Pairs Short Program: 2013 NHK Trophy | Page 4 | Golden Skate

Pairs Short Program: 2013 NHK Trophy

A.H.Black

Final Flight
Joined
Feb 1, 2004
The best thing about these late night/early morning competitions is the quality of the posts from people who actually stay up/get up to watch and post. I don't think there's one crabby or rude post yet. I'm sure there will be later, but I will be grateful for the nice-ness of the last 4+ pages.
 

gold12345

Medalist
Joined
Dec 14, 2007
V/T's big elements look so solid and precise right now, you just hope they can do them the exact same way in Sochi. Extraordinarily impressive.
 

wordsworthgirl

Medalist
Joined
Sep 12, 2013
The best thing about these late night/early morning competitions is the quality of the posts from people who actually stay up/get up to watch and post. I don't think there's one crabby or rude post yet. I'm sure there will be later, but I will be grateful for the nice-ness of the last 4+ pages.

I agree! :) hi everyone! I'm up to watch the mens now too. and it's 2:22 am where I am! :) Thankfully I can sleep in tomorrow.
 
Joined
Jan 22, 2004
The best thing about these late night/early morning competitions is the quality of the posts from people who actually stay up/get up to watch and post. I don't think there's one crabby or rude post yet. I'm sure there will be later, but I will be grateful for the nice-ness of the last 4+ pages.

Reverse psychology. Now I feel like posting something incredibly bitchy. :D

(It's incredible I am not crabby, given Pairs SP started at 6:50am for me and I haven't managed to get any sleep last night ;P)
 

Mrs. P

Uno, Dos, twizzle!
Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 27, 2009
I agree! :) hi everyone! I'm up to watch the mens now too. and it's 2:22 am where I am! :) Thankfully I can sleep in tomorrow.

West coast is the best coast, ha. Just kidding. 11:25 p.m. here. :) We'll see how long I'll last.
 

wordsworthgirl

Medalist
Joined
Sep 12, 2013
West coast is the best coast, ha. Just kidding. 11:25 p.m. here. :) We'll see how long I'll last.

I love West Coast too. I'm on East Coast. I work from home and can sleep in tomorrow so stayed up in order to be send live good luck and stay on your feet vibes to Jeremy and Adam (and Max).
 
Joined
Jan 22, 2004
Re: Volosozhar/Trankov

I would go with GOE 0 on the lift (Maxim's weight got too far forward and his footwork was a little off-balance) and not higher than +1 on the change combination spin (it lacked speed) but all other elements were really incredible. Jumps in particular. High, solid landings with good speed and flow out. They don't really get any better than this.

The program is good as well. Skated to the music, with movements in character, it looks and feels like a waltz.
 

Ilvskating

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 30, 2010
V/T skated a great SP. All the elements were big and effortless. That being said I like the technical panel for this competition for calling V/T's twist correctly as a level 3. I've been confused about the level 4 call for the twist for V/T because she didn't have the split (45degree for each leg from the body axis) no did she put her hand/arm (s)ove her head for at least one revolution. As far as I have seen, Sui/Han is the only pair who does level 4 twist because she keeps her arm above her head for the entire twist. I haven't notice any team does that or any team who has a real two-leg split, quit a few can get the over 90 degree, but not for a combination of two >45.

OK, that's for killing the time in between, off to the Man's competition now:)
 

ice coverage

avatar credit: @miyan5605
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
The best thing about these late night/early morning competitions is the quality of the posts from people who actually stay up/get up to watch and post. I don't think there's one crabby or rude post yet. I'm sure there will be later, but I will be grateful for the nice-ness of the last 4+ pages.

Agree :agree: ... with the footnote that at least some of the "nice guys/gals" who have been on this thread prob. are in different time zones from us American night owls. ;)
 

Mao88

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 9, 2011
PAIRS SHORT PROGRAM - VIDEOS (By Starting Order)

Warm-Up Group 1

1. Narumi TAKAHASHI / Ryuichi KIHARA (JPN)
2. Anastasia MARTIUSHEVA / Alexei ROGONOV (RUS)
3. Cheng PENG / Hao ZHANG (CHN) Short Program, 2nd Copy
4. Haven DENNEY / Brandon FRAZIER (USA) Short Program, 2nd Copy

Warm-Up Group 2

5. Wenjing SUI / Cong HAN (CHN) Short Program, 2nd Copy
6. Marissa CASTELLI / Simon SHNAPIR (USA) Short Program
7. Paige LAWRENCE / Rudi SWIEGERS (CAN) Short Program
8. Tatiana VOLOSOZHAR / Maxim TRANKOV (RUS) Short Program, 2nd Copy

RESULT

Overall Result, Segment Result, Protocols
 

BounceAround

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 8, 2013
I was shocked by how good Cheng and Hao and Wenjing and Cong were. The Chinese pairs school is making a successful push to address the historically been weak areas of its "school".

Cheng has lovely, fluid arms, and her costume looks much better when she's moving through the air than it does in photos. Although her lower-body movement and positioning are weaker, I enjoyed the program and the music(!). Hao, as always, is not only a reliable partner but a presence of his own. I hope they stay together even if they don't make the Olympic team.

I do have one question regarding Cheng and Hao - Both seem to skate with good knee bend, carriage, speed, and edges, but it looks like they make quite an effort in some of their crossovers. Can anyone explain how a smooth glide is technically distinct from those other aspects of skating (or how my analysis is flawed)? Thank you. I'm happy to have found this site!
 

Mao88

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 9, 2011
PAIRS SHORT PROGRAM - VIDEOS (By Starting Order) - Updated

Warm-Up Group 1

1. Narumi TAKAHASHI / Ryuichi KIHARA (JPN) Short Program
2. Anastasia MARTIUSHEVA / Alexei ROGONOV (RUS) Short Program
3. Cheng PENG / Hao ZHANG (CHN) Short Program, 2nd Copy
4. Haven DENNEY / Brandon FRAZIER (USA) Short Program, 2nd Copy

Warm-Up Group 2

5. Wenjing SUI / Cong HAN (CHN) Short Program, 2nd Copy
6. Marissa CASTELLI / Simon SHNAPIR (USA) Short Program, 2nd Copy
7. Paige LAWRENCE / Rudi SWIEGERS (CAN) Short Program
8. Tatiana VOLOSOZHAR / Maxim TRANKOV (RUS) Short Program, 2nd Copy

RESULT

Overall Result, Segment Result, Protocols
 

tung

Rinkside
Joined
Oct 26, 2013
Yes, Wenjing and Cong and the new pair of Cheng and Hao are doing great. They have officially a new coach, in the person of the Olympic Champ, in Vancouver, ZhaoHongBo. The Olympic Champ is the new head coach of pairs in Chinese National Team setup, while his wife just gave birth to a baby, but took on ice again, barely a month after birthing. What a dedicated pair of skaters.
This dedication is not automatic for skaters, even for state supported Chinese National Team skaters. Back in long history, ChenLu won the 1998 World Championship, but did not opt for national team coaching position, intead went to US, tried the professional circuit first, then tried setting up skating school in west coast US. Spent several years in the diaspora. Eventually went back to China, home, then jumped in as head coach of commercial rink in ShenZhen's shopping mall, classy, and expensive setup, married Russian husband Denis Petrov, have two kids. But then she tried only amateurs, and not very productive at that, since 2008. Not new promising skaters came from her rink academy, though.
But in ladies singles field, China is in deep doldrum. Their brightest star LiZiJun, got hurt in China Cup, last week, as a sign of her retrogressing skating condition. Their ladies came last three out of the total eight. LiZiJun was said to be burnt out, at the tender age of 16. Their absence is outstanding for NHK competition.
By many observers' opinion, Chinese skating, and also Chinese Olympic competitive sports overall, is in deep trouble, not because of lack of talents, but because of systemic obsolescent drawbacks in the national sports setup. Top and rare talents are put into rigid sports establishments when young, in military training style, closed and severe, for many years. This rigid and severe system worked in the old days of material insufficiency, and relative poverty before. But in todays' blooming overt wealthy society, with lots of fast cars, and fast women and men going around, the top talents, intelligent and smart to the core, rebelled under the old system, which is not changing fast enough to suit their style and mentality. And therefore the blowouts between coaches and top talented atheletes abound in Chinese sports news.

It was said that ChenLu was smart enough to recognize that there were and presently no environment for nurturing a good long lasting Chinese ladies' champ, like herself (her dad was a professional ice hockey man, supporting mom), and therefore went all hog for the money in commercial rink operation, instead of helping to train for the next generation Chinese skating champions.
 

bigsisjiejie

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 22, 2009
It was said that ChenLu was smart enough to recognize that there were and presently no environment for nurturing a good long lasting Chinese ladies' champ, like herself (her dad was a professional ice hockey man, supporting mom), and therefore went all hog for the money in commercial rink operation, instead of helping to train for the next generation Chinese skating champions.

The way I heard the story, Chen Lu and the Chinese Skating Federation were on miserable terms for years, and they didn't really want her anywhere near Beijing training potential national-caliber skaters...unless it was on their terms. I'm sure those terms weren't favorable to her bank account, nor to her mind or soul. Shenzhen, at the opposite end of the country's wealthy cities belt, left enough territory between the two that they didn't have to deal with each other at least not regularly. I've never heard any mention from Chen Lu herself that she regrets not being part of the national team coaching staff, so if anybody can find comments from her to that effect, I'd be interested to see it.

It is a shame though, that the ladies' program in China just can't get any legs under it like the pairs' program seems to manage. I actually think that Cheng/Zhang will end up above Sui/Han in the pecking order of Chinese pairs, by end of this season. Just a feeling....
 

tung

Rinkside
Joined
Oct 26, 2013
You are probably right! I heard it from a former Youth World Champ medalists, women figure skater, that ChenLu was not allowed to enter her pupils into Chinese ISU competitions for a while, until a few years ago, didling with ISI kids were her days. She charges exorbitant fees, and staffed his coaching team with 'unqualified coaches' like speed skaters, non professonal skaters were her coaching staff in her rink. Their pupils after discovering they were led down the garden path, changed coaches/rinks, and their new qualified coaches found the kids with horrendous stroke problems/bad habits, learnt from those amateurs skate coaches at ChenLu's rink. Her criteria for good pupils are that they come with BMW, Mercedes driven parents or chauffeurs.

But the funny thing is that CCTV and official Chinese sports world still treats her as the one and only skating expert/idol for all to emulate and adore. She is the most sought after guest commentator for skating TV coverages. But her coaches, working under her, some of them, think that she is dark hearted, money grabbing besides, she for a while can't stand any new champions, Chinese champions, to eclipse her ancient fame, won in the 1990s. To this tune, she deliberately, or did not got invited to Zhao/Shen wedding ceremony, and said darkly that the couple's new kid would not be pretty because her mother is ugly.........
 
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