U.S. Ice Dance 2017/18 season news & updates

[Bellanca]

Great, now the Shibs will get an even bigger online backlash than they were getting pre-Nationals.

Well, when that happens, it usually means you're doing something right.

 

[VGThuy]

Nah, perspective my dear. FSU, etc. is a tiny teapot (referencing tempest, etc.)
Step back. Rise above. Look beyond. What does one see?

"Love from Brazil! Germany! Finland! Russia! China! Australia!" REAL people on social media from all over the world, expressing their appreciation for Maia and Alex, as sportsmen and as people. They are admired for their kindness, and in many instances for making people feel connected once again with the sport of figure skating! Real people see their resilience through all those tough years in the face of naysayers. Real people see the Shibs rising above the "internet BS", using connectivity in POSITIVE ways. THAT is real. THAT shows the impact that Maia and Alex are having, from years of effort and contributions, to and for the sport of figure skating.

P.S. make mine a "dirty" martini

Girl, I only drink dirty martinis. I usually drink Stoli Martinis, so it’s not the classic gin kind.

Thanks for your post. It sounds silly but what you wrote made me feel a lot better about everything regarding the fickleness of the skating fandom. I just see narratives being adopted that are from a playbook and it digusts me.

 

[RoseRed]

Girl, I only drink dirty martinis. I usually drink Stoli Martinis, so it’s not the classic gin kind.

Thanks for your post. It sounds silly but what you wrote made me feel a lot better about everything regarding the fickleness of the skating fandom. I just see narratives being adopted that are from a playbook and it digusts me.

It's not all about narrative from a playbook though. Definitely some posters won't be totally fair to the Shibs, but personal preference is a big part of it for a lot of people.

I know that for me personally, I'd rather see Madi and Zach get a medal than the Shibs. That's nothing against Maia and Alex - they seem like nice people and they're undeniably great skaters. It's just personal preference. I respond much more to H/D's skating and their programs. To me, they express a lot more emotion and are more musical. Other people see it differently, which is completely fine. But I don't feel that way because of some narrative. That's basically the response I had when I started paying more attention to the whole ice dance field when V/M said they were coming back. That's the response my Dad had when he watched some ice dance on TV without me, and he couldn't even remember any of their names, he just described them the first time he told me what he thought, so it wasn't just about what I thought or had said to him.

And I'm disappointed that H/D likely won't be part of the TE. It's not about the Shibs there actually, they were absolutely the correct choice for the SD. I just think that with such strong dance teams, dance should have been split instead of ladies. I feel like H/D (or C/B) deserve that team medal more than a second lady (which is a very subjective thing of course).

And like @GloriaW said, the Shibs are extremely popular among fans and I'm sure tons of people will be thrilled if they the the bronze. And I think the judges will just go with whoever skates the best among the US teams, so if they earn it, then good for them. And since I brought up my Dad, he preferred the Shibs to C/B in the FD at US Nationals. He also thought their performance was better in the SD than other programs he's seen from them.

 

[jlai]

I feel like H/D (or C/B) deserve that team medal more than a second lady (which is a very subjective thing of course). .

Given how US ladies competed this season, that sums it up for me.

 

[Rafter]

Very interesting if the Shibs are doing both. A bit of a slap in the face to the new US national champions. I guess the USFSA thinks of the Shibs as the real US #1?

 

[topaz]

Well if the info from the TSL is true, then my predictions earlier(just after national were correct). I am a disappointed for Madi/Zach but If Mirai is named to the TE that would ease the disappointment for me. Who doesn't want a Mirai to win a silver or bronze medal?

In regards to Madi/Zach's lower scores over the season, I would like to point out that Madison and Zach had tougher competition at their assigned grand prix events than the Shibs. Both events V/M competed in and Skate Canada included Weaver/Poje who were slightly over-scored. Their 2nd GP assigned event, the judging appeared to "rank" the skaters, i.e C/B , H/D and C/L receiving the same exact or comparable score including GOE on a several elements.

But that's neither here or there. This will make Madi/Zach stronger, hungrier and more determined than ever to prove they are the top US dance team.

 

[jlai]

The US will have a tough time winning a medal in the first place, esp if US ladies end up placing 5th to 7th in the sp (assuming Kostner, Russians, Canada, Japan, at least place ahead of US in ladies and perhaps Korea too.

 

[TanithandBenFan]

So, Evan Bates is the Team Captain but doesn't get to compete with his team.

 

[Spiralgraph]

This may be the martinis talking, but eff that noise. Shibs for all the medals.

I don't drink martinis but today I agree. If that report is accurate go Shibs!

 

[vireo]

What's all this talk about martinis?! I thought Shib ubers prefered drink was Kool-Aid.

 

[VGThuy]

What's all this talk about martinis?! I thought Shib ubers prefered drink was Kool-Aid.

Well, it tastes better than the sour grapes you’re sucking on.

 

[Coco]

Has a woman ever been the team captain/leader?

 

[VGThuy]

Has there ever been a team captain before? That seems relatively new.

 

[chapis]

Has a woman ever been the team captain/leader?

In the world team trophy Kana Muramoto was the captain for Japan. I think Kaitlyn W. too.

 

[wickedwitch]

Has a woman ever been the team captain/leader?

I may be remembering wrong, but I think Tanith and Ben were co-captains in 2010.

 

[Karen-W]

The US will have a tough time winning a medal in the first place, esp if US ladies end up placing 5th to 7th in the sp (assuming Kostner, Russians, Canada, Japan, at least place ahead of US in ladies and perhaps Korea too.

Actually, the US is looking pretty good for a medal in the team event, in almost every scenario. The dance team is going to be 2nd or 3rd in the free dance, no matter who we send up. Each country only puts one lady out there, so the US lady will be 5th at worst (maybe 6th in the SP, I suppose, if Choi skates well). The US will be ahead of any other bronze-medal contenders in dance, ahead of Italy in mens (pairs is a coin-toss, IMO), ahead of Japan in pairs, ahead of China in ladies, and ahead of France in both ladies & men. Depending on how the placements wind up, the US might even be in a silver medal position, but the way I look at it, all of our dance teams are so closely matched, it is irrelevant who skates.

 

[kwanfan1818]

Or the US could be fighting for bronze: Pairs and Dance could be an offset, especially if P/C skate the SD, and China might pick up a net point, if they win the Pairs SP. Chen and Jin could go either way, and if Jin also skates the FS*, odds are he'll be ahead of Rippon -- Jin's SB FS is 22 points higher than Rippon's. None of the US Ladies except Nagasu have Olympic experience, and Nagasu's SP is not guarantee.

*I think China will want a TE medal before Beijing, and if it's within reach after the shorts, I think China might give it a shot.

 

[Debbie S]

Has there ever been a team captain before? That seems relatively new.

Has a woman ever been the team captain/leader?

I may be remembering wrong, but I think Tanith and Ben were co-captains in 2010.

I think Charlie was the team captain in Sochi. IIRC, Ashley was the team captain at the WTT last year.

 

[laviemn]

There's a recent interview where P/C indicated they'll do the team event.

At the risk of seeming heartless, I'm indifferent to Mirai getting an Olympic medal. I'm thrilled for her success this season, I cheered loudly for her at the Nationals gala, but I prefer the team medal to go to another dance team for reasons others have stated repeatedly.

And even if the USFSA doesn't intend to undercut H/D, it's hard to argue against the perception that they're not considered the best US team, which might affect whether they get the National champs scoring bump the Shibs received in 2016.

 

[laviemn]

So, Evan Bates is the Team Captain but doesn't get to compete with his team.

The skaters voted for the team captain. That would be essentially letting Nathan, Mirai, Bradie, Adam, etc choose which dance team competes. That's even more illogical than the method the USFSA reportedly uses. And I say this as someone who was hoping C/B got the opportunity, even a bit more than H/D.

 

[vireo]

Well, it tastes better than the sour grapes you’re sucking on.

Fermenting the grapes is the crucial first step in wine production. Martinis start with something sour too, fermented grains and botanicals.

 

[Dobre]

In the world team trophy Kana Muramoto was the captain for Japan. I think Kaitlyn W. too.

And Ekaterina Bobrova. She was team captain for WTT last year.

 

[jlai]

You know for all the international medals the ice dance teams brought USFS (and the number of medals US ladies have brought, and did any of them make the gpf?), USFS could act like dance is more important.

 

[barbarafan]

Very interesting if the Shibs are doing both. A bit of a slap in the face to the new US national champions. I guess the USFSA thinks of the Shibs as the real US #1?

Skating Federations have very strange brain patterns. Politics Politics....Does Marina still have that much clout? Maybe

 

[Mrs. P]

Or it could have been as simple as looking at the ISU Season's best scores and seeing the Shibs is No. 1 in both segments. The Shibs have a good margin in both segments.

Losing U.S. Nationals by 0.19 may not have been enough to negate that.

But we don't know for sure yet anyway...

 

[wickedwitch]

Just rewatched H/B's FD from Nats and again got chills. As good as the Shibs were in the SD and C/B and H/D in the FD, all of which were phenomenal and worth many repeat viewings, this is the performance that stays with me. They were just flawless, not a inch out of place on anything.

 

[kwanfan1818]

H/B's FD at Skate Canada was awesome, too. Live, you could see how much of the ice they covered and the lobes they made.

 

[Debbie S]

H/B's FD at Skate Canada was awesome, too. Live, you could see how much of the ice they covered and the lobes they made.

Their FD was very well choreographed. Where they lack compared to the top 3 teams is in power and expression. And the lack of height difference restricts the kinds of lifts they can do, although acrobatic lifts don't seem to be as important as they used to be, but that goes in cycles. Jean-Luc is relatively small for a male ice dancer and I suspect that inhibits their power. Their expression will likely improve with time....we'll see how things shake out over the next quad.

 

[kwanfan1818]

Where they lack compared to the top 3 teams is in power and expression.

But the teams with power and bigger expression -- I thought H/B's expression of the material in Regina was spot on -- didn't have the same ice coverage or lobes. They had other positives to their choreography, which the judges scored higher, but H/B's was strikingly different in structure.

 

[VGThuy]

But the teams with power and bigger expression -- I thought H/B's expression of the material in Regina was spot on -- didn't have the same ice coverage or lobes. They had other positives to their choreography, which the judges scored higher, but H/B's was strikingly different in structure.

Since you saw it it in Regina, how did H/B compare in terms of ice coverage or lobes with the likes of Virtue/Moir, Weaver/Poje, and Hubbell/Donohue?