Chris Knierim to retire - Alexa to seek new partner

[Carolla5501]

Getting a partner is probably only half the battle. Is there even any place open to practice?

Sadly for her the clock is ticking and time is not on her side

 

[VGThuy]

Getting a partner is probably only half the battle. Is there even any place open to practice?

Sadly for her the clock is ticking and time is not on her side

At least she’s not alone with the other half of the problem.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

So I’m just waking up and I’m sure there’s already a thread about this somewhere but Haven and Brendan split? That is shocking… Like I said I’m sure there’s already a thread about this… But maybe Alexa?

 

[Yazmeen]

So I’m just waking up and I’m sure there’s already a thread about this somewhere but Haven and Brendan split? That is shocking… Like I said I’m sure there’s already a thread about this… But maybe Alexa?

It's in the US Pairs ongoing thread.

 

[clairecloutier]

Just a suggestion, but maybe it's time this thread is closed? Further discussion of the Knierims can be covered in the U.S. Pairs thread.

 

[MacMadame]

I was thinking the opposite. For those of us who don't go into that thread, keep all the news about it here. I'm interested in this but not the day-to-day chatter about all US Pairs

 

[aftershocks]

And if there's a new pairing announced soon for Alexa, I suppose it can be talked about here.

 

[aftershocks]

So I’m just waking up and I’m sure there’s already a thread about this somewhere but Haven and Brandon split? That is shocking… Like I said I’m sure there’s already a thread about this… But maybe Alexa?

See page 4, posts #118 and #119 in this thread. It was kinda predicted:

https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...etire-alexa-to-seek-new-partner.106940/page-4

 

[winston]

So, Chris's reply to Mirai is kind of fun . . . . https://twitter.com/mirai_nagasu/status/1243025296099606533 And I kind of get the feeling Mirai is being a little playful by tweeting this.
I suspect she has insider knowledge. ;-)

 

[Wyliefan]

So, Chris's reply to Mirai is kind of fun . . . . https://twitter.com/mirai_nagasu/status/1243025296099606533 And I kind of get the feeling Mirai is being a little playful by tweeting this.
I suspect she has insider knowledge. ;-)

And Kirsten's.

 

[winston]

And Kirsten's.

Indeed!

 

[aftershocks]

So, Chris's reply to Mirai is kind of fun . . . . https://twitter.com/mirai_nagasu/status/1243025296099606533 And I kind of get the feeling Mirai is being a little playful by tweeting this.
I suspect she has insider knowledge. ;-)

LOL, KMT knows what's up in her response to Mirari! Because actually, I publicly suggested this possibility first, on February 27, triggered by something rfisher said in this very thread. Again, see page 4. Now I'm sure some insiders knew back then what might be in the works. But it occurred to me and I mentioned it here first after my initially thinking there was no way Brandon would split from Haven. However, taking everything into consideration at that point in time, after the up-and-down season D/F had, and the continuing difficulty with jumps for Haven, it does seem like a no-brainer (especially after the Knierims' dissolved their on-ice pairing).

The current shizz we are undergoing in the world will seemingly delay their training and an announcement. It makes sense though for all involved, including Chris and Haven.

So let's revisit memory lane shall we:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpzKp8gm8_A 2014 Skate America
D/F's first Lion King. Notice how fast and aggressive D/F both were (especially note Haven's attack on the jumps, as this was before her knee injury). Haven didn't get a lot of height on her single jumps, but she had attack and performed them better than she was able to after her injury. As always, their lifts, throws, and twist were outstanding! This was a breakthrough program for them. So it is somehow fitting that the revamped Lion King by Renee Roca with penultimate exciting lift layout by JZimmerman, turns out to be D/F's swan song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Owa-o0JVNAs 2019 Skate America
Haven landed sbs jumps extremely well at this event, in their bronze-medal winning victory

Knierims
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RRpaAiyaiQ 2016 4CCs fp Romeo & Juliet ... Perfect
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSiWZZqeb9A Team sp 2018 Olympics helped win Team bronze

 

[Carolla5501]

I think it's pretty clear what's going to happen in terms of "new partners". What's not clear is what's going to happen in terms of becoming a pair.

I am almost 100% sure the rink in California is closed. Not as sure about Florida, they seem to be a little slow on the response. So are they training? On another thread I saw some speculation that a lot of skaters might "recycle" programs next year because they are not able to spend this time getting new ones, but of course there's no "recycle" option here. This training delay is what worries me. But of course there's nothing that can be done.

 

[Yuri]

The Great Park Ice and Fivepoint Arena in Irvine CA, where Meno & Sand's pairs teams train, was closed when I was in the OC last week. I haven't seen any change of status on its website, and I would assume the rest of the California ice rinks are closed. So any newly-formed pairs team will need to train in some other part of the country.

Other than some of its beaches, barsand clubs mainly in spring break areas, the state of Florida seems generally to be open for business. I don't know specifically about the ice rinks.

 

[Bob Mc]

The Great Park Ice and Fivepoint Arena in Irvine CA, where Meno & Sand's pairs teams train, was closed when I was in the OC last week. I haven't seen any change of status on its website, and I would assume the rest of the California ice rinks are closed. So any newly-formed pairs team will need to train in some other part of the country.

Other than some of its beaches, barsand clubs mainly in spring break areas, the state of Florida seems generally to be open for business. I don't know specifically about the ice rinks.

I know the Ellenton, FL Ice Rink closed this week and the Tampa area where Zimmerman's teams train is under more restrictions and guessing it is also closed.

 

[Aceon6]

From the skaters I follow, everyone took some time off after the Worlds cancellation announcement anyway. At least two couples have already started floor training, and one has access to a small artificial sheet. Still, I don’t expect any new long programs this year. Most will be lucky to just get a new short.

 

[loopey]

LOL, KMT knows what's up in her response to Mirari! Because actually, I publicly suggested this possibility first, on February 27, triggered by something rfisher said in this very thread. Again, see page 4. Now I'm sure some insiders knew back then what might be in the works. But it occurred to me and I mentioned it here first after my initially thinking there was no way Brandon would split from Haven. However, taking everything into consideration at that point in time, after the up-and-down season D/F had, and the continuing difficulty with jumps for Haven, it does seem like a no-brainer (especially after the Knierims' dissolved their on-ice pairing).

The current shizz we are undergoing in the world will seemingly delay their training and an announcement. It makes sense though for all involved, including Chris and Haven.

So let's revisit memory lane shall we:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpzKp8gm8_A 2014 Skate America
D/F's first Lion King. Notice how fast and aggressive D/F both were (especially note Haven's attack on the jumps, as this was before her knee injury). Haven didn't get a lot of height on her single jumps, but she had attack and performed them better than she was able to after her injury. As always, their lifts, throws, and twist were outstanding! This was a breakthrough program for them. So it is somehow fitting that the revamped Lion King by Renee Roca with penultimate exciting lift layout by JZimmerman, turns out to be D/F's swan song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Owa-o0JVNAs 2019 Skate America
Haven landed sbs jumps extremely well at this event, in their bronze-medal winning victory

Knierims
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RRpaAiyaiQ 2016 4CCs fp Romeo & Juliet ... Perfect
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSiWZZqeb9A Team sp 2018 Olympics helped win Team bronze

Thank you for the links. I had not seen a couple of those performances. Very nice. Just out of curiosity did Haven and Brandon ever do triple toes? All the programs I recall were double axles combos.

 

[clairecloutier]

Thank you for the links. I had not seen a couple of those performances. Very nice. Just out of curiosity did Haven and Brandon ever do triple toes? All the programs I recall were double axles combos.

I'm not sure that Haven/Brandon ever landed triple toe loops. For a while, they were working on them and had a spot for them in the long program. But I think they pretty much always doubled. I don't remember seeing a completed set, where they both landed the jump. If someone else did, please correct me.

 

[aftershocks]

Thank you for the links. I had not seen a couple of those performances. Very nice. Just out of curiosity did Haven and Brandon ever do triple toes? All the programs I recall were double axles combos.

I'm not sure that Haven/Brandon ever landed triple toe loops. For a while, they were working on them and had a spot for them in the long program. But I think they pretty much always doubled. I don't remember seeing a completed set, where they both landed the jump. If someone else did, please correct me.

I don't know whether D/F ever had triple toes in their arsenal. I guess not. It looks like they mostly performed triple salchows and double axels, and attempts at triple toes were doubled.

Here's D/F's 2013 gold-medal winning championship program at Junior Worlds. It was the first time I saw that circus-like platter lift with blade hold. Haven was still carrying some baby fat in those days :

Haven DENNEY / Brandon FRAZIER FS WJC 2013

Junior Pairs - Free Skating2013 World Junior Figure Skating ChampionshipsMilano, Italy

www.youtube.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FA5VgMzw7Mo 2016 SA fp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mNskbwPUEc 2017 SA sp (a very good program for them)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkEiq_9m2JU 2017 SA fp Queen: Who Wants to Live Forever
Looks like they completed a sbs double toe loop

I don't think their 2018-2019 programs choreographed by Charlie White were ever uploaded to Youtube

The programs I previously linked:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpzKp8gm8_A 2014 SA fp
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Owa-o0JVNAs 2019 SA fp

Again, amazing kudos to Haven for her grit and fight in coming back as far as she did, and to Brandon too for his devoted and steady support. He's a superb, yet under-rated pairs guy for sure! There were some pretty great moments for them on their journey!