main
side
curve
  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

'A Divine Sport' - the Official Figure Skating Discussion thread

Discussion in 'Archive: The Arena' started by jedi_of_ennth, Nov 17, 2006.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. jedi_of_ennth

    jedi_of_ennth Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 1, 2005
    ?To me, figure skating is a divine sport. It?s a sport made by the gods. It?s frictionless, there are beautiful, flowing costumes done by a costume designer, there is musical interpretation, there is emotion, there is athleticism and tremendous physical strength involved. It inspires people to cry, it inspires people to cheer, it pulls the emotions out of people.?

    ~ Frank Carroll


    @};-

    Welcome to the Official Figure Skating Discussion thread! Feel free to discuss all divisions of figure skating ? amateur, professional, ladies, mens, dance, pairs, synchronized and anything else I forgot to mention. :p

    So, is anyone else following the senior Grand Prix series? :)
     
  2. Liz Skywalker

    Liz Skywalker Ex-Mod star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jun 13, 2000
    The senior Grand Prix, imho, was more about who wasn't there than who was. Something like 60 skaters ended up withdrawing. But of those who did show up, I fell in love with Ryo Shibata (Biellmann Boy, Japanese Johnny, etc), the bendy Russian ice dancers Jana Khokhlova and Sergei Novitski, and US pair Tiffany Vise and Derek Trent. It'll be great to see if V&T can land that throw quad sal at nationals.

    Did you pay attention the junior grand prix? I thought it was much more interesting. It's a shame Caroline Zhang won't be age-eligible for senior worlds until 2009. Stephen Carriere looks great, though I don't think he'll make the trip to senior worlds this year. I'd love to see them both medal at junior worlds.
     
  3. Skiara

    Skiara ~• RSA FFC •~ star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Nov 5, 2002
    Do speak about roller or ice (figure) skating? ;)

    Ice figure skating is really interesting, especially if they do the show skating and telling a story. :D

    Never seen roller figure skating before, but I think it's great as well and fantastic what they can do on those skates... I won't be able to do this ever.

    Speaking of... Can anyone tell me how to stop, turning around and do backward skating properely? ;)
     
  4. jedi_of_ennth

    jedi_of_ennth Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 1, 2005
    Unfortunately, I've barely had time to keep up with the senior Grand Prix and haven't been following juniors. :( I've heard a lot of positive buzz about Zhang, though. :)

    I had ice figure skating in mind, but if anyone wants to talk about roller skating, that's fine, too. ;)

    If I knew, I'd tell you! ;) But I'm mostly just a spectator when it comes to figure skating. ;)
     
  5. Liz Skywalker

    Liz Skywalker Ex-Mod star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jun 13, 2000
    I wish I could! I'm also mostly just a spectator. I had a handful of lessons through a college skating club, and the way I was taught to stop was to scrape one blade across the ice while transfering my weight onto that leg, while turning that foot in a semi-circle. So if I was trying to stop with my left leg, I'd be turning towards the right. I can't explain very well. :( He kept telling me to bend my knees and not let my edges get too deep, if that helps. It took me a few weeks to learn to do it, and I'm only good at doing it from a backwards swizzle.


    Zhang is phenomenal. Her personal best is 162.68. For comparison, Bebe Liang's is 159.91, Emily Hughes' is 160.87, and Alissa Czisny's is 168.32. I wonder if after everything's said and done at nationals, if Zhang's score could have gotten her on the senior podium.



    Anyway, Canadians are in a little over a week. Any predictions? :D
     
  6. Obi Anne

    Obi Anne Celebration Mistress of Ceremonies star 8 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Nov 4, 1998
    I definetly like seeing the European and World championships, and the Olympics. Otherwise it doesn't really get broadcasted here.

     
  7. Skiara

    Skiara ~• RSA FFC •~ star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Nov 5, 2002
    I'm both I would say. I love to go ice skating, but it isn't much about figure skating but more skating fast in big circle without crashing into someone or falling. :p



    Ehm, which figure are you describing? First I thought stopping, than turning around and then I was too confused. [face_blush]



    I have to agree to Obi Anne. In Germany it is pretty much the same (at least from what I've seen so far).


    Edit: Writing your name correctly shouldn't be that difficulty, right, Johanna? ;)
     
  8. Liz Skywalker

    Liz Skywalker Ex-Mod star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jun 13, 2000
    Let's see if I can make more sense in the morning. [face_blush] It's stopping from a turn, so you're gliding along and want to stop, so you turn towards the right while scraping your left blade across the ice, flicking up snow. I'm better at doing it backwards, and the only way I can go backwards is to do a swizzle, which is having your feet in a V, then pushing out and coming back in. For example, if I'm skating across the rink along the red line going width-wise across the rink, I'll turn towards the right, while scraping my left foot in the direction of the boards at the end of the rink.
     
  9. jedi_of_ennth

    jedi_of_ennth Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 1, 2005
    I'm betting Dubreuil and Lauzon will come away with the ice dancing title, but I'm not as familiar with the Canadian seniors skating scene as I'd like to be, so I can't make any predictions beyond that. :p I'm limited to watching whatever ABC/ESPN/ESPN2 decides to broadcast, which isn't as much as I'd like to see. :(
     
  10. Skiara

    Skiara ~• RSA FFC •~ star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Nov 5, 2002
    Thanks, Liz, this makes it more sense. :D

    But... don't you have to be able to do a turn, if you want to do a stop within a turn? :confused:
     
  11. Liz Skywalker

    Liz Skywalker Ex-Mod star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jun 13, 2000
    There's going to be a ton of stuff up on YouTube once it's broadcast in Canada. :) I'm really excited to see the men's competition. I love Jeff Buttle, Shawn Sawyer, and Chris Mabee, plus I'd love to see Kevin Reynolds's quad. He did it at the junior grand prix final and it'd be nice to see a clean quad. ;)


    Not really. I'm not talking an actual turn, more like leaning to one side and turning around.
     
  12. NorCalBirdz

    NorCalBirdz Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 28, 2004
    Figure Skating is not a sport, it's a competition.
     
  13. Skiara

    Skiara ~• RSA FFC •~ star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Nov 5, 2002
    Oh, I see. Ok, I'll try it the next time when I'm doing ice skating. Hopefully it won't end up in too many crashes. :p


    *g* We should continue our talks about what's sport and what's not. ;)
     
  14. jedi_of_ennth

    jedi_of_ennth Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 1, 2005
    YouTube! Of course. :oops: Should've thought to look there earlier. [face_blush] Found Christine Zhang's Junior Grand Prix Final; you're right, she's phenomenal. :)

    And speaking of phenomenal, Daisuke Takahashi's free skate at the Japanese Nationals was amazing. He landed his quad, and his straightline footwork was gorgeous. I love his Phantom of the Opera program. [face_love]

    And Jeff Buttle -- was he injured this season? I don't recall hearing why he didn't compete in the Grand Prix series.

    A sport is defined as "an individual or group competitive activity involving physical exertion or skill, governed by rules, and sometimes engaged in professionally" ... I believe figure skating qualifies. ;)
     
  15. Liz Skywalker

    Liz Skywalker Ex-Mod star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jun 13, 2000
    Yeah, he had to withdraw from his events due to a back injury. :( But apparently he's all healed up and ready to defend his national title.
     
  16. Jada

    Jada Jedi Master star 6

    Registered:
    Apr 20, 2006
    I'm a fan of figure skating but I don't get to follow it much. :( If I see that it is being broadcast I watch it. Really, it is my lack of television watching that keeps me from following. ;)
     
  17. Skiara

    Skiara ~• RSA FFC •~ star 10 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Nov 5, 2002
    Did anyone of you watched the training of the beginners, the young kids who just started with ice figure skating?

    I was happy to watch them a few times when I went ice skating myself. They are training in the same hall, but get a small separated room on the ice. It's fantastic to see what they can do after only a few lessons or within one lesson. Sometimes I am more fascinated about them then the professionals on the TV. :)
     
  18. Liz Skywalker

    Liz Skywalker Ex-Mod star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Jun 13, 2000
    For those looking forward to Europeans, some bad news: Lambiel just withdrew. :(
     
  19. jedi_of_ennth

    jedi_of_ennth Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 1, 2005
    :( I hate to hear that. I would have liked to see Lambiel vs. Joubert. Hopefully Lambiel will be back for the World Championships.
     
  20. Obi Anne

    Obi Anne Celebration Mistress of Ceremonies star 8 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Nov 4, 1998
    I've just seen the men's short and the pair's final.

    Germany won the pair with Savchenko/Szolkowy, and they were really outstanding. They made an almost perfect program, while the other missed some elements.

    In the men's I'm very annoyed with the Swedish TV. They show Joubert's program, and then all of a sudden they cut to the points for the Czech Tomas Verner who took the lead, but we didn't get to see his program. Joubert did miss his combination jump, he missed his first quadruple and then couldn't go up to the next jump, otherwise it was a fine program. I'll see if I can see Verner's program when they are doing the recap later tonight. The Swedish skater is placed 7th, so that's great I can only hope that he will remain in the top 10 after tomorrow's final.

     
  21. jedi_of_ennth

    jedi_of_ennth Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 1, 2005
    Bumping for the World Championships. :) I'm really excited about the competition! I can't wait to see how Meissner will do against Yu-Na Kim and Mao Asada. And Lambiel is scheduled to compete, which should make for a great mens' event. :D
     
  22. Obi Anne

    Obi Anne Celebration Mistress of Ceremonies star 8 Staff Member Manager

    Registered:
    Nov 4, 1998
    I think the men's final was really exciting. And I was so impressed by Lambiel's change of style. He's been a bit too childish earlier, but now he looked really nice and skated well as well. I'm very satisfied with the podium.

    One thing struck me though when I watched it: I think Jeffrey Buttle looks anorectic, his face has those lines and stretched out appearance that I've seen among anorectics, or those who have suffered from it previously. I just hope it isn't like that and that he just happens to look like that.
     
  23. ShrunkenJedi

    ShrunkenJedi Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 26, 2003
    Heh... who thought? A figure skating thread! Awesome!

    I did a good deal of figure skating and took lessons when I was, oh, elementary and middle school aged. Enough to feel quite comfortable on the ice and if I remember correctly pick up quite a few levels of patches to sew on my skate bag and was almost up to trying jumps. Haven't done it a lot in years, though, and I may have lost my edge (to make a pun...). I gave myself a birthday present of taking myself to a rink about three weeks ago after not having been on the ice at all in years, though, and it felt really, really good.

    I do love watching the ice skating at the Olympics. I think my favorite is probably pairs or ice dancing, it's really incredible how synchronized they are and it's beautiful. I Still remember that hullabaloo between that Canadian pair and the Russian pair for first place a while ago... if I remember, the Canadians really earned that one, incredible performance.
     
  24. ZekksGoddess

    ZekksGoddess Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 2, 2004
    Hurray! A Figure Skating thread!

    Unfortunatley, I haven't been following it as closely as I used to latley, but I still love it all the same. :)
     
  25. ShrunkenJedi

    ShrunkenJedi Jedi Knight star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 26, 2003
    Going to try to get to the rink today... :D
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.