U.S. Pairs 2019-20 season - News & Updates, Part X

[her grace]

I think time is running out for Kayne/O'Shea as well. If they don't pull it together during the rest of this season, handwriting is on the wall for them. The top three US teams right now in ability and likelihood of pulling off decent skates: Cain-Gribble/LeDuc, Denney/Frazier, and Calalang/Johnson.

Kayne/O'Shea have altered their technique under Sappenfield. Either they will figure it out and improve, or I suspect they'll move to a different coach. Unless and until a team (or two) distances themselves from the rest of the American field, I don't see why Kayne/O'Shea couldn't return to the top.

ETA - I guess any upside to US pairs is that there are finally other US teams that can compete, be selected and legitimately shoot for a top 10 at Worlds this year if Knierims can't pull it together

I think this is one of the reason that the pairs aren't retiring, because they can legitimately look at their American opponents and say, we can compete with those teams! There also aren't any exciting junior teams coming up to push them out. Not that any of them can compete with the best international teams, though.

To me, the Knierims high point will always be the SP at the Team Event at the Olympics where they turned things around for the U.S. and beat several teams they "should" have lost to, e.g., James/Cipres, Yu/Zhang, and Della Monica/Guarisse. That was an amazing feat!

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Here's an article on Lu/Mitrofanov, which was posted before their appearance at Rostelecom:

Lu and Mitrofanov Look Forward to Developing as Senior Skaters - U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone

It is only Audrey Lu and Misha Mitrofanov's second year competing on the Grand Prix of Figure Skating circuit, so they still find themselves in awe of the veteran

usfigureskatingfanzone.com

There's a mention in the article that Lu/Mitrofanov's coaches, Aleksey Letov and Olga Ganicheva, may move from the Dallas area to Boston or California (apparently they're being recruited by different rinks/clubs in those locations). If their coaches move, Audrey/Misha plan to move with them, regardless of location.

I like L&M a lot, Good jumps. I like him.

So I know she is young but she needs to learn that there is an audience there... She is more stone faced than Chris Knierim. I feel like if you aren't emoting and cant show more than one dead-pan look ANL loses interest.

They seem promising, but I hope she can turn the lights on inside herself.

 

[clairecloutier]

I thought Chris seemed completely over it and like he would rather be at home restoring cars

According to a short piece this fall in Skating magazine, Chris recently sold his "hobby" vehicles to help fund their living expenses and training in SoCal. So I would tend to conclude that he's pretty fully invested in skating, for now. As to his physical/injury status, only he and Alexa can really know about that.

 

[Jammers]

At this point waiting for the Knierims to finally skate to their potential is almost a waste of time. They are too inconsistent and aren't getting any younger. As someone else said though since the level of the top US teams isn't great the Knierims and K/O will stick around since they feel they can still compete with the other top US teams. Their are no great rising US teams that can push them out or make them improve or be left behind.

 

[jiejie]

I like L&M a lot, Good jumps. I like him.

So I know she is young but she needs to learn that there is an audience there... She is more stone faced than Chris Knierim. I feel like if you aren't emoting and cant show more than one dead-pan look ANL loses interest.

They seem promising, but I hope she can turn the lights on inside herself.

I hope so to. Lu/Mitrofanov would have benefited from another year in Juniors on both technical and presentation development, but he aged out and they had no choice but to move up.

 

[aftershocks]

Handicapping the field for US Nationals: don't even bother.
Just and take the event as it comes.

Handicapping the field for Canadian Nationals: don't even bother.

Just and take the event as it comes.

Everything goes in cycles... Among North American teams, the U.S. were historically the first to break through on the World stage, and Canadian teams followed and eventually achieved somewhat greater success in terms of Barb Wagner and Robert Paul early on staking a legacy as Olympic winners and multiple World champions in the 1950s, while the U.S. was absolutely dominating in singles, and also doing decently well in pairs, just not at gold medal level comparatively as often. However, mind you that Canadian teams experienced a 19-year drought off Worlds and Olympics podiums from the 1960s through the early 1980s when Barb Underhill/Paul Martini came through to win a delightful World championship. During those years of drought for Canada, U.S. pairs teams enjoyed many podium appearances at Worlds and Olympics vs the relentless dominance that continued to build from Russian teams.

At the moment, the U.S. has experienced some 17 years off the Worlds and Olympics podiums, while still making a bit of noise here and there in the record books and in the top ten standings. Hopefully, U.S. teams will do their utmost to not break the Canadian drought record.

 

[Colonel Green]

Handicapping the field for Canadian Nationals: don't even bother.
Just and take the event as it comes.

That doesn't really make much sense as a rejoinder. Canadian nationals has a pretty clear default 1-2. The third spot for 4CC could go a few different ways.

@Rock2 was repeating the not-uncommon observation that the US has several pairs all at roughly the same level, and hence no clear favourite. He wasn't intending it as a slight.

 

[aftershocks]

That doesn't really make much sense as a rejoinder. Canadian nationals has a pretty clear default 1-2. The third spot for 4CC could go a few different ways.

@Rock2 was repeating the not-uncommon observation that the US has several pairs all at roughly the same level, and hence no clear favourite. He wasn't intending it as a slight.

One never knows with Rock2. But sorry for taking it as an intended slight if it wasn't intended.

Canadian pairs having a clear 1-2 at Cdn Nats on paper is just that: on paper.

ETA:
And, in any case, you are attempting to speak for Rock2. Reading through this thread, it looks as if no one knows for sure what to make of what has happened re some of the missed opportunities on the GP for U.S. pairs teams, so there's some lighthearted banter and making fun, mixed with a bit of looking down on U.S. teams. I'd say there's a huge amount of strength and talent among U.S. teams at the moment, much moreso comparatively than among Canadian teams, at the moment. But we'd never know that because taking potshots at U.S. pairs teams and U.S. skaters generally is such sport. Yes, there are a lot of challenges some U.S. teams face with the sbs jumps, but meanwhile, there are huge strengths that abound as well.

The Knierims beat out M-T/M for bronze on the GP last season and Canadian fans were all beset about what M-T/M could do about not having the greatest 3-twist. Kirsten is always feisty and hangs in there. This season Kirsten/Michael's 3-twist looks a bit better, and they have more interesting programs which are serving them well. The Knierims just didn't come out of the blocks in their Challenger event vs M-T/M as strongly as they needed to for this season, likely because of psychological hiccoughs over their jumps and not having any great momentum from last season.

Accordingly, the Knierims didn't build up any confidence as the GP progressed. Their miscues in the fp at NHK however, are just confounding because they had the opportunity to at least make up for the couple of mistakes in the sp and hold strong to take 4th place (due to the mistakes by other teams). The Knierims actually should have gone into NHK with the mindset of battling for the podium, but they seemingly did not (I partly base that conclusion upon a comment by Chris in the Blossom on Ice interview with the Knierims, posted recently in this thread).

 

[Colonel Green]

Canadian pairs having a clear 1-2 at Cdn Nats on paper is just that: on paper.

Of course, anything can happen in the execution. That the frontrunner exists doesn't mean they'll actually pull it off, just that it's the most probable outcome.

 

[aftershocks]

At this point waiting for the Knierims to finally skate to their potential is almost a waste of time. They are too inconsistent and aren't getting any younger. As someone else said though since the level of the top US teams isn't great the Knierims and K/O will stick around since they feel they can still compete with the other top US teams. Their are no great rising US teams that can push them out or make them improve or be left behind.

What? Please think a little bit before reacting off-the-cuff. The level of top U.S. teams IS great, despite the top teams in the Knierims and C-G/LD not coming through on the GP as well as highly anticipated this season. Ashley & Timothy started out great. There was a lot of joking about just how well they started out at their Challenger event, and the joking was unwarranted, since they deserved to be ahead of T/M. Blame the judges for over-scoring T/M and having to go higher to rightly reward the better performance by A&T who clearly improved over the off-season and were looking good going into Skate America. The fluke fall in the sp at SA was not overcome by A&T in the fp. They also weren't able to rebound at their next GP. But that doesn't mean they haven't learned important lessons on the GP to successfully utilize going forward!

The beneficiaries of A&T's setbacks were Denney/Frazier (another top U.S. team btw) who actually should be spoken of with greater respect and enthusiasm, particularly since they arguably should have won two silver medals and made the GPF, instead of only two bronze medals and second alternates to making the GPF. D/F have excellent programs this season, building upon their success last season. A number of international teams have been copying D/F's lifts for awhile. D/F also have great throws, 3-twist, and death spirals. This season, D/F's fp has been buzzworthy and entertaining. Kirsten/Michael have also placed two of their lifts at the end of their fp for greater impact. D/F are having an excellent season so far, and are making progress on trying to improve confidence and consistency on their jumping passes.

Please stop with the woeful commentary and the constant belittling and try to exercise some thoughtful equanimity and show U.S. teams consistent support!!! One half season and the most recent event do NOT determine future outcomes. We already knew that K/O would likely end up fifth or sixth at NHK. So it was only the Knierims who unexpectedly placed a couple of places lower than expected, due to a disappointing breakdown in the fp. What was surprising with K/O was how they failed to take advantage of an opportunity to at least battle for 4th once the Knierims faltered. That would mean making NO mistakes. One reason why James/Cipres rose to the top in pairs is because they focused on 'making no mistakes,' and they were always fairly consistent on their jumps in any case. J/C flashing their quad throw attempts also got them noticed, plus working with ice dance choreographers and with John Z and crew to improve all aspects of their skating and to refine and define their style which is being widely emulated in pairs, I don't care who thinks that isn't happening!

So maybe let's look at glass half-full and think about possible solutions for problems some teams are facing. Not that any skaters should listen to fans at all. They need to take counsel and advice from their coaches, seek help from sports psychologists, block out fan noise, and above all take some gut checks and decide what their true goals are. I would also suggest that they all take a listen to recent interviews by Sasha Cohen, Meryl Davis & Charlie White, and especially Paul Wylie's inspirational talks which I linked in an earlier thread: From Pathetic to Podium

From Pathetic to Podium - Paul Wylie

Olympic silver medalist Paul Wylie shared his inspiring story of resilience and challenged us all to know our purpose in life.

www.youtube.com

 

[aftershocks]

I would love a Denney/Frazier comeback!

They've been coming back since her devastating knee injury and they made strong strides initially in 2016-2017, but perhaps had overdone it a bit on the comeback trail and ended up imploding in the sp at 2017 Worlds. They had to make another comeback from that setback and they did because they hung tough and believed in themselves. They apparently received crucial support and encouragement from their families, coaches and USFS, and more importantly from each other. They've made stronger and stronger showings, since last season. Reminder: D/F were second at U.S. Nationals earlier this year, and they had wonderful programs choreographed by Charlie White. They again have good programs this season and they took advantage of opportunities on the GP. I would suggest that they are steadily building their confidence. Unfortunately, respect and support from fans seems to be the bigger ask. Meanwhile, D/F have my support and best wishes, as always! ♥

If you mean that you hope D/F come back to win U.S. Nationals, that's quite possible. Hopefully, the battle will be joined by Ash & Timothy as well, with good outings from all U.S. teams. As I've mentioned a few times in this thread, I love pairs, and I especially enjoy watching U.S. Nationals pairs events many times over! It's not always about being heavily invested in outcomes. It's about enjoying the moments and the memories and having compassion for the athletes and all they go through to pursue their dreams.

Combine the best skills of the top 4 US teams and we MIGHT have one team that could challenge for an international podium. Unfortunately, tag team skating isn’t a recognized discipline.

You could say that about any skaters in any figure skating discipline in any country though.

The risk is that judges then see them as a lower level team, and keep the PCS below the top teams.

Reminder: Peng/Jin purposely have been competing double salchows, which didn't prevent them from winning Skate America, sadly, nor from making the GPF, to their benefit. Calalang/Johnson implemented a similar 2-salchows strategy at Warsaw Cup in the fp (in addition to re-positioning jump placement in their sp). So, I think strategies will depend upon the particular team and their individual circumstances.

C/J and D/F are my two favorite US teams right now.

D/F have always been one of my favorite teams and C/J had me at hello, as did Ash/Timothy! But did I say (I think I did) that I love pairs and I enjoy watching all U.S. pairs teams, and I support all U.S. pairs teams! Plus, I enjoy, admire and have favorites among a number of international pairs teams. The thing is to try and support the teams you love come rain or come shine! And try not to be a fair weather fan. No career in skating is without its ups-and-downs.

So far the USFS approach to improving our pairs has not paid off yet... USFS needs to continue to devote serious effort to getting our pairs to be able to compete cleanly. Maybe sending to train in Canada?

You must be joking. It's not up to U.S. fed to get teams to compete cleanly. U.S. fed needs to be supportive and offer guidance and financial support, and help in other ways as they can and have been doing. But competing cleanly is more up to coaches and the skaters themselves to figure out. Re 'sending U.S. pairs teams to train in Canada,' IMO that's not necessary. Just because it has worked for some U.S. ice dance teams is neither here nor there. Sadly, training in Canada did not work out particularly well for Castelli/Tran for a variety of reasons, perhaps some reasons having little to do with their coaches.

Where skaters train is variable in this current global skating community environment. Lots of international skaters train in the U.S. It's more about the coaching relationship and training environment working well on an individual basis, no matter where skaters train. Detroit/ Canton was once the place to be for ice dance teams, and now it's Montreal. But there are still some good training locales for ice dance in Novi, MI and in Wheaton, MD, etc. Florida has some great pairs training facilities, as does Colorado and California. Berton/Brubaker are currently coaching pairs in his hometown of Chicago.

I don't know what the U.S. approach is exactly or is supposed to be to improving U.S. pairs teams. However, U.S. fed has certainly been paying more attention to improving their pairs discipline, and it definitely has paid off, so I'm not sure why you think it hasn't. Rome wasn't built in a day.

 

[skatingguy]

Reminder: Peng/Jin purposely have been competing double salchows, which didn't prevent them from winning Skate America, sadly, nor from making the GPF, to their benefit. Calalang/Johnson implemented a similar 2-salchows strategy at Warsaw Cup in the fp (in addition to re-positioning jump placement in their sp). So, I think strategies will depend upon the particular team and their individual circumstances.

And lost the bronze medal at the World Championships to Zabiiako/Enbert by less than 2 points when they did go for the triple-salchows, with lower PCS than what they got at the Grand Prix Final. When everyone started to skate better at the World Championships, and Peng/Jin still couldn't land the salchows it hurt their PCS score, and cost them the bronze medal.

 

[aftershocks]

Another post response by me since I came to the thread a bit later than most commenters, post NHK results:

... [The Knierims] need to seriously evaluate whether him trying to follow in Hao Zhang's footsteps and continuing on, is worth it.

I doubt Chris Knierim is still skating because he's trying to follow in Hao Zhang's footsteps. Not that getting some advice from Hao is a bad idea, but Hao is likely too busy working hard to see if he and Yu can put together something competitive and compelling for Beijing. Chris surely has his own motivations, goals, and reasons why he's still competing. While the recent showing by the Knierims is disappointing, I'm sure they are the ones who are or who should be more actively concerned about their mishaps and thus seeking answers and solutions more-so than any of us. We can gab and pontificate to our hearts' content. Only Chris & Alexa can seek out whatever assistance and resources are needed to understand why they aren't currently competing as well as they are capable, and try to figure out how to successfully resolve.

I think time is running out for Kayne/O'Shea as well.

A heads up for you: Time is running out for all of us every day in this universe. It matters not what happens to any one of us. It only matters what we each do about what happens to us, i.e., how we respond to whatever happens in our lives.

I thought Chris seemed completely over it and like he would rather be at home restoring cars...

Hmmm, you know Chris Knierim that well, do you? Or maybe you are a mind-reader? Again, it's not up to us, it's up to the Knierims and their coaching team. If we care, we can question and commiserate, but mostly we should offer words of encouragement and support unconditionally. Those who don't really care, are being of no use in attempting to be witty by making jokes and jabs.

 

[aftershocks]

And lost the bronze medal at the World Championships to Zabiiako/Enbert by less than 2 points when they did go for the triple-salchows, with lower PCS than what they got at the Grand Prix Final. When everyone started to skate better at the World Championships, and Peng/Jin still couldn't land the salchows it hurt their PCS score, and cost them the bronze medal.

^^ Yep, Peng/Jin definitely have not yet lived up to their considerable talent amidst all of the admiration and respect from the judges and from fans that they continue to receive. Heck, they still made the GPF again though. The main reason P/J have implemented the 2-salchows strategy, as you know, is because of Peng's injury. She's skating in pain. Walk a mile, or skate a mile in any of these skaters' boots and then sit back and continue to criticize them, as most of us fans have a tendency to do unrelentingly. For many fans, apparently it's always about what happened five minutes ago, rather than employing a longer-term, more thoughtful view.

As I already mentioned, strategies are devised to suit individual skaters' particular circumstances. None of us truly know what strategy the Knierims need to employ to get out of their current dilemma. My thoughts for them are: try to understand what happens mentally in these mishap moments; seek help from a sports psychologist; find some conviction and self-belief in the mode of Sui/Han; ignore fans' blather (including mine); skate more aggressively!

ETA:
Your suggestion that the judges might lower their PCS is not necessarily how the judges would react. I think it matters more if they decide to rework their jump strategy that the reworking helps them in standing up on their jumps, landing them successfully, and regaining confidence to eventually resume competing more difficult triples.

 

[aftershocks]

The Knierims have made a yo-yo of my heart.

I chose to hitch my wagon to their career after my other heartbreaks over McLaughlin / Brubaker and Yankowskas / Coughlin.

Awww,

I think this is one of the reason that the pairs aren't retiring, because they can legitimately look at their American opponents and say, we can compete with those teams! There also aren't any exciting junior teams coming up to push them out. Not that any of them can compete with the best international teams, though.

Your take, but I disagree. The top teams aren't retiring more likely because there's no immediate necessity to do so and they are still eager to pursue their dreams. The only team that possibly might have retired was the Knierims in any case. The other teams are somewhat younger, and Ash/Timothy were fairly recently paired and on an upward trajectory. Timothy is a bit older than Ashley so they likely won't continue past 2022, but who knows! D/F have unfinished business and are relatively young, which means they could conceivably go for another quad after 2022, but if D/F make the Olympic team for Beijing, they might not continue afterward. The Knierims have been to one Olympics and thus surely will retire after this quad whether or not they make another Olympic team.

K/O are going through a difficult time at the moment. Who knows how they might have fared had they merely consulted with Sappenfield for a period and then continued with Jim Peterson who is very good at shepherding his pairs teams to unanticipated success (Evora/Ladwig; Zhang/Bartholomay; Stellato/Bartholomay; Kayne/O'Shea, et al on the lower levels). The lift mishap at U.S. Nats by K/O was a fluke, not an insurmountable setback. At this point, it's unclear whether K/O will be able to successfully address their areas of weakness in the current competitive environment internationally. Still, with hard work and desire nothing is impossible.

No exciting junior teams If you enjoy pairs, it should be more about enjoying teams' progress no matter how far you think they have the capability and promise to go. In fact, there are at least some interesting junior teams coming up who could go far. It's always difficult to make assessments of junior skaters' potential prospects though, particularly among pairs. Still, if you haven't viewed Sectionals, there are some striking teams coming up, so hopefully they will remain together and be guided to steady improvement. Top junior teams include: Finster/Nagy; Deardorff/Johnson (mirror skaters); Smirnova/Siianytsia (who hail from Ukraine as Sylvia noted earlier); Fleming/Isbell; and Martins/Bedard.

On the senior scene, everyone knows Calalang/Johnson are quite promising. In addition, Ashley/Timothy have the ability to strongly rebound, and Denney/Frazier have made important strides in their comeback journey post her serious injury. I also would not count out the chances for Lu/Mitrofanov; Serafini/Tran; Pfund/Santillan (if they can finally maintain good health and receive consistent funding for their training); Chan/Howe; Lockley/Prochnow; Mokhova/Mokhov; and Jim Peterson's new young team, McIsaac/Sadusky, who although they didn't make the Nationals cut this year, have achieved significant strides as former singles skaters who only recently made the transition to pairs.

 

[overedge]

block out fan noise

Like multi-screen posts about fans not being worshipful enough?

 

[aftershocks]

Like multi-screen posts about fans not being worshipful enough?

Eh, you apparently have reading comprehension difficulty, which matters not in the least in the scheme of things. Yep, I think skaters should block out all fan noise as I said, including mine. But of course, doing so does not keep fans from reacting all over the place, as usual.

 

[Frau Muller]

According to a short piece this fall in Skating magazine, Chris recently sold his "hobby" vehicles to help fund their living expenses and training in SoCal. So I would tend to conclude that he's pretty fully invested in skating, for now. As to his physical/injury status, only he and Alexa can really know about that.

Right about now, he’s probably saying, “Why the bloody heck did I do that? For this result?”

 

[Frau Muller]

Did TJ Nyman ever find a partner? There was a lot of chit-chat about possibilities a couple of months ago. TJ certainly seemed to be an ideal male pair skater.

 

[Colonel Green]

Did TJ Nyman ever find a partner? There was a lot of chit-chat about possibilities a couple of months ago. TJ certainly seemed to be an ideal male pair skater.

TSL said in its most recent video that he’s been working with an unnamed Russian lady.

 

[aftershocks]

And T.J. was prominently by Dalilah's side in the kiss 'n cry during Sectionals' junior pairs competition.

 

[Rock2]

Right about now, he’s probably saying, “Why the bloody heck did I do that? For this result?”

Reminds me of Tim Goebel's last cycle, (well really last 3 years) which he talked about on TSL. He battled injuries, motivation, coaching, a bunch of stuff. He all but said it was a waste of four years - and the look on his face for most of that time pretty much confirmed it. Has the same feel with Knierims. Battling some stuff...but still trying...while also questioning how much I want to.

 

[Frau Muller]

TSL said in its most recent video that he’s been working with an unnamed Russian lady.

Thank you.

 

[Frau Muller]

Reminds me of Tim Goebel's last cycle, (well really last 3 years) which he talked about on TSL. He battled injuries, motivation, coaching, a bunch of stuff. He all but said it was a waste of four years - and the look on his face for most of that time pretty much confirmed it. Has the same feel with Knierims. Battling some stuff...but still trying...while also questioning how much I want to.

That was my feeling, too. Chris’ situation would be tougher than Tim's because of the added pressure from the partner...who also happens to be the wife - and the pressure that comes with having to maintain the “lovey dovey” hype since Olympics. I hope for a happy resolution.

 

[Sylvia]

For anyone interested in an update on Erika Smith and A.J. Reiss (cross-posting from the Cirque du Soleil AXEL thread):
http://figureskatersonline.com/news...mbark-on-new-adventure-with-cirque-du-soleil/

 

[TanithandBenFan]

According to a short piece this fall in Skating magazine, Chris recently sold his "hobby" vehicles to help fund their living expenses and training in SoCal. So I would tend to conclude that he's pretty fully invested in skating, for now. As to his physical/injury status, only he and Alexa can really know about that.

Here is the excerpt from Skating magazine. Link here to the full magazine.

Southern California is a lot pricier than Colorado Springs, so when Alexa Knierim and Chris Knierim moved to Irvine last season to train under Jenni Meno and Todd Sand, they gave up some luxuries.

Their Chevrolet Silverado flatbed truck had to go. A stylish Agusta Brutale motorcycle was traded in for a more economical bike with better miles per gallon. The classic Camaro sports car Christ had lovingly restored for years was sold.

"We liquidated everything, basically," Chris said.

"It breaks my heart because I know (the Camaro) was his outlet on a day-to-day basis to go and tinker with, and we don't have that anymore," Alexa said.

Since they have an Olympic medal and that's probably going to be the pinnacle of their career, it seems harsh to part with your most prized possessions for a very small chance at bigger glory. Hopefully they were both 100% on board with doing that.

 

[Dobre]

Have the Knierims said what is motivating them?

On the one hand, I was really surprised they elected to continue. As you said, they met a huge goal in Korea and of course they led and/or helped lead the U.S. pairs field for an entire quadrennium.

On the other hand, to be fair, I think the potential outlook for the U.S. Team to be competitive in 2022 is more open than during the last Olympiad. If you are a U.S. pair team trying to make that team a couple years out, you are A. aware that you could have a major impact on the results for that team and B. might feel a sense of pride and responsibility in trying to make that happen. Plus C. the Knierims probably did have a higher goal than 15th in the pairs event. I'm sure it would be nice to have another crack at it.

They have lovely programs this season. I am glad they didn't let last year's disappointments stop them. I would like to think that what they have achieved is already quite fulfilling, but if they do decide to move on, I'd rather it be because they are ready. Not because of a coaching setback.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

Since they have an Olympic medal and that's probably going to be the pinnacle of their career, it seems harsh to part with your most prized possessions for a very small chance at bigger glory. Hopefully they were both 100% on board with doing that.

Yikes. Not that I have anything of value worth selling (other than my soul, and that was sacrificed to my years in marketing), but wow, I hope that offloading his car collection is worth it.

I know it's harsh but lacking consistent triple jumps, Chris and Alexa simply aren't a factor at the US level any more. Certainly not in world competition.

Without big tours like Champions on Ice or sponsorship deals, staying in the game for one more cycle must be a tremendous drain on their finances.

 

[Colonel Green]

I know it's harsh but lacking consistent triple jumps, Chris and Alexa simply aren't a factor at the US level any more.

I think that's too harsh, considering their SCI score is the highest total score for any US pair on the Grand Prix this season (effectively the same score that D/F got in France, and different events so scores can't be quite so precisely balanced, but all the same).

And that wasn't even their best of the season, they were legitimately quite good at Nebelhorn, which shows why I imagine they think they can still be a factor.

Alexa Scimeca Knierim & Chris Knierim - 2019 Nebelhorn Trophy FS

September 27, 2019 Nebelhorn Trophy. Music: “Drop of Fragrance” by Maxime Rodriguez Perso, “Experience” by Ludovico Einaudi; Choreography by: Benoit Richaud.

www.youtube.com

 

[oleada]

I know it's harsh but lacking consistent triple jumps, Chris and Alexa simply aren't a factor at the US level any more. Certainly not in world competition.

Honestly, nearly all the US teams are lacking consistent triples, so that’s not going to hurt them much in the national field. Internationally, it’s a bigger issue.