Hi everyone. Now it’s time for my small report from GPF. I know I’m late, but late is better than never, right? Also, all I’m going to post is my very own personal opinion, you’re free to disagree with me on ANY points.
The rink is absolutely spectacular, very big and wide, but also have this kinda ‘comfy’ feeling about it. The seats were pretty comfortable, at least better than at other arena’s I’ve been at. Of course after hours and hours of seating on one place my *ahem* lower back was kinda stiff. So I bought flat pillow for something like €13 and took it with me on the second day of competition. The view from my place (13th row on judges side, close to center) was fantastic too. I saw everything, all the steps and turns, little choreo nuances and even faces of the skaters when they skated in front of the stands. But I seated on my seat only on the second day, and during exhibitions. When juniors skated I migrated on the front seats.
The public was awesome too, very supportive of every skater, but especially Havi and Japanese skaters. Sometimes it looked like 50% of the audience had Japan flags, and the competition was in Asia, not in Europe. I’ve seen a lot of Russian fans, Americans, Canadians, Chinese, French, Germans, Italians, Australians (!) and whole lot more people from different countries. Everyone seemed very friendly, talked to each other, laughed and smiled. It felt like a celebration.
The first competition was junior short dance. The thing is, I’m enjoying ice dance way too much more than other figure skating disciplines, and I love Alla Loboda, so for me it was absolute highlight of Juniors event. From both days. I promised myself to forget all about the scores, and just enjoy the art. From six Junior short dances I loved five! The only team I’m cold about is Lauriault/Le Gac, I find them extremely overrated and overscored. But oh well, to each their own I guess. Skoptcova/Aleshin skated very nice, but too juniorish. They looked like two kids next to other teams, but it’s understandable, since they’re youngest couple there.
First memorable performance of GPF for me was Popova/Vlasenko’s dance to ‘Master and Margarita’ soundrack. If I was asked to describe the dance in one word that words would be ‘POWERFUL’. I’m a fan of Betina Popova, but I was not a fan on that dance when they performed it at their individual jGP events, but after watching it live I changed my mind. Their interpritation of the music is maybe over the top, but it’s absolutely brilliant. Absolutely. They don’t have the strongest edges in GPF, the highest speed oe precision in their steps, and I would change some of her arm movements, but for me they won in Interpritation mark. Everything was on point, the wild dark waltz on the ball of witches, warlocks and other mystical creations.
The best pattern showed (once again) Loboda/Drozd. The impressive thing is that they’re the only team from Juniors AND Seniors who hit all the key-points in every competition they skated at this season. Impressive, huh? They haven’t received the GOE bonus they should receive for their pattern, it was airy, very soft and very musical. I would say it was their best pattern of the season. Second part, however, wasn’t so good. Their step sequence was not perfectly executed, and honestly the second music cut doesn’t fit them too much. Especially Alla. It was like Natasha Rostova from ‘War and Peace’ danced on the ball, and then she immediately pulled a sable from under her dress, jumped on the hourse’s back and galloped into the battlefield. But it was very dynamic, and very difficult to skate in such tempo, that’s where the GOE came from. Alla also had birthday at that day
The Parsons skated typical classic waltz from ‘Cinderella’ by Prokofiev. It was the first dance of the season I actually liked at the beginning of the season. Very nice music, strong technical elements, but next to zero interpretation and presentation. The dance looked basic, after Popova/Vlasenko and Loboda/Drozd. Solid, very solid in fact, but not very impressive and interesting. The only mark I would give them higher score for is SS, and probably transitions, in everything else Loboda/Drozd were better. And one more thing, I wasn’t as convinced as other people here that height difference is a problem for them, but after I’ve seen them live I have to agree. The lift looks VERY awkward, when she climbs on him and he tries to keep his balance, she seems too big. But she’s NOT bigger than other girls, it’s just Michael who seems smaller and more compact than other guys. But anyway, solid performance nonetheless.
And finally, the winners of the short dance McNamara/Carpenter. It was the first time I liked this SD, they put their soul in it. Very strong technically and presentation-wise. All music accents were highlighted and emphasized. I don’t have deep connection with them, but deserved first place. They are simply stronger than everyone else. Not sure if they’re ready for Seniors, though. They don’t looke very mature, but still more mature than Parsons.
But juniors free dances were pale in comparison with their short dances. Nothing came close to Yanovskaya/Mozgov’s Argentine tango of last season. I’m glad McNamara/Caprenter done POTO and ‘Carmen’ BEFORE they’re stepped into Seniors, there’s still ‘Romeo and Juliete’ left, though.
I was REALLY impressed by Tsurskaya, she’s like a machine, very strong performance in SP, I’m not a fan of the music, though. Her FP is better for my taste. That 3Lz-3T-2T combo with delayed rotation is to die for! Fedichkina was fan favorite, especially her FP. People cheered for her more than other ladies, at least the people around me. It’s a shame she did not medal.
Don’t have much to say about Pairs SP. Every pair is raw material, they all need to work VERY hard to have any perspectives in Seniors. After last season’s final with Seguin/Bilodeau and Fedorova/Miroshkin, this year’s seems kinda empty. The only pair I want to mention is Atakhanova/Spiridonov, and probably Duskova/Bidar. That’s all. I think both this pairs are more balanced and actually stronger than the winners.
As for junior men, I’d like to mention Daniel Samohin. Chen, Aliev and Yamamoto delivered, but Samohin have something in him (or in his programs) that made me feel his skate. Zhou and Sadovski were visibly weaker than other guys in basic skating. It was obvious in the arena. Anyway, men SP was interesting competition, almost everyone was clean. But FP, the biggest splat fest EVER. And some of the falls looked pretty hard and painful.
Seniors pairs competition was SO good, I don’t remember it being this interesting before. Seguin/Bilodeau is a nice surprise here, I bet in a season or two they’ll try to beat Duhamel/Radford for Canadians #1 pair. They have technical elements and charisma, they need to improve their basic skating and maturity, because there were moments where they looked like Juniors. Charlie seems like a very nice person, I’ve seen him talking with the fans, like, for hour! Their FP is not as good as short, though. And they were kinda reserved in it, probably nervous? Both Chinese pairs with their ultra-C elements looked less interesting for me personally than other pairs, especially Peng/Zhang… their father/daughter Tango looked EXTREMELY awkward. BUT the program itself is very nice.
My heart went to Scimeca/Knierim during their FP, they wanted to skate it clean SO bad, looked very determined, but again, this ultra-c element costed them too much. And usual scary falls from the jumps. This was bad. Duhamel/Radford were solid, and have some little improvements in their artistry/presentation (especially in FP), but their programs are still mostly elements and ‘big tricks’. Big telegraphed elements. But they deserved to be second here, no question about it. Kavaguti/Smirnov have a magnetic theatric FP, which was not clean, but still the effect on the audience is very strong. It was a standing ovation, despite all the falls. And Stolbova/Klimov were just out of this world. I love their FP, I think it’s the best FP of the season, and finally it was executed PERFECTLY. Every single step, every nuance of the choreography, every element, everything came into one place. Their throws are so confident and fast, and Ksenia’s flow is best from all the teams. Very beautiful lines and lifts, very solid 3-3-2 combo, and finally perfect triple Salchow. The audience went crazy. The music is very dark and hypnotic, just the right effect for this contemporary program. Ksenia called the program ‘A Man and a Shadow’, and what a perfect name it is! I’m so happy I’ve seen this performance LIVE. It was absolutely terrific, another standing ovation from the audience.
Ladies event was just as good as pairs. I LOVED Medvedeva’s FP. I’ve seen it at Rostelecom live too, but at GPF she performed it even better. Such freedom and grace in her movements, oh my! Second best free program had Ashley Wagner, I don’t remember her EVER skating this good! I was so impressed by her, you have no idea. She went into her jumps without hesitation, she performed and interpreted the music perfectly, it was a deserved standing ovation. Shame about her SP, she should have been second overall. Satoko also surprised me, yes her jumps are small (it’s just truth, no sense in denying it), but her style of skating is very nice. Besides, she was clean in both programs, which is rare occasion for this GPF. Elena Radionova had difficulties in both her programs, but public still loved her. Her performances on emotional level were weaker than at Rostelecom, unfortunately, I didn’t feel the connection this time around, and I was absolutely sure she’s going to fall from her lutz, but somehow she landed it. Amazing fighting spirit, I hope she will live through her problems, I liked her more when she was more consistent. And Gracie and Mao… well, it was not their best days. A lot of mistakes, but potential is there. I still enjoyed them both, and Mao’s step sequences are just the best on current ladies field.
And finally ice dance. I’m just going to say that I liked every single performance from every single team here. Shame about Zach fall, but I don’t think they would be 5th even without the fall. Bobrova/Soloviev and Hubbel/Donohue’s free dances were different from other teams’ dances, kinda old-fashioned, very soft and smooth. I liked Chock/Bates FD this time around, I think Madison put her soul in it, very emotional. I felt connection with this dance, just as I do with Bobrova/Soloviev’s FD. Igor re-choreografed their Diagonal Step Sequence, and guess what? Waltz/tango hold is visible and clearly recognizable now, I wonder what was he thinking before? Shame about the mistake on twizzles, but other than that it was very good.
Bobrova/Soloviev’s ‘Karenina’ was a fairytale on ice, so emotional. I loved the public, they were so quiet during the dance, especially when the music faded for the combination spin and then translated in piano piece for their Diagonal Step Sequence, it was dead silence. And then when the dance was over everyone started clapping and cheering for them. Very beautiful. They had such genuine smiles on their faces, they’re clearly happy to be back.
As for the judging, in my PERSONAL opinion, this competition was the worst example of reputation judging in the last couple of seasons. Starting order was also the factor. If Bobrova/Soloviev or Hubbel/Donohue skated in second group, they would have received higher GOE and components, same for the Shibs. In my opinion, Cappellini/Lanotte should have been first, not Weaver/Poje. I’ve seen both these teams at Rostelecom cup, and in my opinion Weaver/Poje looked stronger there, while Cappellini/Lanotte skated here better. But oh, well. Anyway, it was very interesting competition, very strong dances, very emotional. I’m so glad I was there.
Also, about synchro skating. I have no idea what it is, the rules, elements, what teams there are etc. But it looks SO COOL! The ‘Carmen’ from ‘Paradise’ was earth-shattering! Spanish public clapped and screamed, so many skaters on ice, and they were skating fast! ‘Rockettes’ also rocked! Very interesting experience for me, and very interesting discipline. Maybe ISU will include it in GP events in the future.
Anyway, too many thoughts in my head now, I’m probably forgot to mention 90% of good stuff. It was a real celebration. I wish everyone would see it live someday. So many emotions left! I will live with them ‘till next year’s GPF. I will definitely look for a way to travel in Marseilles.
And now I have photos with Madison Chock, Even Bates (who’s a very nice guy, by the way), Anna Cappellini, Patrick Chan have autographs from Chan, Gracie Gold, Medvedeva, Cappellini, Fedor Klimov, Evan Bates, Fernandez, Weaver, maybe someone else, I need to check. And I don’t even collect them or anything, I just had a chance, so they signed something for me. So, I guess, I need to start collecting skaters signatures after that..
P.S. Again, sorry for all the mistakes.
The rink is absolutely spectacular, very big and wide, but also have this kinda ‘comfy’ feeling about it. The seats were pretty comfortable, at least better than at other arena’s I’ve been at. Of course after hours and hours of seating on one place my *ahem* lower back was kinda stiff. So I bought flat pillow for something like €13 and took it with me on the second day of competition. The view from my place (13th row on judges side, close to center) was fantastic too. I saw everything, all the steps and turns, little choreo nuances and even faces of the skaters when they skated in front of the stands. But I seated on my seat only on the second day, and during exhibitions. When juniors skated I migrated on the front seats.
The public was awesome too, very supportive of every skater, but especially Havi and Japanese skaters. Sometimes it looked like 50% of the audience had Japan flags, and the competition was in Asia, not in Europe. I’ve seen a lot of Russian fans, Americans, Canadians, Chinese, French, Germans, Italians, Australians (!) and whole lot more people from different countries. Everyone seemed very friendly, talked to each other, laughed and smiled. It felt like a celebration.
The first competition was junior short dance. The thing is, I’m enjoying ice dance way too much more than other figure skating disciplines, and I love Alla Loboda, so for me it was absolute highlight of Juniors event. From both days. I promised myself to forget all about the scores, and just enjoy the art. From six Junior short dances I loved five! The only team I’m cold about is Lauriault/Le Gac, I find them extremely overrated and overscored. But oh well, to each their own I guess. Skoptcova/Aleshin skated very nice, but too juniorish. They looked like two kids next to other teams, but it’s understandable, since they’re youngest couple there.
First memorable performance of GPF for me was Popova/Vlasenko’s dance to ‘Master and Margarita’ soundrack. If I was asked to describe the dance in one word that words would be ‘POWERFUL’. I’m a fan of Betina Popova, but I was not a fan on that dance when they performed it at their individual jGP events, but after watching it live I changed my mind. Their interpritation of the music is maybe over the top, but it’s absolutely brilliant. Absolutely. They don’t have the strongest edges in GPF, the highest speed oe precision in their steps, and I would change some of her arm movements, but for me they won in Interpritation mark. Everything was on point, the wild dark waltz on the ball of witches, warlocks and other mystical creations.
The best pattern showed (once again) Loboda/Drozd. The impressive thing is that they’re the only team from Juniors AND Seniors who hit all the key-points in every competition they skated at this season. Impressive, huh? They haven’t received the GOE bonus they should receive for their pattern, it was airy, very soft and very musical. I would say it was their best pattern of the season. Second part, however, wasn’t so good. Their step sequence was not perfectly executed, and honestly the second music cut doesn’t fit them too much. Especially Alla. It was like Natasha Rostova from ‘War and Peace’ danced on the ball, and then she immediately pulled a sable from under her dress, jumped on the hourse’s back and galloped into the battlefield. But it was very dynamic, and very difficult to skate in such tempo, that’s where the GOE came from. Alla also had birthday at that day
The Parsons skated typical classic waltz from ‘Cinderella’ by Prokofiev. It was the first dance of the season I actually liked at the beginning of the season. Very nice music, strong technical elements, but next to zero interpretation and presentation. The dance looked basic, after Popova/Vlasenko and Loboda/Drozd. Solid, very solid in fact, but not very impressive and interesting. The only mark I would give them higher score for is SS, and probably transitions, in everything else Loboda/Drozd were better. And one more thing, I wasn’t as convinced as other people here that height difference is a problem for them, but after I’ve seen them live I have to agree. The lift looks VERY awkward, when she climbs on him and he tries to keep his balance, she seems too big. But she’s NOT bigger than other girls, it’s just Michael who seems smaller and more compact than other guys. But anyway, solid performance nonetheless.
And finally, the winners of the short dance McNamara/Carpenter. It was the first time I liked this SD, they put their soul in it. Very strong technically and presentation-wise. All music accents were highlighted and emphasized. I don’t have deep connection with them, but deserved first place. They are simply stronger than everyone else. Not sure if they’re ready for Seniors, though. They don’t looke very mature, but still more mature than Parsons.
But juniors free dances were pale in comparison with their short dances. Nothing came close to Yanovskaya/Mozgov’s Argentine tango of last season. I’m glad McNamara/Caprenter done POTO and ‘Carmen’ BEFORE they’re stepped into Seniors, there’s still ‘Romeo and Juliete’ left, though.
I was REALLY impressed by Tsurskaya, she’s like a machine, very strong performance in SP, I’m not a fan of the music, though. Her FP is better for my taste. That 3Lz-3T-2T combo with delayed rotation is to die for! Fedichkina was fan favorite, especially her FP. People cheered for her more than other ladies, at least the people around me. It’s a shame she did not medal.
Don’t have much to say about Pairs SP. Every pair is raw material, they all need to work VERY hard to have any perspectives in Seniors. After last season’s final with Seguin/Bilodeau and Fedorova/Miroshkin, this year’s seems kinda empty. The only pair I want to mention is Atakhanova/Spiridonov, and probably Duskova/Bidar. That’s all. I think both this pairs are more balanced and actually stronger than the winners.
As for junior men, I’d like to mention Daniel Samohin. Chen, Aliev and Yamamoto delivered, but Samohin have something in him (or in his programs) that made me feel his skate. Zhou and Sadovski were visibly weaker than other guys in basic skating. It was obvious in the arena. Anyway, men SP was interesting competition, almost everyone was clean. But FP, the biggest splat fest EVER. And some of the falls looked pretty hard and painful.
Seniors pairs competition was SO good, I don’t remember it being this interesting before. Seguin/Bilodeau is a nice surprise here, I bet in a season or two they’ll try to beat Duhamel/Radford for Canadians #1 pair. They have technical elements and charisma, they need to improve their basic skating and maturity, because there were moments where they looked like Juniors. Charlie seems like a very nice person, I’ve seen him talking with the fans, like, for hour! Their FP is not as good as short, though. And they were kinda reserved in it, probably nervous? Both Chinese pairs with their ultra-C elements looked less interesting for me personally than other pairs, especially Peng/Zhang… their father/daughter Tango looked EXTREMELY awkward. BUT the program itself is very nice.
My heart went to Scimeca/Knierim during their FP, they wanted to skate it clean SO bad, looked very determined, but again, this ultra-c element costed them too much. And usual scary falls from the jumps. This was bad. Duhamel/Radford were solid, and have some little improvements in their artistry/presentation (especially in FP), but their programs are still mostly elements and ‘big tricks’. Big telegraphed elements. But they deserved to be second here, no question about it. Kavaguti/Smirnov have a magnetic theatric FP, which was not clean, but still the effect on the audience is very strong. It was a standing ovation, despite all the falls. And Stolbova/Klimov were just out of this world. I love their FP, I think it’s the best FP of the season, and finally it was executed PERFECTLY. Every single step, every nuance of the choreography, every element, everything came into one place. Their throws are so confident and fast, and Ksenia’s flow is best from all the teams. Very beautiful lines and lifts, very solid 3-3-2 combo, and finally perfect triple Salchow. The audience went crazy. The music is very dark and hypnotic, just the right effect for this contemporary program. Ksenia called the program ‘A Man and a Shadow’, and what a perfect name it is! I’m so happy I’ve seen this performance LIVE. It was absolutely terrific, another standing ovation from the audience.
Ladies event was just as good as pairs. I LOVED Medvedeva’s FP. I’ve seen it at Rostelecom live too, but at GPF she performed it even better. Such freedom and grace in her movements, oh my! Second best free program had Ashley Wagner, I don’t remember her EVER skating this good! I was so impressed by her, you have no idea. She went into her jumps without hesitation, she performed and interpreted the music perfectly, it was a deserved standing ovation. Shame about her SP, she should have been second overall. Satoko also surprised me, yes her jumps are small (it’s just truth, no sense in denying it), but her style of skating is very nice. Besides, she was clean in both programs, which is rare occasion for this GPF. Elena Radionova had difficulties in both her programs, but public still loved her. Her performances on emotional level were weaker than at Rostelecom, unfortunately, I didn’t feel the connection this time around, and I was absolutely sure she’s going to fall from her lutz, but somehow she landed it. Amazing fighting spirit, I hope she will live through her problems, I liked her more when she was more consistent. And Gracie and Mao… well, it was not their best days. A lot of mistakes, but potential is there. I still enjoyed them both, and Mao’s step sequences are just the best on current ladies field.
And finally ice dance. I’m just going to say that I liked every single performance from every single team here. Shame about Zach fall, but I don’t think they would be 5th even without the fall. Bobrova/Soloviev and Hubbel/Donohue’s free dances were different from other teams’ dances, kinda old-fashioned, very soft and smooth. I liked Chock/Bates FD this time around, I think Madison put her soul in it, very emotional. I felt connection with this dance, just as I do with Bobrova/Soloviev’s FD. Igor re-choreografed their Diagonal Step Sequence, and guess what? Waltz/tango hold is visible and clearly recognizable now, I wonder what was he thinking before? Shame about the mistake on twizzles, but other than that it was very good.
Bobrova/Soloviev’s ‘Karenina’ was a fairytale on ice, so emotional. I loved the public, they were so quiet during the dance, especially when the music faded for the combination spin and then translated in piano piece for their Diagonal Step Sequence, it was dead silence. And then when the dance was over everyone started clapping and cheering for them. Very beautiful. They had such genuine smiles on their faces, they’re clearly happy to be back.
As for the judging, in my PERSONAL opinion, this competition was the worst example of reputation judging in the last couple of seasons. Starting order was also the factor. If Bobrova/Soloviev or Hubbel/Donohue skated in second group, they would have received higher GOE and components, same for the Shibs. In my opinion, Cappellini/Lanotte should have been first, not Weaver/Poje. I’ve seen both these teams at Rostelecom cup, and in my opinion Weaver/Poje looked stronger there, while Cappellini/Lanotte skated here better. But oh, well. Anyway, it was very interesting competition, very strong dances, very emotional. I’m so glad I was there.
Also, about synchro skating. I have no idea what it is, the rules, elements, what teams there are etc. But it looks SO COOL! The ‘Carmen’ from ‘Paradise’ was earth-shattering! Spanish public clapped and screamed, so many skaters on ice, and they were skating fast! ‘Rockettes’ also rocked! Very interesting experience for me, and very interesting discipline. Maybe ISU will include it in GP events in the future.
Anyway, too many thoughts in my head now, I’m probably forgot to mention 90% of good stuff. It was a real celebration. I wish everyone would see it live someday. So many emotions left! I will live with them ‘till next year’s GPF. I will definitely look for a way to travel in Marseilles.
And now I have photos with Madison Chock, Even Bates (who’s a very nice guy, by the way), Anna Cappellini, Patrick Chan have autographs from Chan, Gracie Gold, Medvedeva, Cappellini, Fedor Klimov, Evan Bates, Fernandez, Weaver, maybe someone else, I need to check. And I don’t even collect them or anything, I just had a chance, so they signed something for me. So, I guess, I need to start collecting skaters signatures after that..
P.S. Again, sorry for all the mistakes.
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We owned that night club 
But trust me, you don't want to hear the details 
haha Im soo jealous!
Can't wait for your post. 
Anyway, here's the first part of my GPF report, and I'll focus on the men - the discipline I follow most anyway, and the absolute highlight of the GPF! 
