2021-22 U.S. Pairs Figure Skating

[BlissfulSynergy]

I enjoyed Kate Finster and Balazs Nagy before but I think Finster/Silecky is yet to really fully come together.

Kate and Balazs were good together and they had a lot of success in juniors for the U.S., but I think Kate continued to grow a bit as she matured. By the time they turned senior in 2020 pandemic season, they had run the course of their partnership, and it was obvious. For whatever reason (which can sometimes be physical, logistical, emotional, etc.,) it was no longer working for them. They weren't clicking. Likely, the problems that were surfacing with their former coach, Sappenfield may have been a contributing factor to them no longer appearing to click. In a virtual competition I saw K&B compete in during 2020, nothing was working for them. Even the quality of the video was bad. I came away from that video immediately thinking and pointing out that Kate needed a taller partner.

All new partnerships need time to develop. However, Kate Finster and Matej Silecky are a very good physical match, and their personalities and goals so far, appear to mesh well too.

 

[ice coverage]

McBeath/Bartholomay are #1 in the Championship Series standings for Senior Pairs with their Henderson score of 171.21.
No question that they qualify for Nats.

Based on what we know at this point, McBeath/Bartholomay do not have an international bye to Nats.
Because the issue of qualifying for Nats already is moot for them, I won't go through all the "if"s that would be required for McBeath/Bartholomay to have an international bye -- except to say that in terms of internationals, they are in a slightly different boat from Liu/O'Shea.

---

Liu/O'Shea have a bye to U.S. Nationals. Of that, I don't think there's any doubt, regardless of which events give them the bye. Certainly, Skate America, Warsaw Cup, and probably the Norwood event in August is included as an international event. If not, they'll certainly receive another international assignment prior to U.S. Nationals. ...

At this point, it requires some assumptions/extrapolations to conclude that Liu/O'Shea have an international bye.

I will not repeat what I already had posted in detail regarding Liu/O'Shea.
Although I think it is very likely that Liu/O'Shea ultimately will have an international bye, I myself will not consider it to be without any shadow of doubt -- until we hear more from USFS.

 

[2sk8]

For some reason, Finster/Silecky withdrew from Norwood after the sp,

Medical - https://www.instagram.com/p/CWJehcWLfto/

 

[moonvine]

Medical - https://www.instagram.com/p/CWJehcWLfto/

Too bad. I really like her. Hope she is ok.

 

[skylark]

Medical - https://www.instagram.com/p/CWJehcWLfto/

that's a very nice post from Matej. thank you for sharing it. I hope Kate recovers soon and well.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

Thanks for sharing Matej's post @2sk8, I too wish Kate all the best, and a full and speedy recovery. I hope she will be well enough to compete at U.S. Nationals in January.

 

[2sk8]

Thanks for sharing Matej's post @2sk8, I too wish Kate all the best, and a full and speedy recovery. I hope she will be well enough to compete at U.S. Nationals in January.

From her IG story, she looks fully recovered https://www.instagram.com/stories/kate.finster/2707639812748674987/

 

[skylark]

Great article from USFanzone,11/9, about Cain-Gribble/Leduc, ahead of their participating at NHL last week-end:

Two Pillars of Strength: Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc Stay Connected, Consistent Preparing for NHK Trophy - U.S. Figure Skating

At Skate Canada International, Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc captured bronze with a program that looked a lot like their 2019 free skate. The matching ombré-gray

usfigureskatingfanzone.com

from the article:

Cain-Gribble and LeDuc first partnered in 2016, when their skating styles, drives and sense of humor aligned at a tryout. Even then, their shared goal was to compete at the Olympic Winter Games.

With Beijing in mind, the Dallas-based team has relied on their compatibility to push their technicality and artistry forward during their six seasons together.... The team's candid humor and vulnerability have rippled outward into the skating community. ...

"Neither of us saw ourselves represented in skaters that were successful in the sport," they said. "It's really important to both of us to not only make a pathway for ourselves, but for the next generation of athletes. We want to send the message that you can embrace what makes you unique and still find your way to success."

"We have learned from past experiences, like overcoming unknown variables and injuries, that we will make it past any obstacle if we stay close," LeDuc said. "Being adaptable and relying on one other are important qualities in an elite sport. Over the years, we've watched our results rise."

If anyone sees articles about Knierim/Frazier, Calalang/Johnson, Chan/Howe, Liu/O'Shea ahead of their participating at IdF or Warsaw Cup, please share them here!

 

[skylark]

Chelsea Liu and Danny O'Shea are in 5th place, with a score of 62.55, after the SP at Warsaw Cup today! Fall on the 3S.

Jessica Calalang and Brian Johnson are in 7th place with 61.69. Jessica doubled the SBS jump, and they had a spin invalidated.

Emily Chan and Spencer Akira Howe are in 12th place with 56.94. Falls on the SBS jump and the throw, I believe.

Best of luck to all three pairs in the FS tomorrow!

And Best of luck to Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier at International de France tomorrow and Saturday!

 

[apgold]

Jessica and Brian would have been higher had Jessica not fallen out of the SBS spin. She looked awkward waiting for her partner to finish spinning for a few seconds. I expect them to miss the SBS jump, but the spin was an uncharacteristic error.

I loved Emily and Spencer's tango program, but she fell on both jumps. He cut his ponytail, so I hardly recognized him.

Did not catch Chelsea and Danny but I'm not a Swifty. Glad they did pretty well.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

Warsaw Cup sps of Chan/Howe and Calalang/Johnson are posted on YouTube. Why no Liu/O'Shea?-- They are ahead of both the other U.S. teams, despite being newly partnered. Oh well.

 

[moonvine]

Warsaw Cup sps of Chan/Howe and Calalang/Johnson are posted on YouTube. Why no Liu/O'Shea?-- They are ahead of both the other U.S. teams, despite being newly partnered. Oh well.

The stream started about halfway through their skate. I love their SP too

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

The stream started about halfway through their skate. I love their SP too

What??? Oh boy. Shades of that comp (was it Skate Canada?) where we missed out on seeing the programs of two teams who were cut off at the end.

Found this YouTube link:

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

That must have been some kind of skate from Chelsea and Danny. Skating 2nd and almost making the top 6. Shame about C/J but better to have a bad skate now than at Nationals.

If the U.S. teams skate the way they can, they should all be scoring much higher, across-the-board. In fact, Calalang/Johnson are the 2019 Warsaw Cup defending champions (C/J had beaten the current second place team in 2019, Pepeleva/Pleshkov, who nailed a 69+ for second this year in the sp, after scoring low 6.0s at recent GP events). Brain freezes by Jessica unfortunately, or else her confidence has gone missing with all that she's been through recently. With T/M feeling the need to compete at this mostly second tier event, C/J at the least should be in second place, no lie. They would likely at least have made third without the unforgiveable spin error.

Liu/O'Shea are very capable of scoring in the high 6.0s, and they have done so this season in early comps. Hopefully, they figure themselves out and clean up the jumps. They are a quality, talented team. Chan/Howe showed great breakthrough promise at Norwood in August, but without many opportunities to compete since then, they haven't been able to build any competitive momentum. That's the way of this sport.

 

[ladyjane]

It was a real pity at Warsaw Cup that the stream didn't start until the end of Liu/O'Shea's SP. We missed the SP of Stellato/Deschamps altogether, and I'm pretty sure our Canadian friends were really unhappy about that (as was I, as I wanted to watch the whole Pairs event and was looking forward to seeing them). It was a real shame what happened to Calalang/Johnson in the spin - it looked awkward seeing one person spinning and another just standing. Better to see an unsynchronised couple, than just one! I agree they could have placed 3rd or 4th without that spin error because they are rather good. I had been looking forward to Chan/Howe ever since I saw them at Cranberry Cup and though they made mistakes, their step sequence was still to die for. Really wonderful to watch. Let's see what happens this evening!

 

[Moxiejan]

For C/J, the spin error was of course costly, but can be seen as a freak thing with very little chance of being repeated. To me, the jump error will have a bigger negative impact on their Olympic team chances because it continued what has been a problem for them. Not only did Jess double; Brian stumbled. This resulted in only about .86 on that element.

 

[skylark]

@moonvine said:
That must have been some kind of skate from Chelsea and Danny. Skating 2nd and almost making the top 6. Shame about C/J but better to have a bad skate now than at Nationals.

I saw the last 2/3 of it when I rewound the tape; they skated that beautifully. I think the scores on the parts that I saw were a little conservative, but I'm biased, and it's probably partly because they skated second. ( ETA: I did notice that they got level 4s on nearly everything, so that's another indication of how hard they've been working.) Like you, I wish I could've seen the early part with the jump and throw. But I know they must have been working hard on those elements! I hope this gives them a big confidence boost for today.

It was fun seeing Liu/O'shea's names at the top of the heap for quite a long time

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

For C/J, the spin error was of course costly, but can be seen as a freak thing with very little chance of being repeated. To me, the jump error will have a bigger negative impact on their Olympic team chances because it continued what has been a problem for them. Not only did Jess double; Brian stumbled. This resulted in only about .86 on that element.

Well, C/J showed what they are made of in the fp, landing both jumping passes, although Brian was off-balance during the second jumping pass. They never receive a lot of GOE on their jumps. But their twist usually gets over 2.00+ points. Their lifts are special and their throws generally landed, though they need to figure out some tech issues on the throws to improve on distance. Jess often lands those throws like a cat, even off-kilter throws. She has such a strong core. IMO, the judges should be giving C/J much higher GOE on their best elements, but still the judges tend to hold back a little because of the very low impression of their jumps.

It was a great comeback for C/J in the fp. Congrats to them. I know their silver medal win is tempered by what happened to their teammates, Chelsea & Danny. There were updates on L/O's condition posted in the Warsaw Cup pairs fp thread. It is seriously concerning since Chelsea had lost consciousness and she had low blood pressure. I'm sure the doctors will be doing scans to ensure there is no internal bleeding, and then of course, concussion protocols.

It was reported that Danny has a bad cut on his head, but he seems okay otherwise. I think both of them will need to be monitored under concussion protocols. At this point, I hope it isn't too much to hope that neither have serious injuries, and will be able to weather this and come back. After finding each other, it would be too much to see this lovely adventure end. But health first!

 

[labgoat]

Well, C/J showed what they are made of in the fp, landing both jumping passes, although Brian was off-balance during the second jumping pass. They never receive a lot of GOE on their jumps. But their twist usually gets over 2.00+ points. Their lifts are special and their throws generally landed, though they need to figure out some tech issues on the throws to improve on distance. Jess often lands those throws like a cat, even off-kilter throws. She has such a strong core. IMO, the judges should be giving C/J much higher GOE on their best elements, but still the judges tend to hold back a little because of the very low impression of their jumps.

It was a great comeback for C/J in the fp. Congrats to them. I know their silver medal win is tempered by what happened to their teammates, Chelsea & Danny. There were updates on L/O's condition posted in the Warsaw Cup pairs fp thread. It is seriously concerning since Chelsea had lost consciousness and she had low blood pressure. I'm sure the doctors will be doing scans to ensure there is no internal bleeding, and then of course, concussion protocols.

It was reported that Danny has a bad cut on his head, but he seems okay otherwise. I think both of them will need to be monitored under concussion protocols. At this point, I hope it isn't too much to hope that neither have serious injuries, and will be able to weather this and come back. After finding each other, it would be too much to see this lovely adventure end. But health first!

Thanks for the update on Chelsea and Danny. I have said a little prayer for their recovery as Chelsea really came down hard. Poor Danny, also injured, and probably wishing he could have done something more to protect Chelsea. They will be missed.

 

[moonvine]

Well, C/J showed what they are made of in the fp, landing both jumping passes, although Brian was off-balance during the second jumping pass. They never receive a lot of GOE on their jumps. But their twist usually gets over 2.00+ points. Their lifts are special and their throws generally landed, though they need to figure out some tech issues on the throws to improve on distance. Jess often lands those throws like a cat, even off-kilter throws. She has such a strong core. IMO, the judges should be giving C/J much higher GOE on their best elements, but still the judges tend to hold back a little because of the very low impression of their jumps.

It was a great comeback for C/J in the fp. Congrats to them. I know their silver medal win is tempered by what happened to their teammates, Chelsea & Danny. There were updates on L/O's condition posted in the Warsaw Cup pairs fp thread. It is seriously concerning since Chelsea had lost consciousness and she had low blood pressure. I'm sure the doctors will be doing scans to ensure there is no internal bleeding, and then of course, concussion protocols.

It was reported that Danny has a bad cut on his head, but he seems okay otherwise. I think both of them will need to be monitored under concussion protocols. At this point, I hope it isn't too much to hope that neither have serious injuries, and will be able to weather this and come back. After finding each other, it would be too much to see this lovely adventure end. But health first!

I hope we hear something very soon. Thanks to my friend for warning me not to watch as she knew I’d be traumatized.