2026 U.S. Nationals Senior Pairs Short Program

[BlissfulSynergy]

As it happened, Jackie thought the lift went up too fast, and it had to come down too soon, so they missed some rotations which is what cost them the levels.

Okay. Still, the other issues I pointed out re Val/Max in my #317 post are relevant. Was this a post-review by Jackie? Where can I hear what Jackie said: his Rocker Skating podcast? Hopefully, not anything from NBC Peacock! The coverage is horrible. WTH are Ben and Ashley doing covering pairs? Especially when Gracie (who covered junior events) apparently understands a bit more about pairs? Gracie is more professional and sincere in her delivery, too, than Ashley -- who blathers on disingenuously and with sarcasm shading her tone, similar to her shtick on the Runthrough.

They don't really bother to adequately cover pairs. Former U.S. pairs skater, Brooke Castile, was very good during the Ice Network days, but she was apparently never asked to do pairs event commentary. In the 2000 teens, John Coughlin was an excellent pairs commentator. As a friend, he probably helped Gracie with her knowledge of pairs.

I guess it's too much to ask to have competent commentators. Whatever happened during that McB/Park lift should have been pointed out during the broadcast, not by others after-the-fact!

Is the qq link reliable? Is it only coverage in Japanese?

 

[ramurphy2005]

Okay. Was this a post-review? Where can I hear what Jackie said: his Rocker Skating podcast

It was a tweet he posted during the event.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

It was a tweet he posted during the event.

I mean, seriously? Why aren't Jackie Wong and Jean Luc-Baker doing the main Peacock coverage then, rather than the tack-on practice gigs?

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

Whenever the scores are bunched close together, by percentage points it's political.

Ok scores are a little generous... The teams from second down are so close.

See my above prior comment. Most often, when scores are this tight, skaters were fairly clean and evenly matched, and the percentage placement outcomes have something to do with political preference. Generally, Nationals scores everywhere tend to be higher than what competitors would receive for similar performances internationally.

In this case, these scores are not overly high. But honestly, Shin/Nagy and Val/Max would be unlikely to be scoring 67+, more likely 63 to 65+ from ISU judges for similarly skated sps. McB/Park OTOH, have previously received great scores for this sp internationally, the highest was 69.18 at Cup of China for a similarly beautiful sp skate, with no problems on lift rotations and lost levels. Meanwhile, Shin/Nagy scored 66.03 recently for this new sp at '25 Golden Spin, and Val/ Max scored their season's best sp high of 61.17, also at '25 Golden Spin.

... Danny and Ellie despite a mistake still look good to make the team.

Sure. If Ellie can regain confidence under pressure and try to relax, she's certainly capable of landing her jumps and throws. Plus, K/O's other elements are world-class polished. There's no doubt that Efi/Mit and K/O are the two best U.S. pairs teams. After that, I personally feel McB/ Park are the strongest, most classic-looking team with huge potential. If only they would be given the resources and backing that Shin/Nagy are receiving.

 

[Janice4th]

I wish NBC would stop being allowed to cover figure skating. How awful. We get technical problems on Peacock to start off the senior events. The junior events were fairly decent with Ben and Gracie commentating. No score box but at least we got to see uninterrupted coverage. However, that's cuz they don't really care about juniors. I wish they would leave pairs alone, too. Why are they planning to break pairs into two groups for the free skate?! There are only 10 teams!!! And for goodness sake, when on earth will the camera people learn to stop cutting skaters off at the waist and zooming in on tight close-ups of their faces and the backs of heads as the programs start? We need to see skaters' entire bodies on the ice!

Now for the pairs sp judging. Sigh. I had hoped everyone would skate well and they nearly did. Kudos to Chelsea for going out there ill and skating so well. I thought she and Ryan deserved a bit higher score, more like 63+. Especially the judges robbed Flores/Wang of a deserved higher score. They skated brilliantly and should at least have received 65+ with how well they skated. Clearly, the judges were over-managing scores for these two teams.

Shin/ Nagy skated well. Nagy was forward on his jump landing, but overall a very nice job with a new sp choreographed by Tessa Virtue. USfigsk has been putting everything behind Shin/ Nagy, so when you have that much backing, support, and resources, you should show something. S/N look a lot better, and Audrey looks more comfortable but IMO they are still not connecting as well as other teams who have been together longer. But everyone knows by now that Shin/Nagy will continue to be favored to the max by USfigsk, especially when they skate clean.

McBeath/Parkman skated beautifully and were kept behind Shin/Nagy, which I expected, and also behind Val& Max, which I did not expect. All 3 teams skated well, so there's not a ton of difference, aside from V&M and McB/Park being together longer and showing more connection. This is great from Val, as she has tended to have trouble landing sbs jumps and throws. This is truly the first time I have seen V&M skate a clean program and get scored this high. Whenever the scores are bunched close together, by percentage points it's political. The sport is subjective and very political. McB/Park are seen as expendable because Daniil is not a U.S. citizen. One of Val/Max's coaches holds a top position with U.S. figure skating. And everyone knows Shin/Nagy are highly favored with U.S. fed having put them together, chosen their coaching team, and funneled a lot of resources into backing them.

I remember the days when we only saw skating on Wide World of Sports, AND we usually didn’t see the whole program. Not only that, you were lucky to get more than two skaters. So, even with the glitches, I am fine with NBC having skating.

 

[Jumping_Bean]

A few posters have mentioned that Katie lost levels on their lift. I looked at the performances again, and I see nothing wrong with Katie/ Daniil's lift. On the dismount, Katie's free leg did not go back right away in one smooth motion, but it was fine and not a disruption. As well, Katie/ Daniil had the most difficult throw jump of all the teams, landed beautifully.

Now, did the judges take off levels for Max having a slight touch down with his free foot on their sbs jumps? Did the judges take off levels for Val's heavy twist lift dismount where she got stuck in the ice and her free leg went back hesitantly in the same way that Katie's did on the lift that 'lost levels'? As well, as Ashley pointed out, Val & Max get a lot of height on their throw but lack distance. But I suppose everyone is so pleased and happy for Val finally being able to land jumps and throws with a bit of confidence, that the less than great execution doesn't matter.

To my eyes, Katie/ Daniil have better flow, glide and a more refined look, plus a more dynamic connection than Audrey & Balazs who are still working on their connection. The Moulin Rouge bells & whistles has helped them a bit, at least on the surface. But Val & Max, and Katie & Daniil both have greater connection; both the latter teams have been together longer. I'd love to see what Katie/ Daniil might be able to do if they received all the backing, resources, and help that USfigsk are giving to Audrey & Balazs.

I need you to understand that levels and grade of execution are not the same. A levelled element may be able to get a level 4 even with a fall, as long as the criteria for a level 4 have been fulfilled, and get low levels without major execution errors if the criteria have not been met. Jumps aren't levelled, so levels can't be "taken off", just GOE reduced and missing rotations called if applicable.

• Plazas/Fernandez's 3T recieved 3x -1, 4x 0 and 2x +1 in GOE from the judges, which seems fair for a slight touch-down of his free leg
• P/F's twist is almost always a level 4, and I don't see why this wouldn't be a level 4 - For reference, these are the available level features for the twist:
  • Woman's split position (each leg 45° from body axis and straight-ish) - The angle provided makes this hard to judge, but based on past competitions, Valentina's split is always very good, so a with asterisk
  • No part of the woman's hands, arms or upper body touching the man during the catch, man's hands on her waist -
  • Arm(s) above the head for the woman during the flight -
  • Difficult entry (or exit) - Lots of teams are using similar entries to this, but tech panels still seem willing to credit this as a difficult entry
  • Man's arms drop to or below shoulder level during the flight of the woman -
• Their twist is only the 6th highest scored twist, despite being one of only two level 4 twists - Highest-scored Twist belongs to Chan/Howe, second highest-scored one to McBeath/Parkman
• Their throw is ranked 5th in terms of scores, with the highest-scored throw being McBeath/Parkman's 3LzTh - Efimova/Mitrofanov's and Shin/Nagy's 3LoTh got higher raw GOEs from the judges, but in total score, MB/P remain ahead. P/F's throw is only ahead of two cleanly landed throws - Liu/Bedard's 3LoTh with a slightly uncontrolled landing and Fitzpatrick/Bearinger's 3STh with a lower BV (but higher raw GOEs)

I do not have a video of McBeath/Parkman to rewatch, so I can't comment on where they lost levels exactly, unfortunately. If the lift actually came down a little early, they might have missed a revolution needed for any of the features and/or not managed to do the difficult landing variety (one handed landing) cleanly.

Also, as for P/F never having scored this high - True, but they've also never really skated clean in the SP. It's possible they may not have quite reached 67 internationally, but considering they have scored in the 61-62 range with a fall and a worse 3LoTh before with this exact program, a score around 65-66 doesn't seem at all outside of what they could have received internationally.

 

[Jumping_Bean]

To be honest I think it's fair. Their basics are a lot better than the others here. They also nationally and internationally get level 4s on stepseq, death spirals, spins.. That matters a lot in TES score. My favorite team is Mcbeath and Parkman but their leveled elements cost them second place.

That's your opinion, and you are free to have it, even if I don't really agree. They do get good levels (though they've not had a single all level 4 SP this season so far), and that was not my issue with this score.

We have seen what Kam/O'Shea get scored like internationally with mistakes like this and without, and this score does not fit into that pattern. This performance was not deserving of PCS only less than half a point below their GP Finlandia scores, nor was it deserving of a higher score than their Skate Canada SP, where they made similar mistakes except that Ellie didn't fall on her 3S<.

And yes, Efimova/Mitrofanov would also struggle to score 75 internationally. I understand domestic scoring is often on the more generous side of what is reasonable, especially in the USA (and China, and France, and Italy, and Russia), but if you are going to do it, then you really have to go the whole way and do it for the whole field, not just some of the teams, and that's not what was done here.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

I remember the days when we only saw skating on Wide World of Sports, AND we usually didn’t see the whole program. Not only that, you were lucky to get more than two skaters. So, even with the glitches, I am fine with NBC having skating.

LOL! You are fine with the constant buffering, ads, tech glitches, and inept camera coverage. Okay. I remember not so long ago being able to see the full World feeds of every discipline on Peacock without disruptive ads and inane commentary!

I remember the good old bad old days of IceNetwork, where we got more dedicated in-depth fs coverage. I remember falling in love with figure skating during the days of Peggy Fleming, Janet Lynn, Toller Cranston, John Curry, Tai Babilonia & Randy Gardner, et al. I remember a lot, since I'm that old, like the times before the Internet and the good ol' Wide World of Sports, an idea that dear old departed Dick Button had, btw! While there are no perfect commentators, Dick Button is at the top of my list for the depth and breadth of his historic fs and cultural knowledge, his pithy sayings, and his genuine passion for the sport. Sure, a lot of skaters were chacked back-in-the-day on tv. But in the late 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s, I had the chance to tape coverage for re-viewing and archiving. Being able to save and archive broadcasts is more technologically complicated today. We live in a 'cloud storage' era now where everything is dumbed-down, over-manufactured, and inanely hyped to the nth degree. That sadly extends to this awful fs coverage in the U.S., and to the over-commercialized Olympics. The vibe was very different when I saw my first Olympics on color tv in 1968.

The fs coverage we get now is rather disparate, despite during the season having multiple viewing options, but a lot of it is pay-per-view so not feasible. Only rare moments of genuine down-to-earth gems and uplift are scattered here and there, so brief it's easy to miss or overlook. I appreciate the athletes (which is why I continue watching), but there's no one with enough clout, caring, or expertise to cover figure skating the way it deserves to be covered, and the way true fans deserve to see it covered.

You are apparently one of those fans used to being treated poorly, thus overly thankful for NBC/Peacock's mindless, schizophrenic coverage. Enjoy your peanuts amidst endless ads and dumbed-down blather.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

I need you to understand that levels and grade of execution are not the same.

Tee hee! There's no need for you to worry about my understanding of fs scoring. Just enjoy basking in your own expertise. I understand that there's a distinction between levels on elements and GOEs. My point is that the judges can decide to nitpick whatever they want for the result they prefer. For example, we already know how much PCS are manipulated. PCS scores are never truly accurate, as even the categories are not well-defined. Scoring everyone within the same range in every category is ridiculous. But it helps the judges with their preferred placements. I looked at the pcs scores for the pairs event. As usual, they are debatable for everyone. But not worth arguing, as fs scoring will always be problematic.

In any case, the sport is subjective, as we know. Everyone will decide what they think, in part, based on the skaters they enjoy and root for. It is what it is. Which is why skaters know they have to put their best out on the ice, accepting that the judging results are out of their control, even if arguably they deserved to win, like what happened to the Italians vs mistake-ridden overly favored Miura/ Kihara at GPF. Like what happened to Hase/ Volodin at 2025 Worlds vs mistake-ridden overly favored Miura/Kihara. Pairs event in Milano: as long as M/K aren't gifted the top of the podium again, I'll be happy.

a score around 65-66 doesn't seem at all outside of what [P/F] could have scored internationally

Eh! Val is just now showing she can land jumps and throws. Kudos to her and Max! I'm happy to see it, and glad to see them shine. In general, though, Val has not shown that capability, so the perception by ISU judges is not going to be that they are deserving of 65-66 internationally with a clean sp skate. They will have to prove they can consistently compete clean skates. Results will also be determined based on the field they compete against. Hopefully, P/F continue skating clean programs another four years. I'd love to see it. They have always had superb lifts, a very good twist, and lovely program concepts. I like them a lot. They are not one of my favorite pairs teams, but I've enjoyed following their career together, and I especially love Max and Jim Peterson. Former pair team, Evora/ Ladwig, were exceptional and lowballed at the 2010 Olympics, btw.

In any case, I don't have a serious problem with the scores as they stand. I was responding to the claim that McB/ Park coulda been second if not for 'lost levels' on their lift. When teams perform cleanly and are fairly evenly matched, the politicking and nitpicking for desired results comes into play. McB/Park are not heavily favored despite their abilities. And Daniil not being a citizen means they prefer that if everyone skates clean, McB/Park land behind the teams that are eligible to go to the Olympics. Another example re selective nitpicky judging is with Everhardt vs Tennell, but I won't go into that here.

if you are going to do it, then you really have to go the whole way and do it for the whole field, not just some of the teams, and that's not what was done here.

That never happens in figure skating.

Like I said earlier, it always boils down, not just to on-ice performance, but to perceived status, politics, and favoritism. The sport's subjectivity allows for this type of inconsistent judging and these types of endless fan debates.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

BTW, did anyone else hear Terry Gannon say that Balasz told him, "If we skate clean, the Olympic spot is ours!" Pretty cocky. I guess Balasz was told that by U.S. fed who back him and Audrey to the hilt. Would that other good U.S. pairs teams would be as equally backed and thrown all the resources and assistance S/N are receiving.

Too bad Balasz and Audrey were not as prepared and cocky about winning a third spot for themselves and U.S. teammates at the Beijing qualifier. I am certain McBeath/ Parkman would have loved the opportunity to compete and win that third spot in Beijing knowing that it would go to another U.S. team and not to themselves.

 

[skylark]

You are apparently one of those fans used to being treated poorly, thus overly thankful for NBC/Peacock's mindless, schizophrenic coverage. Enjoy your peanuts amidst endless ads and dumbed-down blather.

That is a very ill-tempered (if not cruel) thing to say to a fellow poster who was trying to give a bit of perspective to the issue and who also was looking for the best or at least some positive aspects of the situation.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

That is a very ill-tempered (if not cruel) thing to say to a fellow poster who was trying to give a bit of perspective to the issue and who also was looking for the best or at least some positive aspects of the situation.

I'm glad for anyone who is willing to accept this type of poor coverage, without complaint. I am being honest about the fact that fan willingness to be accepting of whatever scraps filled with ads TPTB are willing to give us for our out-of-pocket subscription costs, is a big part of the reason why figure skating fans are treated like crap. Yes, it is what it is. Too many fans and people in the figure skating community are willing to go along to get along. Those who are happy with whatever they get, fair enough. None of us have to feel the same about anything involving figure skating. Nor do we.

In this instance, all I would like is for NBC/Peacock to give us back the option of having the uninterrupted World feed to view for U.S. figure skating streaming events during the Olympics season and always. If I want to see NBC coverage with ads, I can watch on my television!

What's cruel IMO is what fans and skaters alike are often subjected to by those controlling and mismanaging the sport. Those who do not share my views obviously are not required to.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

An example of schizophrenic coverage is the way they are splitting disciplines into two groups for the purposes of NBC's schedule. This is the reason why they need to not mess with USfigsk's scheduled coverage. Just offer the World feed streams, especially for pairs, which only has 10 teams!!! Why on earth are they splitting 10 teams into two groups for the purposes of NBC's televised coverage?!

If @Janice4th is just happy to have figure skating on NBC television, that's not what I'm talking about. I am paying for the Peacock streaming service, so I do NOT want to be forced to watch NBC's inept televised coverage with ads on the paid Peacock streaming service!

 

[noskates]

One comment (actually two, I guess) about the pairs. I wish wish wish Danny could find/or could have found a partner that was up to his level in skating skills. It makes me so sad to see competition after competition where it all looks good until Ellie is down on the ice. Nothing personal against her, but it has certainly held them back. I feel bad for Danny as I think he's one of the best pairs men. Same could be said for Spencer. You can say lack of training but he didn't have a problem and she could have trained her jumps without him! Not a good excuse.

 

[Janice4th]

LOL! You are fine with the constant buffering, ads, tech glitches, and inept camera coverage. Okay. I remember not so long ago being able to see the full World feeds of every discipline on Peacock without disruptive ads and inane commentary!

I remember the good old bad old days of IceNetwork, where we got more dedicated in-depth fs coverage. I remember falling in love with figure skating during the days of Peggy Fleming, Janet Lynn, Toller Cranston, John Curry, Tai Babilonia & Randy Gardner, et al. I remember a lot, since I'm that old, like the times before the Internet and the good ol' Wide World of Sports, an idea that dear old departed Dick Button had, btw! While there are no perfect commentators, Dick Button is at the top of my list for the depth and breadth of his historic fs and cultural knowledge, his pithy sayings, and his genuine passion for the sport. Sure, a lot of skaters were chacked back-in-the-day on tv. But in the late 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s, I had the chance to tape coverage for re-viewing and archiving. Being able to save and archive broadcasts is more technologically complicated today. We live in a 'cloud storage' era now where everything is dumbed-down, over-manufactured, and inanely hyped to the nth degree. That sadly extends to this awful fs coverage in the U.S., and to the over-commercialized Olympics. The vibe was very different when I saw my first Olympics on color tv in 1968.

The fs coverage we get now is rather disparate, despite during the season having multiple viewing options, but a lot of it is pay-per-view so not feasible. Only rare moments of genuine down-to-earth gems and uplift are scattered here and there, so brief it's easy to miss or overlook. I appreciate the athletes (which is why I continue watching), but there's no one with enough clout, caring, or expertise to cover figure skating the way it deserves to be covered, and the way true fans deserve to see it covered.

You are apparently one of those fans used to being treated poorly, thus overly thankful for NBC/Peacock's mindless, schizophrenic coverage. Enjoy your peanuts amidst endless ads and dumbed-down blather.

Not everyone has the buffering issues. I had IceNetwork. I also watched in the before the whack era. Do you think you will get better from ABC or CBS? I don’t think so. Skating is not getting the following it used to have, and we could easily be back to barely getting anything.

As to commercials. They are paying for me to see the Juniors, and all the flights of skating.

I used to dwell on the negative. Now I look for the positive. But if you want to dwell on the negative, that’s your prerogative.

 

[withwings]

For me it is hard to accept/to read all these continual attacks or negative comments- or whatever one can call them- about Shin/Nagy. Is it they fault that they love to skate??Do they ever requested for any special attention or treatment? I do not think so. Do they themselves decided to go for the qualifying comp in Milano?? As I understand it was told to go them and they did.
Anyway, it does not matter and not my business and I am not American, and i do not know what happens there. However, it is so unpleasant to read the same negativity about these two skaters again and again, and again.
I am glad they are slowly making progress

 

[Tutto]

For me it is hard to accept/to read all these continual attacks or negative comments- or whatever one can call them- about Shin/Nagy. Is it they fault that they love to skate??Do they ever requested for any special attention or treatment? I do not think so. Do they themselves decided to go for the qualifying comp in Milano?? As I understand it was told to go them and they did.
Anyway, it does not matter and not my business and I am not American, and i do not know what happens there. However, it is so unpleasant to read the same negativity about these two skaters again and again, and again.
I am glad they are slowly making progress

I am not American either but as far as I understand the 'attacks' never been against Shin/Nagy but questionable decisions by the US federation, in particular sending them to the qualifier which resulted in losing the third Oly spot, the spot other skaters fought so hard for in Boston (some despite an injury!)

 

[saine]

I am not American either but as far as I understand the 'attacks' never been against Shin/Nagy but questionable decisions by the US federation, in particular sending them to the qualifier which resulted in losing the third Oly spot, the spot other skaters fought so hard for in Boston (some despite an injury!)

For a while, every single American Pairs team that posted a higher score than them would have their scores brought up. "X team scored Y at Loosely Scored Senior B, they would have gotten the spot at Beijing!" Those were unfair comparisons when those teams were not competing under the same pressure or the same judging standards. And USFS was never brought up in those comparisons, it was always Shin/Nagy and their scores.

And they didn't lose the spot at the Olympics, it was a chance to earn the third spot. There's no guarantee that the other teams would have done it.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

I am not American, and i do not know what happens there. However, it is so unpleasant to read the same negativity about these two skaters again and again, and again.
I am glad they are slowly making progress

Thanks so much for liking and caring about a U.S. pairs team as a non-American. I'm not sure what 'unpleasant negativity' you are referencing. I am criticizing U.S. fed for how they have over-favored Shin/ Nagy and placed them in a tough situation by sending them to the Beijing qualifier when they clearly were not in a positive, confident frame of mind to produce good results. Thus, they were placed under unecessary pressure that was not helpful for them. Meanwhile, there were two other U.S. teams who had more experience together and better results and numbers at the time that would have provided a better chance to win that third pairs spot. That's what I am not happy about: The fact that a third pairs spot was gettable and U.S. fed botched the assignment selection.

It is not Shin/Nagy's fault that they were placed in that situation, but they were and unfortunately they didn't handle it well. I was rooting for them, and I will continue to root for them to do well. But I still dislike the way U.S. fed has decided S/N are the only team they are going to support to the hilt. Why not fully and fairly back all of the talented U.S. pairs teams?! That's what I want to see. In regard to Terry Gannon's statement about Balazs's words, we do not really know what Balazs said or how he said it. Honestly, U.S. fed feeds the broadcast commentators the narratives they want them to put out there for fans. Thus, this statement is probably something U.S. fed wanted out there moreso than Balazs himself being 'cocky'. There's nothing wrong with being cocky, btw. Athletes being cocky is not unusual. It's just important to be able to back up cockiness. Yes, I truly wish S/N could have been in a 'cocky' frame of mind at the Beijing qualifier.

There's nothing negative about wanting U.S. fed to have sent the best team to secure a third pairs spot for the '26 Olympics. Securing a third spot was very possible (regardless of all the non-U.S. pairs fans who are constantly naysaying the fact that it was possible for a team like McBeath/Parkman to win that spot with the results they were racking up at the time). Securing a third spot would have truly helped the U.S. pairs discipline. I'm not against S/N for not winning the spot, but I will never let U.S. fed off-the-hook for being bullheaded and clueless in sending S/N, which again is not S/N's fault, and was NOT helpful for them either. Fortunately, with all the backing and resources being made available to them, S/N are fast improving and gaining confidence, which bodes well for them.

I am a diehard U.S. pairs fan, so anyone who loves a U.S. pairs team to the point of worrying about perceived 'negativity' against them, please join the small U.S. pairs fan club in cheering on all U.S. pairs teams!

BTW, don't worry so much about S/N, they are fully backed and supported, and they have the talent to do extremely well. I do not see this 'again and again unpleasant negativity' against S/N. Where are you seeing it? Or, are you only referencing my commentary? Surely you are not new to skating forums, where there is sadly plenty of actual negativity against skaters like Ilia Malinin, and formerly against Nathan Chen. None of it deserved, fair, or palatable. I personally like Audrey, and I like Balazs very much. I'll never forget his sexy vibe and jaw-dropping twist with Chelsea Liu. At this stage, I'm happy for both Chelsea and Balazs that they are in good, promising partnerships. I just wish U.S. fed would treat all their athletes fairly and equitably.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

For a while, every single American Pairs team that posted a higher score than them would have their scores brought up. "X team scored Y at Loosely Scored Senior B, they would have gotten the spot at Beijing!" Those were unfair comparisons when those teams were not competing under the same pressure or the same judging standards. And USFS was never brought up in those comparisons, it was always Shin/Nagy and their scores.

And they didn't lose the spot at the Olympics, it was a chance to earn the third spot. There's no guarantee that the other teams would have done it.

You are exaggerating @saine. I wonder why. Comparisons about individual U.S. pairs teams results early in the season were made, but not in the way you have exaggerated. I personally have NEVER termed it as S/N 'losing' a spot. That's inaccurate phrasing. They simply were unable to secure the spot that was available. They were placed under a lot of unnecessary pressure by U.S. fed, which was not good for S/N, nor for the U.S. pairs discipline.

You and some other posters keep harping with doubt about the possibility of another talented and more experienced U.S. pairs team being able to have secured the available spot in Beijing. Please stop being so negative about the competitive strengths of the other U.S. teams. The top results of these other teams were clearly obvious during the lead-up to the Beijing qualifier.

If you care so much about Shin/ Nagy and the U.S. pairs discipline, please cheer on all of the U.S. pairs teams to victory in all of their competitive endeavors. Your positive support would surely be appreciated.