2024 Worlds: General Info and Pre-game chat

[lariko]

PS Read the news.... it seems like all flights bought will be refunded. Not a complete lost for you @lariko though i understand new flights may be pricier... UGH...

Yeah, it's $213 versus $900. I also hope your friend makes it home safely

 

[icewhite]

I thought I'd do a little preview for each discipline. Starting with pairs:

The Japanese world champions of 22/23, Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, have had a difficult season due to injury. They have only competed twice and their scores have been much lower than what they have become used to. So they are not going into this year world's as favourites, even a podium might be a tough ask, depending on their fitness and health. However, since they have the abilities, they cannot be counted out of course.

But we might expect a battle for the title by these teams instead:

Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps, representing Canada, recently won the 4 Continents Championships. In the Grand Prix final they placed third. This season they tended to score slightly above 200 points. The US American Deanna has been awarded for being so highly competitive despite her „high“ age of now 40 years.

German Minerva Fabienne Hase and Russian Nikita Volodin, despite being experienced pairs skaters, have only teamed up last season and this was their first competitive season. It was more successful than might have been expected from their previous results, and they won the Grand Prix final in December. At the European championships they only placed 5th, though. The new pressure of going in as favourites instead of underdogs might have played a role.

Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava are representing Georgia. This season they have competed in both junior and senior competitions. Since they did not do the senior Grand Prix series they might have been a bit forgotten about during the season's talk, but winning the Junior Grand Prix final and placing second at senior Europeans with scores around 200 points they should be on everybody's list for senior worlds now.

Italy has 3 very strong pairs teams at the moments. ((Sara Conti and Niccolò Macii, as last years European champions, arguably went into the season as the best of them, but this season, despite going rather strong,)) the newly formed team of old dog Matteo Guarise and 20 year old Lucrezia Beccari, superseded them. With their furry free skate to „Cats“ they won this year's European Championships. ((Then there are Rebecca Ghilardi and Filippo Ambrosini. Although slightly behind in points their popular programs this season let them shine.))

Other notable competitors:
For Hungary: Pavlova/Sviatchenko have very strong and reliable elements. They are lacking a bit in terms of presentation and PCS.

For Canada: Pereira/Michaud are a young team. Last season Lia Pereira was still competing in singles as well, this year she's focusing on pairs.

What can be expected: a tight battle. There are several pairs all capable of taking the title or spots on the podium. They all have very similar base values and it will likely come down to who lands their jumps and throws, but every detail might matter in the end.

My personal prediction: Beccari/Guarise. Bold, but I think that although Guarise is not getting younger and time might be running out for him for such a big title chance, they just don't seem to be under the pressure as some of the other teams, and the two seem like a very well matched pair that, as long as they are fit, can only improve.

Edit: I just realized Italy cannot send all three pairs to worlds, the decision who will be sent has not been made yet.
Sorry.

 

[icewhite]

Men's

The winner of the last two world championships, 26 year old Japanese Shoma Uno, will be a hot contender for the win again. He is a complete skater with both a high base value and smooth movements, very stable in most of his elements and a fan favourite. His current programs project elegance, depth, splendour and emotion, focusing on impression and lines. His free skate program might resemble a swan song a bit too much, though.

Obviously challenging him will be 20 year old US American Ilia Malinin, coached by his parents, the first and so far only person to land a quadruple Axel, in general a very strong jumper with clean technique and high rotation speed, seemingly always able to pull out another insane quad or combination. His weaknesses though are his relative instability and his skating skills which are not on par with the other top competitors. They have to rely on him making mistakes, though, otherwise he's unbeatable.

Frenchman Adam Siao Him Fa became European champion for the second time in a row this year, entertaining the audience with an „illegal“ backflip. He could easily afford the deduction for that. With his high base value, agile acrobatic skating skills and the personality of an entertainer he's a top contender. Questionmarks remain regarding his form and his ability to deliver a concentrated performance under pressure which despite all his qualities he will need to get a medal here. He is not the most stable skater.

20 year old Japanese Yuma Kagiyama has already been second in the world championships and Olympics in 2022, but almost missed the entire last season due to injury. He has slowly been upping his base value again and is now almost where he was before the injury in terms of technical content, while being better than ever in everything else. While his programs are not the bravest or most exciting choices, he might be the most perfect skater of them all, almost faultless. Against this super competition he likely needs to be so to even get a medal, though.

Other notable skaters/ what can be expected:
There will be an abundance of interesting skaters (and programs) there, including for instance fan favourites like Junhwan Cha, Donovan Carillo and Jason Brown, but these four are just clearly a few levels ahead and it is unlikely anyone else will get a medal. Nonetheless you might watch out for Lukas Britschgi, Mikhail Shaidorov or Cha, who could all be capable to sneek on the podium if the top 4 make too many mistakes.
Enjoy the competition because I think this discipline's event will be an absolute blast.

My personal prediction: Ilia Malinin. He just has the by far highest base value and is therefor in the pole position.

 

[icewhite]

Women's:

Japanese Kaori Sakamoto, who won the last two world championships in women's skating, remains the favourite for this year's event, too. With her speedy, fluent skating, her big and flowy jumps and her personality she makes skating look great. After obviously feeling the pressure in the last season she now seems much more confident and at ease again, showing real stability and especially the ability to fight under pressure as well. Her strong results have also brought her a constant reputation bonus which might help her should she stumble a bit. However, she does not have a triple Axel (or a quadruple jump), while some others do.

There is a bunch of other contenders for medals:

Loena Hendrickx might be her no1 challenger. The Belgian is a symbol for sexy programs and mature skating, a very complete skater who just lacks a bit in GOE and stability compared to Sakamoto. She just won the European championships and is therefor the top European skater at worlds. Like Sakamoto she does not have a triple Axel and she will need to be pretty clean.

Young Belgian (the second one!) Nina Pinzarrone, coached by choreographer Benoit Richaud, shows incredible stability despite high technical content for her age especially and that is her big asset. Her skating is still a bit stiff, her programs a bit empty, but you can expect her to be there and try to battle for a medal.

Hana Yoshida, named the best newcomer of the last year, goes for a triple Axel in both her short and her long program – but it only works out half of the time at best. In her „Japanese crane“ free skate she's very stable apart from that 3A though, so expect her to climb up the standings after messing up the „Koo Koo Fun“ short program. And should she land both of those 3As – expect her very, very high up.

Amber Glenn has, maybe a bit surprisingly, won the US championships this season and has, after years of trying, landed her 3A two times in competition. She tends to make significant mistakes, though, so you can expect a rollercoaster (and two great programs) from her.

Isabeau Levito is the second US woman and will likely receive high program component scores. She is still very young and after being very consistent last season this one has not been a stable one at all, so what to expect from her is rather unknown. She is definitely capable of getting a medal if she skates cleanish.

Mone Chiba got another spot among the highly competitive field of Japanese women. She was second at her last Nationals and won her last competition, the 4CC, with extremely strong 214.98 points. Like most Japanese skaters she has very good basic skating skills and strong jumps. She is not a stable skater yet, though.

Chaeyeon Kim looks to have the best chances among the three great Korean skaters. In general the Koreans who have many strong female skaters have not had the best season. Chaeyeon who only started skating rather late, is a fast and light skater who won silver at the last Four Continents Championships and has scored above 200 points repeatedly.

What can be expected: Belgium to make more waves and establish itself as a powerhouse of skating ahead of Canada, the US and Korea. Or not. There might be some unexpected chaos.

My personal prediction: Kaori Sakamoto is clearly the no1 favourite.

 

[icewhite]

Ice dance:

Current world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates from the US are the biggest favourites in this discipline. The team focuses on the charisma of Madison, original choreos and poses and mostly faultless performances of rather acrobatic performances. Especially their lifts look very light. Their free skate to Pink Floyd is not their most popular program, but the Queen short program should seal the deal. Since ice dance results are heavily influenced by reputation and rather predictable I would not expect an upset, even if they make mistakes.

However there are two other teams in the running for gold, the first one being Charlène Guignard and Marco Fabbri, representing Italy. The couple is known for their amazing skating skills. Their biggest weaknesses are the programs themselves. The fact that Marco Fabbri is rather small in comparison to his partner might not help their lifts. They would likely need two perfect days and very bad ones from Chock/Bates to win.

The third top team, some see them as the top challengers, consists of Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier. The Canadian champions' free skate to the soundtrack of „Wuthering Heights“ thrills their fans. However they might be a bit too error prone to win gold. Having placed third at the Grand Prix final (behind Chock/Bates and Guignard/Fabbri) they have won both of their GP stages though as well as the recent 4CC.

Other notable competitors/what to expect: There will be many other great and entertaining teams, but it is very unlikely any of them will contend for the medals. The excitement of watching this competition will likely not be in wondering who wins but in enjoying the highly entertaining, creative programs and great musicality and skills of many teams.

My personal prediction: Chock/Bates, unless they are sick like during the last US nationals.

 

[brushalley]

Marco does not have any trouble with the lifts at all. I actually think they will be a big challenge to C/B this year !

 

[icewhite]

Marco does not have any trouble with the lifts at all. I actually think they will be a big challenge to C/B this year !

I would love that.

 

[moonvine]

I have an extra Ukraine flag if anyone wants it. I have no use for two of them.

 

[4everchan]

I have an extra Ukraine flag if anyone wants it. I have no use for two of them.

not carrying flags but did you see that Keegan will be skating at the gala

 

[yuumagical]

I have an extra Ukraine flag if anyone wants it. I have no use for two of them.

I'm interested in the flag, how big is it?

Edit: I am no longer in need of a Ukrainian flag, sorry...

 

[moonvine]

not carrying flags but did you see that Keegan will be skating at the gala

 

[Weathergal]

Perhaps this will cheer you up a bit: I read that Kaitlin Hawayek is going to be DJing at Worlds.

 

[DenissVFan]

 

[moonvine]

Perhaps this will cheer you up a bit: I read that Kaitlin Hawayek is going to be DJing at Worlds.

It would cheer me up if they were skating and I wasn't terrified of the Retirement thread...

 

[moonvine]

I'm interested in the flag, how big is it?

Edit: I am no longer in need of a Ukrainian flag, sorry...

If anyone else is interested I believe it is 3x5? It's the normal flag size I carry.

 

[figureskatingandrainbows]

Thank you for the previews, @icewhite! I have a couple of differing opinions and thoughts though

For me, I think Beccari/Guarise's recent rough outing at Challenge Cup has made me a little wary of their chances to medal. They scored just a 175 at that event. Conti/Macii looked stronger there, although they are still not quite back to the same magic that they had last year. I worry about possible twist errors (which they had at Challenge Cup) and other tidiness issues, but I think they have a very good shot at the podium if they can skate cleanly because they have both the quality and the BV needed. Interestingly, they went back to a prior SP, which hopefully will be the reset they need to put out their strongest performances of the season. I still think Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps have the best shot at winning, and the only thing stopping them is themselves. They have all of the pieces and can put out clean skates, but they just can't overthink it and let the pressure get to them. They have two of the strongest programs of this field and their visible improvements with the speed and skating skills compared to last season have put them ahead of everyone else. I also wouldn't count out Miura/Kihara. Apparently at 4CC, they had just done a few FS runthroughs before competing there, which is insane. Seeing as how Ryuichi seems to have largely recovered and Riku used that break to work on her own strength and skating, they can absolutely end up on that podium if they are able to train uninterrupted by injury. Hopefully Hase/Volodin will be able to use their Euros experiences and their training time since Euros to deliver clean skates at Worlds. I think their programs, especially the free, will hinder them from taking the gold, but it wouldn't surprise me to see them on the podium as well.

For ice dance, I think Gilles/Poirier are going to win. Never underestimate the power of a home crowd, especially in ice dance. Their programs are really fantastic, and their SB at Skate Canada is just 2 points off of Chock/Bates. I think the illness that Chock/Bates had (which hopefully ended up being minor and they have recovered from) might provide that slight edge to Gilles/Poirier that when coupled with a home crowd will push them to the gold. They, like Deanna and Max, just need to not get in their heads and skate cleanly and with passion and joy.

For the men, I'm curious as to how Ilia's lack of training time will affect him. I believe he's spent around a month or so in Europe touring with Art on Ice and doing some additional shows afterwards. While he's been showing some lovely 4As and other quads during the shows, having to spend so much of your time on the road away from your coaches and a regular place to train has to seriously affect his preparation for Worlds. He was doing a show in Italy just last week, and likely next week skaters will be starting to taper their practices and focus on being well-rested for Worlds. It seems as though he's been skating to maintain rather than having that block after US Nats to improve his skating and consistency. It's a vital training window; it's why we see skaters be so good at Worlds (well, that and peaking). Now, of all of the top men competing, he is the one with the most consistent and stable jumps, but I think lacking those extra program runthroughs will affect his PCS scores and perhaps his consistency a bit. That's not to mention the boot issues he was having at US Nats, during which he had to switch back to his old boots. Those can't last him all the way to Worlds, but he should have had enough time to break in those new boots and feel comfortable in them. Unfortunately, that break-in period will again ever so slightly hinder his training, although it's better to do it and get it over with than be skating on dead or brand-new boots at Worlds. Of course, his BV does make two clean skates from him near-impossible to beat, but considering his last skate at US Nats was a little shakier and his adverse training conditions heading in, I don't think he has quite the advantage some people think. For me, the one who has all of the pieces lined up is Yuma Kagiyama (I'm trying to be unbiased here, I swear). Yuma has put out two near-clean FS at Japanese Nationals and 4CC, and has introduced the 4F into his programs with relative success. Although he hasn't landed it cleanly yet, it has looked fairly consistent in practice. He landed a beauty during the 6-minute warmup at 4CC, so we know he can do it during the pressure of competition. His almost-clean skate at 4CC gives him something to work on for Worlds whilst boosting his confidence, and gave him a huge momentum swing heading in. He has two of the strongest programs in the field, and his training has been really good heading in, as he mentioned during a recent open practice that his condition was really good. This is crucial for Yuma, as he tends to skate similarly in competition and practice and relies on solid training to combat nerves. He just finished a training intensive, likely in which he worked on his 4F consistency and jump/spin quality, and is currently heading to Canada to brush up on his choreography with Lori Nichol (and perhaps Caro). This is a very smart move, giving him a chance to adapt to the time zone and most likely opportunities to practice on an NHL-size rink prior to Worlds. For me, he is in the ideal position heading into Worlds. I think that he has all of the pieces to win, but again he just has to put everything together and skate like a champion like he did at 4CC. This is the best-poised Yuma has been to take a Worlds title and he has four years of experience to draw on to help him push through. I also wouldn't count out Shoma. He's had the longest break out of all of the top 4, and his skates at Japanese Nationals were quite solid. If he can just get his consistency and that extra quarter-turn rotation back, I would not be surprised to see him regain his World title. His programs are subtle, yes, but also masterpieces of skating and he has the BV to take the title as well. I have a feeling he will look like a different skater at Worlds compared to the fall and winter. I concur that Adam may have peaked too soon, doing that many competitions in a row has to be so hard on your body. He might have had the chance since Europeans to peak back up for Worlds, but even then, I think some of the roughness of his skating will hold him back. He's a fantastic skater to watch, but his 4Ts he's been posting recently on Instagram are just a little bit scratchy and forwards. In such a tight field, a +2 versus a +4 quad will make a huge difference in who medals and who doesn't.

But, as always, I think we will know more when the practices start. I am very excited for this event, and I think it could shape up to be one of the strongest Worlds we've seen in a while. (Hopefully I haven't jinxed the event or anyone with this post )

 

[4everchan]

It would cheer me up if they were skating and I wasn't terrified of the Retirement thread...

Don't be scared of the retirement thread... to me, the beautiful dance they showed a few weeks ago (outside venue) is like a swan song. At first, I saw it as a "yay, they did train and want to come back"... but now, with some time to think about it, the emotion was so intense and raw after their skate, it's hard not to think it's a very likely possibility. Retirement or not, unfulfilled career for sure. Reminds me of Seguin Bilodeau who were also fan favourites and making early waves but then..... concussions over concussions..

 

[lauravvv]

Men's

The winner of the last two world championships, 26 year old Japanese Shoma Uno, will be a hot contender for the win again. He is a complete skater with both a high base value and smooth movements, very stable in most of his elements and a fan favourite. His current programs project elegance, depth, splendour and emotion, focusing on impression and lines. His free skate program might resemble a swan song a bit too much, though.

Obviously challenging him will be 20 year old US American Ilia Malinin, coached by his parents, the first and so far only person to land a quadruple Axel, in general a very strong jumper with clean technique and high rotation speed, seemingly always able to pull out another insane quad or combination. His weaknesses though are his relative instability and his skating skills which are not on par with the other top competitors. They have to rely on him making mistakes, though, otherwise he's unbeatable.

Frenchman Adam Siao Him Fa became European champion for the second time in a row this year, entertaining the audience with an „illegal“ backflip. He could easily afford the deduction for that. With his high base value, agile acrobatic skating skills and the personality of an entertainer he's a top contender. Questionmarks remain regarding his form and his ability to deliver a concentrated performance under pressure which despite all his qualities he will need to get a medal here. He is not the most stable skater.

20 year old Japanese Yuma Kagiyama has already been second in the world championships and Olympics in 2022, but almost missed the entire last season due to injury. He has slowly been upping his base value again and is now almost where he was before the injury in terms of technical content, while being better than ever in everything else. While his programs are not the bravest or most exciting choices, he might be the most perfect skater of them all, almost faultless. Against this super competition he likely needs to be so to even get a medal, though.

Other notable skaters/ what can be expected:
There will be an abundance of interesting skaters (and programs) there, including for instance fan favourites like Junhwan Cha, Donovan Carillo and Jason Brown, but these four are just clearly a few levels ahead and it is unlikely anyone else will get a medal. Nonetheless you might watch out for Lukas Britschgi, Mikhail Shaidorov or Cha, who could all be capable to sneek on the podium if the top 4 make too many mistakes.
Enjoy the competition because I think this discipline's event will be an absolute blast.

My personal prediction: Ilia Malinin. He just has the by far highest base value and is therefor in the pole position.

As for outside chances, there is also Kao Miura who is on the Japanese Worlds team.

 

[4everchan]

Thank you for the previews, @icewhite! I have a couple of differing opinions and thoughts though

For me, I think Beccari/Guarise's recent rough outing at Challenge Cup has made me a little wary of their chances to medal. They scored just a 175 at that event. Conti/Macii looked stronger there, although they are still not quite back to the same magic that they had last year. I worry about possible twist errors (which they had at Challenge Cup) and other tidiness issues, but I think they have a very good shot at the podium if they can skate cleanly because they have both the quality and the BV needed. Interestingly, they went back to a prior SP, which hopefully will be the reset they need to put out their strongest performances of the season. I still think Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps have the best shot at winning, and the only thing stopping them is themselves. They have all of the pieces and can put out clean skates, but they just can't overthink it and let the pressure get to them. They have two of the strongest programs of this field and their visible improvements with the speed and skating skills compared to last season have put them ahead of everyone else. I also wouldn't count out Miura/Kihara. Apparently at 4CC, they had just done a few FS runthroughs before competing there, which is insane. Seeing as how Ryuichi seems to have largely recovered and Riku used that break to work on her own strength and skating, they can absolutely end up on that podium if they are able to train uninterrupted by injury. Hopefully Hase/Volodin will be able to use their Euros experiences and their training time since Euros to deliver clean skates at Worlds. I think their programs, especially the free, will hinder them from taking the gold, but it wouldn't surprise me to see them on the podium as well.

For ice dance, I think Gilles/Poirier are going to win. Never underestimate the power of a home crowd, especially in ice dance. Their programs are really fantastic, and their SB at Skate Canada is just 2 points off of Chock/Bates. I think the illness that Chock/Bates had (which hopefully ended up being minor and they have recovered from) might provide that slight edge to Gilles/Poirier that when coupled with a home crowd will push them to the gold. They, like Deanna and Max, just need to not get in their heads and skate cleanly and with passion and joy.

For the men, I'm curious as to how Ilia's lack of training time will affect him. I believe he's spent around a month or so in Europe touring with Art on Ice and doing some additional shows afterwards. While he's been showing some lovely 4As and other quads during the shows, having to spend so much of your time on the road away from your coaches and a regular place to train has to seriously affect his preparation for Worlds. He was doing a show in Italy just last week, and likely next week skaters will be starting to taper their practices and focus on being well-rested for Worlds. It seems as though he's been skating to maintain rather than having that block after US Nats to improve his skating and consistency. It's a vital training window; it's why we see skaters be so good at Worlds (well, that and peaking). Now, of all of the top men competing, he is the one with the most consistent and stable jumps, but I think lacking those extra program runthroughs will affect his PCS scores and perhaps his consistency a bit. That's not to mention the boot issues he was having at US Nats, during which he had to switch back to his old boots. Those can't last him all the way to Worlds, but he should have had enough time to break in those new boots and feel comfortable in them. Unfortunately, that break-in period will again ever so slightly hinder his training, although it's better to do it and get it over with than be skating on dead or brand-new boots at Worlds. Of course, his BV does make two clean skates from him near-impossible to beat, but considering his last skate at US Nats was a little shakier and his adverse training conditions heading in, I don't think he has quite the advantage some people think. For me, the one who has all of the pieces lined up is Yuma Kagiyama (I'm trying to be unbiased here, I swear). Yuma has put out two near-clean FS at Japanese Nationals and 4CC, and has introduced the 4F into his programs with relative success. Although he hasn't landed it cleanly yet, it has looked fairly consistent in practice. He landed a beauty during the 6-minute warmup at 4CC, so we know he can do it during the pressure of competition. His almost-clean skate at 4CC gives him something to work on for Worlds whilst boosting his confidence, and gave him a huge momentum swing heading in. He has two of the strongest programs in the field, and his training has been really good heading in, as he mentioned during a recent open practice that his condition was really good. This is crucial for Yuma, as he tends to skate similarly in competition and practice and relies on solid training to combat nerves. He just finished a training intensive, likely in which he worked on his 4F consistency and jump/spin quality, and is currently heading to Canada to brush up on his choreography with Lori Nichol (and perhaps Caro). This is a very smart move, giving him a chance to adapt to the time zone and most likely opportunities to practice on an NHL-size rink prior to Worlds. For me, he is in the ideal position heading into Worlds. I think that he has all of the pieces to win, but again he just has to put everything together and skate like a champion like he did at 4CC. This is the best-poised Yuma has been to take a Worlds title and he has four years of experience to draw on to help him push through. I also wouldn't count out Shoma. He's had the longest break out of all of the top 4, and his skates at Japanese Nationals were quite solid. If he can just get his consistency and that extra quarter-turn rotation back, I would not be surprised to see him regain his World title. His programs are subtle, yes, but also masterpieces of skating and he has the BV to take the title as well. I have a feeling he will look like a different skater at Worlds compared to the fall and winter. I concur that Adam may have peaked too soon, doing that many competitions in a row has to be so hard on your body. He might have had the chance since Europeans to peak back up for Worlds, but even then, I think some of the roughness of his skating will hold him back. He's a fantastic skater to watch, but his 4Ts he's been posting recently on Instagram are just a little bit scratchy and forwards. In such a tight field, a +2 versus a +4 quad will make a huge difference in who medals and who doesn't.

But, as always, I think we will know more when the practices start. I am very excited for this event, and I think it could shape up to be one of the strongest Worlds we've seen in a while. (Hopefully I haven't jinxed the event or anyone with this post )

I hope you are are right about so many of the things you are saying

 

[TarAncalime]

I think the right app for use is ISU official app

I am not satisfied with the ISU app...in contrast to the Sportity app it shows no live results or anything! Why does the ISU have a different standard regarding apps? All European and British skate event and competitions use Sportity and it is great and easy to handle. Has anyone got any ideas what is best to use at the venue?