Practice reports, news, photos, clips, etc. - SkAm 2023

[tony]

Malinin Succession - marked the 4A if he will indeed go for it (seems so if he is marking it here). Marking all of his jumps.

Focusing on some of the choreography, but it's hard to gauge how it will look when he's doing all the jumps, too.

Cartwheel at the very end kinda tripped him up and he had to stumble around for a second to stabilize himself.

 

[Sylvia]

This Succession OST orchestral music is kind of boring to me but at least there’s no “Hey Lord, You know I'm tired” over & over again this year.

 

[LilJen]

And Malinin disappoints by marking 1, 2, 3, 4 jump passes. Great camel position to start a spin that ends in an awkward looking sort of half bielmann. Marked jump, blah in betweens, (jump) choreo sequence that’s a bit blah. Steps with energy and a few fists marking beats, spin ends with a bit of a stumble.

 

[Sylvia]

Fan cam videos (12 so far) filmed during Thursday practices! https://www.youtube.com/@BNT4251211/videos

More fan cams have since been uploaded from Friday practices on this channel.

ETA:

Getty Images (109 photos by Matthew Stockman from the Men's and Pairs SP on Friday)

 

[ChillSkate]

Not really practice, but saw Loena get swarmed by a very enthusiastic fan in the lobby of the courtyard asking for pictures, showing Loena her Belgium flags, etc. Loena was very kind, patient, and gracious.

 

[Sylvia]

Jackie Wong's jump notes on Malinin before his FS run through: https://twitter.com/rockerskating/status/1715791717289320723

Malinin: 2A, 3S, 3T, 3Lo, 3F, 3Lz, 3Lz3A, 4S, 4T3T, 4Lz, 4Lz1Eu3F, 4Lo, 4A, 4T3T, 4Lz, 4Lz, 3A, marked runthru

His compilation of jump notes (Amber landed two 3A after her SP run through): https://www.rockerskating.com/news/2023/10/19/2023-skate-america-practice-notes

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Not really practice, but saw Loena get swarmed by a very enthusiastic fan in the lobby of the courtyard asking for pictures, showing Loena her Belgium flags, etc. Loena was very kind, patient, and gracious.

interesting. Sounds like this fan took one right from the pages of the ANL handbook.

 

[Lizziebeth]

This Succession OST orchestral music is kind of boring to me but at least there’s no “Hey Lord, You know I'm tired” over & over again this year.

I love a Sylvia snark! I have to turn the volume down for some of this 'music'

 

[Sylvia]

USFS is livestreaming the warmup/cooldown area again today (Saturday, part 1 is over): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YGRhZA9B84
ETA link to Satiurday, part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3SXj746md0

Press conferences will be livestreamed after each of the 4 events today: https://www.youtube.com/@USFigureSkating/streams

 

[Sylvia]

On Peacock now - Ice Dance FD group 2 is warming up, to be followed by Senior Women FS.

 

[tony]

Seo did 3Lz (maybe a bit tight), 3S, 2A, 2A+3T+2T, 2Lz, 2Lo. Skated through most of the choreo to just focus on jump elements. I might have missed something at the beginning

 

[tony]

Just as a general note, I remember in the 90s and the 2000s, ABC commentators used to be notorious about pointing out Russians/French/the rest of the world not doing full run-throughs in the competition practice sessions while the Americans (seemingly) always did. I haven't seen a single skater here do one yet.

 

[tony]

Yoshida - 3A(fall, but close), 2A+3T, 3Lo, 3F, 3Lz+3T, 3Lz, 3S+2A+2T

Questionable on some of the rotations, but solid practice. She has La terre vue du ciel at the end of the program.

 

[tony]

An - 2A, 2.5F landed forward, 3Lo(fall), 2Lo(fall into semi-splits), 3Lo, 3S+2T, 2A+3T(ur)+2T, 3S+3T(ur),

Out of her element here in skating skills. Very slow and very, very cautious going into all the jumps. The triples she did try looked short, too. Strayed from program setups to probably just go for the jumps she was missing (loop).

 

[tony]

I think I'm here alone so all the comments will just get edited in for this last group

Kawabe - 2A+3T, 3Lz+3T, 3Lo, 3Lz+2T+2T, 3S, 3F
Bolero, beautiful dress. Big jumps. Great skating skills. Very expected layout for a Bolero program.

Chiba - 3F+3T(ur?), 2A stepout, 3S, 3Lo, 3F+2T(ur?)+2Lo(ur), 3Lz(ur?)+2A, 3Lz
Legend of 1800. Tough panel will probably go to town with the jumps. Pleasant skating.

I missed Petrokina and most of Levito, but she skated through some of her jumps I think.

Glenn - 3A big but stepout, 3F+3T tight, 3S, 3Lz+2A
I can't really gauge how much choreo this program has yet.

Hendrickx - 3Lz+3T, 2A, 1F, 2A, 3Lz tight+2T, 3F tight+1T+2Lo, 3S
Just a jump practice, didn't really skate the program

The dress whiners are gonna have a field day today with Hendrickx and Kawabe.

 

[Sylvia]

I appreciate your notes, @tony!

An - 2A, 2.5F landed forward, 3Lo(fall), 2Lo(fall into semi-splits), 3Lo, 3S+2T, 2A+3T(ur)+2T, 3S+3T(ur),

Out of her element here in skating skills. Very slow and very, very cautious going into all the jumps. The triples she did try looked short, too.

AN in the mixed zone after her SP (via GS): https://www.instagram.com/p/CyrhJX2OTfr/

“I am right now going through a growth spurt, I lost a lot of my jumps and I am currently getting them back. I was a little tired towards the end of the program so I wasn’t as fast on the last two spins as usually. It’s sooo hot in Texas, I am not used to that.
I think this oriental program is good for me, BUT I will debut a new SP at the Cup of China that has been choreographed by Benoit Richaud, I will keep it a secret right now what it will be. Possibly I will bring this program back next season.

Skating Senior is so different that Junior. You need to be much more mature and I am trying to develop towards that.”

 

[Rukia]

It’s sooo hot in Texas, I am not used to that.

This is making me laugh so hard right now because while it's been warmer than usual this weekend, it's downright pleasant compared to summer temps. I'm sure she appreciates on love of air conditioning now.

 

[Primorskaya]

Just as a general note, I remember in the 90s and the 2000s, ABC commentators used to be notorious about pointing out Russians/French/the rest of the world not doing full run-throughs in the competition practice sessions while the Americans (seemingly) always did. I haven't seen a single skater here do one yet.

Gawd this was such an obsession with them! Anything going wrong in any of the programmes was met with that one catch-all explanation.
Thanks for the practice notes!

 

[Debrah]

Thank you Tony for your notes, much appreciated!

 

[peibeck]

Once upon a time I was falling in love
But now I'm only falling apart
There's nothing I can do
A total eclipse of the heart

Welcome to middle age!!!

 

[bladesofgorey]

Gawd this was such an obsession with them! Anything going wrong in any of the programmes was met with that one catch-all explanation.
Thanks for the practice notes!

Seriously! This isn't late night exam cramming. If it isn't working in home practices the competition run-through isn't the place it gets solved.

 

[Aceon6]

Seriously! This isn't late night exam cramming. If it isn't working in home practices the competition run-through isn't the place it gets solved.

Agree, unless the coach thinks full reps are necessary to build stamina.

 

[honey]

Wasn’t the thing though that the Russians weren’t doing full runthroughs at home either? They believed more in sections than programs in daily training. I remember a few interviews with North Americans at that time who went to Russian coaches commenting on the different approach.

Not doing full runthroughs at a competition practice is the norm for most skaters, no matter the background. I’m not a big believer of killing yourself in practice at an event (if you aren’t trained when you get there that one extra program isn’t going to help). Full runthroughs at home though seemed to be more varied in approach, at least in the 90s/2000s. I would assume this has changed somewhat now though? There’s no way Eteri’s girls weren’t doing the full program every day at home.

 

[Primorskaya]

Oh yes I agree that there must be full run-through in practice. It's a way of building stamina, and confidence in the programme, it's just that if something goes tits-up on the big day, lack of full run-throughs isn't necessarily to blame.

 

[Sylvia]

Getty Images (473 competition photos by Matthew Stockman)

Photos by Robin Ritoss: https://figureskatersonline.com/news/2023/10/22/photos-2023-skate-america/

Ice-Dance.com's recap by Matteo Morelli: https://www.ice-dance.com/site/recap-2023-skate-america/

Golden Skate's recaps (including mixed zone quotes) and a video interview with Kevin Aymoz are linked from here: https://www.goldenskate.com/tag/2023-skate-america/

Skate America recap by Tatjana Flade & Judith Dombrowski for ISIO (16 mins.): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCVSdkVXO6A

Links to Skate America-related podcasts (TSL with guest Alissa Czisny, The Runthrough, Polina Edmunds' The Iron Butterfly, Anything GOEs' recap with guest Meagan Duhamel, These Are the Blades of our Lives) are posted in their respective threads in the Trash Can.

ETA that This Week in Skating's episode is out today with guest Melanie Heaney who was credentialed as a photographer at Skate America:

This Week in Skating Podcast

Listen to This Week in Skating Podcast on RedCircle

redcircle.com

CBC Sports' "That Figure Skating Show" for Skate America seems to be geoblocked currently.

 

[Sylvia]

Just noticed today that USFS uploaded a bunch of SkAm videos recently:

Tour of the venue by Mariah Bell & Ashley Cain (5 mins.): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mn1U3qwcIt

"Behind The Lens" videos (partial programs) of:

Chock/Bates' RD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvWwzoh0EmM
Chock/Bates' FD (Pink Floyd music replaced): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F36DVmqxEU

Malinin's SP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9sz7krGSt0
Malinin's FS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uv9TYgp2YyI
FS time lapse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNxFL3axVEk

Glenn's SP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPI1fxalM84
Levito's SP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzCVX2xySpQ
Seo's SP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nN7SEq5ozZA

Liu/Nagy's SP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IE-JK6YRIA4
Liu/Nagy's FS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNT-nIOlfAY
Plazas/Fernandez's SP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PV-M8_cm82k
Martins/Bedard's SP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v47zbdDF5vY

Recap/Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyAglkeJIMY

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Just noticed today that USFS uploaded a bunch of SkAm videos recently:

Tour of the venue by Mariah Bell & Ashley Cain (5 mins.): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mn1U3qwcIt

"Behind The Lens" videos (partial programs) of:

Chock/Bates' RD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvWwzoh0EmM
Chock/Bates' FD (Pink Floyd music replaced): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F36DVmqxEU

Malinin's SP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9sz7krGSt0
Malinin's FS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uv9TYgp2YyI
FS time lapse: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNxFL3axVEk

Glenn's SP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPI1fxalM84
Levito's SP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzCVX2xySpQ
Seo's SP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nN7SEq5ozZA

Liu/Nagy's SP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IE-JK6YRIA4
Liu/Nagy's FS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNT-nIOlfAY
Plazas/Fernandez's SP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PV-M8_cm82k
Martins/Bedard's SP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v47zbdDF5vY

Recap/Highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyAglkeJIMY

I love all of these performances. Can’t wait for Amber, chock and bates, and Chelsea and Balazs again

wish that Martins and Bedard had another assignment