Is Ashley's Tim a US guy? Has he skated with someone else before?
Interesting. S/M didn't hit the levels - twist only level 2 and death spiral only level 3. I loved Aljona's position in the death spiral by the way and it's really a great program.
Ajonas and Brunos program is insane. And there is so much room for improvements.
1.The twist is even higher than last year, but only level 2. Maybe because of their crazy dismount?
2. What concerns me is the salchow. Aljona doubles it often. I cannot see how she wants to manage 3S+1Lo+3S consistently.
3. The 3ATh is so HUGE. Short setup and amazing air position. Could be around 10 points when clean.
4.I love the lift. The program has so much power and so many details. Brunos improvements are totaly visible.
Glad to hear they weren't injured. Thanks for the update, Alex.Had a brief chat with Dylan and Liubov, the fall during warm up was not much of an issue during the program and they are both ok. Overall they are ok with the performance. More when I find the time, please be patient but it was very interesting to talk to them.
Is Ashley's Tim a US guy? Has he skated with someone else before?
Yes, he skated with DeeDee Leng and did very well in SP 2014 nationals as a fairly new team. They split, and he's been skating on cruise boats since then ... banking the funds for training, he said.
USFSA suggested Ashley and Tim try out .... that was only 5 months ago! Great progress.
I remember thinking that Tim was the more artistic and balletic half of the team when he skated with DeeDee. I'm so glad he's got this opportunity.
I worry a little because Tim and Ashley are so close in height; she's 5'7" I think. But he seems very strong and they look good together, with the long limbs.
Tim LeDuc started out in U.S. Junior pairs skating with Cassie Andrews. Tim won the bronze medal in U.S. junior pairs with Andrews in 2011 (the same year btw that Ashley Cain won the gold medal in U.S. junior pairs with Joshua Reagan -- who now skates with Brittany Jones for Canada). A bit of North American musical pairs history.
Here's the famous sp skated by Dee Dee and Tim, which vaulted them to 3rd place in the sp at 2013 U.S. Nationals (they fell to a lower placement after the fp). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VyMwTP0NSQ Obviously, Leng/LeDuc could have been a very competitive team had they not split up when Tim tried out with Marissa Castelli, who had split with Simon Schnapir post 2014 Olympics. Leng went on to partner with Simon (she later retired after a back injury). Castelli chose Mervin Tran over Tim, and Tim kept in shape by skating on cruise ships. And the beat goes on.
Ashley is tall for a pairs girl (somewhere close to 5' 6"). Ash/Tim have great lines, and good jumping skills (seen in practice clips they have posted), but they still have a lot to work on, being a very new partnership. Ashley competes singles too, but she may need to consider focusing in on pairs if she hopes to make a good stretch run with Tim. I'm a fan, and I hope to see them improve.
... USFSA suggested Ashley and Tim try out .... that was only 5 months ago! Great progress...
I hope she does consider it seriously. IIRC, Josh gave as a reason for ending the partnership that Ashley split her time between pairs and singles.
I watched Tim's program with DeeDee today and couldn't help comparing their twist to his with Ashley. But all the other pairs elements look promising to me. I'm also a fan, and I'm really looking forward to seeing them do well and be happy skating together.
I really enjoyed their SP here, and look forward to tomorrow's LP. But I think I need counseling. I'm way too invested, obviously!