3rd annual Peggy Fleming Trophy - 2020 virtual edition

[Rukia]

Tomoki wuzrobbed

Actually I'd have it 1. Jason 2. Tomoki 3. Emmanuel

But really I was the winner getting to watch skating again

 

[jenny12]

That was fun. Everyone looked amazing to me but it might be because I was so desperate for skating that it all looked good

 

[rfisher]

I confess I laughed a little that CareBear beat her Pookie.

 

[sk9tingfan]

Emmanuel Savary's program is exquisite. The choreography is

I hope he keeps it in whatever form.

 

[jlai]

I would have given the win to Andrew with this different feel of the program and being the right balance between Jason and Tomoki, but Jason has the most sense of flight which Tomoki lacks because of the kick type transitions he has which makes it hard to show speed and flight. But Tomoki is the most fun and different.

 

[dinakt]

That was lovely.

Loved Jason. I was a bit worried that it would be like his other "meditation" programs, but it was different enough. To quote Peggy Fleming, "every move you did could have been a sculpture". Exquisite skating maturity.
Loved Savary. His skating is so beautiful. I hope he keeps skating. Pretty please.
Torgashev- loved the second half more than the first one, but appreciated that it was a bit different.

Also very much enjoyed Karen Chen, Tim Dolensky and Tomoki Hiwatashi.

As always, I would wish for fewer ballads.

 

[HeatherC]

After a long week of work I could have used less of the ballads and slower music (it was definitely making me drowsy), but overall, I really enjoyed watching this event tonight and would have been happy with the top four in any order. Nice job everyone!

 

[concorde]

Made an enjoyable evening.

Couple of take aways:

• Selection of music is even more important. I think that some music that works well with an audience becomes a snooze fest in this format.
• Filming makes a big difference. One the female skaters had was going in and out of the sunlight which I found very distracting.

 

[misskarne]

....

how. how does he do it. how does jason get better every single time how how how

I think Emmanuel was definitely robbed of a few points. I definitely had him higher than fifth. Dolensky was a bit snoozy. Loved Andrew's program!

 

[Amy L]

I love the theme song to Cowboy Bebop, I'm glad someone chose it for skating. Tomoki did such a good job with it!

 

[DreamSkates]

I like the idea of having a signature move as a required element.

I was expecting more creativity in signature moves, but enjoyed each one in each program. So glad to see any current skating!

 

[DreamSkates]

Yes, also my problem.

Wait, this isn't a live stream?

I think parts of it were live stream, but the programs were videod. One of the skaters said he had taped it 4 times and chose the best one to submit. Oh well, better than nothing.

 

[misskarne]

I think parts of it were live stream, but the programs were videod. One of the skaters said he had taped it 4 times and chose the best one to submit. Oh well, better than nothing.

Yeah, I knew the programs were pre-recorded, but I thought USFS would live-stream the recording, if that makes sense. That I could go back to it at any time was great. I still managed to resist the urge to fast-forward to Jason.

 

[DreamSkates]

Yeah, I knew the programs were pre-recorded, but I thought USFS would live-stream the recording, if that makes sense. That I could go back to it at any time was great. I still managed to resist the urge to fast-forward to Jason.

But now you can go back and watch his program as many times as you'd like. Which is what I'll do tomorrow. I felt like Peggy said - give us 5 more minutes' worth, please!

 

[misskarne]

But now you can go back and watch his program as many times as you'd like. Which is what I'll do tomorrow. I felt like Peggy said - give us 5 more minutes' worth, please!

Oh yes, definitely worthwhile. And Torgashev's and Savary's, too.

 

[Bellanca]

As always, I would wish for fewer ballads

Oh, no! Perish the thought!

After a long week of work I could have used less of the ballads and slower music (it was definitely making me drowsy)

I can empathize with that, but give me ballads anytime.

Great to see Jason!

 

[kre56]

I loved Audrey Shin’s program. She has improved so much!

 

[kwanfan1818]

I could watch Jason Brown skater forever, but I hated that music.

I freaking loved Sonja Hilmer. Back-to-back jumps in different directions, back-to-back spins in different directions, Ina Bauer reversing curve into the loop, knee-bend, changes of speed, musicality, so much detail throughout, and a perfect ending.

 

[katmari]

Bravo to all the skaters. Congratulations to Jason for such a beautiful, emotional, perfect program!

The score breakdown: https://ijs.usfigureskating.org/lead...001SEG001.html
Judges detail scores: https://ijs.usfigureskating.org/lead...T/SEGM001.html

 

[jlai]

And Camden didn't get points for the step sequence. Dude, common stop losing points on silly stuff.

 

[beckab81]

And Camden didn't get points for the step sequence. Dude, common stop losing points on silly stuff.

Starr Andrews & Sierra Venetta also got zero points for their step sequences - doe anyone know why they wouldn't have received credit?

 

[katmari]

Also, two of the skaters (Karen Chen, Sierra Venetta) had time violations and lost points there.

If anyone has a problem with the the links I posted above (they work for me sometimes), the link to the results is at the bottom of the competition page:

https://usfigureskatingfanzone.com/s...mpetition.aspx

 

[Jeschke]

Dolensky competing again?
Did he just take a year off competing? I must have missed the news.

 

[Sylvia]

Dolensky competing again?
Did he just take a year off competing? I must have missed the news.

Tim officially has retired from competition but was eligible to participate in this comp. He's been skating on cruise ships since last year and was on his second contract when the p*ndemic struck.

If you watch his PFT performance, you can see the Zamboni on the edge of the ice at one point - I heard he was being rushed to finish taping and thought he did very well!

 

[maureenfarone]

I'm also curious about Sierra, Starr and Camden not receiving any points for the step sequence. Anyone know what those skaters lacked?

I really did enjoy the skating and hope that it is held again next year. If it is virtual and streamed again I hope some of the camera work is a little better - it would be nice to have some close work and no zamboni on the ice!

 

[Sylvia]

Sandra Bezic re-tweeted Jason's 30-second black & white video clip of his Cricket Club skate last night and compared him to Toller Cranston: https://twitter.com/SandraBezic/status/1284312276175073280

 

[Tavi]

Sandra Bezic re-tweeted Jason's 30-second black & white video clip of his Cricket Club skate last night and compared him to Toller Cranston: https://twitter.com/SandraBezic/status/1284312276175073280

I wonder if we will ever see her co-choreograph Jason’s FS wth David Wilson?

 

[aftershocks]

Well I think it partially because at the key moments his jumps abandon him. I've loved him since I first saw him in novice though. But this is by far, my favorite program of his ever.

Sometimes that has happened to Emmanuel, just like for every competitor. IMO, Emmanuel has mostly been hampered by injuries in his career. Plus, it's often necessary to be better than good, as an African-American in any field of endeavor. In addition, it always helps to catch some breaks, as with any competitive skater. Just sayin'. Emmanuel skated beautifully. What a great collaboration with the gifted Tom Dickson! I would have liked to see Emmanuel hold the forward lean of his spread eagle longer. Still, he gave a powerful performance to this sacred hymn. I think his score should have been a tad closer to Tomoki's overall score, but I can see why Tomoki placed ahead. While Emmanuel's skating is more polished, graceful and mature, Tomoki's stretch, energy, footwork, and effervescent ability to project excitement, is compelling and infectious. Emmanuel has just as good technical skills as Tomoki, but as we know, Emmanuel has suffered from injuries that have complicated his career's forward momentum. As far as experiencing nerves in competition, that happens to everyone. It just matters how that happenstance evens out, in terms of being able to lay out a clean performance when it's needed most.

It's interesting that the rules allowed for the competitors to tape however many takes they wished, and select the performance they wanted to submit. I don't understand why Kelly Arnett's performance was filmed with outdoor light casting shadows on the ice. Plus Arnett and a few other skaters who placed low in the standings seemed to have cameras set up too far away, or without a zoom feature. I don't know how the judges could detect all of Arnett's elements well, especially with Arnett moving from light to shadow and doing the jumps at opposite ends of the rink with the camera set up so far away. Moving forward with virtual competitions, these kinds of technical and logistic issues must be worked out. This was a great start to virtual competitions. It can serve as a helpful trial run.

Overall, I thought the judging was fair and about right. I'm not sure what it was so much that had Starr placing just behind Poojah, unless the judges were looking for something extra in Starr's expressiveness. Starr said in her section's pre-interview that she enjoys performing and being dramatic. However, she could benefit by holding out her moves, and more visibly connecting with her music and with the audience, to build greater emotional impact. Granted, right now, there is no in-person audience. I think Starr should consider taking acting and dramatic movement classes.

 

[aftershocks]

The guys dominated for the third year in a row. But it's not a surprise that U.S. men continue to have great talent and depth. Last year, Karen Chen was in third place. She skated well this year too, but it was a deeper and tougher competition at the top. I totally love Jordan Moeller's music selection with that dramatic Chaplin voiceover (from a movie scene). ITA with the poster who said the words have meaning and impact, especially in this current moment. I also dig the way Moeller and Courtney Hicks joined together to film the intros to their performances. LOL

 

[aftershocks]

Torgashev is going full out Amoyz this season. I swear he will not suck me in again.

Andrew Torgashev is creative in his own right. Kevin Aymoz is creative in his own right. Neither are copying the other. Andrew is also an accomplished painter. He's an amazing young man. Competing is not easy for anyone. Andrew has come through a lot, and I'm happy to continue watching him mature and grow in confidence. Thumbs way up!

Tomoki wuzrobbed

Actually I'd have it 1. Jason 2. Tomoki 3. Emmanuel

But really I was the winner getting to watch skating again.

Thumbs-up to your last sentence. Regarding placements, yeah I can see your point. It's just that Tim and Andrew performed wonderfully well too, but I can definitely see your point. I wasn't sure where they were going to place Tim, especially with Tomoki and Emmanuel both skating lights out and Tomoki edging Emmanuel. Tim is a more mature, experienced skater and he won the Inaugural Peggy Fleming Trophy. Plus, Tim skated very beautifully, though perhaps Tomoki's and Emmanuel's performances are more memorable. Ditto that I wasn't sure where Andrew would be placed either. Jason was the winner hands-down by a mile. But competitors who placed 2 through 5, all skated extremely well.

Would you have had it Jason, Tomoki, Emmanuel, Andrew, Tim? Or Tim, Andrew (4th and 5th)? It maybe boils down to a bit of preference and politics ultimately when skaters are close in ability and they all perform well. I actually thought Emmanuel was just as good or better than Tomoki, with as I said Emmanuel being more polished and mature with lovely grace over the ice and great technical skill. Whereas Tomoki has fantastic stretch, footwork, technical ability and charisma that jumps off the ice, even watching on a small screen.

I'm not sure why Andrew was wearing that white & black unbuttoned shirt over his black t-shirt, but he skated an interesting program that has promise to grow even further. It is somewhat similar in feel to his sp last season, but it's not the same. I love his aerial butterfly move. I guess Andrew's program can be viewed as a drawback for those who don't like the music he skated to. Your placement picks are convincing though. I'm glad to not be on the judging panel. How do you choose when all are very good? It comes down to preference. For that matter, Camden skated great too, and look where he landed. I'd say that because Tim and Andrew both skated well and Tim was first in 2018, and Andrew was second last year, the judges took that into account. Tomoki is still maturing artistically, and he's still a bit rough around the edges. It's a tough call. I'd even say: Jason, Emmanuel, Tomoki, Andrew, Tim; or Jason, Emmanuel, Andrew, Tim, Tomoki. It depends on what the judges were specifically looking at with each competitor to narrow down their decisions.