Mid-Grand Prix thoughts

[Ic3Rabbit]

and me talking s*it, so nothing has changed

And those threads would not be the same without you.

 

[yume]

Actually, the competition threads for GPs and Challengers have been quite nice. Now, after the competition ends, there can be a bit of bickering, and of course we have the occasional wuzrobbed, but for the most part it is just a lot of cactus and dinosaur GIFs.

Good thing then if really no one said there how happy they are that other athletes' years of work are being crushed, or something like that.
Because that was definutely the vibe of worlds thread i dared to read and is the vibe of many posts here.

 

[el henry]

Good thing then if really no one said there how happy they are that other athletes' years of work are being crushed, or something like that.
Because that was definutely the vibe of worlds thread i dared to read and is the vibe of many posts here.

No, many posters are happy that so many athletes' dreams are being uplifted and their dreams realized. Including me. I am positive about all the skaters finally getting a chance to shine, like for example Queen Deanna and Maxime.

That was the vibe of the Worlds' thread and so many other current threads that I have read here.

 

[yume]

No, many posters are happy that so many athletes' dreams are being uplifted and their dreams realized. Including me. I am positive about all the skaters finally getting a chance to shine, like for example Queen Deanna and Maxime.

That was the vibe of the Worlds' thread and so many other current threads that I have read here.

Very far from it. No need to pretend. There are posters who stated their opinion very clearly, without lace and frills, and i respect that, even if that's not what i wanted to read. Posts like yours are actually the most annoying.

Junior comps threads are usually the most enjoyable for me (not just this season), and i know people generally leave their dark side at the door before entering because kids are involved. Regular posters there brighten the mood and it's fun to make jokes with them.

 

[elektra blue]

@yume you know us, the gang is the same. you're welcome if you want to come and share a couple of jokes with us or inventing some new technical requirements (your contributions to the live chats and the story of the sports are so many that can't be numbered in just a few lines and for that i'll always be grateful). mean people usually tend to stay away when they have nothing bad to say, the worst thing that could happen to you is to assist to drunk people making fun of themselves and occasionally commenting the sport they're watching or to stumble on one of my worst jokes. again, the choice is yours and the door opened.

 

[TT_Fin]

The meanest comments have been imo towards some interesting dress choices. I am quilty.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

So what? Safina/Berulava withdrew anyway.

There are Mishina/Galliamov, Boykova/Kozlovskiy, Pavlyuchenko/Khodykin, Khabibulnia/Knyazhuk, Mukhortova/Evgen’ev, Chikmareva/Yanchenkov who are just awesome, as well as new partnerships like Boyarintzeva/Pleshkov who are really awesome. There is just nothing on GP that can even come close.

I mean, the only discipline Russians are not particularly great at is ice dance, but I would have loved to see Kaganovskaya/Angelopol in JGP to see how they stack up vs Mrazkova/Mrazek.

It’s more fun when there are Russians in the mix. Starr Andrews silver alone proves how bad things are.

And I am not even talking about Juniors. I waited for JWC to come to Calgary for 3 years, and no Russians. Like Montreal in 2020…. What a cluster-frack.

And it always boggles my mind that people are like praising their opportunity to discover the lesser known… like, seriously, nobody is watching Nationals and Challengers and Juniors or something? Well, that sure isn’t Russians’ fault for once. Yeah, lots of skaters are out there, but there is a reason why they couldn’t make it into GP or medal before.

But the JWC in Calgary without Russians sure takes the cake of giant suckage. I get upset and depressed every time I think about it. Like, gosh, Popov or Murav’yeva might have made it here, def Chikmareva/Yanchenkov and Kaganovskaya/Angelopol… K/A have absolutely insane free dance this year too…

Can you please stop dumping on Starr Andrews! She doesn't deserve your dismissive snark. Plus, Russian pairs teams are NOT end
-all and be-all in pairs. That's a conceit that has gone on for far too long. Some of those Russian teams you cited are newly formed, and while Russian pairs skaters have tended to always get extra points for showing up, that doesn't mean they are hands-down better at everything than other international teams.

The sport of figure skating and the future development of pairs is NOT solely reliant on participation by Russian skaters. Far from it. Let them continue competing in their own nose-in-the-air, sly doping practices bubble.

 

[Lipa.strom]

My thoughts? 3+2 is the new 3+3.

 

[lariko]

Can you please stop dumping on Starr Andrews! She doesn't deserve your dismissive snark. Plus, Russian pairs teams are NOT end
-all and be-all in pairs. That's a conceit that has gone on for far too long. Some of those Russian teams you cited are newly formed, and while Russian pairs skaters have tended to always get extra points for showing up, that doesn't mean they are hands-down better at everything than other international teams.

The sport of figure skating and the future development of pairs is NOT solely reliant on participation by Russian skaters. Far from it. Let them continue competing in their own nose-in-the-air, sly doping practices bubble.

I want them all competing together, then it’s easy to see who is better or who isn’t. Imo, it goes both ways. The entire body of Russian skaters collectively doesn’t deserve your dismissive snark, let alone accusations. I would like to point out that it is not Starr Andrews personally that I criticize, not even her performance, but her placement in Skate Canada specifically. Nothing against NHK results.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

I want them all competing together, then it’s easy to see who is better or who isn’t. Imo, it goes both ways. The entire body of Russian skaters collectively doesn’t deserve your dismissive snark, let alone accusations. I would like to point out that it is not Starr Andrews personally that I criticize, not even her performance, but her placement in Skate Canada specifically. Nothing against NHK results.

@lariko, I'm not going to get into a back-and-forth with you, but I am going to be honest. You seem to be trying to make excuses for what you said about Starr Andrews. Take a look at exactly what you said. You're wrong to say, "Starr Andrews' silver alone proves how bad things are." ????

Starr Andrews skated very well in both programs, apparently performing beyond some fans' expectations. She's a good skater and she puts in the work. She recently came back from surgery for an illness, so it's even more commendable how well she skated. Starr has received 70 pts in the sp at a senior B, so it shouldn't be surprising that she's a talented competitor. She could have scored higher at SC. It wasn't even that high a score in sp at 64+. Some other skaters faltered in one or both programs. That's the difference. The sport is clearly in a transitional period after a life-changing pandemic and a scandal-ridden Olympics for figure skating.

There are many skaters who are taking advantage of podium opportunities this season, who we may not have seen medal on the GP previously. Starr is an accomplished skater, who often doesn't receive top-level scores, even when she skates well. Her sp score wasn't that high, but a lot of scores weren't overly high. Plus, Starr backed up her sp performance with a very good fs, and she was rewarded. You saying that Starr winning a silver medal at SC indicates 'how bad things are,' is off-base. That's saying that you think she doesn't deserve to win medals. Most reasonable fans were happy for Starr.

Since you were discussing pairs, Laurin/ Ethier winning a bronze at SA was also unexpected. But I would never say that their achievement shows 'how bad things are.' I was happy for them, and their happiness was infectious. They skated within their abilities and some other teams faltered. L/E weren't able to skate as well at SC the following week, but they probably felt more pressure.

However Starr performed at NHK, is not relevant to what you said about Starr winning a silver at SC being an indication of 'how bad things are.' And don't try to equate my comments about the Russian system's doping practices with what you said about Starr Andrews.

It's your right to enjoy Russian skaters, and you can still watch them. All skaters being able to compete under a fair system is the ideal. But right now, things are what they are, and historically there's always been politics and unfairness in figure skating.

For me, it's not about seeing who is the best. It's about following the growth and development of skaters, and celebrating the victories they achieve on their journey to reach their desired, and hard-fought goals.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

Brendan and Alexa maybe knew they could get away with crap skating until the Grand Prix final where they will need to do better only second!

What a crappy and unfair comment by you, @Skater Boy. FYI-- It's Brandon Frazier, not Brendan.

I also see that you have been dumping on Starr Andrews too. That's completely uncalled for.

What you say about Brandon & Alexa is wrong on so many levels. I'm going to post a recent interview with Alexa & Brandon in the general pairs thread. Everyone can hear their thoughts directly from them and not have to listen to you dismissively attempting to speak for them.

I'm also going to post an interview with Spencer Howe & Emily Chan. What they have to say should make us all pause and consider just how much we don't know about skaters' lives and what they may be dealing with on a daily basis that we know nothing about.

In regard to your ongoing belly-aching about the current state of the disciplines, understand that sometimes we all just need to accept what is, wake up, open our eyes, give grace and thanks, smell the roses, and see the glass half-full. Skaters have to start somewhere. This season should be teaching us all just how difficult figure skating is, and how much hard work it takes to forge successful careers.

 

[Skater Boy]

What a crappy and unfair comment by you, @Skater Boy. FYI-- It's Brandon Frazier, not Brendan.

I also see that you have been dumping on Starr Andrews too. That's completely uncalled for.

What you say about Brandon & Alexa is wrong on so many levels. I'm going to post a recent interview with Alexa & Brandon in the general pairs thread. Everyone can hear their thoughts directly from them and not have to listen to you dismissively attempting to speak for them.

I'm also going to post an interview with Spencer Howe & Emily Chan. What they have to say should make us all pause and consider just how much we don't know about skaters' lives and what they may be dealing with on a daily basis that we know nothing about.

In regard to your ongoing belly-aching about the current state of the disciplines, understand that sometimes we all just need to accept what is, wake up, open our eyes, give grace and thanks, smell the roses, and see the glass half-full. Skaters have to start somewhere. This season should be teaching us all just how difficult figure skating is, and how much hard work it takes to forge successful careers.

I think it is fair not having Russia currently has a huge impact in at least three disciplines. It is not because they are Russian but because they have good skaters right now. Some people will say this is a wonderful opportunity for skaters from other natioms to shine but we do miss the Russians The fact we struggle with names might say a lot about the sate of skating. Say what you might even the chats here are far less and the fact that we are talking about peoples comments about skating shows the lack of interest but I do appreciatewe aremakngthe best ofthe situation.

As for Starr Andrews like Keegan Messing and Roman Sadovsky I had greathope from them but they dont seem to generally skating well under pressure. or consistently enough. It is hard to not feel we are missing something when half the world medallists or most likely would be medallists are missing. I guess it is just a dip. but if u love skating we keep watching regardless.

 

[elektra blue]

The meanest comments have been imo towards some interesting dress choices. I am quilty.

guilty as charged

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

I think it is fair not having Russia currently has a huge impact in at least three disciplines. It is not because they are Russian but because they have good skaters right now. Some people will say this is a wonderful opportunity for skaters from other natioms to shine but we do miss the Russians The fact we struggle with names might say a lot about the sate of skating. Say what you might even the chats here are far less and the fact that we are talking about peoples comments about skating shows the lack of interest but I do appreciatewe aremakngthe best ofthe situation.

As for Starr Andrews like Keegan Messing and Roman Sadovsky I had greathope from them but they dont seem to generally skating well under pressure. or consistently enough. It is hard to not feel we are missing something when half the world medallists or most likely would be medallists are missing. I guess it is just a dip. but if u love skating we keep watching regardless.

The issue is that you dismissively mocked Alexa & Brandon, and also negatively assumed what they think. It's your personal preference if you don't like their skating. But there's no way that you know what their thought process has been in coming back this season.

Even if you don't like them, you could at least be respectful of what they have accomplished together. One reason why they won SA with a few mistakes in the fp -- the judges respect their talent and their huge accomplishments at 2022 Worlds and Olympics.

I am heading over to general pairs right now to post their recent interview with host, Tatjana Flade.

 

[mrrice]

Now that the GP is beginning to wrap up, is there a list of skaters who have already qualified? I believe that Ilia and Isabeau have qualified, haven't they?

 

[GoneWithTheWind]

Now that the GP is beginning to wrap up, is there a list of skaters who have already qualified? I believe that Ilia and Isabeau have qualified, haven't they?

All the qualifiers are now official. In order of qualification they are...

Men: Malinin, Uno, Miura, Yamamoto, Grassl, Sato (subs: Siao Him Fa, Cha, Tomono)

Women: Mihara, Hendrickx, Sakamoto, Kim, Levito, Watanabe (subs: Sumiyoshi, You, Lee)

Pairs: Miura/Kihara, Knierim/Frazier, Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps, Chan/Howe, Ghilardi/Ambrosini, Conti/Macii (subs: Kovalevs, McIntosh/Mimar, Metelkina/Parkman)

Ice Dance: Gilles/Poirier, Guignard/Fabbri, Fournier Beaudry/Sorensen, Chock/Bates, Fear/Gibson, Hawayek/Baker (subs: Lajoie/Lagha, Green/Parsons, Lopareva/Brissaud)

 

[kolyadafan2002]

The meanest comments have been imo towards some interesting dress choices. I am quilty.

I have to say there is a lot of mean comments in ice dance vs other disciplines. But that is also because the scoring for ice dance is a bit up in the air, and the top teams scores are always inflated in line with the top teams from previous seasons (even if I feel nobody is on the level of P/C or H/D, they will be inflated to that level as top teams). In addition, it is the most political sport and I feel many teams just aren't rewarded to their ability and many are over-rewarded (not just famous rink vs non-famous rink, but even C/B vs H/B). I feel bad for the athletes who get not very nice comments, as I feel most making those comments would take full advantage over stuff like famous-rink bonus if they could - the fault lies in judging/politics.

At least this year we are getting a bit of a shake up - IAM isn't having it all their own way with Piper/Paul and Guignard/Fabbri posting the higher scores this season (from Carol Lane and Barbra Fusar-Poli respectfully).

 

[Seven Sisters]

Yes, the fields have been sparser this season, some competitions have seemed to fall a bit flat, and the absence of the great Russian and Chinese athletes has contributed to that. But so has the large number of post-Olympic year retirements at the top (thinking of the US triumvirate of Nathan, Vincent, and Jason, Papadakis/Cizeron & Hubbell/Donohue, etc) and some unfortunate injuries among top contenders such as Yuma Kagiyama.

What has intrigued me is how some athletes this season have really seized the opportunity they have been given (such as Stellato/Deschamps—only third at Canadian Nationals last year, and look at them now!) while others who might have been expected to make a grab for the brass ring have not (such as Chock & Bates.)

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

The meanest comments have been imo towards some interesting dress choices. I am quilty.

guilty as charged

Not quilty?

 

[GoneWithTheWind]

At least this year we are getting a bit of a shake up - IAM isn't having it all their own way with Piper/Paul and Guignard/Fabbri posting the higher scores this season (from Carol Lane and Barbra Fusar-Poli respectfully).

Interestingly, I.AM won 13 out of the 18 medals available in ice dance on the GP circuit this season, but only 2 of the 6 golds.