2018 Finlandia: Thoughts and Highlights?

[gsk8]

Hi Folks!

Check out our Twitter, Instagram, and/or Facebook page for photos, videos and more from the event!

Now that the competition is over, what were your favorite highlights of the event? Feel free to talk about costumes, elements, scores, etc. Everything goes!

We are also looking for those who have a bit of writing skillz! We'd love to see a paragraph of each discipline highlighting the top three along with your thoughts. The staff will be watching and someone may win a free season pass to the competition forums if you haven't already got one Get those creative and technical juices flowing and show us your journalistic abilities! One-liners are welcome, just keep out the snark level down
A big congrats to the winners below who gave great recaps on previous events and earned a free season pass!

IceBallerina - JGP Linz
Fluture - JGP Linz
MalAssada - JGP Kaunas
Step Sequence4 - JGP Canada
chameleon - US Classic
Marius - Lombardia
Baron Vladimir - Ondrej Nepela Trophy
skylark - Autumn Classic
Clairecz - JGP Ostrava

 

[Colonel Green]

- The men's event here was...less than ideal. I really like Kolyada's programs this year, and Nadeau's free program is a ton of fun. I hope to see them both skated cleanly later.
- For the women's event, the real highlight for me was Viveca Lindfors, who very narrowly became the first Finnish skater to podium at Finlandia in six years. I was also happy to see Veronik Mallet have a good outing; her comeback after missing two full seasons due to injury has been progressing very nicely.
- Pairs...sigh, also not great. Tarasova and Morozov's new free program has promise. Glad to see Moore-Towers and Marinaro have a better showing here than at the Autumn Classic, even though their ordinals between the two events were identical; they had injury problems over the summer, and given the pace of improvement I hope they can really be ready for SCI in a few weeks.
- Ice dance, the discipline we can always rely on for minimal splatting on the ice. I'm really digging Smart/Diaz's programs this year, especially.
- Also, a tip of the hat to that bird who kept knocking confetti on the ice on Saturday.

 

[ladyjane]

A bit of a mixed bag for me. I liked Kolyada a lot even though I'm sure he can do a lot better still, felt sorry for Junhwan Cha who had a rather ridiculous fall in a spin, and Aliev showed off his balletic skills on ice if not on the more athletic parts of a FS programme. But the rest of the men wasn't really much (which was a shame as there were quite a few who can do a lot better).

Ladies was boring (sorry everybody) even if I did like it that Elizavetta did quite well again. And to see a Kazachstan skater doing well again was also a highlight.

The Pairs were not great. There's potential, absolutely, but seeing T/M doing so bad on an otherwise lovely LP was a bit of a let down. It was good to see MT/M doing well, if not perfect (yet) and of course to me the music is really lovely. Different (well, for pair skating that is).

Confetti aside, I though S/B did really well. Lots of improvement there. I've always liked them, but I hope they'll have a big breakthrough this year. I wouldn't mind seeing Russian Ice Dancing stepping up this season after so many years of NA dominance (apart from P/C of course whom I adore). A nice bit of rivalry there would make the competition at the GP's and at Worlds so much more interesting. To be honest, the Canadians were a bit of a let down here, which is a shame. Or is that just me?

 

[Merjan]

For me the highlights were J. Cha, SP and I like his free a lot but there were a few mistakes. Anyway, he got a gift from me ( I was at Metro Areena on Friday and Saturday). Another highlight was talking to Brian Orser in the hallway and I got a photo of us together. About the other men, quite dissappointing even if Kolyada was ok in FS and I like Matteo Rizzo´s skating.
In ice dance, I liked the RD of Shpilevaya /Smirnow a lot. I was happy to see Juulia and Matthias do so well there. I think their RD is very good and they did the twizzles much better than before in both programs. Stepanova / Bukin skated well both days, I enjoyed their RD even if there was the break because of the bird...
In pairs, not many clean performances (FS), not any, if I remember right. I thought the Spanish pair did very well in the warm-up but not exactly the same in actual competition. I think the FS of Ziegler / Kiefer is really nice. Tarasova /Morozov's FS could be good if there weren't so many mistakes. What's happened to their throws, those used to be so great. The best SP for me was that of Boikova / Kozlovski. Very promising.
And the ladies... The Highlight, really, for me was the FS of Viveca Lindfors. So good. And to see her happy smile after a clean performance, so nice.
I'm happy to see Elizaveta skate at this level again and that she tried the triple Axel in both programs. She landed it perfectly in the warm-up. Tursynbaeva was very good too, in both programs.
Anyway, there were lots of mistakes in the single skating events. But it's just the beginning of the season for many.

 

[LadyB]

I've missed the entire second day as I was visiting friends. I'm very much looking forward to watch the videos, though, and I'm super happy about the Russian success! But also Junhwan, Morisi and Tursynbaeva...excellent!!! Now, I'm proper geared up for GP season.

 

[Bluediamonds09]

Oh, the US ladies...... oh, that was terrible. I don’t know what else to say about it.

 

[Violetti]

The Finnish figure skating association offered two tickets at the cost of one for those who had the skating license. It is required for those who skate in a club. My 11 year old daughter skates as a hobby (and just as a hobby) two times a week so she has this license and we decided get those tickets for Sunday as we are most interested in ladies events and now in the FS. My daughter is just learning the jumps and maybe I finally will learn to recognize them all and not only axel as she is now able to show and tell me which jump is which.

So we got there a little late and we both were amazed how different it is to see skating live. If you have never got to see figure skating live you should do so. We enjoyed the performances even though many skaters were totally new to me, never heard of them before and that's is why it is hard to say much of those I did not know.

I enjoyed Eva Lotta Kiibus nice skate and her joy of that.
I liked some of Rika Hongo's programs in the past and her music is powerful but she seems not be in good shape. Her dress moved beautifully, a very good choice. Sad that she could not deliver it well.
Yojin Choi's dress sparkled like the stars, very pretty. During warm-up she had a black jacket without sleeves. I thought how beautiful sleeves her dress had as there were all those shining things and I did not notice she still had her jacket on. Then she took her jacket of and oh, how amazing her dress was. Nice skate, too.

The highlight of the ladies events was Viveca Lindfors, of course. I did not expect a lot of Finnish skaters but she surprised me and nailed all her jumps and a good skate overall. I was soooo happy. The second best score ever for a Finnish lady. I'm still very happy for this and that she was third and got her medal! I have to say I admire more Viveca than Emmi even though I wish them both to skate well. My daughter belongs to the same skating club as Viveca and I sometimes see her practicing.

Emmi Peltonen struggled with her jumps but she is artistic and good with her hands. I am happy they both were here and can go to Helsinki GP and Europeans if they are healthy. Only worlds are only for one of them.

Elizabet Tursynbaeva was nice to see live. She is so little, my daughter said and she is but good also. During warm-up I was wondering who's coach that man was who is usually with Eteri and he was with Elizabet. So she changed her coach and Eteri is her coach now. That's new to me.

I like Stanislava Konstantinova but this was not the best skate of her.
I've been fan of Elizaveta Tuktamysheva and loved some of her programs in the past but I did not like this one so much. First it seemed to go so well but then she fell. It is terrible to see falls live, I have to shut my eyes for a moment if there is bad fall. It was nice to see her triple axel even though not perfect in the program.

I was also interested in Pooja and Anita. Nice to see but not the best of them.

Overall, go and see figure skating live. It was so amazing and beautiful again even though I've seen live events before.

 

[silverfoxes]

I'm happy for Moris for making the podium, and sorry that Dima couldn't show his best since he had a bit of a setback after Lombardia. But Dima's performance abilities are still the best, just stunning, doesn't matter if it's a B competition with a bunch of mistakes - it's still beautiful. Don't like Kolyada's programs as usual, he's as inconsistent as ever, so there's nothing to say about him. Except...90+ PCS for that??? Nic Nadeau's Depeche Mode was fun, even though the choreo and some of the music cuts could be better. Shae-Lynn's choreo is usually not that cheesy. He entertained the staid Finnish audience, at least.

Congrats to Liza and Elizabet, and it was fun to see a Finnish girl medal over Stasya (her face in the k&c! LOL). Pairs...eh.

 

[Skater Boy]

I really was quite disappointed with the skating at Finandia. Everyone seemed to have rust and need work on their programs but it is early still. Not impressed with the Russian ladies. They only got one medal granted gold but Liza's pcs are a point lower than one would anticipate for a world challenger - which she might be in light of Russia's "weak" female skaters - until next year. I say weak because it is all relative. lol. They could have two skaters on the world podium and a third in the top ten. Oh Rika...what a disaster and disappointment.

Pairs really was sad to see and I am not sold on S and B in dance. I would like to see Kolyada get it ALL together. With the new rules I wonder who is world favorite.

 

[lavoix]

Are there any videos of Smart/Diaz long program?

 

[elektra blue]

please! someone say to Hino that a white shirt with a red rose looks like a gunshot wound from afar

anyway my highlights:

kolyada matador passion (if only i could be clean)
Aliev beautiful lines
Kvitelashvili's mozart opera rock (it's a guilty plasure )
Virtanen’s bipolar costume and funny sp
Nadeau fs. he just can't get enough
Lindfors surprise fs

i wish i could put Tuktamisheva in this list, I love the girl and what she’s doing this year, fighting her way back and rocking every competition she’s in against all odds, but I can’t manage to like her sp, it’s lacking something, in the lp she looked somehow lifeless and out of fuel in the end. once she reach the gp it won’t be enough.

p.s.: I need stepanova and bukin to give me back my hormones :dance2:

 

[dorispulaski]

Are there any videos of Smart/Diaz long program?

No. They skate to the Beatles, so any videos would be blocked. It is possible someone will put their vid on vimeo or dailymotion, though. We will keep looking.

 

[lavoix]

No. They skate to the Beatles, so any videos would be blocked. It is possible someone will put their vid on vimeo or dailymotion, though. We will keep looking.

Ugh for goodness sake, these copyright issues are so useless.

Any video is great, I still haven't seen their FP this season.

 

[opruh]

Kolyada is such a beautiful skater, I'm glad that he won another title this season.

I really love Elizabeta this season, I guess she's my favorite Russian female skater now.

 

[Merjan]

Are there any videos of Smart/Diaz long program?

If you are in Finland, there are still the Finlandia Trophy programs in Yle Areena (https://areena.yle.fi/1-4512705)
as our national tv showed something of each event.

 

[surimi]

I'll be the odd one out and say I liked all programs and didn't feel disappointed with the level of skating at all. I was lucky enough to be there in person, although for less time than I hoped for. All the more reason to cherish my memories. I was already resigned to having to leave on Sunday without seeing the ladies FP and FD. However, due to a surprise bout of illness I was only able to fly on Friday instead of Thursday, and eventhough I hurried to see all I could, I could only make it to the venue for the second half of Ladies Short. I got to see Rika, though, who is one of the reasons I went to Finlandia. It wasn't the best competition for her, and she was clearly very sad about something - might have been an injury, might have been personal issues, no idea - so I did my utmost to cheer for her as much as I could. I hope she feels better gradually, and doesn't give up.

Ladies and Men were the disciplines I saw the most of: most FP practices, ladies SP partly, and almost all of Men's FP. For men, I had to leave for the last FP group, so I actually never saw Cha or Kolyada skate , except for a few fleeting moments when passing the main entrance. I was actually just passing that way and taking a peek inside when Cha's final spin mishap happened. ^ ^ JunHwan reminds me of Hanyu a bit with his performance between elements; no wonder as they're from the same training center. The men from that group, as much as I could see, seemed very fast and confident; it's a pity I didn't see them up close, but maybe next time. Good to see Morisi on the podium: this seems to have been a very good competition for skaters of the smaller federations, with Morisi and Viveca medalling.

Speaking of ladies, apart from Rika who I always enjoy watching, I liked both Finnish ladies, was very impressed with Angela Wang whose skating is very smooth and elegant from up close, liked Eva Lotta Kiibus' program and music (like someone said, it's too catchy, and I kept humming it in my head till yesterday), liked Valentina Matos' simple yet elegant costume, and was again impressed with Pooja Kalyan who is a new name for me but I've liked her skating and programs since seeing her on the junior GP stream last month for the first time. I noticed her standing in a hallway during the Men's FP, and didn't hesitate and wished her good luck. I voiced the same support also to my home country skater, Michaela Lucie. It wasn't a great competition for her in the end, but she didn't seem too upset and that's a good mindset for a competitive skater to have. She seems very nice so hopefully once she stabilizes her jumps, she'll be a regular at highest level competitions.

I'm sorry to say that due to haunting the practice rink for most of Saturday, I missed all of the rhythm dance and all pairs but Miu/Ryuichi who I sacrificed the last group of men's practice to see. Hopefully I'll be better organized next time. ^ ^

For me the highlights were J. Cha, SP and I like his free a lot but there were a few mistakes. Anyway, he got a gift from me ( I was at Metro Areena on Friday and Saturday). Another highlight was talking to Brian Orser in the hallway and I got a photo of us together.

haha, I stumbled across him too, in the practice rink corridor! I was so surprised I didn't even react in any way.

Speaking of Men, I guess I'm the only one, but my own litle highlight was Ryuju. Being a huge Sota fan, I was fully prepared to pick Sota's FP as the clear winner for me, but Ryuju's FP was such an improvement from last season and such a pleasant surprise. He doesn't have a fanfest here on GS, so I'll just use this space to say I was impressed with the upgrade of everything from music and costume to spins, choreo and performance, and a special nod to how much of a stride forward he's done in his arm/hand movements. Definitely hoping he's not retiring yet, and that he sticks to Miyamoto for choreo and finally disses those merry Russian-sounding tunes that are such a mismatch. Not a stellar outing for Team Japan in terms of results, but I am more than content with what I saw. I wish I could have had more time to watch all there was to see. Hopefully next time.

If I were to pick one thing that bugged me, it would be that none of the security guys (couldn't see any organizers) was able to tell me the location of the practice rink and it took me a lot of time to figure out how to get there. They kept sending me this way and that, some even pointed me to other buildings, and when I was finally sent the right way by one of the staffers, I was later rebuked for using the same entrance as the skaters and the way turned out to have been not so right after all. What a mess, but now I know the layout I won't get lost next time if I return.

[ETA, whoops, sorry about the wall of text ^ ^]

 

[mysticice]

As it’s early season like everyone and their coach keeps pointing out I keep this on a positive note.

Ladies: Good showing from Tuktamysheva. Like it or not, she certainly has her own distinct style of skating. I’ve always liked her athletism and she didn’t disappoint here showing 3A in both programs. I’ve always admired her 3Lz-3T and it was great to see it as well. Maybe she blooms every four years and this is her year again.
Tursynbaeva was a total surprise. I had written her off and now she clearly has found (again) the style that suits her the best. Eteri’s influence is easy to see in a good way. She also has matured and she always had great musicality. I’m looking forward to seeing her again this season.
So happy for Lindfors for her clean skate. Missing out on the Olys must have stung and I’m so glad she took that disappointment and turned it into a fighting spirit. I feel like she is the better competitor than Peltonen, so she has every chance to get that WC spot. Her red LP costume suits her very well.

Men: Kolyada and Aliev couldn’t be more different. I like both of their LPs. I hope to see them fight for gold in EC (with or without Fernandez).
Cha’s LP is so much fun in an endearing way. I can’t help but laugh in that Juliet! -moment. The best R&J out there this season and there are many of those. Something new for sure.
I feel like there are more and more surprisingly tall men jumping quads. I thought height gives you clear disadvantage in jumping but I guess you can work arround it. A surprise podium place for Kvitelashvili.
I have to mention Rizzo because he is one of those rare skaters that put me at ease; I feel like I don’t need to worry about a thing when he is skating and I like that.

ID: First off, I really like the new choreo sequence towards the judges (and cameras).
Stepanova/Bukin were in the league of their own. I feel like they have grown immensely since last year. I liked both of their programs and especially their original RD which I liked the best so far this season of all the ones I’ve seen. (And watching many tangos in a row can be jarring).
The first time I saw Smart/Diaz FD I didn’t like it at all. This time I was intrigued half way through. I expect this is one of those programs that will grow on me over the season. I felt quite attacked by her styling in the RD though.
Solid work from L/L gave them the bronze.
I’m pleasantly surprised by Turkkila/Versluis’ progress. She is so lovely. They are starting to look like a team. She looks much more secure now than when she was skating singles.

On a side note, I wonder where Anna Yanovskaya is heading. She didn’t look too happy in the K&C and I don’t expect fast improvements in standings.

Lots of neutral colors in costumes this year. I like it when a skater visually pops from the ice so I prefer more color.

Pairs: For me Tarasova/Morozov’s SP costumes were better than LP costumes. Obvious mistakes aside there were something missing from them. It’s like they are not present in the moment. It’s work. They are a beautiful couple and I hope they'll find what made them love skating in the first place.
Not much to say about M-T/M or B/K. Work in process… just not too memorable. Boikova doesn’t strike me as a good competitor and I hope thay work on that too.
Ziegler/Kiefer really cought my attention last season. I hope they keep it up. Same goes for A/W.

For many skaters this was an eventful early showing of their programs. Some costume malfunctions, falls, pops, douppled jumps, surprise mistakes in spins and other technical mishaps, and some confetti to top it all.