ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating: Skate Canada Pairs Short Program

This pairs event is going to be such a craps shoot. I have no clue what to expect.

1) Meagan Duhamel & Eric Radford (Canada) **
    Music:

• I completely missed this program!
• I will comment on it later when the live competition is over
• SP Score: 29.08 (technical) + 25.72 (presentation) = 54.80

2) Kirsten Moore-Towers & Dylan Moscovitch (Canada) **
      Music: Zorba's Dance

•  They have nice energy and speed across the ice
• The catch on the twist was rough
• The entrance into the lift was a little off
• She takes a fall on the throw
• I don't like these upside down death spiral positions, they are unbecoming for the woman
• Good recovery with some nice footwork
• SP Score: 29.68 (technical) + 25.00 (presentation) - 1.00 (deduction) = 53.68

3) Paige Lawrence & Rudy Swiegers (Canada)
      Music: City Slickers soundtrack

•  I can already tell that they are very theatrical performers
• Hand down on the first side-by-side jumps
• The exit from the first lift was gorgeous
• She touched the ground in the death spiral, not  sure how I feel about that
• She totally saved the landing on that throw
• SP Score: 31.74 (technical) + 24.40 (presentation) = 56.14

4) Britney Simpson & Nathan Miller (USA)
      Music: The Pink Panther

•  14 & 22, quite the age difference
• I love her pink costume so much and it fits the piece
• Nice clean side-by-side jumps
• That was a low catch on the twist
• She two-footed the landing on the throw and barely saved it
• Some loss of unison on the side-by-side combination spin
• This footwork lacks some flair I think
• The lift was very nice
• SP Score: 23.98 (technical) + 22.41 (presentation) = 46.39

5) Marissa Castelli & Simon Shnapir (USA) **
      Music: Money by Pink Floyd

•  Pretty solid side-by-side jumps
• That was actually a very clean twist, even by my standards
• Definitely out of sync on those spins, they need to clean that up if they want to compete with the best in the world
• That throw was CRAZY high, it reminded me of the chinese throwing the girls over couches
• That overhead lift in the leg catch position was ahmaaaazing!
• This team certainly has some awesome elements and great hilights to their programs
• SP Score:  32.96(technical) +23.38 (presentation) =56.34

6) Lubov Iliushechkina & Nodari Maisuradze (Russia) **
      Music: The Marriage of Figaro

•  Nice Sid-by-side jumps
• The throw was amazing
• They cover the ice with so much speed
• I didn't like the catch on their twist
• They lost a lot of speed in their death spiral
• They are a bit out of sync in the side-by-side spins
• That one-handed lift was impressive, but the exit was a bit clunky for me
• SP Score: 34.03 (technical) + 26.69 (presentation) = 60.72

7) Stacey Kemp & David King (Great Britain)
      Music:

•  SP Score: 23.27 (technical) + 20.23 (presentation) = 43.50

8) Huibo Dong & Yiming Wi (China)
      Music:

•  SP Score: 22.92 (technical) + 20.61(presentation) = 43.53