The Dance Hall 5: Ice Dance Fans 2017-2018

[Bigbird]

Your comments are really annoying...
Du gehst mir echt auf die Nerven!

He has half a point though. The twizzles are too fast for Victoria, and if Zhulin and his team acknowledged that from the beginning and slowed them down or made the necessary changes they would comfortably be in third today. But I don't imagine they won't be third tomorrow, they've done pretty well with their Rach FD.

On another note though, and please forgive me for saying this but please, Pavel Drozd needs a new partner, she is not coping well. Is there a problem though? I recall today Lena Ilinykh making mention of the lack of ice time for the couple from St. Petersburg do these two have similar struggles with respect to funding for personal training? It would explain a lot.

 

[VGThuy]

The problem is that Nikita CAN'T slow them down. I think if he could have he would have with all the coaches he has had in the past.

 

[firstflight]

He has half a point though. The twizzles are too fast for Victoria, and if Zhulin and his team acknowledged that from the beginning and slowed them down or made the necessary changes they would comfortably be in third today. But I don't imagine they won't be third tomorrow, they've done pretty well with their Rach FD.

.

They’re not competing for third, though. Z/G’s not their rival. S/B are ~8.5 points ahead of them. If both skate relatively clean FD’s, that’s an insurmountable margin.

 

[Bigbird]

They’re not competing for third, though. Z/G’s not their rival. S/B are ~8.5 points ahead of them. If both skate relatively clean FD’s, that’s an insurmountable margin.

Well, the original plan was to go for the win or be much closer to B/S but I think they'll be content with 3rd tomorrow. S/B would have to mess up their elements pretty bad to surrender 2nd. They have another chance to qualify for the OG at the Europeans so all is not lost for them, on the contrary, this could be a good lesson for them if they learn from it.

 

[Jammers]

Well, the original plan was to go for the win or be much closer to B/S but I think they'll be content with 3rd tomorrow. S/B would have to mess up their elements pretty bad to surrender 2nd. They have another chance to qualify for the OG at the Europeans so all is not lost for them, on the contrary, this could be a good lesson for them if they learn from it.

Why would you send S/K to the Olympics even if they somehow beat S/B at Europeans? S/B have been vastly better then them all season.

 

[VGThuy]

I wouldn't say vastly better. Their scores were quite comparable in the GP series.

Here's a look.

S/K:
Skate America
68.72
107.81
176.53

NHK Trophy
72.49
104.66
177.15

Minsk-Arena Ice Star
63.81
101.49
165.30

S/B:
2017 Internationaux de France
70.02
107.22
177.24

2017 Rostelecom Cup
71.32
108.03
179.35

2017 CS Finlandia Trophy
70.27
96.61
166.88

 

[Bigbird]

Why would you send S/K to the Olympics even if they somehow beat S/B at Europeans? S/B have been vastly better then them all season.

Honestly I don't see them doing it, but as they say, ice is slippery and anything can happen. I didn't think Z/G would overtake them today, but they did it with a stellar SD. They may or may not hold them off tomorrow but this sport is unpredictable at times.

 

[firstflight]

Why would you send S/K to the Olympics even if they somehow beat S/B at Europeans? S/B have been vastly better then them all season.

The whole “surprise” of S/K being properly placed behind Z/G in the SD is that the Russian nationals judges were willing to do the obvious.

They dropped S/K’s PCS a distance behind S/B’s PCS. That wasn’t a necessity after the GP series as we saw how they were neck-to-neck.

 

[AquaLady]

Honestly not surprised that S/K are behind Z/G. S/K is and has always been a flop.

 

[Dobre]

Stepanova & Bukin were great today! Last few seconds were a little ragged, but otherwise great. (They have my second favorite SD this season after the Shibs).

Bobrova & Soloviev. He must have just gotten the skate grab on the twizzles in time. I thought he might not have made it. Not their best program or their best skate, but they dealt with the pressure of being the favorites during an Olympic season.

Bobrova/Soloviev have to skate clean or they might lose their national title.

I'd be very surprised. Bobrova & Soloviev have a far stronger FD than SD. And I think Stepanova & Bukin have a stronger SD than FD.

Congrats to Zagorski & Guerreiro for the 3rd place result in the SD. A big deal for them and got that level 4 rhumba again.

Sinitsina & Katsalapov. They could pull up to third, but not what they needed in the SD to go up against Stepanova & Bukin.

Popova & Mozgov. Really, it was a nice skate & a good performance. Got the 3 on the rhumba and the step sequences (which was as much as I hoped for on them) but gave up a level on the twizzles.

Loboda & Drozd. Great attack & one of the only strong sets of twizzles today. Score is very close to P&M, but I think they'll have a mighty hard time catching that particular Carmen with this particular Chicago. (Next season, with better programs, though . . .)

Only Z/G got level 4 Rumba. No one got any of the step sequences level 4.

Not surprising with this caller. He's very tough. Same one as the one at the U.S. Classic and the assistant tech specialist from Cup of China. Level 3 steps are quite a good call from him. And he is one of the tough callers on the rhumba this season, though not the only one.

Good on Russian Nationals for inviting him. I really don't see the point in turning Nationals into a big scoring battle with the rest of the World. No one buys it.

By the way, watch Russia have 2 teams on the podium in Euros.

Oh, it could happen. But I think none of us would be foolish enough to dismiss Cappellini & Lanotte based on results in Russia.

I thought it was an established fact that it was the Spanish Fed that went to officials in-between the SD and the FD at Golden Spin regarding the BLR judge and that it involved Zhulin's co-coach in some capacity.

Established where? If someone has a link, I would be happy to read it. I don't put posters on ignore, but I do skim through posts. To my knowledge, this is the first article we have read. I've read a number of non-firsthand accusations and Olivia's upset twitter posts, but this article is the first information I've read with any research, any explanation of what actually was observed, or anyone quoted. (I haven't seen any statements by federations or quotes from observers).

 

[VGThuy]

Established where? If someone has a link, I would be happy to read it. I don't put posters on ignore, but I do skim through posts. To my knowledge, this is the first article we have read. I've read a number of non-firsthand accusations and Olivia's upset twitter posts, but this article is the first information I've read with any research, any explanation of what actually was observed, or anyone quoted. (I haven't seen any statements by federations or quotes from observers).

If you quoted the rest of my paragraph you would have also seen this part: "Or maybe I just read it on this thread and confused what was "fact" as laid out by Hersh's article and what was pretty sure assertions by posters who have inside information. Either way, Hersh also relies on speculation and rumors as well outside the video as his information had to come from sources and others' observations. I'm pretty sure all of that will be taken into account as witness testimony is evidence to be weighed against the witness' credibility."

I confused some posts in this thread who made the claims that Zhulin's protege and politicking was involved with the incident. They're mainly from @MarieM who stated he was reported to the ISU in this thread. She went into slight more detail in another thread. So "established" was the wrong word, but strong assertions by a person who has shown to have had inside knowledge in the past.

 

[Dobre]

If you quoted the rest of my paragraph you would have also seen this part."

Yes, I read your whole paragraph; but I also thought perhaps someone else might have read something or that you might have read something from a source other than FSU.

Thank you for clarifying about the confusion.

 

[firstflight]

Does anyone know what just happened in the FD? Did S/K withdraw last minute?

 

[Sylvia]

Does anyone know what just happened in the FD? Did S/K withdraw last minute?

Katsalapov hurt his knee (already noticeable in their 5-minute warmup?) and they had to WD mid-FD. ETA: Very unfortunate for them.

ETA #2: The article linked in post #1881 below says Katsalapov injured his ankle (not knee) during the FD.

 

[firstflight]

Katsalapov hurt his knee (already noticeable in their 5-minute warmup?) and they had to WD mid-FD.

Thank you. Just always one thing or another with them.

 

[Anyasnake]

Russian Nationals :

1 - Bobrova/Soloviev
2 - Stepanova/Bukin
3 - Zagorski/Guerreiro
4 - Popova/Mozgov

Sinitsina/Katsalapov WD mid-program - No Euros I guess nor Olympics obviously.

 

[rfisher]

Katsalapov hurt his knee (already noticeable in their 5-minute warmup?) and they had to WD mid-FD. ETA: Very unfortunate for them.

It looked like it happened when he was down on one knee. A real pity as the skate was going very well until then and they'd probably be going to Euros.

 

[cocotaffy]

This made my evening and might win reaction of the year 2017:
https://youtu.be/T8RoTW-XgO4?t=4m43s

 

[Wyliefan]

It looked like it happened when he was down on one knee. A real pity as the skate was going very well until then and they'd probably be going to Euros.

Thank God she didn't go on her head. Looked awfully dicey for a minute there.

 

[topaz]

Honestly not surprised that S/K are behind Z/G. S/K is and has always been a flop.

This team has won 3 GP medals, I don't consider that "flop".

Thank you. Just always one thing or another with them.

These statements are not fair. They skated really well at SkAm and I stated previously, Vika has improved this season. It's sad their season ended like this

 

[cocotaffy]

B/S skated their FD the best here whereas S/B skated it the worst this season. Skating back to back, S/B still look juniorish compared to the seasoned B/S and their weird choice of music doesn't help either. They're the same generation as P/C but transitioning to seniors they never managed to look mature and add more depth and layers to their interpretation, a big problem facing the other top teams.
Happy for Z/G as they might go to Euros. However, their FD is too bland. She looks like the fiery type in this team, they need more intensity and better music. She sometimes looks a bit hesitant on her feet as if she's gonna stumble at any time. It might also be they're a relatively new pairing.
As for S/K, it was the first time I was interested by their FD. They started really well and for once I felt he was relating to her more instead of just showing off. I fear this could be it for them, between his shoulder issue and now the knee plus his roller coaster of a career, seems too many hiccups to recover from.
Popova/Mozgov, I can't with her skating but they did interpret their FD the best this season. But I was more impressed by Evdokimova/Bazin probably because it was the first time I saw them but they did a great job tonight with interesting lifts and a lovely interpretation of the music.

 

[Eisfee]

https://mrsport.ria.ru/figure_skating/20171223/1130466563.html

 

[caseyedwards]

B/S skated their FD the best here whereas S/B skated it the worst this season. Skating back to back, S/B still look juniorish compared to the seasoned B/S and their weird choice of music doesn't help either. They're the same generation as P/C but transitioning to seniors they never managed to look mature and add more depth and layers to their interpretation, a big problem facing the other top teams.
Happy for Z/G as they might go to Euros. However, their FD is too bland. She looks like the fiery type in this team, they need more intensity and better music. She sometimes looks a bit hesitant on her feet as if she's gonna stumble at any time. It might also be they're a relatively new pairing.
As for S/K, it was the first time I was interested by their FD. They started really well and for once I felt he was relating to her more instead of just showing off. I fear this could be it for them, between his shoulder issue and now the knee plus his roller coaster of a career, seems too many hiccups to recover from.
Popova/Mozgov, I can't with her skating but they did interpret their FD the best this season. But I was more impressed by Evdokimova/Bazin probably because it was the first time I saw them but they did a great job tonight with interesting lifts and a lovely interpretation of the music.

P/C have an incredible and almost incalculable advantage being coached by Dubreuil! S/b are coached by two nobodies!

 

[Sylvia]

https://mrsport.ria.ru/figure_skating/20171223/1130466563.html

Thanks for the link - Samokhvalov's article says Katsalapov injured an ankle during the free dance and went to the hospital to be examined, according to Alexander Gorshkov.

 

[Ka3sha]

B/S were superb today , probably the best I’ve seen them skate. I even didn’t pay attention to some wtf part of the dance, which bothered me before. They are clearly Rus#1 and miles ahead of all other teams

Enjoyed both S/B and Z/G in the short yesterday but today both teams were kind of off. The fact that I don’t like their free dances this year doesn’t help as well

On the contrary, SinKats started their free dance really well but we all know , what happened later. He was off from the beginning, even at the warm up, I guess he has injured an ankle at training session?

Popova/Mozgov are
They obviously enjoyed that and so the audience did the same ))
Would have liked to see them in third and going to Euros, actually

 

[kittysk8ts]

B/S were superb today , probably the best I’ve seen them skate. I even didn’t pay attention to some wtf part of the dance, which bothered me before. They are clearly Rus#1 and miles ahead of all other teams

Haha. Agree with you 100%. Also, nice way to skate at their last nationals and lovely moment for them and Zhulin and team.

 

[Anyasnake]

Bobrova/Soloviev have a maturity that Stepanova/Bukin are still lacking. We probably all know that but it showed big time when they skated back to back. S/B had a bit of trouble recovering from those twizzles, it must have been weird for them because 1.They hardly ever miss them 2.They must have felt the pressure that there was a slight possibility for them to win this. They have to learn how to skate under pressure though, because Euros are in Russia and a podium place is absolutely possible and also I think we'll see them on the big podiums very soon. Perhaps GPF.

That's weird because they are from the same "time" as P/C whom they beat at Junior worlds, they even turned seniors at the same time. They could have been higher way before but they never had the proper vehicle and I also think something is missing from Russian Ice Dance when you're about to turn senior. The transistion isn't as good as it could be. Look at Loboda/Drozd.

I have to be honest, some Russian Ice Dance programs are horrifying. No offense of course, but it's like everybody involved with Russian ID likes it, and the rest of the world hates it. Almost like a lack of taste - not from the skaters but perhaps the coaches ?
I feel the exact same way about the "ice princess" programs from some US ladies - Who told you it was nice ? So cringy, especially if you're past 17.

I know you shouldn't be conforming to what everybody wants you to do but there is a difference between that and going wild and wrong on your programs, especially if you are a strong skater.

 

[barbarafan]

B/S were superb today , probably the best I’ve seen them skate. I even didn’t pay attention to some wtf part of the dance, which bothered me before. They are clearly Rus#1 and miles ahead of all other teams

Enjoyed both S/B and Z/G in the short yesterday but today both teams were kind of off. The fact that I don’t like their free dances this year doesn’t help as well

On the contrary, SinKats started their free dance really well but we all know , what happened later. He was off from the beginning, even at the warm up, I guess he has injured an ankle at training session?

Popova/Mozgov are
They obviously enjoyed that and so the audience did the same ))
Would have liked to see them in third and going to Euros, actually

I agree FD was looking quite good for S/K before the mishap. I was very impressed with Annabelle Morozov in the FD (Sorry I didn't notice Bagin)..Am I totally off the mark here or is she good?

 

[ninalovesskating]

Karma really can't stop hitting S/K. I wonder why...

 

[Eisfee]

https://m.sports.ru/figure-skating/1058669574.html

News about Nikitas injury!