2021 World Figure Skating Championships: General Info

[Giu]

Donovan Carillo shared the men who are going, because he was invited. They are Nathan, Yuma, Yuzuru, Keegan, Mikhail, Morisi, Donovan and Nikolaj.

So Morisi is going and Shoma no? It’s a joke... I mean Morisi, I could have understood if they had invited Jason, Han Yan or Brezina, they called Morisi instead

 

[Amei]

Here is the full Gala list:

https://twitter.com/_shtorrrka/status/1375917216361775105

I would be curious to know how they went about picking skaters, they seemed to randomly pick some low place finishers but didn't invite higher place finishers.

- From the Men they picked the 14th and 20th place skaters but not the 4th place finisher, who is a crowd favorite (granted the crowd is virtual)
- From the Pairs they picked the 5th, 10th and 6th place finishers - but yet again the 4th place finishers weren't invited
- From the ladies they picked all of the top 9 skaters less the 5th place and 8th place finishers, both of whom I think were pleasant surprises for most of us

 

[el henry]

So Morisi is going and Shoma no? It’s a joke... I mean Morisi, I could have understood if they had invited Jason, Han Yan or Brezina, they called Morisi instead

No disrespect intended, but this is the one I do not understand.

Invite the top X number skaters. Invite the home country skater. If Donovan is doing his exhibition from last year, he's a crowd favorite, it's a crowd pleaser and you're in for a treat. Plus he's a small fed skater, so points for that.

But Morisi? Does he have a crowd pleasing gala? More crowd pleasing than Jason or Kevin or any number of skaters ahead of him?

 

[ice coverage]

... If Donovan is doing his exhibition from last year, he's a crowd favorite, it's a crowd pleaser and you're in for a treat. Plus he's a small fed skater, so points for that.

But Morisi? Does he have a crowd pleasing gala? ...

The answer re Kvitelashvili is a resounding Yes, if you ask me.
Kvitelashvili has a very entertaining exhibition program to Aladdin, which received a lot of positive attention earlier in the season.
(His commitment to portraying the character of Aladdin is part of the fun, if you ask me.
Those who have not seen the program hopefully will enjoy being surprised, so I purposely will not explain more here.)

And Kvitelashvili also is from a small federation, of course.

It obviously is hugely subjective as to whether one skater's program is "more" crowd-pleasing than another's -- so I will leave that question unanswered.

I am a fan of Donovan, and I think he is a good choice for the gala.
For me, Moris also is a good choice.

---

I have said many times in the past that it is fine by me for LOCs to have "creative control" over who they invite to the gala.

It is not uncommon for me to happily "discover" new favorite skaters through galas.

Here is the full Gala list:

https://twitter.com/_shtorrrka/status/1375917216361775105

Thank you for posting the full list.

 

[el henry]

Oh dear heavens, I had blocked out that it was Morisi with the <spoiler> blue paint

Different strokes for different folks.

 

[GoneWithTheWind]

Thank you for not inviting Shoma to the Gala. What a disgusting snub.

Is it possible he declined the invite?
It seems that Sui/Han may have also, as they're not on the list either and they won silver.

 

[MaiKatze]

Is it possible he declined the invite?
It seems that Sui/Han may have also, as they're not on the list either and they won silver.

Possible but unlikely. Sui/Han certainly declined and perhaps are already outside the bubble and on the way to China already. They were medalists and medalists ALWAYS have to skate in the Gala unless they are injured. Shoma would never decline an invitation to the Gala, imho. I think he simply wasn't invited. Too many japanese men, I guess. As if they are interchangeable.

 

[GoneWithTheWind]

Possible but unlikely. Sui/Han certainly declined and perhaps are already outside the bubble and on the way to China already. They were medalists and medalists ALWAYS have to skate in the Gala unless they are injured. Shoma would never decline an invitation to the Gala, imho. I think he simply wasn't invited. Too many japanese men, I guess. As if they are interchangeable.

Oh, fair enough. If that is the case, it certainly does seem unfair!

 

[Mawwerg]

The answer re Kvitelashvili is a resounding Yes, if you ask me.
Kvitelashvili has a very entertaining exhibition program to Aladdin, which received a lot of positive attention earlier in the season.
(His commitment to portraying the character of Aladdin is part of the fun, if you ask me.
Those who have not seen the program hopefully will enjoy being surprised, so I purposely will not explain more here.)

Kamila was perfect Aladdin. What will they do without her?

 

[Amei]

Is it possible he declined the invite?
It seems that Sui/Han may have also, as they're not on the list either and they won silver.

I saw it posted that Japanese skaters have to quarantine when they get home and that was going to affect Shoma's ability to participate in the torch relay for the summer Olympics. Maybe he left early to try and be able to do that still?

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

Here is the full Gala list:

https://twitter.com/_shtorrrka/status/1375917216361775105

I find it kinda funny now that this comes up when I try to open the link.

 

[Artistry]

I haven’t posted in ages, maybe someone already discussed thus - who is the male commentator on Peacock? I quite enjoyed his commentary and insights.

 

[anonymoose_au]

I haven’t posted in ages, maybe someone already discussed thus - who is the male commentator on Peacock? I quite enjoyed his commentary and insights.

That was Mark Henretty a former ice dancer who represented GB.

He was indeed really good, everyone enjoyed his commentary it seems! ISU finally hit a home run.