desoto_hia873 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
desoto_hia873) wrote2007-01-20 09:56 am
desoto_hia873) wrote2007-01-20 09:56 am
Entry tags:
Canadians 2007 - Day 2
I just Googled Paul Wirtz to see what had happened to him. He was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma early last spring and died of it two weeks later. He was a fixture in Canadian pair's skating for decades, and he will be missed.
The men, the men, I love the men! How frustrating it is only to get to watch the last flight instead of the entire field. I love seeing who's up-and-coming, the progress that younger skaters have made from the year before, the Juniors--basically, the whole shebang. I must see if I can get to next year's Canadians.
First out of the gate was Patrick Chan, one of the youngest skaters in the event and much hyped. Rod and Tracy were falling all over themselves with hyperbole, but Patrick didn't have a good night, unfortunately. He skated to Hannibal, which is to say classical-sounding music, and two-footed his 3F-2T combo and popped his Axel into a single. His 3L was very nice, however, as was his footwork. I thought his free leg looked a bit droopy in his camel spins, but there's no denying that this kid has a lot of talent and is moving up quickly. He won Juniors two years ago, won Novice the year before, and was in the final flight of skaters tonight after finishing well back in the pack last year. He got 57.42 points.
Next was Vaughn Chipeur, who won the qualifying round. (I was pleased to see that Joey Russell from Newfoundland, who won Juniors last year, came second. :-) Vaughn is coached by Scott Davis, who was there with him, and has *huge* jumps. He skated to Metallica wearing a black T with a gold snake coiled around it. He's a very athletic skater cut from the same cloth as Elvis. He landed a 3A, 3F-2T, and a 3L. He got 63.80 points.
Shawn Sawyer was next. Shawn had a dream year last year--he aced both programs at Canadians for a bronze medal and a trip to the Olympics. He doesn't have the jump arsenal of the big boys yet, but he's a lovely skater. He skated to The Big One wearing a black vest and pants with a light blue shirt. He landed a 3F-2T with a wobble on the flip, underrotated and two-footed his 3A (which was consquently only scored as a 2A), and a 3Lo almost right out of a split jump. I thought his music dragged a little, but the crowd loved him. 63.93 points.
Then it was Emanuel's turn. I always get very tense watching Emanuel because you just don't know what he's going to do--every time he steps on the ice, it's 50-50 whether he's going to be brilliant or he's going to implode. His short program is set to mambo music, and he was wearing a charcteristically blinding costume--a neon green shirt with bright red stripes. Only Emanuel can pull off an outfit like that. Anyway, this wasn't one of his brilliant nights. He almost but not quite landed his 4T, popped his Axel into a single, and then did a nice 3L. At least he's gotten out of the habit of bailing on his entire program once he's made a mistake (or two). The program looked like it'd be a nice one if it had been clean. ::sighs:: He scored 65.21 points, which earned him a few boos from the crowd as this put him ahead of Shawn. Rod and Tracy emphasised over and over again the computer-based system of scoring and that it wasn't the judges' fault for marking him easy. It wasn't until later that they realized that Shawn's 3A attempt had been downgraded to a 2A because of the underrotation.
Christopher Mabee was next and he, without question, had the skate of the night. We first saw Christopher many years ago when he was a wee little thing who could pop off triples almost without thinking about it, but then he grew. He's not wee Christopher Mabee anymore, but he was doing a pretty good job of popping off the triples last night. Skating to bluesy music and wearing faux-leather pants, he landed a 3A, 3L-3T, and a 3F. His footwork was awesome. The crowd loved him and gave him a well-deserved standing ovation. He scored 75.68 points, which is likely a personal best. You go, Christopher!
Last up was Jeff Buttle. He was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his spine last fall, so this was his first competition of the year. He's still struggling a bit with his Axel as it causes more pain on landing than the other jumps. His music was Adios Nonino, which is to say classical piano, and he wore a long-sleeved black shirt over a wine-coloured T. He landed a 3F-3T, fell on his 3A (but it was fully rotated, so he got partial credit for it), and a 3L. Despite the fall, the program was vintage Jeff: great footwork, great spins, and a standing ovation from the crowd. He scored 78.85 points, which, surprsingly, is a personal best and put him in first place. He seemed a little shocked by that.
So, the top three were: Jeff, Christopher, and Emanuel.
Ladies' Long
We only saw the top flight of ladies again. This broadcast was marked by a lot of commercials and a lot of yakking by Rod and Tracy. I'd rather have seen more skaters.
Cynthia Phaneuf was first up and skated a lovely program to Claire de Lune. She had only four triples planned and landed three of them (she fell on her 3L). She was the first of many skaters to do a three jump combo (3T-2T-2Lo, in her case); this looks pretty neat when it's done well, but looks very hoppy if the skater loses too much speed along the way. It was a good skate for Cynthia and she looked happy with the result: 98.69 points for a total of 148.36 points.
Myriane Samson was next. I forgot to write her music down. She's a strong, fast skater and made a quantum leap up the standings this year. She popped a 3S into a double about halfway through her program and started changing jumps on the fly after that. I think it cost her a little--she needs a little more refinement in her presentation anyway, so winging it made her seem a bit all over the place. She scored 93.79 points for a total of 145.73 points.
Meagan Duhamel was a skater who was 'just happy to be here' after a year filled with injuries. Rod described her as a 'fireplug' and she really kind of is. She has a lot of energy and enthusiasm, and it showed. Her jumps are big and cover a lot of ice, and she has nice footwork. She fell on the back end of a 2A-3T sequence, but landed two 3L's (one in combo with a 2T), a 3F, and a 3S. She finished with 96.79 points for a total of 144.23 points.
Mira Leung skated to Terra Cotta Warriors. Mira is the antithesis of Emanuel--when she goes out to skate, you know she's going to land everything. And she did. Her jumps are sometimes low and spinny, and she needs to figure out how to keep up her speed coming out of them. She could also use more work on her spiral sequence and overall presentation. But she's exciting to watch and gets better every year. She got a standing ovation and finished with 107.09 points for a total of 159.59 points, a personal best.
Lesley Hawker skated to I'll Be Seeing You. I find Lesley's style a little gawky--she's thin and has long limbs--but she still came off looking much more graceful than Mira. She had a decent skate--she wobbled on a couple of jump landings and stepped out of a 3L--and got great response from the audience. She finished with 102.59 points for a total of 156. 16, another personal best.
Finally, it was Joannie Rochette's turn. She skated to Don Juan wearing a gorgeous black and gold dress. She started off very well, landing a 3F-2T-2Lo and 3L-2T, but then came apart at the seams a little. She had a hand down on a 2Lo, popped a 2A into a single, and downgraded a second 3L into a double. However, she was still clearly the class of the field and held her presentation throughout the program in spite of her mistakes. She finished with 113.76 points for a total of 170.65.
Final results for the women: Joannie, Mira, Lesley, Cynthia, Myriane, and Meagan.
The pair's long goes this afternoon, and then we get two hours of men's long tonight. Whee!
The men, the men, I love the men! How frustrating it is only to get to watch the last flight instead of the entire field. I love seeing who's up-and-coming, the progress that younger skaters have made from the year before, the Juniors--basically, the whole shebang. I must see if I can get to next year's Canadians.
First out of the gate was Patrick Chan, one of the youngest skaters in the event and much hyped. Rod and Tracy were falling all over themselves with hyperbole, but Patrick didn't have a good night, unfortunately. He skated to Hannibal, which is to say classical-sounding music, and two-footed his 3F-2T combo and popped his Axel into a single. His 3L was very nice, however, as was his footwork. I thought his free leg looked a bit droopy in his camel spins, but there's no denying that this kid has a lot of talent and is moving up quickly. He won Juniors two years ago, won Novice the year before, and was in the final flight of skaters tonight after finishing well back in the pack last year. He got 57.42 points.
Next was Vaughn Chipeur, who won the qualifying round. (I was pleased to see that Joey Russell from Newfoundland, who won Juniors last year, came second. :-) Vaughn is coached by Scott Davis, who was there with him, and has *huge* jumps. He skated to Metallica wearing a black T with a gold snake coiled around it. He's a very athletic skater cut from the same cloth as Elvis. He landed a 3A, 3F-2T, and a 3L. He got 63.80 points.
Shawn Sawyer was next. Shawn had a dream year last year--he aced both programs at Canadians for a bronze medal and a trip to the Olympics. He doesn't have the jump arsenal of the big boys yet, but he's a lovely skater. He skated to The Big One wearing a black vest and pants with a light blue shirt. He landed a 3F-2T with a wobble on the flip, underrotated and two-footed his 3A (which was consquently only scored as a 2A), and a 3Lo almost right out of a split jump. I thought his music dragged a little, but the crowd loved him. 63.93 points.
Then it was Emanuel's turn. I always get very tense watching Emanuel because you just don't know what he's going to do--every time he steps on the ice, it's 50-50 whether he's going to be brilliant or he's going to implode. His short program is set to mambo music, and he was wearing a charcteristically blinding costume--a neon green shirt with bright red stripes. Only Emanuel can pull off an outfit like that. Anyway, this wasn't one of his brilliant nights. He almost but not quite landed his 4T, popped his Axel into a single, and then did a nice 3L. At least he's gotten out of the habit of bailing on his entire program once he's made a mistake (or two). The program looked like it'd be a nice one if it had been clean. ::sighs:: He scored 65.21 points, which earned him a few boos from the crowd as this put him ahead of Shawn. Rod and Tracy emphasised over and over again the computer-based system of scoring and that it wasn't the judges' fault for marking him easy. It wasn't until later that they realized that Shawn's 3A attempt had been downgraded to a 2A because of the underrotation.
Christopher Mabee was next and he, without question, had the skate of the night. We first saw Christopher many years ago when he was a wee little thing who could pop off triples almost without thinking about it, but then he grew. He's not wee Christopher Mabee anymore, but he was doing a pretty good job of popping off the triples last night. Skating to bluesy music and wearing faux-leather pants, he landed a 3A, 3L-3T, and a 3F. His footwork was awesome. The crowd loved him and gave him a well-deserved standing ovation. He scored 75.68 points, which is likely a personal best. You go, Christopher!
Last up was Jeff Buttle. He was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his spine last fall, so this was his first competition of the year. He's still struggling a bit with his Axel as it causes more pain on landing than the other jumps. His music was Adios Nonino, which is to say classical piano, and he wore a long-sleeved black shirt over a wine-coloured T. He landed a 3F-3T, fell on his 3A (but it was fully rotated, so he got partial credit for it), and a 3L. Despite the fall, the program was vintage Jeff: great footwork, great spins, and a standing ovation from the crowd. He scored 78.85 points, which, surprsingly, is a personal best and put him in first place. He seemed a little shocked by that.
So, the top three were: Jeff, Christopher, and Emanuel.
Ladies' Long
We only saw the top flight of ladies again. This broadcast was marked by a lot of commercials and a lot of yakking by Rod and Tracy. I'd rather have seen more skaters.
Cynthia Phaneuf was first up and skated a lovely program to Claire de Lune. She had only four triples planned and landed three of them (she fell on her 3L). She was the first of many skaters to do a three jump combo (3T-2T-2Lo, in her case); this looks pretty neat when it's done well, but looks very hoppy if the skater loses too much speed along the way. It was a good skate for Cynthia and she looked happy with the result: 98.69 points for a total of 148.36 points.
Myriane Samson was next. I forgot to write her music down. She's a strong, fast skater and made a quantum leap up the standings this year. She popped a 3S into a double about halfway through her program and started changing jumps on the fly after that. I think it cost her a little--she needs a little more refinement in her presentation anyway, so winging it made her seem a bit all over the place. She scored 93.79 points for a total of 145.73 points.
Meagan Duhamel was a skater who was 'just happy to be here' after a year filled with injuries. Rod described her as a 'fireplug' and she really kind of is. She has a lot of energy and enthusiasm, and it showed. Her jumps are big and cover a lot of ice, and she has nice footwork. She fell on the back end of a 2A-3T sequence, but landed two 3L's (one in combo with a 2T), a 3F, and a 3S. She finished with 96.79 points for a total of 144.23 points.
Mira Leung skated to Terra Cotta Warriors. Mira is the antithesis of Emanuel--when she goes out to skate, you know she's going to land everything. And she did. Her jumps are sometimes low and spinny, and she needs to figure out how to keep up her speed coming out of them. She could also use more work on her spiral sequence and overall presentation. But she's exciting to watch and gets better every year. She got a standing ovation and finished with 107.09 points for a total of 159.59 points, a personal best.
Lesley Hawker skated to I'll Be Seeing You. I find Lesley's style a little gawky--she's thin and has long limbs--but she still came off looking much more graceful than Mira. She had a decent skate--she wobbled on a couple of jump landings and stepped out of a 3L--and got great response from the audience. She finished with 102.59 points for a total of 156. 16, another personal best.
Finally, it was Joannie Rochette's turn. She skated to Don Juan wearing a gorgeous black and gold dress. She started off very well, landing a 3F-2T-2Lo and 3L-2T, but then came apart at the seams a little. She had a hand down on a 2Lo, popped a 2A into a single, and downgraded a second 3L into a double. However, she was still clearly the class of the field and held her presentation throughout the program in spite of her mistakes. She finished with 113.76 points for a total of 170.65.
Final results for the women: Joannie, Mira, Lesley, Cynthia, Myriane, and Meagan.
The pair's long goes this afternoon, and then we get two hours of men's long tonight. Whee!
no subject
no subject
The commentators said that Mira was quite angry after she placed third in the short. They didn't say if she was angry with herself or with the judges, but their carefully chosen words made it sound like she'd had a temper tantrum. I'm with you--I hope that good sportsmanship is at the top of her coach's list for next year.