Nebelhorn Afterglow

I've found some time to watch the performances. Some thoughts on the winners:



I love Spartacus but I'm not loving this music on Mirai...yet. I'm holding out that she is still working out the kinks and the program is going to blossom later in the season. Felt as though the climax of the program came too late after 3.5 minutes of tone foam. But the jumps (save that little blip on that double loop) looked pretty good. Mirai looks like she has finally grown into her body which is nice to see.



Surprise, surprise, surprise! I was having a hard time picturing Madison on the ice without Keiffer but smiled when I saw these two together. Such strides in such a short amount of time. I think this dance was sexy so some kudos to them for pulling it off. Making big gains in Ice Dance is next to impossible in the U.S. with powerhouse teams perched at the top but nice to see a new team and a fresh prespective.



This one could be a winner. Love Swan Lake and love this team. I think they look the part of Swan Lake. Tatiana is beautiful and pure, but definitely looks like she has a little bit of spunk and 'bad girl' in her. Maxim looks like a guy who given the choice, would choose the 'bad girl.' Sure up those throw landings and make sure to finish 'all' the lifts in the program and you have top quality skating here.



Yuzuru frustrates me a little. He is so talented. I want his coaches to scream at him across the ice and say, "SLOW DOWN!" When I watch him I feel like it's so frantic. I want him to figure out how to have impact without flailing and rushing. I love that he's chosen music from the Romeo and Juliet Soundtrack...I love even more the music from Romeo and Juliet he chose for the middle section of the program...but then he just flew through it at lightning speed. I wanted him to listen to the music and slow down and 'feel it.' For example, I loved the Ina Bauer he did...but I wanted it to last at least 5 more seconds. This is what I mean when I say 'reign it in.' stop...breathe...smell the roses...sometimes in skating it's okay to take your time. As an aside, loved the traveling cannon spin in his circular footwork.

Shoutout to Tatjana2541 on YouTube for posting all the Nebelhorn vids!

And Full Nebelhorn results can be seen here.

Nebelhorn Trophy Results

The Results are starting to trickle in. Click this link (this one...right here!) to see all the results.

2011 Nebelhorn

This competition always gets me excited! I feel like it gets the major skating season underway even though Skate America is yet a month away...I don't care, I say begin! Skaters hit the ice Thursday.

This years' Nebelhorn I feel is like a show and tell. Show me what you've got and tell me if your worth it...if you will. What be I keepin' me eye on?

The Men: The Japanese upstart Yuzuru Hanyu and last season's surprise winner Tatsuki Machida. Looking to see if Hanyu has learned to reign in his excitement and add refinement and if Machida can bring the goods again. Denis Ten is competing and I'm still waiting for him to put an entire competition together and shock everyone. Last season was really a disaster for him...he needs a rebound. Michal Brezina, can he find his way to the top? And Americans Carriere and Aaron are in the mix. Stephen has been beset by so much bad luck the last two season's...is he back on track? And Aaron puts his foot in the "big boy" water...can he swim?

The Pairs: Newbies galore! Russia's Volosozhar and Trankov were amazing at last years' Worlds...can they keep it going? Dube and Wolfe...how will Jessica do with Sebastien as opposed to Bryce? And can Americans Denney and Coughlin live up to the hype?

The Women: If all things are equal this should boil down to Ksenia vs Mirai (in Figure Skating, things are often not equal though!). I think Mirai needs to win this...and I think she needs a big win.

The Dancers: Somewhat less explosive field. I'm interested to see how Hubbell and Donohue gel.

Recent Winners

The Junior Grand Prix Final keeps ticking. Take a look at the winners over the past two weekends below:

Junior Grand Prix Australia:

Junior Grand Prix Poland

The Logo!

I've picked a winner for the logo competition! I would like to thank everyone that entered! I had 27 logo's come my way...that's awesome! My hope is to unveil the logo and announce the winner at the beginning of October to coincide with the near-start of the Senior Grand Prix when my blog will really get thumping again as I'll be attending Skate America. Until then...wait in suspense!

JGP Australia

Check the Results from JGP Australia:

Winning!

Here's a look at the winning Free's from JGP Latvia!

Full set of results can be seen here.

JGP Latvia Results

Results from Junior Grand Latvia are starting to trickle in...click the link below!