Nari Nam pics at Hidden Valley Open

[Kabooke]

She looks stunning!
Great pics by Dave Amode!

Naomi Pics (http://swpskating.com/narinam.html)

[danibellerika]

Those are very nice pics. I like that dress much better than the one from the OC open. That's for sure. Is there a report anywhere from Dave?

[cienicsk8]

Wow! Thanks for the link:)
I've always been a big fan of hers, I'm so happy to see her doing well!
And she looks fantastic too!
I wish her the best of luck on the comeback trail:)

[Kabooke]

Originally posted by danibellerika
Those are very nice pics. I like that dress much better than the one from the OC open. That's for sure. Is there a report anywhere from Dave?

The dress from the OC was for an exhibition number, not a competitive number like this one.

Here's a report from a friend who was there:
Senior Ladies (SP, FS, overall):
1 - Naomi Nam (3, 1, 1) All Year
2 - Yvonne Leung (2, 2, 2) All Year
3 - Katie Mulvaney (4, 3, 3) Utah
4 - Katy Edgecomb (5, 4, 4) Rim of the World
5 - Felicia Beck (1, -, - ) All Year

Thanks to Sylvia!

Naomi's jumps
2A(fall)
3L/2T
2l
3T(touch down)
3T
3F
2S
3L


Report:
This weekend was escondido, california's annual hidden valley competition. the competition was fierce especially in the novice ladies division. the top 3 novice ladies attempted 2 different triples and of course one to two double axels in their long program. if i could emphasize one thing it would be that they were very very fast. all of them had explosive jumps but very few had quality choreography and expressive movements.

the novice men were the largest group of men in the competition. their long programs ranged from 3 different triples in combination with double toes to double axel double toes. one skater who everyone should watch out for this year at nationals is Daisuke Marikami (im pretty sure that is accurate spelling). this young boy who stands under five feet is a little fire ball. in his long he opened with a gorgeous double axel double toe and then worked his way into a beautiful triple sow double toe. he then followed it by his triple loop although he fell on it but landed an amazing one in the warm up.

moving on to the jr. division... the ladies were few and far between. very few actually skated up to their level. kelly knight won the over all competition, megan marsh came in first in the long. although one of the girls tried all the way through triple lutz successfully landing a beautiful one. another girl landed a surprising double flip triple toe. the jr. men division had one scratch (Luis Hernandez, who has the most wonderful style and artistry i have seen from a young man). the other two skaters were alright. neither had the best skates.

now for the senior ladies and men. Felicia Beck won the short but with drew from the long. Naomi Nari Nam skated a very nice long program. she landed her triple lutz double toe, triple flip, touched her hand down on her triple toe, and fell on her double axel. and the final group which was senior men had the reigning jr mens champion in it which is Dennis Phan. he skated with so much energy. he landed a triple loop triple loop, attempted a HUGE triple axel and landed the rest of his triples in combination. he had the audience screaming!

over all the competition had the top skaters from california. i hope this gives some insight into what the competition will be like this year, good luck everyone! if you have questions about any of this feel free to ask me! bye!

Thanks to askater!

askater on Naomi:
ill try to answer them as best i can. i didnt get to watch the short, sadly but if you really really want to know i will ask skaters who were at the competition this coming monday. she obviously missed a few required elements to place that low, b/c the other senior ladies (not including felicia beck) were definitely not any match to her skating. her artistry in the long program was nice. it was not quite as equal to the senior ladies who placed at the top in our previous nationals. i was impressed by her unique moves. she did a forward gliding charlotte, (from experience i've tryed it and it is alot harder than it looks). she had very nice edges and most of the jumps flowed throughout her program nicely, they didnt look broken up and out of place. i liked the fact that she kept her head up the entire time making eye contact with the crowd and smiling. she picked a very nice peice of music, its flowy yet strong in parts. im sorry i dont know the name of the piece. her dress was a turquoise/purplish/blue/green mix of colors and it flattered her shape very well. it almost looked like an ice dancer's dress, it was a halter top and had nice accents of rinestones on it. now that i think about it, she did not attempt a triple loop in the warm up at all. and i believe she did land her triple sow in the warm up, it may have been a triple sow double toe. i hope these answers are what you were looking for. take care! bye

[supersk8er]

WOW has this girl ever grown up! The only time I've seen her was when she jumped onto the scene and came second at the US Nationals...And, what was she, 13? Why was she off the scene for so many years? Was she plagued by injury?

[Kabooke]

Originally posted by supersk8er
WOW has this girl ever grown up! The only time I've seen her was when she jumped onto the scene and came second at the US Nationals...And, what was she, 13? Why was she off the scene for so many years? Was she plagued by injury?

Hard to believe it's been almost 4 1/2 years since we last saw her and she's now an 18 year old beautiful young woman.

She's been plauged with a hip injury that has required surgery.

[AxelAnnie22]

Thanks so much for the link. I am blown away! I can't wait to see her again!!

[Trillian]

Originally posted by Kabooke
Hard to believe it's been almost 4 1/2 years since we last saw her and she's now an 18 year old beautiful young woman.

It's really just been a bit over three years--she did compete through the 1999-2000 season and I think she did some exhibitions that spring, but she's been out with injury since then. She just wasn't as visible in the 2000 season because she competed on the untelevised Junior Grand Prix, only finished 8th at nationals (though she did make the TV broadcast for both the short and long), and wasn't selected for junior worlds. I believe the 2000 nationals was the last time she competed.

She's been plauged with a hip injury that has required surgery.

From the sounds of it, it's been an issue of repeated injuries--hasn't she had a back problem also? It was reported numerous times that she was back to training, only to be followed up with the report of another injury. Hopefully this time she's going to be able to stay reasonably healthy.

Anyway, it looks like she's doing pretty well, and I'd bet her odds of getting through regionals are pretty good depending which skaters have byes. Whether or not she's jumping at a level to get to nationals will be another story--Pacific Coasts wasn't too, too tough at the senior level last year, but there are some talented girls moving up.

Frankly, if she does get to nationals, I wouldn't expect a high finish--but odds are we'd see her short program on the broadcast regardless, so if you're interested in seeing her, cross your fingers that she does manage to qualify.

[purplecat]

She looks beautiful! I'm so happy she's skating again! :)

I believe she's wearing Jenni Meno's First Time Ever I Saw Your Face dress.

[danibellerika]

Thanks for providing the report Kabooke. I have been wondering what happened for over a week, hehe. 5 triples is not too shabby at all espcially with 7 planned. Hope her programs get her to nationals and I really do hope to see her. We have 6 whole months so who knows what progress she'll make in that amount of time.

[Sylvia]

Originally posted by danibellerika
Thanks for providing the report Kabooke. I have been wondering what happened for over a week, hehe. 5 triples is not too shabby at all espcially with 7 planned.

Three triples, according to a friend who saw Nam's free skate and passed along these notes to me...

Naomi Nari Nam "pulled off three triples and some really nice spins and choreography. She's skating to Miss Saigon in her long and her dress was this gorgeous teal blue halter that had a longer skirt and an open back. She landed a huge triple lutz-double toe, triple flip, and triple toe. But fell on a double axel, doubled all her other jumps, and blew a flying sit spin. Her choreography and flow were really nice. She smiled a lot and had a nice spiral section."

Second-hand notes re. Nam's 3rd place SP (Cirque du Soleil): 1axel, 3lutz(fall, didn't do 2toe in combo), 3toe(fall). Strong spins as usual (sit, layback), but seemed to lack her usual sparkle.

[danibellerika]

Ok thanks for that correction.