2015 Australian Nationals - Nov 28-Dec 4

skaterfan2501 said:

How many skaters are there?

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Five, three of whom are Doddses. So you're guaranteed at least one Dodds on the podium.

skaterfan2501 said:

Are you serious?

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Nationals weren't streamed at all last year, I haven't heard anything about a stream this year either. The whole competition was streamed the year before (2013) but that's because it was in Victoria and we have good tech people and are amazing at hosting events Our state championships were streamed this year, as well as the Crystal Challenge comp. But yeah, for this reason I kind of doubt Nationals will be streamed at all

(on the plus side - NATIONALS IS BACK IN MELBOURNE NEXT YEAR! Bring on the streaming ...which is kind of pointless for me because I'll be able to watch live, lol)

ETA: I just realised I think I misinterpreted your post and you were referring to something else rather than outrage over the lack of a live stream. But either way, my comment still stands!

skaterfan2501 said:

Are you serious?

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I am not a fool. I know that technically, Brendan is not just on another level; he's on almost two other levels. If he hits, no-one else will be even close. BUT, the ice is slippery, and just four days ago Brendan was skating in Nagano. It is not unthinkable that such circumstance might work against him. Of course, I hope that he steps onto that ice tomorrow and absolutely nails it. I'd love to see it. But, nothing is guaranteed in skating, and no title is ever assured ahead of time. Unless you're skating in Junior or Senior Pairs, in which case, automatic Australian Champions FTW.

(No slight on Jessica/Ryan or Paris/Matthew who were all quite excellent today.)

Layback11 said:

Five, three of whom are Doddses. So you're guaranteed at least one Dodds on the podium.

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Imagine if Matthew was still doing singles. There'd be six skaters and four Doddses and I imagine Brendan and Cameron would feel like the Dodds-one-out!

/terrible pun

iskate said:

ETA: I just realised I think I misinterpreted your post and you were referring to something else rather than outrage over the lack of a live stream. But either way, my comment still stands!

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Yes, I have a feeling it was more a jab at the mere thought of countenancing a men's champion other than Brendan. But stranger things have happened. Everyone thought Brooklee would win last year, too.

Kailani was on fire today. Secure and sure in every movement, didn't put a foot wrong. Pretty sure she got full rotation on her 3Lo-2Lo combo but I haven't seen the protocol yet.

karne said:

Kailani was on fire today. Secure and sure in every movement, didn't put a foot wrong. Pretty sure she got full rotation on her 3Lo-2Lo combo but I haven't seen the protocol yet.

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She must have been even more on fire today. She won the Junior FS by nearly 25 points!!!!

http://www.nswisa.com/results/live/SEG023.HTM

Unsurprisingly, this meant that she won the Junior Championship. By the very small margin of nearly 35 points!!!

I just hope this effort in the Junior competition won't harm Kailani when she goes back out again in a few hours time for the Senior SP...

WELL DONE KAILANI!!!

CaroLiza_fan

CaroLiza_fan said:

She must have been even more on fire today. She won the Junior FS by nearly 25 points!!!!

http://www.nswisa.com/results/live/SEG023.HTM

Unsurprisingly, this meant that she won the Junior Championship. By the very small margin of nearly 35 points!!!

I just hope this effort in the Junior competition won't harm Kailani when she goes back out again in a few hours time for the Senior SP...

WELL DONE KAILANI!!!

CaroLiza_fan

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Well, it doesn't seem to have harmed her too much since she's in first after the SP. I'm for Kailani and for Brooklee. Looking forward to seeing a video of Chantelle at some point--don't know much about her (yet).

Princessroja said:

Well, it doesn't seem to have harmed her too much since she's in first after the SP. I'm for Kailani and for Brooklee. Looking forward to seeing a video of Chantelle at some point--don't know much about her (yet).

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I was like when I saw Brooklee's score. Poor thing!

But YEAH, KAILANI! Two new PBs in the SP!

Kailani was magnificent yesterday. Her free skate was absolutely brilliant. Someone near me jested that she might "hold back" in her Junior FS to save energy for the Senior SP last night, but there was no sign of that, she came to stamp her authority on the Junior competition and she absolutely did. And then she turned around that night and proceeded to stamp her authority on the Senior competition, as well! Barring a major disaster, or a "moment" from Brooklee or Chantelle today, she should win her second Senior title.

I felt so sad for Brooklee. The program is absolutely exquisite and she performed it beautifully. And that layback spin! I defy anyone to find a better. But the jumps just did not happen for her, and she was obviously disappointed afterwards. I hope that the jumps come back to her for the long today.

Chantelle! It's been a long time since I saw Chantelle skate in person, much less in video - not since Skate DownUnder. But she was absolutely amazing last night. Still with that grace and eloquence that I loved the first time I saw her, but now also with a mature poise on the ice that says she has fought hard to get back to this point. And the triples were mostly there too! It was fabulous and I was so thrilled to see her in the top three after the SP.

The Junior Men turned out to be a triple-fest! I think every skater tried at least one, and almost all of them landed at least one. James wasn't quite 100% last night but he was still fabulous, a real dynamo, and he really has that ability to light up the arena. Super impressed with all of them. The Senior Men were all a bit messy in places, but again, triples attempted and mostly landed by all. It's been a long time since I saw Ryan Dodds skate and I was amazed at how good he looked last night. Like his brothers, elegant and soft on the ice. Jordan's spins were incredible, he was really on, and I actually think he would have beaten Andrew if he'd done a 2T instead of a 1T on his combo. Andrew - Andrew's program is even more heartbreakingly wonderful live, and he sells it so well. It's going to be a smash hit at 4CCs if he can do it even remotely clean. His spins were a little iffy last night and he had problems in the footwork sequences (twizzles were not his friends). Brendan is also amazing in person. Lots of speed, and even though that sort of flat smile he has doesn't look like much on video it's much more charming live. He fell on the quad, popped the 3Lz to a double (no combo), but the 3A was incredible, absolutely enormous and effortless. He seemed not too disappointed, and hung around to watch his sister afterwards.

Possibly the moment, for me, was Andrew's grieved expression as he skated to Empty Chairs at Empty Tables with the French tricolore about his waist. Really poignant.

Today there is the Jr/Sr Free Dances, the Senior Men's LP and the Senior Ladies' LP is last.

It's a Double Dodds Podium!

1. Brendan Kerry
2. Andrew Dodds
3. Jordan Dodds
4. Cameron Hemmert
5. Ryan Dodds

My first time watching competitive figure skating in the flesh! Brendan landed a quad in the warmup, but popped it in his free :sad21:
Brooklee and Kailani's spins were GORGEOUS! Lots of triples from Kailani too!
(Saw Chantelle give Brooklee a bit of a shove when she walked past her - Throwback to Sochi?!?! HAHA)

sweetnothinggs said:

(Saw Chantelle give Brooklee a bit of a shove when she walked past her - Throwback to Sochi?!?! HAHA)

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Ha

I thought it was my imagination. I was sitting right by the skaters warm - up gate and saw Chantelle stride by Brooklee and do that, too.

Han and Craine were excellent yesterday. I wonder if Katie Pasfield is under consideration for Four Continents as well. Do she and Kerry have the TES necessary?

sweetnothinggs said:

(Saw Chantelle give Brooklee a bit of a shove when she walked past her - Throwback to Sochi?!?! HAHA)

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I sincerely hope that was an accident, and it would not be funny if it wasn't. It was a bit tight in places in there. Brooklee and Kailani had a big hug on the podium, though.

SENIOR MEN

Ryan: Been a long time since I saw Ryan skate, and I was pleasantly surprised by his level of improvement. Very elegant and stylish like his brothers. The jumps were not quite there for him and he has that just-out-of-Juniors stamina issue in the late end of the program, but it was all very nicely done. Looking forward to his development in the coming years.

Cameron: Not quite as on as those great performances that saw him take the silver last year, but extremely smooth and gorgeous to watch. Great spins, and some pretty good jumps too. Would love to see him get a few Senior B outings next year if he can, he has loads of potential and the jumps are quite solid when he lands them.

Jordan: Easily Jordan's best pair of performances all year and what a time to do it. He started shakily, singling his planned opening 3Lz, but he then turned around and went down the other end of the rink and did a fabulous 3Lz. He had a much better energy and projection all through and his spins were extremely well done. Lots of good triples and so pleased to see him relaxed afterwards too and not beating himself up about the popped or iffy jumps.

Andrew: WOW. Amazing. I just wow. I loved Andrew last year when I saw him, and when I saw the videos from SLC I loved the new programs, but this weekend - there is no substitute for seeing it live. He was amazing. And his opening 3Lz is +3 all the way and everyone should give it a +3 and what the flip are you doing if you don't. He reaches out across the barrier much better, and really pulls you in. The Warsaw Concerto is just magnificent for him and that ChSq where he does the outside-inside spreadeagle is . The jumps were also very good, he's getting good height and flow and is much more confident. I have no doubt that the cut will not be an issue at 4CCs this year for him and I'm sure that if he goes even close to clean he'll be this season's 4CCs smash hit.

Brendan: Poor Brendan. If Andrew was on, Brendan was very definitely off. He was clearly trying his best to show his home crowd how good he really is, but whether he wasn't feeling well, or if the California-Nagano-Sydney turnaround was just too much, he was really not great yesterday. He struggled with the quad in the warmup, and finally landed an absolute beauty in the last minute, but it just wasn't there for him. However, that said, while he had issues with his jumps, his presentation was still top-notch and Secrets is a wonderful program in person. He was also adorably goofy and very sweet and polite off the ice, but I imagine a margin of only 14 points was not what he had in mind for defending his National title...

SENIOR LADIES

Katie: I hadn't seen Katie Pasfield before this competition but I'm really quite taken with her afterwards. Sure, it's not like there were heaps of triples or anything, but she fought the whole way through to the end even when her fuel tank was obviously empty and she was exhausted. Pretty sure she landed most of everything that she tried, even at the end. Her spins are also extremely good and super high quality.

Chantelle: I was just pleased to see her back and skating well again. Her long program wasn't as good as her short program but considering how much time off the ice she'd had with the injury it was still very impressive. She's really worked on her presentation too and was very good at reaching the crowd across the boards. She looked confident and reasonably strong given the circumstances, and a bronze medal here is still quite the achievement.

Brooklee: Oh, Brooklee. My heart broke for her after the free skate. She was clearly trying so hard, and wanted it so badly, but the jumps just did not come with her yesterday. And she also seemed...kind of alone, not with as many people around her as Chantelle or Kailani. Absolutely adore this program for her and the onesie is just fantastic. Her spins were out of this world as usual (although she didn't do my favourite accelerating layback in the long) and most of her other jumps were strong. I hope that she does really well at 4CCs.

Kailani: Kailani was absolute magic. She barely put a foot wrong the whole time. I thought she was a little less expressive in her Senior FS compared to the Junior but I was sitting in a different place so that could have been the angle. Watching her land the jumps was awesome, especially the 3Lo-1Lo-3S. From the moment the program began there was no question that she would win. She was just superb, absolutely dominant and authoritative. I was so pleased to see her and Brooklee have a big hug on the podium as they did last year. There is a lot of genuine respect between those two ladies. Also Kailani's father and his camera is ten different kinds of adorable.

PODIUM NOTES

Brendan was goofy as usual and surprisingly is actually shorter than both Andrew and Jordan. Big hug between Brooklee and Kailani in the ladies, Chantelle not so much. Brendan and Cameron seemed to hang around each other a lot - I wonder if it was kind of weird for them with the three Doddses all thick as thieves while they waited for the podium. Brendan and Kailani then posed for the photos together. I'd love to know what was said because suddenly Brendan was making extra weird faces and side-eyeing Kailani and Kailani got an attack of the giggles. Assuming that someone told them to get closer.

All the skaters are really nice when you approach them afterwards (though I felt bad asking Brendan for a photo while he was eating his chocolate). Kailani was very popular. Brendan is so much smaller in real life than he looks on the screen - much shorter and a LOT slimmer, though it takes away nothing from his skating. Brooklee is positively pocket-sized. I thought Kailani was a little taller than the last time I saw her.

Other thoughts: it was a little disappointing to not have a gala or the fun team exhibition thing this year. They had the podium ceremony and then everyone kind of just dispersed to go to the banquet. The Edea lady out the front must have raked in a fortune. I saw so many people carrying around the red boxes with new boots. Mind you, when the mother of one of the skaters I know said they were selling the Chorus boots for $320 I was sorely tempted to be one of them or at least try them on! They had some discounts going on - they had Ice Flys for $550 which in Australia is massively cheap - and that little stall was always packed.

It was a bit disappointing that the stands weren't full on that last day, but I guess the middle of the work day on a Friday was a bit much to ask.

essence_of_soy said:

Han and Craine were excellent yesterday. I wonder if Katie Pasfield is under consideration for Four Continents as well. Do she and Kerry have the TES necessary?

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Forgot to answer this. I don't think Katie has been anywhere this season to get the 4CCs TES, but I thought I read that Chantelle got it at that Andorra comp the week before Nats. Can we send three ladies to 4CCs? This is the question I need answered.

I don't know if Jordan has the 4CCs minimums either. If not, and if we can send three men, we need to find some way for him to get them, rapidly.

karne said:

Forgot to answer this. I don't think Katie has been anywhere this season to get the 4CCs TES, but I thought I read that Chantelle got it at that Andorra comp the week before Nats. Can we send three ladies to 4CCs? This is the question I need answered.

I don't know if Jordan has the 4CCs minimums either. If not, and if we can send three men, we need to find some way for him to get them, rapidly.

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Yes you can. 4CC lets everyone send 3 skaters if three are eligible. One of the reason Kori had Jason do the quad there... less on the line as it is a more isolated competition.

StitchMonkey said:

Yes you can. 4CC lets everyone send 3 skaters if three are eligible. One of the reason Kori had Jason do the quad there... less on the line as it is a more isolated competition.

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*excited sqeak* Right, we need to make sure Chantelle and Jordan get the minimums, oh how amazing it would be if we could send three men and three ladies! I wonder how far Paris and Matthew are from it. They were much improved this week, thought the jumps were still problematic in the FS.

Of course she won junior she is already a senior champion last year and against a 14 year old Lots of people thought it was not appropriate. Incidentally she also won senior by a huge margin as well. Good on her but it's very strange she would need to do both

Odds were pretty good

Katie Pasfield does not have the scores sadly but any things possible with Australian judging!

A few people saw the shove and it was no accident. Very nasty display of bad sportsmanship. It is no wonder Brooklee never skates her best in Australia

Yes I also witnessed it and it was very nasty. Another senior skaters mother also said behaviour on the ice was very aggressive as well of drunken antics of one parent and officials at national dinner

Katie is a very nice skater but is no where near four continents standard. Standout for me other than Kailani was the very pretty girl in junior who came 2nd. Gorgeous lines and I believe she has had a very rough year with injury. She was stunning!