2026 ISU International Adult Competition - Oberstdorf | May 17-22

[CaroLiza_fan]

Ayumi NUMATA (JPN) wearing a dress that is mostly dark blue, but is white at the end of teh skirt part.

The colours are the wrong way around. The iceberg should be sticking out of the sea.

Oh, I forgot to say. It's a "Titanic" programme. She's skating to "My Heart Will Go On" by Céline Dion.

And I do still believe that the hotdogs go on.

That was beautiful. Hey, she's Japanese. What do you expect?!

The signed flag is back. And I do believe there are more signatures on it now.

She goes into 3rd position.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Jaroslava KLUCINOVA (CZE) wearing a beautiful black dress.

An instrumental medley of music from "Hello Dolly".

This is so appropriate. My high school had an exhibition at the weekend to mark it being it's 220th anniversary. And when I was in 6th Form, I was in a production of "Hello Dolly". OK, so I was a glorified extra. But, it holds a special place in my heart.

And this month 25 years ago, I was in the Czech Republic on a school trip.

Needless to say, I loved that.

She goes into the lead.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Olena ZLOBINTSEVA (UKR) wearing a beautiful black dress where the strap over the right shoulder is gold.

I've tried lots of lines from the song, but had no joy in finding out what it is. But I would love to know, because I loved it.

And I loved the skating too.

She goes into 2nd position.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Claudia GRÄB (DEU) wearing a white dress. It's a good job it is so short, because it means there is less to blend into the ice and boards!

Don't know the music.

She was good.

She goes into the lead.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Aki YAMAMOTO (JPN) wearing a very pale pink dress that blends into the ice and boards.

It's instrumental music. At the start I thought it was "Imagine" by John Lennon, and then another song, but soon realised it wasn't either of them.

Another beautiful programme from a Japanese skater.

I just realised, seeing her sitting on the sofa. She is taller than everybody around her.

She goes into 4th position.

Very excited clapping from her and her companions.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Regina HACHENBERG (DEU) wearing a flourescent green and black jumpsuit.

Skating to "Unstoppable" by Sia. But very rough edit in the middle.

This must be a great song to be training to! Hearing those words must really boost your confidence.

That was a great skate.

She goes into 6th position.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Michelle STRUM (CAN) wearing a dress in various shades of dark pink.

Skating to "Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis. Long time since I've heard this being skated to.

And that was a good skate to it.

She goes into 9th position.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Katja GALLIARD (CHE) wearing a black dress with silver pattern.

No idea what the music is. At first I thought it was a song where the vocals had been removed, but then the music got too big for it to be a song. But, whatever it is, I loved it.

That was really good.

She goes into 2nd position.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Dorota MUNDT (POL) wearing a dress that starts as dark grey, then becomes blue, and finally pink as you go down.

The music started off with a French song by a male singer, and then it turned into what sounded like music from an action film. Such a contrast.

The skating was good throughout.

Again, the Polish team out in force.

And she has a cuddly pierogi. (I just had a thought - is it the same one being passed around. I hope not. I hope they each get their own).

She goes into 3rd position.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Agne RIEß (DEU) wearing a beautiful black dress with red bits, and red gloves.

Spanish guitar music. The first piece was like a march, but the second piece was more lively.

Did she finish early, and then add a bit on at the end to fill time until the music finished? That's what it looked like to me.

Whether she did or not, it was a good skate.

She goes into 11th position.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Maria KOCHANOVA (CZE) wearing a black sleeveless jumpsuit with black gloves.

I finally checked, and my feeling was correct. It is indeed "The Matrix" that this music is from. "Clubbed to Death" by Rob Dougan.

She was good.

She goes into 8th position.

She is delighted.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Michelle SWAN (CAN) wearing a dress where it is light blue at the top right hand side and in the sleeves, and the rest is black.

Skating to "Carry You" by Fleurie and Ruelle.

That was beautiful.

She goes into 6th position.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Taking us into the resurfacing is Lindsey WISEMAN (GBR), who is wearing a dress that is black at the top, and works it's way through grey to white in the skirt part.

Skating to "There You'll Be" by Faith Hill. There was a noticeable edit, but it was not anywhere near as rough as the ones we had earlier.

Why do we not see more people skating to this song? It is perfect for skating to!

I enjoyed that programme.

She goes into 4th position.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Right, resurfacing over and the Group 3 skaters are starting their Warm-Up.

However, I will be joining late, as it will soon be time for my evening meal, and I want to finish what I was doing during the resurfacing first.

So, I will probably not be comenting again until the next competition.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

I'm back!

I missed all of Group 3 finishing off what I was doing, but saw all of Group 4 while eating.

But now, it is time to return to Artistic Free Skates for the rest of the night. First up are 9 Masters I ladies, arranged into two groups.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Vivian MAI (DEU) wearing a white vest with red pattern around the neck, a red belt, and white trousers with a red stripe down the outside of each leg.

Skating to "Jailhouse Rock" by Elvis Presley.

Wow! What a way to start the competition!

I may not be an Elvis fan, but that was impressive!

If this is the standard, it is going to be a great competition!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Jessica MAH (CAN) wearing a dress in various shades of pink and red.

Skating to a piano accoustic version of "Voilà" by Barbara Pravi. Well, it was at the start, and then other instruments were added as it went on.

Oh, boys. The quality has continued.

She goes into the lead.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Oh, music problems for Alexandra PANNEPACKER (USA).

Had to laugh. the last words we heard before the music was stopped were "false alarm".

Right, here we go again.

She is wearing a black dress with a blue collar.

Skating to "What It Sounds Like" by HUNTR/X.

You now, watching that programme, you wouldn't have known that there had been music issues. They did not effect her at all.

She goes into 3rd position.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Eugenie LETOURNEAU (CAN) wearing a dress in yellows, oranges, and reds.

Seeing the dress, I was expecting "Firebird", or "Rise Like A Phoenix". But, no, it was actually "I Just Want To Make Love To You" by Etta James.

It wasn't just the dresss that looked like it was on fire. Eugenie was on fire!

She even had a choreographic slide into a lie down on the ice in the middle of the programme!

She goes into 4th position.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

I take it that Lauren PANNEPACKER (USA) coming up in this second group is the sister of Alexandra PANNEPACKER (USA) who had the music problems in Group 1. They belong to the same club anyway. And I've found lots of photos of them together. So my guess would be "yes".

CaroLiza_fan