Campbells

[md2be]

My thoughts:
Missed Sasha skate, but in the post-show showing, she looks EMACIATED! Too, too skinny.

Emily Hughs - a mess.

Alissa - blah.

Joannie - a bright spot.

Shizuka - blech.

Kimmie - promising.

[Tony Wheeler]

I always (seem) just full of negative energy when it comes to skating reviews, but this really had to be one of the most boring telecasts I have seen in some time. I don't get why they showed who they showed in mens, and even though I know it was a splatfest as a whole, I would have much rather seen Weiss/Goebel than the 3rd and 4th place American men in this competition (after seeing what Weir and Lysacek offered). It was nice that they really focused on the ladies today, but since they were also a bit lackluster, they really didn't add much by doing so. Anyways, my thoughts..

Lysacek- I just don't like it. Singin in the Rain grew on me, but this program just seems too Jenny Kirk instrumental-ish for me to ever like it. Some nice moments, but he wasn't in shape.. so slow and the spins were pretty mediocre. The program seems better suited for a 14 or 15 year old who needs the music to really push them through the program, but that's just me.

Weir- SO disappointed with this. I don't like the way the music blends together at all, and I think a lot of the elements are placed at such blah points in the music that it really does make for a very unspectacular 4.5 minutes. Last year, there were several places in his free skate where he highlighted some of his cool moves; this year, that's non-existent. I honestly hope he ends up dumping this program, or reworking it completely (inc. the layout of the music).

Honda- Probably the most tolerable of the three mens programs for me, and you know that is saying a lot. I agree with Kurt.. I feel that ever since Honda left Lori Nichol, it seems like the only thing he focuses on is the jumps and it just makes it so boring to watch him. Generic choreography though, and no interpretation.

Cohen- Disappointed in this, as well. Too many cuts and no subtleness that her exhibition had. The jump layout is always the same for her, and she always puts so many of them in a row. Doesn't use the music at all to her advantage.. I really thought I was going to love this program but right now it might be my least favorite free skate that she's done. Last years free skate even gave me a positive feeling after my first viewing of it. She looked terribly slow, also. She's lost weight, and I don't know if that's a good or bad thing. Sadly, she looks kinda scary.

Czisny- I don't remember much about her program other than I didn't particularly like her cuts as much as some of the other pieces in the ballet. I do remember her standing out at that point as being faster and having much quicker spins than any of the people (men or woman) before her. She has promise, but a pretty bad skate on this day.

Meissner- Channeling Kwan in 96 a bit too much for my taste. But if you haven't seen Kwan in 96 then I guess you might see plenty of improvement from her. The program actually went by pretty fast, and the first 3/3 looked clean to me, but the 2nd was not at all. She's well on her way, just needs more time to get into what she's been given this year.

Arakawa- I just don't get it. She NEEDS music that is going to force her to present herself and she gets this music that's too dramatic or repetitive for her and it just comes off so bland. The choreography, as always, is there for her, but she doesn't have fun with anything she's given lately and it's disappointing because we all know she has and has shown the potential.

Rochette- Hit and miss for me right now. I think there's some nice moments, but I also think the choreography towards the end is a bit awkward, esp. the placement of the spiral sequence (btw- which seems like she won't have enough time to fit 3 seconds in for all of them..). Great jumps to start off and good she could get a 2axel/3 sequence off at the very end, but to me, the program could have been amazing if she could have kept up the feeling she had in the first 2 minutes, even with the fall. But I do like it better than Firebird. Also seems to have lost a bit of weight.

Hughes- I honestly didn't pay much attention to her. I know she was sick prior to the event and wasn't going to have her best effort, but I really just zoned out while watching her. I would have prefered to see Weiss or Goebel, probably.

I haven't seen the Japan Challenge videos yet, but I'm hoping some of the other international skaters have more to offer for this Olympic season than what we saw today.

[md2be]

One more comment: Bravo to David Wilson who is Joannie's choreographer. *finally* someone is actually LISTENING to the music and choreographing TO the music. Seems we have strayed away from this since Oksana days, so it is nice to see someone paying attention, adding meaningful movements et al instead of just placing things.

[7302005]

I agree that Sasha is way too skinny - I thought that she had the look of many of the eating disorders patients that I have seen. Way too thin.

Boring broadcast - even the special treat of Tanith and Ben. I can only hope that the skaters improve greatly over the next few weeks.

Please tell me that Evan's soundtrack was the wrong one...did not flow.

[noavail]

Sasha's spins looked dreadfully slow this competition, definitely much slower than I'm used to seeing. Hopefully she can take more advantage of the music and make it interesting.

I know its only the beginning of the season, but I was hoping for a better start to an olympic season.

I thought I heard that Emily Hughes was coming off of some serious illness, anyone know what it was?

[Schmeck]

Missed the men, missed Cohen, missed Czisny. Started watching in the middle of Kwan's, oh, I mean Meissner's program. :roll: I've never seen such a copy-cat performance!

Meissner - why does she bend down so low/ break at the waist when doing back crossovers? Lousy technique of a basic skill. Wobbly change of edge spiral, and her 3toes on her 3/3 look underrotated, like she does about 1/4 turn on the ice. But at least she has a 3/3 or two in her program.

Arakawa - defines the term 'lackluster'. Ugliest spin award. And why do skaters do the 'look at my crotch' spiral right in front of the judges/boards? Got a good view of the gusset panel of her tights...

Rochette - definitely more athletic than graceful. No flow out of her jumps, but I thought she had some nicer, pretty looking spins. Needs to work on her spiral. I loved her 3/2/2 combo.

Hughes - laborious. What illness were they talking about? She has a very old-fashioned body shape. I thought she looked a bit sloppy, especially the spiral. Her bielman spiral position seemed to be on a flat - does that count as part of the spiral? And she seemed to move her head a lot, like a meercat... Oh yes, and the red panty part of her dress was a bit distracting - why didn't it match her dress, and why did her skirt keep rising up at her waist?

Cohen highlights - has she been sick? She looked transparent. Wish she would fix the entry to her flip. They sped up her spin with the bielman, so it was hard to see, but her position doesn't look right, not really a bielman? But that could be because they fast-forwarded that part.

Where were the other, better international skaters? Why doesn't Irina do this one? She could use $50,000! I'm sure they would have her!

[blades]

8-)

hope this isn't an indicator of the season...real crap fest...

boreing and uninspired skating all around...

more and more "russian" choreography with flailing arms to distract you from the less than stellar (or even non-existant) footwork...

if this keeps up, honda won't have to worry about any ankle injuries anymore...but a rotator cuff injury is not out of the question!!! :roll:

[PAskate]

I thought I heard that Emily Hughes was coming off of some serious illness, anyone know what it was?

I thought that I heard them mention meningitis. If so, kudos to her for competing so soon after getting over that serious of an illness. :bow:

[viennese]

The mention of Hughes' meningitis (scary illness) was pretty shocking. Amazing that she bounced back fast to compete.

These prize-money program tryouts are very strange. Either they're too early in the season and few skaters trained, like this time, or they are so low pressure that they're sort of anti-Grand Prix skating....show programs with judges.

This year, there were invitationals two weekends in a row, one in the U.S. and one in Japan, so the talent was divided over two continents.

Besides the few ladies who looked comfortable their programs (Cohen, Rochette, Meissner) and one who looked trained but nervous (Czisny), is *anybody* even healthy, fit and ready to compete this fall?

It's distressing to hear reports of injury and illness and see people falling apart in October!

[Tapper]

Well, I was stranded on the side of the road in the country this afternoon and missed the whole event. After reading your reviews, I think that I was perhaps more entertained by counting cars and watching the butterflies that I would have been had I been able to see today's broadcast. Blessings come in the strangest packages!

[icedancer2]

Well, I was stranded on the side of the road in the country this afternoon and missed the whole event. After reading your reviews, I think that I was perhaps more entertained by counting cars and watching the butterflies that I would have been had I been able to see today's broadcast. Blessings come in the strangest packages!

Well, too bad you were stranded!

But I have to say -- I taped the wrong channel and am glad I did -- this sounds dreadful!!

Just praying that the whole season won't go like this!
8O

[Frumpy]

I thought they said it was menningitis. That's pretty serious. Good for her for skating at all.

[babeonblades]

hey what were the views on the canadian men i don't think i read about them at alll. and by the way when is campbells being aired on television in BC or did i miss it??

[doubletoe]

I thought Sasha did amazingly well, particularly considering her back injury. She has been skipping her jumps completely in practice, so you know it must be pretty bad. So if anyone was wondering why her Bielmann wasn't better, there's your answer.

Having said that, a bad back is no excuse for an awful music cut, especially when that music is something as beautiful as Nino Rota's Romeo & Juliet score. I was *very* disappointed with how she chose to cut her music and can't believe her coach and choreographer let her get away with it.

Her flip jump entry is unusual, but not technically "wrong" so I'd say she shouldn't fix what ain't broke. It obviously works for her, probably lining her up and getting her weight where it needs to be.

I think this was just a little early in the season for EVERYONE. I think it is particularly difficult for the top contenders to have their programs ready and polished so early in the season because it is an Olympic season and they have all packed their programs with the most difficult tricks they can do, in attempts to get their base points higher. Interpreting the music has had to take a back seat to choreographing for the sum of the points, and it's unfortunate, but probably necessary.

[icedancer2]

Her flip jump entry is unusual, but not technically "wrong" so I'd say she shouldn't fix what ain't broke. It obviously works for her, probably lining her up and getting her weight where it needs to be.



What is her flip entry? -- a mohawk or something?

[md2be]

What is her flip entry? -- a mohawk or something?

No, she does it old school - I was taught the same way.....you do your 3 turn, but after the turn, when you are going backward, you hit a flat (straight line) and then slip over to your inside edge right before picking in. It is actually a "check" that is just accentuated. I was taught this way because it makes you A. hold the edge just a smidgen longer, B. sets you up for a straighter pick in - meaning this: when you do a 3 turn and end up on the inside edge, you are now on a curve. If that curve is too deep, you can drop your right shoulder pretty easily. By holding a flat, you are checking your arms, straightening up, and not putting yourself on a curve until the last second when you are hopefully already square. It is very easy to do a 3 turn and pick in when you arent "checked." I think Sasha must have had this problem when learning the dbl or trl and by holding that check a bit longer on the flat, she avoids pre-picking and/or dropping the shoulder.
It is really normal......much like telegraphing a jump, but not as bad. Much like Irina's multiple 3 turns into her loops - it is a checking mechanism.

One more piece of information on this: when you do a flip, you should have the rhythm "I like 7-up." I=you set up, like you step on your left foot forward, you do the 3 turn. 7=hold the back edge of the 3 turn. UP=pick in and jump (up). With the flip, it is very easy to make the "7" part of the jump short, which will mess it up. By hitting the flat like sasha does, it makes the "7" the same beat-length as the rest of the sentence. Does that make sense?

[Schmeck]

Cohen goes from an inside edge, to an outside edge, and back to an inside edge for her 3-flip entry - it looks like a huge scratchy skid of an S on the ice. I've never seen anything like it, except for Lipinski's ankle snapping attempts at a 3-lutz.

When was Cohen's back injury? I thought that was last year...

[icedancer2]

No, she does it old school - I was taught the same way.....

.... Does that make sense?

Yes, since I am also "old-school" this is the way I was taught as well. My triples were never so good as Sasha's though! :!: :P

[Schmeck]

It isn't old school to have such a scratchy, 'flutzy' entry - it's an edge problem she has. She does the same thing with her lutz sometimes, but she ends up flutzing it.

Just saw a 'pirated' tape of Cohen's performance. Looks like she still has her flutz, but her spins are very nice, except the bielman, and her back during her sitspin is too hunched forward. Didn't mind the editing of the music (except it sounded garish on the tape, and what's with the end note being held sooooooooo long?) She had a lot of Kwanish moves in her footwork :roll: I hate the crotch spiral position, no matter who does it, and her charlotte extension seemed weak this time. Besides that, it was probably the best performance I've ever seen her do - no splat, only one jump-bobble, nice flow out of her jumps. I liked her confidence. Maybe because Kwan wasn't there?

Now, was her dress yellow (which it was on the tape) or more champagne colored?

[NoVa Sk8r]

It isn't old school to have such a scratchy, 'flutzy' entry - it's an edge problem she has. She does the same thing with her lutz sometimes, but she ends up flutzing it.I would snark that a flutz implies that she achieves an outside edge at some point. She never goes on that edge. Why she is not deducted for this egregious error is beyond me.

But gorgeous level 4 spiral sequence! 8-)

[MQSeries]

Everybody's seems to be doing at least one spiral where she pulls her leg up to the side or in a biellman position.

Dick raved about Sasha's Charlotte on an inside edge, but the edge was barely noticeable. Emily's Charlotte inside edge was much deeper. Alisa's inside edge grap-the-leg-to-her-face spiral was nice, because the inside edge was noticeable and the speed was good. Suprised she didn't hit a toe-pick and went splat on that move. I liked Shizuka's spiral sequence also. Kimmy's was the weakest. Her position looked really strange with her leg being lifted directly backward like that and then those Egyptian arms movments :roll: . She should try opening her hip and lifting it to the side like Sasha's and MK's.

[Schmeck]

Cohen's charlotte was on an inside edge? :?? Looked good and flat to me! But then, Peggy and Dickibut never mention Cohen's flutz, or odd flip entry either. They don't say one bad peep about her, but they tear all the other skaters apart for the same things... :roll:

[MQSeries]

Cohen's charlotte was on an inside edge? :?? Looked good and flat to me!

Cohen's back Charlotte went in a semi-circle. You couldn't tell she was on an inside edge but she had to lean inside at least a little bit for the curve to happen.

[Schmeck]

That's true, Bondo, but it's also a very obvious one with Cohen. It's what everyone is waiting for, to see if she can make it through a free program without letting one mistake get to her. She did it at Campbell's, in my eyes. Finally.

What I'm talking about are the errors in technique that she makes that don't get harped on, while other skaters similar errors get picked apart like it's an anatomy lab. Cohen is the 'perfect girl' in ABC's eyes right now.

And why aren't the commentators calling the jumps anymore? All we get is 'that was a lovely triple...' and 'oh, she turned that into a double' Can't they tell the jumps apart anymore?

[doubletoe]

I thought Sasha did amazingly well, particularly considering her back injury. She has been skipping her jumps completely in practice, so you know it must be pretty bad. So if anyone was wondering why her Bielmann wasn't better, there's your answer.

Oops, I got ahead of myself. I knew she was skipping jumps in practice but it wasn't until a few days later that the story came up on USFSA.org and an explanation was given. Apparently, it's not her back, but a new injury from a fall she had last week. She should be better soon, but not in time for Skate America.

[doubletoe]

You obviously didn't watch the coverage of Campbell's or pretty much any other event where Sasha competed and Dick commentated. Everytime without fail he starts out by saying Sasha's main problem is being consistent throughout or losing concentration. Then whenever she makes the slightest mistake (the slight bobble on her first jump combo) and he makes too much of it about how it confirms what he was talking about.

I totally agree. She only made one obvious mistake in her program (not counting the flutz, which I agree she has a problem with), but they immediately jump on her about her "inconsistency." Nobody else had NEARLY as clean a program, but I didn't hear the word, "inconsistent" used in reference to the other skaters. The whole "Sasha is inconsistent" thing is getting a little old.

[doubletoe]

Cohen's charlotte was on an inside edge? :?? Looked good and flat to me! But then, Peggy and Dickibut never mention Cohen's flutz, or odd flip entry either. They don't say one bad peep about her, but they tear all the other skaters apart for the same things... :roll:

Yes, it was a left back inside edge. There's no way she could have done it at the end of the rink without doing it on a curve.

[Schmeck]

I'll have to try to find a video online that has a better angle than the one I was able to find, because it didn't look like it was around the end of the rink at all to me. Could just have been the camera angle, though. It was an amateur video, probably off a cellphone or digital video/camera.

I only heard commentary for Cohen during the extra clip of her at the end, and it was all positive, but they picked every other skater apart.

[crayonskater]

I think the reason the commentators harp on Sasha's inconsistency is because it's so at odds with the rest of her skating. She is soo amazingly talented, and it's clear that if she skated more clean programs, she'd have a lot more titles. (This isn't always the case with other skaters, who might skate cleanly but not be as impressive.)