The Nitpick

At NHK Trophy there was way too many skaters "going against the grain." That is, trying to be skaters that they are not.

I have a pretty strong opinion about this. Skaters need to find a lane and stay in it. Perfect it. Optimize it. Win! I'll use my favorite skater of all time to demonstrate this point; Michelle Kwan.

For over a decade she was hammering out amazing programs...she stayed "in her lane." Then in 2004-2005 she did that Bolero program and for the first time I was like "Oh girl, that is not a great program." She tried to be a skater she wasn't...it didn't work.

At NHK there was an overwhelming amount of these types of programs happening. Here are some of the culprits:









Oh boy...ummm. The skaters that win a lot, even when they try new things, they do it in a way that doesn't take away from who they are as skaters. It's like changing the color of your car...but still keeping the same car. Skaters have to know what their strengths are as skaters and play to them. The above programs do the exact opposite. Armin is a flowing classical skater, Cynthia and Agnes are strength skaters, and the Reed's do best when they aren't attempting character pieces.

In short, what I'm saying is...If you're going to push yourself as an artistic and try something new...make sure it works.

Side note not associated with the above post, but I feel as if the judges righted a wrong by giving Shibby the win at NHK...however I feel like it was at the expense of Weaver and Poje...just saying.

Ladies Ready to Make Their Mark

A large group of women are making Senior Grand Prix debuts this fall. While many of the names will likely be lost in the mix, five from the U.S. and Japan have an opportunity to possibly shine. Who you ask...

Haruka Imai (Japan) - One of Japan's up and coming stars, over the past couple of seasons she's managed to medal in a few Junior Grand Prix events. Her biggest achievement came last season with a top five finish in her first major ISU Championship (Four Continents Cup). She has lovely qualities as a skater and will certainly add to the strength of the deep Japanese Team. She needs to increase her jump difficulty (i.e. add a Triple Lutz) to really be on par with the top women but she is well on her way.



Kristine Musademba (USA) - Kristine is a very powerful skater who has had good results over the last two years on the Junior Grand Prix. Injury kept her from competing in the back half of last season but she is most certainly poised to make her Senior Grand Prix debut this season. She seems destined for greatness but has often been plagued with unusual inconsistency. One competition she'll be solid and the next filled with mistakes. She's a gorgeous skater and if she can fix her head and and produce solid, consistent skates, she'll be one to beat.

Amanda Dobbs (USA) - Amanda keeps super busy competing not only as a singles skater but as a pairs skater too! She had a dream U.S. Nationals where she was top seven in Senior Pairs and then finished in the top six in Senior Ladies. She capped her season off with a 4th place finish at her first major Senior International Championship (Four Continents Cup). She's currently working on developing a full repertoire of triple jumps but the overall quality of her skating shines through on the other aspects of her skating. My favorite quality of Amanda's is she fully commits to everything. She's isn't the skater that is going to single or double a jump. Make it or miss it, she's going to do a triple. She's proven that she has an innate ability to compete, if she can increase her jump difficulty she'll be one to watch for sure.



Agnes Zawadzki (USA) - I had no prior knowledge of Agnes until she showed up at Nationals last season and ripped it, winning the Junior National title. That win earned her a spot on the Junior World Team where she again skated well and took the silver (ripping it again!). I do pray she isn't a one hit wonder because this girl has the goods. Unlike her Dobbs her jumping repertoire is complete (unless we start talking triple axels but not everyone can be Mao Asada) and she seems super consistent. She has a little personality on the ice too which helps bring an audience in. I'm very curious to see how Agnes stacks up with the top women in the world because I think she can go toe-to-toe with some of these ladies. Stay tuned!



Kanako Murakami (Japan) - The biggest threat coming out of the Junior ranks this upcoming season is likely Kanako Murakami. She did a clean sweep last season, winning everything. In a word, she's magnificent. She reminds me of Sasha Cohen the way she moves across the ice. She looks so trained and prepared at every competition she enters. Pressure doesn't seem to get to her and she just powers through her programs with enough energy at the end to keep going another 4 minutes. I think she is another skater that I predict will hit the Senior Ranks and likely be one of the top competitors.



*Lena Marrocco and Mae Berenice Meite of France as well as Kwak Min-Jung of Korea and Sonia Lafuente of Spain are also making Senior Grand Prix debuts.

U.S. Nationals (Day Eight)

Scheduled Events for Today:

Junior Ladies Free Skate
Senior Original Dance

Check this post for results and musings. I'll be tweeting during the Senior Original Dance at 9:00 p.m. (Eastern). You can follow me on Twitter @skating102.

The Junior Ladies wrapped up their competition today and Agnes Zawadzki took the title after a great performance. In second was Yasmin Saraj and Lindsay Davis took the bronze.

In Ice Dance, the Senior OD wrapped setting up a great Free Dance. Meryl Davis and Charlie White managed to keep and slightly extend their lead over Belbin and Agosto. Still, less than two points seperate the two teams. Samuelson and Bates moved into third with an amazing performance set to a Dixie Chicks Medley. Navarro and Bommentre are in 4th but just under two points back. Chock and Zuerlein round out the top 5.