rock:
 
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