Canadian Nationals 2016- Pairs

Duhamel and Radford have not been at their best all season, and that streak continued at nationals. That's not at all to say they didn't skate well, but we were spoiled by the excellent skating and nearly perfect consistency last season, and that's missing a little this year. For the second time this season, I've seen Meagan double the side by side lutzes (first at the Autumn Classic), which is a jump we all know she can do with no problem, which makes me wonder if this program just isn't working for them. They don't look as comfortable with this program still as they did with the program last year. With the competition they'll be seeing at Worlds, if I were them, I might just be switching back to the old short for the end of the season.

It's no secret that Seguin and Bilodeau are one of my favourite teams right now. They're more consistent than just about anybody, and they commit 100% to the performance, which are probably the two things I like most in my favourite skaters. I will take skaters with quality in the technical elements and the transitions, performance, and skating skills with a lower technical base value over just technical base value any day. I find them fun to watch, I'm not nervous watching them, and even though they were not at the top of their game here, they were still pretty spectacular. Even though they got into the Grand Prix Final this season largely based on what others didn't do (and who didn't go), I would say they're going to be there pretty regularly in the coming years, and then once they get a quad, watch out Meagan and Eric, they'll be one of the best teams in the world for sure. They had some pretty spectacular elements, notably the huge triple twist in the short and I genuinely love watching them.

Ilyushechkina and Moscovitch had two very good skates for them here. She didn't struggle as much as she usually does on the side by side jumps, and as per usual the lifts were amazing. Their other elements were strong, and they're starting to come together as a coherent team in a way they weren't entirely last season. They seem to fit well together naturally, which is making the transition for them smoother than for some of the other new teams we saw at nationals. They still need to work on their synchronization on their side by side elements and the step sequence, they tend to lose each other just a little, but as far as relatively new teams go, that's a pretty small critique. As long as she can nail the side by side jumps going forward, they'll soon be climbing the world ranks.

Moore-Towers and Marinaro were unfortunately the most memorable team of the event in the worst way. I have never seen a twist go that wrong, and I hope it never happens to anyone again. But, if I'm being frank, Michael has made me nervous on every twist and lift (especially lift) since Kirsten has partnered with him. There is a significant inherent risk in pairs skating, but his bad posture and general shakiness in the lifts only increases that risk. I'm glad that they're both okay, and were able to skate both programs (surprisingly well, considering the intensity of that fall), but it's unsurprising they weren't given any assignments for the rest of the season, the question now is what happens for them going forward? This is the second year in a row they've missed worlds, and it's not looking like Duhamel and Radford or Seguin and Bilodeau are going anywhere any time soon. They're going to have to make a lot of ground if they want a chance to skate in the next Olympics.

Grenier and Deschemps seemed to really struggle with the twist in both programs, though not nearly as much as Moore-Towers and Marinaro. In general, I like these two well enough, but they aren't the most exciting or memorable team, especially in a field where there are so many memorable teams (for good or bad).

Bell and Sweigers have made significant improvements since the beginning of the season, but they still have a long way to go. They seem to have a lot of trouble with the pair spin, it was pretty rough in both programs here, and the setup seems to take forever. I'm sure over time that as well as the twist will come, they're a new team, and so they're going to struggle with some of those elements. They definitely had some trouble on the side by side jumps, but that's unsurprising, most teams new or not, struggle with the side by side jumps.

Jones and Regan are a team I like, in general. But they looked a little rough at nationals. They both looked a little stiff in the short, and so they were a little shaky. They mostly need some tidying on their big elements, like the catch on the twist and the landings of the side by side jumps and throws. I also don't know how they don't have issues with the judging on their death spiral, because her head always ends up on the ice. You can see when they finish that element that there is snow on her head. Her blade should be the only thing touching the ice, from the second her head touches the ice, the element should be considered over the issue without having the technical panel's ability to review elements is telling when her head touched the ice. The other main critique I have of them is that she skates with her head down, which removes the connection with the audience from the performance, it is especially obvious in the free, since they already don't seem that committed to some of their choreography.

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.

Trophee Bompard- Pairs

At the Trophee Bompard, the pairs event had some results that we not exactly what we expected, but with only a short program, this event didn't allow for some of the teams who finished behind where they were expected to to make a comeback.

Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov won the short program, but I'm not a huge fan of this short program. She is trying to sell it, but he's not great at it, and what they're doing is not what I would consider up to par for a Bollywood program. They made a pretty good return to the big leagues after a season off, but I'm not sure they're going to be able to challenge for the top of the podium at worlds, and may not finish on the podium at worlds at all.

Vanessa James and Morgan Cipres made a surprising finish after the short, sitting in second place. They skated well, and they have a program that suits their style. If they can continue to skate this way, they'll stand a good chance at a very successful season.

Another surprise was Julianne Seguin and Charlie Bilodeau. They were placed in third after the short. I would say, this will put them solidly in second in the Canadian rankings. They are far more consistent than most pairs teams, and their short isn't my favourite, but it's clear they enjoy the music, and so the programs work for them.

Perhaps the most surprising short program rank was Evgenia Tarasova and Vladamir Morozov. They were in 7th after the short. They were not too far behind in terms of points, Only just over 3 points shy of second, but they still were not nearly as successful as they can be. They are very strong skaters, but they didn't show that here.

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.