2017 GP Skate Canada Mens FS

[Mathman]

I did not know this. What did they do to kill it?

One thing they did was to prohibit Olympic eligible skaters from participating in any kind of competition format unless they used ISU judges and followed ISU regulations and scoring. This was the end of the pro-ams. Basically the ISU wrapped their skaters up with many restrictions as to what they could do, holding over them the threat of disqualifying them from participating in the Olympics. Even the privately sponsored cheesefests had to have ISU judges from three different countries, etc.

I don't, however, think that this was the main reason for the decline in interest in figure skating in America. I think that the main reason is just cultural drift with respect to people's tastes in entertainment.

 

[Vicky458]

Jason is magical! His skating takes me to another level of heaven! I agree with you! There is nobody that comes close to his perfection! I absolutely hate all the emphasis on quad jumps. To me, every program I have seen so far this season with quad jumps look like one big hot mess! It's crossover jump crossover jump crossover jump! The programs are empty. And I would love to see a limit on jump passes with the arms over the head! Just like the rules started to limit Bielman spins!

 

[TontoK]

One thing they did was to prohibit Olympic eligible skaters from participating in any kind of competition format unless they used ISU judges and followed ISU regulations and scoring. This was the end of the pro-ams. Basically the ISU wrapped their skaters up with many restrictions as to what they could do, holding over them the threat of disqualifying them from participating in the Olympics. Even the privately sponsored cheesefests had to have ISU judges from three different countries, etc.

I don't, however, think that this was the main reason for the decline in interest in figure skating in America. I think that the main reason is just cultural drift with respect to people's tastes in entertainment.

I remember when there was some sort of cheesy competition nearly every week, it seemed. Ice Wars and World Pro and such.

They were fun, and not serious comps, and raised the profile of skating. The ISU erred greatly in squashing that.

Those events helped skating, they did not effect "real" competitions at all. They were glorified shows.

 

[labgoat]

This is America's way of being "inscrutable." Ifd you smile all the time, no one will know what you are really thinking.

The biggest smiler a while back was Alissa Czisny, She had a most beautiful smile and it was never more dazzling than when she picked herself up after a fall. She was no doubt thinking, "oh, bleep," but she looked like she was doing a toothpaste ad.

It was a great defense for a shy person whenever an unconfortable situation arose. Smile that dazzling smile and everyone forget about the fall, what the question was, etc.

 

[Yatagarasu]

Though the most likely explanation is that if a skater's weight is supported by two blades and a hand, the hand supports 33% of the body weight and that is not a majority.

Except that is not what happened:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DNVYryRWAAU6uN_.jpg

One of his blades is off the ice, it is his boot that is touching it. The other is too angled. The majority of his weight is on that arm.

 

[Tavi...]

Alissa was always gracious, even in struggle.

I get why people are put off my Jason's bubbly personality. I think he's your typical grade A extrovert. He just gets so hyped up being around and performing for so many people, which is when we all see him the most. The exuberance is probably toned down when he's in more one-to-one settings.

I can vouch for that - I met him by coincidence once in a non-public situation. He was not at all hyper, childish, or any of the rest of it - just a poised, thoughtful, and intelligent young man. He was very engaged and a good listener, but much calmer than he appears publicly.

 

[Arriba627]

^^^When I met him at the airport last Weds, he couldn't have been nicer, and he hugged me without a moment's hesitation. He was very calm and gracious when I wished him good luck. I would just say he's one of those people who is high on life.

Met a lady at practice the other day who said she loved the whole aura of positivity that is Jason's team. She also said he just seemed to be enjoying the whole experience. (And this was coming from a huge Patrick fan)

 

[Skater Boy]

Bravo to Shoma and Jason. Really sad to see Chan in such horrible shape. I hope he regroups and find his core to his skating. I don't like the short at all but I have no idea what is going on. Still the no. of quads is scarey.

 

[Sugarpova]

lol i wasnt following SC & whan I looked @ the results I had a heart atack:rofl2:
Lord is 3rd! I need to read puremagic's comments~!
Forgive me, Lord, I didnt believe in you!:giveup:

 

[viennaskater]

I liked his interpretation and performance. Full of youthful energy and charisma. Good job Alexander!

Agreed - 'full-blooded' is the phrase which came to my mind. Rather watch him than say, Kovtun, any day.

 

[viennaskater]

Shoma takes me to a higher plane. I think he is an angel who fell to earth. Watching him skate that made me want to cry because I feel so happy to be alive at the same time as him. I really feel that!

I loved the way he pulled up the performance after it flagged in the middle. That took guts. I adored the programme!

 

[viennaskater]

I know, right! He's not really a top top skater in general, but he sells the crap out of Elvis. He did this program up against Kolyada's Elvis LP at Ondrej Nepala and the comparison was just no good for Kolyada, even though Kolyada's much more of a contender.

Yeah - much as I like Kolyada, he is not a convincing Elvis. When he did it at Finlandia, he was the most miserable Elvis I'd ever seen.

On another topic, anyone know what language Nic was speaking while waiting for his results? It sounded sort of like French but not really .

 

[Mrs. P]

Yeah - much as I like Kolyada, he is not a convincing Elvis. When he did it at Finlandia, he was the most miserable Elvis I'd ever seen.

On another topic, anyone know what language Nic was speaking while waiting for his results? It sounded sort of like French but not really .

I think it's French. I believe that Nic is from Quebec.

 

[el henry]

Yeah - much as I like Kolyada, he is not a convincing Elvis. When he did it at Finlandia, he was the most miserable Elvis I'd ever seen.

On another topic, anyone know what language Nic was speaking while waiting for his results? It sounded sort of like French but not really .

The vids I watched I could not hear Nic talk. But Nic and his coach Yvan Desjardins are Québécois, and Nic’s French I have heard elsewhere does have a pronounced Québécois accent. It is more nasal and “clipped” than French French. For an English analogy, for an American, it would be like listening to a Scotsman talk.

 

[HanDomi]

what's with Chan ?
This FS was technically disaster, but also this program is weak and his presentation was nowhere near what he was doing in the past ?

 

[JustMe]

Some thoughts:
-Shoma wasn't perfect, but for me, his was clearly the best performance of the evening (though I enjoyed the short more), and I think he can definitely be a threat for Olympic gold with these programs and technical content.
-What can I say a bout Jason? This competition for Jason (failed quad, 3A struggles...) shows his technical content has gone nowhere in 4 years (but at least his component base score has gone up almost 5 points). Regarding his programs: I've never shared this before (and I'm probably not the only one who feels this way), I've gotten the impression that his smile is the only thing that's authentically Jason; all else has always felt as if Rohene hijacked it--music choices, costumes, etc--almost as if Rohene gives him programs that he himself would have loved to have skated (in the same way I sometimes feel about Brian Orser and Javi). Not an individual olympic nor world medal threat, but those PCS will help his case to make the US olympic team should Vincent/Adam/Max have a subpar GP season.
-First time seeing Samarin skate, and I was very impressed. Look forward to seeing him develop (not "Politic") his PCS.
-Watching Patrick's free skate felt like watching a very ruff practice session...like he was just marking the program and jumps. It breaks my heart when his heart is not in it. It's a nicely constructed and choreographed program, but when you're not performing it 100%, chances are, you're also not interpreting the music 100% (despite the beautifully choreographed emoting arms).

 

[Mrs. P]

-What can I say a bout Jason? This competition for Jason (failed quad, 3A struggles...) shows his technical content has gone nowhere in 4 years (but at least his component base score has gone up almost 5 points). Regarding his programs: I've never shared this before (and I'm probably not the only one who feels this way), I've gotten the impression that his smile is the only thing that's authentically Jason; all else has always felt as if Rohene hijacked it--music choices, costumes, etc--almost as if Rohene gives him programs that he himself would have loved to have skated (in the same way I sometimes feel about Brian Orser and Javi). Not an individual olympic nor world medal threat, but those PCS will help his case to make the US olympic team should Vincent/Adam/Max have a subpar GP season.

You said quite a bit, actually.

I would disagree with you that his technical content has "gone nowhere." The first 3A was problematic -- and I think this technical panel was insane, I don't think it would have been UR at a different competition -- but he landed a strong 3A-3T in the second half of the program (that 3Lo seems to be an odd issue though). (EDITED: Yes, there was -GOE in the SP; still more of a silly error than an indicator of an issue of the jump)

Another thing to keep in mind is that Jason hasn't had a full four years to work on the quad. He was pretty much out of commission for most of the 2015-2016 season and had injuries last season, essentially re-setting any progress he's made on the jump up to that point. Not everyone can be Nathan Chen as far as restoring jumps (and getting new ones) after an injury. In any case, I think if you only look at technical content in whether he got the quad jump or not, you're missing the nuances of how much he improved on all aspects of his jumping and overall skating -- that's exactly why he's getting higher PCS. He's also getting higher +GOE on his jumps too, so that's impacting his score.

I've seen quite a few people say that Rohene has hijacked Jason's image. I agree on that regarding costumes, but I don't agree on that with all his programs, certainty not the ones he has this season. Hamilton he campaigned for and I think he actually really likes skating on this free skate. I also think Jason -- unlike let's say the Shibutanis -- is someone who loves performing and skating and isn't as highly invested in how as long as he likes performing the material.

 

[jenaj]

I´d believe in that case he would be getting the scores Ge is getting.

Sorry, Jason and Misha--much as I enjoy his skating--are not in the same league. I would describe Jason's skating as organic. It isn't just skating from one element to the next. And he has charisma. Now he just needs to get rid of that awful LP costume!

 

[Arriba627]

Yeah - much as I like Kolyada, he is not a convincing Elvis. When he did it at Finlandia, he was the most miserable Elvis I'd ever seen.

On another topic, anyone know what language Nic was speaking while waiting for his results? It sounded sort of like French but not really .

It was Canadian French which sounds very different from France French! Nic was on my plane from Regina to Winnipeg this morning. He's so tall! He sold the heck out of that Elvis program.

 

[jenaj]

German Eurosport REALLY dislike his smile. Jason is their Number 1 villain! You know, Germans always look grumpy.... Happy people are a mystery.

Hating someone for their smile? Some people can never be pleased.