2015 Skate America Pairs SP Oct 23

[icedinn]

Sorry bros but the Russians deserved the highest pcs. Thankfully the judges agree.

 

[daphenaxa]

good for the Americans blablabla. I dislike their program and all but I gotta say Chris made me laugh a bit because during the step sequence I thought he forgot how it went for a moment there. He also looked kinda... scared or taken aback by Alexa's expression. I can't blame him. She looked possessed.

S/H were absolutely lovely. Too bad for the spin problem.

The Russians, I didn't see, it was lagging...

 

[belladashwood]

Scimeca and Knierim did well, but I found the presentation odd. She was going full out fierce and he, in comparison, looked lost. There was no balance to the way it was framed, IMO. I'm not sure if he just can't bring the intensity or what?

I loved their program, I think it suits them very well. They're very much like fire and ice in regards to their personalities, Alexa is much more expressive, fiery, & emotive while Chris is much more cool & go with flow. I do agree that he needs to work on showing the same amount of emotion & intensity like Alexa does with the performance. But this is the best I've ever seen them do in a SP in international competition, their showing here is definitely is a huge confidence builder for them. All they need to do is stay clean & consistent and hit those SBS jumps. Also, this is the first time in 9 years that a US pair has won the SP at Skate America since Inoue & Baldwin back '06. I feel the sky is the limit for them, and can't wait to see what the rest of the season has in store for them

 

[Tastetherainbow]

I loved their program, I think it suits them very well. They're very much like fire and ice in regards to their personalities, Alexa is much more expressive, fiery, & emotive while Chris is much more cool & go with flow. I do agree that he needs to work on showing the same amount of emotion & intensity like Alexa does with the performance. But this is the best I've ever seen them do in a SP in international competition, their showing here is definitely is a huge confidence builder for them. All they need to do is stay clean & consistent and hit those SBS jumps. Also, this is the first time in 9 years that a US pair has won the SP at Skate America since Inoue & Baldwin back '06. I feel the sky is the limit for them, and can't wait to see what the rest of the season has in store for them

Absolutely agree with everything you said. Even though I love S/H, Scimeca/Knierim deserve to be first!

 

[ryn7]

I LOVED Scimeca/Knierim. The music choice & interperation, their outfits and that they're both wearing black, how FIERCE Alexa was. The throw was amazing. I definitely do agree though that Chris looked lost and was lagging behind. Alexa gave it her all but meanwhile he looked like he had to remember what to do in the step sequence. Hopefully he can work on that. I didn't find Alexa to be "fake" angsty. I know edgier stuff is not as well received but it suits them so well.

 

[cptnhastings]

I don't like US S&Ks program that much, but they did as well with it as I'd think they could do (without a Russian coach LOL).

Now, Rus S&K were overscored. Some of those scores on the scoring sheet were just like what? The twist scores? A 3 for the step sequence? She clearly screwed that up. My five year old nephew could see it. At least a 0. A -2 only from one judge on a fallen throw? Is that allowable??? She FELL (I know it's irrelevant in the score). (Sorry, I'm watching late if this was previously discussed and explained.)

I fully expect Rus S&K to win this all this weekend based on the inflation for that. The judging needs to be fixed.

 

[cptnhastings]

Whoops, replied too early. Sui & Han were jaw dropping. I know they screwed up the spin (based on the score sheet) and will figure out why eventually (by reading the rest of the thread), but beyond that, nothing was wrong. So why not better PCS than Rus S&K? Ridiculous. Judging needs to be fixed. That deserved better for sure. I'll be rooting for them this year 100%. So beautiful. Much more mature than last year. I'm in awe.

Also, I forgot to ask: why was US S&K 3Twist a 3 instead of a 4? Looked good enough to me. Were the criteria changed this year? (I know it's still a judgment call on some elements, but...)

 

[topaz]

I was at the event I thought S/K received fair scores. I did not think Klimov's throw was bad. They had a bad twist and Ksensia looked rattled in the spin. Someone I know who went to the practice stated they did not look great in practice either.

 

[Blades of Passion]

I feel bad for Stolbova/Klimov. Well, mostly him. Her attitude seems to be causing problems. You can almost see in their skating now. It's like there's been no forgiveness of the mistake he made at Europeans last season. Unfair expectations from the Russian fed ever since their rise to prominence surely plays into it as well.

I hope they quickly work out the problems. I used to like their skating so much.

 

[Sandpiper]

...So is this going to be Sui/Han's recurring problem now? A pairs combo spin? :scratch: When I saw the results--that they were behind Scimeca/Knierim--I thought they'd skated a nightmare (or, cynically, that there was epic homecooking). Instead, it's that dratted spin again. At least this time the error was visible, unlike 4CC last year. And at least the program was great and the throw 3F was the best ever.

Not a fan of Scimeca/Knierim's program (and her overacting), but I guess the placements couldn't be helped. S/H, sadly, just had a much more COP-costly error.

I've never been a fan of Seguin/Bilodeau, but they impressed me on the night, especially right after the glacially cold A/R (sorry, A/R! For what it's worth, I do think they deserved a better placement based on the technical elements). Wang/Wang were quite impressive too--I look forward to seeing them develop more speed/power.

 

[cheerknithanson]

Absolutely agree with everything you said. Even though I love S/H, Scimeca/Knierim deserve to be first!

Agree! I was there last night and they did FABULOUS! Though the cheerleader in me is not liking that Alexa is wearing hoop earrings...because those could be safety hazards.

 

[yuki]

I didn't find Alexa to be "fake" angsty. I know edgier stuff is not as well received but it suits them so well.

Alright, not necessarily "fake" angsty, but angsty when she doesn't need to be and neither the music, nor the lyrics of the song they're skating to calls for it. To me, it almost comes across as if she's mocking the song (and I'm quite sure that this wasn't the intention.)

The program itself was well skated, the elements were good, but I can't get behind the interpretation for reasons already stated.
As a side note, there is nothing particularly edgy about Nothing Else Matters, not sure where that notion is coming from.

 

[Bumdid]

Alright, not necessarily "fake" angsty, but angsty when she doesn't need to be and neither the music, nor the lyrics of the song they're skating to calls for it. To me, it almost comes across as if she's mocking the song (and I'm quite sure that this wasn't the intention.)

The program itself was well skated, the elements were good, but I can't get behind the interpretation for reasons already stated.
As a side note, there is nothing particularly edgy about Nothing Else Matters, not sure where that notion is coming from.

They mention that the first part of the program is a soft love song or something like that but everyone told them that they wanted it to have more punch, so maybe that's why they put on the over the top expression? I agree it's kind of distracting. The music is actually quote soft and lyrical in parts but she kept giving angry biker expression and its kinda hard to take it seriously.