Here is the report about the Pairs, men will come tomorrow with an interview of the top three.
Pairs SP detailed summary.
1. Yuko Kavagutchi / Alexander Smirnov [66.59]
Alex said after the program that there is still stuff to improve, nontheless did they land all their difficult elements such as the triple toe which was wonderfully performed by both of them, a level 4 lift (hand to hip) and Yuko also landed the triple loop flawlessly.
What I always enjoy with that couple is that they do really look great on the ice, he does take good care of her and she is quite a charming character as well. I honestly cant imagine seeing them with a different partner than their current, they are just made for each other somehow.
Yuko & Alex decided to take the same music like last year while not going for the vocal opportunity that they had and Yuko explained this with the long time injury that they had the past season.
We couldn't really use our music last season so we felt that it might be a good idea to use the same now and hopefully we will be able to compete with it and not just run shows.
Alex added to this,
hopefully we will be less nervous next time we skate as it wasn't such an easy skate after the long time out from competitions.
2. Evgenia Tarasova / Vladimir Morozov [65.74]
I have to say I really like that pair a lot, especially Evgenia has a charming attitude! While having the press conference Vladimir handed her the mic and she just refused to grab it, saying that she didnt want to talk.
But guess what, once she actually had the microphone in her hands she couldnt stop talking.
But lets take a closer look now to their actual program first.
I felt that they had some wonderful music to skate to, especially the vocals worked amazingly well. You really bought it the lyrics said "fly" --> she was lifted up sky high (hand to hip level4).
Asking Evgenia about their great musical choice she said,
we were actually looking for fitting music for quite some time and then all of a sudden we found this piece and enjoyed it a lot while we were listening to it.
She explained their decision like that,
You must like the music as a skater if you want to skate well to it.
So they went to the coaches and they gave their approval.
Besides the wonderful music, also their elements were performed lovely and in high quality. Their triple twist for instance was amazing, not only in height but also when he caught her so softly - like a butterfly, a very well deserved level 4.
The spins also, they were always in sync, there was hardly something to criticise.
That said Valdimir mentioned that they are not done yet and that there is still work to do.
We had a few errors today and we need to work on fixing them throughout the season.
He was referring to a few of the timings at some elements and the loop where Evgenia had to go really deep to put it on the ice.
Personally my favorite pair that evening, they understand well how to use the new rules to their advantage and they do have a nice harmony on the ice.
3. Alexa Scimeca / Chris Knierim [55.29]
Fans of Alexa and Chris might have been a bit confused about their musical choice she said, after all they were known for having more quiet stuff but this time they wanted to let the cat out of the basket so to speak and went for a stronger musical support which can actually support their choreographie a lot better.
Alexa said,
We are quite pleased by the ability to have vocal support now in Pair Skating. I would had added more already but the program was already done so the chance came a bit too late for us. That said, we decided to change our more quiet attitude on the ice into a more stronger performance and for that purpose the Tango of Roxanne was chosen.
The Americans started with an amazing level 4 twist, that height - wow! Like he wanted to throw her through the roof. Chris said later that this is an element they have been working on since last season so he was very pleased that they finally got that level 4 and based on the hight the ISU might need to add a level 5 someday especially for them.
The rest of the program sadly wasnt fawless, they struggled a bit with their jump elements such as the triple Sal.
Alexa was hesitating before the take off and then got all her timings wrong and fell.
Also to note is that their triple flip was a mess, sorry but there is no other word for that. How can you throw a girl away like that, oh god - there was absolutely no way that she could land this element. Chris still saw something positive in their mistakes.
At least we stayed focused throughout the whole program, we didn't let ourselves go and stayed focused and fought back and managed to put the program on the ice.
4. Vanessa James / Morgan Cipres [55.18]
Honestly, they can do so much better but it just wasnt their day. Their side by side toe was planned as a triple but she only doubled the element. Also the twist only received a level two, it just didnt work out. That said, from the moment on that Vanessa landed the triple Flip their program improved greatly. All of the following elements received a level 4, i liked especially the stepsequence and their combination spins - all very much in sync.
I do hope they will do much better in the FS, I like those two a lot.
5. Madeline Aaron / Max Settlage [51.80]
The Americans started out with a level one twist, followed by a triple Loop that she landed well. Sadly she didnt do the same with the Sal later. What I liked about them is that even though they had mistakes the positive vibes and energy stayed. Interesting pose at the end with her leg up as well.
6. Vanessa Grenier / Maxim Deshamps [50.67]
I like it a lot that Maxim just never stops smiling, he is such a positive character on the ice. Not so positive was his catch as there was pretty much none and she landed on his shoulders after the twist. The triple sal was a lot better and she landed it witout too many problems, more problems they had with the side by side toe where she overrotated, bad GOE but it still was a triple.
A couple which is an enjoyable watch if you ask me.
7. Narumi Takahashi / Ryuichi Kihara [46.83]
Another pleasent couple, they are still very young and you can see this quite well but not in a negative way. They are very cute on the ice and therefore went more for the smaller elements so to speak. A double twist which received level two, so did the death spiral. Their best element was the level 4 lift, she wasnt scared at all there or she was because right after the triple Sal was kinda shaky.
8. Maria Paliakova / Nikita Bochkov [46.37]
I need to make them a huge compliment. The Belarussians really made a huge step forward compared to the last season, especially Nikita.
Honestly, a few years ago whenever he lifted her up it was a moment where I was actually scared it just looked so weird, like he was afraid to really grab her and keep her up. I mean he never let her fall down, at least that I know but ya it was so shaky every time.
Today however this wasnt the case at all. Their hand to hip was really good especially in combination with the music - I liked that part a lot.
What I also liked a lot and I say this every time , the moment she lands that triple loot - its like the sun comes out. Huge smile in the crowd, absolutely amazing. Its a bit like her trademark and while you want that all skaters land their jumps, with Maria you want it just a tiny bit more.
Back to Nikita, as I said he looked a lot more stable today than all the last seasons together. One mistake he made, which was the missed catch after their triple twist but ya they seem to finally make some huge progress, they started to groove in so to speak and this is lovely to see as I like them as a couple a lot.
They seem to get along quite well if you ask me, its a bit like the big bear protecting the little kitten, I know it sounds totally crazy but ya its late at night so you need to give me that.
In future they need to gain some levels in the stepsequence as this was just a poor level one, it often seemed to be a mix of elements with no real idea behind it ( sorry for the harsh words) but also their syncronicity at the pair spin needs some work.
I am very curious about what they have in store tomorrow and wish them a healthy skate.
9. Amani FANCY / Christopher BOYADJI [45.50]
They didnt had such a good start unfortunately, the double twist was actually ok but the axel was only performed as a single by her so that it was kicked out of the score sheet.
In general she was really unhappy about her performance and I really hope Christopher will cheer her up a bit and she should always remember that she somehow managed to land that triple Sal because the throw was not good at all.
She is such a lovely girl and I hope she will not take it too hard, there is always another day and another skate.
10. Paris STEPHENS / Matthew DODDS [31.09]
They were a fun to watch pair. First they were really focused on what they had to do but as the program went on and the elements more or less worked out in one way or the other, the smiles started coming out.
These two have something that I like, kind of the Aussie attitude but they definately need to work on their stamina, they did just run out of steam towards the end, besides that gaining some more levels should lift their scores up as most were just a level one today.
I hope this gave you some background info and that it was a good recap of what happened, GN.
He even said there will be a day when 5 quad LP become the norm. 
Maybe that's day will become true when we are all cyborgs.
they only said it's their dream. But who knows... Maybe someone who is crazy enough might try. :scowl: so scared for their bodies.
Jason!
Andrew! Don't look so sad! It wasn't that bad!
