tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273750902024-03-07T21:36:01.164-06:00One (Skating) Nerd's WordsConfessions of a figure skating junkie.Ronaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10212872332226308083noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27375090.post-23149870060527939762010-03-08T22:17:00.004-06:002010-03-08T22:49:40.027-06:00Olympic afterglowNow that the 2010 Vancouver Olympics have been over for a week, it's finally time to share my thoughts on the figure skating events.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Pairs</span><br />I was thrilled that Shen & Zhao won! Their short program was a masterpiece, and unfortunately suffered for being the first one to be performed, before the crowd had filled in. I was concerned that Pang & Tong would overtake them in the free after they (P&T) skated brilliantly, and Sandra Bezic's anguished "aaaghhggHHH" during Shen & Zhao's slip on an overhead lift certainly did nothing to allay my fears, but fortunately the error was not as severe as Bezic thought, and S&Z were able to hang on to the gold. Savchenko & Szolkowy also had a lovely performance for bronze. I was not impressed with either Zhang & Zhang or Kavaguti & Smirnov, and the emaciated-looking Yuko Kavaguti has surely overtaken Qing Pang for the "eat a cookie, please!" award. While the American pairs did not finish high, they skated fairly well; it was especially nice to see Evora & Ladwig so thrilled with their personal best scores.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Men</span><br />Despite his windmilly footwork and lack of quadruple jump, I think Evan Lysacek deserved the win. Plushenko's program was poorly constructed by comparison, his jumps, while clean, were often wonky in the air, and he didn't have the same flow as the other top men. I actually preferred Daisuke Takahashi's program to Plushy's, and I think a case could have been made for him to finish second. Lambiel and Chan are beautiful skaters, but were a little overmarked, IMO. Johnny Weir was wonderful aside from that one slip on a spin, and legitimately could have finished fourth or fifth. Jeremy Abbott redeemed himself somewhat from a rotten short and pulled up to finish in the top 10, but this was a disappointing Olympics for him.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Dance</span><br />A North American sweep of the ice dance medals would have been justified in my book. Both Virtue & Moir and Davis & White were wonderful, and either couple would have been a worthy champion. I dislike Belbin & Agosto's free dance, but it should still have beaten Domnina & Shabalin's for third place overall. It was nice to see Samuelson & Bates do well in their first Olympics.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Ladies</span><br />Yu-Na Kim withstood the immense pressure on her and delivered two flawless programs. I think the scoring was a little OTT, but no question she deserved to win both the short and free. I'm not so high on Mao Asada's skating; she's clearly very good, but something about her style of movement or something just doesn't appeal to me. That said, it was quite a feat for her to hit three triple axels over the course of the competition, and her silver medal was well-deserved. Joannie Rochette's brave performances just days after her mother's sudden death brought a lump to my throat, and while I thought maybe Mirai Nagasu could have edged her in the free, Rochette surely earned her bronze medal with her intricate and mature programs. Nagasu skated brilliantly and definitely made her mark here; this was like her "Michelle Kwan at 1995 Worlds" moment. Miki Ando is totally the Japanese Irina Slutskaya. Good for her for avoiding a repeat of her Torino implosion, I guess. Poor Rachael Flatt looked a bit deflated to see that she wasn't even in first place after she skated a clean and solid free skate; I'm not so sure Laura Lepisto, lovely as she is, should have beaten Flatt, but what do I know?<br /><br />Overall it was an enjoyable two weeks of skating, with inspired performances by so many of the skaters, and largely free of judging controversy, yet still drama-filled. Bring on Worlds!Ronaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10212872332226308083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27375090.post-77014312388814888912010-01-27T22:48:00.002-06:002010-01-27T23:09:36.909-06:002010 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.Returning to my neglected skating blog to dish about the recent 2010 U.S. Figure Skating Championships that took place in Spokane. At one point I thought about attending the championships in person, but the event was spread across two weekends, and I didn't want to be away for quite that long. :P<br /><br />Anyway, onto the skating... I'm pretty happy with how the results turned out for the most part. In pairs, Denney and Barrett were rocks. They still need some finesse, but have come a long way since last season. I could see how Inoue & Baldwin may have had a case for finishing 2nd overall and making the Vancouver Olympic team. (although I do like Evora & Ladwig who did come in 2nd). In dance, I actively disliked Belbin & Agosto's free dance, and I hope they can tweak it to make it more compelling before the Olympics (less-distracting costumes would help) because I think they have the goods to medal there. Davis & White were marvelous, and I especially like their Bollywood-theme OD. I was rooting for Navarro & Bommentre to take the third Olympic spot, but Samuelson & Bates came through with a really solid FD and deserved the third spot.<br /><br />In the ladies' event, it was extremely frustrating to see Sasha Cohen blow another long program to finish 4th. Sadly, those who have followed Sasha's career could have predicted that she'd miss at least one or two jumps... she ended up making errors on at least four, and her overall program suffered greatly as a result. Meh. I like Rachael Flatt (moreso her competitiveness than her skating quality, although her programs this year are much-improved over previous seasons', particularly her SP) so I am glad she took the title. Mirai Nagasu is a spitfire, and definitely one to watch in the next few years. Too bad for Ashley Wagner; she skated a great LP but that fall in the SP really hurt her chances to make the Olympic team.<br /><br />Kudos to Jeremy Abbott for successfully defending his title; I love his easy flow across the ice. I wish I liked Evan Lysacek's skating more, since he's from around here, but I really haven't enjoyed his programs for the last few seasons (he did deserve the world title last year though). Along with Jeremy and Johnny Weir, he's a definite podium threat in Vancouver. Really strong men's team this year.<br /><br />Overall, I thought it was a solid event. No issues at all with the winners of each event, and while Olympic medal chances in pairs' and ladies' will be iffy, I think a U.S. medal (or even two) is likely in the mens' and dance. We shall see in a few weeks!Ronaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10212872332226308083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27375090.post-87913674234698808792008-11-01T21:11:00.004-05:002008-11-01T21:34:15.777-05:002008 Skate AmericaI had the opportunity to attend part of the 2008 Skate America competition in Everett, WA, last weekend. I saw the ladies' short program and men's free skate on Saturday, October 25, and the free dance and ladies' free skate on Sunday. Here are my general impressions from the event:<br /><br /><ul><li>Yu-Na Kim (KOR) who won the ladies event had a very large and vocal following in the arena! She skated well, although I was surprised that she won the short program by such a large margin considering she had a mistake on her double axel. Her long program was very good, marred only by a popped triple loop.</li></ul><ul><li>The Japanese ladies, Yukari Nakano and Miki Ando, who came in second and third place respectively, both had errors in the short but skated very well in the long. Coincidentally, both skated to selections of music from "Giselle" for their long programs; Nakano's had a lighter, more balletic feel, while Ando's program was more dramatic. I preferred Nakano's program.</li></ul><ul><li>The Americans, Rachael Flatt, Mirai Nagasu, and Kimmie Meissner, all have some work to do to be more competitive internationally. Meissner had the best "command of the ice" of the three, but she had disruptive falls on jumps in both programs. Nagasu has a sparkle that Flatt lacks, but Flatt skates with a bit more maturity.</li></ul><ul><li>The crowd was very supportive of all the skaters. Poor Annette Dytrt of Germany fell on her first three jumps in the long program and the crowd did its best to lift her spirits, and gave her a warm ovation at the end.</li></ul><ul><li>The men's event was very close, and I thought Evan Lysacek (USA) had done enough to win (and he certainly got the biggest ovation from the crowd), but he only ended up in third behind Takahiko Kozuka (JPN) and Johnny Weir (USA). Lysacek apparently had some jumps and other elements downgraded.</li></ul><ul><li>My favorite long program of the men's event was Shawn Sawyer's (CAN). Although he missed or scaled down a couple of jumps, he skated with a lot of style and his line and stretch were exceptional. Some of his spin and spiral positions would have made Sasha Cohen envious. ;)</li></ul><ul><li>Ice dancing is not my favorite discipline, but there were a couple of fun programs among the free dances here. Emily Samuelson & Evan Bates (USA) had the most entertaining free dance; they finished fourth overall but were third in the free. The winners, Isabel Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder (FRA) had an interesting free dance set to music by Pink Floyd, and I also liked the whimsical free dance of Americans Jane Somerset and Todd Gilles. Tanith Belbin & Ben Agosto (USA) skated very well, winning the free and finishing second overall, but I found their "Tosca" free dance to be rather flat.</li></ul><br />I took <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ronaround74/sets/72157608407588915/">several photos</a> from the Saturday evening events; my camera unfortunately broke just prior to the free dance, so all I have from Sunday's events are a couple of crappy camera phone pics. :P<br /><br />In addition to the skating, I also had the pleasure of meeting some skating fans I previously only "knew" from online, plus one skatefan who I had met at 2006 US Nationals in St. Louis. This was the first international skating competition I ever attended and it was an enjoyable time overall. Here's hoping that this coming skating season will be more interesting than the last few have been!Ronaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10212872332226308083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27375090.post-53889925624222757022008-04-26T23:27:00.003-05:002008-04-26T23:38:47.412-05:002008 WorldsThis post is very belated, but here are my impressions on the 2008 World Figure Skating Championships that took place last month:<br /><br /><ul><li>Kudos to Johnny Weir for finally skating well enough to win a world medal and keeping the US team from leaving Gothenburg empty-handed! The other US men (Jeremy Abbott and Stephen Carriere) also skated well, and secured three places for the USA at next year's Worlds.<br /></li><li>The US ladies, on the other hand, had their weakest showing in years. Still, Kimmie Meissner came back from her devastating performance at US Nationals with a solid SP and decent LP to finish 7th at Worlds. Bebe Liang managed to hang on to a respectable 10th place, while Ashley Wagner struggled a bit and finished 16th.</li><li>Jeffrey Buttle skated a gorgeous LP to win his first World title. I wasn't sure if it would be enough to stay ahead of an also-impressive program by Brian Joubert, but Buttle's more intricate program won it for him.</li><li>Bummer for Belbin & Agosto to finish 4th. Their free dance is one of the most beautiful ones I've seen in the past several years. It's too bad they struggled so much in the CD and OD.<br /></li><li>I missed all of the pairs competition (oops).</li><li>It was a bittersweet end to ABC's run of covering Worlds. Hopefully whoever picks up the broadcast rights for the US will do as good of a job as the ABC team did.</li></ul>Ronaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10212872332226308083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27375090.post-38545274581464172522008-03-16T00:06:00.002-05:002008-03-16T00:09:14.955-05:00Lysacek withraws from WorldsU.S. champ <a href="http://www.usfigureskating.org/Story.asp?id=41028">Evan Lysacek has withdrawn from the World Championships</a> due to an injury suffered in training. He'll be replaced by Jeremy Abbott. Evan's withdrawal will put even more pressure on Johnny Weir and Stephen Carriere (as well as Abbott) to secure a high-enough placement for the U.S. to send three men to next year's Worlds. Let's hope they can step up!Ronaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10212872332226308083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27375090.post-90645854826885419722008-01-27T22:37:00.000-06:002008-01-27T22:50:41.491-06:002008 USFS Championships - Senior MenWhat an amazing finish to the senior men's event! I mean, c'mon, with the "precision" offered by COP, how likely is it that the top two would end up with the exact same total score? Personally, I thought Johnny Weir skated a stronger, more secure program in the free skate (his flow and edge quality were wonderful), but Evan Lysacek did have visibly more complex spins and transitions, so I can see how Evan's program could have scored higher, thus giving him the overall win.<br /><br />Similarly, I preferred the free skate of 4th place Jeremy Abbott over that of bronze medalist Stephen Carriere. Both programs were well-constructed (though very different stylistically). I felt that Jeremy had better flow and power over the ice, but Stephen had very secure jumps and again, more complexity throughout the program. Ryan Bradley as always skated a fun, engaging program. It's too bad he couldn't hit his most difficult jump elements.<br /><br />Overall, I think NBC did a decent job covering the championships, but as ever, there was too much time devoted to fluff pieces and segments on "the rivalry" (ooo) which could have been better used showing another program or two in each discipline. Commentary-wise, I enjoy Scott Hamilton's enthusiasm, but I think casual viewers would learn almost nothing from his and Sandra Bezic's play-by-play. I felt Tracy Wilson did a better job of explaining what the judges are looking for during the ice dance coverage.<br /><br />Watching this weekend's broadcasts makes me want to see another competitive skating event in person. Maybe Skate America in the fall... :)Ronaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10212872332226308083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27375090.post-34068404175818492672008-01-26T22:13:00.000-06:002008-01-27T22:37:37.695-06:002008 USFS Championships - Senior Pairs, Dance, LadiesI caught the NBC broadcasts of the 2008 U.S. Figure Skating Championships today. Here are some of my quick-hit thoughts:<br /><br /><ul><li>It was a bold gesture for John Baldwin to propose to Rena Inoue at the conclusion of their pairs free skate, in front of the audience in the arena and the television viewers. What if she had wanted to say "no"? :)</li><li>Tanith Belbin & Ben Agosto's free dance was gorgeous and skated with such attack. I hope they can repeat this performance at the World Championships and take home the gold. Meryl Davis & Charlie White's second place performances at Nationals could also challenge for the podium at Worlds. I typically have liked Navarro & Bommentre, but their free dance here lacked energy.<br /></li><li>I'm heartbroken for Kimmie Meissner. It must have been so hard for her to keep skating after three big falls in her free skate. Her programs this year were a step up from last season's, and it's too bad she couldn't deliver the technical content. Hopefully next season she can return to form and challenge for the top spots at Nationals and Worlds again.</li><li>It'll be interesting to see whether USFS names Meissner to the World team. Based on standings here, she's only the fourth-ranked age-eligible competitor, behind Ashley Wagner, Bebe Liang, and Katrina Hacker, all of whom would be first-timers at Worlds. I wonder if USFS would send Kimmie due to her experience at the world level.<br /></li><li>Caroline Zhang skated beautifully in the free skate, but she was soooo slow throughout much of the program. I think this hurt her in the short program as well. Her jumping technique on the lutz and flip is also troublesome, but I'm hoping she'll be able to fix that as she gets older and stronger.</li><li>It was great to see Michelle Kwan during the fluff piece on Zhang. Interestingly, I think Caroline skates more like Sasha Cohen than Michelle, at least in terms of her style of movement. :)</li><li>Caroline Zhang, Ashley Wagner, Rachel Flatt, and Mirai Nagasu all skated wonderfully in the long. I was especially impressed with Nagasu's speed and flow over the ice. I think I like Katrina Hacker's overall quality of skating better than all of the above, though. I particularly loved her air position in her jumps. I also really like Alissa Czisny's skating, but she had too many jump problems in the free to move up from her SP placement.<br /></li><li>It was cool to see a couple of Filipino-American skaters do well enough to make the tv broadcasts: Amanda Evora (finished 5th in pairs with Mark Ladwig) and Melissa Bulanhagui (8th in senior ladies).<br /></li></ul>Here's hoping tomorrow's mens' free skate offers as much drama as today's competitions did. :)Ronaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10212872332226308083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27375090.post-7380482921571248782008-01-14T00:55:00.000-06:002008-01-14T00:59:34.901-06:00Christopher Bowman, 1967-2008I was saddened to learn of <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/figureskating/news/story?id=3191349">the death of Christopher Bowman</a>, former US figure skating champ and two-time world medalist. I became a skating fan in 1988, just as Bowman was gaining prominence in the sport. He was an erratic competitor but always entertaining. It's too bad he couldn't quite get his life together after he left competitive skating. RIP, Bowman the Showman.Ronaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10212872332226308083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27375090.post-31877114385317035562007-12-13T20:42:00.000-06:002007-12-13T20:46:45.910-06:00So long, farewell COIIt has been reported that the <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/cs-071211ice,0,2712934.story">Champions on Ice tour has been cancelled</a>. It will effectively be merging with the rival tour, Stars on Ice. I have attended a number of Champions on Ice (formerly Tour of Champions) shows in Chicago and enjoyed seeing the top "eligibles" perform alongside seasoned pros, and I typically preferred the simpler style of COI to the more theme-y SOI. Alas! To be honest I haven't been as into the figure skating scene the past couple of seasons, but it still saddens me that interest in the sport has dropped so much from its heyday just a decade ago. Hopefully some new stars will emerge by the time the next Olympics rolls around, to draw audiences back to the sport.Ronaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10212872332226308083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27375090.post-61073149007772591112007-04-22T01:14:00.000-05:002007-04-22T01:20:15.457-05:00NBC to broadcast USFS eventsU.S. Figure Skating has signed a three-year deal with NBC to broadcast the national championships and Skate America.<br /><br /><a href="http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/international/cs-070420figureskatinghersh,1,804134.story?coll=cs-international-print">Chicago Tribune article</a><br /><a href="http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-spw-skating22apr22,1,1664853.story?coll=la-headlines-sports">L.A. Times article</a><br /><br />I suppose I'm glad that at least *someone* has picked up the rights to broadcast U.S. figure skating events for the next few seasons. For a while after ABC/ESPN didn't renew their agreement, it was looking like skating would be relegated to webcasts (or YouTube, heh). I wonder if NBC or another major network is thinking of picking up the broadcast rights for ISU events as well, after that contract with ABC expires next year.Ronaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10212872332226308083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27375090.post-6116046821514398672007-03-28T21:26:00.000-05:002007-03-28T21:31:50.853-05:002007 WorldsWell, the <a href="http://www.isufs.org/results/wc2007/">2007 World Figure Skating Championships</a> have come and gone. Some new stars emerged in the post-Olympic year, such as Mao Asada (JPN) and Yu-na Kim (KOR) in ladies' singles, and Virtue & Moir (CAN) and Davis & White (USA) in dance. Belbin & Agosto captured the bronze again at this Worlds... who'd have thought that the USA would get its only medal in *ice dance*?! Kimmie Meissner performed fairly well but couldn't keep up with new champ Miki Ando, Mao, and Yu-Na. Evan Lysacek, Johnny Weir, and Ryan Bradley all had problems in the men's event, and Inoue & Baldwin and Castile & Okolski struggled in pairs. Hopefully the USA will have better luck at next year's Worlds!Ronaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10212872332226308083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27375090.post-22252687874461169652007-01-21T22:33:00.000-06:002007-01-21T22:38:57.075-06:002007 U.S. NationalsThe <a href="http://spokane2007.usfigureskating.org/">2007 U.S. Figure Skating Championships</a> are underway! I didn't make plans to attend this event in person like I did <a href="http://sk8around.blogspot.com/2006/01/2006-us-figure-skating-championships.html">last time</a>, so I'll have to settle for watching it on tv. :-)<br /><br />I'll make some early predix for the outcome of the senior events:<br />Men:<br />1) Evan Lysacek<br />2) Johnny Weir<br />3) Scott Smith<br /><br />Dance:<br />1) Belbin/Agosto<br />2) Gregory/Petukhov<br />3) Matthews/Zavozin<br /><br />Pairs:<br />1) Inoue/Baldwin<br />2) Nam/Leftheris<br />3) Evora/Ladwig<br /><br />Ladies:<br />1) Kimmie Meissner<br />2) Emily Hughes<br />3) Rachel Flatt<br /><br />Not particularly daring predictions, but there they are. :-) We'll see how many I get right by next weekend!Ronaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10212872332226308083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27375090.post-1166415776712679272006-12-17T22:19:00.000-06:002006-12-17T22:22:56.726-06:00GPF 2006The USA came away with no medals at the ISU <a href="http://www.isufs.org/results/gpf0607/">Grand Prix Final</a> this weekend. No US ladies qualified for the final, both US men (Evan Lysacek and Johnny Weir) withdrew during the competition with similar hip injuries, Rena Inoue & John Baldwin finished 4th in pairs, and Gregory & Petukhov came in 6th in dance (Belbin & Agosto had withdrawn prior to the event). Oh well. Hopefully everyone will be back in form for US Nationals and Worlds!Ronaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10212872332226308083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27375090.post-1163527336958792162006-11-14T11:59:00.000-06:002007-01-15T21:35:44.084-06:00Michelle Kwan, US Ambassador<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061110/wl_asia_afp/usdiplomacyfskatekwan_061110001831">Michelle Kwan has been named Public Diplomacy Ambassador</a> for the United States.<br /><br />Excerpt:<br /><blockquote>US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice named Michelle Kwan, the Hong Kong-born US figure-skating superstar, as Washington's first Public Diplomacy Ambassador tasked with promoting American values around the world. <br /> <br />Kwan, a two-time Olympic medalist and the most decorated figure-skater in US history, will visit China early next year on the first mission of her non-salaried career as goodwill envoy, Rice said.<br /></blockquote><br /><br />What a neat honor for Michelle!<br /><br /><b>Edit:</b> Here's the <a href="http://www.usfsa.org/Story.asp?id=36509&type=news">USFS story</a> about the announcement.Ronaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10212872332226308083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27375090.post-1158685045136139922006-09-19T11:53:00.000-05:002006-09-19T11:57:25.146-05:00A year off for Michelle KwanU.S. Figure Skating recently confirmed that <a href="http://www.usfigureskating.org/Story.asp?id=35383&type=news">Michelle Kwan will sit out the 2006-07 skating season</a> to recover from hip surgery and focus on her college studies at Denver University. I'm a big fan of Michelle's skating so I'll miss her presence on the competitive skating scene this season, but she's been at it for so long that she deserves a break. :) I don't know if we'll ever see her compete at U.S. Nationals, Worlds, or Olympics again, but hopefully she'll at least participate in some exhibitions or pro-am type events once her hip recovers.Ronaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10212872332226308083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27375090.post-1150814527408977052006-06-20T09:32:00.000-05:002006-06-20T09:42:07.423-05:00Michelle Kwan's salad daysMichelle Kwan is featured in a new commercial for Kraft salad dressing. Here's a link to the ad on YouTube: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8Ze2HTY-AY">Michelle's triple combination salad</a>Ronaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10212872332226308083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27375090.post-1149186255129061222006-06-01T13:07:00.000-05:002006-06-01T14:09:27.710-05:00Hello worldWelcome to Sk8around, my new skating site! I've transferred over most of the content from my old skating site on Tripod. I felt it was time for some new digs, and Blogger makes it fairly simple to add new pages and photos. Links to my posts by subject and date can be found in the sidebar (I have "backdated" my posts according to the date the corresponding page was last updated on my former skating site). Also check out the Flickr badge in the sidebar that features skating-related photos I have taken. Finally, links to interesting and informative skating resources can also be found in the sidebar.<br /><br />I have to say, this past skating season (2005-06) was a bit of a letdown for me. I don't know if it was due to Code of Points making the programs all kind of same-y and uninteresting, or the lack of extensive tv coverage of the Grand Prix events, or the injuries to some of my favorite skaters, but I just didn't feel as invested in skating this year. Which is ironic since it was an Olympic year!<br /><br />OTOH, I did get to attend my first-ever US national championships in St. Louis in January. I had a great time. You can read about it in more detail in my <a href="http://sk8around.blogspot.com/2006/01/2006-us-figure-skating-championships.html">post about the event</a>. Congratulations to all the USFS skaters who competed, and who went on to represent the USA at Four Continents, Olympics, and Worlds. <br /><br />Anyway, thanks for visiting, and I hope to add more content here as the next skating season gets underway!Ronaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10212872332226308083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27375090.post-1147149295229677622006-01-16T23:09:00.000-06:002006-05-12T21:55:49.160-05:002006 U.S. Figure Skating ChampionshipsI attended my very first U.S. Figure Skating Championships in St. Louis this year! I saw the Senior Ladies SP and all four senior LPs. While I was disappointed that my favorite skater, Michelle Kwan, was forced to withdraw with an injury, the skating was still very enjoyable, and there were several wonderful performances from not only the winners and medalists, but many of the lower-ranked skaters as well. I also got to meet some fellow skate fans who I previously had only "known" via the internet skating message board that I visit, which was very cool.<br /><br />Here are photos I took of the winners of the senior events:<br /><br /><a href='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/640/IMG_0979B.jpg'><img border='0' style='border:1px solid #000000; margin:2px' src='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/200/IMG_0979B.jpg'></a><br />Inoue & Baldwin <a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' border='0' style='border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;' align='absmiddle'></a><br /><br /><a href='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/640/IMG_1042B.jpg'><img border='0' style='border:1px solid #000000; margin:2px' src='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/200/IMG_1042B.jpg'></a><br />Belbin & Agosto <a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' border='0' style='border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;' align='absmiddle'></a><br /><br /><a href='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/640/IMG_1186B.jpg'><img border='0' style='border:1px solid #000000; margin:2px' src='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/200/IMG_1186B.jpg'></a><br />Johnny Weir <a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' border='0' style='border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;' align='absmiddle'></a><br /><br /><a href='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/640/IMG_0888B.jpg'><img border='0' style='border:1px solid #000000; margin:2px' src='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/200/IMG_0888B.jpg'></a><br />Sasha Cohen <a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' border='0' style='border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;' align='absmiddle'></a><br /><br />More photos can be found in my <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ronaround74/tags/stlouis2006/">Flickr album</a>, and other details about my St. Louis trip are on my <a href="http://ronaround74.blogspot.com/2006_01_01_ronaround74_archive.html">travelblog</a>.<br /><br />I had a blast and I hope I will have the opportunity to attend another Nationals in the future!Ronaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10212872332226308083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27375090.post-1146506724592236462002-05-09T13:04:00.000-05:002006-05-09T11:35:28.046-05:002002 Champions on Ice - Chicago, ILI attended the matinee performance of John Hancock Champions on Ice on May 4, 2002. This was the fourth COI I've attended (I saw the show in 1996, 1998, and 1999). I had pretty good seats (10th row, lower level near center ice) which gave a good vantage point from which to see the skaters and get an idea of their speed/flow across the ice. This was my first chance to see several of the skaters (e.g. Slutskaya, Plushenko, Cohen, Lang/Tchernyshev) in person, and Chicago got some unexpected additions to the cast (Totmianina/Marinin, Kalesavich/Parchem, Chait/Sakhnovsky).<br /><br />I managed to get some decent photos at the show, thanks mostly to a new zoom lens I recently got for my camera. :)<br /><br />The show intro was in typical COI format, starting with a short light show, followed by the featured performers doing a few moves to contemporary pop songs:<br /><br />Totmianina/Marinin - Get This Party Started<br />Nicole Bobek - Hey Baby<br />Rudy Galindo - Love Shack<br />Lang/Tchernyshev - ?<br />Philippe Candeloro - I'm a Believer<br />Sasha Cohen - I Love Rock & Roll<br />Punsalan/Swallow - Your Mama Can't Dance<br />Surya Bonaly - Whenever, Wherever<br />Michael Weiss - ?<br />Kazakova/Dmitriev - Wherever You Will Go<br />Victor Petrenko - All Star<br />Chait/Sakhnovsky - Woman<br />Elvis Stojko - Elevation<br />Michelle Kwan - Here Comes the Sun<br />Timothy Goebel - Hero<br />Irina Slutskaya, Evgeny Plushenko, Sarah Hughes - The World's Greatest<br /><br /><span class="fullpost"><br />Nicole Bobek (music from Moulin Rouge/Material Girl) - Good energy from Nicole to start off the show. Fell on her first jump (2axel) but later hit a nice 3toe and another 2axel. Some nice spins as well. She's a great dancer and moves very well.<br /><br /><a href='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/640/coi_kal-par1.jpg'><img border='0' style='border:1px solid #000000; margin:2px' src='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/200/coi_kal-par1.jpg'></a><br />Kalesavich & Parchem <a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' border='0' style='border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;' align='absmiddle'></a><br /><br />Kalesavich/Parchem (Harry Belafonte song) - The first surprise solo number of the show. :) I believe Aaron Parchem is from the Chicago area which would explain their participation here. Cute "tropical"-themed number. They were fairly slow, and Stephanie fell on a throw 3sal, but they did do some nice lifts (including a Detroiter) and other pair moves.<br /><br /><a href='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/640/coi_lang-tch1.jpg'><img border='0' style='border:1px solid #000000; margin:2px' src='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/200/coi_lang-tch1.jpg'></a><br />Lang & Tchernyshev <a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' border='0' style='border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;' align='absmiddle'></a><br /><br />Lang/Tchernyshev ("Parisian Walkways") - They got a fairly muted response upon introduction, but the crowd really got into their routine as it went along. Great sustained hydroblade move midway through drew cheers. The sight of Peter T. in a tank top drew "wows" from some of the ladies seated near me. :)<br /><br />Philippe Candeloro ("Wild Wild West") - Cheezy to be sure, but the crowd just loves him. The only skater I've ever seen bring a clothes hamper out onto the ice with him. :) Typical Philippe program with some big jumps, ankle spin, clothing removal, and audience attack. Had one lady smack his rear end a few times, asking her to hit harder each time, until another lady seated next to the first one hit him really hard. :)<br /><br />Punsalan/Swallow ("Because/One") - Kind of a dark, moody number. I like their flow and power over the ice. They did some cool lifts that exhibited their strength and her flexibility.<br /><br />Dan Hollander (South Park/Mrs. Doubtfire) - He's done this program on tour before, but Dan still had the audience in stitches as soon as the lights came up. Starts off as Cartman from South Park, then segues into a Mrs. Doubtfire getup. :) He miffed a couple of triples but it didn't really affect the performance; he also did a back flip. Fun number, but I'm hoping that his terrific skills (esp. the footwork!) are showcased in a new program next year.<br /><br />Sasha Cohen ("Hernando's Hideaway") - A very solid routine. She is noticeably slower over the ice than most of the other top ladies, but she has great presence. Hit a 2axel, 3flutz, 3sal, 3toe. Gorgeous positions as always, and her LFO spiral was held on a nice deep edge (really!). Got a good crowd response.<br /><br />Totmianina/Marinin ("Never Met a Girl Like You Before" (?)) - Not terribly exciting, but this number did have a bit more flair than their competitive programs. Very nice throws and lifts.<br /><br />Michael Weiss (The Doors?) - Michael showed off his new "freedom" blades several times in this number. He fell on one triple (I think a 3toe?) but hit a few clean ones as well in between his breakdancing maneuvers. :)<br /><br /><a href='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/640/coi_bonaly1.jpg'><img border='0' style='border:1px solid #000000; margin:2px' src='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/200/coi_bonaly1.jpg'></a><br />Surya Bonaly <a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' border='0' style='border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;' align='absmiddle'></a><br /><br />Surya Bonaly ("March with Me") - Surya threw in tons of jumps throughout this program (mostly 3toes and 2axels), although she did stumble out of a couple. I don't think she used the music particularly well, but I did enjoy the energy she put into her performance. She did *two* backflips, including one landed on one foot right into a back spiral!<br /><br />Rudy Galindo (Village People medley) - Great way to close out the first half of the show. He could probably do this routine on tour for the next 10 years and crowds would still eat it up. Got some nice 3toes and 2axels in before popping another 3toe then singling an axel. The crowd clapped along through most of the routine and many people joined in the "YMCA" portion. :)<br /><br />Irina Gregorian ("Start the Commotion") - Started off the second half. Did some amazing things with several hula hoops while skating, including a 2toe and several spins and spirals all while keeping the hoops moving. Dan Hollander assisted by bringing out more and more hula hoops for Irina. :) Ended by "hula-ing" a huge slinky.<br /><br />Chait/Sakhnovsky ("Stranger In My House") - Another surprise performance. They are fast and move well, but I didn't really get into this number.<br /><br />Elvis Stojko ("That Girl") - A typical Elvis number: pointing at the crowd, singing along to his music, kissing someone in the audience, and doing some big jumps and lots of fast footwork.<br /><br /><a href='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/640/coi_bes-pol1.jpg'><img border='0' style='border:1px solid #000000; margin:2px' src='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/200/coi_bes-pol1.jpg'></a><br />Besedin & Polischuk <a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' border='0' style='border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;' align='absmiddle'></a><br /><br />Besedin/Polishchuk ("The Swan") - A goofy routine with tons of simply amazing acrobatic tricks. Incidentally, it was easy to take photos of them because they barely moved from one spot on the ice. :) They got a huge audience response.<br /><br />Timothy Goebel ("Freedom") - Tim had some jump trouble tonight, leaning on a few triples and popping/stumbling out of a 3flip. Still this was a good program that showed some additional improvement in his musicality and carriage, especially in his spins. The local boy (he's from Rolling Meadows, IL) got a nice ovation from his hometown crowd.<br /><br />Irina Slutskaya ("Cotton-Eyed Joe") - This was a fun number, very different from Irina's recent competitive programs. She hit a nice 3loop out of 3 turns, and a 3salchow. Spins were nice and fast, as was her overall skating. I wasn't as blown away by her athleticism as I was expecting, but this was an enjoyable skate.<br /><br />Victor Petrenko ("Who Let the Dogs Out") - Another cheezy program. We've seen better from Victor, but I was impressed that he was able to jump (3toe, big 2axels) with that stuffed dog strapped to his arm. :)<br /><br />Kazakova/Dmitriev (The Matrix) - A very innovative program with lots of original moves. They did their "air throw salchow" as well as a move where she did a double jump out of a death spiral, sort of. I think they did a throw 3toe also (she may have put her foot down on the landing though).<br /><br /><a href='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/640/coi_kwan1.jpg'><img border='0' style='border:1px solid #000000; margin:2px' src='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/200/coi_kwan1.jpg'></a><br />Michelle Kwan <a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' border='0' style='border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;' align='absmiddle'></a><br /><br />Michelle Kwan ("Fields of Gold") - Wow, as beautiful as this program is on tv, it was 10 times better live. :) It was smooth and seamless, yet still athletic; her power doesn't seem to come across as well on tv. Hit a 2axel, 3toe, 3lutz, and 3toe. Spins were nicely positioned and well-centered. Her ending RBI-RBO change-edge spiral drew a huge cheer. I think I held my breath through the entire program. :) Michelle received the only standing ovation of the night aside from the finale.<br /><br />Evgeny Plushenko ("Carmen") - This was a nice program filled with lots of jumps. He did a 3toe-3toe-2loop (it might have been 3loop!) to open. He really gets into the choreography, putting his all into the many arm and head flourishes throughout. :)<br /><br />Sarah Hughes ("I'll Never Say Goodbye") - Sarah's program was very pretty and she covers the ice very well. Her skating still lacks a bit of polish but she's come a very long way since I first saw her skate in person almost four years ago. She hit most of her jumps (2axel, 3sal, 3lutz, 3toe) but singled the loop out of a spiral/3 turns. Got a very nice ovation from the crowd.<br /><br />The patriotic-themed finale had everyone dressed in varying combinations of red, white, and blue. As in past COI finales, there was some group choreography combined with short solos from all/most of the skaters. Some highlights included a change-edge (LFI-LFO) spiral from Sasha Cohen (really nice position, although slower/less-steady than Kwan's), backflip into spiral from Surya Bonaly, Nicole Bobek's trademark spiral, a great scratch spin from Rudy Galindo, spiral into 3 turns into 3loop from Sarah Hughes (hit it nicely after missing it in her program), and a beautiful split falling leaf from Michelle Kwan (she was the last skater to come out for the finale). Then various groups of skaters did coordinated moves before they all went back into a final formation to acknowledge the crowd as fireworks went off overhead. Received a well-deserved standing O.<br /><br />Overall, I really enjoyed the show! The level of skating was high despite the cheeze factor of many of the routines. :) I still prefer competitive skating to shows/exhibitions, but since competitions don't take place in Chicagoland too often, I definitely plan on attending COI again in the future.<br /></span>Ronaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10212872332226308083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27375090.post-1147298481523189582001-12-29T17:00:00.000-06:002006-05-10T17:08:09.316-05:002002 USFSA Midwestern SectionalsI attended the final day of competition of the 2002 USFSA Midwestern Sectionals, which took place in Northbrook, IL, on November 17, 2001. Top finishers in each event at sectionals advance to the 2002 US Figure Skating Championships in February in Los Angeles.<br /><br />For now, I just have a few photos up, but soon I will post a review of the events that I saw.<br /><br />(You can click on each photo below to view a larger version)<br /><br /><a href='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/640/gardiner1.jpg'><img border='0' style='border:1px solid #000000; margin:2px' src='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/200/gardiner1.jpg'></a><br />Andrea Gardiner, 1st place senior ladies <a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' border='0' style='border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;' align='absmiddle'></a><br /> <br /><a href='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/640/czisny1.jpg'><img border='0' style='border:1px solid #000000; margin:2px' src='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/200/czisny1.jpg'></a><br />Alissa Czisny, 2nd place senior ladies <a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' border='0' style='border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;' align='absmiddle'></a><br /> <br /><a href='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/640/mcdonough1.jpg'><img border='0' style='border:1px solid #000000; margin:2px' src='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/200/mcdonough1.jpg'></a><br />Ann-Patrice McDonough, 3rd place senior ladies <a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' border='0' style='border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;' align='absmiddle'></a> <br /><br /><a href='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/640/aggeler1.jpg'><img border='0' style='border:1px solid #000000; margin:2px' src='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/200/aggeler1.jpg'></a><br />Andrea Aggeler, 7th place senior ladies <a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' border='0' style='border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;' align='absmiddle'></a>Ronaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10212872332226308083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27375090.post-1146803421861362482000-09-07T23:28:00.000-05:002006-05-04T23:30:21.863-05:00Skating HaikusMy very own skating haikus:<br /><br />Spin, lean back, arms up<br />Free leg turned out, and behind<br />Button's fave layback<br /><br />Tape in VCR<br />Michelle? Tara? No - Barney!<br />Set the channel wrong<br /><br />turns, speed, rotation<br />physics make skating a great<br />sport for engineers<br /><br />some commentators<br />misinterpret skating rules<br />confusing skate fans<br /><br />Dick sings "Thank Heaven..."<br />skate fans cringe and wonder if<br />Button's gone batty<br /><br />quad boy Tim Goebel<br />and world champion Michelle Kwan<br />romance in SoCal? <br /><br />For more skating-related haikus and other poems, visit Walkingcow's <a href="http://walkingcow.tripod.com/">Skating Haiku Page</a>.Ronaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10212872332226308083noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27375090.post-1146536044102120601999-05-21T21:09:00.000-05:002006-05-12T23:21:59.536-05:001999 Champions on Ice - Chicago, ILHere's my review of the 1999 Champions on Ice show which took place on May 1, 1999 at Chicago's United Center.<br /><br /><u><b>The Cast:</b></u><br /><br /><b>First half </b> <br />Elizabeth Manley | Timothy Goebel | Nicole Bobek | Michael Weiss | Anissina & Peizerat | Alexei Urmanov | Berezhnaia & Sikharulidze | Surya Bonaly | Rudy Galindo<br /><br /><b>Second half</b><br />Laurent Tobel | Todd Eldredge | Klimova & Ponomarenko | Elvis Stojko | Oksana Baiul | Victor Petrenko | Kazakova & Dmitriev | Philippe Candeloro | Michelle Kwan | Brian Boitano<br /><br />I was happy to have gotten much better seats for this show than I did the last two times I attended. I got my ticket two weeks ago and got second row seats, halfway between center ice and one of the "non-lutz" corners, towards the skaters' entrance area. Last year, I was about six or seven rows from the top of the United Center :) so my viewing experience was much different this time around! Last year, it was neat to be able to see the ice coverage patterns of the skaters; this year, I was able to notice facial expressions, hand movements, and other details. It was also a bit scary watching a skater set up for a jump right in front of me. :)<br /><br />I've added some photos to the review; all photos can be clicked on to bring up a larger version.<br /><br />The show started off with the typical opening number. All the skaters seemed to be "on" ... interestingly, Punsalan & Swallow came out for the opening, but unless I completely blanked out on them, I believe they did not do a solo number.<br /><br />The first solo number was by Elizabeth Manley, skating in a black and neon costume with black pants. Did a few double jumps, and some great spins, including a nice scratch spin.<br /><br />Local boy Timmy Goebel skated to "Zoot Suit Riot" and hit a nice 3sal to open his program. He then fell on another jump at the far end of the rink (could have been a 4sal attempt???). Timmy needs to work on his performing quality, but he has potential.<br /><br />Nicole Bobek did her Blondie medley. Not quite as electric as we are used to seeing, but she was sporting a new shorter hairdo. :) Hit a big 3toe, but turned out of a 2axel. She did a lovely spiral of course, plus a long, low hydroblading glide.<br /><br /><a href='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/640/weiss99-01.jpg'><img border='0' style='border:1px solid #000000; margin:2px' src='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/200/weiss99-01.jpg'></a><br />Michael Weiss <a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' border='0' style='border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;' align='absmiddle'></a><br /><br />Michael Weiss got the crowd going with his fun KC & the Sunshine Band medley. Excellent jumps (3lutz, 3flip, 3toe), nice spins, wild costume, very entertaining! This is a terrific program for him.<br /><br />Marina Anissina & Gwendal Peizerat performed a version of their passionate "Man in the Iron Mask" routine. Very nice, crowd loved them.<br /><br />Alexei Urmanov skated to "I Put a Spell on You" in a way-too-big-and-colorful shirt. :) Stepped out of a 3axel, then nearly jumped into the boards on a 3toe (but saved it nicely). Got a good crowd response as well.<br /><br />Elena Bereznaia & Anton Sikharulidze did their mesmerizing "Impossible Dream" program. Amazing spirals and eagles, glorious edging... plus a big throw 3sal. Impressive speed, and very quiet skating. Wonderful!<br /><br />Surya Bonaly skated to a Russian (?) folk song. Triples all over the place, including walley-walley-split-3toe! She used the build up in the music towards the end of her program to good effect, setting up for her one-footed backflip. Nice ovation for her; she seemed to be very popular with this crowd.<br /><br /><a href='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/640/galindo99-02.jpg'><img border='0' style='border:1px solid #000000; margin:2px' src='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/200/galindo99-02.jpg'></a><br />Rudy Galindo <a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' border='0' style='border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;' align='absmiddle'></a><br /><br />Rudy Galindo closed the first half of ths show with his Village People medley. Stepped out of a 2axel in the beginning, but hit a couple more good ones, plus a couple of 3toes. Of course, many in the crowd joined him for the YMCA portion of the program. :)<br /><br />The second act started with Laurent Tobel, dressed as a pot-bellied soldier. Lots of pratfall-type tricks, plus a big 3flip. Neat footwork sequence where he swizzled (?) down the rink on one foot, narrowly avoiding the bottle of "vodka" he had placed on the ice.<br /><br />Todd Eldredge did his "Pity the Child" program. I don't care much for the song, but Todd was definitely on for this performance. Great 3loop, 3axel, 3lutz, 3toe. Wonderful spins. Good speed throughout as well.<br /><br />Marina Klimova & Sergei Ponomarenko skated a very relaxing routine to "Evergreen"... nice, soft, romantic skating. Very smooth.<br /><br />Elvis Stojko performed to "What I Like About You" and really worked the crowd. Lots of footwork! I think he hit a 3axel at the far end of the rink (not positive).<br /><br /><a href='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/640/baiul99-01.0.jpg'><img border='0' style='border:1px solid #000000; margin:2px' src='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/200/baiul99-01.0.jpg'></a><br />Oksana Baiul <a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' border='0' style='border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;' align='absmiddle'></a><br /><br />Oksana Baiul did her Bach program. This program has grown on me since I first saw it. She was hit-and-miss with the jumps: got a 3toe and 2axel, stepped out of a 3sal, and wiped out on the final 2axel (she hit the ice with an audible "argh!")... She seemed to really appreciate the warm crowd response.<br /><br />Victor Petrenko skated his Michael Jackson medley program, much to the crowd's delight. Hit a 3toe, 2axel, 2sal. Fun dance moves. Great show program.<br /><br />Oksana Kazakova & Artur Dmitriev skated to "Fly Me to the Moon" and were very dynamic. Awesome lifts, and a big throw 3toe (may have been two-footed). The move in which Artur turns while holding Oksana upright in front of him, right into throw 2sal, is really amazing. Neat series of "cartwheels" by Oksana over Artur's back towards the end of the routine.<br /><br />Philippe Candeloro treated us to his wonderful "D'Artagnan" routine. Started working the crowd even before his music began. Hit some nice jumps, then unexpectedly fell backwards after a backflip! He made up for it by trying another backflip, and hitting it perfectly. Great swordplay, and very effective footwork.<br /><br /><a href='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/640/kwan99-02.jpg'><img border='0' style='border:1px solid #000000; margin:2px' src='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/200/kwan99-02.jpg'></a><br />Michelle Kwan <a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' border='0' style='border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;' align='absmiddle'></a><br /><br />Michelle Kwan skated her lovely "One More Time" program. Just wonderful choreography, line, flow... She did 3toe, 3lutz out of steps, 3sal, and 2toe, plus several gorgeous spirals, nice split jumps, and many interesting connecting moves. The performance was expressive and emotional, without being overdone. I'm so glad I got to see this one live!<br /><br />Brian Boitano closed the show with a Sinatra medley. Very powerful, sweeping movements throughout the program. Hit a big 'Tano 3lutz plus a couple of other triples. Nice program.<br /><br />The swing-themed closing group number was definitely a cut above the mish-mash closing of previous seasons. The group interaction was fun, and well-choreographed. Highlights included a 4-person death spiral (!) with K&D and B&S, two sets of simulataneous 2axels by Galindo, Eldredge, Urmanov, and Boitano, and side-by-side backflips by Bonaly and Candeloro. Neat way to close the show. Hats off to Sarah Kawahara for doing a great job with the number.<br /><br />Once again, I left the show amazed, impressed and very satisfied. Also, I realized, by the number of blurry photos that I got back, that I need to learn a lot more about action photography! Hopefully by next year I'll have it down pat. :) Thanks to all the skaters and crew for a very entertaining show!Ronaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10212872332226308083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27375090.post-1147194662488508281999-04-17T12:10:00.000-05:002006-05-09T12:11:02.500-05:001996 Tour of ChampionsThis is a review of the 1996 Campbell's Soup Tour of Champions, which took place at the United Center in Chicago on June 1, 1996. I posted this review to the rec.sport.skating.ice.figure usenet group, but when I decided to add it to my skating site, I couldn't find the file that I had saved on disk... thanks to the DejaNews newsgroup archives, I recently tracked it down! So here it is, as originally written for (and "addressed to") the group. Enjoy. :)<br /><br /><hr width="80%"><br /><br />Hi! It's been weeks since I last visited here, ever since school ended for the summer, and ironically, now that I actually have time to "surf" I find myself without the free Internet access that I took for granted at the university. :( Oh well, c'est la vie.<br /><br />Anyway, for anyone who's interested, I just thought I'd share my comments on the Campbell's TOC that came to Chicago's United Center on June 1. I caught the matinee (2pm) show with my mom and sister, and our seats were ultra-nosebleed: 16th row, 300-level (top balcony!), but our view was nice and unobstructed. Binoculars came in very handy. :) I've kind of forgotten the skating order already (maybe someone can help??? please?), but I'll mention what were the highlights for me.<br /><br />First of all, we all thought that tv just can't compare to live viewing as far as excitement and atmosphere goes... Just the realization that we were *in the same building* as all these famous skaters was such a thrill! It was fun actually applauding and "woohoo!"-ing their performances. Plus, you could really tell how well a skater covered the ice, etc, even from top balcony seats. The opening quasi-group number (which started off with a lightshow display of the Olympic rings) was fun and showed off individual skater's strengths well, and actually also ended up giving an indication of whether they were going to be "on" or not that day.<br /><br />Tonia Kwiatkowski started things out with a techno number ("Are You Ready For This?")... very good and different style for her... I think she would've gotten a bigger crowd response if she came a little later in the show.<br /><br />"Chicago's own" Nicole Bobek did her Cirque du Soleil "bird" program and was really on... two nice triples (I think toeloops) and a good double axel, plus some amazing spirals. Very cool!<br /><br />Punsalan & Swallow did "La Vie en Rose" and were very very cute.<br /><br />Dan Hollander was a big hit... he skated in a janitor's uniform with a mop and bucket to some lively music... I think he may have bobbled a jump towards the end of his program but more than made up for that with a cool backflip, right over his mop/bucket setup! Big ovation.<br /><br />Rudy Galindo did "Ave Maria" and was flawless and graceful.<br /><br />Jenni Meno & Todd Sand looked so good together, and she is really beautiful with her hair down... They skated to "You Make Me So Very Happy" (I think that's the title) and were quite good, although they only did a throw single axel instead of a double.<br /><br />Todd Eldredge did a very nice program to "This is the Moment"... he popped what looked like was supposed to be a triple axel, but otherwise skated fast and cleanly with good style.<br /><br />Right after intermission, Guddat & Beacom did their neon skates-on-hands routine. Weird but fun!<br /><br />Elvis Stojko skated to some Michael Jackson songs and was a big hit with the crowd. Great jumps, of course, and fast footwork.<br /><br />Grischuk & Platov did Madonna's "You'll See" and were very good. I wish their competition routines could be this enjoyable!<br /><br />Michelle Kwan did a very very nice "Pocahontas"... she did a triple salchow, double axel, triple lutz (a little shaky landing), and triple toe... Perfect choreography... I really like this program!<br /><br />Brasseur & Eisler were awesome, they wore similar "Blues Brothers"-type costumes and did some huge tricks. Very dynamic and fun! Huge applause for them.<br /><br />The last skater was Brian Boitano and he was awesome... even from our seats, his jumps and death drop looked huge, and his skating looked so strong. Needless to say, great ovation.<br /><br />The closing number was similar to the opening and provided a nice end to a great show. The skaters skated off to "We are the Champions" and a warm applause.<br /><br />Some disappointments/other comments: Alexei Urmanov and Nancy Kerrigan both fell on triple toes (I'm surprised Nancy even tried a triple considering she's what, four months pregnant now?), Scott Davis was only okay (though my sister just about went crazy when he was announced!), Lu Chen didn't do any triples (otherwise skated nicely), Usova & Zhulin's program theme escaped me, Klimova & Ponamarenko were good but nothing to get excited about, Viktor Petrenko tried a triple axel and barely missed, Oksana Baiul did her Arabian program and was very disappointing jump-wise (only a double salchow and a step out of a single axel)... Also bummed that Surya Bonaly wasn't there. Did I forget anyone?<br /><br />Miscellaney: This was my first trip to United Center, really nice, clean, good popcorn :), good views everywhere (I'm assuming, since we were almost as high up as you could get and we could see pretty clearly)... The crowd was generally very good although I guess I don't have much to reference from since this is only the second skating show I've seen in person... an exception was the couple sitting in front of me who were very obviously pro-Oksana and anti-Nancy... they actually laughed when Nancy fell. Ugh!<br /><br />Anyhow, sorry this was so long but I've appreciated reading the reviews of others who've seen the show and I thought I'd share my own thoughts with anyone else who might be interested. I'll probably be away from the group again for a while, so if anybody would care to reply or add comments, or if someone else who went to the Chicago show could refresh my memory about the skating order (I should've taken notes!), I'd love to hear from ya via e-mail.Ronaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10212872332226308083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27375090.post-1147325165786773571998-10-30T23:17:00.000-06:002006-05-11T20:39:21.753-05:00USFSA 1999 World Junior Team SelectionsHere are some photos that I took at the USFSA World Junior Team selection competition, which took place September 3-5, 1998. Results of this event were used to help choose the skaters who will represent the United States at the 1999 World Junior Figure Skating Championships, to be held in late-1998. Complete results can be found on the USFSA site. The USFSA has selected the top three finishers in each discipline to go to junior world's. <br /><br />Personal notes: This was the first live skating competition that I ever attended, and it was very exciting! I watched the last day of competition, the free skating programs of all four disciplines. Fortunately I was able to get good seats (third row, right on center ice). It was very interesting to see the difference in speed, power, and overall skating quality from one competitor to the next. It was fun to see the skaters and coaches "up close and personal" as well. I was quite star-struck! :) The skating itself was very entertaining, and the top finishers all skated strong programs. I think the USA will be well-represented at junior world's. <br /><br />(You can click on each photo below to view a larger version)<br /><br /><a href='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/640/steiglers1.jpg'><img border='0' style='border:1px solid #000000; margin:2px' src='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/200/steiglers1.jpg'></a><br />Second-place pairs finishers Tiffany & Johnnie Steigler starting their free skate <a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' border='0' style='border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;' align='absmiddle'></a><br /><br /><a href='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/640/handybinnebose.jpg'><img border='0' style='border:1px solid #000000; margin:2px' src='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/200/handybinnebose.jpg'></a><br />Pairs winners Laura Handy and J. Paul Binnebose taking their bows after their free skate <a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' border='0' style='border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;' align='absmiddle'></a><br /><br /><a href='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/640/l_warmups1.jpg'><img border='0' style='border:1px solid #000000; margin:2px' src='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/200/l_warmups1.jpg'></a><br />Andrea Aggeler (left) and Sarah Hughes (right) warming up for the ladies' free skate <a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' border='0' style='border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;' align='absmiddle'></a><br /><br /><a href='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/640/l_warmups2.jpg'><img border='0' style='border:1px solid #000000; margin:2px' src='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/200/l_warmups2.jpg'></a><br />Morgan Rowe warming up <a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' border='0' style='border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;' align='absmiddle'></a><br /><br /><a href='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/640/sarah_hughes.jpg'><img border='0' style='border:1px solid #000000; margin:2px' src='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/200/sarah_hughes.jpg'></a><br />Ladies' winner Sarah Hughes finishing her free skate <a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' border='0' style='border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;' align='absmiddle'></a><br /><br /><a href='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/640/doyle.jpg'><img border='0' style='border:1px solid #000000; margin:2px' src='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/200/doyle.jpg'></a><br />Second-place ladies' finisher Camie Doyle finishing her free skate <a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' border='0' style='border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;' align='absmiddle'></a>Ronaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10212872332226308083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27375090.post-1146803101549186041998-10-30T23:15:00.000-06:002006-06-15T19:28:38.583-05:00Champions On Ice 1998Here's my review of the 1998 Champions on Ice show which took place on July 18, 1998 at Chicago's United Center.<br /><br /><b><u>Skaters</u></b><br /><br /><b>First half: </b><br />Tonia Kwiatkowski | Michael Weiss | Punsalan & Swallow | Nicole Bobek | Usova & Zhulin | Alexei Urmanov | Woetzel & Steuer | Rudy Galindo | Klimova & Ponamarenko | Surya Bonaly | Philippe Candeloro<br /> <br /><b>Second half:</b><br />Tim Goebel | Laurent Tobel | Lu Chen | Berezhnaia & Sikharulidze | Todd Eldredge | Krylova & Ovsiannikov | Victor Petrenko | Kazakova & Dmitriev | Gritschuk & Platov | Michelle Kwan | Ilya Kulik | Tara Lipinski<br /><br />Note: photos are courtesy of my friend Krista, who somehow took some great pictures despite sitting with me just a few rows down from the very top of the United Center. :) You can click on each photo to view a larger version.<br /><br />The opening number was nice and set the tone for the rest of the show. The only obvious problem was Surya Bonaly’s fall at the end of a double axel-triple toe (!) combo.<br /><br />Tonia Kwiatkowski started things off with her "Are You Ready for This" routine, which she did the last time I saw COI/TOC in 1996 (except this time she wore a hot pink costume instead of black). Hit a nice triple toe and a so-so triple lutz. Her spins weren’t as crisp as they looked on tv, but her footwork was good!<br /><br />Michael Weiss skated next to music by The Doors. It wasn’t an especially memorable performance, but it did feature a nice backflip.<br /><br />Punsalan & Swallow skated a cute routine to some Sinatra (?) song. They are a very attractive couple and have nice flow across the ice.<br /><br /><a href='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/640/bobek.jpg'><img border='0' style='border:1px solid #000000; margin:2px' src='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/200/bobek.jpg'></a><br />Nicole Bobek <a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' border='0' style='border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;' align='absmiddle'></a><br /><br />Nicole Bobek was next and was definitely "on"... Skating to "I Will Survive"/"Natural Woman"/"Respect" the local girl lit up the arena. Hit two big triple toes and two huge double axels. Did a very long cannonball sit spin and her trademark spiral. A very fun routine. <br /><br />Usova & Zhulin skated next, to a slow song by Sting. Smooth, but I didn't get too into their routine.<br /><br />Alexei Urmanov did a routine that used his gloves as props. :) Hit a nice triple axel! But stumbled a bit on a triple toe.<br /><br />Woetzel & Steuer skated to "Mandy" by Barry Manilow and did a nice job. She put a hand down on a big throw double axel.<br /><br /><a href='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/640/galindo.jpg'><img border='0' style='border:1px solid #000000; margin:2px' src='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/200/galindo.jpg'></a><br />Rudy Galindo <a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' border='0' style='border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;' align='absmiddle'></a><br /><br />Rudy Galindo really got the crowd going with his Village People program! Nice jumps and creative spins held together with some very flamboyant choreography. :) He got one of the biggest crowd receptions of the evening.<br /><br /><a href='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/640/pair.jpg'><img border='0' style='border:1px solid #000000; margin:2px' src='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/200/pair.jpg'></a><br />Klimova & Ponamarenko <a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' border='0' style='border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;' align='absmiddle'></a><br /><br />Klimova & Ponamarenko skated a soft, flowy, romantic routine. It's true, her hair is now dull brown. :)<br /><br />Surya Bonaly was next. This was the first time I've seen her skate live, and I'd have to say she is a very charismatic performer. Her routine was to an interesting Sarah Brightman song. Did jumps galore, including an awesome walley-walley-split-triple toe, as well as a backflip-triple sal. Threw some forward flips during her bows :)<br /><br /><a href='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/640/philippe.jpg'><img border='0' style='border:1px solid #000000; margin:2px' src='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/200/philippe.jpg'></a><br />Philippe Candeloro <a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' border='0' style='border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;' align='absmiddle'></a><br /><br />Philippe Candeloro's disco program closed the first half on a high note. Like Rudy, he really got the crowd into his routine. He jumped into the stands at one point and took off his jacket in front of some very happy ladies.<br /><br />After intermission, Tim Goebel (who is from the Chicago suburb of Rolling Meadows) came out and did a program to "Grease"... he skates very "young" but has a lot of potential.<br /><br /><a href='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/640/tutu.jpg'><img border='0' style='border:1px solid #000000; margin:2px' src='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/200/tutu.jpg'></a><br />Laurent Tobel <a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' border='0' style='border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;' align='absmiddle'></a><br /><br />Laurent Tobel was hilarious in his ballerina getup, complete with tutu. Hit a big triple flip. <br /><br />Lu Chen skated to "Peel Me a Grape" and hit a nice triple toe, then fell on a double axel. It was a nice routine but it didn't have a whole lot of spark.<br /><br />Berezhnaia & Sikharulidze did their "Barcelona" program. They have awesome speed over the ice, and did a huge throw triple (loop?)...<br /><br />Todd Eldredge skated his Andrea Bocelli program and hit everything, including a big triple axel. Also skated with all kinds of speed and flow. Big ovation.<br /><br />Krylova & Ovsiannikov did their very enthusiastic "Malaguena"... good speed and tons of expression.<br /><br />Victor Petrenko did his pianist number which I didn't really care for. Nice jumps though.<br /><br />Kazakova & Dmitriev were next and did very well. I forget their music, but they skated with a lot of flair.<br /><br />Gritschuk & Platov skated to "Frozen" by Madonna. Weird red costumes! I think I liked their "You'll See" program better. They skate very fast but didn't do a whole lot of footwork.<br /><br /><a href='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/640/michelle.jpg'><img border='0' style='border:1px solid #000000; margin:2px' src='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/200/michelle.jpg'></a><br />Michelle Kwan <a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' border='0' style='border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;' align='absmiddle'></a><br /><br />Michelle Kwan was next (woohoo!) and skated to "Reflections" from Mulan. The version she used was sung by Lea Salonga but was different than the one in the movie/soundtrack. She hit a triple toe and triple sal, then stumbled a bit on a tilted triple lutz. I have to say, as beautiful as her change of edge spiral sequence is on tv, it's absolutely breathtaking in person! The speed and the ice coverage are awesome. She has some interesting footwork and spins as well. The program as a whole wasn't as captivating as I imagine "Dante's Prayer" would have been live, but still nice. Big ovation.<br /><br />Ilya Kulik skated his "Rhapsody in Blue" program, complete with yellow cow shirt. :) His skating is very smooth, with effortless jumps. Landed a nice triple axel and several other triples.<br /><br /><a href='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/640/tara.jpg'><img border='0' style='border:1px solid #000000; margin:2px' src='http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/162/10574/200/tara.jpg'></a><br />Tara Lipinski <a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' border='0' style='border:0px;padding:0px;background:transparent;' align='absmiddle'></a><br /><br />Tara Lipinski closed the show with her "Gliding"/"Believe in Yourself" program. She certainly skates with a lot of speed and covers the ice very well. She doubled her first lutz then tried a triple and landed it fine. Also hit a triple loop, triple sal, and I think a triple toe as well. There are some nice moments in this program, like the back spiral/attitude move, but she still has a little ways to go before she reaches the performance level of Nicole or Michelle, for me at least. <br /><br />Highlights of the closing number included simultaneous double axels by Urmanov and Galindo; Bonaly's back flip-triple sal; and Kwan's edge-change spiral.<br /><br />Overall I was impressed by the show and had a great time. If I go next season I'm going to definitely try to get better seats!! Thank goodness for binoculars (and for Krista's zoom lens and photography skills)!Ronaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10212872332226308083noreply@blogger.com0