Alaine Chartrand won the title, and it is very well-deserved. She needs more flow out of her jumps, but overall, taking the triple axel out of the free program made vast improvements in the free. She was able to focus on a clean skate, and therefore stands a better chance on the world stage. I do really think she was shafted in the short, that is a great program with great choreography and transitions, and it shows off the best of her skating skills. I don't think the difference between her PCS and Kaetlyn Osmond's should have been even remotely significant. Really, Alaine should have won this a little more definitively than she did, but I do think the outcome was the way it should've been, based on the way they skated here.
Gabrielle Daleman skated well enough, but compared to Alaine Chartrand, she fell a little short. The biggest problem with Gabby is the lack of connection to the music. She doesn't seem to connect strongly with her music, and so she ends up skating over the music. With the depth of the ladies field, since she doesn't have anything exceptional technically, so she can't afford to not have the PCS to make her more competitive in the field.
Kaetlyn Osmond was propped up significantly in the short. She's a good skater, but technically, she didn't meet the standards set by Chartrand and Daleman, and she has good PCSs, but not so much better than Alaine especially to justify her winning the short. Her score was horrendously inflated, even for nationals, and it appears that she skated far better than she actually did. She fell back to where I saw her finishing in the free. Considering her struggles with injury, she made a good comeback, and it's not a a bad start for her comeback. She doesn't look like she has the confidence she needed to take back her title.
Veronik Mallet is a skater I like, but doesn't have the technical prowess to become ultra competitive in the world. I like her style, and when she nails the jumps, she's pretty amazing, but unfortunately she can't be counted on to land the jumps, which is beyond unfortunate, because I really am a fan of her.
Patrick Chan is finally back. For the first time since he returned to competitive skating, we've seen him skate the way we all know he can. Both programs were very strong, and he has upped his technical difficulty so that he stands a chance at a podium finish at Worlds. He actually nailed his quads and his quad combos, which is new for him this season. I do think that he's still very nervous about the quad, which is obvious when we watch the three-turn going in. Each time he does the three into the quad he jumps the turn, which is a sure sign he's nervous, and therefore up in his knees. Overall, his programs are strong, I like both, and if he can just skate like this going forward, we might just see Patrick working his way back up the ranks.
Nam Nguyen was beyond disappointing. It was very obvious just how slow he is watching him here. The spins were not good, and he looked so much slower than anyone else that he couldn't manage to keep up. As a first season senior, some of these issues are forgivable, but at this point he needs to up the ante to keep up, especially with Patrick back. He looked really nervous, which is understandable, seeing as this was the first time he's ever really experienced really pressure. Defending a national title against a former world champion is tough, but it comes down to the problems in the basic skating that are holding Nam back. He's going to need to keep working on skating skills, presentation, and spins all summer to get the assignments he wants next season and the seasons going forward.
Kevin Reynolds is back at nationals, which to be honest, was kind of surprising after the disaster at last year's nationals. But, he did pretty well, especially considering he hasn't really been competing on the big stage this season. Last year's nationals must have been a blow to his ego, but it looks like it gave him a fresh start and a chance to prove himself with less pressure. He has always been a strong competitor in Canada, even if he's not the most consistent, and hopefully going forward we can keep up this kind of skating, and move on from the stuff we saw from him last year.
Nicolas Nadeau was my favourite surprise skater at Canadian nationals. He's still a junior, but he was pretty exceptional. He's a little rough around the edges, but he has good musicality, and commits 100% to every performance. When you hear that his favourite skater is Kurt Browning the reason for the style becomes clear, and he is taking the best of Kurt's skating and applying it to the IJS, creating enjoyable programs to watch with some pretty great skating. The structure of the programs is great, and some of the jumps were good. Especially for a junior, he's got good technical elements and if he continues improving, he'll be a fantastic skater to watch.
Liam Firus is a skater I love, and I really don't understand the people who think his placement wasn't justified. He had very good jumps, though some of them weren't necessarily as difficult as the planned technical elements of the other men, but he did all of his technical content. He also has great spins and step sequences, choreography, transitions, and skating skills. I'm not a huge fan of his freeskate, but if I can learn to love any Moulin Rouge program it might be his. He commits 100% to the program regardless of how the technical elements are going.
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.
Ilyushechkinaand 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.
Both Skate Canada and the USFSA have announced their teams for Worlds, Junior Worlds, and the 4 Continents Championships.
World Teams:
Canadian Men:
Patrick Chan, Liam Firus
American Men:
Max Aaron, Nathan Chen, Adam Rippon
Canadian Ladies:
Alaine Chartrand, Gabrielle Daleman
American Ladies:
Polina Edmunds, Gracie Gold, Ashley Wagner
Canadian Pairs:
Duhamel/Radford, Seguin, Bilodeau, Ilyushechkina/Moscovitch
American Pairs:
Kayne/O'Shea, Scimeca/Knierim
Canadian Ice Dance:
Weaver/Poje, Gilles/Porier, Paradis/Ouellette
American Ice Dance:
Shibutani/Shibutani, Chock/Bates, Hubbell/Donohue
4 Continents Championships:
Canadian Men:
Patrick Chan, Liam Firus, Kevin Reynolds
American Men:
Max Aaron, Grant Hochstein, Adam Rippon
Canadian Ladies:
Alaine Chartrand, Gabrielle Daleman, Kaetlyn Osmond
American Ladies:
Polina Edmunds, Gracie Gold, Mirai Nagasu
Canadian Pairs:
Duhamel/Radford, Seguin, Bilodeau, Ilyushechkina/Moscovitch
American Pairs:
Kayne/O'Shea, Scimeca/Knierim, Castelli/Tran
Canadian Ice Dance:
Weaver/Poje, Gilles/Porier, Paradis/Ouellette
American Ice Dance:
Shibutani/Shibutani, Chock/Bates, Hubbell/Donohue
Junior Worlds:
Canadian Men:
Nicholas Nadeau
American Men:
Nathan Chen, Vincent Zhou
Canadian Ladies:
Sarah Tamura
American Ladies:
Tyler Pierce, Bradie Tennell
Canadian Pairs:
McLean/Michaud, Hoffman/Chudak, Brasseur/Ostiguy
American Pairs:
Liu/Johnson, Weinburg/Fernandez, Weinstein/Simon
Canadian Ice Dance:
Bent/Razgulajevs, Lajoie/Lagha, Meng/Meng
American Ice Dance:
McNamera/Carpenter, Parsons/Parsons, Pogrebinsky/Beniot Recaps are still on the way, but for now, you know who'll be at the 2016 ISU Championships representing the US and Canada
The Shibutanis surprised I think just about everyone by winning the national title. I am absolutely thrilled that they won, because I think realistically, they definitely deserved to win here. I'm still not a huge fan of the short dance, I think the theme of the dance is far too young for them. For seniors do be doing a doll dance is less than stellar. They skate so well, and they finally have a vehicle that can support that in the free dance but unfortunately, they don't have that in the short dance.
The build of their freedance in the twizzles in fantastic, and I love the changes they've made to the program over the season. They are excellent skaters, and their issue with projection of emotion is not a problem with that free dance. If they can have two vehicles like their free next year, they're going to be a force at worlds. For this season, they may do very well, but I don't see them on the podium.
Chock and Bates had a surprising loss at nationals. Despite the fact that I personally don't think they are the best team the US has, they have been doing exceptionally well, and I expected that to continue here. They did win the short dance, even though I honestly think that Hubbell and Donohue should have had the short dance in the bag. Chock and Bates have two programs that don't have a whole lot of impact for me. I find their programs this year kind of forgettable, and they don't have the same technical prowess to back up a program that may be lacking a little. A lot of the details in their program are sloppy, they don't bring their feet back together, like ever, which is a simple detail that can make a program look cleaner and more appealing. To be honest, they're really not my favourite, and for me, I would've put them in third, behind Hubbell and Donohue.
Hubbell and Donohue have such an amazing short dance. I think their short dance is my favourite program this season, in any event. The choreography has the perfect balance between the difficult technical elements and a beautiful simplicity. They have wonderful lines, and this is the one short dance that I feel actually has emotional impact. They have the technical ability, and this short dance should be enough to put them at or near the top at most competitions, but we're not seeing that. It is really not being well represented in their PCSs and unfortunately, I think that has a lot to do with them not having the base reputation points to prop them up.
Their freedance is good, but I don't think it is anywhere near as good as their short. It lacks some of the emotional impact, and the music and the costuming don't help them. I think that with a better freedance, they could've been a top team this season, but unfortunately the freedance just missed the mark. Overall though, I'm thrilled they made the choice to move to Montreal, because even if the freedance isn't the perfect vehicle, it is miles ahead of last year's freedance.
Cannuscio and McManus made a step up into fourth place, ahead of Hawayek and Baker, who I think many assumed would be the fourth place US team. Overall, I think they're fine. They don't have some of the refinement some of the other teams have, their Ravensburger was a little heavy and so didn't have the same flow as the other teams, but they do have the technical ability, and they sold the material they had.
I'm not the biggest fan of their freedance. To me it feels a little too much like they're trying to be Papadakis and Cizeron, and it comes off a little tacky. The grabbing of the ear is much too much, and other than that, they don't really have something in either program to make them memorable.
Hawayek and Baker didn't have a great weekend at nationals, they managed to hold on to fifth, but that doesn't bode well for them for the rest of this season or next season. It's beginning to feel like they've settled for what comes easy. They're not making an attempt to push the envelope with the themes of the programs or the content. We've seen this pretty people skating to pretty music far too many times from them, and the novelty of their nice lines and good skating skills has worn off. It was one thing when they were brand new seniors, but it's time to find something else. They're going to need to push themselves really hard if they want a shot at getting back on that world team next year.
(Side note: I really don't get the new FD costumes from Hawayek and Baker, like they look fine, but they don't make sense with the music they're using)
As I'm sure you all know, both Canadian and American nationals are happening this weekend, and as this is happening, people are questioning why figure skating isn't more popular in countries like the US and Canada, when our skaters do so well. I can tell you with great certainty I know why. It's because it is so inaccessible. I've been looking all day trying to access the senior events from both competitions, and so far, I've had absolutely no luck. For the US, NBC is showing some skaters, but not many, IceNetwork shows everyone else, but from everything I've seen in skating forums and twitter, the stream isn't working. Considering IceNetwork is a paid subscription service, this absolutely should NOT be the case. In Canada, TSN and CTV are showing, like NBC, some of the top skaters, but the earlier flights in the senior events appear to not be available. Period. Skate Canada is showing practices and the lower level events on their Dailymotion channel, but in the past, these streams have been unwatchable because of lag and low video quality. CTV/TSN waste an extraordinary amount of time re-showing programs over the course of the weekend. I hate to break it to you CTV/TSN, you're not gaining viewership this way, and it's not going to make you any extra money. No one is going to pay you to be able to watch the 2 events a season you cover, and this coming from a die-hard fan with no cable subscription. On top of the lack of coverage, the coverage that is available on CTV/TSN is only available to people who have a cable subscrption, but less and less people have a cable subscription, meaning that less people than in past years have access to the (limited) coverage. This means that skating cannot be as popular as it is in countries like Japan because networks are not nearly as devoted to showing it as they could be. Speaking of Japan, they are doing better coverage of the Ladies and Men's events at US Nationals than NBC by far. Apparently Japanese network called J-Sports 4 will be showing all of the ladies and men's events this weekend, which is better than we can say of NBC. As far as YouTube videos go, they are usually hard to find in the first place because the networks are more protective of their exclusive rights to show these programs. This means if they go up, they usually disappear pretty quickly.
So far, I've only been able to find one YouTube video from US nationals, Scimeca and Knierim's short program.
UPDATE:
Bless YouTube channel Sam Canada for also uploading two videos, of Kayne and O Shea and Castelli and Tran, so we're at three videos but that does little to ease my frustration.
Canadian and US nationals are both coming up quickly, followed very shortly by Europeans, which means there will be no shortage of skating to watch over the coming weeks.
The Canadian National champions will be fairly obvious choices, with the exception of the ladies event, where any one of the top three Canadian ladies can take the title. If Alaine cuts the triple axel (which is nowhere near clean any of the times I've seen her, and seems to be ruining the rest of the program) she will probably take the title, but at this point, with the significant failures she's had on the Grand Prix circuit, she still kept it, which does not bode well for her performance at nationals.
The third spot on the men's team is the only toss up in that event, Patrick Chan will inevitably win, and Nam will get the silver, but Eladj Balde, Liam Firus, and a couple other men could reasonably take the third spot to worlds.
2nd through 4th in the Pairs event in Canada will be a heated fight. I genuinely think Julianne and Charlie have the second spot locked, but either Kirsten and Dylan or Lubov and Dylan could stand a chance at taking that spot from them, it will be interesting to see who Skate Canada will choose to send to worlds.
In the dance event, it is essentially a sure fire win for Kaitlin and Andrew, and Piper and Paul will most certainly be second, but the question for third place will be a significant competition. There is Alexandra Paul and Mitchell Islam and Nicole Orford and Asher Hill, as well as other teams.
This weekend in Halifax we'll see some amazing senior skaters at Canadian nationals this year. We're going to have strong teams for Worlds in most or all of the disciplines
