Omaha or Bust: Bring on the boys! January 23, 2013

Based on name recognition and resume, the mens title would seem to be easily in the hands of reigning champ, Jeremy Abbott. He has the pedigree. He has the experience. He’s won the title not once, not even just twice, but three times already. He comes to Omaha armed with extraordinarily complex choreography, emotionally engaging music, and the jumps, steps, and spins to rank him one of the world’s best.

But, he’s battled some physical setbacks this year that made those technical things quite difficult.

Meanwhile, Ross Miner made good strides on the international circuit, scoring the highest totals of any U.S. man in a Grand Prix event when he took bronze at NHK Trophy.

There’s also Richard Dornbush and Adam Rippon. Both have had their struggles. Both have had their moments to shine. Both would love to be on the World Team again. But, their path to a world spot isn’t simple.

Not only do they have to get past Abbott or Miner, but they have to hold off challengers like Armin Mahbanoozadeh, Brandon Mroz, Douglas Razzano, and young stars like Joshua Farris, Jason Brown, and perhaps the stiffest competition, Max Aaron.

Max presents a potentially large road block. His score of 231.27 at the Senior B event in Salt Lake City to start the year is higher than Abbott’s best Grand Prix score. That carries some weight.

Understand, though — that was a very well executed competition for Aaron. It was not Abbott’s best competition. Not by a long shot.

All that means is, Max Aaron is in play for a medal. But, he’ll have to be GREAT, while others have room for error.

Likewise, Mahbanoozadeh has a chance to make a splash. He was dealing with an ankle injury at Skate America (where he was a last minute replacement for Evan Lysacek), but is always a potential spoiler.

Razzano was 5th at Nationals last season after pulling up from 8th in the short to 4th in the long. Could he be this year’s upset?

Not that it means anything now, but, just for kicks, how different would this competition be if Evan Lysacek and Johnny Weir had, indeed, come back and been able to compete?

Johnny attempted the comeback. His Grand Prix experiment didn’t go so well. Not that he didn’t make a valiant effort, but it appeared that he sorely underestimated how far he was from being a contender.

If he’d stuck it out, trained as hard as ever, and been scheduled to skate in Omaha, how would he have fared? It’s hard to say, of course, but based on what we saw out of him earlier this fall, he would have been a long shot.

And Evan? He couldn’t have been counted out, that’s for certain. If he’d been healthy enough to compete internationally earlier in the year, and if he was truly back in “fighting shape,” you’d be hard pressed to deny his chances.

Lysacek provided consistency for the American men for many years. Many hoped he’d be able to come back and help earn back that third World Team spot. Instead, he stares down a potential comeback during the Olympic season, instead of before it. That’s no easy task, to say the least.

Meanwhile, though, we have a handful of contenders who will be in Omaha. And I have a feeling they’re going to put on quite a show!

Who do you think makes the World Team? Who will fare the best against Evgeyni Plushenko, Patrick Chan, and the Japanese superstars?

Here are my predictions.

Gold: Abbott
Silver: Miner
Bronze: Aaron
Pewter: Dornbush

Don’t forget to follow me on twitter (@FromTheBoards) for updates from Omaha. And, if you’re an instagramer, follow me @TaraBethW for pictures throughout the week!

Moments that made memories — 2011 Year In Review December 31, 2011

Most years on December 31 I sit and wonder, “How is the year over already?!” This year, however, when I started to look back, I found myself thinking, “That was really all this year?”

Maybe I kept myself busy enough that the accomplishments seem too great for one year. Or, maybe, I just have a terrible memory and forgot half the things that really happened! (The latter is not entirely unlikely, I assure you…)

Regardless, I was looking back. And in looking back, I tried to come up with the top 10 skating stories or moments of the year. Again, there were a lot to choose from. Narrowing it down seemed daunting. But, I’ve come up with a lists that, to me, defines this year in skating.

From technical wonders to emotional triumphs and all the little moments in between, 2011 was quite the year for the world of figure skating.

Here’s my list.

10. Brandon Mroz  and the first ever ratified quad lutz.
I know many US skating fans want to see guys focusing on consistency and artistry before adding new elements, but that move is impressive. I have to give the kid props for even trying the trick!

9. Meagan Duhamel’s “Is it enough?!” moment at TEB ’11 & Rudi Swiegers saves Mark Ladwig at 4CC.
Every season has its off-ice moments that melt your heart. These two stand out for me, although there are plenty of others I could pull up and recall. These are the moments you see the person, not just the competitor. I love those moments.

8. Exciting rivalries
This year has had its share of exciting rivalries, and that’s what makes competitions so much fun. This year featured three big ones, starting with the obvious: Meryl Davis and Charlie White vs. Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. Training mates make the fiercest competitors. Then there is the former champ chasing the current champ, Daisuke Takahashi vs. Patrick Chan. (I know, I know. Everyone thinks it won’t matter what Dai does because of Patrick’s “two-fall cushion.” I happen to think it’s made Takahashi better, and the rivalry fascinating to watch.) Last but not least, the dynamic pack of pairs who have battled through this year’s Grand Prix Series — Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy vs. Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov vs. Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov.

Can I just say, I can’t wait for Worlds?!

Americans in Paris (along with some Canadians, Italians, Hungarians…) November 24, 2010

Just a few short weeks ago, we were all bouncing off the walls with excitement as the Grand Prix series got underway. And now? It’s just about over. I won’t lie…I’m even a little bit exhausted keeping up with it all! It’s a trip just trying to watch as much as possible via icenetwork between work schedules (and, perhaps more importantly, sleep schedules!)…I can only imagine the skaters are feeling the cries for rest as well. But with just one more weekend to determine Grand Prix Final line ups, there’s no rest for the weary!

Trophy Eric Bombard (um…can I say I miss “Lalique?”) might have the weakest ice dance field thus far. The only “big name” team is the hometeam – French skaters Pechalat and Bourzat. They’re the obvious favorites here, and barring some crazy circumstances like last weekend, this is their time to shine.

Madison Chock and Greg Zuerlein from the US will be hoping to one-up their bronze medal from Canada.

Several other teams are coming off of 5th place finishes in their first GP events, so they’ll be battling it out to move up to podium position here.

The pairs event features Savchenko and Szolkowy from Germany who won Skate America quite easily. They are also the odds-on favorites in France, and should really only face competition from one team – Bazarova and Larionov from Russia who placed 2nd at NHK Trophy at the start of the season. However, they placed 2nd with a score of 173.83 and S/S of Germany won Skate Canada with a score of 197.70. So there still should be no contest for gold.

If the Russians hang on for silver, there will be a trio of young teams looking to improve from their earlier assignments: Felicia Zhang and Taylor Toth (USA), Mylene Brodeur and John Mattatall (CAN), and Maylin Hausch and Daniel Wende (GER). All three finished 6th or 7th at their respective first events and have a shot at the podium here.

The ladies event remains as unpredictable as any thus far. We’ve got Mao Asada trying to make a comeback from a disastrous season debut and Alissa Czisny trying to repeat in her own comeback season of sorts…and that’s just the beginning.

Cynthia Phaneuf of Canada will be looking to make amends for her long program meltdown that kept her from winning at home, Haruka Imai of Japan will try to desperately keep her GPF hopes alive, and Mirai Nagasu will look to be more trained in her long program, as well as fighting off the demons that haunt her free skate, should she win the short program.

I refuse to make any sort of predictions, because the only thing predictable about the ladies events this year is that there’s no possible way to make an educated guess about what will happen!

On the men’s side, however, we once again see likely the best competition of the event.

France’s Brian Joubert is looking for more than just clean quads after even his new-and-much-improved choreography and style left him 4th in China. Kevin Reynolds of Canada will look to repeat his stellar 2-quad short program, but better his own 4th place finish from Canada.

Japan’s Takahiko Kozuka comes in as the best candidate for “the favorite” after winning Cup of China, defeating Brian Joubert and the American Brandon Mroz.

Mroz, as well as the other Frenchman Florent Amodio, are both hoping for Grand Prix miracles after medaling in their early events.

The best part is, on any given day, any one of these guys could throw down back-to-back performances that can’t be beat. The question is…who’s day will it be?

This will determine who’s in and who’s out. And as anxious as the competitors in France will be, some (like Jeremy Abbott) who are already done will be just as anxious waiting at home to see if they did enough to book a trip to Beijing!

Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, I may or may  not be able to tweet live this weekend. It all depends on the family activities! But regardless, I’ll be checking in and posting my thoughts throughout.

Speaking of thoughts…

I just read an “open letter” from Plushenko about how he should be reinstated by the ISU. (If you didn’t know, he was banned for competing in a non-sanctioned event that coincided with Worlds, I believe.) As much as there is a part of me that feels sorry for him, it’s only a very small piece. I had a hard time digesting his actions and comments post-Vancouver, and even if he was upset, physically and emotionally hurt, he was wrong to react as he did. Then to go out and compete in an event he knew wasn’t approved (this isn’t his first rodeo, kids…he’s been around long enough he should have known better), fail to submit his appeal by the required deadline, wait several months, then make claims like “You haven’t seen the last of me” and “I will compete in Sochi”…I’m sorry, but rules are in place for a reason. And, fair or not, he violated them. Just because he’s Russia’s star doesn’t mean he should get special permission to get around the rules. …just my thoughts.

As for the thoughts about ABC’s “Skating with the Stars” I said I’d share, well, I’ve decided to reserve my judgement for one more week. It could improve, or it could collapse…we’ll just have to wait and see after next week. I will say, however, that it sounds unfortunately (but not unexpectedly) bad from non-skating fans. Too few real celebrities, and too much cheesiness. But we shall see…

And now for my TEB Fantasy picks:

Until then…

Quiz: Figure skating history September 28, 2010

I’ve been promising a video blog for weeks now. And I will admit, I could have had it up before now. But last week wasn’t ideal for, well, being on camera, so it kept getting pushed back more and more! But I’m nearly healthy again, and I ended up with the day off, so I had no excuse not to get something done and up for you all today. Little did I know when I came up with the idea for the video how involved it would be. Nevertheless, it is filmed and in the process of being edited together as I type.

The video, as you will see soon enough, is an interactive quiz, testing your knowledge of figure skating trivia. I won’t pretend that I knew all the answers to the questions you’ll find below, but searching for them made me realize how much skating surely has changed since its early days. And that got me thinking about how much skating has changed just in the less-than-a-decade that I’ve been a die-hard fan.

Just after I became skating crazy, the 6.0 system came under scrutiny at the 2002 Olympics. What a mess that was! That next season, the “New Judging System” called the “Code of Points” was born. International events didn’t make the complete change until 2005 – the first World Championship to use the new system.

Since then, changes have been made to the system, to the requirements, and to how it works in “real life” each year.

I had a very interesting conversation the other day with someone about the new scoring system, which is undoubtedly the largest, most influential change of my time in skating. I will admit, as I did in this conversation, I’ve been highly critical of the Code of Points system, because some of the requirements make skating so inspiration-free. When every lady has to hold a spiral in 3 different positions for 3 seconds each, there are only so many ways to do that and make it unique. When spins stop being about quality centering and speed and become about how gumby-like you can be without toppling over, you lose some of the solidity things like a good, old-fashioned, one-position sit spin can bring. I even posted on a fan forum one time a post entitled “How Michelle (Kwan) made me hate COP.” Want to know how? Her sit spin. The back position, the centering, the speedy, the steadiness…all things I haven’t seen in a lady’s sit spin since then.

And yet, writing for this blog and analyzing the skaters who will be competing this season, as well as talking with my COP savvy friend, I’ve noticed even another change – COP is getting better with age.

Sure, it’s not perfect. There are still things I don’t like about it. But if we’re going for judging that is at least closer to fair, well, this certainly helps. It at least quantifies elements based on the difficulty and the quality – something 6.0 couldn’t ever do.

Skaters now are on level footing entering a competition; the favorites can’t be as easily held up because of their past successes. This is, perhaps, most notable in ice dance – a discipline rich in tradition, so much so that North American skaters weren’t even on the map until Bourne and Kraatz, Belbin and Agosto and the introduction of COP. Now, it’s anyone’s game. Or at least more so than ever before.

The system also forced skaters to become more well rounded. Take a Patrick Chan or and Evan Lysacek vs. an Evgeyni Plushenko or a Brian Joubert. It’s not enough to throw the big tricks. If you don’t have the transitions, the footwork, and the spins, the technical advantage the later two may have had under 6.0 is eliminated in favor of the complete skaters like Chan and Lysacek.

This I like.

My biggest concern has always been the fact that a program skated beautifully both technically and artistically seems to present a difficult situation – how do you quantify spark? Magic? Passion? How do you add in points for a skater who skates as though the music is coming from within? What “base mark” can you come up with to apply when a skater has a “skate of their life” moment where the entire arena is on its feet, wrapped in the emotion that comes with witnessing history? That emotion is such a part of skating’s past…how can COP make it a part of the sport’s future?

And yet, I may have recently discovered that, as with most things in life, there’s a pretty serious learning curve within this system. One that, once mastered, may make way for such memorable performances as Michelle Kwan’s 1998 Nationals Lyra Angelica, Torvill and Dean’s “Bolero,” or the teenage miracles of Tara Lipinski and Sarah Hughes.

See, while the technical demands are greater and the point values tend to overtake the creativity, it’s skaters like Patrick Chan that give me hope – he moves me. He’s pretty close to a “COP baby,” growing up in skating under this new system. And he’s comfortable enough with it, that you don’t see him counting rotations or numbers of turns – you see him connecting with the music, the movement, and the crowd. There may not be a mark for that, but as long as it doesn’t go away entirely, I think I can find it in my heart to appreciate the value of the Code of Points.

Afterall, nothing’s perfect. But people who have the passion to skate will find a way to always, always, always express that passion on the ice.

Changes will come, but that fact remains the same. And for that, I will be forever grateful.

So what about you? What’s the biggest change you’ve seen in your years of skating fandom?

Plus, are you confident in your skating trivia skills? Test them out with the video below! Good luck!

Until then…

Oh, the drama! August 26, 2010

So, I’m sitting here, sipping my morning cup of joe, flipping back and forth between the Today Show and “My Fair Wedding with David Tutera” (Don’t judge…) and checking up on the latest stats from this week in skating, and I’m realizing I may need more time.

What a week, eh?

If you haven’t heard all the news, no worries – I’m here to save the day! And if you have heard, well, get ready to “hear” again, and then chime in with your own thoughts. Sound good? Okay. Here we go.

Pre-season drama part 1:

*National Champs and Olympic team members Caydee Denney and Jeremy Barrett jump ship from the coaching staff of Jim Peterson, Lyndon Johnston and Alison Smith to train in Coral Springs, Fla. with U.S. Pairs champion John Zimmerman and his wife, Italian star Silvia Fontana.

This is very interesting to me, for a couple of reasons.

First, this could be a GREAT move for Caydee and Jeremy. I love John Zimmerman and have a feeling his creativity could be fantastic for the young national champs. He certainly knows how to train, and he knows what it’s like to be among the best in the world. Caydee and Jeremy need to step it up if they want to be the American team who breaks into the top tier of the international elite. This might just be their staircase.

Second, I’m curious about the reasons for changing. Back at Nationals and at the Olympics in Vancouver, this team seemed beyond happy with their situation, overly complimentary of their coaches, and so proud of their up-and-coming status that led them to the Games. Yet, they weren’t about to be content with the status quo…they want to be the best, and I think this move shows that. It’s still curious to me as I wonder what that final straw was that led to the change.

Third, there was always an interesting dynamic with the pairs teams under the tutelage of Peterson and crew: their other pairs team who skated to a spot on the Olympic team, Amanda Evora and Mark Ladwig, has a unique connection to John Zimmerman’s new team. Amanda and Jeremy have been a couple for some time, even living together and, of course, training and competing together. Does this move say something about that relationship? If not, does it put strain on the two of them and, therefore, their competitive careers? (Okay, okay, maybe I’m meddling. But hey, a girl can’t help but wonder…)

Coaching changes are always intriguing to me as they seem to say a lot about the needs of the athlete and the underlying goals that lead to the switch. I hope this one for Caydee and Jeremy works out because they certainly have the momentum and the potential to be a longtime standard in U.S. pairs skating.

Pre-season drama part 2:

*2006 Olympic champ and reigning Olympic silver medalist Evgeyni Plushenko IS, in fact, stripped of ISU eligibility due to participation in unapproved exhibition shows after pulling out of the post-Olympics World Championships. This means, he is no longer free to continue competing, therefore eliminating his proposed run at the 2014 games in Sochi.

Something about this seems pretty fishy.

First, these elite level skaters are aware of the rules – perhaps they don’t always think, “Hmm, if I do this, that could happen because the rule says such-and-such.” However, it’s not a secret that certain shows are off limits, especially after withdrawing from a sanctioned competitive event. Plushy should have known that, and if not, his “people” should have warned him. For that reason, I wonder how unaware he really was. Now, I don’t know the guy, but this seems weird. He has struggled with knee injuries since 2006, and the likelihood of his body actually holding up through 2014 is slim to none, in my opinion. And they way the pieces all fell apart here leads me to wonder if he realized he was talking too big for reality.

Second, he had a chance to appeal and he didn’t. Why? If he really wanted to compete, he had the means to make his argument and keep the Sochi dream alive. He didn’t. So, game over. He doesn’t have to make a big announcement of his retirement due to injury, nor does he have to deal with the fact that he left Vancouver talking smack and now doesn’t have the ability to back it up. Like I said, I don’t know Plushy personally, so all of this is purely speculation.

Regardless of his reasoning, it makes the next few seasons either a bit more interesting, or I suppose, a bit less interesting. But it certainly gives some other guys the chance to jump (or spin, glid, and step-sequence) their way into the spotlight!

Pre-Season drama part 3:

*Olympic Champ Yu-Na Kim and miracle-working coach Brian Orser split in soap-opera fashion, leaving Orser without the world’s #1, and Kim fighting for not only the motivation to continue competing, but also for the character of her own mother.

To me, this is just totally unfortunate.

First, Brian and Yu-Na made magic. Simple as that. What he was able to do with, perhaps, the most raw talent in the entire world was remarkable. Yu-Na soaked it all in and blossomed under Brian’s instruction, and maintained a sense of normalcy thanks to his protection. We will likely never know what the reason was for the Kims’ decision to leave Orser, but no matter the reason, I’m still sad to see them split. As Melissa Bulanhagui “tweeted” the other day, it’s like Brad Pitt and Jen Aniston all over again!

Second, the mudslinging has gotten out of hand. I don’t care who knew what, or if mama Kim overstepped her bounds, or if Brian stuck his story out there to save face…the media circus makes the sad feeling of seeing the news of the split about a  million times worse. I feel badly for both “sides” of the story. Yu-Na wrote a letter to her fans, expressing her pain because of Brian’s comments, and because of her frustration in needing to defend her decision and her mother’s character. That’s not something she should have had to do, yet she did. And unfortunately, it’s not helping. The media are running with all of it, no matter how small, and turning it into a zoo.

Again, coaching changes/splits are always interesting to me, but it’s sad when such a magical combination of skills is destroyed by one thing, then exaggerated by harsh comments and disappointed slams.

I wish the best for both parties, and hope to see Yu-Na skate again at Worlds.

Speaking of seeing Yu-Na skate…

She will be skating in LA a few months from now, and the legend, Michelle Kwan, will be co-staring in the show – her first on-ice appearance in the U.S. since the end of the Champions on Ice tour after her devastating injury in 2006. Now, Michelle Kwan is my hero. I’d give, well, a lot to be there in LA for this performance, but I’m not sure the likelihood of that happening is in my favor right now. So, if any of you are planning to be there, let me know! I’d love to post your review of the event, or possibly get some photos from you to share here as well…so if anyone wants to be a part of From the Boards for a day, get in touch.

In other news, the Junior Grand Prix season began today. The ladies have skated the short program, and Yretha Silete of France is in 1st, followed by Polina Shelepen from Russia and Nina Jiang from the USA.

It’s underway, folks!

Let the drama continue.

Until then…