Pairs - Free Program - Comments

[eliza88]

Very ho-hum Pairs Final. Very bummed about S?Z!! Oh so sad! T/M did have the best skate of the evening, though it wasn't an "exciting" skate. A few mistakes but otherwise solid. I wish this team would show more expression in their faces--if you see them interviewed they HAVE facial expression so please show it on the ice! Exciting to see P/T medal again! They are far from my favorite, but I like how they have continued to skate (I think I read somewhere that they stayed in the game because there weren't any other Russian pairs as podium threats for awhile...). I would have given the bronze to Pang/Tong--I thought they had a better skate than Z/Z. I wasn't too impressed with Z/Z performance. About Obertas and partner--they started out with some flow and finished with none. There wasn't any sense of a "program" at all and their costumes were so horrid it made the whole skate difficult to watch. I really dislike that death spiral move she does where she is almost in a shoot-the-duck position. I am sure it is difficult but really really ugly! I do like this pair--just not the program last night!

The Canadian broadcast didn't show the Americans--sounds like they had good skates! Looking forward to watching those!

eliza88

 

[Hikaru]

I think in a couple of years the Zhangs and Obertas and Slavnov can show much more improvement. They have lots of good things, and lots of things they can work on as well.

Right Now the Zhangs have good elements and all, but they have a long way to go to be at the level of Shen and Zhao. Presentation wise I like Pang and Tong better, because of their soft movement on the ice. This FS the Zhangs have make them look robotic (which I think was the intend of the choreography), and the music is so repetitive, it was boring. I liked their short program much more than the FS. They definitely need other type of music, and I think it is time to bring the whole extreme makeover in the choreography: Bring L.A. Miller, Roca and Sur to make their programs.


Obertas and Slavnov are very gutsy, but I don't see the meaning or intend of their program, is just a sucession of jumps, throws and spins. This new program they had was a no-no for me. It was as if they were still skating Truman Show but with different music, and one thing I learned is don't wear neon green outfits. They also need better music for them. I actually wish they had skated their previous FS.

In all, both teams need to work, and believe me, they will. There is always room for improvement.

 

[rain]

Some more general comments: several things really bothered me. One of the strengths of COP so far has been putting the focus back onto ALL of the elements, so that the side-by-sides weren't the be all, end all anymore. But in the pairs free I saw a horrific lack of anything resembling good pairs skill on the side-by-side spins (any of them) and quite a number of atrocious death spirals - many of them had awful positions - not far enough down, close to the ice, and many of them were far too brief - I wondered if some of them even counted. The skill levels on these elements seems to have gone down. Also trying to think of one great footwork sequence and am coming up empty. These are basic skills that should not be virtually absent from the final flight.

 

[FrenchLady]

While I think CoP has had some interesting effects in singles, I don't like what it has done to pairs. I've had this feeling for quite some time but this Worlds competition confirms it. I saw a lot of "busy" programs but not a lot of "quality" programs. ITA about death spirals and sbs spins. I've seen quite a lot of not-so-beautiful lifts also... And is it just me or many pairs do the same variations in their elements???

I don't care about lots of changes of positions if it means poor ice coverage (esp.on the lifts), ugly positions, positions not held long enough, poor extensions, lack of flow and speed in elements, lack of flow in programs, elements that have nothing to do with the music and the theme of the program.

I want to see UNISON remaining EXTREMELY important in scoring. Very difficult to achieve but that's what makes pairs so wonderful to watch IMO. Also I want to see meaningful choreography!!!

Of course I want the new generation of skaters to push the envelope, but not at the expense of quality and polish!

I hope the judging system will be revisited in the case of pairs...There is obviously something wrong. Maybe difficulty without quality is too much rewarded... Sigh.....

I know I'm very negative in this post. Sorry.. Maybe in a couple of days I will see it a little bit differently...

 

[soogar]

COP for pairs should probably be altered to give more weight to unison instead of just the elements. There's no point in pairs doing all these triple jumps and complicated spins if they can't do them in unison.

 

[rain]

While I think CoP has had some interesting effects in singles, I don't like what it has done to pairs. I've had this feeling for quite some time but this Worlds competition confirms it. I saw a lot of "busy" programs but not a lot of "quality" programs. ITA about death spirals and sbs spins. I've seen quite a lot of not-so-beautiful lifts also... And is it just me or many pairs do the same variations in their elements???

I don't care about lots of changes of positions if it means poor ice coverage (esp.on the lifts), ugly positions, positions not held long enough, poor extensions, lack of flow and speed in elements, lack of flow in programs, elements that have nothing to do with the music and the theme of the program.

I want to see UNISON remaining EXTREMELY important in scoring. Very difficult to achieve but that what's make pairs so wonderful to watch IMO. Also I want to see meaningful choreography!!!

Of course I want the new generation of skaters to push the envelope, but not at the expense of quality and polish!

I hope the judging system will be revisited in the case of pairs...There is obviously something wrong. Maybe difficulty without quality is too much rewarded... Sigh.....

I know I'm very negative in this post. Sorry.. Maybe in a couple of days I will see it a little bit differently...

Can I just say Amen!

ITA about the lifts - I would much rather see beautiful lifts with lots of speed from the man and a strong position from the lady rather than awkward looking shifting of holds as they try to contort a few more points out of it. There also seems to be a startling lack of any really unique choreography - probably because that wouldn't really score them any significant points. But it sure does add to a program.

I was really shocked by the lack of basic unison. And talk about no connection on the ice - hardly anybody had any since all they were doing was a series of tricks.

 

[hongligl]

So many injuries, the damn sky cam that absolutely makes me even more nauseous that I already am....and NOT seeing Shen/zhao skate....I'm glad they didn't risk more injury, but was startled by the withdraw since the one shot I saw of them in the warm up looked good. any thoughts about that?


?

I was so sad that S/Z couldn't skate for the FS. Zhao was off ice and couldn't train after the short program. There had been a debate about if they should skate. S/Z insisted that they would try. He got ice to cover his foot before the warm up to make it numb but his foot was just too painful in the warmup he left the warmup early. Doctors of the competition examined him and suggested to go to hospital immediately. He didn't go to the hospital as all the doctor would do would be ice treatment to calm the pain, which the team doctor could perform just as well. While Z was taken away for diaganosis, S was waiting with her skates on and when she knew that Z could not skate, S cried. Coach Yao tried to comfort her as he knew how much they have given for the competition. But there was nothing they could do. Too bad. Wish them luck in 2006 olympics.