2019 Skate Canada Day 2: Thoughts and Highlights

[FlyingFeather]

Ice dance was the discipline in which I watched the whole event. But first, some thoughts on the snippets I watched of the other events.
Pairs: The Knierims are beautiful to watch, and the twist is mind boggling. Whether or not they are ever able to put it all together, I still love their skating. Not sure Alexa agrees with that last statement...
I was really impressed with the young Russians. I'm looking forward to watching them the rest of the season. I really hope T/M can put out clean programs. When they do, it will be a real treat!
Ladies: I hope I can find time to watch the whole event soon. I have seen very little of it. Anyway, I never expected Bradie to be known as artistic, but happily, both GPs have proven me wrong. I enjoy watching her skate now.
Mens: I try so hard to be interested... hey, at least I got through all of Yuzuru's SP. Don't think I watched any other program in full... But Nam's reaction to winning the silver was priceless.
Ice Dance: Much as I am a H/D fan, G/P skated lights out, and Piper's reaction in the K&C... They deserve it so much!!!! I've been a fan of G/P ever since I started watching figure skating, and now they have finally gotten some respect. And I am happy that the judges acknowledged that there are great skaters who are not from the Montreal camp.
H/D: I'm not into their programs this year, though they do a good job with anything they attempt. I've never listened to Lady Gaga or watched A Star is Born, so I don't get it. But the best programs reach all audiences. I think their best programs were a few years back. (2016/2017; 2017/2018) Maybe return more to that style next year? I think they would have done well with an RD more like H/B's.
H/B: I thought they had the best RD next to G/P. Turns out, they can groove! Not sure what the FD was, but I'm sure it will be smoothed out as the season progresses. It will be no Liebestraum, but hey, what is?
H/K: :sad21: This year's RD theme is tough for them, but I still love this team. I am a dancer, not a skater, so I do not know why their FD was scored so low. I thought that the program concept was layered and they performed it well. It was innovative. I enjoyed it more than F/G's FD, but I seem to be the only one with that opinion.

 

[skatergurl7]

Men: best of the night were Camden and Nam to me! We knew Yuzu was going to kill it, but the other two were huge happy surprises.

Ladies: Evgenia and Brian need to figure things out ASAP. It’s not looking good. That KNC was so awkward, and I feel for her because you can tell she’s extremely frustrated. She looked pissed when she was going out to skate the free program, tapping the ice with her toe pick. I’m not sure what can be done at this point, because not only is she playing catch up on her technique but she and everyone else also needs to add a quad / 3A to be competitive it seems now. And the spins need major work, I don’t know what their strategy is but she’s only surviving now due to her sheer will power and fight.

Pairs: so happy for B/K! My favorite team this year, Alexandra is so charismatic.

Dance: H/D outfit and music choices need rethinking, they are so talented I have no clue how Marie France picked those programs for them..

 

[yume]

Men:
The king is back. The look of his jumps and his minimals mistakes show his good shape and maybe the absence of pain for once.
Nam was fantastic in the free.
I wanted Camden to medal but congrats to Keiji.

Ladies
Top 4 was fantastic. Superb technical level. All the girls on podium have hard jumps (3A/quads) and it's GREAT. As Kihira said, it's the beginning of a new era. An era in which you needs 3A/quads to win or even medal. 5 of the 6 GP medalists for now have 3As/quads. That doesn't mean that axeless and quadless skaters with clean programs like Bradie at SA or Alina or Kaori next week (probably) won't medal, but if there are only skaters with big jumps on big podiums it wouldn't be surprising and it isn't killing the sport imo.
I liked Rika's free very much. Well constructed program.
Marin delivered a good free despite that scary bandage on her leg and it's been a while since she smiled like that. The fact that her components score was 11 points lower than the first in pcs was a joke. I don't know if Trusova getting 5 points higher is funnier.

Dance
Gilles' reaction in KnC after the free is a gem.

 

[Ryan O]

Anyone know if TSN/CTV has announced when the Gala will be broadcast?

 

[yude]

Yuzuru Hanyu.
First Gold Medal For Yuzuru Hanyu at Skate Canada.

These scenes are two of the highlights for me. Nam was a very small kid when I first saw him with Yuzuru at TCC around 2012. Now look at him, very nostalgic for me.

https://twitter.com/nyapippi/status/1188293688666902529
https://twitter.com/RED_far/status/1188304639139168256

 

[readernick]

Really an amazing event!

Hanyu is amazing. I don't love the choreograohy in the long program. However, he is just so amazing that I could watch him perform any choreo and still be enthralled.

Nam had such a great long program. He has never been my favourite skater but I am so happy he is making artistic strides and that his consistency is improving!

I love Keiji. His SP this year is fabulous. The long is good but not great. However, it is also nice to see him make strides both in artistry and consistency.

Camden actually had a pretty good long . That is an amazing accomplishment! His great short isn't that shocking because he heard great short programs all the time as a junior but to have a great long shows incredible growth.

Trusova is an athlete of incredible skill. I love how she looks so cute and tiny off the ice but once she is on the ice she becomes a completely different person. ( She's like a tiny superhero).I really can't help but smile when I see her. I love her 4Ts and her 3lz3los. She is a fabulous spoetswoman. She isn't really much of a pure skater or performer. The judges (like always with skaters that have high technical content) seem unable to correctly judge PCS. ( there really needs to be a seperate PCS panel). But, the judges inability to give her correct PCS ( perhaps 62/ 63?) doesn't take anything away from the incredible girl that she is!!!

Rika was also just fabulous. Unlike Trusova, Rika is a skater. Her edges are lovely. She also has great technique on her jumps and goes into and out of them with such speed. The Step Sq was incredibly lovely and she has such great body positions throughout. Rika has an amazing ability to convey music with her body. She needs to work in conveying it more in her face but I believe she will get better as the year goes on. Rika ( along with Alena K) is my favourite ladies skater because she just so lovely to watch. But, she still has room to grow technically ( get 3Lz back after ankle injury, and add 4S) and artistically (face not just body in interpretation). I believe we will see growth as the season goes on. As it is, I am just happy Rika has just grown competition nerves.


Young You's 3A in the short was beautiful. ( I mean it was extremely telegraphed but the jump itself was lovely). It was a pity she fell on it in the free. She had lovely jumps and is extremely fast across the ice. She didn't perform much here but she did so well for her first senior gp.

I am glad Med did well in the free. I was really a great performance artistically and technically. Two years ago see would have won Skate Canada with this performance but times in ladies skating are changing fast. I really like Med and I hope she is able to find a place for herself in the quickly changing landscape of ladies skating.

I adore B/K. They are so likeable. Their choreo is from Moskvina ( the goddess of pair's skating). I do like the SP better than the free ( i despite their awful costumes) but they are so charming they could sell anything. I am so glad they won.

MT/M also had a strong competition. It is surprising that their SBS jumps held them back since this is usually one of their strengths. She can really land a lift. They have nice programs. I think. they will do better at their next competition.

T/M actually have programs that I like this year. It is ironic that it is a mistake on a lift that lost this competition for them. They aren't great performers but their technique is so strong. I really hope that next competition goes better for them.

SK/K did really quite well. I think you could argue that they should have been one place higher in the standings but they did make a few too many small mistakes. However, I feel like that mistakes are things they can improve as the year goes on.....I hope they do so

Really, all. the pairs were good here. Much higher quality than last week.

Happy for Piper/Paul in ID. I can't comment much about the competition because I only watched the top four pairs. I liked all of their performances.

Great competition

 

[Ichatdelune]

Hmm, the same as last season, I like SC I'm not caught up on the men yet so will add that later, and since I'm in a good mood only positive things! Shock and awe!

ID

- Piper's reaction to that score was what I was doing while muffling my screams with my pillow. And they totally deserved it, not just because Piper and Paul were always... ahem, considered less favorable to the judges even with stellar programs. The FD I saw was not what I saw at ACI, it was something way more sensitive, emotional, and collected. I was swept into their movements, the emotions, the feeling of it all. I even forgive the costumes, Paul just needs better trousers.
- Disco Brits got on podium! Their FD is totally Vogue , so much fun and excitement (along with probably the best slide of the season, they're winning that category for two seasons straight)
- I was surprised to find myself enjoying Hawayek/Baker's Marie Antoinette Victorian Beethoven flamenco, while I don't get the story still (like Marie Antoinette Victorian Beethoven is a very confusing tale) I had fun with it.
- Hubbell/Donohue are strong skaters and their FD does showcase that, I agree with WA's verdict that they need less Alibi and more Shallow. Shallow is a very powerful song, they are not utilizing the drama of it fully yet.
- Popova/Mozgov's last lift is cool. It just is. Period.

Ladies

- Such nice senior GP debuts for my girls, staying up the whole night twice in a row was very much worth it. Both composed themselves very well after hard falls and delivered the rest, and Young got a medal!
- Zhenya :luv17: What a redemption skate, she shows what she's made of again.
- Kihira Rika unfortunately had a mistake with her first 3A to challenge for gold, but that was a very, very solid silver. And she's selling her programs quite well even with an injury, hats off.
- Speaking of injuries, Marin was clean(ish) with her FS and was a delight to watch, and it was La La Land (those who know me will know La La Land is on the top of my list for automatic mute). Never mind the watered-down content, she was in a car accident days ago and her leg was bandaged. And it was so, so nice to see her go clean at last
- Okay, I'll make this one short: my congratulations to Sasha Trusova's first senior GP gold and a new WR.
- Bradie Tennell is still going strong, great season for her so far.

Pairs

- I'm still mad at myself for missing Sasha and Mitya winning the short AND the free I'm coming around Mitya's costume and Sasha's grey dress is to die for, and their skate was just as gorgeous. And after the Kozlovskii Fistpump™ now there's the Kozlovskii Raised Finger™ Oh, and everybody go watch their medal ceremony, it's adorable.
- M-T/M had a good skate (just missing SBS jumps) and an enjoyable program. It does seem like soft, lyrical programs are their thing, which is great because I like soft, lyrical music
- T/M were messy, but I still do like their FS. It's different yet fitting, if only they could get it clean they'll have one mighty fine short and one good free
- THe Knierims did not survive their SBS jumps (sigh) but their Experience FS is lovely, and I want her dress
- Tang/Yang are still ones to keep an eye out for, botched lift or no.
- I/B had some fantastic moments with their lifts, like wow

Okay, I finally caught up with the men (work, real life, ugh), and here are some short thoughts. Overall conclusion: I still like SC very much, it was great (at least for me personally) in all four disciplines. Let's see how the other GPs hold up (looking at you IdF nudge nudge)

- Yuzuru... I mean, Yuzuru is Yuzuru. He did set a high, high bar against himself with that magnificent performance at Worlds last season (plus I like the black costume way more, in fact I still want last season's costumes back...) but that didn't stop me from being blown away by his skate. Just, not as much as Worlds, but as mentioned that's a tremendously high bar. Yes, I'm setting Yuzuru against Yuzuru. That's the only debate I volunteer to take part in.
- A standing ovation was indeed deserved for Nam Nguyen, not only was he not intimidated by the Poohvalanche (and of course, Yuzuru's skate preceding it) he garnered all that energy for himself and his skate. Not perfect (but then even Yuzuru wasn't 100% so), but no wonder he just collapsed onto the ice the moment he finished. What a skate, what a performance, what a personal victory. And that Beatles Medley is a good program, the battle for Canadian #1 will be quite interesting to watch with the top 2 contenders both with good programs
- Camden is not going on my Andrew T list (all skaters on that list have to get off of it ASAP including Andrew T himself... but anyway), he did not fall apart with his FS!! It wasn't enough for a podium, but honestly I didn't care. It was so nice to just enjoy his skating without ugly splats. Way to go Camden, please keep it up.
- Detective Tanaka Keiji had to make some popcorn (sigh) but did keep it together and got himself on podium, and if you ignore the pops he is a born detective (pun intended). And his interaction with Yuzuru at the medal ceremony was hilarious (the whole thing was hilarious, but anyway)
- Speaking of pops... Well, almost everybody popped one jump (or more), and the Aussie Detective (not a face-off thank goodness) was unfortunately one of the biggest poppers. But I like his costume and he is still skating to the Muppets theme, so all is forgiven.
- On the topic... Andrei, you are suspended from my faves list. Get. A. 3A. :gaah:
- A skater still on my faves list: Julian Yee. Nope, far from a perfect skate, but the crowd didn't love him without reason. And he has the advantage (or disadvantage?) of the small fed support. He's safe on my list.
- Elektra's older son, Matteo Rizzo, may not have gathered all his jumps but I very much enjoyed his skate. It's a lovely program, and that burgundy flamenco shirt is eons better than the mustard yellow turtleneck
- Deniss Vasiljevs was pretty close to having a nice costume (and nice jumps), but his charm is still there. I have to admit I prefer the SP though, backless shirt and all.
- Roman Sadovsky's Schindler's List Rach FS is still beautiful, his jumps weren't there (sigh) but his skating was still quality. Lord I hope I don't have to add him to the Andrew T list...
- Nicolas Nadeau's 3As were quality, it was just that his other jumps couldn't match them. Nevertheless those 3As need to be appreciated.
- Oh, right, Paul Fentz also competed here. I almost forgot him...

 

[Ali81]

A rhetorical question - How does Yuzuru Hanyu produce 2 programmes of such high quality and not get the World record for total score in the new IJS system ?

 

[WeakAnkles]

A rhetorical question - How does Yuzuru Hanyu produce 2 programmes of such high quality and not get the World record for total score in the new IJS system ?

Because, good as they were, they weren't world record performances.

It's the start of the season. There's plenty of time to get those records.

 

[Autumn Leaves]

Concerned for Gabby Daleman. Her FS was a disaster, and she seemed so happy and bubbly about it. Such a disconnect from reality is worrisome.

I agree. At some point i was wondering if she was on some relaxing pills. Disconnect is a good word to describe it. I am really worried about this girl.

 

[Mawwerg]

I agree. At some point i was wondering if she was on some relaxing pills. Disconnect is a good word to describe it. I am really worried about this girl.

I'm not sure here. Her FS was a disaster by top standarts however it also was an improvement compared to her last competition. So, maybe she was just happy with it.

 

[IndiaP12]

I agree. At some point i was wondering if she was on some relaxing pills. Disconnect is a good word to describe it. I am really worried about this girl.

When I saw that, I was like oh good, she’s not sad about it. But now I realise that may have been the case. She looked very disconnected to the music too...

 

[Colonel Green]

Concerned for Gabby Daleman. Her FS was a disaster, and she seemed so happy and bubbly about it. Such a disconnect from reality is worrisome.

She's not "disconnected from reality", she was realistic about what she was likely to be able to do. The free skate did not go well, but it was better than the last time. She knows she's only been back training a few weeks and, based on what one imagines her practices have been like, that she's nowhere near her best.

I'm not sure why it's a bad thing that she's not distraught.

 

[jillredhand]

She's not "disconnected from reality", she was realistic about what she was likely to be able to do. The free skate did not go well, but it was better than the last time. She knows she's only been back training a few weeks and, based on what one imagines her practices have been like, that she's nowhere near her best.

I'm not sure why it's a bad thing that she's not distraught.

Hardcore agree. What's with all the people in here who think that Gabby remaining positive and realistic after making mistakes is somehow a sign of worrisome delusion, instead of ... you know, a sign of improved mental health and regulated expectations, considering that she's had nothing but injuries and traumatic meltdowns for the last couple seasons? Would you rather she was reacting like she did after her Oly FS or 2019 Nationals? Considering that she's really only been training for about a month, and she's made real improvements even since her last competition at Finlandia, her positive reactions are a sign that she's got real mental health support and is a much healthier place than she was last season.

 

[jillredhand]

My highlights, I was watching live in the arena and losing my mind every other performance.

Pairs:

Unfortunately the weakest event, with pretty much everyone making errors. Glad B/K went clean and deservedly won for it. MTM have good programs, it was just a shame that the jumps failed them enough to miss the gold. Lyubov and Charlie still look quite shaky on their elements together, but thank god they put all the effort into the final lift in their FD - a deserved way to make everyone pay attention to this new team up. T/M ... I like these new programs a lot for them, but if they could just stop making silly mistakes ...

Ladies:

The short program was nearly a dream event, everyone skating well - until Medvedeva, which was just gutting. It really took the air out of the building. Glad she was able to skate so exquisitely in the free- now if only we could find a way to make Med make her errors in the warmup only, so that she charges at both SP and FS with the same determination and perfection as she did when she just threw that 3Lz at the boards where she'd fallen the day before.

Trusova: so amazing. I try to be realistic about her shortcomings, which so many fans are so eager to rant about at length, but ... I just don't care. She is SO fearless and SO impressive and such an unbelievable trailblazer that I honestly don't care if she never improves her artistry and her PCS still rises so high that y'all die mad about it. She's a class of her own. Don't worry, eventually some quadster will be able to balance high tech with good artistry like Yuzuru has, and even though that probably won't be Trusova, this girl deserves everything she'll win just because of her sheer audacity.

Gabby: I love her programs, and I'm so happy to see her on the mend and improving, both technically and mentally. I got to see her 3T3T live, so I'm basically set for life.

Young and Rika: both very good. I love a good 3A battle, and so pleased that Young was able to get onto the podium. I love Rika's programs.

Ice Dance:

What's there to say that isn't screaming and crying over Gilles/Poirier? So exquisite and great FD, I was just spellbound. There's no tech box in the arena, so I had no idea their TES was close enough to H/D; not knowing enough about scoring to be able to tell they were on the wire, I just lost my mind when that score came up. Y'all said Piper was screaming but IDK, I think that was me. As for H/D ... I don't usually like them but I have to say I enjoyed them much more live than I ever have on TV. I really like their FD no matter what anyone says; more country rock in figure skating, all around.

Men:

Did you ever think that Yuzuru Hanyu was going to be the warm up act for Nam Nguyen??? That might be the greatest figure skating moment I've ever experienced. Maybe just because I was there, but the crowd was so unbelievably hyped for Nam, and he killed it to such an excessive degree, the best skate of his life ... I've never screamed so much in my life. I'm so, so, so happy for him! It was also extremely cool to see Yuzuru skating well, the live experience of him and his fans was also truly amazing ... but if I'm going to be honest, it was Nam that really made the competition. I can't imagine that any other men's event this season is going to match that.

 

[Step Sequence4]

Genuine question here, not trying to throw any shade or whatnot. But how was what Yuzuru did this week scored 23 points higher than what Nathan did last week? I know Nathan had a few pops. Genuinely curious, and not trying to spark any debate, just wondering if anyone knows where the points came from.

 

[Interspectator]

Genuine question here, not trying to throw any shade or whatnot. But how was what Yuzuru did this week scored 23 points higher than what Nathan did last week? I know Nathan had a few pops. Genuinely curious, and not trying to spark any debate, just wondering if anyone knows where the points came from.

Since I'm interested in this I looked it up.
Starting with the SP
http://www.isuresults.com/results/s...------QUAL000100--_JudgesDetailsperSkater.pdf Skate America SP Protocols
Nathan: BV 46.60 had one spin violation and one spin that was level 2, other significant errors was an overturned 4Lz resulting in low GOE. With GOEs his TES was 56.21
PCS was 46.50 Total 102.71

http://www.isuresults.com/results/s...------QUAL000100--_JudgesDetailsperSkater.pdf Skate Canada SP Protocols
Yuzuru: BV 45.77 had level 3 on his STSQ and a struggle on the 4T3T landing. But Level 4 on all his spins and near perfect GOE on his 3A and 4S. With GOEs his TES was 61.13
PCS was 48.47 Total 109.60


LP
http://www.isuresults.com/results/s...------FNL-000100--_JudgesDetailsperSkater.pdf Skate America LP Protocols
Nathan: BV 78.86 FCCOSP marked V, a 2T and a 4T-eu-2F are points where he is not maximizing his current layout. With GOEs his total TES was 102.38
PCS was 94 Total 196.38

http://www.isuresults.com/results/s...------FNL-000100--_JudgesDetailsperSkater.pdf Skate Canada LP Protocols
Yuzuru: BV 92.89 Over turned the 4Lo, low landing on the final 3A combo. Level 4s on everything, all combos in the second half. With GOEs his total TES was 116.59
PCS was 96.40 Total 212.99

Both skated very well for their first GP outing. They kept visible errors to a minimum. Differences in BV in the LP is significant, as are the GOEs awarded to Yuzuru's best jumping passes, which are high scoring. the 4T-eu-3F in the second half of the LP was the first ever landed in competition and received over 20 points. -This also appears to be the highest score awarded to a jumping pass at this time.


In looking at the results, though I read some opining in the Skate Canada threads that this was a much less competitive mens group against Yuzuru than were up against Nathan, the results show that runner up Nam Ngyuen scored a total of 262.77 compared to Jason Brown at 255.09
Third place finishers had Keiji Tanaka at 250.02 compared to Demitri Aliev's 253.55

-So it wasn't so much that the field was less competitive but rather Yuzuru was superlative -As was Nathan in their first GP outing.

Next GP in France will have a Nathan - Shoma match up that may see a closer winning margin than the two so far?

 

[lariko]

Seeing there is no separate thread for gala, i’m gonna add that gala was super-exciting too. I venture a guess that the gallant Mr. Hanyu had a lot to do with the show’s success, but between Boikova and Nguyen’s million karat shining, and You’s youthful grace going off the scale, and Trusova’s firecracker it was just brilliant.

Lol, my only regret is that I didn’t figure out to purchase a plush dragon for Trusova.

 

[el henry]

I'd like to put a :agree: for the gala as well.

The highlights for me:

Yuzu. The gasp from the audience when he came out in the PW costume said it all. And dare I say it, I really really really liked this performance. Maybe I'm projecting, but it seemed so mature and confident. And relaxed. I was impressed, even more than I usually am by the likes of Mr. Hanyu

Kaitlin and JeanLuc

The king and queen of comedic exhibitions. The music, the tutus, the steps. They need to be on permanent gala duty at all times.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

A rhetorical question - How does Yuzuru Hanyu produce 2 programmes of such high quality and not get the World record for total score in the new IJS system ?

Because of lower difficulty compared to Chen - he doesn’t do a quad flip or at this competition a quad lutz. His SP has the two easiest quads.

While his programs were stellar and this is his strongest competition in a while, also had some shaky landings - a lean forwards and spread eagle “save” on his 4T+3T and in his FS a shaky 3A+2T, a turn out on his 4L (although one judge felt it deserved a +3).

Instead of criticizing the judges for not giving a record over Chen, let’s appreciate that there’s a nice battle brewing between Chen and Hanyu this year and both look to be in pretty great shape for an epic showdown or two.