U.S. Ice Dance 2018-19 season news & updates

RoseRed

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Did the Green compete both programs at Chesepeake?? if not, they might not skate the first JGP because they need to skate both programs, I think it's 30 days prior to their assignment to show readiness...Didn't see L/B anywhere yet? So ready for first JGP G/S, G/W, A/B, N/V, D/G
I think they did do both the RD and FD at Chesapeake.
 

platniumangel

Active Member
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237
Did the Green compete both programs at Chesepeake?? if not, they might not skate the first JGP because they need to skate both programs, I think it's 30 days prior to their assignment to show readiness...Didn't see L/B anywhere yet? So ready for first JGP G/S, G/W, A/B, N/V, D/G

Yes, I believe the Greens competed both at Chesapeake.
 

Dobre

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16,954
Crossposting from the Kiss & Cry . . .

International Senior Free Dance Thoughts:

McNamara & Carpenter-Soft modern piano. (Porz Goret). Think they might have a story to go with it. As my mother and I do not know it, we have currently dubbed the program "Wood Sprites on Cell Phones."
;). Clearly we need to watch the program again. Lorraine has a very soft pretty "wood sprite-esque" costume and while the program is rather "P&C/French;" there is also a variety of mysterious choreography a bit akin to Nazarova & Nikitin's butterfly-eating program. Soft & flowy, which is of course, not my thing; but I think this is an all-right-we-will-show-you-we-can-do-this-popular-style-so-that-we-can-move-on-and-skate-our-own-thing-next-season season. And they can. I agree, @Lutzlvr, with your post in the K&C. The program/performance is more convincing than in 2016-17. Again three sets of twizzles, interesting variation on second set. Back to trying the low position in the dance spin. Been trying to get credit for this for two seasons and keep having to take it out mid-season. Way to keep at it! Interesting position in the lift (stationary one, I think?). Less pausing than the last two seasons, which is good. And--wow--a clean FD performance in their season debut. FD 111.62; Overall 185.12.

The Parsons-To Build a Home. And they nailed the twizzles, filled the rink. So, yeah, I know people are going to hate the music choice because it's too soon for a dance team to do this (and it is); but you know, I really do think this is more the Parsons' style or rather one of their styles than what they tried last season. (My Mom passionately reminds me of her recommendation for One Singular Sensation from A Chorus Line for their RD next season). Anyway, I like the wholistic modern piece of music for them. It just would have been better if they had a different modern wholistic piece. I'm not as familiar with the Parsons usual layout, but there are some creative skills here and I believe they also are shooting for a new combo spin (think the spin's going to be great). Transition into the second position was cool. And then he put his foot down in the third position. Which he was probably thinking about afterward because he wipes out right in front of the judges. And naturally that's pretty much the end of the program. I appreciated, though, that he was laughing at himself afterward. I think Michael is very competitive. He was so mad at himself yesterday, which seems to be pretty much the norm when he mucks up; but today it felt more like he conquered the twizzles and was able to see the random spill at the end for what it was, which was a random stupid mistake during a debut performance. FD 96.57; Overall 164.74.

Sales & Wamsteeker-Romantic modern ballad (Seduces Me), then Ne Me Quitte Pas. Nice straightline lift. Random trip on really short (maybe transitional?) lift. Muramoto & Reed-style stationary lift. Kazakova style lift into different positioned exit. Then complex lift with an interesting second position. Think they need a smoother exit. Happy to see them win the bronze here! Loved their Robin & Marian FD more, but this should grow. FD 87.78; Overall 138.01.

Lanaghan & Razgulajevs-Bluesy hard rock? (Bishop Briggs medley) Their short was very promising yesterday. This one feels like the program that isn't as far along. Lacking the expression/angst. The singer was clearly in pain so methinks the dancers need to be expressing it too. FD 82.41; Overall 135.00.

Monaghan & Fourati-Dramatic music. Pretty good for newish team. Think this is the most solid performance I've seen him skate. He looks uneasy in the lifts. FD 75.18; Overall 117.?

Reynolds & Reynolds. Secrets/something classical/Secrets. She looked a bit more confident today. The program has all their crowd-pleasing highlights. Low curve glide balanced on one foot, etc. FD 64.26; Overall 102.67.

Takahashi & Altukhov. Russian lyrics & medley. Upbeat program. It's a happy program, and they look happy with it. (We've seen a lot of angst today--ironically most of it in the juniors. We can all use something happy). She looks so much more comfortable than his partner from last season. This is such a better place to start out a competitive carreer for a new partnership than practices at U.S Nationals. FD 55.90; Overall 89.51.

Ichilov & Davidovich only skated the SD. I assume it was planned because the scheduled time for the FD was shorter than the time scheduled for the SD.
 
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Dobre

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16,954
Crossposting from the Kiss & Cry . . .

Junior International FD Thoughts:

How do you know the difference between the first & the final group in a dance competition? For the final group, you can feel the wind coming off the rink when the skaters rush out for warm-up.

Gunter & Wein. Angsty opening music. Cool positioning of straight line lift diagonally across the center. Great middle position. Wish they had stopped there & held it, but there's a third position. Bumpy exit in the 4th? dance spin position. Twizzles with arms changing positions. Drastic music switch to rock music with fast-paced ending. And Caleb wakes up. They're having fun. (Again, I think the fun is much more them than the angst). Congratulations on the win! Quite a coup for them. FD 76.63; Overall 135.35.

Makita & Gunara-Soft & flowy. Twizzles are good today. Fast rotation. Light-hearted all the way through. "Uplifting." (I'd like to see the tone/expression develop a bit throughout the course of the program). Pretty smoothly in and out of their elements. He's a quick rotater. I loved their SD the most, but they go clean today and win the FD. FD-78.70; Overall 129.64.

Galiyanova & Lochead. Angsty modern ballad. (We had a lot of angst in this junior event). Long delay after the first set of twizzles and yet another variation (we're seeing lots of twizzle variations here). He looked spent at the end of the program. FD 74.58; Overall 125.12.

Amoia & Becker-Bluesy modern ballad. (Dress is perfect dark blue & sparkly). Twizzles were great today, which is a major improvement for her from last season. Set to slow music, but lots of positions, very pretty, and controlled. Set downs on the lifts could be smoother. Felt like the last one stalled out. Expression could be deeper. Overall, they look much improved from last year to me. FD-72.78; Overall 122.69.

Bashynska & Beaumont-If it looks like Cinderella, it probably is . . . Cinderella. Nice opening lift, arms with lovely positioning. The clock chimes! Twizzling away from the clock. Cinderella's dress changes to blue (OK, this is an effective costume change). Very well done. By far their stronger program. They look happy. 2nd highest score in the FD. FD-78.29; Overall 121.93.

Efimova & Petrov-Who Wants to Live Forever? (Apparently everyone). Twizzles good. Low straightline lift. He's more expressive today. Lifts are Shpilband-esque, very busy. (I'm going to talk about the trend we're seeing with lift exits in a separate post here eventually). FD-69.06; Overall 117.79.

Fear & Waddell-This feels like their more practiced program. Very steady pace throughout, not fast but nothing halting. She came out of the double twizzle in the footwork. FD-71.70; Overall-116.25.

Katrayan & Derochi-Grease Medley: Summer Lovin', Hopelessly Devoted, You'd Better Shape Up. Kazakova-style lift. Program is a nice fit for their level. They did what they can do, I think. Moved up a spot. FD-64.32; Overall 104.61.

Friend & Badoui-A Million Reasons. Great opening set of twizzles and then drifted. A little off on the last twizzle too. Solid otherwise. They are on the slower side. It's a new program, which surprises me actually, since they were out with injury almost all of last season. I think Lake Placid last year may have been their only event last year. Glad they've made it back. FD-53.21; Overall-104.61.
 

her grace

Team Guignard/Fabbri
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6,492
Very curious who is going to grab the less obvious U.S. spots on the JGP. Not sure if we're even going to know after this competition. Placements are here, there, & everywhere.

Agreed. I'm assuming that Green/Green, Ngyuen/Kolesnik, Gropman/Somerville, and Gunter/Wein will get the obvious spots. The "less obvious" have traded placements and scored similarly at the summer events. Here's how I handicap the field:

Summer Season Bests for teams who have scored at least 120+ in a summer competition:

Brown/Brown [N5]: 141.45 Lake Placid domestic [LPD]
Cesanek/Yehorov [new]: 136.41 LPD
Haines/Zoszuta [J7]: 135.74 LPD
Efimova/Petrov [J8]: 125.78 Cannon
DelCamp/Gart [J9]: 124.72 Cannon
Elder/Elder [J11]: 122.94 Skate Detroit
Amoia/Becker [J10]: 122.39 Lake Placid Intl [LPI]
Wolfkostin/Zhao [N1]: 121.96 Cannon

Probably In:

DelCamp/Gart: initially named to JGP1 (not yet confirmed by USFS). They withdrew from the FD at LPD after finishing 5th in the RD. Best summer finishes: 3rd overall at Cannon, and 3rd in FD at Chesapeake, beating Elder/Elder, Haines/Kozuta, Gunter/Wein, Wolfkostin/Zhao, Brown/Brown, etc. I am assuming they will keep their initial assignment because I can't imagine they'd withdraw (barring injury) from the LPD FD if that was still up in the air.

Brown/Brown: They’re not currently in the ISP and they were N5 last season, but they were 2nd overall at LPD beating Haines/Kozuta and DelCamp/Gart (in RD—D/G withdrew from FD). They also finished 3rd in the RD at the Chesapeake Open, beating Gunter/Wein and Elder/Elder in that portion, and Wolfkostin/Zhao, Haines/Kozuta, and Efimova/Petrov overall. They’ve shown that they belong on this level and are beating their competitors.

Elder/Elder: After finishing 3rd at Chesapeake Open and 1st at Skate Detroit, they’ve probably done enough to be selected. They defeated Gunter/Wein, Brown/Brown, Wolfkostin/Zhao and Haines/Koszuta at Chesapeake and they finished ahead of Wolfkostin/Zhao at Skate Detroit. Their best score overall, however, is a little lower than some of those teams.

On the Bubble:

Haines/Koszuta: They finished 7th at junior nationals last season, defeating the other contending teams there. This summer, their results have been middling and they haven’t beaten a lot of their rival teams. They beat Efimova/Petrov at Chesapeake Open, but lost to Elder/Elder, Brown/Brown, and Wolfkostin/Zhao. At LPD, they were 4th overall, beating DelCamp/Gart in the RD (D/G withdrew before the FD), but they also lost to Brown/Brown and new team Cesanek/Yehorov.

Amoia/Becker: It’s hard to predict what will happen with this team because they only competed at LPI. Their 122.39 score is a bit lower, but in the same range as, some of their rival teams, and A/B had what appeared to be a strict judging/technical panel. They beat Efimova/Petrov at LPI; all the other contenders were either in LPD or did not attend Lake Placid.

Efimova/Petrov: 2nd overall at Cannon beating DelCamp/Gart, Wolfkostin/Zhao, etc. But they were only 8th overall at Chesapeake Open and their LPI score wasn't particularly great at 117.79. It looks like the international scores were lower-across-the-board compared to the domestic event, though.

On the Outside Looking In:
These teams will need to wait and see how the first assignments go, and perhaps could get a chance if the initial teams don't earn a second assignment.

Wolfkostin/Zhao: As novice national champs, they were odds-on favorites for a JGP, but their summer competitions were riddled with inconsistencies and errors. Their best score came at Cannon (121.96). W/Z were beaten by Efimova/Petrov and DelCamp/Gart at Cannon, by Elder/Elder and Brown/Brown at Chesapeake Open, and by Elder/Elder at Skate Detroit. They did edge out Haines/Koszuta at Chesapeake by a point, but they haven’t defeated the other contending teams, so those teams should get an assignment first.

Cesanek/Yehorov: They scored an impressive 136.31 at LPD. This was quite the improvement from Cannon, where they scored only 116.54. However, the only contending teams they’ve beaten all season are DelCamp/Gart (in RD portion at Cannon and LPD) and Haines/Koszuta, who they defeated by less than a point. Moreover, scores at LPD were higher across-the-board. Their great effort at LPD should get them in the ISP and on the subs list, but probably not one of the initial selections.
 

Dobre

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Thanks for doing that! I agree that Amoia & Becker are hard to predict because competing at an international with Galit Chait as the caller is not the same as competing in some of these domestic events.

I don't know what they're going to do. DelCamp & Gart were behind the pack here, and they essentially had stronger early scores than everyone outside the locks. I do think Gunter & Wein did themselves a solid with the win here, regardless of the score comparisons. (They earned a 2nd JGP berth last season and split results with Nguyen & Kolesnik at Nationals). The Elders had a good placement at Chesapeake but quite low at Nationals and didn't compete here. I haven't had time to write up thoughts on the domestic event yet, but a few things I do want to mention--Cesanek & Yehorov are a fast, tall team. That's probably not going to come across on the stream. And Haines & Koszuta's free program--I thought--was really gorgeous. It wasn't just one emotion either. Developed and built both emotionally and with excitement toward the end.
 

rinkside

Active Member
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Thank you for sharing your thoughts. For those of us unable to travel you guys truly are a godsend. Have a good weekend and blessings tomboy all.
 

platniumangel

Active Member
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237
I’m noticing a trend of using one song/one piece of music through put. I don’t know the “rules” that well.... but is that allowed? I like it in some cases, others it can get a little boring.
 

Cayuse

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I’m noticing a trend of using one song/one piece of music through put. I don’t know the “rules” that well.... but is that allowed? I like it in some cases, others it can get a little boring.
One piece of music is a plus for the tango rhythm! I'm enjoying the one song/one piece of music trend. It's easier to get caught up in the mood or story line.
 

platniumangel

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One piece of music is a plus for the tango rhythm! I'm enjoying the one song/one piece of music trend. It's easier to get caught up in the mood or story line.

I like it to a point as well. I just wasn’t sure about how the rules apply to a different rhythm/expression when it’s the same song through out.
 

Dobre

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I like it to a point as well. I just wasn’t sure about how the rules apply to a different rhythm/expression when it’s the same song through out.
https://www.usfigureskating.org/content/2018-19 ID RD Chart.pdf

See the top line on the far right on the document above. The rules allow for one rhythm this season:biggrinbo. You may choose either a Tango or a Tango+one additional rhythm. Tango-only was embraced by quite a few teams competing at Lake Placid this week, and I really think a good percentage of those programs were stronger than the alternative.

As far as expression goes, my answer is this . . .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRxA76J09T8
Skip to the 1:15 mark.
 
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platniumangel

Active Member
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https://www.usfigureskating.org/content/2018-19 ID RD Chart.pdf

See the top line on the far right on the document above. The rules allow for one rhythm this season:biggrinbo. You may choose either a Tango or a Tango+one additional rhythm. Tango-only was embraced by quite a few teams competing at Lake Placid this week, and I really think a good percentage of those programs were stronger than the alternative.

As far as expression goes, my answer is this . . .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRxA76J09T8
Skip to the 1:15 mark.

Thanks for your response 😊 I love Grishuk & Platov. I was thinking more about fredance needing a change of tempo and expression... which I thought would be impossible with one song/piece of music.. yet several teams used one song: Amoia/Becker FD (Lay me down by Sam Smith) The Browns FD (Parisienne Walkways by Gary Moore) and a few others. Though I love both pieces of music...... it doesn’t seem there’s a change of expression and rhythm. Unless I am wrong that a change of tempo/expression is needed for FD?
 

Dobre

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I just realized the first link I posted above didn't work. I've edited it so it should work now.

I was thinking more about fredance needing a change of tempo and expression... which I thought would be impossible with one song/piece of music.. yet several teams used one song: Amoia/Becker FD (Lay me down by Sam Smith) The Browns FD (Parisienne Walkways by Gary Moore) and a few others. Though I love both pieces of music...... it doesn’t seem there’s a change of expression and rhythm. Unless I am wrong that a change of tempo/expression is needed for FD?

Ah. Yes, a change of tempo/rhythm and expression is required in the free. And I have no idea about A&B's and the Browns' FD programs because I can't rewatch them. Often teams use an added musical effect in order to achieve that change when it isn't in a song naturally so if I had to guess, I would assume that is what has been done. Or that there actually is a secondary piece of music included within the program. But I don't remember. (And of course sometimes teams do change their music after early debut performances because such & such change is not deemed clear enough).
 

Dobre

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Crossposting from the Kiss & Cry . . .

Junior FD Thoughts (domestic competition):

Gropman & Somerville. (Bim Bam Boum and Le Bien Qui Fait Mal).
-Mom & I are playing the guess the program based on the costumes game. Eliana is in a pink decorative dress (G&S got the memo that they were in the pink warm-up group) and Ian is in a long composer-like shirt.
Mom: What do you think they are doing? It looks like . . .
Me: It could be a story, like The Little Prince. (We are both fans of their Little Prince program).
Mom smiles.
Me: Or it could be . . . Beethoven/Mozart--
Mom: Classical. A master. It's probably that. (She is not smiling. We are trying not to get our hopes up that it's a story).
Out they come.
Ten seconds into the program, we are all smiles.
Mom: It's a story.
They had a great skate. We obviously both feel they do this style very well. I'm afraid I was having too much fun to take decent notes. And they skated to--ding, ding, ding--a song by Mozart L'Opera Rock. Not too shabby guessing, hmm? 87.84

Brown & Brown. Blues. Another really low move in a spin--teams are pushing the difficulty in the spins:). Hydroblade move--mom says he came off his edge but I was scribbling and not watching closely enough. At which point I give up taking notes and just enjoy the program. Think they are the biggest surprise of the pre-season. Ought to get them onto the ISP, I would imagine. And then we wait & see who gets onto the JGP. Maybe they will go to another event? 84.90

Orihara & Royer-modern balllad/Give Me Love, small trip coming out of straightline lift, very nice for debut competition for this new team, she's doing the performing and he's doing the lifting. Think they compliment each other. 81.04

Cesanek & Yehorov-flamenco (Noche Flamenca). We guessed wrong. Were terribly afraid it was going to be Carmen. Happy we were wrong). They have good speed (more than she had in previous partnership). Twizzles were solid. She's obviously thrilled they've gotten close to the end, and she's selling the footwork. Pretty darn good for a new partnership. I'm happy for her. Potential has been there, but this is the first time I've seen her & a partner go two clean skates in a row. 80.63

Haines & Koszuta-Beautiful music. cgirl8 says "Pearl Harbor." Mom & I thought Legends of the Fall. Anyway, not done as a story. Done as a pure interpretation of the music. Gorgeous teal dress, well cut & matches his shirt. Good speed. Program builds well. Loved how her expression evolved to sell the end. Felt genuine. Several beautiful positions. Annoying trendy lift exit I am going to talk about later. But overall, one of my favorite programs of this event. 80.27

Rose & Michel-Soft & flowy modern ballad, 1 song. And again, I see that I have no quality notes (final event after long competition). 70.07

Bratti & Usanov-Don Quixote. (Took a while to get to the obvious Don Quixote bit, but we did--in fact--guess correctly). Soft a long time and then finally fast music while they try to sell the end. Needs more sharpness & strength. 63.82

Purnell & Purnell-(Gypsy Kings). Cute yellow dress. Program suits her smiley personality. 62.83

Melton & O'Donnell-California Dreamin' female cover. Out of stamina midway through. Nice spin at the beginning. New team, I believe. 56.39
 

her grace

Team Guignard/Fabbri
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Cesanek/Yehorov: They scored an impressive 136.31 at LPD. This was quite the improvement from Cannon, where they scored only 116.54. However, the only contending teams they’ve beaten all season are DelCamp/Gart (in RD portion at Cannon and LPD) and Haines/Koszuta, who they defeated by less than a point. Moreover, scores at LPD were higher across-the-board. Their great effort at LPD should get them in the ISP and on the subs list, but probably not one of the initial selections.

Updating thoughts on Cesanek/Yehorov: It looks like his last international representing Ukraine was in December 2017 at the Istanbul Bosphorous Cup. That means he cannot represent the U.S. in JGP competitions this fall, and he ages out of JGPs after this season as well. If they wanted to represent Ukraine, there shouldn't be a waiting period for her since she didn't represent the U.S. internationally.
 

rinkside

Active Member
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Thank you so much for videos. Not always a fan of M/C programs but i love this one. A new and softer team and I think it was time
 

Vinyame

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No problem, I was looking forward to seeing these videos very much. I don't know the FSU username of the person who uploaded them, but a special thank you goes to her.
 

Sylvia

TBD
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79,978
The Parsons were added very recently to the Asian Trophy Open and are off to Bangkok!

ETA:
JGP assignments are not yet posted/confirmed on USFS' International Assignments page but the 2 dance teams listed for the first JGP in Bratislava SVK are Caroline GREEN / Gordon GREEN and Katarina DELCAMP / Maxwell GART (this would be D/G's debut).

7 teams are currently listed as substitutes:
Alina EFIMOVA / Alexander PETROV
Sophia ELDER / Christopher ELDER
Eliana GROPMAN / Ian SOMERVILLE
Emma GUNTER / Caleb WEIN
Jocelyn HAINES / James KOSZUTA
Avonley NGUYEN / Vadym KOLESNIK
Katarina WOLFKOSTIN / Howard ZHAO
Eliana GROPMAN / Ian SOMERVILLE and Sophia ELDER / Christopher ELDER are listed on the ISU site for the 2nd JGP in Linz, Austria with the same group alternates as published last week. Hopefully Oona & Gage Brown will show up on the list for the 3rd JGP now that they've been added to the ISP.
 
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her grace

Team Guignard/Fabbri
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The Parsons were added very recently to the Asian Trophy Open and are off to Bangkok!

Interesting. I wonder if USFS is sending them there to gauge the judges' warmth to the FD before potentially asking them to change it at Champs Camp.
 

Dobre

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16,954
It's a fast turnaround from Lake Placid but there is a possible Challenger win and a very likely medal available in dance at the Asian Open with World Standing points available. (And all the young U.S. teams need those because some of them won't have points from a major international at season's end).
 
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RoseRed

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2,141
Interesting. I wonder if USFS is sending them there to gauge the judges' warmth to the FD before potentially asking them to change it at Champs Camp.
If they didn't make them change last year's FD, I can't imagine they will this one. It's much better, even with the music choice (imo of course). And like, it's not as though judges have ever acted like they mind overused music.
 

VGThuy

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True. I think they just want to give as many teams as many international opportunities as possible since the U.S. dance field is so competitive and congested that some very excellent teams will not be able to compete in the GPF, 4CC, and Worlds.
 

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