Just a few ramblings on attending the Nebelhorn Trophy. First off, I would like to pass on kudos to Alex D. He saw everything I saw and noticed a lot more than I did. He also wrote up his observations with a wit and passion that is much better than anything I could have written. He also showed tremendous stamina with a schedule that was grueling for any serious spectator. For instance, on Thursday the competition started at 11:00 AM and ran until 11:20 PM with a 15 minute break between ladies and pairs, and a 20 minute break between pairs and dance. Alex D was there for all of that as well as some practices that occurred before the competition started. My wife and I didn't make it to the rink until the start of the first competition and gave up about 9:00 PM and went back to the room to watch dance finish up on German Eurosport. Thank you, Alex D for your keen observations and all the great write ups. I hope I get the opportunity to see you again at some future competition.
When I planned to come to Oberstdorf, I thought the competition would be very interesting--which it was--but I did not realize how painful it would be to watch so many skaters skate in the FP whose hopes for the Olympics had already been dashed or were in the process of being dashed. However it was glorious to watch those who took their opportunity and grabbed it, such as Kerstin Frank, Brooklee Han, and Anne Line Gjersem (congratulations to Norway, SaraM). They were a joy to watch and helped overcome the pain of watching some of the other skaters.
I thought it was great that the Nebelhorn allowed everyone to skate a long program, no matter how low they finished in the short. I made it a point to be present at the start of the Ladies Free so that I could applaud the effort of those who had to start early. Some of my favorite skaters were in the first two groups. I hope skaters like Lejeanne Marais of South Africa, Clara Peters of Ireland, and Crystal Kiang of Chinese Taipei realize how much some of us fans (like Alex D and me) appreciate the fact that they show up and skate as hard as they can regardless of their placements. I have had the opportunity to see the three skaters I mentioned several times and have always enjoyed their skating and applauded their efforts. One of the great pleasures of coming to watch a competition like this is to see skaters that you have never seen before as well as skaters you have seen before but will rarely, or never, see on television.
Thanks to all the posters who did play by play and who kept me up to date on who was qualifying for the Olympics.
Last thoughts before I go back to packing. I thought Lindsay and Rockne for the U.S. as well as Natasha and Mervin for Canada looked very promising given how little time they have been together. I wish both pairs good luck in their respective Nationals. I also really enjoyed the opportunity to see Radionova whom I had never seen before. All her programs, including the Gala were a real treat.