Barbie's Thursday Thoughts

Pairs

1. A new program can transform your season-"Take Me To Church" clearly elevated Kayne & O'Shea's level of skating
2. An emotional song will pull in the crowd over a rock song any day of the week
3. You can never rely on US Pairs to perform the way you expect
4. Too much confidence is always a cause for concern (I learned this from Ann Jensen)
5. Castelli & Tran have a future if they can.....eh hem.....stay together!
6. Never underestimate the power of real ballet training-Aaron & Settlage show us that in their posture and extension through each limb
7. If Denney and Frazier had not been injured, this would have truly been a 4-way race and the most competitive US Pairs event in years
8. A purple unitard is something we all think about wearing but most of us leave it in the back of the closet with the gold lame hot pants
9. Todd Sand still looks as fabulous as ever......like a real life Ken doll
10. I love Jimmy Morgan for his skating, but also because I met him in real life and he tweets with me

Ladies

1. I want Kori Ade to be my coach when I go back in time and become an elite figure skater; the respect between pedagogue and pupil is palpable 
2. Heidi Munger's costume was far and away my favorite
3. Mirai Nagasu has done some living and that showed in her performance in a great way; her struggles have taught her to skate like a woman
4. Karen Chen has "it" but "it" just wasn't her night, don't freak out people, she will come along
5. Tyler Pierce blew me away with how effortless her program looked
6. Ashley Cain should stop fighting the urge to skate to Frozen, she clearly already has the dress
7. Abbott & Rippon are a breath of fresh air as choreographers
8. Polina may not wow me as a performer, but she knows how to COMPETE at Nationals
9. Ashley Wagner...well that broad sure knows how to put on a show
10. Gracie Gold, you had one job and you singled a lutz?
11. We had our moments, but I just wanted some clean skating; too much to ask?

2016 US Championships: Pairs Preview

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:

1. Will Scimeca & Knierem allow their Skate America and NHK medals and GPF qualification to propel them to a 2nd consecutive US Title?
2. Looking forward, can Delilah Sappenfield coach a World Medalist?
3. Will Kayne & O’Shea or Aaron & Settlage, or Castelli & Tran perform in a way that establishes a clear 2nd place US Team?
4. Will Calalang & Sidhu be able to factor in? 
5. 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?
6. Which junior medalists from last year will sneak onto the podium? Fields & Utah Stevens, Liu & Johnson, or both? 
7. Who will give us that classic great half of a free skate and then crumble in the second?
8. And last but not least, how many of these teams will still be together next season?

SKATE AMERICA 2014: Pairs Preview

Pairs is going to be an interesting discipline this cycle because the top two teams aren't competing at the moment. This will give those mid-level teams a chance to move up the ranks and will give the junior teams a fair shake.

Podium Predictions:
Gold: Kavaguti & Smirnov (RUS)
Silver: Peng & Zhang (CHN)
Bronze: Scimeca & Knierem (USA)

Kavaguti & Smirnov (RUS) have had a career plagued by a series of unfortunate events. They missed last season due to an injury and with it, their home Olympics. I'm pretty surprised they are still competing, but it should be a good year for them to grab another world medal with the depleted field. Lady Moskvina is still going strong and they won Nebelhorn this season, so they should be the favorites here.

Peng & Zhang (CHN) are not personally my cup of tea, but they have the big tricks. I am hoping that they spent the summer working on their components to create a better look on the ice. They shouldn't have much competition for the silver or even the gold here.

Scimeca & Knierem (USA) seem like the top US hope in pairs these days. They've struggled greatly with injury, but they had a breakout season in 2012-2013 and made the world team. They have beautiful lines and a great connection on the ice. If they can stay healthy, I expect them to really grow over the next Olympic cycle. This will be a great opportunity to win a Grand Prix medal.

The Rest of the Field
Ziegler & Kiefer (AUT)-12th at 2014 Europeans, 17th at 2014 Olympics, 22nd at 2014 Worlds, 5th at 2014 Coup de Nice
Grenier & Deschamps (CAN)-5th at 2014 Nebelhorn, 5th at 2014 Autumn Classic
Prolss & Blommaert (GER)-7th at 2013 Junior Worlds, 2nd at 2014 Ice Challenge
Aaron & Settlage (USA)-5th at 2014 World Juniors, 3rd at 2014 US International Trophy, 6th at 2014 Nebelhorn Trophy, 6th at 2014 Nebelhorn
Denney & Frazier (USA)-1st at 2014 Lombardia Trophy, 2nd at 2014 Autumn Classic