2014 Nebelhorn Trophy

papagena said:

Interesting. One of the reasons I feel like Jason's SP isn't quite working is that there's no trace of the "I'm growing up" sensuality he brought to the Prince SP - and some of the "look at me" moves in Juke really demand it. Maybe he just hasn't gotten there yet because it's new, but right now, I sorta feel like I'm watching the kid who did this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Tud02T7VmM

and this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1uYzwU3898

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I feel that perhaps there are shades of those two programs in this SP, but I do think there has been some evolution in performance and execution.

The biggest thing I notice that he does his moves with a lot more fluidity than from 2010. It seems each move is done seamlessly and with intention. Also he does lots of hair slicking and other moves that show this is a blues piece as opposed to big band swing.

I do feel the "sprinkler" clip probably is where the comparison with the 2010 program is probably most apparent. Which is why I think they can play down the ham just a bit.

I think, actually, upon further thought is Juke for Jason has probably the opposite problem of Question of U. When Jason debuted Question of U, it really did seem that Jason was a teenager trying to play Prince and it didn't quite click.

I think with Juke, it's a peppy song, but there are nuances and opportunities to show maturity, but perhaps, we're not quite seeing it yet. As a result, it does seem to be a program that appears "less mature."

Mrs. P said:

I feel that perhaps there are shades of those two programs in this SP, but I do think there has been some evolution in performance and execution.

The biggest thing I notice that he does his moves with a lot more fluidity than from 2010. It seems each move is done seamlessly and with intention. Also he does lots of hair slicking and other moves that show this is a blues piece as opposed to big band swing.

I do feel the "sprinkler" clip probably is where the comparison with the 2010 program is probably most apparent. Which is why I think they can play down the ham just a bit.

I think, actually, upon further thought is Juke for Jason has probably the opposite problem of Question of U. When Jason debuted Question of U, it really did seem that Jason was a teenager trying to play Prince and it didn't quite click.

I think with Juke, it's a peppy song, but there are nuances and opportunities to show maturity, but perhaps, we're not quite seeing it yet. As a result, it does seem to be a program that appears "less mature."

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Well said! I agree that his skating is so much more beautiful and fluid than it was in those earlier programs. And I agree that the nuances in this current program are not there yet. Perhaps he needs a narrative (like they created for Riverdance) in order to move beyond generic peppy (which is all I'm getting right now) into something more interesting. Like, is he is he Jason or is he some guy at a Chicago bar in the 40's? Is he showing off to a bunch of the guys he hangs out with or is he trying to impress someone special? Any of those choices could work, but the feel would be very different. With the Prince program he was portraying a real person, so a lot of choices were already made for him - he just had to find a way to express the character through his movement & facial expressions. Tristan is kinda similar in that there's a video clip telling the story, there was a film, there's an opera etc. Hopefully with time the nuances in Juke will come.

el henry said:

OK, I'm on the other side. I *like* what everyone is calling the sprinkler. And here's why.

It's NOT "the sprinkler".

I think we need to lift ourselves a little out of our own cultural milieu and return to the blues dancing of the 40s,(no, I wasn't around then. The spousal unit was born in 49, does that count? )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv6j66FC6_M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmAqDBJKi00

The entire program seems to me patterned after the "look at me" solo blues dancing of the 40s. It does trouble me that so many are willing to see this a some sort of 80s dance move rather than a play on the shake blues dancing of the 40s. I hope the same sort of cultural presuppositions don't hurt Jason in future competitions.

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Thanks for the erudition, el henry. Everyone referring to that move in Jason's SP as the sprinkler was starting to make me doubt my sanity. I can remember learning very similar movements in ethnic dance class in college. In fact, I remember enduring some very sore thigh muscles after the days we did African dances. A lot of those involved working for extended periods with bent knees in a wide stance--kind of like a grand plie in second position. Ouch. I remember doing the quick back and forth with the legs too. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if the "sprinkler" move in Jason's short has its origins in African traditional dance by way of American popular dance.

In comparing Question of U and Juke, it's useful to keep in mind that Jason performed the Prince SP for 2 entire seasons. So, when he arrived at Oberstdorf last year, he'd already been competing it for over a year! I was actually amazed at how much Juke at Nebelhorn had progressed just since Glacier Falls!

I have to admit I've loved Juke since I first heard the music back in June. And I love the history, that Little Walter was a legend of Chicago Blues and really "invented" the amplified harmonica blues solo. I'm also pretty sure that Rohene and Jason are after just the kind of coolly boastful quality described by some of you and that we'll start seeing more of it as the season progresses.

deetrakt said:

In comparing Question of U and Juke, it's useful to keep in mind that Jason performed the Prince SP for 2 entire seasons. So, when he arrived at Oberstdorf last year, he'd already been competing it for over a year! I was actually amazed at how much Juke at Nebelhorn had progressed just since Glacier Falls!

I have to admit I've loved Juke since I first heard the music back in June. And I love the history, that Little Walter was a legend of Chicago Blues and really "invented" the amplified harmonica blues solo. I'm also pretty sure that Rohene and Jason are after just the kind of coolly boastful quality described by some of you and that we'll start seeing more of it as the season progresses.

Click to expand...

Oh don't get me wrong, I actually like the program. I'm just nitpicking on what really is like 5 seconds of the entire program, LOL. But yes, you make a good point -- and in fact that was my point of reference RE: Juke vs. Prince. I remember the first time I saw it in JGP Courchavel -- I was like -- hm...can Jason really handle it? It also was complicated by the fact that Jason did not particularly well at that competition.

(Anyway, I'm sad to say that Prince's people have tagged ALL of Jason's performances of that song and when you see the JGP Courchavel video you will hear some random song instead of Prince, LOL).

Anyway, I think it will improve with time as well.

Finally caught up on the LPs.

Ladies: Liza and her programs. I was worried after she placed behind in the SP despite being cleaner than Alena, but I guess that doesn't matter much now. She looked a bit nervous at the beginning, but she was able to rally after the mistake. Jumps were quite good except for the first few, spins were very solid, and she was on fire during the step sequence!

Alena skated quite well and I think she arguably deserved to win the LP over Gracie. The program seems a little disjointed, but she sold it well.

I don't think Gracie's jumps as as bad as some are saying. I don't understand her PCS and the whole princess-y vibe, but it's not like she had a complete technical meltdown. (Actually, I do understand her PCS. She has momentum from her Nationals win + Olympics fourth place, versus Liza and Alena. But if she continues being inconsistent, I don't expect the judges to be kind forever).

Men: Well, what can I say? If anyone could pull off a star-crossed lovers story in a singles program, it's Jason, and he didn't disappoint. His PCS were really high relative to his TES, but frankly, I think barely-visible URs are punished too heavily in TES. As a whole, Jason's jumps actually look bigger than they did in the SP. I love the quad and all, but I fail to see the alarm about a quadless guy winning when his closest competition had several disruptive errors, including a fall.

Speaking of Brezina, I quite enjoyed his program as well. It seemed almost like a throwback to the classical pieces of the 6.0 era, like something Urmanov or Petrenko would skate to. Kinda cool next to all the new style programs with sound effects and beatboxing and singing. That is, until the vocals kicked in. Then I nearly shut down the video.

Nice to see Menshov medalling, as a testament that the sport isn't only for the young. :yes:

Just for refreshment.
Narumi Takahashi has nice pictures on her blog!

http://ameblo.jp/narumi-takahashi/entry-11931485342.html#main

Look at the second picture, she was having great fun

Nebelhorn Trophy 2014 Column

Graceful days at Oberstdorf

When you think back about an event you always try to find some special cliffhanger, something that expresses in a simple way how you experienced that event. For me that term is "Grace" because this is what I saw a lot on the ice.

One of its finest, graceful performances actually had a young girl from California that has the fitting name of Gracie. As an American she is in a totally different spotlight than many other skaters especially here in Germany where pretty much nobody recognizes a skater and therefore It was quite humorous when an older couple asked me about Robin Sozolkovy and if he was our Ice Dancer.

While we know that he isn't a Dancer, at least not on the ice they were convinced its him. Funny, because nor Stefano or Alex look any like how Robin does. Szolkovy is right now coaching in Russia, something that was signed by a contract shortly before the trophy.

Robin himself said that such a great opportunity had to be taken as Nina is a very hard working person and showed her abilities more than once already.
For Nina, Robin was her favorite choice for the job as she always admired Robin and Aljona on the ice and felt that "such a talent shouldn't be wasted or even forgotten after his retirement from competition".

So she messaged him while he was on holiday thinking about kids and an easy life with his wife away from sport and e voila after a few days they started talking and as we know now very successful. To see a glimpse of his work was already possible at Oberstdorf, as one of his two couples (Tarasova / Morosov) won the silver medal with two absolutely phenomenal skates consisting of level 4 lifts, spins and triple twists.

The 20 years old Evgenia is actually a really fun person on and off ice, with a lovely charisma and open minded attitude. A girl that once she has the microphone during a press conference just talks and talks and talks like there is no tomorrow, always supported with a huge smile.

Gracie´s golden days

If we talk about smiles then we must also talk about one of the most charming figures I ever met off ice, Gracie Gold.
While I was watching Gracie in the practice I saw a young lady who was very determined to do things right, always getting feedback by Frank Carroll who was going crazy about how beautiful her step sequences were and I was with him there.

While I know that step sequences are not a thing for everyone to me they are just one of the most important things in FS as these show at best if a skater understands her / his program and if they have acting potential.

My favorite Step girl so to speak is Adelina the current reigning Olympic champing but to me Gracie was really close to her with what she did. What I like about Gracie is her whole attitude during the steps, it looks like there is a real women on the ice, her arm movements and what she does with her hips and legs looks amazing and not alike any other skater. She received many level 4s throughout the competition and always added her own touch to elements.

I love skaters a lot who are not a copy of others, who have an own personality and this applies to Gracie. While I agree that a lot is of course a matter of taste, to me this were magical moments here at Oberstdorf.

Besides those graceful moments she performed her triple Lutz in the LP and 4 more triple jumps like the Sal, Flip, Toe and Loop. If you consider that her practice sessions were not an easy walk in the park for her, quite impressive and a sign of a strong will and passion for her sport.

I do know what many Americans are going to say now "but she didn't win so this is bad" and honestly I think you are way too hard to her. A third place so early in the season is a good result, a lot of things that skaters do you wont realize unless you see them live and the actual progress over 5 days.

I was therefore very pleased when I had the chance to talk to Gracie a little bit off ice to get her view about the pressure that she is facing all the time. She told me that it can be really hard for her "as everyone expects that an athlete who goes to the Olympics also comes back home with a gold medal".
This so Gracie, was especially hard since she had two great skates in the singles competition and also won a bronze medal with the team.

What she then said did sadden me a bit when she spoke about how she is sometimes treated on social media where people are really mean to her or other skaters.
Confronted with her faulted Lutz she responded with a smile that "it just sometimes happens, its a hard element after all "- a fitting answer if you ask me and it shows her wonderful personality as well. She is taking it easy even if she worked hard on that element during practice. Its just sad that her "fans" wont care about that and only remember the missed opportunity and nothing else.

Lizas comeback

A missed opportunity this young girl was called while struggling for more than a year since her glorious bronze medal at Zagreb in 2013. The Russian that goes by the name of Elizavetha Tuktamysheva but everyone just calls Liza has her very own unique style which I would describe as laid back and relaxed.
The 17 year old managed to land 6 triple jumps in her LP while receiving high Grades of 8 and more for her skating, expression and choreography.

Elizavetha showed that she is slowly crawling back into the minds of figure skating fans and maybe also into those of other skaters, especially if they are from Russia where the amount of top ladies is as huge like nowhere else in this world right now.

Together with Alena who came second with a tremendous Tango and 6 triples, Liza explained the reasons for that. In their opinion the young girls at Russia keep pushing themselves, they do know there is not enough space for all of them so they need to be able to get better than the others which leads to constructing very difficult programs.
But in Russia are not just the programs very difficult but also the treatments that skaters receive from the press, federation and their fans. So Liza was blamed for actually doing the most natural thing in life, growing up.

Liza said that for her all these things don't matter anymore, some people might lift her up now but she knows very well that there is first the national championship and this is where the focus must go to now.
She wants to be competitive at the nationals and doesn't look to far ahead already. In my opinion not only that answer but also her performances on ice show that she has grown up a lot. She might still be the little girl but she is becoming a young lady now and hopefully stays with both blades on the ground.
Personally I would be very happy for Liza if she could do something similar like Adelina did, showing all those rude people a medal to say - "see, I won and what did you achieve besides complaining?" .

Konstantin the Great

Someone who has already done this is Konstantin Menshov, the bronze medalist of Budapest and now also Oberstdorf. The sympathic Russian from St. Petersburg performed to Tango en silence in his LP and dedicated this program to all the poor souls that suffer in the world. He said about his program that "the music was there before the actual program", he and his team wanted to raise concerns about what is currently wrong in this world and based on this the whole choreography was designed, a choreo that featured a quad / triple toe combination and a total of 6 more triples.

Quads are easy Jason

If we talk about designing programs Jason Brown must be mentioned as well even though he does not have a quad in his arsenal. What he has however is his personality and own style. While he doesn't do programs to save the world, he does them to entertain and this in a very funny and sympathic way. In his opinion this is his job, he wants to perform for the people and the elements are chosen for that purpose.

While he didn't do a Quad he still gained high PCs and won the competition, something that as Konstantin said wasn't possible in the past. "Back in the days you only had to do the quad but today figure skating is so much more. You need to hit the levels, execute your elements well for high GOE and this is a never ending process and the hardest part for me".

Michal Brezina who came second agreed and added that skating skills matter a lot, so do the spins etc. He added with a laughter however that quads are easy and a jump like any other so he went for two Sal in his LP.
What I felt interesting was his statement that skaters don't look too much after others, that adding a quadruple jump or not has less to do with pressure but more with wanting to do it. Michal said that "if a skater is capable of doing a quad in the practice then he also wants to show this to the people. Why keeping it for yourself?"

Personally I always felt that skaters are pushed into those elements so that they can compete and I will definitely ask that question more often in the future, to get a few more answers by different skaters about that matter.

Ice Dance is dead?

Another question which I had to ask was about the current state of ice dance and I am not talking about the announcement that Tessa & Scott made this week in which they said that they wont compete this season and take a break - something that might come close to an apocalypse to their fans.

No! To me especially in the NA region Ice Dance seems to be a not really valued sport and this with Olympic and world champions.

The response to Ice Dance reviews / general chat is a lot lower than for the Ladies which get the highest response here at GS together with the men. Because of this I wanted to know how skaters feel about it and who else than the 2013 world champions were a better target for that question.
Kaetlyn and Andrew who won the ice dance competition here at Oberstdorf said that in their opinion Ice Dance is booming and getting better every season.
"Dance Pairs that compete push each other to the limits so that new elements and choreography's are invented", Madison and Evan who performed to an American in Paris hitting 5 level 4s for their steps, spins and lifts agreed. Besides that Madison added that "all our lifts are new and that the long time success of Tessa and Scott & Charlie and Meryl helped us all a lot".

While I agree with their view I also agreed with the opinion of Alexander Gaszi (coming third with 3 level 4s and 4 level threes), who said that the whole presentation of Ice Dance could be done better, "it should be much closer to the crowds than it currently is".

In my humble opinion Ice Dance too often suffers under the "why did they win" syndrome. People don't understand the sport and the results. The question however remains how this could be fixed. One thing however is for sure, the skaters want to present their beautiful sport and all the different facets of it.
As all three couples have proven, their elements were new, their programs were different and they will definitely keep Ice Dance alive after the departure of the former champions White & Davis / Virtue & Moir. So if you want to show these wonderful skater that you indeed love Ice Dance as much as the other competitions send them a mail to let them know!

Sending a mail might also be required to solve the mystery of the lost points due deductions in the SP. Several pairs suffered under a dedication for choreographic rule breaking, a mystery that I was unable to solve so far.

I was also unable to solve the mystery why people at Oberstdorf actually prefer waiting for 2 hours at the Nebelhorn lift just to get on top of a mountain while they could watch an amazing figure skating competition. Honestly, in over 10 years I have not been once on that mountain so tell me, do I miss something up there?

Missing in action

If we talk about missing things then we unfortunately also have to speak about the fact that tons of skaters decided to not skate or come at all to Oberstdorf. Over the weeks I had to change my Nebelhorn Trophy announcement three times as skaters decided to bail out.

Right on my arrival I was contacted and told that Annabelle wont be able to skate, shortly before the men's SP I was informed about Denis Ten having a stomach flew, Isabelle Olsson didn't come at all, Bobrova / Soliev are injured and had to call it a day in regards of the GP season and Sarah Hecken is god knows where and the worst, a little crocodile of a 7 years old girl has gone missing.

I was informed by her mother that she forgot it after the ladies SP and is now very sad as she doesn't know where it has gone. So if anyone has seen a green crocodile with one eye, please hand it over to the Oberstdorf Figure skating office.

Medals for all

Since not everyone can be a winner at Oberstdorf, I feel it is time to actually hand out a few prices to some skaters for special achievements. Therefore I present to you the following categories.

Best outfits

Last year that reward went to Ashley Cain and her bling bling practice outfit, this year however we are going over to Belarus and Janina Makeena.
To me this 19 year lady is very beautiful, I love how her dresses fit like a second skin but don't reveal too much and have all those lovely colors like in the LP with the pink & blue or the SP with that absolutely fantastic red / black dress and the feather in her hair.

I love her style and I love how she skates, what a beautiful women she is! Just gorgeous!
A few notable runners up are, Anna Ocharovas butterfly dress, Gracie Gold's Chicago, Juulia Turkkillas light green for the SP, Keatlyn Weaver with that long red dress in their SP.

Best Smile

This category gave me a lot of sleepless hours. To me smiling on the ice is somehow something that I want to see. Therefore I like to look into the eyes of skaters when they come across and Leanelle was always ace in that. Sadly she wasn't at Oberstdorf but still we had many great smiles with Gracie Gold & Veronik Mallet on a tie.

Veronik has a very mature and natural smile, she doesn't even has to try to smile, still she always does it. I loved her appearance in 2013 and I loved her even more now in 2014. Canadians have golden genes for that as we all know since Kaetlyn Osmond.

Our Gracie however also gave me that smile which made my heart jump when she was doing her step sequence or during the press conference. Its so charming and then those beautiful eyes! If I wouldn't look like a Dork and be 10 years younger, asking her for a date I would. *laughs*

Best Spin

Aimee Buchanan must win that category no doubt about that. The way how she pulls down the blade during her Bielman is not from this world, so beautiful. Honestly, I would always put her before Julia Lipnitzskaya in that category, as she has so much more style its incredible. Fast is one thing but to look incredible another.

Notable runner ups are the wonderful Fleur Maxwell and Julia Turkilla but also Camille Gjersem.

Best SP

To have a good program requires several things in my opinion. First a lovely skater that you enjoy watching, a beautiful piece of music and a nice choreo. While we saw many good SPs at Oberstdorf there was one young lady which just wowed me especially since she had to go through hard times in 2013 with her missed Olympic spot for Finland.
You will all know who I am talking about. It is Juulia Turkkila.

Not only did she land her triple toe combination but she also skated amazingly well to the music and seemed more mature than in the past years. Every spin, her step sequence absolutely gorgeous level 4 en mass and seriously I could imagine that skate perfectly in one of the big shows in America.

It was in my opinion Juulias best choreographed SP to date and it shows how well the new vocal rule can support Figure Skating. With more programs like that, FS will become popular again as its something that you can also watch at home unlike so many "basic" programs that you wont be able to feel unless you were there.

Another good example for the working vocal idea were Evgenia and Vladimir.

Their SP was phenomenal, it had so much drama and passion it put Goosebumps all over my body. An incredible high triple Twist, side by side triple toe, wonderful level 4 spins, steps and her beautiful smile of course.

While they had a few more problems in their LP like with the last lift, they are the pair of the future in Europe to me. I don't know any other pair that actually touches me like they do but at the same time has all those high quality elements that you need to win medals.

I also want to quickly mention how impressed I was with Elisabeth and Francois - Xaviers SP, it was my absolute favorite Ice Dance this year - it was so emotional and they have a wonderful harmony on the ice.

Best LP

Mariah Bell (Titanic OST - Southampton & A life so changed) is my personal discovery here at Oberstdorf. She interprets music in a way that no eye stays dry and for me as a musician myself the choice of music is so extremely important in FS.

A critique I often have about the men or some pairs, you need to choose music that reflects yourself its so important to feel what you skate to.
In Mariahs case, It is not only impressive how she skates to it but also that she is skating into your heart with what she does If we talk about being on time with the music, choosing the right elements and then her lovely smile.

My former GF was a titanic fan so we saw that movie for like a hundred times and ya I cried too ... I am just such a softy. Anyways, when these soft vocals by Sissel come in then it just happens again my eyes were wet. To me Mariah is a show skater for the future, someone who you want to see and pay a lot of money for.

I said it in my review about the Ladies comp and I say it again, to me she is really close to Sasha (artistry wise) and I would love to see how Mariah interprets Romeo & Juliet someday.

Also her Exhibition was amazing, she is so naughty and this in her first year at Seniors. Great girl, keep it going!

Funniest Off Ice moment

I wanted to take a picture at the kiss & cry of Liza so I almost crashed into the camera and I believe you can actually hear that in the video. Ya I am a fool but hey I have the picture now and she smiles so cute! Sadly I missed Gracie there but I was able to shoot a few during the press conferences and victory ceremonies. By the way, I didn't slip once at the ice (we do go on to the ice to take pictures at the victory ceremony) so that funny moment went to another journalist this time!

Best couple

I am a huge fan of personality and charisma, I don't like perfection too much even though I am a perfectionist myself. Therefore this reward must go to Maria Poliakova and Nikita Bochkov.
Both skaters I know now for about 4 / 5 years and I felt that their SP here at Oberstdorf was a huge step forward. Sure they lost their triple toe due underrotation and they need to work on their levels at the triple twist and steps and of course a bit on his fitness as he had a hard time towards the end of the LP but honestly, they are just so charming together, I like them so much!
One suggestion I however have, why not skate to something romantic in the next year? I would love to see how that works out.

By the way, did you know that Maria is breeding frogs? I don't know how that actually works or how many frogs are hopping around in her living room at Moscow but that is probably one of the most awesome hobbies I have ever heard of by a skater. Finally not the basic "I like cooking and reading" stuff.

Best interview partner

During press conferences and off ice activities I was able to ask skaters questions and I was impressed how many of the skaters really took their time to explain stuff in full detail.
I think that Konstantin was the most laid back guy I ever came across. I loved how he told us about his intentions with the program that it was more for him than just a skating program but a message out to the world to stop all that war nonsense there.

Besides that Gracie was incredible kind and showed a few personal sites off her. She isn't the perfect girl that many want to see in her and exactly this makes her so charming. She gets hurt like everybody else by rude and disrespectful comments or harsh critics and this makes her so sympathic as she isn't a robot that just does stuff, she is a real human being something many fans often forget and so many professional athletes lose over time.

Last but not least Yuko and Sasha.

Yuko was almost apologizing for not being perfect every second on the ice and she wants to do better next time. It was a funny response of my question where I mentioned that they got better and better until the end of their program and why that was the case since other couples got worse towards the end. Yuko landed a quadruple Sal!
Yet she felt that her fans deserve even better and ya she is really amazing that young lady who was hanging out in the press room a lot. I also want to say that Sasha and Alex Gerzsi are highly entertaining during press conferences and a joy to have.

Best Haircut

My former GF was a hairstylist so I assume I know what good hair looks like. Therefore I am very happy to announce Madison Chock as the winner. Her hair cut was so good that several women asked her about the cut and I loved it especially in the SP it was so wild and naughty "just hot".

Being shy and known

I am writing these articles and my column now for over a year and I do similar stuff in tennis, soccer and snowboard since many more. If we leave snowboard aside, at figure skating I am as popular as the pope!
Ok Ok, I exaggerate a bit now but its frightening me a little bit that so many people know me from somewhere, either due my blue jacket which they saw in TV or at an event or because of my activity at figure skating blogs and websites.

Therefore I want to say a very warm hello to all those that met me there and were so kind to spend a few minutes of their valuable time on my side. Its always amazing to hear where these people actually come from and that they like reading my stuff.

One girl actually was from Bulgaria, another from Denmark, then two guys from Norway, of course the lady Sara from Finland who told me that she goes to Oberstdorf since the 90s and of course Marie who I was very pleased to meet after the Gala and we spent like 4 hours chatting afterwards. She forgot my chocolate however or better said, she left it in her apartment!

What always impresses me is their determination to ask pretty much everyone until they found me (if they didn't know how I look like) and actually want to find the person behind these writings.

It seems to me that figure skating fans are still a working family, regardless of what happened at Zagreb or Budapest with those fan fights.
Anyways, it was great meeting you all and I am so glad that I finally met someone who loves Inga, Adelina or my finish skaters as much as I do. I finally have someone who I can talk to if I must praise Adelina, that's so cool!

Farewell Oberstdorf

In 2013 the event let me down a bit, it was a bit weird but we all know why that was the case. In 2014 the event returned to its former glory and while we had a lot of causalities on the way, we saw amazing skaters from all around the world.

To have Olympic medalists, world and national champions is one thing - other events have that as well but to be able to enjoy Figure Skating without all the massive security or even the police like at the Euros is something amazing. As Alex Gaszi said, FS must go back to the people, the fans that pay a lot of money because this is how you win people back. To turn Figure Skating in a "cold" world like men's soccer is these days just doesn't do the trick.

To me the Nebelhorn Trophy is one of the most amazing events every year, I just love going there, writing my articles and the column. Its a friendly place and an opportunity for fans to get in touch with skaters so if you ever want this I would strongly advice coming over in 2015. I will be there again and of course report of what happens. Until then I have the JGP, NRW and a few smaller events coming up.

So if you came that far, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed my coverage from the event and if you have any type of feedback be it positive or negative let me know.

^^Thanks for the report, lovely read. Mariah is one of my fav, I discovered her 1,2 years ago. I want to share my thought regarding her "Titanic" LP dress design this time.
...her dress design is so beautiful. the halter neck is very similar to Yuna's Gershwin and the dark blue/black color plus the diamond sparkles on it, reminds me of that cold dark blue serene night and the stars Rose staring at when she is singing on that floating door plate. And there is a little heart of ocean diamond design on her neck area, feels as if it is sinking towards the ocean, reminds me of the scene where Rose throw it into the Ocean.
Also on the skirt there is those silver embroider resemble the foams generated when Titanic sailing through the ocean, extremely beautiful when Mariah is skating.
on second thought, those little diamond sparkles also resembles the bubbles generated when heart of ocean was thrown into the ocean....
Mariah used this music for her LP last season as well. music cut is a bit different, before, is more dramatic and tragic, now is more mature，tranquil and nostalgia...
EDIT: also share a few my impression of Mariah when watch her live before, her skating skills is light, floaty and effortless.

Alex D said:

Graceful days at Oberstdorf

When you think back about an event you always try to find some special cliffhanger, something that expresses in a simple way how you experienced that event. For me that term is "Grace" because this is what I saw a lot on the ice.

One of its finest, graceful performances actually had a young girl from California that has the fitting name of Gracie. As an American she is in a totally different spotlight than many other skaters especially here in Germany where pretty much nobody recognizes a skater and therefore It was quite humorous when an older couple asked me about Robin Sozolkovy and if he was our Ice Dancer.

While we know that he isn't a Dancer, at least not on the ice they were convinced its him. Funny, because nor Stefano or Alex look any like how Robin does. Szolkovy is right now coaching in Russia, something that was signed by a contract shortly before the trophy.

Robin himself said that such a great opportunity had to be taken as Nina is a very hard working person and showed her abilities more than once already.
For Nina, Robin was her favorite choice for the job as she always admired Robin and Aljona on the ice and felt that "such a talent shouldn't be wasted or even forgotten after his retirement from competition".

So she messaged him while he was on holiday thinking about kids and an easy life with his wife away from sport and e voila after a few days they started talking and as we know now very successful. To see a glimpse of his work was already possible at Oberstdorf, as one of his two couples (Tarasova / Morosov) won the silver medal with two absolutely phenomenal skates consisting of level 4 lifts, spins and triple twists.

The 20 years old Evgenia is actually a really fun person on and off ice, with a lovely charisma and open minded attitude. A girl that once she has the microphone during a press conference just talks and talks and talks like there is no tomorrow, always supported with a huge smile.

Gracie´s golden days

If we talk about smiles then we must also talk about one of the most charming figures I ever met off ice, Gracie Gold.
While I was watching Gracie in the practice I saw a young lady who was very determined to do things right, always getting feedback by Frank Carroll who was going crazy about how beautiful her step sequences were and I was with him there.

While I know that step sequences are not a thing for everyone to me they are just one of the most important things in FS as these show at best if a skater understands her / his program and if they have acting potential.

My favorite Step girl so to speak is Adelina the current reigning Olympic champing but to me Gracie was really close to her with what she did. What I like about Gracie is her whole attitude during the steps, it looks like there is a real women on the ice, her arm movements and what she does with her hips and legs looks amazing and not alike any other skater. She received many level 4s throughout the competition and always added her own touch to elements.

I love skaters a lot who are not a copy of others, who have an own personality and this applies to Gracie. While I agree that a lot is of course a matter of taste, to me this were magical moments here at Oberstdorf.

Besides those graceful moments she performed her triple Lutz in the LP and 4 more triple jumps like the Sal, Flip, Toe and Loop. If you consider that her practice sessions were not an easy walk in the park for her, quite impressive and a sign of a strong will and passion for her sport.

I do know what many Americans are going to say now "but she didn't win so this is bad" and honestly I think you are way too hard to her. A third place so early in the season is a good result, a lot of things that skaters do you wont realize unless you see them live and the actual progress over 5 days.

I was therefore very pleased when I had the chance to talk to Gracie a little bit off ice to get her view about the pressure that she is facing all the time. She told me that it can be really hard for her "as everyone expects that an athlete who goes to the Olympics also comes back home with a gold medal".
This so Gracie, was especially hard since she had two great skates in the singles competition and also won a bronze medal with the team.

What she then said did sadden me a bit when she spoke about how she is sometimes treated on social media where people are really mean to her or other skaters.
Confronted with her faulted Lutz she responded with a smile that "it just sometimes happens, its a hard element after all "- a fitting answer if you ask me and it shows her wonderful personality as well. She is taking it easy even if she worked hard on that element during practice. Its just sad that her "fans" wont care about that and only remember the missed opportunity and nothing else.

Lizas comeback

A missed opportunity this young girl was called while struggling for more than a year since her glorious bronze medal at Zagreb in 2013. The Russian that goes by the name of Elizavetha Tuktamysheva but everyone just calls Liza has her very own unique style which I would describe as laid back and relaxed.
The 17 year old managed to land 6 triple jumps in her LP while receiving high Grades of 8 and more for her skating, expression and choreography.

Elizavetha showed that she is slowly crawling back into the minds of figure skating fans and maybe also into those of other skaters, especially if they are from Russia where the amount of top ladies is as huge like nowhere else in this world right now.

Together with Alena who came second with a tremendous Tango and 6 triples, Liza explained the reasons for that. In their opinion the young girls at Russia keep pushing themselves, they do know there is not enough space for all of them so they need to be able to get better than the others which leads to constructing very difficult programs.
But in Russia are not just the programs very difficult but also the treatments that skaters receive from the press, federation and their fans. So Liza was blamed for actually doing the most natural thing in life, growing up.

Liza said that for her all these things don't matter anymore, some people might lift her up now but she knows very well that there is first the national championship and this is where the focus must go to now.
She wants to be competitive at the nationals and doesn't look to far ahead already. In my opinion not only that answer but also her performances on ice show that she has grown up a lot. She might still be the little girl but she is becoming a young lady now and hopefully stays with both blades on the ground.
Personally I would be very happy for Liza if she could do something similar like Adelina did, showing all those rude people a medal to say - "see, I won and what did you achieve besides complaining?" .

Konstantin the Great

Someone who has already done this is Konstantin Menshov, the bronze medalist of Budapest and now also Oberstdorf. The sympathic Russian from Moscow performed to Tango en silence in his LP and dedicated this program to all the poor souls that suffer in the world. He said about his program that "the music was there before the actual program", he and his team wanted to raise concerns about what is currently wrong in this world and based on this the whole choreography was designed, a choreo that featured a quad / triple toe combination and a total of 6 more triples.

Quads are easy Jason

If we talk about designing programs Jason Brown must be mentioned as well even though he does not have a quad in his arsenal. What he has however is his personality and own style. While he doesn't do programs to save the world, he does them to entertain and this in a very funny and sympathic way. In his opinion this is his job, he wants to perform for the people and the elements are chosen for that purpose.

While he didn't do a Quad he still gained high PCs and won the competition, something that as Konstantin said wasn't possible in the past. "Back in the days you only had to do the quad but today figure skating is so much more. You need to hit the levels, execute your elements well for high GOE and this is a never ending process and the hardest part for me".

Michal Brezina who came second agreed and added that skating skills matter a lot, so do the spins etc. He added with a laughter however that quads are easy and a jump like any other so he went for two Sal in his LP.
What I felt interesting was his statement that skaters don't look too much after others, that adding a quadruple jump or not has less to do with pressure but more with wanting to do it. Michal said that "if a skater is capable of doing a quad in the practice then he also wants to show this to the people.Why keeping it for yourself?"

Personally I always felt that skaters are pushed into those elements so that they can compete and I will definitely ask that question more often in the future, to get a few more answers by different skaters about that matter.

Ice Dance is dead?

Another question which I had to ask was about the current state of ice dance and I am not talking about the announcement that Tessa & Scott made this week in which they said that they wont compete this season and take a break - something that might come close to an apocalypse to their fans.

No! To me especially in the NA region Ice Dance seems to be a not really valued sport and this with Olympic and world champions.

The response to Ice Dance reviews / general chat is a lot lower than for the Ladies which get the highest response here at GS together with the men. Because of this I wanted to know how skaters feel about it and who else than the 2013 world champions were a better target for that question.
Kaetlyn and Andrew who won the ice dance competition here at Oberstdorf said that in their opinion Ice Dance is booming and getting better every season.
"Dance Pairs that compete push each other to the limits so that new elements and choreography's are invented", Madison and Norman who performed to an American in Paris hitting 5 level 4s for their steps, spins and lifts agreed. Besides that Madison added that "all our lifts are new and that the long time success of Tessa and Scott & Charly and Maryl helped us all a lot".

While I agree with their view I also agreed with the opinion of Alexander Gaszi (coming third with 3 level 4s and 4 level threes), who said that the whole presentation of Ice Dance could be done better, "it should be much closer to the crowds than it currently is".

In my humble opinion Ice Dance too often suffers under the "why did they win" syndrome. People don't understand the sport and the results. The question however remains how this could be fixed. One thing however is for sure, the skaters want to present their beautiful sport and all the different facets of it.
As all three couples have proven, their elements were new, their programs were different and they will definitely keep Ice Dance alive after the departure of the former champions White & Davis / Virtue & Moir. So if you want to show these wonderful skater that you indeed love Ice Dance as much as the other competitions send them a mail to let them know!

Sending a mail might also be required to solve the mystery of the lost points due deductions in the SP. Several pairs suffered under a dedication for choreographic rule breaking, a mystery that I was unable to solve so far.

I was also unable to solve the mystery why people at Oberstdorf actually prefer waiting for 2 hours at the Nebelhorn lift just to get on top of a mountain while they could watch an amazing figure skating competition. Honestly, in over 10 years I have not been once on that mountain so tell me, do I miss something up there?

Missing in action

If we talk about missing things then we unfortunately also have to speak about the fact that tons of skaters decided to not skate or come at all to Oberstdorf. Over the weeks I had to change my Nebelhorn Trophy announcement three times as skaters decided to bail out.

Right on my arrival I was contacted and told that Annabelle wont be able to skate, shortly before the men's SP I was informed about Denis Ten having a stomach flew, Isabelle Olsson didn't come at all, Bobrova / Soliev are injured and had to call it a day in regards of the GP season and Sarah Hecken is god knows where and the worst, a little crocodile of a 7 years old girl has gone missing.

I was informed by her mother that she forgot it after the ladies SP and is now very sad as she doesn't know where it has gone. So if anyone has seen a green crocodile with one eye, please hand it over to the Oberstdorf Figure skating office.

Medals for all

Since not everyone can be a winner at Oberstdorf, I feel it is time to actually hand out a few prices to some skaters for special achievements. Therefore I present to you the following categories.

Best outfits

Last year that reward went to Ashley Cain and her bling bling practice outfit, this year however we are going over to Belarus and Janina Makeena.
To me this 19 year lady is very beautiful, I love how her dresses fit like a second skin but don't reveal too much and have all those lovely colors like in the LP with the pink & blue or the SP with that absolutely fantastic red / black dress and the feather in her hair.

I love her style and I love how she skates, what a beautiful women she is! Just gorgeous!
A few notable runners up are, Anna Ocharovas butterfly dress, Gracie Gold's Chicago, Juulia Turkkillas light green for the SP, Keatlyn Weaver with that long red dress in their SP.

Best Smile

This category gave me a lot of sleepless hours. To me smiling on the ice is somehow something that I want to see. Therefore I like to look into the eyes of skaters when they come across and Leanelle was always ace in that. Sadly she wasn't at Oberstdorf but still we had many great smiles with Gracie Gold & Veronik Mallet on a tie.

Veronik has a very mature and natural smile, she doesn't even has to try to smile, still she always does it. I loved her appearance in 2013 and I loved her even more now in 2014. Canadians have golden genes for that as we all know since Kaetlyn Osmond.

Our Gracie however also gave me that smile which made my heart jump when she was doing her step sequence or during the press conference. Its so charming and then those beautiful eyes! If I wouldn't look like a Dork and be 10 years younger, asking her for a date I would. *laughs*

Best Spin

Aimee Buchanan must win that category no doubt about that. The way how she pulls down the blade during her Bielman is not from this world, so beautiful. Honestly, I would always put her before Julia Lipnitzskaya in that category, as she has so much more style its incredible. Fast is one thing but to look incredible another.

Notable runner ups are the wonderful Fleur Maxwell and Julia Turkilla but also Camille Gjersem.

Best SP

To have a good program requires several things in my opinion. First a lovely skater that you enjoy watching, a beautiful piece of music and a nice choreo. While we saw many good SPs at Oberstdorf there was one young lady which just wowed me especially since she had to go through hard times in 2013 with her missed Olympic spot for Finland.
You will all know who I am talking about. It is Juulia Turkkila.

Not only did she land her triple toe combination but she also skated amazingly well to the music and seemed more mature than in the past years. Every spin, her step sequence absolutely gorgeous level 4 en mass and seriously I could imagine that skate perfectly in one of the big shows in America.

It was in my opinion Juulias best choreographed SP to date and it shows how well the new vocal rule can support Figure Skating. With more programs like that, FS will become popular again as its something that you can also watch at home unlike so many "basic" programs that you wont be able to feel unless you were there.

Another good example for the working vocal idea were Evgenia and Vladimir.

Their SP was phenomenal, it had so much drama and passion it put Goosebumps all over my body. An incredible high triple Twist, side by side triple toe, wonderful level 4 spins, steps and her beautiful smile of course.

While they had a few more problems in their LP like with the last lift, they are the pair of the future in Europe to me. I don't know any other pair that actually touches me like they do but at the same time has all those high quality elements that you need to win medals.

I also want to quickly mention how impressed I was with Elisabeth and Francois - Xaviers SP, it was my absolute favorite Ice Dance this year - it was so emotional and they have a wonderful harmony on the ice.

Best LP

Mariah Bell (Titanic OST - Southampton & A life so changed) is my personal discovery here at Oberstdorf. She interprets music in a way that no eye stays dry and for me as a musician myself the choice of music is so extremely important in FS.

A critique I often have about the men or some pairs, you need to choose music that reflects yourself its so important to feel what you skate to.
In Mariahs case, It is not only impressive how she skates to it but also that she is skating into your heart with what she does If we talk about being on time with the music, choosing the right elements and then her lovely smile.

My former GF was a titanic fan so we saw that movie for like a hundred times and ya I cried too ... I am just such a softy. Anyways, when these soft vocals by Sissel come in then it just happens again my eyes were wet. To me Mariah is a show skater for the future, someone who you want to see and pay a lot of money for.

I said it in my review about the Ladies comp and I say it again, to me she is really close to Sasha (artistry wise) and I would love to see how Mariah interprets Romeo & Juliet someday.

Also her Exhibition was amazing, she is so naughty and this in her first year at Seniors. Great girl, keep it going!

Funniest Off Ice moment

I wanted to take a picture at the kiss & cry of Liza so I almost crashed into the camera and I believe you can actually hear that in the video. Ya I am a fool but hey I have the picture now and she smiles so cute! Sadly I missed Gracie there but I was able to shoot a few during the press conferences and victory ceremonies. By the way, I didn't slip once at the ice (we do go on to the ice to take pictures at the victory ceremony) so that funny moment went to another journalist this time!

Best couple

I am a huge fan of personality and charisma, I don't like perfection too much even though I am a perfectionist myself. Therefore this reward must go to Maria Poliakova and Nikita Bochkov.
Both skaters I know now for about 4 / 5 years and I felt that their SP here at Oberstdorf was a huge step forward. Sure they lost their triple toe due underrotation and they need to work on their levels at the triple twist and steps and of course a bit on his fitness as he had a hard time towards the end of the LP but honestly, they are just so charming together, I like them so much!
One suggestion I however have, why not skate to something romantic in the next year? I would love to see how that works out.

By the way, did you know that Maria is breeding frogs? I don't know how that actually works or how many frogs are hopping around in her living room at Moscow but that is probably one of the most awesome hobbies I have ever heard of by a skater. Finally not the basic "I like cooking and reading" stuff.

Best interview partner

During press conferences and off ice activities I was able to ask skaters questions and I was impressed how many of the skaters really took their time to explain stuff in full detail.
I think that Konstantin was the most laid back guy I ever came across. I loved how he told us about his intentions with the program that it was more for him than just a skating program but a message out to the world to stop all that war nonsense there.

Besides that Gracie was incredible kind and showed a few personal sites off her. She isn't the perfect girl that many want to see in her and exactly this makes her so charming. She gets hurt like everybody else by rude and disrespectful comments or harsh critics and this makes her so sympathic as she isn't a robot that just does stuff, she is a real human being something many fans often forget and so many professional athletes lose over time.

Last but not least Yuko and Sasha.

Yuko was almost apologizing for not being perfect every second on the ice and she wants to do better next time. It was a funny response of my question where I mentioned that they got better and better until the end of their program and why that was the case since other couples got worse towards the end. Yuko landed a quadruple Sal!
Yet she felt that her fans deserve even better and ya she is really amazing that young lady who was hanging out in the press room a lot. I also want to say that Sasha and Alex Gerzsi are highly entertaining during press conferences and a joy to have.

Best Haircut

My former GF was a hairstylist so I assume I know what good hair looks like. Therefore I am very happy to announce Madison Chock as the winner. Her hair cut was so good that several women asked her about the cut and I loved it especially in the SP it was so wild and naughty "just hot".

Being shy and known

I am writing these articles and my column now for over a year and I do similar stuff in tennis, soccer and snowboard since many more. If we leave snowboard aside, at figure skating I am as popular as the pope!
Ok Ok, I exaggerate a bit now but its frightening me a little bit that so many people know me from somewhere, either due my blue jacket which they saw in TV or at an event or because of my activity at figure skating blogs and websites.

Therefore I want to say a very warm hello to all those that met me there and were so kind to spend a few minutes of their valuable time on my side. Its always amazing to hear where these people actually come from and that they like reading my stuff.

One girl actually was from Bulgaria, another from Denmark, then two guys from Norway, of course the lady Sara from Finland who told me that she goes to Oberstdorf since the 90s and of course Marie who I was very pleased to meet after the Gala and we spent like 4 hours chatting afterwards. She forgot my chocolate however or better said, she left it in her apartment!

What always impresses me is their determination to ask pretty much everyone until they found me (if they didn't know how I look like) and actually want to find the person behind these writings.

It seems to me that figure skating fans are still a working family, regardless of what happened at Zagreb or Budapest with those fan fights.
Anyways, it was great meeting you all and I am so glad that I finally met someone who loves Inga, Adelina or my finish skaters as much as I do. I finally have someone who I can talk to if I must praise Adelina, that's so cool!

Farewell Oberstdorf

In 2013 the event let me down a bit, it was a bit weird but we all know why that was the case. In 2014 the event returned to its former glory and while we had a lot of causalities on the way, we saw amazing skaters from all around the world.

To have Olympic medalists, world and national champions is one thing - other events have that as well but to be able to enjoy Figure Skating without all the massive security or even the police like at the Euros is something amazing. As Alex Gaszi said, FS must go back to the people, the fans that pay a lot of money because this is how you win people back. To turn Figure Skating in a "cold" world like men's soccer is these days just doesn't do the trick.

To me the Nebelhorn Trophy is one of the most amazing events every year, I just love going there, writing my articles and the column. Its a friendly place and an opportunity for fans to get in touch with skaters so if you ever want this I would strongly advice coming over in 2015. I will be there again and of course report of what happens. Until then I have the JGP, NRW and a few smaller events coming up.

So if you came that far, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed my coverage from the event and if you have any type of feedback be it positive or negative let me know.

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Thank you for your time to write an overview. FYI - it's Madison (Chock) and Evan (Bates) - not Norman - and Charlie (White) & (Meryl) Davis. Even in Europe Ice Dance seems to get less attention than singles or pairs.

KKonas said:

Thank you for your time to write an overview. FYI - it's Madison (Chock) and Evan (Bates) - not Norman - and Charlie (White) & (Meryl) Davis. Even in Europe Ice Dance seems to get less attention than singles or pairs.

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Thank you for pointing this out, a silly mistake by me that will be fixed now. And yes, you are right sadly. At European Championships it often seems like the least attended competition, especially the SD.

Is anyone else unable to watch the Nebelhorn videos in HD anymore? Aside from the exhibition videos, all the rest of the videos are showing up in very low quality now. Is it just me?

gold12345 said:

Is anyone else unable to watch the Nebelhorn videos in HD anymore? Aside from the exhibition videos, all the rest of the videos are showing up in very low quality now. Is it just me?

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Sometimes the video player defaults to the lowest quality setting if it senses a lower internet connection (or thinks there is one). When you're viewing video, look for the bar graph and click on it, you should be able to select the "HD" option.

Alex D, thank you for your lovely, complete report!!! You inspire me to try to make it to the Nebelhorn competition some day!

Everything Doris said goes the same for me Thank you for your positive feedback on Gracie too. Especially the little nuggets that show the good you saw in Gracie.

Hmmm... I'm really not feeling for some of the programs that even my favorites (Jason Brown, Weaver&Poje) are doing. Even the fact that they're debuting their programs early in the season isn't convincing me that these are the best programs that showcase their talents like last season's programs.

Actually, it would be cool if Madison and Evan changed their names to Madison Shock and Norman Bates.

Mrs. P said:

Sometimes the video player defaults to the lowest quality setting if it senses a lower internet connection (or thinks there is one). When you're viewing video, look for the bar graph and click on it, you should be able to select the "HD" option.

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Yeah, that's the thing, I don't even see the bar graph anymore, so I can't select anything. It just disappeared on all the videos except some of the exhibition ones. Is this happening for anyone else? It seems bizarre. Thanks for the reply though.

Yes, indeed, if you try to access the video from the account page the bargraph is gone: http://new.livestream.com/accounts/10053677/events/3397094/

If you go to this page: http://new.livestream.com/accounts/10053677/events/3397094/videos, you will be able to access all videos in HD and see the bargraph again! Plus it's easier to search for videos there.

Mathman said:

Actually, it would be cool if Madison and Evan changed their names to Madison Shock and Norman Bates.

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Should she dress in a shower curtain?