The Dance Hall 5: Ice Dance Fans 2017-2018

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What's ridiculous is that NBC knows by now that no US lady will medal. Putting men or dance last would at least allow them to hype real contenders.

And screwing the entire Euro continent so skating can be on in prime time in the US, not to mention making skaters skate the most important performances of their lives in the morning, is American imperialism.
 
clairecloutier said:
Right. Like European or Asian or Russian or whatever news channels wouldn't do the exact same thing if they had the money for the TV rights. :drama:
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That doesn't make it right. Scheduling should be done based on local time. I didn't get to watch much from SLC or Vancouver, but I was fine with that because competitions need to be held on a reasonable schedule. This is not a reasonable schedule, and even worse than screwing over fans throughout Europe and Asia, it is completely unfair to the skaters.

It'll serve NBC right if no US skaters end up medalling. But I'm not going to wish any skaters ill just because of dickish behavior from a US network (or because of smug comments like yours).
 
I agree that skaters should be the priority in determining the schedule and starting so early is not ideal. But when the 08 Summer Olys were in Beijing, certain key events, like gymnastics were held in the morning so they could be broadcast live in U.S. primetime, and the athletes seemed to do fine. Skaters usually train in the mornings, so they are used to it. Skating late in the evening is probably more of an adjustment.
 
RoseRed said:
Actually, they said in an interview this summer that they wanted back to back GPs to practice for the team event but they didn't think they'd get it. Didn't give a reason why not.
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Virtue & Moir (maybe just Scott?) said in an interview the year before that they couldn't be assured of any GP except a host spot at SC, which--as far as I've heard--was nonsense, as they could apply as comeback skaters. Correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that comeback skaters are guaranteed two invites anywhere on the GP. This was before the announcement about the expanded GP dance fields. Spots were super tight, but even so, there was no reason to believe V&M wouldn't be guaranteed their two comeback spots that I know of.

There's no reason China wouldn't have taken V&M if SC wanted to send them to China. The only body likely to refuse V&M that "opportunity" would be the Canadian Fed itself. The quote never made sense from an SC perspective anyway. If V&M wanted to simulate the team event, the best way to do so would have been to compete in China and Japan. Again, highly unlikely as Canada was going to invite V&M to Skate Canada in order to sell tickets.

Taking this particular track record into account, I think we should wait to see who SC selects for their team. Rather than making assumptions based on the old V&M interview. It may not come down to dance results at all. It may come down to what the _____ is going on with the Canadian men and with Canada's 2nd-4th ranked pairs. (All that said, I'm afraid Weaver & Poje--whom I would love to see on the Canadian team at the team event--didn't do themselves any favors at Internationaux de France. They had a very good argument for a team spot after SC). It is possible that the Canadian fed has it's game plan decided at this stage of the season, but unless we have a link to a more recent statement than that old interview, I think we wait & see.
 
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Dobre said:
Virtue & Moir (maybe just Scott?) said in an interview the year before that they couldn't be assured of any GP except a host spot at SC, which--as far as I've heard--was nonsense, as they could apply as comeback skaters. Correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that comeback skaters are guaranteed two invites anywhere on the GP. This was before the announcement about the expanded GP dance fields. Spots were super tight, but even so, there was no reason to believe V&M wouldn't be guaranteed their two comeback spots that I know of.

There's no reason China wouldn't have taken V&M if SC wanted to send them to China. The only body likely to refuse V&M that "opportunity" would be the Canadian Fed itself. The quote never made sense from an SC perspective anyway. If V&M wanted to simulate the team event, the best way to do so would have been to compete in China and Japan. Again, highly unlikely as Canada was going to invite V&M to Skate Canada in order to sell tickets.

Taking this particular track record into account, I think we should wait to see who SC selects for their team. Rather than making assumptions based on the old V&M interview. It may not come down to dance results at all. It may come down to what the _____ is going on with the Canadian men and with Canada's 2nd-4th ranked pairs. (All that said, I'm afraid Weaver & Poje--whom I would love to see on the Canadian team at the team event--didn't do themselves any favors at Internationaux de France. They had a very good argument for a team spot after SC). It is possible that the Canadian fed has it's game plan decided at this stage of the season, but unless we have a link to a more recent statement than that old interview, I think we wait & see.
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In that interview, they said 1. That they wanted to compete at SC, 2. That they'd said they would like to do a back to back, but might not get that chance. They also said something along the lines of, they try not to get too involved in those decisions because they trust their coaches to know what's best for them. So perhaps their coaches just decided that wasn't what was best.

I think there's zero chance that Tessa and Scott won't be asked to skate both programs as long as they're willing. TS are basically sure to beat whatever US team and B/S, and W/P aren't. And they can't prove otherwise, since they aren't at the GPF. Even though SC was really good, they were close to H/D at home and the Shibs were amazing at SA with higher scores. I think SC proved they can be in the mix for bronze, but it didn't prove that they are a step ahead of everyone but the top two, so there's still a risk there that you just don't have using TS. So an "old" interview is relevant, because TS publicly indicated they'd be happy to do both. And May 2017 isn't that old in the context of whether or not they're willing to do that. Especially since they sounded sure. They didn't say, "well I guess we'd be okay doing both". Scott said, "if we get the opportunity to skate twice, if we get the opportunity to skate 16 times in an Olympic venue we'll probably try and do it."

And the only assumption I'm making is that SC wants to do well in the team event and will use the skaters who have a better chance of scoring well as long as they're winning. That seems like a pretty fair assumption. It's not an assumption to say that unless something has changed, Tessa and Scott are willing, since they've said it publicly. It's also not an assumption to say that TS are the safer choice, points wise.

Now if the SP scores work out so that Russia is locked for gold and Canada is super unlikely to be beaten for silver, maybe they let W/P do the FD.
 
Oh, I don't doubt that it's relevant that Tessa & Scott are willing to skate both events.

I only don't know if having two pairs or two men go up for Canada is better than having two dance teams go up for Canada.

Depends on which men and which pairs, does it not? And we don't know which men & which pairs are going to the Olympics.

Of course Canada could have only one athlete go up for all three disciplines if they chose; but based on the last Olympic team event, one assumes that Canada and most other countries will want the maximum number of athletes to compete for the team. (Could be a false assumption, but an educated one based on history).

Based on Worlds results from last season, putting up two pairs & two ladies seemed the most likely scenario. Doesn't seem as clear cut now. With D&R outplacing the other pairs teams quite substantially in several events and Patrick a real question mark.

I still think it's very likely that two pairs teams go up, due to the timing of the pairs event. But if Canada is going for gold, then I can see results trumping logistics. However, with the men . . . I don't know what Canada does with the men if Patrick isn't ready.
 
Predictions/expectations for JGPF?
I really enjoyed the event the last couple of years when I watched live. As i do not follow Jrs as extensively as seniors, it's a quick recap of the top teams for me.

Are C/P expected to win or are any Russian teams (who? S/A?) going to challenge?
Where do the Canadians stand? I think they have lots of potential and could see them climbing over a couple of Russian teams if they skate well.
 
Russia is officially banned from the 2018 Olympics. One of the clauses caught my attention:
  • In order to compete, athletes must not have been disqualified or declared ineligible for any Anti-Doping Rule Violation.
Does that mean that Bobrova's done?
 
^ No. the meldonium ruling on her was reversed.
The ban is really in name only right now, i.e under the nationality of Russia.
All athletes that were clean in Sochi can compete as a neutral athlete.
Bobrova is fine.
She should actually worry more about getting on the national team in the first place.
 
levineismine said:
Are C/P expected to win or are any Russian teams (who? S/A?) going to challenge?
Where do the Canadians stand? I think they have lots of potential and could see them climbing over a couple of Russian teams if they skate well.
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I don't know. The scores were all over the place.

I would say that Carreira & Ponomarenko are the favorites as the only team with two current JGP wins and a Junior World medal. Plus Shpilevaya & Smirnov being out. Also Carreira & Ponomarenko actually defeated the next most decorated team and the highest scoring JGP team, Skoptcova & Aleshin, head-to-head this season on the JGP. C&P have the skating chops.

But the fact that other teams have scored higher implies that no one can afford to muck up. Since C&P aren't infallible, then someone else can win.

Skoptcova & Aleshin are the next most decorated team at the JGPF and had the highest levels called within a single competition during the JGP. With a Russian caller on the panel. They also had some of the lowest levels of the six teams at their previous event. They get the second mark, but they will need the first one as well so we'll see what happens.

As far as the Canadians, they stand somewhere between first & last. Quite seriously. They and Skoptcova & Aleshin are the only teams on this list to have defeated C&P in any portion of competition in the past two seasons . . . maybe ever? (Last year during the SD portion of Junior Worlds after C&P struggled on the twizzles). Lajoie & Lagha also have the second highest score for something (maybe combined SD/FD? The ISU site is down). But I think the Canadians also have the lowest qualifying score after missing both sets of twizzles in Brisbane.

And, finally, I would watch out for Ushakova & Nekrasov. Despite being third in Minsk, they are bringing in very high levels. Earned the highest FD score thus far. Won in Italy and that third place in Minsk was all due to low PCS. Bested not only Skoptcova & Aleshin but also Carreira & Ponomarenko's technical mark in the FD there. [Edited].
 
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Dobre said:
And, finally, I would watch out for Ushakova & Nekrasov. Despite being third in Minsk, they are bringing in very, very high levels. Earned the highest FD score thus far. Won in Italy and that third place in Minsk was all due to low PCS. Bested not only Skoptcova & Aleshin but also Carreira & Ponomarenko's technical mark in both the SD and the FD there.
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Ushakova/Nekrasov beat Skoptcova/Aleshin in TES in both segments, but only beat C/P in TES by a bit in the FD. C/P won the SD TES handily.
 
chameleonster said:
Ushakova/Nekrasov beat Skoptcova/Aleshin in TES in both segments, but only beat C/P in TES by a bit in the FD. C/P won the SD TES handily.
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Thank you. I probably just looked at the same open window twice.

Nonetheless, the same base value as C&P in the SD in Minsk. U&N are dark horses.
 
Thanks @Dobre, I always appreciate your knowledgeable (and data-based) input!

Lajoie/Lagha have one of my favourite FDs this year across jr and sr, so I hope they do well. I saw them training (i.e. drilling the cha cha cha) recently and I was impressed - but I am easy to impress as I am no technical expert at all, so it could be totally due to me liking them/their programs :p
 
Anyasnake said:
Tech Panel at GPF :

Technical Controller : Halina GORDON POLTORAK - Poland
Technical Specialist : Ayako HIGASHINO - Japan
Assistant Technical Specialist : Mr. Sergei BARANOV - Ukraine
(Referee : Rossella CECCATTINI - Italy)

Starting Order :

http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1718/gpf1718/data0403.htm
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Gordon Poltorak and Higashino were both on the 2014 Olympics tech panel. They both were also on the GPF panel that season as well. I wonder if they'll be on the Pyeongchang tech panel as well.
 
Bigbird said:
Japan!! Bless their hearts, actual medals. Could the French just never get another GP for next cycle?
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But who would provide us for endless jokes. I mean as ridiculous as those stars were, it was also kind of priceless and very funny. I think we can all do with a bit of voidy/wtf type of fun in this extremely tense season. Here is to the unmatched IDF Stars, may it rise ever so high :biggrinbo (but the japanese one is very beautiful indeed)
 
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cocotaffy said:
But who would provide us for endless jokes. I mean as ridiculous as those stars were, it was also kind of priceless and very funny. I think we can all do with a bit of voidy/wtf type of fun in this extremely tense season. Here is to the unmatched IDF Stars, may it rise ever so high :biggrinbo (but the japanese one are very beautiful indeed)
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I like the stars just for this meme. Hilarious !
On the other hand, GP France was said to be quite organised (people +skaters said that). They need to fire whomever they have on the communication part :rofl:
 
cocotaffy said:
But who would provide us for endless jokes. I mean as ridiculous as those stars were, it was also kind of priceless and very funny. I think we can all do with a bit of voidy/wtf type of fun in this extremely tense season. Here is to the unmatched IDF Stars, may it rise ever so high :biggrinbo (but the japanese one are very beautiful indeed)
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Between you and me I felt so embarrassed for the athletes I never watched the victory ceremonies. Not one. I just could not do it. Hehe....I need more time :huh:
 
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