To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive

Disclaimer: the last time I was seriously into figure skating as a spectator sport was the first half of the 2002-2003 season. I tried to keep the "but that's not how the old scoring system did it!" whining to a minimum, but, well, yeah. C(ode) O(f) P(oints) sucks.

I think I like ABC's coverage better now that Susie Wynne is full-time, replacing Peggy Flemming, and Paul Wylie has replaced Dick Button. Wylie talks more, but his voice is somehow less noticible than Button's is. Although if he doesn't SHUT UP about Sasha freaking Cohen... *glares* She skates on the flats of her blades! This has not changed in four years! Her "change of edge" in her spirals is less than a millimeter! Her crossovers aren't pushed into the ice at all! Yes, she's flexy and has incredible extension, but so do rhythmic gymnasts. Gah.

Also, bone to pick about the ice dance coverage, specifically the Trophee Eric Bompard ODs...dude. Six women's short programs, and ONLY ONE ORIGINAL DANCE? ARGH. I hate you, ABC.

Singles

I didn't believe all the gushing about Mao Asada, the fifteen-year-old phenom from Japan, could possibly be true, but every word of it is. She's incredible. I thought she'd be like Yukari Nakano, the last girl to be big on the triple axel--i.e., all jumps and nothing else--but she has edges, some nice footwork and spirals, and lots of personality. Too bad she's two months shy of the age cutoff for the Olympics.

COP, the new scoring system, has done horrifying things to the ladies' competition. Perhaps less horrifying than dance (more on that in a moment), but horrifying nonetheless. I refer specifically to the fact that Biellmann spins and catchfoot spirals are very highly rewarded under the new system and EVERYONE is doing them. And by everyone, I mean ESPN can show twelve LPs in a row, and both of these things will be in every. single. program. I hate seeing all these poor girls twist themselves into pretzels trying to get their free legs up behind their heads and hang on to their skate blades. Okay, since Irina Slutskaya brought the Biellmann back into vogue fiveish years ago, I suppose it was a trend that was going to catch on anyway, but I still blame COP, 'cause it's fun to blame COP. *g* It means that a lot of other, prettier, less flexy but more graceful positions aren't to be seen this season; I saw exactly one layback position in a combination spin, although they all pack in so many positions into their spins anymore that who can really tell...another annoying thing, because now everybody seems to be spinning soooo sloooooowly. Argh.

As for men...you know, I have very little to say here. Plushy is so far ahead of everyone else that everyone is really just fighting for silver at any competition he attends. He seems more polished and fluid than the last time I saw him.

Although Stephane Lambiel may give him a run for his money if he can get his triple axel under control. He's just about the one exception to the "slow spins" thing...then again, he's Swiss. That's to be expected. *g*

Finally, Irina Slutskaya remains adorable. I like her choice of music for the LP--a Jesse Cook piece fits her better than Italian opera, IMO.

Ice Dance

Oh, COP, the things you have done to dance. It makes me ill. This used to be my favorite discipline, but COP has sucked almost all the life out of it. It might be easier to judge, but now everyone's programs have started looking the same, and even more frenetic and packed to the gills than before. Disgusting. Again, having the girl look like a pretzel gets more points, so that's what everyone does, instead of having some beautiful lifts. Plus, there are time limits on the lifts, so in addition to having to hit as many positions as possible, they have to do it very quickly. Argh. Twizzles continue to be the main component of many programs, and while I like them, their prevalence gets old.

I'm not particularly thrilled with the current world champions (and, let's face it, there's a 99.9999999% chance they'll be Olympic champions come February), Navka and Kostomorov. Technically, they're solid, but...boring. No spark. And they have a hideous move where they're both doing Besti squats. Besti squats are perhaps the ugliest move anyone ever came up with in figure skating. Ugh.

Melissa Gregory and Denis Petukov, the second American team (after Belbin and Agosto) have a free dance that is very, very, very similar to A&P's "Romeo and Juliet." It is, in fact, the same music by Prokofiev, and almost exactly the same cuts, as well, though theirs has some strange techno thing in the middle. The costumes are also very much like Marina and Gwendal's, except pinky red instead of blue. And the choreography is QUITE similar, to the point where for the first forty seconds or so, I was convinced that it was actually the same choreography, until they did a different lift and then went off in a somewhat different direction. These two seem to have kicked up their technique quite a bit in the last four years; props to them for improvement.

Another American team, Matthews and Zavosin, are interesting to watch as well; apparently he's had extensive ballroom training, and it shows in the partnering and dance holds. Speaking of American teams...dude. We have five teams seriously competing for three spots on the Olympic team. (More importantly: WE HAVE THREE SPOTS ON THE OLYMPIC TEAM IN ICE DANCING, OMG.) Holy crap.

Delobel and Schonfelder, the French team, are my favorites for the season, though. They have a nifty, nifty balance move toward the end of their free dance that just comes out of nowhere and is way cool.

Pairs

I think pairs might become my favorite discipline this year, especially since dance is so hampered by the new rules. And my love for any and all death spirals knows no bounds. *g* COP actually seemed to help pairs, astonishingly enough. It gives incentive to do the extra forward pivot ont he death spirals, and make the entrances interesting and unique, which is nice. The new scoring system was supposed to place equal emphasis on all elements of a program, from jumping to spinning to footwork, etc., and while it hasn't seemed to do that for singles, it seems like pairs spins and spirals have improved all over because of it. Or maybe there are just very spinny teams this year. Either way, I'm more interested.

Totmianina and Marinin are shoo-ins for the Olympic title if they don't have a complete meltdown. After her horrific fall last year, it's understandable that their lifts are rather slow and tentative, but everything else about them is just gorgeous. Their short program is really spectacular.

Obertas and Slavnov are my new favorites, though, I think. They remind me a whole lot of Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze, both in the way they look (especially her) and skate, particularly the way they relate to each other and to the audience. Of course, they're both coached by Moskvina, so that may explain some of that. They're not as polished as B/S yet, but I think by 2010 they'll be amazing. (And dude, part of their LP was to the Anvil Chorus. That's awesome!)

Zagorska and Siudek, the Polish team, continue to have lovely, lovely lifts with the softest, most delicate dismounts. I love the way he puts her down so gently. I wish they could get their jumps together, though. They both seem like such wonderful people, and it really translates into their programs.

I'd heard good things about Marcoux and Buntin, a Canadian pair, and they're all true as well. Some really nice, well-put-together programs from them.

And out of nowhere come Pang and Tong, the stick figures of pairs skating. I was bored by them four years ago, but they've really gotten so much better this year. Their long program is to Phantom of the Opera, and while the costume choice is rather unfortunate, the skating is not. Great program.


My picks for the Olympics? Russian sweep. Pluschenko wins mens, Slutskaya women's, Totmianina/Marinin pairs, and Navka/Kostomorov dance. The dance one saddens me, but the others I enjoy, so I look forward to being proven right. ;)