2017 World Synchro Skating Championships | Page 3 | Golden Skate

2017 World Synchro Skating Championships

NaVi

Medalist
Joined
Oct 30, 2014
I was rooting for Team Paradise, but to win a close contest with missing a skater is a little bush league-ish... I'm surprised there's not a standard deduction for missing a skater.

I wish they would just have a stationary camera live and then do closeups on replays.
 

rmaap1

Rinkside
Joined
Apr 26, 2008
Agreed. Teams get a deduction if there is a fall and it takes them too long to get back in. But no deduction for missing one skater altogether?
 

Osmond4gold

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 27, 2013
As for Paradise - AKA Team Russia - winning the championship for the second year in a row, I don't think that was right.

Sarah, I know nothing of this sport, but statistically speaking, if you have fewer participants you have a reduced potential for defects or errors, correct? I would think, given that odds of having a mishap decrease as your numbers decrease, that the other teams have a case for an appeal.
 
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SarahSynchro

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 7, 2014
Country
Canada
Sarah, I know nothing of this sport, but statistically speaking, if you have fewer participants you have a reduced potential for defects or errors, correct? I would think, given that odds of having a mishap decrease as your numbers decrease, that the other teams have a case for an appeal.

In general, yes that's definitely true. In Skate Canada's synchronized skating system, the team categories that only compete up to only the provincial level and/or national level all have a minimum and maximum number of skaters who can be on the ice competing. Some categories have a minimum as low as eight skaters, all non-adult categories have a maximum of sixteen skaters, and the three categories of adult synchro can have a maximum of 20 skaters.

I have an example to further prove your point of how less skaters make for less chances for mistakes. My daughter's team that competes in the Beginner category had a full roster this season of sixteen skaters. However, the majority of the other teams they competed against in their category had less than twelve skaters, some even only had eight skaters - that's half the roster of my daughter's team!

At the Ontario Synchro championships this past February, the three teams who won medals in the beginner category all had rosters of eleven or less skaters. Our team was the lone one with a full set of sixteen.

Unfortunately, our girls had three unusual falls during their program, and were penalized with three mandatory deductions as a result. Three falls from a team of sixteen is statistically more likely to happen than it would for teams half the size. It's just simple math. ;)

Prior to the introduction of the IJS, which in Canada is used for all the categories in synchro, from beginner all the way up to junior and senior, the OBO/6.0 judging systems would indeed penalize teams who were not competing with full rosters. They don't do that anymore within the new system.

However, any required pair element in synchro is usually outright not called if there are an uneven number of skaters. This year, the senior synchronized skating free program had several required pair elements: death spirals, a pair spin, and a pair field move. Then we have the two required group lifts, which are supposed to be performed in quads, and all quads must be doing the same lift entry, the same position held by the lifted skater, the same hold of the lifted skaters by the three base skaters, and the same exit out of the lift.

The fact that Paradise received no deductions whatsoever and got all these elements called with positive GOE is absolutely mind boggling to me. For both group lifts, only three quads did an actual lift, and the remaining three skaters basically just did split jumps and other field moves.

Here's another example of this scenario. At one of the competitions that my adult team entered this year, we ended up having to compete with an uneven number of skaters. We also had a pair element. The element did not get called at all and we did not get a single point for it. My level competes up to the provincial level. So the fact that we got a no call, while an international, world class team did not, just makes me shake my head.

I honestly think the Finnish Skating Fed, Skate Canada, and especially the USFSA (who's Haydenettes finished fourth) should be protesting this whole decable to the ISU. There have been several debates going on about the subject in various figure skating groups on social media, and many people agree with this opinion.
 
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SarahSynchro

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 7, 2014
Country
Canada
Holy sh*t. Ok, so I've never watched world synchro in my life (although I've been on synchro teams in the past). I was so impressed with the lifts and the complexity of these programs. It was heartbreaking how close the top team from Finland came to winning. I was not a fan of the Prince program though. It looked sloppy to me.

You're damn right synchro is a complex sport and not simply one for "inferior" singles skaters! :biggrin: If only more figure skating fans could have the same opinion as you and I....
 

SarahSynchro

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 7, 2014
Country
Canada
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IcUB83onHuA

Here is Nexxice's free program from last night. I dare you to watch and not have your eyes start watering!

For those who are unfamiliar with the theme, the lone skater in black is a recent widow, and the program is about her journey through the grieving process.
 

SarahSynchro

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 7, 2014
Country
Canada
wow!!! that was amazing... sarah, why do you make me tear up every time we talk.... :laugh:

I know right? :rofl: it's either tears of laughter, tears of emotion... or tears when you FINALLY admit that I'm more of Poje's type than you are. :laugh2:
 
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Violetti

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 11, 2014
1 Team Finland - Marigold IceUnity FIN - 137.70 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2fcuqKhSUg
2 Team Russia - Paradise RUS - 136.08 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bXgAHuwsIE
3 Team United States of America - Haydenettes USA - 130.53 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJYQYuWDcDA
4 Team Canada - Nexxice - CAN - 130.37 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tz8ETdQy62I
5 Team Canada - Les Supremes CAN - 125.81 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_odDf-TojU
6 Team Finland - RCKT FIN - 124.69 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyIVseWmJQg
7 Team Russia - Tatarstan RUS - 124.50 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGBE4KWswkE
8 Team Sweden - Team Surprise SWE - 121.43 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep9VOicu_Ps
9 Team United States of America - Crystallettes USA - 107.77 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_thRaiGjlA
10 Team Germany - Team Berlin 1 GER - 104.11 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ha_LP3WgGGc
11 Team Japan - Jingu Ice Messengers JPN - 99.54 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zivZFUZMIBE
12 Team France - Les Zoulous FRA - 97.64 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAVbDNO79Do
13 Team Sweden - Team Boomerang SWE - 96.33 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhuLcctDHvc
14 Team Italy - Hot Shivers Senior ITA - 96.24 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYahmW-6DvA
15 Team Hungary - Team Passion HUN - 85.40 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfFo4LEWddE
16 Team Switzerland - Cool Dreams Senior SUI - 84.81 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5vxXgaB6KI
17 Team Czech Republic - CzechOlympia CZE - 72.26
18 Team Spain - Team Fusion ESP - 70.64 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEssZkrohOc
19 Team Croatia - Zagreb Snowflakes CRO - 63.31
20 Team Australia - Infusion AUS - 61.09 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yeHRC29bN8
21 Team Great Britain - Zariba GBR - 55.21 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0pQZAsvNnw
22 Team Austria - Sweet Mozart AUT - 54.02 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Is3zBYVqDEw
23 Team Netherlands - Team Illumination NED - 50.48 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_e5Kx5P57Y
24 Team Turkey - Team Turquoise TUR - 49.51 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WscA4PodrHA

I could not find all yet. Maybe later. Right now I have no time to look for more.
I was in tears looking Marigold's free. It's a program in honor of Finland's one hundred years of independence this year with Finnish music and beautiful white and blue costumes. RCKT was also good before the falls, they cost the medal.
 
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kwalker

Rinkside
Joined
Apr 5, 2011
In general, yes that's definitely true. In Skate Canada's synchronized skating system, the team categories that only compete up to only the provincial level and/or national level all have a minimum and maximum number of skaters who can be on the ice competing. Some categories have a minimum as low as eight skaters, all non-adult categories have a maximum of sixteen skaters, and the three categories of adult synchro can have a maximum of 20 skaters.

I have an example to further prove your point of how less skaters make for less chances for mistakes. My daughter's team that competes in the Beginner category had a full roster this season of sixteen skaters. However, the majority of the other teams they competed against in their category had less than twelve skaters, some even only had eight skaters - that's half the roster of my daughter's team!

At the Ontario Synchro championships this past February, the three teams who won medals in the beginner category all had rosters of eleven or less skaters. Our team was the lone one with a full set of sixteen.

Unfortunately, our girls had three unusual falls during their program, and were penalized with three mandatory deductions as a result. Three falls from a team of sixteen is statistically more likely to happen than it would for teams half the size. It's just simple math. ;)

Prior to the introduction of the IJS, which in Canada is used for all the categories in synchro, from beginner all the way up to junior and senior, the OBO/6.0 judging systems would indeed penalize teams who were not competing with full rosters. They don't do that anymore within the new system.

However, any required pair element in synchro is usually outright not called if there are an uneven number of skaters. This year, the senior synchronized skating free program had several required pair elements: death spirals, a pair spin, and a pair field move. Then we have the two required group lifts, which are supposed to be performed in quads, and all quads must be doing the same lift entry, the same position held by the lifted skater, the same hold of the lifted skaters by the three base skaters, and the same exit out of the lift.

The fact that Paradise received no deductions whatsoever and got all these elements called with positive GOE is absolutely mind boggling to me. For both group lifts, only three quads did an actual lift, and the remaining three skaters basically just did split jumps and other field moves.

Here's another example of this scenario. At one of the competitions that my adult team entered this year, we ended up having to compete with an uneven number of skaters. We also had a pair element. The element did not get called at all and we did not get a single point for it. My level competes up to the provincial level. So the fact that we got a no call, while an international, world class team did not, just makes me shake my head.

I honestly think the Finnish Skating Fed, Skate Canada, and especially the USFSA (who's Haydenettes finished fourth) should be protesting this whole decable to the ISU. There have been several debates going on about the subject in various figure skating groups on social media, and many people agree with this opinion.

Sarah, Paradise did not get their lifts called. They only received a level 3 on their group lifts because only 3 lifts went up while the remaining 3 skaters did variations of field moves. I did not agree that their moves in the field and pairs spins got called. They ended up getting higher GOEs on their pairs spins with one girl spinning by herself than MIUs perfectly in synch death spirals.

There was a team at the Intermediate level in Canada that skated 15 for one program at a competition this year. I was told the only reason they got their moves (ME3) called was because an exemption was made due to the fact skater #16 had an illness flare-up during the warmup just prior to the skate and couldn't physically compete. They skated 15 at a previous competition due to conflict issues and not sickness prior to their skate, and did not get their field moves called. The rules state that there must be at least four skaters executing the same field move and if there is not at least four skaters executing the same field move, the move element will be called one level lower.

There are conflicting reports whether Paradise sent all 16 skaters and the captain who was ill got sent home, or they just came with 15 and left the sick captain back in Russia. Supposedly the assistant coach was rostered, but didn't skate at Worlds. They received a medical exemption from the ISU, which enabled them to get elements such as the moves in the field and pairs spins called. Apparently they couldn't afford to send the alternates to the competition, even though they went to all the competitions all over Europe this season.

There was a lot of controversy surrounding this inside the arena, mainly because the whole story is not known. The crowd was not happy with the results, going as far as the entire arena booing MIUs second place ranking.
 
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