Code of Points

Intro

Here are my notes from the Champions On Ice performance at the San Jose HP Pavilion, Friday, May 18, 2007.

About me: I’ve been skating for 15 years, and took roller-figure skating lessons as a kid… on wheels, I can do all the singles (including the axel on a good day), so I know the difference in the jumps. If i say somebody did a 3lz, trust me, it was a 3lz. On some jumps i noted ‘i think’ — in that case it’s a matter of not remembering for sure, not a matter of possibly mis-identifying a jump.

Also, I was in the front row, so I had a great vantage point. :-]

Random thoughts

• First, the important stuff — Best bootie goes to Ryan Bradley. What can i say, this kid wears the white lycra well. Overall “Sexiest” goes to Gwendal (owww mommie!), and Shae-lynn… wow she’s gorgeous!
• I have to admit, the performance that wowed me the most was the hoop girl.. she blows my mind. Of course, the male russian duet was a very close second in that regard. These two numbers are the most memorable in the entire show.
• Best performance of the night for me was Johnny Weir. Second was sasha… would have been sasha had she jumped well in her number. I have to say… these two stood out significantly from the rest in terms of overall quality of skating/performance. Def. the best two skaters there last night.
• Man… sasha can move her body! every single bone. So fluid. so graceful. Just incredible to watch her move. Really stood out above the rest.
• Plushy and Surya looked totally out of place… the quality of their skating is just waaaaay below most of the others… Plushy seriously didn’t look like he belonged in the show. Just very poor basic skating skills, imo. TONS of unnecessary arm waving… dumb choreography and bad music choice. bleh… worst skater of the night. just awful.
• Was surprisingly impressed with Alissa.. not really a big fan, but beautiful movement across the ice and she was throwing the big jumps and landing them! spins, obviously, were superb.
• Rudy was fun. just a great performer, and of course, the San Jose crowd loved him. tiny jumps! so petite!
• Was surprisingly unimpressed with Arakawa… she’s lost significant weight since olys. her number was gimmicky with lots of fabric props… i got the impression that her skating probably would not have been that interesting without the props… they were a good choice.
• Kimmie — grown a lot… looks like a young woman, less a little girl. Next to sasha, she looks really stiff… she’s got her work cut out for her… needs a lot of improvement to stay competitive with the next gen of skaters. Am i the only one who was more impressed with her when she was 14 than today?
• During the finale, Plushy made an attempt to swipe/pinch sasha’s rear end when he thought no one was looking — I SWEAR TO GAWD.
• Evan was extremely secure in the jumps! solid. nice skating too.. my fave behind sasha and johnny.
• Tanith — was severely tempted to toss this girl a burrito from the concession stand. very thin. her timberlake number with ben was good. ben’’s a great skater. not a great crowd response tho… i was surprised.
• Enjoyed shae-lynn’’s solo number, a tango with an empty chair. Great skater. you just know that they have nick-named this chair ”victor”. :-]
• Petrenko - seasoned performer… i think the crowd really enjoyed his cowboy number, but i just don’t get anything out of his skating anymore.

Notes on jumps/elements

Sasha

• intro - no jumps
• number - 2a - fall, 3s - badly two-footed
• finale - beautiful 2a right in front of me - heavy tongue action on the takeoff

Kimmie

• intro - 2a
• 3lz fall, 3t, 2a
• at lest one 2a, popped a 3s badly

Evan

• intro - 3lz, 3f (not sure if i’m remembering this right)
• 3lz+3t(!), 3f+3t(!). yes, 2 triple triples… I”m sure of it. first combo at one end of the rink and then right down the center to do the second. and they were rock solid.
• finale 3f

Plushy

• intro - 2a i think, wasn’t paying attention
• number - 2as and 3ts
• finale - at least one 2a. wasn’t paying attention

Johhny

• intro - 3t
• solo number - 3lz, 3t, 2a. beautiful jumping. elegant even.
• 3-way number w/G&P - 3t
• finale - at least one 3t

Shizuka

• intro - don’t remember jumps, maybe a 3t. ina bauer
• number - 3s (i think), 3t, completely popped a 2a right in front of me. hope i wasn’t distracting her!, ina bauer
• finale - don’t think she did jumps in finale?

Surya

• intro - 3s
• number - 3t fall, 3s, 2a
• finale - 2a, i think

Victor

• 2as and 3ts in all three.

Rudy

• intro - 2a
• number - 3t, 2a
• finale - 1a

Alissa

• intro - 2a
• number - 3lz(!), 3f(!), double axle with big lean on landing, no touchdown tho… unusual fall(!) heading into layback spin
• finale - i think another 2a

Ryan Bradley

• 2a? can’t remember. he did at least one 3t… either in intro or his solo number.
• number - huge 2a (looked like a pop, i seriously think he was going for a triple), 3lz, 3t (i think) a couple of twisted backflips.
• at least 1 2a, a twisted back flip right in front of me, where he didn’t quite fully rotate, and went sliding to the boards out of control!

I&B

• number - sbs 2a(!) not great unison (john’s fault imho), throw 3l - she turned forward, but stayed on one foot on the landing… kinda like a sasha slide/spiral on the landing (only her leg was lower obviously).

Pang & Tong

• intro - clean throw 3s
• number - MASSIVE completely-lateral (from my vantage point) 3twist, MASSIVE throw 3l… she took a bad fall, slid into the boards, and somehow managed to dislodge a single lightbulb from it’s plastic casing, and drag it back onto the middle of the ice with her without breaking it!!!! there it sat in the middle of the ice til the end of their number. weird.

I made the short trek up to Oakland for the Central Pacific Regional in Oakland last Saturday to take in the senior ladies free skate. Here are a few brief impressions.

Shortly after arriving, I noticed Rudy and Laura Galindo looking very much in ”Coach mode”. I was really struck by how tiny Rudy actually is. Turns out that Rudy is coaching the girl who won the free skate and the event, Margaret Wang.

Margaret, in her first year as a senior, was the clear winner in the long program. She was the only skater who’’s performance was a solid, cohesive package that *worked* and kept your attention through the entire performance. She’’s petite, muscular, and full of energy — lots of spring in this girl’’s legs. She also has musicality, personality, flexibility, at least a decent connection with the audience and a great smile. The only thing Margaret is lacking is a full complement of triple jumps. If I recall correctly, she did a 3T-2T-2T combo, another 3Toe, a couple of 2Axels and one or two 3Salchows. One of the triples at the end was a fall though, don”t recall if it was a 3T or 3S. Her spins were also solid and COP-friendly — in other words, overly-busy with multiple positions and edges.

I really think Margaret has star quality and could eventually rank among the elite. I suspect she could reach the top five in senior ladies *this year* if only she had a Flip and Lutz. But without those jumps, she”ll be lost in the shuffle. Watch for this girl… she could be a champion one day.

The other skater I want to mention is Tashe Smith. Despite placing 6th in the long program, she finished in 2nd overall, and was the other skater that made a real impression on me. I think this really wasn”t the performance she was looking for, as she missed a couple of jumps and seemed to tire out about half-way through the program.

After seeing one performance, I would say Tashe’’s greatest strength is her rock-solid technique. She’’s just so text-book on her jumps and spins. Beautiful, natural jump entrances, take-offs and landings. You know how some young skaters get into all these very awkward positions before, during, and after their triple jumps? Not Tashe. Beautiful, natural jumper. So nice to watch in the air. Almost Angela Nikodinov-esque.

Tashe definitely had the best jumping pass of the competition, IMO — a beautiful, perfect triple Flip. This was the most difficult jump landed in the Sr. ladies” free skate. There was one 3Lz was attempted by another girl, but it definitely wasn”t landed. I think someone might have thrown a 3Loop, but I don”t remember for sure. Lot’’s of 3Ts, 3Ss and 2As.

I think Tashe could possibly be a star one day as well… but she”ll need to work hard on coming out of her shell, owning her on-ice persona, and ramping up her training to be able to get through her free skate with more energy and conviction.

Erin Reed also deserves mention for her really great performance ability, and connection with the her music — The Feeling Begins (ugh). She really rocked the choreography and seemed the most artistically mature of all the ladies — wonderful performer.