Showing posts with label
2016 us figure skating championships.
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Showing posts with label
2016 us figure skating championships.
Show all posts
The Senior Pairs event seems like it should be a slam dunk for Alexa Scimeca and Chris Knierem, based on their International season, but when has a US Pairs event even been that simple? Here are a few questions that have me excited for this event:
- Will Scimeca & Knierem allow their Skate America and NHK medals and GPF qualification to propel them to a 2nd consecutive US Title?
- Looking forward, can Delilah Sappenfield coach a World Medalist?
- Will Kayne & O’Shea or Aaron & Settlage, or Castelli & Tran perform in a way that establishes a clear 2nd place US Team?
- Will Calalang & Sidhu be able to factor in?
- Can Mervin Tran ever achieve the success he once had with Narumi Takahashi again, and with Marissa Castelli? Will they stay together long enough for any of this to matter?
- Which junior medalists from last year will sneak onto the podium? Fields & Utah Stevens, Liu & Johnson, or both?
- Who will give us that classic great half of a free skate and then crumble in the second?
- And last but not least, how many of these teams will still be together next season?
This Senior Dance event has had me on the edge of my seat for months following the Grand Prix Final. That being said, I have so many question:
- First and foremost, who will have the most garish costumes and music?
- Will the judging be fair?
- Will any of the placements have fans in an uproar?
- Which free skate will make cry? (eh hem, Shibutanis)
- Will there be any significant movements from the Short to the Free?
- Will Chock & Bates be given an unfair bump by the judges because they are International favorites?
- Which coach will wear the biggest scarf?
- Will Marina combust if her Shibutanis lose, yet again, to former students Chock & Bates?
- Will Hubbell and Donohue even be in the gold medal conversation or will there be, as in the past, a clear drop off between 2nd and 3rd?
- Can Hawayek & Baker step up and challenge for 3rd or will they just fall by the wayside as yet another great junior team?
- Does Alexandra Aldridge re-enter the conversation with her new pair-turned-dance partner Matthew Blackmer?
- Will anyone else impress us?
- What will be trending among skating tweeters after this event? (you know we won’t all be happy)
- And most importantly, will Ann Jensen and I get our artistry and unicorns?
I’m less excited about the Senior men than anybody else in this competition. Do you feel me?
- Without Jason Brown or even Joshua Farris in the competition, any win almost seems…..less than. Nevertheless:
- Can Max Aaron, the clear favorite, land his jumps and win outright?
- Will Nathan Chen, the once novice and junior phenom, improve upon last year’s 8th place finish in his Senior debut and threaten for the podium?
- Can dark horse candidate and twitter-verse favorite Grant Hochstein make a statement after his impressive 4th place finishes at Cup of China and NHK Trophy?
- If Hochstein skates cleanly, will he have a moment with his Les Miz free skate and bring the crowd to its feet?
- Is Ross Miner still relevant?
- Will Adam Rippon’s jumps fail him yet again, but wow us with his artistry?
- Who will be the surprise member of the final group in the free?
- Who will make the biggest jump from the short to the free?
- And finally, the question is not if, but who, will the selection committee screw out of an International assignment?
Ashley vs. Gracie: Part 4
- Does anyone else matter to the skating faithful?
- Does Ashley come from behind in the short to win in the free as has become commonplace?
- Does my girl Ashley, an old broad by skating standards, have any gas left in the tank to take another US title and have a prayer of a World medal?
- Does Gracie live up to her word of “no more doubles”?
- Does Gracie, clearly the more talented of the two, get out of her head and put up the points we know she can?
- More importantly, which of these two will give us the best Side Eye?
- Can Polina finally perform like a mature young woman?
- Does Karen Chen make the Gracie vs. Ashley debate moot by wiping the floor with all of them?
- Can Courtney Hicks’ jump propel her back into the conversation?
- Where does Carly Gold factor in, and more importantly, how does her presence affect Gracie?
- What chance does Mirai Nagasu have after all these years, particularly where International assignments are concerned?
- Will any one performance make me cry or stand up and cheer?
- Can anyone from last year’s top ten trio of Bell, Price, or Miller surprise us and make the podium?
- How will last year’s Junior winner by a mile, Bradie Tennell, handle the pressure of the Senior event?
- Finally, will the dreaded “committee” have to step in when it comes to International assignments or will they let the competition play out?
