Happy Monday! This past week has been quite exciting in the world of Figure Skating, since Skate America technically marks the official beginning of the Grand Prix international season. However, it seems that that “season” may continue to disintegrate, considering the cancellation of the next two Grand Prix events due to rising COVID case numbers in Canada and France.
Nonetheless, Skate America was given the go-ahead in Vegas. USFS and the ISU put precautions into place to create a bubble for the athletes and, to the best of my knowledge, every competitor and staff member remained healthy and safe.
Skate America wasn’t the only event of the week, though. Russia continued along with their make-shift national/grand-prix competition series with the third leg of the Cup of Russia.
Here are my top 3 moments of the week….
#3 More Speed and More (Sabotage?): Russian Ladies in Sochi
This week, two of Eteri Tutberidze’s prized skaters, Daria Usacheva and, of course, Anna Scherbakova, competed opposite to three in Alexei Mishin’s camp, Liza Tuktamysheva, Sofia Samorodova, and Anastasiia Guliakova. Overall, there was very little to be gleaned from this event, other than the enormous amount of pressure clearly being put on Eteri’s girls, who both exited the rink crying after less-than-perfect free skate performances (Even though they placed 1 and 2….). However, two of the performances here make the list this week.
Speed: I (personally) enjoy Daria Usacheva’s skating over most of the other Russian ladies. Does she often look ready to cry while taking the ice? Yes. Are her programs sometimes oddly choreographed? Yes. But I find her performance quality to be very engaging and I like her skating style. This week, I was particularly impressed with her speed throughout her free program to Romeo and Juliet. (I won’t comment on whether this R&J cut was stolen from Trusova or vice versa, because that’s a laugh for another day). I just thought the free seemed more confident and strong than usual, which made me happy for her.
Sabotage?: Okay, I know Liza is not known for ~creative~ program material, since that material is often just her waving her arms in different directions for different programs. But I’m sorry- her landing a Triple Axel (!), plus both the combo and a giant triple flip, and a beautiful new dress, and ending up 3rd in the short program rankings??? ABSURD. I don’t know who needs to be bribed or what needs to happen, but Liza and Alexei have got to start plotting on how get the judges to stop favoring these Eteri girls, because that’s just preposterous.
#2 Mikhail Kolyada
After taking multiple seasons off due to sinus issues/surgerys/who-knows-what, Kolyada is back with a vengeance.
I want to emphasize that I am -Obsessed- with this free program. I know that Ilia Averbukh does not always produce the most incredible content, but he had an epiphany and he gave that epiphany to Mikhail. Nothing more to say. I was almost brought to tears by this performance (although that might have been because I watched it after being ~bored to tears~ by some of the Skate America content…but who cares).
#1 (The Existence of) Skate America
Was Skate America that interesting? No. It was, for the most part, entirely predictable. It was basically a less-exciting version of Nationals, with a few “international” skaters thrown in because they train in the US. But it was exciting to have the first full-blown, international level, non-zoom competition of the year.
Skate America had no spectators, but did give viewers the opportunity to fill the stands with cardboard spectators…for $65-100 a pop (got a good laugh from that email). I thought that for the most part this event ran fine. They had a clapping track to play during bows and when scores were posted, and skaters still bowed and thanked the audience, which I thought was good sportsmanship and helped, from a viewer’s perspective, to decrease the awkwardness. However, I thought the most awkward part of the set up was the kiss and cry- If coaches are COVID tested and part of the bubble and in the rink, why aren’t they sitting with skaters to get scores? It painted quite a sad image as some competitors sat alone, masked, waiting to be railed by the judges…Especially for Gracie Gold…But I digress. Here are MY highlights…
Ladies: Karen Chen’s Free Skate
Good for you, Karen! Typically I just feel fear in my bones watching Karen skate, but this performance was so lovely! Great costuming, good on her to NOT open with a triple lutz combo, and those beautiful spiral and spin positions make her such an enjoyable skater to watch!
(Sorry, no video. You can blame NBC.)
Men: Nathan Chen
I actually like this long program for Nathan Chen this year, mainly because I think it’s a move in the right direction to working on his artistry. The jumps that were completed were spectacular as always. He popped two jumps (4s and 3A) but I was encouraged by the fact that he, too, seemed disappointed at these misses- I think it shows that the long is typically more put together, and that he knows what’s required of his performance if he plans to beat Yuzuru Hanyu in the future.
Pairs: Alexa and Brandon
While I know the judges were helping them in the PCS area, the fact that Alexa and Brandon have been skating together for ~6 months and managed two performances that were as solid as this is downright miraculous. Even with a new partner, her throw triple loop continues to shock me every time I see it.
Dance:
My ice dance highlight this week is actually Hawayek and Baker’s free skate. This is certainly a “Heart of Glass” year (thanks, Miley Cyrus); this was the most engaging free dance of the event in my opinion. I absolutely love the costuming for Hawayek, and I thought that program arrangement and movement made it very hard to look away from. It ended, and I felt like I had been in a trance of some sort. Very excited to see how this program grows this season.
Honorable Mentions go to:
Spirit Halloween for providing Madison Hubbell’s dress (Sorry Madi, but what was that?)
And That Damn Geico Gecko
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