2019-20 U.S. Pairs Figure Skating | Page 2 | Golden Skate

2019-20 U.S. Pairs Figure Skating

el henry

Go have some cake. And come back with jollity.
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I think it is great to think of all the pairs with these categories. With the subjective ones, there is no way to prove it, so they’re the best:biggrin:

I love Ashley and Tim precisely because they are equals and I think that creates a real bond between them and therefore real chemistry. Ashley and Tim both draw you in, instead of a stereotypical “man showcasing the woman” program, and I looooove that.:thumbsup:

I think the rap on Alexa and Chris has been that Chris was too reserved. Alexa of course has always been fierce and passionate. But again, do you need both partners to emote in the same way or project in the same way in order to have chemistry? I don’t know.

For non subjective, the only one I know for sure is twists. Guess who?:biggrin:
 

moonvine

All Hail Queen Gracie
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When I was watching the live feed of the Olympics, the Aussie commentator said Chris and Alexa were a “goosebump pair.” That’s what they are to me also. Even though I have to watch with my eyes closed sometimes. And their short is going to be to Taylor Swift. Yay!
 

Moxiejan

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On the twist: The Knierims obviously win this, but Cain-LeDuc are suddenly & surprisingly (due to their lack of height difference) a strong No. 2. I noticed this at the end of last season & it was even better at a summer competition I saw. I think this might be the biggest benefit of all their work with the Nina Mozer team.
 

SnowWhite

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When I was watching the live feed of the Olympics, the Aussie commentator said Chris and Alexa were a “goosebump pair.” That’s what they are to me also. Even though I have to watch with my eyes closed sometimes. And their short is going to be to Taylor Swift. Yay!

Apparently Alexa was joking, so I guess the SP is still to the Beyoncé song.
 

skylark

Gazing at a Glorious Great Lakes sunset
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I think it is great to think of all the pairs with these categories.

thank you. :) I haven't had the "mental space" to talk about the others yet.

With the subjective ones, there is no way to prove it, so they’re the best:biggrin:

:laugh::clap:

I love Ashley and Tim precisely because they are equals and I think that creates a real bond between them and therefore real chemistry. Ashley and Tim both draw you in, instead of a stereotypical “man showcasing the woman” program, and I looooove that.:thumbsup:

Well said.

I think the rap on Alexa and Chris has been that Chris was too reserved. Alexa of course has always been fierce and passionate. But again, do you need both partners to emote in the same way or project in the same way in order to have chemistry? I don’t know.

That's it, exactly. The way I see it, t Alexa projects a sunny, powerful skating personality. Chris has incredible strength and power, but they don't project or emote through the program in the same way. I don't know either if "same way" is essential, but my instinctive, emotional answer is that I still feel somewhat of a disconnect. But, as Bruno Massot pointed out, teams can be always evolving. I'm completely open to how A/C will affect me this season.

On the twist: The Knierims obviously win this, but Cain-LeDuc are suddenly & surprisingly (due to their lack of height difference) a strong No. 2. I noticed this at the end of last season & it was even better at a summer competition I saw. I think this might be the biggest benefit of all their work with the Nina Mozer team.

I absolutely agree. I love C/L's twist, it's high and fast, and it may be partly due to Ashley's push-off that it's so good. Ashley said at some point that Mozer worded everything a positive way, she'd say to Ashley: "because of your length, do this ..." to adjust their technique. So it didn't come across as some kind of insult that she's tall ... as I'm sure she's been aware of from others, though not her coaches/parents, I imagine. I find it ironic, because I remember Stolbova/Klimov's twist, which to my very amateur eyes didn't improve, but possibly they were just too accustomed to their early technique for Mozer to fix it. They focused on other things.

In fact, that to me is a great thing for any skater or any pair to do. To focus on their strengths, which is the way A/T look at their whole partnership. It's like they're a self-experiment.

ETA: Not an experiment like "what do we lack and how can we make ourselves more like other pairs? But an experiment like "what unique traits do we have, and how can we use those to create a great pair Our WAY?"
 

Moxiejan

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In fact, that to me is a great thing for any skater or any pair to do. To focus on their strengths, which is the way A/T look at their whole partnership. It's like they're a self-experiment.
ETA: Not an experiment like "what do we lack and how can we make ourselves more like other pairs? But an experiment like "what unique traits do we have, and how can we use those to create a great pair Our WAY?"

Some years ago, I went through the training program at the Gallup polling company & the entire philosophy is opposite the standard advice to work mostly on weaknesses. The thinking is that it’s not the best use of time/energy to work on aspects that may never be more than average; far better to become a superstar on your strengths. Obviously, glaring weaknesses should not be ignored, but the company wanted a group of people with different top skills & not the proverbial well-rounded person that is average in most areas.

We can see it with Ashley/Tim, who are focusing on line/unison in individual elements and not seemingly overtraining on overhead lifts that likely will never be great.
 

Skater Boy

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USA has a lot to thank Ashley and Timothy. The Knerims to me a few years ago especially with the twist I thought were going to be medallists. I thought they would beat Duhamel and Radford and the former team of Moore Tower and Moscovitch and the rather perfunctory Russians. Now is the USA's chance. Russia has no super team. China only has one. Savchenko is pregnant. Canada is struggling. The French are beatable. The door is open now...
 

skylark

Gazing at a Glorious Great Lakes sunset
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Here is an interview I did with U.S. junior pair Kate Finster/Balazs Nagy. They compete this week at the Lake Placid JGP.

https://adivinesport.com/2019/08/28/finster-nagy-young-team-on-the-rise/

A quote from Balazs Nagy from the article:

I made an account on Ice Partner Search. It was very rudimentary. I didn’t really post much about myself; I don’t even think I had pictures. I was like: We’ll see what happens. And I woke up in the morning to my inbox full of emails.

Holy Moly. If that doesn't say something about pairs men's experiences, vs. pairs ladies, I don't know what does. And he hadn't even skated pairs for six years at that point.

Thank you for posting this, clairecloutier! I also love the title of your blog and the divine quote:

To me, figure skating is a divine sport. It’s a sport made by the gods. It inspires people to cry, it inspires people to cheer, it pulls the emotions out of people.
–Frank Carroll
 

el henry

Go have some cake. And come back with jollity.
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I love Alexa and Chris, but never in my wildest dreams did I think they were going to beat world champions like Meagan and Eric :biggrin: or even Russian teams who had consistently made the podium, no matter what I thought of their skating. ;)

I also love Ashley and Tim, and am so proud of what they have accomplished.

And I think I like this “play to your strengths” approach. Let Ashley and Tim have amazing lines, great playful interactions, solid jumps, and let them just finish their lifts and throws. Let Alexa and Chris have the twists and the power and Alexa’s fierceness and not force Chris into some portrayal that he is not.

And let the best team win:clap:
 

skylark

Gazing at a Glorious Great Lakes sunset
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Some years ago, I went through the training program at the Gallup polling company & the entire philosophy is opposite the standard advice to work mostly on weaknesses. The thinking is that it’s not the best use of time/energy to work on aspects that may never be more than average; far better to become a superstar on your strengths.

It makes so much more sense, to me, in terms of making the best use of physical, mental, and emotional energy.

We can see it with Ashley/Tim, who are focusing on line/unison in individual elements and not seemingly overtraining on overhead lifts that likely will never be great.

Although, some thought their twist was a hopeless cause a couple years ago.

I'm just so happy that we HAVE a US team focusing on gorgeous lines and unison. This is an aspect of pairs skating that thrills me. I always thought that was one of Gordeeva & Grinkov's most fundamental techniques that had them standing above the rest.

I just watched a relatively new posting of the pairs competition at 2019 US nationals. This broadcast has the gentler commentary by Charlie White and Michael Weiss. Highly enjoyable!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfDvdhwMKO4&t=900s
 

Spiralgraph

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Thanks for the link, skylark. Michael Weiss's commentary is okay but any event with Charlie White commentating is a big plus for me.
 

skylark

Gazing at a Glorious Great Lakes sunset
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You're very welcome. I totally agree with you about Charlie ... I love to listen to his commentary. He's always positive and insightful. He's said he loves to talk to the skaters he choreographs for, loves to talk to them about why we (they) skate. Like Marina always talked about, he said. I'd love to be a fly on that wall!
 

skylark

Gazing at a Glorious Great Lakes sunset
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Here are a few videos of pairs from the Mid Atlantic Figure Skating Championships:

Alexa and Chris Knierim SP: (starts at 2:00.)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6o3Xc0Jn1k

Alexa/Chris FS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9kR6_qE2II


Olivia Serafini / Mervin Tran SP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivUAE4ZhtFk

Olivia/ Mervin FS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KV0Noleyfq8


Maria Mokhova and Ivan Mokhov SP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgiS0o9b_-A


Anna Vernikov and Evgeny Krasnospolsky SP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSDOrbQKZ_U
 

cohen-esque

Final Flight
Joined
Jan 27, 2014
Here are a few videos of pairs from the Mid Atlantic Figure Skating Championships:

Alexa and Chris Knierim SP: (starts at 2:00.)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6o3Xc0Jn1k

Alexa/Chris FS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9kR6_qE2II
No idea what’s going on with their SBS jumps, but did they bring back the quad twist or are my eyes deceiving me? (I’ve really never been sure where to stop and start with the rotation on twists.)

ETA: No, slowed down a little it’s clearly a triple. Huge, though.
 

skylark

Gazing at a Glorious Great Lakes sunset
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No idea what’s going on with their SBS jumps, but did they bring back the quad twist or are my eyes deceiving me? (I’ve really never been sure where to stop and start with the rotation on twists.)

ETA: No, slowed down a little it’s clearly a triple. Huge, though.

Yes, their twist is as wonderful as ever. Simply amazing. Well, I've heard that they worked with Rafael Arutyunyan on jumps recently. If that's right, he may have changed their jump technique completely; he's known for that, and he's said it takes two years for his work of that kind to show results. If so, it would be in time for the Olympic year. It's puzzling that their jump tempos and beginnings are so far off, but that could be "growing pains" for the new technique. Alexa and Chris seemed tired to me. But, looking at it another way, more positively .... maybe they're purposely making the changes slowly.

Their lifts were all gorgeous!
 

gordana

On the Ice
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Sep 17, 2015
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Russia
skylark, thank you for posting Mid Atlantics links.
Just one question: isn't Krasnopolsky Israeli any longer? :scratch2:
 

skylark

Gazing at a Glorious Great Lakes sunset
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skylark, thank you for posting Mid Atlantics links.
Just one question: isn't Krasnopolsky Israeli any longer? :scratch2:

Well ... all I know is what Wiki tells me. :laugh: "Mr. Wiki" says that Mr. Krasnopolsky is famous for the frequency with which he changes partners. The article doesn't mention Anna ... yet. But he can still be Israeli and compete with Anna for the US, for the time being at least.
 

SnowWhite

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Well ... all I know is what Wiki tells me. :laugh: "Mr. Wiki" says that Mr. Krasnopolsky is famous for the frequency with which he changes partners. The article doesn't mention Anna ... yet. But he can still be Israeli and compete with Anna for the US, for the time being at least.

I don't think competing at this comp means you're skating for the US. Zhuk/Bidar were also there and they compete for the Czech Republic (if she gets released).
 

el henry

Go have some cake. And come back with jollity.
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I believe Evgeny and his partner of the week still intend to skate for Israel. Since this comp is so close to his rink in Hackensack, feeding ground for much of the Israeli team, it probably just made logistical sense to compete at Mid Atlantics

And good to see Alexa and Chris going for it :agree:
 
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