2015 Worlds Pairs Short Program March 25

[Alba]

Meghan is the Courtney Hicks of Pairs... Not everyone's cup of tea, but both have improved their PCS. Being balletic can be really hard if you're not trained young/a natural dancer. They skate to their strengths... Though I agree that D/R's SP could be better, I do like their FS.

You don't have to be balletic. I don't even want them to be, I like different styles.
Marisa Castelli for example is not pure balletic. She is very athletic but she has great lines and posture. Same with some USA and Canadian teams, like Kirsten.
You don't have to be either balletic or no good lines at all. I'm not blaming her though. Obviously she can't, and probably works on that too. Not her fault.

 

[Crossover]

Meghan is the Courtney Hicks of Pairs... Not everyone's cup of tea, but both have improved their PCS. Being balletic can be really hard if you're not trained young/a natural dancer. They skate to their strengths... Though I agree that D/R's SP could be better, I do like their FS.

No, not Courtney. If Meghan were such so, I would've loved her already. The problem with the team I have is they don't blend together. I feel like seeing two different single skaters to execute their own performance.

 

[Sugarpova]

Just got back from the arena. D/R were pretty fantastic. They look really good, though I like the team to begin with. I don't think they are unartistic. They are the standard athletic NA pair albeit the best one to date, probably.
S/H, the best team other than D/R for me. Crowd loved it. The only time tonight the crowd clapped along. They could sell the program better with more relaxedness though.
I would also rank K/S above P/T, but it's overall fair considering home advantage. Kavaguti looked totally pissed in the KC. Not sure why.

Teams that look worse live than on video: I/M, very slow and tentative, no fluidity, probably nerves, probably something else, but they were almost walking at the end of the step sequence. D/F, I thought they would look better for some reason, but they lack extension and unison, looked very bland, but she seems to have an Alionaness in her. P/Z, even the Chinese crowd didn't get their program and didn't like them as much as the other two teams. There is no chemistry and not enough energy. Also the Germans. As far as I can tell Vartmann is actually a great pairs skater, Van Cleave, easily the worst of the night. Couldn't land a single 3T in warmup. No wonder she is splitting.

Oh and Morozov is looking thin and very hot, in case anyone cares.

thanks a lot for your impressions!
& interesting to know that the crowd & my opinion about P/Z is the same

& Morozov IS hot!

 

[Alba]

Look at Valova&Vasiliev in 1994: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhCG3MoIuxA

Not the "best body" type at all, especially here and 6 years after their competitive skating. Look her lines, from leg, posture, arms, and her movements with the music how good it is though. I don't care about the body type. I care about all the things I mentioned.

 

[burntBREAD]

"Alionaness" -- what a pun! First thought it was a misspelling of "lioness", but then I realized you were talking about Aliona Savchenko! She certainly is a lioness too!

Hopefully D/F look better to you in the free! Their SP isn't a good vehicle for them, IMO.

 

[sunnystars]

I think we need to make a "urban" skating dictonary with the few words we're making up about the competitors

 

[wallylutz]

Look at Valova&Vasiliev in 1994: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhCG3MoIuxA

Not the "best body" type at all, especially here and 6 years after their competitive skating. Look her lines, from leg, posture, arms, and her movements with the music how good it is though. I don't care about the body type. I care about all the things I mentioned.

For you, perhaps that's true. Unfortunately, that's not my perception of the majority of comments directed at D/R, which some of them (not all) can only be described as vile and focus on Duhamel's appearance. They can be summarized as follows: "She is not pretty, dumpy, untidy and she looks like a man." She is certainly not the most graceful among top female pair skaters and I doubt she is going to win the Miss Universe pageant anytime soon, though perhaps those people who appear to be so obsessed about her physical attributes should post a picture of themselves for us to judge.

 

[MaxSwagg]

we're in the same boat of
we ned V/T to return & knock them down


but that result was expected

Lolol Max should chill. D/R will see a huge drop in PCS next season and he and Tatiana will be back on top. Duhamel should enjoy it while it lasts...

 

[Skater Boy]

For you, perhaps that's true. Unfortunately, that's not my perception of the majority of comments directed at D/R, which some of them (not all) can only be described as vile and focus on Duhamel's appearance. They can be summarized as follows: "She is not pretty, dumpy, untidy and she looks like a man." She is certainly not the most graceful among top female pair skaters and I doubt she is going to win the Miss Universe pageant anytime soon, though perhaps those people who appear to be so obsessed about her physical attributes should post a picture of themselves for us to judge.

Not that it matters she was considered first or second more most beautiful figure skater on some online poll or discussion.

 

[Alba]

For you, perhaps that's true. Unfortunately, that's not my perception of the majority of comments directed at D/R, which some of them (not all) can only be described as vile and focus on Duhamel's appearance. They can be summarized as follows: "She is not pretty, dumpy, untidy and she looks like a man." She is certainly not the most graceful among top female pair skaters and I doubt she is going to win the Miss Universe pageant anytime soon, though perhaps those people who appear to be so obsessed about her physical attributes should post a picture of themselves for us to judge.

I can't speak for all, obviously. But I'm sure others are referring to the same things. I don't care about the looks in skating. Besides, degustibus. Looks may help with the image, but not that much. There are plenty of pretty faces and gorgeous bodies in FS, both women and men, and they do nothing for me.

Some say also that Gabriella is ugly. She may not be a "conventional beauty" but she has charm and character, and above all they are a very well matched couple and have chemistry.

 

[Sugarpova]

Lolol Max should chill. D/R will see a huge drop in PCS next season and he and Tatiana will be back on top. Duhamel should enjoy it while it lasts...

haha I was just joking b/c of the Max haters esp in the GPF thread that I was reading through recently
Max actually said very nice things about D/R & their tech skills (at least in the GPF broadcasts). His critic was very polite too & mostly in line with what people here criticise D/R for
& it even was much more chill than some comments/critics about D/R online

She is certainly not the most graceful among top female pair skaters and I doubt she is going to win the Miss Universe pageant anytime soon

for all my dislike for D/R style I find Megan very charming as a woman
hmm having thought about it I havent seen that many outright bad things about her appearance specifically. More about their programs just being a combo of difficult elements rather than pair skaing with flair

 

[80sskatergirl]

Oh and Morozov is looking thin and very hot, in case anyone cares.

Yes, we care! Any Mozorov hotness updates will be much appreciated by those of us not there!

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

Wow, I'm just so impressed by the level of skating in this SP. 9 out of the top 10 teams had clean skates (other than some unison issues here and there, and some skaters opting for easier elements)

LOL at the continual hate of D/R. I get that P/T were artistically superior, and probably should have been ahead of them on PCS by 1.5-2 points but I also think P/T were overscored on their elements (particularly their lift which looked a bit wild and wasn't very intricate, and their SBS spins) - sensational throw though... so solid and beautiful. S/H on the other hand were underscored in PCS, and should be arguably in 2nd. Sorry, I know P/T were the "most beautiful" or whatever but their difficulty isn't up to par -- they had the 13th best base value for TES.

Agreed to the person who said that D/R make people realize figure skating is a sport first and foremost, and IMO the art aspect should be secondary to that (albeit also very important). They really deserve a solid lead - their throw was the hardest of the top 10 (well, a 3Z and 3F throw are points-wise the same, but everyone knows the lutz is harder), and their SBS jumps were the hardest of any team. Everything was executed well (though I've seen cleaner SBS jumps and throws, and stronger StSq from them), and with confidence.

People also need to get over the fact that Meaghan will never be some wafer-thin ballerina who can exude elegance and fine lines - she's an athlete through-and-through - and that team is about athletic performance and not superficial chemistry (or chemistry that comes with being a couple, a la Pang/Tong).

 

[mousepotato]

K/S twist was not crashy tonight. Still not the best among the top 6 but far from what sometimes they have. HOWEVER, K/S should have been much closer in PCS to P/T. In what world, D/R deserve higher PCS than K/S I just do not know. I guess had they been in the last group, they could have got 1 point bump. Anyway, this team just never catch a break. Good luck to everyone tomorrow. This is too close to call. Who would have thought. One mistake from D/R and somebody could sneak in.

I think people are so used to seeing a crashy twist by K/S they don't recognize a good one, and tonight they had it! P/T are so boring, they look exactly the same as they have for 20 years and the choreography was not great. Her jump looked under-rotated. T/M need more time to find who they are as skaters. S/H still look juniorish and he looks disinterested all together. D/R are amazing and I'm really happy they are currently frist. They can however still lose, so I hope they keep their wits about them.

Also, K&S sbs spin was bad, off sync, slow and even a small stumble, and they got some positive GoE's. Zero negatives.

You are judged on a lot more than the spins being in unison.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

Pang's 3T did look UR, but I could see her being given the benefit of the doubt, especially given their reputation and the fact that it's on home ice. It wasn't obviously UR -- I see some judges gave it 0's and 1's which is deserved. The +2's were too much though - plenty of pairs had better SBS jumps.

I think that was my issue with P/T too - everything was expected... same elements we've seen since the very beginning. Lift was basic, SBS jump the typical 3T, easy SBS spin, not a ton of transitions into their elements. I mean, artistically it was great, but I can understand why some people wouldn't find them particularly exciting to watch when nothing has really improved technically (in terms of challenging themselves) for the past decade with this team.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

You are judged on a lot more than the spins being in unison.

I actually thought their spins were not too off sync, but they slowed down a lot in the upright position.

They were a bit gifted with the GOE on their twist... I mean, it's a better twist than we're used to from them, but it was still not the smoothest catch, and she landed on an inside edge.

 

[Alba]

You are judged on a lot more than the spins being in unison.

Like been slow and have a stumble, for example. Yep.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

Like been slow and have a stumble, for example. Yep.

Slow yes, but I didn't see a stumble...

 

[keasus]

I adored Vale M. as a singles skater, but positively love her in pairs. Such a beauty and with personality to boot. (He's not so bad, either). The VM/OH love parade is gaining momentum!

 

[matmuh]

what a great event , especially from top 10,
i think duhamel/radford deserved their lead, they have been amazing this season, super consistent with the highest tech content, thats why their PCS is understandable (even though some doesnt agree), some say they should be lower than 2 pts from Pang/Tong but when i look at the program nd how they executed it, their TR, IN, PE is fair to me, SS and CH could have been lower but not 2 pts lower cause it wasnt that bad, i get that she isnt everyone's type of skater but PCS mark isnt just about artistry or lines like it used to be

amazing from Pang/Tong and well executed but i love their FP so much that this SP didnt have the same effect, its almost like they noticed everyone (judges included) loved their FP at 4CC but they didnt get the same response for their SP thats why they decided to make new program similar to their FP, i dont think they will hold onto 2nd place tomorrow though if everyone skates clean even with their PCS

just so happy for Sui/Han, they should have had higher PCS than Peng/Zhang but difference isnt that high (0.52), i hope they can bring it tomorrow, their FP isnt my fave, it feels somehow disconnected, but they have the content (maybe even throw quad sal ),i think they are like Javier of Pairs , they are used to playing characters thats why it doesnt suit them as much as their SP,

for Kavaguti/Smirnov i think if they skate clean tomorrow they have high chance of silver because their content is better than P/T and their PCS is better than S/H, and judges love their FP (me not so much because music seems so repetetive)

great job from Peng/Zhang, Peng is lovely skater but i wonder if it wasnt for Zhang could she still get the PCS they got with another partner (maybe its wrong to think that way since they are team but i just wonder), good luck to them tomorrow

i love Val/Ondrej, their chemistry is great and once they have triple twist they might be contenders (esp with the sbs lutz )

goodluck to everyoe tomorrow, i hope we will have another great event