Australian skating news

[avivadawn]

Urgh. The organising committee appears to have shifted and archived documents around since yesterday.

http://results.iceskatingvictoria.org.au/2018/08/2018-08-10/JuniorPairs_SP_Scores.pdf

As a tune - up to both of their Grand Prix Series events, Alexandrovskaya & Windsor are scheduled to compete next month at the ISU Challenger Series US Figure Skating Classic next month in Salt Lake City, followed by the Finlandia Trophy in Espoo in October.

Okay. That's it. I'm going.

 

[barbarafan]

Thank-you so much

 

[mag]

Does anyone know what is going on with Holly Harris? I know she was injured last season; is she back training?

 

[synchrogirl17]

Does anyone know what is going on with Holly Harris? I know she was injured last season; is she back training?

I've heard she is training, but playing it safe due to the horrible concussion she sustained...

 

[mag]

I've heard she is training, but playing it safe due to the horrible concussion she sustained...

Good to hear she is back training and being careful. Concussions are certainly not to be taken lightly.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

Good to hear Holly is back training.

I believe she took her senior level test earlier this year as well.

 

[Seerek]

James Min (Happy Birthday) had been doing quite a bit of his training at Lakewood, CA last season, but he was back with Richard Laidlaw this weekend at JGP Richmond.

 

[Marco]

Congrats to Ekaterina and Harley on winning the first Challenger medal of the season (bronze at US Classic, and nearly silver). They still have Finlandia and the Russian & Canadian GPs coming up prior to 4CCs and Worlds.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

Congrats to Ekaterina and Harley on winning the first Challenger medal of the season (bronze at US Classic, and nearly silver). They still have Finlandia and the Russian & Canadian GPs coming up prior to 4CCs and Worlds.

I love both programs, choreography, and costumes.

But they really struggled on some of the elements in Salt Lake City. Windsor even mentioned on his Instagram account that skating at altitude was hard.

 

[starrynight]

Their programs and costumes are a million times better this season ... especially their free skate which is a very classy program.

I read the free skate was choreographed by Massimo Scalli and you can see the tango dance movements he has put into the choreography. It is a challenging program for them, but one that I am sure will push them to grow more as they enter their first full senior season.

Here's hoping they can get a grip on those elements. Given that they have been quite technically sound in the past, I think SLC can be written off as a rough first outing at altitude. At least they didn't have any super scary moments like a couple of the other teams did.

 

[mag]

Here's hoping they can get a grip on those elements. Given that they have been quite technically sound in the past, I think SLC can be written off as a rough first outing at altitude. At least they didn't have any super scary moments like a couple of the other teams did.

I really think they can. Something about this team really appeals to me. This is also the start of a new season with a completely different coaching team, training half way around the world. It will take a bit of time to settle in at competition.

 

[dinakt]

A/W looked grown up and quite hot
I like their programs a lot; hope to see them clean soon.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

Their programs and costumes are a million times better this season ... especially their free skate which is a very classy program.

I read the free skate was choreographed by Massimo Scalli and you can see the tango dance movements he has put into the choreography. It is a challenging program for them, but one that I am sure will push them to grow more as they enter their first full senior season.

Here's hoping they can get a grip on those elements. Given that they have been quite technically sound in the past, I think SLC can be written off as a rough first outing at altitude. At least they didn't have any super scary moments like a couple of the other teams did.

From memory, they started quite slowly last season as well before hitting their stride at the next event.

 

[mag]

So to start, I am a big Kailani Crane fan. That said, I am wondering if it is time for her to look for new coaching? I do not understand the strategy of doing three lutzes over there two programs. She doesn’t have a lutz. She doesn’t get on an outside edge. Does she have a toe? It seems to me that she is giving away points right and left and it is very frustrating. She also really needs more sophisticated choreography. She is so much better than what she puts out there.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Man I was hunting for this thread yesterday for like 15 minutes. Where the heck was it?

I wanted to say Kailali's SP is WORLD class!!!!

 

[mag]

Man I was hunting for this thread yesterday for like 15 minutes. Where the heck was it?

I wanted to say Kailali's SP is WORLD class!!!!

The SP is way better than the LP, but get rid of the lutz and do a flip!!

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

Kailani Craine has said in the past that she has a lot of trouble with the triple toe loop as a solo jump.

Although having said this, from time to time she schedules triple flip / triple toe loop combinations in her skates.

 

[Marco]

I love Kailani's skating, but in a stacked field like the NHK, her shortcomings are really apparent.

First of all, 5 triples and 2 2axels in the free? No. Where is the sal? If the loop-euler-sal is not ready, she could at least replace one of the 2axels with a sal? What about a axel-euler-sal or 3sal-2axel sequence? For me, 6 triples and 2 2axels is a minimum. I know of her struggles with the toe loop but I thought she was working on / once attempted a 3flip3toe? How did that go?

Second of all, no 3rd combo or the 3 jump combo? She needs to learn that points are points and she can't just miss out on easy points like that. If she had planned it for the opening flip and somehow missed it, she needs to learn to put it in later.

Third of all, the flutz is not improved enough to be done 3 times. The edge is still quite bad and the rotation is bad on naked eye. She barely got 1 points for two of the lutzes that she stood up on because of the e call and the <<. She should go for the solo flip in the short and repeat the flip in the free instead.

I think this is doable for her:

SP: 3loop3loop, 3flip, 2axel.
FS 1: 3flip2toe2loop, 3lutz, 3loop2loop, 3sal-2axel SEQ // 3flip, 3loop, 2axel
FS 2 for later in the season: 3flip2toe2loop, 3lutz, 3loop-euler-3sal, 2axel2toe// 3flip, 3loop, 2axel

Fourth of all, I love her skating but she was so slow, she really was. Her strokes are also short and laboured - compared to the Russians, Japanese and Americans. She wasn't covering the ice well. She didn't stumble and fall all over the ice like others but to me she didn't deserve higher PCS.

Fifth of all, while her programs are stunning for me to watch as a spectator because of her elegant line and the finesse, they are quite empty. I enjoy the projection and the musicality, but on the opposite spectrum of my disdain for overly complex and hectic transitions of the Russians, I feel her programs have nothing in them but plain elements.

I hope I don't come across as harsh because I am her biggest fan, and I am so proud of her skating and her representing Australia, but if she wants to move further up, these are some of the things I think she should focus on. I wonder how new Aussie fans are going to think - she managed a visibly clean competition but placed dead last behind skaters who popped, fell and stumbled several times.

On the bright side, I believe the 3loop3loop in the short is Kailani's first international ratified 3/3? (well, if not, then she hasn't done one in a while anyways)

 

[mag]

I think she did 3lo 1eu 3sal at Autumn Classic. Something must have gone wrong on the loop at NHK. I too am happy about the 3lo+3lo in the short and agree the lutz should be changed for a flip.

 

[Seerek]

2 (f)lutzes makes no sense to insert in the long program.

It's interesting - (former European medalist) Natalia Lebedeva was quite strict with the edge calls this past weekend, but less so with the rotations. No matter what, I'd think the euler combination will be back by nationals.
I'm also surprised Kailani wasn't getting more +3's on spins.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

2 (f)lutzes makes no sense to insert in the long program.

It's interesting - (former European medalist) Natalia Lebedeva was quite strict with the edge calls this past weekend, but less so with the rotations. No matter what, I'd think the euler combination will be back by nationals.
I'm also surprised Kailani wasn't getting more +3's on spins.

I loved Lebedeva's skating back in the day. Great to see her involved in skating once more.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

With ladies' technical merit skyrocketing last weekend, you have to wonder how many of the athletes will re-evalute their program content to compete with the likes of Kihira, Tuktamysheva, Zagitova, and Trusova on the Junior Circuit.

Will some with practice triple axels begin including them in their programs? More than ever, taking risks when the chips are down certainly seems like where the sport is heading.

 

[Dobre]

Per usual, I think most of the athletes successfully trying the new difficult stuff will be the youngsters coming up behind them.

 

[reut]

My interview with Brendan Kerry.

Brendan Kerry: "I'm a completely different skater"
http://absoluteskating.com/interviews/2018brendankerry.html

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Congratulations to Brooklee who had a nice skate, 62 and change and in second place!

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

Congratulations to Brooklee who had a nice skate, 62 and change and in second place!

That's a huge score and a personal best by some way. First Australia girl to break 60 in international competition, too.

I hope there is some video.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

^^^ Kailiani hasn't???

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

^^^ Kailiani hasn't???

Nationally, yes. Internationally, not yet.

 

[greenapple]

Brooklee skated lights out today. Hope she does the same in the free. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvYt-6VbW7I

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

Brooklee skated lights out today. Hope she does the same in the free. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvYt-6VbW7I

Great to see an Australian skater rewarded for a good skate like that.