2021-22 U.S. Pairs Figure Skating

[BlissfulSynergy]

Those who have viewed the fabulous new sp by Ash/Tim (on OIP patreon website), what are your thoughts? They look fit and so on point. It is a crying shame that Ashley came down with the dreaded virus after being fully vaccinated.

Praying for Ashley's quick, safe, and full recovery. I do hope she will be in a position to return to training in order to at least compete in the second half of the season, if they have to miss their GPs. What a bummer! They look so good together, and extremely competitive with top U.S. pairs and with second and first tier global pairs. No kidding! Ash/Tim loaded for bear and taking no prisoners in how prepared they have been looking this season. Why they have to be met with such hardships to keep coming back from, I don't know. God be with them. I am rooting for them all the way, especially since this could be their last season, or at the very least winding down for maybe one more season post Olympics.

Training with Mozer always looks good on Ash/Tim. But I think how fit and determined they have been over the entire off-season is the biggest factor. They got a taste of what they can truly accomplish at 2021 Worlds, and they clearly want another opportunity to compete in the majors and show their mettle.

In the OIP full clip, their lines are such a highlight. And they skate with finesse, power and precision. Their triple-twist, throws, lifts, and sbs jumps all look improved, especially the form on their 3-twist, and on Ash's throw landings (as we've seen previously in clips she posted on her Instagram)! Skating like this, they would definitely challenge all of the top U.S. teams, as well as quite a few international teams. Obviously, the proof is in the competition pudding, and so I hope Ash can recover, and get back in shape in order to compete with Timothy at some point this season. Sending healing thoughts to Ashley.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

A sp practice clip of Knierim/Frazier at Cranberry Cup (interspersed with sbs spin practice by Calalang/Johnson):

Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier 2021 Cranberry Open SP (Practice)

Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier 2021 Cranberry Open SP (Practice)Subscribe to this channel for everything all of your figure skating fan needs.Access exclu...

www.youtube.com

It looks like a powerful, dramatic sp with the strong rock vocals of House of the Rising Sun.

 

[ManyCairns]

Any news from Ashley since her post with her picture from her hospital bed? I don't do Insta or twitter.

And I checked out that sp of theirs on OIP. It is stunning. Beautiful, crisp, emotionally layered. I was blown away.

 

[Joubabe]

Thank you for posting the practice clip! I love the quick, sharp movements of their choreography. I hope Alexa keeps the ponytail for competitions. It brings back memories of Shae Lynn, especially that move where Alexa glides through Brandon’s legs.
Their elements looked good but not completely smooth on some landings. Hopefully it’s just lack of concentration during practice. I know I’m being picky, but I have such high hopes for this team!

It was great to see Jessica land a beautiful triple but not so good to see Brian do a double. Again, hopefully that will be fixed for competition. I was surprised to see Jessica fall on the throw. Seems unusual for her. Whatever issues kept them from competing seem to be over. Welcome back Jessica and Brian!

 

[twirlingaround]

Thank you for posting the practice clip! I love the quick, sharp movements of their choreography. I hope Alexa keeps the ponytail for competitions. It brings back memories of Shae Lynn, especially that move where Alexa glides through Brandon’s legs.
Their elements looked good but not completely smooth on some landings. Hopefully it’s just lack of concentration during practice. I know I’m being picky, but I have such high hopes for this team!

It was great to see Jessica land a beautiful triple but not so good to see Brian do a double. Again, hopefully that will be fixed for competition. I was surprised to see Jessica fall on the throw. Seems unusual for her. Whatever issues kept them from competing seem to be over. Welcome back Jessica and Brian!

A sp practice clip of Knierim/Frazier at Cranberry Cup (interspersed with sbs spin practice by Calalang/Johnson):

Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier 2021 Cranberry Open SP (Practice)

Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier 2021 Cranberry Open SP (Practice)Subscribe to this channel for everything all of your figure skating fan needs.Access exclu...

www.youtube.com

It looks like a powerful, dramatic sp with the strong rock vocals of House of the Rising Sun.

I love Knierim/Frazier new SP! It suits them well. It’s only August and with more mileage it will get even better. Looking forward to see this team throughout the season. I was pleasantly surprised to see them competing here since they had a shorter off season with World Team Trophy finishing in late April. Does anyone know if the athletes competing at Cranberry cup earn world standing points? I don’t think so but if they do perhaps that was the motivating factor for them to get their season started so early. Either way impressed with the new program. Can’t wait to see Jessica and Brian and glad they are also competing and back after them not being able to go to worlds. They too are a dynamic team with big elements.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Any news from Ashley since her post with her picture from her hospital bed? I don't do Insta or twitter.

And I checked out that sp of theirs on OIP. It is stunning. Beautiful, crisp, emotionally layered. I was blown away.

Yes It appeared from her instagram story the other day that she was home and quarantined there b/c friends were dropping off food and stuff on her doorstep (no contact).

 

[ladyjane]

I cant help it, when I saw Alexa and Brandon's practice clip, I immediately started to think about Minerva Hase and Nolan Seegert who skated to this music a few years ago. That will change during the season, because I do think it fits these two well. Lovely to see them starting out good!

 

[gold12345]

I love Knierim/Frazier new SP! It suits them well. It’s only August and with more mileage it will get even better. Looking forward to see this team throughout the season. I was pleasantly surprised to see them competing here since they had a shorter off season with World Team Trophy finishing in late April. Does anyone know if the athletes competing at Cranberry cup earn world standing points? I don’t think so but if they do perhaps that was the motivating factor for them to get their season started so early. Either way impressed with the new program.

Skaters earn World Standings points for their 2 best results at a Challenger event or Senior B (if I'm recalling correctly; the ISU method of ranking skaters is kinda random). I'm pretty sure Challenger points are slightly higher than Sr B points. Since this Cranberry Cup is a Sr B, that should mean you can earn points here, which is likely a main reason why a team like Knierim/Frazier whose season ended very late in April is already competing in August. A new team would probably want a longer offseason than 3 months.

But despite the short time, I thought their SP looked great in competition today and showed them off well. They looked powerful and energetic and it felt like a step forward from last season already and should get better as they continue working on everything. The packaging was great and the music is a little edgy, but not very "out there", so hopefully their scores will climb as they get more exposure and continue to skate well because I think they went in a good direction with the program.

I've really liked "House of the Rising Sun" as skating music ever since Hase/Seegert skated to it and thought it would be even better if someone used it as SP music. There should be a place in skating for multiple genres of music, and a long as the music suits what the skater is doing and they enjoy skating to it, I'm good with it. But some people just want classical warhorses and sad ballads. I actually would enjoy seeing Alexa and Brandon skate to something very classical/warhorsey at some point, but I also like seeing an energetic vibrant Alexa, and this program brings out that natural energy she has. It suits Brandon well too.

 

[skylark]

Those who have viewed the fabulous new sp by Ash/Tim (on OIP patreon website), what are your thoughts?

I've had lots of company all week, but I finally got to view the whole program today. And it is stunning. For anyone who's liked a particular aspect or aspects of Ashley and Timothy's skating and partnership, this program is literally a jewel. It's a sparkling diamond, a tribute to Ashley and Tim's ability to skate as one. Their passion for the music, and their expression of it, is something wonderful to see. It's a beautiful illustration of amazing extension, flexibility and mutual dedication to every beautiful detail. They are breathtaking in their expression, movement, and unison. If you appreciate the most classical aspects of pairs skating, this program and performance is a dream. A dream of ... what? For me, the dream is of reaching for your own private highest ideal or your most deepfelt promise.

So, Enjoy! here's a link to the entire program, which On Ice Perspectives posted: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwdSbl1yCqk

They look fit and so on point. It is a crying shame that Ashley came down with the dreaded virus after being fully vaccinated.

Praying for Ashley's quick, safe, and full recovery. I do hope she will be in a position to return to training in order to at least compete in the second half of the season, if they have to miss their GPs. .... I hope Ash can recover, and get back in shape in order to compete with Timothy at some point this season. Sending healing thoughts to Ashley.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

I've had lots of company all week, but I finally got to view the whole program today. And it is stunning. For anyone who's liked a particular aspect or aspects of Ashley and Timothy's skating and partnership, this program is literally a jewel. It's a sparkling diamond, a tribute to Ashley and Tim's ability to skate as one. Their passion for the music, and their expression of it, is something wonderful to see. It's a beautiful illustration of amazing extension, flexibility and mutual dedication to every beautiful detail. They are breathtaking in their expression, movement, and unison. If you appreciate the most classical aspects of pairs skating, this program and performance is a dream. A dream of ... what? For me, the dream is of reaching for your own private highest ideal or your most deepfelt promise.

So, Enjoy! here's a link to the entire program, which On Ice Perspectives posted: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwdSbl1yCqk

Yep, I see that the entire Ash/Tim short program is now available for free on YouTube. I hope OIP did gain some new Patreon memberships though prior to them making the full program clip available for everyone.

Thanks for your expressive thoughts about Ash/Tim's new program. I'm sure Ashley/Tim would love hearing your impressions about this program. If they had skated it like this at Cranberry, they would have rivaled K/F for top U.S. pair spot, and should have been close to or possibly even in front of T/M as well in the sp. Don't you agree?

 

[skylark]

Yep, I see that the entire Ash/Tim short program is now available for free on YouTube. I hope OIP did gain some new Patreon memberships though prior to them making the full program clip available for everyone.

Thanks for your expressive thoughts about Ash/Tim's new program. I'm sure Ashley/Tim would love hearing your impressions about this program. If they had skated it like this at Cranberry, they would have rivaled K/F for top U.S. pair spot, and should have been close to or possibly even in front of T/M as well in the sp. Don't you agree?

Yes, I do agree. It's that good. If they can do it in competition. While Ashley recovers, I really hope they'll use the visualization techniques that they used for several weeks before US Nationals 2019, when Ashley wasn't allowed to skate at all (recovering from concussion). Timothy did the visualizations with her, and I think that could have been a strong factor in what they were able to put out on the ice come Nationals.

OIP did give an opportunity for folks to support their work, in the intro to the video. I think they may have realized there was a big demand to see this program in full right now, especially considering that people had hoped to see how C-G/L matched up in competition with the other top US pairs at Cranberry. So it was a good opportunity to invite people to support their beautiful work.

 

[Yeslekyelnats]

Yep, I see that the entire Ash/Tim short program is now available for free on YouTube. I hope OIP did gain some new Patreon memberships though prior to them making the full program clip available for everyone.

Thanks for your expressive thoughts about Ash/Tim's new program. I'm sure Ashley/Tim would love hearing your impressions about this program. If they had skated it like this at Cranberry, they would have rivaled K/F for top U.S. pair spot, and should have been close to or possibly even in front of T/M as well in the sp. Don't you agree?

No

 

[ladyjane]

I've had lots of company all week, but I finally got to view the whole program today. And it is stunning. For anyone who's liked a particular aspect or aspects of Ashley and Timothy's skating and partnership, this program is literally a jewel. It's a sparkling diamond, a tribute to Ashley and Tim's ability to skate as one. Their passion for the music, and their expression of it, is something wonderful to see. It's a beautiful illustration of amazing extension, flexibility and mutual dedication to every beautiful detail. They are breathtaking in their expression, movement, and unison. If you appreciate the most classical aspects of pairs skating, this program and performance is a dream. A dream of ... what? For me, the dream is of reaching for your own private highest ideal or your most deepfelt promise.

So, Enjoy! here's a link to the entire program, which On Ice Perspectives posted: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwdSbl1yCqk

This was beautiful. Those lines, even better to see through the OIP way of filming. Kudos to Ashley and Tim!

 

[TontoK]

Yep, I see that the entire Ash/Tim short program is now available for free on YouTube. I hope OIP did gain some new Patreon memberships though prior to them making the full program clip available for everyone.

Thanks for your expressive thoughts about Ash/Tim's new program. I'm sure Ashley/Tim would love hearing your impressions about this program. If they had skated it like this at Cranberry, they would have rivaled K/F for top U.S. pair spot, and should have been close to or possibly even in front of T/M as well in the sp. Don't you agree?

Comparing this with the SP we saw at Cranberry and comparing to the top teams...

SBS jump: This element surpassed everyone else.
Lift: Improved... not quite on the level of the two other top Americans.
Twist: Same as lift.
SBS Spin: Unison on second foot was excellent, first foot not so much. Positions MUCH better than the other teams.
Death Spiral: Brilliant
Throw: About on par.
Footwork: I'm not qualified to address the levels, but they were beautiful.

The thing they have that the others didn't: Extension, line, relationship to each other.

Would this short program, skated exactly as it was in the video, have been competitive with the top teams? Yes.

Edit to add: I couldn't make a comparative evaluation of their speed.

 

[mrrice]

What are you guys thinking of Alexa and Brandon as we head into the new season? Do you think they're the Top US Team heading into the Olympics?

 

[Moxiejan]

What are you guys thinking of Alexa and Brandon as we head into the new season? Do you think they're the Top US Team heading into the Olympics?

I was more impressed with them a few months ago at Nationals. Cranberry programs, not as much. Though they obviously will be #1 if they skate clean, i think the gorgeous new SP by C-G/L is a real game-changer as far as closing the gap & making this competitive (assuming Ash is back to full strength by then).

And the exceptional twist/lifts of C/J put them in the mix, too. I so wish we had 3 spots for Olympics.

 

[Spiralgraph]

What are you guys thinking of Alexa and Brandon as we head into the new season? Do you think they're the Top US Team heading into the Olympics?

I'm thinking that this is still August, for me the season doesn't really begin until October when teams are ready. It's way too early to crown any pair the top US team. Let these pairs actually compete in competitions that mean more later on in the autumn. To declare K/F or any of them means to do so on preliminary information and stats only. So for me, ask again in early January.

 

[macy]

I've had lots of company all week, but I finally got to view the whole program today. And it is stunning. For anyone who's liked a particular aspect or aspects of Ashley and Timothy's skating and partnership, this program is literally a jewel. It's a sparkling diamond, a tribute to Ashley and Tim's ability to skate as one. Their passion for the music, and their expression of it, is something wonderful to see. It's a beautiful illustration of amazing extension, flexibility and mutual dedication to every beautiful detail. They are breathtaking in their expression, movement, and unison. If you appreciate the most classical aspects of pairs skating, this program and performance is a dream. A dream of ... what? For me, the dream is of reaching for your own private highest ideal or your most deepfelt promise.

So, Enjoy! here's a link to the entire program, which On Ice Perspectives posted: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwdSbl1yCqk

this program is STUNNING. i love the 2nd half when the tempo picks up. i really hope Ashley makes a quick and full recovery.

 

[twirlingaround]

I'm thinking that this is still August, for me the season doesn't really begin until October when teams are ready. It's way too early to crown any pair the top US team. Let these pairs actually compete in competitions that mean more later on in the autumn. To declare K/F or any of them means to do so on preliminary information and stats only. So for me, ask again in early January.

Totally agree, way to early. Not one team is in tip top shape in August and we saw good programs out of K/F, but not at the same level one would we see during the peak of the season. December/January will tell how all the top US Teams are doing

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Everyone keeps saying January. I'd say more like Nov/Dec. January is going to tell you who is going to Olympics for sure because Nationals are early this year, remember that.