Figure Skating Thread

starrydreamer · Fri Jan 05, 2018 4:48 pm

There used to be one way back in the day but I searched the board and couldn't find it, so we can just start anew.

US Nationals are going on now. After the ladies' short program, Bradie Tennell leads, with Mirai Nagasu second, and defending champ Karen Chen third. Ashley Wagner is fifth. Their long program is tonight. I'm really hoping Mirai Nagasu holds it together and does well to win one of the three Olympic spots. None of the US ladies had a decent Grand Prix season, with none in the final, and all will be long shots to win gold.

On the men's side, however, Nathan Chen won the Grand Prix final and is well in the lead after the short program. It's kind of a wild scramble behind him - there's Adam Rippon, Jason Brown, a surprising Grant Hochstein, and Vincent Zhou (who was highly touted and had apparently the most difficult program but didn't do his jumps very well). In the Grand Prix final, Rippon finished 5th and Brown 6th.

For ice dancing, which begins tonight, the Shibutanis are favored to win. Behind them are Hubbell/Donohue and Chock/Bates. Those couples finished third, fourth, and fifth in the Grand Prix final.

I don't follow pairs at all, so I have no idea what's going on there. Anyone want to fill me in?

Meanwhile, in other countries, in ice dance, Virtue/Moir (my favorite) and Cizeron/Papadakis of France have quite the rivalry going on. It'll be interesting who comes out on top at the Olympics.

starrydreamer · Sat Jan 06, 2018 3:20 pm

Tennell is the new US champ. Second was Nagasu and third was Karen Chen. Ashley Wagner finished fourth, then promptly had a fit about the artistic component of her score. She was clearly angling to get on the team and leapfrog Chen, but she's really had a couple of subpar years, and Chen finished better than her at World's last season.

Tennell was so clean and confident, but I hope she steps up her artistic game because she's almost like watching a robot. It was so so nice to see Nagasu cry tears of joy after a program where she didn't fall once.

The men skate their long programs tonight. It'll be fun to see how many quads Nathan Chen does. The US hasn't really had a man who can technically compete internationally since Evan Lysacheck, so he's fun to watch.

BaroqueAgain1 · Sat Jan 06, 2018 4:11 pm

There's a fair amount of TV coverage today, although fans of the men may be out of luck if they don't have NBC's cable sports channel.

Pairs' free skate is on NBC from 1 - 3 PM Pacific, and the men's fee skate is on NBCSN from 5 - 8 PM Pacific.

lurkey mclurker · Sat Jan 06, 2018 8:22 pm

I read this thread and it was a case of when fandoms collide...

Have you seen the Japanese anime Yuri On Ice?

I will be at hockey tonight but I'll catch the programs on YouTube when they're up.

starrydreamer · Sat Jan 06, 2018 8:28 pm

BaroqueAgain1 wrote:There's a fair amount of TV coverage today, although fans of the men may be out of luck if they don't have NBC's cable sports channel. Pairs' free skate is on NBC from 1 - 3 PM Pacific, and the men's fee skate is on NBCSN from 5 - 8 PM Pacific.

Bummer that the men don't warrant prime time on NBC. But I'm very thankful for my MIL's cable log in.

BaroqueAgain1 · Sun Jan 07, 2018 1:19 am

Nathan Chen is a sleek beast of a skater. FIVE quads in his program!?

I'm thinking gold in South Korea.

starrydreamer · Sun Jan 07, 2018 2:48 pm

BaroqueAgain1 wrote:Nathan Chen is a sleek beast of a skater. FIVE quads in his program!?
I'm thinking gold in South Korea.

He's certainly the favorite. I love watching him.

Ross Miner's long program was something to behold, but alas, they left him off the Olympic team. The team is Chen, Vincent Zhou, and Adam Rippon. I would be disgruntled but you can't argue that Miner's international resume isn't good at all. Plus, I really enjoyed Rippon's long program - the opening song is a favorite classical song of mine (it was played at the end of The Theory of Everything). Hopefully, he stops popping jumps.

BaroqueAgain1 · Sun Jan 07, 2018 3:24 pm

Is there such a thing as an Also Eligible for the team? Maybe Ross could be an alternate in case one of the top three can't compete?

Tessablue · Sun Jan 07, 2018 7:34 pm

I'm behind on a lot of this, but are Hanyu and Medvedeva still in doubt for the Olympics? It would be a huge shame if either doesn't go, I don't have much interest in the American skaters aside from Mirai Nagasu.

Catalina · Sun Jan 07, 2018 11:28 pm

Tessablue wrote:I'm behind on a lot of this, but are Hanyu and Medvedeva still in doubt for the Olympics? It would be a huge shame if either doesn't go, I don't have much interest in the American skaters aside from Mirai Nagasu.

The various countries can't just send however many skaters they think would have a chance. There is a limited number of berths, and a quota set by the Olympic Committee as to how many skaters a country can send. Based on, I believe, on how well each country did in the most recent world championships and certain other qualifying events.

BaroqueAgain1 · Mon Jan 08, 2018 1:54 am

IIRC, the US can send only one pair to this Winter Olympics for the Pairs Competition, unlike the three skaters we'll be allotted for the Men's Competition.

starrydreamer · Mon Jan 08, 2018 10:11 am

BaroqueAgain1 wrote:IIRC, the US can send only one pair to this Winter Olympics for the Pairs Competition, unlike the three skaters we'll be allotted for the Men's Competition.

That is correct. The US will send 3 skaters for men's, women's, and ice dancing. The number of skaters that can be sent to the Olympics depends on the country's international placing in each event. The US has simply not been competitive in pairs for a long time now. It was the same with ice dancing until Belbin/Agosto came on the scene and started winning everything - then there were other top couples to preserve the 3 spots. Women's lost a spot, I think, pretty recently. Ashley Wagner was part of the team that helped the US win back the third spot.

As for Hanyu, it looks like he'll be competing in the Olympics as long as his ankle has healed properly. He hasn't competed this year, but he's the reigning Olympic and World champ. Japan's Olympic committee isn't going to overlook that. And apparently there's precedent - in Turino, the US sent Michelle Kwan even though she hadn't competed all season. She ended up withdrawing, and the US flew in the first alternate, Emily Hughes. So if Hanyu isn't ready, Japan will send their first alternate.

I haven't read anything on Medvedeva since learning she was missing Grand Prix finals due to injury. She's missing Russian Nationals, though, and there are a lot of other Russian ladies chomping at the bit to go. However, if she's healthy, I imagine Russia will send her to compete as a neutral (since Russia is technically banned).

Tessablue · Thu Jan 11, 2018 4:07 pm

Thanks for the updates, I appreciate it! I figured Hanyu would be chosen whether he prepped or not, think there'd be riots over in Japan otherwise

I really hope Medvedeva goes to, and that both are at or near their best... they are both such extraordinary skaters, it wouldn't be the same without them.

starrydreamer · Thu Jan 11, 2018 7:38 pm

BaroqueAgain1 wrote:Is there such a thing as an Also Eligible for the team? Maybe Ross could be an alternate in case one of the top three can't compete?

Yup, they have alternates. Ashley Wagner, for example, is the US women's first alternate. Ross Miner is the US men's second alternate, behind Jason Brown (which I think is dumb because Miner landed a quad and Brown didn't even attempt one, IIRC).

starrydreamer · Tue Jan 30, 2018 10:45 am

Well, Medvedeva competed in the European Championships, and she finished second behind another Russian (Zagitova). So I'd say she's Olympics bound.

I haven't heard anything about Hanyu though.

Ballerina · Tue Jan 30, 2018 12:41 pm

I no longer enjoy figure skating as much as I used to. It's become more gymnastics on ice - how many twists and turns can be accomplished in a jump off and before landing back on the ice. A lot of artistry has gone out of it - in my opinion.

starrydreamer · Tue Jan 30, 2018 4:43 pm

Ballerina wrote:I no longer enjoy figure skating as much as I used to. It's become more gymnastics on ice - how many twists and turns can be accomplished in a jump off and before landing back on the ice. A lot of artistry has gone out of it - in my opinion.

I still enjoy it, but I agree. The sport has changed, and it's because of the change in scoring. It's quite a shame for the men - nobody cares how artistic you are now if you can't do quads.

stark · Tue Jan 30, 2018 4:58 pm

Ballerina wrote:I no longer enjoy figure skating as much as I used to. It's become more gymnastics on ice - how many twists and turns can be accomplished in a jump off and before landing back on the ice. A lot of artistry has gone out of it - in my opinion.

I think the whole Olympics are going to be undergoing some serious scrutiny this year, curious to see if viewership will be high or not due to the national political divide.

In prior years, it's been a flag waving moment of pride for the USA. Now we've got athletes like Lindsey Vonn declaring that she can represent the country but she's not representing the President. Will folks be wearing their red white and blue shirts 'n sweats come February?

Lindsey.....I don't remember asking for your opinion, and doubt anybody else did either, just ski down the damn hill.

Sad.

Tessablue · Tue Jan 30, 2018 9:46 pm

In that case, I'm tempted to watch it just for her.

Anyways, I always kind of loathed the artistry angle going back to when I was a figure skater so I'm pretty biased, but I think there's still a lot of room for it. Hanyu and Medvedeva are both absolute masters of merging artistry with technical ability, which I think accounts greatly for their recent dominance over the pure power skaters. Though I have to admit I felt a lot less generous towards the scoring system back when Patrick Chan, a literal wooden board on skates, was sweeping all the medals. Those years were to me the nadir of modern figure skating.

BaroqueAgain1 · Tue Jan 30, 2018 11:30 pm

It's quite a shame for the men - nobody cares how artistic you are now if you can't do quads.

I don't know. Jason Brown, who is known more for his artistry than his spectacular jumps, just finished third at the recent international competition in Taiwan. Finished in front of jumpers who can't match his grace and musicality on the ice.
I think the judges still love that artistry. It's kept Jason on our Olympic team.