Grand Prix Series - Internationaux de France de Patinage 2017

Dienstag, 21. November 2017

   Welcome to the fifth events of the Grand Prix Series in Grenoble, France. If you watched the Grand Prix last year, you know that Trophee de France (as this event was called before this year's name change) was a bit of a mess. Somehow the French organizers managed to make it even more of a mess this year.
   After witnessing the Internationaux de France de Patinage I truly wonder, along with basically everyone else on twitter, why the ISU is still giving this event to France even though they have shown, time and time again, that they really shouldn't be hosting a Grand Prix event. In one of my tweets (here) I've summed up a few of the differences between this year and last year, how this event continues to be a mess time and time again.
   My list went a little something like this:
  • Last year - No flags at all (yes, the national anthem of the winner was played simply played just like that, no flag to look at, nothing. Everyone was rightfully confused)
  • This year - shitty animated flags on a screen (It seemed like the organizers decided that it was easier to full flag gifs off of the internet instead of spending a very small amount of euro to buy a handful of different flags. What even.)
  • Last year - Paper medals (yes, as far as I've heard, the organizers hadn't managed to get the medals ready in time, so as substitutes the medalists received what seemed to be laminated paper with what the medals would look like printed on them. It was ridiculous.)
  • This year - Plastic stars in four different colors and three different sizes (I have a billion questions starting at have they just reused the 'medals' from some novice or junior competition and hoped no one would notice, or did they hire some French hipster designer who wanted to be edgy and different and thought that handing out pink/magenta stars to the ladies, blue to men, yellow to ice dance and green to pairs seemed like a good idea. I think not.)
   Personally, as well as many other people, I really think, and in a way hope, that the ISU will look at all of this and reconsider if France really is the right choice for this Grand Prix event. Maybe giving it to a different EU country would be a better idea, like maybe Spain or Germany or something, just not France.
   But, enough about what went wrong when it comes to the organization, let's instead talk about the medalists.

Men

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   During his final season, Misha Ge of Uzbekistan finally managed to win his first Grand Prix title with an outstandingly beautiful bronze performance during both the short program and free skate. Misha is one of those skaters who might not have the quads but instead have the artistry that reminds you of what figure skating is really about. When you watch Misha perform you feel everything he wants you to feel, you see that thoughts went into the programs and choreographies, that every move and gesture is perfectly timed with the music, and it is just such a delight to watch. I am very happy that he got onto the podium and received bronze for this, though I truly would've wished that he would've gotten an actual medal instead of a plastic star.
   Javier Frenandez on the other hand continues to be something like a problematic favorite of mine. I know he is a really damn good skater, he has the technical skill, he can perform beautifully if he wants, but both of his programs are still simply not it for me. I thought that maybe, as the season would continue, I'd warm up to them, but that just isn't the case. His short continues to be goofy and comical, appropriate for the fact that it is Charlie Chaplin themed, and his free skate tries to be comical too, but instead of giggling and smiling, enjoying watching it, I just sit there and cringe. The costume is awful too just saying. He has the technical abilities but I think he tries too much to be like Nathan Chen (all quads and chasing the points) instead of like Misha Ge (more artistry and fines instead of quad gambling) which is a shame.
   This, unfortunately, is also slowly the case for Shoma Uno. I love him to pieces. He is a fantastic skater and I love both of his programs, but as the season continues I begin to find it exhausting to watch him because you worry, every single time, if he will make all the jumps, if he will hurt himself somehow and hinder his own success in this very important Olympic season, or will he make it. I think, if he would switch out some of his quads for triples and put more of a focus on presentation, he could still win and it would be less of a nervous train wreck for the viewers, and possibly also for him.
   With all the quad chasing and point grinding in the men field, it does make me wonder how healthy all these jumps are for their bodies and what the long term effects might end up being cause I can't imagine anything good coming from it.

Ladies

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   The ladies were a mess during the short program, then again everyone was because of the (as far as I heard) bad ice quality and even practice time issues because great French organizers, but the free program brought things back closer to the level you'd expect during the Grand Prix of an Olympic season.
   Personally I am happy for Alina Zagitova that she won this event. I like both her Black Swan short and Don Quichot free, her balleteque tutu costumes and the music choices. I've already once complained about how backloaded her free program is with all the jumps in the second half, but somehow this time around I didn't mind it quite as much. I definitely think she is very talented and has a lot of potential and could, in the future, really challenge the current reigning Queen Evgenia Medvedeva.
   Maria Sotskova, there is something about her programs and her skating that I struggle with. For this event she had new costumes, which I dubbed pink candy princess and blue boredom, but they didn't help much either. Maybe it's the fact that Maria seems to have much longer limbs than many of her competitors, maybe it's how awkward it looks when she has her arm raised during some of the jumps, I don't know, but I can't really warm up to her, though I think she has good chances to make the Russian Olympic team.
   Finally, taking bronze, we had Kaetlyn Osmond from Canada. As the season progresses I am actually starting to like her. She is definitely a good skater and I can't wait to see her in competition when all the ladies will be present, see how her scores will compare to the other top competitors etc.

Pairs

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   I am still very, and I mean very salty about the fact that Vanessa James and Morgan Cipres of France were basically robbed of their gold medal, or rather big green star. Their performances were amazing, even with Vanessa two footing (I think) the landing of their quad throw. They definitely deserved that top podium spot and I won't get over that any time soon.
   I can't stand Tarasova's and Morozov's free skate. Their costumes are hideous with their yellow and black polka dot aesthetic, and the music cut and selection of it, don't even get me started on how questionable and in poor taste that is. I don't know if maybe the person who chose it just didn't pay attention to the lyrics, or if maybe they didn't completely understand it, but honestly those are not lyrics I thought would be appropriate for something that will be skated during the Olympics, if these two will make the team. Not a fan, at all.

   And that is, all my saltiness and a few nice words about the Grand Prix event in Grenoble, France. I am very excited to see how the final event, Skate America, will be and who will make it into the Grand Prix Final!

Grand Prix Series - Audi Cup of China 2017

Samstag, 4. November 2017

   Welcome to the third event in the Grand Prix Series, the Audi Cup of China 2017 in Beijing, China. I've wondered why I've seen people call it the 'Cup of Disasters', but after I watched the short programs and free skates of the men, ladies and pairs, I certainly understood where people were coming from. A lot of strong performances but also a lot of flaws, mistakes, falls and disappointments, so lets just jump right into the medalists and my thoughts on them.

Men

  1. Mikhail Kolyada - Russia - 279.38
  2. Boyang Jin - China - 264.48
  3. Max Aaron - USA - 259.69
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   The first day was quite the surprise filled event for the men with Mikhail Kolyada taking the surprise lead with more than a nine point advantage over Boyang Jin and thirteen over Javier Fernandez, skating a clean and magnificent program that resulted in (I believe) his first score above the 100 point mark, 103.13 to be precise. I, as well as a lot of people on twitter, was very happy about the results of the first day, and actually thought that the final results and the podium would look a little like this at the end.
   The fact that Javier Fernandez only came in 6th at the end of the competition was a true surprise. Something about his two programs just doesn't seem to work, and despite everyone seeming to love them, I dislike both. The Charlie Chaplin short program has its comedic, reference type moments but little else, in my opinion. His free skate isn't much better, and looking at his results for the free skate, merely 162.49 points, it should definitely give him quite a bit to think about. It also makes me wonder if maybe at a certain point, and age, skaters are possibly just not able to squeeze Nathan Chen amounts of quads out of their bodies anymore.
   Boyang Jin also seemed to have some troubles with his programs, both not really convincing me, though I know a lot of people love his free skate because of the partial Star Wars music used for it. I thought he was much stronger last season, but I hope he'll manage to return to the same level of skating, at least. 
   The fact that Max Aaron made it onto the podium, well, I have quite a few thoughts on that, but I will leave it at - I think it should've been Han Yan from China (who came in 5th with only 5 points behind Aaron) because his free skate was truly amazing.
   On the other hand, as I mentioned before, Kolyada was quite the surprise, at least during his short program. His free skate on the other hand, well, it went a little in the same direction as the previous time we've seen him perform it. Maybe it was the pressure of being in the lead that he just wasn't quite able to deal with well, or just bad luck or the need for more practice, but despite popping two jumps (and I think falling once?) he still managed to win. This is actually his first Grand Prix title so it's truly exciting and I am very happy for him. He definitely earned it!

Ladies

  1. Alina Zagitova - Russia - 213.88
  2. Wakaba Higuchi - Japan - 212.52
  3. Elena Radianova - Russia - 206.82
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   The ladies competition was on fire during the free skate, the quality just getting better and better and each lady set the bar higher and higher. If this is giving us an idea of what we'll see during the Olympics in February 2018, I am even more excited. We have seen amazing performances, clean and marvelous to look at. 
   Alina Zagitova definitely caught my eye with her Swan Lake short program, and the amazing costume she paired it with that looked like she could wear it on the ice but then also join a ballet company and fit right in. Her skating is marvelous and she will definitely try to give Evgenia Medvedeva a run for her money, not that she would actually be able to beat Evgenia, but push her to somehow be even better than she already is. Her free skate was also marvelous, though I will admit I wouldn't have given her gold.
   Wakaba Higuchi and her Skyfall free skate were it for me. She had the speed perfectly showing her skills, the jumps and just the overall presentation. She is an artist and I am loving both her programs. How the judges gave her lower PCS (presentation scores) than Zagitova is beyond me, but I loved watching those two perform nonetheless.
   Elena Radionova was also pretty damn good, though certainly not as good as the two ladies above her, which shows in the point difference she has to them. I definitely liked her programs the least out of these three, but that doesn't mean they were bad by any means. She is a very good skater, I will give her that, so third place definitely seemed appropriate.
   I have a feeling we will certainly see quite the fierce competition this season once you'll also place Medvedeva, Osmond, and Kostner in the ring along with them.

Pairs

  1. Wenjing Sui / Cong Han - China - 231.07
  2. Xiaoyu Yu / Hao Zhang - China - 205.54
  3. Kirsten Moore-Towers / Michael Marinaro - Canada - 194.52
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   It is safe to say, and certainly easy to see, that the Chinese pairs dominated this competition on their home turf, and Sui/Han won very much rightfully. They are the reigning World Champions and they were untouchable in this competition. I mean, have you noticed that almost twenty six point advantage they have over the silver medalists?
   Watching Sui/Han perform both programs was mesmerizing, captivating and simply awe-inspiring in every way you could think of. The ease with which they skated, as if it was the easiest thing ever and it wasn't a competition but just the exhibition skate or something, the chemistry between them, the quality of their jumps, spins and throws, their figures and costumes, everything was utter perfection (even if Sui slightly messed up one of their jumps). I could watch them all day, every day, and I so hope that they will not only win every competition leading up to the Olympics, but also Olympic gold.
   The other two pairs were great, too, but they definitely stood in Sui/Han's shadow without any chance of getting even close to them. Maybe seeing their points, watching their programs and performances will push all the other pairs to improve even more, strive after them, even though I am sure they all stand no chance of ever actually reaching them.

   And that's it, my thoughts on the medalists of the Audi Cup of China 2017. Of course ether was also Ice Dance, but I didn't watch it so I can't share any of my thoughts with you on that, sorry! What did you think about the competitions, the winners and 'losers'? Let me know in the comments below or on twitter (@Alice_Reeds).