2014 Nebelhorn Trophy

Alex D · Sep 24, 2014

Meoima said:
Can't wait to see my Liza coming back! Thank you for the update!

Couldn't agree more

I see her a lot cruising around the ice hall or in town and she looks in great shape mentally and physically. I can highly recommend everyone to tune in tomorrow to see her skate, as I said earlier my fav. practice session today but I am also a bit of a fan (actually huge :laugh:

) since I met her at Zagreb and she drew me a cute little heart under her signature.

You do see that she is not yet at 100% some of the jump elements were a bit shaky and she had to open them up some deep breaths etc. but the combination and her smiles seem to indicate that she is back on track.

Small update in regards of your American skaters.

Mariah was doing her titanic program and I got to say it fits her pretty well, like a feather she did on the ice and the whole choreo was timed greatly. Jumps, pirouettes always on beat so to speak. Gracie did her 2A 3T elegant as always it was so silent when she skated, just interrupted by the American skaters clapping. I believe she has a good chance to medal, if she goes for Gold we will see its not going to be that easy I would say, tomorrow might reveal more.

Isabelle Olsson didn't practice yet.

The Fins and Anna Ovcharova are not here yet so that we had to imagine those in the ice

ice coverage · Sep 24, 2014

ISU page with links to Starting Orders/Results:

http://www.isuresults.com/results/nt2014/

(via @yasminyvr)

ETA: Starting Orders for Pairs SP; SD, and Men's SP have been posted. Ladies' SP draw takes place on Thursday.

Alex D · Sep 24, 2014

I got the schedule for tomorrow for you.

Ice Dance:

12:00 CET Warm up G1 (6:00 Eastern Daytime / 19:00 Japan Standard Time)

1. Bonacorsi / Fioretti
2. Mansour / Ceska
3.Jones / Sharpe

12:26:31 CET Warm Up Group 2 (06:26:31 Eastern / 19:26:31 Japan)

4. Chock / Bates
5. Weaver / Poje
6. Reed / Rogov
7. Kim / Minov

Ice Break

13:14:55 CET Warm Up Group 3 (7:15:55 Eastern / 20:14:55 Japan)

8. Hawayek / Baker
9. Min / Koleto
10. Paradis / Oullette
11. Zhiganshina / Gazsi

Pairs:

14:30 CET Warm up Group 1 (8:30 Eastern / 21:30 Japan)

1. Stephens / Dodds
2. Kavaguti / Smirnov
3. Scimeca / Knierim

14:57:30 CET Warm Up Group 2 (8:57:30 Eastern / 21:57:30 Japan)

4. Aaron / Settlage
5. Fancy / Boyadji
6. Grenier / Deschamps

Ice Break

15:40 CET Warm Up Group 3 (9:40 Eastern / 22:40 Japan)

7. James / Cipres
8. Takahashi / Kihara
9. Poliakova / Bochkov
10. Evgenia Tarasova / Vladimir Morozov

Men (no times yet) Begin about 16:40 (10:40 Eastern / 23:40 Japan)

1 Konstantin MENSHOV

2 Michal BREZINA

3 Elladj BALDE

4 Jason BROWN

5 Liam FIRUS

Warm-Up Group 2

6 Alexander BJELDE

7 Alexei BYCHENKO

8 Andrew DODDS

9 Daniel SAMOHIN

10 Sergei VORONOV

Warm-Up Group 3

11 Denis TEN

12 Alexander JOHNSON

13 Paul FENTZ

14 Ryuju HINO

15 Ivan RIGHINI

Alex D · Sep 24, 2014

Watched some pairs and its really sad and funny at the same time. Robin has more publicity now on the side of Nina than in all those years before in Germany... Go figure how important FS is in my country

Anyways, "his" pair is looking really well on the ice triple twist with ease also the throw and the other elements and if something didn't go so well Robin helped out with some feedback - always a TV camera in his face. We will have a press conference with Nina and Robin in a few minutes I will try to summarize the key parts of it for you later.

bramweld · Sep 24, 2014

Does anybody have links to the SD practice videos? We had a handful last year

Hopeful!

StitchMonkey · Sep 24, 2014

Found some practice footage of some pairs skaters.

Kavaguti/Smirnov

James/Cipres

Tarasova/Morozov

swurvestar · Sep 24, 2014

bramweld said:
Does anybody have links to the SD practice videos? We had a handful last year Hopeful!

The user "Pistache Rose" has a few pairs videos posted.

samson · Sep 24, 2014

Jason is probably the most consistent of the men skating here this week, however my gut says if Denis is healthy he probably will win.

With Ice Dance I think Weaver and Poje have the edge over Chock and Bates, but still hopefully we'll get a good early season battle out of these two. For third in ice dance I think it's going to be between Hawayek and Baker and Zhiganshina and Gazsi. My gut here tells me youth will win out the day but we'll see. The Germans certainly have the experience of competing on the international stage.

Ladies will be interesting. If Gracie is back in form I think this will be her title to lose. Elizaveta has looked strong in the test skates I've seen though. I think it will be between those two ladies for the top spot but if Alena is ready and the other two struggle she could be a spoiler.

Pairs is really hard to tell. I'm not sure there's a clear front runner, but I would still lean towards the Kavaguti and Smirnov. I think their polish and experience will help them get an early season win here.

Lyinna · Sep 24, 2014

I'm Pistache Rose, but I'm very sorry I had no idea someone would want to watch ice dance and I arrive late so I thought that it would be useless to record them!

I had trouble with my camera all day and I erase Grenier/Deschamps by mistake so I only have those 4 and a bit of Jason at the end of the practice.

I'll try to do better tomorrow morning if they don't show practice

Mrs. P · Sep 24, 2014

samson said:
Jason is probably the most consistent of the men skating here this week, however my gut says if Denis is healthy he probably will win.

With Ice Dance I think Weaver and Poje have the edge over Chock and Bates, but still hopefully we'll get a good early season battle out of these two. For third in ice dance I think it's going to be between Hawayek and Baker and Zhiganshina and Gazsi. My gut here tells me youth will win out the day but we'll see. The Germans certainly have the experience of competing on the international stage.

Ladies will be interesting. If Gracie is back in form I think this will be her title to lose. Elizaveta has looked strong in the test skates I've seen though. I think it will be between those two ladies for the top spot but if Alena is ready and the other two struggle she could be a spoiler.

Pairs is really hard to tell. I'm not sure there's a clear front runner, but I would still lean towards the Kavaguti and Smirnov. I think their polish and experience will help them get an early season win here.

Denis Ten is a huge question mark for me. I think he is the favorite, IMO, but he can be highly inconsistent even when he's not injured. But I too have a gut feeling that Denis will likely win this event, barring major circumstances. I do think Jason has a good shot for another medal, though Menshov or Brezina (EDIT: And Voronov!) can play spoiler if they hit their jumps.

I agree with your other favorites.

Mrs. P · Sep 24, 2014

Lyinna said:
I'm Pistache Rose, but I'm very sorry I had no idea someone would want to watch ice dance and I arrive late so I thought that it would be useless to record them!

I had trouble with my camera all day and I erase Grenier/Deschamps by mistake so I only have those 4 and a bit of Jason at the end of the practice.

I'll try to do better tomorrow morning if they don't show practice

Thanks for posting the videos!

How was Jason looking?

Lyinna · Sep 24, 2014

I miss his run through but I have butterflies in my belly and heart in my eyes! It was such a treat to see him in practice. He didn't miss a single jump except for a few axel. He worked on his 3lz-1/2l-3sal and it was amazing. His spins were great.

Menshov and Voronov seem in good shape as well I wasn't paying much attention to Voronov unfortunetaly.

Alex D · Sep 24, 2014

As promised Nina Mozer & Robin Szolkowy about their future work together. I also have a picture from the interview, not sure how to post it though - the forum doesn't allow that I am afraid.

@ Doris & Co.

Feel free to post the interview on the website if you like.

1. Robin, how have you been contacted by Nina?

I was on holiday with my wife, taking some time off from figure skating and then I got a message that said

"Hey Robin, its Nina - would you like to work with me?"

Robin first thought this is some spam or a silly joke but then he realized that its true and what a great chance this could be for his career and three days later he said, "yes".

2. Nina, Why Robin?

I think it would had been a shame to see such a great skater just leave figure skating once and for all. It would be such a waste, I always admired his skating skills and his will to perform at his best. He is a hard working person and only with these you can achieve big things in life.

Nina also added that she always liked Robin and Aljona even though they were rivals and that Robin will bring in some fresh air to the Russian skating team and that this is exactly what's needed.

3. Robin about Nina and his feelings towards the job.

I am very happy, Nina does understand her work and I hope we can be very successful together. I hope to be able to assist her and the team. I want to give my own knowledge to these young skaters in the hope they can achieve big things on the ice.

To note is,

Robin is responsible for two young Russian pairs. Evgenia Tarasova & Vladimir Morozov but also Vasilisa Davankova & Alexander Enbert.

After Nina's opinion two is the perfect number for coaching as you will be able to focus on both pairs and don't have to leave someone behind. Oberstdorf is their very first competition together.

4. How does the contract actually look like?

The contract itself is so new that a lot still needs to be defined even though they have been working on the details for quite some time already. What they agreed on is that they will work together until the Russian Nationals and then they will decide how to go on from this point on. They will sit down and have a chat about what they liked and what not. Then a decision has to be made.

Robin said,

I will go wherever the team needs me. Be it half or full time, Moscow or somewhere else.

5. Robin, How does it feel to now work for Russia, after all you competed against that country for so many years?

On the ice you don't have any friends but off ice I never felt like that. Friendship off ice can still exist even if you were competing against each other on the ice. I don't have any bad feelings towards old competitors, after all its figure skating and this is what should count in my opinion.

Robin also said, that it doesn't matter for him what people might think about his move towards Russia. It was a great opportunity for him - an opportunity that he wanted to take. A great chance for his coaching career and his personal future.

6. Robin, could you also imagine working for the German Federation?

Sure, I would like to help them build something new and if they need my help I am up for it. I am open minded for everything but right now I will work with the two Russian teams and see how it goes on from there.

Robin also said that the figure skating "details" are different in Russia but in general you can say that about 70-80 % of the actual sport are the same.

7. Off Topic Question in regards of Trankov to Nina.

His shoulder is still on the rocks, it can not be said yet if he can skate the GPs or not.

That's it

Time for bed now, GN!

FSGMT · Sep 24, 2014

Thank you a lot Alex! :clap:

To Lyinna: thank you so much for the videos :bow:

, if you can record them, I would love to watch tomorrow's Ladies practice runthroughs

bramweld · Sep 24, 2014

Thank you again Lyinna. Also no pressure anything from dance would be great.

skatingfan04 · Sep 24, 2014

Do C/B realistically have a chance of beating W/P? The point differential between the two was over 8 points at worlds last year in favour of W/P. A difference that large won't disappear for no reason. I doubt W/P sat on their laurels during the off season, and I know they've worked on upping their difficulty. Besides, W/P skate with much more speed, refinement and expression than C/B, which should count for something if the judges actually follow the rule book. I honestly think that W/P will have to make a pretty big mistake to loose here (ditto for C/B, who should easily win silver).

samson · Sep 24, 2014

Ah man I'm so excited for this competition. It starts in what, seven hours? I'm almost tempted to stay up for it (I'm in Cali so it will be 3am when it starts if I do!) I guess I could also try to go to bed soon and then wake up around 2:30....

Truthfully I should probably be kind to myself and pace out this season rather than try to keep the hours I kept for things like the GPF and Olympics last year lol

Snow63 · Sep 25, 2014

skatingfan04 said:
Do C/B realistically have a chance of beating W/P? The point differential between the two was over 8 points at worlds last year in favour of W/P. A difference that large won't disappear for no reason. I doubt W/P sat on their laurels during the off season, and I know they've worked on upping their difficulty. Besides, W/P skate with much more speed, refinement and expression than C/B, which should count for something if the judges actually follow the rule book. I honestly think that W/P will have to make a pretty big mistake to loose here (ditto for C/B, who should easily win silver).

No chance. W/P can lose only if they will miss an element (like I/K at worlds last year) IMO.

But I am wondering how H/B will do, and how big will be a points difference between them and C/B. I honestly think that H/B will be US #1 dance team in a couple of seasons at worst.

Alex D · Sep 25, 2014

Liza did her Bolero SP flawlessly with 3-3.

No sign of julia yet.

samson · Sep 25, 2014

^Thanks Alex D! Are you catching the next practice group now? Very curious to hear how Gracie is practicing today.

2014 Nebelhorn Trophy

Alex D

ice coverage

avatar credit: @miyan5605

Alex D

Alex D

bramweld

StitchMonkey

swurvestar

samson

Lyinna

Mrs. P

Uno, Dos, twizzle!

Mrs. P

Uno, Dos, twizzle!

Lyinna

Alex D

FSGMT

bramweld

skatingfan04

samson

Snow63

Pray one day we'll open our eyes.

Alex D

samson

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