Figure Skating

[skcin]

Originally Posted by Serrart

Well... just think to women who sell themselves for money. Actually I didn't even notice she was saying that, I guess I was too busy repeating " no, no, no"... and other words.

Romy

OK, thanks. I thought it was that or the "C" word. She was really scary, I would have turned around and ran, just as fast as I can.

[Serrart]

Originally Posted by skcin

OK, thanks. I thought it was that or the "C" word. She was really scary, I would have turned around and ran, just as fast as I can.

You should have seen her when they almost fell (but won bronze) at the Olympics in 2002. But tonight, you'll see, she was less serial killer-like and showed her most fragile part.

Romy

[DavidMn]

Sorry to digress, but MacMan will you please clear your pm's.

Originally Posted by DavidMn

Say, a couple of other related olympic notes for you. I was doing some looking ahead and found out the 2010 winter games are in Vancouver. Ive never been there, but that will be one of the best venues ever!!! A very cosmopolitan city right on the ocean. Cant wait for that. Then I was looking at the finalists for 2014, and one of the places was (And I know I'm going to misspell this) Kazhakstan. I was like, what's there that would make an olympic commitee consider it?

David..Vancouver is a beautiful city with so much to see and do...and even in winter its great..for no snow .but lots of rain..of course there is snow in the mountains..and the skiing is the best..I can;t wait for them either..for we are all hoping our niece will be going there to compete..if she keeps doing as well as she is doing now in ice dancing..She was just in the junior nationals and placed 4th..So she has a few years of practice and then on to the Olympics..lol..Having lived on the west coast for many years I can tell you the Canadian Rockies and vancouver and vancouver island are so worth seeing..if you are serious about going ..be sure to book something well in advance though..sighhhh I miss BC...

[DavidMn]

Originally Posted by MoonChilde

David..Vancouver is a beautiful city with so much to see and do...and even in winter its great..for no snow .but lots of rain..of course there is snow in the mountains..and the skiing is the best..I can;t wait for them either..for we are all hoping our niece will be going there to compete..if she keeps doing as well as she is doing now in ice dancing..She was just in the junior nationals and placed 4th..So she has a few years of practice and then on to the Olympics..lol..Having lived on the west coast for many years I can tell you the Canadian Rockies and vancouver and vancouver island are so worth seeing..if you are serious about going ..be sure to book something well in advance though..sighhhh I miss BC...

I've never ben there, but I wanna go someday. whats sport does your niece compete in? whats her name?

you will love Vancouver..there are some great beaches there too..and Stanley park is quite nice too..
My niece..well actually its my husband's nieces' daughter..lol..got that?? her name is Emily..and she does ice dancing...she still has a way to go before she is olympic ready but we are all hoping!!
I'm going to be in Vancouver in August ..whoo hoo can;t wait...haven't been there in 4 years...so we plan on doing lots while there..and then head north...back to our old stomping grounds...LOL..

[elie]

Regarding Fusar-Poli:apart from the fact that their Compulsory marks were inflated, the look she gave to Margaglio (sp?) was just unprofessional. Period. I 've seen couples falling all the time (especially in the pairs competition) but have never seen anyone acting like this. It was hideous. I am not going to say I am glad they fell but they did not deserve to finish higher than they did.

I am not even going to comment on the Ice-Dance podium. It was ridiculous, once again. Not just because I am a huge Denkova&Staviyski fan (as of Delobel&Schoenfelder), but I just.can.not.stand. Navka&Kostomarov getting the golds anymore. How can such a cautious, oldfashioned and,sometimes boring, program win over fine art and innovation? I have always believed that Denkova&Staviyski are the only ones who could ever live up to the glory that was Torvill&Deans' Bolero, but it seems that the fact they are not Russian is a big obstacle nowadays
I am not saying that N&K suck, but I truly believe that the impact they have on the crowd is just superficial. They give the people (and the judges) what they want to see and they get away with gold, whereas talented people like the Bulgarians and the French put their heart into their programs and their dances actually mean something, stay out of the podium. To me, seeing the Bulgarians out of the podium is the same as it would have been if Torvill&Dean had not gotten the gold in 1984.

PS.I was happy about Belbin&Agosto though: their program was fresh and fun to watch.

[skcin]

ITA, Elie. I thought I was biased since I am Bulgarian, but I'm glad someone else thought they were robbed too. 2 POINT DEDUCTION for their lifts being too long? Come on, people FALL and they only get a 1 point deduction. That lift, where she was holding on to him by ONE FOOT was incredible. They were powerful, technically spot on but still very artistic. Stupid judges.

Fusar-Poli - you're right, totally unprofessional, very poor sportsmanship. Did you see the "behind the scenes" clips they showed on TV? She just kept staring at him, they said she wouldn't talk to him that whole night or the next day. Cold as ice right up until they skated the free skate.

I felt the most emotion from the Bulgarians, the silver-winning Americans and the Lithuanians. The Russians - eh, they didn't screw up or anything, but I just didn't "feel" them like I did the other teams. And the bronze-winning Ukrainians? Stiff, cold, and dull - and what was with their Las Vegas showgirl costumes? If they were my countrymen, I would be embarrassed that they were on the podium wearing that. Fringe on her chest? She looked like a stripper.

Good competition, though, even though I personally wasn't thrilled with the results.

[Serrart]

Originally Posted by elie

Regarding Fusar-Poli:apart from the fact that their Compulsory marks were inflated, the look she gave to Margaglio (sp?) was just unprofessional. Period. I 've seen couples falling all the time (especially in the pairs competition) but have never seen anyone acting like this. It was hideous. I am not going to say I am glad they fell but they did not deserve to finish higher than they did.

I am not even going to comment on the Ice-Dance podium. It was ridiculous, once again. Not just because I am a huge Denkova&Staviyski fan (as of Delobel&Schoenfelder), but I just.can.not.stand. Navka&Kostomarov getting the golds anymore. How can such a cautious, oldfashioned and,sometimes boring, program win over fine art and innovation? I have always believed that Denkova&Staviyski are the only ones who could ever live up to the glory that was Torvill&Deans' Bolero, but it seems that the fact they are not Russian is a big obstacle nowadays
I am not saying that N&K suck, but I truly believe that the impact they have on the crowd is just superficial. They give the people (and the judges) what they want to see and they get away with gold, whereas talented people like the Bulgarians and the French put their heart into their programs and their dances actually mean something, stay out of the podium. To me, seeing the Bulgarians out of the podium is the same as it would have been if Torvill&Dean had not gotten the gold in 1984.

PS.I was happy about Belbin&Agosto though: their program was fresh and fun to watch.

I totally agree about Fusar Poli Margaglio, their behaviour was unprofessional and brought on a very negative vibe. The only excuse is their history at 2002 Olympics, they were looking for a new chance and totally missed it.

About Denkov and Stavinski, i think differently, they didn't deserve a medal this round: first they fell during their compulsory dance (edit: sorry I meant the original) and then gained a 2 points detractions during their free (people who fell and got only one point detraction was because they fell at the end of the step or jump, if you fall at the start you got a two points detraction). Even the comparison with Torvill Dean doesn't fit, IMO: Torvill-Dean, starting by a masterful technique challenged the rules with inventions, Denkov and Stavinski made technical mistakes, I guess because they were nervous and anxious to prove they were the best new thing.
I was a bit disappointed by them: they have definitely ahead a bright future full of victories, but they need to become a bit more focused. Actually I think Delobel&Schoenfelder did a lot better then them, and in fact their free ended second. They were innovative and technically impeccable, if their compulsory dance hadn't been dull, they would have gained at least silver IMO. The American couple was very good too.

About Navka Kostomarov, I don't like them really, and it was a bit like to see Carmen danced by Terminator regarding to Kostomarov, but he's technically a rock, and Navka is an excellent and very expressive skater. Actually it seems judges didn't love a lot their free (probably because they missed the elegance, musicality and artistic value of other Russian couples, like Klimova Ponomarenko, Grishuk-Platov, Usova-Zhulin) but they did it very well, and so, at the end, they deserved that medal, mostly for been the most reliable couple this time, IMO.

Romy

[skcin]

^ I know that the Bulgarians fell in their second routine, so all medal hopes were pretty much gone. But I think the scores were very, very low for their free skate. JMO.

As far as the Russians, there was a stumble getting up from one of their positions, but I guess the judges don't penalize for stumbling?

BTW - I forgot to mention how heartbreaking it was that the Canadian couple couldn't dance due to her hip injury. So sad. Her partner skated during practice & touched the Olympic rings printed on the ice. Later, they asked him why he did that, and he got too choked up to explain. She then told them that she asked him to do that, because she had planned to touch the rings after their free skate.

[Serrart]

Originally Posted by skcin

As far as the Russians, there was a stumble getting up from one of their positions, but I guess the judges don't penalize for stumbling?

Actually there were two minor stumbles, but even with those, they managed to keep the synchronization during the sequence, I guess that's why they weren't penalized with a point.

Romy

[bikerchic]

Originally Posted by CelticGypsy

I believe she wears the necklace all the time and she is on the Celeb Skating show. Is nice to see Dorothy Hamill as one of the judges. She is one of my favorite skaters.

What happened to Skating with Celeb's this week? Why wasn't it on? It was on last week, even with the Olympics on?

[bikerchic]

[QUOTE=skcin
BTW - I forgot to mention how heartbreaking it was that the Canadian couple couldn't dance due to her hip injury. So sad. Her partner skated during practice & touched the Olympic rings printed on the ice. Later, they asked him why he did that, and he got too choked up to explain. She then told them that she asked him to do that, because she had planned to touch the rings after their free skate. [/QUOTE]


I saw that too, so sad. Gotta love those Canadians

[elie]

Originally Posted by Serrart

About Denkov and Stavinski, i think differently, they didn't deserve a medal this round: first they fell during their compulsory dance (edit: sorry I meant the original) and then gained a 2 points detractions during their free (people who fell and got only one point detraction was because they fell at the end of the step or jump, if you fall at the start you got a two points detraction). Even the comparison with Torvill Dean doesn't fit, IMO: Torvill-Dean, starting by a masterful technique challenged the rules with inventions, Denkov and Stavinski made technical mistakes, I guess because they were nervous and anxious to prove they were the best new thing.
I was a bit disappointed by them: they have definitely ahead a bright future full of victories, but they need to become a bit more focused. Actually I think Delobel&Schoenfelder did a lot better then them, and in fact their free ended second. They were innovative and technically impeccable, if their compulsory dance hadn't been dull, they would have gained at least silver IMO. The American couple was very good too.

About Navka Kostomarov, I don't like them really, and it was a bit like to see Carmen danced by Terminator regarding to Kostomarov, but he's technically a rock, and Navka is an excellent and very expressive skater. Actually it seems judges didn't love a lot their free (probably because they missed the elegance, musicality and artistic value of other Russian couples, like Klimova Ponomarenko, Grishuk-Platov, Usova-Zhulin) but they did it very well, and so, at the end, they deserved that medal, mostly for been the most reliable couple this time, IMO.

Romy

Romy, I understand that my view about Denk&Stav must have sounded a bit exaggerated and I didn't imply that they are as good as Torvill&Dean. What I mostly meant was that their performances are breathtaking and innovative and that is why they could potentially deliver a magnificent performance like Bolero some day. IMO they are the only couple who are capable of doing that . But they won't. Because, as you said, they are always too stressed to prove they are good while they don't actually have to. And IMO, this happens exactly because they are always underrated by the judges.
Delobel&Schoenfelder are great, but a bit more immature still, I think. They need some work.
And I would have to disagree with you about the deductions. 2 points is just too much and it was not even clear for what it was. Extended lifts, I think. But then, 2 points cannot be by any means justified, when that's what you get when you fall, which is a much bigger mistake.

Navka is fine, but I can't for the life of me believe that Kostomarov is a golden olympic champion, as was Gwendal Peizerat or Christopher Dean before him. It's too much.
When my mind goes back to the golden olympic performances I want to have something glorious and emotional to remember, something that still gives me the chills after many years-and Carmen just wasn't it. And apart from Bach to Africa, which was a Denk&Stav program that I didn't particularly care for, I can't think of any program that the Bulgarians did which was not memorable or exciting, to say the least.

[DavidMn]

Originally Posted by MoonChilde

you will love Vancouver..there are some great beaches there too..and Stanley park is quite nice too..
My niece..well actually its my husband's nieces' daughter..lol..got that?? her name is Emily..and she does ice dancing...she still has a way to go before she is olympic ready but we are all hoping!!
I'm going to be in Vancouver in August ..whoo hoo can;t wait...haven't been there in 4 years...so we plan on doing lots while there..and then head north...back to our old stomping grounds...LOL..

Here's hoping she makes it!