Live Reports

[LRK]

Photo compilation:

http://fs-gossips.com/trophee-de-france-2016-check-in/

 

[YesWay]

Awesome day of competition... sat in the bar in the official hotel with a tall beer afterwards, and saw most of the ladies trickling one-by-one back to hotel after the free skate (didn't see Asada, although we did see coach Sato). They all came in "the back way" rather than the main entrance, which meant they all walked right past us in the bar, to reach the lifts where many fans were "camped"...

People with front row seats must have been dismayed to find high railings in front of them at eye-level, obstructing their view... so they must spend hours craning their necks to see over the top... or hunched down/forward to look between the top two rails (with the vertical parts continuing to obstruct their view...). Sadly, such things are not unusual for TEB in my experience which is why I didn't buy front row, despite having every opportunity to do so...

The renovated arena is quite nice overall though, the seats more comfortable, the lighting improved, not too cold...

 

[Mango]

Did you guys notice the pigeon?

And is Maria Sotskova actually fast in her StSq? She didn't appear so to me, but then again in person things may be different than on TV.

 

[Esopian]

Just came back from 7 hours of watching all the short programs of all disciplines (pairs, ice dance, men, ladies) live and as the first grand prix event I attended, I got to say that it’s quite another perspective/feeling to watch it live in the arena compared to watching through livestream or videos digitally. I have been to ice shows before and the atmosphere of being at a competition is completely different.

First difference I noticed is how you can clearly see the speed of the skaters in relation to the length/area of the rink, the skaters usually skate faster at the beginning of the program and by halfway they slow down (differs from skater to skater though). So generally, while watching live skating the speed is very clear. Also I find that ISU follows the schedule that they set very well, even when there was a super long line outside the arena at around 3:30 PM (Central European Time) they still started at 3:30 sharp despite how part of the audience had yet to get to their seats.

Pairs:

The triple twist of Aliona Sacvhenko and Bruno Massot is amazing! Live lifts aren’t actually as high as I thought they would be, viewing in the audience it looks lower than when I watched in videos which are shot on the same level as the rink. From the stands the lifts don’t look as high they actually are, just a point of observation (maybe it’s just a first-time-watching thing).​

Ice Dance:

The edgework, it really makes the difference of judges’ scoring to the ice dancers. Watching the programs live I could really see the various levels of edgework and steps of the pairs, also the fluctuations of speed is another factor that matters (which is sometimes lost in videos). Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron truly have finesse and poise when they skate, I admire them in a whole other level after seeing them live —just amazing!​

Men:

My favourite discipline; I was looking forward to watching singles after the pairs/ice dance.

Starting off, I genuinely feel for Mura and hope he does well despite the placement(6th) in the SP today and in the previous Grand Prix assignment at Skate Canada(8th). Even when I watched him in videos, when he’s on, he’s ON.

Next for Javier Fernandez, I’ve always paid attention to him because he’s one of Yuzuru’s main rivals, generally I wish he kept the red costume from last season because it suited him much better than the black outfit he uses this season. On his jumps: (other than the first mistake) wonderful to watch live, especially on the landings with the sound of the edge of the skate skid on the ice.

For Denis: although he looked quite nervous at first, great comeback and choreography, his music choice is an odd mash-up but it surprisingly suits him!

Nathan Chen has really grown, his jumps are known to be great and spot-on (which they are, especially today in the SP) and at this competition it shows that he has grown artistically as well. After watching the B.ESP version, the commentators seemed to have said something similar about the improvement in components after Nathan got to work with Marina. His costume’s top is super shiny and looks a lot better live!​

Ladies:

I still find the new drawing method of determining the skating order odd, because most of the big names in ladies went in the first group which would not have happened last season.

Gracie: I genuinely hope she can conquer whatever she’s fighting because she has a lot of talent.

Evgenia: I never understood her skating when watching through videos, but after getting to watch her live, it’s a whole other feeling. She’s amazing in jumps, expression, speed and elegance. Before the ladies event, I saw her prepare off-ice behind the boards/kiss&cry and even her practice jumps off-ice are astonishing. Love her dress!

Gabrielle Daleman: Honestly, a great performance for her including jumps and components. Glad that Canadian ladies are doing well this season!

Mao: When she was skating (even with the jump mistakes), she’s like the queen. Her costume looks like a more stylized gown that came out of a royal closet and she’s just beautiful to watch live. Hopefully she somehow makes it to the GPF because it would be amazing to watch her skate at another competition!

Wakaba Higuchi: Last to skate, very talented both technically and artistically, plus has absolutely wonderful spins. She seemed disappointed at the scores, nonetheless she’s so young and has a long career ahead of her with lots of wins for sure.​

Lastly, a note on the ladies’ second group; some of the audience were leaving even before the event/skaters finished. I find it extremely rude to for them to only watch their favourites, then leave because the rest of the skaters doesn’t seem to interest them. Another portion of the audience came and left at different disciplines, the people beside me only watched the pairs/ice dance, then left. Some of the audience only arrived when the men/ladies were skating. So in general it doesn’t make sense to me that they paid for the entire Friday’s ticket (15 Euros; which wasn’t expensive), but only came for a portion of the event. It’s my first time going to a live competition so I don’t have too much experience with different types of audiences, do people start arriving/leaving whenever they want at other competitions or is it just in France?

(Also saw myself in the audience while watching the SP videos on YouTube and felt embarrassed, lol)

Will update more tomorrow!

 

[Mango]

Lastly, a note on the ladies’ second group; some of the audience were leaving even before the event/skaters finished. I find it extremely rude to for them to only watch their favourites, then leave because the rest of the skaters doesn’t seem to interest them. Another portion of the audience came and left at different disciplines, the people beside me only watched the pairs/ice dance, then left. Some of the audience only arrived when the men/ladies were skating. So in general it doesn’t make sense to me that they paid for the entire Friday’s ticket (15 Euros; which wasn’t expensive), but only came for a portion of the event. It’s my first time going to a live competition so I don’t have too much experience with different types of audiences, do people start arriving/leaving whenever they want at other competitions or is it just in France?

Thanks for the detailed reporting!

Only 15 Euros for the day? That's amazing! It's a lot more expensive for Skate Canada. At Skate Canada some people left before the results were announced at the end of the ice dance FD event. Many Japanese photographers didn't sit around for pairs and ice dance. In Paris I noticed people leaving in the middle of Anastasia Galustyan's performance. Guess they missed Wakaba's beautiful skating. :noshake:

 

[Layback11]

If any of you who are there comes across Gracie, give her a metaphorical hug (because a literal one would be somewhat invasive)! I have a feeling she could use one...

 

[karne]

It’s my first time going to a live competition so I don’t have too much experience with different types of audiences, do people start arriving/leaving whenever they want at other competitions or is it just in France?

There are rude people at many competitions. I was furious to see so many rude people leaving after Hanyu's SP in Boston, for example. Sure, there was only one more skater, but that made it worse: surely it wouldn't have killed them to stay for one more skater.

I had the last laugh on the rude ones though, the ones that scorn the "early groups", when Kolyada skated second that day and the arena was half empty because people who wanted to see the "better" skaters didn't come til later

 

[Esopian]

Thanks for the detailed reporting!

Only 15 Euros for the day? That's amazing! It's a lot more expensive for Skate Canada. At Skate Canada some people left before the results were announced at the end of the ice dance FD event. Many Japanese photographers didn't sit around for pairs and ice dance. In Paris I noticed people leaving in the middle of Anastasia Galustyan's performance. Guess they missed Wakaba's beautiful skating. :noshake:

I guess they knew people weren't going to stay interested no matter how much they pressed it during the 7 hours, so somehow the tickets to the first day SP for all disciplines was 15 euros. I'm not sure how they estimated the ticket pricing because the next days are a lot more expensive, separating the ice dance/pairs and men/ladies to two sessions each being 45 euros in the least(balcony seat) and for the gala the farthest seats are 55 euros. So tomorrow I'll only be going to men/ladies' free skates and Sunday to the gala.

@karne, audience randomly arriving/leaving is something I'll never get used to because why would they pay for the entire event only to attend a portion of it? I agree that every skater deserves to have the full audience being there no matter how famous or accomplished they are, it's all due to respect. Hopefully the higher prices of tickets tomorrow will make people stay for the entire event!

 

[Victura]

I guess they knew people weren't going to stay interested no matter how much they pressed it during the 7 hours, so somehow the tickets to the first day SP for all disciplines was 15 euros. I'm not sure how they estimated the ticket pricing because the next days are a lot more expensive, separating the ice dance/pairs and men/ladies to two sessions each being 45 euros in the least(balcony seat) and for the gala the farthest seats are 55 euros. So tomorrow I'll only be going to men/ladies' free skates and Sunday to the gala.

It's been like this for many years. I remember back in 2004 the short programs were only 10 euros for the whole day. They finally bumped it up to 15 a few years ago! The gala is always very well attended (better than the competition) for whatever reason; guess the French just like to see a show.

 

[RemyRose]

Thanks for the detailed reporting!

Only 15 Euros for the day? That's amazing! It's a lot more expensive for Skate Canada. At Skate Canada some people left before the results were announced at the end of the ice dance FD event. Many Japanese photographers didn't sit around for pairs and ice dance. In Paris I noticed people leaving in the middle of Anastasia Galustyan's performance. Guess they missed Wakaba's beautiful skating. :noshake:

Well the other 3 sessions are much more expensive. I ended up paying more than my ticket for SA and I'm not even going to the exhibition (too expensive). TdF the exhibition ticket alone is $100 for the best seats and $60 for the balcony :sad4:

But the SP prices are really good!!!!

 

[NicolettaL]

Thanks for the updates people but one thing. You may not like the programs but blablaing about other people that can actually read it is rude AF. They were cheering to support their favourite skaters as loud as they can. What is wrong about it? This is not a theatre to stay quiet...

 

[daphenaxa]

So I was at the competition today and saw all the categories and one thing I have to say 1st is that the announcers/speakers doing to public announcement in the arena were DREADFUL. HORRENDOUS. It was so annoying tbh but also so disrespectful as they mixed skaters (mixed Maria and Evgenia and Yuka and Wakaba) and gave false information, mispronounced names or repeated completely irrelevant stuff over and over. Example: "tomorrow the gala will be presented by the magnificent Brian Joubert and the divine Nathalie Péchalat". I don't know who is responsible if it is the arena or the FFSG really that was a shame.

the pairs :
Vanessa and Morgan skated really well and they actually had the skate of that competition. Both throws were not clean but the program was great live and the atmosphere was really nice of course with the public being really excited they did so well. I was so happy they got a medal, it was well deserved.
Marissa and Mervin are undeniably strong skaters, they look great and refined but that program was a bit of a nightmare, as was the Germans' program. That was actually quite uncomfortable to watch.
Zabiiako/Enbert I remember that I thought she looked to be a great jumper but that's it. I found them really boring and can't remember their program
Tarasova/Morozov: tbh I was a bit surprised they were marked so low because compared to everyone that fell they looked relatively clean. That program really doesn't work though. It seems like it was put together by someone under acid. They also look so cold and wooden (in their expression) when they skate. It wasn't really enjoyable to watch.
Alyona and Bruno: he was kind of crying at the end because he thought he screwed up. It is not true he was given the cold treatment, after the French skaters and maybe Javier, they were the most supported here and it was clear people were willing them to win. The program really is nice and they look great. If they manage to go clean I think the impact of it will be unbeatable. The mistakes were really distracting though and i think they got lucky with their scores.

dance:
I was pleasantly surprised with Lauriault/Le Gac, I thought they looked great. They are powerful and fast but not refined yet. The Ukrainian team is really charming too. Quite slow and tentative but also doing really innovative things.
I loved Ilinykh and Zhiganshin's music and it was really a welcomed change after a lot of slow tempo/boring songs. They looked quite slow though and especially at the end, nothing matched their music in what they were doing.
Gilles and Poirier were phenomenal imo
Hubbel and Donohue were quite fast and fluid but terribly boring imo. The crowd didn't agree with me and they got a lot of support.
Gabby and Guillaume were magnificent for me. I love both the music and program and they skated fantastically. I have to say however that one lift, i think the curved lift where he is on a spread eagle squat, doesn't look great live because he is so low. Idk it looks a bit weird.

the medals were so weird. from where we were it looked like they were cardboard!! I'll post men and ladies tomo as it is so late

 

[4everchan]

So I was at the competition today and saw all the categories and one thing I have to say 1st is that the announcers/speakers doing to public announcement in the arena were DREADFUL. HORRENDOUS. It was so annoying tbh but also so disrespectful as they mixed skaters (mixed Maria and Evgenia and Yuka and Wakaba) and gave false information, mispronounced names or repeated completely irrelevant stuff over and over. Example: "tomorrow the gala will be presented by the magnificent Brian Joubert and the divine Nathalie Péchalat". I don't know who is responsible if it is the arena or the FFSG really that was a shame.

the pairs :
Vanessa and Morgan skated really well and they actually had the skate of that competition. Both throws were not clean but the program was great live and the atmosphere was really nice of course with the public being really excited they did so well. I was so happy they got a medal, it was well deserved.
Marissa and Mervin are undeniably strong skaters, they look great and refined but that program was a bit of a nightmare, as was the Germans' program. That was actually quite uncomfortable to watch.
Zabiiako/Enbert I remember that I thought she looked to be a great jumper but that's it. I found them really boring and can't remember their program
Tarasova/Morozov: tbh I was a bit surprised they were marked so low because compared to everyone that fell they looked relatively clean. That program really doesn't work though. It seems like it was put together by someone under acid. They also look so cold and wooden (in their expression) when they skate. It wasn't really enjoyable to watch.
Alyona and Bruno: he was kind of crying at the end because he thought he screwed up. It is not true he was given the cold treatment, after the French skaters and maybe Javier, they were the most supported here and it was clear people were willing them to win. The program really is nice and they look great. If they manage to go clean I think the impact of it will be unbeatable. The mistakes were really distracting though and i think they got lucky with their scores.

dance:
I was pleasantly surprised with Lauriault/Le Gac, I thought they looked great. They are powerful and fast but not refined yet. The Ukrainian team is really charming too. Quite slow and tentative but also doing really innovative things.
I loved Ilinykh and Zhiganshin's music and it was really a welcomed change after a lot of slow tempo/boring songs. They looked quite slow though and especially at the end, nothing matched their music in what they were doing.
Gilles and Poirier were phenomenal imo
Hubbel and Donohue were quite fast and fluid but terribly boring imo. The crowd didn't agree with me and they got a lot of support.
Gabby and Guillaume were magnificent for me. I love both the music and program and they skated fantastically. I have to say however that one lift, i think the curved lift where he is on a spread eagle squat, doesn't look great live because he is so low. Idk it looks a bit weird.

the medals were so weird. from where we were it looked like they were cardboard!! I'll post men and ladies tomo as it is so late

shhhhhessshhhhh don't give out false information... they are Austrian

thanks for the post... always fun to hear from someone who attended.

 

[Esopian]

Here’s the live report from the second day of competition; I only bought tickets to the second session which consists of the men/ladies’ free program so I’ll write about what happened there. In yesterday’s report I tended to keep it positive with only compliments but today I’ll be more honest and have other remarks/observations as well.

I actually bought tickets for the balcony, but the ticket-checker-guy/Accorhotel Arena worker let me sit in a closer seat in the section that counted as ‘Category 1’ near the center (better seats than yesterday and no one was in front of me, plus I had a clear view), so I’m happy about that. He said the back section was going to be empty anyway so I sat there comfortably and started watching the competition. I can’t believe it looked like there was less/same amount of people watching the FS as the SP. I thought there was definitely going to be more viewers for the FS, I’ll see if it’s the same tomorrow at the gala. Nothing was sold out, two sides of the arena were empty and the other side was barely filled because it was the ‘special’ audience side for officials/ppl related to skating and the only most filled side of the audience was the entire section that faced the judges.

Men:

Truthfully the competition started rather boringly, the men in the first group are really lackluster to watch except for Misha (his free skate music very catchy and I’ve been playing the song on repeat ever since). I felt sorry for the Ivan though, who had an irritated leg/knee problem near the end of his program, glad he pulled through.

By the second group, things were getting exciting and more of the audience showed up.

Adam: One word after watching his free skate —mesmerizing! I was part of the standing ovation in the audience; when he finished skating most people instantly shot up from their seats in applause.

Mura: Glad he could have somewhat of a redemption skate today in the Free compared to his SP yesterday, he seemed more concentrated and in ‘fight’ mode using the good atmosphere started by the second group.

Nathan: As much potential as he has, in the free skate I wish he could cut down to 3 quads, add two 3As and the rest triples. He’s a great jumper no doubt, however if he could pull off the artistic side more --everything would come together. It’s a bummer that he couldn’t make it to the podium at this competition because I was hoping that he could score a bronze medal. Watching in the audience, he fell on two quads at the exact same corner of the rink which is such a pity. Other than that, I’m someone who’s quite picky on costumes and I actually really like his costume; in real life the design, colors, bling and details are well done and suits him.

Denis: Good to see him back and skate clean! Overall one main thing I noticed is that the setup into his jumps were longer than usual, nevertheless the program had his style and the last step sequence was powerful.

Javier: For sure the audience loves him, so many people cheered when he went on the ice to start skating. His landed jumps are as smooth as they look on video which are lovely to watch in person! Viewing the program live, I could really tell he’s such a great showman, makes the audience smile and sways/induces them to cheer for him. Great choreography, feel of the music and good for him that he went straight back into the program after abruptly falling on the second 3A. Many people in the crowd were standing at the end (myself included)!​

Ladies:

I don’t know how to start on writing about this, as people on the forum would call it –this was kind of a splatfest. Seeing them fall so hard on the ice from the stands is even more alarming and saddening in real life, especially for Alena Leonova.

Mae Berenice Meite: Skating in France(her home country) must’ve put so much pressure on her, today she landed every jump in contrast to yesterday and redeemed herself. Though because of this, the program lacked in components, steps and overall feel for choreography. Glad she looked much happier than yesterday following her skate and sat in the stands with her family afterwards.

Gracie: Hard falls and mistakes, not the best skate for her today. Though I’m genuinely hoping for her to do well after this in the second half of the season. Despite all this, I loved her elegant and shiny dress!

Mao: Watching her skate was heart-rending, clearly she has some type of injury. However there’s plenty of fans who are cheering her on and wishing for a continuation of her success and legacy, don’t stop here, Mao!

Wakaba Higuchi: Excellent skate to an otherwise overused piece of music, classy and well-designed costume. She’s definitely the darkhorse to this competition and got bronze on her senior GP debut! On a side note, I met her physio therapist in the stands and we had a great conversation about the state/standard of figure skating in the current skating field.

Evgenia: While most of the skaters in the ladies’ event were falling, when she started skating I thought ‘This girl will not make mistakes’ because that’s part of her clean record, but unfortunately she fell! Better to make mistakes earlier in the season than later, I guess. Like Javier, she transitioned back into the program just fine, skated wonderfully other than that mistake and won the event!

Gabrielle Daleman: After the SP yesterday, I thought she would nail the FS. The first fall in her free skate must’ve thrown her off completely and the program definitely did not reach its full potential today. She looked so disappointed in the kiss&cry, glad that Javier is a supporting teammate and gave her a hug after the medal ceremonies.​

There was three people in front of me that kept on criticizing and scoffing at the skaters (every time they made mistakes or didn’t have much choreography) the entire span of the event in French, this is the one time I wish I couldn’t understand French. Another French lady complained to her friend beside her that ‘the same skaters always win’; well in response to that comment, the skaters train very hard to maintain those wins --so she shouldn’t be talking or have that one-sided opinion (wish I could’ve told her that). :noshake:

Also same thing today, people started arriving and even more so leaving at random times, particularly after Mao skated and near the end before the medal ceremonies. The ticket prices today was way above yesterday’s (15 euros for yesterday’s SP compared minimum 45 euros for the free), yet people still decide to leave whenever they want –this confuses me the most.

That’s all for today, in general it’s a great experience to attend a live Grand Prix competition! :agree:

 

[MIM]

Thank you for your thorough report.
I am sorry you had to sit behind the grumpy critics but I envy you for having a chance to talk to Wakaba's therapist. how nice!!! He/she has done a marvelous job for Wakaba based on her two beautiful performance. The B euro commentators said Wakaba worked with ice dance coaches for finishing touches. Can you share a little bit more about Wakaba's or any Japanese ladies' training?

Here’s the live report from the second day of competition; I only bought tickets to the second session which consists of the men/ladies’ free program so I’ll write about what happened there. In yesterday’s report I tended to keep it positive with only compliments but today I’ll be more honest and have other remarks/observations as well.

I actually bought tickets for the balcony, but the ticket-checker-guy/Accorhotel Arena worker let me sit in a closer seat in the section that counted as ‘Category 1’ near the center (better seats than yesterday and no one was in front of me, plus I had a clear view), so I’m happy about that. He said the back section was going to be empty anyway so I sat there comfortably and started watching the competition. I can’t believe it looked like there was less/same amount of people watching the FS as the SP. I thought there was definitely going to be more viewers for the FS, I’ll see if it’s the same tomorrow at the gala. Nothing was sold out, two sides of the arena were empty and the other side was barely filled because it was the ‘special’ audience side for officials/ppl related to skating and the only most filled side of the audience was the entire section that faced the judges.

Men:

Truthfully the competition started rather boringly, the men in the first group are really lackluster to watch except for Misha (his free skate music very catchy and I’ve been playing the song on repeat ever since). I felt sorry for the Ivan though, who had an irritated leg/knee problem near the end of his program, glad he pulled through.

By the second group, things were getting exciting and more of the audience showed up.

Adam: One word after watching his free skate —mesmerizing! I was part of the standing ovation in the audience; when he finished skating most people instantly shot up from their seats in applause.

Mura: Glad he could have somewhat of a redemption skate today in the Free compared to his SP yesterday, he seemed more concentrated and in ‘fight’ mode using the good atmosphere started by the second group.

Nathan: As much potential as he has, in the free skate I wish he could cut down to 3 quads, add two 3As and the rest triples. He’s a great jumper no doubt, however if he could pull off the artistic side more --everything would come together. It’s a bummer that he couldn’t make it to the podium at this competition because I was hoping that he could score a bronze medal. Watching in the audience, he fell on two quads at the exact same corner of the rink which is such a pity. Other than that, I’m someone who’s quite picky on costumes and I actually really like his costume; in real life the design, colors, bling and details are well done and suits him.

Denis: Good to see him back and skate clean! Overall one main thing I noticed is that the setup into his jumps were longer than usual, nevertheless the program had his style and the last step sequence was powerful.

Javier: For sure the audience loves him, so many people cheered when he went on the ice to start skating. His landed jumps are as smooth as they look on video which are lovely to watch in person! Viewing the program live, I could really tell he’s such a great showman, makes the audience smile and sways/induces them to cheer for him. Great choreography, feel of the music and good for him that he went straight back into the program after abruptly falling on the second 3A. Many people in the crowd were standing at the end (myself included)!​

Ladies:

I don’t know how to start on writing about this, as people on the forum would call it –this was kind of a splatfest. Seeing them fall so hard on the ice from the stands is even more alarming and saddening in real life, especially for Alena Leonova.

Mae Berenice Meite: Skating in France(her home country) must’ve put so much pressure on her, today she landed every jump in contrast to yesterday and redeemed herself. Though because of this, the program lacked in components, steps and overall feel for choreography. Glad she looked much happier than yesterday following her skate and sat in the stands with her family afterwards.

Gracie: Hard falls and mistakes, not the best skate for her today. Though I’m genuinely hoping for her to do well after this in the second half of the season. Despite all this, I loved her elegant and shiny dress!

Mao: Watching her skate was heart-rending, clearly she has some type of injury. However there’s plenty of fans who are cheering her on and wishing for a continuation of her success and legacy, don’t stop here, Mao!

Wakaba Higuchi: Excellent skate to an otherwise overused piece of music, classy and well-designed costume. She’s definitely the darkhorse to this competition and got bronze on her senior GP debut! On a side note, I met her physio therapist in the stands and we had a great conversation about the state/standard of figure skating in the current skating field.

Evgenia: While most of the skaters in the ladies’ event were falling, when she started skating I thought ‘This girl will not make mistakes’ because that’s part of her clean record, but unfortunately she fell! Better to make mistakes earlier in the season than later, I guess. Like Javier, she transitioned back into the program just fine, skated wonderfully other than that mistake and won the event!

Gabrielle Daleman: After the SP yesterday, I thought she would nail the FS. The first fall in her free skate must’ve thrown her off completely and the program definitely did not reach its full potential today. She looked so disappointed in the kiss&cry, glad that Javier is a supporting teammate and gave her a hug after the medal ceremonies.​

There was three people in front of me that kept on criticizing and scoffing at the skaters (every time they made mistakes or didn’t have much choreography) the entire span of the event in French, this is the one time I wish I couldn’t understand French. Another French lady complained to her friend beside her that ‘the same skaters always win’; well in response to that comment, the skaters train very hard to maintain those wins --so she shouldn’t be talking or have that one-sided opinion (wish I could’ve told her that). :noshake:

Also same thing today, people started arriving and even more so leaving at random times, particularly after Mao skated and near the end before the medal ceremonies. The ticket prices today was way above yesterday’s (15 euros for yesterday’s SP compared minimum 45 euros for the free), yet people still decide to leave whenever they want –this confuses me the most.

That’s all for today, in general it’s a great experience to attend a live Grand Prix competition! :agree:

 

[Esopian]

Thank you for your thorough report.
I am sorry you had to sit behind the grumpy critics but I envy you for having a chance to talk to Wakaba's therapist. how nice!!! He/she has done a marvelous job based on her two beautiful performance. The B euro commentators said Wakab worked with ice dance coaches for finishing touches. Can you share a little bit more about Wakaba's or any Japanese ladies' training?

Glad that I can share live reports with everyone!
I talked to her physio therapist for a short time while watching the medal ceremonies and only near the end of our conversation I asked if she's Wakaba therapist and she said yes (because she kept on telling me that she could get me Wakaba's signature so I figured she knew Wakaba personally) , don't know any more than that sorry!

 

[MIM]

Glad that I can share live reports with everyone!
I talked to her physio therapist for a short time while watching the medal ceremonies and only near the end of our conversation I asked if she's Wakaba therapist and she said yes (because she kept on telling me that she could get me Wakaba's signature so I figured she knew Wakaba personally) , don't know any more than that sorry!

lol, thank you anyways. I like this story, too. She is very sweet to offer you Wakaba's signature.

 

[Upnights]

Not really. Only reports are coming from one press member who is posting on FSU. The press attended the practice with those 4,000 school kids but I wouldn't rely on any of those kids for reports I was told that practice was closed to the public so I went to the Louvre, sad, I could have passed for a high school student

Do you know if any other fans were able to get into the practices?

 

[daphenaxa]

@ 4everchan oh no my apologies. I became the announcer from the arena

back for the men!

Both Artur Dmitriev and Chafik skating clean and being so happy was nice to see. The crowd was really digging Chafik but I have to say his music is a bit grandiloquent for me and he skates mostly through it.
Misha got a lot of support, honestly I don't think the nutcracker is an exciting program for him. I was beginning to get a bit tired at that point and he didn't really hold my attention.
Brendan Kerry was quite bland. Some girls behind me were very surprised that an Australian was skating but then kept repeating that he was cute. I think he has new fans in Paris.
Ivan's stop in his program was so weird. He did three 2A so i wondered if he stopped for that or if he was injured. Everyone was very confused because then he kept skating and did a triple jump and looked fine but it also kinda looked like he was limping in the KnC. He is super hot and his costume is a mistake.
Adam Rippon did well. He has nice spins. He really isn't my tastes. He had a lot of support before and after he skated. People were really into him and someone also had a pride flag!
I don't understand Jorik's music choice. I didn't get what he was trying to portray at all and the music is so monotone, it doesn't build at all and really doesn't give him a chance . I was happy when he finished.
I think Takahito Mura is under appreciated. It was such a shame when he fell on the last jump!! Rachmaninov 2 is overused but not gonna lie it really works when it is well skated. We were all clapping and I was really into his program. It think his steps are lovely, he is quite fast and elegant, his SS look good and he himself is lovely.
Nathan Chen fell twice just in front of me and the noise is actually quite horrific. His costume was beautiful and his program works. In spite of the two bad falls I really appreciated his performance. The quad lutz is so impressive but his overall skating really is good. I don't think he lacks artistry at all.
Denis Ten was the skate of the competition for me. He is just so beautiful to watch. His skating really is smooth like butter. He had a terribly long look at his 3A but the rest of the jumps were quite effortless and he was pouring his heart into his performance. The step sequence was so fast and energetic yet still so elegant. He really was lovely
Javier... His jumps are beautiful when landed. His ina bauer just in front of the judges is fun. Overall seeing him skate just after Denis really drove home the fact I don't understand his marks. His skating is slow and looks effortful, his step sequences were really slow and not nice looking. The Elvis theme didn't really work for me either. I was curious to see Javier live as everyone keeps talking about his charisma and showmanship. I think he looks a lot better on tv.

the ladies event really was hard to watch overall. so many falls The cam in the arena kept showing Brian Joubert sitting with Denis and Javier which was quite cute.

Mae did wonderfully!!! I am really happy for her she rocked. I think it was the only time i have ever seen her skate clean! Her steps at the end were nearly on stand still but no one cared anymore at that moment. Vanessa James said a few words about Mae after her performance, that she was really proud of her and that she was her best friend. It was cute.
Then came the long stream of disappointing to heartbreaking skates.
Yuka Nagai is a lovely flower. She popped a lot and her program is really really generic. She is very elegant.
Gracie's music was a torture for me. Her dress is gorgeous. From the warm-up it was sadly evident that her skate was gonna be hard to watch and everyone knew she was gonna fall on her lutz because the setup for that jump felt like a stressful eternity.
Galustyan needs to change her music asap. I don't get who chose that but it was clearly someone who hates her. Unfortunately the under rotations were noticeable live on nearly all her jumps.
Alena's skate was heartbreaking. She got a lot of support. I think she fell on all of her jumps :hopelessness:
Mao's skate was even more heartbreaking. From the warmup I knew she was gonna double a lot so I had braced myself. It was still incredibly sad. She had absolutely no life in her. :sad21: (she does have an aura about herself irl. She looks like royalty)
SoYoun was quite lovely. A bit slow but nice to watch.
Wakaba had the skate of the night for me. Her costume was gorgeous and she was FIERCE. She was fast and smooth, her jumps are fantastic. The pop was such a shame.
Laurine's program is a lot of fun and the costume change works so well. The two falls took out some of the positive energy and the program was dragging a bit at the end. It was still a very solid effort from Laurine and she has star charisma.
Evgenia's 3lo is very beautiful, everyone gasped when she fell (crashed really) just in front of the judges. The voiceovers during the step sequence were not really intelligible live in the arena so it kinda worked but her music overall is boring. She is the female equivalent of Javier for me. I don't get her scores. She has no flow whatsoever on most of her jump arrivals, her step sequence lasts ages and is reaaalllllllly slow and not pretty to watch. Her triple-triple in the second half is impressive and her spins, especially the I spin are not great. Her dress is really pretty. Her answering the phone was ridiculous. My sister who loves skating too but is more of a casual viewer didn't get her marks at all.
Maria was a snooze. It was late, I was tired but really I couldn't. She has beautiful extensions. She is slow and dainty.
Gabrielle's fall on her 1st jump omg I fell so bad for her. It looked horrible. I was scared she hurt her head? So awkward as well because she had landed and then she fell facing forward. I think it unsettled her because next jumps were bad and then she got better again. She is very fast and very pretty. I can't with Gershwin but she was selling it, however her skating is quite raw and there was not refinement in her choreography.
Overall the ladies event was a disaster.

I think during the medals ceremony they cut the Spanish anthem or maybe they played the very very short version of it but it was like 5 seconds of anthem. I was a bit shocked. I hope Javier wasn't offended by it.

 

[4everchan]

@ 4everchan oh no my apologies. I became the announcer from the arena

LOL ... i just thought it was funny thanks again for the detailed reports.... I love reading those.