le patinage artistique
Jan. 19th, 2008 04:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jawnbcSo we were at the Canadian national figure skating finals today: pairs and men.
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querrelle was kung fuing ce matin, Vic and Angus picked me up. querrelle met us there after the pairs and the first flight of men.
Pairs
The pairs long programs started at 09h, but knowing that up to 18 pairs (12 it turned out) would be skating 4'38" each (with 5' between each, a 6' warm up before each flight, and 20' Zamboni™ time), we aimed to arrive for 10h. We got their just before Dubé & Davison skated.
D & D have been 6th at the last 2 worlds: most think they need only to bump things up a notch to sneak onto the podium. Unless, of course, they skate a totally shite short program--like they did earlier this week. Rather than miles ahead of the pack they sat 5th coming into this morning. They weren't even in the final flight--though usually flights have 6 rather than 4. Spots at World are allocated on a per-country basis: countries with a top 5 placement can send 3: a top 10 means 2 slots, otherwise it's one slot. So there were only 2 slots available to Canadians pairs.
Except for one stumble on a jump, D & D kicked everyone else's arses but good. They moved from 5th to....2nd. Langlois & Hay finished 2nd in the long and squeaked out a win by .15. So they'll both go to worlds. Craig "betch you're holding me back you're fired" Buntin arrived with a new partner (Meghan Duhamel), and did very well for a new pair. Next year they may be in it in a big way--even more so a year later...2010.
Men
Jeff Buttle (bronze in Torino; silver at Worlds the year previous) is certainly one of the best in the world--and probably the most savvy competitor. He understands the new scoring system on an intuitive level, and can adjust his programs to jam up the scoreboard. That he's remained near the top without having the quad is proof of that. But as of last season there are almost 10 guys who can land the quad pretty consistently--and 2 or 3 who are also great all-around skaters. Being quadless seems to finally have caught up with Jeff. Still, he came into the long a hair's width ahead of arguably the most exciting new face in men's skating in years: Patrick Chan.
2nd place the World Juniors last year, Chan moved up to Senior for the 2007/08 season. He was given a couple of Grand Prix assignments to get some experience--and then placed 1st and 3rd, earning a berth in the Grand Prix Final. He finished 5th there, but already he had exceeded expectations, since he's only 17 years old.
Today we saw why. This guy is the total package: gifted athlete, a dancer's agility, an artist's temperament, and the cold blood of a competitor. With more than a minute left in his 4'36" program, the entire audience were on their feet. We all had chills, for real. Chan beat Buttle by a little less than 3 points, 232.68 to 229.85. A score that would have placed Chan 4th in the world last year...less than a point behind bronze medallist (and twice world champ himself) Stephane Lambiel of Switzerland.
Without the quad. All 3 of the medallists in 2007 landed the quad at least once in their long or short program (or both). Buttle's never managed it; Chan apparently is on the cusp of having it. When he does, he may well win Worlds....and more.
The PNE Coliseum is the venue for figure skating at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. As host nation we get 3 berths in each discipline: pairs, men, ladies and ice dancing. As it's shaping up know we should have medal contenders in all 4: Chan in men, D & D in pairs (with Duhamel & Buntin as dark horse), JoAnnie Rochette in ladies and both Virtue and Moir and and Dubreil and Lauzon (who've taken this year off, but won silver at last year's worlds) in dance.
Since
querrelle was kung fuing ce matin, Vic and Angus picked me up. querrelle met us there after the pairs and the first flight of men.Pairs
The pairs long programs started at 09h, but knowing that up to 18 pairs (12 it turned out) would be skating 4'38" each (with 5' between each, a 6' warm up before each flight, and 20' Zamboni™ time), we aimed to arrive for 10h. We got their just before Dubé & Davison skated.
D & D have been 6th at the last 2 worlds: most think they need only to bump things up a notch to sneak onto the podium. Unless, of course, they skate a totally shite short program--like they did earlier this week. Rather than miles ahead of the pack they sat 5th coming into this morning. They weren't even in the final flight--though usually flights have 6 rather than 4. Spots at World are allocated on a per-country basis: countries with a top 5 placement can send 3: a top 10 means 2 slots, otherwise it's one slot. So there were only 2 slots available to Canadians pairs.
Except for one stumble on a jump, D & D kicked everyone else's arses but good. They moved from 5th to....2nd. Langlois & Hay finished 2nd in the long and squeaked out a win by .15. So they'll both go to worlds. Craig "betch you're holding me back you're fired" Buntin arrived with a new partner (Meghan Duhamel), and did very well for a new pair. Next year they may be in it in a big way--even more so a year later...2010.
Men
Jeff Buttle (bronze in Torino; silver at Worlds the year previous) is certainly one of the best in the world--and probably the most savvy competitor. He understands the new scoring system on an intuitive level, and can adjust his programs to jam up the scoreboard. That he's remained near the top without having the quad is proof of that. But as of last season there are almost 10 guys who can land the quad pretty consistently--and 2 or 3 who are also great all-around skaters. Being quadless seems to finally have caught up with Jeff. Still, he came into the long a hair's width ahead of arguably the most exciting new face in men's skating in years: Patrick Chan.
2nd place the World Juniors last year, Chan moved up to Senior for the 2007/08 season. He was given a couple of Grand Prix assignments to get some experience--and then placed 1st and 3rd, earning a berth in the Grand Prix Final. He finished 5th there, but already he had exceeded expectations, since he's only 17 years old.
Today we saw why. This guy is the total package: gifted athlete, a dancer's agility, an artist's temperament, and the cold blood of a competitor. With more than a minute left in his 4'36" program, the entire audience were on their feet. We all had chills, for real. Chan beat Buttle by a little less than 3 points, 232.68 to 229.85. A score that would have placed Chan 4th in the world last year...less than a point behind bronze medallist (and twice world champ himself) Stephane Lambiel of Switzerland.
Without the quad. All 3 of the medallists in 2007 landed the quad at least once in their long or short program (or both). Buttle's never managed it; Chan apparently is on the cusp of having it. When he does, he may well win Worlds....and more.
The PNE Coliseum is the venue for figure skating at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. As host nation we get 3 berths in each discipline: pairs, men, ladies and ice dancing. As it's shaping up know we should have medal contenders in all 4: Chan in men, D & D in pairs (with Duhamel & Buntin as dark horse), JoAnnie Rochette in ladies and both Virtue and Moir and and Dubreil and Lauzon (who've taken this year off, but won silver at last year's worlds) in dance.
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no subject
Date: 2008-01-20 05:06 am (UTC)Take me to your heaven... forgot the rest but swedish schlager, swedish schlager
Date: 2008-01-20 11:06 am (UTC)I'd be jealous, if there was a point to it, and if I wasn't happy for you.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-20 08:30 pm (UTC)And she has the best triple salchow in the ladies game today. Bit honkin' point grabber.