Skate America: Ladies Freeskate (Plus a few notes about the event in general)

Skate America as a whole was very underwhelming and, to be quite honest, extremely disappointing this year. It was probably a byproduct of the off season being so short this year and this being the first regular event for top skaters, but even so - I NEVER expected it would turn out to be such a mess. I was busy the day of the men's freeskate and the free dance; I still originally intended to do a writeup on the men, but after seeing the scores and hearing from a few friends what a complete and utter disaster it was, I decided to spare myself the pain of watching the men's freeskate at all (save for Denis Ten, who I'd heard had skated an all around decent program and I actually did enjoy it a good bit). I did watch some of the free dance and I was impressed with Asher/Hill, Pechalat/Bourzat, and Davis/White, and I'm really looking forward to seeing how much the latter two teams free dances develop as the season goes on.

As for pairs, I'm really impressed and pleased with Savchenko/Szolkowy for attempting a throw triple axel in their short program; while obviously, it didn't pay off in that segment, I love that they're continuing to push themselves to improve and it makes me respect them more than I already did. And also, I found their freeskate interesting and hope to see a clean version of it in the near future. One last thing before I get to the ladies - it was nice to see Zhang/Zhang back after a year away from competition! Even if their programs weren't my favorite so far this season, it was strange having such a veteran team away and I'm glad that they were able to come back so successfully. That said, let's get started!

Elene Gedevanishvili (Georgia): Pretty dress, (though I think it'd look even better if the skirt was a little longer, because of the ruffles.). Very nice, huge triple lutz-double toe to start, followed by a singled triple flip attempt. Double axel-double toe-double toe, good. Triple toe attempt popped into a double toe-double toe combo. An alright flying sit spin, then a triple lutz she had to hold onto. Nice triple salchow and Y spiral. Two footed triple toe, followed by a combination spin that had some nice positions. Footwork that had some good difficulty to it, but it was slow. I loved her camel positions in his last spin. There were some nice things in this program and it's really a shame about the pops - her jumps can be quite nice.  TE 48.75 + PCS 49.46  = FS 97.61 + SP 42.91  = Total 140.12 (7th)

Valentina Marchei (Italy): Opened with an underrotated and two footed triple lutz attempt, followed by a nice triple flip. Triple salchow with a double three turn turn out between it and a double toe. Her spins weren't nearly as good as Elene's. Okay biellmann spiral, and a telegraphed triple lutz-double toe. Nice triple toe and a rough double axel. I really don't like the music or this program in general. Fall on an underrotated triple salchow that was somehow also telegraphed. Slow footwork and a poor spin to finish. TE 44.21 + PCS 48.77 Deduction - 1.00 = FS 91.98 + SP 43.19 = Total 135.17 (9th)

Joshi Helgesson (Sweden): Triple lutz-double toe, the latter of which was deemed underrotated. Underrotated triple loop that was also two footed (and the technical panel downgraded). Triple toe that was small but okay. Ugly catchfoot position in a spin, same for the spiral. Triple lutz, again small, and marked as underrotated. Triple toe-double toe, the triple was called underrotated. Alright triple salchow and another spin; it's positions and speed could be a lot better. Double axel-double axel sequence that was good. Footwork was kind of meh and the last spin was poor too. Her music got slow and heavy towards the end of the program. Not a good jumping day for her. TE 43.57 + PCS 45.38 = FS 88.95 + SP 45.03 = Total 133.98 (10th)

Ksenia Makarova (Russia): Her dress was a blinding shade of pink. Crash on her opening triple flip. She had nice speed over the ice. Triple toe-double toe was nice, followed by a underrotated triple loop. Very pretty layback position in her layback spin; biellmann could be better but it wasn't bad. Triple loop-double toe-double loop looked alright but they called the triple loop underrotated. Another underrotation on a triple salchow-double toe, followed by a fallout on a double axel and a handdown on a second double axel. Sudden music change to the Fox theme (the one from the beginning of Fox feature films) during a spin .. strange. Finished with a unimpressive footwork sequence and spin. I heard that Ksenia has a hip injury - I hope it heals well and soon! TE 45.20 + PCS 52.52 Deduction - 1.00 = FS 96.71 + SP 45.95 = Total 142.67 (5th)


Joelle Forte (USA): Opened with an okay triple lutz-double toe-double loop combo (double loop was underrotated), followed by a triple flip (underrotated) and a nice triple salchow. Her flying sit spin that slowed at the end and a double axel that was a little swingy on the landing. Her layback could be arched more (you might've noticed that I'm picky about laybacks and spirals, haha.). Extremely underrotated triple lutz that she fell hard on, followed by a nice triple toe-double axel sequence. Footwork wasn't particularly good and was on the slow side, and an underrotated triple salchow-double toe. Ended with an okay spin. A lot of underrotation marks, but I thought it was a pretty respectable effort for a skater on her first Grand Prix assignment ever. TE 45.43 + 46.41 Deduction - 1.00 = FS 90.84 + SP 48.86 = Total 139.70 (8th)


Viktoria Helgesson (Sweden): Those white fuzzy wrist cuffs on her costume..anyway,  opened with a triple toe-double toe-double loop, she had to eek out that last landing. Fall on a triple lutz that looked bad from the takeoff and was underrotated. Held onto a triple loop and then a slow camel spin that did have some decent variations. Big pop on a flip followed by an average spiral sequence. Good double axel and then a combination spin that could use better positioning and speed. Okay triple loop (called underrotated) -double axel sequence. Handdown on her last triple salchow and her final spin was very slow.  TE 44.41 + PCS 51.21 Deduction - 1.00 = FS 94.62 + SP 51.13 = Total 145.75 (3rd)


Haruka Imai (Japan): Nice triple loop-double toe to begin, followed by a triple lutz that looked nice but was called underrotated. I really like the way that she uses her arms; it's very graceful. The music changed from soft to very peppy... I preferred the soft, personally. Fall on a triple toe that looked under to me. Stepout on a triple loop, followed by a combo spin that traveled and slowed. Underrotated triple salchow-double toe and an okay biellmann spiral. Fallout on a second underrotated triple salchow and just held onto a double axel. Okay footwork and then a layback that had nice arch, but her free foot should be turned out and a nice doughnut position in the followed spin (though it could be a bit faster). It's too bad -she's pleasant to watch, even if I'm not a huge fan of the peppy music. TE 39.08 + 50.19 Deduction - 1.00 = FS 88.27 + 54.67 = Total 142.94 (4th)


Caroline Zhang (USA): Disappointing freeskate after a good short program. She had problems on almost every jump, save for her triple loops. Her lovely layback/pearl/biellmann spin is back, which is great to see. She said in the kiss and cry that she doesn't know what happened. TE 38.81 + 49.84 PCS Deductions -3.00 = FS 85.65 + SP 55.05 = Total 140.07 (6th)


Carolina Kostner (Italy): Pretty dress.  Good triple loop and triple flip at the start. She has great speed over the ice (but not overly fast like she's seemed in the past to me.). An alright spiral sequence followed by a good double axel and a spin that was on the slow side. Double axel-double toe combination was nice. Triple toe-double toe, also nice; I wonder if it was an intended triple-triple though. Very nice triple salchow followed by her sole jumping mistakes, doing a double three turn out of a triple salchow on her triple salchow-double toe-double toe and singling the latter. Her footwork was fine and she finished with a couple of spins that were slow, though the second was a bit better. Good skate! I'm not a fan of her skating in general but this was nice; the music suits her. TE 55.45 + PCS 61.67 = FS 117.12 + SP 60.23 = Total 177.35 (2nd)

Alissa Czisny (USA): Opened with her planned triple lutz-triple toe combination, but the toe was clearly very underrotated and consequently downgraded. Fall on a downgraded triple flip attempt, also given an edge deduction. Held onto the following triple loop and her spiral after that was nice, as usual. Nice flying spin, though the camel position wasn't my favorite. Second triple lutz okayish, marked as underrotated, then a double salchow and a turnout on a triple salchow-double toe combination. Nice double axel-double toe-double loop, ending with a nice footwork sequence and two impressive spins, including a gorgeous layback/biellmann. TE 51.37 + PCS 62.91 Deduction - 1.00 = FS 113.28 + SP 64.20 = Total 177.48 (1st)

I personally am not a fan of either Alissa or Carolina's skating, but in my opinion, Carolina deserved the win much more than Alissa today. She DID have less technical content, but almost every single jump was extremely well done, while Alissa dealt with several downgrades, underrotations, and flawed landings. I know the numbers ended up being very, very close and it's not like Carolina hasn't won medals when I hadn't felt she'd earned them either, but regardless - this didn't sit well with me.

Freeskate Results

Final Results

Protocols

U.S. Nationals: Ladies Freeskate

Unfortunately, this year's ladies event was basically what I'd expected - a messy event full of splats and pops, and had little in the way of inspiration. There were some shining moments where lesser known skaters delivered, and I'm glad to see that the champion skated a good program, but I am really hoping that in the near future the ladies will step up and give us an all around more enjoyable ladies championship.

That said, let's get started.

The first couple of groups opened up the competition with few successful triple attempts until Kristiene Gong landed five in her routine,(albeit, a couple received a slight negative GOE) and was easily the best so far, pulling up from 17th to 9th overall with a total of 143.30.

After Kristiene, Ellie Kawamura struggled, landing just one triple. Kelsey Traunero was somewhat more successful, landing two triple flips (one in combination with a double toe) and a pair of triple salchows. Unfortunately, her triple toe attempt was downgraded, as was the latter half of her double axel-double toe. Like many of the girls, her spins, footwork, and spiral were passable, but for the most part not particularly noteworthy.

Melissa Bulanhagui appeared to two foot her opening triple salchow, but proceeded to land a nice triple lutz, triple flip, an okay triple lutz-double toe-double loop (the latter deemed underrotated), and landed the following triple toe, triple salchow-double toe, and a big double axel pretty well. Spins weren't amazing, but still, a pretty impressive display. My only slight disappointment was that she didn't go for her triple axel. Total 144.53 (10th)

Danielle Kahle and Kristine Musademba both struggled with their jumps, but the latter had some nice spins. They finished 18th and 15th, respectively.

Alexe Gilles opened the second to last group, marking the beginning of the ladies freeskate coverage on NBC. Unfortunately, she only landed one clean triple (a lutz) and proceeded to pop or two foot everything else.

Caroline Zhang appeared to be in better shape than she was during the Grand Prix season. She landed a triple flip-double toe that was actually kind of nice, before she went for a high kick triple lutz and crashed. I wonder if it wouldn't be better for her to just leave that jump out of her programs until her coaches can the kick under control. After that was a triple salchow, which was downgraded and fallen on. Her triple loop-double axel sequence was fine, and then she popped her second flip attempt into a single. She finished her jumping passes with a triple loop-double loop- double loop with a tano variation on the end and a double axel that was just okay. She had some nice spin positions, especially on the layback, and her spiral sequence was nice. She skated a bit better than I had expected overall. 140.95 total, 12th overall.

Joelle Forte skated better than many of the top ladies, which was pretty surprising to me since I don't believe I've ever heard of her before this event. She landed a triple flip, triple lutz-double toe-double loop (slight negative GOE), triple salchow, double axel, triple lutz, triple toe-triple toe sequence, and a triple salchow double toe, and for the most part, they were actually pretty well done. She had poor spins, but the jumps were there, which was pretty unusual that night. 149.28 total, good enough for 9th place.

Yasmin Siraj had trouble on her early jumping passes,  singling her triple flip, having to eek out the latter half of her triple lutz-double toe, and falling on her double axel-triple toe (she was forward on the landing of the axel, but went for the triple toe anyway - she is definitely gutsy). Yasmin did pull it together for her jumping passes after that though, landing a triple salchow, triple lutz, triple toe, and double axel-double toe-double loop pretty well. Her spins were okay, but she had a nice spiral (though I wish she'd not have to hold it) and a footwork sequence that had some interest to it. There's a nice quality to her skating that makes you want to watch her; I'm looking forward to seeing how well she develops. 152.47 overall, 8th place.

Morgan Bell had a rough go of it, only having one entirely succesful jump, a double axel. While her second triple toe was alright, neither it nor the prior attempt were in combination, so it was marked triple toe+SEQ, lowering the base value of the jump. The other jumps were all either popped, fallen on, or marked as underrotated or downgraded. She finished in 17th place.

Ashley Wagner started off well with a triple flip-double toe, which was fine, followed by a double axel-triple toe, the latter of which was two footed and underrotated. After that was a triple flutz (which was nice other than the edge :-/),  triple loop-double toe-double toe that was alright, a triple salchow that was good, and then another two foot, this time on a triple loop and she singled her second flip. Her spins and spiral sequence were all good and she's fairly interesting to watch. There were a lot of nice things in that program; it's a shame that she had so many little errors, they really add up. 165.36 total, 6th place.

Vanessa Lam started her program with a triple lutz-double toe-double loop combo that was alright, as well as a triple flip-double toe. Her jumps don't get much height, but she rotates them quickly. Layback spin was nice, but she turned out and possibly two footed a triple toe. She may have two footed the triple loop after that too, it looked a little rough. Her spiral sequence was nice, as well as the spin after that. Double axel-double axel sequence with no speed going into it, followed by a two footed triple lutz. The footwork had no energy or life at all to it, and then she fell on a downgraded triple flip, finishing with a slow spin. Vanessa didn't really perform; seemed to be all about the elements for her. 162.91, 7th.

Agnes Zawadzki opened with a double axel-triple toe that seemed a little tough on the latter half to me, followed by a good triple flip. Combo spin was okay,  then a triple lutz attempt that was doubled - it looked like she slipped on the entry. Layback position could be more more impressive. Triple lutz-double toe was nice, followed by a biellmann spiral sequence that wobbled a bit. Fall on an underrotated triple loop, but good comeback with a nice triple salchow. She fell out of a triple toe, but tacked on a double toe and double loop. Footwork was okay, and she ended with an alright combo spin. Agnes could use more refinement in her skating, but when she hits them, her jumps are HUGE! 173.84, 4th.

Christina Gao started off with a nice triple flip-triple toe and triple salchow. Lots of speed going into the jumps too. Ran out of room at the end of her triple lutz-double toe-double loop and had to stepout. She did a nice spin and then a decent biellmann spiral, followed by an okay triple loop and double axel. Fall on the second triple flip, which was downgraded. Combo spin was alright, and she had a little slip in the footwork but it was okay other than that. Triple toe was a little tough, maybe two footed? Her final spin was nice, until the bit of traveling at the end of it. I like her a good bit; she surprised last year at Nationals, so I'm glad to see her skate decently here. Definitely hoping she places well at Junior Worlds. 167.20 total, 5th.

Alissa Czisny: Triple lutz-double toe was nice, followed by a good triple flip and triple toe-double toe-double loop. Spin was nice, but she had to fight for the underrotated triple loop. Spiral sequence was good, and her triple lutz-double toe, double axel, and triple toe were all okay. She finished with two really nice spins and an alright footwork sequence. As I've noted in prior posts, I don't really care for Alissa's skating much, but kudos to her on skating a nearly clean freeskate and not giving up on that loop. I wasn't sure what to expect from her, but she did hold it together. 191.24, 1st place.

Mirai Nagasu: Love her dress. Triple lutz-double toe just okay, she had to work for it. Double axel-double toe, okay. Edge deduction on the triple flip, alright otherwise. Lovely layback and biellmann positions. Triple lutz, underrotated. Triple toe-double toe-double loop,  okay. Great spiral sequence, followed by another just okay jump, a triple loop. Ina bauer to a double axel, which she fell out off and then she screwed up a flying sit spin, receiving no credit for it. Last spin was fine, but the damage was done. She looked nervous before she even started the program and then was tentative throughout. It's a shame, she's my favorite of all of these girls. 177.36, 3rd place.

Rachael Flatt: Double axel-triple toe, wobbly and the latter was underrotated. Doubled the intended triple lutz after that, followed by a camel spin with a variation I can't stand.  Not really a fan of the choreography either. Triple flip was alright, as well as a combo spin. Spiral sequence, meh. Triple lutz-double toe okay, triple flip-double toe-double loop with a bit of a high kick on the flip. Triple loop was okay, as well as the footwork. Fallout on the triple salchow. Ending combo spin was okay. 183.38, 2nd. I'd probably have sent Mirai to Worlds, but c'est la vie.

Full Results

Check back  for the men's freeskate post sometime today or tomorrow. 

Brief thoughts of Skate America: Ladies Free (Final 6)

I did not take extensive notes during the ladies free, but I certainly did have a few thoughts on it.

Before I get started, I just wanted to give a quick shout out to Ms. Murakami; We're all indebted to her for helping keep Kostner off the top step of the podium, even if she still has some rough patches in her skating. Thanks Kanako!

Amelie Lacoste: Well... there goes that Fantasy pick! (Come on.. if you picked her, you were so thinking it too!:P)

Caroline Zhang: Gorgeous dress. Sorry to see that she's gained some weight... it's not gonna do her any favors on her jumps, especially with the technique corrections still in progress. The triple flip-double toe didn't seem so bad, but then the mega highkick into a 1 and 1/2 lutz results in that spectacular fall into a near split position. Dang Zhang! I don't think I've ever seen a singles girl manage to do that kind of a fall. One bright point though... she really does have a lovely layback spin, unlike most of the ladies I've seen recently.

Rachael Flatt: Her highkick on her flip and lutz made me insane today, worsened by the fact that she landed them cleanly aside from that, excepting the underrotated first lutz. It may sound mean, but I wish that the highkick would give her more trouble on those two jumps so that she'd be forced to learn a better technique for them if she wished to remain competitive. Other than that though, I was bored.

Joshi Helgesson: I kind of liked her dress.I think she underrotated the back end of two of her combos, but I appreciate the fact that she completed a triple lutz without a highkick, very, very much.

Kanako Murakami: She does the high kick too.... good heavens! (Why do these girl's coaches abide in this kind of poor technique? I was working on a single flip before I had to quit skating, and every single time that I would dp the highkick to try to tap in harder for more height,  my coach would screech at me not to do it. Every. Single. Time. And I never even tested!) Watching her and several other of these ladies makes me long for Dick Button's commentary- I can just imagine his reaction to their laybacks. ;)  It's good to to see a lady with some spunk though, although I do think it sometimes makes her skating appear sloppy. There's a glimpse of Yukari Nakano's infamous leg wrap in at least one of her combinations too, albeit to a lesser extent (thankfully!). I quite enjoyed her footwork though; that was pretty smooth, interesting, and well done.

Carolina Kostner: I am amazed that Scott Hamilton and the other commentators are trying so hard to make her lack of difficulty sound like a good thing! The upbeat outlook on that didn't do her many favors though; falling on her first triple loop and doubling the second, and even singled a double axel,  making her scant technical content even more watered down. She even was sloppy on a spin. She isn't my cup of tea to begin with, but that was a really poor freeskate. I'm so thankful that the judges didn't give her the win this time.

Overall, from what I've seen and heard from this event and the other Grand Prix's thus far, the ladies certainly have been lackluster this season. I'm certain that I am not alone in missing Michelle Kwan.

NHK Trophy 2010 Rundown

In anticipation of this season's Grand Prix opener, I've decided to post some of my expectations and hopes for certain skaters that I'm keeping my eye on, beginning with my favorite discipline - the men! 

Daisuke Takahashi - I definitely expect (and hope!) that the reigning World Champion will land on the podium, and think that it's pretty likely that he will land on the top step. Daisuke expects a lot from himself, artistically and technically, and I look forward to seeing how that culminates here.

Jeremy Abbott - Jeremy is a skater that I really do enjoy watching, but you never really know which Jeremy is going to show up on the ice. He either skates beautifully or explodes entirely. I do expect him to medal, but think it is more likely to be silver than gold. 

Florent Amodio - This up and coming French skater first capture my attention at the 2010 Olympics, especially with his sad clown program. With more difficult content being put into his short program this season, hopefully he'll continue to move up the ranks, starting here. I'm hoping that either Florent or Yuzuru Hanyu capture the bronze. 

Yuzuru Hanyu - The 2010 World Junior Champion already seems to have a nice presence on the ice ,and the technical content to challenge for a medal at his first senior international ever. I'm really looking forward to seeing what he does this season. 

As for the ladies, I'm curious to see if Mao Asada can find her consistency again, as she has been reworking her jump technique after switching coaches. At the Japan Open, she honestly was a mess, but hopefully these last few weeks have given her enough time to get her technique under her belt. 

I don't really have many thoughts as far as the American ladies go for this event - I am curious to see if Caroline Zhang's work on her speed and technique have paid off though. 

Kanako Murakami, the 2010 World Junior Champion, seems like a good bet for the podium, as long as she holds up under pressure. 

My only expectations as far as ice dancing and the pairs go are that Meryl Davis and Charlie White will dominate the dance event easily, Qing Pang and Jian Tong will do the same in the pairs event, and I think that the American pairs team of Caydee Denney  and Jeremy Barrett might land the bronze.