2016-17 GPF Pairs FS

It is not an easy win for T/M, but it is a big step forward in their skating career. Congratulations! My only advice for them is: Will you change the costumes for the FS during the rest of the season?

LOL, I did't realize that Zabiiako's bold hand gestures during their reverse lasso lift as if she presented something like a TV host was actually blowing a kiss to the audience. How cool is that? Though the lyrics says the opposite to the bright interpretation, "I cried a river over you".

I never rewatched their programs and always saw them in a poor quality stream, so I could've missed this hilarious unique transition.

https://youtu.be/x_PneTqNQZw?t=3m49s

We need a gifs thread but I don't know whether the previous thread existed in the 2014-15 season is archived now and we can revive it.

The Chinese team gave me tears and laughs.

P/J :
I saw her struggle and fight back during the performance. After bad (2) falls, she landed an amazing 3Lo throw. Her free leg extended and held up higher than ever, wanting to prove herself that she can do it. The connection seems to be there between the two. Jin tried to connect with her and give her a strength and reassurance. But once she could not hang on and turned out of the 3S Throw, she looked defeated. A fall from dismount was just....sigh... Jin was supportive throughout, but he could not hide the disappointment and concerns on his face. It really is concerning... I hope this is just one time melt-down. I had to take a break after watching them..Can figure skating be this hard and sad...?:sad21:

<After a break>>>>>>

D/R:
They made uncharacteristic mistakes (a lot). Their performance relies heavily on their superior execution on the technical elements with high risks. The execution was not successful. They get pushed by a better team accordingly. Moving on...

Y/Z:
They seem to improve competition after competition. Xiaoyu still likes to perform distant from him. She is like a cautious little bird. But, I see them create their own chemistry while moving. I see gimps of magical moments. It is very nice to see them gel little by little real time. Not perfect yet! Her fall at the end was cute

T/M:
Lol, I read a comment on her sleeves. Other than that, I like them. They are well prepared and almost perfect! Their throws and twist is just stunning. I always thought they lack personalities. But compared to Z/E, they FOUND and HAVE a personality on ice. I like Tarasova. She is not like a Stolbova diva. I think she is close to Tatiana. She is reliable, gentle, I hope she can show a fierce side of her next year.

1st, credit where it's due.

Congrats to T/M for keeping their lead after the short. It's been said, their LP is "not many people's cup of tea" but they did try the quad twist... got it alright... and crumbled way less than at SA after it. Was it a great performance? NO... but at least, they had a great great great SP and kept it together. In the difficult times pair skating is going through in Russia, they do represent the best hope for worlds.

Y/Z : I think that's more or less the level we can expect from them this year. To me, their first appearance on GP was way more spectacular as it was the first time we were seeing them, and WOW.. but after 3 outings now, the final stepping stone to climb to really reach the top level shows to be the hardest, and that's to be expected. Looking at protocols, one noticeable thing is the low BV. With that, they have to be extremely clean, magical, and count on other's mistakes to rank better.

D/R : mistakes : yup... they made way too many.... Touch down in the Sp, fall and a carrot on the throw... UGH... LP was worse IMHO since it's a lyrical program, something they are not usually doing...and requires perfection. I find that rough stumbles are easier to recover from when the program is not lyrical. However, I am pleased they chose such a program the year before Olympics. It shows their true desire to better themselves. I have rarely seen Meagan double a jump or almost sit down on a 3T... wow... they lost almost 8-9 points just on SBS today... add that to the tally and you see where they normally can score...On top of that, it ruined the performance... A cleaner version of this program as they did in Quebec city in the summer can really cast a spell on the audience.... mistakes ruin it badly.... Still, AWESOME SBS Spins... good levels, good steps... they are really getting better in presenting themselves. I think this year is obviously a trial year... new elements, new style.... softer skating... we will probably see a much improved D/R by next year.

However, and let me say this very bluntly : It saddens me when a team has a bad event and so many people are willing to say "party party party" you may not be a fan, but this sport is a tough one, falling on the ice hurts, injuries are frequent, it requires so much dedication and these two are over 30 years old, yet are still training hard, to better themselves and aspire to a good olympic performance... whether or not you like their style or Meagan or whatever, it would be nicer if you could rejoice in silence... I find it very crass and rude. Like someone who asked me to change my avatar picture because it shows a happy Patrick Chan. How rude can you be?

Z/E : I am not too fond of this team yet but I don't know them well. I think that they are interesting and could develop into one of my favourites in a few years. I just don't feel it yet. Let me explain as I make no sense whatsoever yet I like their lines. I like their presentation. They exude elegance and traditional pair presentation. However, their youth and lack of experience right now, just for me, doesn't allow me to fully enjoy them. Please, learn a second throw triple jump... I just find going for a 2Ath a bit weird at this level...what's wrong with trying a throw 3S??? I would be surprised the 2A th is a place holder for the 3A so i don't understand...

S/B : for me that was the performance of the day. of course, they were way too far behind to gain much ground but after the initial fall, they got it together and were very very good. I was relieved honestly because they have had such a tough outing in the SP and at their previous GP. I still believe in this team. Julianne is a strong skater. She had all triples (but the 3A) when she was still training singles. They exude joy. I laugh when people talk about a lack of romantic connection between D/R because I don't see that at all with S/B yet nobody talks about it... all they get is : they are so refreshing and cute! And that's true!!!! Love them.

P/J Sigh... I was heartbroken. but in some ways, not really surprised. A few reasons.... like Y/Z, they are brand new. We were all surprised they did so well in their first GPS, but those events were watered down without the S/H and the Russian favourites... In the short, they do better, but when the long comes, just the thought of 2 jumping passes is too much for them for now... Also, I blame David Wilson. I think he meant well by giving them the mirroring 2A to open.. however, it just doesn't work and their timing is off... Having bad timing on a jump when you are alone is tough... when you have a partner, it's even worse.... and then, to add on to this, the next element is the combo.... I think David meant well by giving them a chance to skate a bit further from one another (they are not SBS in the mirroring and it hides that well) and he probably thought that they could focus really extra hard on the jumps to start with, and then move on to their better elements but it just doesn't work well... If they did nail the jumps, it could... but that was wishful thinking... when they don't make it, the rest of the performance makes the program turn the melancholic tune into a heartbreaking one.... They were 1 point away from third... that's the kind of pressure that could get in their head.


In the end, I thought that the pair event was more revealing and interesting than many who have complained that the big stars weren't there. It allowed us to get to know better 4 newer teams... B/S showed great grits to come back with a good LP. The two Chinese pairs need the extra skates before going to 4cc and worlds. It will help them very much. Z/E can brag about being Russian #2 for now. It could lead to a bunch of opportunities for them which they need to become a top tier team.

With the Germans in, S/H, S/K etc... we wouldn't have seen these teams and if it may have been a higher level competition, which will still shall get later this season, I am happy for getting a chance to see other developing pair teams.

Finally, D/R : yup... two bad days at the office... that won't do it for them. They knew. Now we all know. But come on, it's not like "the judges are dropping them" ... they performed badly... I wouldn't read into it at all... Knowing how much of a fight Meagan is, and how much Eric supports her so well, I wouldn't be surprised if their next competitions showed two flawless programs, even with the new big tricks.

Duhamel/Radford: I don't know if it's just me, but I find the entry and exit of the lift near the end of their FP awkward. I think they need to re-choreograph that last segment as it seems that that is where it looks sloppy? And yeah I think their performances have mostly been popular in that they take big risks with the athletic moves.

Seguin/Bilodeau: I don't know if their SP errors affected them or if the change back to last season's SP caused them to go out of synch as well as still being new at this level of competition....but hoping they work on the side by side jumps to get the consistency back. Glad they had a relatively good FP except for Charlie's fall.

Going to be interesting to see how these 2 teams both fare come Helsinki/Worlds!

reneerose said:

Duhamel/Radford: I don't know if it's just me, but I find the entry and exit of the lift near the end of their FP awkward. I think they need to re-choreograph that last segment as it seems that that is where it looks sloppy? And yeah I think their performances have mostly been popular in that they take big risks with the athletic moves.

Seguin/Bilodeau: I don't know if their SP errors affected them or if the change back to last season's SP caused them to go out of synch as well as still being new at this level of competition....but hoping they work on the side by side jumps to get the consistency back. Glad they had a relatively good FP except for Charlie's fall.

Going to be interesting to see how these 2 teams both fare come Helsinki/Worlds!

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It is not just you . I have been watching that exit of the lift for what feels like several years now, and well, coupled with other things it makes me think I am watching the same program over and over again, only over different music. Every time I forget about that exit (the one where Meagan exits between his legs), I happen to watch a new program from them and see it yet again. It is like a bad dream playing over and over. I can understand skaters re-using elements, but it feels like they just reuse and reuse the same lifts for years.

Crossover said:

LOL, I did't realize that Zabiiako's bold hand gestures during their reverse lasso lift as if she presented something like a TV host was actually blowing a kiss to the audience. How cool is that? Though the lyrics says the opposite to the bright interpretation, "I cried a river over you".

I never rewatched their programs and always saw them in a poor quality stream, so I could've missed this hilarious unique transition.

https://youtu.be/x_PneTqNQZw?t=3m49s

We need a gifs thread but I don't know whether the previous thread existed in the 2014-15 season is archived now and we can revive it.

Click to expand...

:agree:

I'm sure T/M are probably very lovely people in what we affectionately call "real life," but man are they are a charisma vacuum.

YMMV of course.

eli60056 said:

It is not just you . I have been watching that exit of the lift for what feels like several years now, and well, coupled with other things it makes me think I am watching the same program over and over again, only over different music. Every time I forget about that exit (the one where Meagan exits between his legs), I happen to watch a new program from them and see it yet again. It is like a bad dream playing over and over. I can understand skaters re-using elements, but it feels like they just reuse and reuse the same lifts for years.

Click to expand...

Yeah...D/R don't vary their lifts at all, entry, air position (usually very basic), exit, all exactly the same year in and year out. If you watch their programs from different years side by side you notice that very little is different.

D/R and S/M are cheaters!!! They are cheating the system. They are nowhere near to making clean 3A and 4S throws and they get more points than those who land beautiful clean 3STH, which is much harder to do. What is more, their progras son't look like pair skating any more... two skaters are trAINing, not two skaters are performing and competeing at the GPF. No unison, no choreography, no nothing. This has to stop!
The judges should stop giving them credit for the things they can't do, don't do only because they try. The same applies to PCS for a mess.

gioccia said:

D/R and S/M are cheaters!!! They are cheating the system. They are nowhere near to making clean 3A and 4S throws and they get more points than those who land beautiful clean 3STH, which is much harder to do. What is more, their progras son't look like pair skating any more... two skaters are trAINing, not two skaters are performing and competeing at the GPF. No unison, no choreography, no nothing. This has to stop!
The judges should stop giving them credit for the things they can't do, don't do only because they try. The same applies to PCS for a mess.

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I think scratchy jumps and falls should be punished more, all if skater does clean program, he/she/they could earn some bonus points. It is much more pleasant to watch clean little bit easier programs than people falling difficult jumps. Or value of the fallen jumps could be just 0. Practising difficult jumps belong to practise time.

sabinfire said:

Yay! Are you watching the ladies live now?

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nah didnt watch anything live I had temperature & got sleepy b/c of pills

& whats with TM's music bashing
what's wrong with retro music?
Imo it really fits them this sweeping music & the way the audience clapping along was so nice!!!

Cant express how happy I am about SB redemption skate!

Sugarpova said:

nah didnt watch anything live I had temperature & got sleepy b/c of pills

& whats with TM's music bashing
what's wrong with retro music?
Imo it really fits them this sweeping music & the way the audience clapping along was so nice!!!

Cant express how happy I am about SB redemption skate!

Click to expand...

I think part of it is that those of us that don't like that music (me for one) wish that T/M had a better program. Maybe it plays better live but the main complaint about them is their lack of emotional connection without the audience and I don't think this music helps them with that issue. I think they are a very good pair with so much going for them and I really enjoy the short but the long for me personally doesn't work with that music. I think the only missing piece of the puzzle for T/M is a really good program that helps them project to the audience. Just my opinion though. They certainly did well here and deserve the win. If S/K can't make it back for worlds there will be so much pressure on them to do well to get Russia those 3 spots. Kind of makes me worry for them. External pressure like that would be hard to take. It's hard enough to do your elements, reach the crowd and have to worry about the team as a whole.

I wonder if they will have T/M do the team completion in Korea? I mean team Russia will probably be 2 ladies, 2 pairs, 1 ID, 1 man, right? Maybe S/K to do the short and T/M to do the long? Or do you think of K/S make it they will ask them to skate in the team event? Sorry, getting way ahead of myself here.