Wellman's Fantasy Preview: World Team Trophy
By Tara Wellman, special to Icenetwork.com
April 8, 2013
The end of another season is upon us. Can you believe it? This weekend's World Team Trophy event is ultimately about combined scores and team wins. But, with just one last chance to manage a winning fantasy team, let's take a look at the lineups and matchups between individuals this weekend in Tokyo.
LADIES
Group A -- Mao Asada, Akiko Suzuki, Ashley Wagner
Wagner started the season with a bang, looking to one-up last season's magical run. She hit a few speed bumps near the end of the season, though. Meanwhile -- despite problems in the short program at the 2013 World Figure Skating Championships -- Asada grew stronger. Suzuki may have the best programs of the three, but she has struggled all year to skate clean. One final time this season, I'm taking Asada over Wagner in a close race.
April 8, 2013
The end of another season is upon us. Can you believe it? This weekend's World Team Trophy event is ultimately about combined scores and team wins. But, with just one last chance to manage a winning fantasy team, let's take a look at the lineups and matchups between individuals this weekend in Tokyo.
LADIES
Group A -- Mao Asada, Akiko Suzuki, Ashley Wagner
Wagner started the season with a bang, looking to one-up last season's magical run. She hit a few speed bumps near the end of the season, though. Meanwhile -- despite problems in the short program at the 2013 World Figure Skating Championships -- Asada grew stronger. Suzuki may have the best programs of the three, but she has struggled all year to skate clean. One final time this season, I'm taking Asada over Wagner in a close race.
National Treasures: Ave Maria + Eleanor Rigby
January 31, 2013
...
I had the privilege of seeing a number of practice sessions throughout the week. The interesting thing about attending practices is that you see these skaters in a very different light that you do on competition day. They’re in control. They’re in their element. Their triple jumps are routine, the footwork is simply muscle-memory. It’s easy to see the raw talent on a practice session, because even with people watching, this is the world they live in every day. Training. Repetition. Perfecting each moment. But, all too often, that comfort you see on the practice ice, stays on the practice ice.
Sometimes, though, the lights come on, the opening pose is struck, and the practice success is history, because magic happens in the moment.
Wesley Campbell, skating in his fourth U.S. Championships, stopped at center ice, took a breath, and for the next four and a half minutes, it was as if he was painting the perfect picture to compliment each note of Ave Maria as it filled the arena. It was as if no one dared breath, for fear of breaking the spell. No one dared blink, for fear of missing a second of the magic.
He checked off triple jumps like they were as natural as breathing. He drew on the years of training to move without thinking. Instead, he appeared to be thinking only of the story he was telling on the ice.
...
I had the privilege of seeing a number of practice sessions throughout the week. The interesting thing about attending practices is that you see these skaters in a very different light that you do on competition day. They’re in control. They’re in their element. Their triple jumps are routine, the footwork is simply muscle-memory. It’s easy to see the raw talent on a practice session, because even with people watching, this is the world they live in every day. Training. Repetition. Perfecting each moment. But, all too often, that comfort you see on the practice ice, stays on the practice ice.
Sometimes, though, the lights come on, the opening pose is struck, and the practice success is history, because magic happens in the moment.
Wesley Campbell, skating in his fourth U.S. Championships, stopped at center ice, took a breath, and for the next four and a half minutes, it was as if he was painting the perfect picture to compliment each note of Ave Maria as it filled the arena. It was as if no one dared breath, for fear of breaking the spell. No one dared blink, for fear of missing a second of the magic.
He checked off triple jumps like they were as natural as breathing. He drew on the years of training to move without thinking. Instead, he appeared to be thinking only of the story he was telling on the ice.
Wellman's Fantasy Skating Preview: U.S. Champs
By Tara Wellman, special to Icenetwork.com
January 21, 2013
Nationals is a competition anticipated as much by the athletes as by the fans. It's the focus of the fall and winter for most Team USA skaters, and the event always provides memories that last a lifetime ... and champions. This year features three reigning champs looking to hold onto those titles and a whole host of challengers nipping at their heels. All that means for us is, the fantasy battles will be fierce as ever!
Let's take a look.
MEN'S
Group A
Without the return of Evan Lysacek, we don't have to worry about the unpredictability of a comeback. However, the battle for gold might be tougher than it first appears. Jeremy Abbott could win his fourth U.S. title this week at the 2013 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, and he certainly has the goods to do so. But he's struggled with some back issues this year and has not had success with the quad. Ross Miner, on the other hand, has the highest international scores of all the U.S. men this year, recording 235+ at the NHK Trophy, good enough for bronze.
The battle will likely be between those two. Miner will put up a good fight, but I think Abbott still pulls it out and gets title No. 4.
January 21, 2013
Nationals is a competition anticipated as much by the athletes as by the fans. It's the focus of the fall and winter for most Team USA skaters, and the event always provides memories that last a lifetime ... and champions. This year features three reigning champs looking to hold onto those titles and a whole host of challengers nipping at their heels. All that means for us is, the fantasy battles will be fierce as ever!
Let's take a look.
MEN'S
Group A
Without the return of Evan Lysacek, we don't have to worry about the unpredictability of a comeback. However, the battle for gold might be tougher than it first appears. Jeremy Abbott could win his fourth U.S. title this week at the 2013 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, and he certainly has the goods to do so. But he's struggled with some back issues this year and has not had success with the quad. Ross Miner, on the other hand, has the highest international scores of all the U.S. men this year, recording 235+ at the NHK Trophy, good enough for bronze.
The battle will likely be between those two. Miner will put up a good fight, but I think Abbott still pulls it out and gets title No. 4.
Summer Spotlight: Meryl Davis & Charlie White
June 29, 2011
In an American dance landscape desperate for consistency, Meryl Davis and Charlie White are a breath of fresh air.
The two have been together longer than any other American couple, having paired up in 1998. And after 13 years of grueling work, their patience has paid off. The three-time National champs have won seven Grand Prix series titles, and Olympic and World silver medals since their senior debut in 2006. This past season, though, they did something no US dancers have ever done — claim World gold.
Davis and White's tango experiment paid off as they peaked just in time for Worlds.
They displayed laser-like focus all season as they challenged themselves with the new short dance and a deliberately detailed free dance.
With the short dance, they were not alone.
The new dance was an attempt to blend the old-school technique of the compulsories with the expressiveness of original dance in an attempt to satisfy both skaters and judges. It shortens the competition, but keeps the focus on technique.
“We were excited,” White said, “because the obvious plus was only having two parts to the competition.”
But the new format presented its own dilemmas.
“The name itself obviously makes it clear that it’s no longer trying to do something that’s extraordinarily unique,” Davis said comparing the SD to the OD. “My main problem with it is that the originality isn’t necessarily as accessible as it was during the original dance.“
Now, both choreography and music have to mesh with compulsory steps.
In an American dance landscape desperate for consistency, Meryl Davis and Charlie White are a breath of fresh air.
The two have been together longer than any other American couple, having paired up in 1998. And after 13 years of grueling work, their patience has paid off. The three-time National champs have won seven Grand Prix series titles, and Olympic and World silver medals since their senior debut in 2006. This past season, though, they did something no US dancers have ever done — claim World gold.
Davis and White's tango experiment paid off as they peaked just in time for Worlds.
They displayed laser-like focus all season as they challenged themselves with the new short dance and a deliberately detailed free dance.
With the short dance, they were not alone.
The new dance was an attempt to blend the old-school technique of the compulsories with the expressiveness of original dance in an attempt to satisfy both skaters and judges. It shortens the competition, but keeps the focus on technique.
“We were excited,” White said, “because the obvious plus was only having two parts to the competition.”
But the new format presented its own dilemmas.
“The name itself obviously makes it clear that it’s no longer trying to do something that’s extraordinarily unique,” Davis said comparing the SD to the OD. “My main problem with it is that the originality isn’t necessarily as accessible as it was during the original dance.“
Now, both choreography and music have to mesh with compulsory steps.