Australian skating news

[Aussie Willy]

Oh lordy... Head, meet desk.

I've never heard of a girl called 'Harley' but is that actually a thing in Australia? Like, amongst all the Kylies and Haylees are there also a few female Harleys thrown in for a good measure?

Or is this just a doofus who thinks that all figure skaters must be female by default, even if they have a traditionally male name?

Actually there was no harm in it and the newsreader realised they made a mistake after the story. It could happen to anyone. He is one of the better newsreaders on Australian TV. Just a funny thing.

 

[Bunny Hop]

And the articles keep coming - apparently Channel Seven paid for Harley's mother's ticket to Korea.
https://thewest.com.au/news/austral...-windsor-arrives-in-south-korea-ng-b88738084z

 

[sammyf]

New ISU Oceania international novice competition http://www.isa.org.au/oceania2018

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

New ISU Oceania international novice competition http://www.isa.org.au/oceania2018

I remember reading a little while ago that the ISU is considering a World Novice Championships.

I wonder if this is a possible global test event, or just Australia vs NZL, with a few OAS thrown in, too.

As a side note, ISA really needs to do something about the layout of their website. It's very hard to follow and navigate.

 

[Bunny Hop]

Article on Brendan Kerry. He's been pretty invisible in the immediate lead up to the Games. Most of the focus has been on Harley as the first indigenous winter olympian, and Kailani was interviewed a couple of times on TV yesterday (the fact that she had a new dress for the free skate seemed to be the focus of the TV host).
http://www.owia.org/figure-skating-news/man-on-a-mission-brendan-kerry-out-for-redemption

 

[misskarne]

Article on Brendan Kerry. He's been pretty invisible in the immediate lead up to the Games. Most of the focus has been on Harley as the first indigenous winter olympian, and Kailani was interviewed a couple of times on TV yesterday (the fact that she had a new dress for the free skate seemed to be the focus of the TV host).
http://www.owia.org/figure-skating-news/man-on-a-mission-brendan-kerry-out-for-redemption

I think it may be Brendan's preference to be invisible. Unlike the others, he has some bad memories to shake. I like his new mature attitude. I hope it serves him well. I just want to see them all happy with their skates. Seeing him cry in Sochi broke my heart.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

I hope Brendan's new coaching situation works out. From a results perspective, it's still been a bit up and down since he switched to Morozov.

 

[sus2850]

To the question about the gender of the name „Harley“:
Maybe the reporter likes comics and thought of Harley Quinn (Leonova did a tribute, remember?).

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

To the question about the gender of the name „Harley“:
Maybe the reporter likes comics and thought of Harley Quinn (Leonova did a tribute, remember?).

...and that I, Tonya herself, Margot Robbie, played Harley Quinn, too.

 

[Bunny Hop]

Posting this one as it's not entirely about Harley, as a lot of recent articles have been (not having a go - I think ISA and others have done well in finding the hook to get some coverage in mainstream media, but there are two of them in the team!): http://www.owia.org/figure-skating-news/pairs-figure-skating-double-the-fun-double-the-danger
http://www.owia.org/figure-skating-news/pairs-figure-skating-double-the-fun-double-the-danger

“We are just friends” – Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya
While it’s true plenty of Olympic Ice Skating Pairs are couples in real life – take the USA team this year as an example – just as many are not. And Katia would like everyone to know that she and Harley are definitely NOT an item. “We are friends. We sometimes can fight on the ice. But we leave it on the ice.”

 

[Lanie]

Wasn't there an article earlier this season that spoke of them as an off-ice couple?

 

[misskarne]

Wasn't there an article earlier this season that spoke of them as an off-ice couple?

To be fair, I think that was a mainstream Australian media article, which honestly I was just surprised that they got the sport right.

 

[Aussie Willy]

There was a profile on 7.30 tonight about Harley and Katya. It was really good and focused on their successes and potential for the future. And even had a clip of very young Katya skating which was very cute.

You can catch it on iView - http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/7-30/NC1801H025S00 - about 2/3 through

 

[Bunny Hop]

Wasn't there an article earlier this season that spoke of them as an off-ice couple?

There was. I had my doubts about it at the time, and it is the only article that has ever mentioned it. I’ll be charitable and assume it was a misunderstanding on the part of the reporter.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

Urgh. A sh*tty draw for Katia & Harley in the pairs' short. They skate second of twenty - two pairs.

http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1718/owg2018/SEG005.HTM

I guess if they had won a medal at Four Continents, they would be a lot higher up in the starting order.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

There was. I had my doubts about it at the time, and it is the only article that has ever mentioned it. I’ll be charitable and assume it was a misunderstanding on the part of the reporter.

Here's the article link that mentioned they were dating. I guess a lot can happen in 3 months! :-(

 

[misskarne]

Urgh. A sh*tty draw for Katia & Harley in the pairs' short. They skate second of twenty - two pairs.

http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1718/owg2018/SEG005.HTM

I guess if they had won a medal at Four Continents, they would be a lot higher up in the starting order.

Also means I'm not likely to see it; it'll probably be about 10-15 minutes too early for my lunch break.

Here's the article link that mentioned they were dating. I guess a lot can happen in 3 months! :-(

It's a news.com.au story; that the even got the sport right is amazing in itself.

Judging by the quote from Harley just after that line, I'd say the reporter misinterpreted "partner" to mean "girlfriend".

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

It's a news.com.au story; that the even got the sport right is amazing in itself.

Judging by the quote from Harley just after that line, I'd say the reporter misinterpreted "partner" to mean "girlfriend".

Sounded like the article reinforced their relationship status a few times.

But since they're not a couple, I can still hope that Harley could one day become my boyfriend instead.

 

[Bunny Hop]

I agree with misskarne's interpretation. They've misunderstood 'partner'. I don't belive they've ever been a couple.

Anyway, if anyone in Sydney happens to have a day off tomorrow, Channel 7 will be at Canterbury Ice Rink to film locals supporters watching Katia & Harley skate their short programme. Rather short notice for most people, but if anyone wants to make their debut as a TV extra:

Date: Weds 14th Feb
Time: 11.45am
Location: Canterbury Olympic Ice Rink, Phillips Ave, Canterbury, NSW, 2193.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

I agree with misskarne's interpretation. They've misunderstood 'partner'. I don't belive they've ever been a couple.

Our well - connected thought otherwise. But that was back in December.

 

[Marco]

I am proud of Katia and Harley for having skated a strong performance in their Olympic debut. Obviously I wish they would advance to the free, darn the skate order. They scored much better at 4CCs and would have qualified in 13th place here with that score.

 

[insideedgeua]

Skate order, or at least the groups depend on their World standing though, so they were always going to skate early.

 

[Marco]

Yes. But if they would skate somewhat closer to when the North Koreans skated (10th, 2 groups later) instead of 2nd, they would probably have scored enough to make the free. The Czechs and the Germans who skated in later groups and made the free here in fact had lower SB short programs than Katia and Harley.

A great learning experience nonetheless and I hope they rock Worlds!

 

[Bunny Hop]

I'm not sold on the skate order theory. Not saying it isn't sometimes a factor, but it's nowhere near as important under IJS as it was under 6.0.

 

[mag]

Yes. But if they would skate somewhat closer to when the North Koreans skated (10th, 2 groups later) instead of 2nd, they would probably have scored enough to make the free. The Czechs and the Germans who skated in later groups and made the free here in fact had lower SB short programs than Katia and Harley.

A great learning experience nonetheless and I hope they rock Worlds!

I love Katia and Harley and cheer for them in every event. They are, however, very lucky they didn’t skate closer to the N Korean team. That team was on fire!

A/W have a lot of potential but they still have a lot to work on. The teams that placed ahead of them are, in general, have better upper body movement and musical connection. (The exception being the third Chinese team. I would have had A/W one place higher.) Harley does seem to feel the music, but I don’t think he has the dance training to allow him to consistently interpret the music well enough when under pressure. Katia, I am sure has had lot of dance, but she seems to lack the ability to implement that training. Her face is often blank and her movements don’t have clarity and purpose. She also need a lot of work on her basic skating. They also need much better choreography! I don’t know who does it, but I think they need to look around and find someone who can give them something fun and quirky. They do not have the typical Russian pair look or movement and they really shouldn’t be going for that in their choreography.

I know that all sound negative, but it really isn’t! They have come so far so fast and have so much to be proud of! They just aren’t quite there yet. Their pairs elements are getting better all the time. Harley is a solid lifter and Katia’s lines are improving. The side by side jumps were solid!! You can only do so much in a day. They just need to keep at it!

 

[Aussie Willy]

I think Katya and Harley are still focusing on the technical and that is fine. For a team of only less than 2 years that is pretty good. Chemistry and presentation can take a while to develop so as they get older and more mature they will develop stronger in the component area.

Considering that 2 years ago they wouldn't have even considered going to the Olympics this year, I think the fact they are there is a remarkable achievement

 

[starrynight]

Harley and Katia had a TES score which was higher than 4 of the teams which qualified to the free (sitting just below Seguin/Bilodeau, even with that slightly wonky throw!). That's certainly something and pretty remarkable when you think about how little time they've been together.

I suspect they've been in such a rush trying to teach Harley how to actually skate pairs and then get ready for a junior+senior Olympic season. I think now they can start work on adding layers of polish and I think that now there's not such a huge amount of time pressure, they will have the opportunity to do that.

I trust that going into this off-season, they will have time to breathe and think about what they want to do artistically. I doubt there's been much time for that. Now that they've seen that they 100% need to do that to get the judges on board, I'm sure it will become a priority.

I actually thought that last season's programs were a better fit (Skyfall and W.E) and I believe they were choreographed by their Australian based coaches?

I think that it may just be the case of getting more experience and also the right vehicle to help them feel comfortable to emote and connect. I can think of plenty of pairs and dance teams that have come out of their shells dramatically with a bit of time.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

Brendan Kerry qualifies for the men's free skate with a season's best short program of 83.06 points.

 

[misskarne]

I'm so proud of Brendan! That was great!

 

[text_skate]

I finally started to watch men's SP: Brandon nearly doubled his points in comparison to Sotchi with a fine skate: TES more than a 100%, PCS about 50% (well a bit less). He evolved the most