#I was watching the figure skating world team trophy events | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

nugnthopkns · 3 years

Text

felt the lightning under my skin

word count: 13.7k

warnings: explicit!fem reader, cursing, little bit of asshole joel, alcohol consumption, slight innuendo, moderate depiction of injury, needles

recommended listening: under the spell | springtime carnivore

a/n: i know figure skater/hockey player romances are terribly cliche but i couldn’t help myself. as an ex-skater hopefully i can make it a little less cringe. there’s probably an obscene amount of technical jargon in here and i sincerely apologize. the injury mentioned actually happened to me and let me tell you, it was not fun lmao. enjoy!

Joel swears he’s going to kill whoever’s in charge of renting out the practice facility.

Realistically, he knows it’s impossible. The rink can be rented by anyone when the Flyers aren’t using it and he typically thinks it’s a great way to promote ice sports in the community. Joel just wishes the facilities manager didn’t rent it out to figure skaters. They kick the shit out of the ice with their toe picks and leave the ice in terrible quality. It frustrates Joel because while community engagement is important, his career and the team take precedence.

No one else seems to be bothered by the recent decline in ice conditions. Most of his teammates are used to poor ice, growing up playing pond hockey and at rinks that also housed figure skating clubs. While Joel had those experiences as well, he clearly never developed the same nonchalance as everyone else. He complains in the dressing room after every practice until Kevin finally says something.

“Christ Beezer, relax. It’s only for another month or so until renovations at the other rink finish.”

Others chime in, telling him to not take it so seriously, with a couple of them defending the right of the other athletes to use the ice as they so please. The grief Joel catches is enough to shut him up, but he still stews privately over the fact figure skaters are destroying his happy place.

☼☼☼☼

You want nothing more than to return to your home rink. The Flyers Skate Zone has been nice, the staff are incredibly accommodating, but something feels off. You’re having a harder time landing jumps and skating clean programs. The change in routine is enough to knock you off your game, which is something you absolutely can’t have. You’re coming off a breakthrough season, finishing on the podium at nationals and landing a spot on your first world championships roster. People are expecting you to replicate your success and you want to do that and more.

US Figure Skating had taken a chance placing you on the national team for the current season. Though it was expected, they could have easily chosen the fourth place skater instead. She’s much younger than you, barely fifteen, and is yet to have a serious injury. At twenty you’re barely an adult, but this could be the last time you get an opportunity like this. The sport keeps getting younger and you’re going to get left behind if you don’t prove yourself. The grand prix circuit has been kind to you, allowing you to earn medals at some of the smaller competitions and hold your own against the big dogs in the majors like NHK Trophy.

☼☼☼☼

“Try the triple flip again,” Brenda, your coach, instructs. “You could be more solid on the landing.”

“It’s this fucking ice! I can do one at home that would get me a high GOE,” you complain.

She rolls her eyes and thinks about telling you off, but decides against it. No matter how many times she tells you it’s a mental block you need to get over, you find a way to blame the training facility. “Just give me five solid ones and we’ll call it quits.”

It’s your turn to roll your eyes, but you peel away from the boards anyways. Some juniors are mingling in a corner and you warn them to watch out as you skate by gaining speed. The first attempt feels natural, and though you could have been a little stronger on the exit it’s a significant improvement from what you were doing earlier in the session. Jumps two and three also go well, but things go wrong on the fourth try. You catch a bad edge just before takeoff and aren’t able to correct your center of gravity while in the air. Two and a half rotations happen before you slam into the ground. The entire right side of your body feels like it’s been run over by a bus.

“Fuck!” you scream in frustration as you pick yourself up off the ice. Circling back to examine just how bad the edge was you notice your pick created much too large a hole, something you’d get points deducted for in competition. Brenda signals you over to her, and you hang your head as you skate over.

“You’re done,” she sighs. You can tell it pains her to see your progress plateau, but you’re doing everything you can to get out of this rut. Before you can protest, try to convince her to let you stay on, she’s speaking again. “Our ice time is up anyways. Go cool down and meet me in the conference room when you’re done.”

There’s nothing for you to do but sulk off the ice. The other skaters clear out of your way, not wanting to be on the receiving end of your anger. You direct it at the dressing room door, kicking it open so harshly it flies back on the hinges. It makes you feel a bit better but you’re still in a sour mood as you untie your skates. It’s frustrating not being able to perform at the level you know you can, even in practice. If you could just get out of this rink and back into the one you’re most comfortable at.

After a much longer stretching routine than normal, you pack up your bag and head upstairs for what will no doubt be one of those meetings where you sit silently and take the heat. You realize that your behaviour today was childish, but you couldn’t help but let your emotions overcome you. The next group is well into their ice time when you pass by, and you realize it’s the Flyers. Most of them don’t acknowledge you and keep running drills, but one who looks about your age is sending you daggers. You have no idea why.

The meeting goes much better than you thought it would. Brenda takes your anger in stride and lets you apologize for your outburst before shifting the conversation to altering your training plan. She suggests you take a few days off from the rink, working strictly off-ice, and you begrudgingly agree. There isn’t anything you can do or say to change her mind so you take the updated workout plans with a fake smile. She also tells you that your appointment with your sports psychologist has been moved up a couple of days, which you’re grateful for. Things then move to talking strategy and watching tape of competitors to see what to expect at this year’s nationals. The event is just over a month out, and you have the goal of landing on the podium once again, hopefully with the gold medal dangling around your neck.

A couple of hours pass with you holed up in the conference room, and it’s dark when you gather your stuff and head for home. The complex is deserted and you assume no one but the staff are still here. It turns out someone else was there, and they follow you out, their own gear bag slung over their shoulder. You don’t really pay them any mind, holding the door open out of habit, and fail to recognize the person as the boy who glared while you walked by hours prior. He notices you, however, and makes a point to voice his distaste.

“Hey!” he calls out, “Next time you eat shit don’t put such a big hole in the ice. Other people need it too.”

“Get fucked,” you yell back. You really don’t have the time or energy to be accosted by a hockey player. He continues to talk, but you don’t hear it because you slam your car door shut and drive off into the darkness.

☼☼☼☼

Joel doesn’t feel like he was in the wrong until Claude suggests he apologize a few days later. In his mind, he has every right to be upset about you damaging the ice because it directly affected him. The hole you caused couldn’t be fully repaired, and he tripped at a really key moment during the scrimmage. His bad day was your fault.

“You can’t blame a tough practice on her man,” Claude says as the two of them skate a few warm-up laps. “She didn’t mean to fall. Hell, she didn’t want to do it.”

“I get it, or whatever, but it’s still her fault. We’re professional athletes G, we need to be at the top of our games.”

Claude swats Joel upside the head. “So is she! Did you know that she’s favoured to win both the national and world championships? And that things look good for her to be on the Olympic team next year?”

Joel didn’t know, and guilt twinges his stomach. The next time he runs into you at the rink he’s going to apologize.

☼☼☼☼

You spend your time away from the rink conditioning and regaining focus. The first couple of days are tough, but then you settle into a routine you believe will ultimately make you a better athlete and competitor. Your cardio and weights are upped, and you’re anxious to see how the increase improves your performance. At the suggestion of your psychologist you take a few more days off than originally planned, but it’s the best thing you could have done. You return to the rink ready to nail the final few weeks of training before nationals.

Any other coach would have detested you for taking a week off this close to a major competition, but not Brenda. She understands that you needed time to refocus and that you’ll work harder than anyone else in the time until you leave for Salt Lake City. Your first practice is fantastic – every element is clean when isolated and within your programs. The timing is off a bit during your free skate on the first run-through but your jitters settle quickly and the next one is spot on. It feels good to be back in control of things.

“I think you’re over that mental block kid,” Brenda laughs when you stop along the boards to get some water. “You’re skating better here than at home.”

You can’t help but agree. “You know, I don’t hate it here as much as I used to. Think we should move here permanently?” The comment earns you a slightly aggressive hair ruffling, but it’s worth it. You spend the last hour of ice time alone, running through both of your programs in a mock competition setting.

It’s nearly silent in the complex when Joel sneaks through the doors. The only thing he can hear is the faint sounds of your music from inside the pad. He had been worried that you were never going to reappear at the rink but learned you were just taking a break when he cornered your coach in the parking lot. The middle-aged lady had told him when you’d be returning and Joel immediately put it in his calendar so he wouldn’t forget. Now, as he stands against the glass watching you, he’s nervous. What if you don’t accept his apology?

Joel knew you were a good skater. Well, he was pretty sure you were. He spent the short three-day road trip to Florida watching as many videos of you competing on YouTube as he could find. Though he’s murky on the specifics of what makes a good figure skater, Joel knows you put heart and soul into every performance and that your elements are strong technically. Your scores reflect that. Regardless, Joel is blown away at how talented you are when he watches you skate in person.

You’re looser than in the videos he’s seen, probably because there isn’t any pressure, but you don’t give it any less than your all. The music drives you forward in a way Joel’s never seen before – you’re an extension of it, and it of you. As you round a corner to pick up speed he holds his breath. From watching footage of this program from earlier in the season, he knows you’re about to attempt your hardest element. The quadruple salchow is one of the hardest jumps female skaters are attempting at the moment, according to his research, and it’s been your most inconsistent element this season. You’re completing the jump before Joel realizes you’ve taken off the ground, but you don’t fall. He exhales and watches the rest of the program in awe.

When the music stops and you take in your surroundings, you notice the applause. Thinking it’s just from Brenda, you shrug it off, but when you turn around she isn’t clapping. It’s coming from someone else – the boy who was a douchebag the last day before your break. The chances are he’s here to make another stupid comment, but Brenda insists you should talk to him. You wave him over to a section near the benches that dosen’t have glass so you can hear him better.

“What do you want?” you ask bluntly, taking a sip of water.

Joel’s taken aback by your abrasiveness but recovers quickly. He deserves it. “I, uh, wanted to apologize for what I said last week. That wasn’t cool. I was having a bad day and took out on you, I’m sorry,” he rambles. “And you’re like really good.”

“It wasn’t fucking cool,” you agree, “But we’re fine. I had just been kicked off the ice when you caught me, so I’m sorry too. For snapping.” There’s nothing more for either of you to say, and Brenda is calling your name, so you skate away from him. Over your shoulder you call out, “Thanks for the compliment unnamed Flyers player!”

“It’s Joel!” he responds. “Joel Farabee.”

☼☼☼☼

A sort of truce befalls you and Joel. More of your ice time overlaps, but neither you acknowledge each other more than the occasional nod in each other’s direction. It doesn’t bother you in the slightest. Preparing for nationals is the only that matters currently, and trying to navigate a possible friendship would be too much of a distraction. Joel is a little put off you don’t try to extend pleasantries, but when it’s explained to him that you’re entering a period that is similar to the lead-up to playoffs he understands.

However, he finds himself making up excuses to stay at the rink to watch you practice. He blows off dinner with Kevin and drinks with Morgan when you have the slot after practice, and when you skate before him he’s at the rink hours early. His schoolboy crush becomes the topic of locker room gossip. Though Joel swears up and down that he just likes to watch you skate, none of the guys believe him. They don’t go as far as to embarrass him in your presence, but Travis certainly tries. What Joel doesn’t know is that you’re developing the same sort of fascination with him. You find yourself turning on every Flyers game you can fit into your schedule, watching him intently, and keeping an eye on his stats.

“That boy sure has a lot of interest in you,” Brenda muses one day while you’re talking strategy on how to increase the points total on your short program.

“I don’t know why,” you sigh. “So I was thinking, if I raise my arms during the triple lutz it should give me at least three more points.”

She looks at you like you’ve gained two extra heads. “Are you insane? You’ve never raised your arms during a triple.”

Your smile turns into a wicked smirk. “It can’t be that hard.”

It’s a lot harder than you thought it would be. Though you’ve added the extra step to jumps in the past, it’s been on single and doubles to rack up points and GOE scores. Jumping has never been your strong suit, and trying to navigate the change in your centre of gravity is difficult. You spend the rest of your ice time popping, under-rotating, or slamming into the ground. A couple of juniors snicker at your failed attempts, but when you remind them they’re stuck on a double loop they stop laughing. It was a little mean, and you remember how hard it was to prove yourself as a junior, but you can’t find it in you to care. There’s no need to laugh at someone trying to improve their skating.

Bruises start to form on your sides from falling the exact same way so many times, and you trace them lightly through the thin material of your compression top. They’re going to look nasty in a few hours if you don’t ice them soon. A knock on the door stops your actions, and you invite the person on the other side in. To your surprise it’s Joel, and he’s holding an ice pack.

“I thought you might need one of these,” he says, extending it to you.

You thank him and hiss slightly when the cold hits your skin. There’s a beat of awkward silence before Joel speaks again. “Can I ask why you’re trying to change that jump?”

“You noticed that?” you know it isn’t a response to his question, but you’re shocked.

Joel smiles and nods. You explain how changing the position of your arms increases the difficulty of the jump and therefore raises the amount of points it can receive. “So you’re doing it to get more points?”

“Pretty much. It’s a gamble this close to competition, but I’m confident it’ll work out.”

“You’re afraid your program won’t gain enough points to put you in a good position for the free skate,” he notes, “Or you wouldn’t be doing this.”

Once again, you’re floored by Joel’s understanding of your sport. “Maybe I am, maybe I’m not,” you say as confidently as you can. “But maybe I just want the challenge.” If Joel notices the shake in your voice and the worried look in your eye he doesn’t say anything.

You go through your cool-down routine but are surprised Joel doesn’t leave. In fact, he stays at the rink until you’re finished and follows you to the parking lot. His car is parked a few spots over from you, so you have to raise your voice a little to get him to hear you. “Hey Joel,” you call, “Do you not have practice?”

“Day off,” he yells back. He’s grinning like an idiot, which prompts you to ask him why. “That’s the first time you’ve said my name.” The smile on his face doesn’t go away, and you try to settle the butterflies in your stomach as you drive home.

☼☼☼☼

Something shifts between you and Joel after that day. It’s subtle, but you’re well on your way to becoming friends. Phone numbers are exchanged, with him insisting his contact name be ‘King Beezer’, and the two of you chat regularly outside of the rink. He still watches as many training sessions as he can, and you start making appearances at his practices. It’s far more awkward for you but you push through it if for no other reason than wanting to be a good sport. Once Joel’s teammates catch wind of your budding friendship, they’re pestering you to go to a game. You politely decline each time, explaining that your training schedule is rather rigid and you can’t change it so close to nationals. The competition is just over a week out, and you’re catching a flight to Utah in three days.

Joel doesn’t let you know he’s a little upset you won’t shift your schedule for him. Instead, he brings you lunch on days where you’re at the rink for eight hours and does his individual workouts alongside you. The two of you fall into the easy routine of enjoying each other’s company and everyone else is beginning to take notice.

“So,” you say with a mouth full of the pita Joel brought you, “What are your plans for the All-Star break?”

Joel has been toying with an idea for a few weeks now, but he’s keeping it a secret. “I’m just gonna spend it at home with my family,” he shrugs.

“You’re fucking joking. Joel, you could be someplace warm enjoying the beach!”

“I don’t want to go to the beach,” Joel retorts.

You open your mouth to argue with him, because you’re of the opinion that everyone should love the beach, but you’re cut off by Brenda calling you to return to the ice. “This conversation isn’t over Beezer,” you say sternly, poking him in the chest to prove your point. He rolls his eyes.

“I’ve gotta be at Wells Fargo in an hour for a team meeting, so I can’t watch this session,” he tells you. You’re a little deflated but understand he can’t play hookie from his job to watch you do yours. Brenda is banging a skate guard on the boards to get your attention, so you wave goodbye and jog over to her. “Y/N,” Joel yells loud enough that you’ll hear him over the chatter on the ice, “Keep your core tight!”

Your coaching team is perplexed at the comment because it’s second nature to you at this point, but you think it’s sweet. Some of the other girls poke fun at your ‘boyfriend’ and it makes you irritable. Brenda tells them off and suggests they get back to work which makes you feel better. You keep Joel’s advice in the back of your mind for the rest of your practice, and land every jump almost flawlessly.

The day before you board your flight you have a terrible practice. Brenda chalks it up to nerves, but you that’s not it. You feel good about the competition and are confident it will go well. Something is off – you just can’t put a finger on it. Frustration eventually boils over and practice is called early. Everyone stays out of your way, letting you cool off, and you huff out a goodbye after promising to meet Brenda at the airport in the morning. Before you’re even out the door you’ve got your phone pressed to your ear, waiting for Joel to pick up. The Flyers got to start their break a day early due to a scheduling conflict and you hope he doesn’t fly home tonight.

“What’s up?” Joel says casually. Judging by the background noise he’s playing video games, no doubt some dumb first-person shooter game he seems to play constantly. The sound of his voice is enough to send you into tears and you can’t get out a reply. His tone changes instantly and the noise stops – the game paused and forgotten about. “Hey,” he soothes, “What’s wrong?”

“Practice was bad,” you choke out, “Like really bad. Joel, I don’t think I can do this.” Now across the parking lot and at your car, you throw your bag in the trunk and crumble into the driver’s seat.

“Of course you can. Want me to bring dinner over and we can do whatever?” You agree, not wanting to be alone, and hang up only after insisting you’re okay to drive the twenty minutes to your apartment.

Joel must have drove well above the speed limit because he pulls into the parking lot at the same time as you. His engine is turned off jarringly fast, and he’s popping your trunk to grab your bag before your gears have settled in park. Though you put up some rather weak protests about carrying your own stuff, Joel ignores them. When you insist on holding something he tosses you the bag of food he brought with him. Opening it up, you realize Joel had stopped at your favourite sushi restaurant even though he doesn’t like the food. A smile creeps onto your face, possibly the first one all day, and you lean into Joel slightly when he wraps an arm around your shoulder.

The two of you eat in silence, but it’s far from awkward. Joel’s waiting for you to open up, knows you will eventually, and you’re trying to find the words. However, they’re yet to appear, so you let Joel lead you to the couch and put on an episode of some crime show he’s currently watching.

“Thanks for coming over,” you say as the credits roll on the second episode.

Joel sends a smile your way, which you do your best to reciprocate. “Don’t worry about it. This is what friends do.”

Slowly, you open up about practice, venting about how you skated sloppily and couldn’t nail any element no matter how simple it was. You tell him about how tense your muscles are and how scared you are that your fifteen minutes of fame are over, that you’ll never get another chance to represent America on the world stage. Joel listens attentively, letting you speak for as long as you need. At some point you start crying again and he tucks you into his side. Your tears soak through his sweatshirt but he could care less. When you’ve laid all your emotions out on the table he speaks gently, dispelling your doubts and letting you know that you can do it and he believes in you. Joel’s words make it easier to believe in yourself.

The two of you spend the night on the couch, and you’re disheartened when your alarm goes off. You can’t stay in the little bubble Joel created for the two of you – the world and its responsibilities taking precedence over your fantasy. He drives you to the airport, rationalizing it by telling you it’ll be safer to keep your car at home. Realistically there isn’t a difference, but you thank him anyways. Parking is just one last thing you have to worry about. When you reach the airport entrance, Joel pulls into the idling lane and steps out of the car. You follow him, dragging your feet a bit because though you’re excited for nationals you don’t want to leave Joel. This will be the longest time the two of you have been apart since becoming friends.

“Make sure you don’t forget about me when you win and get all famous,” Joel jokes, handing you your suitcase.

You swat his shoulder playfully. “Like you’d let that happen.”

“Of course I wouldn’t. Come here.”

He takes you in his arms. You’ve hugged Joel a couple of times before, but they didn’t feel as serious as this. This time he’s holding you for a purpose and you’re gripping the back of his jacket tightly because you want him to let go. It’s longer than people who are just friends are meant to hug for, so you begrudgingly pull away. Besides, Brenda and some of your teammates are waiting.

“Have a good time at home,” you mumble.

Joel wraps a single arm around you for one more squeeze. “You have a good time,” he says seriously. “Remember to enjoy the moment. I’ll be watching on T.V.”

With your goodbyes said you wander into the airport. Joel says parked in his spot until he sees you embrace Brenda before driving off. The boarding process is painless, and once on the plane you take your seat beside a junior and put your headphones on. Downloaded to your Spotify is one of Joel’s hip-hop playlists, and though it’s the farthest thing from the music you enjoy you listen to it the whole flight.

☼☼☼☼

Utah’s nice, but you can’t help feeling like something’s missing – Joel’s missing. You’ve become so accustomed to him watching you train, clapping like an idiot every time you land a jump, that the silence is unnerving. Everyone notices the shift in your performance, and eventually Brenda crumbles and uses your phone to facetime him while you practice. It’s a decent enough substitute – Joel watches your pixelated figure zip around the ice and though he doesn’t always make comments, just know he’s with you in some capacity is enough to let your mind focus on the task at hand. You do the best you can at pushing away the butterflies that appear every time you think about how he’s giving up his freedom to make sure you succeed.

When you aren’t training or doing press you’re talking to Joel. You call him constantly, narrating what you see on walks around town to settle your nerves and eating at the same time to make it feel like you’re together. The only person to support you in Salt Lake City is Brenda, so talking to Joel frequently makes you feel far less alone. You wish he could be here with you, but understand he needs time to recharge and can’t just follow you around the country no matter how much you’d like him to.

“What time do you skate tomorrow?” Joel asks, mouth full of the pizza he’s enjoying. The features behind are different, so you assume he’s settled into his childhood home.

“Um, I think 11:35? I’m not entirely sure,” you respond. Due to the way the event is seeded you’re skating second last, which both settles your nerves and makes you more anxious. There isn’t the pressure of closing out the event, but there’s hope that you’ll score high enough to win the short program and skate last in the free skate.

Joel hums pensively. “I’ll check the website.” Conversation shifts away from skating, which you’re grateful for. It’s the last thing you currently want to think about. You listen with interest as Joel recounts stories of the pond hockey matches he’s played since getting home. The two of you are on the phone until nearly ten, when you have to say goodnight and head to bed. Tomorrow marks the start of the biggest week of your year.

You follow your pre-competition routine to the letter. At other events this season you’ve been more relaxed, but your professional skating career depends on your performance at nationals so you aren’t taking chances. Five-thirty comes faster than you thought it would, but you’re out of bed and eating your first breakfast quickly. A quick two mile run follows, and then you’re having a shower and grabbing a second breakfast to eat at the rink. You meet Brenda in the hotel lobby before ubering to the rink. A solid practice follows, and you manage to keep your imposter syndrome on a leash in the presence of the other skaters.

“It’s Joel,” Brenda says as she tosses you your phone.

“Hey,” you say, squeezing the device between your ear and shoulder. “I don’t have much time to talk. My warm up call is soon.”

Joel laughs and you find yourself cracking a smile at the sound. “I know. Just wanted to check in and see how you’re feeling.”

“Honestly? I can’t remember the last time I was this nervous for a competition.”

His response is cut off by a loud noise. “Where are you?” you ask.

“Just at home,” he says quickly. “My sister has some friends over and they’re being loud.”

The line is compelling enough that you don’t question how hastily it was delivered. Joel stays on the phone until you have to go, keeping your mind off the jittery feeling in your stomach. The TV cameras catch you talking but you give them a cheery wave and continue telling Joel about how good the soap at your hotel smells. You hang up when they call your flight to take to the ice for warmup and give your phone back to Brenda for safe keeping.

☼☼☼☼

Joel tries hard not to feel too out of place while he takes his seat. For someone who practically lives in arenas he feels like it’s his first time within fifty yards of one. Everyone around him is dressed nicely, and he’s acutely aware of the fact there is a neon orange pom-pom attached to the top of his hat.

As much as he feels like a baby deer trying to stand, Joel’s beyond excited to be here. It’s been a while since he’s gone somewhere that wasn’t hockey related and getting to support you while he does it is the best scenario ever. There are some potential looks of recognition from those around him, but thankfully no one approaches.

Skaters begin to take the ice and he scans vigilantly for you. You’re doing the best you can to stay warm, jacket zipped all the way up and gloves on your hands. Joel notices you seem to be the loosest of the girls below him but isn’t sure if that’s a good thing. You skate a few quick laps before warming up some jumps. Everything goes well, though he can tell you under-rotated a few of them and didn’t attempt the one quad in your program. The warm up is over as quickly as it began and you’re herded off the ice. Joel sinks a little further in his seat as gets ready to watch your competitors.

☼☼☼☼

There’s just over five minutes until you take to the ice. You keep your body moving, walking up and down the corridor, and blast your pre-competition playlist so loud you’ll probably have hearing damage when you’re older. Only one other girl in the hall with you but it feels too small. Brenda comes to grab you and the pair of you walk to the side of the boards. You don’t watch who’s currently skating, choosing instead to focus on adjusting your feet slightly in your skates.

“Go out there and put on a show,” Brenda says. “Fuck the judges.”

You laugh at her remark. “Okay Bren, when I lose points for flipping them off I’m blaming you.”

“Fine by me. I have a bone to pick with Mark Johnson anyways.”

The scores for the previous girl are being announced, so you peel your jacket from your frame and do a couple more laps. Right before your name is announced you press your forehead to Brenda’s. It’s a ritual you started back when you were barely as tall as the boards and you’ve done it every single competition since. You feel grounded looking in her eyes, and you break with a fist bump. It’s go time.

Every inch of your skin feels like it’s on fire. You didn’t come to play, and leave everything on the ice. The skate isn’t completely clean, you stumbled on the landing of a triple axel, but you’re happy with it. Despite your fears, both the triple lutz and quad salchow go smoothly. Audience engagement was at an all time high and you finished to deafening applause. Brenda wraps you in a tight hug when you step off the ice before leading you over to the kiss and cry. You chat idly with her and your choreographer, trying to catch your breath, while you wait for your score.

The announcer’s booming voice crackles over the PA as he reads the judges’ decision. “The scores for Y/N Y/L/N please.” You don’t pay attention to the individual numbers, just the final total. “For a total score of 74.83.”

It’s lower than you had hoped for. Not by much, just two or three points, but it could mean all the difference in tomorrow’s skate. Brenda pats your leg sympathetically and whispers in your, “It’s alright. You skated well.”

You head back to the dressing room to watch the final skater on the small T.V in the corner while you get undressed. She’s phenomenal, and you end the day falling to third place. Joel’s hip-hop playlist blasts through your headphones as you do your cool down routine. The average tempo is upbeat and helps to take your mind off the fact you’re not where you want to be. Just as you’re about to exit the room and find Brenda to talk strategy there’s a knock on the door.

“Yeah?” you say dejectedly, the word coming out as more of a sigh than you had intended.

The door is cracked open, and the head of your best friend peaks out from around it. “Hey there rockstar,” Joel says softly, stepping further into the room. Once you comprehend that he’s really here you’re sprinting in his direction, jumping into his embrace. Joel’s laugh reverberates in his chest, and you feel it as you settle further into him.

“Why are you here?” you whisper. Though you’re elated Joel is here, you’re confused as to why he would want to spend his break in Utah.

He lets you down gently and shrugs. “I had to see if you’d land the quad.” Joel’s smile matches yours as you shake your head.

“You’re fucking insane,” you quip, but there’s no malice in your voice.

Before you can pester Joel into answering all your questions you’re whisked away to a press conference. Talking to the media is something you don’t particularly enjoy, and it’s even more difficult to stay present when you know you could be spending time with your best friend. Most of the questions are directed towards the girls who placed higher than you which you’re thankful for. It’s easier for you to zone out, and you root through your mind of places around the city to take Joel.

“Y/N, how tough will it be for you to better your scores in tomorrow’s free skate?”

The question is one that you expected, luckily, and you’re able to recite the response you worked out with Brenda without really engaging with the reporter. “I mean I obviously didn’t aim to be in third place heading into tomorrow,” you joke, “But I’m fairly happy with where I ended up. The other girls had fantastic skates and deserve to be above me. My plan for tomorrow is to leave everything on the ice, skate cleanly, and be proud of myself regardless of what happens.”

Pens scribble furiously by those that don’t have recording devices to get your words down on paper. There’s some chatter, questions for the other girls, before a young reporter fresh out of journalism school is allowed to speak. He identifies himself as Theo Rateliff before jumping in. “Y/N,” he says, “How excited are you to get back to training on home ice when you get back to Jersey?”

“Um, I didn’t know the renovations were finished,” you stammer. “As far as I know, I’ll be at Flyers SkateZone until the end of the season.”

Theo shakes his head. “My partner was informed this morning that the rink will be good to go by the time you get back.”

You turn to the side to look at Brenda, who just shrugs. “Well, to be quite honest I’ll miss being in Voorhees. I had fun skating there and feel like the rink prepared me well for this competition.”

“Obviously not well enough,” Theo retorts, not missing a beat. “Your odds of winning dropped by seventy-seven percent.”

“Thank you for the reminder Theo,” you snap. “Are we done here?”

The press-coordinator shakes their head in confirmation, and you rip the microphone off your jacket before stomping off. People clear a path for you, not wanting to get caught in your storm. You run right to Joel who lets you direct him out of the arena and into the uber he called while you were wrapping up.

It’s a silent ride, Joel knowing you aren’t in the mood for light conversation. He lets you take a ridiculously long shower and orders take out that arrives just as you step out of the bathroom.

“Where are you staying?” you ask as you detangle your hair.

“Nowhere yet,” Joel says, “I got in early this morning and went straight to the rink.”

You think carefully about your next words before you speak. Your competition routines can be excessive and annoying, and you don’t want to inconvenience him. “You could just stay here. The room is massive and there’s more than enough space for both of us in the bed.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” you say, voice taking a soft lilt. “I’d really like it if you stayed.”

Joel smiles wider than you’ve ever seen him do before. The two of you sit comfortably in bed, eating the burritos Joel got and going down a conspiracy theory youtube wormhole. He asks how you feel about him coming to watch your evening training session you have to leave for in twenty minutes. You tell him you’d be angry if he didn’t stand beside your coach and clap every time you landed a jump.

It’s chilly but the sun is shining bright so you decide to bundle up and walk to the rink. Joel pokes fun at you beanie and you swat him in the chest, shutting him up for the time being after his giggles subside. The view is gorgeous, mountains framing the setting sun. You squeeze Joel’s bicep to get his attention and relish the feeling of his muscle in your grip.

“Look! An owl!”

Sure enough, a barn owl is flying over top of you, in the middle of downtown Salt Lake City. “That’s my good luck charm. Means I’ll skate well tomorrow.”

Joel pokes your cheek lightly. “I thought I was your good luck charm,” he gasps.

You roll your eyes. “I guess you can be my secondary one.” Joel doesn’t seem to mind the fact your arms are still wrapped around his, so you stay that way until for the rest of the journey.

☼☼☼☼

The night goes according to plan. You skate well in practice and feel comfortable for tomorrow’s event. Joel executes his role perfectly, cheering when you do things well and squirting water at you to make you squeal in laughter when things get a little too serious. Once back at the hotel you collapse into bed almost immediately. You’re so exhausted you can’t even be bothered to climb under the covers, and wait until Joel pulls them back for himself to crawl in. There’s no awkwardness at sharing a bed with Joel, and you sigh contently as he pulls you into his side. Sleep comes easily then for the both of you.

You wake before both your alarm and Joel. It takes you a second to get your bearing and realize you’re pinned against his body, though you don’t mind. There’s worse places to be stuck. You lay curled into Joel for as long as you can, but eventually you have to shake him awake.

“Beezer,” you whisper, ruffling his hair, “You’ve gotta let me out.”

He groans something unintelligible but instead of heeding your words pulls you closer. “Joel come on,” you try again, “I’ve really gotta get up. Need to shower before I get to the rink.”

Joel listens this time, but only lets you go after squeezing you tight for a second. You go about your routine with him still passed out in bed and giggle at the way his hair curls around his ears when you pass by. As you’re leaving to get to your practice ice slot Joel wakes up, lumbering into the bathroom. He reappears a minute or two later to say goodbye.

“Will I see you after practice?” he asks, voice still gruff with sleep.

“Probably not,” you reply, leaning down to tie your shoes. “I won’t be coming back here until after everything is done.”

Joel nods and wraps you in a warm hug. “You’re going to do great,” he says as he pulls away. “I’ll be there, cheering so fucking loud.”

“I expect you to throw a teddy bear on the ice after I finish.”

The walk to the arena is lonely without Joel, but you push the thought out of your mind. You need to stay focused on putting on the skate of your life in a few hours and not on how lately you’ve been having more-than-friendly thoughts about your best friend. Brenda is there when you arrive, making conversation about what you did last night with Joel before explaining how you’re going to run your practice.

Your hour of semi-private ice passes in the blink of an eye. The other girls in your flight are just as tense as you, popping jumps and doing a lot of stroking to loosen up. A lot is riding on today’s event and you’d be lying if you weren’t feeling the pressure. When you get back to the dressing room and check your phone, you notice there’s a text from Joel.

Don’t want to disrupt your pre-comp routine, but I thought I’d share a playlist. It’s songs that remind me of you.

Included is a link to a spotify playlist entitled ‘my golden girl’. You open it with a smile, noticing that it starts with some of your favourite songs even though they aren’t the kind of thing Joel regularly listens to before turning into things you’ve never heard before.

Thanks <3, you respond, going to listen to it during my off-ice.

That’s exactly what you do. It filters through your headphones for hours as you stretch, do a quick interview for those watching on television, and get dressed. Though it’s a break from your typical routine, it’s welcome. Knowing Joel thought about you enough to make you a playlist and send it to you helps calm your nerves.

“Hey kiddo,” Brenda says as she walks to where you’ve taken up root on the floor. Your left hamstring is tight, and you’re trying desperately to fix it before you have to go on the ice. “Go out there and absolutely kill it. This is your best program, and I haven’t seen anyone skate better than what you can do today.”

“Gee thanks for the confidence booster Bren,” you chuckle before hoisting yourself onto the bench to tie your skates.

She doesn’t laugh. “I mean it Y/N. You can still win this thing.”

You’re left alone to finish getting ready and then join the other girls in the tunnel. No one talks, which you’re grateful for. When you were younger and coming up through the ranks the other competitors liked to gossip while they waited and it was your least favourite part of an entire competition. A camera man waits at the end of the walkway, filming your arrival to the ice pad, and you wave cheerily as you pass by. It can never hurt to endear yourself to those watching at home – maybe they’ll be nicer to you on the internet.

Joel is standing at the edge of the boards during your warmup, watching and cheering intently. In a moment of insane confidence you blow him a kiss as you skate past, and giggle hysterically when he catches it and holds it close to his chest. You’re called off the ice then and spend the time really getting into the zone.

It’s considered bad luck to watch the performances before your own, so you face the wall as you do jog lightly to keep your body temperature up and the adrenaline flowing. Much sooner than you’d like it’s your turn to take your guards and jacket off. Brenda holds your skating hands as she whispers last minute words of encouragement, and you stumble through the traditional handshake before presenting yourself to the crowd.

Once the music starts your brain checks out and instinct takes over. You learned when you were younger that your best skates happened when you just allowed yourself to feel, and you desperately need the skate of a lifetime. Going into the first jumping pass you can feel yourself tense up so you think about Joel’s smile while you guys sat by the lake last night. It works to loosen you up, and you spend the rest of the program thinking of your favourite moments with Joel. As you strike your final pose the music fades out and the roars of applause cascade in. You know you had a flawless performance, beaming as you fist pump the air in the same manner you chirp Joel for doing while he celebrates goals.

You bow to the crowd in all directions, waving and laughing as flowers and teddy bears fall onto the ice in front of you. An orange blob of fur catches your eye, and you skate to pick it up before one of the volunteers could put it in the bag that will join your garment bag in the dressing room. You know Joel is the one who threw the Gritty toy – no one else really knows of your affiliations with the team. As you sit in the kiss and cry awaiting your results, you examine the stuffed animal. Instead of the regular Gritty jersey Joel replaced it with his own, the number flashing vividly at you and pulling a smile from your nervous features.

Brenda keeps her hand clasped tightly in yours as the PA system crackles to life. “And the scores for Y/N Y/L/N are,” the announcer begins, and your knee begins bouncing rapidly. “The free skate score is 155.79, for a total score of 230.62.”

You jump up in amazement. Despite your slow start to the competition you managed to get a season’s best. You’re also five points ahead of the second place skater, guaranteeing you a place on the podium and depending on the final results, a spot at worlds. A volunteer ushers you out of the kiss and cry and you skip all the way down the tunnel. To get out some of the adrenaline you jog the corridor a few times before returning to Brenda.

“Come on,” she laughs, “Joel’s waiting at the edge of the public area. We can watch the final skate together.”

At the mention of Joel you’re jogging again, wanting to see him as fast as possible. “Beezer!” you shriek as you approach, launching into the elaborate handshake the two of you have perfected at this point.

“Hey golden girl,” he chuckles, returning your actions with just as much enthusiasm. “You looked fucking great out there. I see you got my gift.”

The Gritty doll is still in your hands but there’s no shame. Instead, you tuck it under your arm and rest your head against Joel’s shoulder to watch the final skater. The girl after you had fallen a number of times, dropping her total significantly and landing her in fifth place. Victory is so close you can almost taste it.

It’s the longest six minutes of your life. Watching her skate increases your anxiety – she’s good, has almost as great a skate as you, but she under-rotated a jump and rushed through her program so there was extra music at the end. The clock above your head rings throughout the silent corridor as everyone awaits the scores with baited breath. In under a minute you’ll know whether you’re returning to New Jersey with a gold or silver medal in your suitcase.

You don’t hear anything as they announce her score – just see the numbers flash of the small T.V screen and calculate that it’s not enough for her to beat you. After years of blood, sweat, and an immeasurable amount of tears you’ve crossed another goal off your list. Those around you are jumping and screaming, Brenda letting a few tears escape. All you can think about is Joel, who’s celebrating like he just scored the game winning goal in the Stanley Cup finals, and how much you love him.

Without thinking, you smash your lips against Joel’s. It’s adrenaline filled and mostly teeth until he wraps one hand around your waist and the places the other along your jaw. Then it becomes purposeful, both of you moving in tandem and never wanting it to stop. When Joel pulls away and rests his forehead against yours you can’t stop smiling. The kiss might have happened in the heat of the moment, but you know it’s the culmination of feelings building inside of you for months.

“You’re a national champion,” Joel says, pulling you flush against his chest in the biggest hug you’ve ever received.

“I’m your national champion,” you whisper.

He pulls back and grins, kissing you again. “You’re my national champion. My golden girl.”

The rest of your stay in Salt Lake City is a blur. You’re swept up in the numerous press events, galas, and enjoying your blossoming relationship with Joel. When you finally got back to the hotel after what seemed like hours of people complimenting your comeback, the two of you sat down and talked about the kiss and what you wanted to happen next. It was scary, being so vulnerable, but it needed to happen – you’re both adults and communication is important. So, you’re returning home with a gold medal and boyfriend, two things you’re ecstatic about.

☼☼☼☼

“J, it’s not straight,” you giggle. Joel’s trying, and failing miserably, to hang the shadow box with your nationals medal in it above your couch. It’s been almost a month since you returned home but you’ve been so busy that decorating the apartment you barely spend time in has been at the bottom of your to-do list.

He grunts out a response. “Fuck. Do I have to go left or right?”

“Left.” The picture shifts in the opposite direction. “The other left Joel!”

A few minutes later the decoration is sitting perfectly in place. Your child of a boyfriend insists on getting rewarded for his achievement, so the two of you bundle up and get dinner. It’s nothing fancy – just sandwiches from the deli down the street from your apartment, but spending time with him is nice. Joel’s been on a string of short road trips and you’ve been training anxiously, waiting for the organization to announce who they’re sending to the world championship.

“How’s practice been lately?” Joel asks, mouth full with a bite of his BLT. “I miss being able to watch you skate whenever I want.”

After returning from Utah you were shuttled immediately into the freshly renovated rink of your skating club. It’s a little farther into Jersey and certainly not as convenient for him to get to, especially now that the NHL season is picking up and the Flyers are clinging desperately to the final playoff spot. “It’s been interesting,” you shrug, “I’m skating well, and physically I feel great. There’s a mental block or something though because everything feels a little bit off.”

The smile that graces Joel’s face can only be described as shit-eating. “Duh, I’m not there.”

“Fuck off.” Though you try to make the words come out in a serious tone, there’s no malice in them.

Conversation flips to some ridiculous story Travis told at practice that morning, and you giggle as Joel recounts it with failing arms. You tell a few stories of your own, that leave him in stitches, and as you walk home hand in hand he asks you again to come to a game. With your schedule a little more flexible as you wait for a decision about the upcoming competition stint it will be much easier to see Joel play. You say yes with a shy smile and don’t miss the way the boy beside you blushes under the streetlights.

Joel stays over, and the next two nights after that. It’s nice, falling into a relationship with your best friend, because there’s no awkwardness. You know what kind of cereal to keep in your pantry and he knows you don’t eat meat on Mondays. Everything is easy. There are a fews in the road, as can be expected with any budding relationship, but for the most part your lives fit seamlessly together.

After some meticulous planning, you found a home game on the Flyers schedule that will coincide with yours. It’s a Friday night near the end of February, and it’s actually the last day US Figure Skating can announce their assignments for worlds. You figure watching your boyfriend is the perfect way to distract yourself from the decision, whether or not you make the team. Joel’s ecstatic about your attendance, wanting you to be immersed in as many aspects of his life as possible. The entire day he’s bouncing around your apartment, beyond ready for puck drop.

“It’s literally three in the afternoon,” you grumble as Joel corrals you into the hall to put your shoes on. “You never leave this early! Why do we have to do it today?” In an attempt to save gas and lower your carbon footprint you’re carpooling with Joel.

“Because being in this house is making you more anxious,” he points out. “I’ve caught you staring into the distance one too many times today. Besides, this way you can meet up with some of the other girls and relax before the game.”

Joel’s right, as he so often is. Your agent hasn’t called to let you know if you made the team or not, nor has US Figure Skating made an announcement on social media. So you’ve spent the entire day pacing back and forth around your living room and fretting that perhaps the best performance of your season wasn’t good enough. He twirls his car keys around his index finger in an attempt to speed you along and you roll your eyes at his impatience.

After ensuring your home is safely secured you hit the road. The drive into Philadelphia is easy, with little traffic, and you spend it laughing at Joel’s ridiculous freestyle raps. It doesn’t surprise you that the staff lot at the Wells Fargo Centre is sparsely populated – most of the guys don’t show up until around five, Joel included. However, a group of women are standing near the entrance. While this isn’t the first time you’ve met significant others of your boyfriend’s teammates, it’s the first time Joel won’t be around.

“It’ll be alright,” he whispers as the car settles into park. You offer a small smile that mustn't have been convincing because Joel lifts the hand that’s intertwined with his to his lips, pressing a delicate kiss to the knuckles. The smile becomes genuine and you tease him the entire walk to the door.

Joel greets the other girls before setting his bag down on the concrete and wrapping you in a hug. “Have fun,” you say softly against his lips, landing a short kiss. He winks and opens the door, disappearing inside and leaving you in a fit of giggles.

There was no reason for you to be nervous – everyone is incredibly kind. You seem to be the youngest in the group, but the other girls pay no mind and treat you as one of their own. There’s a small amount of confusion when your phone chimes with a notification, a few glances of possible distaste, but as soon you explain you’re waiting on a very important call they understand. Dinner is wonderful, filled with sincere questions about your skating career and how you got together with Joel. By the time you get back to the arena for the game it feels as though you’ve been a part of the group for years.

You spend the game in the family and friends box, sipping a glass of wine and following Joel around the ice. Practice is early in the morning and you want to be productive, so you’re relaxed in your alcohol consumption compared to some of the others. One of the older girls, though you can’t remember what player is her significant other, recently got engaged and is celebrating with as many drinks as those around her will allow. It’s fun to experience a hockey game in this way, but you’re a little on edge. You haven’t anything about worlds assignments all day and the organization doesn’t typically leave the announcement to this late in the evening. There’s seven minutes left in the game when your phone rings. You quickly excuse yourself from the group and step into the hall.

“Hello?”

“Y/N,” the chipper voice of your agent Megan says, “How are you?”

A nervous laughter tumbles from your lips. “I think that depends on what you’re about to tell me.”

“I imagined you’d say something along those lines,” she responds. “You’ve always been quite witty.” Before you ask her to just get to the point of the phone call, Megan speaks. “I have some good news and some bad news for you. You’re going to the World Championships, but you aren’t leading the team like we hoped.”

It’s not as bad as she made it sound. A breath you didn’t know you were holding escapes, and you try your best to remain professional in the hallway of the arena. “Honestly,” you sigh, “I think that’s better. There’s going to be a lot less pressure for me to bring home three Olympic spots. Thanks for letting me know Meg.” She hangs up then, no doubt having to tell another girl she didn’t make the cut.

When you slip back through the door, you find all eyes on you. “What was that about?”

“I made the roster for worlds.”

Earth-shattering applause erupts from everyone in the room, and no one pays attention to what happens on the ice for the remainder of the game. The congratulations continue until you’re waiting outside the dressing room for Joel to exit. He had a good game, featuring two assists and a blocked shot, and smiles lazily when he sees you leaning against the brick wall.

“This is something I could get used to,” he chuckles, pulling you into him by the belt loops of your jeans. The two of you kiss for a moment, letting it stay chaste in fear of getting chirped by teammates.

“Well,” you sigh dramatically, drawing out the suspense of what you’re about to say, “You’re going to have to wait a bit longer for it to become a regular occurrence. My training schedule just increased exponentially.”

Joel sits on your words for a moment before it registers. “No fucking way!” he shouts, picking you up by the waist as the two you are a pairs team. “You got the spot?”

Having Joel be so excited about the accomplishment makes it seem that much more real. Tears well in your eyes and you shake your head up and down to signal he’s correct. Joel presses his lips to yours once again, this time not caring about any insults his friends could throw at him. The kiss makes you feel loved, fully and completely, and you hope you’re conveying the same amount of emotion he is.

“That’s my girl.”

☼☼☼☼

“Oh my fucking god,” you grumble, picking yourself off the ice for what feels like the hundredth time in the past five minutes. There’s two weeks until you leave for Milan and it looks like you’ve never skated before. Jumps are being under-rotated, spins aren’t being entered properly, and your footwork sequence is abysmal. Nothing about the way you’re performing would let a newcomer know you’re a world class athlete.

Brenda gives you a sympathetic smile. “Just try again kiddo.”

You do try again – fifteen more times to be exact. Each attempt at a triple axel getting farther and farther from what it should be. Before you get even more frustrated you abandon the element altogether, hoping to avoid a complete meltdown. No one questions it when you shift disciplines completely and move about the ice completing a simple foxtrot pattern. Ice dance has always been a great de-stresser for you, and after a few passes you feel your heart rate return to normal. At some point during your break Joel had entered the rink and is now standing beside your coach, making pleasant conversation. You smile as you skate towards them, ecstatic that the two most important parts of your life blend seamlessly.

“Farabee!” you shout when you get close enough for him to hear you. At the sound of your voice Joel smiles, turning to pick up your water bottle and toss it in your direction.

“I’m wounded babe,” he feigns pain as you take a drink, “I really thought that we were on at least a first name basis.”

You roll your eyes at his dramatics and playfully squirt water at him. “I’ll call you whatever I want. What brings you this far into Jersey?”

“Thought I’d see if you wanted to grab lunch after you were done. We’ve got a late practice today,” he explains. “Whatever you want, eh? Does that mean I say whatever I want? Because I think you’re looking particularly good in those leggings.tum” You don’t miss the suggestive tone to his voice, but choose to ignore it.

Joel watches the rest of your practice from his spot at the boards and lays himself across the dressing room bench as you complete a quick cool down routine. You have a meeting with your massage therapist in the afternoon, so you follow Joel to the restaurant he chose. It’s a small vegan place that you sometimes stop at on your way home from the rink. They have the best burrito bowls you’ve ever tasted and since you’ve gotten together Joel has become rather fond of them as well.

The two of you sit outside on the curb. New Jersey is uncharacteristically warm for March and you want to enjoy the sunshine as much as possible. The rest of the day will be spent in dark rooms receiving physical therapy and trying to ease your tired muscles. There isn’t much conversation, but you’re more than content just to be with Joel. Life moves incredibly fast and your schedules don’t always line up nicely. It’s difficult to spend time with him, especially when you’re weeks out from a major competition, but small moments like this keep you from missing your boyfriend too much.

“Have I asked you to take me to the airport yet? I can’t remember,” you admit as you finish the last bite of your meal.

Joel laughs at your lapse in memory, knowing he gets the same way when high stakes games roll around. “No, but you would like me to?”

“Do you mind?” you ask, “That way I don’t have to leave my car at the airport for a week and a half. But if you can't, don't worry about it, I’ll grab an uber.”

“Babe, the uber will be like fifty bucks. I’ll take you. What time do you have to be there?”

You give him a much too detailed itinerary of your departure plans and listen to him talk about the drills they’re going to run at practice. Time passes much quicker than you would have liked, and soon you’re kissing him goodbye and watching him wave from your rearview mirror.

It’s almost a week later when you see Joel again, showing up at a Flyers practice for the first time since training moved back to your home rink. You’ve been instructed to have a rest day, the team wanting to push you too hard before taking off. The arena attendants know you well at this point, and chat with you as you sit on a bench away from the media. You know better than you alert them of your presence – some of them no doubt wanting a comment from you about worlds. Joel has no idea you’re even there until long after practice, when he sees you leaning casually against the driver’s side door of your car, conveniently parked next to his.

“Hey all-star,” you say as casually as possible, twirling your keys around your index finger.

He leans down to kiss you sweetly, and though you probably shouldn’t in a parking lot, you push your body closer to his in an attempt to deepen the kiss. Joel obliges you, tongue gently slipping into your mouth, staying there until you both hear the shouts of his teammates.

“Fuck off,” he yells at Kevin, who’s hollering so loud people can probably hear him all the way back in Philadelphia. “What are you doing here?”

“I have a day off,” you smile, and I thought I’d come see if I could hitch a ride to your place.” You had originally planned to attend the game in person, but a rough day of training yesterday had you too sore to do much other than lie on the couch.

“The chariot awaits m’lady,” he says in a terrible British accent, bowing for good measure as he opens the door. Your car will be fine in the parking lot overnight, so you slip in and enjoy the journey into the city.

Joel’s pre-game routine changes only slightly with you in his apartment – instead of napping alone, you curl into his chest and snore softly, lulling him into one of the most peaceful sleeps he’s ever had. You tie his tie for him and riffle his hair before kissing him good luck. Being alone in Joel’s apartment isn’t as strange as you thought it would be, and you familiarize yourself with his kitchen while you make dinner. The pre-game show plays quietly in the background, and when they mention how well Joel is playing you can’t help but smile.

It’s much more comfortable to watch the game in your boyfriend’s hoodie and pyjama pants on the couch than it would be to sit in the stiff arena seats. Time passes at a pretty leisurely pace, with nothing too exciting going on within the game, and sometime in the third period you fall asleep. The rest of the game and all the media appearances pass you by. Joel figures you must be sleeping when he doesn’t get a congratulatory text when Claude pulls off a buzzer beater to win. His suspensions are confirmed when he slips through his front door to see you drooling slightly on the throw pillow his mom bought him as a housewarming gift.

You don’t remember climbing into bed, but you wake up with Joel’s socked feet pressed against your calves. He stirs behind you and mummers something unintelligible.

“What was that sleepyhead?” you giggle, turning around to run a hand through his hair. It’s rather unruly at the moment and you find it adorable.

“Good morning,” he repeats.

“That’s what that was?”

“Leave me alone.”

The two of you lay in bed for a few more minutes before starting the day. You navigate around Joel flawlessly – like you’re there every morning. Breakfast is quick and you’re out the door before you have a chance to cherish the domesticity of it all. You have a pretty intense day of training and Joel has to be at the airport in two hours for a trip to Toronto. He drops you off in Voorhees, kissing you gently before making his way back into the city. You hate to see him go, wishing you could spend more time together before you head to worlds, but you know you’re both adults with real-world responsibilities.

For the first time in the final push you have a practice that is up to standard. Things click into place and you feel good. Really good. Each time you skate a program it’s clean, and the elements don’t feel weak when completed individually. Maybe you’ll actually be able to pull this off.

☼☼☼☼

Italy is beautiful, but you don’t get much time to enjoy it. A scheduling mishap has team USA leaving two days later than you were supposed to and now you’re all scrambling to find a groove. Every moment is being spent preparing for the competition – off ice training, multiple practices a day, press conferences. When you get a moment to spare you call Joel, but oftentimes he’s at practice or fulfilling other obligations. The time difference is brutal and souring your mood. You feel alone, and just wish Joel could be by your side like he was at nationals.

As soon as you step on the ice something feels wrong. You run through a mental checklist and assure that nothing is – your skates feel they way they should and you didn’t forget any gear. It must be nerves. The competition officially starts tomorrow and you’re eager to cheer on the pairs teams America has brought. You do your best to skate it out, and by the time you’re allowed to have the ice to yourself you can almost convince yourself everything will be fine.

The music starts and you snap into character. Your short program music is punchy and so are you – all sass and sharp angles as you navigate the opening step sequence. A lump forms in your throat as you set up the first first jumping pass, but you push it down. You’ve done a thousand triple lutz-triple toe-loop combinations and could execute it flawlessly in your sleep.

Everything happens so fast. One second you’re rotating through the air and the next you’re sprawled across the ice. Nothing feels off until you try to pick yourself up. When you can’t move your left leg you look to see what the issue is and find your kneecap where it most certainly should not be. It’s rotated nearly one hundred and eighty degrees, now residing in the back instead of the front.

“Help me!” you scream, mostly out of shock. There’s no pain which surprises you, but you know it definitely should hurt. Everyone around the ice surface is frozen in place, not knowing what happened or what to do, and you continue to sob helplessly.

Someone sprints to get the onsite emergency responders and Brenda runs to you as fast as her dress shoes will allow. “Don’t look at it honey,” she soothes. “It’s just going to make things worse.”

“It should hurt,” you croak out through the tears, “Why doesn’t it hurt?”

“You’ve got so much adrenaline pumping through your veins you can’t feel anything,” the EMT explains in flawless English. “Can we take your skates off?”

You nod, and the right skate comes off breezily. Brenda unlaces your left skate and the medical team works to pry the boot from your foot. A sharp pain shoots up your leg and you wail in agony. “Shh, it’s okay,” your coach coos, “The skate is going to stay on until we get to the hospital.”

The ride to the hospital feels like time is moving through sludge. The paramedics keep an eye on your blood pressure and do their best to keep you calm. Brenda is typing furiously on her phone, and you ask what she’s doing as the vehicle pulls into the ambulance bay.

“The ISU rep told me to keep him updated,” she explains. “And I’m trying to vote on which alternate is going to take your place.”

You knew that was going to happen, you couldn’t possibly skate, but it makes you unbelievably sad. All your hard work is going to amount to nothing. No one cares about national champions who don’t place at worlds, and the injury is going to sideline you in next year’s olympic race. The emergency room has a bed ready for you, and the doctor arrives as you’re being transferred into it.

“Miss Y/L/N, I’m Dr. Morelli. We’re going to put your patella back into place. It’s going to be incredibly painful, so we’re to sedate you. Is that okay?”

“Yes,” you say as strongly as you can, though it comes out feeble and hoarse.

A nurse inserts an IV into your arm and smiles at you. They have you count backwards from ten, and by the time you get to eight you’re asleep. There’s a brief moment of panic when you wake up as you forgot where you are. “You’re awake,” Brenda speaks softly from the bedside. “How are you feeling?”

“Like shit,” you admit. “It hurts so fucking bad.”

She gives you a sympathetic smile. “I know. They’re going to come get you for x-rays in a few minutes and then we’ll go back to the hotel.”

“Oh my god,” you gasp. “I’ve gotta call Joel. Bren, give me your phone.”

Laughter comes from the device’s speakers, and you realize she’s one step ahead of you.

“There’s my girl,” Joel whispers, eyes landing on yours as the phone lands in your hands. “Are you okay?”

The question makes you laugh. “You’re quite the comedian Mr. Farabee. Of course I’m not okay. My leg is currently being held together by a brace and my dreams are ruined.” You soften when you realize how upset Joel looks. “I’ll be fine J, I promise.”

“I’m so sorry I wasn’t there.”

“There’s nothing you could have done. It was a freak accident. You can pick me up from the airport.”

He agrees in a heartbeat and tells you about his day to distract you from the pain. You’ll have to ask the nurses for some pain meds before you leave. A nurse comes to take you to the radiology department, and you hang up after reassuring him for the hundredth time that he doesn’t need to fly to Italy to bring you home himself.

Brenda holds you as the adrenaline wears off and your legs twitches rapidly as a trauma response. She helps you navigate around the small room and makes sure you’re able to use the bathroom. Luckily none of her other skaters are competing, and she’s able to travel back to Philadelphia with you once the doctor clears you. It’s a rough flight – there’s a fair amount of turbulence and each bump makes your leg throb. You don’t get a wink of sleep and are grumpy by the time you touch down in Philly. Joel’s waiting at arrivals with a giant sign and a sweet smile. You wheel yourself over to him as quickly as possible, wanting nothing more than to collapse into his arms.

“Welcome home baby,” he whispers, leaning down to catch your lips in an airport appropriate kiss. The reason you’re home so early isn’t brought up which you're incredibly grateful for. Your untimely withdrawal is still a very sore spot.

“I wasn’t gone long,” you laugh, trying to poke fun at the situation before reality gets you too down.

“Long enough for me to miss you a tremendous amount.”

The three of you exit the airport, and Joel drops Brenda off at her house before taking you back to his place. Chuck and the rest of the management team were allowing him to miss a few games until you become more mobile and can’t exist on your own for a few hours. Joel’s bed is calling out to you, but he insists you’ll feel better after a shower and you know he’s right. Showering isn’t something you can do yourself, so Joel keeps your leg straight and elevated as you sit on the stool he bought while waiting for you to return. The grime of travelling is washed away and you feel lighter when you swing into bed, stubbornly refusing Joel’s help.

You convince him to let you watch the broadcast of the event you were supposed to be skating in. It’s probably not the best thing for your mental health, but you want to see how everyone does. Joel sits besides you, arm wrapped around your shoulder, and listens to you explain the rationale behind every element’s score. When your replacement takes the ice you go silent. It’s too much to see her skating in your place so you bury your face into Joel’s neck. There’s no jealousy like you thought there would be, just an infinite amount of sadness that you’re not able to be there.

“You’ll be able to get back there,” Joel reassures you when he feels a tear soak through his sweater.

“That’s not guaranteed,” you sniffle. “I might not ever skate again, let alone compete at any level.”

He shakes his head in disagreement, leading you to quirk a brow. “I know you. You’re going to do it. It won’t be easy, but you’re the most determined person I’ve ever met. People bounce back after major injuries all the time. I’ll be by your side the entire time, helping you through.”

“I love you,” you blurt out. The gravity of your words sinks in and you gasp. You haven’t said those words to each other yet, but they feel right.

“I love you too,” Joel smiles, kissing the tip of your nose. “Now pay attention to the TV, that girl you beat at Skate Canada is up next.”

☼☼☼☼

Recovery hasn’t been easy. There have been so many days where all you want to do is throw in the towel and cry, but Joel keeps you going. He insists you to your physical therapy exercises with him so you aren’t alone, and he comes to as many doctor’s appointments as he possibly can. After the Flyers get eliminated from the playoffs he doesn’t return home for the summer, choosing to stay in the Philly area with you. Having him there is a massive help, and you power through the pain.

The Flyers are hosting a family skate before training camp, and it will be your first time on skates in nearly six months. Your doctors have cleared it as long as you take it slow and basically let Joel pull you around the rink but you don’t care. It gives you hope that one day you’ll be back to full strength.

“Ready to do this thing?” Joel asks, grabbing your hand and intertwining your fingers.

You nod enthusiastically and let him pull you from the bench to the tunnel and down to the boards. Joel steps on the ice first, keeping his hands up in case you need them for support. A few of the significant others notice what’s happening and they erupt in applause once both your feet are planted on the surface. Joel joins them, his eyes watering when he sees how happy you are to be skating again.

“I do believe you promised me a few laps lover boy,” you wink.

“Yes ma’am,” Joel giggles as he mock salutes. He places his hands in yours and guides you gently, careful not to go too fast or get too close to other groups. The two of you giggle and stop to kiss frequently but no one says anything. You’ve worked incredibly hard to get here and they’re perfectly content letting you have your moment. Standing at centre ice you feel complete, and you know it’s all thanks to Joel.

☼☼☼☼

taglist: @samsteel @kiedhara @tortito @boqvistsbabe @iwantahockeyhimbo @himbos-on-ice if you want to be added just shoot me an ask :)

#this right here is my baby #joel farabee imagine #joel farabee x reader #joel farabee fic #philadelphia flyers imagine #hockey imagine #hockey fic #nhl imagine #nhl fic #cwrites

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adito-lang · 3 years

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Day 2 - Season

Seasonと言うと、大抵の場合は春や夏などの４つの「季節」って意味があって、スポツやファッションの場合には「季節」と意味が似ているの「シーズン」が使われる。 When we say “season” we usually mean it in the sense of the four seasons such as spring and summer, but it’s also used in the context of sports and fashion with a similar meaning.

数年間のフィギュアスケートのファンの私はよく「シーズン」ってを使って、それぞれの大会と選手のプログラムや進歩を追うのが好きだよ。今日は、フィギュアスケートのシーズンに関する単語について書いてみたい！ As a long-time fan of figure skating, I often use the term “season” and love keeping up with a season’s respective competitions and athlete’s programs and progress. So today I want to share some vocabulary related to the figure skating season!

This will be part one of my figure skating-related vocabulary lists. 「フィギュアスケート用語リスト」のパート１

Also, please enjoy Yuma Kagiyama’s performance from this season’s World Championships! His skating has been a highlight of this year’s season for me. そして、鍵山優真選手の今シーズンの世界選手権での演技を楽しんでね！優真選手の滑りは今シーズンの中でハイライトだと思う。

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Which Season? どのシーズン？

Last season 昨シーズン（さく）

This season 今シーズン（こん）

Next season 来シーズン（らい）

New season 新シーズン（しん）

Olympic season オリンピックシーズン

Adding the the possessive particle の：作シーズンの〜 = last season’s (program, championships, etc.)

Competitions 競技会（きょうぎかい）

Event 大会（たいかい）

Grand Prix Series グランプリシリーズ

Skate America スケートアメリカ

Skate Canada スケートカナダ

Cup of Chine 中国杯（ちゅうごくはい）

Internationaux de France フランス国際（こくさい）

Rostelecom Cup ロステレコム杯（はい）

NHK Trophy NHK杯（はい）

Grand Prix Final グランプリファイナル

(National, World, etc) Championships 〜選手権（せんしゅけん）

(Country) National Championships 〜フィギュアスケート選手権（せんしゅけん）

Japanese National Championships 全日本フィギュアスケート選手権（ぜんにほん・せんしゅけん）

European Championships ヨーロッパ選手権（せんしゅけん）

Four Continents Championships 四大陸選手権（よんたいりくせんしゅけん）

World Championships 世界選手権（せかいせんしゅけん）

World Team Trophy 国別対抗戦（くにべつたいこうせん）

Olympic Figure Skating Competition オリンピックのフィギュアスケート競技（きょうぎ）

Preparation for the new season 新シーズンの準備（しん・じゅんび）

Choreography 振り付け（ふ・つ）

Choreographer 振付師（ふりつけし）

to decide on a song 曲を決める（きょく・き）

to get choreography from a choreographer 振付師にプログラムを作ってもらう（ふりつけし・つく）

to choreograph a program プログラムを振り付ける（ふ・つ）

to practice choreography 振り付けを練習する（ふ・つ・れんしゅう）

to learn a new jump 新しいジャンプを身につける（あたら・み）

During the season シーズン中（ちゅう）

Debut 初出場（はつしゅつじょう）・デビュー

to participate in a competition 試合に出場する（しあい・しゅつじょう）

to get a spot in (event) 〜の出場権を獲得する（しゅつじょうけん・かくとく）

to advance to (event, FS, etc) 〜に進出する（しんしゅつ）

to miss (competition) 〜を欠場する（けつじょう）

to withdraw from competition 棄権する（きけん）

to take place (a competition, SP/FS) 〜が行われる（おこな）

to go watch a competition 観戦に行く（かんせん・い）

to see (a skater) skate live 〜選手を生・ライブで観る（なま・み）

Injury 怪我（けが）

to become inured 怪我をする（けが）

to suffer from a (body part) injury 〜の怪我を抱える（けが・かか）

to heal an injury 怪我を直す（けが・なお）

to change coaches コーチを変える（か）

♥ Adito

#langblrwotdchallenge #japanese langblr #figure skating #フィギュアスケート #japanese #日本語 #corrections always welcome!#also always in the mood to scream about figure skating #langblr

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geckomoon · 4 years

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Yuri!!! on ice as irl skaters (part 1???)

Its 2020 and I miss yoi so here are my personal headcanons about which irl skater the you cast skate &/or act like because why the hell not.

(photos at the bottom of the post because I couldn't get the format to work the way I wanted it to)

Yuri Katsuki ➡️ Boyang Jin (China)/Evgenia Medvedeva (Russia)

Yes, 2 people because PARALLELS.

So my reason for saying Yuri is like Boyang is because, his step sequences are always gorgeous and his jumping power, oofttttt, and that one scene where Yuri tries a jump and lands in the wall, you know the one. Boyang Jin is known for jumping super close to the boards and scaring the hell out of us all, seriously, just watch one of his skates, it's amazing and terrifying. Also Boyang is a bit of a nerd and Yuri is canonicaly pretty into video games, nuff said.

Boyang is a two-time World bronze medalist (2016–2017), the 2018 Four Continents champion, a two-time Four Continents silver medalist (2016, 2019), the 2017 Asian Winter Games silver medalist, and a five-time (2014–2017, 2019) Chinese national champion.

Evgenia however, this is more of a parallel in how her 2018/19 season went and how Yuri kinda flopped. Zhenya had a crappy start to the 18/19 season, she'd just switched coaches and mover halfway across the world, for the 1st time in her senior career she didn't make the gpf. However by the end of the season she had bounced back and won bronze at worlds and my god what a skate that fp was. Remind you of anyone huh???

Evgenia has a lot of medals (and actually made a cameo in the end credits of episode 10) She is a two-time Olympic silver medalist (2018 ladies' singles, 2018 team event), a two-time world champion (2016, 2017), a two-time European champion (2016, 2017), a two-time Grand Prix Final champion (2015, 2016), a two-time Russian national champion (2016, 2017), silver medalist at the 2018 European Figure Skating Championships and bronze medalist at the 2019 World Championships. Also, she is a huge Anime fan and has a sailor moon exhibition program and its adorable.

Victor Nikiforov ➡️ Yuzuru Hanyu (Japan)

I know a lot of people compare Yuri to Yuzu but I think Victor is a better fit.

Yuzuru has a legion of super duper dedicated fans, they are pretty scary at times. If you watch the 2018 Olympics, the ice literally was covered in Pooh bears after his skate. People love this man, and rightly so. Clearly Yuri isn't the only one who loves Victor, he's very popular in the yoi skating world and almost everyone loves and looks up to him.

His skates are almost immaculate every time. Not only is his technique amazing but his artistry is what really sets him apart from other skaters who may have higher bv on jumps etc. Not that he dosent have high bv, seriously he tries combos that are super wierd just for the bv (see the wierd 4t-3a combo thing he does idk). Plus he's dead set on doing a quad axel. See Victor's super high bv with all the quads and also the fact everyone goes nuts over how his skating is 'like no other'.

Also his medal collection is absolutely mad, he is a two-time Olympic champion (2014, 2018), two-time World champion (2014, 2017), four-time Grand Prix Final champion (2013–2016), Four Continents champion (2020) and three times silver medalist (2011, 2013, 2017). Just like how Victor is canonicaly an Olympic champion and 5x world champion and probably many time euros champ.

Also, he's a sweetheart, he literally crawled behind Shoma Uno because he didn't want the attention taken away from Shoma. I love him.

Victor Nikiforov gives big Yuzuru Hanyu energy.

Yuri Plisetsky ➡️ Yulia Lipnitskaya (Russia)/Alexandra Trusova (Russia)

Again, 2 people.

It's canon that Yuri P was modeled after Yulia for the flexibility and artistic portion of his skates so I feel like I don't need to elaborate much in it however his determination and his wanting to back load with quads reminds me a lot of Sasha Trusova.

Sasha only started juniors the year after yoi came out (she had a Makkachin tissue box which was given to her by Evgenia M which is adorable) so she was not really that popular when the show was being made but she really made a statement when she became the 1st woman to land 2 quads in 1 program (4 salchow and 4 toeloop) at the age of 13 at 2018 junior worlds.

She has just started senior and this season she had 5 quads in one program and I think I cried. She now has a quad sal, toe, flip and lutz and is apparently working on a loop. On top of that she can land a 3 axel but has yet to do so in competition. Did I mention SHE'S 15 AND I'M TERRIFIED.

She currently holds the world record for the free skate (166.62 points). She is the 2020 European Bronze Medalist, the 2019 Grand Prix Final bronze medalist, the 2019 Skate Canada champion, the 2019 Rostelecom Cup champion, the 2019 CS Ondrej Nepela champion, the 2019 Russian national silver medalist, and the 2020 Russian national bronze medalist.

Her determination to win and high TES reminds me of Yurio a lot.

Phichit Chulanont ➡️ Nam Nguyen (Canada)

This one is fun.

I love Nam with all my heart, he's actually my favourite male skater and not just because of his skating. However his skating is great. He is the 2014 World Junior champion, 2019 Skate Canada silver medalist, and two-time Canadian national champion (2015, 2019). He has placed as high as fifth at the World Championships, in 2015. He's not the best skater ever, kinda like Phichit but his personality shines through so much when he skates and I love it.

My main comparison to Phichit is the fact that Nam Nguyen is a huge meme. His Instagram is one of the most hilarious things I've ever seen (@ namnamnoodle). I can't explain it with words seriously just go look at it, he makes memes using professionnally taken skating photos of himself and honestly it's just a giggle. He's almost always posting on his story and half the videos he takes end up on fan twitter and everyone freaks out.

Also he's good friends with Evgenia, thought I'd mention that seeing as who I compared her to :)).

Yeah, Phichit and Nam are memes and I adore them both.

Jean-Jacques Leroy ➡️ Nathan Chen (USA)

Jj is definitely more of a technical focused skater. He tends to put all his eggs in the '800000 quads' bucket and isn't as artistic, in my humble opinion.

Just like Nathan surprisingly, though Nate isn't as egotistical (not a dig, just an observation).

Nathan is compared to Yuzu a lot, and had actually scored higher than him a few times in competition. He is an amazing jumper and is the first skater to have landed five types of quadruple jumps in competitions: toe loop, Salchow, loop, flip and Lutz. Currently he is two-time World champion (2018, 2019), a 2018 Winter Olympic bronze medalist in the team event, the 2017 Four Continents champion, three-time Grand Prix Final champion (2017, 2018, 2019), and four-time U.S. national champion (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020).

So yeah, he's good.

However at the 2018 Olympics (he was only 18 at the time) he bombed under pressure in the team event and in the sp, only to come back with a WR free skate, but didn't medal because of his sp score,kinda like how Jj bombed at the GPF. (Ngl, I cried in school when I saw Nate bomb at the Olympics, I was so upset).

Also, Nathan is super smart and is training to be a doctor. Not related to Jj but I thought I would point it out.

Christophe Giacometti➡️ Adam Rippon (USA)/Javier Fernández (Spain)

Chris is a hard one to pin to an irl skater because he's just so... Chris.

The closest comparison I can get is Adam Rippon but dialed up to 11 because Adam is quite a bit more tame than Chris is. However he did have a point in his sp where he literally beckons the judges to him in a way that can only be described as vaguely sexual. Seeing that at the Olympics was an event I'll tell you that.

Adam was the first openly gay man to make a U.S. Winter Olympic team, and the first to win a medal at the Winter Games. (team bronze).

Plus, I'm pretty sure he owned a Chris plushie at one point or another.

However other than the obvious Chrissness, his technique and medal winning achievements most closely match up with Javier Fernández (who may I add is pretty much Yuzuru Hanyu's best friend). He is the 2018 Olympic bronze medalist, a two-time World champion (2015, 2016), a two-time World bronze medalist (2013, 2014), a seven-time European champion (2013–2019), a two-time Grand Prix Final silver medalist (2014, 2015), a three-time Rostelecom Cup champion (2014–2016), a two-time Grand Prix in France champion (2016–2017) and an eight-time Spanish national champion (2010, 2012–2018). Javi is an amazing skater but usually ended up playing 2nd fiddle to Yuzuru on the world stage, but with euros, he literally won 7 times consecutively. Anndddd, he was the flag bearer for Spain at the 2014 Olympics and I still cry about it.

Otabek Altin➡️ Denis Ten (Kazakhstan)/ Matteo Rizzo

So it's canon that Otabek was based on Denis (rip Denis) so like Yuri and Yulia I do not feel like I need to elaborate much as you can read it on the wikia page. But Otabek also reminds me of a less talkative version of Matteo Rizzo. Matteo is the 2019 European bronze medalist, 2018 NHK Trophy bronze medalist, 2019 Winter Universiade champion, and 2018 Italian national champion.

The reason he reminds me of Otabek is that they just joth exude the same level of cool and I can't explain it any further than that. That's it. Just watch him skate and you'll see.

So that's all I have for now because this post got pretty long so if this gets enough attention I'll do a part 2 :)).

#Yuri on ice #Yoi #katsuki yuri #victor nikiforov #yuri plisetsky #phichit chulanont #jean jacques leroy #christophe giacometti #otabek altin

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fyeahkarenchen · 4 years

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When Olympians Jason Brown and Karen Chen join a handful of other U.S. figure skaters for Friday night’s Peggy Fleming Trophy, the athletes won’t be sharing the same sheet of ice.

In fact, as skating fans watch them perform on a livestream, they will have already competed at various rinks across America.

The virtual event, billed as one of the first of its kind in figure skating and joining the likes of athletics and other sports to go digital, could be the way of the future in the COVID-19 reality the world is now facing.

–

“It’s mentally and physically different than a normal competition where I train myself to think ‘you only get one shot, make it happen,’” said Chen, the 2017 U.S. national champion who finished 11th at PyeongChang 2018. “The nerves are similar, but also a bit less than at a (normal) competition. (But) under this more casual situation, my usual competition adrenaline that helps me compete didn’t really kick in.”

–

“Depending on how everything pans out, this format could potentially be implemented for other competitions,” said Chen, who attends Cornell University. “However, I believe that there would have to be a significant amount of trial and error to find not only what works best for everyone, but what also is the most fair.”

#jason brown #karen chen #PFT 2020 #competition #season: 2020 2021 #news #interviews

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alena-kostornaia · 5 years

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You underestimated Alena Kostornaia in vain: with 3As, she is stronger than Trusova and Zagitova

Russian blog Olympic Views released an article written by Alexei Avdokhin, analyzing Alena Kostornaia and the current state of Russian female figure skaters. Translated by Google Translate, edited by @birdie02.

Perhaps the new favorite of the season.

Before the first senior season, Alena Kostornaia seemed like the most inconspicuous skater in Eteri Tutberidze’s team.

A logical status for Alena to have when you are in the shadows of the titles and popularity of Alina Zagitova, the quads of Alexandra Trusova, or the sonorous victory of Anna Shcherbakova in the Senior Championships of Russia. Yes, especially since Alena did not compete after the Championships due to a strange injury.

Kostornaia won here even too defiantly – with the fourth-highest total score in history, she finally added 3As to the free skate to have a technical base of seventy points. Only Trusova and Shcherbakova have higher technical bases in the world.

Kostornaia has been sharpening the 3A for two years – since the summer of 2017. At that time, she had just switched to Eteri and was looking for improvement after placing 16th in the Junior Championships of Russia.

“I will definitely not be the first, but mastering the 3A will become the realization that you are doing what others are not doing. It’s still nice,” Alena said a year ago, after winning the Junior Grand Prix Final.

Finlandia Trophy is the first competition where Kostornaia tried the 3A. Now she is the 10th skater win history to land it without under rotations or negative GOE.

In general, Finnish viewers are incredibly lucky: currently, only four skaters own a 3A in the world – and two of them competed in the secondary Challenger in Espoo.

The second – Elizaveta Tuktamysheva – lost to Kostornaia irreparably a lot (about eighteen points only in the free skate) – a gap that cannot be compensated for by anything but the mistakes of others. Even clean 3As did not save Liza in the free skate – the judges again (as in the short program) did not like the edge on the 3F, which Liza has been avoiding for a long time (and now it is clear why).

In Kostornaia, of the two 3As, only the first one was clean – in a combination with a double toe [t/n: 3A2T]. The second 3A was landed a bit understated – a signal that the jump has not yet been polished and may cause trouble.

“This is not to say that this [t/n: the 3A] is my weapon, because it is an element that someone else can learn. And I cannot bear to not do it myself.” – said Alena right after her victory in Finland.

But it doesn’t matter – even with unstable triples, Kostornaia turns into a skater who is capable of much on a good day.

Here are just some arguments:

234.84 – Alena’s title score for Finlandia Trophy, only 3.85 points from Trusova’s world record in Nepela Memorial that broke Zagitova’s previous world record.

Yes, in Bratislava, Sasha did not jump four, but three quads, and she will definitely add more quads, but Alena also has a powerful advantage she has yet to use.

The 3A can be jumped in the short program – the next logical step for Kostornaia’s upgrade. Let the risks of its implementation be evaluated by the Tutberidze team as higher than the possible total score, but five extra points to the short program score is a temptation that they do not refuse.

Here, Alena’s potential advantage over Trusova and Shcherbakova is hidden – a 3A in the short program is allowed, and quads are not.

Program Component Skating [PCS] – Alena does not need to increase her PCS nor to wait for them to grow on her own (and her PCS will certainly grow).

Already in Finland, her PCS was extremely high for a senior debut (71.68) – this season only Evgenia Medvedeva in Canada and Alina Zagitova in Japan received more.

Alina, for example, for the first time earned a components score above seventy points only at the 2018 European Championships – the sixth senior championship she won.

But (and this, perhaps, the main thing) Kostornaia deserves such an assessment as much as possible – to understand this, it is not necessary to understand figure skating.

Just watch.

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Fantastic stability – in two years Alena only messed up four jumps: a 3Lo at JGP Italy 2017, 3F and 2A at JGP Czech Republic 2018, and 3Lz at Junior World Championships 2018.

And almost a hundred jumps – cleanly and with good advantages [t/n: ?].

Good GOE – judges love Alena and like her GOE: 17.36 – Finlandia Trophy; 15.14 – JGP Final.

Not talking too much about the numbers, but just believe: when Alena performs an element, it is impossible to complain about them.

Kostornaia will compete at the GP events Internationaux de France and NHK Trophy – along with Zagitova.

You definitely don’t miss it?

#alena kostornaia #season: 2019 2020 #analysis #eteri tutberidze #alina zagitova #alexandra trusova #anna scherbakova #elizaveta tuktamysheva

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judithsupportsteamchampery · 5 years

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Why you’ve made my winter!

- by Judith Dombrowski

My personal Team Champéry season review

This is dedicated to figure skater Deniss Vasiljevs, coach and figure skater Stéphane Lambiel and their manager Christopher Trevisan!

My very special thanks to my mother Beate. Without you nothing of this would have been possible. I can say with my whole heart that you are the best mother I ever could have imagined.

Also special thanks to:

Anastasia, Charlie, Estephanía, Jelena, Laia, Maria R., Maria T., Marina, P., Susanne, Szilvia

You all have become amazing and true friends. I love you with my whole heart!

And to everyone else whom I met because of Team Champéry this winter, either personally or via the internet. We are the best fan community I can imagine.

On March 2nd 2019, after I had been able to take THAT picture, that picture thousands of skating fans dream of, that picture I would never ever had imagined to happen, I turned around and thanked both of you: “Thank you so much for everything!“, I said. Then I looked at you, Deniss, and said: “You’ve really made my winter! Thanks!“ You looked flattered and surprised but didn’t respond anything. But you, Stéph, said something like: “Wow, you are really so positive!“ It was the second time you said that that afternoon and I do understand why you said it in this situation: For the two of you it definitely hadn’t been the winter you’ve dreamed of. It must have been a hard winter full of worries, concerns and disappointments. It seemed to surprise you, Stéph, why you’ve made somebody’s winter even though so much seemed to have gone wrong for you.

So I am writing this blog post / article / review to explain to the two of you and to everyone interested, why this sentence was incredibly true. Why I actually couldn’t have thanked you in a more accurate way. Beware, this might gonna be long. I usually fail saying things short and there has been really a lot going on this winter relating to the two of you. I will also miss out some moments because it has just been too much.

When to start? Should it be the moment when we decided to go to Grenoble? The moment I started to be your fan, Deniss? Should I go back to Worlds 2005 when I had my first big crush on that handsome Swiss figure skater? This would turn into a novel so lets start right at the beginning… of… this winter:

October

“Hey, I just wanted to tell you that I am free earlier than expected today. So if you’d like we can meet earlier?“

“I am sorry I fear I won’t be able to come over before 18.30? Hope that’s still alright?“, I replied to a good friend of mine on WhatsApp.

“Haha, yea, sure, thought you have holidays…“

“Well, yea“, … she was a really good friend so I could be honest, “but my Mom doesn’t. She’s only free from 3pm and we’ll have to watch a movie together this afternoon. This is like the only possibility before next weekend. Will explain you later!“

“Okayyyy…!“

It was a Wednesday afternoon in early October during my autumn holidays and I spent the week in South Germany with my mother and tried to meet up with as many old friends as possible. It was also the week before Japan Open, the first time you, Deniss, were supposed to skate your new free program. And it finally had leaked that you would be skating to the soundtrack of the movie “Last Samurai“. So to totally understand the program my mother and I watched the movie together, listened to the music very precisely, discussed about the plot, read and learned about the history of the samurai on Wikipedia.

We liked and appreciated the theme and that music choice right away. As we did with the whole program when it had finally been uploaded. Despite technical difficulties we saw the efforts and the great thoughts behind the choreography of this program right away and were really looking forward to see this program grow and bloom over the season.

It was different with the Short Program. When “Papa was a rolling stone“ was posted first, I listened to the song in the car and it left me quite puzzled… How was that supposed to be the song of a skating program? And those lyrics? Well… I liked the beat and the rhythm of the song from the beginning and I put all my trust in your good taste and I wasn’t going to be disappointed.

The figure skating season was speeding up: The first Grand Prix was coming along together with a small competition called “Minsk Ice Star“ - the warm up contest for you, Deniss. I spent that weekend in the Netherlands where a friend celebrated her birthday. The moment I remember best of these days is myself walking up and down at the beach streaming the free program in bad quality on my phone screaming and jumping up and down at every landed jump. This weekend brought the first fully rotated and landed Quad in competition for you, Deniss, and the first gold medal of the season. For me this weekend made me like and appreciate the short program and I “met“ my “soulmate“ because of this competition:

Until then I hadn’t been too active about figure skating on social media, because most of my followers on Instagram were my real life friends who didn’t care about this sport at all. There was no official livestream of Minsk Ice Star. But I found some Russian girls via Instagram who were in the arena and were so kind to stream the practices and the competition. That’s how I met my today very very good and close friend Maria. We started texting since then, we went through this winter together, kept each other updated all the time and finally went to Innsbruck together. But that happened many moments and stories later.

November

NHK Trophy was after all the only competition this entire season I didn’t manage to follow live. Despite all efforts I didn’t make it home from work in time for the SP, and I also missed the LP the next day because of my tennis practice. I did come home when Shoma Uno was about to start his Free Skate performance but of course he skated deep in the second group. I clicked on “pause“ and scrolled back to start watching the competition from the beginning. There had been a number though in the left upper corner of my screen I couldn’t have avoided seeing: The leading skater at the moment Shoma started to skate had the technical score of 70 points. 70 Points! DAMN! That was…. low. Very low for that moment in the competition. And 70… that was a number you, Deniss, were likely to score. My heart started racing. Could it be possible? If you were the leader at that moment you were… about to win a medal.

“It was hard to see how excited you still were!“, my Mom told me on the phone an hour later when I was full of disappointment. She had been able to watch everything live and knew that it unfortunately hadn’t been you, Deniss, who had scored those 70 points, it had been Matteo Rizzo. I felt really sorry for you, missing that opportunity. “Keep your head up, keep your heart strong…“, I kept listening on repeat during that weekend and I wished you could also hear that motivating song by Ben Howard. The next competition was going to be better. I was sure! And the next competition was: IdF in Grenoble. THE competition. Our competition. Where my mother and I would go to see and support you live. The weekend I had been waiting for since the end of June when the assignments came out. And now it was not even two weeks away…The Sunday after NHK I spent in the kitchen baking my gifts for the two of you: The lion and the ladybug as German gingerbread. I am not the most artistically talented person, and I didn’t honestly expect this project to be successful, especially drawing a lion with chocolate and sugar icing on a piece of cookie seemed like a far too motivated project for me. But I did it, every millimeter drawn with concentration and passion. And succeeded: I had baked a lion and a ladybug gingerbread. The presents were ready, the flags had arrived and got inked, all tickets were printed, we were ready to go.

You probably all remember a weekend or an event you once desperately had been waiting for. And then the moment when it is really happening. So you can probably imagine how I felt: I see myself as if it was yesterday walking from the parking lot in Mainz to the station where I had to take the train to Frankfurt airport, feeling like I was flying: It was real, yes, it was. I was on my way to Grenoble, I had everything prepared, I had gotten the extra day off at school, I had the gifts and the banners in my bag, I had your program music in my ears, I was so so ready for it!

I had high expectations for this weekend just as you probably had as well, Deniss. Unfortunately yours weren’t totally fulfilled again especially in the long program. Mine instead were outreached by far:

That moment, when I saw the two of you live right ahead of me in practice. The moment you really nailed your SP, how I was screaming and celebrating of relief. The moment I was able to give you the gifts after the second practice. The moment when you walked around proudly showing my baked lion to other fans. All those moments of wonderful and magical performances by your fellow skaters, all those people I had been admiring in front of the TV screen for years: Evgenia Medvedeva, Rika Kihira, Vanessa James and Morgan Cipres, Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron, Nathan Chen, Jason Brown and Dimitri Aliev just to name a few…

And that moment, Saturday 24th of November, 6 pm during the Ice Dance medal ceremony when I checked on my emails and my heart skipped for sure more than one beat: Email by Christopher Trevisan: “Sorry for the short notice, if you are still interested you can have a fan meeting with Deniss tomorrow morning either at 10 or 11 o’clock. Let me know if you are still interested.“ If I was interested? Hell, YES. But: Our bus to the airport was booked tomorrow at 10 o’clock from the main station in Grenoble. Our flight home was leaving Lyon at 2 pm. I was in shock, excited and concerned at the same time. It was hard to think straight.

I will never forget the night from November 24th to November 25th in my entire life. So many insecurities: When exactly? Where? Who will come? How will we get home? Take the train instead of flying? Take a taxi to the airport? Skip the whole fan meeting myself?

Charlie, my mother and I were sitting together until far after midnight without having any solutions. The three of us mainly discussed the question: Where? There was no nice café that had opened Sunday morning just around the corner…

We noticed that the only space we had available on this short notice were our own hotel rooms. Probably our entire hotel woke up by us laughing loudly about the joke: “Imagine, when I come home, I will be able to say: There was Stéphane Lambiel… in my hotel room!“ We weren’t sure back then if you’d accompany Deniss, Stéph.

Sometime during the night after sleeping for a few hours I was able to calm down and think more straight again. I checked the Lufthansa App and found out that it was actually possible to change our booking to a flight that flew to Frankfurt four hours later than our original one. I got the idea to ask in our hotel if there was a possibility to hold the meeting in a free conference room or another silent place. It was all coming together. We got a space in our hotel, we had people who messaged they would come to the meeting, we had the time to sit down and think about some questions that I wanted to ask you, Deniss. You came, you had quite some time, you were incredibly nice and the two of us got more and more relaxed while the interview / meeting went on and I had the feeling that I could continue talking with you forever. You are such an interesting, intelligent, nice, humble and funny person. Before Grenoble I had liked you mostly because of your beautiful and amazing skating, after Grenoble I knew where this was coming from. Before Grenoble I had been amazed by you, after Grenoble I was totally enchanted.

December

I was on endorphins for the next weeks straight. That weekend had been far better and beyond all my expectations.

But at the same time I was afraid: Was it ever going to be that perfect again? Should I maybe keep this one perfect weekend as one magic memory and not let it get destroyed maybe by disappointments coming in the near future? Would I maybe expect too much from future events? I told around: “That weekend was perfect. I will not go again this season. Next season again!“

What a luck I hadn’t been able to resist. Because my heart, longing to see the two of you again, won over my anxious head.

Christmas time came, I followed the Grand Prix Final together with my Mom, we got up in the middle of the night to cheer for Koshiro, we were worried when you, Deniss, withdrew from a competition in Zagreb, were relieved when it was announced that it wasn’t an injury. And we decided that it was finally about time to see you skate live as well, Stéph! So we ordered our tickets for Art on Ice in Davos in February. And with booking those tickets my plan not to go anymore this season had already faded away. I spent hours on the internet searching for possibilities to make it to Minsk for the European Championships. Meanwhile I knew many fans via social media and almost all of them were about to be in Minsk to support you, Deniss. I wanted to be part of it really badly. As a teacher though it is hard to get days off apart from the public holidays. Flights for the weekend only costed a fortune. It seemed impossible. My frustration grew. I am a person who fights really hard if she really wants something and usually tries everything to make it happen.

January

New years eve came along, together with a very nice and enthusiastic video of the two of you: “We hope to see you in Bellinzona for Music on Ice!“, you said, Stéph. And after countless times watching this lovely video and a sleepless and crazy night from the 1st to the 2nd of January my decision was made: Instead of the impossible mission going to Minsk, I would to go to Music on Ice in Bellinzona. I was going to take a train from my hometown Osnabrück in the Northwest of Germany on Friday afternoon to Stuttgart in the South of Germany. The next morning I was going to take the earliest train to continue traveling all the way to Switzerland where I would arrive in Bellinzona on January 12th at 11 am. I would go to the show on Saturday night and early Sunday morning I was going to take the train back, 10 hours all the way up to Osnabrück where I would arrive at 6 pm, ready to go back to school on Monday morning. But going to the show wasn’t the only plan I had. With help of the amazing Jelena from Daugavpils who runs the official Fan Club on Facebook we activated fans from all over the world to send me pictures with good luck wishes for you for Europeans. I was overwhelmed by the positive responses on the project. I received exactly 50 pictures, most of them amazingly creative.

When I entered the train on Friday afternoon, January 11th 2019, I felt the company of all those 50 people. I was nervous because I hadn’t heard of Chris yet, whom I had messaged with the idea of the project and had asked for an opportunity to give you the album personally.

But the sun was shining, I had motivating music in my ears, the train was riding further and further South and I felt the support of all of my friends and of my mom, who unfortunately couldn’t accompany me this weekend, so the nervousness turned into major excitement.

In Bellinzona I also wasn’t alone at all: I teamed up with two friends that I had both met in Grenoble. After our arrival we checked out the ice rink and sat down on a bench nearby the arena. The girls went through your album, Deniss, when suddenly my phone vibrated and I saw the message: Christopher Trevisan had written: “Hey Judith, can you be at the rink at 15.00?”

Have you ever been waiting for a message to come in for five consecutive days? Do you know that feeling that whenever you get a message you have that slight hope inside you that it could be the one you are waiting for and you get disappointed over and over again? And then the releasing moment comes? And you know my temper, right? Then you can maybe imagine how I screamed and jumped up and down when seeing that message. Did you maybe even hear that scream from somewhere far away that afternoon? Quite possible since Bellinzona isn’t that big and my joy was… LOUD! My two friends shared my joy and enthusiasm but not as loud. We had an “appointment”! I messaged all of my good friends right away: “Appointment at 3 pm!” I was so happy and excited. I carried the hopes and wishes of 50 people in my bag and now I knew I wouldn’t disappoint them.

That moment on the bench had only been the beginning of a day that again turned out so much better than all my expectations:

Hearing you say: “So nice to see you again!”, and being really thankful for the book. Being able to watch all three hours of show rehearsal, including the two of you practicing throw jumps. Recording an successfully landed throw jump for all my friends and many other fans. Seeing you, Stéph, skate live for the first time in my life. You, that man that had carried me through my teenage years with all your wonderful programs. Finally seeing you perform in person was magical. Seeing that wonderful and touching duet of the two of you. I had tears of joy in my eyes. And that moment after the show when you, Deniss, were walking beneath us and you turned around and came back thanking me for the album: “Thanks for the book. It’s fantastic!” These six words meant so much to me and to all those who had participated. My heart was full of joy and my body full of dancing endorphins again. It didn’t matter at all that the train ride the next day didn’t last ten but twelve hours. I was the happiest and luckiest girl on the planet.

Thanks to my amazing two girls who were my company during these crazy 21 hours I have spent in Bellinzona. Wouldn’t have been the same without those two and we do have an appointment at our “Appointment Bench” next year.

Still… after the Bellinzona - Fun it was getting serious! Europeans were on their way and it felt like the most important competition for you this season, Deniss. The season hadn’t gone as planed yet for sure… plus: Skating really well there would give you the chance to medal. Even though I had been in Bellinzona it was really hard for me to follow the action in Minsk from home. But that week showed me what great friends I had got to know because of you, Deniss. Those girls, who kept me updated the entire week, and never forgot about me were my personal heros. Some special mentions: Jelena, who waved at me through the TV stream during the Ladies Short program. That was so hilarious and made my day. Szilvia, whom I would have loved to share that horrible hostel with. Maybe with the two of us that place would have been less spooky? And thanks to her for sending birthday wishes to my mom during the live stream of your fan meeting, Stéph. Marina, for telling me the “they-only-want-me”- story right after it had happened and for asking Brian Joubert about his inspiration for the tiger jacket. And my amazing girl Maria. Thanks for just everything. I felt with her and like her at every moment during the entire week. I shared her excitement, her fears, worries, tears and joy. And I am proud and thankful to all of the girls who organized both fan meetings and streamed it for us at home. You’ve got the most amazing fans, I really hope you know that both.

Deniss? We all know you gave your best! You wanted it so much and we know you actually are able to do everything you had planed. That makes the outcome of this competition so sad. Thanks for keeping your smile for us fans, thanks for still performing amazingly. Thanks for that intense gala-program. “Iron“ is now one of my personal top 5 programs of all times.

And Stéph? Your week must have been nerve-wracking and cruel. Thanks for being there for your students, giving them strength and confidence. Thanks for trying everything you could to support Deniss and Emmi and still staying that nice and friendly to us fans. The pressure must have been immense. Maria summed it up so perfectly as an Instagram caption, so I will quote her here: “Thanks for being in the world!”

February

During Euros you were so nice to confirm that Team Champéry would keep its tradition and would come to the Cup of Tyrol in Innsbruck, Stéph. The planing for us attending and supporting you at that event started the moment Europeans were over. That Sunday still after watching the Gala my mother and I booked the last available cheap apartment in the city centre of Innsbruck. All February long we were busy planing that trip but hadn’t there been another appointment in February? My second 10 hour long train ride was scheduled from February 15th to February 17th. Osnabrück - Davos and back. Art on Ice was about to happen. I imagined that trip to maybe be a little less exciting. I expected to watch the show, see you perform two wonderful programs and was also looking forward to see James Blunt live again after more than 10 years. Back in 2006 James Blunts concert had been the first concert I had ever visited, so it was going to be a bit nostalgic… But… probably no surprise anymore: Also this trip turned out to be so much better than expected.

The afternoon in Davos was beautiful already, the sun was shining brightly and we had an amazing walk through the snowy landscape. We managed to sneak in to watch the practice again and: I got the opportunity to talk to you, Stéph. It was short and since totally unexpected I also didn’t really know what to say but it was extremely special for me. And I could take a selfie with you. A picture I had wanted to have ever since my teenage years. I am not the type of person who collects pictures with celebrities. I think asking for a picture is such an unreal and awkward situation. But I really longed for that picture with you, Stéph. With the guy I used to tell all of my friends about, who all didn’t know you, because figure skating is not too popular in Germany. With the guy I had admired ever since my teenage years. With the guy that is in my opinion the most passionate and elegant skater ever. With the guy that touched me to tears and overwhelmed my emotions when skating to the song Goodbye my Lover some hours later. With the guy who gave his second last performance at Art on Ice ever that night.

I read your post about quitting Art on Ice when my train had almost reached Osnabrück again. I felt incredibly sad and incredibly blessed at the same time: I had still been able to see your magic. Art on Ice will miss you incredibly, Stéph. But you surely made the right decision for yourself and we as fans will support you and keep loving you no matter what projects will come for you in the future.

I had two more weeks until the crazy road trip to Innsbruck was about to happen but well… there was one weekend in between. And I found the perfect place to go for that weekend: Barcelona, Spain.

You have already heard some names of great people I got to know because of you two, but I haven’t told you about Laia yet what is a shame because, Deniss, you would certainly like Laia as much as I like her: She’s an artist, she draws amazingly. She’s a baker and an excellent cook. She’s a bit of a philosopher. She is a big Star Wars fan. She’s incredibly funny and sarcastic but at the same time a bit shy and introverted. And she is a big fan of the two of you. Even though you know the story how Laia and I met already, Deniss, I think it’s worth telling it here again: Laia was also at the Grand Prix in Grenoble. I didn’t know her back then. And we also didn’t meet at the event itself. But she was the girl who took the picture of you holding my baked gingerbread lion. I discovered that picture on Instagram some weeks later. We started to chat, and we chatted even more. I talked with her for hours because, Deniss, in many ways she seems like a female version of you.

So at that last weekend in February I took a plane to Barcelona to finally meet her in person. She showed me some skating tricks on the ice and I showed her that the mediterranean sea is not too cold to swim in in February. She introduced me to traditional Catalan food and I brought her some Swiss Chocolate I had bought in Davos.

And she gave me the most precious gift I ever received from anyone: An amazing drawing of you, Deniss, skating to “Iron“. You have seen it in Innsbruck yourself and I am quite sure you will remember it.

So that weekend was another amazing experience thanks to the two of you.

March

“Good morning everyone”, I told my Instagram followers totally excited at the morning of February 28th, “my last big journey of the figure skating season is about to start. I will drive to work first and then I will drive from my school via Frankfurt airport and Munich airport all the way to Innsbruck. It will be a really long journey but I will pick up some amazing girls on the way. And I actually can’t wait to see Deniss and Stéph tomorrow.”

The Cup of Tyrol in Innsbruck was the smallest event I visited this season but it highlighted up everything that had happened before. At the beginning of the season my mom and I had been alone. The trip to Innsbruck ended with seven good friends from five different countries sitting together in a small apartment, laughing and celebrating you, ourselves and life.

Marina had flown to Frankfurt from Kyiv and Szilvia from Budapest. Maria had come from Chelyabinsk, Russia, to Munich. I met both, Marina and Maria for the first time in real life and that alone was really special. Suddenly sitting with those three girls together in my small car, singing along to Britney Spears songs was unreal and amazing enough. But of course we were here to support you, Deniss.

All three of you, Chris included, seemed quite surprised to see us around. Cup of Tyrol was such a small competition. Why should anyone go there? Well, we were and we weren’t the only ones, even though probably the loudest ones. Here are again some very special moments picked from many special moments:

Imitating your car karaoke to Britney’s Toxic on our way to Innsbruck with Marina and Szilvia.

Stepping out of our apartment early Friday morning in Innsbruck and seeing this city in all of its beauty: The river, the colorful houses and the mountains in the beautiful morning sun.

Watching you skate a nice and clean short program after some struggles during practice.

Chris laughing loudly about our designed shirt for you, Deniss: “I am not coaching Stéph!” Do you wear it from time to time? If you don’t I am sure Chris would…

Giving you my self knitted hat in Latvia colors.

Showing you Laias drawing and you complimenting her amazing “shade work”.

You, Stéph, telling us that we were just about to hang up our “Team Champéry banner” mirror converted. Oh dear…

Suffering with every quad attempt. Cheering for every jump that seemed “okay” somehow- especially for underrotated quads…sorry Stéph, but that’s what fans are there for.

Crying with Matilda after her Free Program. It was hard to see this but those moments belong to the sport just as tears of joy at another time. Please, Stéph, tell Matilda, that she is a very beautiful skater. She is very graceful and a joy to watch on the ice and we all hope to see her shining on the ice sometime again.

Calling ourselves to be the “Crazy Rabbit Crew” after constantly eating carrots and joking about what to throw on the ice. Carrots, maybe?

Watching your little extra show on the ice after you won the title, Deniss.

Joking with you, Stéph about our petition to bring Britney Spears to Art on Ice.

And for me, personally, receiving the compliment from you, Stéph, of being such a positive person. I am aware that you, the first time you said it, thought that my positivity was even a bit too much when we discussed the success of your Quad attempts, Deniss, but when we all said goodbye I had the honest feeling that you liked me, Stéph. And that means more than a lot to me!

And of course THAT picture. Yes, again a celebrity picture. But what a special one. Standing in the middle of both of you. In the middle of the two people who made my winter. You didn’t understand it back then, right?

I am sure you understand it now!

Of course Innsbruck hadn’t been the end of the season yet: Worlds were yet to come. Far away in Japan. The competition where you wanted to show everyone what you actually could do. In the country that you love so much and where your season had started. The country on which history your free program was built. The Last Samurai. The last dance of the season. It was a hard week for us as fans because it was obviously a hard week for your whole team. I watched the Short Program locked into the music room of my school during our break. Afterwards I had to teach a Music lesson, singing cheerful and happy songs with eight year olds. It was tough. But I can hardly imagine how tough it was for you.

The free program was a huge fight. After everything you had gone through that week, it was even an incredible fight. The score still wasn’t probably what you had dreamed of neither the placement in the end.

But you can be incredibly proud of that fight, Deniss. This whole season was surely a hard learning process. It was a season without a single competition you were completely happy with. After all the hard work you put in every single day it must be horribly frustrating. I got to know you though as a person who is thinking thoroughly about everything. And I got to know you as a person who is able to see this season as a learning process for the future. You never stopped performing no matter what happened to the jumps. All three programs this year were incredibly well choreographed and performed even better. And during that hard and rocky road you made so many people incredibly happy.

Stéph, this winter was surely also a hard one for you. One of the reasons why I like you that much is that you, just as I do myself, put your whole heart and passion into everything you do. I could feel your pain when things didn’t turn out as you wanted them to go for your skaters. It must be so hard to just watch and not being able to actually do something in those moments. I do imagine those intense emotions you had during your last Art on Ice shows. Thanks so much for sharing some of these moments with us.

And equally I want to thank you, Chris: Thank you so much for being there for the whole team whenever you are needed. Thanks for staying calm, positive and objective throughout the season. Thanks for sometimes probably being the connection between the two artists. I am sure it hasn’t always been easy. Thanks for the great cooperation with us fans. You are doing an amazing job in every way.

You as a team managed to go through this season together and I hope with my whole heart that it brought you even closer together. Success, failure, joy and sorrow are so close together in this sport. The future seasons will bring all of that again. And I am looking forward to laugh, cry and celebrate with you again next winter and hopefully many more winters. Until then I will spend time with some of the amazing people I met on the road. Next weekend Szilvia and I will visit Marina in Kyiv. It will be another amazing trip. You are about to make my spring, too!

#teamchampery #denissvasiljevs #Stephane Lambiel #figure skating #fanreview #teamchampéry #stéphane lambiel #figureskater #figureskatingfan

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burning-up-ao3 · 5 years

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20 Penguins Thoughts: Teammates' concern for Patric Hornqvist is real

January 15, 2019 8:17 AMBy Jason Mackey / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

SAN JOSE, Calif. — It’s a text message that Kris Letang doesn’t want to send.

Not because he doesn’t care — he does.

More how he knows it’ll be received.

But like many Penguins who’ve experienced multiple concussions, Letang knows exactly what Patric Hornqvist, who’s had five of them since December 2014, is going through. And Letang, while he cares an awful lot, doesn’t want to be burdensome.

“I’ve been through that,” Letang said. “The last thing I wanted was everybody texting me. That’s why I try to leave him alone. If you’re too [in his face], he might feel like he has to come back quicker. He might not make a good decision.”

Injuries in contact sports are inevitable. Even ones to your brain.

“It’s part of our sport,” Letang said. “We know what we signed up for.”

But with yet another one happening to Hornqvist, something has become clear when discussing the situation with his teammates: This isn’t the same as someone recovering from a knee injury or even his first or second concussion; Penguins players are genuinely concerned about Hornqvist’s head.

“When it’s a good friend and someone we all love and is important to us, you worry about it,” Matt Cullen said. “The positive is we have some pretty good people in place as far as taking your time off and allowing things to heal up and doing the best you can to control those things. Aside from that, we all just hope he’s alright.”

2. Hornqvist, who was concussed last Tuesday against the Panthers, has been skating on his own back in Pittsburgh, which is obviously a good sign.

While the Penguins look forward to getting Hornqvist back, they also don’t want him to rush anything, for fear that he comes back too soon and jeopardizes his long-term health.

“You have to be careful,” Sidney Crosby said. “He has to make sure he’s ready when he comes back.

“He’s been smart about it, though. Especially the way he plays and how tough he plays, he has to make sure he’s feeling good.”

There’s a pretty good reason Hornqvist should take this slow, too.

Actually a couple of them.

“He’s got a family and kids (daughters Isabella and Vendela),” Cullen said. “That’s the first thing that you worry about for him. … Our thoughts are all with him, that’s for sure.”

Mostly, the Penguins just want Hornqvist to be able to be himself again.

“He’s a heart-and-soul guy,” Cullen said. “He’s one of the most important guys in this room as far as keeping the team on the right track. He just brings so much life and energy to our group. He’s one of those guys that makes it really fun for all of us. It’s a lot different when he’s not here.”

3. The other thing area of concern — and this is probably more outside of the Penguins dressing room than inside of it — is Hornqvist’s style of play.

The same rough-and-tumble style that has made Hornqvist so good at what he does — enough for 20 or more goals in every full season he’s played and a $5.3-million-a-year contract through 2023 — is the same one that doesn’t age well.

When Hornqvist does come back, it’s easy to say that he should change. For his own health and career, sure, but also for his family. But can he? Crosby thinks that will be tough.

“You can’t adjust to a puck in the face,” Crosby said, referencing what caused Hornqvist’s latest concussion. “What are you going to do? He had one off his head in warmup. They’re fluke things.”

Which, again, is why Crosby doesn’t think Hornqvist can or will change his game whenever he does get back.

“He only knows one way to play,” Crosby said. “That’s the way he plays the game. Sometimes those things can happen. The way he competes and the way he plays, I don’t see him changing that.”

4. Hornqvist has said repeatedly that he’s not going to change his game, often reasoning that he can’t or he’ll be out of the league.

It sounds harsh, but Letang understands where Hornqvist is coming from.

The Penguins asked Letang to change his game last season — OK, tweak — to take fewer dangerous hits, but it wound up being one of the things that contributed to an off-year for him in 2017-18.

“You can’t really change your game, honestly,” Letang said. “Certain players have played their whole life like that. That’s why they have those contracts and why they’ve had so much success. If you change that, you might become ineffective.”

5. I hope Hornqvist can do something. For his health and for his family.

Staying objective as a reporter is one thing, but you root for everybody — player or not — to avoid serious brain injuries.

As Cullen said on concussions, “There’s still so much we don’t know.” He’s right. But we do know this: They’re scary. Especially when they occur with the frequency that they have with Hornqvist.

“I feel for him,” Matt Murray said. “It’s a tough situation. It’s not an injury that’s fun to deal with, obviously. I can’t speak to how he’s feeling or anything like that. I just wish him all the best, like the rest of us here. Personally, not anything to do with hockey, you wish that he’s feeling good.”

6. The NHL and NHLPA met recently to discuss the current CBA, which runs through 2022, although the league and players have the option to terminate it this September (to be made effective Sept. 15, 2020).

From the league’s perspective, commissioner Gary Bettman would seemingly like to hold another World Cup of Hockey in 2020, and that could play a part in whether or not there’s labor peace through 2020 and beyond.

While Crosby said he didn’t want to comment specifically on negotiations “because it can change so many times,” he said he would be in favor of another World Cup. Crosby also would love to play in the 2022 Beijing Games.

“I’m good with both,” Crosby said. “I’ve had good experiences in both. I don’t know about the timing of it and how it fits in with everything. They did a great job in Toronto [in 2016]. Definitely the two Olympics I’ve been involved with, I thought they were awesome. We’ll see what happens.”

7. Crosby said much must still be determined with how the event would be structured — he brought up the possibility of another Team Europe and the under-23 squad as variables — in addition to the length of time it would require out of players.

But Crosby did really enjoy the last World Cup, held in Toronto in 2016, and would be all for doing it again. Maybe both, if the NHL and NHLPA could swing it.

“I think it was a big thing,” Crosby said. “We’ll have to see how it works out. I don’t know if it’s going to be the same format or how that’s going to shake out. The length of time, too, and when they do it. It’s something they have to figure out. I think they’re both [meaning the Olympics, too] are pretty good events.”

8. My two cents: I think the NHL is more in favor of the World Cup, while the players would probably rather go to the Olympics. They see the latter as a bigger stage, and they’re probably right.

Bettman has said before he worries about the disruption to the NHL season, but with the 2022 Games being in Beijing, that’s a major business opportunity for the league.

Would it be the worst thing if they did both? As long as the players would be on board, I don’t see an issue. I think it could be a lot of fun.

9. With Washington’s Alex Ovechkin set to pass Sergei Fedorov in career points by a Russian-born player — he’s six away after Monday’s game — I thought it would be a good time to ask Malkin about hockey in his home country and sort of the state of the Russian player.

Malkin said he’s “proud” of what some of his countrymen have been able to do, name-checking Ovechkin (on pace for an eighth season of 50 or more goals) and Tampa Bay forward Nikita Kucherov (NHL-best 75 points in 46 games).

There’s also other highly skilled players in Artemi Panarin, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Vladimir Tarasenko, plus some solid defensemen (Ivan Provorov and Dmitry Orlov spring to mind) and a pair of Vezina Trophy winners/finalists in Sergei Bobrovsky and Andrei Vasilevskiy.

“Russia loves hockey, first of all,” Malkin said. “When the national team plays, everyone watches on TV. Russia has always had so many good players — Fedorov, [Igor] Larionov. Lots of huge names.”

10. Malkin also lobbied for Russian players to come to the NHL and stay, believing it’s the best league in the world.

“If you have a chance, you need to come to NHL and try,” Malkin said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re 20 years old or 25. Just try. It’s No. 1, for sure. Every best player plays here, for sure.

“If you [want] to be better and you want a challenge against the best players, you be here. Be better every day, play against good teams. Of course I’m proud of Ovechkin and Kucherov are doing right now.”

11. I dug into some recent numbers of current Russian NHL players, and it’s roughly the same this season as it has been for the past couple years. Maybe a tad better.

Thirty-eight Russian-born players have played at least one game in the NHL this season. That number was 39 in 2017-18 and 42 and 41 in the two years before that.

Last year actually saw Russian players produce more offense than they have in quite some time, with those 39 players combining to score 428 goals and register 1,048 points.

This season, Russian-born skaters should meet or exceed those numbers. Russian players currently have 204 goals and 586 points a handful of games past the halfway point of the NHL season.

12. In talking to Malkin, I realized that I had ever asked him who he idolized while growing up in Magnitogorsk.

He cited watching Detroit and the Russian Five in the late 1990s — Fedorov, Larionov, Slava Fetisov, Vyacheslav Kozlov and Vladimir Konstantinov.

“I don’t know. It’s a hard question,” Malkin said with a smile. “I watched Detroit, Russian Five. You always hear, ‘Russian Five, Russian Five.’

“My style is more [like] Fedorov. Best player so far. He plays center. He plays wing. He can do everything. He’s a really, really smart guy and a smart player.”

13. Ever wonder why they call Marcus Pettersson “Dragon?”

Yes, seriously, that’s his nickname dating back to his time in Anaheim.

On Friday, before Pettersson played his first game at Honda Center since being traded to Pittsburgh, I asked him where the nickname came from.

Turns out it originated in Sweden. Pettersson had a high school basketball coach that called him and another kid “Dragons.” For no apparent reason, either.

Then one day in Anaheim, and perhaps because he’s tall and lanky, someone asked Pettersson if he ever played hoops.

Pettersson has always been kind of so-so on the sport but relayed the story from his home country.

“I just told the story as a joke, and they thought it was hilarious,” Pettersson said.

14. Turns out Derek Grant, a teammate of Pettersson’s in Anaheim who was there for the original story, retold it in Pittsburgh, and the nickname has remerged.

“I didn’t think it would stick,” Pettersson said. “Somehow it did.”

15. I talked to goaltending coach Mike Buckley about a few things in Anaheim, most notably what has helped Matt Murray get right again after returning from injury.

He brought up the team’s overall play and the emergence of Casey DeSmith as reasons why — the latter because he’s been able to shoulder some of the load and also the competitive environment it has helped create with Murray.

One of the things that outsiders have brought up relative to Murray is how he’s been taller in his net. Buckley said no tactical adjustment has been made, though he does think it may be at least a little bit true.

“He’s more confident,” Buckley said, smiling and standing up straight.

16. Another thing Buckley should get credit for this season is the emergence of DeSmith.

Both are New Hampshire guys and, like Murray, have a pretty good history together.

The biggest thing that has led to DeSmith’s breakout year, Buckley said, is how much better he’s been able to read the game. It’s similar to what has made Murray so successful.

“That’s where he’s made the biggest jump,” Buckley said. “He’s always been a pretty good play-reader and has anticipated well. But to catch up with how quickly it happens at this level, that was a big jump for him. I think he’s really adapted well with that.”

17. I also asked Buckley how the Penguins plan to manage the dynamic of Murray and DeSmith and what that might mean for each guy if both are playing as well as they have recently.

“I think it’s one game at a time,” Buckley said. “I think that healthy competition … keep that going right up until playoffs.”

If DeSmith can get this out of Murray simply by playing well, I think it makes his new extension — worth $1.25 million per season — even more of a bargain.

18. I don’t think it will take until Feb. 10 for Justin Schultz to come back.

That would be his original target date given the four-month timeline we were originally given, but the fact that he skated in full equipment for the first time last Friday likely bodes well for him joining the team soon.

The only complicating factor here is that, after this road trip, the Penguins have another week off because of their bye week and the All-Star Game.

Hard to imagine Schultz not being back with the team out of the break, if not before.

19. What will Jim Rutherford do at the trade deadline? Let’s use some deductive reasoning.

I have a tough time seeing Rutherford letting this deadline pass and not combining a good young goalie (Tristan Jarry) and a defenseman (they have nine) and doing something to help the NHL club. Rutherford is in win-now mode. He has a terrific opportunity to improve his team.

What needs to be better? Easy: third-line center. Their wings are fine. Defense has been good, too, and it’s about to get much better. They’re set at goalie, and they have three fourth-line centers.

It’s literally the only piece of this team that’s incomplete. I just don’t see how Rutherford can look at Tampa, Toronto and Washington and think the Penguins are getting enough from that position.

20. San Jose is my absolutely favorite road city. We get asked this question a lot — where do you like to go on the road? Well, here. And north of here.

Heaven for me came Wednesday. As soon as I landed in San Jose, I hopped onto a train bound for San Francisco and eventually wound up at Haight-Ashbury, the Grateful Dead/hippie Mecca.

Spent the afternoon and evening walking around and listening to music, doing some shopping and had dinner at Magnolia Brewery … just an amazing time.

If you’re a fan of the Dead’s music, or just a different-looking scene, I can’t recommend the Haight enough. And San Francisco, in general. What an awesome place.

Jason Mackey: [email protected] and Twitter @JMackeyPG.

First Published January 15, 2019 8:00 AM

#Jason Mackey #Pittsburgh Post-Gazette #pittsburgh penguins #20 Penguins Thoughts

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skate-catnada · 5 years

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Japanese Nationals Pre-Thoughts

First of all, I’m sad! I don’t know how much I’ll be able to actually watch. Because no one in the US airs Japanese Nationals and because the events are in the middle of the night in my time zone, I’ll be relying on whoever posts the event online, if anyone actually does. If not, I’ll have to find videos of specific programs, which is a shame, because I do want to watch most of it. (Maybe not all of it -- the mens and ladies events look to be four hours long each and that is A Lot.)

But even if I can’t watch live, I do have a lot of hopes for this competition. There is going to be so much talent this weekend, and with spots at Four Continents and Worlds on the line, it’ll be nail-biting to see who comes out on top.

Men

Yuzuru Hanyu is, being the top male figure skating in the world, who I would pick for gold, but he’s not competing because of injury. I doubt he’ll be left off the Worlds or Four Continents team if he is able to compete, and I think not competing at Nationals in order to heal properly was a smart move for him.

I am whole-heartedly rooting for Shoma. He already has won the title of national champion, so it wouldn’t be anything new to him, and his biggest rivals in the field aren’t there. I don’t think this is so much about winning against other people as it is about winning against himself. He has had issues with confidence during the Grand Prix events that seems to have to do with the standards he set for himself. He, like Alina Zagitova and Evgenia Medvedeva, is dealing with the pressure of being an Olympic medalist during a post-Olympic season for the first time. Like them, he’s adjusting.

Nationals could be a huge confidence boost if the hard work he’s been doing pays off, and if something clicks there that hasn’t been clicking all season. I’d like to see him get to a place where he can skate clean programs and be satisfied with them. Hopefully being in his home country will help that, and if he succeeds, it will be a good way to go into the competitions in the new year.

I would also like to see Kazuki Tomono on the podium and possible on those international competition teams. I enjoy watching his programs -- he has a great Riverdance free program that is wonderful to watch when he’s on it. He managed to win bronze during one of his Grand Prix events, but he hasn’t been the most consistent.

Keiji Tanaka is someone I’ve seen in pretty much every major competition, but I haven’t seen him shine yet. The best performance I’ve seen him do was actually an exhibition skate during one of the Grand Prix events, so I know that he can be a really engaging skater. I want to see him be that skater during his competitive programs. Although he’s gone to all the international events last year and competed in the Grand Prix this year, I think his place on the team for the next competitions is really up in the air. Someone like Kazuki could take his place. It really depends on how he does.

Daisuke Takahashi is back! His presence could (probably will) shake things up both with regards to placements and the skaters’ mentality. Competing with one of Japan’s greatest figure skaters who they thought they would never compete against is probably a lot. It could put a fire under all of them or it could be intimidating. I hope it just makes them all fired up.

Women

Three of the six women in the Grand Prix Final were Japanese ladies: Rika Kihira, Satoko Miyahara, and Kaori Sakamoto. Mai Mihara was the first alternate for the Final, and quite a few other Japanese women competed in the Grand Prix events. Wakaba Higuchi, who was on the Olympic team last year, withdrew because of injury, but she’s competing this week as well.

I expect that the three who were at the Grand Prix Final will also be on the podium at Nationals, though there’s a high chance that things could change. I really, really would like Rika to skate cleanly and win. She’s had such a good season so far and the last time she skated in Japan, at the NHK Trophy, she absolutely killed it. If she managed to skate both her short and free programs clean, I get the feeling she’d break a world record. That would be really cool to see. Rika’s continued success with the triple axel also helps drive women’s figure skating into evolving by adding more difficulty into competitions. Like quads with men, the triple axel could become a crucial element towards winning.

Satoko Miyahara came in sixth at the Grand Prix Final, but hey, that’s in the top 6 ladies this season so far. It’s a good position to be in, with only two Japanese women having done better than her, and she’s a beautiful skater. If she’s on, she could easily make the podium. Even with her last place finish at the Grand Prix Final, she still accomplished the first +5 GOE from all judges on a single element that we have seen under the new scoring system for her layback spin. So, it could be a very good competition for her.

Kaori Sakamoto came in fourth, and I love her, so I would like to see her do well. She’s put on great performances so far this season, and she seems to do well under pressure, since she came back from a terrible short program to win bronze with a stunning free program at GP Helsinki. With a performance like this for both programs she would be hard to beat, and I can’t wait to see what she does at Nationals.

I’m hoping for great things for both men’s and ladies singles at this Nationals. Like I said, I can’t watch live, but I really want to wake up to good news, and with so many people competing that I love, it’ll be hard to not wake up to something good.

#japanese nationals #actual blog post

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tinyqueensatoko · 6 years

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Interview with Satoko Miyahara and Yamato Tamura

Satoko Miyahara won a bronze medal at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2018. After finishing the battle of her first Olympics, she looks back on the season. Of course, coach Yamato Tamura, who posts on J SPORTS, also appeared a bit.

Published by J SPORTS

What kind of impression do you have after your first Olympic season?

Miyahara: Since I entered the season, there were good and bad competitions, but I strongly felt that I came to the top after the World Championships ended.

It was your first Olympic appearance - what was the difference between the Olympics and the World Championships?

Miyahara: I really enjoyed being at the Olympics. I enjoyed the competitions and the life style, but especially wearing an official uniform that is different from the usual representative jersey, entering the athletes village and living with everyone for the first time.

Tamura: So you had a lot of fun there? (laughs)

Miyahara: At the rink it was the usual representative jersey.

Have you heard about the atmosphere and attitude of the Olympics beforehand from coach Tamura, who also participated in the Olympic Games?

Miyahara: Yes. But it was completely different from what I had imagined.

Tamura: I also noticed some things that I hadn’t remembered. (laughs)

What about the competition?

Miyahara: It had both a team event and an individual event, different from anything I’ve experienced before, and I felt excited with the joy that I made it to the Olympic Games. This time I managed to change my mindset between enjoying myself in the free time and concentrating in the event.

Tamura: Miyahara was the one not excited there.

I thought you were the type to worry but what was the reason behind not displaying any worries at all and delivering your best programs at the biggest competition that happens once every 4 years?

Miyahara: I managed to enjoy myself at the NHK Trophy, my first competition after injury. There were failures, but it was not a bad competition in my heart. That experience has had a positive impact on the whole season.

Well then, I will ask about the Olympics. How did you feel after the team event?

Miyahara: The program itself was good so I didn’t care about the score that much. I continued to practice with the aim of getting my jumps evaluated properly.

It seems that you enjoyed taking part in the team event and competing against different countries.

Miyahara: It’s different from the individual competition because you can be there and cheer for everyone else. It’s the kind of atmosphere an individual event doesn’t have, because when you compete you can hear everyone supporting you. It’s a lot of fun working together as a team.

What kind of advice did coach Tamura give you after the team event?

Tamura: I only watched the team event on video, but the movements were very good so there was nothing to fix in particular. I intended to keep things as they were. More than that I was worried about her physical condition and that the team event might exhaust her. I wanted to make sure she didn’t overdo things. We had a bit of free time from the team event to the individual event, but there was no way we could improve things so rapidly in just a week, so we just adjusted the best possible condition to match the game.

Regarding the Olympic Games, there was also a story that it was difficult to compete because of the time being different from usual competitions.

Miyahara: I did not mind the time of the competition so much, but the time between the official practice and the competition was shorter than usual, so there was a hurry in the preparation part. More than the starting time of the competition, official practice took place earlier than usual and I realized that conditioning wise, I had to move more in order to wake my body up. Other than that, I don’t think there was anything in particular that influenced the competition.

Was there anything different about the PyeongChang rink?

Miyahara: I was a bit surprised because the door to the rink opened on the rink side.

Tamura: The boards were made of mats for short track. There were no troubles in particular but I think the skaters who came late to official practice were a bit surprised. Before the competition, Hamada-sensei and Miyahara usually touch foreheads and say whatever they say so at that time when Hamada-sensei was standing at the skaters’ exit pulling at the mat, I had no choice but to pull the strings so it wouldn’t open.

Miyahara: I did not know that at all.

Tamura: That’s because it was fine play from the shadows (laughs). Because nobody noticed it, I said it myself.

I will ask about the World Championships that took place following the Olympic Games. I think you were aiming for a great performance like the Olympic Games, but you made some mistakes. What was the reason for that?

Miyahara: Before the competition, I was wondering whether I would be able to build up the same feeling after giving everything at the Olympic Games, but in reality it was not about that at all. I was able to face the World Championships in the same way with a good motivation, but for a moment before the free I thought “Eh? Am I feeling tired?” ... That was the difference between the usual World Championships and this one. Even during the competition there were times when I couldn’t concentrate the same way as I did before and that led to mistakes.

Tamura: The Olympic season is a lot more tiring than we realize.

The source of expressive power that created a unique view of the world

Next, I will talk about expressiveness as a theme. Is there anything that Miyahara, who is very shy person, do to overcome it?

Miyahara: I tried to greet foreign skaters. Other than that, not only with skating, but my coaches helped with various things, I started making jokes and was able to open up.

Tamura: In the case of Miyahara, there are also instances where self-confidence comes out without realizing while giving out results in the competition. Speaking of points for expression, the situation was at its limit last year when we didn’t know whether she would be able to go to the Olympics or not; her jumps in practice were also limited. At that time we just did what we could do. As a result, the evaluation of the expression increased and the score of the components went up. Even if she was injured, she wasn’t overwhelmed by bad feelings and I think that attitude has led to a good direction.

To what extent did you work on improving expressiveness?

Miyahara: I tried to deepen my understanding of the songs. I was watching ballet and various movies while I was injured. I was constantly conscious of how to express the piece and to fit the choreography and sounds together.

For the short program "SAYURI", you also read the original English book, but what was the influence on the performance?

Miyahara: Since I watched the movie, I also read the book. The movie only draws the main character's life briefly, but I can understand the feelings behind the scene in the movie by reading the book. It was quite fun.

In recent years, the programs were all expressed by Miyahara 's worldview. Is there anything you are keen on acting?

Miyahara: I want to make the kind of program that makes people want to see it again. I still haven’t done that yet.

Do you have any programs you would like to do in the future?

Tamura: Come on, share your secret. (laughs)

Miyahara: It’s a secret (laughs). Look forward to it (laughs).

How about using choreography made by coach Tamura from now on? Speaking of coach Tamura, he’s done a lot of unique programs that remain in the history of ice shows. Miyahara-senshu was watching closely, right?

Miyahara: ... (laughs)

Tamura: The last time I offered to make choreography for you, you turned me down in a second (laughs).

I can not imagine a comic Miyahara yet, but I am looking forward to seeing a new view of the world from Miyahara after next season.

Miyahara: I do not know what kind of program it will be, but I think that I can show you a different image once again.

Special gallery: Satoko practicing her pitch with coach Tamura for the opening ceremonies of the baseball games

youtube

Tamura: Today is your last practice and after 10 days your form is still not stable. You haven’t practiced enough!

Translation by @iguana012

#Satoko Miyahara #Yamato Tamura #season: 2017 2018 #interview #translation

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axelsandwich · 7 years

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yuzuru hanyu: an exhaustive introduction

YUZURU HANYU IN 8 SECONDS: A SUMMARY

the weird goat noise crying at the end is yuzu himself basically going ‘nooo no way, no I don’t want this, that was scary, so scaryyy’

THIS IS ALSO YUZURU HANYU IN 13 SECONDS

YUZURU HANYU JUST BEING HIMSELF (PART 2)

choose your fighter

he’s happy a lot

basically the embodiment of the n__n emoji

and cute

the cutest

ever

loves nature on the rare occasions he goes outside

hitting his coach with a fan

scaring his other coach and then running away

adorable w kids

loves teaching

but also falls down a lot. very cutely.

sometimes in a stupidly beautiful way

factual info you could probably Wikipedia but are too lazy to do so: Yuzuru Hanyu is a Japanese figure skater from Sendai, born 7 December 1994 who competes in the men's singles discipline.

PSA: YUZURU HANYU IS NOT THE MODEL FOR KATSUKI YUURI FROM YURI ON ICE (yuuri katsuki is canonically based on tatsuki machida thank u)

japanese media (esp in sendai) basically filmed him growing up and called him a young prodigy so we’re lucky to get footage of chipmunk-cheeked yuzu with his (flying) mushroom hair

look at this tiny bean

he was interviewed in ice rink sendai with japan’s other figure skating gold medallist shizuka arakawa. to quote, when asked “can you become a gold medallist too?”, he said “probably”. and then he went and did exactly that.

he would get into fights with his rinkmates, used to ball up skate rink magazine flyers to hit like a baseball and basically had a 5min attention span after which he would get bored

he also remained top 5 in his class academically while competing internationally during high school and does online education at waseda university, which is one of the most prestigious universities in Japan (this kid was away the day God handed out laziness and procrastination I s2g)

he’s studying Human Informatics and Cognitive Sciences (ie. basically a massive maths nerd)

my favourite in-depth and extended interviews with yuzu are his press conferences with the foreign correspondents club in japan, he really lets his intelligence and thoughtfulness shine here in particular:

2014 post-sochi olympics

2018 post-pyeongchang olympics

2018 post-pyeongchang olympics (japanese media)

memelord mc memeface (no, I am serious)

literally can’t control his face

I could go on.........

for a long time

(this is my fave)

the duality of man

10 expressions for the price of one

‘yuzuru will also respond in english’

yuzuru was a victim of the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami and lived in an emergency shelter with his family for about a week. spent the summer afterwards skating 60 different ice shows to raise money for the victims. he lost his home rink because of the earthquake and so would go to the show rinks early to practice ):

it’s heartbreaking that he’s still very affected by the memories. he’s said he doesn’t take anything for granted and is always grateful to have a rink to skate on, and the impact he had on the survivors had a profound effect on his skating

he mentioned it in his post olympics interview

if you feel like crying really really hard today, watch yuzuru visiting sendai’s disaster affected areas and where he stayed initially in the days after the disaster

he donated all his olympic winnings to helping tohoku recover

the only regular TV appearance he does every year is 24hr TV which is a charity marathon to raise money for various causes, especially for areas affected by natural disaster

“If it is because I visited them that those who suffered from the disaster can forget about their hardships for even just a moment, to me that would be something very meaningful. Therefore, at that moment, I thought that I wanted to get another Gold medal at the next Olympics.”

the reason why he’s going for another olympic medal. cry with us

gets on with nobunari oda like a house on fire and carries out shenanigans whenever they meet

nobu and ex-tennis player matsuoka shuzo have been his most zealous and purest hype men since he was sixteen, it’s the cutest thing in the world, they’re regularly worried about him, stunned by him and moved to tears by his performances

here they are reacting to his olympics programs

here’s yuzu thanking shuzo for his support by putting his gold medal around shuzo-san’s neck

has the cutest bromance ever with training mate javier fernandez (eg. when he cried bc he didn’t win but was also super happy for javi, and when he watched javi’s free skate)

gives the best hugs to javi

iconic(TM)

just before the Olympic medal ceremony, yuzuru cried after javi told him this would be his last olympics and saying ‘no I can’t do it without you’ wow I didn’t need my heart or anything today

has the cutest interactions with all skaters including his direct competitors

here’s boyang jin giggling about how he got a hug from ‘the guy who likes Pooh’

nathan chen commenting on yuzu & both of them complimenting each other

dodges media attempts to pit him against shoma uno as bitter rivals bc they are NOT ABOUT THAT LIFE

olympic gold medallist checking to make sure the olympic silver medallist has his jacket on straight and teaching shoma to wave bc he is actually just a mother

the only person who has the ability to make him lose focus: his forever-idol evgeni plushenko (now in motion)

probably the only asian boy who willingly opted for a bowl cut

who he shamelessly cheers on during ice shows

literally not capable of not being extra as fuck

here’s his pre-competition rituals aka. lipsyncing silently at a wall

he does it a lot

where every other male skater is in sensible shirts and pants, you will find yuzu standing there BEDECKED IN SEQUINS AND FEATHERS

he don’t give a fuck about your gender norms

and looks excellent while doing so

here he is, single-handedly destroying toxic masculinity

here he is just generally being Extra, with the rest of the men, bullying junhwan, bullying boyang... speed skating

tbh his milkshake seems to bring all the boys to the yard...seriously. and obviously most of the girls...

famous for his death glare murder face of hyper-competitive intensity

scariest thing is how quickly he can switch it on

there’s literally a collection of photos of yuzu - from when he was a bb to presently - eyeing the gold medal from another podium position like ‘my precious will be mine soon’ (here’s another one)

but also for being the sweetest kid ever

he is truly SUPER polite wherever he goes

hugging his competitors at the 2018 pyeongchang olympics

staying behind to answer all questions from media at the competition

CRAWLING ON HIS HANDS AND KNEES behind competitor shoma uno so he doesn’t get in the background of shoma’s interview

mr worldwide (he thanked reporters at the Olympics in five languages)

watch him say thank you in korean

JP TV basically had entire TV segments where they were like ‘OBSERVE HIS GOD-LIKE BEHAVIOUR’. It continues to this day

there’s literally a shrine with kanji similar to his name and fans pray for him there

he has three dedicated shrines that his fans make pilgrimmages to - yuzuruha and the two seimei shrines.

oda nobunari visited one and basically all the ema wishes were for him (yuzuru himself also visited the shrine to pray as well)

helping people repair the rink after competitions

single-handedly keeping the winnie the pooh soft toy industry alive.

Disney-senpai finally noticed him in 2018

he donates all the toys he gets to local orphanages and charities

gives his fans regular heart attacks

watch him save jumps that shouldn’t have been physically possible

changing program halfway through when he failed a jump to accommodate #emergencyquad and #yolotripleaxel

casually breaks world records because he was annoyed with himself

casual jump combinations during practices

casually says shit like wanting to jump hithero impossible jumps

jumped new quad when pissed off at the world team trophy It is REALLY IMPORTANT to know that the main reason for fan heart attacks is because he’s dealt with a distressing number of injuries, illnesses and misfortunes in his skating life but has somehow managed to come back and succeed in spite of them

a really scary accident that happened at cup of china 2014 and he decided to skate anyway because he wanted to qualify for the Grand Prix Final (which he then went on to win) and he really should not have been allowed to but he.......did that > <;

he then came back a month later to win the Grand Prix Final for the 2nd year in a row

he then had abdominal pain and surgery right after winning Japanese Nationals in 2014

and after spending a month recuperating, still managed to win a silver medal at worlds 2014

this is why we don’t talk about boston

important to note he skated his iconic chopin/seimei 2015 grand prix final programs WITH THAT INJURY

but then he came back and won the world championships in Helsinki in 2017

he missed almost the entire 2017-2018 olympic season he severely injured his ankle while practising the 4Lz in practice at the NHK Trophy, while recovering from a fever

is making his comeback from injury either at the pyeongchang team event or potentially yolo-ing it and going just for the individual event, we have no idea, we just know heart attacks are imminent

update: he skipped the team event and made his COMEBACK SKATE FROM INJURY after 3 months of no competitions and 1 month of prep at the individual mens event of the pyeongchang olympics.... AND FRIKKIN WON HIS SECOND OLYMPIC GOLD

he then...injured himself again for the 2018-19 season, went out and skated anyway, won the event and showed up to the victory ceremony on crutches. he made a comeback at the world championships 2019 on painkillers yet again and still managed to get a silver medal

is proficient at disappearing like a ninja and subjecting his fans to radio silence for months on end, usually bc he injured himself ))):

so his fans made him a banner

(he has some ridiculously talented fans tbh)

a helpful guide to stanning yuzu (warning: you may feel Attacked)

did I mention he happens to be pretty good at figure skating?

he’s broken the world record 16 times and counting (the video is his reaction to the first 11 (most of them are his own records)

he’s the first man in 66yrs since Dick Button to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals in mens figure skating (sochi 2014 and pyeongchang 2018)

I cannot emphasise HOW FRIKKIN #YOLO HIS 2018 OLYMPIC SEASON WAS. this was the medal he wanted his ENTIRE LIFE, which he had literally planned since he was a novice skater and had seriously begun planning since right after he won the gold in Sochi. this plan had to be adjusted due to the truly distressing number of injuries, illnesses and misfortunes he sustained during the last quad (his Olympic athlete profile has PARAGRAPHS dedicated to all his injuries - and note these are only the post-2014 ones). but yuzuru started the 2017-18 olympic season with a plan to basically break all 3 of his WRs at the olympics by recycling his Chopin and Seimei programs but upgrading the layout and introducing a new quad - the 4Lz - which he had been preparing for years. and then this plan was, once again, thrown out the window when he sustained the injury in NHK in early November, which was much more severe than he first thought. he sat out of competition for 3mths despite hoping to return first at Japanese Nationals and then to the Pyeongchang team event, but pulled out of both as well. yuzuru made his comeback from injury debut at the individual men’s event, aka. the BIG DEAL, after marching into the airport like a BOSS. we were told he had only recovered his triple axel 3 weeks ago and his quads 2 weeks ago, but post-Olympics, he’s slowly revealing that it was even more dire than that. he skated the entire Olympics on painkillers that were not working 100% which meant every jump landing hurt. and he. frikkin. WON. by doing this. and this. (it was also the 1000th medal in Winter Olympics history because destiny rewards those who are Most Extra)

seimei is arguably one of the greatest masterpieces of skating programs and yuzuru was involved in every step of putting it together

his iconic moves ; _ ;

edges, have you seen anything more ridiculous

romeo and juliet 1.0 at worlds, less than 1yr after the tsunami disaster and really launched him onto the international stage

sochi olympic short program (the thing that won him the gold lbr)

sub point: his reaction to gold

sub point: his reactions to BOTH HIS GOLD MEDALS

chopin and seimei at Grand Prix Finals 2015/16

WR for highest short program and total program score and he’s gonna bring them both back and try to surpass them for the Olympic season because he wasn’t already under enough pressure.........

hope and legacy FS at Worlds 2016/17 where he came back from 5th place in the short program to win the free and break his own world record yet again (annotated version)

broke his 12th WR in the first event of the 2017-2018 Olympic season at the ACI Challenger event with a sore knee and downgraded jump layout

hilariously, his coach brian orser was - uncharacteristically - warning everyone that his first skates of the season are like ‘first pancakes’ and to not expect too much from him before the SP

his fans, needless to say, were amused

he did go ahead and die in the free skate the following day though, and finished with his obligatory Canadian silver

Jumped and landed his first 4Lz in competition at the Rostelecom Cup 2017 (watch it clean - it’s a THING OF BEAUTY) and now has landed 4 types of quads in competition (4T, 4S, 4Lo and 4Lz). Has now said that being the first person ever to land the 4A - his childhood dream - is one of his key motivations.

just go watch all his programs lol

has a majestic jump face. it’s art. literally.

seemingly endless appetite for getting better and continually challenging himself

his favourite word: kuyashii (ie. frustrated)

one of my favourite interviews of him ever was right after his broke all 3 world records and went over 200 and 300 for the FS and total competition score for the first time at NHK 2015. “[On losing to Patrick Chan at Skate Canada & the fact he was practising during gala rehearsal where everyone else was chilling] I thought I want to improve, even here right now. Patrick was nearby and it was a really good motivation. It’s like, ‘Watch me.' I will definitely practise all kinds of jumps and I will grow for sure. I will win the next time for sure, I have been practising with that in mind.” Then 3 weeks later, at NHK Trophy, he had a different lay-out. Yuzu: This is not related to Patrick anymore. I was really fired up this time. Boyang Jin got 95 points in SP, right? When I saw that score, I thought, wow NO MISTAKES!! He gave the best of his abilities! OH YES!!!! Matsu: You didn’t think OH NO!!! You thought OH YES???? Yuzu: I thought “It’s here!!!" Since I was a child, I have never liked winning a competition when others made mistakes. Everyone skates to their best, but I still come first, above all. That is what I like. I like pushing myself to the edge—.” (translation cr: yuzusorbet) says volumes about his competitive mentality.

this is also iconic AF. ‘In your mind, what do you mean by wanting to win with a commanding lead?’ yuzuru (no hesitation and immediately): after everyone goes clean, I go clean and win. (matsuoka shuzo’s face is a MOOD)

oh, also he’s had asthma since he was two

he talks about it here

it was referenced in a movie

he got an asthma attack 2wks before the World Championships in Helsinki 2017 and still went out and Did That

the new york times did a long feature on him and it’s mostly a pretty comprehensive article if you want an overview

has remained at number one in the world standings for the entire olympic cycle since 2013 despite aforementioned heart-attack-inducing injuries and illnesses

sucks at finding suits that fit him. because he needs one imperfection

questionable fashion sense in general (generally remains stuck at ‘japanese teenage boy circa 2005′)

he wears toe socks and has been seen wearing crocs once, ho n e st l y

Good Guy Yuzuru: doesn’t wear fitted suits often because he knows it’ll kill his fans and/or will only do so if he gets paid for it tbh

unless he’s wearing under armour

he can keep wearing under armour

seriously, why isn’t he being sponsored by under armour

why

really obsessed with earphones and has like 50 pairs, many of which are custom-made and cost over $1000. he gets really excited about sound quality & bonds with sound technicians over their headphones. basically it’s the only thing he talks about when interviewers want to know what he likes to do in his spare time

that and play games in his room by himself

he’s hyper-competitive about games too

is this a surprise at this point

he’s basically a shut in when he’s not on the ice rink, in competition or at an ice show. he is not v exciting

he got really obsessed with kendama and now has like 8 of them

can’t dance but has no shame (yeah) (YEAH. you’ve been warned). werq it boi

made his japanese film debut in a bald cap, playing the young lord of Sendai which he SORT OF BASICALLY IS

get you a man that loves you like the entire city of Sendai loves yuzuru

their cheer video for sochi and pyeongchang

as of originally writing this intro post - part of the top six men in figure skating right now. probably possesses the Most Lack of Chill, being world champion, olympic champion and holder of all 3 figure skating records. we’re all drinking heavily this olympic season, not in the least because Olympic season has been a Pretty Big Disaster So Far

BUT HE WON THE GOLD MEDAL AND THE MENS EVENT WAS - FOR THE MOST PART - PRETTY DAMN BRILLIANT, especially given all the disasters that happened this season.......so I recommend watching it all. ; __ ;

alas Patrick Chan and Javier Fernandez have now retired ;;

he’s also b e a u t i f u l

um excuse me, rude

VERY RUDE

apparently not interested in sex appeal.........

‘acting’

want to research more?

here’s a recommended watchpost

a compilation of interesting interviews by tsukihoshi14

gif cr: balladestorm

in conclusion, thank you for reading and I hope you know more about this special, brilliant boy ( :

#yuzuru hanyu #hanyu yuzuru #figure skating #figure skate #yuri on ice #pimp post #I'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS FOR 6MTHS I S2G #do people even do pimp posts anymore #anyway this is for anyone who hasn't fallen into the sinkhole that is yuzu's existence #maaaybe I will do some for other skaters #i contemplated making this a powerpoint slide meme #but then there was too much to link #so you get a HUGE FUCKING LINKS MASTERPOST INSTEAD #((if i've missed anything pls message me))#in celebration of fucking AUTUMN CLASSIC STARTING THIS WEEK AD:HS:FKJSA:

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superchartisland · 6 years

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E: Winter Games (Epyx, Commodore 64, 1985)

Younger readers, and indeed older readers who grew up on consoles, may not remember the age of joysticks. Actual, aeroplane-style joysticks. The ones I remember most were the ones that relied on suction cups under their base to hold them in place on the desk. They were a species whose life was a fragile one, and their natural predator was the sports game.

Somewhere along the line, someone came up with the great idea that to represent an athletic, physical contest, the best approach was to test the physical capabilities of the player. Specifically, their ability to move a joystick back and forth as fast as possible. And it was everywhere. Your decathlon game could involve the same mechanic for each of the running events, and players would be able to do the whole 100 metres at full pelt but tire before the end of the 400 metre. Realism! Anyway, for joysticks this type of thing had a tendency to result in, at best, a lurch from the desk and into the wall. Often the result was not that fortunate, and instead there was a guttural scrunch and it was all over for that joystick.

I loved those games anyway. Especially the ones tied to some bigger event. Sports narratives worked for me early in life -- straining to be the very best at something was easily understandable, and especially coupled with all of the trappings, very exciting. I used my Lego to build a stadium and stage various Olympic events with Lego people dressed in rough estimation of various countries’ colours.

Winter Games has the right idea when it starts off with choosing which country to represent and getting a brief chiptune rendition of their national anthem (the Japanese one is haunting as fuck). I’ve never actually played it before, but I loved a later similar game by Epyx, who covered games for all seasons and not just the traditional two: Summer Games, Winter Games, California Games, Summer Games II...

Better still, their games took things to a different level than the joystick-destroyers. The popularity of decathlon games was presumably because one person really competes in all of those events so it was an obvious choice. But not one with that much scope for variety, since even the field segments just about all involve running too. Why be constrained? In a computer game you can be anyone or anything. You can be an abstract concept, so of course you can also be a country’s entire Winter Olympics team! Ester Ledecká may have won gold in both skiing and snowboarding, but I’m pretty sure no one has ever taken on bobsled and figure skating. In Winter Games you can, and with a range of different challenges as a result, the results from each of them adding up to an aggregate picture.

Note here that Winter Games is about a multi-sport event at which competitors from all around the world compete to win gold, silver and bronze medals, focused on Winter sports, but it’s definitely not the Winter Olympics, oh no. That would have to wait until Epyx got the licence later. But with or without that licence, or Mario and Sonic and friends, you have a format here which has continued right to the present day without changing that much -- a set of sports-themed challenges which are each different, easily picked up but with enough depth to be worth playing again.

The Winter sports biathlon, a version of some people's everyday means of getting around interrupted arbitrarily to shoot a gun for a bit, is arguably one of the more video game-y sports out there, so maybe it’s no surprise that it’s Winter Games’s strongest moment. It’s the one place where frantic joystick waggling does come in, for its uphill skiing sections, but the smarter emphasis throughout is on rhythm, and even waggling at joystick-endangering speed puts you at risk of slipping up when you get back to the flat after. The shooting sections are a marvel of miniature precision gameplay. A cursor moves quickly up and down across the target; you have to press down-up to reload between each shot and then fire. There is just about long enough to do so between the times the cursor is over a target, but it’s a difficult one. So each time you have to choose whether to take the faster shot and gain time but with an increased potential for a much larger time penalty for a miss. It’s just so elegant.

And even when the other sports are represented less elegantly, there’s something else going for them which has some different present day resonance. If you have two surviving joysticks, two players can take on speed skating (essentially the rhythmic flat skiing bits of biathlon taken on their own) against each other. But if you don’t, you can each take on a computer-controlled pacer and compare times. And all the other events have up to eight players take them on in turn. Obviously as a concept, this goes way back to… many sports themselves, and also to the arcade high score tables that are one place AAA takes its name from. But Winter Games facilitates the process of competing for scores, with all the pressure and joys of being the next one in the hot seat taking on the task. It’s not something players decide to do but something front and foremost in the game.

I have great memories of playing a lot of those when I was younger. There is nothing like watching someone pull off a seemingly unbeatable score and then putting everything together to take the one chance to beat it. Even better if it takes you into the overall lead across all events. And the thing with this is that if events are less satisfying, like Winter Games’ clumsy figure skating, it almost doesn’t matter, because every player is taking on the same task. As long as there is differentiation, that will do.

Games largely stopped having high score tables, and as having more controllers became more common there was broadly a move to simultaneous multi-player. As internet connections did the same, a further move to online multiplayer followed. But then things started to come back round again. Some online games started having high score tables for each of their levels. You can take the hot seat to compete for the fastest time once more. And what are achievements and trophies but a series of different challenges, the scores from each of them adding up to an aggregate picture? It’s not just joystick life expectancy that had a happy legacy from this type of game.

#Winter Games #Commodore 64 #C64 #computer games #video games #Winter Olympics #gif #screenshot

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fyeahchinesepairs · 7 years

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Sui/Han: Post-FS Press conference & mixed zone interviews at 2017 NHK Trophy

Source: SkatingChina. Please do not repost this translation without permission.

Press conference:

Feelings about their free skate performance and NHK Trophy in general:

Sui: Very happy. This was our second time competing at NHK Trophy, the first time (2013) we didn't perform very well, this time we overcame ourselves and showed the results of our training. We're grateful to the audience for cheering for us, we're very happy.

Thoughts about their new world record:

Han: I still haven't realized yet that we set a new world record. When we go back later and I can process that we did a pretty impressive thing, I'll be able to get a good night's sleep. This venue in Japan has brought us a lot of strength, we skated in this arena with freedom, enjoyment, and happiness. What we didn't show yesterday [in the SP], we vividly showed [today]. Of course, there are still many incomplete areas in our programs, there is still a lot of room for improvement, [such as] portraying the emotional interaction between the two of us in a more detailed way. Given a little more time, we want to create more miracles. No, no, that's saying too much, but just give us a little more time.

On qualifying for GPF and returning to Japan:

Han: Before the Grand Prix Final, we will skate our free skate one more time at Shanghai Trophy. As for the GPF, we want to experience the enjoyment and process of the competition. When we next come back to Japan, the audience atmosphere may be even warmer and our strength will be even greater.

On the meaning behind their free skate and why they chose it for the Olympic season:

Sui: I think "Turandot" is an old-fashioned story of a prince and princess. The princess was angry and weary of the world when the prince entered her life and influenced her bit by bit, eventually creating love. We chose this music because it has Chinese elements, the princess is a Chinese princess. Through this program, we want to show the strength of China and the love between us.

The difference between this competition and Cup of China:

Han: More confidence; last time it was our first time performing our programs on the international stage, this time we performed better. This time we enjoyed it more; at both competitions we felt the support of the audience. Another small difference is that she is tired, I'm tired too.

-----------------------------------

Mixed zone:

You've won two competitions and have more confidence; what about pressure?

Sui: Follow [my] heart, happily skate.

Han: Yes, we've finished two competitions and will go back to the starting point, exposing many problems in the programs [to fix].

Sui: Right, especially in the short program, which needs further adjustment, this is the focus of our next step. There are also many details in the free skate that we did not complete, our overall physical strength also needs to increase, there are still many areas to improve.

Han: Even though everyone thinks we skated very well, we still know we haven't done a lot yet, we still haven't achieved the ideal score in our hearts. If a full score is 10, right now we're only at about 7 or 8.

How are your preparations for this season? How is the condition of your body?

Sui: Not bad; no matter what difficulties may arise, we two will continue to work hard together.

How was the process of choreographing your programs in Canada?

Sui: The schedule this year was a bit tight because we stayed an extra week in Finland. Because we met the president of Finland and President Xi, when we went to Canada we didn't have enough time. Lori understands us very well and chose two very good pieces of music, all of us liked them very much, and we could express them well. But at the first two choreography sessions, there were still many problems. Lori flew to China twice to help us modify the programs into what everyone can see today; we're very grateful. Her health is not very good but she still rushed over, we're truly moved. We're very thankful for everything our coaching team and Lori did for us.

When you debuted as juniors (2009), you won the JGPF which was held in Tokyo. Eight years have passed since then.

Sui: I feel like many things have changed, back then I was so young, newborn calves are not afraid of tigers. The first year we made the Final, it was good enough if we skated happily.

Han: (sighing, secretly asking the translator) Can you translate that for me?

Sui: At that time I just thought the whole arena in Japan was decorated really nicely. Since it was the first time, everything felt new, the medals were also very pretty, even now I remember what the medals looked like. The biggest difference is my control over the competition field, because before I just thought it was fine if I skated happily.

What are your hopes/expectations for your first Olympics?

Sui: If we skate happily and do our best, that's good. We hope to show our level in practice at the Olympics.

Han: Before the season there was pressure, but now we feel quite relaxed. Because it will be our first time [at the Olympics], it's not a burden, we will challenge it without stress. Just like when we were juniors, rushing onward and fighting is good enough.

What is the difference between your "Turandot" and your coaches' "Turandot"?

Sui: (without listening to the translator; Han sighs again) I think it's very different. Our coaches' "Turandot" was under the old judging system, the new system adds a lot of details, that's the biggest difference. Our program is a mix of modern and classical, the emotional part is more delicate. Personal qualities and style are more apparent, and because the story is already set, like actors, we must figure out how to act it out. The audience and judges will enjoy something that has unique personal characteristics, that is how you can enter people's hearts.

Will you participate in the Beijing Olympic Games?

Han: Definitely. In the beginning, we had a 4-year plan; after Beijing succeeded in the Olympic bid we had a longer-term plan. As long as our bodies will allow, under energizing conditions, we hope to have a good competition at home.

Do domestic [off-ice] activities affect your training? How do you adjust?

Sui: I think good athletes should have the ability to adjust to and accept these things. Our coaches will tell us ways to deal with it, and we will also adjust ourselves. There isn't a sudden increase, it increases a little bit every year, so we're used to it. Of course, our coaches will also consider how to adjust for important events.

How did Sui Wenjing learn Japanese?

Han: She learned from watching anime.

Sui: I like Japanese anime, such as "One Piece", "Naruto", stuff like that. I was influenced by [Yu] Xiaoyu.

What do you like about Japan?

Sui: Delicious food.

Han: I like Japanese anime, action figures, scenery and food, and Japanese girls. Japanese girls are very pretty! (joking)

What is the relationship between you two? As pair skaters, how do you promote your relationship?

Han: We're friends.

Sui: We don't promote our relationship (laughs).

#sui wenjing #han cong #wenjing sui #cong han #fstranslation #NHK 2017 #competition #season: 2017 2018 #sh: 2017 2018 #interview #interview: sh #translation #translation: sh #pics #pics: sh #better late than never

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the-a-factor-fs-blog · 7 years

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Kiss & Cry - Episode 6

Welcome to the sixth Episode of “Kiss & Cry”, Max&Angelo’s Podcasts.

If you missed previous Episodes, you can catch up with it here (x).

This fifth podcast is 121:06 minutes long, and it’s available to be listened in Italian here: https://www.spreaker.com/user/talk-sport/puntata-6.

In the following translation, (M) indicates when M. Ambesi is speaking, (A) indicates when A. Dolfini is speaking.

Translated by The-A-Factor Team. Please do not repost without permission.

Table of Contents

1. Cup of China and Skate Canada Recap & Analysis

Ladies: After a lacklustre Skate Canada, we witnessed fireworks at Cup of China. Through the analysis of some of the most interesting programs we saw there, we’ll try to see if and how much final results can be influenced by the judgement meter of the technical panel and judges.

In Pairs, hierarchy seems to be delineated.

In Men, some big names already out of GPF.

Ice Dance. Focus on Virtue/Moir’s and Papadakis/Cizeron’s performances in their GP. GP Standings and possible GP Finalists.

2. Preview of NHK Trophy.

An event with Yuzuru Hanyu and all other current World Champions. For Italy, Carolina Kostner and Cappellini/Lanotte will be there.

3. Q & A Session

Part 1 - Cup of China

1.1 Ladies - Cup of China

(M): I’d like to start today’s episode by discussing about the Ladies, because at Skate Canada and Cup of China, we witnessed two completely different competitions: the former with lots of mistakes, a very strict technical panel and relatively low scores; the latter full of high quality free programs, very high scores and clear indications on who will qualify for GPF. (A): Cup of China was just incredible, I agree, surely the most exciting competition we’ve had so far in the Grand Prix. There were some mistakes in the short program for everybody, and there were seven skaters with almost the same chances of success, very close in terms of scores. This made the free program even more exciting to watch, especially because we witnessed some extraordinary performances there. I’d say it’s the Ladies field in general that was really intriguing so far, and yes, maybe Skate Canada wasn’t as good as Cup of China, but Rostelecom Cup was superb. (M): In Canada, Osmond’s supremacy was unquestioned. She skated a flawless short program that earned her the highest SP score of the season, Medvedeva aside. She made some mistakes in the free, but she was still superior to the competition there and she got very high PCS as well. Only Osmond, Kostner and Medvedeva were able to score more than 70 so far. But today, we would like to highlight the differences between the two technical panels and, most importantly, how much does GOE impact the scores in Ladies, especially looking at the most important competitions of the season. Very often the Grade of Execution is underestimated when commenting on scores, but nowadays it is the real key to understanding results. Truthfully, in some cases, it’s the base value that makes the difference, but it depends on which skaters you want to compare. Angelo, in my opinion, we should start with the unevenness of the technical panels of the competitions we mentioned above. (A): Talking about singles (both men and ladies), the indicators we should look for when discussing uniformity of judging in different technical panels are: underrotation/downgrade calls and edge calls. Skate Canada’s panel was strict for sure, in the context of a low quality competition though. Such a panel didn’t really favour the Americans - I should say the American ladies were quite disappointing so far, even considering Helsinki’s results. In China, the situation was slightly different. Some rotations were scrutinized, but there was a lot more tolerance on edge calls, and both Radionova and Higuchi benefitted from it. Daleman’s Flip was called wrong edge - and I think it’s correct - even though it’s not really different from Higuchi’s. On underrotations, I’d say Radionova was the one who benefitted the most from the panel’s tolerance and probably Zagitova too. (M): The role of the technical panel is extremely important for some skaters who, depending on the panel’s strictness, can fight for a medal or fall outside of top 5 just as easily. It’s especially Ashley Wagner’s and Karen Chen’s case, since they are the ones who have the biggest issues with rotations right now, and with the score they got in Canada, they would have placed 8th and 10th in China. Such unevenness is unfair in my opinion, and they need to find a solution, because there should be a common standard among the various panels, you can’t have one panel judge in a way and the next one completely the opposite. By the way, the technical panel we had in China will judge the Men’s event at the Olympics.

(A): And this is indeed interesting. This was a test event for them, they need to come together, create a good team in order to work well not only at the most important event of the year, but maybe in the most anticipated competition of the entire Games. On the other hand, having these fluctuations from one competition to the other makes everything a lot more difficult, even for the skaters themselves, because the lack of a common bar impacts their strategies, it confuses them in a way. Let’s take Higuchi as an example, she got away with her Flip edge so far, what if she gets a wrong edge call at her next event? You confuse the athlete and her coaching staff too.

(M): And she has all the means to replace that Flip with a Loop! Yes, you lose 0.2 on BV, but how much will you gain on GOE? We said it earlier, for many skaters, GOE is the real key to their success, and Higuchi is one of the skaters who got the highest GOE up until now, despite the obvious hardships on Flip - it’s really hard to give +1 or +2 on that jump to be honest, even the single judge notices the unclear/wrong edge and it’s very hard for them to reward that element with a +2 GOE, contrary to the rest of her jumps.

(A): Yes apart from the Flip, her jumps are spectacular, she goes into them carrying a lot of speed, they’re high, that’s remarkable. Then again, she receives contrasting calls on her 3+3 combination, that triple toe loop at the end is always borderline, so as I was saying before the technical panel isn’t giving her clear indications. Had the technical panel called the underrotations more consistently her coaching staff might have considered changing strategy and plan one 3Lz3T and a 2A3T in the free program, rather than two 3Lz3T. So, this is a big matter of discussion, undoubtedly, but I don’t think they can find the uniformity of judging we’re wishing so soon.

(M): So there’s only one solution at this point: technology. (A): It could be a solution, yes. Of course it’s not easy to implement, it should be studied and tested thoroughly, you need to have exact entry and exit curve on a jump on video, the take off, etc.. I think it’s not that easy, but in my opinion a lot could be done with a technical specialist’s training: trying to set a standard at the beginning of the season, creating more uniformity in judging, educating the specialists and controllers more. I believe this is a crucial step as well. (M): Leaving costs aside, an electronic goniometer could be useful for both of the most debated issues: prerotation and underrotation.

More and more often, we see skaters getting +2 on quad jumps that are in fact short on rotation both in takeoff and landing. When you cheat half a revolution on the take off and more than a quarter on the landing, what kind of a quad is that? It’s little more than a triple to be honest! These jumps represent a serious problem that needs to be solved, and I don’t think it can be done this season, even if the Olympic Games are near.” (A): No, I think nothing can be done this season, nor in the near future. They need to start studying the problem and find a solution though. Yes, electronic goniometer might be a good tool, but it’s not easy to implement. Sometimes even watching the videos it’s hard to figure the exact moment when a skater lands on the ice: one frame he’s still in the air, the next one the whole blade is on the ice already. It’s not easy! (M): Angelo, let’s explain how the technical panel works, taking Mihara’s 3F in the free program as an example. I am the Technical Specialist, I watch the jump and call it “3F”. What happens next? (A): Basically, if the Assistant Technical Specialist and Technical Controller agree with your call, you go on to call the following element. In case someone has doubts on the element, they can call a review, namely the possibility to see a replay of that specific element at the end of the program. Usually when they call a review, they also specify why they’re calling it: unclear edge, underrotation etc… so that the Data Operator can choose the right segment of the video to show the panel. (M): True, but I can call a review for an unclear edge and then notice the jump lacks rotation as well, this can happen quite often. Anyway, in our case, Mai Mihara had planned to execute that element in the second half of her free skate. Let’s explain what the rule says here: the duration of a free program in Ladies is 4 minutes +/- 10 seconds, but they don’t measure it from the time the music starts, right Angelo? (A): No, the chronometer starts when the skaters begins to move on the ice. That’s what matters, performance duration, not music duration. In Ladies, after 2 minutes of performance, the computer automatically attributes a bonus to every jumping pass performed after that time.

(M): So, even if your music time is 4:09’’ every jump executed after 2:00’’ gets a bonus, despite that not being the exact half of your program. Going back to our case: Mai Mihara takes off precisely at 1:58’’ and some tenths, and lands at 2:00’’ (2:00:1 maybe). So take off in first half, landing in the second half. What happens here?

(A): Eh… It depends on when exactly the Specialist calls the element and the Data Operator inserts the element in the computer. In case they are both ready and fast they might have called the element before the 2 minutes and make you lose the bonus. (M): And in our case, Mai Mihara didn’t receive the bonus on her 3F which arguably affected her final result. We picked it as an example, because it highlights some of the problems we had in this Technical Panel. At this point, after explaining how the Technical Panel works, we can start analyzing the Ladies free programs better, because there are some interesting aspects involved. You have already mentioned something about Higuchi, what’s the real problem with her? Strategy, both in the short and the free. In her short program, that opening 2A makes no sense and actually makes her lose precious points. In her free, that opening 2A could make sense, mainly if you don’t plan to execute all of your jumps in the second half. Which, to be fair, is what the rules would require. Right, Angelo?

(A): That’s true. The rule actually says “Credit for highlight distribution” and you can find these very words on protocols as well. So, jumps are referred to as “highlights” of a program, since they’re the most characteristic and spectacular elements, and you’re given a bonus for their distribution. A legit question though: what if you place all the jumps in the first half (like we used to do when I skated) or you move them all in the second one? Could that be considered “highlight distribution”? As a matter of fact, there isn’t a uniform dissemination of jumps throughout the entire program. (M): Now we have skaters who, in order to move all the jumps in the second half, fill the first one with the two sequences (Step Sequence and Choreo Sequence). Somehow, that could be an advantage, since the skater is well rested at the beginning of the program and could perform that element with more precision. By the way, there was a study that demonstrated how skater’s heart rate increased the most during the step sequence. Of course it doesn’t mean that step sequences are the most difficult elements, but it’s the longest and probably the most demanding. Zagitova executes those elements, plus a spin, in the first part of her program, so to have room to fill the second half with jumps. It’s clear that - from a choreographic point of view - a second half with only jumps, it does lose something.

(A): Transitions gets fewer, entries can’t be that hard, jumps are closer one to the other. It’s true that Zagitova’s program remains enjoyable and it isn’t just a collection of run-up - jump, run-up - jump, but the elements are distributed in a not homogeneous way. And here it enters into discussion one of the component of the program. When we speak of “Composition”, how and where elements are put in a program should be taken into consideration.

(M): This is something that we don’t see in men’s field. Some tries to do as many quad as possible in the second half, but distribution is for the great part of them a 3+5 (three jumping passes in first half, five in second one). Back to Higuchi, which are the issues? First of all, twice the same combo: 3Lz3T. Why is it an issue?

(A): On principle, to do that 3T on any jump, it still gives you the same BV. But it can give you problems of composition on how to fill all the jumping passes, and indeed the best option - for those who are able to do it - is to do a combo with 3T and one with euler-3S. Then there is the GOE.

(M): Exactly. The topic about GOE is linked to 2A. Why? Because 2A - if not done in a combo with a triple - can get a max of 1.5 score on GOE [t/n +3 on 2A gets factored by 0.5], contrary to triples who can get a max of 2.1. If you do two 2A without a triple attached to them, it’s clear you’ll have less points on GOE. That’s what happens with Higuchi, who does a very huge 2A as first jump, but with nothing going into it, while he does a 2A from a backcounter in combo with other two double jumps. This is another strategic choice that I find hard to understand. Especially for an athlete who should have no trouble to complete a 2A3T combo, even if it’s true that even when she was a kid, her combos of choice have always been others (than 2A3T), but considering her level and her jumps it shouldn’t be hard to work on such a combo.

(A): We often spoke about this combo, 2A3T, that made the fortune first of Lipnitskaya and then of Miyahara. And that could have made Mao’s fortune (had she used it), some years ago. It’s an element that can give you leverage in ladies’ field. If you are able to do two of them, with good quality, in the second half of the program, like Miyahara did, you can bring home a lot of points. Should Higuchi do a 2A3T in second half of the program along with her 3Lz3T, and attaching that 2T2Lo on any other jump without having to worry about repetition, she’d raise her scoring potential by quite a bit.

(M): If we check the actual top skaters (who have skated so far in the season), Medvedeva is one of those who does two 2A without any triple, but she has margin on GOE and PCS and her BV is one of the lowest among them. Zagitova does a 2A3T. Higuchi same as Medvedeva. Kostner does a -lo3S. Mihara, who in my opinion has the smartest program, layout wise, does a 2A3T. Osmond and Honda the same. Tuktamysheva is another matter, we will talk about her later. Sotskova has two 2A alone. Daleman, we need to wait and see what she will do later on, right now she has a 3S2A sequence. And Sakamoto a 2A3T again. So of course we have different strategies, but you do your layout based on each skater’s weak and strong points: what you lose on jumps, you may able to gain on spins and steps, for example. But it’s also true that when the prize is as important as this season’s, you need to try and reach the maximum on everything. Speaking of which, Kostner deserves an applause: I’ve always criticized her for some illogical layout choices in the past, but now she is one of those who could teach a thing or two to the others. If we look at spins, with level 4 on all of them, she has the highest BV. Compared to Medvedeva she has +0.50 more.

(A): Not a small gap, she manages to do it thanks to two combination spins with change of foot, which are those with the highest BV. If level 4, they give you 3.5 points on BV. And a flying camel, which is the second highest spin on BV, as always, if level is 4. To sum up, you can’t have a higher BV on spins as of today’s requirements.

(M): And the only one who follows the same route is Daleman. This strategy is dictated by two considerations: first to get the highest BV, second to take out the layback if it’s not a spin on which the skater can make a difference.

(A): As it is for Kostner.

(M): Then, athletes from Kobe: Mihara and Sakamoto, they do two combination spins and a flying sit, which is worth 0.2 less than a flying camel. The Base Value is again high, 10 points in a free program.

(A): Carolina’s BV is 10.2, 10 is still a very good BV on spins. The flying sit is not a common spin in ladies, usually it’s more common to see a well done layback, but it’s for sure a smart choice. Of course, again, to see which one is the best choice, it depends on the skaters. Because Radionova, for example, has a layback with a BV of 2.70, but with GOE, can get to 3.84.

(M): You went straight to the point. Because many could wonder: but why do others decide for a lower BV? Because it’s shared opinion that on some kind of spins, it’s is easier to get higher GOE, if the spin is well executed. And it’s what happens with Medvedeva, Zagitova… it’s not what happens with others, who have a lower BV but also low GOE for their issues in completing those elements. See Tuktamysheva or Honda.

(A): Tuktamysheva really struggles to get high levels. Oh, not that Honda didn’t show us that too, but more for her lack of focus than other issues; although she is not one of those who can make a difference on quality there. Radionova is in the middle. She can’t make the difference on some types of spins, like combinations spins where she gets level 4 but not high GOE, but you can’t argue against her decision to include the layback, where she can get almost 4 points for it. To get 4 points with a flying sit or a flying camel… it’s not easy. So you need to consider also all these factors and not just the BV when speaking about layout choices.

(M): If we speak about Tuktamysheva we have a problem of choices, too. She does a layback…

(A): Which isn’t her forte.

(M): A combination spin and a flying sit. 9.2 points on BV. One point less than Kostner.

(A): If she manages to get level 4, which isn’t a given.

(M): And she trains with Kostner, who is not a specialist on spins, all the contrary. Kostner manages to get the highest BV and I wonder: why don’t they make the same choices for Tuktamysheva? Are those positions on spins that Kostner does so out of reach for Liza? Maybe yes, but other positions and features can be found. There’s no reason to have a layback in Tuktamysheva’s Free Program, and yet she always has that.

(A): If we look at the last Cup of China, she only got a level 2 on the element. In a competition of that standard, a level 2 is really a disadvantage. We said how much Radionova can get on the element, almost 4 points. Liza got just above 2. To have a deficit of almost 1.8 points on a single spin element… it’s a lot. We are speaking of athletes whose total hypothetical BV vary in the range of 2 points, so you need to make the difference on GOE and by choosing those elements that can give you leverage.

Of course, there are many things to consider: how much time a combination spin with a flying entry takes up? Maybe too much, and that is another consideration. But I think it’s fair to raise the question (about the correctness of those choices)

(M): So, we said Kostner and Daleman were those with highest BV at 10.2. Then Mihara and Sakamoto at 10. Medvedeva, Osmond and Radionova reach 9.7. Higuchi, Zagitova and Sotskova – 9.4. And Honda and Tuktamysheva – 9.2. One point difference on BV (between lowest and highest) before GOE. And on GOE the scenario is different. The two athletes with the highest GOE in these first three GP Events are Medvedeva - who is in second place - and Zagitova - who is in first place. 3.21 for Medvedeva, 3.36 for Zagitova. The others don’t go over 2.50, reached by Kostner and Mihara. And I repeat, those data for Kostner are exceptional. The clear signal of her willingness to go after [elements that weren’t her forte in the past]. Many others are around 2.29: Sakamoto, Higuchi, Osmond, Radionova. And then you have those who get really little: Tuktamysheva, Honda, Sotskova. In Sotskova’s case, her troubles with spins are notorious.

(A): I still remember a Junior Grand Prix Event in which she already had programs very mature (for her age), she with an already grown up body, very elegant to see, technically strong, with her triple-triple combinations… and those spins that weren’t even built to get level 4. It’s not that she did mistakes on them, but they were ill-thought through and didn’t even have the features. It was really baffling. She improved on them, but just bringing that up to underline how spins have never been in her portfolio.

(M): Daleman, who we listed as first on BV, struggles too on GOE, not reaching even 2.00. In the end, summing BV plus GOE on spins, the race is won by Medvedeva, for a change. But other athletes, like Kostner, are close.

Then, let’s go on analyzing Step Sequences and Choreo Sequences, later we will speak about those for Ice Dance too.

So far, on Step Sequence, the best one has been Medvedeva. Rightly or not, she easily gets level 4 on her sequence, she missed it at Nepela Trophy and it was news because really she has always gotten level 4 since her senior career took off. GOE has been 1.8, which means an unfactored GOE between 2 and 3, considering the maximum achievable would be 2.1 for a level 4 StSq where factorization is by 0.7 (so +1 GOE = 0.7, +2 GOE = 1.4, +3 GOE = 2.1). All in all, she brought home 5.7 points on the element summing BV and GOE. What’s important to consider on StSq is you can get 2.1 on GOE only if you get a level 4. If you don’t get a level 4, the factorization is lower: 0.5; so the maximum decreases to 1.5. Not to lose the level is very important. And why am I saying this? Because it’s important to analyze what happened with Higuchi. She got level 4 with +2 GOE (1.40) in Moscow, but she got only level 3 in China, again with +2 GOE on the judges’ part (1.00)

(A): Meaning the quality has not changed across the two events.

(M): And yet there are 0.40 points’ difference on GOE alone due to that level. Back to our standing, after Medvedeva, the second one on StSq has been Zagitova. Those two train together, probably this result is not by chance. Zagitova does this StSq in the first part of her program, by the way. Mai Mihara got 1.30, Kostner 1.1, level 4 for both. The same for Sotskova. As we said, Higuchi has quality, because even with a level 3 she got +1 points, but again, the number one is Medvedeva. But Medvedeva hasn’t been the best when it comes to the ChSq so far, as Osmond was the lady who got more points for her ChSq. But let’s explain how the ChSq works, Angelo, because the BV is always the same, it never changes.

(A): Yes, there aren’t levels. Basically, you can either execute the ChSq and make sure you fulfill the requirements – and in that case you get the two points of the BV and high GOE, which can make a difference – or you can execute one that doesn’t fulfill the requirements and get a no level, therefore getting zero points for it. There are no levels, so these are the only possible differences.

(M): In this case, Osmond has been the best so far, with +1,8 [GOE] – the max GOE would be 2,1 – so she got 3,8 points for it. Then we have Higuchi with +1,7, Kostner and Zagitova with +1,5 and Medvedeva with +1,4.If we sum up the scores they have achieved for the StSq and ChSq so far, the best is Medvedeva. Although Zagitova came close in this case, just as she did when it came to spins. The fact that these two girls have the same coach and team does mean something after all.But let’s get back to how their programs are built. Why do we say that Mihara Mai’s FP is one of the cleverest in terms of strategy? First, the elements are distributed well, there’s balance between the first and the second halves of the program. There are many triples in the second half, like the Lutz - Flip too should be in the second half, but it accidentally ended up being in the first half here – and the Rittberger, so all the triples with the highest BV - Axel excluded, as Tuktamysheva’s the only one to try the triple.And there’s also her spins to consider, we talked about them earlier. She does a 2A3T too. In the end, her BV is 64,15, the second highest after Zagitova. But Zagitova has an advantage: she does all her jumps in the second half of the program and she does two Lutz and two Flip. Let’s compare her with Sotskova, as Sotskova, like Zagitova, plans two Lutz and two Flip in her FP. But what is the main difference between them? Sotskova distributes her jumps throughout the whole program, she doesn’t have them all in the second half. If you compare her to Zagitova, she ends up losing three points on BV. Three points of BV are quite a difference.

(A): That’s a lot of points, especially considering that she [Sotskova] does two jumping passes – three triples, so almost half of her triples – in the first half of the program. Considering all of this, we can understand how much of an advantage Zagitova has over Sotskova. We talked about the advantages a 2A3T can give you, well, not for Sotskova, because her 2A is quite a problematic jump. Of course there are girls who can’t really use a 2A3T, therefore they need to find a different use to rack up the points. Sotskova tries to do it by planning two Lutz and two Flip, which are definitely good weapons; all of this to say that not everyone can use 2A3T to gain an advantage, but Higuchi could definitely do it, which is why we were criticizing her strategy.

(M): Higuchi’s BV is 63,11 so 2,90 points less than Zagitova. One of the biggest doubts of her strategy in the FP is the fact that the 3S is in the first half of the program, and just by a handful of seconds, which doesn’t make much sense.

(A): Yes, less incredible than Mihara’s 3F, but still quite close to the second half.

(M): Well, for Higuchi it’s a planned strategy – probably a wrong one anyway – but for Mihara it was just an accident. That’s the difference. It isn’t accidental that Mihara has one point more than Higuchi in terms of BV, which isn’t a trivial difference. Why? We are talking about 12 athletes; the one with the highest BV is Zagitova, with 66.01, the one with the lowest BV is Kostner – but Kostner’s strategy is to execute two 2A and six triples, so it’s obvious that her BV is lower since she has one less triple. Kostner aside, the BV range of these girls goes from Zagitova’s 66.01 to Daleman’s 61.66 – she made some mistakes at Cup of China, but her plan could have reached a BV of 61.66, not to mention that she will change the planned content through the season. The difference between these two is 4.65 points; if you add the GOE to it, the difference between them might get bigger, because Zagitova is the one who got the highest GOE – 12.6 points overall. Higuchi got 11,59 points through GOE, but what’s the difference? In terms of percentage of the highest possible GOE they might have achieved, Higuchi got something more than Zagitova. But Zagitova could have scored 22,8 points through GOE – and she got 12,6 – while Higuchi could have gotten 21,6 points through her GOE. Why 21,6 instead of 22,8? She lost 0,6 because of that 2A left alone, without a 3T, and another 0,6 points for that level 3 on the StSq. So, if we think in terms of +1s/+2s/+3s they received, Higuchi’s program was appreciated more than Zagitova’s. This isn’t easy to understand, but if you think it over you will understand. And you will understand why Higuchi’s program is criticized. Not in terms of music choice, nor for the choreography, but in terms of strategy.

(A): Yes, that has been Higuchi’s biggest problem since last season. She has improved in some aspects, but her programs aren’t built with the same precision [note: in terms of strategy not choreo itself] we see in the Russian girls’ programs, that are built to make the most out of the scoring system. Then of course, one might like it or not, but they do meet the scoring system’s requirements, in order to get the highest GOE and to execute the jumps where they could get a bonus for them. There’s an attention for details we need to highlight, and it’s a pity that Higuchi’s programs lack that, because she’s an athlete with maybe even more potential. She’s been very solid lately, and she showed she can keep up with the Russian girls; this is a girl who got three extremely high scores this season, so she has been skating very well.

(M): In particular, her FP’s scores are proof of this. She got 141,99 at Cup of China, she lost 2,45 points if compared to Zagitova in the FP. And those are the points she lost not because of the BV she managed to bring home in China – because Zagitova got an underrotation call for her 3Lz, and she could have gotten two more – but because in terms of planned BV, Higuchi’s BV is 2,9 points lower than Zagitova’s. And considering Zagitova’s quality when it comes to many elements – spins and steps in particular – the only way to bridge that gap is by hoping she might make a mistake. Because you can’t make up for a 2,9 points difference through PCS alone. Then, the fact that Higuchi got lower PCS than Zagitova is debatable – and many did not agree with these scores – but the difference might be minimal in terms of PCS, so we have to go back to BV.

(A): It won’t be easy to make up for a 2 points difference through PCS – in this case she got lower PCS – but anyway, it will be difficult to get much more in terms of PCS. I believe Higuchi’s PCS will rise through the season, but the same can be said about Zagitova’s, because if they keep being solid, they’ll convince the judges just like Medvedeva did. They are plausible rivals for her already, but Medvedeva still has a solid gap over them, so paying attention to all the details is necessary. Their PCS will grow, but if they want to win a medal at the Olympics, nothing should be overlooked. We’re talking about athletes who are among the contenders for medals in the most important competitions.

(M): We gt a question about Higuchi: “Who is the fastest, Osmond or Higuchi?”

(A): Good question; they are probably the fastest athletes out there. I would say it’s probably a tie. Higuchi really impressed me, but they’re the fastest girls. The comparison is spot-on.

(M): Although Higuchi probably manages to keep that speed even after three minutes and a half, while Osmond slows down a bit. That is quite noticeable, so Higuchi’s physical preparation is better, probably because if compared to last season, she hasn’t had injuries nor physical problems. One of our listeners said, “Zagitova’s elements are distributed like that also because they reflect the music’s crescendo. It might seem as if it lacks balance to those who look at it without thinking of the ballet itself, but it does reflect the music.” I don’t think that Zagitova’s choice when it comes to the distribution of her elements is linked to the music choice itself, though. This strategy is due to the fact that she can do what the others can’t do: executing all her jumps in the second half. Then of course they choose a piece that can emphasize this strategy, a music that has a crescendo that might help her hide the lack of balance.

(A): Yes, of course, and we said that – I do agree – the program is still pleasant. But I was referring to the rules actually. Zagitova’s program is pleasant, the choreography does fit the music – a music that I really like by the way, and that is suitable for skating in my opinion, like many other ballets. It’s Minkus’ DQ for those who don’t know – it all works in her program, in fact she deservedly won the competition; that said, we were talking about the rules earlier in the podcast. Although, this remark is relevant too.

(M): And it allows us to highlight how great Zagitova’s team is, because they know their skater’s qualities and they know how to build a program that highlights them. Two listeners asked how Tuktamysheva’s layout might change. We’ll get there: let’s talk about Mihara’s program first. We thought her program was underscored by the judges. We have highlighted how clever her strategy is, since she’s the one with the highest BV after Zagitova – if she skates without mistakes – and she’s able to execute it all – hats off to her because of that, especially considering the physical problems she’s had in the past. Which is the aspect in which Mihara has improved the most? She skated very well last season, but she’s added quite a lot to her skating. How?

(A): Her FP was extremely complex in terms of TR, but in a different way if compared to Zagitova’s. Zagitova’s choreography is rich, but there are less creative entries because of how the program itself is built, with all the jumps near the end. And it’s true that you gain something more in terms of GOE with difficult entries, but those entries also help make the program more intricate. We’ve said several times that Medvedeva is the best when it comes to having TR out of her jumps – and we need to highlight that – but Mihara really impressed me because many of her jumps are preceded by difficult steps, and even those that aren’t preceded by difficult TR fit into the choreography very well. Only her most difficult jumping passes have a longer set up: 3Lz3T, which is the first jumping pass, and 2A3T, which is her first jumping pass in the second half of the program. There’s a lot of attention to details in this program, and it is a really difficult program to skate because of all these difficult TR; yet she was able to skate it very well.

(M): Some criticize her by saying she still skates like a junior. But probably it isn’t her skating that is juniorish, but her “stage presence”. Her personality, let’s say.

(A): Yes, she still lacks charisma. She lacks what people call “projection”, the ability to convey a message to the judges, the crowd, those who are watching, with your movements’ intensity too. The ability to project what you feel through the choreography itself. Mihara still lacks that, so her movements look a bit juniorish, even though she’s an elegant skater. She doesn’t have that refinement, that maturity, that we can see in Kostner, Osmond, and in the other girls who manage to have that charisma in their movements throughout their choreography.

(M): That said, hats off to her, because of what she did in China and because this program might make a difference. She was fourth at Cup of China, she paid the price because Radionova’s 3Lz3T in the SP wasn’t called underrotated, like it could have. Mihara was fourth, which makes qualifying for the GPF quite difficult for her, because she will be in France, with Zagitova and Osmond, who are able to reach over 210 points. It will be extremely tough for her.

Let’s talk about Tuktamysheva now. We’ve received many questions about Elizaveta Tuktamysheva’s scores: some thought it was too low, some too high. It’s a complex topic. Let’s start with her BV: many would expect her to have a very high BV, because she has one more weapon if compared to the others: the 3A, which she executed quite well at Cup of China. She landed it with a step out, which still means you get -2 GOE, but a 3A with a step out is still worth a lot of points. Yet, if you look at her BV, it’s around 2,30 points lower than Zagitova’s. At this point the 3A isn’t another weapon, but rather a tool that she needs in order to make up for some shortcomings. That’s where her situation becomes quite complex, because Tuktamysheva – because of the kind of skater that she is - needs to make a difference in terms of TES if compared to the others. Therefore she needs the most extreme program possible: she should either do a program with two 3A and 3Lz, or with one 3A and two 3Lz. At that point, she’d have a higher BV than Zagitova and that would allow her to bridge that gap there is in terms of PCS. But if the program has a lower BV, it’s obvious that you’ll lose. In fact we’ve seen the best Tuktamysheva of the last two years and yet she ended up far from the podium.

(A): Yes, because they don’t use this 3A - that gives you an amazing advantage in the SP in the ladies’ field, but isn’t as beneficial in the FP – to build a program that might give her an advantage. But she needs this 3A because, among the top 12 ladies, she’s one of the weakest in terms of PCS, if not the weakest. At Cup of China she got 63.5 PCS in the end, which is 3 points lower than Radionova, and even lower than what Mihara got, who was judged like a “juniorish” skater. Yet, Tuktamysheva got less PCS than she did. With such low PCS – and PCS make quite the difference in a FP – she really needs to use all of her weapons. I believe it’s crazy to make her do only one Lutz, considering the kind of Lutz she has. Even without revolutionizing her planned content, it would be better to leave out the Flip, which isn’t as good, and do a Lutz instead. Although in the end what she really needs is to do the 3A, two Lutz, and to find a way to replace the weakest element of her program: this 2A sequence that does allow her to do 2 double Axels and seven triples, but with a disadvantage, because the 2A sequence gets the 80% of the points the other ladies get for their 2 double Axel. She loses some points there, then she does only one Lutz, and only one 3-3 combo…at that point, the 3A doesn’t become her secret weapon, but rather a way not to lose too much in terms of BV if compared to the others. And considering the gap between her and the others in terms of PCS and the fact that she takes more risks, she can’t compete with the others if her BV is lower than the others’. Considering that she has some fierce domestic competition, I think she’s in trouble.

(M): 3A aside, we must consider that she also has a disadvantage when it comes to GOE: we have already talked about her problem with spins, and she also has problems with some jumps, not in terms of technique, but because she lacks what we call “bullets”, those requirements you have to fulfill if you want to obtain a high GOE. I’ll give you an example: her 3S in the FP is a weak jump.

(A): Yes, it doesn’t have a difficult nor a creative entry, she doesn’t execute it with a tano…we’re still talking about an excellent skater, but an athlete with her 3A should be in the elite of this sport, so we must compare her with the skaters who actually do those things. They can execute a 3S rippon, like Rika Hongo herself for example, like Mihara Mai - actually Mihara Mai’s 3S is also preceded by a difficult step – or like Medvedeva, who does a 3S3T with lots of speed and flow. At this point she ends up having a disadvantage on GOE, on spins. And we’ve said she needs to make a difference with her TES, so now we need to reword it: she must make a difference with her jumps, with her 3A. So better make it two or even three [3A’s] between SP and FP. That’s how she could have an advantage in terms of BV.

(M): So, the solution to this problem is: a 3A in the SP – because the 3A in the SP really does make a difference – and no less than two 3Lz and one 3A in the FP. If she’s clean with this kind of technical content she can even hope to get higher PCS. Without it, she has too many weak points: we’ve talked about her spins and the lack of TR in her programs, and sadly in this quad, quality is what makes the difference – see Medvedeva. Among the best 12 ladies in this field, Tuktamysheva’s probably the last one when it comes to this.

(A): Yes. That said, this is all in theory, if she isn’t able to do this kind of program – which is something you can see in practice – then her current BV is the best she can do, but it isn’t enough to compete with the other Russian ladies nor with the best Japanese ladies, that’s just how it is. Then of course we must say that we’re talking about extremely difficult things, we’ve rarely seen programs with two 3A in the ladies’ field. I can only recall Asada, no one else. Right now, with this layout, Tuktamysheva can’t reach much more than 130 points, while the others get 140.

(M): So, the only way to try [to be competitive] is to have two 3A and three 3Lz spread over the SP and FP. Without them, she can only hope for the others to make mistakes; and not only one mistake but several.

Let’s get to the next of the questions we got: someone asked: “If there’s a tie in the SP, the one with the highest PCS goes first, but what happens in the free?”

In the FP, the PCS make a difference, while if there’s a tie in the overall score it’s the FP that counts.

(A): Exactly. And if the FP scores are the same, you have to look at the FP’s PCS, and the skater with the highest PCS wins the tie.

1.2 Cup of China - Pairs

(M): Let’s get to the second topic of this podcast. The ladies’ field was an interesting topic, as we’ve seen competitions of the highest level, but there has been also another interesting competition: right now we have an idea of the current hierarchy when it comes to pairs, with Sui/Han in first and then the other pairs trying to catch up with them. It’s obvious that there are seven contenders for the Olympic medals: two pairs from China, two from Russia, one from Canada, France and Germany respectively. The others will fight to be in the top 10. Between these seven couples, there are some noteworthy differences in terms of scores: there’s almost a 30 points difference between Sui/Han’s score in China and Stolbova/Klimov’s score from Cup of Russia.

(A): Yes, the difference is actually close to 30. Although we must say that Stolbova/Klimov didn’t look to be in good shape, we are waiting for them to get close to their best again, because they could be among the favorites. However we must also highlight how Sui/Han has already shown to be in great condition: in the SP they were close to perfection – it isn’t easy to get 80 points in the SP this season because of the required elements. They started their program with this perfect side-by-side 3T that’s still clear in my mind, executed with the kind of unison that’s rare to see. But there’s quality in everything: 3Tw with an arm above the head, amazing 3FTh. They seem unbeatable in the SP, thanks to the quality of their elements. In the FP, they might leave the door open for other couples, because they struggle with side-by-side jumps, with the 3S actually. In this case, Sui Wenjing managed to execute it decently, but it’s a jump that has always been a struggle for them. Although they also have a 4Tw so they’re very difficult to beat, but there are couples with better side-by-side jumps, so they have a bigger chance to beat them in the FP.

(M): But they also got the highest score [of the season] in the SP and in the FP. In the SP they were the best in every single element, in the FP they received the best PCS, but they didn’t reach the best TES, because they lost levels on some elements – we know that Chinese pairs have always struggled with spins, which is what happened at Cup of China too – but scores aside, we got the impression that they might do even more. Which speaks volumes about their potential. Their strategy seems to be the same as what Volosozhar/Trankov used in 2014: it seems like they have abandoned the idea of executing a 4STh, because that’s what the structure of their program says [note: 3STh is later in the program]. They planned two triple throws in the second half – although there’s no bonus here – in order to try to reach the highest possible GOE. Basically the same strategy that helped Volosozhar/Trankov dominate the field in the Olympics: they won with 3STh and 3LoTh.

(A): Yes two throws that are quite “simple” in theory. Not the most extreme ones, let’s say – Duhamel/Radford planned a 4STh, for example. The bar has been raised, but in pairs the 4Tw and the quad throws don’t make as much of a difference as quad jumps do for men. Even more so because the best pairs can easily get +2/+3 GOE for their triple throws; so a quad throw is worth the risk only if you can get at least 0/+1 GOE for it: if you fall, you get way less for it than what another couple might get for a triple throw that has great quality and fits the choreography. This strategy seems the best one.

(M): Yes. There were even rumors of wanting to lower quad throws’ BV, which would basically mean to eliminate them from pairs – which might even be their plan, we can’t know that – but as you said, it isn’t worth the risk now, especially considering that Sui/Han can get all +3s GOE for their 3FTh and 3STh, therefore reaching the highest score possible for them. There might be one +2 instead of all +3s, fine, but it doesn’t change anything: you’d need a good quad throw to keep up with them, otherwise you won’t make a difference with it. If you make a mistake, we get the same situation we saw in Sochi: Savchenko/Szolkowy trying a 3ATh and ending up behind the other two, who won with a good margin.

(A): Yes, it’s a similar situation, but it’s also true that there are even more extreme pairs now than how Savchenko/Szolkowy were back then. Some try more difficult side-by-side jumps and throws; let’s not forget that Sui/Han still have a quad, the 4Tw, so it’s not like they focus only on quality.

(M): Yes but their strategy has changed if compared to the past: the “old” Sui/Han were much more extreme than they are now. Now they have clearly decided to follow a different route, which seems the best one. Regarding GPF: Sui/Han will be at the NHK trophy this week, their best rivals will be Stolbova/Klimov. If they end up being first and second, they will both qualify for the final. It will be more difficult for the other couples. James/Cipres skated really well in Canada, but they ended up in third place, so they must make a difference in their next GP, which means either winning or getting second with a high score. Then at Skate America, we’ll have the second Chinese couple [Yu/Zhang], Savchenko/Massot and Duhamel/Radford. It’s very probable that the last spot at GPF will go to a couple who has one second and one third place: the weakest pair seems to be Yu/Zhang, who gave a fine performance in China, but only reached 205 points, a lower score than their main rivals’ for the final, who seem to be James/Cipres.

(A): And James/Cipres got 214 in Canada, in spite of being third, a very high score.

(M): James/Cipres could be second in France, and then we’d have to wait for Skate America, but Yu/Zhang are one step behind Duhamel/Radford and Savchenko/Massot. So they [Yu/Zhang] either manage to beat one of the other two pairs – and at that point, the tie break would be between James/Cipres and either Savchenko/Massot or Duhamel/Radford – or they will probably end up not making the final. There might be injuries but this is how the situation looks like at the moment. Regarding the Italian pairs: they didn’t reach the podium in the end, as DellaMonica/Guarise were fourth and Marchei/Hotarek were fifth, but DellaMonica/Guarise got the highest FP score ever reached by an Italian pair in the GP. Moore-Towers/Marinaro were third, and deservedly so, as they skated a great FP with an element that might make a difference for them, which one?

(A): It was this great side-by-side combo, 2ALo3S; it’s a three jump combo with a 2A and one triple jump, so if you plan a side-by-side solo 3T in the program you end up planning two triples and a 2A, but without using a sequence, so you can sum their BV – and you also have an Euler – and make quite a lot of points through side-by-side jumps. In fact they were among the best in China, when it came to side-by-side jumps. Maybe even the best overall.

(M): Yes, they were the best in terms of scores.

1.3 Men

(M): Speaking about Men’s Field, the big news is Javier Fernandez’ debacle. His results were disappointing at Beijing. It seems he had some kind of alimentary issues, probably a food poisoning. Anyway, he made costly mistakes in both programs and the end result basically already excludes him from the Finals. This is big news, since Fernandez in previous GPF’s almost always ended up on podium and, in this last Olympic quad, conquered the World Title twice. He really seemed to be at loss.

(A): Indeed. Starting from the Short Program, where he missed his quad-triple combo, instead doing a triple-double – a combination of very little worth for an athlete of his level. Then he landed a good 4S, but not one of his best, and had some other struggles with the 3A. The Free Program was much more negative, but already in the Short Program he found himself clearly behind Kolyada. And when was the last time a European skater managed to make trouble for Fernandez?

(M): Since a long time. And Kolyada’s score has been sensational. Because if we look at historical records, only Hanyu, Fernandez and Uno managed to score more in a Short Program. Kolyada opened his program with a very huge 4Lz, but on that element we have the usual issue: step or no step? No step, but it’s clear that if a definitive solution is not found [to consistently call the steps or lack therefore], even athletes are at loss to really understand what to do. And it can’t be so.

(A): It’s true. Kolyada is not even the worst example of lack of steps, but for sure that lutz has a very easy step that is way before the jump itself. Then, the Lutz itself was beautiful, a treat to see. If we remain in Russia, we should also mention Samarin’s 4T that is an even worse case than Kolyada’s. He doesn’t even try to propose anything that resembles a step into his entry. There’s not even the pretense of a step. So, yes, there is the need to find uniformity of judgement because otherwise - as we always say - the ones that are penalized are those who actually put steps before the quad, taking the risks while the others get the same rewards [t/n rewards = high GOE]. Because if we look at Kolyada, his 4Lz was judged +3 worthy by two different judges.

(M): Samarin got (on his 4T) from +2 to -3 on GOE, with a jump that couldn’t be anything else but -3, rulebook in hand. From +2 to -3 there’s a big difference. I can’t explain that if not with a word: “confusion” (in judges’ minds).

I’ll go back to my usual proposal, now at least 5 years old: it’s the technical panel that must call the steps/choreographic movements before solo jump. It is the one that has to say “jump with steps” or “jump without steps”. And when it’s without, it’s -3. When it’s with, judges can range their scores (according to GOE bullets). Because otherwise, let’s take away the “with steps” rule and call it a day.

(A): And at that point everything is good. Let’s not forget that the rule about steps before solo quad or solo triples made [athletes abiding to the rule itself] change strategies. Athletes who couldn’t do a quad with steps put out a quad-triple combination, instead. While others put a quad without steps in the first half, moving an easier combo in the second half and gaining even more points thanks to the bonus. All the while athletes like Patrick Chan did the combo in the first half while having an “easy” 3Lz preceded by real steps in second half, losing on BV.

So properly evaluation of a jump with or without steps has a strong impact on how strategies for a Short Program are laid out.

(M): Indeed. Then, Kolyada was rightly ahead, his short program is of high technical level, his 3A one of the best in the whole field, the 4T3T combo finely executed. On spins, he messed up his camel spin with change of foot losing a couple of points there, but he can show good quality on the elements. The value of this skater (finally) fully on display. What’s his issue? He struggles to put together two good programs. When he has a great SP, he struggles beyond reason in the FP and vice versa. If he manages to find good consistency, he can become an athlete that even the top skaters in the world would need to pay attention to.

(A): This is what came out of Cup of China. It will be interesting to see Kolyada vs Fernandez showdown at European Championships, with the hope that Fernandez can be back at the top of his form by the beginning of next year. Back to Kolyada, to have another athlete who can go up to 103 in the Short Program means we have another contender for medals, another athlete who can potentially be in the last group in the Olympic’s Free Program. And that’s big news for Russia, a nation that lacked any real contender in last few years.

(M): Fernandez is not the only big name out of the Finals. Patrick Chan will also be missing, Chan who won two GPF titles in his career, since he finished in fourth place at Skate Canada and then decided to skip NHK to focus on recovery for his real goal for this season, Olympics. That Olympic Gold that Canadian men never won, contrary to what happened in other disciplines.

At Skate Canada the winner was Shoma Uno. A decisive win, with a huge gap on his opponents. He went again over 300 points overall, and it’s starting to become a habit for him, but we have a question [t/n from a listener] about this skater: “Could you explain to me the scores Shoma Uno has been getting in Skating Skills and Transitions since last Worlds? If I compare (what he does) with the average of what I can see in Hanyu’s or Fernandez’s programs, I don’t understand those valuation.”

On my part, I’m not able anymore to answer this question, honestly. You do try, Angelo. Not much with Fernandez, put Patrick Chan there with Hanyu. On those components, Skating Skills and Transitions.

(A): On Skating Skills… let’s say it should be analyzed in depth. He has good flow, he hits without a doubt the requirements about rhythmic knee action - both of them are quite a trademark of all Japanese skaters - these qualities are there. He does use multidirectional skating, he has some transitions. He has good spread eagles, ina (bauers), his typical cantilever, all of them are transitions. On PCS, his best skills are for sure on interpretation, musicality and on his clear and neat usage of upper body movements. We must say many of his jumps have difficult entries: 3A from a spread eagle, an inside spread eagle which may be even more complex than an outside one, 4Ts have different entries, and it’s fair to highlight it, because it shows his skills on edge work. Why is he then often considered overestimated? Because he is often on two foot. Again, we need to go a bit deeper here. He has this technique on forward crossovers that brings him to stay on both feet. It’s how he does crossovers, not a great nor beautiful technique, that’s true, but it’s not the only thing that gets valued in Skating Skills. So, there... I tried to explain what might be Shoma Uno’s strength on Skating Skills. On Transitions, it is still valid what I said before about Skating Skills. He also has his limits, but do not forget that [jumping content wise], his programs are one of the most extreme.

(M): There are also some contradictory situations. If we look at the Short Program, you have a harder and more complex entry on the combo than on the solo jump, where the 4F is preceded by something, but well before the jump itself.

(A): Absolutely. The entry on the 4T3T is much more complex than his entry on the 4F, where he pretends to do something - and there are those who don’t even bother to do that - but we are talking about the same level as Kolyada. At least they try to do something, even if it’s not close [to what is required].

(M): He has two aspects that have been rewarding him in PCS: speed - he got faster than in the previous season - and what has always been his main selling point, a complete ownership over upper body movements, arms especially. A use of arm movements that maybe allow him to deflect judges’ focus on what he is doing with his feet. Starting with the fact that he is often on two feet. He is probably not in the same league as Hanyu and Chan on Skating Skills and Transitions. On Performance, we can talk about it. With Fernandez, if we speak about Interpretation and Choreography or Composition, where in my opinion Fernandez has something more than Uno, there is no comparison.

(A): That’s true, although we haven’t see the best Fernandez so far this season [to properly and fully judge IN and CO]. Sinatra’s FP (t/n Guys and Dolls) seemed better suited to him and his character. But those two components are his strengths.

(M): A listener asks us, “Judging by these first stages, Shoma Uno is the favourite for the Final in Nagoya. Even though I heard some criticism about it, I would have kept last season’s Tango (for FP), which was a little choreographic masterpiece in my opinion, instead of going back to Nessun Dorma. What do you think about Turandot 2.0? Is it worth those PCS?”

Well, we already spoke a bit about it. In my opinion, Turandot 2.0 is clearly a strategic choice; because it’s a kind of music, with that distinctive crescendo, that can easily impress judges once the program is well skated. There’s nothing more to say about that (choice). There’s the decision not to take a risky choice, contrary to last season’s FP. Turandot 2.0 is something already seen but that gives him some insurances. I’m convinced that this is the sole thinking that went into (picking) that music.

(A): Anyway, I agree that last year’s FP was a little masterpiece. Because it was a not-banal choice for a Tango. A peculiar musical choice. A splendid program, that I appreciated a lot. I agree also on what’s been said about Turandot 2.0. It’s - let me say so - a mainstream choice. It’s one of the most famous pieces of music, you can’t go wrong with that.

1.4 Ice Dance

(M): Let’s go to dance, because a lot of World Records have been broken over two events. Once in Short Dance, once in Free Dance, and twice Overall. Protagonists of this chain of records: Virtue/Moir and Papadakis/Cizeron. And of course the first question we got about it was “between them, who will win?”

A question we won’t answer, because it’s impossible to say. What we can do, instead is to analyse those scores.

In SD, V/M did better than P/C on everything: GOE, BV - where they got one extra level 4 with their most important weapon, the No-Touch Step Sequence - and PCS. In FD, V/M did better on PCS, P/C had BV and GOE. If we go and check out the GOE, we find out something interesting. On Step Sequences, they are more or less even, P/C slightly ahead. On Lifts, V/M slightly ahead. On Twizzles, V/M again slightly ahead. Lifts plus Twizzles put V/M on the same level on GOE as P/C summing everything but two elements: the choreographic elements. There, P/C gained a lot on V/M. So, it’s peculiar that the difference on GOE was due to GOE on the elements with lower BV. It’s impossible not to wonder when the gap on those elements was almost a whole point. It’s clear P/C took greater care of those details.

(A): The TES difference in FD was about 2 points, and V/M lost 1 point just on choreographic elements. Incredible. Something we didn’t expect. Back to the original question, it’s hard to say which of the two is in the lead in the judges’ eyes. PCS is important for that evaluation, so that’s a point in favour to V/M. P/C got a very impressive result, 200+ in total by November, something sensational. And yet, three scores out of four (SP TES, SP PCS, FP PCS) went in favour of V/M.

(M): We can’t forget V/M did skate at home, and that can have its importance, too. I think that in the end, only the performance on the day will matter and whichever couple shows that quid more when it counts will win. Then there are those who prefer V/M’s Moulin Rouge, and those who prefer P/C’s Moonlight Sonata – they are two different demonstrations of excellence in this discipline. A discipline that many would like not to see at the Olympics, due to how difficult it is to judge. That’s what you can hear going around in many rinks, but anyway it’s impossible to answer this question. Maybe only after the first show-down in the same competition would we have some more clues. I think on SD, V/M have something more, even though some say that the Rhumba should be skated to a slower pace (than what V/M do). Anyway, I don’t think there’s a definitive answer. For sure, it will be the leitmotif of the season. This week at NHK, Cappellini/Lanotte will start their GP season too – a delayed start due to an injury Anna Cappellini sustained. What do they need to get a spot in the Final? If they finish second, they will be almost guaranteed to be in Nagoya. With a third place, they would still have a chance, but they would then need a second place at Skate America and check then on tiebreak scores. C/B getting second place at Cup of China was good news for C/L’s chances, since B/S would have been guaranteed the final with two second places. Instead, B/S will go to tiebreak and with overall scores that aren’t that high. C/B will be in France with P/C and W/P. C/B and W/P both have a second place in their first event and that means one of them will for sure have a second + third, going again on tiebreak. That said, it won’t be easy for C/L to get a second place at NHK, since V/M aside, H/D, who have been confirming everything good they showed last season so far, will be there too.

(A): C/L’s path won’t’ be easy, but they can’t complain about this season’s assignment. Should they end up as one of the six couples in the final, it would be a great result. They have the skills and tools to do it. Especially considering the field at Skate America.

(M): A listener asked us what we think of C/L’s programs and if we think their FD is competitive. Well, we saw it only once at Minsk. I think, for their characteristics, they have to make the difference in SD. Those rhythms are historically a strong point in Italian ice dancers. FD is a more complex topic. We have already seen many going over 110 in FD, and that must be their goal too. Music is from La Vita è Bella soundtrack. So a movie linked to our own country. To talk about its real value, we need to see that program skated in an important event, like NHK can be, having the chance to see them skate just before or after other high-level skaters.

(A): Yes, also because at Minsk they weren’t in top form. But it was a good move to start there, to shake off competition nerves there before the first important event. Now we need to see if their form improves and if they manage to put behind them all the troubles they had during the off-season. I think they can show their skills during this GP and compete in the Finals.

(M): Compared to Minsk, we expect improvements and richer programs, but they still need to recover the time loss due to Anna’s injuries. What we can add is that 2 of the top 8 ice dance couples won’t reach the final. And considering that we will have V/M, P/C, S/S, two of the other five will stay home. For C/L, the best result at TEB would be if W/P get second place, since C/B have lower scores for an eventual tiebreak. But that said, we can only wait and see what happens in the following weeks.

Part 2: NHK Trophy Preview

(M): Next GP is, as we have already said, NHK. All current World Champions will be there. Impossible not to think it was a conscious decision to have all World Champions there. Of course, all eyes on Yuzuru Hanyu, who has only won either the Finals or the last GP Event in his career. Should he win, it would be a first. He is clearly the favourite for the win. He is expected to be in better shape than in Moscow, and if Yuzuru Hanyu is in good shape, world records can be broken. Especially if he manages to execute well the solo jump preceded by steps in the SP.

(A): I’d say the same, considering how he already managed to break SP WR this season. Then, we can only wait and see. He didn’t win in Russia, but it’s not like he did skate badly.

(M): Not at all. Rittberger escaped him, there.

(A): Indeed. But it was a Yuzuru Hanyu in great shape, considering where we were in the season, way better than his usual condition by mid-October, even if he didn’t win there. The start of the season was good, so expectations for NHK are big.

(M): An event with many veteran skaters: Rippon, Bychenko, Brezina, skaters with great experience. And there will also be some very young skaters who are expected to show their own potential, like Aliev. Hanyu is clearly the favourite, if we have to give a second name, Jason Brown. Jason Brown who would qualify for the final with a second place. In Ladies, there will be Medvedeva and Kostner once again, Miyahara will do her comeback after a long hiatus, and there will also be Polina Tsurskaya, who could be the dark horse in this event. A Polina in good condition can aim for 205/210 points. And with those scores, you get on the podium, and then you wait to see what others do. Kostner will qualify for the final with a second place, probably even a third place would be enough as long as the score is not too low. Yuna Shiraiwa will debut in her senior Grand Prix, too. We’ve already spoken about Ice Dance. In Pairs, Sui/Han are the overwhelming favourites. We expect some improvements from Stolbova/Klimov. They must not lose ground to Astakhova/Rogonov. Knierims will be there for USA and we expect a comeback from Seguin/Bilodeau. Anyway, an event headlined by Yuzuru Hanyu, whatever will happen. Because he is one of the most followed athletes not only in Figure Skating, but the whole Winter Sports universe. One of those who make journalists, sponsors, and fans move. A following that is easily explainable with what he has done in his career so far. Hanyu who is the current Olympic and World Champion, not to say the winner of the last four Grand Prix Finals. Only Davis/White in Ice Dance manage to win 5 finals in a row.

Part 3: Q&A

(M): Let’s answer the last questions we received and that we haven’t already answered during this podcast. “How important is it to have a psychologist in the team? And is it the Federation that provides the opportunity for a skater to consult one, or do athletes need to arrange it by themselves?”

Here it depends on each nation. There are nations that have been employed psychologists for years now. Russia, for example. But often you find these professionals amongst the coaching team itself, especially where there are big numbers and big clubs. In other nations, with fewer athletes at the top level, the Federation itself may employ one or more psychologists to be at their athletes’ disposal.

(A): It depends also on how a federation is structured. A nation like Italy can do enough with only one psychologist for all. A nation like USA, or Canada, with many more high level training centers, needs a different plan. But psychological help for athletes is important. I think the USA is probably ahead in this domain, compared to other nations. You can also see it in the way their athletes speak. There’s also great care in their instruction of how to speak with journalists, and it’s another thing you can clearly see.

(M): In the German-speaking world – so, Switzerland, Austria and Germany, it is required for coaches in some winter sport disciplines to have a degree in Psychology. It’s believed that to best handle an athlete, those kinds of studies are mandatory. And often when an athlete incurs a potentially career-ending injury, it’s preferable that he speaks with a team of psychologists, not even only one. (t/n skipping a tangent into athletes from other winter sports who managed to successfully return to competitions after tough accidents).

In Russia, it is a bit different, because it isn’t the Federation, but rather that those roles are filled by the clubs themselves - Sambo 70, CSKA, Mishin’s school, et cetera. And in their teams, they not only have psychologists, but also nutritionists, many professionals of various fields, to try and maintain/manage the health of their athletes as much as possible.

On to the last question, from a reader of the translations of our podcast. “In the previous podcast, you briefly spoke about how young kids’ training should be monitored too. Can you please go a bit further on this topic?”

(A): Trying to be brief. If we think about how we have athletes that are 13-14 years old, already able to execute programs with the hardest technical elements, that means those teens have lived and trained basically as professionals in their younger years. Now, is it right to push kids that are so young to do so much, to take time away from school… as a coach, that’s a question that I ask myself. And then, not all nations are the same. There are also nations where you have built-in limits – in their school system, but also cultural habits. So, of course, this is not doping, but is it fair? Are we all playing on an even ground? I don’t know, but I think it’s a question that anyone should ask himself. How fair is it to push a young kid with the risk of burning them out when they are not even teens.

(M): It’s clear that a system like the Russian one pulls everybody up. Because the competition is so intense that the skater themselves has different goals compared to skaters (of the same age) in other countries. Also, there, the school system is integrated with high-level competitive sports, especially compared to what happens in other nations. It’s a big advantage, also from a logistical point of view. If we speak about Italy, also because of a lack of sports culture, the school system does not understand what the needs of an athlete may be. So it doesn’t happen here.

(A): In Italy, there has been some effort lately to find a solution, but it still means to exit the normal school system. It means being followed by tutors and not attending schools with other kids of your age, which may impact your personal development.

(M): It’s a very complex topic. In Italy some are trying to create something similar to the so-called “ski-colleges”, typical of the german winter sports world. Those schools – and Carolina Kostner attended one of them too, at Oberstdorf – are at the basis of German and Austrian winter sports. In this domain, they are much further ahead of Italy. Those structures are part of society, they have been existing for half a century. If your kid gets accepted there, you pay a fee, and then he goes to school in a regular context while being coached by some of the best coaches in the country. So, should the sport career fail to flourish, those kids would still have a complete school career to rely upon. And this is one of the greatest strengths of the German system (t/n skipping a tangent into the German “Gymnasium” system that supports children’s sports & scholastic careers]

To sum up, it’s clear that to be ready when you are a teenager, you need to make a lot of sacrifices since young. Whether that is right or not, I’m not in the position to say. But it’s true and valid in any sport, in any field, and it’s a topic too complex to be analysed as the last question in a figure skating podcast.

That’s all for Podcast #6! Biggest thank, as usual, to our hero and proofreader: Gladi!

Sorry again for the delay, hopefully translation for Podcast 7 won’t be so late.

Cheers,

The A Factor Team

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