2015 Worlds Pairs Short Program March 25

[mousepotato]

As for Yuko's death spiral being "ugly", Trankov said it is what it is because of Yuko' s shoulder injury. We can accept it I suppose.

Trankov is 100% wrong.

Yuko had surgery 5 years ago and uses both arms for the death spiral, it doesn't bother her anymore. Moskvina thinks using the "wrong" arm looks unique, just like those butt up death spirals, but Yuko's former shoulder problems have nothing to do with it.

 

[Sandpiper]

K/S easily deserved positive GOE on the twist, but the judges only have +1 to +3 to play with, so if one team deserves +1, the judges only have until +3 until they run out of numbers. Until the GOE is changed to +1 bad through +10 execellent, the judges have no choice and teams like K/S shouldn't have to pay the price for bad rules. They did a great job and should be rewarded accordingly.

Since when did GOE have to be either +2 or negative? The 0 and +1 options are there.

 

[Morena]

Trankov is 100% wrong.

Yuko had surgery 5 years ago and uses both arms for the death spiral, it doesn't bother her anymore. Moskvina thinks using the "wrong" arm looks unique, just like those butt up death spirals, but Yuko's former shoulder problems have nothing to do with it.

Thanks for clarifying.
Then it's strange. Indeed it's rather unpleasant looking element. They sure can do better.

 

[SaraM]

here is the entire pairs short event https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3txFHCMAoY

 

[mousepotato]

Since when did GOE have to be either +2 or negative? The 0 and +1 options are there.

Ok so if you give team A with a good twist +2 what a do you give team B with a great twist? The judges can only give a max of +3.

 

[Art&Sport]

Having just watched pairs sp on Youtube, many thanks to the person who uploaded it, and to the poster who linked it here. Thumbs down to IceNetwork for their totally crappy sound and horrible video feed (very poor quality)! Youtube version offered excellent quality audio and video (except for the fact that the first two pairs performances were missing).

Politics as usual were rampant in judging of the top pairs. It was a good competition overall. Clearly, Marchei/Hotarek are looking good for a new pair and they really bring the drama and performance quality. Yet, they only had a double twist, so I feel they were slightly overmarked/ favored. Definitely, many teams are close in quality of elements and execution, so judging is not easy. But when the marks are exceedingly close, it seems to me that politics determines the placements. For example, Seguin/Bilodeaux are an excellent team, but since they are just out of juniors their scores were kept down. M/H have very good jumps and throws, but only a double twist so politics gave them the edge. There are a bunch of teams close together in the middle which clearly shows not that much quality difference. But I don't agree that James/Cipres are 2+ points behind the middle teams ahead of them in sp. They should be closer to 59 or 60. Lubov/ Dylan were good, but slightly tight (especially Dylan), but their quality should have held them a bit above 61 in the scoring although I agree with their placement generally, but it should have been more like 61 for them, 62 for M/H, and I think Seguin/Bilodeaux should have been in front of Marchei/Hotarek at between 62 and 63. Denney/ Frazier are much closer in skill and quality to their teammates, Scimeca/Knierim, than the politics allows. I thought D/F's scores should have been 64+.

James/Cipres had a rough time with their coaching change this season, and I'm glad they switched back, but clearly their development has been hampered by politics. They are very talented but have never been a political favorite with the judges which doesn't help added to whatever fed politics they also have to deal with. Now, with new teams on the international scene being favored over them, it must be so deflating for they are a truly talented and charismatic team. Too bad that it also looks like they are having some problems in their partner relationship (based on their body language after the sp). ETA: Well, clearly I was wrong about significance of J/C's body language after the sp. It was just probably more that Vanessa was disappointed with her sp performance. They sure came out with power and determination and nailed their fs to move up 4 spots. Good for them.

Tarasova/Morosov skated very well, but the only thing they have over the two U.S. teams right now is elegance of line, slightly better unison and consistency on sbs jumps, and the Russian tradition in pairs. T/M were overscored in sp. I agree with their placement, but I think they were a bit overmarked. OTOH, Kavaguti/Smirnov wuzrobbed big time because Worlds is taking place in China. Sui/Han overmarked due to having dynamic tricks and no fear. I give S/H credit for their difficulty and flair with their well-choreographed sp, but they are simply not better than Peng/Zhang or Kavaguti/Smirnov. Duhamel/Radford outshined everyone and deserved their standing, but I would have had K/S in second, with Peng/Zhang in 3rd, Sui/Han 4th and Pang/Tong in fifth. I appreciate P/T love of the sport and their patriotism, but I'd rather see them showing what they still have in shows, or on a professional circuit, not coming back to senior Worlds just because Worlds is taking place in their home country.

At this rate, the U.S. should be shown more love so that 3 U.S. pairs could compete at Worlds in Boston 2016!

 

[matmuh]

I don't think switching a partner would be a good idea for her--maybe their "look" doesn't win over everyone, but the judges don't seem to mind when they hit their stuff. And Zhang happens to be one of the strongest, most stable pairs skaters around. There are not many men who'll be able to perform those twists and lifts. I hope they sort out her jumps ASAP, because I don't know if she'll be able to find a comparable partner after Zhang retires.

i didnt mean it that i think she should consider changing partners haha, its just that i think if it wasnt for Zhang they wouldnt be getting the PCS they are getting i brought it up because they sometimes got higher pcs with the mistakes than clean sui&han

 

[icekiwi]

My 2 cents on the Pairs SP - May not agree with everyone.

Sui/Han - underscored totally - so much 'choreography' to cover, PCs should have been a lot higher, so seamless in transitions. They have gorwn so much in their skating now, it is not just the big elements. They are the total package.

Pang/Tong - ethereal, class, elegance, deserved the score and should be a bit closer to Duhamel/Radford

Duhamel/Radford - overscored on PCs - Duhamel looks like a 'man' from behind. My husband who doesn't usually follow figure skating, when he first saw Duhamel, he said she looks like a man, very unelelgant for a female skater, compare her with the Chinese and Russian ladies. Look at the muscle on her biceps and thighs. Also, they seem to just move from element to element, where is the story telling, choreography or interpretation to music? their 'program' is just boring to me, there's nothing to it. Duhamel's masculinity makes me cringe each time I watch them.

Peng/Zhang - Great skating, great choreography, should have higher PCs and closer to Kavaguchi/Smirnov.

 

[Art&Sport]

Your comments about Duhamel are cringeworthy, icekiwi.

 

[sses1]

Duhamel/Radford - overscored on PCs - Duhamel looks like a 'man' from behind. My husband who doesn't usually follow figure skating, when he first saw Duhamel, he said she looks like a man, very unelelgant for a female skater, compare her with the Chinese and Russian ladies. Look at the muscle on her biceps and thighs. Also, they seem to just move from element to element, where is the story telling, choreography or interpretation to music? their 'program' is just boring to me, there's nothing to it. Duhamel's masculinity makes me cringe each time I watch them.

I think people need to shut the hell up about Megan's body and lack of grace already. Its not funny anymore, especially when people like you decide to make a completely classless statement such as this one. She is healthy and a consummate professional, you should respect that and keep your rude comments to yourself.

 

[StitchMonkey]

Look at the muscle on her biceps and thighs.

Yes, they are lovely. Since when are muscle a bad thing?

 

[s_parks]

What in the world is with the comments about her body? That is something to be complimented on- she is landing those difficult elements like a champ. Look at other top pairs ladies, Volosozhar, Savchenko. They're visibly super fit. Criticism of Duhamel's skating is one thing, but to make such comments on her body is ridiculous and uncalled for. I can't believe people are making comments like this while knowing what happened with skaters like Antipova.

 

[Sandpiper]

i didnt mean it that i think she should consider changing partners haha, its just that i think if it wasnt for Zhang they wouldnt be getting the PCS they are getting i brought it up because they sometimes got higher pcs with the mistakes than clean sui&han

Ah, I see. Well, on the Divine Sport blog (pretty cool blog with a focus on pairs, which doesn't get nearly enough attention considering it's the most extensive discipline, imo), the author once noted that Zhang plays a vital role in generating a lot of their speed. Their SS certainly contributes to their PCS, so I would agree with you, Peng might not get the same PCS with another partner.

The strange thing is, when I watched back old videos of Zhang/Zhang, they seemed quite slow and laboured. I don't know if he's improved, if I just watched the wrong videos, or if Peng is just more capable of matching him (now if only she could land 2A-3T like Dan Zhang!)

The PCS between Sui/Han and Peng/Zhang have been all over the place. GPF, here, 4CC, Worlds last year... The only trend seems to be, whoever gets into the later group gets better PCS, without a huge correlation to TES. There were times when P/Z had problems yet somehow beat S/H's PCS, which I disagreed with. There were other times when both skated quite well, and I actually thought P/Z had stronger programs and would get higher PCS... but they don't. I guess it's just a YMMV thing, varying by panel.