Grand Prix Final 2015- Pairs Free

If you'd like to see my thoughts on what happened in the pairs short, you can watch it here along with the men's short.

The pairs free at the grand prix final did not come out the way anyone expected.

Duhamel and Raford could not manage to make up their point deficit in the free. They managed to move up one place, but still finished in second behind Stolbova and Klimov.

Stolbova and Klimov beat Duhamel and Radford by quite a lot. They won by about 13 points. Unlike Duhamel and Radford, they had a clean skate. They got positive GOEs on every single element in the free. They also got over 9 in each part of the PCS. They skated well, but their programs continue to not be my favourite. I'm not so sure we're going to continue to see this from these two, they haven't looked great up to this point, and they're missing some of the big elements other teams have. I'm not certain these programs are going to continue to be enough for them come worlds.

Duhamel and Radford had some issues in the free which kept them from recovering from the short. They had issues on both their throws, especially the lutz. I think their problem comes largely from the indecision about that throw. They need to decide definitively if they're going to go for the quad lutz, because they are clearly capable of the triple. However, even the triple has been looking off in competition. Perhaps it comes down to doubt, but they will need to rely on technical perfection if they want to win worlds again this year. Many of there elements were fine, but not particularly strong, which is extremely uncharacteristic of them. Here's hoping this was a one off, and is not going to become a consistent problem.

Kavaguti and Smirnov could not hold onto their lead over Duhamel and Radford, but did manage to extend their lead over Seguin and Bilodeau. They struggled on both of their side by side jumps, which hurt them significantly. Most of the rest of their elements were fine, but not spectacular. Most of them recieved between and 0 and a 1.5, which is not what these two are capable of. We saw some of their weakness in the jumps that had been absent for quite a while. They've come a long way in the last year, but they clearly still have some work to do on nailing the elements.

Julianne Seguin and Charlie Bilodeau surprised the world, finishing in fourth at the Grand Prix Final. They've only just moved up from Junior, but they are not letting that show. They're skating clean programs which is allowing them to move up quickly. They don't have some of the technical content the others have, they don't have a quad, but the elements they do have they do well. They suffer a little in the PCSs, which I think has a little to do with the fact that they are new seniors. They're generally good skaters, and they do have the choreography and transitions in their programs. With time, they're going to be a force to be reckoned with in pairs. All season, I've said they're going to be Canada's number two, and this is going to solidify that position. They'll be at worlds for sure, now we're just going to face the question of who will be our number two team.

Skate America 2015- Pairs

I left my discussion of the pairs event to last because it was far and away the best event. The pairs event was a nail biter in the best possible way. I didn't know exactly what the outcome would be, and there were multiple outcomes that I would've been happy with.

Almost all of the pairs skated very well. There were not any huge mistakes, especially not from the top teams, and so the event was more exciting and more interesting.

Wenjing Sui and Cong Han won the event here. They have two quads, one twist and one throw, but they only did the twist. I would've loved to see the throw in competition, but clearly they didn't need it to win. They are amazing skaters, and I like their programs, but I don't like their short quite as much as last year's Stray Cat Strut. That said, the showdown between them and Duhamel and Radford will be intense, and I genuinely don't know who will come out on top.

Alexa Scimeca and Chris Knierim won the short program, but finished in second. They had pretty strong skates, but the quality of the elements didn't match up to Sui and Han's. They had some more mistakes than Sui and Han, but their programs are quite good, and they have some very good elements.

Julianne Seguin and Charlie Bilodeau made a great start on the Senior Grand Prix circuit. They finished in third at Skate America, behind two of the top teams in the world. For new seniors, this is a pretty great feat for them. I'm not in love with their short, but I have a feeling it'll grow on me. It's not even that I hate it, I just don't love it.

Stolbova and Klimov had a very dissapointing short they couldn't recover from. Though they had the second best freeskate, they finished in fourth. I don't love their programs, they don't have the energy and aren't as dynamic as past programs, like the Aadams Family from 2 years ago, or last year's programs. Also, her costumes are awful.

US Nationals 2015- Senior Pairs

Overall, the pairs event at US nationals was probably the least exciting for me. As much as I enjoyed the skating, the rivalries within the other disciplines were more interesting, and I found less discrepancies in judging. After some of the other events, the Pairs was of the least interest to me.

Alexa Scimeca and Chris Knierim are a fantastic pair, and one of the few with a quad element. Their quad twist has not always been executed well, but at nationals their quad twist was executed better than some of the triple twists from other teams.

Haven Denney and Brandon Frazier were a bit of a surprise to me at the beginning of the season. When I saw they were skating to The Lion King, I have to say, I was skeptical, but the program has grown on me, and though not my favourite, it is certainly not one of the worst music choices this season. The US has some strong pairs teams, but it is doubtful that any of their pairs will end up on the world podium, though certainly not impossible, should other teams have less than perfect skates it is entirely possible for either Scimeca and Knierim or Denney and Frazier to take a spot on the podium.

Madeline Aaron and Max Settlage, one of my personal favourites, finished in 4th place overall, after a less than stellar 7th place finish in the short program. Considering their place and the distance behind even third place, a fourth place finish was a solid way for these two to end the competition. They will not get to attend worlds or four continents, though is the US had a third spot to the Four Continents Championships, there is a good chance they would have been selected to attend. However, scoring well is too important to ensure that next year the US can send at least two teams, that sending the fourth place team would have not been the safest choice for the USFSA. It is, however, unfortunate that we will not get to see them compete again this season. Their programs are charming, and watching Madeline in particular is always a delight, even when the technical elements are not executed perfectly.