2015 NRW Trophy Single & Pairs 25- 29 Nov

Tip for next,

Cassandra Perotin, she rocks! And watch those smiles of Lea! Suomi too, cmon girls, I want to have a Fin win for once!

Alex D said:

Tip for next,

Cassandra Perotin, she rocks! And watch those smiles of Lea! Suomi too, cmon girls, I want to have a Fin win for once!

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Where is she, sad....

Day 2 in a nutshell

Today was a good day,

It was a good day, because I was able to witness the stars of tomorrow. Three of those, could be found on the podium at the advanced novice girls, Anastasia, Sofia and Varvara.
All three of them made my day, simply due the fact that they are Russian. Ok, I know this doesn't make much sense to most of you now, as you do not know the "reason" for that, but let´s just say that there is a big difference between skaters and countries in regards of how they react to us writers, photographers and of course the fans.

Over the years, I met many skaters from many countries and honestly, Russian skaters are one of my favorites. I speak some Russian, so this might be handy, even tough its so rusty, that I never know if I ask for a picture or tell them about elephants and ice cream... but the truth is, you don´t even need to talk much, they will already know what you want, before you even said a word.

These girls are happy that you take your time and take a picture, want a chat or just look at them for a moment. They are happy that you write about them and watch their programs. No Russian skater ever left the ice, without sending me a bow - this is grace, because some skaters, just run off and do not care about the audiences. Its a minor thing for sure, but it will make the difference one day.

Just look at Anastasia, when she comes onto the ice, she looks at everyone and she is proud to be able to perform here. During her skate, she is never upset, never angry - no she understands, that today people came to see her skate and she want´s to give them a good skate for their money. During her free skate, she once again nailed her triple Lutz and today, even with the triple loop, that she was not allowed to show yesterday.
It is impossible to put her talent into words, the last skater so talented in Russia, ... honestly I do not know. She has the calmness of Liza, she has the jumps of the old Adelina, just 10x times more stable in the air, she has the grace of Butyrskaja, just 10 years earlier .... the truth is, she is just special and yes, I am a huge fan, because of this great personality and the crowds love her as well!

I know it sounds unfair, but if you are a young figure skater, this is what you should try to be. Not so much the jumps, or the whole TES department, no this depends a lot on your body and what god gave you, no this you can not demand from everyone. No, what I mean is the attitude on the ice, the actual gratitude that Anastasia has, gratitude that people came watching and she is so calm, it just makes me smile, still - after all these hours. She is a LADY.

Anastasia, however, was not the only Russian superstar today. No, also Sofia who went for the triple toe combination is amazing and already so mature on the ice. What a darling she is. I loved her outfits, they were perfect and she rocked these dresses! A lot about her, is so similar to Anastasia - during the warm up - they did some synchronized skating, it was so charming and these smiles later on the podium... oh wow! They really want to give you their best and they are such professionals, it is shocking how mature they are already.

Seriously, the people who think Russians are cold are stupid, because they are not! No Russian was ever cold to me and seriously, I am not a Brad Pitt either, yet they smile at me, so even if you are the biggest weirdo in this world, those Russians will appreciate your time, so please, stop with the hating on Russians, especially in regards of Julia.

Oh boy, there is just nothing more beautiful than seeing these kids on the ice and in 10 years or so, I will still see them and probably be as much a fanboy as I am now of Liza and Adelina, who I saw grow up as well.

Really attached to a skater, you can only become if you see them as kids, this is at least my opinion. Last but not least, I want to say a big shoutout to Kim and Varvara - both skaters were a real joy to watch and Varvara, please do not be sad, ok. You were so graceful on the ice, this is your strength, use it to your advantage young lady.

The day, however, was also good because of something else. Once again, I got feedback for some of my articles from those who I write about and ....

It´s these things you know, that just keep me going. Knowing that skaters have fun reading my thoughts, it is just wonderful to know, thank you so much!

Btw. I honestly hope, that I will never experience a skater being mad at me, you never know who is reading here, so in advance - do not hurt me Niki please, the crash pilot was not meant to be rude Niki is already here btw. and at least today, she did not try to murder me for my Nebelhorn Column.

Last but not least, I want to send a huge and mega shoutout to Anastasia Schneider, girl you rock! It has been a really long day and you girl seriously brought fresh life into my tired mind. What a bomb that program was, it had so much fire - TACK - thank you so much!

Last but not least, Tanja that fire in her eyes,

And now it is time to sleep, tomorrow the fire continues! Thanks to all the girls, ladies and boys for their great skates.

While I know you will all watch and support Kaetlyn, Mao and Anna right now, the junior men are now starting.

Junior Men results

Junior Ladies LP next,

Some really enjoyable programs in the first two groups, Paula very nice, she had so much fun, that´s how I like it, great steps and dance elements. Dominika has a million dollar face and dress - what a beauty. I liked her transitions and the variety in her movement.

My Finnish heart broke again though.

Waiting for the last group with Anastasia, Alissa and Annika. These three showed the most enjoyable SP. Hope Annika will do a clean LP today. In Milan she has dropped from first to fourth. And she has such a nice Carmen program...

Sabine said:

Waiting for the last group with Anastasia, Alissa and Annika. These three showed the most enjoyable SP. Hope Annika will do a clean LP today. In Milan she has dropped from first to fourth. And she has such a nice Carmen program...

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She has grown up so much, Annika - she was always a very expressive and outgoing skater, even as child, now as a teenager she is adding a more feminine site slowly. Give her two / three years

My Finnish girls, why do they always fall - I just do not understand, I am sad. Maybe I should stop wearing the blue jacket, seems like a bad karma. Since I have it, no Fin has won anything...

Kalina was so beautiful, her maturity and the grace in her arms and upper body, it is fascinating. What a talent and her expression is getting better and better. She is no longer the little girl who was freezing to death on the podium several years ago, hardly cracking a smile. Now she is calm and sexy, but without being sassy or going to far. Great girl, always a joy to see her skate.

I also think that Kalicanin has improved a lot and her programs are a lot smarter these days. It just fits better, she looks already like a star, the music and outfits work in her favor, just a bit more expression in her face would be lovely.

More about them in my column next week.

And the Czech were great too!

Very nice skate by Jennifer! I love how she came back really strong after the popped salchow. Now go Tanja!!

Alisa Stomakhina has been on my radar for a little bit(why, I can't remember... maybe because she's coached by Yulia Lavrenchuk)... and I think she has some potential(at least as far as Austria goes... top 6 in Euros, a grand prix spot one day maybe)... but they need to get her jumps stable and work on her skating skills and flow into her jumps(but it's important to point out she is only eligible to be skating at the Junior level by 10 days). Also there's really no point in doing the rippon variation on most of her jumps as she's not going to get any reward for doing it.

LOL, Anastasia (SWE) 130.90 one hundredth point ahead of Matilda (SWE). First and second for now. I think Sweden has good potential for the future with many young good girls

3 to GO!

NaVi said:

Alisa Stomakhina has been on my radar for a little bit(why, I can't remember... maybe because she's coached by Yulia Lavrenchuk)... and I think she has some potential(at least as far as Austria goes... top 6 in Euros, a grand prix spot one day maybe)... but they need to get her jumps stable and work on her skating skills and flow into her jumps(but it's important to point out she is only eligible to be skating at the Junior level by 10 days). Also there's really no point in doing the rippon variation on most of her jumps as she's not going to get any reward for doing it.

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I think she is the typical case of "less is more". The thing with some skaters is, that they either want too much themselves or that they are forced into more than they can handle, by parents or coaches. This girl should not be pressured into so much so early, a tiny bit less difficulty and she could have medaled today.

The juniors comp had its ups and downs, but the positive does outweigh the negative I think.

Annika was already at the podium a few years ago and Lea has big jumps and always that smile! Germany has some really lovely ladies coming up, they are not too serious and enjoy their time, exactly what we need.

Ooooh... botched death spiral from Anna DUSKOVA / Martin BIDAR in the warmup... they are in the Jr Grand Prix Final and I think they'll medal if they go clean.

Clean run from Alina USTIMKINA / Nikita VOLODIN... best I've seen from them... 49.64... the other times I've seen them they either botched something up or were really slow through some of the elements... they're still a bit slow in some of the elements but it wasn't drastic. They're a really striking couple but In the age of the quad throws I kind of wonder how far they'll be able to go.

Alina USTIMKINA / Nikita VOLODIN did really well... 50.27... it seems like they did a simpler lift and side by side jump but were a bit ahead in some of the other areas.

Day 3 in a nutshell

Today, was another good day, because I finally, after 6 years at Dortmund.... finally I found the VIP entrance. Not saying I am a VIP..., but it was amazing to finally be able to skip the stairs, that terrorized my knee at the first two days.

Therefore, thank you very much for introducing me to the VIP entrance, no more pain - yay!

Today, is also a good day, because it is Friday and therefore, I can go out now and get drunk. But wait, first I do not drink and second, going out? What´s that? That is so yesterday!

Anyways, let´s get serious shall we?

Old & new

When you go to figure skating events, you kind of expect to find something there, something that you can not get in TV. For me, it is the interaction with skaters, coaches and friends - people who I do not see every week like my colleagues here, who do figure skating for a living.

While this is of course a pity, as I would love to follow the sport more active at the ice rinks around the world, it has a big advantage too and that is, that I might see improvements and changes much better, as there is such a long time between the skates.

While this part will play a big role in my column, I still want to mention a few skaters now, just by name though. The first skater is Annika Hocke, she won today and two years ago, at Berlin I spoke to someone from her coaching team and we chatted about her and I was told, that she would have a bright feature and ya, she was incredible fun as a kid already, you know the type of kid, that is wild and naughty and doesn´t care if people laugh or smile or do whatever they do, no she just skated with a huge smile every time that I saw her.

This kid has now grown up and she won the NRW Trophy by more than five points in front of Lea the smile, as I like to call Leo Johanna Dastich. Both have something that is really important and maybe they do have it, because the pressure is not there yet, the pressure that Weinzierl, Schott or Hecken have to face. The pressure, to become the next Katharina, which is so unfair in my opinion - but that´s Germany, everyone expects that you become the next Steffi Graf, Katharina Witt or Magdalena Neuner...

Yet, you need to allow me to say that Annika kind of, reminds me of Katharina - the open mouth, the huge expression, always skating for the person you look at, it´s exactly what Katharina always did and also the styling, it has something of her. Good thing is, Annika is off ice just as fun as on ice - so this is not just a show face, that she puts on.


As for the juniors competition in general, well it was at times really a bit tough, tough because not every skater had it´s best day and especially my Fins..., I do not know what is happening to the girls over there. Jenny, Doris, Lilli and Alexandra.... you are so amazing, I love your arms and the grace in your movements, but ouch - my heart was bleeding whenever you fell and I will not stop going to the NRW Trophy before I had my winner from Finland, last year was close with Anni and no, I have not forgotten the Drama about Sera, where are you by the way I miss you in 2015! And Karoliina has WD too, so sad...

The blue jacket guy is so ready for a Finnish girl on top of the podium, I promise to learn a figure skating element, if you skate to one next year or maybe at the Bavarian Open, which reminds me of Jenni Saarinen, what happened girl...!

Oh well, before I become whiny like a little boy, let´s talk about something else shall we? Ya! Anastasia Schneider! This girl is such a joy, wow! I so love the way she skates, she is really looking for the interaction with the crowd, she is such a beauty and I was a bit sad, that she left so early at the VC, we still did some pictures with Lea and Annika, but I guess I was not much of a gentleman - I should had brought her some flowers, she so deserved them!

Last year, she came third at the advanced novice and guess what, this year at the Juniors! I wrote about her already back then, and I will do so again this year. I just love skaters who are into performing, who really understand that there are people watching and she is performing for them and she has really unique ways of doing some of her elements, for instance the flying camel, how did she do that. She pulled her leg down, without losing the grip on the blade - that is so impressive and she can make wonderful "camera shots" while on the ice. A really beautiful and clever skater, always able to give you a good shot and look into your eyes, while using the music for her great arms and hands.

Last but not least, a word about this girl from Taipei, Amy Lin. What can I say, well, it makes me so happy, how she skates. This girl is so proud to be on the ice, it is amazing and you can see this in every motion and emote she does. She is proud to be on the ice, proud to be able to entertain us, proud to show her elements like that fantastic double Axel - triple toe and these spins... wow!
I said this before already about "exotic" skaters last year, at the JGP. I love skaters who are proud to skate for their country, proud to show their elements to the public it needs to be a part of this sport and the good thing is, Amy was not just here - no she actually performed and competed very well!

Thank you so much young lady, so much!

Of course, as always, much more happened, but I need to try and get more than four hours of sleep now, so I will just keep this for my final review.

Thanks to all the skaters and I want to send my special "shout" to Paula, because I loved her FS and outfit so much and it was a great program, thank you and all the other skaters from today!

P.S.

Tomorrow is the seniors day, with live commentary me thinks and my wonderful Inga , please support Inga´s legacy guys, her fan thread is coming soon and you can then tell her many positive things there. GN

Alina USTIMKINA / Nikita VOLODIN did really well... 50.27... it seems like they did a simpler lift and side by side jump but were a bit ahead in some of the other areas.

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Actually their whole lift was ruled invalid(and it's the same level as the other couple when it's fine) ... ... I'm not sure what they did to have it ruled invalid.

Alina and Nikita did not lose their lift, it were Anna and Martin

As for the invalid lift, I think the lifting arm was not straightened out. The Russians lost points in their step sequence and DS, a whole level less than the Czech. But their triple twist was really nice, the Czech only did a double, the Russians a triple. As for the Russian lift, I enjoyed the entry into to it, what she did with her leg, that looked gorgeous.

4th day at the trophy now,

today we have Senior Ladies, Senior Women, Advanced Novice - Junior and Senior Pairs.

Something about practice,

Alina and Nikita

The level of detail in their elements is so beautiful, the transitions and how they go into their elements, I love that. She is very flexible and this creates wonderful entries into the elements, while she goes into the split. Dance For Me Wallis, works like a charm for that pair! Just a minor critique, he does not throw her high, but pretty flat and far, so the landings for her can be a bit tricky I think. The DS is tricky as well, as he is so tall and can not really "put" her on the ice, - if he goes to deep into the knee´s, he can lose the balance, which would make the change of hold (hand change) very difficult.

Minerva & Nolan

I am still a fan of that pair, she has such grace in her arm movements and I also like how they relate to each other on the ice and compared to last season their transitions are much smoother too and I like how he presents her on the ice.


Martin

He had to practice all alone, as Anna is going to compete at the seniors later, so she needed some time off after seniors practice.

sorry that I can not write these reports more often, but internet is not stable.

Anyways enough chatter, here is the full line up.

Senior Ladies



Senior Men


Advanced Pairs



Junior Pairs



Senior Pairs