2018 US Championships Sr. Free Dance

[Art&Sport]

I'm happy for Madi & Zach. I love both of their programs. This is great vindication for them. I wonder if they win a bronze medal at the Olympics whether they will stay in the competitive ranks? Maybe for an additional year perhaps. I don't think they will go for another four years.

I'm sad for the Shibutanis. I really love their skating. I hope they are able to tweak their fd and make some dramatic improvements. They can certainly see that its weak relative to programs by the other teams. And that came out loud and clear at GPF and now at U.S. Nats, where they were nearly beaten by Hawayek/Baker in the fd. I agree with @klutzy's above observations regarding the Shibs' fd. But the sp of S/S is spectacular, so I hope they are able to score well with that program at the Olympics.

I wonder what will happen with the Olympic bronze medal now up for grabs (since the Shibs are not being sent off as solid first place contenders from the U.S.). It would be nice to see H/D win OBM, but I have a soft spot for the Shibs. Maybe the Shibs will stay in for another four years, but they will have three excellent younger ice dance teams from the U.S. hot on their heels. And will Maddie and Evan continue or call it quits after this season?

 

[kiches]

Thanks for sharing!

Those edges!!! https://www.flickr.com/photos/144549958@N06/38873333364/in/album-72157662425995747/lightbox/

You're welcome . I actually had some other great shots with some beautiful edges but the ice looked so yellow in many of them that I decided not to keep them. Definitely a lot more experimenting to do.

 

[Mrs. P]

I'm sad for the Shibutanis. I really love their skating. I hope they are able to tweak their fd and make some dramatic improvements. They can certainly see that its weak relative to programs by the other teams. And that came out loud and clear at GPF and now at U.S. Nats, where they were nearly beaten by Hawayek/Baker in the fd. I agree with @klutzy's above observations regarding the Shibs' fd. But the sp of S/S is spectacular, so I hope they are able to score well with that program at the Olympics.

I don't agree with this. At GPF, they had issues with the twizzles (Alex). This time, they lost a ton of points with Maia's stumble -- not only were they dock to level 3, they also only got 0.47 points for it. Considering they score 3.14 GOE in the first sequence, they easily lost two points -- that would have been enough to pass H/B in the FD and win the title. I'm just saying this to not say H/D didn't deserve the win , but to point out that that they lost shouldn't been seen as some for of message that the judges don't like the FD.

 

[moonvine]

Amen! I started ranting and then turned the channel to watch the U.S. Speed Skating Trials Mass Start instead.
I think it wouldn't have been so annoying if 1) they weren't showing that stupid Tara/Johnny interview AGAIN about her one figure skating achievement, and 2) they hadn't been doing this all weekend, showing short program reruns under the program title "free program".

That's why I keep paying for icenetwork even though it goes up every year. And I DVRed the mass start.

 

[TontoK]

I don't agree with this. At GPF, they had issues with the twizzles (Alex). This time, they lost a ton of points with Maia's stumble -- not only were they dock to level 3, they also only got 0.47 points for it. Considering they score 3.14 GOE in the first sequence, they easily lost two points -- that would have been enough to pass H/B in the FD and win the title. I'm just saying this to not say H/D didn't deserve the win , but to point out that that they lost shouldn't been seen as some for of message that the judges don't like the FD.

Yep. I may not be as enraptured as I was with Coldplay #1, but that doesn't mean the judges aren't.

The thing about this competition is that the teams skated and performed very impressively, but everyone has something to work on. H/D got a L2 on their spin, and I haven't calculated how much that cost them... but if either of the other top teams had skated flawlessly, H/D wouldn't have won. Less than a point separated all of them over the course of two dances.

Costly little mistakes in the SD's, too.

I'm GLAD these mistakes are being called out here, rather than at OG.

 

[Art&Sport]

Yeah, I think that was a bit of gamesmanship--the Americans want all their teams to be considered bronze possibilities.

IMHO, that's a dangerous play though for US fed to make. And a dangerous assumption as well. Plus I also think that H/D's fd is way better than C/B's and so C/B should not have been scored even slightly higher. I like C/B's Under Pressure fd from last year a bit better, although Imagine is rather nice and okay to watch, it's not as outstanding as H/D's fd.

For the team competition, I agree with others who suggest Maia & Alex for the sd and Hub/Don for the fd. US fed would be foolish to include C/B in the team competition. I know that C/B are well liked among U.S. fed, but the fed is playing with fire if they try to include C/B in the Olympic team competition.

I also agree that S/S and C/B (especially Madison Chock) were unhappy on the awards podium. S/S looked gutted. Even during the press conference despite Madi Hubbell recognizing S/S and C/B in a genuine sportsmanlike way in her opening comments, neither S/S nor C/B actually acknowledged H/D's win or praised them. In the Olympic presser later there were some indirect comments by all three teams that were praiseworthy of their American competitors, but that was probably mostly an effort at team spirit. I got the impression that H/D and C/B are at least on fairly friendly terms, but I didn't get a sense of H/D or C/B being too friendly with the Shibs (despite Madi Hubbell seeming to be very gracious to Maia during the award ceremony hug). There especially seems to be a chill between Maia and Maddie Chock.

 

[Art&Sport]

I don't agree with this. At GPF, they had issues with the twizzles (Alex). This time, they lost a ton of points with Maia's stumble -- not only were they dock to level 3, they also only got 0.47 points for it. Considering they score 3.14 GOE in the first sequence, they easily lost two points -- that would have been enough to pass H/B in the FD and win the title. I'm just saying this to not say H/D didn't deserve the win , but to point out that that they lost shouldn't been seen as some for of message that the judges don't like the FD.

I didn't say it was any kind of message. Others have talked about US fed sending some kind of message that all 3 teams are worthy of a Olympic bronze medal, but politics are rampant in figure skating, so the placements at the Olympics may not be 3-4-5 for the Americans. But I think it makes sense for the OBM to be battled between H/D and the Shibs. Still with international politics, nothing is very dependable. Are the 3 U.S. teams hurt or helped by U.S. fed apparently sending a mixed message about their teams, or is U.S. fed taking some of their cues from the GPF results? They should not have given C/B the fd win, IMHO. H/D deserved the fd win and the overall win, especially after the mistake by Maia in the diagonal footwork. I think the Shibs' sd is the strongest, even rivaling V/M's sd.

I just went back and looked at the scores for GPF in the fd for the Shibs: it was 109 -- I know they made some mistakes there too, but that's a hugely low fd score. It was only their very high score in the sd that saved the Shibs and allowed them to still win the GPF bronze. But it had to be a blow to their confidence. Now they have made some changes to the FD or to the music cuts, but will that be enough? I am torn because I love both the Shibs and Hub/Don. I would be thrilled if S/S can win the Olympic bronze medal, but it's sad that their fd has been what's let them down added to making mistakes at GPF and U.S. Nats, which is not helpful. I know the Shibs are fighters though and that they will come back strong.

I think someone earlier questioned whether the Olympic podium would be of skaters from one country. That poster must have meant skaters from the same training camp because V/M P/C and H/D are from different countries -- they only all train in Montreal.

 

[Art&Sport]

OMG! How does anyone watch NBC's coverage? It was advertised as 3 hours of ice dance competition. Instead we got a rehash of the women's, rehash of the men's, rehash of Tara's OGM (with bonus scream), two ice dance performances, interview with Andrea "I Can Make Anyone Cry" Joyce and the 3 men's Olympic team members, rehash of CALGARY Olympics!!!, now it is finally getting into the final group so maybe I will see 8 performances in THREE HOURS. God forbid I should ever have to give up my icenetwork.

IceNetwork really need to be boycotted for their crappy streaming service though! Major League Baseball is contracted to provide the service but MLB knows nothing and cares nothing about figure skating. Nor do they care about figure skating fans. Or else someone doesn't want to go to the expense of providing a better service. You don't see such faded-out looking crap and jerky jumpy streams on any online baseball broadcasts!!! The visuals are super sharp with never any jumps or glitches. I complained directly to the MLB customer service (call IN's customer service line and you will speak with MLB techs). They use the excuse that most figure skating fans are gray-haired old ladies who don't have up-to-date computers. Obviously, that's a pile of horse crap on both counts.

Nothing will be done by either USFS/ IceNetwork nor MLB unless and until fs fans join together to boycott the service and petition for more advanced streaming service. Then of course they will also raise the price. Or, they might try to raise the price without upgrading service, but I don't think they can get away with that as easily.

 

[TontoK]

I also agree that S/S and C/B (especially Madison Chock) were unhappy on the awards podium. S/S looked gutted. Even during the press conference despite Madi Hubbell recognizing S/S and C/B in a genuine sportsmanlike way in her opening comments, neither S/S nor C/B actually acknowledged H/D's win or praised them. In the Olympic presser later there were some indirect comments by all three teams that were praiseworthy of their American competitors, but that was probably mostly an effort at team spirit. I got the impression that H/D and C/B are at least on fairly friendly terms, but I didn't get a sense of H/D or C/B being too friendly with the Shibs (despite Madi Hubbell seeming to be very gracious to Maia during the award ceremony hug). There especially seems to be a chill between Maia and Maddie Chock.

I don't give a rip if they all hate each other. I hope they're all mad as hell. I don't care if they go home and stick pins in voodoo dolls.

So long as they use that energy to work on levels, even greater extension, even more expression.

I want them to be absolutely dedicated to putting out their best performances EVER at the Olympic Games.

Because that will be something to see, and remember, and rewatch 20 years from now.

 

[Crossover]

OMG! How does anyone watch NBC's coverage? It was advertised as 3 hours of ice dance competition. Instead we got a rehash of the women's, rehash of the men's, rehash of Tara's OGM (with bonus scream), two ice dance performances, interview with Andrea "I Can Make Anyone Cry" Joyce and the 3 men's Olympic team members, rehash of CALGARY Olympics!!!, now it is finally getting into the final group so maybe I will see 8 performances in THREE HOURS. God forbid I should ever have to give up my icenetwork.

Are you a sitcom writer? You have every punch line in the short paragraph. Thankfully, we have posters to post active stream links or video clips later.

 

[moonvine]

More info about the Reynolds: http://eliciaandstephenreynolds.com/about.php

Amazing story. There have been discussions in a lot of threads about finances and what skaters have to do to keep skating. This is a great story about perseverance.

Could the Michael Weiss Foundation help them or is that just for kids? Come to think of it does it even still exist? I can't find anything current on it on the web. Their gofundme is not doing so great

 

[moonvine]

Are you a sitcom writer? You have every punch line in the short paragraph. Thankfully, we have posters to post active stream links or video clips later.

No, but after this weekend, this football game I am watching, and my gymnastics team losing their home opener I am about to write one. It will be entitled "Sports Suck."

 

[klutzy]

I get the sense that Maia is pretty driven, even for a skater. I once heard one of the B.ESP guys say "she wears the pants in that outfit"--which surprised me, since they tend to be so nice and supportive. It's got to be incredibly frustrating for them to have started with a bronze at worlds, then slide down well out of the medals, climb back up to a silver, then down to a bronze and now lose the U> championships in an Olympic year. Similar story for Chock and Bates.

 

[elysium8]

I think that the Shibutanis need to go back to "Fix You". That was the best of their Coldplay series...

Is that risky to bring back an entire old program (judges may remember how you did it _better_ in the past)? Maybe they can just incorporate _more_ of it into their current FD...without doing the entire Fix You FD.

 

[Barb]

(If I'm not mistaken Pogrebinsky/Benoit, and Hawayek/Baker are couples off the ice too -- at least they both seem to be). Madison Hubbell & Evan Bates appear to be a couple off-ice as well.

.

I don´t think that Jean Luc and Kaitlin are couple, I think they are only friends, I thought that Jean Luc was dating with Yura Min

IMHO, that's a dangerous play though for US fed to make. And a dangerous assumption as well.

Agree, I understand the message that USFS is sending but I think that B/S will be really pushed to get that bronze medal too.

I don't give a rip if they all hate each other. I hope they're all mad as hell. I don't care if they go home and stick pins in voodoo dolls.
.

---------------

About Alex and Maia with their FD, I get if some people think it is not very impressive but honestly the FD of C/B and H/D are not impressive either, yes, for their standars those are decent programs, people ask a Fix you level program but it was an iconic program, no C/B and H/D have got a program of that level. I think the 3 teams have more less the same opportunities with their FD, none is so spectacular that they can afford mistakes. When Maia and Alex were skating Fix you, they were not world bronze medal contenders and they were getting standing ovations in Canada, Japan, Barcelona, Nationals, everywhere, I can´t say the same with H/D and C/B this season, even when they have more status than the Shibs had previous to 2015-2016. And this season, Maia and Alex got standing ovation in Russia no less, showing their program for the first time, same Skate America and even here in San José with a visible mistake. On the other hand, Shibs SD definitely is better than those of C/B and H/D and I dont see people asking them change their SD, maybe people is more exigent with Maia and Alex because they have higher expectations with them.

 

[TwinnerA]

Is that risky to bring back an entire old program (judges may remember how you did it _better_ in the past)? Maybe they can just incorporate _more_ of it into their current FD...without doing the entire Fix You FD.

I loved their new program, not as much as Fix You, but then that program in my eyes was pretty much perfection. Maybe they should have done a mashup with more of Fix You incorporated into Paradise.

 

[BravesSkateFan]

Could the Michael Weiss Foundation help them or is that just for kids? Come to think of it does it even still exist? I can't find anything current on it on the web. Their gofundme is not doing so great

For what it's worth, they are still registered and active with the Virginia SCC .

 

[TontoK]

Hoo-boy. I just saw the podium ceremony for the first time.

Yeah, you could sense the depth of disappointment. The only non-winners to be remotely pleased were H/B with their pewter. And, IMO they had every right to be pleased. What a wonderful program, finally skated to potential.

But the Shibs - man, Alex looked like he could not WAIT to get off the podium. And Chock/Bates... deep disappointment.

 

[Crossover]

Finally watched the FD of McNamara & Carpenter and the Parsons siblings for the first time (I only watched top 3 or 4 in the GP series). M/C struggled through last season, so some said delaying their senior debut resulted such a bad luck for them to end up off the podium at Junior Worlds 2017 as opposed to their 2016 Junior title. However, I guess McNamara's growth spurts are finally done now although she still needs to improve her steps much cleaner. The FD is quite good and suits them well. They can even reuse it someday. I've always felt M/C is more like an European team than US dancers, but didn't bother checking their background because they didn't draw me enough into their programs. However, not this time. I can totally believe if FD were borrowed from Bobrova/Soloviev's previous programs because it has a strong Russian vibe although the program music and theme are tango. Then their choreographers have Slavic names..interesting.

As for the Parsons, I totally agree with the opinion that they may be better off if they split and find another partner respectively, especially for the sister's sake. She definitely has star quality like Pavel Drozd (I really wish he finds another partner!). I usually have a soft spot for sibling pairs because of the Duchesnays and the programs also reminds of the French, but I don't think the program is well made or suits them.

The rivalry between the two excites me though. It's good that they are assigned to 4CC, so they can finish their first senior season nicely. I wouldn't be surprised all US teams sweep the podium at there.