Figure Skating: He's Here, He's Weir, Get Over It

[lpatrice]

swanflake said:

Speaking of spoilers, does anyone object to us discussing results from competitions before they've aired on American or Canadian TV?

Considering how hard it is to find figure skating on TV, and the fact that competitions are usually shown weeks after the fact, I for one am cool with discussing once results are official.

And speaking of official results I gotta say it has been an odd year for figure skating. There are winners and top three finishers that are seemingly coming out of left field. I am happy to see that the Russian pairs are doing okay, I think they should be fine in time for the next olympics

[oceansun]

SPOILERS:Ando...poor thing. I think she's succumbing to media pressure in Japan, and the fact that even though she's the world champ, she's still the second ranked Japanese skater, and not nearly as loved by judges, media, fans or her own fed as Asada is. I read an interview in which she said she's not motivated at all, and that it's her fans that keep her going, and that she's not really very happy with her skating. The girl sounds depressed Additionally, she's got that recurring shoulder injury.

lpatrice said:

And speaking of official results I gotta say it has been an odd year for figure skating. There are winners and top three finishers that are seemingly coming out of left field. I am happy to see that the Russian pairs are doing okay, I think they should be fine in time for the next olympics

I agree. Vasiliev has really turned Mukhortova and Trankov around, and they're finally skating to their potential. He did what Moskvina, the Velikovs and Dmitriev have failed to do for this couple. While I'm lukewarm on Kawaguchi and Smirnov, I like the rivalry that these two pairs have going on. It will be good for them, I think.

Russia also qualified four pair teams for the JGPF, including the top three qualifiers. I think they have a good shot at sweeping the podium. The top qualifiers, and favorites, Bazarova and Larionov won the bronze medal at Skate America. So there's definitely a lot of potential in the Junior ranks for Russia. Not only in pairs, but also three junior dance teams and three men made the finals. No ladies, but Alena Leonova is an alternate. Since ladies has been traditionally Russia's weakest field, this is a good result.

[carrier76]

Speaking of spoilers, does anyone object to us discussing results from competitions before they've aired on American or Canadian TV?

I kind of do.

It's the Year of the Weir!!!!! YAY!!!!!

[Deleted]

Another one of the beautiful classic skaters says goodbye. We will be left with a generation of skaters who can do triples and Beilman's all over the place and can barely do a decent crossover.

[lpatrice]

deaconblue said:

Another one of the beautiful classic skaters says goodbye. We will be left with a generation of skaters who can do triples and Beilman's all over the place and can barely do a decent crossover.

Who??

[carrier76]

Katarina Witt.

[dwanollah]

deaconblue said:

Another one of the beautiful classic skaters says goodbye. We will be left with a generation of skaters who can do triples and Beilman's all over the place and can barely do a decent crossover.

Ain't it the truth?

This is why I can't get into many of the current batch of skaters, but love Janet Lynn madly.

[carrier76]

I guess we can thank that judging controversy during the '02 Olympics for this? That's why they went to the new judging system, right?

[lpatrice]

carrier76 said:

I guess we can thank that judging controversy during the '02 Olympics for this? That's why they went to the new judging system, right?

Bias: I thought B/S deserved to win over S/P's juvenile program but I digress.

A friend of mine who used to skate competitively, swears that even under the new rules, B/S would have won, because while they did have at least one minor flaw, their program was more technically sound and difficult than S/P's; hence they would have accumulated more points. And they most likely still would have won the "performance" mark.

[oceansun]

So agree, lpatrice. B&S's program was so incredibly beautiful and complex. I was never a S&P fan, and those choreographed fake snowballs drove me crazy.

I do like his commentary, though.

And I actually really like the new judging system too.