What's your top 5 ?

[removof]

1) Cain Leduc sp

2) Brown sp

3) Cain Leduc lp

4) Alexandrovskaya Windsor sp

5) Ryom Kim sp

 

[Anyasnake]

In no particular order :

Boyang Jin LP

Kaori Sakamoto LP

Soucisse/Firus SD

Muramoto/Reed FD

Hawayek/Baker FD

 

[shiroKJ]

Top 5 moments :

Kana/Chris's Bronze

Cain/Leduc's Silver

Boyang's Gold

Ryom/Kim's Bronze

Japanese ladies podium

 

[ancientpeas]

1. The men's fs last night was pretty special. I'd vote for that. Especially Elladj and Jason.
2.H/B winning the dance. M/R getting a medal. That was pretty great. Nice to see S/F do so well too.
3. K/O, C/L and R/K's winning medals and my girl Deanna nearly pulling off a quad. Great competition for American pairs.
4. I didn't get to watch the Ladies but congrats to Japan on the sweep of the podium.
5. If this is the last time I've seen these skaters I want to say that I was grateful for their time, passion, dedication and hard work. Brava!

 

[Mrs. P]

1.) Boyang Jin SP/FS
2.) Jason Brown SP/FS
3.) Kobe girls (Kaori and Mai) slaying FS -- also Mai's bangs rock!
4.) Hawayek/Baker FD
5.) Muramato/Reed FD

Honorable mentions:
O'Kanye/Shea FS, Cain/LeDuc SP, Ryom/Kim SP, Sourcisse/Firus SD, Max Aaron FS, Grant Hochstein FS, Wang/Liu FD, Donavan Carrillo FS, Chih-I Tsao SP, Kevin Reynolds SP, Keiji Tanaka SP, Shoma Uno FS, Elladj Balde FS, Alexandrovskaya/Windsor SP

For being a "lower-grade" competition, it was so, so much fun to watch!

Onward to the Olympics!

 

[karne]

Max's programs
Jason's programs
Andrew slaying the SP after competing the FD only hours before
Katia and Harley's SP
Boyang winning

 

[Crossover]

1. Boyang Jin SP/FS - his quads in a great quality and winning the title
2. Hawayek & Baker SD/FD and their winning the title
3. Satoko Miyahara SP - such polished skate, but too underscored
4. Kaori Sakamoto SP and her shining smiles
5. Ryom & Kim winning their first ISU championship medal

Honorable mention;
* Danny O'Shea's big grin at the pairs victory ceremony
* Shoma Uno's ending pose in the SP
* Soucisse & Firus SD/FD - future stars of Canadian dance
* Great redemption skates on and on in the men's free skate especially from Jason Brown
* Swan song performances by Elladj Balde, Kevin Reynolds, Grant Hochstein :agree:
* Deanna Stellato & Nathan Bartholomay - inspirational
* Muramoto & Reed SD/FD and winning their first ISU championship medal
* Hawayek & Baker's super fun EX program

Worst;
* Wide and unfair discrepancies in PCS/GOE/Tech calls and overall scores between Euros and 4CC; why should the skaters in Euro held in Russia be grossly inflated especially for the two Russian girls before the Olympics (not the first time though) while the skaters, especially the Japanese girls in 4CC got such tough treatments? Totally unfair.
* The blackout during the gala and the event organizer's clumsy handling; quite weird though that Boyang's name was not properly announced in the FS and he didn't have a chance to do his EX because of the blackout. Shoma's music was not played at first during the ceremony.

 

[Skater Boy]

Really this was kind of disappointing Missing a lot of the top teams/skaters. Ho hum programs. But if I had to have 5

Jason Brown sp
SF FD
Jin SP/LP
Balde FS
KS beating Satoko FS

 

[mrrice]

I'm going to give this one to Kevin Reynolds. I was expecting nothing from him....he's retiring and he missed the Olympic Team and I thought he'd be burnt and go half out.........He shut me up Quick.......His LP was brilliant and he brought his coach to tears. It even made me cry. That must have felt great!!!!!!

 

[mommytoljf]

I'm going to give this one to Kevin Reynolds. I was expecting nothing from him....he's retiring and he missed the Olympic Team and I thought he'd be burnt and go half out.........He shut me up Quick.......His LP was brilliant and he brought his coach to tears. It even made me cry. That must have felt great!!!!!!

I needed Kleenex at the end of his program, too. He was not always the most emotionally demonstrative skater, but everyone watching him could see how much that performance meant to him. It was wonderful to watch.

The other programs I enjoyed this week were:
1. Jason Brown LP - programs and performances like this one are why Jason has such a following around the world. He was wonderful!
2. Balde LP - at the end of his career, he learned how to compete consistently. He will be missed.
3. Stellato and Bartholomay SP/LP - they are tenacious, and they have come so far in a short time as a team. I would love to see them continue.
4. Alaine Chartrand - it was good to see her be able to compete consistently after a very disappointing showing at Nationals.
5. Soucisse and Firus SD/FD - this was their coming out party. They have a bright future!

 

[el henry]

Well, now that I've seen most of them....

1. Jason's LP. What a great move to go back to the Piano. Happy tears.
2. Elladj's LP. Oh, Elladj, you ruined my predictions in the GP prediction game for two years as I stood by you (yes, it is all about me), but these past two competitions. Yes! You did you.
3. Donovan Carrillo's SP. His smile can light up the rink.
4. Deanna and Nate's SP. Gotta stick by my team,:agree: so glad to see them in a non-US international comp, and how she brings out the best in Nate. Keep it up guys!

AND

Kaitlin and Jean-Luc's Exh. Because wherever Austin Powers is, it's on my top 5.

 

[Arriba627]

1) Shoma Uno SP & FS
2) Jason FS
3) Donovan Carrillo SP & FS
4) Tarah Kayne & Danny O'Shea FS
5) The emotional skates of the retirees along with the audience reaction

Honorable Mention:
1) The crowd support and crazy antics of the green room
2) Ryo & Kim SP & FS

 

[semosk8tfan]

Highlights:
Jason's FS. Now that is the skating I love
US pairs medaling and landing jumps in competition
Grant's FS
Elladj. Happy he finished his career on a high
Dance medalists. Loved all 3 of them

 

[skylark]

1. Cain and Leduc's SP ... so well skated and dynamically performed! Then, their FS ... it's been skated better, but Ashley totally rocks the Flapper Girl vibe!

2. Kaori and Mai's FS; there was so much joy and abandon in both. These qualities create something wild ...I like!

3. Boyang's FS. I love it! and I'm in awe at how he peaks at the right time. Really makes the next 3 weeks more interesting. I also think skating to Star Wars is going to bring some unsuspecting fans.

4. Jason's FS. So awesome to see him skating the way we know he can, being true to himself.

5. Kaitlin and Jean-Luc! Carolane and Shane! And maybe my most tender soft spot: Kana and Chris. All 3 of these dance teams have something very special, and are very far from each other stylistically. That makes a dance competition so much more enjoyable for someone (like me) who enjoys the performances but not very invested in dance technique. I cannot say how happy I am to see a dance team, Carolane and Shane, with a Fred and Ginger vibe.

HM: Danny and Tarah. I'm starting to have a love-hate relationship with them. Love Danny (someone said he's USA's best pairs man, and I agree) but I have issues with Tarah, although I'm so happy at how she's recovered from very serious injuries and surgeries, first her hip, then her knee.

HM #2: Hearing Charlie White say, while commentating K/O fs, that Tarah should be looking in Danny's eyes at certain points in the program, to show their connection. Charlie said it confuses the audience for her to be, for instance, looking down at the ice in those moments. I completely agree. They have a great connection, but it needs to be more visible.

HM #3: Ryom and Kim. Really, really precise and entertaining.

 

[Crossover]

5. Kaitlin and Jean-Luc! Carolane and Shane! And maybe my most tender soft spot: Kana and Chris. All 3 of these dance teams have something very special, and are very far from each other stylistically. That makes a dance competition so much more enjoyable for someone (like me) who enjoys the performances but not very invested in dance technique. I cannot say how happy I am to see a dance team, Carolane and Shane, with a Fred and Ginger vibe.

THIS. :thumbsup: I've wondered why I was so drawn to the Canadians at Nationals 2018 although I'm really not the person of falling in love at first sight. Their light-hearted and joyous programs are like opening a bottle of champagne in a party, so I had a great time watching the event although dance is my least favorite discipline. I also got the Rogers & Astaire vibe from Hawayek and Baker and you scratched the itch that I previously didn't figure out by myself. I've thought the way Shane moves is somewhat similar to Jean-Luc and they share some similarities such as their short height a male dancer, but animating personalities, great dancing abilities and blade controls. S/F can be a good rival to H/B in the future. So I look forward to seeing them competing to each other in the next quad after PyeongChang.

HM: Danny and Tarah. I'm starting to have a love-hate relationship with them. Love Danny (someone said he's USA's best pairs man, and I agree) but I have issues with Tarah, although I'm so happy at how she's recovered from very serious injuries and surgeries, first her hip, then her knee.

Do you read my mind? Tarah's lack of emotions and somewhat rigid body movements have bothered me but Danny is so endearing on and off the ice, so my eyes are always on Danny during their performances. Though kudos to her determination and drive by returning to the field after the serious injuries.

 

[skylark]

THIS. :thumbsup: I've wondered why I was so drawn to the Canadians at Nationals 2018 although I'm really not the person of falling in love at first sight. Their light-hearted and joyous programs are like opening a bottle of champagne in a party, so I had a great time watching the event although dance is my least favorite discipline. I also got the Rogers & Astaire vibe from Hawayek and Baker and you scratched the itch that I previously didn't figure out by myself. I've thought the way Shane moves is somewhat similar to Jean-Luc and they share some similarities such as their short height a male dancer, but animating personalities, great dancing abilities and blade controls. S/F can be a good rival to H/B in the future. So I look forward to seeing them competing to each other in the next quad after PyeongChang.


Do you read my mind? Tarah's lack of emotions and somewhat rigid body movements have bothered me but Danny is so endearing on and off the ice, so my eyes are always on Danny during their performances. Though kudos to her determination and drive by returning to the field after the serious injuries.

Apparently we're on the same wave length in several ways! Another thing I love about Danny ... after his smile and gracious happiness ... is the way he makes such expansive movements with his arms ... as if he's embracing the world. All of us.