2018 Skate America: Thoughts and Highlights?

[DanseMacabre]

You know, in the Russian fan community there is such a slang term - "cactus". It comes from the joking sayings "the mice cried, pricked, but continued to gnaw the cactus". "Cactus" is a figure skater from which you "cry", but continue to cheer for him and believe. For example, on SA was my favorite cactus - Moris And I cry, I am pricked, but continue to be his fan.

I kind of love that. Marin was my cactus at Skate America. How is it said in Russian?

 

[lesnar001]

My busy time of year at work seems to coincide with the GP season so I’ve just been catching snippets here and there. I can’t do a summary because I simply missed too much but I do have a thought to offer. The level of skating on the GP is really impressive! It takes a lot of hard work and training to make the GP and a ridiculous amount more to stand out. A rare combination of luck and talent lives within all of the skaters. We’re very lucky to have a part in it as fans.

Hopefully I’ll be around for Skate Canada a bit more

Beautifully stated.

 

[Orlov]

I kind of love that. Marin was my cactus at Skate America. How is it said in Russian?

I will clarify, cactus is a permanent category For example, Tennel was just a bad evening, she was not a cactus. But, yes Marin is so cactus

Марин - такой кактус! (Marin is such a cactus!)
Марин - мой любимый кактус (Marin is my favorite cactus)

 

[TontoK]

The cactus thing is cool.

I suppose mine over the years has been Brezina, but this cactus didn't hurt me as much at Skate America.

A silver medal was more than I could have hoped for.

 

[Orlov]

A couple of moments were remarkable for the Russian-speaking audience.

The first words of Aleksey Bychenko said with self-irony and smiling to his coach after SP - "Немножко обоср#лся" ("A little s##t myself" - it's mean "i screwed up" in russian). It's already become a meme in the Russian fan community

Words that Arutinyan met upset Honda after FP "Ну что, лапочка?" ("Well, honey"). Word "лапочка" (literal translation - "little paw") - is very tender, daddy's word. It is very unusual to hear such words from such a gloomy man, whose chin can split the rock

 

[Orlov]

I suppose mine over the years has been Brezina, but this cactus didn't hurt me as much at Skate America.
A silver medal was more than I could have hoped for.

It is because of these rare happy moments that we continue to love our cacti.

 

[Lester]

I think Nathan Chen must be going through some sort of a teen rebellion phase
Interesting new programs from him.

Also Brezina did surprisingly well. Good for him and hopefully no more meh outings at Euros and Worlds.

 

[WeakAnkles]

It is because of these rare happy moments that we continue to love our cacti.

Some cacti bloom beautiful flowers.

https://www.google.com/search?q=cac...cSkrJzeAhWGct8KHcTJBMIQ9QEwAnoECAEQCA#imgrc=_

 

[Miller]

- Never before have I missed that little row of squares they had at the Olympics more. I was watching the event without narration so I looked at the skater and then looked at the TES score box ticking away at the top.
In several, and I mean several, skaters' cases the number when they left the ice and the final number they were given was reduced by 5 points (in some cases even 10 points). They had a look of WTH in their faces and I had another one in mine. If that little row existed I would have known that the number I was looking at included, say, 7 under review elements, which meant that the final number was likely to change by a hell of a lot. I know that TES score counter is not set in stone but I was never so surprised by seeing the changes before. Maybe because I usually watch stuff with comments, maybe because I'm really not an expert at "feeling final TES" but regardless, I think that every competition could be enhanced by using that row of squares to paint red, green or yellow.

They should highlight the element name in yellow as you go along if the item is to be reviewed. That way you would get a very good idea of any likely deduction in TES. The more elements in yellow, the bigger it's likely to be (plus items to be marked for review were done very quickly at the Olympics, there was the odd quick review at the end of elements that weren't marked at the time, but as far as I could tell they had very little effect, they were probably more to be on the safe side than anything).

 

[Miller]

My review.

Mens - Nathan was great, the rest was mostly 'yikes!'. Who would have thought the 30s reduction would cause such carnage. Maybe time for some skaters to review their strategy and cut-back on the big jumps until they can cope with cramming everything in. Julian Yee was great in the SP, Michal Brezina thoroughly deserved his silver medal, Vincent Zhou really was 'wuzrobbed' by some (but certainly not all) of the technical calls. Everything else, except for some of Matteo Rizzo and Sergei Voronov, needs a discreet veil drawing over it.

Pairs - What I thought would happen with the mass retirements, splits and seasons off did occur. However the SP was actually a pleasant surprise, and Hase/Seegert really did very well. The LP was a horrible splatfest though, but did look a little better when I watched it again, and Cain/LeDuc must now be the American number 1 pair, they weren't bad at all.

Dance - I don't follow this closely enough to be able to really comment, but loved Fear/Gibson in the Free Dance.

Ladies - Satoko, Kaori and Sofia were all great, plus Megan Wessenberg certainly came through. I feared for her after Ondrej Nepela, but she certainly proved me wrong. Also loved Alaine Chartrand's fighting spirit in the long, she came back really well.

Overall - the technical callers were too harsh, especially on URs. When you've got 3 skaters i.e. Polina Tsurskaya, Marin Honda and Vincent Zhou all totally shocked at their scores you know something's wrong - anything can happen once, twice could be a coincidence, but not 3 times, the skaters know how they've really done.

 

[skylark]

Overall - the technical callers were too harsh, especially on URs. When you've got 3 skaters i.e. Polina Tsurskaya, Marin Honda and Vincent Zhou all totally shocked at their scores you know something's wrong - anything can happen once, twice could be a coincidence, but not 3 times, the skaters know how they've really done.

A portion of dedicated FS fans care about URs. Many other dedicated fans felt, even before this season, that the deduction on base value points was already way too much, considering that there are so many other factors in a beautiful figure skating performance that should override something often only noticeable to those who care about a technicality. Yet, a couple of urs makes a crucial difference amongst the top contenders.

Then when you consider general FS fans, most of whom not only don't care about urs but don't even see them, you have a Glaring Reason for the inability of audiences to make sense of performances vs. judging. They shrug their shoulders, but each time something is so incomprehensible, FS itself loses.

It's really emphasized just how much power the technical panel has - particularly under this system where adding a < can cause a skater to lose out on a ton of BV and GOE (along with the deduction).

So now the impact of urs has tripled. Which is completely ridiculous. As was well demonstrated at SA.

Added to that is that URs are so often in the eye of the beholder. (All you have to do is read GSrs arguing over them). Otherwise there's no fair explanation why other skaters get away with them.

 

[skylark]

Words that Arutinyan met upset Honda after FP "Ну что, лапочка?" ("Well, honey"). Word "лапочка" (literal translation - "little paw") - is very tender, daddy's word. It is very unusual to hear such words from such a gloomy man, whose chin can split the rock

Ooh, there are so many charming expressions in this one sentence! Thank you for sharing these, and for the "cactus" definition. I know about two words of Russian, da and nyet, but when I studied foreign-to-me languages, I most loved these little tidbits that communicate cultural gems and feelings. My son and I love to watch a movie with audio in Spanish, for him, and subtitles in French for me. Then we pause the movie to laugh, enjoy and discuss the different ways of expressing something, and compare it to the English words.

LOL it's true what you said about Rafael and his chin. Not to mention his death glare. But I sometimes see glimpses of the tender daddy too. His K&C in Brezina's FS this event is one example.

 

[rikaquegira]

The biggest highlights for me were Satoko and Kaori.

You can see the growth in Kaori’s performances, I think her team is doing a good job, pushing her jn the right direction. Technically she’s very good already, except for the Flutz that she seems to be trying to correct so kudos to her! I particularly love her 3Lo! Isn’t it one of the best??

Satoko’s programs are just perfect for her! I see people complaining about her interpretation, saying she can’t do tango, she’s not expressive, etc. But I think these people forget tango is not one dimensional. While I agree Satoko’s interpretation tends to weight more to the introspective side, she’s not skating to Libertango! The way I see it, her expression fits the music just fine. The detail of her movements, the commitment to the choreography, the purpose in every move is there. The way I see it, she interprets the music like no one else currently competing. She gave two great performances here, really showing what she’s capable of.


Another highlight for me, a negative one, were Tara and Weir’s commentary. Simply awful. They are always awful but I feel like this was some of their worst events! Truly despicable and unbearable. If I only had NBC to watch Skate America, I would prefer not. I just can’t with those two!

 

[kwanatic]

- Satoko: Her SP is all kinds of glorious! The music and her performance gave me goosebumps. She is truly a special skater. Love the FS too. Her jumps looked stronger here. There's slightly more lift which helps the overall impression of them. So happy for her gold medal here.

- Kaori: I just adore her. Both of her programs are lovely this year and I think she performs them beautifully. I disagree with T&J; I do not find Kaori to be sloppy/messy. She's not as refined in her movements as she could be but she gives the emotion and feeling which makes the movements beautiful to me. I thought she was incredible here. Well-deserved silver.

Sophia: I've always had a soft spot for her. She's not as impressive technically but she's consistent and she's always really fun to watch. I loved her Hava Nageela SP from a season or two ago. It was great to see her go out and have fun and deliver after all of the great skates that came before her. I loved her reaction in the K&C. You can tell that medal meant a lot to her.

Bradie: The 3Lz-3L is a bit problematic and really took her out of the running in the SP. I admire the fight she showed in her FS but the URs are becoming a consistent issue with her. Those 3 FS URs knocked her off of the podium. I feel like the expectation was very high for Bradie here. It seemed like a lot of people expected her to win which in hindsight was really unfair to her. It's not like she's ever beaten Satoko or Kaori before at this level. Hopefully she'll bounce back at her next event.

Polina & Marin: My heart breaks for both of them. They are two of the most talented skaters there so to see them have such a rough outing was really tough.

 

[DanseMacabre]

Words that Arutinyan met upset Honda after FP "Ну что, лапочка?" ("Well, honey"). Word "лапочка" (literal translation - "little paw") - is very tender, daddy's word. It is very unusual to hear such words from such a gloomy man, whose chin can split the rock

I love how gentle Raf is with Marin (well, gentle by Raf's standards). Especially when you compare his reaction to Michal's popped jump.

I will clarify, cactus is a permanent category For example, Tennel was just a bad evening, she was not a cactus. But, yes Marin is so cactus

Марин - такой кактус! (Marin is such a cactus!)
Марин - мой любимый кактус (Marin is my favorite cactus)

I wish Marin wasn't a cactus, but alas...here we are. I'm still hoping she pulls it all together though. She's young enough that she's still got time to develop a competitive mindset. Thanks for the explanation!

 

[RobinA]

I have to agree about Tara and Johnny. When they started commentating I was pleasantly surprised that Tara didn't drive me crazy because I am not a fan. I liked Johnny a lot because he seemed to know a lot about skating, including the music. Johnny ultimately dumbed his commentary down last year. This year Tara is just super irritating and Johnny isn't saying as much. They can get rid of Tara and bring back Smart Johnny. And please, no Ryan Bradley.

 

[Weathergal]

My thoughts on Skate America...
The TLR version: I'm so excited the Grand Prix series is starting! NBC Sports Gold has its good points, but Tara's commentary is really, really overbearing at times.

The longer version:

Men's
Gold medal winner Nathan Chen, even with "watered-down" content, was still the class of the field. Although I loved, loved, loved last season's "Nemesis" SP, his LP was good but never quite gelled for me. This season, however, he has two gems. His 3As have been looking much improved, and even though he brought fewer quads than last season, he had more than enough technical firepower to win. The reduction in tech has sparked worries about his training since he's training with Raf by Facetime more than 3,000 miles away. And certainly there is cause for concern. But I say let's see how he progresses as the season does. I also saw an improvement in his artistry, and his step sequence during his "Land of All" LP is fantastic, even though it was marred by Tara squealing something to the effects of "watch this, it's great" at one of the most dramatic moments of the program instead of letting viewers determine that for themselves.

The veterans were well represented on the podium with Michal Brezina taking silver and Sergei Voronov skating to a bronze. Both had flawed performances, but in this field - with Bychenko dealing with an injured hip, Kvitelashvili not finding his jumps, and Reynolds struggling mightily, it was enough. It was great to see Brezina and Bychenko back after they both initially said they weren't returning. Brezina seems to be getting stronger, and it's hard to wonder what would have happened if he had moved to Raf sooner. Voronov's LP to Denis Ten's choreography was enjoyable even if he didn't skate it cleanly, and I just can't wait to see it when he does. Malaysia's Julian Zhi Jie Yee was another bright spot, especially with his 3rd place SP. As someone who has a soft spot for skaters from small federations, that was great to see.l

Ladies
Bradie Tennell faltered and ended up 4th. Her usual jumping consistency wasn't quite there, but I enjoyed her improved artistry and particularly like her SP this year. Gold medal winner Satoko Miyahara, though, was definitely the queen this time. Her costumes, particularly her SP one, which was stunning, were very flattering and managed to highlight her without overwhelming her delicate features. Her jumps looked a little bit stronger, and her artistry, especially during her SP, was in a class by itself. Silver medal winner Kaori Sakamoto also delivered two strong programs, and Sofia Samodurova made quite a senior Grand Prix debut winning bronze. She looked promising at the Russian test skates, and it was great to see her continue that success. Alaine Chartrand had a rough SP but fought hard in the free skate. There is much to like about her skating; I'm hoping she can put everything together this year. Polina Tsurskaya looks so elegant on the ice but unfortunately didn't deliver the technical goods. The real heartbreak though was Marin Honda, whose SP to a Seven Nation Army cover, which sounded like such an odd fit when I first heard of it, was absolutely captivating and showed her in such a mature light. Unfortunately she got dinged for underrotations then struggled in the free skate.

Pairs
Tarasova / Morozov weren't perfect, but they sailed past of the rest of the field pretty easily for the gold. Their "Winter" LP is a good fit for them, and I think it could really be a stunner this season if they clean up a few technical things and keep adding more emotional commitment to it. Efimova / Korovin looked a bit tentative in their first senior GP, but they had two strong showings and look to be a contender in the Russian pairs field, which has a lot of promising juniors who'll be entering the senior ranks soon. Cain / Leduc had a flawed SP but rallied back well in the FP, even hitting their side-by-side 3Los. Their SP is very engaging and really shows their personalities, which I think is one of their strengths. It has a lot of potential. Sadly the Knierims, particularly Alexa, struggled technically, but their new programs look good on them. I hope they can resolve their coaching issues and find someone who's a good fit for them and can build on the obvious improvements they've already made this season. In particular, their "Wicked Game" LP shows a different twist to the romantic programs they often do. It plays on their couple dynamic in a whole new way, and I really enjoyed it, even with the technical flaws. My surprise pair was the German pair of Minerva Fabienne Hase / Nolan Seegert, who had a wonderful SP, which put them 3rd place. Although they dropped during the LP, I still enjoyed them and hope they and Hocke / Blommaert can develop a friendly rivalry that will push each other and help develop German pair skating - especially with the absence (at least for now) of Aliona and Bruno.

Dance
Although they ended up in 10th place, I really enjoyed the energy and originality of Karina Manta / Joe Johnson, especially their Christopher Dean choreographed FD to the Eurhythmics "Sweet Dreams." Really fun! Gold medal winners Hubbell / Donahue had a strong showing, and I especially enjoyed their RD to "Maria de Buenos Aires." Tired of tangos? You won't be after this one. The speed and intricacy of their program was mesmerizing. I don't love their R&J FD, but they sold it well. Silver went to Guignard / Fabbri. Their "La La Land" FD was well done and managed to keep things light but not too sappy, which can easily happen with that music. Bronze medalists Zahorski / Guerreiro looked strong in both programs, and I think their "Blues for Klook" FD fits them well and has a lot of potential. Their speed also seems improved from previous seasons. McNamara / Carpenter had a very solid showing and ended up in 4th not far behind Zahorski / Guerreiro. The other bright spot and unexpected discovery for me were Fear / Gibson. They delivered a fun RD, but they really shined with their disco-inspired FD, which I loved every minute of. They're a very charismatic team, and I think they have a good technical base from which to grow.

Looking forward to Skate Canada!

 

[Scrufflet]

Chen and Miyahara were wonderful.
Bright new lights for me: Matta/Johnson and Fear/Gibson!

 

[Orlov]

Another highlight for me, a negative one, were Tara and Weir’s commentary. Simply awful. They are always awful but I feel like this was some of their worst events! Truly despicable and unbearable. If I only had NBC to watch Skate America, I would prefer not. I just can’t with those two!

Guys, please explain to me. I noticed that many very often scold Tara and Johnny. This is a little bit surprising for me. I don't have a subscription to the NBC channel (it's a little expensive for me), but I saw a some videos on YouTube with their comments. I really liked them, especially Johnny. He is so nice (maybe I am biased, because, I think, he is very kind at Russians and Russian culture). Why people don't like Johnny?

 

[DanseMacabre]

Guys, please explain to me. I noticed that many very often scold Tara and Johnny. This is a little bit surprising for me. I don't have a subscription to the NBC channel (it's a little expensive for me), but I saw a some videos on YouTube with their comments. I really liked them, especially Johnny. He is so nice (maybe I am biased, because, I think, he is very kind at Russians and Russian culture). Why people don't like Johnny?

Some people don't like their tone or find them rude. Personally, I actually like their commentary but they talk CONSTANTLY. They talk so much that sometimes you can barely hear the music. Sometimes, it's not as bad, but they're developing a reputation for nonstop chatter.