U.S. Pairs 2019-20 season - News & Updates, Part X

MacMadame

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Ice at ice rinks is usually laid over concrete (with pipes and other 'stuff' buried in it)

But so are gymnastics mats. If I had the choice, I would definitely pick the mats over bare concrete.
 

aftershocks

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^^ Ah thanks. Because I just thought when I saw them doing this 3-twist on concrete, that in reality frozen ice is a hard surface that doesn't give anyway. I didn't realize that concrete was underneath the ice. Is that necessary for the water to freeze? Like a dance floor that has some give, isn't it possible for a more flexible, giving surface to be underneath the ice (it may not be possible, as I don't know anything about the process)?

Regarding the earlier post linking the Q&A with Tarah & Danny, I enjoyed hearing about them watching Tiler Peck's online ballet barre class with Jim Peterson, et al. That's a great idea!

 

Theoreticalgirl

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I have seen ice rinks built over sand.

But they do need to have pipes underneath to freeze.

This is how my club's surface is built. The ice is feels like a dream, and since we don't have hockey markings, it's a nice muted gray that's well-suited for figures.

At the start of the season, you can literally see through to the sand, and by the end when the ice starts wearing down, you're just hoping that you don't actually hit it. Also, due to the base layer, the ice isn't perfectly flat. But you get used to it.
 

aftershocks

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^^ It certainly makes sense for the skaters to not be donning masks while training on the ice. They need to be able to breathe properly. Wearing them everywhere else in the building is sound guidance.
 

aftershocks

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Nica Digerness is now partnered with Ian Meyh. He previously skated with Chelsea Liu.


Cool! :cool: I like what I've seen of Ian when he was paired with Chelsea. And I love Nica! Just off the bat, this sounds like an inspired, promising pairing. ā¤ Fingers-crossed things work out well for Digerness/Meyh! :) :saint:

https://youtu.be/fPVGvY5j0Dw?t=581 Liu/Meyh at 9:41 Jr. pairs sp 2018 Golden Spin of Zagreb
(their U.S. Nationals 2019 programs aren't on YouTube) they performed better at 2019 U.S. Nationals

https://youtu.be/S1XeNWWennQ?t=577 Liu/Meyh at 9:37 Jr. pairs fp 2018 GSofZ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvYpyY082mc Digerness/Neudecker 2019 Skate Detroit sp
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oT-uKbFe2hc D/N 2018 Lombardia Trophy fp

Also, lots of good luck to Danny Neudecker and his new partner, Sasha Dinov!
https://www.instagram.com/p/B_Dc3aPB0ZC/?igshid=1bkxuwpiwhsm0
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-arXXthVX5/


T.J. Nyman with his new partner, Nadya Labazina:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-viGOlJ10L/
 
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skylark

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I've been looking forward to seeing Ian Meyh on the ice with a partner again. I really enjoyed him and Chelsea together.

Best wishes to Nica and Ian. Also to Sasha and Danny. Best wishes as well for TJ Nyman and his new partner, they look great together posed with a pretty spectacular birthday cake!
 

aftershocks

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It looks like not everyone is back on the ice at the moment in Dalilah's group. But she did post a pic with some of her pairs teams gathered at the rink. It must feel good for all the skaters to touch their blades to ice once again. 'We don't know what we got, till it's gone...' :saint:
 

aftershocks

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they look great together posed with a pretty spectacular birthday cake!

Yum, that cake looks delicious! I can't wait to see how T.J. and Nadya match up on the ice. She seems tiny standing next to T.J. With how gorgeous and yummy that cake looks, maybe Nadya will try her hand at a pastry chef career post-skating. :)

At first quick glance, Nadya appears to somewhat resemble Alysa Liu.

Cheers to all U.S. pairs teams! Mazel tov! Bonne chance! Good luck! ā™„ :cheer2:


ETA:
Here's a five-year old article on Two For the Ice, about Jessica Pfund/ Josh Santillan. I wonder how they have been faring through the current crisis, and whether they have been able to resume training at the Ellenton rink, with their coach, Lyndon Johnston?

 
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Bob Mc

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Yum, that cake looks delicious! I can't wait to see how T.J. and Nadya match up on the ice. She seems tiny standing next to T.J. With how gorgeous and yummy that cake looks, maybe Nadya will try her hand at a pastry chef career post-skating. :)

At first quick glance, Nadya appears to somewhat resemble Alysa Liu.

Cheers to all U.S. pairs teams! Mazel tov! Bonne chance! Good luck! ā™„ :cheer2:


ETA:
Here's a five-year old article on Two For the Ice, about Jessica Pfund/ Josh Santillan. I wonder how they have been faring through the current crisis, and whether they have been able to resume training at the Ellenton rink, with their coach, Lyndon Johnston?

The Ellenton rink is opening on June1. For the last few weeks several of the Ellenton skaters and coaches including Pfund/Santillan have been skating an hour a day at a Tampa, FL rink. I know Jessica/Josh are starting to work with Lyndon Johnston on choreography for their new programs.
 

skylark

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Yum, that cake looks delicious! I can't wait to see how T.J. and Nadya match up on the ice. She seems tiny standing next to T.J. With how gorgeous and yummy that cake looks, maybe Nadya will try her hand at a pastry chef career post-skating. :)

I was under the impression that TJ was a bit shorter, but Wiki says he's a half inch over 6 feet. He's only 20, though, so he may still have been growing in the last couple of years. I like the last picture, of TJ taking a huge bite of that six-layer cake. Looking closely, it makes me wish I'd taught every one of my kids to make one show-offy dessert when they were teen-agers, but I didn't learn that myself either. You may be right, Nadya may have a passion for it. :)

I have a soft spot for Jessica and Joshua. He's shown real charisma in some of their programs. I don't know how he can keep going with working full time, college part time, and figure skating. (then again, Nathan...) I wish J&J could get a better source of funding. I'm glad to hear they're back on the ice.

ETA: I hope Sarah Feng is able to find a new partner, if she wants to continue. I haven't heard.
 
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greenapple

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It looks like not everyone is back on the ice at the moment in Dalilah's group. But she did post a pic with some of her pairs teams gathered at the rink.

Where did you see this photo? The only photos of her group on her Instagram account are from March.
 

insideedgeua

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It looks like not everyone is back on the ice at the moment in Dalilah's group. But she did post a pic with some of her pairs teams gathered at the rink. It must feel good for all the skaters to touch their blades to ice once again. 'We don't know what we got, till it's gone...' :saint:

Theyā€™re all back. Not all teams are on the same session, but theyā€™re back.
 

aftershocks

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Where did you see this photo? The only photos of her group on her Instagram account are from March.

Yeah right. I didn't check the date. The photo I saw is dated March 2, and so it was taken at Junior Worlds. I just noted the words, "Great first day of practice," but I failed to check the date of the post. Thanks for your query. :)
 

aftershocks

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Here's a lovely website for Brynne McIsaac telling us about who she is, and about her singles and pairs journeys in figure skating: https://brynnemcisaac.com/ :)

Theyā€™re all back. Not all teams are on the same session, but theyā€™re back.

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

Brynne & Mark are the 8th Sappenfield pair in her above post. :love:

1. Nadya/T.J.
2. ?
3. Tarah/Danny O
4. Kate/ Balasz
5. Winter/ Mikhail
6. ?
7. Sasha/Danny N (great form and very in sync on the 3-sal throw, but we don't see enough of them and the shot is slightly unfocused; S&D seem to be close in height as a pair; I'm looking forward to seeing more of them)
8. Brynne/ Mark
9. ?
10. ?

I think Digerness/Meyh will be a very good pair. So pumped to see Dalilah's group back on the ice! ā¤

Maybe someone can help identify the question marks? I don't see anyone in these posted clips that look Nica & Ian (unless they were the 6th pair who performed what looks like a throw double lutz; or maybe the 9th pair :unsure:, but neither of these pairs look much like N&I).
 

insideedgeua

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Here's a lovely website for Brynne McIsaac telling us about who she is, and about her singles and pairs journeys in figure skating: https://brynnemcisaac.com/ :)



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

Brynne & Mark are the 8th Sappenfield pair in her above post. :love:

1. Nadya/T.J.
2. ?
3. Tarah/Danny O
4. Kate/ Balasz
5. Winter/ Mikhail
6. ?
7. Sasha/Danny N (great form and very in sync on the 3-sal throw, but we don't see enough of them and the shot is slightly unfocused; S&D seem to be close in height as a pair; I'm looking forward to seeing more of them)
8. Brynne/ Mark
9. ?
10. ?



Maybe someone can help identify the question marks? I don't see anyone in these posted clips that look Nica & Ian (unless they were the 6th pair who performed what looks like a throw double lutz; or maybe the 9th pair :unsure:, but neither of these pairs look much like N&I).

2. Greta and John Crafoord - Sweden (twins)

6. Campbell Young and Ryan Dodds - Australia

9. Matthew Rounis and ??? Could be Sarah Burden but Iā€™m not sure.

10. Natasha Miskutenok and Daniel Tioumentsev

Apologies for any incorrect spelling of names.

Nica is still recovering from surgery on her ankle so she and Ian arenā€™t on ice yet.
 

skylark

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7. Sasha/Danny N (great form and very in sync on the 3-sal throw, but we don't see enough of them and the shot is slightly unfocused; S&D seem to be close in height as a pair; I'm looking forward to seeing more of them)

Ashley Cain and Tim Leduc are pioneers!:respec: They created a trend, and like many trailblazers, they took the heat. The way some FS fans talk, Ashley and Tim have a permanent handicap. C-G/L, however see it as a challenge they work on, and they embrace it for the advantages it offers. Now there's a rash of more girls closer in height with their partners. I'm glad to see it. I think it's good to push the boundaries about what a pair can look like.

Sasha &Danny do seem close in height. So are Kate and Balaz. I've always thought so, and Wiki says Kate's 5'4" while Balaz is 5'9-1/2." That's 5-1/2" difference. People have been moaning for years about A&T, who have a 7" difference!:biggrinbo
Evelyn Walsh and Trennt M. are also closer in height than A&T, I think.

It's funny, too, to see Dalilah accepting these newly paired couples. Alexa Knierim said that when Dalilah accepted her, she told Alexa "you're too tall" for any of the American boys, we'll have to look outside the country. Alexa is 5'2." Then Chris became available, and the 12 inch difference was acceptable. Dalilah also broke Rockne Brubaker up with his junior partner Mariel Miller, citing lack of height difference that could lead to injury, according to my friend Wiki.

I wonder if Sui and Han's successes have had something to do with this change in attitude. I've been watching pairs skating recently from World championships in 2012, 2013 and 2015. Pang and Tong were closer in height too.
 

RoseRed

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Ashley Cain and Tim Leduc are pioneers!:respec: They created a trend, and like many trailblazers, they took the heat. The way some FS fans talk, Ashley and Tim have a permanent handicap. C-G/L, however see it as a challenge they work on, and they embrace it for the advantages it offers. Now there's a rash of more girls closer in height with their partners. I'm glad to see it. I think it's good to push the boundaries about what a pair can look like.

Sasha &Danny do seem close in height. So are Kate and Balaz. I've always thought so, and Wiki says Kate's 5'4" while Balaz is 5'9-1/2." That's 5-1/2" difference. People have been moaning for years about A&T, who have a 7" difference!:biggrinbo
Evelyn Walsh and Trennt M. are also closer in height than A&T, I think.

It's funny, too, to see Dalilah accepting these newly paired couples. Alexa Knierim said that when Dalilah accepted her, she told Alexa "you're too tall" for any of the American boys, we'll have to look outside the country. Alexa is 5'2." Then Chris became available, and the 12 inch difference was acceptable. Dalilah also broke Rockne Brubaker up with his junior partner Mariel Miller, citing lack of height difference that could lead to injury, according to my friend Wiki.

I wonder if Sui and Han's successes have had something to do with this change in attitude. I've been watching pairs skating recently from World championships in 2012, 2013 and 2015. Pang and Tong were closer in height too.
Pang/Tong, as you mentioned have about the same height difference as CG/L, and they won World and Olympic medals. Sui/Han have a 20 cm difference (as did Marchei/Hotarek, Berton/Hotarek, Astakhova/Rogonov, etc) vs 18 cm for CG/L, according to their bios. Yu/Zhang had 19 cm. So I wouldn't say CG/L started a trend. They may have had some impact in the US, at least on Dalilah's thinking, but there are other pairs with similar height differences who've been very successful who've come before CG/L, even in recent times. Ashley is taller than most pairs girls, that's true, which is often what the comments were about in addition to their height difference.

And people have talked quite a lot about Walsh/Michaud's height difference in Canadian skating threads and such. A lot of people think she's too tall for Trennt. But they don't get discussed as much generally as CG/L.
 

aftershocks

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Alexa Knierim said that when Dalilah accepted her, she told Alexa "you're too tall" for any of the American boys, we'll have to look outside the country. Alexa is 5'2."

:eek: :drama: :watch:

How and in what universe is 5'2" 'too tall' for a pairs girl???!!! Ah the sport so needs to get rid of the stereotypes and body image fixations that have been so rampant. Having a striking visual appearance together on the ice is important but obsessions over height differences and lack thereof can be taken too far. One of the things that is an asset for Tim and Ashley is that they have smilar long lines that work so well for them on the ice. Any drawbacks relating to having less of a height difference, they have to work on (which they have been doing diligently). As with any team, it's important to embrace challenges, flaunt assets and work on overcoming weaknesses.

In another era, it wasn't a big deal for pairs teams to be similar in height. That's why I was interested to notice in a recent Youtube video that the legendary World and Olympic champions, Barb Wagner & Robert Paul of Canada (from the late 1950s through 1960), are physically reminiscent of the passionately determined and accomplished Duhamel/ Radford.

I don't dismiss the importance of teams matching well physically, but that has less to do with height differentials than it has to do with overall body builds and the way they move together. Even more important are how personalities, temperaments, goals, training habits, and talent levels mesh.
 
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yfbg722

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:eek: :drama: :watch:

How and in what universe is 5'2" 'too tall' for a pairs girl???!!! Ah the sport so needs to get rid of the stereotypes and body image fixations that have been so rampant. Having a striking visual appearance together on the ice is important but obsessions over height differences and lack thereof can be taken too far. One of the things that is an asset for Tim and Ashley is that they have smilar long lines that work so well for them on the ice. Any drawbacks relating to having less of a height difference, they have to work on (which they have been doing diligently). As with any team, it's important to embrace challenges, flaunt assets and work on overcoming weaknesses.

In another era, it wasn't a big deal for pairs teams to be similar in height. That's why I was interested to notice in a recent Youtube video that the legendary World and Olympic champions, Barb Wagner & Robert Paul of Canada (from the late 1950s through 1960), are physically reminiscent of the passionately determined and accomplished Duhamel/ Radford.

I don't dismiss the importance of teams matching well physically, but that has less to do with height differentials than it has to do with overall body builds and the way they move together. Even more important are how personalities, temperaments, goals, training habits, and talent levels mesh.

As it was explained to me when my daughter was skating pairs, it's easier to get the big tricks when there's a good size difference. Her coach at the time preferred a 12" difference. It really had nothing to do with aesthetics. Her first partner was a little over a foot taller and her second about 10". In both cases, the triple twist came fairly easily and had a great deal of height. I think it's much more difficult, though not impossible, for teams with less height difference.
 

skylark

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Pang/Tong, as you mentioned have about the same height difference as CG/L, and they won World and Olympic medals. Sui/Han have a 20 cm difference (as did Marchei/Hotarek, Berton/Hotarek, Astakhova/Rogonov, etc) vs 18 cm for CG/L, according to their bios. Yu/Zhang had 19 cm. So I wouldn't say CG/L started a trend. They may have had some impact in the US, at least on Dalilah's thinking, but there are other pairs with similar height differences who've been very successful who've come before CG/L, even in recent times. Ashley is taller than most pairs girls, that's true, which is often what the comments were about in addition to their height difference.

And people have talked quite a lot about Walsh/Michaud's height difference in Canadian skating threads and such. A lot of people think she's too tall for Trennt. But they don't get discussed as much generally as CG/L.
Yes! to all of the above. I watched Astakhova/Rogonov from 2015 a few days ago; loved their Master and Margarita skate, which I'd never seen before. B.Esp comment was: "And they're not a one-and-a-half pair."

I was kind of exaggerating for the sake of lightness when I said CG/L were "pioneers.":) I should have used an emoji. And I did use the examples of Pan/Tong and Sui/Han. It just seems to me that Ashley and Tim are underrated in many ways by US fans, and that's a typical comment used to dismiss them. They don't let it interfere with their vision, which is to be who they are and strive for what they hope to achieve regardless. But they're not unfazed by the criticism; it hurts, as Ashley revealed in their first year or so.

It does bug me that US fans are so hard on their own skaters, so I try maybe a little too hard to reverse that. I'd like us to be more like Canadians :respec:and support everyone.
 

aftershocks

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As it was explained to me when my daughter was skating pairs, it's easier to get the big tricks when there's a good size difference. Her coach at the time preferred a 12" difference. It really had nothing to do with aesthetics. Her first partner was a little over a foot taller and her second about 10". In both cases, the triple twist came fairly easily and had a great deal of height. I think it's much more difficult, though not impossible, for teams with less height difference.

When you break the reasoning down like that, it makes more practical sense rather than the stark utterance: "You're too tall for any of the American boys..." :p My reflections in my previous post, regarding the ins-and-outs of building a successful pairs partnerships, I think are true and surely borne out over the long haul. But sure, I get what the height differential fixation can be about for some coaches and other people in the skating community.

It is interesting to look back at how pairs evolved. As the athletic difficulty of moves increased, a greater size differential between the male and the female was seen to be advantageous. We began to see this phenonmenon a lot in the early 80s as a philosophy of the Russian pairs discipline, which bore great fruit in the partnership of Gordeeva/Grinkov.
 

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