2015 Cup of China Pairs SP

[NoNameFace]

yes - their consistency and mind-blowing quality on tech elements (especially throws) are fantastic. Moreover, this new generation of Chinese pairs is also growing on PCS side - the step sequences, transitions are there, executed beautifully.

And Sui and Han are just masters - they have everything - charisma, sassiness, fierce attitude, tech difficulty, great programs, fantastic connection...

 

[Ilvskating]

Pairs is my favourite. Sui/Han really have everything. I hope they can get to the top soon. They gave me thrills and they are getting even better this season. The other two Chinese teams are fabulous too. I wish W/W keep it going tomorrow. They are delightful to watch.

Also want to see K/S skate a clean LP tomorrow. They are getting better too. Loved their LP last season.

 

[Kinga]

These 'mirror-like' step sequences have to go. They look so messy, nothing is in sync, sometimes it feels like both partners are doing something completely else. I hate it. I guess such design is suppose to hide technical and unison deficiencies.

 

[daphenaxa]

Also, is the interest in pairs skating really that low (talking about the number of pages here)? Or is it that most of the people in this forum are from America and are sleeping or something?

Pairs is my favourite!!! But I think pairs is handicapped because single skating and ice dance is always enjoyable even when the skater are not that good. (at least for me). You can watch the last skater or ice dance team at a competition and still enjoy it a lot. Whereas pairs, I feel only the very best teams are enjoyable and the rest is usually quite rugged.


I LOVED LOVED LOVED the 3 Chinese teams here. So well done! And well done to Yuko and Sacha I really enjoyed their program as well. Also Wenjing Sui rocks my world. She is just so cool!

 

[ice coverage]

I'm not complaining or anything, it's just that there is a tendency. Pairs and ice dance get less love as it is, with pairs getting the least love. I just wonder why :scratch3:

Pairs was at a disadvantage in drawing Cup of China viewers in the U.S. because:

(1) Pairs was scheduled as the last of the four disciplines of the day/night.
If it had been scheduled to be first, I bet it would have gotten more American viewers. Staying alert through the wee hours was increasingly difficult, given the sleep deprivation.
I am in the U.S., and I watched almost all of the SDs (including Cappellini/Lanotte); about half of the ladies (including Asada); only Dornbush from the men. I intended to watch Sui/Han, but accidentally did not get back to the stream until right after the pairs ended.

(2) The other three disciplines all featured current or former world champions. I made a point esp. of watching Mao.

That said, I am sad that Aaron/Settlage could not compete here, and I would have been very motivated to watch them at any hour of the night or day.

 

[Lota]

Thank you for voicing your opinions! I understand why there may be less Americans watching this competition, but it's really sad that, generally, people seems to like this discipline less than the other ones. It's been that way for at least as long as I've been on this forum. Which is sad, because watching pairs is so much fun!

 

[andromache]

There are a lot of Americans on here and many of them unfortunately don't care about any non-American skaters, or else they are sleeping. I care, but I only got 3 hours of sleep and had nothing of value to add, so I didn't comment (plus my stream also died...).

I don't think the lack of American skaters has much to do with a lack of in non-American skaters. Pairs tends to be less discussion-filled anyway than the other disciplines--perhaps because it has become more predictable than the ice dance field. I'm American, and K/S and S/H are two of my favorites, moreso than any of the American pairs. It's also a weekday in the US, which makes keeping odd hours way more difficult. I try to manage it on weekends, but I can't do it when I have to teach the next day (for my own sanity :handw.

Sure, some Americans are probably only interested in American skaters, but no more than Russians are only interested in Russian skaters, Japanese fans are interested in Japanese skaters, etc. But on a message board like this, there are probably more skating CRAZYFANS who just love skating regardless of who is competing. Like me.

 

[Khoai]

The Russian pair should have been first. This is downright home inflation.

 

[DannyCurry]

I only watched the top 3 :
-SUI/HAN : I thought the performance at SA was better (even with the mistake on the pairs spin), but I still love the program.
-KAVAGUTI/SMIRNOV : Lovely 3 toe. Otherwise...WTH with that song?!!! Awful choice for a competitive program, IMO.
-YU/JIN : Very impressed by their performance. Really liked the program.

 

[icedinn]

The Russian pair should have been first. This is downright home inflation.

Nah.

 

[solar]

Loved the top four pairs! Glad to see PB's for Yu/Jin and Wang/Wang, and I'm so glad Sui/Han and Kavaguti/Smirnov could show strong performances.

 

[3T3T]

That was a high quality Pairs Short Program.

Sui/Han have improved so much. I always thought he was a great performer and she wasn't but in the last two seasons they have both jumped forward and there performance quality is among the best now. They have a good shot of being World Champions this year, personally I would have them ahead of D/R. Hopefully they deliver a great free.

Kavaguti/Smirnov had another great performance. I am a big fan of this team but have always found them a little inconsistent. I didn't like this programme starting off but I really like it now, it works for them. The twist wasn't the best but everything else was top notch. I really want them to have a great season but it's so competitive in Russia atm that it's not a given.

Yu/Jin probably my favourite Chinese team, I think they were held back in the PCS. The Wangs great on the TES side but for me the PCS side needs work and I think maybe overscored slightly. The Wangs had the highest TES of the Chinese, only .24 covered the 3 of them.

First time seeing the Germans and I was impressed, this team will be going places, although are probably going to be German No.2's for a few years. Disappointing for A/R, they had a great performance in Nebelhorn but their GP performances have not been great, his fall was well timed but overall they were shaky. I like I/M but her jumps are gone missing, the 3S was not close, they need to be on their game in Canada with MT/M coming out strong in Skate Canada. Why was their lift ruled out?

Hopefully every one skates well in the Free. I miss Chris on the BESP commentary, not Nicky's biggest fan.

 

[andromache]

Only watched the top 3:

Sui/Han: I love this program. It has the potential to be a magic program. It'll get there by Worlds. Shame about the hand down, but Sui is still fierce as anything. I hope to see them do the 4Sth tomorrow! I'm assuming they won't err on the side of caution since K/S are here with their 4Sth and the scores are tight right now.

Kavaguti/Smirnov: Love Yuko's dress. Hate the schmaltzy music. Sorry Moskvina! I love you, but this music choice...Anyway, that said, the program was marvelously executed. I found many of K/S's performances last year to end up looking sloppy from the number of small mistakes, but this was pretty flawless. Keep it up for the LP!

Yu/Jin: Love this very original program and the ending pose is wow.

 

[Sandpiper]

Is it just me, or is pairs rapidly becoming the cleanest and most enjoyable discipline on the GP circuit? I don't think we've had such a good top four from other disciplines so far this year.

Sui/Han: Love the dynamism and changes in tempo! Wenjing Sui was just born to skate to music like this. A slightly subdued performance by their standards, but still very enjoyable.

Kavaguti/Smirnov: So nice to see them go clean--and their twist looks better than it was during this time last year. I do question the music choice... Perhaps they want to break away from the "classical" label that's now following them, but I'm not sure it worked. The music, the outfits, their movements (still very classical) just didn't seem to mesh together. Anyway, minor quibbles overall.

Yu/Jin: Probably the "cleanest" performance. Very polished, since they're so comfortable with this program. I would've preferred seeing something new, but ah well.

Wang/Wang: She exudes such joy while skating.

Very strange skate from A/R. It seems like they mainly had the big elements under control, but then started fumbling (her SBS jump, slight struggle on throw, then him tripping). Loved I/M's death spiral and lifts, but the program, less so. The music just seemed to be blaring on in the background while they went through their elements.

It will be a very exciting LP. Pretty hard to pick between the top 4 (S/H did have the hand down, but they made up for it with the enormous throw 3F), and it might not matter. The scores are so close that whoever wins the free is likely to take it.

Not sure why few people follow pairs. Shouldn't it, in theory, be the most exciting discipline? The big tricks from singles, with the connection/co-operation required in ice dance, along with elements found nowhere else.

 

[solar]

Yeah, I'm curious why pairs is less followed than singles skating. People are missing out on great performances like these!

 

[s_parks]

Agreed. Obviously this is personal preference, but I'm quite uninterested in singles this season(except Boyang's quads ). Pairs has been my favorite for a while, and this season is especially interesting with the depth.

 

[solar]

Last season I found myself more interested in the pairs and ice dancing than the mens and ladies events This year it's more balanced, but I agree that this season in particular has great depth in the pairs event.

 

[rain]

Is it just me, or is pairs rapidly becoming the cleanest and most enjoyable discipline on the GP circuit? I don't think we've had such a good top four from other disciplines so far this year.

Sui/Han: Love the dynamism and changes in tempo! Wenjing Sui was just born to skate to music like this. A slightly subdued performance by their standards, but still very enjoyable.

Yu/Jin: Probably the "cleanest" performance. Very polished, since they're so comfortable with this program. I would've preferred seeing something new, but ah well.

Loved I/M's death spiral and lifts, but the program, less so. The music just seemed to be blaring on in the background while they went through their elements.

Sui/Han have really come into their own artistically this season. This short program is one of the best choreographed short programs of all time, it is that good, and this team has the skills to bring the house down with it. One I can watch again and again. There's so much in between the big tricks and it's just a joy to view.

Yu/Jin came to my attention last season and they are still among my favourites. I thought it looked a little forced at the end — would like to see the program build a little more somehow. Anyway, this was gorgeous.

I was actually really impressed with I/M. Having seen M-T/M and Seguin/Bilodeau doing so well this season already I wondered if this team was going to be left totally out of the running, but I don't think so. Really bad luck on the lift — they'll have to figure that out, it's what killed their score here. They've still got some really impressive tricks — that entry into the death spiral is inspired, and if she can land the jumps it's going to be a battle royale for runners-up to D/R. It's a four-team race for three spots to worlds.

 

[Sandpiper]

I was actually really impressed with I/M. Having seen M-T/M and Seguin/Bilodeau doing so well this season already I wondered if this team was going to be left totally out of the running, but I don't think so. Really bad luck on the lift — they'll have to figure that out, it's what killed their score here. They've still got some really impressive tricks — that entry into the death spiral is inspired, and if she can land the jumps it's going to be a battle royale for runners-up to D/R. It's a four-team race for three spots to worlds.

I like I/M and find their elements impressive. I'm just don't think the movement/music came together here. Hopefully I'll like the LP more.

So far, I'm most impressed by S/B. M-T/M v.2 skated well at SC and I'm happy for them, though their SP is a little too cheesy for me. But yes, Canadian Nationals will be interesting.

 

[timmybopper]

Do we know why I/M got dinged for their lift? Add me to the list of people concerned that they'll lose their world team spot this year at Canadians..