Team we're fewer but still good!

[sweetwater]

21 hours ago, sallycinnamon said:

 

According to the German article, Stephane's sister suggested him four years ago (after he had a foot surgery) that he should switch to ice dance. Valter Rizzo - Matteo's father who's a former ice dancer - also suggested him to do ice dance. He started to look for partners and also spent some time in the US in August, but he almost gave up on becoming an ice dancer. Then Roland Wehinger - who's the head of Swiss fed - found a partner, Arianne Wroblewska and suggested him to skate together. They've been training together since 1. October. Stephane says that none of them has any background in ice dance and the biggest challenge is the completely new dynamics of ice dancing. He is not only responsible for himself but also he also needs to accommodate to the new partner and situation and that they have to work together.

Their first competition was the Nationals, and after that they'll decide what to do next, and to set some realistic goals about their future.

 

Here's the final result of the Nationals:

 

Thank you for the translation!
So he had been considering the option for some time... It sounds very challenging since he will have to rebuild his body while learning new techniques, but if Papa Rizzo thought it's possible it may be possible. Wishing them good luck.

[sallycinnamon]

49 minutes ago, sweetwater said:

Thank you for the translation!
So he had been considering the option for some time... It sounds very challenging since he will have to rebuild his body while learning new techniques, but if Papa Rizzo thought it's possible it may be possible. Wishing them good luck.

 

Yes, it'll be challenging and he's not that young anymore either - he's turning 28 next week. But I hope they can reach their goal, whatever it'll be.  

[Guest turquoiseblue]

Zahra Lari keeps making history  Congratulations to her and the UAE! 

 

 

[ralucutzagy]

 

[sallycinnamon]

Team Ukraine for Europeans:

 

Ladies: Anastasiya Gozhva

Men: Ivan Shmuratko

Ice Dance: Dariya Popova/Vladimir Belikov

 

It's interesting because Gozhva finished only 4th at Nationals but she is the first skater who has the TES minimum for Europeans (bronze medalist Zhdanovich got the TES minimum too but she got them at junior competitions which doesn't count because TES minimums must be obtained at senior competitions).

Arhipova who won Nationals is still not eligible for Europeans because of her age.

 

https://www.ufsf.com.ua/novyny/22-novyny-federatsii/1422-sklad-ukrajinskikh-figuristiv-na-chempionat-evropi.html

https://bobrtimes.com/the-coaches-called-the-national-team-for-the-european-championships-in-figure-skating/170943/

[sallycinnamon]

Kostner is still injured and she announced on her IG that she won't compete at Europeans.

 

 

[ralucutzagy]

New year wishes from Deniss and Stephane! 

 

[ralucutzagy]

 

[SparkleSalad]

Please vote for Kevin!

 

 

[SparkleSalad]

Hoping you all can help!

 

https://www.change.org/p/macquarie-shopping-centre-save-macquarie-ice-rink

 

 

[sallycinnamon]

 

 

Huh  

[airi]

I love Matteo's music choices

He still must be very frustrated about losing at Nats if he declares that and  changes the program. Risky, he can potentially lose a spot for Worlds if Grassl will do better with his way high TES.

[EisElle]

 

3 hours ago, SparkleSalad said:

Hoping you all can help!

 

https://www.change.org/p/macquarie-shopping-centre-save-macquarie-ice-rink

 

 

Signed I hope it can help

 

1 hour ago, sallycinnamon said:

 

 

Huh  

...............................why?

I'm not sure I understand the move...to aim for top 5, against 3 russian guys + Javi and Morisi and Kevin Aymoz etc he needs to be clean and probably also land his quad, and I don't see how debuting a completely new program can help with any of that   of course the quad guys can bomb (as we've seen in the gp) but usually one doesn't bet on that.... that said, I wasn't particularly fond of his fs, maybe I'll like this new program more...

/quote (can't find the quote function on mobile)/

cavalcando intelligentemente l’onda mediatica dettata dal successo del film sulla vita di Freddy Mercury campione d’incassi nelle sale cinematografiche di tutto il mondo.

/end quote/

I don't see why it would be smart to change the FS between Nats in december and Euros in january just because there is a successful movie...yes it can maybe help with judges for pcs (tho it's not like the previous medley was of some unknown songs, so it's imo debatable that judges could be more impressed, and for the same reason I don't expect a hugely different response from audience, as both free skates use widely popular songs anyway)... but I don't think a boost in pcs can be comparabile with quads....unless suddenly he gets 90 but I don't see how, given how things work for pcs...

Idk, was the fs giving him particular issues? I don't think so, he was skating quite well, he has even landed the quad at Nats...

 

Also... Matteo really loves medley, doesn't he? Is he planning to cover all famous bands, a medley at a time?

 

ETA: I am still doubtful Daniel can go above a clean Matteo at Euros, yes he has bv but he's considered and scored as a junior skater from a "minor" fed and jgp international panels were quite stingy with him... I think even at Nats a completely clean Matteo would have been placed above. So I really don't understand his move. But, well, Matteo is the one who has to skate the program, not me, so whatever works for him

ETA2: ok checking ISU PB Daniel has 3 points more than Matteo but Matteo had 1 fall and two pops (though it was LT whops) and Daniel was almost clean (one UR) when he got his pb... the weirdest thing was seeing Boyang's score is lower than theirs whoa poor Boyang

[sallycinnamon]

54 minutes ago, LadyLou said:

...............................why?

I'm not sure I understand the move...to aim for top 5, against 3 russian guys + Javi and Morisi and Kevin Aymoz etc he needs to be clean and probably also land his quad, and I don't see how debuting a completely new program can help with any of that   of course the quad guys can bomb (as we've seen in the gp) but usually one doesn't bet on that.... that said, I wasn't particularly fond of his fs, maybe I'll like this new program more...

/quote (can't find the quote function on mobile)/

cavalcando intelligentemente l’onda mediatica dettata dal successo del film sulla vita di Freddy Mercury campione d’incassi nelle sale cinematografiche di tutto il mondo.

/end quote/

I don't see why it would be smart to change the FS between Nats in december and Euros in january just because there is a successful movie...yes it can maybe help with judges for pcs (tho it's not like the previous medley was of some unknown songs, so it's imo debatable that judges could be more impressed, and for the same reason I don't expect a hugely different response from audience, as both free skates use widely popular songs anyway)... but I don't think a boost in pcs can be comparabile with quads....unless suddenly he gets 90 but I don't see how, given how things work for pcs...

Idk, was the fs giving him particular issues? I don't think so, he was skating quite well, he has even landed the quad at Nats...

 

Also... Matteo really loves medley, doesn't he? Is he planning to cover all famous bands, a medley at a time?

 

ETA: I am still doubtful Daniel can go above a clean Matteo at Euros, yes he has bv but he's considered and scored as a junior skater from a "minor" fed and jgp international panels were quite stingy with him... I think even at Nats a completely clean Matteo would have been placed above. So I really don't understand his move. But, well, Matteo is the one who has to skate the program, not me, so whatever works for him

ETA2: ok checking ISU PB Daniel has 3 points more than Matteo but Matteo had 1 fall and two pops (though it was LT whops) and Daniel was almost clean (one UR) when he got his pb... the weirdest thing was seeing Boyang's score is lower than theirs whoa poor Boyang

 

I also think it's risky but whatever works for him...He needs clean skates if he wants to get into the Top 5 and it'll be difficult to do it with a new program. It always needs polish and time to get used to something new. But maybe he had so many problems with the Rolling Stones FS after losing at Nationals that he really wanted to change it asap. 

 

I don't agree with the article that he may get higher PCS with a Queen medley though....had he skated clean with his Stones FS he'd have got higher PCS anyway (around 80?). It doesn't have anything to do with the new Freddie movie or Stones vs Queen, which one is more popular etc.

 

Anyway, I am not the biggest fan of these medleys in skating even if I love British rock in general. The cuts in both Beatles and Stones medleys were a bit too abrupt, the fast and slower parts were a bit messy to me, and it's hard to perform to them imo. And with these Queen songs I think we may see a similar free skate again.

 

[EisElle]

2 hours ago, sallycinnamon said:

 

I also think it's risky but whatever works for him...He needs clean skates if he wants to get into the Top 5 and it'll be difficult to do it with a new program. It always needs polish and time to get used to something new. But maybe he had so many problems with the Rolling Stones FS after losing at Nationals that he really wanted to change it asap. 

 

I don't agree with the article that he may get higher PCS with a Queen medley though....had he skated clean with his Stones FS he'd have got higher PCS anyway (around 80?). It doesn't have anything to do with the new Freddie movie or Stones vs Queen, which one is more popular etc.

 

Anyway, I am not the biggest fan of these medleys in skating even if I love British rock in general. The cuts in both Beatles and Stones medleys were a bit too abrupt, the fast and slower parts were a bit messy to me, and it's hard to perform to them imo. And with these Queen songs I think we may see a similar free skate again.

 

just to clarify, the part about maybe hoping to grab judges' attention (and get more generous pcs) was my own speculation from the phrasing in the article, where they only said "smartly riding the wave" of the success of the film. I think usually it's what skaters hope, to skate to music that judges are familiar with so judges can get into the program more easily (and unconsciously award more generous scores). This season it's clearly happening with the deluge of The greatest showman programs but both Rolling Stones and Queen are widely popular on their own, so IMO that a movie has recently been very successful won't change that much judges' or people's propensity to enjoy a Queen medley... though Queen albums are selling really well again so who knows, maybe there could still be some revival effect

asfaik Matteo hasn't explained the reason for the abrupt change... I can only think he wasn't feeling connected with his previous program, but I am worried it's a bit late for a change and I don't think the Nats performance was so tragic that something this drastic was necessary (contrary e.g. with what happended with Zhenya's SP this season)

Aljona&Bruno also changed SP mid-Olympic season because Bruno didn't felt comfortable but they merely went back to their trusted program from the season before. I hope it will work out well for Matteo

 

agreed about medleys, they often feel disjointed, with little internal choerence and purpose.

Though...now I think about it Michal's FS both last season and this one splice together several songs all the same but I have no issue...weird

also, I've just realized I've watched only a few of Michal's programs and I need to do some serious catch up also, I didn't know his SP last season was not a second but a third peat (if his wiki is right)