These jumps aren't under review: The Bradie Tennell Cheer Thread!

[Sylvia]

Local Chicago area article on Bradie (March 12): http://www.chicagotribune.com/subur...errell-back-elgin-st-0314-20180312-story.html

"That was the longest time I'd ever been away from home," she said. "It was different than anything I'd ever experienced."
Once back in Carpentersville, she "took a day or two off to sleep" but has since returned to her regular training schedule at the Buffalo Grove-based Twin Rinks Ice Pavilion, Tennell said .
That's because she leaves in a few days for the 2018 World Figure Skating Championships, which will be held March 21-25 in Milan, Italy.

Tennell was able to take some time off Saturday to participate in East Dundee's annual Thom McNamee Memorial St. Patrick's Day Parade. She rode on a vintage fire engine, sponsored by Minute Men Services, with several Carpentersville officials as well as her mom, Jean, and one of her brothers, Shane.
She was excited to participate.
"I've never been part of a parade before," she said.
When the figure skater arrived for Saturday's parade lineup at Carpentersville Fire Station 91, she donned her Team USA coat, gloves, hat and scarf but realized she forgot to bring her medal.
"It actually makes me nervous to wear it because the medal is heavy and the ribbon is really thin," she said.
Tennell said she didn't mind getting back into the intense rigor of training so soon after returning home from the Olympics. She gets up every morning at 4 a.m. in order to be at Twin Rinks by 6 a.m. After she trains for a few hours, she does an off-ice workout later in the day.

Photo of Bradie waving from the vintage fire engine: https://www.instagram.com/p/BgPRngPngNY/

 

[AxelAnnie]

We need more Bradies in the World.

 

[DreamSkates]

... Johnny needs to stop his Russiya cheerleading in the summing up commentary.

Good luck with that wish! There was a time he was so gushy about Russian skating, I wondered why he didn't offer to skate for that country rather than trashing his own.

 

[giselle23]

Good luck with that wish! There was a time he was so gushy about Russian skating, I wondered why he didn't offer to skate for that country rather than trashing his own.

Totally agree with this. Johnny is also skating's version of Alex Trebek with his attempts at Russian accents when saying the skaters' names.

As for Bradie, I am hoping she can skate two clean programs at Worlds. We know she is capable. A lot can happen at Worlds, as we saw last year, and two clean skates from Bradie could guarantee that the US retains three spots.

 

[Sasha'sSpins]

Good luck at Worlds to Bradie! Let's go Cinderella!

 

[Sylvia]

Good job, Bradie - clean skate in the SP at her first Worlds!

7 Q Bradie TENNELL USA 68.76 37.53 31.23 7.82 7.43 8.11 7.79 7.89 0.00 #20

(Her ISU PB/SB is still her 68.94 in the team event at the Olympics.)

 

[Sasha'sSpins]

Terrific skate by Bradie in the SP - and she came that close to qualifying for the final FS group (imo she SHOULD be in the final group)!

Consistent Cinderella is back!

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

THANK Goodness for Bradie..... Wow, we need her!!!!

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

If Bradie can move up 2 spots... if she's clean then very feesible (her pcs are being held down still) and Mirai one (Wakaba is barely ahead of her) well, then USA can send 3 again next year..... Lets stay positive!

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

She was flawless in that free, and then I saw the TECH come down.. but then it came down for everyone who isnt named Osmond!!!

I thought she was gonna top out near 140...

Anyway she came in 4TH PLACE IN THE FREE!!!!!!!

3rd highest TECH!!!!!

YAYYYYYYYY

 

[Spun Silver]

Bradie did her job well. She is back to Bradie the Consistent. I hope she is proud.

 

[EPetrova]

So many positive inflection points for her this entire season, but especially since only 4 months ago at Skate America. This should set her up nicely for more "benefit of the doubt" in the PCS department assuming she can continue to gain a sense of her own style and level of expression. Very excited to see how she attacks the coming season strategically when it comes to music choice and off-ice coaching/help, since she seems so solid in the technical and "head space" departments.

 

[3Lz+3Lo]

Congrats to bradie on two great programs!

 

[Sylvia]

Bradie will headline the Saturday, August 25th ice show in Sun Valley, Idaho (tickets are now available to buy online): https://www.sunvalley.com/things-to-do/ice-shows

She attended the Team USA "Best of the Games" event in Washington, DC last Thursday with 4 of her fellow Olympic teammates: https://www.instagram.com/p/BiDvx-SlUtV/?hl=en&taken-by=usfigureskating

She was excited to meet Zac & Dave of the American Authors band who played at the awards show: https://www.instagram.com/p/BiD5SO0jnc_/?hl=en&taken-by=bradietennell

 

[Seerek]

Bradie and mom taking in Jesus Christ Superstar as performed by Lyric Opera Chicago, Enjoy!

https://twitter.com/LyricOpera/status/994012567449325568?s=19

 

[Bellanca]

FSO Q&A w/ Bradie Tennell

Bradie Tennell / Official Website

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Giving the National Champion a bump up as she is looking Great this early.

Her choreography looks solid too!

3lutz/3loop

https://www.instagram.com/p/BmCc3nunHdc/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=m4l6ppun66sa

Thank you @Tavi

 

[aftershocks]

^^ Thanks ANL for posting the link in Bradie's fan thread. She's looking good, and I can't wait to see more. I'm hoping that someone will soon identify her sp music selection and choreographer. Is it Benoit Richaud for both of her programs?

Good luck with that wish! There was a time he was so gushy about Russian skating, I wondered why he didn't offer to skate for that country rather than trashing his own.

I don't think Johnny 'trashes' his own country because he's made choices sometimes that don't please everyone. Personally, I have no huge issue with Johnny's love for Russia and Russian skaters. I just tire of the obvious and OTT praise he tends to give which doesn't seem to have a filter most of the time, and can often be grating during his commentary. For those who dislike Johnny anything and everything he does can be irritating and fodder to exaggerate and pile on. Of course he isn't perfect, but who is?

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Thanks to @Tavi for posting some of Bradie's free. As much as I dont care for warhorses I dont mind this piece of R&J.

Looks like she is gonna serve us the 3lutz/3loop in both the SP and Free!!!!!



https://www.instagram.com/p/BmFQe2OlbxO/

Its been mentioned that this will not be the costume.

 

[Sylvia]

Is it Benoit Richaud for both of her programs?

Yes.

Bradie's scores in her debut competition at DuPage Open this past weekend were 76.77 (SP), 145.86 (FS), 222.63 (total) and she now has the highest score of all the U.S. Senior ladies known to have competed so far this summer.

 

[aftershocks]

^^ Thanks Sylvia. I think the ISU judges somewhat dumped on Bradie at Worlds partly because of Olympic results and the number of ladies ahead of her who had higher political rep. At Worlds, Wakaba Higuchi might have been dumped on too because she was not a favorite and she'd been unfairly passed over by her fed for the Olympics. However, Higuchi blazed through her fp so spectacularly, she could not be denied excellent scores. In the judges' eyes, it likely helped Higuchi how well she had performed on the GP last fall. And then one-by-one, the favored faltered in Milan, and Higuchi rightly landed on the podium.

I personally believe under the circumstances of the actual Worlds 2018 competition, Bradie deserved to be in the running for third place, or at least 4th over the messy fps of other skaters. And Bradie had skated well in the sp too. It's just that politically, Bradie did not have rep, veteran experience, or fed clout backing her.

With how Bradie is looking so far for the coming season, I hope the judging scenario will change to her advantage. It looks like she's bringing some boffo goods.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Yes.

Bradie's scores in her debut competition at DuPage Open this past weekend were 76.77 (SP), 145.86 (FS), 222.63 (total) and she now has the highest score of all the U.S. Senior ladies known to have competed so far this summer.

ANL need to stay calm but can I hope for a gold at SkAm???? She's got competition from Team Japan.

 

[VGThuy]

. At Worlds, Wakaba Higuchi might have been dumped on too because she was not a favorite and she'd been unfairly passed over by her fed for the Olympics. However, Higuchi blazed through her fp so spectacularly, she could not be denied excellent scores. In the judges' eyes, it likely helped Higuchi how well she had performed on the GP last fall. And then one-by-one, the favored faltered in Milan, and Higuchi rightly landed on the podium.

I wanted Higuchi to make the Olympic team more than anyone in Japan, but was she "unfairly" passed over? She placed 4th at Nationals. Kaori Sakamoto scored similarly to Higuchi for a good performance in the GP series. I also think Sakamoto proved her worth with a very respectable placement and scores at the Olympics. Believe me, I much prefer Higuchi's skating and choreography.

 

[aftershocks]

I wanted Higuchi to make the Olympic team more than anyone in Japan, but was she "unfairly" passed over? She placed 4th at Nationals. Kaori Sakamoto scored similarly to Higuchi for a good performance in the GP series. I also think Sakamoto proved her worth with a very respectable placement and scores at the Olympics. Believe me, I much prefer Higuchi's skating and choreography.

I'm not hating on Kaori Sakomoto whose name I did not mention in my prior post. Kaori skated well at her Nationals, but she was not that outstanding at the Olympics. She is tremendously and precociously talented and I expect her to continue being very competitive. However, I feel that Higuchi's skating is more mature and dynamic. Higuchi performed well on the GP, but was low-balled a bit in the scoring at the same time. Japanese fed definitely had a bit of an agenda with their Olympic selections (what fed doesn't). Satoko Miyahara was coming back from injury and time off, and the Japanese fed is definitely invested in her talent, rightly so. But Satoko truly needs to improve her jumps. From what I've seen from Satoko's recent The Ice performance, she looks to have been building her weight (per orders) and working out in order to gain more height and power on her jumps. Indeed, her jumps did seem to be a tad higher. So there are a great many storylines in all disciplines shaping up for the new season.

IMO Higuchi, whether 'unfairly,' fairly, politically, or unluckily, was left off the Olympic team where her talent could have had an impact. But whatever. For every skater, no matter what happens, you've got to suck it up and continue fighting the battle, if winning is what you want. Higuchi did just that at Worlds in Milan. And it was quite entertaining and inspirational.

 

[Sylvia]

This Milan Worlds flashback photo shared a few days ago by Bradie reveals that she is a fan of Winnie the Pooh : https://www.instagram.com/p/BmClh0vFO7X/?taken-by=bradietennell

 

[oleada]

OT (Sorry Bradie fans), but @aftershocks youe argument is basically “I like Wakaba’s skating better so she should have gone to the Olympics” and that the Olympics would have been a good showcase for her, without taking into account that the Japanese federation had really specific criteria for the Olympics that was posted at the beginning of the season.

A. Guaranteed spot for the national champion (Satoko Miyahara)
B. Second spot would take into account:
- silver or bronze medalist at nationals, if age eligible (Kaori Sakamoto)
- highest Japanese finisher at the GPF (Satoko Miyahara)
- SB/World standing (Higuchi has 212 at CoC vs Sakamoto 210 at SA)

Higuchi wasn’t even 3rd at Nationals. She was 4th with major errors (1A in the SP; 2S and UR combo in the LP); coming off a not great performance in the GPF LP. Her SB was not that much higher to justify being sent to the Olympics over the Japanese silver medalist. I like Higuchi a lot, but let’s not pretend she was hard done by when she wasn’t. The Japanese fed didn’t have to give her a Worlds spot, either, but they did, because they believe in her talent. Sakamoto earned her spot fair and square.

ETA: Wakaba’s FS was the highlight for me at Worlds, but the reason she was in the second to last group wasn’t being lowballed; it was because she fell on her combo.

 

[nguyhm]

ANL need to stay calm but can I hope for a gold at SkAm???? She's got competition from Team Japan.

I was hoping for that as well - not to jinx her. Team Japan is quite strong so my wish is to at least have her on the podium at SkAm. Can't wait to see her in Everett.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

A side comment here in the Bradie thread:

I must be a minority..but I much prefer Kaori..... she reaches out and emotes TOTALLY to the audience... Wakaba is another introverted skater who doesn't reach the last row. I love Kaori. With Wakaba Im very in the middle.

 

[muffinplus]

I would call Higuchi anything but introverted in that Bond program. The audience was going nuts for her at Worlds

Bradie's short looks better than her long.. Richaud's choreography is still kind of bad...I'm interested to see the Lutz loop combo in competition

 

[aftershocks]

OT (Sorry Bradie fans), but @aftershocks youe argument is basically “I like Wakaba’s skating better so she should have gone to the Olympics” and that the Olympics would have been a good showcase for her, without taking into account that the Japanese federation had really specific criteria for the Olympics that was posted at the beginning of the season.

A. Guaranteed spot for the national champion (Satoko Miyahara)
B. Second spot would take into account:
- silver or bronze medalist at nationals, if age eligible (Kaori Sakamoto)
- highest Japanese finisher at the GPF (Satoko Miyahara)
- SB/World standing (Higuchi has 212 at CoC vs Sakamoto 210 at SA)

Higuchi wasn’t even 3rd at Nationals. She was 4th with major errors (1A in the SP; 2S and UR combo in the LP); coming off a not great performance in the GPF LP. Her SB was not that much higher to justify being sent to the Olympics over the Japanese silver medalist. I like Higuchi a lot, but let’s not pretend she was hard done by when she wasn’t. The Japanese fed didn’t have to give her a Worlds spot, either, but they did, because they believe in her talent. Sakamoto earned her spot fair and square.

ETA: Wakaba’s FS was the highlight for me at Worlds, but the reason she was in the second to last group wasn’t being lowballed; it was because she fell on her combo.

Thanks for laying out the facts @oleada. But also, there's no need for you to decide to over-interpret my comments and try to put words in my mouth. I did not mention anything about what happened in the sp at Worlds. I didn't say that Higuchi was 'lowballed' at Worlds. I simply made a rhetorical reference to the possibility of Higuchi not being received as well at Worlds as those who were top favorites, since she hadn't made the Olympics. That doesn't mean I think Higuchi was unfairly scored in the Worlds sp. But scoring is definitely based on favoritism, rep and politics. Of course, Higuchi didn't skate as well in the sp, and so her placement there is not in question.

I did say that I feel Higuchi's scores were somewhat lowballed on the GP -- she should have scored better on her boffo outings. Also, I never made the focus of my initial comments about Sakomoto. That was another poster's input. I simply pointed out how much I like Higuchi's skating when she's at her best. And how I felt she was passed over for making the Olympic team (fairly or otherwise). I saw Japanese Nationals, but thanks for pointing out their criteria.

I realize that Satoko was favored, and that Sakamoto skated well. And it's well known that Mihara, Hongo, and Higuchi didn't have great showings at 2017 Worlds. Mihara skated poorly in the sp but managed to pull up to 5th to preserve at least 2 spots, but they lost their 3rd spot. As I said earlier, I understand why Japanese fed is heavily invested in Satoko's talent. But I also feel that Higuchi has felt under pressure and having something to prove, partly due to her poor showing at Worlds 2017. With the depth of talent among Japanese ladies, pressure won't be lessened for any of them.

IMO, Higuchi and Mihara were not scored as well as they deserved for some of their performances on the GP last season. And so, I'm very happy for Higuchi pulling through to medal at Worlds. She could have given in to not having skated her best in the sp. But she threw caution to the wind and slam-dunked her fp.

I know Higuchi has a lot of fans who enjoy her skating. But I also think there's a tendency by some in the skating community to look down on skaters who don't fit the lyrical princess look on the ice. So I'm always glad to see skaters like Higuchi and Daleman break that stereotypical mold.