2009-2010 Top 10 Performances

The 2010-2011 Season is underway but last season was so much fun I wanted to take one last trip down memory lane and remember my favorite performances.

#10 - Savchenko & Szolkowy - 2009 Skate Canada Free Skate


After their rather poor showing at Trophee Eric Bompard they ditched their free skate and came up with this fine diddy that I just gushed over for like a month. One of the best Pair Free Skates ever!

#9 - Denney & Barrett - 2010 U.S. Nationals Free Skate


These two always get my blood pumping! They went full out enroute to their first National Title and a spot on the Olympic Team.

#8 - Kim Yu-Na - Trophee Eric Bompard Short Program


When I first saw this short program I was hooked! David Wilson created a masterpiece and Kim Yu-Na brought it to life. She schooled us in "Sexy Assassin 101."

#7 - Shen & Zhao - Grand Prix Final Free Skate


I was just ho-hum about this program until I saw it performed here. It just clicked for me and I thought it was gorgeous. Love how they hit the beat of every note of the music.

#6 - Daisuke Takahashi - 2010 World Championships Free Skate


After he reeled off that Quad Flip we all perked up and took notice! With Lysacek and Plushenko out of the way he had free reign on this competition!

#5 - Davis & White - 2010 U.S. Nationals Free Dance


Really, Tanith and Ben had just ripped their Free Dance....and then these two came and pushed it to a whole new level. I remember watching and just going..."Oh they won."

#4 - Sasha Cohen - 2010 U.S. Nationals Short Program


With one skate she shut everyone up (including me!) that doubted the sincerity of her attempt at a comeback. Shame the Free didn't go as well. Que sera sera...

#3 - Evan Lysacek - 2010 Winter Olympics Free Skate


Olympic Gold Medal...enough said.

#2 - Joannie Rochette - 2010 Winter Olympics Short Program

Joannie Rochette 2010 Olympic Games SP Vidéo Flutz2508 sélectionnée dans Sport

I've never been so emotionally moved by a performance in my life (which is weird...because it was a tango...think it was the energy in the arena) and never rooted so hard for a skater to do well...not sure if I ever will be again.

#1 - Jeremy Abbott 2010 U.S. Nationals Free Skate


Masterpiece on the ice. My favorite performance by a men's figure skater...ever!

There were so many other great performances to mention so I have an honorable mention section including Akiko Suzuki's Grand Prix Final Free Skate, Kim Yu-Na's Olympic Free Skate, Stephane Lambiel's European Free Skate, Virtue and Moir's Olympic Free Dance, Mao Asada's Olympic Short Program, and Adam Rippon's Four Continents Cup Free Skate.

Denney and Barrett On The Move

Reigning U.S. National Pairs Champions Caydee Denney and Jeremy Barrett have announced they will be now be coached by John Zimmerman and Silvia Fontana-Zimmerman at the Saveology Iceplex in Coral Springs, Florida ending their partnership with Jim Peterson, Alison Smith, and Lyndon Johnston. Sylvia Fontana-Zimmerman is the five-time Italian National Champion and married John Zimmerman in 2003. John is the three-time U.S. Pairs Champion with Kyoko Ina.

"We feel this change is necessary to take our skating to the next level," Barrett told U.S. Figure Skating. "We look forward to working with John and Silvia. They were great competitors, and we feel they have a lot to offer as coaches."

"Silvia and I are looking forward to great things from Caydee and Jeremy," Zimmerman said. "We’re honored to continue the amazing work Jim, Lyndon and Alison have done, and are excited to get the season under way."

The move from the Tampa/St. Petersburg area to the Ft. Lauderdale/Miami area also puts distance between dating couple Jeremy Barrett and Amanda Evora, who along with Mark Ladwig are the reigning U.S. Silver Medalists and now former training partners to Caydee and Jeremy.

The split appears to be an amicable one with both sides mutually respectful.

"It is difficult to lose a team at this early stage in their career," Peterson said. "However, Alison, Lyndon and I are proud of guiding Caydee and Jeremy to their goals of representing the United States as Olympians and achieving a national title in a short period of time. Both are talented athletes and competitors, and we wish them all the best in the future."

"Jim, Lyndon, Alison and the staff at Ellenton Ice Rink have done so much for us as skaters and as people," Denney said. "We would like to thank everyone there for supporting us and believing in us."

XXI Olympic Winter Games Figure Skating Pairs Preview

The Pairs are the first to hit Olympic ice a week from tomorrow, on Valentines Day actually. There are nine teams that each bring unique aspects to this competition. Experience, ingenuity, consistency, athleticism, beauty, and fearlessness are some of the many things we can look forward to in the Pairs competition.

Caydee Denney and Jeremy Barrett (USA) - Many, in fact probably most, don't expect this extremely young and inexperienced team to be a podium threat...but I think they are. The reigning U.S. Champs have three things working in their favor; their ridiculous consistency, the fact they are fearless in competition, and they have nothing to lose by going for broke. That's a recipe for success if you ask me. The one thing that will hamper them is the fact that they don't have the little details such as toe-point, line, extension, etc. mastered. At U.S. Nationals Sandra Bezic made the comment, "There's no box for magic" when discussing the scoring system. This team may knock the socks off of everyone and find themselves still playing catch-up. I hope this isn't the case.

Jessica Dube and Bryce Davison (CAN) - This team will enjoy the support of the crowd as they are Canada's best hope at a medal in this event. The 2008 World Bronze Medalists have had trouble living up to their potential. They failed to make the Grand Prix Final this season. But at this year's Canadian Nationals they turned in a stellar free skate that left everyone, myself included, speechless. When this team is 'in the zone' they are stellar. If they can recreate that magic again in Vancouver and couple it with a clean short program, this team will not only be in the hunt for a medal, it will be for Gold.

Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov (RUS) - History is on this teams' side. When was the last time a Russian or Soviet Team wasn't on the Olympic podium in Pairs Figure Skating? 1960. And since then, a Russian or Soviet team has won every single time (they did have to share in 2002). Four of those Olympic Champions were coached by Tamara Moskvina. Sound familiar? Yuko and Alexander also just won the European Title, desperately close to cracking the highest score ever..even with some little mistakes. This team brings ingenuity and cleverness to the ice coupled with infectious personality and charisma. If this team is 100% clean...I believe the Russian legacy of Pairs Figure Skating Champions will live on.

Maria Mukhortova and Maxim Trankov (RUS) - This team is the Russian Yen to Kavaguti and Smirnov's Yang. They bring a more traditional Russian style to the ice than their teammates. This team has also been very consistent this season, taking medals in almost everything they've entered (the Grand Prix Final was the lone hiccup where they finished 4th despite a near clean performance). What this team doesn't seem to have is that extra bit of 'pizazz' that really gets the judges behind them. They've had good luck this season against some tough teams so if they can continue to be consistent they may sneak onto the podium. Hitting every element and finding a way to make their performance more transformative will be key.

Qing Pang and Jian Tong (CHN) - Part one of the Chinese juggernaut, this team has looked solid this season. Easy wins on the Grand Prix and a very solid Silver at the Grand Prix Final has them in position to be one of the main challengers for a medal, if not Gold, in Vancouver. With loads of Olympic experience to fall back on, this team will know exactly what to expect out there. Their Man of La Mancha free skate has been very well received this season. Like Mukhortova and Trankov, their biggest set back is their sometime lack of extra spunk to set them apart. If they are clean, they'll make a great case for the podium.

Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy (GER) - Along with the Chinese, these two are seen as one of the road blocks in the way of continued Russian domination of Pairs Figure Skating. The reigning World Champions have had the oddest season however. They looked out of sorts in Paris at the Grand Prix Opener winning only a bronze. They went back to the drawing board and created, I think, the most gorgeous Pairs Free Skate...ever (I know that is a big claim but it's how I feel!). They blew the competition away at HomeSense Skate Canada and set a new high score for Pairs Figure Skating. They then watched that score fall at the Grand Prix Final where their problems (and the Bronze Medal) returned. They were still not fully with it at Europeans when they lost to Kavaguti and Smirnov. What does all this mean? It means they need to get their heads together or they are going to miss their shot at Olympic Gold. They have the vehicle to win this, they just need to bring their 'A' game.

Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao (CHN) - The veteran team comes to Vancouver looking for the Olympic Gold that has twice eluded them. When it comes to experience this team has more than any other as they prepare to compete in their 4th Olympics (Nagano, Salt Lake City, Torino, Vancouver). Part two of the Chinese juggernaut, they are the sentimental favorites and could be the team to put an end to Russian domination of this sport. At 31 and 36 respectively, it seems unfathomable that they recently nabbed the highest score ever for a pairs team at the Grand Prix Final. Even as two of the oldest competitors, they are solid as a rock technically. They are also two of the most expressive skaters on the ice. If these two win I don't think anyone would be upset and should they lose many will be heartbroken.

Tatiana Volosozhar and Stanislav Morozov (UKR) - I've said it plenty of times before and I'll say it again...this team is stuck in the zone of mediocrity. They are generally good enough to mention them here as medal contenders, but often find themselves pulling in for 4th, 5th, or 6th place. They didn't help their case at Europeans when they finished off the podium in 4th. Their free skate set to Pearl Harbor seems to labor on and on and you just wish it would end. Despite these shortcomings, they know how to construct a program to earn points and should other teams falter they might back into a medal...but I'm not holding my breath.

Dan Zhang and Hao Zhang (CHN) - Part three of the extremely powerful Chinese team, they actually have the best Olympic credentials of the three teams having won Silver in Torino. This season, however, they have been completely overshadowed by their teammates and have had really lack luster performances. Just last week in Korea, however, they put the train back on the tracks at the Four Continents Cup to win the title with two very solid performances. They didn't have to compete with their teammates in Korea and that might have given them the breathing room they needed to succeed. Trouble is, they aren't afforded that breathing room in Vancouver. Team China is exactly the same as it was in Torino yet completely different outcomes are expected of the three teams. What a difference four years makes!

U.S. Nationals (Day Two)

Scheduled Events for Today:

Senior Pairs Free Skate
Junior Pairs Short Program

Check this post for results and musings. I'll be tweeting during the Senior Pairs Free Skate at 2:00 p.m. (Eastern). You can follow me on Twitter @skating102. Remember, the final two groups of the Senior Pairs Free Skate will be shown Live on NBC. Check local listings.

The pairs competition just wrapped and what a competition it was! McLaughlin and Brubaker skated in the earlier group and put up a fight. They didn't have an easy performance and had to fight for everything they did. They made some costly errors however and were only able to pull up to 5th place. That will almost assuredly mean they will not go the Olympics. Tough break. Castille and Okolski skated a lovely program. For the first time in like years they completed side-by-side triples. Some little mistakes here and there kept them from making a huge leap forward but they did manage 4th ahead of McLaughlin and Brubaker.

The fireworks were in the final group! Evora and Ladwig started the night off with a great performance. Good fight on all their side-by-side elements, amazing lifts, and amazing determination. The only major error came when Amanda went down on a through lutz. They were pleased at the end of their program and took the lead. Denney and Barrett were next and they skated lights out! Huge everything, not a single wobble or mistake, it was so impressive! It's like they don't feel any pressure. A big lead for them. Next up was Inoue and Baldwin, after doubling side-by-side triple toes they picked up their program with a solid throw loop, twist, lifts, and then deep in the program nailed a throw triple axel! The scores came up at the end and they were only able to get to third overall but they definitely gave the selection committee some food for thought. Yankowskas and Coughlin who were stunning in the short came unglued a bit...finishing behind Keauna and Rockne. So Jim Peterson's teams, Denney and Barrett as well as Evora and Ladwig, go 1-2 with Inoue and Baldwin taking 3rd.

Full results can be seen here. Ice Network will actually broadcast the Pairs Olympic selection presser live (and free) later tonight.

UPDATE: The selection committe has named Caydee Denney and Jeremy Barrett along with Amanda Evora and Mark Ladwig to the U.S. Olympic Team.

The final event of the day was the Junior Pairs Short Program. Taylor Toth and Felicia Zhang lead the competition despite a nasty bang up in the warm-up for Taylor. Simpson and Miller are 2nd with Alba and Knierim 3rd. Full results can be seen here.

U.S. Nationals (Day One)

Scheduled Events for Today:

Junior Men's Short Program
Senior Pairs Short Program
Senior Men's Short Program

Check this post for results and musings. I'll also be tweeting during the Senior Pairs Short Program at 4:30 p.m. (Eastern) and during the Senior Men's Short Program at 9:45 p.m. (Eastern). You can follow me on Twitter @skating102.

The Junior Men competed their short program earlier today. Max Aaron leads Jason Brown and Austin Kanallakan. You can see the full set of scores here.

The pairs short program was such a shock! First...what wasn't a shock was Denney and Barrett's short which rocked Spokane Arena and, despite being one of the first teams on the ice, they skated to a short program victory the same as they did last season. Right behind them in 2nd was a polished and solid Yankowskas and Coughlin who also managed a standing ovation. In 3rd are Denney and Barrett's training mates Evora and Ladwig who had an iffy performance but stayed on their feet. Veterans Inoue and Baldwin are in 4th after Rena fell on the throw triple axel attempt and John missed a spin. 2007 Champs Castile and Okolski are in 5th after a program peppered with technical mistakes.

At this point you're thinking, you forgot McLaughlin and Brubaker. Well...no I didn't. Keauna and Rockne had a disastrous performance. Keauna fell on her side-by-side triple salchow. Then she two footed the throw triple loop. If it couldn't get any worse, she slipped off her edge on the death spiral and fell again. They are in...wait for it...7th place going into the free and nearly 10 points out of an Olympic qualifying position at this point yet alone a win. The questions are starting to come out...was the pressure too much? Was the expectations of 24 Hour Fitness and Coke more than this team can handle? Was it the switch to John Nicks? Lots of questions right now. This team is going to need the skate of a lifetime in the free and some help from the teams ahead of them to get to Vancouver. I don't forsee them getting a 'good night's rest' tonight.

Full Senior Pairs results are here.

At the conclusion of the men's short program, I'd say things are going about as most expected with maybe a couple little curves thrown in. First, let's talk about who DIDN'T make the cut in the short. Stephen Carriere is in 17th place (ouch right!) and Brandon Mroz is in 10th...guess they won't be medaling this time around. What also didn't make the cut...the quad. All the skaters that tried it...yeah didn't really help them at all.

Let's talk top six. It's becoming clear that anytime Jeremy Abbott skates clean he is dangerous. A clean short found him loftly at the top with a whopping 87.85 points. Really he was brilliant, guess he worked out the kinks from that wonky practice yesterday (see video below). In second is Evan Lysacek who had a solid program but stepped out of his triple axel. Even still he looks Olympic ready and he didn't looked to phased by the mis-step. Johnny Weir currently occupies third but is almost in a dead heat with Evan (these two seem to be like glue as far as their scores and nationals!). Unlike Evan, Johnny skated perfectly clean but didn't have the complex choreography that Evan did...the debate on who should be ahead of who is ensuing on Twitter. Adam Rippon is 4th. He was cruising through his program until he got too close the boards on his patented 'Rippon' lutz. He doubled that jump, ran into the boards, then proceeded to fall on his footwork. Still, his program is brilliant. The surprise of the top group is Armin Mahbanoozadeh who is 5th after a brilliant short despite spending all his free time in Spokane with doctors working on his bruised hip. Rounding out the final group is Ryan Bradley who, after hitting a beautiful quad/triple combo, proceeded to double the rest of his triples...doof! Anywho, nice set up for free skate.

Full results of the men's short can be found here.

UPDATE: Stephen Carriere has withdrawn from the competition. Not sure yet why (17th place SP perhaps?).


Video courtesy KHQ Spokane

U.S. Nationals Preview (Pairs)

The first senior competition that will get underway in Spokane is the Pairs event. The U.S. has the opportunity to send two teams to the Olympics in Vancouver. Who are the teams to keep an eye on? Here are my thoughts on six teams to watch:

Caitlin Yankowskas and John Coughlin - I'm always completely impressed with this team every time I see them. They have dynamic lifts and a wonderful connection with the audience. Caitlin is one of those skaters whom you can't take your eyes off of when she's on the ice. Some inconsistency has plagued them off and on. If they hit their elements they'll have a shot at the podium and possibly a trip to Vancouver. Their most recent competition, 2009 HomeSense Skate Canada, they finished 7th.

Brooke Castile and Ben Okolski - The last time this team competed in Spokane they surprised everyone by winning the 2007 National crown. This team has beautiful classic pair lines and great attention to choreography but often struggles in the technical department. This is the first season since their 2007 Nationals win that they enter the event healthy. The last two years they entered Nationals coming off of injury. They reached the top before...can they do it again? They recently finished 6th at 2009 Cancer.Net Skate America.

Amanda Evora and Mark Ladwig - One of the teams that seems stuck in that 4th-5th-6th range at U.S. Nationals. Beautiful artistry but again, some troubles often on the technical elements. When this team is on they can be spectacular. Their lifts are some of the most inventive and spectacular to watch. They just missed the podium last year and will need a big effort to make it this season and an even bigger effort to make the Olympic Team. They recently finished 7th at Samsung Anycall Cup of China and 5th at Cancer.Net Skate America.

Caydee Denney and Jeremy Barrett - This team made a splash last season coming seemingly from nowhere to take the silver medal at Nationals (and desperately close to winning). They followed it up with stunning performances at both the Four Continents Cup and the World Championships solidifying themselves as the hot new team to watch. At both their Grand Prix events this season they continued to demonstrate solid technical skills and also showed improved artistic sensibility. Their ability to skate clean under pressure makes them one of (if not the) the teams to beat. This team was 4th at NHK Trophy and 5th at HomseSense Skate Canada.

Rena Inoue and John Baldwin - The veterans of the field and the only team competing in Spokane with previous Olympic experience (7th in Torino). This team has a secret weapon in their back pocket...the throw triple axel. They successfully completed the element this season at Trophee Eric Bompard. What has held this team back is consistency on the side-by-side triple jumps, especially on John's part. The lack of consistency on that element has caused them to put side-by-side double axels in their short program which puts them at a point disadvantage. If they can find consistency on their side-by-side triple jumps they'll be in good shape. They finished 4th at Trophee Eric Bompard and won the bronze medal at NHK Trophy.

Keauna McLaughlin and Rockne Brubaker - This team barely squeaked out a defense of their National Title last season and have had trouble getting back to gold standard form sense. At last season's World Championships they actually finished behind Denney and Barrett. Over the summer they made a coaching change and made the move from Colorado Springs to L.A. to train with John Nicks (also coaching Sasha Cohen). John has a knack with pairs skaters, turning out several champions in the past. They have a unique free skate (Slumdog Millionaire) that has left me a bit cold this season. If they can find a way to be more engaging with the audience and choreography with their music and improve upon the technical issues that have plagued them this season, they should have no problem making it to Vancouver. If the mistakes come...it could get dicey. This team won the bronze in their season opener at Rostelecom Cup but was just 4th at Skate America.

I make a point of not predicting Nationals but I'm curious to get your opinion on how you see things playing out. Comment below!

2nd Annual Loop Axel Awards

Part Two...time for some of the more interesting awards. Lots of these are new awards that weren't amongst the ranks of awards last season. It's just so much fun to hand out awards (which is interesting since I'm 'really' not handing any awards out!). Categories include:

*Best Jump (NEW)
*Best New Face
*Hottest Skater
*Best Fall
*Best Coach
*Most Improved Skater (NEW)
*Best Outfit (NEW)
*The OMG Moment of the Season (NEW)
*Best Comeback (NEW)
*Blog of the Year (NEW)

*Best Jump award goes to Canadian Vaughn Chipeur for his Triple Axel in the short program at Cup of China that just took us all by surprise. If you've never seen his Axel...it's huge! Other great jumps that were taken into consideration include Evan Lysacek's Quad at the Four Continents Cup, Mao Asada's Triple Axel at the Grand Prix Final, and every jump Miki Ando attempted in the Free Skate at Worlds. ;-)

*Best New Face goes to Denney and Barrett. They really have been remarkable this season. Being a team for such a short period of time and in their two first international competitions, to put down clean free skates...impressive. It was the year of Ten as well, as I considered both Jeremy (the Canadian version) and Denis (the version from Kazakhstan) as well as Russian newbie Alena Leonova.

*Hottest Skater is always tricky for me. Like last year, I had to confer with others. I actually put together a panel of six individuals (close friends) and put 4 skaters in front of them. It was a tie so I broke the tie with my vote and named Aliona Savchenko the winner. She is a stunner, so much so, that at the Public Pairs Medal Ceremony in L.A. Peter Carruthers looked at her, stepped back, looked at her again and proclaims, "She's looking good, huh? Very L.A." Before my tie breaker, Keauna McLaughlin was right up there with her, but as she is only 16 it felt a little wierd. Also in the mix was Alexander Smirnov (last year's winner!) and Rockne Brubaker (although he had tamed the curls at Worlds...and that made me sad).

*Best Fall award absolutely goes to Candice Didier for that frightening fall she had on an easy triple toe in the free skate at Worlds. I thought no way can she comeback from that, not only did she, but earned a standing ovation for the heroics she displayed. Two other Worlds falls made the nominee list, Yuko Kavaguti's spill on her throw quad salchow and Jenna McCorkell's fall in the free skate. Also on the list, Emily Hughes for her crash and burn Triple Flip at Eric Bompard Trophy.

*Best Coach I decided to give to Nikolai Morozov. At almost any competition, he is the coach for like a third of the competitors...no joke. I always wonder how he has the time to teach so many but he must be doing something right as he has so many high level athletes. Almost gave it to the dup of Natalia Linichuk and Gennadi Karpanossov for getting both Domnina and Shabalin and Belbin and Agosto in such amazing shape for worlds with little prep time. Brian Orser made the list for his amazing work with Yu-Na Kim and recently Adam Rippon, and Tatiana Tarasova for her work with both Lysacek (she worked with him to perfect and work out his program a bit) and Asada.

*The Most Improved Award goes to Samuel Contesti who really put himself on the map this season with an unexpected Silver at Europeans and a really solid 5th place finish at Worlds. Previously (and as Frenchman) , not even close to being in the mix at major international competitions, suddenly he's a big time competitor! I considered Caroline Zhang for the remarkable progress she has made this season, Adam Rippon for the same, and Kavaguti and Smirnov for really beginning to gel as a team.

*The Best Outfit Award is highly subjective and I'm sure plenty will completely disagree with me but I went with Kerr and Kerr's Free Dance Outfit. There is a story behind the program, brother and sister that survive a natural disaster, and I think the costumes tell that story beautifully without being over the top. I was a big fan of Samuelson and Bates Original Dance Outfit, especially Evan in his Popeye bits. Although some thought it a bit 'nude' I liked Ashley Wagner's 'Spartacus' digs. I'm also a sucker for gloves, and loved Nobunari Oda's 'Warsaw Concerto' get-up.

*The OMG (Oh My God!) Moment of the Season for me was definitely when I was looking at the scoreboard inside Quicken Loans arena and said "Did Alissa Czisny just win National's?" I had several OMG moments this season, thus the award, including "Did Craig Buntin just slice his hand in half on Megan Duhamel's blade?" Also, "Did Patrick Chan just bitch-slap Brian Joubert in the L.A. Times over a Quad jump?" Don't forget, "Jeffrey Buttle just retired! Did he get the memo that the Olympics were in Canada next year?"

*Best Comeback award goes to Miki Ando for after a rocky season, getting it together to have a...well at the least...technically proficient skate at Worlds to claim the Bronze medal. Belbin and Agosto nearly got it for getting it together to fast and narrowly missing the World Title. Tomas Verner for finishing 4th this season at Worlds after the disaster and meltdown that was Goteborg, Sweden. And Alissa Czisny for almost keeping it together the entire season.

*The last award is a fun one. Our online skating community is growing and I'd like to take a little time to give some credit where I think some credit is due. I give the best figure skating blog award to myself...just kidding! Actually, after some long thought I really decided to give it to Lifeskate! Susan over there is a genius and I look at Lifeskate as more than a blog, but rather a resource for all things skating. She not only keeps tabs on competitive figure skating, but also professional skating, adult skating, synchronized skating, leisure skating, Ice Theatre, special events, basically everything. Her Journalism skills are crazy...she got interviews with Lu Chen and Denis Petrov...in Shenzhen, China! Exclusives with Nikolai Morozov, Johnny Weir, etc. etc. etc...Lifeskate...we are not worthy! If you have not bookmarked this site...who am I kidding...of course you already have it bookmarked!

That does it for the 2009 edition of the Loop Axel Awards.

If you missed part one...they're right here.

You can revisit the class of 2008 here.

2nd Annual Loop Axel Awards

So we have come to the end of the season. Yes, there is another team competition in Japan later this month (remember the good ole' days when those where in the U.S.) but all the major competitions have come to an end. An exciting, if unusual, season it has been.

So this season I have added some awards. I have so many to give out that I'm going to do this in two parts. Today I'll honor some of the best programs, tomorrow some of the more fun awards. I'll prepare you in advance, this will be a long post! The following categories for today:

*Best Ladies Free Program
*Best Mens Free Program
*Best Free Dance
*Best Pairs Free Program
*Short Program of the Year
*Best Forgotten Performance of the Season (NEW)
*Worst Performance of the Season (NEW)
*Skater of the Year

*Best Ladies Free Program was a difficult one for me. In the end I came to a conclusion and decided I would give this award to Joannie Rochette for her performance at Canadian Nationals. She skated from the heart with gorgeous artistry, picture perfect jumps, elegance, everything. It wasn't the most ambitious program of the season, but it was a program with class and in my opinion, the most impressive of the season. Of course, I considered basically every Yu-Na Kim performance of the season for this award, also Mao Asada's GP Final Free Skate where she hit two Triple Axels and Miki Ando's jumping clinic at World's.

*Best Mens Free Program for me was a no brainer! If you had the pure pleasure of being inside the Staples Center for the Mens Final at the World Championships you got an incredible glimpse of the future. Beginning the night in 17th place, Denis Ten of Kazakhstan put on a performance that brought the house down, shattering expectations that anyone in that arena had for him. He ended the competition in 8th place after nailing down a top six free skate...stunning! Before exiting the ice, he leaned down and gave it a kiss, grateful for its cooperation. To be sure, I heavily considered giving this honor to Evan for his performance of equal caliber later that evening. Jeremy Abbott's Grand Prix Final performance got some consideration as did Patrick Chan's Eric Bompard Trophy Free.

*Best Free Dance choice was only difficult because I couldn't decide which competition to award the team I definitely felt deserved the honor. In the end, I give this award to Davis and White for their winning Free Dance at the Four Continents Cup. They narrowly managed to squeak past Virtue and Moir for the win, an action that was reversed at the World Championships when Virtue and Moir squeaked past them for the Bronze. Davis and White's Worlds Free Dance was equally deserving of the honor. We missed Delobel and Schoenfelder at Worlds but I gave their "Great Gig" program at the Grand Prix Final some thought, I also considered Khoklova and Novitski's European Championship Free Dance as well young'ins Chock and Zuerlein for their Jr. Worlds Free Dance.

Best Pairs Free Skate honors goes to Denney and Barrett for their Four Continents Free Skate. But they had quite the performance at the U.S. Nationals as well as Worlds, simply underscoring the fact they deserve this award! Their performance at Four Continents proved their performance at Nationals wasn't a fluke. It was a season that showed us some great Pairs skating (I mean really great!). I almost gave the award to Savchenko and Szolkowy for their Worlds Free but then changed my mind at the last second. I also considered Pang and Tong's Four Continents performance and Dube and Davison's Canadian Nationals Free Skate. But aside from these, there was an enormous amount of fantastic performances this season!

*Best Short Program honors goes to Yu-Na Kim for her Worlds Short. Talk about spellbinding! I think that 'Danse Macabre' program may go down as one of those iconic shorts like Michelle Kwan's Rachmaninoff piece from 1998, amazing! Actually, I almost awarded it to Yu-Na for her Four Continents Cup short, but she got more points at Worlds! The other two programs I considered was Mukhortova and Trankov's Skate America short that was simply beautiful and Samuel Contesti's Europeans Short that put him back on the figure skating map.

*Best Forgotten Performance of the Year is one of my new awards. Seems like every season their is a great performance that we aren't talking about later in the season. This award remembers those programs and gives them a little bit of the due they deserve. I decided to give this award to Stepehn Carriere for his free skate at Cup of China. Can you even remember it? Well if you can, you'll remember he put down an amazing performance to finish behind Abbott who shocked all and won. Others I considered for this award include Johnny Weir for his Skate America Free, Akiko Suzuki for her NHK Free, and Faiella and Scali for their European Championships Free Dance.

*Worst Performace of the Year is the award...well basically it's an offer of sympathy. "Just because you were terrible doesn't mean don't still love you." Top honors goes to poor poor Carolina Kostner who just fubared it completely in the free skate at Worlds, not a single clean triple...ouch. I also took time to remember Emily Hughes attempt at a comeback at the Eric Bompard Trophy, didn't work...McLaughlin and Brubaker's less than par showing at Worlds, and Kimmie Meissner's Skate America flop.

*Skater of the Year is the final award for today. This was really a no brainer! Is there any real doubt that this title belongs to Yu-Na Kim...I mean...really? She shattered the record for highest point total for a women skater, she skated brilliantly all season, put down some of the best choreography the sport has ever seen, and done it all with grace and class. Really, well done! In full honesty, I never considered anyone but Yu-Na for this honor.

Check back tomorrow for the second half of the 2nd Annual Loop Axel Awards...I have some interesting awards to hand out!