Trophee Eric Bompard 2013

shar wrote:

That's because since 2009, Yuna's been pushed to the forefront as the next great Michele Kwan. With her training in Canada, speaking english, being promoted to death by Scott (upYuna'sbackside) Hamilton adinfinitum. Just so ppl can think that Yuna's success was due in part to our support. They also did it with Mao back in 2006, before her struggles kept her from winning.

Oops, so our Mao missed the chance to be America's darling or the next Sasah Cohen?  But Yuna has never even trained in America, if I remember correctly?  

pearlyriver wrote:

shar wrote:

That's because since 2009, Yuna's been pushed to the forefront as the next great Michele Kwan. With her training in Canada, speaking english, being promoted to death by Scott (upYuna'sbackside) Hamilton adinfinitum. Just so ppl can think that Yuna's success was due in part to our support. They also did it with Mao back in 2006, before her struggles kept her from winning.

Oops, so our Mao missed the chance to be America's darling or the next Sasah Cohen?  But Yuna has never even trained in America, if I remember correctly?  

She trained in California with Peter Oppegard for a while. In my opinion, not a good match.

pearlyriver wrote:

shar wrote:

That's because since 2009, Yuna's been pushed to the forefront as the next great Michele Kwan. With her training in Canada, speaking english, being promoted to death by Scott (upYuna'sbackside) Hamilton adinfinitum. Just so ppl can think that Yuna's success was due in part to our support. They also did it with Mao back in 2006, before her struggles kept her from winning.

Oops, so our Mao missed the chance to be America's darling or the next Sasah Cohen?  But Yuna has never even trained in America, if I remember correctly?  

It doesn't matter.  Look at how hard Scott H. promoted her leading up to the Olympics in 2009-10. That was enough for FS fans in the US to jump on the Yuna bandwagon, all because of Hamilton's promotions. He's looked upon a Figure skating legend here. So if he endorses someone,  the media will run with it,  and the people will eat it up.

chapis wrote:

pearlyriver wrote:

Does anyone find Ashley's upper body movement so stiff and repetitive?  She's going the Yuna route, isn't she?

 yes, it is the main problem for me about her, and those abrupt poses she do all the time  , the most at the begining of her program. And this program R+J is bad, boring, her dress  is so random, she can do better

I agree that she can do better and that the program itself is just okay, but according to the article on TEB posted on Ice Network, the program was thrilling and spectacular   Oh well, at least it was better than the article posted after last year's TEB, which called Ashley the best skater in the world

Some german paper wrote a praise of Patrick Chan, it sounded like he is a god! I was almost vomitting  
They even wrote "he skated a perfect freeskate"
Really? There was not a stumble out of jumps and some shaky landings? Im afraid i watched a different competition than they did  

Haidogirl wrote:

Some german paper wrote a praise of Patrick Chan, it sounded like he is a god! I was almost vomitting  
They even wrote "he skated a perfect freeskate"
Really? There was not a stumble out of jumps and some shaky landings? Im afraid i watched a different competition than they did  

I never bother to read general newspapers about sports. Unless they are expert on a sport, they're much less knowledgeable than many sport fans, including figure skating and you can learn so much more by visiting relevant forums.

pearlyriver wrote:

Haidogirl wrote:

Some german paper wrote a praise of Patrick Chan, it sounded like he is a god! I was almost vomitting  
They even wrote "he skated a perfect freeskate"
Really? There was not a stumble out of jumps and some shaky landings? Im afraid i watched a different competition than they did  

I never bother to read general newspapers about sports. Unless they are expert on a sport, they're much less knowledgeable than many sport fans, including figure skating and you can learn so much more by visiting relevant forums.

Exactly! But in Germany you wont find competent skating reporters here unless they are real fans, like one of my FB friends. He is a sportsreporter and a huge skating fan!
Though you barely see skating reports in newspapers here, i was happy they wrote about the TEB and then this..  

Hi! I'm new to the forum. I've attended TEB this weekend (my first live competition  ) and I wanted to share my live thoughts with you. I'm going to focus on how I felt about some particular performances when watching the competition in the arena, not talking much about the technical aspects or other issues. I basically want to talk about the individuals, though I'll say something about pairs and ice dance too. I'll start with the paris and men short programs:

Pairs short programs

It's my least favorite event to be honest, but as it was the first that I saw live I was quite excited. I'll only comment on the top 4 if you don't mind:
- Bazarova/Larionov: Not very impressed by this pair to be honest. They are good but not super fast and not much flow in my opinion. He looks very big compared to her...not ver impressed by the programs either. She fell on the first 3T. Sorry if I sound a little harsh  
- Denney/Coughlin: I was quite surprised because on TV they had never impressed me much. They were really good and I really enjoyed the program. The throw could have had more distance and flow but they were nice overall.
- Duhamel/Radford: Good flow and speed, but he seems so much better than her. Meagan is not very elegant and some of her landings are a little rough. She fell on the first 3 Lz and I think it was UR...she doesn't seem very comfortable with that jump. Anyway, it was a pleasant skate overall though I don't really like the big big height difference...just an opinion.
- Pang/Tong: Apart from the fall, they were beautiful to watch, so light and fast. The throw and the twist were to die for in terms of height and ice coverage and the program is really special. Such a shame that he fell, though everyone fell on the same corner...it was not a very good competition overall. Anyway, they were rightfully placed first, they were the best for me.

Men short program

I was really excited with this event, so many good skaters here. I'll comment on just some of them although most of the performances were really nice:
- Nan Song: He was OK, but he needs more speed overall and more distance and flow in his jumps. I was not really impressed by his performance, a dull program, but he is obviously a good skater.
- Jason Brown: The first WOW of the afternoon for sure. No quad but really well executed elements with difficult and original entries to his jumps and a tano lutz. He sold that program really well and the crowd connected with him from the first moment. Not super fast, but decent speed. I have to say that I'm not a fan of his style, he's really elegant but too much posing for my taste...just my opinion though. Good score for him!
- Alexander Majorov: Nothing really special. He is good but the program was dull and he made some mistakes.
- Han Yan: The other WOW of the event for me. He needs to work on his interpretation but boy he was fast. Amazing skating skills and enormous triple axel, quite impressive quad. Problems on the triple-triple but he was incredible overall. He lost to Jason in transitions and interpretation I guess, but his skating skills should have been quite above Brown. I would have placed him first.
- Florent Amodio (and crazy girls shouting everywhere  ): Not a fan of him. He is fast and jumps quite well (his axel is strange in my view, though) but then he stops in the step sequence and the footworks looks rough, unclassy and slow overall (not much flow). Does he want to look like Dai? Then he certainly has a lot of work to do  
- Michal Brezina: I like his skating, but thought that the music was too fast at the end of the program and he couldn't do it justice. I was a little disappointed with him to be honest.
- Patrick Chan: Well...I can only say WOW, just WOW. Absolutely amazing. Never been a huge fan of him but he was spectacular. I think I'm a fan now. Speed, flow, height in his jumps, amazing transitions. That was the closest to perfection that I have ever seen him skate. I know he is not very loved here but, believe me, that was mesmerizing. He might not be the most charismatic skater, but we can't blame him for that...every skater has his own style. That was a really good interpretation of the Rach Elegie...not an easy choice of music I think.
- Yuzuru Hanyu: Another big big WOW, again LOL. Skating skills and transitions are not at Patrick's level, but he really sold that program well. Incredible jumps and good speed, he could work a little bit on his lines but he really has charisma, at least in this program. The crowd went wild at the end of his performance and the rink was full of Winnie de Pooh bears  . He was placed second, and I think it was a fair scoring. He got higher TES than Patrick, but I agree that their PCs are not the same yet. Yuzu's program connects faster with the audience, but I understand that judges have to do their job and not be influenced but the type of program and music. Only 4 points below Patrick is nothing to be ashamed of...it's and incredible score!

Well, that's all for now. I'll be back with the other two short programs and probably the finals. But I'm afraid you'll have to wait until tomorrow as I don't have much time now.

See you soon!

Iceriver wrote:

Hi! I'm new to the forum. I've attended TEB this weekend (my first live competition  ) and I wanted to share my live thoughts with you. I'm going to focus on how I felt about some particular performances when watching the competition in the arena, not talking much about the technical aspects or other issues. I basically want to talk about the individuals, though I'll say something about pairs and ice dance too. I'll start with the paris and men short programs:

See you soon!

 Welcome to the forum Iceriver! Thanks for sharing with us.  

Iceriver wrote:

That was a really good interpretation of the Rach Elegie...

Please let Rach rest in piece. It's Russian music. It carries way more in its meaning than some inanimate skating.  

Iceriver, thanx so much for your TEB report!

The reason Patrick isn't liked at a lot of places, is mostly due to his arrogance and unfair scoring, though the scoring part really isn't his fault, however his coments about it...well that's a different story.

let`s talk wrote:

Iceriver wrote:

That was a really good interpretation of the Rach Elegie...

Please let Rach rest in piece. It's Russian music. It carries way more in its meaning than some inanimate skating.  

THIS!   I find Patrick's artistry as fake as I do Ashley's, however his SS are really to die for.

I absolutely love Rachmaninov. I was watching Mao's "The Bells" program during the weekend, and was thinking that had she switched her Oly's LP, it would've been awesome. Rach 2 would've been better in Vancouver than the Bells, IMO. And I can't help but think, what she could've done with the Bells now, with a bit of maturity and after all the hardship she went through. I'm in love with Rach 2 program, don't get me wrong, but a part of me would love to see Mao's Bells' version at the age of 23.

Yes I understand why Patrick is not loved by a lot of fans. I got really angry when he won over Dai in Nice 2012. However, I'm starting to like him more this season, maybe because he's not skating on his butt. As for Rach, I didn't want to offend anyone...just pointing out that I found that Patrick's performance really suited the music. I didn't mean to insult Rachmaninoff or anything. And I'm not a crazy Chan fan if I gave you that impression...it's just that I've seen figure skating live for the first time and was excited to express what I felt. Thank you for your answers! I'll write something abou the dance and the ladies later :-)

I have definitely not been a fan of Patrick in the past, simply because he acted like a spoiled child in his interviews, the person affects how I perceive the skating.

But, his skating won me over this season, and a lot has to do with his jumps being there. I'm still not impressed by his arrogance, but at least now he has something to back himself up.
I like his SP more than his LP. The SP is a really nice smooth seamless line of his jumps, step-sequence, and spins. The artistry is there more than it is in the LP, and probably part of it is due to the difference in Jeff Buttle and David Wilson's choreography.
Jeffrey is more attentive to the details and interpreting the music.
I am annoyed by certain movements in the LP, some are so cheesy- like those hops in the Summer movements during the step sequence. I don't really like David's choreography, Four seasons could be done better. I'm also sad the Winter movement wasn't included.
The journalists have a tendency to over-hype someone unfortunately, but that's how they get readers...no one wants to read about the average. It seems like Patrick Chan will be undefeated if he is able to maintain this technical ability. Although, seeing Yuzuru right before Patrick made me realize that Yuzu's jumps are higher. Patrick has the polish in skating that Yuzu doesn't have yet, so unfortunately, there's a big diff in the PCS.

P.S. I've always wondered about PChan's jumps. How is he even training them...His coach knows nothing about figure skating, so what does he do, keep on jumping and then she claps? Unless he also has a technical team behind him...

Welcome Iceriver, hope you post often!

Welcome to the forum Iceriver-and I agree with you about Chan.  

Yep, I just did it! 
My second Grand Prix event within 7 day, after never having seen one in person before.
And there go my plans for a nice exotic holiday in the summer! 

This time I only got to see the Ice Dance and the Ladies Free.

Ice Dance – I officially LOVE Zhiganshina and Gaszi!!! This is the moment when you just click with a particular skater and you are going to love them forever no matter what!
Even as an Ice Dance ignorant, I can see that they don’t quite have the skills the top teams have and there deservedly is a considerable gap, but still, I just wanna take them home! 
Their comedic talent is incredible. Someone should give them a role in a movie or something.
They were amazing as zombies last year and they are totally adorable now.
I still prefer their last year’s program though.

Of the top 3, I enjoyed P/B Free Dance the most followed closely by I/K.
With V/M, I don’t know. They were great, and as I was focusing on their program, everything was lovely, but overall it doesn’t create a very strong impression and feels rather forgettable as a result.
My friend, who doesn't follow figure skating at all, but decided to go with me in the end, even thought V/M definitely didn’t deserve the first place.
I could appreciate their skills more, but still got the impression something was missing there.

Ladies – I absolutely didn’t get the scores between Helgesson and Lacoste. Helgesson messed up so badly I thought her score would be around 95ish at max. I was shocked when she scored over 100 with that! Lacoste’s skate in comparison was an entirely different league.
She actually landed some pretty jumps and her program was one of the best of the night. I thought that was at least 10 points above Helgesson.
Never thought I would be crying wuzrobbed for Lacoste whom I don’t even care for in the first place.
Meite - has big jumps but there is not even a glimpse of artistry in her. She has awful arms and unfortunately doesn’t even have the temperament or showmanship to pull off some fun and upbeat music. Lyrical pieces are totally out of question, of course.
Cesario – had a very good skate but somehow I felt she is being placed right where she belongs and not being underscored as I often hear, especially from the American fans.
I think she lacks charisma and definitely doesn’t have the personality or power for Carmen!
Leonova, as much as I don’t like her, could do this role justice, Cesarion not at all, IMHO.
Gao – despite her meltdown was actually very pleasant to watch. Good speed and movement over the ice, very elegant and a nice program.
Unfortunatelly, it looks like she will never be able to rely on her jumps. The technique is so unstable that it seems it is more about luck whether she lands them or not.
Sotnikova – Happy for her to finally land the 2 flips along with all the other triples! Very strong skate.
Her jumps are big with very smooth landings and her 2A-3T is a piece of art. 
BUT some criticism nontheless:
1. She should do something about her costume, so that it doesn’t look like she has forgotten her underwear at home.
I was really scared everytime she was about to jump, not so much because I thought she would fail, but rather of what I was going to see! 
2. Those tights!!! I hate that so much. How can anyone in their right mind step on the competitive ice wearing the tigts like that? An automatic -10 deduction from me. 
3. I didn’t find her as elegant as I thought I would have. She is definitely not such a ballerina and her posture needs work.
4. The program is just bad. The choreography seemed pretty random and at places made her seem as if she was confused what to do next.
It’s a shame because she definitely is a performer who deserves much better.
Pogorilaya – I surprisingly enjoyed her a lot! Her skating is definitely rough and does not compare favorably with the other ladies but she has quite good presence on the ice.
The music is very heavy and dramatic but not only she didn’t drown in it but was actually able to make it work for her.
I found the program quite original and interesting. Good job there.
Just one more observation, how is it that these young Russian ladies who can land 3-3s like nothing, don’t have a decent 2A?
Like Lipnitskaya and Radionova, her 2A is very weak and even the other jumps while difficult are not particularly impressive.
Wagner – I expected more from her. It was not a bad skate for her by any means with only two rather minor mistakes, but I found her performance lacking and that program doesn‘t help her at all.
Unlike Pogorilaya, I thought she was overpowered by the music or simply wasn’t able to express it well. I found her skating to be disconneted from the music.
This is strange, since I usually like her interpretation. Loved her Black Swan, even as Dalilla I thought she did a pretty good job, and her Pink Floyd SP seemed quite impressive on TV. This LP is nothing.
Her jumps I thought were just average and the two-foot was very obvious. I was sitting on the very opposite side of the rink and yet it was clear as day.
Any comments from Phil that she didn’t deserve to get the full base value? 
I must say she looks lovely on the ice though. I found her rather elegant, more so than Sotnikova actually, when it comes to posture. I love her leg-line and she can hit some really nice positions.

Btw, welcome Iceriver and thanks for the great report!
Looking forward to reading the rest and compare your observations with mine.

Hello kawaiimao! I also attended this two finals and I couldn't agree with you more .

I enjoyed P/B a lot but I was more impressed by I/K in terms of speed and flow. However, I think that the french team should have been above the russians in the free dance...they were just artistically superior in my opinion. Virtue and Moir were lovely but their program is not good. No impact whatsoever. However, they look really smooth and elegant on the ice. Amazing lines and skating skills.

I also thought that Cesario was not as good live as some people claim watching her on TV. A lot of posing that really doesn't connect with the audience in the arena and nothing really special. Adelina was lovely but I agree with you, I expected more elegance and faster footwork. Her jumps and spins are great, though. I was very impressed by Pogorilaya, I think she is better live because she is fast and her 3-3 is quite big but her arm movement is a little rough yet. Anyway, I think she was the lady that impressed me the most. Ashley was much more elegant than I expected, but her best quality is her consistency. She is nothing exceptional when compared to the "greats" (Mao, Yuna, Caro, or even Suzuki) but it's rare to see her making multiple mistakes. She was beautiful to watch live, though. As for her SP, I was also in the arena and I enjoyed her LP more  ... I found her less graceful in that SP, a lot of posing and she seemed "heavy"...not bad but she gave me a better impression overall in the LP.

I was going to post a review of these two finals but yours was incredible. I cannot add anything more. I'll write something about the men finals, though  

kawaiimao wrote:

Ice Dance – I officially LOVE Zhiganshina and Gaszi!!! This is the moment when you just click with a particular skater and you are going to love them forever no matter what!
Even as an Ice Dance ignorant, I can see that they don’t quite have the skills the top teams have and there deservedly is a considerable gap, but still, I just wanna take them home! 
Their comedic talent is incredible. Someone should give them a role in a movie or something.
They were amazing as zombies last year and they are totally adorable now.
I still prefer their last year’s program though.

I completely agree, Z/G are fantastic. I'm soooo in love with their EX.  And their TES in the FD was higher than that of V/M.   I don't know WTH is going on with V/M, but they need a change ASAP. The way things are going righ now, D/W will mop the floor with these two. Not that I mind this, since I want D/W to win in Sochi.   

kawaiimao wrote:

BUT some criticism nontheless:
1. She should do something about her costume, so that it doesn’t look like she has forgotten her underwear at home.
I was really scared everytime she was about to jump, not so much because I thought she would fail, but rather of what I was going to see! 
2. Those tights!!! I hate that so much. How can anyone in their right mind step on the competitive ice wearing the tigts like that? An automatic -10 deduction from me. 
3. I didn’t find her as elegant as I thought I would have. She is definitely not such a ballerina and her posture needs work.
4. The program is just bad. The choreography seemed pretty random and at places made her seem as if she was confused what to do next.
It’s a shame because she definitely is a performer who deserves much better.

I couldn't agree more with you on tights! I don't what's going on in the Russian camp, but Radionova is having the same style at competition and it's pissing me off. Either tuck your tights in your boots, or put them over the boots, not like this, the half way, like you're in the freaking training.

I don't get her costume either. I was shocked last year, when I saw her Burlesque dress, and this year she repeated the same style. I don't know whether she has some issues where she must wear this type of costumes, where she appears sexy/naked or whatever, but it is making me feel uncomfortable. At the end of the day though, she's the one who has to compete in it, so... And to make things more confusing, she shows up at EX wearing a nice costume, with tights over her boots. And she looked great. So why look amazing at EX, and like crap at a competition? I really don't get it.

I don't understand the choice for her LP either. I mean it's the Olympc season, you want to be at your absolute best; technicque and program wise, and your choreographer gives you this?!   If she were to skate to a lyrical or dramatic piece, she would've been given a monster PCS score, this way it's just average. If I'm not mistaken Averbukh had done the choreo, he also choreographed for Julia, and IMO, her LP is light years better than Adelina's. If Adelina had been skating to Schindler at TEB, IMO,  her PCS would've been higher.

This probably sounds like I don't like her. It's the oposite actually, she's my third favourite Russian (behind Radionova and Liza) and I want her to do well, so when she shows up with blah LP, and weird costume with hideous tights style, it really makes me angry.

Well I'm here again  . Kawaiimao has already written a report about the finals so I'll only talk about the short programs.

Short dance

Nice event overall, although ice dance is not as impressive live as the other categories, at least to me. I was really looking forward to seeing V/M live. Just some thoughts:
- Z/G: I enjoyed them much more than expected. I appreciate their comedic talent but I think that both the short and the free dance were too similar in character. They were light and fast, though, and much better live than on TV for me.
- I/K: I loved their SD. Someone (sorry, I don't remember who) posted that they were faster than D/W at NHK....well I've never seen the Americans live but these two were really exceptional: good edges, speed, lightness, good flow and super fast twizzles. The program could have better coreography and more variety...I wonder how much better they could be if they left Morozov  . Great score for them!!!
- P/B: Didn't like them here. They're great but I found them really slow, much more than all the other top teams. Shouldn't have beaten I/K in my opinion, although I think they should have been scored higher in the FD. I guess I wouldn't be a good ice dance judge  
- V/M: For me, they were the best in the SD without any doubt. Such a classy program and amazing finnstep, they made it look easy. Not as fast as I/K but they are definitely not slow and their coreography is much more detailed and intricate. Such a shame that their FD is not up to par.

Ladies short program  

Honestly, I bought tickets because of Yuna  ...I wanted to see one of the top three ladies live at least once and this seemed to be my last chance. So sad  . Anyway, it was still an enjoyable evening. Some comments (just the top four and some other thoughts about the rest):
- Cesario: She is good but, as Kawaiimao said, not impressive live. I don't know what it is, maybe not enough projection, lack of speed...
- Sotnikova: Not her best skate. The 3Lz-3Loop was clearly <<. She did it in front of me and after the first jump I was thinking that she wouldn't go for the second triple. Strange mistake on the axel, though. Nice flow but less elegant than I expected.
- Pogorilaya: I was impressed by her. Good speed, nice 3-3 and she really sold the program. As Kawaiimao said in the LP report, she looked rough but she definitely has the Wow factor. Oh my...that axel, again...
- Wagner: Liked her SP more on TV. I expected more "freedom" in her movements but she looked rather heavy and not very fast. I always get the feeling that she's not going for a 3-3, not much flow between both jumps but she's able to add the second toe out of nowhere (it was < though). She's not among the very best in my opinion, but she's consistent and knows how to take advantage of her qualities. At least she attacks her programs and you get the feeling that she is giving it all.

About some of the rest: Helgesson was super fast, but not many transitions and very inconsistent. Meite has impressive jumps but not much more. Very slow step sequence. Gao was nice to watch, fluid and light but she is also inconsistent.

That's all for now!

l-spiralmao wrote:

Welcome to the forum Iceriver-and I agree with you about Chan.  

Thank you very much l-spiralmao!! Btw, I love your Avatar

Iceriver, thanks for sharing your report. I think I may like Patrick Chan more now. All people who's seen him live said the same thing as you: absolutely amazing and as close to perfect as he can get. Interesting that both you and KawaiiMao found Adelina to be less graceful in person, and that Anna is more impressive live.
It's so hard to watch Christina's LP  .It's just a matter of luck whether she hit the jumps. I wonder if the move to Mark Mitchell is doing her any good.

Iceriver wrote:

Yes I understand why Patrick is not loved by a lot of fans. I got really angry when he won over Dai in Nice 2012. However, I'm starting to like him more this season, maybe because he's not skating on his butt. As for Rach, I didn't want to offend anyone...just pointing out that I found that Patrick's performance really suited the music. I didn't mean to insult Rachmaninoff or anything. And I'm not a crazy Chan fan if I gave you that impression...it's just that I've seen figure skating live for the first time and was excited to express what I felt. Thank you for your answers! I'll write something abou the dance and the ladies later :-)

All right. Let's assume you are a new baby fan   who saw a fs event live for the very first time and fell in it . Good! Can't say the same about myself though. I have been watching FS live since I was a kindergartener because I was lucky to be born in fs city. And it were not some local competitions but ISU events with Plu (and others), who is basically like a family member to me, for so long time I have been following him. It's a rare gift to grasp the audience, which very few of current skaters have (Dai, Plu, Yuzu sometimes, etc.). I had a pleasure to observe Chan as well, including his first, and till TEB-2013, the only clean skate in both progs at Worlds-2011. The audience (Russian) didn't rise. Because they were not moved. Clapping politely and sitting, without ovation is not how champions are normally greated there or elsewhere. I saw him enough in FS shows in Japan as well  . Last season he wasn't invited in any of them.

That would be funny to read the comments like "being moved by Chan because he didn't zamboni the ice with his butt" as sarcastic ones if people were not indeed serious. And that is where the sad part comes- three times WC had only two clean skate in both progs in life and people are happy that the WC didn't fall   ! Try to say it to the fan of another sport, they will laugh you off and they will be right .  

Chan didn't zamboni the ice at SC due to the same reason why he didn't zamboni it at CoR last year- he got rid of troubled jumps and switched them into double, singles (like 1A) or doing girlish 3T-3T stuff. If he challenged what he was supposed to challenge, he would end up 3 times on his butt as well. For the clean skate at TEB, where he presented his maximum, his BV is far to be the highest. Both Yuzu and Javi can beat it easily. Dai with his not best skate at GPF-2012 had higher BV too than PC with his best skate at TEB. And that is where CoP becomes necessity: GOE will do all the trick and PCS will seal the deal. Am I right that PC's 18 points GOE at TEB is some kind of records beating even Yuna's of 17 points? Actually there's a lot fo similarities between Chan and Yuna careers. And no way anyone would ever convince me that choreo of Miyamoto's Sonatina is worse, not saying about Dai's interpretation. Yet they are scored lower. That's not fair but that is how it works. Unfortunately.

The most stupid part is that even if PC wins Oly with clean skate like at TEB, it will change nothing in fs popularity in NA and World in general. The system has no trust. That's why I am rooting for a different guy in Sochi.  

Btw, if you want to see Chan's butt on the ice, you can go to Gala videos. There he zamboni-ed after 3T (lol), did 1A instead 2A, almost sat on his butt in sitspin. The journalist of Rsport Simonenko twittered that Chan had a hangover after drinking too much wine in restaurant. Wheather, it's true or not, feel free to ask the journalist yourself  :
https://twitter.com/cyclone_74/status/402101180295577600 I personally not sure because it would make that PC skated sober only twice in his life. No way.

let`s talk wrote:

And no way anyone would ever convince me that choreo of Miyamoto's Sonatina is worse, not saying about Dai's interpretation. Yet they are scored lower. That's not fair but that is how it works.

I completely agree with you here. Scoring Patrick's skating skills and transitions higher than anybody else is fair for me, but choreography and interpretation shouldn't be above Dai. In my opinion, though not as moving as Dai's, Patrick's interpretation is good but definitely not better than all other skaters. As it has been said many times, judges don't really pay attention to choreography and interpretation...they just look for skating skills and good transitions and then mark all the other categories. Such a shame...

Thanks again for the rest of the amazing report, Iceriver! 
Good to know we saw things more or less the same.
It's always nice to get some reassurance that one is not just imagining things.

Interesting that you found Ashley's LP better than her SP.
I couldn't compare them life and on TV the SP definitely seemed more promising, but after you description, I can imagine where the problem might be.

BTW, I also wanted to see Yuna there to have the comparison, but the competition was definitely worth seeing even without her.

Not thinking about going to Zagreb?

kawaiimao wrote:

Interesting that you found Ashley's LP better than her SP.
I couldn't compare them life and on TV the SP definitely seemed more promising, but after you description, I can imagine where the problem might be.

Yes, I was also expecting a much better SP than LP. In my opinion the problem is that she has chosen to skate to a more "fierce" SP and, although she is able to portray the character quite well using facial expressions and some movements, the program lacked something else, as if she was not able to project that image in the  arena with her skating. However, in the LP she was softer and much more elegant...she projected more and her arm movement was better.

I'm not going to Zagreb. I've already travelled a lot this year and I can't afford another trip. I chose to go to TEB because it's in Paris (I live in Barcelona so it's quite near and cheap) and it's a big city with lots of things to do, so I didn't have the feeling of spending too much money in just one competition. But I had never attended a FS competition before and this is Olympic season, so I guess I had no choice...I had to go!

Btw, I guess this is not the best thread to ask this but I'm curious to know how Mao, Yuna and Caro look live. Have any of you seen them live? I suppose so...and I'm sure that Let`s talk has