Skate Canada Rundown

Lots of exciting things going down this weekend in Mississauga.

I'm stoked to see Virtue and Moir healthy and competing this early in the season. I'm expecting nothing less than an epic showdown between them and Meryl and Charlie this season. Meryl and Charlie threw the first punch at Skate America...time for Tessa and Scott to swing back! I don't think there is anyone in the field that came close to being competitive with them. I do have a feeling the silver/bronze race will be close. On paper Cappellini and Lanotte look the best but a couple talented young Russian duos, a fresh new American team, or a dynamic Canadian partnership could steal the prize away.

Amongst the ladies, team USA has the opportunity to send a strong message. Save Alissa Czisny, I think this is the strongest possible field the U.S. could muster at an event (Nagasu, Flatt, and Wagner). I suspect both Russians, Leonova and Tuktamisheva, as well as Akiko Suzuki of Japan could prove worthy challenges. The ladies wildcard is Cynthia Phaneuf. She's either hot or cold.

The pairs event, I'm guessing, will be an easy walkaway for Volosozhar and Trankov. The World Silver Medalists may, however, find worthy competitors in the young Chinese team of Sui and Han. They have a dynamic spark on the ice and are known for going after (and occasionally hitting) big tricks. However, at least judging from Skate America, the judges are really rewarding basics this season and Volosozhar and Trankov will excel there. Takahashi and Tran of Japan, if they can hit technical content, could be a threat as well. Boo...no Americans in the field!

The men's field as Skate Canada is really good! World Champ Patrick Chan gets his season started. It was at this event last season that he smoked the competition and never looked back , going on to win the Grand Prix Final, Canadian Nationals, and of course Worlds. He'll meet tough competition this weekend with his World champ predecessor, Daisuke Takahashi, taking aim. It's the first heavy weight match of the season. Toss in Kevin Van Der Perren (who was surprisingly good at Skate America), Adam Rippon (who I think is on the precipice of being great), Denis Ten (who I think any moment will shock us), and Javier Fernandez (ultimate wildcard!) and I think you have the possibility of some amazing skates.

Skate America Cheers and Jeers

Cheers: To Meryl Davis and Charlie White dazzling with a "proper" waltz to win.

Jeers: To half the ice dance field tripping over themselves in the Short Dance.

Cheers: To U.S. Figure Skating selling a decent amount of tickets for Skate America.

Jeers: To U.S. Figure Skating holding Skate America in a venue so big it looked desolate inside.

Cheers: To Carolina Kostner for delighting with two great programs this season.

Jeers: To Ksenia Makarova for not delighting with two great programs.

Cheers: To team Europe who did very well at this event.

Jeers: To team USA that did "less well" at this event.

Cheers: To the judges for rewarding Savcehnko and Szolkowy's modern style.

Jeers: To the judges for not rewarding Denney and Coughlin after a solid skate.

Cheers: To Caroline Zhang for reminding us why we all love her in the short program.

Jeers: To the fact that Caroline didn't come thru in the free (but we still love her!)

Cheers: To Ricky Dornbush for suddenly becoming "cool."

Jeers: To John Coughlin's Mambo abilities.

Skate America Day Three

The final day of competition. I've gotten used to this weather here in Southern California....it'll be hard to go back to Illinois where the weather is...not as nice.

The Pairs in general I thought skated very well. Savchenko and Szolkowy made a great recovery to jump from 5th to the win. Their free skate is awesome and very different. Zhang and Zhang were not able to bring the expressiveness they had in the short and dropped to second after a lifeless program. Moore-Towers and Moscovitch had an amazing performance to take the bronze. Loved the Henry V music choice. Finishing 4th was Denney and Coughlin who had a gorgeous skate and I thought...wait for it...should have won! There was some Twitter back and forth about how their skating comes across on T.V. versus in person. In the arena they brought the house down...but somehow that didn't translate to broadcast. In any case, they were fantastic and I'm scratching my head about their placement. The rest of the pairs field was somewhat lack luster. Poor Mary Beth Marley learned a lesson in tough competitions today...she had real trouble keeping on her feet on the jump elements.

The ladies began with the battle of the pinks which Ksenia Makarova won despite the fact her program (and music choices) were a hot mess. In the final group Caroline Zhang and Haruka Imai had poor performances, Haruka managed to stay in fourth despite finishing 9th in the free...Caroline dropped to 6th. Viktoria Helgesson turned in a lovely skate set to Sunset Boulevard. The choreography was impressive and I think she outdid herself by snatching the bronze medal! The battle for the gold was desperately close between Kostner and Czisny. Carolina skated first and turned in a wonderful program. Again, she picked a piece of music that works with her style and she didn't seem like she was trying too hard. Czisny skated last and had several technical mistakes but also managed some good content as well (again she seems to be fighting better than she has in past seasons which is good). When the scores went up she had lost the free to Carolina but had enough left in the gas tank from the short to take the title.

Results here.

The exhibition performances were quite good. Highlights included a positively beaming Kevin Van Der Perren, a simplistically beautiful Savchenko and Szolkowy, an awkward mambo from Denney and Coughlin, and stunning beauty from Alissa Czisny.

The first Grand Prix event is out of the way...five more to go. The next time I blog from an event will be the Grand Prix Final in Quebec City, Canada.

Skate America Day Two - Part 2

I feel like the energy at Skate America bumped up a notch tonight!

First the pairs, where Denney and Coughlin were first up and they smoked it! The much ballyhooed team delivered with a gorgeous skate. They currently sit second. Stealing the night was Dan and Hao Zhang...making a comeback from a season off for injury. In a rare turn of events, they skated a beautiful artistic program, to snag the lead and hang onto it for the night. Placing 3rd, but actually tying Denney and Coughlin in points, was Bazarova and Larionov. Classic Russian skating, but quite boring this time, and they had a fall on side-by-side triple toes that didn't help (trying to figure out how they got the same points as Caydee and John?). The big story is Savchenko and Szolkowy placing 5th. Hard fall on a throw triple axel (I like that they are getting after it but given Zhang and Zhang's skate seemed overly risky) and from that point out they seemed out of sorts. Not great choreography either. The other big news...Rockne now has short hair and looks like he's 17. He and Mary Beth had a cute program and are currently in 6th.

The top U.S. ladies did well tonight. Alissa claimed the top spot after a gorgeous program to La Vie en Rose. She had the crowd in her palm as she gracefully skimmed the ice. Looks like, for now, that form from last season is holding together nicely. In 3rd place is Caroline Zhang who was positively beaming tonight. She was smiling and had big crowd support (all the SoCal skaters have). One little booboo on the double axel but an otherwise solid skate. Between the two of them is Carolina Kostner. I loved her music choice...didn't seem like she was fighting her skating style but rather complementing it. She still hasn't added back the big jumps but most of what she did she did well, and of course she has brilliant speed. Just in 4th, Haruka Imai made a lovely impression with a beautiful skate and looks to be a factor in the free skate. Ksenia Makarova totally tanked, literally when she smacked the ice on her combo attempt. Elene Gedevanishvili also had a rough skate.

Full results here.

Skate America Day Two - Part 1

The skating today seemed somewhat more inspired...but the fact that it's early and the season and the fact there was such a quick turnaround for the skaters meant there was still lots of kinks in the chain as of yet.

First, an observation...This arena is huge and given it's size compared to the number of tickets sold...it looks desolate. A note to U.S. Figure Skating...we are in SoCal for crying out loud! Half of the World trains here, you'd think you could have sold a few extra tickets? I suggest to U.S. Figure Skating doing one of three things:

1. Pick a more intimate venue...maybe 5000 seats max. That way it looks full and I think that little "trick of size control" could do wonders.

2. Up the PR. Again, in SoCal, there is no reason why double this amount of tickets couldn't have been sold. This event, ticket prices, list of competitors, etc. should have been in every newspaper on Saturday from July thru last week from San Diego to San Francisco...I suspect it wasn't.

3. Two weeks prior to the event and you have tons of empty seats...start giving them away to local schools, colleges, promotions for non-profits, radio giveaways, etc. If you can't sell the ticket, at least get U.S. Figure Skating some exposure.

Now the skating...

We were treated to the men first. First a huge bit of Douglas Razzano who was 'Steady Eddie' out there and have a supberb skate. For the longest time he was winning the free skate and beat out, among others, European Champ Florent Amodio. Speaking of Amodio, again way too much standing and dancing in place, and I think the judges picked up on it this time (and the fact he didn't jump well). The music is great but you can't stand in place and shake your hips...that's another sport. He finished way down in 9th. Looking at the winners...the young Czech Michal Brezina took the title with a fun skate to The Untouchables. The first half was better than the second half but he had such a lead coming in he had enough buffer to win his first Senior Grand Prix. The silver, and free skate winner, went to Kevin Van Der Perren. It's been sometime since Kevin has looked this good. Jumped fairly well and did enough to be relevant again. Takahiko Kozuka pulled in for the bronze after a forced skate. The music is great but he had to work for just about all his jumps. Richard Dornbush took a note from Ryan Bradley's play book and played to the crowd with a fun western medley. He went for a quad and almost had it but it was under-rotated. He finished 4th. Ten and Murakami had some troubles too and finished 5th and 6th.

In Ice Dance, the first thing I want to talk about is Ralph and Hill's scores pictured below:



I can't figure out how they were scored so low so someone who get's these will need to explain them to me. I thought they were at the least, third best on the night and pretty well matched with the French Team...guess not. Crowd and Twitter weren't happy about their low placement. Tobias and Stagniunas from Lithuania pulled out the bronze with a Jive inspired free dance that had the crowd clapping. Pechalat and Bourzat looked much better in the free. This middle eastern medley has some fun choreographic moments but seems somewhat basic at times. However it is fun to watch. What isn't fun is watching Fabian nearly pass out from exhaustion after the dance. Actually, lots of skaters are looking downright 'gassed' at the end of their skates. Not looking gassed at all was Meryl and Charlie who delighted the crowd to a good proper waltz and skated away easily with the gold by nearly 22 points.

Scores are here.

I'll be back with more after the ladies and pairs shorts.

Skate America Day One

What happened out there on the ice? This is not what I was expecting as I departed Illinois this morning at o'light 30! As I got sneezed on by the little girl at Denver International Airport! As I braved the ridiculous L.A. traffic at...2:30pm (It wasn't even rush hour and it was out of control). All in all, not a spectacular night of skating.

First up was the men. My thought was all these guys should be saying, "Who needs Evan Lysacek?!?!" And my hope is they would all step up to the plate despite his absence. But it turns out that maybe we do need Evan (US Figure Skating, please work out whatever little financial squabble is happening between you and Evan). It was rather uneventful. Richard Dornbush did provide a little pizazz to the competition in the first half. However, he found himself behind Daisuke Murakami who quad salchow'd his way to an early lead. The second group didn't improve much. Kevin Van Der Perren jumped his way into the top four just behind Murakami, Kozuka ended the night in second after a free skate marred with a nasty miss on the quad. The winner of the night was Michal Brezina who Kodo Drumed his way to the short program win (I thought he did quite well actually). Florent Amodio completely missed his combo and sits in 8th place. Denis Ten and Armin Mahbanoozadeh turned in so so skates to place 6th and 7th. Razzano is 9th and Contesti is bringing up the rear with a terrible short. And if you watched and are scratching your head about Dornbush's placement...so are we.

Next was the Short Dance and it has been a while since I've seen that many falls take place. Skater were falling on twizzles and steps all over the place. Several of those falls came in Pechalat and Bourzat's performance. They were a mess! Despite the mistakes they still find themselves in 2nd. Germans Zhiganshina and Gazsi (???) are third. Davis and White won the short dance, easily, by just over 10 points...but even they looked a little rough around the edges. The rest of the ice dance field was simply bland and if the team stayed on their feet they likely did better than a team that didn't.

Fingers crossed the skating tomorrow goes up a notch.

Some goodies...you can see the program for Skate America by following this link right here.

You can see full results from the competition here.

This Blogs About to Blow!

I have been a sleeping giant since Worlds with relatively few posts.

I will share with all of you that this past year I've moved into a new position with my company which requires tons of my time. I'm on the computer as much as ever, but usually in charts, figures, and reports.

But...

Skate America begins tomorrow, and I'm making the trip out to California for the event. I can stay quiet no longer...I MUST BLOG! So, as the Senior Grand Prix gets underway, look for more posts from me (as well as a bigger Facebook/Twitter presence) as we move forward.

So about this Skate America competition...

Pairs

This is quite a mixed bag of goodies. The clear and easy favorites are World Champs Savchenko and Szolkowy. I'm excited to see their Free Skate to Pina which is a German Dance flick. Last season I was impressed with their technical skills but less impressed with the choreography to Pink Panther. However, even more interesting is the return of Zhang and Zhang. Hao of course had to miss the entire season with a hand injury and it will be interesting to see how they look. They ended the 2010 season not on the best note. Moore-Towers and Moscovitch made a splash on the Grand Prix last season with solid skates, can they back it up this season? USA Pairs skating has been in a state of flux recently. All three U.S. teams are making Grand Prix debuts; Baldwin and Vise, Denney and Coughlin, and Marley and Brubaker. I'm praying an American team can make it to the podium. Hausch and Wende of Germany could be the darkhorses in this event.

Ladies

Interesting group...lots of the wildcard types competing. We may get great skates...or iffy ones. I guess I like Alissa the best of them all. I'm hoping her improved form from last season has stuck with her. If it has, she's formidabble. Ksenia Makarova and Carolina Kostner represent solid threats from Europe. Carolina is usually amongst the top skaters often winning by pulling points from places other than jumps (no...not bitter at all). I'm not certain how to handicap Caroline Zhang...wait and see?

Dance

Davis and White and Pechalat and Bourzat should clear the field by leaps and bounds. My guess is that Meryl and Charlie have an easy road to victory but if anyone would give them problems it would be the French. The bronze is a bit up for grabs though...

Men

Really solid group even without Lysacek. If I had to guess on who would take this I'd put the good money on Kozuka but anything is possible. Amodio, if he has his brain together, could be a real threat. Ditto for Denis Ten. Double ditto for Brezina. Will be interesting to see how the U.S. men fare. Armin is the only one with Senior GP experience (including a bronze at this event last season). Dornbush did make a solid senior debut last season and he is known for consistency so it stands to reason he'll do okay. Douglas Razzano has nothing to lose. He turned some heads with his strong finish at Nationals last season...he really has to get after this like it's his last chance to prove anything. Finally KVDP, he keeps at it...I guess if he loves what he is doing. I just hope he comes in competition mode.

I'm landing in L.A. tomorrow afternoon and will make my way to Ontario in time for the start of all of the fun. Look for Twitter and Facebook updates all weekend long!

New Logo!

You might have noticed a new logo that has surfaced on the site this weekend! Over the summer I had 27 logo submissions come in for my design a logo competition...amazing!

The winner, as it happens, Laure Antonetti is the winner. Laure designed the awesome logo pictured here:



Laure will be receiving a $30.00 Amazon.com Certificate and a t-shirt featuring the Logo!

The logo will be popping up everywhere Axels, Loops, and Spins is...Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, etc.

Drop a line and tell me what you think of the logo!

Junior Grand Prix Catch-Up

Winning performances over the last few weekends on the Junior Grand Prix:

Junior Grand Prix Romania:







Junior Grand Prix Austria:









Junior Grand Prix Italy: