2018 Ondrej Nepela Trophy: Thoughts?

[Baron Vladimir]

I agree with most of you that Carmen planned out as a very good vehicle for Kolyada skating. Big jumps and toreadors movements look just great on him. Im OK with Muse SP, well im gratefull we didnt have to listen same Muse's song as always I generally liked the men's tendention to choose more contemporary rock songs for their programs, not just to skate to the same old, same old music. Kolayda won with some good Components score there so i think he will be a contender for a worlds medal again this year. Voronov skated fine to win silver and what i admire the most about him (nonetheless he was paying homage to Denis making us teary) is his willingness to keep improving. Including new type of a quad (4Lo) and that in his years is an amazing accomplishment. Tanaka demonstrated good skating skills and fluidity but he didnt succeed to draw me in his performance at all. I liked Samarin better (or better to say his music choices).
Rika Kihira was a clear winner in Ladies by making herself part of the history as a first lady who jumped 3A-3T combo. And that in some style! If she continues to landing those axels with a fine, not empty skating like she did here, she will be the frontrunner to win Japanese nationals for sure. I thought Tursunbayeva also skated good, especially her short programme and deservedly won the silver. Other ladies didnt have the best competition. Konstantinova stood out from the rest by being the most cleanish one. Tsurskaya reminds me of Sotnikova a lot. She has nice SS and some big jumps but only if she rotates them and lands them clean we will see some big scores there. Sadly, she is far away from that, but season is young and she has time to improve.
Cain/Leduc were a higlight of not so higlighted pairs competition. First of all, I want to give a big applause for American pairs in general. Even they are not the best in the world, without their contribution pairs competitions wouldnt be possible, i guess. Cain/Leduc skated cleanish nicely programs and if they continue the momentum they could be National champions and have some good placement at Worlds. Another applause goes to Deanna Stellato personally for reminding us again never to give up and keep trying!
I was impressed the most with dance competition. I didnt mind all those tangos, i didnt find them boring at all. Opposite of that, i liked intensity and drama they are bringing. Sinitisina/Katsalapov tango was the best one. This kind of music and style suits them very well and they got some big components there. With those number they can challenge the medals on world level too. Mcnamara/Carpenter showed they are technically skilled skaters but they need to work on their presentation if they want to stood out in already crowded American ice dance environment. Like for example what Fear/Ginson and Popova/Mozgov did with their programs here. First demonstrated great disco movements converting a cold ice rink into a hot discoteque. And second one showed the best of Russian drama on ice. What an acting that was with some innovative lifts and twizzles and that final sliding element. Wow! So, my personal biggest higlight was a German judge who was scoring those dances. Fear/Gibson got from him 6.25/6.25/7.50/7.50/7.50 and Popova/Mozgov 7.75/7.75/8.50/9.00/9.00. Great job Mr Jorn Lucas :thumbsup:

 

[rachno2]

My thoughts are that Durex should never be allowed to sponsor a figure skating competition again

 

[skylark]

I'm pleasantly surprised that my highlight from this event came from Ice Dance! In a few words: Lorraine McNamara and Quinn Carpenter. Their RD is simply gorgeous. If you're looking for a completely different "take" on the tango, this is it. There's nothing sharp, nothing aggressive about it; there's no racing down the ice in a push to collect as many points as possible. That is, the push to collect points isn't visible. It's imbedded in their skating moves, similar to what happens with the reigning World Champions.

They're actually dancing the tango, creating the illusion of a couple in love. In their very first element, the twizzles, they slow down, in unison, beautifully in sync with the music. Then the entire dance fulfills their beginning promises. They dance with fluidity, passion, joy to share their love of skating with the audience, and athleticism. And the athleticism serves the program, the music, and the skaters, not the other way 'round. Their free dance is also gorgeous, and fulfills the promises they made with the RD. In the world of Ice Dance, where the race to the top can start to look frenetic, I so admire their choice to be different and hold to their vision.

The other highlight for me: Ashley Cain and Timothy Leduc. They are slowly showing their desire to combine their gorgeous lines, dramatic chops, charisma and synchronicity with improvement in all the elements. In their long program, I could see movement and improvement since only a week before at SLC. It was smoother, more lyrical. Their SP is a great contrast, showing their personality and sassy, fun side. This is a great season start for them, and I couldn't be more thrilled. If they can continue to work toward a more consistent quality in their 3twist (which they show sometimes) and a better landing on the throw lutz, they'll make steady progress. I can see a growing respect from the judges here for what Ashley and Tim have to offer.

 

[el henry]

i agree with you on west side story, but i was talking about east of Eden

Oops:

And I agree with you that I do not generally like East of Eden programs. So we are in perfect agreement

 

[vorravorra]

MEN

Kolyada: He seems cautious going into the programs and playing out the layout. I assume he is going to upgrade the 3Lz to a quad, but not sure given how inconsistent it was and maybe best to leave it as a triple given this new scoring system. But we will see because having only the quad toe will not be enough.

I dont understand the Muse SP. It feels random. It feels like the music is the background to the skating, so he could be skating to anything. He has done better programs than this and not as creative.

His FP is one of the most common pieces and dont think it is his voice. It feels like someone else picked it for him because of a school project. It is "textbook" music, and he is looking to get straight As from the teacher. I feel like he is still finding his music.

No, the Muse is the one somebody else (Lambiel) picked for Kolyada, skating to Carmen is his childhood dream.

 

[Alexz]

My thoughts are that Durex should never be allowed to sponsor a figure skating competition again

Its better to kids know and remember about protection more than not using it at all if it comes to this.