Your favorite and least favorite figure skating commentators

[Blueshirt]

Tanith White has become my favorite analyst over the years.

I can watch ice dancers for aspects like closer holds, greater speed and resulting pattern size, face-to-face skating vs. side by side and so on.

But my eyes just aren't skilled enough to detect more precise details such as whether the dancers hit their key points. Tanith does an excellent job evaluating and explaining these kinds of points, at least for me.

I do have a pet peeve that applies to any announcer through the years.

"Rotation" refers to an object spinning on its axis -- like the Earth does daily, or like skaters do when they jump or spin. "Revolution," at least according to NASA, refers instead to something orbiting another object -- like Earth traveling around the sun, or perhaps the woman's motion in a death spiral. I always want Neil deGrasse Tyson to take over when an analyst says a skater failed to complete the "revolutions" in a jump.

As for Johnny and Tara, Mrs. Blueshirt and I joke that someday we're going to find that table they always talk about -- the one on which the skaters keep leaving all their points. Then we're going to scoop up all those points, run away, and give them to our favorites.

 

[TT_Fin]

Here in Finland people are arguing about mandatory Swedish in schools. We all citizens whose native language is Finnish must study at all school levels and it has caused lot's of discussion why people have to study minority language, especially when the Swedish speaking minority lives in small area (I live in that area and my f. ex. boss is Swedish speaking, but speaks fluent Finnish). That was a donkey bridge to FS commentating. At the moment I am happy I understand Swedish. The national TV Finnish has a new commentator and sometimes I have feeling I want to go to shake the TV and say please check you sources or think now a little bit more (One example about 15 skaters had skated, the next skater went to place 16 and she announced the skater did not make it to free because did not get the Q immediately, quite big error from commentator as she did that several times in this kind of situation) . But fortunately Olympics has the competitions commented in Swedish and there is commentator whose name Marianne Nyman. I don't know what her relationship to FS is but She does not speak all the time and has good knowledge of FS and skaters. She has very clear articulations so if my Finnish compatriots are reading this, I recommend to choose konståkning from YLE Areena. It is legal to watch it also VIA VPN, if you live abroad, I have checked.

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Here in Finland people are arguing about mandatory Swedish in schools. We all citizens whose native language is Finnish must study at all school levels and it has caused lot's of discussion why people have to study minority language, especially when the Swedish speaking minority lives in small area (I live in that area and my f. ex. boss is Swedish speaking, but speaks fluent Finnish). That was a donkey bridge to FS commentating. At the moment I am happy I understand Swedish.

I am jealous. I wish we had a similar system here. It would greatly help community relations if the two main minority languages were considered to belong to everybody, rather than each being associated with just one part of the community.

The national TV Finnish has a new commentator and sometimes I have feeling I want to go to shake the TV and say please check you sources or think now a little bit more (One example about 15 skaters had skated, the next skater went to place 16 and she announced the skater did not make it to free because did not get the Q immediately, quite big error from commentator as she did that several times in this kind of situation) . But fortunately Olympics has the competitions commented in Swedish and there is commentator whose name Marianne Nyman. I don't know what her relationship to FS is but She does not speak all the time and has good knowledge of FS and skaters. She has very clear articulations so if my Finnish compatriots are reading this, I recommend to choose konståkning from YLE Areena. It is legal to watch it also VIA VPN, if you live abroad, I have checked.

Nosiness just got the better of me.

According to Rink Results, Marianne Nyman has been a judge at the Finnish Championships every year since 2014, and also doubled up as Referee at the Helsinki Trophy in 2016.

Here is her Rink Results Bio:

http://www.rinkresults.com/judge?judge_id=811

So, that explains why she knows her onions.

Hope this helps

CaroLiza_fan

 

[TT_Fin]

I am jealous. I wish we had a similar system here. It would greatly help community relations if the two main minority languages were considered to belong to everybody, rather than each being associated with just one part of the community.



Nosiness just got the better of me.

According to Rink Results, Marianne Nyman has been a judge at the Finnish Championships every year since 2014, and also doubled up as Referee at the Helsinki Trophy in 2016.

Here is her Rink Results Bio:

http://www.rinkresults.com/judge?judge_id=811

So, that explains why she knows her onions.

Hope this helps

CaroLiza_fan

Thank you. Mika Saarelainen is the best Finnish commentator IMO, but now he is Ice dance main judge ( I don't know the right word, but you probably know his position) in Beijig, and usually he comments on commercial channels. I have not bought those channels just because of FS but sometimes there has been free broadcasts. He has worked for VIASAT and for Eurosport, but I don't know about this season.

 

[Anna K.]

It's fantastic to learn that the privilege to have comments from an international level judge has been enjoyed in so many countries!

In Latvia, we were privileged to have Agita Abele as a commentator from 2002 to 2010 . It was a legendary time period for Latvian TV when friends called from Russia to say: "You know, you have better FS comments than we have!" and football fans wrote letters to television with demands to find a football commentator who would explain everything "as good as the lady who comments figure skating". I suspect that we might not have Angelina Kucvalska and and now Deniss if not these comments that made many people, including parents of young kids, interested in figure skating.

So, from my experience, judges are the best commentators because they are the most knowledgeable and quick-thinking people in the field to explain what is actually going on in the competition.

 

[rinkside_user]

I'm not sure about the current situation but a few years back, Hungary also had a former judge (Judit Fürst) as long-standing commentator on Eurosport. I loved her insightful notes and immense knowledge, despite the fact she was prone to be biased.

 

[skatedreamer]

I've found myself missing Uncle Dick Button in the past few days.

 

[Zora]

Okay, now I don't know what is worse, Daniel Weiss or the German Eurosport guys with Sigi Heinrich humming, drumming and randomly clicking his tongue along all songs he liked. And he liked many music choices...

 

[Demandred]

One of the commentators on the Bulgarian public TV said at the start of Women's SP that women aren't allowed to jump triple axels in the short program. I switched the channel after that but I really wonder what her reaction was when she saw so many women attempting a 3A later on...

 

[DancingCactus]

Daniel Weiss gave his best to exasperate me again today with claiming that Kaori wasn't as light on her feet as the three Russians...Trusova, really?

 

[lesnar001]

I've found myself missing Uncle Dick Button in the past few days.

He was on Facebook and Twitter in 2018. I haven't seen anything this time around, though.

 

[ladyjane]

He was on Facebook and Twitter in 2018. I haven't seen anything this time around, though.

I saw Dick in a little instagram video with various USA skaters with a gold Olympic Medal welcoming Nathan Chen to the 'USA Olympic Golden Medals club' and he looked really old and tired. He is 92 after all. Perhaps just no longer the energy to follow everything. But it is a pity of course.

 

[lesnar001]

I saw Dick in a little instagram video with various USA skaters with a gold Olympic Medal welcoming Nathan Chen to the 'USA Olympic Golden Medals club' and he looked really old and tired. He is 92 after all. Perhaps just no longer the energy to follow everything. But it is a pity of course.

Wow! Where does the time go?
I'm amazed that he was active on social media when he was 88!

 

[Zora]

Daniel Weiss gave his best to exasperate me again today with claiming that Kaori wasn't as light on her feet as the three Russians...Trusova, really?

Okay, I just heard it... she didn't have the lightness and wasn't as enchanting as all three Russians... wow. I will hum along with Sigi Heinrich to all great music choices in the free skate.

 

[Rikku]

Daniel Weiss gave his best to exasperate me again today with claiming that Kaori wasn't as light on her feet as the three Russians...Trusova, really?

I rolled my eyes so hard when he said that.

 

[ChiGal]

I have a newfound respect for Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski. After all their effusive, over-the-top praise for the ROC skaters, I was pleased to hear their statements before the short program. Well done!!

 

[cake]

Daniel Weiss gave his best to exasperate me again today with claiming that Kaori wasn't as light on her feet as the three Russians...Trusova, really?

I avoid Daniel Weiss at all costs. Any dubious stream in any language I don´t understand is better than him

 

[rinkside_user]

Daniel Weiss gave his best to exasperate me again today with claiming that Kaori wasn't as light on her feet as the three Russians...Trusova, really?

Honestly, that didn't make any sense as Sakamoto has some of the best landings and great skating skills with plenty of speed and flow. What is his problem, for real? (IIRC her 3L was also voted the best jump of the season two years ago here on the forums.)

On another note, his permanent fawning over beautiful dresses, beautiful cute little girls and tiny shoulders is... quite disturbing and, frankly, sexist, too. I want Bindl back. Sadly, that won't happen as Witt was announced for the FS as co-commentator and although she's supportive of the skaters (a good thing on its own, of course), she's just as much obsessed with costumes and princesses and a restrictive version of 'artistry' and whatnot. (I'm really sad my Eurosport subscription didn't work out this year for whatever technical reason.)

 

[skatedreamer]

I saw Dick in a little instagram video with various USA skaters with a gold Olympic Medal welcoming Nathan Chen to the 'USA Olympic Golden Medals club' and he looked really old and tired. He is 92 after all. Perhaps just no longer the energy to follow everything. But it is a pity of course.

Yes, I was amazed to realize he's 92. IMO, his thoughts about the KV issue would really be worth hearing but that's probably not in the cards.

 

[Jasira]

Okay, now I don't know what is worse, Daniel Weiss or the German Eurosport guys with Sigi Heinrich humming, drumming and randomly clicking his tongue along all songs he liked. And he liked many music choices...

Sigi Heinrich lost me, when he said in the team event, that Kolyada isn´t at the Olympics, because Semenenko, Kondratiuk and Mozalev pushed him aside at Russian nationals and that is the reason why Kolyada isn´t at the Olympics. Nothing about his injury, nothing about covid.