Skate America 2011

aoi88 wrote:

I have a question. Why do all the skaters appear so fast in the videos? Is it due to the video format? because I'm sure some of the skaters aren't this fast live.

I think a lot of it is due to camera angles, the fact that camera views get switched so often, and because of a parallex view based on where the camera is.

Alokya wrote:

aoi88 wrote:

I have a question. Why do all the skaters appear so fast in the videos? Is it due to the video format? because I'm sure some of the skaters aren't this fast live.

I think a lot of it is due to camera angles, the fact that camera views get switched so often, and because of a parallex view based on where the camera is.

Thanks. I was told before that speed can be judged by how blurry the background signs appear but I think it's misleading sometimes since the boards all look kinda blurry today. I thought it was strange because even Caroline Z looked fast! I know she improved her speed, but still..

Here's an interesting article on Czisny vs. Kostner.

http://www.examiner.com/figure-skating-in-national/opining-on-skate-america-how-did-czisny-beat-kostner

shikure wrote:

GALA was uploaded
Taka's https://youtu.be/Maes4l7GuBE always amazing~ you can see ppl twitter about it
Haruka's https://youtu.be/mNaV8CcFtVY lovely

you can find others in the same account~thanks the owner

Taka's eurosport version SP https://youtu.be/BqGEwXs3Byw FS https://youtu.be/3SteSVluSHE
Haruka's FS https://youtu.be/PHi2rWadtX8

[b]Shikure, Many THANKS for all this precious links from Eurosport!!!

I do prefer and have always enjoyed watching Eurosport versions because they rarely made bias calls and their commentaries are mostly honest. Particularly when it comes to our Japanese skaters. I'm not somehow good at finding them now on youtube so these is such a great help. ありがとうございます！(⌒0⌒)／~~

I just watched it all, and I still am not so used with this Kozuka's SP choreographed by DAVID WILSON, no matter how many times I watch it. It's not that I don't like it, I kinda love it actually. But it's just that I simply cannot believe WILSON has made a program for Kozuka, hard to believe perhaps on my part and it's not like when WILSON choreographed for Oda before- that, I quickly absorbed then. But not this time with Kozuka. This particular program is so- WILSON but it's also nice in a queer, unique way for Kozuka. I guess I'm just the only one feeling this way about Kozu's 'Inner Urge' SP. And I wonder how everyone feels about it. . .

Lastly, not that much relevant though, Does anyone knows the name of this Eurosport commentator in the video links above? I like how he speaks so brilliantly yet not-so-emotionally and the way he comments for most of the skaters. Would be great to know his name...

purplemaze wrote:

I just watched it all, and I still am not so used with this Kozuka's SP choreographed by DAVID WILSON, no matter how many times I watch it. It's not that I don't like it, I kinda love it actually. But it's just that I simply cannot believe WILSON has made a program for Kozuka, hard to believe perhaps on my part and it's not like when WILSON choreographed for Oda before- that, I quickly absorbed then. But not this time with Kozuka. This particular program is so- WILSON but it's also nice in a queer, unique way for Kozuka. I guess I'm just the only one feeling this way about Kozu's 'Inner Urge' SP. And I wonder how everyone feels about it. . .

I don't hate "Inner Urge", but I don't like it either. I think it's still generic to me at this point and maybe that's due in part because of the mistakes in jumps within the program that made me feel like Taka didn't really "own" the program because he was preccupied with sort of keeping up with the music.

Alokya wrote:

Here's an interesting article on Czisny vs. Kostner.

http://www.examiner.com/figure-skating-in-national/opining-on-skate-america-how-did-czisny-beat-kostner

It's kinda funny every time I see Jackie's article because all my brothers and I went to the same magnet high school as him. One of my brothers is only a year younger than him and would see him from time to time in Ms. Spad's office.

shikure wrote:

AWWWWWWWWWWWWW~ pls share with us when you get back to Chicago~can't wait to hear anything from you :)Just read twitter and saw lots of ppl said Taka deserved encore and they like his "cello song" ex a lot ~I am totally not focus on my work today

clovera wrote:

Glad you had fun, and have a stay trip back!

purplemaze wrote:

you're much welcome! It's wonderful knowing you had so much fun watching the competition, and you really sounded like it, i am thrilled for you too! I haven't gone watching competitions or even any live ice shows since GPF 2009, and the recent multiple tragedies that struck Japan have made it impossible for me too to watch the last Worlds. So I am truly happy for you, that you were able to do so. I would be the happiest woman alive if only I get to see Kozuka and have his Autograph. (^з^)-☆ May you have a smooth trip back to Chicago and will look forward to your great, fun stories from Skate America when you return, maowataiyo. :-)

Thank you guys!!! I had a smooth trip back to Chicago. Unfortunately, right after we landed I had to go to campus and take an Econ exam...I'm not going to tell you guys how I think I did.. I slept seven hours straight when I got back to my dorm. LOL

Okay, so here are my little SA ancedotes (please excuse all the run-ons & sentence fragments as I'm still pretty tired and too lazy to care ): after the ladies competition concluded my boyfriend and I headed out of the arena to eat and shop at the Ontario Mills Outlet; when we came back to watch the gala I bought an event program because we didn't have time to do so before since we barely made it on time for the pairs competition. As we were walking by, I see Sean Rabbitt talking to someone/volunteer and being the dork I am I go, "oh wow, that's Sean Rabbitt!" to my boyfriend as we passed him and I guess he overheard cuz he literally came running after us and asked if we went to Skaters Care- I told him I did and we talked a few minutes.

After that, I was feeling really lucky that I got to meet Sean (that and I got a free Hilton sports bottle and travel bag for their promotional stuff) and we pass all the U.S. Figure Skating official goods stand, concession stand, etc. and go to a table where Rockne, Mary Beth & Joelle were sitting & signing these autograph cards that were given out next to the Toyota car on display in the arena. I get my event program and my cards signed and we were headed towards our seats.

Before the entryway to the first section of seating on the flight downstairs, there was this "At&T Fanzone" stand and "Trivia" written on the blue & orange presentation board. On the board there was a touch-screen and there were people touching buttons and stuff in the back and I'm thinking this is to keep the fans busy before the show. But there was also this guy holding a placard in front of the board with a question that said, "In what year did ice dance become an Olympic sport?" and below the question it had answers "a. 1958 b. 1976 c. 19something" (I forget, maybe "1984") written on it. A couple probably in their 70s was standing in front of the guy. They said they didn't know the answer & walked off. I casually said "1976" as we were walking and the guy holding the placard goes, "wait, wait!" and says "that is correct, where would you guys like to sit?" and gives me this blue Team Usa seal- it's basically like a sturdy protective sticker that you can put on your laptop to protect it from scratches. My boyfriend and I are like, huh?? The guy explains to us if you answer the question correctly you get to upgrade your seats. So I asked him where the best seating was where we wouldn't be bothered by other people even if they came late (Because that's exactly what we did. We weren't late, but we arrived at our seats 5 minutes before the competition started, in section 103 in row "c" *which were really good seats close to the rink, in the middle and across from the judges. But the seats at Bank Arena are very tight so the 5 or 6 people already seated had to stand up and let us go to our seats) and where we also could see the skaters up close. I forgot what the number for the section was, but it was in row "f", which was higher up compared to the seats we were in at the competition, but way lower than our seats for the gala in section 103 row "o".

Anywho, he recommended seats next to the Kiss & Cry area because we could see the skaters enter and exit from the backstage. We listened to his advice and I'm so glad we did because a lot of the skaters also passed us as they entered. I think the best way to describe is, I don't know if you guys have ever watched a basketball game, but at halftime & at the end of the game the players go to the lockerroom and fans go stick their hand out to the side past the railings to high-five the players- that's the kind of seats we had at the exhibition.

I think Carolina was the last skater for the first half of the gala (not including the California Gold synchronized team) before the intermission (which I thought was strange because she was the silver medalist and they usually appear later). Anyways, she was the first skater in the gala that I really wanted to get an autograph from and it took all the courage within me to ask her because of the other people there and the thought that I might be rejected one, but I told Carolina that her skating was beautiful and handed down my event program and sharpie and asked her to autograph it for me.

Haruka was the second skater to skate after the intermission and I was going to try to get her autograph, but she hurried to the backstage pretty quickly. Taka was the fourth skater to skate after the intermission and as he was walking passed us towards the backstage, I said, "Taka-chan sugoku yokotta yo!" which is like, "You were really great, Taka-chan!" and he made two quick small bows (more like nods) to me with his face tilted upward to the side in acknowledgement of my comment and my boyfriend is freaking out because he isn't Japanese and he's like, "why is he bowing to you?! what did you say to make him bow?!"; as Taka is signing my booklet I tell him that I know so & so [insert Japanese surname] (she's a mom of a skater at Nagoya and her daughter is one of Machiko-sensei's students and he goes, "Ahh. Hai, hai" and I tell him I sent Mao a care package through her and that I love him and Mao so much and will continue being fans of them and Team Sato. He hands me back my booklet, then my sharpie (with the cap closed, of course) and goes, "Arigatogozaimasu, korekaramo ooen yoroshiku onegaishimasu" and goes off. This happened in a span of 20~30 seconds and one of the two little blonde girls sitting in front of us, asked me if Taka was my boyfriend and I told them no and then their dad asked if he was my relative.

I think Alissa was the last skater or the second to last skater (I can't remember if she skated after of before Charlie and Meryl) before the finale. She was also very kind and sweet and signed my booklet. She also signed for three or four other people there.

This is where we were seated using Haruka's YT video- at 12s you can see the blue Kiss & Cry, we were on the right side of it (if you faced looking at the K&C).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNaV8CcFtVY

The cut-out of the wall in front of the K&C was there so that this type of camera that floats above the ice using this long neck could film the skaters from a low angle. The main camera was in front of section 103 and there was also a cameraman that followed the host around. But all the skaters would go exit through the door and walk behind the camera levy? I don't know what you call those things and walk in front of the K&C and go to the right side of it to go backstage.

purplemaze wrote:

shikure wrote:

GALA was uploaded
Taka's https://youtu.be/Maes4l7GuBE always amazing~ you can see ppl twitter about it
Haruka's https://youtu.be/mNaV8CcFtVY lovely

you can find others in the same account~thanks the owner

Taka's eurosport version SP https://youtu.be/BqGEwXs3Byw FS https://youtu.be/3SteSVluSHE
Haruka's FS https://youtu.be/PHi2rWadtX8

[b]Shikure, Many THANKS for all this precious links from Eurosport!!!

I do prefer and have always enjoyed watching Eurosport versions because they rarely made bias calls and their commentaries are mostly honest. Particularly when it comes to our Japanese skaters. I'm not somehow good at finding them now on youtube so these is such a great help. ありがとうございます！(⌒0⌒)／~~

I just watched it all, and I still am not so used with this Kozuka's SP choreographed by DAVID WILSON, no matter how many times I watch it. It's not that I don't like it, I kinda love it actually. But it's just that I simply cannot believe WILSON has made a program for Kozuka, hard to believe perhaps on my part and it's not like when WILSON choreographed for Oda before- that, I quickly absorbed then. But not this time with Kozuka. This particular program is so- WILSON but it's also nice in a queer, unique way for Kozuka. I guess I'm just the only one feeling this way about Kozu's 'Inner Urge' SP. And I wonder how everyone feels about it. . .

Lastly, not that much relevant though, Does anyone knows the name of this Eurosport commentator in the video links above? I like how he speaks so brilliantly yet not-so-emotionally and the way he comments for most of the skaters. Would be great to know his name...

His name is Nicki Slater. this was the first time I watched british eurosport (we had the german version before) and I prefer british comentators to the germans. Sigi and Hendrick are great, but the british are less biased.

zarinaballerina wrote:

this was the first time I watched british eurosport (we had the german version before) and I prefer british comentators to the germans. Sigi and Hendrick are great, but the british are less biased.

Really, do you like the german commentators?!Because I hate them.... Like you said, they are so biased espeacially when it comes to Yuna vs. Mao. Most of the time I have inner aggressions (can I say that in english? ) when I'm sitting in front of the TV and have to hear their comments against Mao... And when they speak of Mao Asado and Kim Ya-Nu again and again, me and my best friend always say "In a few years we are sitting there at worlds and are commentating for eurosports, okay?!"

For me Russian Vasiliy Soloviev and British guys are the best right now. In past years I really liked Dick and Peggy but they're not commenting these days.

josling wrote:

zarinaballerina wrote:

this was the first time I watched british eurosport (we had the german version before) and I prefer british comentators to the germans. Sigi and Hendrick are great, but the british are less biased.

Really, do you like the german commentators?!Because I hate them.... Like you said, they are so biased espeacially when it comes to Yuna vs. Mao. Most of the time I have inner aggressions (can I say that in english? ) when I'm sitting in front of the TV and have to hear their comments against Mao... And when they speak of Mao Asado and Kim Ya-Nu again and again, me and my best friend always say "In a few years we are sitting there at worlds and are commentating for eurosports, okay?!"

When i said they're great, i didn't mean in terms of being unbiased, but great with providing audience with a lot of info. If you think the Mao vs. Yuna was bad, what do you think about Caro K or the german pair. I swear that at those times I wished we had british eurosport. Caro was all over the place, but in their view she was just very FAST and had a great SKATING SKILLS , not to mention a few years back when Stefan Lindemann was still competing, every other word that came out of their mouth was unser Stefan. Really, they compared that overrated skater to the likes of Lambiel and Plushenko?! it was driving me crazy.

But I do have to give them credit, before Yuna's sp marks came out in vancouver, they would have placed her in first but with a mark around 75. And they explained why Mao's 3A won't help her much in the sp since she still had to do the 2A. And of course they LOVE Taka

At least they didn't enlighten us with their wisdom why 3L3T is worth more than 3A2T like scott had. I still laugh about that one.

zarinaballerina wrote:

josling wrote:

zarinaballerina wrote:

this was the first time I watched british eurosport (we had the german version before) and I prefer british comentators to the germans. Sigi and Hendrick are great, but the british are less biased.

Really, do you like the german commentators?!Because I hate them.... Like you said, they are so biased espeacially when it comes to Yuna vs. Mao. Most of the time I have inner aggressions (can I say that in english? ) when I'm sitting in front of the TV and have to hear their comments against Mao... And when they speak of Mao Asado and Kim Ya-Nu again and again, me and my best friend always say "In a few years we are sitting there at worlds and are commentating for eurosports, okay?!"

When i said they're great, i didn't mean in terms of being unbiased, but great with providing audience with a lot of info. If you think the Mao vs. Yuna was bad, what do you think about Caro K or the german pair. I swear that at those times I wished we had british eurosport. Caro was all over the place, but in their view she was just very FAST and had a great SKATING SKILLS , not to mention a few years back when Stefan Lindemann was still competing, every other word that came out of their mouth was unser Stefan. Really, they compared that overrated skater to the likes of Lambiel and Plushenko?! it was driving me crazy.

But I do have to give them credit, before Yuna's sp marks came out in vancouver, they would have placed her in first but with a mark around 75. And they explained why Mao's 3A won't help her much in the sp since she still had to do the 2A. And of course they LOVE Taka

At least they didn't enlighten us with their wisdom why 3L3T is worth more than 3A2T like scott had. I still laugh about that one.

Yeah, you're right! I only see the bad things... but mistakes like Stéphane Lindemann und Stefan Lambiel are unforgivable imo!!!

Sorry for the Off-topic btw!

maowataiyo, thanks for the detailed report! How cool that you met Taka and Sean and a bunch of other skaters! Also, I am so jealous that your boyfriend watches skating events with you! I so need to find a boy who will do that!

Btw, what did you think about Alissa vs. Carolina, as someone who saw it live? I'm wondering if there were differences between them that were hard to see on TV but were obvious live.

I like this Eurosport commentator I saw ppl said he is "nick" in Japanese then I google him.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicky_Slater
Thanks zarinaballerina confirmed that

Sometimes I want to hear something other than Japanese commentators.
Some Japanese commentators are too eager to share they feeling during whole program which is very annoying, and I don't want to hear 殘念(it's pity) too many times when someone makes mistake during the program.

I like him only mentioned what jump that was then keep quite after the program finished, then he will give quick summary. Even ppl didn't do their program well, he still gave the summary in positive way.

maowataiyo wrote:

Taka was the fourth skater to skate after the intermission and as he was walking passed us towards the backstage, I said, "Taka-chan sugoku yokotta yo!" which is like, "You were really great, Taka-chan!" and he made two quick small bows (more like nods) to me with his face tilted upward to the side in acknowledgement of my comment and my boyfriend is freaking out because he isn't Japanese and he's like, "why is he bowing to you?! what did you say to make him bow?!"; as Taka is signing my booklet I tell him that I know so & so [insert Japanese surname] (she's a mom of a skater at Nagoya and her daughter is one of Machiko-sensei's students and he goes, "Ahh. Hai, hai" and I tell him I sent Mao a care package through her and that I love him and Mao so much and will continue being fans of them and Team Sato. He hands me back my booklet, then my sharpie (with the cap closed, of course) and goes, "Arigatogozaimasu, korekaramo ooen yoroshiku onegaishimasu" and goes off. This happened in a span of 20~30 seconds and one of the two little blonde girls sitting in front of us, asked me if Taka was my boyfriend and I told them no and then their dad asked if he was my relative. .

maowataiyo, thank you for sharing this amazing experience You have the best boyfriend in the world and you were so lucky on that day too I would like to be mistaken as Taka's girlfriend for two seconds too but there is higher possibility that I will be mistaken as his aunt in that situation...lol

Couple pages above, I saw ppl saying Alissa is sort of like Angel with all kind of innocent. but i don't think she pretends that . It's not usual for us who living in real life and real world. but it's pretty common to those skaters. Most of them have been protected so well and always someone does everything for them. Patrick's mother follows him every where and even doesn't want him to interact with some skaters since she thought other skaters may make her good boy going bad (this is rumor but I am not sure is that the reason at least she was very nice to Taiwan fans during ice show this year). I read an article of Yuka Sato and she talked about Alissa and Taka. About Alissa, she lived with her parents until she changed coach to Yuka and Jason. Yuka said the thing she wants Alissa to do is "taking control of her own life", then Alissa moved out from her parents' house last year. Something similar to Mao, Mao started to drive herself to rink now. you can imagine that before she got her own driver's license, Mai, Taka, Taka's father, Mao's mother even Mura drove her to the place she wanted to go. Basically, most of skaters live in the world that no one will hurt them except media

I saw someone from Taiwan went to Osaka for The ICE, then on her way back to Taiwan, she met all skaters from Detroit including Adam, Alissa, Charlie, and Meryl in airport. she asked them to wait for her to get her friend since they want to take picture with them and ask them not going anywhere. they said they will stay there and won't go anywhere before boarding. when she came back they were still there and willing to sign and took pics with her-> how nice

No problem bellarina & shikure! My boyfriend knows nothing about figure skating lol. But I kept grumbling to him that Skate America was near my hometown and that I decided not to go because I was so disappointed Mao wasn't assigned there, yet I also regretted not supporting the other skaters. And I guess he felt really bad for me because he ordered tickets that night without telling me and the next morning we were boarding a plane headed to Ontario Airport.

Um, about Alissa and Carolina- honestly, right after Alissa skated my initial thought was that Carolina had won. I mean, I think Alissa probably thought the same because on the jumbotron they closed up on her face & there were tears welling up in her eyes like she knew it wasn't a great performance.

However, this was the first time I've ever watched Carolina skate live & I've always heard of Carolina's reputation of skating with such great speed and she does, but Alissa skated with lots of speed as well. Both skater's stroking technique were superb. To me, it looked like when Carolina did her crossovers, she did so at a much more slant than Alissa.

The big difference for myself was that Carolina had much tighter and quicker revolutions in her jumps than Alissa. I might be the oddball, but rightys tend to stick out to me (not only because there are way more leftys) but because their revolutions in the air don't seem as crisp to me (Johnny Weir, anyone?). But with Carolina it didn't stand out at all even though I knew beforehand she was one. With Alissa, you could easily tell she was a righty or atleast I could. Another obvious difference was Alissa's spins were far superior than Carolina's, but Carolina's step sequence was spectacular.

One thing that really stood out to me was that Alissa has a very elegant yet sporty quality to her skating. By sporty, I mean athletic- like when she did her spirals in the free and split jumps in her exhibition. I would use the words "extremely impressive" rather than "beautiful" to describe some of her skating. Not to say it's not beautiful, but it's not really "balletic"?? I'm probably confusing you guys even more, lol...hmm..how should i put it..she has the flexibility and extension, but it seems more of a skill rather than a dance element.

maowataiyo wrote:

No problem bellarina & shikure
One thing that really stood out to me was that Alissa has a very elegant yet sporty quality to her skating. By sporty, I mean athletic- like when she did her spirals in the free and split jumps in her exhibition. I would use the words "extremely impressive" rather than "beautiful" to describe some of her skating. Not to say it's not beautiful, but it's not really "balletic"?? I'm probably confusing you guys even more, lol...hmm..how should i put it..she has the flexibility and extension, but it seems more of a skill rather than a dance element.

I understand what you mean. I actually don't think Alyssa pays enough attention to the positions in her spins. Her spin positions are still better than most female skaters but considering all the praise she gets for them, they aren't that beautiful looking. I much prefer Mao and Mirai's spin positions. And sometimes it feels like Alyssa just wants to show off her spins and the element doesn't really flow with the choreography.

zarinaballerina wrote:

purplemaze wrote:

shikure wrote:

GALA was uploaded
Taka's https://youtu.be/Maes4l7GuBE always amazing~ you can see ppl twitter about it
Haruka's https://youtu.be/mNaV8CcFtVY lovely

you can find others in the same account~thanks the owner

Taka's eurosport version SP https://youtu.be/BqGEwXs3Byw FS https://youtu.be/3SteSVluSHE
Haruka's FS https://youtu.be/PHi2rWadtX8

[b]Shikure, Many THANKS for all this precious links from Eurosport!!!

I do prefer and have always enjoyed watching Eurosport versions because they rarely made bias calls and their commentaries are mostly honest. Particularly when it comes to our Japanese skaters. I'm not somehow good at finding them now on youtube so these is such a great help. ありがとうございます！(⌒0⌒)／~~

I just watched it all, and I still am not so used with this Kozuka's SP choreographed by DAVID WILSON, no matter how many times I watch it. It's not that I don't like it, I kinda love it actually. Butit's just that I simply cannot believe WILSON has made a program for Kozuka, hard to believe perhaps on my part and it's not like when WILSON choreographed for Oda before- that, I quickly absorbed then. But not this time with Kozuka. This particular program is so- WILSON but it's also nice in a queer, unique way for Kozuka. I guess I'm just the only one feeling this way about Kozu's 'Inner Urge' SP. And I wonder how everyone feels about it. . .

Lastly, not that much relevant though, Does anyone knows the name of this Eurosport commentator in the video links above? I like how he speaks so brilliantly yet not-so-emotionally and the way he comments for most of the skaters. Would be great to know his name...

His name is Nicki Slater. this was the first time I watched british eurosport (we had the german version before) and I prefer british comentators to the germans. Sigi and Hendrick are great, but the british are less biased.

@zarinaballerina THANKS HEAPS!!! I would just like to acknowledge your kind reply in response to my otherwise not - so- relevant question please accept my apology if my reply came a bit too late, having two 'tots' in tow in preparation for halloween took a lot of my time today pardon my late response.

I very much appreciate you takin' the time out to let us know of his name. He is such a brilliant, very considerate commentator that I've been trying to find out his name for such a long time now. . .
Really many thanks zarinaballerina, I owe you big time!

@maowataiyo ：Sounds like a real wonderful time you've had at SA! I enjoyed reading your post esp, the part where you've asked Taka chan to sign your program and your seatmates asking if he is your boyfriend LoL )

The in-betweens were beautifully worded too, thank-you for sharing!!!

Excess: apologies if this turns-out to be double posting, i hope it's not. Im just trying to take advantage of the little time I could sneak in, logging in here...

aoi88 wrote:

I understand what you mean.

Thanks aoi. I'm glad I was able to convey what I was trying to describe. I think people were really impressed by her spins because they were clapping, "ooh-ing" & "aah-ing" when they saw them, but I think they were more enthralled by the speed and energy of the spins versus being taken aback by the beauty of them. I think that was especially true when she did her y-spin because a guy probably around my grandpa's age, remarked to his wife, "how the hell does she not topple over at that speed"- I giggled a bit to myself when I heard him say that

purplemaze wrote:

@maowataiyo ：Sounds like a real wonderful time you've had at SA! I enjoyed reading your post esp, the part where you've asked Taka chan to sign your program and your seatmates asking if he is your boyfriend LoL )

The in-betweens were beautifully worded too, thank-you for sharing!!!

Aww, thanks. You're so sweet, purplemaze.

I thought it was funny too when the girl asked me if he was my boyfriend. But she was like 4 or 5, so I could get why she'd think that, but I thought it was really funny when the dad asked me if I was related to him because when you really think about it- if I were really Taka's girlfriend or a relative of his, there wouldn't really be any reason for me to ask for his autograph from the stands.

Speaking of relatives, I think Ricky Dornbush's family/friends were everywhere around the arena because there was so much cheering like, "You rock, Ricky!" "Go Ricky!", "woo's" & "ow's" going around for him when he was waiting on the ice to perform his exhibition program.

One thing that I forgot to write about was that I didn't like Elene's skating as much as I thought I would. I remember watching her during the Torino Olympics when she was 16 or 17 and thinking how fun she was to watch, but when I saw her skate in person I thought everything was too rushed and sloppy.

Oh and my heart broke for Caroline. I just want her to be happy on the ice again. She's had too much heartbreak and you could tell she's working so hard. As a fellow Californian- I really want her to kick some ass again.

Hello all! I'd like to share some photos and my Skate America experience as a volunteer . I worked as an ice monitor during the ladies and pairs short and free skate, which means I opened the doors for them to go into the rink. I didn't even realize how amazing this would be until I started working, and when the skaters were within inches of me, my heart was pounding like crazy (especially Savchenko and Szolkowy, omg @__@) In this respect it was a good thing I couldn't open the door for the men, I think I would've died if Taka was that close to me... Seeing their costumes up close is really nice, you can see how well it's constructed and almost feel it, that's how detailed it looked!! Also, the sparkles were nice too . Alissa Czisny was really nice, she smiled and nodded at me when I opened the door for her during the warm-ups in both the short and free skate! (when it was her turn to skate she didn't do anything though, I think she was concentrating really hard ) If there's ever a skating competition near you guys you should think of volunteering, it's a really great experience plus you get to watch practices for free and get 2 free tickets!! (at least in the United States) My friend got tickets for us to watch the men's and dance free, and I got tickets for us to watch the exhibition. Since there weren't a lot of people attending we got to move up a lot closer during these events too. And during the men's exhibition practice I sat in the front row and got to see Takahiko's face up close @_@ Even though I was sitting in the audience I was so nervous just being able to be so close to him...

And during the medal ceremony, when Takahiko went around for his victory lap, I went down to the front row and slapped his hand while he was whizzing by!!! Kyaaaa!!! The woman next to me was really excited to have slapped his hand too, even though I didn't know here after he slapped our hands we just looked at each other and squealed. Oh the comradeship between figure skating fans can be so great!

And without further ado here are some pictures!


The only plcture of Takahiko I dared take during his exhibition practice. I was so nervous haha and I felt guilty snapping the picture... Now I wish I 'd taken more and taken video to boot too! I was too busy enjoying looking at him up close and in person though haha, he really is much more handsome in person @_@

[img][/img]

This is where the skaters exited from. My friend led me here after the exhibition!! Apparently a lot of people ambush skaters after performance skating like Stars on Ice at back exits, but we were the only ones here this time...


Takahiko + Haruka + the rest of Team Japan!!! I really wanted to approach him for a picture but I was sooo shyyy and my friend wasn't budging either TT__TT SO MUCH REGRETTTT NOWWWW.


This is the shuttle bus the skaters took to get back to their hotel. Except Ricky, who drove back home since apparently he comes from Riverside (my friend worked at hotel accreditation and checked him in!). AHHH all the skaters were in there at that moment @__@ If only I had walked up there I could've said hi... And met Takahiko!!! Too nervous =__=

And here are some youtube videos showing the men clapping to the finale. Compared to all the other skaters they were very enthusiastic! Ricky was especially so, I don't know if I caught him during his more enthusiastic moments though...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNZeE6n1bXk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q62yi99EzXw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yjYLN4O0gU

That's mostly what I wanted to share . After the event and missing the opportunity to meet Takahiko, I realized what an inadequate fan I was so I swore I would get more involved so I could be a better fan! Sorry my camera is not that good so my pictures might've come out a little blurry, plus I was nervous much of the time which would explain that too... I have a lot more pictures but these are the sorts of pictures that you wouldn't find unless you went to the event, so that's why I'm sharing them . Unfortunately I wasn't allowed to take pictures while I was volunteering, otherwise I could've gotten some really great shots in too...

kaabi, Welcome to the forum! Thanks for sharing your wonderful experience at Skate America. I sure am jealous! Haha! If only there's something like that here... One of my friends volunteered at Finlandia trophy this year and she said it's also a wonderful experience.

kaabi wrote:

Hello all! I'd like to share some photos and my Skate America experience as a volunteer . I worked as an ice monitor during the ladies and pairs short and free skate, which means I opened the doors for them to go into the rink. I didn't even realize how amazing this would be until I started working, and when the skaters were within inches of me, my heart was pounding like crazy (especially Savchenko and Szolkowy, omg @__@) In this respect it was a good thing I couldn't open the door for the men, I think I would've died if Taka was that close to me... Seeing their costumes up close is really nice, you can see how well it's constructed and almost feel it, that's how detailed it looked!! Also, the sparkles were nice too . Alissa Czisny was really nice, she smiled and nodded at me when I opened the door for her during the warm-ups in both the short and free skate! (when it was her turn to skate she didn't do anything though, I think she was concentrating really hard ) If there's ever a skating competition near you guys you should think of volunteering, it's a really great experience plus you get to watch practices for free and get 2 free tickets!! (at least in the United States) My friend got tickets for us to watch the men's and dance free, and I got tickets for us to watch the exhibition. Since there weren't a lot of people attending we got to move up a lot closer during these events too. And during the men's exhibition practice I sat in the front row and got to see Takahiko's face up close @_@ Even though I was sitting in the audience I was so nervous just being able to be so close to him...

And during the medal ceremony, when Takahiko went around for his victory lap, I went down to the front row and slapped his hand while he was whizzing by!!! Kyaaaa!!! The woman next to me was really excited to have slapped his hand too, even though I didn't know here after he slapped our hands we just looked at each other and squealed. Oh the comradeship between figure skating fans can be so great!

And without further ado here are some pictures!


The only plcture of Takahiko I dared take during his exhibition practice. I was so nervous haha and I felt guilty snapping the picture... Now I wish I 'd taken more and taken video to boot too! I was too busy enjoying looking at him up close and in person though haha, he really is much more handsome in person @_@

[img][/img]

This is where the skaters exited from. My friend led me here after the exhibition!! Apparently a lot of people ambush skaters after performance skating like Stars on Ice at back exits, but we were the only ones here this time...


Takahiko + Haruka + the rest of Team Japan!!! I really wanted to approach him for a picture but I was sooo shyyy and my friend wasn't budging either TT__TT SO MUCH REGRETTTT NOWWWW.


This is the shuttle bus the skaters took to get back to their hotel. Except Ricky, who drove back home since apparently he comes from Riverside (my friend worked at hotel accreditation and checked him in!). AHHH all the skaters were in there at that moment @__@ If only I had walked up there I could've said hi... And met Takahiko!!! Too nervous =__=

And here are some youtube videos showing the men clapping to the finale. Compared to all the other skaters they were very enthusiastic! Ricky was especially so, I don't know if I caught him during his more enthusiastic moments though...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNZeE6n1bXk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q62yi99EzXw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yjYLN4O0gU

That's mostly what I wanted to share . After the event and missing the opportunity to meet Takahiko, I realized what an inadequate fan I was so I swore I would get more involved so I could be a better fan! Sorry my camera is not that good so my pictures might've come out a little blurry, plus I was nervous much of the time which would explain that too... I have a lot more pictures but these are the sorts of pictures that you wouldn't find unless you went to the event, so that's why I'm sharing them . Unfortunately I wasn't allowed to take pictures while I was volunteering, otherwise I could've gotten some really great shots in too...

You made me smile while reading your post and looking at your pictures! THAT'S SO EXCITING!!!!! You know what? I wouldn't have had the courage to go up either, and I'm just like you with having regrets. Hahaha!

Oh WOW! What great pictures and amazing experience you've had kaabi!!!

Thank-you for sharing them with us here (⌒0⌒)／~~ !!! I love the detailed things you've wrote about getting so close to see Taka chan, as in really close, wow that must be so like heaven to the max! And i admire the systems there indeed in the states. I wish in Japan they would also place a volunteering job or even an 'arubaito=part-time work' like the one you have there. Here even cameras are not allowed to bring in the competitions, likewise not allowed to take photos during rehearsals, more so video- ing the skaters, can you believe that?

You are so blessed to be able to take part and volunteer in that kind of rewarding job kaabi, and honestly i am glad for you! I will not think twice myself volunteering at the rink if given the chance.

Thanks a bunch again for letting us know, and welcome to the forum too!!! ＼(^_^)／

Oh wow! Thanks for sharing your experience, pictures and videos, kaabi! And welcome to the forum! I went to SA too! I wished we could have met up.

Where were you guys seated during the exhibition? I was seated to the right of the Kiss & Cry.

And your experience as an ice monitor is so cool! Did the volunteers get to have any of those rings & stuffed animals the skaters threw to the audience at the end of the finale?

Kaabi, thank you so much for pics and those lovely comments about Taka and any other thing.

I like the picture of Taka in exhibition practice, don't worry about the camera, you caught the intensity in his eyes very well. I have similar regret that I was out of Taipei when 4CC was here... If he comes to Taipei in 2014, I will take annual leave for that.

I become greedy now, may I ask about Haruka? just got her "thank you" from FB and felt great today.

Taking a break from studying for my econ quiz, I come to this forum and see all your responses, it makes me really happy after all this grueling studying!

@roma: volunteering is definitely a wonderful experience and I feel so grateful to have been able to do it! It definitely feels makes you feel more involved than just being in the audience (I bought tickets for the 2009 World Championships in Los Angeles, and I have to say as a volunteer I got better seats AND I had a better time!) I hope you get the opportunity to do it someday!!

@Mao_Asada_sunrise: Thank you, you make me feel a lot better ;___; If we ever meet up at an event we definitely have to force each other to approach the skaters!!! (I love your username btw )

@purplemaze: Thanks for your kind words they make me feel very warm and welcome!! ^_^ Wow, reading what you said about Japan makes me feel very fortunate to have been able to participate here. Yeah, the rules here are really relaxed, my friend was even able to sneak into all the events even though she only had tickets to 2 of the events b/c they don't check your tickets once you're inside the building!! (she volunteered as well) Figure skating is much more popular in Japan though, so I'm sure the atmosphere is really warm there! Have you ever attended a competition? I'm curious as to what it's like there! The stands were sorta empty here so that was kinda sad...

@maowataiyo: (I like your username too btw! ) If only I had gotten involved in this forum earlier, then we could've scheduled a meet up!! *is shy* Well it seems we're both located in the U.S. so there should be another opportunity someday (next time when Mao actually comes!!! ) We were seated in 106, which is across and towards the end of the arena (away from the kiss and cry). You had good seats!! I realize now sitting close to the kiss and cry area is the best place to meet the skaters (after reading your wonderful post and watching on TV... ;__; I'm so jealous you got to talk to Taka!!) How is the view from there? I wanted to sit there actually but I think my friend was afraid that the view of the skating wouldn't be as good... Were you sitting in the front row?? I saw quite a few sits up front available! (Not sure if this was during the exhibition or other event though) As for the rings, I was in the audience by then, and as much as I tried to reach for one I didn't get one so no Did you get one?

@shikure: Aww it's sad you missed that opportunity make sure not to miss it next time!! Of course you can ask about Haruka, I actually opened the door for her! I didn't know who she was until I heard her being called (I know her name but not her face thanks to lurking in this forum ) I remember thinking that she was very beautiful, I couldn't stop looking at her she was so pretty!! (took advantage of the fact that the skaters were so focused haha) Out of all the costumes I liked hers the best too, they were very well made (and not that pastel pink thank goodness!) Omg she said "thank you" to you though?? That's great! How did you contact her?

So that was really long... Hope I didn't ramble too much haha! Oh yeah, as a side note while I was waiting backstage to volunteer (since I arrived early) someone thought I was one of the skaters and I had to tell them I was a volunteer " I'm guessing that person didn't know figure skating very well but none the less I felt very flattered by the comment heehee

kaabi wrote:

@shikure: Aww it's sad you missed that opportunity make sure not to miss it next time!! Of course you can ask about Haruka, I actually opened the door for her! I didn't know who she was until I heard her being called (I know her name but not her face thanks to lurking in this forum ) I remember thinking that she was very beautiful, I couldn't stop looking at her she was so pretty!! (took advantage of the fact that the skaters were so focused haha) Out of all the costumes I liked hers the best too, they were very well made (and not that pastel pink thank goodness!) Omg she said "thank you" to you though?? That's great! How did you contact her?

So that was really long... Hope I didn't ramble too much haha! Oh yeah, as a side note while I was waiting backstage to volunteer (since I arrived early) someone thought I was one of the skaters and I had to tell them I was a volunteer " I'm guessing that person didn't know figure skating very well but none the less I felt very flattered by the comment heehee

good to know she looked beautiful since she was sick. When I saw the close up after her FS, I just felt she didn't feel well after such exhausting performance. but I thought she was gorgeous in gala

Haruka has facebook and I added her for a period and left message on her wall from time to time. She is lovely girl with great personality~she replied all my msg including replying me about her injury or will she be okay for SA. Before and during SA, there are lots of ppl leaving her msg, and after SA she left a msg for all ppl. I thought she won't reply my msg but today I found her starting to reply each msg about pastel pink --> I noticed her in 2010 again from this https://youtu.be/3XAw-LyZeZ4 totally pink but still great on her I need to stop doing promotion for her since I was the person posting too much her pics then we have the thread for her...lol

this clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q62yi99EzXw you provided...just took Haruka did her donut to bielman spin and all guys dancing in the background ~good job

thank you for sharing all this and I am very happy even after a long day of work with overtime

ETA: Daisuke Murakami was also there for SA and he has facebook / twitter account. he is also very nice and replied all posts on his wall. since he is native speaker of English, everyone can feel free to leave msg to him. he was a little bit down after SA since he had a great SP and landed 4S but didn't perform well in FS. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=172844416136437 you can see him show you around the warm up area. Btw, his training partner is Mirai https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2129608673770&set=a.1459833249803.2055601.1052550020&type=3 and you can find lots of interesting pics in his albums.