2023 WTT takeaways?

[gsk8]

Final major event of the year! What are your thoughts? Which programs did you like the most?

Day 3

Team USA takes fifth World Team Trophy

2023 World Team Trophy | Day 3 The 2023 ISU World Team Trophy concluded on Saturday with the Pairs' and Men's Free Skate in Tokyo, Japan. Team USA won

www.goldenskate.com

Day 2

Team USA maintains lead in Tokyo; Korea and Japan follow

2023 World Team Trophy | Day 2 The 2023 ISU World Team Trophy continued on Friday with the Pairs’ Short program, Free Dance and Women’s Free Skate in Tokyo, Japan. […]

www.goldenskate.com

Day 1

Team USA takes lead at World Team Trophy

2023 World Team Trophy | Day 1 The 2023 ISU World Team Trophy, featuring 10 out of 12 of the medalists from the recent World Figure Skating Championships, kicked off […]

www.goldenskate.com

 

[gsk8]

Also, a fun survey was conducted with all the teams for them to vote on their "best cook", "best dressed" and "loudest cheerleader"

 

[gsk8]

 

[gsk8]

 

[el henry]

What I took away from WTT:

1. How much the skaters themselves truly enjoy and appreciate this event. Every skater whose social media I saw or whose quotes I read, including those on the cusp of retirement with no reason to fib, talked about how they loved the event, they appreciated the ability to skate for the Japanese audience, they appreciated the ability to mix and mingle with teammates and other skaters, they just loved the vibe.

2. The camera operators. Can we use them for every single skating event ever?

3. The men's event overall, bobbles and all.

4. One of the many heartwarming parts: Ilia Malinin singing "The Impossible Dream" while on the podium (as they played the captain's program music when they brought out the teams) and Jason realizing what he was doing. I'm sure there are others and I would love to hear about them.

 

[noskates]

Awww - I loved that Ilia was singing on the podium and I totally and completely agree about the camera operators. I HATE it when they film from above when a skater is doing a spin and that seems to happen way too often. I don't care about their heads......HELLO!!! I also love how figure skating has taken hold in Japan. And the Japanese seem to root for everyone and don't go all nationalistic. I still enjoy seeing Daisuke and Kana and hope they stay in for at least another year. And who can forget Jason! The man has boundless energy, boundless talent and seems to be loved by all.

 

[TontoK]

My big takeway is about the whole season... although WTT performances figure into that. It's really a reminder of what I've experienced many times before.

What you see on the ice, and how you feel about a program, will change over the course of a season.

• I was, at best, neutral about both Chock and Bates programs at the beginning of the year. By the end of the season, I loved both of them.
• By Skate America, I expected Ilia Malinin to go on a Nathan-Chen-like rampage and dominate every competition this season. In the end, he had a great season, one most skaters would envy (two GP gold, GPF medal, US champ, World medal)... but it turns out he's not quite "there" yet. I'm sure it's coming, and soon.
• I have a running list of skaters I'm growing impatient with, where I'm almost ready to disregard their skating. Very early in the season, both French men and Matteo Rizzo were on that list. Sometimes it takes just a solid performance or two, or improved consistency, or a change in attitude, but it takes something to re-ignite my interest. You have to show me. These guys did it at some point this year.

So, I'll be reminding myself during the summer competitions that first impressions - good and bad - are only that. It's a long season.

 

[16Olympics]

My takeaways:
Jason Brown-please stay forever and never stop skating.
Jun-no way to describe how magnificent he was.
The Japanese audiences are the BEST!
Team members cheering for other countries almost 100% of the time. Nice to see.
Ilia's short makes me hopeful he's on his way.
Korean Women shining.
Riku and Ryiuchi's joy despite having a strong showing and not coming out on top against a solid and determined Alexa and Brandon.
Isabeau's composure and smile. I hope she truly enjoyed this competition and her outstanding 1st season as a senior.
Keegan and his teammates at the end of the gala all on the ice while he skated around the rink with a giant Canadian flag. Magnificent!
I missed Shoma.
At different times the skaters looked tired from a long season but they still wanted to please the audience. I usually don't watch the galas but knowing this was the last skating we'd see for a while, I watched it. Really enjoyed it as it was well done and the audience was really into it. Shout out to Shun. His gala number was brilliant.

 

[Mathman]

My computer wouldn't display the full results for team USA. Who won best cook and best dressed?

 

[Mathman]

Never mind. I can see it now. I knew Madison Chock would win the best cook. Here is her recip[e for cauliflower fired rice.

Cook with Madison Chock and Evan Bates: Cauliflower Fried Rice - U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone

Olympians Madison Chock and Evan Bates took over the kitchen to show off their cooking skills on our Facebook! They cooked a delicious cauliflower fried rice from

usfigureskatingfanzone.com

 

[Mathman]

As for the skating, (1) it was very cool to see the Japanese pairs team on the podium. It has been only a few years since the days when both Japan and Korea could barely find a pairs or dance team to put on the competitive ice, but suddenly they are on the rise and in the mix.

(2) Junhwan Cha is the very poster child for steady surefooted advancement in sports. Every year, seemimgly every performance, is better thanb the last. Now he is king of the hill and still on an ever-upward trajectory.

 

[4everchan]

My computer wouldn't display the full results for team USA. Who won best cook and best dressed?

my takeaways from WTT?

ermm...

i watched it not for the competition so much but just to enjoy my favourite skaters. I expect it may have been the last time for some..

Jun was stellar. That's the performance I will remember.

Amazing to see Korea finish dead last in both pairs and dance and get silver thanks to the strength of their single skaters. Shows how one-sided the event is in terms of point allocation.. but no biggie... if it were a serious competition, I'd be upset but as if is just for fun, then it is what it is .

 

[mrrice]

I was happy to see the Veteran Skaters treating Ilia and Isabeau so well. They're the future for our Singles skaters moving forward and it really seemed like they had a great time.

 

[CoyoteChris]

In no particular order
Loved the Japanese crowd getting into "YMCA" while the panda (or?) skated....Rudy Galindo, come back......
Love Ted....come back....
Love the fact that the Japanese camera crew and live video editors are A number one....come back.....
Love the Japanese Audience...come back....
This event needs to be done every year if nothing else than just for the skaters to have fun...this season was a grind.....
If this event did nothing more than show what a great sport this is, what a great world this could be, it would have been a success.
I didnt see one skater take a hockey stick and trip another.....not one skater screamed to get another skater to mess up....not one brawl...
Loved Haein's birthday!
Skating and figure skaters here are the best.....

 

[Sai Bon]

my takeaways from WTT?

ermm...

i watched it not for the competition so much but just to enjoy my favourite skaters. I expect it may have been the last time for some..

Jun was stellar. That's the performance I will remember.

Amazing to see Korea finish dead last in both pairs and dance and get silver thanks to the strength of their single skaters. Shows how one-sided the event is in terms of point allocation.. but no biggie... if it were a serious competition, I'd be upset but as if is just for fun, then it is what it is .

4everchan, have you ever seen "Little Britain"?

 

[4everchan]

4everchan, have you ever seen "Little Britain"?

yes

 

[gold12345]

I love how the Japanese audience just appreciates great skating, they don't care what country it's from. The way they were giving standing ovations to skaters who were main rivals to their own was incredible.

I love the pairs rivalry between Knierim/Frazier and Miura/Kihara. They are great, healthy competition for each other and I wish it could last for years to come. The way K/F followed M/K's 2 strong skates & scores on home ice with 2 strong skates of their own and even bigger scores was extremely impressive. I wish this could spark motivation in them for another season, especially since they continue to get better every competition. K/F's throws were also absolutely magnificent and stunning at this event, they'd stand out against any top Russian pair.

Junhwan Cha's quad salchow is absolutely breathtaking. I'm so glad he's found consistency with his quads because they are beautiful. It was great to see skaters like Haein Lee and Kevin Aymoz carry over their great momentum from Worlds. It was also nice to see Yelim Kim end her season so well.

At the beginning of the season I never thought I'd like Chock/Bates's free dance, mostly because of the music, but now I've really warmed up to it and I'm glad they got to perform it well here without a fall this time. They've been together 12 years, have 4 World medals, and have been to 3 and 4 Olympics, respectively, but I'd love to see them do another season. To say that it would be really great if US skating could keep their top dance and pair teams here competing would be an understatement.

Jason Brown is such a ray of sunshine. He has been skating really well, especially considering how much of his schedule is packed with shows. I'm very glad that his love of skating has been rekindled and that he seems to want to continue competing next season.

It was great to see the skaters who were doing that SOI Japan tour in between Worlds and WTT skate so well here. I'm often concerned about losing competitive skaters to shows, and these skaters showed how well you can balance both. All the skaters were having fun and enjoying their sport at WTT, and I hope it helps them stay in love with competitive skating.

 

[iluvtodd]

So many wonderful takeaways that have already been mentioned. I love how the Japanese audience supports every skater no matter what country they represent!

The team spirit is infectious!

The love & support for Todd Sand & Keegan Messing - aw!

The mascot skating to "YMCA" & the skaters doing the dance motions, etc.

 

[Dreamer57]

My takeaway is that Team Korea's pair and ice dance team are very promising! And I love their routine in the lift and KnC activities!

Team Italy are also looking very strong. With Matteo almost winning the free skate, strong pairs and ice dance, they just need to harness the potential of their women skaters who have excellent qualities in their skating!

 

[noskates]

Just wanted to say this about Ilia. We have to remember he's only 18 years old. We do need to be patient and let him grow into that physical excellence. He's way far above what Nathan was skating at that age - for example. And I'm so glad so many of you are praising the Japanese fans - they deserve it.