Alexandra Paul & Mitchell Islam

[NorthernDancers]

Well obviously not much. They've only been assigned to NHK.

I am very surprised that they weren't assigned to Skate Canada. I wonder who Skate Canada is saving that third "TBA" spot for? Harvey & Gagnon? Arnold & Trjoek? Ralph & Hill?

It's sad that they are really losing momentum and reputation vs. their world junior contemporaries like I&K and the Shibutanis.

Paul/Islam are a really interesting team who appear to have a ton of potential. They had some unfortunate injuries/poor performances last season on the GP. They are still really young, and very much in development mode, and can be inconsistent at times. I personally think she is very fabulous, and to me he looks like he isn't fully done growing even physically yet. Some young men just grow up and bulk up when they are a little older. I think the door for another GP is open, should they perform well before the GP season opens. But perhaps maybe the best thing for them is to continue to just work really hard, and continue to develop and improve. Then, when the opportunity is there, and they are fully ready, the GP experience will be a positive one. Weaver/Poje have had to do the same thing for a number of years, only finally making it back to Worlds this year. Instead of losing momentum, they are 5th in the World, and some of us think they should have been higher. Assuming Paul/Islam are again 3rd at Nationals, they will not only have 1 GP assignment, but also a trip to Worlds. And a spot on the 2014 Olympic team is also very much possible for them.

The team I really feel a little sorry for is Ralph/Hill. They have the first GP event of the season, which means they must be well-prepared early, and then will skate against some really, really strong teams. There is no way they can possibly medal, and quite possible they will finish quite low in the standings. This can only reinforce some commonly held beliefs that they are past their prime as a team. The only way they can shake this situation is to have really, really strong quality skating in the pre-GP season, and show new, surprising, positive programs...like a team re-born. They've been looking tired and ragged these last couple seasons. Only time will tell on that. I do believe that if they do poorly internationally and in the pre-GP season, they will drop in the rankings within Canada at Nationals. It is quite possible that Harvey/Gagnon, with continued strong training, and Arnold/Trojek, who are now in their 3rd season together as a team and have consistently shown improvement year over year, will surpass them. And we don't yet know what other Canadian teams can surprise us this season.

[lavenderblue]

As they were only guaranteed one spot in the first place, I suspect SC opted to take the TBD route for the time being and allow another federation to select them. Had SC slotted them in now, it seems to me that would officially relegate them to that single event. With this arrangement, they have a far better shot at two.

[DORISPULASKI]

I imagine that a lot of the teams with one event will be doing Senior B's in Europe.

[Dave of the North]

Paul/Islam are a really interesting team who appear to have a ton of potential. They had some unfortunate injuries/poor performances last season on the GP.

Not sure what you mean - they had one GP at Skate Canada where they finished 4th with a well received freedance; the year before they were on the JGP and finshed second at Junior worlds.

[Pratfall]

Yikes ! the senior B's could get quite crowded , wouldn't you think ? Even with the addition of Thornhill this yr. and one in the States next yr. ( hope , hope )... it looks like more skaters will need to do them..some of them already have really large fields , don't they ?

Pairs and dance seem to be getting the shortest straw.. e.g.Thornhill won't have ( accredited )Dance..( time to pony up more money for a dance panel ?...or make sure the US Senior B has one ?..but that still makes things tight this year..)

I hope P/I get the third SC slot ( or some other slot ), it rankles me to see teams that they were competitive with at Jr.World's getting 2 slots and having a chance to compete. Just because other teams ( like W/P ) have had to suffer through this in the past , wouldn't make me feel any better about it.

I feel R/H are in desperate need of a coaching change if they're to progress , so I can't be quite as worried for them..until I see what they're doing. H/G could really be left hanging in the wind , and I'd love to see them have a slot..but would I like that better than a second one for P/I...not really.

I think both O/W and A/T are eligible for the JGP, aren't they ? ... So they're not as great a concern, at the mo..

[skatingfan04]

Sorry, I'm not really familiar with the rules for GP entry, so I would love it if some of you could give me some more info. I'm assuming that P/I were only assigned to one event because they are lacking the points needed to qualify for two (Since they only competed internationally once last year). I highly doubt, given how they skated at SC last year, that the federation would choose to restrict them mo TEB. If P/I compete in some senior B's in the next few months, as I suspect they will, is it possible for them to gain the points necessary in time to be assigned to a second event? If so, I was thinking that SC might be leaving that last vacant spot open in the hopes that P/I amass enough points in time.

[Proustable]

The number of rule changes this season is a bit mindboggling.

1. I suspect the reason SC left that slot open is to allow either of Harvey/Gagnon or Arnold/Trojek the chance at competing at a GP by doing well at a senior B (A/T beat H/G last season at Nebelhorn, so when V/M withdrew, they got the spot).

2. Paul/Islam actually ranked 18th on the season best list. Of the 17 teams that beat them

• The Kerrs have retired
• Crone/Poirier and Chock/Zuerlein have split
• All but two teams have two or three spots

3. So I suspect that Skate Canada (federation) took a bit of a gamble here to assure Ralph/Hill get the chance for two spots as well by politicking them. They got SA. So if they do well, they get on the season best list (likely underneath P/I, because they're not as good).

4. The teams ahead of P/I that don't have a full complement of spots are Hoffman/Zavosin (1 spot) and Faeilla/Scali (0). So that means that the first three WDs will likely go to them (provided they don't get bumped down the list by a stronger skate). Now, further to that, I suspect that F/S given the topsy-turvy nature of their season, might skip the GP season, so P/I could be bumped up the subsitute list. Recall that last season had a few withdraws (V/M 2x, C/L from SA at the top of my head, Alessandrini/Vaturi from their two events, the Kerrs from CoR). So P/I are well positioned to take advantage of the subsitute list.

5. Now, if they don't (and this is pure chicanery and speculation)... Weaver/Poje have three slots. While making the GPF will be difficult, if they happen to be well positioned to do so or have no shot, they could conceivably withdraw from CoR (if say, Skate Canada covers the financial penalty that accrues from WDing from a third event) and allow countrymates P/I to take that slot.

[flowerpower]

Weaver/Poje have three slots. While making the GPF will be difficult, if they happen to be well positioned to do so or have no shot, they could conceivably withdraw from CoR (if say, Skate Canada covers the financial penalty that accrues from WDing from a third event) and allow countrymates P/I to take that slot.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe that countrymates can take over a slot. In case of a withdrawal, the host federation will invite another team from the substitute list. So P/I would have to be at the head of the substitute list for such a strategy to work, if I understand the current process correctly.

[Proustable]

Yep. My supposition would be that they be at the head of the list at that point, in a year of unusually lean withdraws (which is what we're all hoping for, right! Last season was rather devastating in that regard).

[DORISPULASKI]

Not sure what you mean - they had one GP at Skate Canada where they finished 4th with a well received freedance; the year before they were on the JGP and finshed second at Junior worlds.

They had 2.

P&I had a really bad error in the GW part of the SD at SC, which is why they were 4th instead of 3rd overall.

They also had a injury and had to withdraw from CoR, after a less than stellar SD. (they finished last of 8 teams)

[clarie]

Well lets hope they are healthy for all their competitions this year. It's kind of difficult to make progress when injured like she was last year. I was so impressed with them at Skate Canada last year in spite of the mistake and the injury. I loved their long program, and watching in the stadium, it was just mesmerizing.

[Dave of the North]

They had 2.

P&I had a really bad error in the GW part of the SD at SC, which is why they were 4th instead of 3rd overall.

They also had a injury and had to withdraw from CoR, after a less than stellar SD. (they finished last of 8 teams)

Right sometimes it seems like the GP season was 5 years ago...

[blue_idealist]

Why do Hoffman and Zavozin only have one spot? Is it because they didn't compete at Worlds and it lowered their ISU rank?

[DORISPULASKI]

I'd like to know that too. After all, they did qualify for the GPF.

[skatingfan04]

Paul & Islam are entered for both the SD and the FD at the COS (Thronhill) Summer Skate!!! For those who don't know, it's an anual competition held near Toronto, Ontario where locals often come to debut their programs. In fact, Virtue & Moir skated there for many years, and used the event to debut their Olympic FD back in 2009. The arena has some seating, and the event is open to the public. Tickets are really cheap, about $7 for the whole day, and are purchased at the door. The event will take place August 11th - 14th, wih Paul & Islam competing on the 13th and 14th. Here's the link to the even site for anyone who is interested.

http://www.skatecanada-centralontari...nts.htm#SUMMER

I got to see these two skate this event last summer, and they were excellent. There are some other great entries as well (Moore-Towers & Moscovitch, Ralph & Hill, Denis Ten, Andrei Rogozine, etc...) so I highly reccomend it to anyone thinking of going.

[skatingfan04]

double post

[SamuraiK]

Why do Hoffman and Zavozin only have one spot? Is it because they didn't compete at Worlds and it lowered their ISU rank?

By decreasing the spots from 10 to 8, AND the 3 event option for top 6.It was almost impossible for a team not in the top 12 at worlds to get the 2nd event. Only Riazanova&Tkachenko (arguably highest profile team not at worlds) and Monko&Khaliavin (current Jr. World champions) got the second competition.

But if teams like CronePoirier and ChockZuerlein hadn't split the scenario would be much worse

[Pratfall]

Boy , I'm anxious to know what their programs will be..Hope someone has a camera at Thornhill...I don't want to be unfair to them , but after the way they've come ahead already , I'm expecting another big leap forward..

[skatingfan04]

Boy , I'm anxious to know what their programs will be..Hope someone has a camera at Thornhill...I don't want to be unfair to them , but after the way they've come ahead already , I'm expecting another big leap forward..

I'm going! I'll try to give a good report. BTW, does anyone remember where these two announced their music choices last seaon? I'd love to know where to keep an eye out for this year.

[shutterbug]

P&I are scheduled to skate at the Mariposa Gala on Aug. 4, 2011.