The individual threads are doing a great job of providing details for each event... nothing to add there. The posters are marvelous!
I'll just do general impressions.
Caught the last flight of the men's practice. I did not see Evan attempt any quads in practice. If he did, I missed it. I was suprised that he attempted on in his short.
Takahashi wore "feathers" at practice. Must have some kind of significance for him, getting in the mood for the program. Kevin Reynolds tried triple axel after triple axel and finally landed on - two footed - but at least he landed it. He's 17? Really? Looks 12. Max. Well, Kevin - stay young as long as you can.
Ladies first flight for practice was interesting. Second flight more interesting. Tugba was tearing the place up. Her practice was so "on" that it was unbelievable. Elaina G skates with much greater authority than in previous years - hope it continues from the practice into the performance. Kimmie tried plenty of jumps and (I think) missed as many as she completed. Caroline K completed a nice combination right in front of us, so we clapped and she looked at us and kind of acknowledged the applause. It was adorable.
Practices were actually quite well attended. This seems to be a rather strong crowd in Reading, not just casual viewers.
Between practice and performance, my friend took me to an art gallery/work shop on 3rd Street near Washington called Googleworks (because it's set in a former eyeglass factory). Totally cool - the artists are in their offices working and you walk by and look at their stuff and they invite you in and talk to you about their vision. We spent quite a bit of time speaking to a lady who is painting only horses for a year (since my friend and I are both equestrians).
Ate lunch at a cafe called Batista Restaurant at 4th and Penn. If anyone who is staying in Reading is reading this, I recommend it. It's Spanish food. They've got several entres on a steam table and you choose what you want and sit down. It was excellent. My friend and I were both filled right up and the check was $12. For both of us.
Back to performances. I like the CDs because that's sort of what my husband and I did years ago on roller skates and I can still name some of the turns and see the differences between teams. The scoring was mysterious to me, though, being as I though Davis and White were actually the best - very fast, very close, very light on their feet, no scratching of the ice - but they weren't placed first.
A break. I bought the Kettle Corn from the vendor - addicting stuff.
Back in to watch the pairs. When you see them live, you really understand the height from which the lady can fall (my friend and I compare it to a fall from our horses - our falls are substantially less in distance and, with luck, we get to hit soft dirt). Other than that, we were underwhelmed. One pair - Dube & Davidson - did a lift that included multiple changes of position. It was cool but a tiny bit slow. The Russian pair seemed like they were the only ones who completed all their elements cleanly - but someone watching the live stream would have to verify that for me. Pang and Tong sleep walked through their performance. I understand, now, having read the threads, that they arrived very early that morning. Hope they get some sleep and come back and show us something for the LP.
Seeing CD, then Pairs SP then Mens SP one right after another is brutal. The venue is nice but the seats can feel hard after a bit. We walked the concourse between sessions. And I drank one beer - not expensive in terms of what you'd pay at, say, a football game - but still expensive enough for me to enjoy it as a valuable treat.
Men's SP was great. One guy after another tried very hard to rack up points. Two guys - Chan and Reynolds - had what I think were breakthrough performances for them. They both looked very happy. Of course, you'all know that Lysecek missed his quad. Other posters have said that it seemed like he lost steam after that, but I didn't see that - to my eyes, he got up after a hard fall right in front of my seat and went on fighting for points in other elements.
Guess Spanish flavor music is going to be his signature.
And, as the other posters mentioned, Takahashi got the only standing O. It was deserved. He totally works his music and his choreography, throwing his entire being into the performance.
Home again. Waited about 15 minutes in my car in the parking garage while the lady who pulled out facing the wrong direction got herself turned around again. All the cars were going left and all the parking spots are slanted so that you pull out and head left but she made a rather difficult back-out to get turned the wrong direction. Musta been overwhelmed by figure skating, dizzy from watching all those spins. Hope she got home safely.
Linny
I'll just do general impressions.
Caught the last flight of the men's practice. I did not see Evan attempt any quads in practice. If he did, I missed it. I was suprised that he attempted on in his short.
Takahashi wore "feathers" at practice. Must have some kind of significance for him, getting in the mood for the program. Kevin Reynolds tried triple axel after triple axel and finally landed on - two footed - but at least he landed it. He's 17? Really? Looks 12. Max. Well, Kevin - stay young as long as you can.
Ladies first flight for practice was interesting. Second flight more interesting. Tugba was tearing the place up. Her practice was so "on" that it was unbelievable. Elaina G skates with much greater authority than in previous years - hope it continues from the practice into the performance. Kimmie tried plenty of jumps and (I think) missed as many as she completed. Caroline K completed a nice combination right in front of us, so we clapped and she looked at us and kind of acknowledged the applause. It was adorable.
Practices were actually quite well attended. This seems to be a rather strong crowd in Reading, not just casual viewers.
Between practice and performance, my friend took me to an art gallery/work shop on 3rd Street near Washington called Googleworks (because it's set in a former eyeglass factory). Totally cool - the artists are in their offices working and you walk by and look at their stuff and they invite you in and talk to you about their vision. We spent quite a bit of time speaking to a lady who is painting only horses for a year (since my friend and I are both equestrians).
Ate lunch at a cafe called Batista Restaurant at 4th and Penn. If anyone who is staying in Reading is reading this, I recommend it. It's Spanish food. They've got several entres on a steam table and you choose what you want and sit down. It was excellent. My friend and I were both filled right up and the check was $12. For both of us.
Back to performances. I like the CDs because that's sort of what my husband and I did years ago on roller skates and I can still name some of the turns and see the differences between teams. The scoring was mysterious to me, though, being as I though Davis and White were actually the best - very fast, very close, very light on their feet, no scratching of the ice - but they weren't placed first.
A break. I bought the Kettle Corn from the vendor - addicting stuff.
Back in to watch the pairs. When you see them live, you really understand the height from which the lady can fall (my friend and I compare it to a fall from our horses - our falls are substantially less in distance and, with luck, we get to hit soft dirt). Other than that, we were underwhelmed. One pair - Dube & Davidson - did a lift that included multiple changes of position. It was cool but a tiny bit slow. The Russian pair seemed like they were the only ones who completed all their elements cleanly - but someone watching the live stream would have to verify that for me. Pang and Tong sleep walked through their performance. I understand, now, having read the threads, that they arrived very early that morning. Hope they get some sleep and come back and show us something for the LP.
Seeing CD, then Pairs SP then Mens SP one right after another is brutal. The venue is nice but the seats can feel hard after a bit. We walked the concourse between sessions. And I drank one beer - not expensive in terms of what you'd pay at, say, a football game - but still expensive enough for me to enjoy it as a valuable treat.
Men's SP was great. One guy after another tried very hard to rack up points. Two guys - Chan and Reynolds - had what I think were breakthrough performances for them. They both looked very happy. Of course, you'all know that Lysecek missed his quad. Other posters have said that it seemed like he lost steam after that, but I didn't see that - to my eyes, he got up after a hard fall right in front of my seat and went on fighting for points in other elements.
Guess Spanish flavor music is going to be his signature.
And, as the other posters mentioned, Takahashi got the only standing O. It was deserved. He totally works his music and his choreography, throwing his entire being into the performance.
Home again. Waited about 15 minutes in my car in the parking garage while the lady who pulled out facing the wrong direction got herself turned around again. All the cars were going left and all the parking spots are slanted so that you pull out and head left but she made a rather difficult back-out to get turned the wrong direction. Musta been overwhelmed by figure skating, dizzy from watching all those spins. Hope she got home safely.
Linny
Thank you SO much, Linny!!!
The reports are wondreful, and greatly appreciated.
