Yes, Liu/ Nagy have an effortless ease about their skating, and they seem to get along extremely well. They have a lot of style and flair. Clearly, their lifts, twists, and death spiral are their best elements. They are both good spinners too, but they still have to work on unison, as a new team.I'm so happy for Chelsea and Balazs. Like I mentioned a few times, I've been following Chelsea's career in a way since 2014, so I'm thrilled for her.
These aren’t our top pair teams, with the possible exception of Liu/Nagy. P/F could be but have never put it together, though they had a strong free.I think the US is in a world of hurt with the pairs teams we saw in this competition.
Kam/O’Shea won their Challenger. They have added the triple twist, which is solid, and the throw triples, which are a work in progress. Anxious to see how they do in their GP.You ask why.....well I have not seen Danny O' Shea and his partner so that may give "me/us" hope. I did not see any US pairs team that I thought could compete on an international level with the Japanese or the Chinese or several other countries. Their choreography is not very evolved, most have problems with the side-by-side jumps, and there isn't the cohesiveness of Knierem and Frazier. Granted there are new relationships out ther and this is just my opinion and feel free to disagree... or you can chalk this up to another building year! Hopefully there IS some potential out there.
Balasz is stronger on the jumps than Chelsea. Plus, they are a new team, so they are still working on unison in their spins, and adjusting their different techniques on throws. But other than that, they match quite well together. They both have backgrounds in gymnastics, and they are both strong, experienced pairs skaters.L/N - he's a much stronger skater & it shows
LOL! We are still waiting to see how Peng will fare with her new partner. Thus, which Chinese teams are you referencing? Olympic champions Sui/ Han have split due to Han retiring. China has notably been trying to rebuild their pairs discipline in recent years. Japan's only top proven team, current World champions, Miura/ Kihara, WD from SA due to Kihara suffering from injury. So, which Japanese teams are you speaking of? If M/K are healthy, every team will be finding it difficult to compete with them, as they are the reigning World champions. But there aren't any other Japanese teams as strong as M/K at the moment.I did not see any US pairs team that I thought could compete on an international level with the Japanese or the Chinese or several other countries. Their choreography is not very evolved, most have problems with the side-by-side jumps, and there isn't the cohesiveness of Knierem and Frazier.
I love Ellie and Danny.You ask why.....well I have not seen Danny O' Shea and his partner so that may give "me/us" hope. I did not see any US pairs team that I thought could compete on an international level with the Japanese or the Chinese or several other countries. Their choreography is not very evolved, most have problems with the side-by-side jumps, and there isn't the cohesiveness of Knierem and Frazier. Granted there are new relationships out ther and this is just my opinion and feel free to disagree... or you can chalk this up to another building year! Hopefully there IS some potential out there.
Not what I am talking about. Yup....even the world champions can fall.. and win. What I am talking about is realistic planned content.Pairs, in general, is undergoing a transitional phase. Things are in constant flux with injuries, retirements, and teams forming and then splitting before they even compete. As well, it is always the case that top, favored teams can make mistakes and still reach the podium. While Lia/ Trennt were clean in the sp, where I think they should have placed ahead of Hocke/ Kunkel, Lia had an unexpected fall in the fp, and they won silver. H/K won medals on the GP last season, with falls. Two Italian teams were on the podium at 2023 Euros with multiple mistakes (not an unusual occurrence).
Plenty of times Russian teams made mistakes and were on the podium. No team is completely infallible. There are competitions where most teams are clean and it is exciting to watch. But that is not a guaranteed occurrence, no matter how experienced or deep the field happens to be.
Skate Canada, coming up, looks promising with Stel/Des; Golub/ Gioto; Bec/Guar; the Hungarian team; Laurin/ Ethier; and Brooke/Ben, et al.
You specifically referenced Liu/ Nagy in regard to their jump elements. And then you said, "I doubt there will be many competitions where teams will be on the podium without landing triple jumps."Not what I am talking about. Yup....even the world champions can fall.. and win. What I am talking about is realistic planned content.
Realistic planned content means exactly what it reads like. I will transfer it to singles skating so you can understand. There are a few men who have absolutely never landed their quad jump but have kept trying them in their program. Sure, they may land it once in a while in practice but have never landed it in competition. To me, it's not realistic planned content. It's a gamble. With some pairs right now, this is how it feels with triple jumps. It's not just L/N. I remember some Chinese pairs facing the same issue. Are these people really able to land their triple jump consistently ? Will they keep falling or doubling? And my comment still holds true : how often do we see a team with absolutely no triple succeeded across both SP and LP win a medal? Sure, their other elements are great, but it's very unusual. I am not saying that skaters cannot fall nor make mistakes. I am talking about medalling without any landed triples. Time and only time will tell if how things evolve for L/N.I'm not sure what you mean by "realistic planned content" in the context of your previous comments.
Yeah sure. Uh huh. Okay. FYI: Liu/ Nagy have a lot of quality elements and great style, which are the areas where they build points. Chels landed a triple at SA, which was slightly off-balance, but she still landed it (judges obviously scored it minus GOE). However, she's not double-footing as badly as she used. So, their coaching team is clearly working with Chels to try and resolve the landing difficulties.Realistic planned content means exactly what it reads like. I will transfer it to singles skating so you can understand. There are a few men who have absolutely never landed their quad jump but have kept trying them in their program. Sure, they may land it once in a while in practice but have never landed it in competition. To me, it's not realistic planned content. It's a gamble. With some pairs right now, this is how it feels with triple jumps. It's not just L/N. I remember some Chinese pairs facing the same issue. Are these people really able to land their triple jump consistently ? Will they keep falling or doubling? And my comment still holds true : how often do we see a team with absolutely no triple succeeded across both SP and LP win a medal? Sure, their other elements are great, but it's very unusual. I am not saying that skaters cannot fall nor make mistakes. I am talking about medalling without any landed triples. Time and only time will tell if how things evolve for L/N.
One of the issues though is that you seem to be focused on the surface of things, and simply repeating wrong stuff that has been said in the past. You saying that U.S. pairs doesn't have depth begs the question, Do you understand what depth means? What do think depth in pairs means? For me it means having a number of promising and proven teams. The U.S. pairs discipline has that. They have so many teams, they are going to have trouble giving them all sufficient competitive opportunities, so they can develop and find success. Plus, the U.S. pairs discipline has a strong and significant legacy, which many fans are either ignorant of, or dismissive of.There sure are a lot of "ifs" in this discussion. Pairs is and always has been my favorite discipline. And I'm not trying to be a Debbie Downer - I just don't see a lot of depth in US Pairs. Part of the problem is the pairs don't stay together long enough to develop that 'oneness." I hope I'm proven wrong.
I am well aware of LN's strengths but also very aware of their weaknesses. No need to mention Nic and Emma in this discussion. They certainly were not at SkamYeah sure. Uh huh. Okay. FYI: Liu/ Nagy have a lot of quality elements and great style, which are the areas where they build points. Chels landed a triple at SA, which was slightly off-balance, but she still landed it (judges obviously scored it minus GOE). However, she's not double-footing as badly as she used. So, their coaching team is clearly working with Chels to try and resolve the landing difficulties.
It's obvious that jumps are not Chels' strong suit. And in the recent interview with Claire Cloutier, Chels & Balasz admitted they are working on adjusting different techniques on their throws. At the same time, they are without a doubt, a top prospect in pairs for U.S. figsk. It's a bonus that they seem to have a great connection on and off-the-ice. They look happy together, which is apparently true for Lia & Trennt too (the so-called "golden retrievers" at their training rink ).
Anyone who doesn't like Lui/ Nagy, so be it. That won't negate what they have the potential to achieve. We don't know what will happen. I saw a comment from a pairs fan who said that Chels has reached the limit of what she can do jump-wise. What a statement though. That ignores what she is trying to work on, and where she is showing minor improvements. I will keep my fingers-crossed for Chels fixing her jump landings, and simply enjoy this team growing together. It is about staying present-focused, because the future is indeterminate in so many respects these days.
For e.g., Nic & Emma made a surprising but right decision for themselves personally to move on to show skating with HOI. I wish them success and continued happiness. Reports are that they are pleased with the choice they made. In addition, I'm wondering whether Scott/ Siianytsia are still together? Their combined IG is apparently no longer up. Plus, they withdrew from a NQS competition, which was required for them to compete at U.S. Nationals. I hope we find out soon what's happening for Haley & Danil.
I was referring to his actual skating skills, eg, edge quality and control, power off his edges. Not just jumps. I believe he's a much stronger skater.Balasz is stronger on the jumps than Chelsea. Plus, they are a new team, so they are still working on unison in their spins, and adjusting their different techniques on throws. But other than that, they match quite well together. They both have backgrounds in gymnastics, and they are both strong, experienced pairs skaters.
Granted that Chelsea has never been the strongest jumper, but she can jump. I think it's a matter of her figuring out quicker snap getting her free leg around, and perhaps improving spring in order to gain more height to give her a bit more time in the air to get her free leg out without touching down. The long length of her legs I think is a factor in the problems she experiences on jump and throw landings.
Yes, and there's no need to project, or to label. I can agree that this is a transitional phase in pairs across-the-board, not just in the U.S. I do not agree with the over-negativity of your comments, especially as directed toward the U.S. pairs discipline.I realize there is an expert in the house but I am NOT focussing on surface issues. I've been following pairs for as long as I can remember and I am also not repeating things just because they were said in the past - and with 7 years of college and several degrees I can assure you that I know the meaning of depth. Yes the US has a lot of teams coming up - operative words....coming up.
I sincerely hope there are teams out there in the woods that are going to come forth and do good things. I'm just saying I haven't seen it yet other than Danny and Spencer and their partners....and their effectiveness on the international scene this year remains to be seen.
(Sometimes pretentiousness is difficult to swallow.)