U.S. Pairs 2017 - News & Updates, Part VII

[aftershocks]

^^ Thanks @Sylvia, I noticed Austin's connection with Meiryla prior to your post. Like I said, Austin and Alexandra looked really good winning bronze in January. And Alexandra seems to look good with Jacob Simon, but will they cement? What are the reasons for these splits? What's happening now with the Coleman/Griffin split/ repairings?

Aiiieee! Oh well... But then why didn't Ashley Cain and Timothy LeDuc team up immediately after their respective Junior successes in 2011!?

I understand you probably don't have any answers @Sylvia, and no one seems to either.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

She was fun to watch on the Broadmoor Open live stream in her pairs competition debut (Natasha's last name is spelled Mishkutionok in the results). Mom/coach Natalia M. must be very proud.

OMG, Sylvia, I went to go look up the video.. OMG I want to squuuueeeeezzzeeeeee her.. and look at our Goddess Natalia. OMG!!!!! Can we just anoint Natasha OGM winner NOW!!!!! Look at this one from 2 yrs ago....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfzkSqt3LHw

And this is just me being Dick Button (nitpicking) but my pet peeve forever are announcers (at the rink and broadcast TV commentators) who don't know how to pronounce the names of the very competitors they are covering. Learn them!

 

[aftershocks]

So there is a connection. And so Natalia was married when she partnered with Dmitriev (or she married during the partnership). Good luck to young Natasha...

That announcer failed twice! Good grief, not even close. What was the announcer looking at???

 

[Sylvia]

Rink announcers at U.S. qualifying & club competitions are volunteers.

Are some of these young U.S. pairs, the sons and daughters of Russian emigre fs coaches/former skaters?

Here's an article I posted before Nationals about the Mokhov siblings who are coached by their Russian parents and won the 2017 U.S. Intermediate Pairs title in Kansas City: http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/...amily-figure-skaters-head-nationals/96403802/

ETA that I believe I first mentioned young Natasha M. competing in this thread in 2013: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/threads/children-of-notable-or-not-skaters.88280/#post-3937825

 

[aftershocks]

Here's an article I posted before Nationals about the Mokhov siblings who are coached by their Russian parents and won the 2017 U.S. Intermediate Pairs title in Kansas City: http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/...amily-figure-skaters-head-nationals/96403802/

Ummm, don't tell me we have to wait until a young, up-and-coming Russian-American sister/brother team from Michigan makes it up through USFS ranks before the US can get back on the international pairs podium.

Rink announcers at U.S. qualifying & club competitions are volunteers.

As in what? Volunteers don't have time to figure out name pronunciations (at least to some close degree of how the name appears in print)?

 

[Jojo13]

Very nice program. They seem well matched. I look forward to seeing them at Skate Detroit.

Simon/Yao debut was good. They lack the chemistry that Simon shared with his previous partner, Weinstein. I really liked them together. Does anyone know what happened to their partnership or what Weinstein is doing? I liked her style and presence on the ice.

 

[aftershocks]

Posted in the 2017 Choreography thread, but if you don't see it there.

A four minute clip of Rohene Ward working with Alexa and Chris on their new SP, "Paint it Black".

https://www.facebook.com/rohene1?hc_ref=PAGES_TIMELINE

Rohene is working with Deanna and Nate, and Alexa and Chris, my two fav pairs. Life is good

ETA; I can't figure out how to link directly to the vid, sorry, but you can get to it from the page. Oh well.....

Interesting clip showing part of the choreographic process. It must be like actor's learning their lines. How do skaters remember the moves with the music? Maybe the music helps the muscles remember? Rohene has a sixth sense/ genius ability to create moves that enhance and bring out the personalities of skaters.

Great that a Rohene documentary is being made at the same time: The Choreographer's Apprentice.

Speaking of Jim Peterson's safe music choices, has anyone posted this yet? A tweet from Nate Bartholomay about his and Deanna's programs:

https://twitter.com/NateBartholomay/status/850010061044760576/photo/1

SP: "Eleanor Rigby" Joshua Bell, Rohene Ward, choreo

LP: "One" and "Streets have no name" by U2, Mark Pillay choreo

Has Rohene done choreo for pairs before? I'm getting about this one .....

Nice, and I can't wait to see each of these programs. Pillay is also a fantastic choreographer. He's done a lot of work for singles and pairs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYCBTai0Tkc Eleanor Rigby, Joshua Bell (violin)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgZ4ammawyI U2 One
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FsrPEUt2Dg U2 Where the streets have no name

 

[Jojo13]

She was fun to watch on the Broadmoor Open live stream in her pairs competition debut (Natasha's last name is spelled Mishkutionok in the results). Mom/coach Natalia M. must be very proud.

Austin Hale was listed on IPS months ago, looking for a Senior level partner (he's 21 now). His IPS profile was taken down in late(?) May - that is all that's known publicly at this time. He also won Junior bronze at 2016 Nationals with Meiryla Findley (who has partnered just this year with Matthew Rounis).

Austin Hale was listed on IPS and Lindsay Weinstein is still listed. Does Anyone help these strong pair skaters find new partners? They both have strong pair skills and experience yet neither of them seem to have new partners. How can US figure skating let them go?

 

[aftershocks]

^^ Wasn't there a size issue difficulty with Weinstein/Simon? Austin Hale, unfortunately seems to have bad luck with partner switches every year or so, according to his young career history, so far. But he seems to be a good partner too, especially having landed in 3rd place in Juniors with two different partners in back-to-back years.

Simon/Yao debut was good. They lack the chemistry that Simon shared with his previous partner, Weinstein...

I think both Yao/Hale, and now Yao/Simon need a lot of work with fine-tuning, developing more speed, stretch, pacing, and improving their technical elements, increasing difficulty, etc. Each team had/has a nice quality over the ice, but still so much work to do. Developing more of a connection/ chemistry can take time. And that's what I mean. How can you develop well, if you keep switching partners while you are in the growing and developing phase of your career as a young skater!?

 

[Jojo13]

Austin Hale was listed on IPS and Lindsay Weinstein is still listed. Does Anyone help these strong pair skaters find new partners? They both have strong pair skills and experience yet neither of them seem to have new partners. How can US figure skating let them go?

If you cannot tell, I was a huge fan if Weinstein/Simon. I felt they had an amazing connection and you couldn't help but love watching them together. She has beautiful skating skills and an "it" factor on the ice. It would be a shame for her not to be able to continue.

 

[Jojo13]

^^ Wasn't there a size issue difficulty with Weinstein/Simon? Austin Hale, unfortunately seems to have bad luck with partner switches every year or so, according to his young career history, so far. But he seems to be a good partner too, especially having landed in 3rd place in Juniors with two different partners in back-to-back years.



I think both Yao/Hale, and now Yao/Simon need a lot of work with fine-tuning, developing more speed, stretch, pacing, and improving their technical elements, increasing difficulty, etc. Each team had/has a nice quality over the ice, but still so much work to do. Developing more of a connection/ chemistry can take time. And that's what I mean. How can you develop well, if you keep switching partners while you are in the growing and developing phase of your career as a young skater!?

Yao is actually taller than Weinstein, but Weinstein definitely did go through a big growth spurt over the past year. And yes I do agree chemistry will develop over time. Hopefully they can stay together long enough for that to occur. Simon does age out after this season. But Weinstein should be able to find a new partner that would better suit her. She does have skills.

 

[wickedwitch]

Yao/Simon felt flat to me, but as others have mentioned, sometimes chemistry takes time.

But in the long term, the lack of sbs triples (and Yao's 2A has never been super solid) is a bigger issue.

 

[aftershocks]

@Jojo13, Yao could seem to be a slight bit taller than Lindsay Weinstein because of Yao's long legs. I think they are probably around the same height, if you look at each partner up against Jacob. It's hard to tell exactly though unless we see each lady sbs. Height doesn't have to be the reason for why Jacob and Lindsay outgrew each other and are no longer well-matched physically.

I agree with you that Lindsay and Jacob had more chemistry, but Yao and Jacob are just starting out together, and obviously more time is needed to develop/ judge that aspect.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPyU0AN2GzM Weinstein/Simon 2016 Nationals junior fp
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NUrWVVcY3w Weinstein/Simon 2016 Nationals junior sp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Z8Vmt38DLU Yao/Simon 2017 Broadmoor Open; scroll to 4:00 (since they are warming up for the first section of the tape)

 

[aftershocks]

Austin Hale was listed on IPS and Lindsay Weinstein is still listed. Does Anyone help these strong pair skaters find new partners? They both have strong pair skills and experience yet neither of them seem to have new partners. How can US figure skating let them go?

I agree that skaters who wish to continue competing deserve more help from USFS. What's the matter with Weinstein/Hale partnering? Austin seems to have a broader body build than Jacob. Would that make a difference, or is Lindsay still growing taller and looking for a taller partner?

 

[Jojo13]

Yao/Simon felt flat to me, but as others have mentioned, sometimes chemistry takes time.

But in the long term, the lack of sbs triples (and Yao's 2A has never been super solid) is a bigger issue.

Flat is a good term for their performance at Broadmoor. Elements were pretty solid but something was missing.

 

[Jojo13]

I agree that skaters who wish to continue competing deserve more help from USFS. What's the matter with Weinstein/Hale partnering? Austin seems to have a broader body build than Jacob. Would that make a difference, or is Lindsay still growing taller and looking for a taller partner?

It is hard to know why Austin Hale is longer on ice partner search. But there is no buzz out there that he has found someone else. He did pair up with Yao last year late in season. Maybe he has someone.

As for Weinstein, I would assume she is done growing. Wonder why they didn't consider pairing? She does have 2 years of eligibility left though. And after watching the videos you posted of her and Simon skating at nationals together, it just makes me want to see more.

 

[gkelly]

Rink announcers at U.S. qualifying & club competitions are volunteers.

As in what? Volunteers don't have time to figure out name pronunciations (at least to some close degree of how the name appears in print)?

Time might be a problem. In some cases the announcer might be a parent or adult (or teen) skater volunteering for a 2-hour shift after their own competition is finished.

In other cases it might be someone volunteering all day long, with just a few breaks in which to eat or use the restroom, with 100-200 names to announce during the day.

Often the announcers will look at the list for the next group during the resurface or warmup, note any names they're unsure about, and ask the monitor to ask the skater how to pronounce it.

If a skater is concerned that their name might be mispronounced, or if they really want to be announced by a version of their name different from what appears on the official starting order, they can tell the monitor, who can pass the message on to the announcer.

Usually via walkie talkie. So the sound quality is probably really bad.

It is surprising to us that someone involved enough with skating to announce at a regional competition would be completely unfamiliar with the name of an Olympic champion. But that title was won a quarter century earlier. It's entirely possible that the announcer had not been following skating at all at that time. In some cases, especially at smaller local competitions, you might have announcers much younger than 25.

So don't think in terms of one famous name. Think in terms of dozens or even hundreds of names that a volunteer announcer might encounter with only a few minutes notice for each.

Is there a club near you that holds a local competition? Why not find out when it's scheduled, contact the club, and volunteer to announce at their next event.

 

[Jojo13]

@Jojo13, Yao could seem to be a slight bit taller than Lindsay Weinstein because of Yao's long legs. I think they are probably around the same height, if you look at each partner up against Jacob. It's hard to tell exactly though unless we see each lady sbs. Height doesn't have to be the reason for why Jacob and Lindsay outgrew each other and are no longer well-matched physically.

I agree with you that Lindsay and Jacob had more chemistry, but Yao and Jacob are just starting out together, and obviously more time is needed to develop/ judge that aspect.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPyU0AN2GzM Weinstein/Simon 2016 Nationals junior fp
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NUrWVVcY3w Weinstein/Simon 2016 Nationals junior sp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Z8Vmt38DLU Yao/Simon 2017 Broadmoor Open; scroll to 4:00 (since they are warming up for the first section of the tape)

You are correct height may not be the only reason for why Simon/Weinstein outgrew each other. Weinstein did carry her weight differently. Very different body types. Weinstein is more bottom heavy. But she has a much better presence on the ice.

It will be interesting to see how Yao/Simon stack up against other junior teams and senior teams.

 

[Jojo13]

Posted in the 2017 Choreography thread, but if you don't see it there.

A four minute clip of Rohene Ward working with Alexa and Chris on their new SP, "Paint it Black".

https://www.facebook.com/rohene1?hc_ref=PAGES_TIMELINE

Rohene is working with Deanna and Nate, and Alexa and Chris, my two fav pairs. Life is good

ETA; I can't figure out how to link directly to the vid, sorry, but you can get to it from the page. Oh well.....

I too am excited to see both Deanna and Nate/ Alexa and Chris. Rohene is a genius. He will bring out the best of both couples and interprets music so beautifully.

 

[DFO]

About announcers, sometimes it's not just about the skaters names. At last Canadian Challenge in Pierrefonds, Québec, the announcer had to speak in French and English, but French wasn't his strenght. While introducing the next pairs he said "Voici les prochains pêteurs..." instead of "patineurs".

In French, a "pêteur" would be someone doing... farts.

My son, a 14 years old computer whizz, had so much fun listening to that sentence he was making it play in auto-repeat for hours... So while washing the dishes at home, I could hear coming from the basement "Voici les prochains pêteurs-Voici les prochains pêteurs-Voici les prochains pêteurs-Voici les prochains pêteurs..." and my son laughing. Glad he switched to something else after a while.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

I too am excited to see both Deanna and Nate/ Alexa and Chris. Rohene is a genius. He will bring out the best of both couples and interprets music so beautifully.

I second every word you said!

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Time might be a problem. In some cases the announcer might be a parent or adult (or teen) skater volunteering for a 2-hour shift after their own competition is finished.

In other cases it might be someone volunteering all day long, with just a few breaks in which to eat or use the restroom, with 100-200 names to announce during the day.

Often the announcers will look at the list for the next group during the resurface or warmup, note any names they're unsure about, and ask the monitor to ask the skater how to pronounce it.

If a skater is concerned that their name might be mispronounced, or if they really want to be announced by a version of their name different from what appears on the official starting order, they can tell the monitor, who can pass the message on to the announcer.

Usually via walkie talkie. So the sound quality is probably really bad.

It is surprising to us that someone involved enough with skating to announce at a regional competition would be completely unfamiliar with the name of an Olympic champion. But that title was won a quarter century earlier. It's entirely possible that the announcer had not been following skating at all at that time. In some cases, especially at smaller local competitions, you might have announcers much younger than 25.

So don't think in terms of one famous name. Think in terms of dozens or even hundreds of names that a volunteer announcer might encounter with only a few minutes notice for each.

Is there a club near you that holds a local competition? Why not find out when it's scheduled, contact the club, and volunteer to announce at their next event.

For sure. For me I have just a minor (nitpicking) issue with commentators...

Good Lord I have heard about 15 pronounciation versions of Joannie Rochette. Also for Mira Leung, Roberta Rodeghiero, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, Evgenia Medvedeva, Nam Nguyen, Nikita Katsalapov, Elliana Pogrebinsky, Chafik Besseghier and Elizabet Tursynbaeva.

Commentators today only get one pass from me. And that pass belongs to Liubov Ilyushechkina. I would just hold up a sign when saying hers!!!

Makes the days of saying "Irina Slutskaya" easy. LOL

 

[SkateFanBerlin]

The gotee gives Chris a strong, masculine look - more like Alexander Schmirnof. Works well with the music.

 

[aftershocks]

So don't think in terms of one famous name. Think in terms of dozens or even hundreds of names that a volunteer announcer might encounter with only a few minutes notice for each.

Thanks for your explanation, but I wasn't thinking in terms of a 'famous' name, just that the announcer's pronunciation was so wrong for the end of the name that it seems like she was looking at something else (plus the first surname the announcer cited was completely wrong, so apparently she wasn't looking at the right name or something)! Granted that some Russian names are not easy to pronounce, but it pays to ask or to familiarize oneself. No one enjoys having their name mispronounced, particularly to that strange degree. Under the circumstances, it's easy to shrug it off, but Natalia's daughter seemed a bit exasperated by the errors, although she didn't let it affect her performance.

Commentators today only get one pass from me. And that pass belongs to Liubov Ilyushechkina. I would just hold up a sign when saying hers!!!

LOL @ANL, Lubov's last name seems impossible when you look at it. Luckily for me, I happen to have a good ear, so if I hear a difficult name pronounced, I can generally repeat it fairly accurately or work it out without complete corruption. And, hopefully without having a whole bunch of difficult names to pronounce.

Still, if anyone wishes to volunteer as an announcer (if it's not at the last minute), please do some preparation. Again, this announcer either was not looking at the right last name or she had a complete brain fart when she saw the last three syllables.

 

[DFO]

... by popular demand, here is the link for the announcer saying: Please welcome the next skaters, Veuillez accueillir les derniers "pêteurs". I have to admit, it's funnier if you speak at least a little French. I'm not really a techno guy, so you will have to move to 16:40 for the introduction of Charlie Forest/Nathaniel Foster. And if you're curious or patient enough, 1 minute later you will see them missing the lift coasting them the gold in pre-novice 6 months ago. (Pre-novice being the Intermediate level in Canada)

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x549knn_2017-sc-challenge-pre-novice-pair-free-group-2_sport

BTW, ALL the pairs in the video are now in Canadian Novice pairs.

 

[Sylvia]

I forgot to cross-post this news here last month -- Isabella Gamez, 18, who placed 9th in Junior Pairs at 2017 U.S. Nationals and was the 2016 U.S. Novice Pairs silver medalist with Griffin Schwab (he now skates with 2017 U.S. Novice Pairs silver medalist Ainsley Peterson) has partnered with Ton Consul (Vivar), 19, who is the current Spanish Junior Men's champion and began competing in pairs last year with Canada's Alexanne Bouillon (they placed 16th at 2017 Jr. Worlds).

Gamez never competed internationally for the USA and she will now get an opportunity do so for Spain. I believe Gamez (originally from Florida who trained in Meno/Sand's group in California) & Consul will be training in Montreal (where he has been training).

 

[kwanfan1818]

PJ Kwong interviewed Mark Ladwig at Worlds:
http://www.openkwongdore.com/2017/07/03/episode-37-mark-ladwig/

 

[Sylvia]

Today's "Catching Up With Team USA" - Alexa Scimeca Knierim & Chris Knierim: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zALn2FErHVQ

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

^^^^ Such a GREAT couple.

Cant stop watching that twist at the very beginning....

 

[AKA]

Any news on how pairs did for Orange Blossom Competition in Florida? It seemed like several pairs were planning on doing this competition.