Andrew Torgashev

[skatingfan4ever]

I was probably wrong about his hair being lighter, the colors in the NBC broadcast were really bad. Without Peacock and no one posting videos on YouTube, I haven't been able to see a lot of the competition including his free.

I will extract both programs and post them as soon as I can. Lots of skating to catch up on from the weekend but I'll do Andrew's programs tonight.

The NBC coverage was odd this week because its slot was Saturday afternoon, meaning they had to show the Men's SP because the Men's FS hadn't happened yet. So it went from the Ladies FS to Miura/Kihara's FS to the Men's SP. I watched Andrew on mute (I like skating spoilers so I already knew what happened) because I have no interest in what the threesome said about it. I am not sure whether they would have shown his LP anyway if the broadcast was on Sunday because he skated first. A typical NBC GP broadcast has the second group of men and women and maybe one program from pairs/dance. Not sure why the NBC video quality was so bad. The ISU stream was fine (although the French camerawork was bad, as usual), but somehow the NBC broadcast quality was worse than Peacock.

 

[teddycat]

I will extract both programs and post them as soon as I can. Lots of skating to catch up on from the weekend but I'll do Andrew's programs tonight.

The NBC coverage was odd this week because its slot was Saturday afternoon, meaning they had to show the Men's SP because the Men's FS hadn't happened yet. So it went from the Ladies FS to Miura/Kihara's FS to the Men's SP. I watched Andrew on mute (I like skating spoilers so I already knew what happened) because I have no interest in what the threesome said about it. I am not sure whether they would have shown his LP anyway if the broadcast was on Sunday because he skated first. A typical NBC GP broadcast has the second group of men and women and maybe one program from pairs/dance. Not sure why the NBC video quality was so bad. The ISU stream was fine (although the French camerawork was bad, as usual), but somehow the NBC broadcast quality was worse than Peacock.

No rush on my account, but it would be great to see Andrew's programs! I thought that I may be out of luck for the GP series if it will be geoblocked. The NBC coverage was both spotty and odd since dance didn't end until Sunday either. The camerawork was awful!

After months of seeing skating without commentary, all of the inane talking was distracting. The only interesting bit was when Tara said that the skaters are feeling much more pressure at each event this year with the emphasis on a "body of work" rather than just building towards Nationals.

 

[el henry]

Peacock did have the Chris commentary, but I don't find that nearly as distracting as Tara and Johnny. I find little that is Also, I did not see the NBC coverage, but it may have been the same camerawork. I will never understand why a cameraperson thinks we want a facial closeup during the skate, or a close up on one skate. Oy!

 

[teddycat]

I also love the camera pans that show the inside of a skater's nose in their starting or ending poses. I hope that Andrew had a good reason for missing the gala, I haven't seen anything posted. Per another site comments, he would have only been paid $200 for the gala (and nothing for the competition since he wasn't top 5). I still think he would have wanted to show off his exhibition program.

 

[el henry]

BTW, for folks who listened to the podcast with Polina (what is this, the third time? possibly fourth? Andrew has been a guest), what did you think of his original decision to use "My Way" as an SP.

Although I find some of Andrew's ExtraSuperDuperSadDepressedAngryBoi music not entirely to my liking, although of course his programs are always entirely to my liking, I just cannot imagine that. I can see why they ditched it.

 

[Kiki5375]

I want to see that my way program too but I really really love his short program with the Scorpions song.
The podcast was very good too. You rarely hear the skaters. Interviews are usually short it there are any at all so it was nice to get to know him a little. She did a podcast with Max Naumov last week too.

 

[teddycat]

I think that "My Way" would be better suited for an exhibition number. I'm glad that Andrew went with the Scorpions song, even if he may have felt compelled to use it since he said it was suggested by the mom of a girlfriend.

Young guys seem to be drawn to angsty music, so whatever works and brings out the emotions! Both of the programs this year are strong and fit his skating style.

 

[Kiki5375]

He skated to sweet caroline at the gala in Oberstdorf. Me and the rest of the audience loved it

 

[teddycat]

He skated to sweet caroline at the gala in Oberstdorf. Me and the rest of the audience loved it

I saw it on YouTube and liked it, it must have been really fun live! I'm sure that the French audience would have also appreciated it. He doesn't tend to post much, but going completely silent as he has this week sure keeps us guessing.

 

[Kiki5375]

Maybe he needs to get that jetlag out of his body
if you saw the gala on youtube. I am the one he is talking to at the beginning when he was waiting for the music

 

[teddycat]

Maybe he needs to get that jetlag out of his body
if you saw the gala on youtube. I am the one he is talking to at the beginning when he was waiting for the music

It was removed from YouTube, do you have a recording of it? He looked relaxed in the clip. I also wondered about jet lag now or being worn out on Sunday, hope he didn't get injured competing.

 

[Kiki5375]

yes I downloaded it from youtube. Kind of a videoselfie hahaha
I also watched his free skate from GP France again. He didn't get injured there. So unless he fell down some stairs after that he should be ok. He doesn't post much on insta but I saw that if he does he likes and answers some of the comments which is a very nice thing to do for fans

 

[teddycat]

yes I downloaded it from youtube. Kind of a videoselfie hahaha
I also watched his free skate from GP France again. He didn't get injured there. So unless he fell down some stairs after that he should be ok. He doesn't post much on insta but I saw that if he does he likes and answers some of the comments which is a very nice thing to do for fans

Good to hear that Andrew may not be injured and sometimes answers comments from fans. Would you be willing to post the YT video here? I would love to see his exhibition skate again.

 

[Kiki5375]

Would you be willing to post the YT video here?

Is that allowed? And if so... how do I do that?

 

[teddycat]

Is that allowed? And if so... how do I do that?

Good question, maybe someone else will chime in. I know how to send directly from YT or another site, but video sharing can be complicated and I'm not sure of Golden Skate's policies.

 

[Kiki5375]

It's a lot of MB too. I don't think they want to store so much here.
I will try to find a way

 

[skatingfan4ever]

Before Andrew competes at 2025 NHK, let's review 2025 GP France.

2025 GP France Short Program

2025 GP France Free Skate

His SP scored in the low 70s, but the program wasn't horrible; it's just that the two main mistakes were very costly. Even with the fall deduction and negative GOE on the step sequence, he still got the Base Value for Level 3, which means he still did plenty in the step sequence. His issue seems to be he went for it a bit too much. The 3A got a q and negative GOE. He got zero points for the solo jump. These things are all very fixable and he should have no problem scoring in the 80s. If he skates clean, I think he should score in the 90s, but PCS scoring is its own can of worms. His Free Skate here was such a great rebound, with the quad combo as the only visible error.

I loved Brandon's words after the Free Skate. He called it "one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen" and said it was "so cool to watch" how Andrew responded to the bad SP. Brandon was so pleased for Andrew, and I just love seeing their friendship. Andrew's comment when he saw his total score was, "I got third place with this score last year."

 

[skatingfan4ever]

Maybe he needs to get that jetlag out of his body
if you saw the gala on youtube. I am the one he is talking to at the beginning when he was waiting for the music

It was removed from YouTube, do you have a recording of it? He looked relaxed in the clip. I also wondered about jet lag now or being worn out on Sunday, hope he didn't get injured competing.

Catching up on earlier posts, I see discussion of his Nebelhorn Gala. Sorry it was removed from YouTube, but I got it before it was removed.

2025 Nebelhorn Gala

 

[teddycat]

Before Andrew competes at 2025 NHK, let's review 2025 GP France.

2025 GP France Short Program

2025 GP France Free Skate

His SP scored in the low 70s, but the program wasn't horrible; it's just that the two main mistakes were very costly. Even with the fall deduction and negative GOE on the step sequence, he still got the Base Value for Level 3, which means he still did plenty in the step sequence. His issue seems to be he went for it a bit too much. The 3A got a q and negative GOE. He got zero points for the solo jump. These things are all very fixable and he should have no problem scoring in the 80s. If he skates clean, I think he should score in the 90s, but PCS scoring is its own can of worms. His Free Skate here was such a great rebound, with the quad combo as the only visible error.

I loved Brandon's words after the Free Skate. He called it "one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen" and said it was "so cool to watch" how Andrew responded to the bad SP. Brandon was so pleased for Andrew, and I just love seeing their friendship. Andrew's comment when he saw his total score was, "I got third place with this score last year."

Thanks for the videos, I was glad to finally see Andrew's free from GP France. It was a very good recovery, but he lost some points on the combo. I wonder if his score would have been a bit higher if he hadn't skated first. Brandon was very supportive as always!

 

[teddycat]

Well, Andrew's GP events didn't end on a high note. I should say that I didn't see the programs and NBC only played a brief (negative) recap of his long so I am mainly going by scores and comments. I don't think that the third Olympic spot is out of reach yet, but he will have to do very well at Nationals and hope that someone else doesn't jump ahead of him in the point tallies.

I'm not sure if the nerves got to him or if there was another reason for the many mistakes. Maybe he keeps replaying Worlds and Raf being there at NHK didn't help. I wonder if going back to one quad in the long or changing a program would help. Many skaters are going back to old programs and we want him to feel comfortable and get the crowd engaged. Any thoughts?