2015-16 Grand Prix Final: Pairs Preview

[gsk8]

From quad throw jumps and twists to triple-triple side-by-side jump combinations, the top pairs teams are pushing the technical envelope this season. That trend will continue at this year’s Grand Prix Final with five of the seven pairs attempting planned quad elements in their free skates and a sixth planning a side-by-side triple-triple jump combination.

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Do you think quad throws are really necessary? What are scenarios where pairs might score higher without the the quad throw?

 

[FSGMT]

Nice idea these previews I hadn't actually realised Sui/Han have WD, and this makes the Final suddenly less interesting :sad21: I'll be rooting for the Canadians instead!

 

[Mathman]

Great preview. Without Volosozhar & Trankpov and Sui & Han, Duhamel & Raford ought to be solid favorites. But ice is slippery.

 

[Silvia451]

I just hope Stolbova/Klimov and Duhamel/Radford skate clean and I'll let the judges decide But I think I'd prefer S/K winning because they somehow "need" this more than the Canadians.

(and I was so excited about V/T coming back:sad21

 

[Layback11]

I just hope Stolbova/Klimov and Duhamel/Radford skate clean and I'll let the judges decide But I think I'd prefer S/K winning because they somehow "need" this more than the Canadians.

(and I was so excited about V/T coming back:sad21

Agree with you on S/K. I saw them at SA and I indeed liked them.

On V/T-I feel you!

 

[mrrice]

Great preview. Without Volosozhar & Trankpov and Sui & Han, Duhamel & Raford ought to be solid favorites. But ice is slippery.

I was watching the clip of skaters pronouncing their names and I can't believe how far away I was from the correct pronunciation of Duhamel. Even though it's basically spelled exactly like it sounds, I kept thinking it was something like.......Duuwamelle with a silent H. Clearly she's not from Motreal.

 

[el henry]

Agree with you on S/K. I saw them at SA and I indeed liked them.

On V/T-I feel you!

I saw vids of S/K too from Skate America and loved them. That fierceness from Alexa, that amazing quad twist, I think folks ignore them in favor of "better" Russian teams at their peril....

Oh wait a minute, that's not the S/K at Skate America that you meant?

 

[Mathman]

I was watching the clip of skaters pronouncing their names and I can't believe how far away I was from the correct pronunciation of Duhamel. Even though it's basically spelled exactly like it sounds, I kept thinking it was something like.......Duuwamelle with a silent H. Clearly she's not from Motreal.

Some French settlers in the U.S., many by way of Scotland, with the name du Hamel shortened it to Hamill (as in Dorothy Hamill).

 

[Layback11]

I saw vids of S/K too from Skate America and loved them. That fierceness from Alexa, that amazing quad twist, I think folks ignore them in favor of "better" Russian teams at their peril....

Oh wait a minute, that's not the S/K at Skate America that you meant?

I like both a lot, but in this case I was referring to the Russian S/K.

 

[moriel]

I think we should use full names here to avoid identification issues =)

I don´t think quads are a big deal. Pairs is "two skating as one" thing for me, and harder elements only add to it once skating as one is achieved.
D/R are clear favs - cannot say i´m happy that Sui/Han and Volosozhar/Trankov are out =(
Would love to see D/R, V/T, S/H and K/S all together in the same competition.

Right now, i see it kinda like... D/R x K/S x S/K fighting for podium spots
Everybody else grabbing whatever those 3 let go (if the first 3 go clean-ish, other teams dont have chances to beat them)

 

[deedee1]

It's exciting to see pair skaters pushing technical boundaries, unless those elements get too dangerous. That's how any sports should be. :yes:

When it comes to throw jumps, however, I love better-executed huuuge triple throws which are higher, effortless, with more distance, better flow on landing with beautifully stretched out free leg and knee bent, while hitting right at the precise musical note and as a part of choreography; e.g. Pang/Tong's, Volosozhar/Trankov's or Shen/Zhao's , than rather forced quad throws with tight air position, shaky landing, nervous look on their faces while ignoring the music, stopping performing/choreography, but only skating and waiting to catch the exact moment to take off... I may be minority but just my preference about this particular element, since personally, throw jump is the best and most favorite element in pair skate. It's a sheer beauty to the eyes to watch such flloooowwww on its landing covering much of ice; something we can't see in singles.

Good luck and injury-free to all pair teams at GPF! Esp to my favs Yuko/Sasha, Peng/Zhang and Yu/Jin.

 

[QuadThrow]

It's exciting to see pair skaters pushing technical boundaries, unless those elements get too dangerous. That's how any sports should be. :yes:

When it comes to throw jumps, however, I love better-executed huuuge triple throws which are higher, effortless, with more distance, better flow on landing with beautifully stretched out free leg and knee bent, while hitting right at the precise musical note and as a part of choreography; e.g. Pang/Tong's, Volosozhar/Trankov's or Shen/Zhao's , than rather forced quad throws with tight air position, shaky landing, nervous look on their faces while ignoring the music, stopping performing/choreography, but only skating and waiting to catch the exact moment to take off... I may be minority but just my preference about this particular element, since personally, throw jump is the best and most favorite element in pair skate. It's a sheer beauty to the eyes to watch such flloooowwww on its landing covering much of ice; something we can't see in singles.

I believe that we are close to the time when we will see top quads with good air position and cool landings. IMO P/Z showed an enormous and well defined 4Tw3 last season and S/H's 4STh (and 4FTh) will be great and high. Savchenko/Massot will add monstrous quads,too.

K/S's quads are really not worth it.

 

[cathlen]

Answering question: quads throw aren't necessary, especially if you have quad twist (or do we count this as quad throw too?) or difficult SBS jump combination. But I think that yes, TES is important, so if there is possibility to improve the score, I'll say: go for it!

Pairs Preview in video

 

[Layback11]

I woke up early, all excited because I thought it was Final day, but then it was Tuesday and I literally almost cried.

 

[dorispulaski]

I didn't realize that Cheng Peng is the youngest in pairs at 18. I thought surely one of the 4 kids in their first senior GP series would be younger!

And I was also surprised that Hao Zhang is not the oldest...that would be Yuko Kavaguti at 34!

thanks for the interesting previews!

I think at least a quad twist is soon going to be necessary. Teams could do one or more quad throws instead, but those elements seem riskier.

 

[eli60056]

It's exciting to see pair skaters pushing technical boundaries, unless those elements get too dangerous. That's how any sports should be. :yes:

When it comes to throw jumps, however, I love better-executed huuuge triple throws which are higher, effortless, with more distance, better flow on landing with beautifully stretched out free leg and knee bent, while hitting right at the precise musical note and as a part of choreography; e.g. Pang/Tong's, Volosozhar/Trankov's or Shen/Zhao's , than rather forced quad throws with tight air position, shaky landing, nervous look on their faces while ignoring the music, stopping performing/choreography, but only skating and waiting to catch the exact moment to take off... I may be minority but just my preference about this particular element, since personally, throw jump is the best and most favorite element in pair skate. It's a sheer beauty to the eyes to watch such flloooowwww on its landing covering much of ice; something we can't see in singles.

You are not in the minority to think that way. It is just that the people who want to see the quad throw at any price have been more vocal, but they are not the majority. And the price could be really high. We saw that horrifying video of quad throw of Peng/Zhang on the TEB practice, but apparently until someone becomes disabled and sues their federation, the trend will continue, concussions and other injuries notwithstanding. Unfortunately, Chinese girls for example can't sue their federation, even though they are the most vulnerable in being pressed to learn the quads from a young age, which is a crime IMO. A crime, fans of skating choose to disregard, all in the name of advancement of the sport of course. And yes, I know that they can get injured by just walking out on the ice, but how much more likely it is if they beat their heads into the ice day after day. I personally don't need to see a quad throw to enjoy a program or a competition. In fact Pang/Tong never had any and theirs are some of the programs that I re-watch many times. The programs of the current WC on the other hand-I have only watched once.

 

[hippomoomin]

Interesting. As Peng Cheng gets older, the age gap would be less of an issue. 15 vs. 28 was a little wired, but 20 vs. 33 is fine.

I didn't realize that Cheng Peng is the youngest in pairs at 18. I thought surely one of the 4 kids in their first senior GP series would be younger!

And I was also surprised that Hao Zhang is not the oldest...that would be Yuko Kavaguti at 34!

thanks for the interesting previews!

I think at least a quad twist is soon going to be necessary. Teams could do one or more quad throws instead, but those elements seem riskier.

 

[QuadThrow]

Interesting. As Peng Cheng gets older, the age gap would be less of an issue. 15 vs. 28 was a little wired, but 20 vs. 33 is fine.

I believe it is the same in real life. A 15 year old girl is in the hardest time of puberty and a 20 year old girl is alredy a young woman which is able to deal with a older partner. In addition the percentaged age-gap between these two decreases year over year. But that is mathematics.

 

[Mista Ekko]

Good luck to all the Pairs!
Since 2 or 3 top pairs are missing i hope that the ones that are here really show up on form and give a great high level competition :agree:

Especially hoping for 2 clean (Or close) programs from D\R, They have my favourite programs this season :2thumbs:

 

[sc8]

Just chiming in to say Kudos to Julianne Seguin and Charlie Bilodeau for scoring over 200 and fourth place. The ISU's policy regarding invitations to the GPF following Paris benefitted them and they stepped through the door of opportunity. Although my US team didn't have their best skates, I am still very impressed with Scimeca and Knierim this season. I hope they beat a couple of the GPF teams at worlds. They are top 4/5 this season, in my opinion, despite their skates in Barcelona.