2022 Philadelphia Summer International

[apgold]

Thanks to @moonvine for her boots on the ground reporting as well as the yes ma'am video commentary.

Happy for Gracie and good to see Isabeau and Lindsey doing well so early in the season. Fingers crossed we'll see Gracie nab the SA spot!

 

[RatedPG]

She did great in the FS. I think you are a day behind maybe?. Ok maybe “great” is a bit much but very good at least!

Yes. Just catching up

Gracie was so-so in the free skate. I just love how she skates the same three first jumps as in her SP. Those jumps are solid for her. I’m glad she has given up on the 3F. Gracie has added two 3S. The salchow is her most solid triple. So, I’m glad she has realized this. So, I’m happy she is going for 3S and 3T as her fourth and fifth jumps. But, then, she just gets too tired. She absolutely just doesn’t even bother with combo’s. She could have scored higher if she just went for a 2Lz/2S + 2A sequence and surpassed the minimum tech score for Worlds. So, this doesn’t make me feel confident with giving her a spot to Skate America. Right now, she has the WC spot, as she the highest score of eligible contestants. But, she can lose this spot to other American Woman who can actually skate through their programs.

Isabeau and Lindsay are solid. So far, I’m liking Lindsay more.

 

[norwegianfairytale]

I had heard that this long is very new. Like a few weeks old. Who knows when she started actually training it. Between that, and traveling last week I am super impressed! Wonder if she’ll get that spot at Cranberry now?

It´s really impressive. She has been touring this summer as well? Let´s not forget that, because a lot of other skaters spent their time om summer camps. If this is Gracie not prepared I can´t wait to see the rest of the season.

I have watched the videos now several times and I absolutely love this free skate for her!! It suits her really well, and I can´t wait to see what the program will be like once she been time to practice it more!

 

[luvsasha]

Hi Friends,

Enjoyed the competition yesterday! My dad joined me so it was interesting to hear a "non" skating fan (crazy fans like we are) thoughts! He thought it was fun to try to guess the scores and he actually did pretty well for the ladies.
Random bits:
-Actually ran into Tara in the ladies room and helped her with her costume. She was nice! I found myself rooting even more for her after that and was glad she did well.
-I really didn't know too many of the men but remember enjoying Dinh the best. He actually sat in the audience for a bit before and after his skate. Another skater (sorry, it was really hard to remember everyone's name and my phone didn't let me access the results) skated to music VERY similar to Smart/Diaz.
- Top three ladies...
Gracie - so much support for her here. I told my dad a tiny bit about her and so he clapped extra loud for her. She really had a nice elegance to her and the quality between the top 3 and the rest was pretty big.
Lindsay - I actually probably would have given it to her myself, but I'm not a judge. I know some find her boring, but I thought she did really well. Some nice touches here and there.
Both Gracie and Lindsay have a lot more speed than Isabeau.
Isabeau - She's very elegant, like a little Sasha. She skated to a vocal Sentimental Waltz so that makes the comparision even stronger. She was not at practice, but showed up for the competition. People said she lacks speed and in person you can tell. In some ways she skates "small", but she still is very talented.

I think that's everything!

 

[moonvine]

Yes. Just catching up

Gracie was so-so in the free skate. I just love how she skates the same three first jumps as in her SP. Those jumps are solid for her. I’m glad she has given up on the 3F. Gracie has added two 3S. The salchow is her most solid triple. So, I’m glad she has realized this. So, I’m happy she is going for 3S and 3T as her fourth and fifth jumps. But, then, she just gets too tired. She absolutely just doesn’t even bother with combo’s. She could have scored higher if she just went for a 2Lz/2S + 2A sequence and surpassed the minimum tech score for Worlds. So, this doesn’t make me feel confident with giving her a spot to Skate America. Right now, she has the WC spot, as she the highest score of eligible contestants. But, she can lose this spot to other American Woman who can actually skate through their programs.

Isabeau and Lindsay are solid. So far, I’m liking Lindsay more.

I don’t think Gracie was even thinking about Worlds minimums quite frankly. I think she was thinking about putting 2 solid programs out on the ice. Of course I am not her.

Last year she did not have 4CCs minimums for the long (she did for the short).

Hi Friends,

Enjoyed the competition yesterday! My dad joined me so it interesting to hear a "non" skating fan (crazy fans like we are) thoughts! He thought it was fun to try to guess the scores and he actually did pretty well for the ladies.
Random bits:
-Actually ran into Tara in the ladies room and helped her with her costume. She was nice! I found myself rooting even more for her after that and was glad she did well.
-I really didn't know too many of the men but remember enjoying Dinh the best. He actually sat in the audience for a bit before and after his skate. Another skater (sorry, it was really hard to remember everyone's name and my phone didn't let me access the results) skated to music VERY similar to Smart/Diaz.
- Top three ladies...
Gracie - so much support for her here. I told my dad a tiny bit about her and so he clapped extra loud for her. She really had a nice elegance to her and the quality between the top 3 and the rest was pretty big.
Lindsay - I actually probably would have given it to her myself, but I'm not a judge. I know some find her boring, but I thought she did really well. Some nice touches here and there.
Both Gracie and Lindsay have a lot more speed than Isabeau.
Isabeau - She's very elegant, like a little Sasha. She skated to a vocal Sentimental Waltz so that makes the comparision even stronger. She was not at practice, but showed up for the competition. People said she lacks speed and in person you can tell. In some ways she skates "small", but she still is very talented.

I think that's everything!

You should have said hello!

 

[moonvine]

They are resurfacing ice for the men.

I just realized last night that this is the first comp I’ve been to at which she medaled. Of course she has medalled since I’ve been following her. Just not at a comp I was at.

 

[moonvine]

Ok the men. Darian was definitely the star of the first group. He had a clean program! Celebration at the end, on a scale of 1 to Christopher Caluza I give it a solid 6. Unfortunately I had turned the camera off. He’s moved up at least one place. The other two young men won’t be happy with their skates. But it’s early in the season. I love how supportive they are of each other! Darian applauding the previous skater when he came on

 

[Andrea82]

Kaptich easily did the the 4CC FS minimum he missed last season

 

[Seven Sisters]

I love reading your commentary of the competitions in USA and really appreciate the support you are showing my son Darian. It really means the world to me that he has people who follow him for his skating.

Another Darian fan here! I saw him compete twice in 2019, first in Philly and later at JGP Lake Placid. He was a complete delight both times—I remember his James Brown program very fondly. I’m so glad he’s been able to return to international competition to share his talents with us. Thanks for posting, and please tell Darian he has many, many fans worldwide looking forward to seeing him again in the future!

 

[moonvine]

And Darian had the only clean program of the event! Props to him! Just not quite enough points to move up more places. The first 3 stayed the same despite some bobbles. It will be fun to watch this generation of men improve!

 

[jalexandroff]

Oh man, any chance you could get an earlier flight/train (not sure how you are traveling)?
I doubt she dyed it, my completely uninformed guess is that the dress was made in 2 colors and she chose to wear the red and this one has been sitting. But it could also be that they remade the red one into a blue for this season, but that doesn’t seem super likely. Who knows?

She wore this dress before. It was made in both red and black/dark navy. If you google Gracie gold black dress a few images come up.

 

[moonvine]

She wore this dress before. It was made in both red and black/dark navy. If you google Gracie gold black dress a few images come up.

She’s out there practicing now. And I’m in a Lyft on my way to the train. Wonder if she will have a new dress made?

Twitter is blowing up demanding she be SA host pick. Somehow I don’t think “do it you cowards” is the best way to ask for a favor. But what do I know?

 

[Seven Sisters]

She’s out there practicing now. And I’m in a Lyft on my way to the train. Wonder if she will have a new dress made?

Twitter is blowing up demanding she be SA host pick. Somehow I don’t think “do it you cowards” is the best way to ask for a favor. But what do I know?

A strong showing somewhere else this summer would be more likely to inspire an invitation than anything anyone says on Twitter!

Safe travels, Moonvine!

 

[SkateTM0102]

She wore this dress before. It was made in both red and black/dark navy. If you google Gracie gold black dress a few images come up.

I could have sworn I saw her wearing it before, but when I glanced at YouTube I couldn’t find it, so I thought maybe I was losing it! Thanks for letting me know, I am in fact not losing it!

 

[SkateTM0102]

She’s out there practicing now. And I’m in a Lyft on my way to the train. Wonder if she will have a new dress made?

Twitter is blowing up demanding she be SA host pick. Somehow I don’t think “do it you cowards” is the best way to ask for a favor. But what do I know?

I wonder what she’s practicing for? I wonder if USFS has some monitoring going on today? With all her traveling I bet she’s ready for a nice day off.
Safe travels back, and thanks for all the updates!

 

[moonvine]

I wonder what she’s practicing for? I wonder if USFS has some monitoring going on today? With all her traveling I bet she’s ready for a nice day off.
Safe travels back, and thanks for all the updates!

It’s official USFS ice. Isabeau is out there too along with skaters I don’t know, possibly members of the development team?

 

[SkateTM0102]

It’s official USFS ice. Isabeau is out there too along with skaters I don’t know, possibly members of the development team?

Gotcha, probably monitoring then. Which is great, means that USFS is taking notice of her!

 

[kalbi]

Gotcha, probably monitoring then. Which is great, means that USFS is taking notice of her!

It’s on ice feedback. After bigger comps like glacier and Philadelphia, Usfsa has on ice feedback for isp and some selected skaters.

 

[moonvine]

I can’t believe I finally saw her medal!!! Her National titles were before I started attending events live and I’ve never been to a GP or a WTT.

 

[jalexandroff]

She’s out there practicing now. And I’m in a Lyft on my way to the train. Wonder if she will have a new dress made

I think the sweetheart neckline is more flattering on her than some of her other comeback dresses. I still get the vibe she’s not the most comfortable in her dresses? and it holds her back.