First of all, feel free to move these reports to the other thread if you think it's better to have them there. I've decided to open a new thread because my idea is to write quite long reports, and I think it's better not to have them mixed with shorter posts regarding practice sessions or more brief comments.
So...having said that, let's start!
DAY 1 (PART 1)
Senior pairs short program
An overall really enjoyable event, with great skating despite the absence of some of the top pairs.
- Peng/Zhang: While I don't like their SP very much, I admit I enjoy this pair much better live than on TV. They have a way of moving effortlessly across the ice and execute their elements with extraordinary quality when they are on. The problem is, they are rarely on, and Peng seems to struggle with side-by-side jumps too often. Emotionally, they lack something for me.
- Seguin/Bilodeau: Already favourites of mine since the beginning of the season. They have decent speed, good basics and presentation. Overall, I would point out their implication: they look happy skating out there, they are enjoying their skate from the first second of the program. Entertaining program which they sold really well. Not a fan of their throws since she seems to lose her axis quite often, but it worked well in the short. They have a bright future ahead of them!
- Yu/Jin: The best two words to define their skating is precision and elegance. They are indeed elegant and graceful, but at the same time can make every element look easy, like it's a piece of cake for them, light as a feather. I like them very much but to me they still lack more connection with the audience (probably due to their music choices, too). They were great for me, but still don't have that special aura that real champions have.
- Scimeca/Knierim: They have the biggest twist of the field, and their throw is quite impressive too. Apart from that, their Metallica SP didn't left me a very strong impression live. They are a good pair, but didn't found them to be at the same level of most of the others. They have good speed but overall the quality of their skating is not as good as I expected. Probably, they didn't interpret this music as well as they did in Skate America, so this is why I was a little underwhelmed by their performance.
- Stolbova/Klimov: Yes, they are too serious and, yes, Ksenia is stone-faced during most part of the program, but they are so light and fast! The best skating skills of the whole event by far, in my opinion. Even though their twists and throws are not as impressive as V/T or other top pairs, they have amazing speed in and out their twist and a beautiful running edge out of their throws. Their skating is really big in person, and they perform with sharpness and determination. Well-deserved first place, they were the best of the field along with Kavaguti and Smirnov.
- Kavaguti/Smirnov: Crowd favourites and rightly so. Not as fast and sharp as Stolbova/Klimov but emotionally more connected to the audience. They are artistically great, but I don't see in them the perfection in movements that I see in the other Russian pair. He's big and she's very tiny and thin. They skate beautifully together but for such a veteran pair I still see something lacking. Having said this, they skated really well. Had they ended first after the short, I would have had nothing against it. Technically they were on fire, artistically they were too. However, skating skills give a very strong impression on judges and condition the rest of PCs, and I think this is why Ksenia and Feodor usually receive such high component scores.
- Duhamel/Radford: They were not on top of their game in the short, and when the technical fails them, their programs become slightly dull and unimpressive. I've probably said it a thousand times but, while Eric is elegant and light, Megan is not at the same level artistically. Technically, she can jump really well (I mean, execute difficult jumps) but the quality of the elements is not the same as the other top pairs. Not impressed by their short. However, I admire them for trying such difficulty and working hard on their presentation. Additionally, they flow quite beautifully across the ice and, while not as fast and impressive as Ksenia and Feodor, have good speed and have nice transitions.
Next part will be men's SP, but I don't have time to write the report now. Junior ladies FP starting in less than 2 hours, and the CCIB is on the other side of the city!!!
So...having said that, let's start!
DAY 1 (PART 1)
Senior pairs short program
An overall really enjoyable event, with great skating despite the absence of some of the top pairs.
- Peng/Zhang: While I don't like their SP very much, I admit I enjoy this pair much better live than on TV. They have a way of moving effortlessly across the ice and execute their elements with extraordinary quality when they are on. The problem is, they are rarely on, and Peng seems to struggle with side-by-side jumps too often. Emotionally, they lack something for me.
- Seguin/Bilodeau: Already favourites of mine since the beginning of the season. They have decent speed, good basics and presentation. Overall, I would point out their implication: they look happy skating out there, they are enjoying their skate from the first second of the program. Entertaining program which they sold really well. Not a fan of their throws since she seems to lose her axis quite often, but it worked well in the short. They have a bright future ahead of them!
- Yu/Jin: The best two words to define their skating is precision and elegance. They are indeed elegant and graceful, but at the same time can make every element look easy, like it's a piece of cake for them, light as a feather. I like them very much but to me they still lack more connection with the audience (probably due to their music choices, too). They were great for me, but still don't have that special aura that real champions have.
- Scimeca/Knierim: They have the biggest twist of the field, and their throw is quite impressive too. Apart from that, their Metallica SP didn't left me a very strong impression live. They are a good pair, but didn't found them to be at the same level of most of the others. They have good speed but overall the quality of their skating is not as good as I expected. Probably, they didn't interpret this music as well as they did in Skate America, so this is why I was a little underwhelmed by their performance.
- Stolbova/Klimov: Yes, they are too serious and, yes, Ksenia is stone-faced during most part of the program, but they are so light and fast! The best skating skills of the whole event by far, in my opinion. Even though their twists and throws are not as impressive as V/T or other top pairs, they have amazing speed in and out their twist and a beautiful running edge out of their throws. Their skating is really big in person, and they perform with sharpness and determination. Well-deserved first place, they were the best of the field along with Kavaguti and Smirnov.
- Kavaguti/Smirnov: Crowd favourites and rightly so. Not as fast and sharp as Stolbova/Klimov but emotionally more connected to the audience. They are artistically great, but I don't see in them the perfection in movements that I see in the other Russian pair. He's big and she's very tiny and thin. They skate beautifully together but for such a veteran pair I still see something lacking. Having said this, they skated really well. Had they ended first after the short, I would have had nothing against it. Technically they were on fire, artistically they were too. However, skating skills give a very strong impression on judges and condition the rest of PCs, and I think this is why Ksenia and Feodor usually receive such high component scores.
- Duhamel/Radford: They were not on top of their game in the short, and when the technical fails them, their programs become slightly dull and unimpressive. I've probably said it a thousand times but, while Eric is elegant and light, Megan is not at the same level artistically. Technically, she can jump really well (I mean, execute difficult jumps) but the quality of the elements is not the same as the other top pairs. Not impressed by their short. However, I admire them for trying such difficulty and working hard on their presentation. Additionally, they flow quite beautifully across the ice and, while not as fast and impressive as Ksenia and Feodor, have good speed and have nice transitions.
Next part will be men's SP, but I don't have time to write the report now. Junior ladies FP starting in less than 2 hours, and the CCIB is on the other side of the city!!!
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