- Joined
- Mar 23, 2010
Thank you so much for the report YYY, how I envy you!
Working on delayed 3T... oh man I adore Karen! I hope she ace her 3lz3t soon.
On Site Reports: Your experience SkAm 2015
- Thread starter Interspectator
- Start date
Thank you so much for the report YYY, how I envy you!
Working on delayed 3T... oh man I adore Karen! I hope she ace her 3lz3t soon.
Practice Reports:
Scimeca/Knierem - Chris was having a lot of trouble on their side by side toes. Throw sal was shaky but everything else looked very crisp
Sui/Han - Looked very stable, steady and prepared. She has a gorgeous blue dress. Didn't try throw quad in the practice or program.
Stolbova/Klimov - Are faster than everyone. She looked pissed the entire time. Fell on a throw lutz but landed it in the program.
Mariah Bell - Disasteous practice and program. Was popping everything, fell very hard on the 2A+1Lo+3S. Landings were shaky. I still think the dress looks like bacon more than it does a flag.
Elizabet Tursynbaeva - Consistently landed her jumps, although some were shaky. Popped the second lutz in her program. Everything else looked good.
So Youn Park - doubled the first lutz and went for everything else in the program. Practice was subpar.
Gracie Gold - lutz and axel combos were good until she did them in the program. Popped the lutz and doubled the toe loop after her double axel.
Satoko Miyahara - I love her, so this is a bit biased. Great practice, she went for every jump and stuck the landings. Touched a hand down on the 3T in her 2A-3T, but that was the only mistake in her program. Gorgeous lines and spins.
Julia Lipnitskaia - Not a good practice (although she smiled at me as she skated past?? Which confused me be she rarely smiles so I was very awkward haha). Axels and toes were good but she's having trouble with the flip. Lutz edge looks improved but I don't think it's on a clear outside edge. Did only 3-4 jumps in the program and they were all doubled :/
Evgenia Medvedeva - Did 3F+3T+3T and 3S+3T+3T in the program. Although she had a good program, she's slower than Gracie and satoko. But she did a good job of projecting and trying to "feel" the music (which is lovely btw). Her left elbow is taped/there's a tan brace around it, idk why. Not as skinny as I thought she would be in person; she's also strikingly beautiful.
Hope this was helpful!
Scimeca/Knierem - Chris was having a lot of trouble on their side by side toes. Throw sal was shaky but everything else looked very crisp
Sui/Han - Looked very stable, steady and prepared. She has a gorgeous blue dress. Didn't try throw quad in the practice or program.
Stolbova/Klimov - Are faster than everyone. She looked pissed the entire time. Fell on a throw lutz but landed it in the program.
Mariah Bell - Disasteous practice and program. Was popping everything, fell very hard on the 2A+1Lo+3S. Landings were shaky. I still think the dress looks like bacon more than it does a flag.
Elizabet Tursynbaeva - Consistently landed her jumps, although some were shaky. Popped the second lutz in her program. Everything else looked good.
So Youn Park - doubled the first lutz and went for everything else in the program. Practice was subpar.
Gracie Gold - lutz and axel combos were good until she did them in the program. Popped the lutz and doubled the toe loop after her double axel.
Satoko Miyahara - I love her, so this is a bit biased. Great practice, she went for every jump and stuck the landings. Touched a hand down on the 3T in her 2A-3T, but that was the only mistake in her program. Gorgeous lines and spins.
Julia Lipnitskaia - Not a good practice (although she smiled at me as she skated past?? Which confused me be she rarely smiles so I was very awkward haha). Axels and toes were good but she's having trouble with the flip. Lutz edge looks improved but I don't think it's on a clear outside edge. Did only 3-4 jumps in the program and they were all doubled :/
Evgenia Medvedeva - Did 3F+3T+3T and 3S+3T+3T in the program. Although she had a good program, she's slower than Gracie and satoko. But she did a good job of projecting and trying to "feel" the music (which is lovely btw). Her left elbow is taped/there's a tan brace around it, idk why. Not as skinny as I thought she would be in person; she's also strikingly beautiful.
Hope this was helpful!
- Joined
- Nov 30, 2014
Her left arm has been taped ever since she slammed into the boards on Thursday. Thank goodness it's not her tano arm!
I got a couple of vids from the practice this morning (mostly Zhenya), I will try to post them on YouTube if the crummy Wi-Fi at the Hilton cooperates. Quality is nothing special, I just handheld my iPhone to record it.
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2014
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Same here! Like especially the men's SP was miles better than last year's Skate America!
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- Jul 13, 2014
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Did you like Brendan, yyyskate? And Max?
Brendan did great despite the botched combo.
OMG! Max TOTALLY TOTALLY deserved to be first after that skate!
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- Jul 13, 2014
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Though the one criticism I had about the Panther Arena is that they only had one stand that was selling burgers and it wasn't open last night. And the other stands sold hotdogs and no burgers. Though it sounds stupid, it's a criticism for me because not everyone likes hotdogs and some like burgers instead. Like myself lol.
Oh and also when we were walking to the Panther Arena, me and some others saw Charlie White walking the other direction with Tanith Belbin.
Oh and also when we were walking to the Panther Arena, me and some others saw Charlie White walking the other direction with Tanith Belbin.
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2006
So bummed that I was in Milwaukee last week tagging along with the hubby on a conference. So instead of watching skating I drank free beer and looked at Harley's. We were tempted to extend our trip to see the competition but there's that dumb thing called work that got in the way. The reports are great!! I haven't been to a skate America since 2009 in lake placid. I really need to go again.
Day 1 report
To me, the Grand Prix series always leaves a few doubts, doubts if it is a good idea to only let a small amount of skaters skate and then usually only those who already won medals at previous competitions.
It kind of works against my idea of "competing" in sport, if you are not allowed to compete. Sure, I know, especially in America this is seen differently, after all you have like a million Trials and only put your best performer into the spotlight, but ya – it still leaves a bit of a bad taste if we exclude athletes like that.
Then again, we can not have 100 skaters perform, it would just be too much and the crowd would sooner or later, just come for the final two groups, like it is often the case at Euros with the huge starter fields for the ladies. Also to add is, that like now with Nicole "the underdogs" do get a chance to present their programs!
So ya, it is debatable...
Anyways, let´s get back to business and how it happened shall we?
Rainbows:
Watching the ladies was a real joy, because I saw wonderful programs, programs which were all different, just like the attitudes of the skaters performing them. Look at Yulia Lipnitskaia...
The 17 years old went through a lot since her glorious team gold at Sochi. I stopped counting how often she was insulted and confronted with negativity for just becoming a woman. People can just make you sick at times, especially if they trash talk about an athlete and a teenager! Said trash talking, however, doesn´t just go away – as we see with Adelina, who is still called a cheater these days...
As for Yulia, haters decided that she wasn´t kind enough to the flower girls at Finlandia, so she deserved punishment, a punishment, however that she reacted bravely to, when she thankfully tapped a young flower girl on her shoulder after the short, showing the world "hey look, I am not evil as you say!". If the clap was really with that intention who knows, and honestly who cares! She doesn't has to prove anything to anyone, she is a gold medalist and a star on ice – how many medals did those win yet, who are rude and disrespectful, bar the couch potato award?
Another medal by the way, is still possible for the young Russian, even after losing her third rotation on the flip, leaving her in 5th position, trailing by less than three point´s behind the Japanese Satoki Miyahara.
Nonetheless, Yulia is in my opinion, even a better skater today than she was at the Sochi season, better in the department of having fun on the ice, of having a mature body to work with and last but not least, she slowly develops the grace of a real lady, while still staying young and fresh as we could all see in her Elvis Medley. I loved her Sochi programs don´t get me wrong, - to me they were some of the best in the past 10 years, but oh boy – do I love the "new" Yulia as well!
Gracie's legacy
Whom I also love since I first met her, is Gracie. The young American with the remarkable grace on ice, delivered a booming performance, showing what she is capable of. While popping her flip, she nailed every other element, stayed positive and had wonderful speed and expression. She really enjoyed her day in front of an unfortunately very spare home crowd. At times you have to wonder how a venue can be half empty if the best of the best skate there. I understand that Americans prefer to sit in front of their TV´s putting 10 hamburgers an hour in their belly, but cmon guys – what were you waiting for?
Not holding back, but always positive and ready, Gracie skated the second best SP, receiving 65.39. Even with the error on her flip, she saw the good in things.
As for her Flip she added,
Gold continued,
Attention is also what you guys need at home now as Gracie promised to deliver a killer show tomorrow evening, so don't miss that and get your butts to Milwaukee!
About the one with the headphones on
Not on her butt, but her feet landed yet another skater from Russia, a skater who seems to be unstoppable right now, Evgenia Medvedeva. With just 15 years of age, the worlds junior gold medalist, skated to Melodies of the White Night, absolutely flawless and with huge confidence, silencing the crowd by her sheer perfection and a performance in which you could hear a needle drop.
The result is a new PB of 70.92 points, achieved with graceful spins and steps, all gaining a level four, perfect triple jumps (triple flip – triple toe; loop) with the flip, but also her double Axel being modified as a Tano, yet receiving another bonus.
But its not just about the score to be honest, we all saw great scores already. No, there is a lot more about this skater that I love. The young athlete who does practice in Moscow with Yulia and Polina Tsurskaya, put all her jumps into the last minute of her program, not only receiving a few bonus points, but also doing something completely different to every other skater tonight, probably making casual viewers wonder what she was actually doing, as after two minutes her score was just around 10 points!
Having a lead of 5.53, she is the hot favorite for tomorrow!
On fire
Last but not least, a few words about an impressive Japanese girl. World silver medalist, Satoko Miyahara, skated a fiery and emotional, yet graceful flamenco to "Firedance". It was a real joy to see her skate, it was so different to the usual Japanese programs that we get, her facial expression that she has been working on lately, was an absolute highlight! I have seldom seen a skater from Asia perform with such an attitude, she was on fire today and earned rightfully 62.28 points!
Off the radar
You are now probably wondering, "wait, wasn't there also pairs, dance and men?" Yes, my friends, there were, but unfortunately do I just lack the time, to post such a full review for all the events and if I am not 100% confident with the outcome of my work, then I prefer not to publish it.
I did focus on the Ladies, as I know you love them a lot here and I wanted to give you guys at least something, also because I was so impressed after the short, not only in regards of the Ladies, but also the other competitors.
If time allows, I might be able to come up with a Column after Skate America, but I won´t make promises here, my schedule is incredibly full right now and the internet connection not the best, I even have to go through a VPN to connect to GS.
Anyways, a few last words.
I had a blast watching,
Alaine´s Pina is so beautiful, Alexa and Chris nailed their nothing else matters and oh boy, Madison & Evan – I am still unable to really put my feelings into words, it just was one of the best SD´s I have ever, ever, ever seen in my life!
Thanks for reading and don't forget, move your butts to Skate America!
P.S. Please bear with me, if there are any mistakes, this was written during an intermission at Glasgow.
How it Happened, Day 1 in a nutshell
To me, the Grand Prix series always leaves a few doubts, doubts if it is a good idea to only let a small amount of skaters skate and then usually only those who already won medals at previous competitions.
It kind of works against my idea of "competing" in sport, if you are not allowed to compete. Sure, I know, especially in America this is seen differently, after all you have like a million Trials and only put your best performer into the spotlight, but ya – it still leaves a bit of a bad taste if we exclude athletes like that.
Then again, we can not have 100 skaters perform, it would just be too much and the crowd would sooner or later, just come for the final two groups, like it is often the case at Euros with the huge starter fields for the ladies. Also to add is, that like now with Nicole "the underdogs" do get a chance to present their programs!
So ya, it is debatable...
Anyways, let´s get back to business and how it happened shall we?
Rainbows:
Watching the ladies was a real joy, because I saw wonderful programs, programs which were all different, just like the attitudes of the skaters performing them. Look at Yulia Lipnitskaia...
The 17 years old went through a lot since her glorious team gold at Sochi. I stopped counting how often she was insulted and confronted with negativity for just becoming a woman. People can just make you sick at times, especially if they trash talk about an athlete and a teenager! Said trash talking, however, doesn´t just go away – as we see with Adelina, who is still called a cheater these days...
As for Yulia, haters decided that she wasn´t kind enough to the flower girls at Finlandia, so she deserved punishment, a punishment, however that she reacted bravely to, when she thankfully tapped a young flower girl on her shoulder after the short, showing the world "hey look, I am not evil as you say!". If the clap was really with that intention who knows, and honestly who cares! She doesn't has to prove anything to anyone, she is a gold medalist and a star on ice – how many medals did those win yet, who are rude and disrespectful, bar the couch potato award?
Another medal by the way, is still possible for the young Russian, even after losing her third rotation on the flip, leaving her in 5th position, trailing by less than three point´s behind the Japanese Satoki Miyahara.
Nonetheless, Yulia is in my opinion, even a better skater today than she was at the Sochi season, better in the department of having fun on the ice, of having a mature body to work with and last but not least, she slowly develops the grace of a real lady, while still staying young and fresh as we could all see in her Elvis Medley. I loved her Sochi programs don´t get me wrong, - to me they were some of the best in the past 10 years, but oh boy – do I love the "new" Yulia as well!
Gracie's legacy
Whom I also love since I first met her, is Gracie. The young American with the remarkable grace on ice, delivered a booming performance, showing what she is capable of. While popping her flip, she nailed every other element, stayed positive and had wonderful speed and expression. She really enjoyed her day in front of an unfortunately very spare home crowd. At times you have to wonder how a venue can be half empty if the best of the best skate there. I understand that Americans prefer to sit in front of their TV´s putting 10 hamburgers an hour in their belly, but cmon guys – what were you waiting for?
Not holding back, but always positive and ready, Gracie skated the second best SP, receiving 65.39. Even with the error on her flip, she saw the good in things.
As for her Flip she added,
Gold continued,
Attention is also what you guys need at home now as Gracie promised to deliver a killer show tomorrow evening, so don't miss that and get your butts to Milwaukee!
About the one with the headphones on
Not on her butt, but her feet landed yet another skater from Russia, a skater who seems to be unstoppable right now, Evgenia Medvedeva. With just 15 years of age, the worlds junior gold medalist, skated to Melodies of the White Night, absolutely flawless and with huge confidence, silencing the crowd by her sheer perfection and a performance in which you could hear a needle drop.
The result is a new PB of 70.92 points, achieved with graceful spins and steps, all gaining a level four, perfect triple jumps (triple flip – triple toe; loop) with the flip, but also her double Axel being modified as a Tano, yet receiving another bonus.
But its not just about the score to be honest, we all saw great scores already. No, there is a lot more about this skater that I love. The young athlete who does practice in Moscow with Yulia and Polina Tsurskaya, put all her jumps into the last minute of her program, not only receiving a few bonus points, but also doing something completely different to every other skater tonight, probably making casual viewers wonder what she was actually doing, as after two minutes her score was just around 10 points!
Having a lead of 5.53, she is the hot favorite for tomorrow!
On fire
Last but not least, a few words about an impressive Japanese girl. World silver medalist, Satoko Miyahara, skated a fiery and emotional, yet graceful flamenco to "Firedance". It was a real joy to see her skate, it was so different to the usual Japanese programs that we get, her facial expression that she has been working on lately, was an absolute highlight! I have seldom seen a skater from Asia perform with such an attitude, she was on fire today and earned rightfully 62.28 points!
Off the radar
You are now probably wondering, "wait, wasn't there also pairs, dance and men?" Yes, my friends, there were, but unfortunately do I just lack the time, to post such a full review for all the events and if I am not 100% confident with the outcome of my work, then I prefer not to publish it.
I did focus on the Ladies, as I know you love them a lot here and I wanted to give you guys at least something, also because I was so impressed after the short, not only in regards of the Ladies, but also the other competitors.
If time allows, I might be able to come up with a Column after Skate America, but I won´t make promises here, my schedule is incredibly full right now and the internet connection not the best, I even have to go through a VPN to connect to GS.
Anyways, a few last words.
I had a blast watching,
Alaine´s Pina is so beautiful, Alexa and Chris nailed their nothing else matters and oh boy, Madison & Evan – I am still unable to really put my feelings into words, it just was one of the best SD´s I have ever, ever, ever seen in my life!
Thanks for reading and don't forget, move your butts to Skate America!
P.S. Please bear with me, if there are any mistakes, this was written during an intermission at Glasgow.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2013
Thank you Alex D. for this wonderful report! You always come through!
- Joined
- Dec 21, 2011
Congrats!
Gracie's FS performance brought the house down today, watch it live, only you can appreciated how intricate and outstanding this programs is!!! Didnot win gold, but in many people and herself and her families' heart she did herself proud.
Sui/Han's performance, watching live, has EVERYTHING I love about figure skating!!!
Sui/Han's performance, watching live, has EVERYTHING I love about figure skating!!!
- Joined
- Mar 29, 2009
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Skate america surpassed my expectations. Seeing skating in person is so awesome, you really get a feel for the speed and ice coverage. And you get to meet the skaters, hello Max and Jason! And have sightings of skaters and coaches (totally feel like a groupie). I think I have turned my daughter-in-law into a skating fan, she had a blast too.
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2007
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I turned my husband into a huge fan simply by attending live skating. He brings his camera and goes crazy. We had such fun cheering for everyone, especially shoma's cantilever, Jason's rise from the ashes, Max! Skating fans really give the skaters a boost!
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2014
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The atmosphere was so exciting and positive during Jason's, Shoma's, and Max's skate. Like those were skates you HAD to be there to get the full excitement for.
- Joined
- Nov 30, 2014
I met her on Friday morning. She is so adorable!
- Joined
- Nov 30, 2014
And again today! Satoko was having pictures taken in a park a few blocks from the arena. Snapped a couple, EX outfit?
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CSLiqTeU8AAviDC.jpg:large
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CSLiqTfUkAA14lv.jpg:large
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CSLiqTeU8AAviDC.jpg:large
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CSLiqTfUkAA14lv.jpg:large
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2012
What a beautiful dress! Tell us more if you can. --About EVERYONE and who you liked best any surprises in how you saw skaters live compared to on TV?
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