One of the most Exciting GPF in a long time! Rika: Great Program with 2 3Axels planned and she has perfect jump Techniques Alina: High level + difficult transitions & Step Sequence + beautiful Spin Liza: 3 Axel & Entertaining performance Satoko: As usual beautiful performance Really, its finally not like the previous years ladies competition where you can kind of guessed they gonna award the gold medal to their favorite despite those poor jumping techniques. Kudos to Alina for her fighting spirit, she did not mentioned anything about hurting her foot and did not withdraw putting up a good fight, still smiling getting the silver and giving thumbs up to Rika. Also, So glad Kostornaia won the Juniors GPF - She’s always 2nd - 3rd to her teammates who are doing quads but Kostornaia has the better quality of skating & performance. I honestly preferred watching a beautiful performance than one just doing quads.
Ya know what I really appreciate about the two of you? Despite the fact that you ARE doing this for fans, you never act like you’re doing fans some enormous favor. You never ask for adoration... Unlike a certain someone on the Tweeter who never fails to retweet someone asking him “ErrrrMyGawddd when do you sleeeeeeep, you’re such a rock-star!”
Time Stamps Continued In Replies Time Stamps for Golden Spin of Zagreb 0:30 Dave’s crappy week and Jonathan’s grumpiness. 3:27 Deanna and Nate’s new short program and Jim’s coaching limitations. 12:36 Knierims look tired, choreography needs touch ups. (Personal Opinion: they shouldn't have left Aljona). 18:04 Comments on the empty rink at Zagreb. 18:49 Cain and LeDuc, talk about the fall and how Tim should have never moved her, and how the referee should have stopped the program. 26:30 Piper and Paul, got their confidence back and should win Canadian Nationals. 27:20 Jason Brown beating Mikhail Kolyada, and Brian Orser’s crazy year. 33:24 Mariah Bell and Bradie Tennell, plus Ashley Wagner rumors.
Time Stamps for Junior Grand Prix Final 36:29 Thoughts about Ted Barton’s commentary. (Personal Opinion: I think his commentary is very appropriate for the junior circuit, and I agree with Jonathan that I like how he waits for the performance to be over before he speaks. I am also very appreciative for all the work he’s done to get us coverage). 38:00 Discussion about Eteri’s junior girls, their programs, and whether they should be doing quads and the impact they have. (Personal Opinion: Please stop forcing theses girls to do quads, they are going to hurt themselves.) 44:10 Rika going to Colorado to work on quads, Eteri's technique vs Alena and Rika's long arc plans. 47:27 Talking about how bad Maddie and Zach's music edit is, other bad Romeo and Juliet music edits. 48:51 Stephen Gogolev did a great job, talk about why he's left Brian, and how bad of a year Brian is having. 51:02 Camden Pulkinen, and how they are worried about him and his jump technique. He has a lot of potential. Talk about how the coaching situation in Colorado with Tom and Tammy isn’t working. 53:53 Nguyen and Kolesnik’s mistake on the twizzles. (Personal Opinion: I felt so bad for them!!! They are my favorite junior ice dance team!!!).
Tomorrow I have one of the last exams of law school, and I’m still watching this even though I have to read like a 1000 Pages for tomorrow. I Need to listen to your commentary about Alena Kostornaya 💕. Thank you guys.
I just feel that in both of Alina’s programs there’s no point where she stops and we go “wow this is a beautiful program” it’s just a go go go, Rika deserved the win and I’m happy for her.
i don't either, but it grows on me every time she does it. except for this competition where she just seemed so stressed and nervous the whole time @@evanperilstein5308
Whoops, hit enter. Her FS vs Rika’s won in composition and I cannot see how you read that criteria, view those programs, and put Zags on top. When I saw the score, I went back to read the criteria to see if I was missing something?
I wish that Alina would hold some positions even just a little longer. For examble her ina bauer. But the program is so packed that she doesn't have time to.
@@ellatiitinen4675 I think that is what I disliked so much about it. It was like they threw every possible thing they could into the program, but there was no connection to the music and no reason for most of it. Why did she have to keep lifting her leg up over her head for only a split second, and then why the Ina Bauer for barely long enough to recognize it as an Ina Bauer before moving on to another move? None of it made any choreographic sense, other than that they just wanted to throw every possible move they could out there. It felt like she had 4 minutes to show every possible action she could do, and that's what they went with. Fast-paced music doesn't mean that skaters can't have those powerful moments where they hold a move for a moment.
00:00 Dave talks about his lack of trip to Vancouver (get well soon!) and Jonathan had a bad mood about the GPF. 03:06 Golden Spin PAIRS 03:34 Diana & Nate 12:36 The Knierims (18:00 Golden Spin lack of audience) 18:48 Ashley and Tim ICE DANCE 26:32 Piper and Paul MENS 27:18 Jason Brown 31:45 Mikhail Kolyada LADIES 33:21 Mariah Bell (33:56 Ashley Wagner) 34:35 Bradie Tennell 36:26 Junior Grand Prix 36:27 Ted Barton LADIES 37:36 Alena Kostornaia 38:43 Trusova and Shcherbakova; quads vs quality (47:29 Romeo and Juliet) MEN 48:53 Gogolev and Orser 51:00 Camden Pulkinen and Coach Z ICE DANCE 53:55 Nguyen/Kolesnik 54:10 Senior Grand Prix (water jug 😂) PAIRS 55:46 James/Cipres 59:30 Tarasova/Morozov 1:04:27 Peng/Jin 1:06:26 Della Monica/Guarise 1:07:05 Zabiiako/Enbert ICE DANCE 1:08:14 Rhythm Dance Pattern (it’s hard) 1:13:31 Hubbell/Donahue 1:19:41 Sinitsina/Katsalapov; politics of Ice Dance 1:21:25 Guignard/Fabbri 1:22:17 Hawayek/Baker 1:23:12 Stepanova/Bukin (1:26:46 Papadakis/Cizeron and Virtue/Moir and the changing of the guard in Ice Dance) MEN 1:27:26 Nathan Chen 1:28:51 Shoma Uno 1:30:17 Junwan Cha LADIES 1:32:49 Elizaveta Tuktamysheva 1:35:13 Satoko Miyahara 1:38:50 Kaori Sakamoto 1:39:27 Sofia Samodurova, Evgenia Medvedeva and the Russian world team 1:43:55 Alina Zagitova 1:47:28 Rika Kihira (they don’t say her name but this is where the the talk switches over to her.) 1:52:32 Wrap up. Great video guys! x
koliyada should attend more shows. he said he doesn't like ice shows but he will be more confident performing in front of people and learn to interact more with the audience. just come to japan and the Japanese fan will support him 100 percent.
I agree with Jonathan when he said about Kostornaya, kihira, that these are the type of skaters that judges want to see on the top of the podium, because it looks efortless. I thing this is the direction for next 4 years. And OMG Kostornaya is such a harmonious skater! Just love her!
One big difference I noticed with Alena this week is that she seems to turn to Sergei a lot more than the other girls do. When she made mistakes in warm-up and practice she went to him for help and assurance where Anna and Sasha went to Eteri. It could just be a mental thing and maybe Alena just doesn't care as much to get praised by Eteri but it would be interesting to see the dynamics of their training and see whether the group is maybe a bit more broken up than we realize, with some of the kids training more with Eteri and others more with Sergei and if that explains the difference in the skaters approaches.
I just wanted to say thank you for your videos. I only recently got back into watching figure skating after not really paying attention since the early 2000s, and it helps to have your perspective while watching. I’ve learned so much. So, thanks, and I look forward to watching every week. 😊
I used to live in Northern Virginia, so it was tradition for my mom, my sisters and I to go to Landover every year for the World Pro competitions. But I got married in 2003, moved to New York State, the professional skating scene fizzled and so did my interest for awhile. Also, it’s a little easier now that my kids aren’t babies anymore and are a little bit more self sufficient. I have the time again to really watch. 😊
Jonathan said exactly what I did about Rika: the joy. It just radiates off of her. Especially in the SP, where the music pretty much demanded a light and joyful performance.
@@evanperilstein5308 oh I heartily agree. But given all the very labored performances (especially from Russian skaters) this year, it's lovely to see something light and airy and happy.
Alina is pretending to get arrested in her Carmen routine???? That explains SO MUCH. As someone who doesn’t know the story of Carmen the whole “holding arms behind her thing” was really confusing. I just assumed it was bad choreo (and maybe an attempt to stretch out and elongate her back????). So thank u!!! This was really informative for me.
Mariah Bell, come up with a signature spin (incredible natural spinner,) pcs goes up and you contend. You become someone to watch. There's so much room for innovation in spinning. Bell has the talent to move the spinning game forward.
@@JackAShepherd Idk what it is about Bradie, but she just seems so... bland. She doesn't have that "it" factor that someone like Bell has. My favorite American has been Chen for awhile now even with her mistakes and downward spiral. I do think Mariah is a good skater with a lot of energy and fun to watch. And I'm sure Bradie works really hard and wants it really bad. I just can't get into her skating like I can with other American skaters.
Candy C A journalist covering Nationals last year said that Bradie had all the emotive qualities of a shrug (regarding her absurd PCS scores, sbs with Ashley’s). She’s emotionally vacant and has very little musicality. She has beautiful jumps and spins. She is a more consistent Gracie but with the emotion and musicality of post-Sochi Gracie, when she started skating to shyte like Firebird and Daphne et Chloe and the music was utterly interchangeable/incidental.
I’ve read several people complaining about Rika’s sudden rise in PCS. Oh the irony. In Evgenia’s first senior season her PCS rose and she became the new queen. Then Alina came, her PCS suddenly rose and she dethroned her. Now Rika has came and is the younger, new queen. This is how this sport works. Besides, Rika deserves the PC boost. However Alina, Rika, and everyone else should not have higher PCS than Satoko.
When Evgenia was winning she wasn't winning solely because she was a good skater, she was winning because she was a good skater with no real competition. Who was there to beat her? A bunch of formally great skaters on the cusp of retirement? An injured Kaitlyn Osmand? A bunch of probably shouldn't be out of juniors yet? She had no real competition for so long and that's part of the reason she always won. Now we are FINALLY coming up to a stretch in the couple of years where it will be interesting and highly competitive with many great skaters in their fighting it out for the podium. There won't be another iron unbeatable Evgenia for a while.
TheGogobooty Well said. We won’t see that level of dominance for a very long time again. Evgenia’s reign lasted over two years. It started after she was beat in Rostelecom and then she won the GPF 2015. It didn’t end until Euros in 2018. Mainly because there was no one who could beat her! Zagitova made it almost one season. Now only halfway into this one she has already lost that crown. Rika wears it now until next year if Sasha keeps the quads. Then there will always be younger, more technically able girls to rise up. That American junior could be one of them. In many ways, Alina beating Evgenia was the end of an era.
Evan Perilstein Rika’s PCs will continue to rise so long as she keeps that momentum going like you said. She has shown the judges she can be fairly consistent. I mean, she had a mistake right away but didn’t falter the rest of the program. By the time Worlds comes around Rika could be getting 37-38 in the short and 75-77 in the long. Alina on the other hand has lost that PCs cushion and is starting to slip a little. She has yet to skate a clean long since Nebelhorn and her jumps are so often UR (even when they aren’t called). When you compare her programs to Rika it’s easy to see who is the superior skater. I won’t be surprised to see Rika overtake her in the components by a few points.
For me Alina has my total respect and admiration !!! 👏👏👏After the Olympic season, having won gold medal ( against all odds ) , bad skating at worlds, haters always bullying, criticizing her etc... She could have easily retired or quit this season, she already won the most important medal of all in sports world ... But no! She still continued with all this new extra pressure , as she said at the press conference that her 2nd senior season is different because she has to deal with people's expectacions !! I really admire her, no matter if she wins silver or nothing, she's a hard working girl who just do what she has to, she tries her best and inspite of all the bad vibes she gets from so much people, she still faces competitions with nerves and some errors but she still goes there and skate. I will always support her and I feel that this silver has a blessing in disguise for her in some way. At least I hope it takes some burden off her shoulders and she realizes that you can't always be on top, just enjoy her skating ❤️ Go Alina !!!
Artemisa de la Luna I agree, she is not a coward like the other Olympic "champion" from 2014 (I disgrace). Alina have my respect as well and I hope she continues to improve and be happy doing what she loves.
Honestly, anyone after the olympics and gets a medal has this pressure, it amazes me how Yuzu well, to me he doesnt seem like the pressure gets to him anymore, and if it does i havent seen it.
@@aracelichely2954 I thought you were talking about Yulia (she did get a gold) and was about to be so mad and then realized you were talking about Sotnikova haha
Could you please do an analysis video on the components for the ladies. Many of us wondered why Satoko scored so low on PCS compared to Alina and Rika.
That would be a very boring video. There's no scoring guideline to justify it. There's an unwritten rule with judges that PCS follow the TES + reputation. It seems even some of the GOE's are more a reflection of BV and status than quality of elements.
@@evanperilstein5308 Yes, I know what the guidelines are. I just meant that the guidelines don't justify Satoko's marks in relation to the other ladies. For those who are interested, here are some links explaining how they're supposed to work. The reality is that the judges rank the skaters and adjust the components to match their ranking. www.usfsa.org/content/ISU%20program-component-chart_sandp-and-id_08-16.pdf www.isu.org/judging-system-fs
Evan Perilstein And then everyone complains about the sport being “ruined” and they reassess after each Olympics to try something better... And every time they fail. Because they need new effing judges who’re not beholden to any federations and haven’t been caught cheating. I say the ISU plucks some interested folks from non-skating nations - random islands in the South Pacific, Central African Republic, St. Helena... Train them and make them professional judges, with salaries/expenses paid for by the ISU. And if anyone’s caught cheating, permanent ban (should be obvious, but...)...
JackAShepherd yeah I'm pretty sure the only reason a temporary ban exists and not a permanent one is bc those rules were written by the very same people/federations 🙄
Completely agree with you on Nathan and Shoma. I was quite frustrated. Nathan sacrificed musicality for technical elements. He was mostly off the music throughout the FS. At the same time, unnecessary mistakes by Shoma. He could’ve won easily.
So, my thoughts: 1) As Dave noted, Hubbell/Donohue were the only dance couple to NOT get a Level 4 Spin; they got a Level 2, and because of that, they gave up 2 points (plus a few tenths in extra GOE from the bigger base value). So that 124.82 they got? It would have been more like 127 (lol). I'm sorry, I love Maddy and Zach, and the first part of the program I found engaging, but after that, it TOTALLY (and literally) dies. I agree w/ Jonathan -- you can't NOT tell me the story of what's happening, and then all the sudden at the end, tell me the story of "she dies". And I'm sorry -- but 57.09 PCS? For THAT mess? With repurposed character steps and terrible music cuts that aren't even their own voice??! 2) Stephen Gogolev won PCS for the junior men, according to the judges, which is the biggest LOL. A *13 year old boy* had better interpretation of the music, performance, composition, than the other 16, 17 year olds. Petr Gumennik, the young 16 yr old Russian, has the BEST leg position, and the straight back, with pointed toes, and beautiful arms, and the judges think Gogolev has better PCS than him. They're smoking crack. I'm sorry -- Gogolev skates like a VERY junior boy. He should be getting 6's. Low 6's. Just because his TES is 80+ doesn't mean his PCS has to match. /rant over
In all honesty, Kostornaia’s R&J program is pretty decent compared to other programs in the past. It was one of the only programs for that music that doesn’t make me sick. The music cuts and the choreo are decent, if only Alina’s POTO program had good cuts like those.
POTO has trash cuts. Nothing against the skater, because as you said, the skaters are making the most of their situation. But why would Eteri change? Her method has been working.
Justyna Żółkiewska yeah I think dave rly meant to direct that at the whole decision in general . I think theyve mentioned before that even though it's not a fantastic program she does everything so well that it makes the program look better than it actually is 😄
Am i the only one who thinks Alina’s 3Lz-3Lo combo was a bit UR? Even without the slow mo replay, the landings were pretty hooked. She was wobbly in the air and the edge of the lutz was flat.
Evan Perilstein oh good, i thought i was the only one who noticed the rotations. Idk what happened to her lutz technique, the edge was pretty solid last year, which i liked. Now it just slips. I hope she copes with the changes in her body, and good Lord someone giver her programs that maximize her artistry. These two programs are just meh.
Paraphrase: “we will get a million comments and will ignore all of them”....LOL. Dave Lease....the guy who says everything I want to say but know I shouldn’t. True story. LOVE IT!
I have been SO LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS VIDEO! Just wanted to say that I am absolutely devastated that Stepanova/Bukin weren't on the podium - they have my favourite rhythm dance AND free dance this season, and they're both such stunning and wonderful skaters. They're also the most beautiful people I have ever seen. I'm absolutely captivated by them and their energy. Someone who actually understand how ice dance is scored, please explain to me what happened. I did see that they got a level B on their first tango romantica element in the short dance, but I really don't know enough about ice dance to interpret ice dance protocols. I really like the russian team that ended up in silver, but I don't think they even come close to Stepanova/Bukin, and I really think the judges put the wrong team on that podium. I will never not be upset about that. Also wanted to say that Satoko got a freaking standing ovation after her freeskate and I will never have enough cuss words to say to the judging and technical panel for placing her dead last. I also do think both Satoko's costumes are absolutely STUNNING and so so so elegant. Absolutely stunning.
I'm like you - just learning about ice dance and why certain pairs are scored the way they are. I too did not understand why Steponova and Bukin were scored so low, because to me their programs were so exciting and dynamic. Then I read so many comments about her skating skills and how they were lacking. It was mostly about her legs and feet and how they could be very sloppy. How she didn't have soft knees and was not smooth in transitions. Also she didn't have deep enough edges. I went back and watched her after that and I'm trying to study to understand the technical side more. I'm still learning. I felt so sad for Steponova and Bukin after the free dance because they were SO excited after the performance and gave it their all, then were so let down when they got their scores. It was just so heartbreaking. I know she will work on whatever deficits she has in skating skills and they will come back strong!
To be fair, she looked genuinely afraid to get on the ice as well. I like watching her skate but tbh I'm not sure if she currently has the mentality needed to compete at high level competitions. She's a different skater at national comps than she is at international ones.
@@yunilius7193 If only it was just the coach. Some of their fans are so crazy about wanting them to win all the time. And in Russia, sport is like a chance for a better life. It's so competitive the moment you falter someone is ready to take your place. There are so many repercussions and it's sad they have to experience this.
Michelle Evans I don’t have any issue with him being positive and I agree. He started to go on some monologues this weekend that had more artistic interpretation than technical merit. See when Kostornaia finished her FS. He discusses her winning here as a decision she made deep inside. Meanwhile, the quad squad wiped out.
The positivity isn’t the problem. He just started getting so over the top that it almost started to lack truth? I appreciate all that he has done for the sport and fans. He was commentating a lot this weekend. That amount of exposure to anyone is rarely positive.
@@TheSkatingLesson very true. What I do like, in the face of criticism and critique, he finds something positive. I mean, look at Trusova's Kill Bill routine, there's little to like in that routine, but he talks about it with an eloquence describing that all skaters need to try out different genres, and each phase of learning is important. As my granny would often say "if you can't find something nice to say, don't say anything at all". Ted FINDS something nice to say when it's hard to find something nice to say, and I applaud him for it. But I wish he would, add some critique to his positivity, you know, the good, bad, good sandwich?
Timestamps: 2:18 - Jonathan was grumpy, but now he's READY! LOL 3:04 - ZAGREB (GOLDEN SPIN) COMPETITION: 3:25 - Deanna STELLATO / Nathan BARTHOLOMAY's new 'Somewhere' program 12:35 - Alexa SCIMECA-KNIEREM / Chris KNIEREM 18:47 - Ashley CAIN / Timothy Le DUC (talk about the fall on the lift / should have been stopped / etc) 26:32 - Piper GILLES / Paul POIRIER 27:19 - Jason BROWN 31:46 - Mikhail KOLYADA 33:20 - Mariah BELL 34:35 - Bradie TENNELL 36:25 - THE JUNIOR GRAND PRIX (& Ted Barton's commentary) 37:32 - Alena KOSTORNAIA 38:41 - Alexandra TRUSOVA & Anna SCHERBEKOVA 41:53 - Alena KOSTORNAIA, part 2 42:40 - Alexandra TRUSOVA, part 2 45:25 - Alena KOSTORNAIA, Part 3 47:25 - Shade on 'Romeo & Juliet' (from KOSTORNAIA, HUBBELL/DONOHUE, etc) 48:50 - Stephen GOGOLEV, with a discussion of Brian ORSER's full plate at the moment 50:57 - Camden PULKINEN 53:50 - Avonley NGUYEN / Vadym KOLESNIK (my FAVORITE new team!!! LOVE them!!) 54:08 - THE GRAND PRIX FINAL (Seniors) 55:44 - Vanessa JAMES / Morgan CIPRES 59:29 - Evgenia TARASOVA / Vladimir MOROZOV 1:04:25 - PENG Cheng / JIN Yang 1:06:28 - Nicole Della MONICA / Matteo GUARISE 1:07:04 - Natalia ZABIIAKO / Alexander ENBERT 1:08:11 - the RHYTHM DANCE (overall questions / VERY technical & informative discussion of the TANGO ROMANTICA!!) 1:13:30 - Madison HUBBELL / Zachary DONOHUE 1:19:36 - Victoria SINITSINA / Nikita KATSALAPOV & the (odd) judging 1:21:23 - Charlene GUIGNARD / Marco FABBRI (& Barbara FUSAR-POLI) :-) 1:22:16 - Kaitlyn HAWAYEK / Jean-Luc BAKER 1:23:10 - Alexandra STEPANOVA / Ivan BUKIN 1:27:27 - Nathan CHEN 1:28:50 - Shoma UNO 1:30:15 - Junhwan CHA 1:32:46 - Elizaveta TUKTAMYSHEVA 1:35:12 - Satako MIYAHARA 1:38:47 - Kaori SAKAMOTO 1:39:26 - overall discussion of Sofia SAMODUROVA cementing herself on Russian National team, & what that means for Evgenia MEDVEDEVA 1:43:55 - Alina ZAGITOVA 1:47:26 - Rika KIHIRA
00:00 Dave talks about his lack of trip to Vancouver (get well soon!) and Jonathan had a bad mood about the GPF. 03:06 Golden Spin PAIRS 03:34 Diana & Nate 12:36 The Knierims (18:00 Golden Spin lack of audience) 18:48 Ashley and Tim ICE DANCE 26:32 Piper and Paul MENS 27:18 Jason Brown 31:45 Mikhail Kolyada LADIES 33:21 Mariah Bell (33:56 Ashley Wagner) 34:35 Bradie Tennell 36:26 Junior Grand Prix 36:27 Ted Barton LADIES 37:36 Alena Kostornaia 38:43 Trusova and Shcherbakova; quads vs quality (47:29 Romeo and Juliet) MEN 48:53 Gogolev and Orser 51:00 Camden Pulkinen and Coach Z ICE DANCE 53:55 Nguyen/Kolesnik 54:10 Senior Grand Prix (water jug 😂) PAIRS 55:46 James/Cipres 59:30 Tarasova/Morozov 1:04:27 Peng/Jin 1:06:26 Della Monica/Guarise 1:07:05 Zabiiako/Enbert ICE DANCE 1:08:14 Rhythm Dance Pattern (it’s hard) 1:13:31 Hubbell/Donahue 1:19:41 Sinitsina/Katsalapov; politics of Ice Dance 1:21:25 Guignard/Fabbri 1:22:17 Hawayek/Baker 1:23:12 Stepanova/Bukin (1:26:46 Papadakis/Cizeron and Virtue/Moir and the changing of the guard in Ice Dance) MEN 1:27:26 Nathan Chen 1:28:51 Shoma Uno 1:30:17 Junwan Cha LADIES 1:32:49 Elizaveta Tuktamysheva 1:35:13 Satoko Miyahara 1:38:50 Kaori Sakamoto 1:39:27 Sofia Samodurova, Evgenia Medvedeva and the Russian world team 1:43:55 Alina Zagitova 1:47:28 Rika Kihira (they don’t say her name but this is where the the talk switches over to her.) 1:52:32 Wrap up. Great video guys! x
One more thing: SO over the moon about Charlene Guignard/Marco Fabbri. They were SO thrilled. Nice to see the teams who can DO the Tango Romantica (Guignard/Fabbri, Sinitsina/Katsalopov) getting rewarded. On the flip side, Stepanova and Bukin REALLY have to figure out a way to get at least ONE of the keypoints in the first section. The levels on the Tango Romantica only drop by 0.5 points per level, from Level 4 (6.85) on down to Level 1 (5.35). So if you miss a level or two, it's not the end of the world. HOWEVER, if you get NONE of the keypoints, and just get the dreaded "B" for your level (as in 'base'), it drops all the way down to 4.00 points. That's a 1.35 drop from Level 1, which when your competitors are getting 6.85 and you're getting 4.00 (and they've been getting B's all season), you simply cannot compete. You're going to be 3 points down on that section ALONE. It's unfathomable to me that they cannot get it together on that section. They HAVE to be in the Final Group at worlds to have a shot at the podium, and to do that, they have to be in the top 5 for the RD. At this moment, I think they lose to P/C, H/D, S/K, G/F and they are even or maybe slight underdogs to Gilles/Poirier (who just got 79+ at Golden Spin), and possibly even Weaver/Poje or Chock/Bates (who we haven't seen yet). Basically -- if Stepanova/Bukin get another Level B for their tango at Worlds, it's going to be "B" for 'busted', cause that's what their chances at the podium will be. Busted.
Justyna, nope. :-( Stepanova and Bukin got a “B” and a “1” at Rostelcom. ON HOME ICE. They still won that RD cause there was no one else there to challenge, but that will not be the case moving forward.
Brent's Lucky Slot Channel I forgot about it. But it was due to her almost falling on the first key point in the first section, not simply because of the wrong edges. It’s weird cause it’s not like Gadbois got strong levels either. But they are protected by PCS and goe cushion. It’s irritating because actually S/B are like the only ones who got hurt by low tango levels. When other top teams happen to have 1/2 and it’s completely not visible.
But this is their second “base level” in a row. They need to find a way to fix it, whatever is going on. And I know other teams got lower levels, but it’s because they didn’t get a BASE level. A base level is so much lower in points. It’s like losing a level on a step sequence last year. You give up that many points, and you are going to be at a deficit. PCS will not be able to save you. I love S/B. I’m just saying that whatever is the problem, they need to fix it. Pronto. Or they won’t even be in the medal considerations at the world championships. If S/B got even a level 1, they would have been in 2nd or 3rd place, and been skating in the last group. :-)
Well, there is no way imagining this mature Lady as a 13 year old girl - that makes the whole Romeo & Juliet FD so ridiculous... Btw their twistles were partly out of sync in both programs, but still got GOE +4. How can this happen? S/K were at least in this point much better.
Anna and Sasha hit the ice so much practicing those quads. Sasha less so than Anna. I don’t understand why put two quad lutz in their programs when they have such a low success rate. They should have just done the quad toes for Sasha. Seriously, read the practice reports. Especially the first day was a splat fest with the two of them trying to land those quads. Is it worth it? At the expense of their health and bodies? No it’s not. If Eteri was a good coach, she’d only have Anna do a triple program. Get her consistent with that and clean up the technique a bit. Then, return to doing a quad toe. Not a quad lutz. Anna has done quad toes in the past and they looked better than the lutz. Sasha should also just do quad toes right now. They are much more consistent and her body will hate her less. It makes me laugh when Daniil Gleikhengauz talks about Zagitova doing a quad lutz next season. Right now she can barely do a triple that isn’t UR.
kleinegritzige A coach with good sense would step in and take control. I am sure Sasha wants to do a bunch of quads and Anna too. But if Eteri was smart she’d limit what they’re doing and tone it down.
Daniil and his Gucci shirt are just crazy sometimes, funnier he keeps saying it even though Alina has denied it lol (also I feel like Anna should stay in juniors one more year, but we all know that won’t happen bc of “eQuAl OpPoRtUnItIeS”
thank you dave for saying exactly what I always think about sasha's and anna's quads: why are they doing it when it's clearly done with poor, unsustainable technique?
I really like Alexa and Chris’s LP. It really suits them and it’s the best they’ve ever been packaged. Their version of the music is beautiful and emotional. J&C’s version is more intense and haunting. I’m glad they’re giving us two very different styles to enjoy. Two of my favorite pairs programs this season. It helps that I really like the two teams to begin with. Alexa and Chris need more time with their program and hopefully they can skate it more up to its potential later in the season, but it still leaves a great impression on me even with bigger mistakes.
A "trainwreck" with an "inexcusable music cut" is the perfect way to describe Hubbell/Donohue's re-vamped free dance. It's felt like an imitation Moulin Rouge all season but even more so now that they're using such a jarring music cut with the switch from O'Verona to Kissing You. Honestly the worst part about the dance final though is that Hubbell/Donohue won based solely on PCS and GOEs. They had the lowest base value in both the RD +FD compared to of all of the other teams. That's the biggest issue with +5/-5 in dance is that getting the technical levels is irrelevant now cause as we've seen all season teams don't need them to win as long as they get high PCS and GOE. And the sad thing is that Hubbell/Donohue literally said it in the post-free dance press conference when they said that they "had to not be afraid of losing tech levels" and just focus on the performance instead. AKA Levels are irrelevant now as long as you get GOE. Not to mention Stepanova/Bukin getting dumped by the Russian Fed for SK. Zhulin has clearly been working hard behind the scenes this year.
She is obviously strong contender for next JGP same with Kamila and Daria, next JGP will be exciting because Alysa Liu will also participate and she has 3A
Re - score box mistakes. The big one I noticed was Voronov doing a 3Lo and getting it credited as a quad. Also, the Georgian and Russian judges had Rika in second after the short, and placed her behind Alina *and* Liza in the long. Ridiculous.
I think Madi & Zach’s new free dance is immeasurably better now than it was 5 weeks ago. And the new music edit is too. I still don’t love it, but I love them very much. Just praying for a better 2019/20 free dance. Last season’s free was gorgeous and it would have been tough to follow. Their 2016/17 program I loved too. I feel sad that they’re having their best season results wise but have lost something of why I love them.
Oh gosh... I love Jonathan. He just needs to keep talking. He says great things. Also I'm supposed to be doing homework and I'm lowkey/highkey panicking so Jonathan is making it all better.
Ladies game gets more interesting, this new era I have been waiting for. On the other hand Men's game gets less interesting, seems we see only two skaters on the top of podium, Hanyu or Nathan. I agree Shoma has wonderful qualities and Nathan knows more how to win. Guess Shoma's musicality could cause mistakes. and Nathan knows loosing musicality does not cost much to win while mistakes cost a lot.
Not a huge Alina fan myself, but I'm surprised you didn't mentioned she was injured just before the freeskate. She apparently tripped on some cables, and they had to ice her ankle. They almost withdrew her from the rest of the competition from what I understand. That could have been some of the reason for her struggles during the long program. Then again, maybe it wasn't as bad as they originally thought since she performed in the gala as well.
Ted Barton said she almost withdrew during the Juniors free skate broadcast. Today though she was jumping and doing 3-3-3 combinations so I guess it was not as bad. Still it must have been scary for that to happen right before the competition and probably why she appeared a little tense.
I appreciate both Wicked Game programs and their differences. Both are modern takes on a classic song, and I’m glad they have different interpretations. James & Cipres have an edgy, somewhat dark look that is uniquely them. Alexa & Chris’s program isn’t “dated”, it’s just different. Some romantic chemistry is a good thing in pairs, and Alexa & Chris have this, so let them show it off. The program came across well at Golden Spin even with the bizarre mistakes on the 3T. I agree they should think of doing 2A for now. They both can do 3Ts- they used to practice 3T 3T sequences- and I don’t know if the issue is more about the program or the element, but they should do whatever will get them some points. They have so many strong elements in that LP they certainly don’t need a 3T for US Nationals. I don’t think it’s a big deal if Todd Sand does much talking or brings energy in the Kiss & Cry, but hopefully at the rink Alexa & Chris have an energetic coaching team because I think they thrive off that.
1:11:20 The Italians on the RD are awesome. But remember back in Helsinki they had the "time violation" and came second to Stepanova/Bukin. There was an issue with the playback in that their music played slow at Helsinki and it would have been a travesty if it had cost them a place at GP Finale. Thankfully it didn't, and order was restored.
Mireille Abreu I still can’t believe Brian let him skate after that. He could’ve suffered brain damage... All those spills on all those quads! What if he’d Pogorilaya’d it... Which he practically did. His could’ve died, frankly, depending on how quickly he was able to get imaging. More likely, he could’ve had encephalitis... Not exactly worth it to try to make the GPF, Eh?
I believe they did emergency checkups to ensure he didn't suffer any concussion. They ensured he was conscious and deliberately knowing what he is doing. In an interview hanyu talked about how he had a strong desire to skate despite Brian repeatedly suggested him not to. He said they kept asking him math problems and Brian asked him to count backward from 100-1 in English😂😂 In the same interview he also said that he knew what he was doing attempting the quatz. He said "I did the calculation and come to the conclusion that as long as I'm fully rotated, even if I fall I'm still garnering enough points to be on top" I'm not justifying his decision, but I think hanyu knew what he was doing and he was ready for the repercussion. Edit: In one clip they captured him whispering to himself( when resuming the 6mins practice) "I'm going to skate even if I die!!" I don't think anyone could have stopped him from skating at that moment.
Well that's why she stands out among the rest because she dares to be different even when the results are not perfect and brings a lot of haters and so much criticism around...
@kleinegritzige I don't hate the style of her programs but they are just so poorly choreographed that it looks like a cheap circus show rather than a well thought out program that's edgy and cool.
Oh noes!!!! On top of being sick you couldn't go to the GPF?!!! Sorry bud, guess yesterday wasn't a good time for me to be all "I love me some +5-5 and I need to rage churn about Yu-Na being robbed" HA HA!!! well thanks for getting this vid done. your hard work is much appreciated by your subscribers and fans of the channel! Now just waiting for an Eteri Death Stare T-shirt to come out so I can buy merch from ya'll!!!
I'd love to hear y'alls thoughts on how teams in ice dance can now get low levels, but with the new GOE scoring can still get very high scores. It allows for much more artistry, but I feel as if it also allows for a loss of athleticism in the sport (or at least a loss of specificity in their skating). What exactly can be judge if everything is subjective and the difference in levels don't matter anymore that the skaters say they aren't worried about getting them?
Thank you guys for another video! The Grand Prix Final was definitely satisfying to watch. Definitely enjoyed watching all the ladies - congratulations to the medallists! Rika Kihira was most deserving of the gold, Alina is yet going through puberty, so there is still room for her to improve, and Elizaveta's FS was a lot of fun. Nathan defends his title as Grand Prix champion while still doing his homework, Shoma needs to work on being more consistent if he wants to become Grand Prix champion instead of runner up to Nathan or Yuzuru, and Junhwan has reached a respectable place on the podium. Vanessa and Morgan, my favorite pair next to Sui and Han, finally have the gold like they deserve. I hope they can make it to Europeans and Worlds next year. LOL at Jonathan talking about Trusova's FS program! I never watched the 5th element, so I wouldn't know, but good job Dave at telling Jon to be careful about what is said here (who knows, Jon might have been given a -5 GOE for that comment XD). I watched the Russian junior ladies, and wow, Kostornaia's FS to Romeo and Juliet was definitely something! Can't wait to see her on the senior circuit next season. I really appreciate the hard work that goes into making these videos. Take your time and enjoy yourselves rather than overworking.
You and Jonathan hit the nail on the head when it came to Hubbell and Donohue's FD. I think because they didn't have any real music ideas for the season, they chose a 'warhorse' piece of music that they loved, but didn't ring 'authentic' to who they are as a team. They wanted the "Tessa and Scott" moment for themselves this year - last year T&S picked a warhorse music -- but they ARE theatrical skaters and that's why Moulin Rouge worked for them. Madison & Zach have this like interpretive 'Sam Chouinard' dance choreographic arm movements which don't ring 'Romeo & Juliet' to me. The story and the connection aren't there. They really could use a 'modern smoulder' dance like last year but a step up from last year.
Hi, Just came back from Vancouver ! I looked for u Dave. Anyway ,I loved Rika but at the same time I was really disappointed with dismal PCS of Satoko. Jumping aside, I believe that Satoko should have the highest PCS . Soooo, disappointing. I would rather watch Satoko again and again than other competitors here.
Did you guys see the flash from the past?? - Olga Markova on the tech panel!!! One scary lady! - but then again she always looked fierce back in the 90s.
So funny when she popped up! Had just watched binged on some 90's FS last week and enjoyed some of her programs. She was unique and fun to watch. Animal prints!
For all the talk about the Japanese filmmakers ignoring Alena in their documentary you guys sure ignored the other Alena (Kanysheva) in your coverage here. She came in as the youngest skater in the field and was super consistent and won the bronze. Yet there was no mention of her.
kostornaia said something interesting recently - that last season she was able to do the triple axel but this season she is unable to due to body changes and instead she’s working on solidifying her other jumps. which is amazing, good for her, but also seems VERY different from the tutberidze camp’s way of training (see: anya and sasha being thrown into programs w multiple quads even as their triple jumps start to deteriorate). what do you make of that? is there some pushback on her end, or have eteri and co just not seen her as a genuine threat to the quad girls until now?
Hmm, maybe it's because her other qualities are so outrageously strong that Eteri knows she doesn't need triple axels or quads to be competitive. Furthermore, she may also recognize that Kostornaya has more time due to her different jumping technique, so it's not as pressing of an issue because she can get a triple axel back later in her career. With Trusova and Scherbakova, this is it. They're already peaking and Eteri's probably planning on using them to break more records so she can gain even more clout and exposure.
The Knierims had a couple weird errors in their free skate and lost easy points but they looked strong overall, they didn’t look tired at all to me. Alexa did back-to-back throws and Chris lifts her with one arm at the end of their long, there were no signs of fatigue. They should be tired though, they moved all over the globe in the middle of GP season. They scored over 180 points here while losing all their jump points in the LP, which is pretty good. Their scoring potential is very noticeably the highest of the US pairs. They do have things to work on. Their setup into the 3T seems odd this season. Alexa has landed it there but other times has been completely off. It was a little weird how they don’t seem to talk to Todd after the skate. Alexa is an emotional person and seems to like to talk after skates, so this seems different for them. Maybe Todd prefers to wait until they’re backstage to talk. Or maybe 3 weeks together isn’t long enough to be used to each other. I don’t find it necessary to compare their Wicked Game to Vanessa and Morgan’s. They’re using such completely different versions that I forget it’s even the same song. One is edgy, one is softer and more romantic, and I love both. I prefer J/C’s music and actually hoped K/K would pick that version, but then I was glad they chose a completely different one. I like K/K’s program, it enhances them and they look a lot better. I would like to see it appreciated for what it is instead of comparing them to J/C.
mackoCF445 when you use the same music as a top competitor, it is going to have a comparison. It’s like the battle of the Carmens. Also, it’s a subjective sport. We are comparing everyone ;)
@LaB of course that what she said, but I doubt that's what she actually thinks when she sees the younger girls at her camp. Plus she's already not a one-hit wonder when she won everything else last season.
@@evanperilstein5308 that's why I said getting that worlds gold this season is basically her final goal. I can see her keep going if it doesn't happen this season but I'm sure she'll also reconsider if it's worth it once the junior girls become seniors.
Does anyone else notice how Rika does a lot of leg lifts in the free but kind of lets the leg bounce around and not hold? She has so much artistic potential but you can also see so much room for growth and I'm excited to see how she and her team refine her even more.
I enjoyed Trusova's free when I first saw it, but I have to agree that the "trick" is losing it's novelty. I like how she veers away from the ice princess schtick, and her athletic approach works better (for me) with Eteri's cluttered programs, but I found myself rooting more for Kostornaia and was happy with the results of the competition. I admire Trusova's moxy! And I like her direction and attitude. But at this point I'm ready to see more balance in her performances.
I always enjoy the discussion you guys bring to the table, but I think you should really consider adding time stamps to your videos, especially on extra long ones like this one. It would make your videos accessible and overall improve the quality of your channel. I don't always have time or just don't have the attention span (ADHD) to sit through about one hour of talk at a time so I like to watch in bursts and finding the specific discussions I'm looking for in that moment would be an immense help!
We have fans who do it. There is no way to get the videos up in a timely fashion AND time stamp it based on how these competitions go (and how quickly fans move on from the event). For some reason, TH-cam wound up flagging the time stamps as spam this week. I wasn't watching the comments after I posted the video this week. I was spending time with my family. Usually, I will watch the early comments and/or fans comment the time stamps. They seem to have fun with it. I apologize for the lack of time stamps this week. I have no idea why they were flagged.
Great episode. As a former pair skater what I see, always, is Ashley over compensating in most elements. That never works and we just saw the disaster and incredible danger that creates in partnered skating.
I would happily volunteer hours and hours to mix a Tori Amos program for Hubbell/Donohue using my basic-level sound mixing knowledge. Or, and I know I said this a couple of weeks ago, but a Cat Power program. Someone listen to her cover of Wild is the Wind and tell me that's not better than abrasive Romeo and Juliet.
We already knew this, but Ashley Cain is too tall for pairs. It's not safe enough, and you could see a lift incident coming from a mile away. They're been managing, but their elements don't ever not look labored to some extent. Tim isn't that big of a guy, and as you mentioned, he's not the best lifter. It doesn't take much to throw off a lift, and any wayward lift is that much more dangerous for them than it would be if she were pair girl height. And the way he lifted up her neck while she was laying on the ice clearly unconscious made it even more disturbing. I'm sure he was stunned, but picking up someone who is clearly not okay by the neck, or any body part for that matter, is equivalent to putting your hand on a hot stove. You just don't do it. They're extremely fortunate it wasn't more serious.
It really is ackward watching them. She's way too tall for pairs. I hate to say it because if you love it but can't do it, it's painful, but sometimes you have to face the hard truth....
David did u go to skate america 2009 when kim yuna was performing. I saw a youtube video that's showed kim yuna practicing her short program. You where talking in it. I wonder if it was u
As for the ladies, I agree, the judges have clearly sent their message and I am in two minds... they want balance. There's hardly anything Zagitova can do against Kihira this season (and I doubt she's capable to master a 3A or a quad), beautiful skating, difficult elements, she does not stand out, she's not a diva, but "sdelano!" As for Kostornaya, she is a diva, but unless she fixes her 3A (which she's struggling with as she says), she has no chance to win next season. Alina will go past her growth spurt, her TES are higher, Trusova will land her quads, she's pretty consistent in training, I don't know about Rika, she may grow taller, I think growth spurt hits Japanese girls later 17-19. However, remember when Sotnikova and Tuktamysheva competed in juniours, we were like, they'll kill next season, and they didn't. They got taller and bigger and sis not stand out among seniors as they did among juniors. Worlds is a lock for Kihira, Satoko can podium. And I agree with you guys on Sonya, SHE CLEARLY DESERVED THAT 3D SPOT! As well as Rika, Satoko and Kaori.
29:15 I agree about the Free Skate and the shirt. There is so much music by Simon and Garfunkle they could have chosen. I love his progress this season, if only he could have done this 3 years ago. I think Jason can bring a "character" to life, perhaps, going into next Olympic cycle, that's how his team should be looking at it. What character can he portray (think Javi - they did it brilliantly with him).
I think Shoma was actually sick or injured - really lethargic. He looked really bad in both practice sessions I attended...falling on every second jump. He didn't crack a smile throughout the entire event. He knew he wasn't going to do well - I was actually surprised he landed what he did in the short and free.
Saw the title and realized I completely forgot about Golden Spin. Rushed to check results and was happy that Deanna and Nate did so well...then started watching and was reminded of their new SP. LOL.
In skating, we always had Art VS Technical, and now, I feel like we have a battle of Art VS Cleanness in terms of PCS. It's interesting how Dave said Kaori gets more PCS than what she really deserves, because that's what the other TSL guests said in the video where they analyzed and judged Junior Ladies' PCS (I think they did this when Zagitova won and Honda was second). Some were surprised how Kaori end up being in higher placement than what they really intended too. I feel Kaori deserves it because she has power, speed, and clean skating skills. I think it is a natural response for judges (judging her in real time) to give high PCS because her skating is that clean and powerful. But at the end, when you compare the PCS among the ladies, it may make you feel like you gave her too much because she isn't the typical, elegant, soft, lady-like artist.
It’s okay that you keep popping your opening combo, Dave. At least you “had fun out there”! You’ll just go back to the rink and keep practicing triples. 😉
Short and long investment examples are very good here: both Miki Ando and Sasha Kohen were performing quads due short investments in about same age and both lost quads after puberty. On the other side we have not seen a single example of long investment that led to quads. Eteri said: you learn difficult elements at young age after that you just work to keep what you have learnt. As sad as it sounds nobody have proven her wrong yet. Regarding Trusova and Scherbakova quads failure: 12 hours time zones difference could be one of the reasons, you remember just a month ago at Russian cup Anya landed 4lz-3toe and 4lz in her free skate. And have you noticed that Trusova failed her first 4Lz attempt because she actually OVER rotated it? I think at the moment they have reached maximum consistency with their triple jumps, both had performed the rest of their programs with ease after hard falls. So the question is should they just keep working with jumps they already perform consistently or should they try to push further?
Overrotate omg, is a quint coming? Lol!! I think you're dreaming, she didn't even complete a clean 4 revolutions in the air and she overrotated according to you.. Okay..
I think some of the rearrangements of elements in the H/D FD worked this time,like the joining of actual and choreo lifts and twizzles. The former version almost put me to sleep immediately, whereas this time at least it grabbed attention in the first half.
Kolyada needs to change his coach, like ASAP, he doesn't even have to leave his home town to do that, I am pretty sure Mishin would take him on board. At this point I don't care that much about Chebotareva ( I am sure she is good), but his consistency and his confidence seem to be dropping with every single competition and at this rate I am not even sure he is going to make the world team.
Can someone explain to me what it was about Mao’s technique that made her F-Lo jumps look so effortless? I know I’ve seen this with other Japanese Ladies too... Maybe Shizuka? They seem to have more of a pause after the first jump and then just a simple ankle flick gets the Loop done... Whereas others who go for Lz-Lo or F-Lo combos always look like they’re barely eeking it out, and then they massively under-rotate them half the time (at least)...
JackAShepherd the younger Japanese ladies don’t do -lo combo much anymore tho 😢 I get that they probably don’t want to risk the underrotation from -3lo but the -2lo-2lo from Mao and Kanako really is a beauty that I prefer over any Eu-sal combo
PwT They GOTTA start rewarding actual jump COMBOS - e.g., a bonus for a Lo >>> T It makes no sense to me that they don’t do that. Ya know those hopping 3T-3Ts some pair teams do (e.g., Aliona & Robyn)? Are those getting the same points as a straight up, single-toe-picked 3T-3T? Lower GoEs, at least?
@@JackAShepherd the hopping 3t3t used to be counted as a sequence (3t seq 3t) and they had lower base value than straight up 3t3t, but starting this season only getting into an axel jump right after landing any jump is counted as a sequence combo. Any hopping in between jumps are now invalid as a combo/sequence jump.
Good assessment of Stellato and Bartholomay. They haven't gotten a solid score outside US Nationals yet, and there are reasons for that, some of which you alluded to. Some of her positions are lovely, but they aren't that well matched and their elements are small. Their tango SP was better than this one. Cain and Leduc are a safety concern and aren't even doing the full lift difficulty the others are doing at this level. The storyline about how they are equal statues on the ice and how her height is no issue is bothersome because it's not true or safe. Perhaps the ref would have stopped the music if Leduc had signaled for help. Instead he lifted Ashley up as if she were fine, but she wasn't even conscious or moving her limbs until he lifted her neck and her arms started to jolt. The Knierims are the cream of the crop of US pairs and need to get out of their own way. They looked great in places, unsettled in others. They have a good amount of time now to fine tune their programs and layouts and get situated wherever they are training now. They look like they just met Todd Sand yesterday, which I guess they kind of did. They need to have a good rapport with him and communicate well, and he needs to be strict with them when necessary. They were they only US pair to score 180+ these past couple weeks, and they really should be able to score near the 200s soon without being perfect, they just can't throw away so many points. They should practice both 3T and 2A. Peng and Jin's doubled salchows were intentional and they have been all season. It seems to have helped the consistency of their triple toes.
About the junior ladies, you hit the nail on the head: their programs with the quads are not exciting (or at least not the same kind of exciting as Rika's and Liza's 3A). 3 quads in a ladies program, I should be sat on the edge of my seat, but instead it's cringing painful to watch the takeoffs and the falls.
Completely agree about Hubbell/Donohue. With T/S and G/G taking all the hits as the main rivalry H/D were always the soul of competitions for me, they were unique, beautiful and powerful. This season I am very disappointed because instead of getting more of "them", but winning, I am left with "oh well at least they are winning". I must say the dance judging disappointed me so much here I am in half a mind to drop caring about it for a while. I hate Zhulin, I like nothing about Katsalapov and Sinitsina and their scores make no sense. I hope S/B will figure out what to work on because their tango (artistically) is my favourite of the season by far and it's sad to see them beaten by S/K (I don't care much about the non-russian teams beating them, but it's horrible to see all the politics within Russia when they are clearly number 1 team in terms of material). Also I find it fascinating how you found a way to criticize everyone (which I love!) without getting buried under a wave of hateful comments from your viewers. In this video only Kostornaya was praised, but all the comments so far are quite nice :) Thanks again for a great discussion!
Agree, about S/B, S/K are just not that exciting, but that's politics Vika had ice flying off her skates in her tango romantica section on more than one occasion and they still got better levels than S/B, not that S/B were good in their key points, but the overall impression from their dance was much better in my opinion, and they should have been above S/K in both programs. That's politics, they've always been overlooked in favour of B/S, now apparently it's going to be S/K, and if the Rus Fed just backed them up for once they would even eventually got a chance at the world podium. I don't think that's in the works for S/K, no offence to them but their programs seem to be a little outdated not to mention there is no real unison, they both skate for themselves, not as a team.
One of the most Exciting GPF in a long time!
Rika: Great Program with 2 3Axels planned and she has perfect jump Techniques
Alina: High level + difficult transitions & Step Sequence + beautiful Spin
Liza: 3 Axel & Entertaining performance
Satoko: As usual beautiful performance
Really, its finally not like the previous years ladies competition where you can kind of guessed they gonna award the gold medal to their favorite despite those poor jumping techniques.
Kudos to Alina for her fighting spirit, she did not mentioned anything about hurting her foot and did not withdraw putting up a good fight, still smiling getting the silver and giving thumbs up to Rika.
Also, So glad Kostornaia won the Juniors GPF - She’s always 2nd - 3rd to her teammates who are doing quads but Kostornaia has the better quality of skating & performance. I honestly preferred watching a beautiful performance than one just doing quads.
Ya know what I really appreciate about the two of you? Despite the fact that you ARE doing this for fans, you never act like you’re doing fans some enormous favor. You never ask for adoration... Unlike a certain someone on the Tweeter who never fails to retweet someone asking him “ErrrrMyGawddd when do you sleeeeeeep, you’re such a rock-star!”
Time Stamps Continued In Replies
Time Stamps for Golden Spin of Zagreb
0:30 Dave’s crappy week and Jonathan’s grumpiness.
3:27 Deanna and Nate’s new short program and Jim’s coaching limitations.
12:36 Knierims look tired, choreography needs touch ups. (Personal Opinion: they shouldn't have left Aljona).
18:04 Comments on the empty rink at Zagreb.
18:49 Cain and LeDuc, talk about the fall and how Tim should have never moved her, and how the referee should have stopped the program.
26:30 Piper and Paul, got their confidence back and should win Canadian Nationals.
27:20 Jason Brown beating Mikhail Kolyada, and Brian Orser’s crazy year.
33:24 Mariah Bell and Bradie Tennell, plus Ashley Wagner rumors.
Time Stamps for Junior Grand Prix Final
36:29 Thoughts about Ted Barton’s commentary. (Personal Opinion: I think his commentary is very appropriate for the junior circuit, and I agree with Jonathan that I like how he waits for the performance to be over before he speaks. I am also very appreciative for all the work he’s done to get us coverage).
38:00 Discussion about Eteri’s junior girls, their programs, and whether they should be doing quads and the impact they have. (Personal Opinion: Please stop forcing theses girls to do quads, they are going to hurt themselves.)
44:10 Rika going to Colorado to work on quads, Eteri's technique vs Alena and Rika's long arc plans.
47:27 Talking about how bad Maddie and Zach's music edit is, other bad Romeo and Juliet music edits.
48:51 Stephen Gogolev did a great job, talk about why he's left Brian, and how bad of a year Brian is having.
51:02 Camden Pulkinen, and how they are worried about him and his jump technique. He has a lot of potential. Talk about how the coaching situation in Colorado with Tom and Tammy isn’t working.
53:53 Nguyen and Kolesnik’s mistake on the twizzles. (Personal Opinion: I felt so bad for them!!! They are my favorite junior ice dance team!!!).
Thanks for doing this!
Tomorrow I have one of the last exams of law school, and I’m still watching this even though I have to read like a 1000 Pages for tomorrow. I Need to listen to your commentary about Alena Kostornaya 💕. Thank you guys.
me tooooo
Good luck tomorrow!
Please rest, hydrate, and study!!!!! We will help you catch up on TSL once you've aced it!!
Jorge Lara go study
Good luck on your exam!
I just feel that in both of Alina’s programs there’s no point where she stops and we go “wow this is a beautiful program” it’s just a go go go, Rika deserved the win and I’m happy for her.
watch POTO at Rostelecom. I thought that was the most beautiful performance she performed yet this season
i don't either, but it grows on me every time she does it. except for this competition where she just seemed so stressed and nervous the whole time @@evanperilstein5308
Whoops, hit enter. Her FS vs Rika’s won in composition and I cannot see how you read that criteria, view those programs, and put Zags on top. When I saw the score, I went back to read the criteria to see if I was missing something?
I wish that Alina would hold some positions even just a little longer. For examble her ina bauer. But the program is so packed that she doesn't have time to.
@@ellatiitinen4675 I think that is what I disliked so much about it. It was like they threw every possible thing they could into the program, but there was no connection to the music and no reason for most of it. Why did she have to keep lifting her leg up over her head for only a split second, and then why the Ina Bauer for barely long enough to recognize it as an Ina Bauer before moving on to another move? None of it made any choreographic sense, other than that they just wanted to throw every possible move they could out there. It felt like she had 4 minutes to show every possible action she could do, and that's what they went with. Fast-paced music doesn't mean that skaters can't have those powerful moments where they hold a move for a moment.
00:00 Dave talks about his lack of trip to Vancouver (get well soon!) and Jonathan had a bad mood about the GPF.
03:06 Golden Spin
PAIRS
03:34 Diana & Nate
12:36 The Knierims
(18:00 Golden Spin lack of audience)
18:48 Ashley and Tim
ICE DANCE
26:32 Piper and Paul
MENS
27:18 Jason Brown
31:45 Mikhail Kolyada
LADIES
33:21 Mariah Bell
(33:56 Ashley Wagner)
34:35 Bradie Tennell
36:26 Junior Grand Prix
36:27 Ted Barton
LADIES
37:36 Alena Kostornaia
38:43 Trusova and Shcherbakova; quads vs quality
(47:29 Romeo and Juliet)
MEN
48:53 Gogolev and Orser
51:00 Camden Pulkinen and Coach Z
ICE DANCE
53:55 Nguyen/Kolesnik
54:10 Senior Grand Prix (water jug 😂)
PAIRS
55:46 James/Cipres
59:30 Tarasova/Morozov
1:04:27 Peng/Jin
1:06:26 Della Monica/Guarise
1:07:05 Zabiiako/Enbert
ICE DANCE
1:08:14 Rhythm Dance Pattern (it’s hard)
1:13:31 Hubbell/Donahue
1:19:41 Sinitsina/Katsalapov; politics of Ice Dance
1:21:25 Guignard/Fabbri
1:22:17 Hawayek/Baker
1:23:12 Stepanova/Bukin
(1:26:46 Papadakis/Cizeron and Virtue/Moir and the changing of the guard in Ice Dance)
MEN
1:27:26 Nathan Chen
1:28:51 Shoma Uno
1:30:17 Junwan Cha
LADIES
1:32:49 Elizaveta Tuktamysheva
1:35:13 Satoko Miyahara
1:38:50 Kaori Sakamoto
1:39:27 Sofia Samodurova, Evgenia Medvedeva and the Russian world team
1:43:55 Alina Zagitova
1:47:28 Rika Kihira (they don’t say her name but this is where the the talk switches over to her.)
1:52:32 Wrap up.
Great video guys! x
koliyada should attend more shows. he said he doesn't like ice shows but he will be more confident performing in front of people and learn to interact more with the audience. just come to japan and the Japanese fan will support him 100 percent.
43:46 “Oh no, now you’ve compared the juniors to dogs!” lol 😂
Marie Antoinette he was making it worse and worse!!!! 🤣
@@TheSkatingLesson yeah talking about diggin a bigger hole lol
TheSkatingLesson that’s when I hit the like button tho 😜
I agree with Jonathan when he said about Kostornaya, kihira, that these are the type of skaters that judges want to see on the top of the podium, because it looks efortless. I thing this is the direction for next 4 years. And OMG Kostornaya is such a harmonious skater! Just love her!
One big difference I noticed with Alena this week is that she seems to turn to Sergei a lot more than the other girls do. When she made mistakes in warm-up and practice she went to him for help and assurance where Anna and Sasha went to Eteri. It could just be a mental thing and maybe Alena just doesn't care as much to get praised by Eteri but it would be interesting to see the dynamics of their training and see whether the group is maybe a bit more broken up than we realize, with some of the kids training more with Eteri and others more with Sergei and if that explains the difference in the skaters approaches.
That would explain Eteri's stone face with Alena in the kiss and cry
Sergey is responsinble for jumps in their team. Quads are produced by him. Eteri is more strategic and overall trainer
I just wanted to say thank you for your videos. I only recently got back into watching figure skating after not really paying attention since the early 2000s, and it helps to have your perspective while watching. I’ve learned so much. So, thanks, and I look forward to watching every week. 😊
You’re very welcome!
I used to live in Northern Virginia, so it was tradition for my mom, my sisters and I to go to Landover every year for the World Pro competitions. But I got married in 2003, moved to New York State, the professional skating scene fizzled and so did my interest for awhile. Also, it’s a little easier now that my kids aren’t babies anymore and are a little bit more self sufficient. I have the time again to really watch. 😊
Jonathan said exactly what I did about Rika: the joy. It just radiates off of her. Especially in the SP, where the music pretty much demanded a light and joyful performance.
@@evanperilstein5308 oh I heartily agree. But given all the very labored performances (especially from Russian skaters) this year, it's lovely to see something light and airy and happy.
Alina is pretending to get arrested in her Carmen routine???? That explains SO MUCH. As someone who doesn’t know the story of Carmen the whole “holding arms behind her thing” was really confusing. I just assumed it was bad choreo (and maybe an attempt to stretch out and elongate her back????). So thank u!!! This was really informative for me.
It´s close to midnight in Norway. Thought I´d just check to see if this was posted yet, now I've got to watch...
Same in Poland... well here goes me going to bed early I guess 😂
Mariah Bell, come up with a signature spin (incredible natural spinner,) pcs goes up and you contend. You become someone to watch. There's so much room for innovation in spinning. Bell has the talent to move the spinning game forward.
Stuart Mcmeans My current favorite US Lady. Not a fan of Bradie. Love to see Mariah as National Champ.
@@JackAShepherd Idk what it is about Bradie, but she just seems so... bland. She doesn't have that "it" factor that someone like Bell has. My favorite American has been Chen for awhile now even with her mistakes and downward spiral. I do think Mariah is a good skater with a lot of energy and fun to watch. And I'm sure Bradie works really hard and wants it really bad. I just can't get into her skating like I can with other American skaters.
Candy C A journalist covering Nationals last year said that Bradie had all the emotive qualities of a shrug (regarding her absurd PCS scores, sbs with Ashley’s). She’s emotionally vacant and has very little musicality. She has beautiful jumps and spins. She is a more consistent Gracie but with the emotion and musicality of post-Sochi Gracie, when she started skating to shyte like Firebird and Daphne et Chloe and the music was utterly interchangeable/incidental.
I’ve read several people complaining about Rika’s sudden rise in PCS. Oh the irony. In Evgenia’s first senior season her PCS rose and she became the new queen. Then Alina came, her PCS suddenly rose and she dethroned her. Now Rika has came and is the younger, new queen. This is how this sport works. Besides, Rika deserves the PC boost. However Alina, Rika, and everyone else should not have higher PCS than Satoko.
When Evgenia was winning she wasn't winning solely because she was a good skater, she was winning because she was a good skater with no real competition. Who was there to beat her? A bunch of formally great skaters on the cusp of retirement? An injured Kaitlyn Osmand? A bunch of probably shouldn't be out of juniors yet? She had no real competition for so long and that's part of the reason she always won. Now we are FINALLY coming up to a stretch in the couple of years where it will be interesting and highly competitive with many great skaters in their fighting it out for the podium. There won't be another iron unbeatable Evgenia for a while.
Exactly, they only start treating you seriously when you show them through the season that you won't mess up
TheGogobooty Well said. We won’t see that level of dominance for a very long time again. Evgenia’s reign lasted over two years. It started after she was beat in Rostelecom and then she won the GPF 2015. It didn’t end until Euros in 2018. Mainly because there was no one who could beat her! Zagitova made it almost one season. Now only halfway into this one she has already lost that crown. Rika wears it now until next year if Sasha keeps the quads. Then there will always be younger, more technically able girls to rise up. That American junior could be one of them. In many ways, Alina beating Evgenia was the end of an era.
Arianne Петрова I think Rika already does 4T in practise though? And Dave said something about her going to America to practice quads if I heard right
Evan Perilstein Rika’s PCs will continue to rise so long as she keeps that momentum going like you said. She has shown the judges she can be fairly consistent. I mean, she had a mistake right away but didn’t falter the rest of the program. By the time Worlds comes around Rika could be getting 37-38 in the short and 75-77 in the long.
Alina on the other hand has lost that PCs cushion and is starting to slip a little. She has yet to skate a clean long since Nebelhorn and her jumps are so often UR (even when they aren’t called). When you compare her programs to Rika it’s easy to see who is the superior skater. I won’t be surprised to see Rika overtake her in the components by a few points.
1:32:35 Senior Ladies
1:43:55 Top 2 Ladies (Zagitova and Kihira)
For me Alina has my total respect and admiration !!! 👏👏👏After the Olympic season, having won gold medal ( against all odds ) , bad skating at worlds, haters always bullying, criticizing her etc... She could have easily retired or quit this season, she already won the most important medal of all in sports world ... But no! She still continued with all this new extra pressure , as she said at the press conference that her 2nd senior season is different because she has to deal with people's expectacions !! I really admire her, no matter if she wins silver or nothing, she's a hard working girl who just do what she has to, she tries her best and inspite of all the bad vibes she gets from so much people, she still faces competitions with nerves and some errors but she still goes there and skate.
I will always support her and I feel that this silver has a blessing in disguise for her in some way. At least I hope it takes some burden off her shoulders and she realizes that you can't always be on top, just enjoy her skating ❤️ Go Alina !!!
Me too Alina is my champion
Artemisa de la Luna I agree, she is not a coward like the other Olympic "champion" from 2014 (I disgrace). Alina have my respect as well and I hope she continues to improve and be happy doing what she loves.
Honestly, anyone after the olympics and gets a medal has this pressure, it amazes me how Yuzu well, to me he doesnt seem like the pressure gets to him anymore, and if it does i havent seen it.
@@aracelichely2954 I thought you were talking about Yulia (she did get a gold) and was about to be so mad and then realized you were talking about Sotnikova haha
@@Angel-xe2tl 🙌🏼 The thing is that Yuzuru is so unique , he's a wonder, out of this world and is definitely on another level ❤️
Could you please do an analysis video on the components for the ladies. Many of us wondered why Satoko scored so low on PCS compared to Alina and Rika.
That would be a very boring video. There's no scoring guideline to justify it. There's an unwritten rule with judges that PCS follow the TES + reputation. It seems even some of the GOE's are more a reflection of BV and status than quality of elements.
@@evanperilstein5308 Yes, I know what the guidelines are. I just meant that the guidelines don't justify Satoko's marks in relation to the other ladies.
For those who are interested, here are some links explaining how they're supposed to work. The reality is that the judges rank the skaters and adjust the components to match their ranking.
www.usfsa.org/content/ISU%20program-component-chart_sandp-and-id_08-16.pdf
www.isu.org/judging-system-fs
I was so effing mad about that, and I will never stop being mad about it.
Evan Perilstein And then everyone complains about the sport being “ruined” and they reassess after each Olympics to try something better... And every time they fail. Because they need new effing judges who’re not beholden to any federations and haven’t been caught cheating. I say the ISU plucks some interested folks from non-skating nations - random islands in the South Pacific, Central African Republic, St. Helena... Train them and make them professional judges, with salaries/expenses paid for by the ISU. And if anyone’s caught cheating, permanent ban (should be obvious, but...)...
JackAShepherd yeah I'm pretty sure the only reason a temporary ban exists and not a permanent one is bc those rules were written by the very same people/federations 🙄
Great recap! I had been waiting for this for the last 36 hours and was not disappointed!
Completely agree with you on Nathan and Shoma. I was quite frustrated. Nathan sacrificed musicality for technical elements. He was mostly off the music throughout the FS. At the same time, unnecessary mistakes by Shoma. He could’ve won easily.
So, my thoughts:
1) As Dave noted, Hubbell/Donohue were the only dance couple to NOT get a Level 4 Spin; they got a Level 2, and because of that, they gave up 2 points (plus a few tenths in extra GOE from the bigger base value). So that 124.82 they got? It would have been more like 127 (lol). I'm sorry, I love Maddy and Zach, and the first part of the program I found engaging, but after that, it TOTALLY (and literally) dies. I agree w/ Jonathan -- you can't NOT tell me the story of what's happening, and then all the sudden at the end, tell me the story of "she dies". And I'm sorry -- but 57.09 PCS? For THAT mess? With repurposed character steps and terrible music cuts that aren't even their own voice??!
2) Stephen Gogolev won PCS for the junior men, according to the judges, which is the biggest LOL. A *13 year old boy* had better interpretation of the music, performance, composition, than the other 16, 17 year olds. Petr Gumennik, the young 16 yr old Russian, has the BEST leg position, and the straight back, with pointed toes, and beautiful arms, and the judges think Gogolev has better PCS than him. They're smoking crack. I'm sorry -- Gogolev skates like a VERY junior boy. He should be getting 6's. Low 6's. Just because his TES is 80+ doesn't mean his PCS has to match. /rant over
In all honesty, Kostornaia’s R&J program is pretty decent compared to other programs in the past. It was one of the only programs for that music that doesn’t make me sick. The music cuts and the choreo are decent, if only Alina’s POTO program had good cuts like those.
Trev Funch I would prefer it if she picked one R&J.
TheSkatingLesson Come one Dave. We all know she didn’t had anything to say there and she’s making the most out of the material she got from Danil 🤮
POTO has trash cuts. Nothing against the skater, because as you said, the skaters are making the most of their situation. But why would Eteri change? Her method has been working.
Justyna Żółkiewska yeah I think dave rly meant to direct that at the whole decision in general . I think theyve mentioned before that even though it's not a fantastic program she does everything so well that it makes the program look better than it actually is 😄
@mish098aimer i totally agree with you
Am i the only one who thinks Alina’s 3Lz-3Lo combo was a bit UR? Even without the slow mo replay, the landings were pretty hooked. She was wobbly in the air and the edge of the lutz was flat.
Evan Perilstein oh good, i thought i was the only one who noticed the rotations. Idk what happened to her lutz technique, the edge was pretty solid last year, which i liked. Now it just slips. I hope she copes with the changes in her body, and good Lord someone giver her programs that maximize her artistry. These two programs are just meh.
kenan quitco she got really tall.
agreed, @@evanperilstein5308. it is not even close to Tutktamysheva's Lutz
The loop, salchow, and first flip were all slightly under and should’ve been called.
Paraphrase: “we will get a million comments and will ignore all of them”....LOL. Dave Lease....the guy who says everything I want to say but know I shouldn’t. True story. LOVE IT!
I have been SO LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS VIDEO!
Just wanted to say that I am absolutely devastated that Stepanova/Bukin weren't on the podium - they have my favourite rhythm dance AND free dance this season, and they're both such stunning and wonderful skaters. They're also the most beautiful people I have ever seen. I'm absolutely captivated by them and their energy. Someone who actually understand how ice dance is scored, please explain to me what happened. I did see that they got a level B on their first tango romantica element in the short dance, but I really don't know enough about ice dance to interpret ice dance protocols.
I really like the russian team that ended up in silver, but I don't think they even come close to Stepanova/Bukin, and I really think the judges put the wrong team on that podium. I will never not be upset about that.
Also wanted to say that Satoko got a freaking standing ovation after her freeskate and I will never have enough cuss words to say to the judging and technical panel for placing her dead last. I also do think both Satoko's costumes are absolutely STUNNING and so so so elegant. Absolutely stunning.
I'm like you - just learning about ice dance and why certain pairs are scored the way they are. I too did not understand why Steponova and Bukin were scored so low, because to me their programs were so exciting and dynamic. Then I read so many comments about her skating skills and how they were lacking. It was mostly about her legs and feet and how they could be very sloppy. How she didn't have soft knees and was not smooth in transitions. Also she didn't have deep enough edges. I went back and watched her after that and I'm trying to study to understand the technical side more. I'm still learning.
I felt so sad for Steponova and Bukin after the free dance because they were SO excited after the performance and gave it their all, then were so let down when they got their scores. It was just so heartbreaking. I know she will work on whatever deficits she has in skating skills and they will come back strong!
Scherbakova looked genuinely afraid to get off the ice after her programs
To be fair, she looked genuinely afraid to get on the ice as well. I like watching her skate but tbh I'm not sure if she currently has the mentality needed to compete at high level competitions. She's a different skater at national comps than she is at international ones.
Alina looked afraid as well. They are under too much unnecessary pressure.
@@treelo11
A glare by their coach can freeze hell over...
@@yunilius7193 If only it was just the coach. Some of their fans are so crazy about wanting them to win all the time. And in Russia, sport is like a chance for a better life. It's so competitive the moment you falter someone is ready to take your place. There are so many repercussions and it's sad they have to experience this.
@@treelo11
Yea, the pressure there is just so crazy. Alina's face before her 2 programs in GPF said it all.
we need time stamps people, thanks.
Done! Maybe Dave can pin it. ;-)
36:30 I like Ted Barton. There's something to be said for "positivity". We all need a Ted Barton in our lives.
Michelle Evans I don’t have any issue with him being positive and I agree. He started to go on some monologues this weekend that had more artistic interpretation than technical merit. See when Kostornaia finished her FS.
He discusses her winning here as a decision she made deep inside. Meanwhile, the quad squad wiped out.
The positivity isn’t the problem. He just started getting so over the top that it almost started to lack truth? I appreciate all that he has done for the sport and fans. He was commentating a lot this weekend. That amount of exposure to anyone is rarely positive.
@@TheSkatingLesson His fall back words are always "so beautiful and so charming". Initially it's quaint and old fashioned, then it grates.
@@TheSkatingLesson very true. What I do like, in the face of criticism and critique, he finds something positive. I mean, look at Trusova's Kill Bill routine, there's little to like in that routine, but he talks about it with an eloquence describing that all skaters need to try out different genres, and each phase of learning is important.
As my granny would often say "if you can't find something nice to say, don't say anything at all". Ted FINDS something nice to say when it's hard to find something nice to say, and I applaud him for it. But I wish he would, add some critique to his positivity, you know, the good, bad, good sandwich?
Rika? In first? It's what she deserves
the judges FINALLY did something right. Then they did it so so so wrong by Satoko and I'm never going to stop being mad about that.
Timestamps:
2:18 - Jonathan was grumpy, but now he's READY! LOL
3:04 - ZAGREB (GOLDEN SPIN) COMPETITION:
3:25 - Deanna STELLATO / Nathan BARTHOLOMAY's new 'Somewhere' program
12:35 - Alexa SCIMECA-KNIEREM / Chris KNIEREM
18:47 - Ashley CAIN / Timothy Le DUC (talk about the fall on the lift / should have been stopped / etc)
26:32 - Piper GILLES / Paul POIRIER
27:19 - Jason BROWN
31:46 - Mikhail KOLYADA
33:20 - Mariah BELL
34:35 - Bradie TENNELL
36:25 - THE JUNIOR GRAND PRIX (& Ted Barton's commentary)
37:32 - Alena KOSTORNAIA
38:41 - Alexandra TRUSOVA & Anna SCHERBEKOVA
41:53 - Alena KOSTORNAIA, part 2
42:40 - Alexandra TRUSOVA, part 2
45:25 - Alena KOSTORNAIA, Part 3
47:25 - Shade on 'Romeo & Juliet' (from KOSTORNAIA, HUBBELL/DONOHUE, etc)
48:50 - Stephen GOGOLEV, with a discussion of Brian ORSER's full plate at the moment
50:57 - Camden PULKINEN
53:50 - Avonley NGUYEN / Vadym KOLESNIK (my FAVORITE new team!!! LOVE them!!)
54:08 - THE GRAND PRIX FINAL (Seniors)
55:44 - Vanessa JAMES / Morgan CIPRES
59:29 - Evgenia TARASOVA / Vladimir MOROZOV
1:04:25 - PENG Cheng / JIN Yang
1:06:28 - Nicole Della MONICA / Matteo GUARISE
1:07:04 - Natalia ZABIIAKO / Alexander ENBERT
1:08:11 - the RHYTHM DANCE (overall questions / VERY technical & informative discussion of the TANGO ROMANTICA!!)
1:13:30 - Madison HUBBELL / Zachary DONOHUE
1:19:36 - Victoria SINITSINA / Nikita KATSALAPOV & the (odd) judging
1:21:23 - Charlene GUIGNARD / Marco FABBRI (& Barbara FUSAR-POLI) :-)
1:22:16 - Kaitlyn HAWAYEK / Jean-Luc BAKER
1:23:10 - Alexandra STEPANOVA / Ivan BUKIN
1:27:27 - Nathan CHEN
1:28:50 - Shoma UNO
1:30:15 - Junhwan CHA
1:32:46 - Elizaveta TUKTAMYSHEVA
1:35:12 - Satako MIYAHARA
1:38:47 - Kaori SAKAMOTO
1:39:26 - overall discussion of Sofia SAMODUROVA cementing herself on Russian National team, & what that means for Evgenia MEDVEDEVA
1:43:55 - Alina ZAGITOVA
1:47:26 - Rika KIHIRA
Brent's Lucky Slot Channel hey I’ve already done it lower down.
You did!! Awesome!! I swear I looked and saw nothing.
Honey I looked and I don’t see it!! :-/
00:00 Dave talks about his lack of trip to Vancouver (get well soon!) and Jonathan had a bad mood about the GPF.
03:06 Golden Spin
PAIRS
03:34 Diana & Nate
12:36 The Knierims
(18:00 Golden Spin lack of audience)
18:48 Ashley and Tim
ICE DANCE
26:32 Piper and Paul
MENS
27:18 Jason Brown
31:45 Mikhail Kolyada
LADIES
33:21 Mariah Bell
(33:56 Ashley Wagner)
34:35 Bradie Tennell
36:26 Junior Grand Prix
36:27 Ted Barton
LADIES
37:36 Alena Kostornaia
38:43 Trusova and Shcherbakova; quads vs quality
(47:29 Romeo and Juliet)
MEN
48:53 Gogolev and Orser
51:00 Camden Pulkinen and Coach Z
ICE DANCE
53:55 Nguyen/Kolesnik
54:10 Senior Grand Prix (water jug 😂)
PAIRS
55:46 James/Cipres
59:30 Tarasova/Morozov
1:04:27 Peng/Jin
1:06:26 Della Monica/Guarise
1:07:05 Zabiiako/Enbert
ICE DANCE
1:08:14 Rhythm Dance Pattern (it’s hard)
1:13:31 Hubbell/Donahue
1:19:41 Sinitsina/Katsalapov; politics of Ice Dance
1:21:25 Guignard/Fabbri
1:22:17 Hawayek/Baker
1:23:12 Stepanova/Bukin
(1:26:46 Papadakis/Cizeron and Virtue/Moir and the changing of the guard in Ice Dance)
MEN
1:27:26 Nathan Chen
1:28:51 Shoma Uno
1:30:17 Junwan Cha
LADIES
1:32:49 Elizaveta Tuktamysheva
1:35:13 Satoko Miyahara
1:38:50 Kaori Sakamoto
1:39:27 Sofia Samodurova, Evgenia Medvedeva and the Russian world team
1:43:55 Alina Zagitova
1:47:28 Rika Kihira (they don’t say her name but this is where the the talk switches over to her.)
1:52:32 Wrap up.
Great video guys! x
Brent's Lucky Slot Channel it shows up the top for me so I can’t help you with that but I did it, according to yt, 13 hrs ago.
Man, how did you guys put this out so fast; there was so much skating the past weekend, haha. Respect.
sparkl121 organization and determination!
One more thing: SO over the moon about Charlene Guignard/Marco Fabbri. They were SO thrilled. Nice to see the teams who can DO the Tango Romantica (Guignard/Fabbri, Sinitsina/Katsalopov) getting rewarded. On the flip side, Stepanova and Bukin REALLY have to figure out a way to get at least ONE of the keypoints in the first section. The levels on the Tango Romantica only drop by 0.5 points per level, from Level 4 (6.85) on down to Level 1 (5.35). So if you miss a level or two, it's not the end of the world. HOWEVER, if you get NONE of the keypoints, and just get the dreaded "B" for your level (as in 'base'), it drops all the way down to 4.00 points. That's a 1.35 drop from Level 1, which when your competitors are getting 6.85 and you're getting 4.00 (and they've been getting B's all season), you simply cannot compete. You're going to be 3 points down on that section ALONE. It's unfathomable to me that they cannot get it together on that section. They HAVE to be in the Final Group at worlds to have a shot at the podium, and to do that, they have to be in the top 5 for the RD. At this moment, I think they lose to P/C, H/D, S/K, G/F and they are even or maybe slight underdogs to Gilles/Poirier (who just got 79+ at Golden Spin), and possibly even Weaver/Poje or Chock/Bates (who we haven't seen yet). Basically -- if Stepanova/Bukin get another Level B for their tango at Worlds, it's going to be "B" for 'busted', cause that's what their chances at the podium will be. Busted.
Brent's Lucky Slot Channel I didn’t saw Finlandia Trophy protocol but I’m quite sure that’s the first time they got gold star you tried pattern aka B
Justyna, nope. :-( Stepanova and Bukin got a “B” and a “1” at Rostelcom. ON HOME ICE. They still won that RD cause there was no one else there to challenge, but that will not be the case moving forward.
Brent's Lucky Slot Channel I forgot about it. But it was due to her almost falling on the first key point in the first section, not simply because of the wrong edges. It’s weird cause it’s not like Gadbois got strong levels either. But they are protected by PCS and goe cushion. It’s irritating because actually S/B are like the only ones who got hurt by low tango levels. When other top teams happen to have 1/2 and it’s completely not visible.
But this is their second “base level” in a row. They need to find a way to fix it, whatever is going on. And I know other teams got lower levels, but it’s because they didn’t get a BASE level. A base level is so much lower in points. It’s like losing a level on a step sequence last year. You give up that many points, and you are going to be at a deficit. PCS will not be able to save you. I love S/B. I’m just saying that whatever is the problem, they need to fix it. Pronto. Or they won’t even be in the medal considerations at the world championships. If S/B got even a level 1, they would have been in 2nd or 3rd place, and been skating in the last group. :-)
@@BrentWolgamott I'm affraid this TB here sunk them down. And in the Nats fed will go with SinKats :/
I do like Zagitova but for goodness sake, I am glad someone finally mentioned the bizarre heel motif in that Carmen
Hubbell and Donahue doing Wicked Games is genius.
DSQueenie Agreed!
Well, there is no way imagining this mature Lady as a 13 year old girl - that makes the whole Romeo & Juliet FD so ridiculous...
Btw their twistles were partly out of sync in both programs, but still got GOE +4. How can this happen? S/K were at least in this point much better.
That would be so great!
I learn new vocabulary from you two (or more precisely, how to use those words in the correct context) every week...
Shawn Yang which words?
Jonathan....I had to pause this video and just die laughing when you said, "guided meditation".....so true!
Anna and Sasha hit the ice so much practicing those quads. Sasha less so than Anna. I don’t understand why put two quad lutz in their programs when they have such a low success rate. They should have just done the quad toes for Sasha. Seriously, read the practice reports. Especially the first day was a splat fest with the two of them trying to land those quads. Is it worth it? At the expense of their health and bodies? No it’s not.
If Eteri was a good coach, she’d only have Anna do a triple program. Get her consistent with that and clean up the technique a bit. Then, return to doing a quad toe. Not a quad lutz. Anna has done quad toes in the past and they looked better than the lutz. Sasha should also just do quad toes right now. They are much more consistent and her body will hate her less.
It makes me laugh when Daniil Gleikhengauz talks about Zagitova doing a quad lutz next season. Right now she can barely do a triple that isn’t UR.
kleinegritzige A coach with good sense would step in and take control. I am sure Sasha wants to do a bunch of quads and Anna too. But if Eteri was smart she’d limit what they’re doing and tone it down.
Daniil is crazy and everyone knows this hahaha
Daniil and his Gucci shirt are just crazy sometimes, funnier he keeps saying it even though Alina has denied it lol (also I feel like Anna should stay in juniors one more year, but we all know that won’t happen bc of “eQuAl OpPoRtUnItIeS”
Evan Perilstein He said on a Russian news channel interview that they are going to do quads with Zagitova and try to do a 4lz-3t in her layout.
Gleikehengauz’s social media posts with Zagitova worry me. I think his overly friendly relationship with her is very unhealthy.
36:30 GPF
Gregor Valentovic Bless you
Thank u so much)
THANK YOU!!!! 👏👏👏👍👍
Thanks!
thank you dave for saying exactly what I always think about sasha's and anna's quads: why are they doing it when it's clearly done with poor, unsustainable technique?
I could loop and listen to this forever
Why doesn't elizaveta do her 3lz/3t in her short? Her 3t 3t combo is good, but that lutz combo is GREAT
Katy Hart they went with razzano due to her being more consistent with it.
I really like Alexa and Chris’s LP. It really suits them and it’s the best they’ve ever been packaged. Their version of the music is beautiful and emotional. J&C’s version is more intense and haunting. I’m glad they’re giving us two very different styles to enjoy. Two of my favorite pairs programs this season. It helps that I really like the two teams to begin with. Alexa and Chris need more time with their program and hopefully they can skate it more up to its potential later in the season, but it still leaves a great impression on me even with bigger mistakes.
A "trainwreck" with an "inexcusable music cut" is the perfect way to describe Hubbell/Donohue's re-vamped free dance. It's felt like an imitation Moulin Rouge all season but even more so now that they're using such a jarring music cut with the switch from O'Verona to Kissing You. Honestly the worst part about the dance final though is that Hubbell/Donohue won based solely on PCS and GOEs. They had the lowest base value in both the RD +FD compared to of all of the other teams. That's the biggest issue with +5/-5 in dance is that getting the technical levels is irrelevant now cause as we've seen all season teams don't need them to win as long as they get high PCS and GOE. And the sad thing is that Hubbell/Donohue literally said it in the post-free dance press conference when they said that they "had to not be afraid of losing tech levels" and just focus on the performance instead. AKA Levels are irrelevant now as long as you get GOE. Not to mention Stepanova/Bukin getting dumped by the Russian Fed for SK. Zhulin has clearly been working hard behind the scenes this year.
I really like The other Alena Kanysheva quite a lot. Especially that Snow Queen FS........
She was very elegant!
She is obviously strong contender for next JGP same with Kamila and Daria, next JGP will be exciting because Alysa Liu will also participate and she has 3A
Re - score box mistakes. The big one I noticed was Voronov doing a 3Lo and getting it credited as a quad.
Also, the Georgian and Russian judges had Rika in second after the short, and placed her behind Alina *and* Liza in the long. Ridiculous.
The Russians ALWAYS do this to other Country's skaters who can beat them...
@@tonytony8747 Only Russian?
I think Madi & Zach’s new free dance is immeasurably better now than it was 5 weeks ago. And the new music edit is too. I still don’t love it, but I love them very much. Just praying for a better 2019/20 free dance. Last season’s free was gorgeous and it would have been tough to follow. Their 2016/17 program I loved too. I feel sad that they’re having their best season results wise but have lost something of why I love them.
Oh gosh... I love Jonathan. He just needs to keep talking. He says great things. Also I'm supposed to be doing homework and I'm lowkey/highkey panicking so Jonathan is making it all better.
1:08:15 ice dance 🙌 ☺️ We explain the Tango Romantica in our last VDO 😋
1:51:32 thank you thank you thank you. this is what figure skating needs, I totally agree!
Ladies game gets more interesting, this new era I have been waiting for. On the other hand Men's game gets less interesting, seems we see only two skaters on the top of podium, Hanyu or Nathan. I agree Shoma has wonderful qualities and Nathan knows more how to win. Guess Shoma's musicality could cause mistakes. and Nathan knows loosing musicality does not cost much to win while mistakes cost a lot.
Polish commentators said that Stephen reminds them of young Voronov and I can’t unsee it 🤣
Not a huge Alina fan myself, but I'm surprised you didn't mentioned she was injured just before the freeskate. She apparently tripped on some cables, and they had to ice her ankle. They almost withdrew her from the rest of the competition from what I understand. That could have been some of the reason for her struggles during the long program. Then again, maybe it wasn't as bad as they originally thought since she performed in the gala as well.
Ted Barton said she almost withdrew during the Juniors free skate broadcast. Today though she was jumping and doing 3-3-3 combinations so I guess it was not as bad. Still it must have been scary for that to happen right before the competition and probably why she appeared a little tense.
@@evanperilstein5308 You mean Ted Barton is rusfed Agent
I appreciate both Wicked Game programs and their differences. Both are modern takes on a classic song, and I’m glad they have different interpretations. James & Cipres have an edgy, somewhat dark look that is uniquely them. Alexa & Chris’s program isn’t “dated”, it’s just different. Some romantic chemistry is a good thing in pairs, and Alexa & Chris have this, so let them show it off. The program came across well at Golden Spin even with the bizarre mistakes on the 3T. I agree they should think of doing 2A for now. They both can do 3Ts- they used to practice 3T 3T sequences- and I don’t know if the issue is more about the program or the element, but they should do whatever will get them some points. They have so many strong elements in that LP they certainly don’t need a 3T for US Nationals. I don’t think it’s a big deal if Todd Sand does much talking or brings energy in the Kiss & Cry, but hopefully at the rink Alexa & Chris have an energetic coaching team because I think they thrive off that.
great show! I'm so glad that quality skating was rewarded this weekend.
gymerin :)
I really can't agree that Kaori had no musical no artistry at all. Totally wrong.
She is so far above the other women skating wise and coverage. Yes she could be better with her arms, but skating quality is a big part of artistry.
She was also pretty close to bronze if she landed that stupid 2T. Dont despair she will do great
@mish098aimer there no doubt she is going.
Yuan Wen , I love Kaori’s FP Piano program. It is like watching this movie all over again.
I think her music choice for the free is brilliant. It builds so perfectly and she carries it very well.
1:11:20 The Italians on the RD are awesome. But remember back in Helsinki they had the "time violation" and came second to Stepanova/Bukin. There was an issue with the playback in that their music played slow at Helsinki and it would have been a travesty if it had cost them a place at GP Finale. Thankfully it didn't, and order was restored.
Didn’t Yuzu have the collision with Han Yan not Boyang Jin?
Yes.
It wasn't with Boyang Jin. I caught that as well. He collided with Yan Han.
Mireille Abreu I still can’t believe Brian let him skate after that. He could’ve suffered brain damage... All those spills on all those quads! What if he’d Pogorilaya’d it... Which he practically did. His could’ve died, frankly, depending on how quickly he was able to get imaging. More likely, he could’ve had encephalitis... Not exactly worth it to try to make the GPF, Eh?
Correct. I misspoke.
I believe they did emergency checkups to ensure he didn't suffer any concussion. They ensured he was conscious and deliberately knowing what he is doing. In an interview hanyu talked about how he had a strong desire to skate despite Brian repeatedly suggested him not to. He said they kept asking him math problems and Brian asked him to count backward from 100-1 in English😂😂
In the same interview he also said that he knew what he was doing attempting the quatz. He said "I did the calculation and come to the conclusion that as long as I'm fully rotated, even if I fall I'm still garnering enough points to be on top"
I'm not justifying his decision, but I think hanyu knew what he was doing and he was ready for the repercussion.
Edit: In one clip they captured him whispering to himself( when resuming the 6mins practice) "I'm going to skate even if I die!!" I don't think anyone could have stopped him from skating at that moment.
*describes Trusovas free as a freak show*
YES SOMEBODY FINALLY SAID IT
Well that's why she stands out among the rest because she dares to be different even when the results are not perfect and brings a lot of haters and so much criticism around...
I think her free skate is a triumph... in all that is currently WRONG in skating and the judging system.
Trusova's FS made me cringe.
I don’t think the term “freak show” doesn’t necessarily mean something negative, but it certainly isn’t something of high class.
@kleinegritzige I don't hate the style of her programs but they are just so poorly choreographed that it looks like a cheap circus show rather than a well thought out program that's edgy and cool.
Does anyone have the time stamps?
Oh noes!!!! On top of being sick you couldn't go to the GPF?!!! Sorry bud, guess yesterday wasn't a good time for me to be all "I love me some +5-5 and I need to rage churn about Yu-Na being robbed" HA HA!!! well thanks for getting this vid done. your hard work is much appreciated by your subscribers and fans of the channel! Now just waiting for an Eteri Death Stare T-shirt to come out so I can buy merch from ya'll!!!
I'd love to hear y'alls thoughts on how teams in ice dance can now get low levels, but with the new GOE scoring can still get very high scores. It allows for much more artistry, but I feel as if it also allows for a loss of athleticism in the sport (or at least a loss of specificity in their skating). What exactly can be judge if everything is subjective and the difference in levels don't matter anymore that the skaters say they aren't worried about getting them?
Thank you guys for another video! The Grand Prix Final was definitely satisfying to watch. Definitely enjoyed watching all the ladies - congratulations to the medallists! Rika Kihira was most deserving of the gold, Alina is yet going through puberty, so there is still room for her to improve, and Elizaveta's FS was a lot of fun. Nathan defends his title as Grand Prix champion while still doing his homework, Shoma needs to work on being more consistent if he wants to become Grand Prix champion instead of runner up to Nathan or Yuzuru, and Junhwan has reached a respectable place on the podium. Vanessa and Morgan, my favorite pair next to Sui and Han, finally have the gold like they deserve. I hope they can make it to Europeans and Worlds next year.
LOL at Jonathan talking about Trusova's FS program! I never watched the 5th element, so I wouldn't know, but good job Dave at telling Jon to be careful about what is said here (who knows, Jon might have been given a -5 GOE for that comment XD). I watched the Russian junior ladies, and wow, Kostornaia's FS to Romeo and Juliet was definitely something! Can't wait to see her on the senior circuit next season.
I really appreciate the hard work that goes into making these videos. Take your time and enjoy yourselves rather than overworking.
You and Jonathan hit the nail on the head when it came to Hubbell and Donohue's FD. I think because they didn't have any real music ideas for the season, they chose a 'warhorse' piece of music that they loved, but didn't ring 'authentic' to who they are as a team. They wanted the "Tessa and Scott" moment for themselves this year - last year T&S picked a warhorse music -- but they ARE theatrical skaters and that's why Moulin Rouge worked for them. Madison & Zach have this like interpretive 'Sam Chouinard' dance choreographic arm movements which don't ring 'Romeo & Juliet' to me. The story and the connection aren't there. They really could use a 'modern smoulder' dance like last year but a step up from last year.
Hi, Just came back from Vancouver ! I looked for u Dave.
Anyway ,I loved Rika but at the same time I was really disappointed with dismal PCS of Satoko. Jumping aside, I believe that Satoko should have the highest PCS . Soooo, disappointing. I would rather watch Satoko again and again than other competitors here.
Did you guys see the flash from the past?? - Olga Markova on the tech panel!!! One scary lady! - but then again she always looked fierce back in the 90s.
So funny when she popped up! Had just watched binged on some 90's FS last week and enjoyed some of her programs. She was unique and fun to watch. Animal prints!
For all the talk about the Japanese filmmakers ignoring Alena in their documentary you guys sure ignored the other Alena (Kanysheva) in your coverage here. She came in as the youngest skater in the field and was super consistent and won the bronze. Yet there was no mention of her.
chaya avtzon I found her to be very elegant!
I am happy for her and her trainer Panova. She was the first trainer for Sotskova, Tarakanova. Their team is strong
1:08:13 ice dance 🙌 in our last vdo we explain about the key points tango Romantica if you’re confused people 😋
"You need Sofia to finish 8th" Dave is a psychic
kostornaia said something interesting recently - that last season she was able to do the triple axel but this season she is unable to due to body changes and instead she’s working on solidifying her other jumps. which is amazing, good for her, but also seems VERY different from the tutberidze camp’s way of training (see: anya and sasha being thrown into programs w multiple quads even as their triple jumps start to deteriorate). what do you make of that? is there some pushback on her end, or have eteri and co just not seen her as a genuine threat to the quad girls until now?
Hmm, maybe it's because her other qualities are so outrageously strong that Eteri knows she doesn't need triple axels or quads to be competitive. Furthermore, she may also recognize that Kostornaya has more time due to her different jumping technique, so it's not as pressing of an issue because she can get a triple axel back later in her career. With Trusova and Scherbakova, this is it. They're already peaking and Eteri's probably planning on using them to break more records so she can gain even more clout and exposure.
I didn't even check SNS and came directly to TH-cam Channel. I trust they will be ready to upload videos on the day or the day later from the event.
Love the show guys but you really need to time stamp the topics
Jimmy Plank , one of the users have done it but it was never pinned, I searched but could not find it anywhere. 😩
The Knierims had a couple weird errors in their free skate and lost easy points but they looked strong overall, they didn’t look tired at all to me. Alexa did back-to-back throws and Chris lifts her with one arm at the end of their long, there were no signs of fatigue. They should be tired though, they moved all over the globe in the middle of GP season. They scored over 180 points here while losing all their jump points in the LP, which is pretty good. Their scoring potential is very noticeably the highest of the US pairs. They do have things to work on. Their setup into the 3T seems odd this season. Alexa has landed it there but other times has been completely off.
It was a little weird how they don’t seem to talk to Todd after the skate. Alexa is an emotional person and seems to like to talk after skates, so this seems different for them. Maybe Todd prefers to wait until they’re backstage to talk. Or maybe 3 weeks together isn’t long enough to be used to each other.
I don’t find it necessary to compare their Wicked Game to Vanessa and Morgan’s. They’re using such completely different versions that I forget it’s even the same song. One is edgy, one is softer and more romantic, and I love both. I prefer J/C’s music and actually hoped K/K would pick that version, but then I was glad they chose a completely different one. I like K/K’s program, it enhances them and they look a lot better. I would like to see it appreciated for what it is instead of comparing them to J/C.
mackoCF445 when you use the same music as a top competitor, it is going to have a comparison. It’s like the battle of the Carmens. Also, it’s a subjective sport. We are comparing everyone ;)
I feel that once the Eteri's "quad" girls + Alena become senior, Alina will fade into the background...
I’m sure Alina is just trying to get that world champ gold this season and then she can happily retire
@LaB of course that what she said, but I doubt that's what she actually thinks when she sees the younger girls at her camp. Plus she's already not a one-hit wonder when she won everything else last season.
@@evanperilstein5308 that's why I said getting that worlds gold this season is basically her final goal. I can see her keep going if it doesn't happen this season but I'm sure she'll also reconsider if it's worth it once the junior girls become seniors.
LaB I’m glad to hear it. Would love to see more performances from her. She is a diamond for sure.
Astrocat56 that would be cool to see! I think she has it in her, strong girl
Does anyone else notice how Rika does a lot of leg lifts in the free but kind of lets the leg bounce around and not hold? She has so much artistic potential but you can also see so much room for growth and I'm excited to see how she and her team refine her even more.
I enjoyed Trusova's free when I first saw it, but I have to agree that the "trick" is losing it's novelty. I like how she veers away from the ice princess schtick, and her athletic approach works better (for me) with Eteri's cluttered programs, but I found myself rooting more for Kostornaia and was happy with the results of the competition. I admire Trusova's moxy! And I like her direction and attitude. But at this point I'm ready to see more balance in her performances.
I always enjoy the discussion you guys bring to the table, but I think you should really consider adding time stamps to your videos, especially on extra long ones like this one. It would make your videos accessible and overall improve the quality of your channel. I don't always have time or just don't have the attention span (ADHD) to sit through about one hour of talk at a time so I like to watch in bursts and finding the specific discussions I'm looking for in that moment would be an immense help!
We have fans who do it. There is no way to get the videos up in a timely fashion AND time stamp it based on how these competitions go (and how quickly fans move on from the event). For some reason, TH-cam wound up flagging the time stamps as spam this week. I wasn't watching the comments after I posted the video this week. I was spending time with my family. Usually, I will watch the early comments and/or fans comment the time stamps. They seem to have fun with it. I apologize for the lack of time stamps this week. I have no idea why they were flagged.
Great episode. As a former pair skater what I see, always, is Ashley over compensating in most elements. That never works and we just saw the disaster and incredible danger that creates in partnered skating.
I would happily volunteer hours and hours to mix a Tori Amos program for Hubbell/Donohue using my basic-level sound mixing knowledge. Or, and I know I said this a couple of weeks ago, but a Cat Power program. Someone listen to her cover of Wild is the Wind and tell me that's not better than abrasive Romeo and Juliet.
We already knew this, but Ashley Cain is too tall for pairs. It's not safe enough, and you could see a lift incident coming from a mile away. They're been managing, but their elements don't ever not look labored to some extent. Tim isn't that big of a guy, and as you mentioned, he's not the best lifter. It doesn't take much to throw off a lift, and any wayward lift is that much more dangerous for them than it would be if she were pair girl height. And the way he lifted up her neck while she was laying on the ice clearly unconscious made it even more disturbing. I'm sure he was stunned, but picking up someone who is clearly not okay by the neck, or any body part for that matter, is equivalent to putting your hand on a hot stove. You just don't do it. They're extremely fortunate it wasn't more serious.
It really is ackward watching them. She's way too tall for pairs. I hate to say it because if you love it but can't do it, it's painful, but sometimes you have to face the hard truth....
David did u go to skate america 2009 when kim yuna was performing. I saw a youtube video that's showed kim yuna practicing her short program. You where talking in it. I wonder if it was u
As for the ladies, I agree, the judges have clearly sent their message and I am in two minds... they want balance. There's hardly anything Zagitova can do against Kihira this season (and I doubt she's capable to master a 3A or a quad), beautiful skating, difficult elements, she does not stand out, she's not a diva, but "sdelano!" As for Kostornaya, she is a diva, but unless she fixes her 3A (which she's struggling with as she says), she has no chance to win next season. Alina will go past her growth spurt, her TES are higher, Trusova will land her quads, she's pretty consistent in training, I don't know about Rika, she may grow taller, I think growth spurt hits Japanese girls later 17-19. However, remember when Sotnikova and Tuktamysheva competed in juniours, we were like, they'll kill next season, and they didn't. They got taller and bigger and sis not stand out among seniors as they did among juniors. Worlds is a lock for Kihira, Satoko can podium. And I agree with you guys on Sonya, SHE CLEARLY DESERVED THAT 3D SPOT! As well as Rika, Satoko and Kaori.
29:15 I agree about the Free Skate and the shirt. There is so much music by Simon and Garfunkle they could have chosen. I love his progress this season, if only he could have done this 3 years ago. I think Jason can bring a "character" to life, perhaps, going into next Olympic cycle, that's how his team should be looking at it. What character can he portray (think Javi - they did it brilliantly with him).
Am I the only one who though Ashley might be UNCONSCIOUS in the death spiral? I expected him to lift her out of it and realize she had passed out.
I think Shoma was actually sick or injured - really lethargic. He looked really bad in both practice sessions I attended...falling on every second jump. He didn't crack a smile throughout the entire event. He knew he wasn't going to do well - I was actually surprised he landed what he did in the short and free.
Agreed, he looked so nervous during the warm ups, he didn't seem his usual self.
Did anyone else notice Eteri’s stone face after Kostornya’s short program? Eteri didn’t even smile at her.
Yep. Reminded me of when Zagitova placed higher than Zhenya in the short in Pyeongchang.
It’s all the Botox. She doesn’t smile at anyone. She can’t.
Kostornaia is not really “her girl” from the beginning hence Eteri Cant take it just like with Zhenya vs Alina exactly
She’s going through a hard time now
Eteri’s mother passed away
Saw the title and realized I completely forgot about Golden Spin. Rushed to check results and was happy that Deanna and Nate did so well...then started watching and was reminded of their new SP. LOL.
In skating, we always had Art VS Technical, and now, I feel like we have a battle of Art VS Cleanness in terms of PCS. It's interesting how Dave said Kaori gets more PCS than what she really deserves, because that's what the other TSL guests said in the video where they analyzed and judged Junior Ladies' PCS (I think they did this when Zagitova won and Honda was second). Some were surprised how Kaori end up being in higher placement than what they really intended too. I feel Kaori deserves it because she has power, speed, and clean skating skills. I think it is a natural response for judges (judging her in real time) to give high PCS because her skating is that clean and powerful. But at the end, when you compare the PCS among the ladies, it may make you feel like you gave her too much because she isn't the typical, elegant, soft, lady-like artist.
It’s okay that you keep popping your opening combo, Dave. At least you “had fun out there”! You’ll just go back to the rink and keep practicing triples. 😉
Short and long investment examples are very good here: both Miki Ando and Sasha Kohen were performing quads due short investments in about same age and both lost quads after puberty. On the other side we have not seen a single example of long investment that led to quads. Eteri said: you learn difficult elements at young age after that you just work to keep what you have learnt. As sad as it sounds nobody have proven her wrong yet.
Regarding Trusova and Scherbakova quads failure: 12 hours time zones difference could be one of the reasons, you remember just a month ago at Russian cup Anya landed 4lz-3toe and 4lz in her free skate. And have you noticed that Trusova failed her first 4Lz attempt because she actually OVER rotated it?
I think at the moment they have reached maximum consistency with their triple jumps, both had performed the rest of their programs with ease after hard falls. So the question is should they just keep working with jumps they already perform consistently or should they try to push further?
Overrotate omg, is a quint coming? Lol!! I think you're dreaming, she didn't even complete a clean 4 revolutions in the air and she overrotated according to you.. Okay..
@@yunilius7193 Well, how about you check slowmo instead of trolling. Yagudin pointed this out, there was slight over rotation.
Okay boss!
Now don't talk about Babs I love her version of Music of the night. lol
I think some of the rearrangements of elements in the H/D FD worked this time,like the joining of actual and choreo lifts and twizzles. The former version almost put me to sleep immediately, whereas this time at least it grabbed attention in the first half.
Kolyada needs to change his coach, like ASAP, he doesn't even have to leave his home town to do that, I am pretty sure Mishin would take him on board. At this point I don't care that much about Chebotareva ( I am sure she is good), but his consistency and his confidence seem to be dropping with every single competition and at this rate I am not even sure he is going to make the world team.
Wow already up
Can someone explain to me what it was about Mao’s technique that made her F-Lo jumps look so effortless? I know I’ve seen this with other Japanese Ladies too... Maybe Shizuka? They seem to have more of a pause after the first jump and then just a simple ankle flick gets the Loop done... Whereas others who go for Lz-Lo or F-Lo combos always look like they’re barely eeking it out, and then they massively under-rotate them half the time (at least)...
JackAShepherd the younger Japanese ladies don’t do -lo combo much anymore tho 😢 I get that they probably don’t want to risk the underrotation from -3lo but the -2lo-2lo from Mao and Kanako really is a beauty that I prefer over any Eu-sal combo
PwT They GOTTA start rewarding actual jump COMBOS - e.g., a bonus for a Lo >>> T
It makes no sense to me that they don’t do that.
Ya know those hopping 3T-3Ts some pair teams do (e.g., Aliona & Robyn)? Are those getting the same points as a straight up, single-toe-picked 3T-3T? Lower GoEs, at least?
@@JackAShepherd the hopping 3t3t used to be counted as a sequence (3t seq 3t) and they had lower base value than straight up 3t3t, but starting this season only getting into an axel jump right after landing any jump is counted as a sequence combo. Any hopping in between jumps are now invalid as a combo/sequence jump.
PwT THANK YOU
@@JackAShepherd you're welcome~
1:51:17 Alina vs. Rika = Surya vs. Yuka!!! What a perfect analogy in describing the purity of technique. This is genius.
Good assessment of Stellato and Bartholomay. They haven't gotten a solid score outside US Nationals yet, and there are reasons for that, some of which you alluded to. Some of her positions are lovely, but they aren't that well matched and their elements are small. Their tango SP was better than this one. Cain and Leduc are a safety concern and aren't even doing the full lift difficulty the others are doing at this level. The storyline about how they are equal statues on the ice and how her height is no issue is bothersome because it's not true or safe. Perhaps the ref would have stopped the music if Leduc had signaled for help. Instead he lifted Ashley up as if she were fine, but she wasn't even conscious or moving her limbs until he lifted her neck and her arms started to jolt.
The Knierims are the cream of the crop of US pairs and need to get out of their own way. They looked great in places, unsettled in others. They have a good amount of time now to fine tune their programs and layouts and get situated wherever they are training now. They look like they just met Todd Sand yesterday, which I guess they kind of did. They need to have a good rapport with him and communicate well, and he needs to be strict with them when necessary. They were they only US pair to score 180+ these past couple weeks, and they really should be able to score near the 200s soon without being perfect, they just can't throw away so many points. They should practice both 3T and 2A.
Peng and Jin's doubled salchows were intentional and they have been all season. It seems to have helped the consistency of their triple toes.
About the junior ladies, you hit the nail on the head: their programs with the quads are not exciting (or at least not the same kind of exciting as Rika's and Liza's 3A). 3 quads in a ladies program, I should be sat on the edge of my seat, but instead it's cringing painful to watch the takeoffs and the falls.
Men’s was so boring there was almost no discussion of it. Come back Yuzu & Javi!
Stevie Darling we also were running out of time.
Completely agree about Hubbell/Donohue. With T/S and G/G taking all the hits as the main rivalry H/D were always the soul of competitions for me, they were unique, beautiful and powerful. This season I am very disappointed because instead of getting more of "them", but winning, I am left with "oh well at least they are winning".
I must say the dance judging disappointed me so much here I am in half a mind to drop caring about it for a while. I hate Zhulin, I like nothing about Katsalapov and Sinitsina and their scores make no sense. I hope S/B will figure out what to work on because their tango (artistically) is my favourite of the season by far and it's sad to see them beaten by S/K (I don't care much about the non-russian teams beating them, but it's horrible to see all the politics within Russia when they are clearly number 1 team in terms of material).
Also I find it fascinating how you found a way to criticize everyone (which I love!) without getting buried under a wave of hateful comments from your viewers. In this video only Kostornaya was praised, but all the comments so far are quite nice :) Thanks again for a great discussion!
Agree about H/D. So happy they won, but I don't care for their FD this year.
Agree, about S/B, S/K are just not that exciting, but that's politics Vika had ice flying off her skates in her tango romantica section on more than one occasion and they still got better levels than S/B, not that S/B were good in their key points, but the overall impression from their dance was much better in my opinion, and they should have been above S/K in both programs. That's politics, they've always been overlooked in favour of B/S, now apparently it's going to be S/K, and if the Rus Fed just backed them up for once they would even eventually got a chance at the world podium. I don't think that's in the works for S/K, no offence to them but their programs seem to be a little outdated not to mention there is no real unison, they both skate for themselves, not as a team.