Pairs skating | Page 2 | Golden Skate

Pairs skating

noskates

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 11, 2012
Again, I love pairs skating. The fact that the US rarely puts forward a decent pair team has nothing to do with it. I like watching pairs.
 

labgoat

I have no words
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 3, 2007
Country
United-States
Well I am one American who loves pairs from all nations. I grew up mesmerized by the pair spirals of the Protopopovs, the power of Rodnina/Zaitsev, the charm of Starbuck/Shelley, the daring of Militanos then later Militano//Johns. I fell in love with Tai & Randy and cried when they withdrew. I rooted fro Vicki Heasley & Robert Wagenhoffer. I was as fascinated by the Russian teams Pestova/Leonovitch, Cherkasova/Shakrai, Vorobieva/Lisovsky, Valova/Vasiliev. I saw the debut of the rivalry between the Carruthers kids and a young Canadian team Underhill/Martini. I saw Sandra & Val Bezic, heard about the Jelineks and A teenage Debbi Wilkes & Guy Revell. I saw Isabelle & Lloyd burst on the scene in Calgary along with Hough/Ladret, Denise Benning/Lyndon Johnston. I watched Jill Watson/Peter Oppegard swap titles with Gillian Wachsman & Todd Waggoner. There was a first a Chinese pair of Luan Bo & Bin Yao who tried their best only to finish last. I never forgot them and each year saw progress. Oh and then I saw Katya & Sergei, the most charming and perfect couple that dropped in from heaven as Toller once said. I watched Kristi & Rudy and thought finally here is the next Tai & Randy. I loved the classical charm of the Czechs Kovarikova/Novotny and the creative Germans Mandy Wotzel & Ingo Steuer. I saw a dream of love skated be Mishkutionok & Dmitriev and later Kazakova/Dmitriev. Along came the French Abitbol/Bernadine and the shy youngsters from China Shen & Zhao with the giant throws. I was startled and bit frightened for Elena Bereznaya at Skate America when thrown by Oleg Shliakov. Her bravery and shy smile and beautiful lines won my heart. I followed her story of injury and partnership with Anton S. I watched their rivalry with the Canadians Sale & Pelletier. I was kinda glad both pair got the gold and have wished for dual golds more than once...Tai & Randy & Rodnina/Zaitsev. More Chinese pearlfishers Pang & Tong, DanZhang/Hao Zhang and finally gold for Shen/Zhao and now coach Bin Yao. A petite, blond originally from Ukraine Aliona Savchenko impressed with her technique and determination with her partners Szolkowy & later Massot. Keauna McLaughlin & Rockne Brubaker suffered the Tai/Randy curse if there is one and missed their Olympic bid. There also was Yako Kavaguti, who idolized pairs & could pass for Tamara Moskina's daughter, with partner Alessandro Smirnov gave us a new classic Manfred. Totmianina/Marinin grew in presence and stature after recover from a devastating fall to win Gold. Volosozhar/Trankov skated Masquerade Waltz to thunderous applause and took home their own gold. The gutsy, petite, determined Meagan Duhamel and the elegant Eric Redford steadily improved and impressed all in their quad with a quad. The feisty and quirky team of Ksenia & Fedor surprised with a medal early and brought drama and excitement to many events. Now I follow Sui & Han, James/Cipres, Yu/Zhang, and many more. Pairs boring - never...
 

Arriba627

TWO-TIME WORLD CHAMPION šŸ”„
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 2, 2014
Country
United-States
I think it is because the best are Chinese and the good Russian team has almost zero charisma and horrible programs.

If you see the social media for SOI USA there are people angry because Alexa and Chris are in the tour. They care about them just because they are American and the most important, they are white, in the olympic Team Event American people acted as if they saved the event :rolleye:, letĀ“s be honest, they are not a great pair, no reason to prefer them when there are another amazing no american pairs. I guess chinese pairs are popular in China but with the restrictions for social media it is difficult to notice. It is necessary that the pair combine charisma and being from a powerful federation or at least a little interested in skating, like France who are more interested than Germany. T/M and D/R are from powerful federations but little charisma, S/H are charismatic but the chinese fan base is not so exposed.
I heard nothing of the sort from anyone. I don't care whether they're green. I enjoy pairs. Also can you provide a link to this social media you're mentioning...They were really derailed by Alexa's illness, and I think they tried to come back too soon. Now there is news of them possibly going to a new coach, so it will be interesting to see if they go to John Zimmerman like many are hoping.

And just for the record, my favorite U.S. pair is Kayne and O'Shea, and not because they're white.
 

noskates

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 11, 2012
What on earth does "being white" have to do with whether a pairs team is liked or not? Hmmmm. I have many friends who go to SOI religiously and they're all very happy that Alexa and Chris are on the tour. They are a great team to watch and always put on a good performance. It seems to me like someone is just spreading rumors. Social media isn't exactly always a reliable source.
 

Barb

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 13, 2009
I heard nothing of the sort from anyone. I don't care whether they're green. I enjoy pairs. Also can you provide a link to this social media you're mentioning...They were really derailed by Alexa's illness, and I think they tried to come back too soon. Now there is news of them possibly going to a new coach, so it will be interesting to see if they go to John Zimmerman like many are hoping.

And just for the record, my favorite U.S. pair is Kayne and O'Shea, and not because they're white.

I mentioned the SOI social media, obviously Stars on ice instagram and twitter

What on earth does "being white" have to do with whether a pairs team is liked or not? Hmmmm. I have many friends who go to SOI religiously and they're all very happy that Alexa and Chris are on the tour. They are a great team to watch and always put on a good performance. It seems to me like someone is just spreading rumors. Social media isn't exactly always a reliable source.

What are you talking about? Alexa and Chris are not in the tour

eta. okay, I read my post again, it was my mistake, I said they are in the tour, I ate the word NOT :palmf:, the they are NOT in the tour and people are angry about that.

My point was they are not in the tour and people are angry about it, and I donĀ“t understand it, because they are not a great pair. Ashley did not make the olympic team but at least she has won things and it is a lot easier to make the american olympic team in pairs than ladies. Same with Jason.
 

lyndichee

Medalist
Joined
Sep 16, 2014
I love pairs the most. I think there's been a lot of misfortune in the past few years in particular for American teams such as injuries to Denny/Coughlin, Denney/Frazier, Kayne/O'Shea, Knierims etc. which makes it difficult for teams to pull results.

It is a shame as I think pairs has the most potential; you get to see jumps similar to singles, lots of exciting high risk elements such as throws and twists, big lifts that can travel across ice and partnering. liushechkina/Moscovitch had a lot of trouble with technical elements but seeing them live at Skate Canada in 2016 was really lovely as they had an extremely beautiful quality in their skating as a pair. I even remember some comments saying it was like ice dance was coming out in pairs.

I think the disconnect in styles of each pair and even the pair skaters with their partner might have an effect on the interest level. Just some examples:

Savchenko/Massot - I think while Bruno improved a lot and played a really important in the gold medal, I think most people pay attention to the ethereal quality that Aliona has. Aliona will go down in history as one of the best pair skaters ever.

Duhamel/Radford - I'm happy that they worked so hard on what they knew they were good at (technical elements) and stuck to their guns to win the bronze medal. However, I think it's clear they have different styles on ice. Radford is very balletic while Duhamel has a lot of grit and power in her skating.

Morgan/Cipres - Imagine getting on ice one second listening to classical music and then the next second getting the Weeknd. Not saying that this is an issue with this team specifically, the use of more modern music choices is something I personally think should be encouraged but to a regular audience viewer, they might be turned off OR they will only be interested in this style.

Yu/Zhang - The age difference is really odd to me and also the formation of this team was something I was never that happy with. I think most Western viewers would disagree the way that the Chinese fed navigated this. The age difference stood out to me for Conners/Krasnopolski as well and didn't escape the notice of friends watching and thinking how weird it is.

Tarasova/Morozov - I think the challenge is their choreography and music choices. Friends who watched the Olympics with me were really confused that a team challenging for an Olympic medal would have such horrible choices.

I think overall what I am trying to get at is, pairs can be really disjointed and that loses the interest of a casual figure skating audience.
 

Merjan

On the Ice
Joined
Feb 14, 2014
I've always loved watching pairs. Since 1980's or so, when there were 'Soviet All
Stars' skating shows in Helsinki. My mom took me there. And I've been at Europeans and Worlds in Finland, Sweden and Estonia and I've always bought tickets for pairs event. In March I went to ZĆ¼rich to watch Art On Ice as Aljona and Bruno were there ( of course I love Lambiel's skating, too). My all time favorites include Gordeeva / Grinkov, Berezhnaya / Sikharulidze, Kazakova / Dmitriev, Shen / Zhao, Pang / Tong and Aljona / Robin and Aljona / Bruno. I liked Yamaguchi / Galindo as well. I wish we could watch more pairs here and that we actually had some local pairs here in Finland.
 

Arriba627

TWO-TIME WORLD CHAMPION šŸ”„
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 2, 2014
Country
United-States
I've always loved watching pairs. Since 1980's or so, when there were 'Soviet All
Stars' skating shows in Helsinki. My mom took me there. And I've been at Europeans and Worlds in Finland, Sweden and Estonia and I've always bought tickets for pairs event. In March I went to ZĆ¼rich to watch Art On Ice as Aljona and Bruno were there ( of course I love Lambiel's skating, too). My all time favorites include Gordeeva / Grinkov, Berezhnaya / Sikharulidze, Kazakova / Dmitriev, Shen / Zhao, Pang / Tong and Aljona / Robin and Aljona / Bruno. I liked Yamaguchi / Galindo as well. I wish we could watch more pairs here and that we actually had some local pairs here in Finland.

The amazing Soviet pairs were what got me into pairs. Heck, I still watch videos of Rodnina & Zaitsev! But I also enjoyed Babilonia & Gardner, Meno & Sand, Ino & Zimmerman, Denney & Coughlin. That our pairs are not gold medalists doesn't bother me in the least. One of my favorite things at Nats this year was seeing Cain & Leduc, Stellato & Bartholomay, Kayne & O'Shea, and the Knierims.
 

LRK

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 13, 2012
I love pairs. While men is my favourite discipline, I often find myself actually enjoying pairs more. And not only "top" pairs, but also pairs much "lower" down the rankings. I enjoy watching pairs of all skill levels, and ages. Veterans at the top of their game, and new and/or younger teams just starting out or moving up from juniors. To see them grow and develop.

For example, James/Cipres in their first season. They were pretty awkward, and the lifts were on the scary side, but I still liked them. And when they developeng that signature end lift - I remember how cool I thought it was from the first time I saw it, a few years ago... even though there was the time when Morgan dropped Vanessa, and that was a bit scary...

Some pairs may never reach the top, but still have pleasing qualities. There are so many pairs, with such different personalities and styles... I think a person must surely be hard to please if they can find NO pair to like.
 

Princessroja

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 22, 2015
Country
United-States
Pairs is my favorite discipline; it's the event I prioritize at the junior level. I'll watch a handful of the best programs in every other discipline but happily sit down for a 3+ hour juniors pairs events. I like it THAT much. I too have wondered why it's not more popular. It's easily the most exciting in terms of sheer daring.
 

Scout

Final Flight
Joined
Sep 5, 2009
For awhile, pair teams didn't seem to have any longevity (get together and break up quickly), so it was hard to get attached to a team and root for them. And in Canada, even through we have a few good (great!) teams, the field within Canada is very small; not many pairs, so not much depth, which detracts a bit from the competition.
 

serty

Rinkside
Joined
Mar 21, 2018
Most of the time it feels like two "inferior" single skaters got together so that they can have a career.
There are not enough elements that makes pairs competition feel special.
For example I'd much rather watch this
Hfjq8VO.gif
than 3t+2t+2t.

Of course this doesn't mean that there should be double jumps galore but maybe there could be another element which focuses on the unison instead of rotation.

Also to me big male/small female couples are so lame to watch. Taking a 40 kg. girl and throwing it around is more like a weightlifting competition. Most of the time males don't have any grace and females don't have any strength. It is very unbalanced.

Wish we had more Sui/Han type of pairs. They really look like a pair instead of being put together for their sizes.
 

Erin9

On the Ice
Joined
Feb 24, 2018
Pairs is my favorite. I love the throw jumps, lifts, unison of it. I think it is easily the most interesting to watch. Itā€™s also the most dangerous imo.

G & G are still my all time favorites, one of many Iā€™ve enjoyed over the years. Aljona and Bruno have been incredibly entertaining to watch; theyā€™ve caught my attention in a way no one has in a long time.

Iā€™ve always thought ice dance was the least popular.

Thereā€™s not any depth in the US or Japan. That may be one problem.,
 

Arriba627

TWO-TIME WORLD CHAMPION šŸ”„
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 2, 2014
Country
United-States
For the U.S. pairs, the tendency to not stay together long enough has been a problem. It seems to be a little better now, but devastating injuries haven't helped much either -- Haven Denney completely blowing out her knee, Tarah Kayne knee surgery, Alexa Knieram's life-threatening illness...Hopefully we can start moving in the right direction now. I know in several "Wish List" threads, I have written that someone needs to convince Tamara Moskvina to come to the U.S. and lead the pairs program. (I know, fat chance, right?! :laugh: )
 

likevelvet

#Bless this mess
On the Ice
Joined
Feb 13, 2018
Country
United-States
Pairs is actually my favourite discipline, but I do sometimes have flashbacks to the Jessica Dube cut incident. If I see a pair drifting closer to each other on the SBS spin, I start yelling at the screen for them to get away from each other.

By the way, Jessica's eye was not cut, just her cheek and nose, and she looks fine now.

Oh, yeah. I know she's good and everything, I think they came right back to competing. But I remember seeing it at the time and being absolutely convinced her eye got obliterated. Traumatic.:cry:

Same at yelling at pairs skaters on tv, as if my anxiety will do anything :gaah:
 

Baron Vladimir

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 18, 2014
People who are not following figure skating were most impressed with pairs discipline when i showed them some clips. Pairs elements definitely had the biggest wow factor for them. Why FS fans choose other disciplines more, well...
 

NanaPat

Record Breaker
Joined
Oct 25, 2014
Country
Canada
Oh, yeah. I know she's good and everything, I think they came right back to competing. But I remember seeing it at the time and being absolutely convinced her eye got obliterated. Traumatic.:cry:

Same at yelling at pairs skaters on tv, as if my anxiety will do anything :gaah:

Not only did they come right back to competing, but the scar is hardly noticeable. She had some really good surgeons! They actually had counselling for post-traumatic stress; Bryce was more traumatized than Jessica.
 

Lota

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 3, 2012
Not only did they come right back to competing, but the scar is hardly noticeable. She had some really good surgeons! They actually had counselling for post-traumatic stress; Bryce was more traumatized than Jessica.

Similar thing with Totmianina/Marinin: after their horrendous fall from a lift he needed counseling as well. She couldn't remember the fall at all so she was pretty much good to go, but he was petrified of lifting her, so they couldn't even train properly (he couldn't lift her at all) until he worked things out with the help of a psychologist :no:
 

VenusHalley

Final Flight
Joined
Jan 6, 2018
I love the top pairs - especially Savchenko/maso, James/Cipres, Sui/han.... because in different ways they give you impression that one can depend on the other with their life.... so those lifts and throws and twists are exciting... but they will work out.

I get nervous when I see them lower ranking pairs stumble. I mean, if a single skater falls, it's usually not so bad (unless you are Anna Pogorilaya... i loved her, but when I watched her meltdowns, I was half expecting she will not get up after one of the those falls). But with pairs... when you see a stumble on lift or twist or throw... or getting too close in spins... it's nervous-making... even in top pairs... aside what was already mentioned... the moments like zhang/zhang free skate on olympics (they managed to get back on.... but he just threw her so badly it seemed :( It just makes it bit nerve wrecking at times.
 
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