2021 U.S. Nationals: Senior Pairs - Free Skate

[LadyB]

I couldn't watch as it was at an awkward time for me, but I'm waking up to the super happy fact that Ash and Tim got a medal after all!!!! Have to catch up with pairs now.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

Okay, if they stay healthy & more or less consistent, USA is guaranteed Olympic Team Silver. What a strong pairing.

Absolutely K/F are strong and the sky is the limit. C/J and C-G/L are pretty darn talented too. But can we temper the OTT praise please. These athletes need to maintain a grounded focus and not be distracted by pie-in-the-sky hype, and outside noise from fans and media.

There are NO guarantees in figure skating, btw.

 

[sunn1ly]

Congrats on the winners and the medalists. Is there a way to watch them ?

 

[LadyB]

Congrats on the winners and the medalists. Is there a way to watch them ?

Sorry, gave the wrong link before. That was SP.

 

[sunn1ly]

Sorry, gave the wrong link before. That was SP.

I haven't managed to watch all short programs too, so the link was pretty useful for me. Thanks. If there are for the long as well nevertheless the quality I will be thankful for sharing it.

 

[labgoat]

After rewatch, I am now a big fan of Chan & Howe

 

[labgoat]

Trying to do a comedy program in a competition with no audience is a bit of a problem to begin with, but Lu really cannot do "zany" music.

Lu is all business out there. She needs to learn you can do both. This team kind of reminds me of Shishkova Naumov, especially Misha.

 

[Olympic]

I have had time to think about the pairs LP and want to state my observations -

SK/F - As already noted, a super-pair was created (stronger partners from previous pairings came together to successfully gel) and their progress is outstanding when you consider that they have been together less than 1 year. Let me put it in these terms - The U.S. now has for the first time a pair that can complete each and every technical element (including SBS jumps) in the ball park of the top international teams. There was always a gap because of the dreaded SBS jumps among other things. IMO, the PCS part will lag a bit until they develop a style, choreography and completely get in synch. Someone commented that their music was generic on another board but WTH, that was a smart move for a new team.

C/J - I'm an Uber and still believe that they are the US team with the best SS, and they are great ... except for YKW. The huge twist, big throws and awesome lifts, unique DS and even their SBS spins have improved since their initial pairing. They may want to follow the Chinese model and revert to a SBS 2A, perhaps in combo. I recall Yu/Zhang or Peng/Jin did that a couple of years ago to good effect: IOW, despite the simpler jump, they stayed near the top because of strengths elsewhere like C/J. Other lower-ranked pairs in the U.S. might not get away with that. However, I think C/J may get away with it because their other elements both individual and pair elements are so strong along with that great SS they will still pull good marks (and avoid deductions). I wish they would have nailed the final lift because their overall program would've looked better despite the jumps.

CG/L - I like the Rach program. The first thing that struck me was the size of the 3twist, Throw 3Z, and the super solid lifts. Those were probably all their worst elements until recently. Wow! Props just for that. He also looks more fit than I've ever seen. I don't think there is a different strategy for them to follow. They just need to get comfortable landing jumps. That is mostly on Ash. What is interesting is Tim is able to throw Ash higher but it hasn't changed her landings for better or worse. I hope she can do it because they are a special team

L/M - Much improved over the past year. I like the daredevil attitude on the technical elements and that is to be praised in US pairs more than anything else. They've maintained / even improved the tech but have managed to work on PCS. It's not quite there yet but it looks like definite progress and I hope they are super-motivated getting so close to the top 3.

 

[moonvine]

Well, I'm really glad for Ash & Timothy being on the podium in third. They deserve to be there. Ashley definitely seemed more calm and assured. And ironically, Timothy missed the first jumping pass because he was probably checking to see if Ash landed her jump and lost his focus. That's probably one of the biggest issues for pairs teams on sbs jumps. STOP worrying about what your partner is doing and take care of your own jump, for goodness sake. In any case, Ash/Timothy had a good skate, and it could have been better, which would have even pushed C/J to third with their uncharacteristic distractions. Yes, C/J have issues with jumps, but normally they don't allow jump hiccoughs to take away from the rest of their program. SMH

Lu/Mitrofanov still need seasoning. They are showing improvement and they need to continue on that path. The domestic judges and U.S. fed clearly want to push them up. IMO, Ash & Timothy are better overall than L/M in so many ways, and deserve better support and encouragement.

I get the sense that U.S. fed is so solidly behind Knierim/Frazier now that they also want to ensure in a way that C/J and C-G/L stay behind K/F. I say that because K/F's scores are so huge. I would have given them 75 in the sp, and the fp marks needed to be tempered a bit. That was a good skate, not a 150+ skate.

Clearly, there's a lot of talent and it all needs to be nurtured and not held back. U.S. fed should be focused on all teams doing well, particularly the top three so that a third spot can be gained at Worlds. Saying that, I'm going to wonder whether C/J will be chosen for the World team with their display of unsteadiness on the jumps and on the last lift -- their signature lift. That shaky dismount shows that their heads were not in that performance. They were lucky to be skating last with all the marks in for other skaters. I feel for C/J in the sense that IMO way too much over-focus is now on Knierim/Frazier, which is in effect pushing C/J to the side. Both C/J and K/F are stellar, top-notch team with loads of quality, and C-G/L are not far behind.

This NBC and U.S. fed mindset of over-hype leaves me cold. I viewed the fp on NBCSN because I like to see what the buzz and skinny is in the arena. Sometimes you can learn something from the commentary. But definitely, Tara & Johnny, and especially Tara can be annoying as heck with too much chatter which can spoil enjoyment of performances. I can't see them saying K/F's performance brought tears to their eyes. That's OTT. It's a nice program with some wonderful moments. But it's not that different from what they did at Skate America. Some slight improvement, but they still need to finesse unison and position on their sbs jump landings. At least they are solid on the jumps. Alexa also needs to stop brushing her free foot on the ice on her throw landings.

What's special about Alexa & Brandon is their athleticism, their joy in skating together and their quality elements which are world class. They are a great match, but the hype IS NOT necessary. But no, U.S. fed and NBC always lead with hype because they don't have any other reference point. It's tired and old timey and ultimately ineffective and clunky to overdo and over-favorite and pile overwrought expectations on skaters. We see how that backfired for Mariah.

U.S. fed has abundance they don't know how to nurture or strategically manage. It doesn't make sense to push one team (K/F, i.e., golden girl Alexa) to the high heavens as if only one team is the be-all, end-all. Everyone knows C/J have the ability to skate lights out because they did it at last year's Nationals. This is why I believe the judges loaded up the points for K/F to keep them far ahead. I would say try to support all teams and not over-inflate one team over the others. Let the chips fall where they may. And they might just fall in the exciting direction of our witnessing a fabulous event where everyone skates their absolute best. That would be the more beneficial outcome and goal to hope for, instead of the overdone hype for only one team.

Also, stop adding to the dissing of U.S. pairs, like Tara & Johnny did in the sp. And then they turn around in the fp talking about crying for K/F's performance. That's contradictory. Try to frame a more realistic narrative with relevant talking points. Reference U.S. pairs' history and legacy. Jenni Meno & Todd Sand are staring us right in the face as K/F's and C/J's coaches. But no, the hyped up fanzone article has to reference Nina Mozer as some kind of pairs whisperer guru. FWIW, Meno/Sand learned from the legendary John Nicks, the British pairs champion who came to the U.S. in the aftermath of the Sabena air crash tragedy to help rebuild the U.S. pairs discipline. It makes better sense to me to make sense.

In the fanzone article, I have no idea what they mean by K/F being a 'super team.' That's just a hype-like turn of phrase. K/F are going to be worthy international competitors with a chance to rise to great heights only if they stay grounded. That's why I love Brandon's response to the over-animated Andrea Joyce. Brandon knows they have to put those OTT scores to the side, get back to the rink and continue working hard to continue improving. Even champions like Gabby & Guillaume understand that working hard to improve is never-ending. Champions, and so-called 'super teams' can never rest on their laurels and absolutely should never allow themselves to believe in or to be distracted by media & U.S. fed hype/ favoritism.

It must be extraordinarily easy to bring tears to their eyes. Or extraordinarily hard to bring them to mine. I thought their performance was....nice. If anyone had brought me to tears it would have been Tim & Ashley.
The commentary you describe would never come from Tara and Johnny. Unfortunately NBC is more interested in flash than substance in its commentators as well as the skaters. Tanith’s commentary is much better. Tonia Kwaitkowski did a much better job for Icenetwork than they do. Maybe Tonia doesn’t wear stripper heels tho.

 

[labgoat]

rewatch

2021 Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships: General Info

Joint interview with Nathan Chen and Mariah Bell is new on Fan Zone today. Brian Boitano and Rusty Kath conducted the interview. 8:11 in length. https://usfigureskatingfanzone.com/watch/?Archive=2269&type=Live Below is the link to today's press release from NBC Sports re its Nats coverage...

www.goldenskate.com