Other contenders for the international events include Joannie Rochette, who will be the home country favorite in Vancouver. She has a similar skating style to Michelle Kwan. Carolina Kostner of Italy, if she can get her game back, will be one to watch. And Julia Sebestyen of Hungary, Alena Leonova of Russia and Kiira Korpi of Finland.
Now, a word about judging. The new judging system has been in effect for a while now, but only in the past few years have skaters and coaches really figured out what works. Some of the things don't always make sense at first - like odd looking positions in spins - but the reason everyone's doing them at that level is because they're more difficult and they get more points. Things to look for: unique positions in spins, aerobesques (spirals, anything where the leg is extended while gliding), jump combinations with two or more triples, quad jumps, complex combination spins, and extended footwork sequences. Pay special attention to changes in direction in footwork and general arm use and extention. Those can bring more performance points.
Also, artistry and speed matter a lot. The skater who performs a clean program with a couple of triples, a bunch of doubles, basic spins and slow speed will not rank against the competitor who can do many of the things listed above. There's nuance to it, so listen to the commentators and drop me a line on Twitter if you have questions. Usually the skater with the best overall program with the most difficulty who skates cleanly wins, but that's not always the case. In the Olympics, however, it's extremely rare that the winners don't have perfect programs - the stakes are just too high.
While my skating coverage will focus primarily on the ladies figure skating events, I will give updates on how the men, pairs and ice dancers do in their events and I may cover those in more detail during the Olympics. Below are top skaters to watch in the other categories.
Men: Russian reigning Olympic Champion Evgeny Plushenko (off the ice for three years, came back in Russia and blew everyone else away); Evan Lysacek, American reigning World Champion; Brian Joubert, French Champion and powerhouse jumper; former World Champion Nobunari Oda, who has an incredible Charlie Chaplin routine; Patrick Chan, Canadian home favorite; Johnny Weir, former U.S. Champion who has incredible style when he skates cleanly.
Pairs: Two-time Olympic Bronze Medalists and three-time World Champions, Shen & Zhao of China; reigning World Champions Savchenko & Szolkowy of Germany; former Olympic Silver Medalists, Zhang & Zhang, also of China; Kavaguti & Smirnov, Russian Champions; Pang & Tong of China; McLaughlin & Brubaker, two-time U.S. Champions; Volosozhar & Morozov, Ukrainians.
Ice Dancers: Belbin & Agosto, reigning Olympic silver medalists; reigning World Champions Domnina & Shabalin of Russia; 2008 World Champions Delobel & Schoenfelder of France; Canadian Champions Virtue & Moir; Davis & White, U.S. Champions and Grand Prix Medalists.
Here's what I'll be covering at BlogHer and the associated dates the events will be occuring (TV coverage may be slightly off):
I'll be writing up most of the events after they're over so as to not spoil the results for people, but I'll be live tweeting as much as possible, and for the Olympics (and possibly Nationals) we can work out some live blogging action if there's interest.
TV schedule for Skate America includes both the Universal Sports network on cable and NBC where the main events and Olympics will be shown. Also note that icenetwork.com has a lot of the events online including the Grand Prix events that have already occurred. Please also watch my Twitter feed at @segsk8 - all about skating.
Every Olympics, there's a surprise - whether someone who should have made the team stays home, an unknown skater wins the gold, or a debacle occurs like when Nancy Kerrigan was kept out of U.S. Nationals due to that brutal attack or the back room judging deal ending in double gold medals in Salt Lake City after a disastrous fall by one of the teams earlier in the season. You just never know what could happen. It's going to be an exciting season! Thanks for watching with me.
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Sarah Granger is BlogHer's figure skating editor, a former competitive skater who has also dabbled in judging. She writes at a dozen other places that can be found here.
After a tough Short Program, American champion, Alissa Czisny, who didn't skate her best in that event, did well enough to move up to eleventh place overall. Soon after, Fumie Suguri pulled up into eighth place, probably disappointing for someone who has three World medals, but she still did well.
Swiss champion Sarah Meier, who came off of a tough year, followed with a pretty program, but as with many of the others, there was an added layer of pressure on her to rank well in order to earn a spot at the Olympics. Hopefully her ninth place finish was enough. Russian Alena Leonova skated a powerful, energetic program, showing the skill that brought her a surprise title this year, giving notice that she'll be a contender for Vancouver. She came in seventh.
Rachel Flatt, who came into the freeskate in 7th place, her first time at Worlds, the best shot for the American latdies, was greeted with a warm welcome in Los Angeles. Flatt, sixteen, who would have qualified last year if she were old enough, is already a seasoned international competitor. Unfortunately, she had a slightly telegraphed take-off and a tough landing on her triple lutz and as a result, didn't complete her first difficult combination.
Flatt has a light quality to her skating and she knows how to skate smartly, going for the points and adding extra jumps if she misses them earlier in her programs, something that became necessary both for the short and the long. With a smile fit for Broadway, the audience loved her, standing at the Staples Center. She still did extremely well considering, and she earned fifth place at her first visit to Worlds.
Mao Asada skated first in the last warm-up group in one of the most gorgeous costumes I've seen in ages - a plum chiffon lace bodice and neck cuff. Just when I was beginning to appreciate her artistry, she did the most beautiful, giant triple axel combination I've ever seen. Falling on the second triple axel, the illusion was lost briefly, but only for a moment before she went into a gorgeous three jump combination, showing why she won the title last year. The rest of her program was solid, and she scored well ahead of Flatt and the others at that point, but the fall on her second triple axel essentially cost her a medal.
I saw Joannie Rochette yawn before going out on the warm-up, which didn't bode well, but she held onto her first jump after a brief hop. However, she doubled her next triple and stepped out of a later jump, looking to be just slightly off her game. A muscular skater who uses her arms as much as her legs while skating, she had a dramatic performance, pulling in just ahead of Asada. Rochette will be the hometown favorite in Vancouver, so this skate puts her in a great position for that. She has already taken a place next to Elizabeth Manley in skating history as the first Canadian woman since 1988 to win a silver medal at the World Championships.
Former champion, Miki Ando skated a powerful performance packed full of jumps and didn't miss a beat, the only person at that point to skate a perfect program. It was not enough to beat Rochette, but Ando pulled just ahead of Asada. She just had more points. Now if either Asada or Ando could add just a hint more artistry to their programs, they could possibly come closer to Yu-Na next season. She took home the bronze.
Kim Yu-Na, skating with grace, lightness and the delicacy of a world class ballerina opened with a huge triple-triple combination and then continued to dazzle the crowd, raking in the points with phenomenal jumps blended with emotional flair and innovative choreography. The title was hers to lose after a gigantic lead from the short program, and she didn't disappoint, even with the little popped jump toward the end (yes, even the best skaters can have a brief lapse in concentration).
Literally five seconds later, the audience was already clapping with her music, and her final footwork sequence brought a big smile to her face. It was one of those moments where everyone in the building knew she had done it - the first Korean skater to ever win a world figure skating title. And if that wasn't enough, her total points between both programs was over 207. No woman had made it over the 200 mark since the advent of the new judging system. So even with a small mistake, she cleared the field. Amazing.
Not over yet, two more skaters had a chance to medal, including Carolina Kostner of Italy, silver medalist from '08 who had a bit of a load off, knowing there was no way she could beat Yu-Na even at her best. Still, she put a hand down on her first jump and popped almost all of the rest of her jumps, something sad to see, particularly after the high in the room from Yu-Na. The last skater, Laura Lepisto of Finland, doubled her early triples but skated with nice speed and a smooth, consistent style. She breathed a sigh of relief when it was over, but she finished atop the rest of the European skaters, so she'll likely be someone to watch in Vancouver as well.
As one of those sports stats commentators like to recite, the reigning World Champion in ladies' figure skating always has a leg up on the rest of the pack and on many occasions has become the Olympic champion. So Kim Yu-Na is the woman to beat in Vancouver and these are the ladies who can do it. That said, there are still a couple of Americans who didn't make it to Los Angeles who on any other day at the U.S. Championships could have, so don't count out the Americans just yet, and Flatt and Czisny both have what it takes to be podium material if they play their cards right.
Mark your calendars for February 12-28 for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. The competition just started.
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Sarah Granger, former competitive skater and now skating mom, still hopes to overcome injuries and get back to Adult Nationals soon. Best wishes to those competing April 22 in Grand Rapids!
American Alissa Czisny opened with a strong triple lutz combination but fell on her other jumps, putting her at a distinct disadvantage, down as far as 14th place. Soon after, '07 champ, Ando, skated a solid program but with one error. Rachel Flatt, talented American 2008 Junior World Champion and first-timer at Worlds skated an endearing "Moon River" program, slipping out of her first jump but looking beautiful the rest of the program, moving into seventh.
I'll say it before and I'll say it again - Canadian champion Joannie Rochette skates in a style very similar to Michelle Kwan. She's athletic, solid and artistic and she just moves like Kwan. She's also a fast skater and her power put her in second place after the short, along with an entertaining and endearing style.
Mao Asada, the reigning champion, doubled a triple lutz, losing a significant amount of points, placing her third coming into the long program, but nine points behind Yu-Na, a wide gap. However, even if Asada ends up in tenth place, she's still a favorite for 2010 - she had a huge growth spurt this year along with injuries, so she's needed a bit of time for adjusting to that.
Carolina Kostner of Italy, the 2008 silver medalist, followed Asada but put a hand down on her first jump combination and skated well, but just not well enough. She's in fifth coming into the freeskate.
For Kim Yu-Na, after mistakes by the others, all she needed to do was skate a clean program. With two bronze medals under her belt from 2007 and 2008, Kim won the Grand Prix Final in '06 and '07 and has been formidable since she hit the senior scene. Her first jump was gigantic and she skated with an intensity like Brian Boitano's. She also looked to be really enjoying her program, smiling throughout.
Scott Hamilton kept raving about Yu-Na's great positions in his commentary, but it was her energy and flow that brought the house down. If Yu-Na wins, she will be the first Korean skater to win a world title, an achievement in itself. Not to mention her stellar Olympic prospects. She broke her own world record for short program score.
Both Yu-Na and Asada have a breathtaking style with incredible jumps and and artistry on the level of Sasha Cohen. They're incredible to watch. The new generation of skaters will make tomorrow's long program truly exciting going into the Vancouver Olympic season. And really, of the top skaters on the scene right now, any of them has a chance at winning next February.
So far, the American standings at Worlds don't bode well for the American ladies to earn three Olympic berths. (Czisny and Flatt need no more than 13 placements total between them.) American ladies have held three spots for as many Olympics as I can remember. However, Flatt is one of those skaters that can never be counted out. Although it's her first Worlds, she's got that Sarah Hughes sparkle, talent and drive. Remember her name. And don't count out Japan's Fumie Suguri, who has a knack for comebacks and could still end up on the podium as could Kostner.
And by the way, in case you missed it, American Evan Lysacek rocked the house in Los Angeles, winning the mens' title and securing 3 spots for U.S. men at the Olympics.
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Sarah Granger misses the days when she could perform an axel with only a two minute warm-up.
]]>After the Short Program, Alissa Czisny, the veteran of the group and one of the most talented skaters in the world, held the lead. An unusual placement for Czisny who has suffered nerves, inconsistency and other setbacks over the years, she came into the Free Skate with a strong lead. She was followed by Rachel Flatt, Caroline Zhang, and Brittey Rizo. Mirai Nagasu, last year's champion, was sin 6th after the Short Program and Ashley Wagner, who took the bronze last year, was far back in 12th place, a position from which a medal looked impossible.
The beautiful thing about "nationals" as skaters call it, is that new and lesser known skaters at the three top levels each year get a chance to dazzle audiences. It's a great place to witness up and coming talents. Last year, four young skaters entered the landscape: Zhang, Flatt, Nagasu and Wagner, all of whom can do triple-triple jump combinations and who have beautiful artistry. Wagner stepped out of her triple lutz, but as Scott Hamilton said, she as an "intensity" to her skating & all her other moves were solid.
Laney Diggs skated soon after, relatively new on the Senior competitive scene. Working with Michelle Kwan's old coach, Frank Carroll, Diggs skated a nice Les Miserables program although her triple jumps could use some work flowing out vs. just up. She will be one to watch over the next few years as well. Mirai Nagasu skated injured after growing four inches over the past year and battling how that changes one's center of gravity on the ice. Defending her title, she began her program in tears, clearly anticipating a challenging event. However, she skated beautifully and cleanly, ending with a huge smile.
Another new skater, Brittney Rizo, who placed third last year at the Junior level, skated the most innovative "Carmen" I've seen in a while. Then the final leaders came out. Rachel Flatt, one of few who did a solid triple-triple played points smartly with a solid triple-double after the half way mark. Her highly consistent manner and spins in both directions at the end of the program (very difficult) pulled her into the overall lead at that point. Caroline Zhang skated next to "Ave Maria" in a light lavender & pink dress my daughter adored. She started with a beautiful triple-triple followed by a triple lutz, double toe, and she ended with a gorgeous Bielman spin, finishing slightly behind Flatt.
Czisny, skating last as leader and the local favorite from Ohio, began her skate with the crowd on her side. After a strong start, she fell on her triple lutz and doubled the jump following, an error that she knew could cost her the gold. Her amazing spins, mature presentation and gorgeous extension, however, pulled her up on top, enough to secure the win. Flatt took silver, Zhang, bronze, and Wagner, who actually won the Free Skate event after finishing 12th in the Short Program, was able to take home a pewter medal.
There are those who say the judges propped up Czisny, but often these people are not figure skaters. It's a tough sport to judge and the new system still confuses many people, but after skating for thirty years, competing for nearly fifteen and doing some judging myself, I can say that the gold medal was solidly earned by Czisny. Czisny earned a berth to the World Championships in Los Angeles late March, along with Flatt. Zhang, Wagner and Nagasu are the three alternates. In previous years, the American ladies have held three spots, but due to Worlds placements last year, we only received two berths for the Ladies this year.
Why am I going into all of this minutiae? Because March 22nd in Los Angeles, Czisny and Flatt have an important challenge: to place well enough that the U.S. can send three skaters to the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Joining them on the World team will be gold medalist Jeremy Abbott, Evan Lysacek and Brandon Mroz of the men (sadly Johnny Weir did not skate well enough in Cleveland to be named to the team) of the men.
Pairs teams Caydee Denney & Jeremy Barrett, Keauna McLaughlin & Rockne Brubaker and Dance teams Meryl Davis & Charlie White and Emily Samuelson & Evan Bates, winners in their respective events, round out the team. Also earning a berth to Worlds, the team who won a silver medal at the 2006 Olympics and who withdrew from nationals due to injury. (In rare cases, the U.S. Figure Skating Association will grant berths to applicants with exceptional histories.) Since Belbin & Agosto are largely responsible for the World team having three Ice Dance berths, they deserve the spot.
It's tough to believe we're nearly to another Winter Olympics. One year from now, we'll know who's going. It could be two or three of the incredible skaters mentioned above. But for now, all eyes on the World Championships in Los Angeles and congratulations to all of the skaters at all levels who made it to nationals - an achievement in itself.
Sarah Granger is working through the difficult transition from figure skater to figure skating mom. She usually writes about politics, because it's a tamer sport.
]]>The first skating group in the long program came with a lot of falls, including Canadian Cynthia Phaneuf, who took a couple of hard falls, placing eighth overall. Soon after, World silver medalist, Carolina Kostner of Italy, faltered in the short program, coming into the long in 7th place. And I know she has these famous Italian designers create her dresses, but they always end up with poofy skirts that are just a little bit too short on her, leaving a less than desirable effect. Unfortunately, she didn't have the height she needed on her jumps and was wobbly early in the program. She rallied later, showcasing her strength and artistry, making a significant comeback and coming in 4th overall.
Alissa Czisny skated first in the second warm-up group, wearing an unusual color combination of purple and lime green. Her exceptional spins and artistry always intrigue the audience, but her jumps were on - for the most part - as well, earning her a spot on the podium and a bronze medal. Then, McCorkell's long program dropped her out of medal contention and her costume didn't seem to reflect her music. Zhang had trouble with all of her toe jumps, putting her leg out much too far before taking off - high enough for a spiral - putting her in a place where there was really no way to have a stable lutz or flip jump.
Fumie Suguri wore a gorgeous purple dress and her artistry shined through, well matched to her dramatic music choice, as well as her technical skill, including a huge triple lutz - in stark comparison with Zhang, winning her the silver medal. Suguri and Rochette, the veterans of this group, know the Vancouver Olympics in 15 months is probably their last opportunity, particularly with the fierce competition for Suguri within Japan for spots on the team, so they have to stay on top of their game to make it there. It's also likely that the skaters who succeed this season with certain programs will keep that music through next year for consistency.
Rochette skated last, performing a strong, nearly flawless program full of energy, speed, and solid jumps, gaining another standing ovation and taking the gold at home. Her style skating style always reminds me of Michelle Kwan - she moves in a similar way, and she had a lightness to her skating that made it look nearly effortless. She he beat her former personal best scores in both the short and long program. Rochette looked really happy taking her winner's lap around the rink having struggled some in past seasons. You can bet she will be a crowd favorite in Vancouver.
As to the men's competition, Canada's Patrick Chan captured the gold even though he didn't win either the short or long programs. Due to the point system, his total points gave him the championship, just 3 points over American, Ryan Bradley, who took the silver. Lysacek came in third after a third place finish at Skate America. Yannick Ponsero of France, who won the short program, came in fourth, and Shawn Sawyer of Canada, who won the long program, finished fifth overall.
In the pairs' event, Kawaguchi & Smirnov of Russia took the gold, followed by Dube & Davison of Canada and Americans McLaughlin & Brubaker. In ice dance, the champions had not yet been determined at the time this was written.
In the States, Skate Canada wasn't available on TV this year, but it
was shown live at icenetwork.com and anyone who wants to see the events
can watch individual events there online. For the rest of the Grand Prix series, check icenetwork.com. Cup of China begins this Thursday in Beijing.
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Sarah Granger doubles as a political correspondent whenever she's not sneaking off for a breath of Zamboni processed cold air.
Yu-Na, who's known for exquisite technical style as well as beautiful artistry, literally rose above the others in her group with huge, dynamic jumps culminating with the free skate on Sunday. Beating out 2007 World Champion, Miki Ando of Japan and her teammate, Yukari Nakano, who took the bronze and silver in Skate America, followed by Rachel Flatt, 2008 U.S. Silver Medalist and reigning Junior World Champion, who came in fourth.
Getting into the details of the event, it's time to take a memo: the days of triple-triple jumps required to place in the short program are officially here. All of the top contenders had them and they were incredible. Flatt's new "Moon River" program, technically challenging, took on a lightness with her triple-triple and a fantastic layback spin. Mirai Nagasu, rising American star, followed with a double axel so high she could've easily fit in another rotation, and her Charlie Chaplin theme allowed for some fun choreography and a strong combination spin. Nakano, who skated well in the short, lacked on her jump positions. Ando had an uncharacteristic fall, but her triple-triple was tight and flawless. Yu-Na's triple-triple was huge, and combined with her her complex, dramatic footwork, she held a 12 point lead after the short.
The story from the long program includes Flatt, who seemed a bit slow on her spins compared to some of the others, but who performed a nice triple lutz and several other solid jumps, Nagasu, whose delicate speed surprised me, along with her pretzel positions in her spins. Sadly she faltered with two-footed landings, putting her in 5th.
Nakano skated first of the final three with a dramatic portrayal of Giselle, a fine blend of speed, jumps and artistry, and fresh, innovative choreography. She skated a perfect program and the leg wrap on her jumps was barely noticeable - a big improvement - gaining her the silver. Ando, who has a more elegant look this season, executed more tight jumps and with only one wobble, took the bronze.
Kim Yu-Na, coming in with that giant lead, popped a triple loop turning it into a single, but otherwise skated cleanly in her new Sheherazade program with a dress I absolutely love - gorgeous red beading and really flattering on her. She had an incredible split spiral position, more gigantic jumps, and her use of ballet style finger positions and full arm extension put her well on top in terms of artistic expression. She also has a joy and a love of skating that shows through, similar to that of Michelle Kwan. She won with a total score of 193.45.
Kimmie Meissner, 2006 World Champion, deserves an honorable mention for being at Skate America, but she fell in both programs, struggling with getting enough height on her jumps and finishing eighth. She has a tough climb ahead if she wants to make the world team this year following a couple of disappointing seasons.
As to the rest of the groups, relative newcomer, Takahiko Kozuka, beat out American rivals Evan Lysacek and Johnny Weir. His program was not as emotionally moving as theirs, but his jumps were clean in terms of rotation, whereas Weir and Lysacek were docked points for not completing full turns. All three top men attempted quadruple jumps to help train them for Worlds and the Olympics, and all three failed. In ice dance, Americans Belbin & Agosto actually won the free dance, but took the silver medal behind French World Champion ice dancers, Delobel & Schoenfelder, who won by a hair. Kerr & Kerr of Great Britain took third and Americans Samuelson & Bates, fourth. In pairs, Savchenko & Solkowy of Germany took first with a significant lead over Americans McLaughlin & Brubaker who captured the silver. Up and coming Russian pair, Mukhortova & Trankov, took third, with Duhamel & Buntin pulling into fourth after placing third in the long program.
Skate America, first of the multi-event Grand Prix Series that takes place across the globe over 2 months, always attracts more Americans than the other events, and this year due to its location on the West Coast, it attracted a large group of competitors from Asian countries. Japanese ladies, soaring in figure skating for the past few years, skated strong even without World Champion Mao Asada, long time rival of Kiim Yu-Na. Also missing from Skate America was the reigning World silver medalist, Carolina Kostner of Italy. Of the top skaters in the world, there are at least ten incredible ladies with a real shot at gold in Vancouver, so they're all now debuting new programs and testing more difficult moves leading up to that event.
Skate Canada takes place this week in Ottawa, beginning Thursday. I'll be reporting about that competition after it concludes. Three Canadians - Cynthia Phaneuf, Joannie Rochette, and Myriane Samson - will be competing, as well as three Americans - Alissa Czisny, Beatrisa Liang, and Caroline Zhang - along with Carolina Kostner of Italy, Fumie Suguri and Nada Takeda of Japan. Check back next week.
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Guest contributing editor, Sarah Granger, is feeling old this week after realizing Kim Yu-Na was born the year before she graduated high school. Still hoping to get her double loop back someday, she watches these skaters for inspiration.
]]>Wednesday was spent hopping between final events and trying to get posts up after the first few days. Lawyer Mama had a busy day heckling anarchists and redefining community service, and we were all choking back tears during Beau Biden's introduction of his dad. Joan Garry wrote about her experience at the convention as Obama's LGBT
Finance Committee Co-Chair, taking a moment to reflect about a naive
protesters' point-of-view.
That evening, as I sat in the media tent outside the Pepsi Center, Hillary Clinton called for a vote of affirmation for Barack Obama to become president, and I couldn't help but soak in the moment - watching a woman ask another woman to call for a vote to nominate the first black man as U.S. president. Julie Lythcott-Haims, the delegate in our group, got chills from being right in the middle of the action.
Thursday, we headed to The Big Tent DIGG stage for the Ms. Foundation panel on "What Women Want, What the Country Needs", followed by "Cracks in the Glass Ceiling," put on by WomenCount and including Erin Kotecki Vest and me. Downstairs, Cynematic won a golden ticket to Invesco from Daily Kos, while Julie Lythcott-Haims was already inside Invesco reporting about preparations for the evening's event.
The rest of us had to wait for our passes to be distributed after 2:00pm to begin our journey. After walking quite a distance and standing in line for about four hours to get into Invesco field, some MOMocrats live blogged (chatted) the event as others tweeted and took video from the stands. Even from the farthest seats in the stadium, we were floored by Senator Obama's riveting speech - his boldness, sincerity, and his sense of truly grasping the issues that are important to Americans at this "defining moment" in history. As long and hard as the week was for all of us, it was a moment worth the wait.
Finally Friday, MOMocrats went after McCain's choice of VP nominee Governor Sarah Palin with guns blazing and stirred up a nice comment storm along with it. Join us for a Jobama Mama cocktail, ladies. It's been a long, thrilling week and we're going to keep going, as Hillary Clinton advised, until the last vote is cast. Yes we can.
Sarah Granger is proud to call herself a MOMocrat, and the more time she spends with the other MOMocrats, the more impressed she is by these women in every way.
]]>(Cross posted from MOMocrats.com.)
]]>MOMocrats covered the speeches from inside the Pepsi Center on the night including Julie Pippert's interview with Governor Jeanne Shaheen and Julie Lythcott-Haims' coverage of Unity sign bickering. Jaelithe hit the nail on the head in noticing that although Hillary Clinton's speech was phenomenal, it wasn't the same as the night before or her own speech earlier in the day. Still, proximity matters and she and I weren't in the Pepsi Center Tuesday night like we were on Monday. Jaelithe also wrote a detailed explanation of what it's like to be a credentialed blogger in the official events.
Somehow I had four overlapping, double-simultaneous events yesterday but I unbelievably made it to all four. I made it to an Emerge America alumni luncheon, the WomenCount launch event with Hillary Clinton where we were right up next to her liveblogging, and then I caught most of the New Democrats Network panel on technology tools in the campaign, but it was bittersweet, because I missed the speakers I most wanted to see at the EMILY's List gala.
MOMocrats Managing Editor, Glennia Campbell and I took a chance and hopped on a bus to a private event for Bay Area convention-goers at a historical mansion where we met Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren and her husband (both of whom it's impossible not to adore), Congresswoman Anna Eshoo and members of her staff, who were all gracious hosts, I was happily reunited with new (yippee!) Congresswoman Jackie Speier, and friends of mine who had worked on her campaign. Several more members of congress were present, in addition to family members of Nancy Pelosi's, delegates, Emerge California board members, and Netroots Nation organizers. We couldn't have felt more at home. Governor David Patterson of New York made a cameo toward the end, and Senator Chris Dodd appeared just as we were leaving.
Bay Area Obama delegate, Julie Lythcott-Haims, encountered a variety of demonstrators and took one on with her own version of free speech - this after encountering a crowd of "anarchists", later to be in a confrontation with the Secret Service.
Surprised by all that's going on? It's exhausting - really - you can see it in the faces of everyone in The Big Tent, slung over couches toward the end of the night. What's really amazing is that I didn't even cover all of the posts written yesterday or all of the events everyone attended. The convention is just that big. What I will mention is that the MOMocrats have been really well received here in Denver - people love the name, they seem to like us, they feel our content is quality and to credit our fearless leader, Glennia, we're - gasp - "well organized." (Glennia credits working a lot of bake sales as a mom, but I think it's more than that. From what I've witnessed, each of the MOMocrats has unique strengths and all of the MOMocrats continue to impress me the longer I work with them. We ended the day with another pow-wow in PJ's and I couldn't be happier to be spending time with these incredibly capable women.
This morning, Julie Lythcott-Haims had a cathartic, emotional moment with a Clinton supporter who just wanted to be heard during the convention - although in a different way than she had thought. That's just the beginning.
]]>With wireless coverage not as easy to find as one might hope, Twitter from mobile phones has been essential for getting across what was actually happening - from being in the middle of demonstrators to the convention hall, we've been tweeting our fingers off. So first stop for MOMocrats coverage outside of BlogHer: http://www.twitter.com/momocrats and #momocrats. (See also: #dnc08.)
Sunday, MOMocrats rolled by Michelle Obama's hybrid (supposedly), along with picking up credentials, attending receptions, and getting settled in. Monday, MOMocrats continue to celebrate at women's events, defend free speech, and confess patriotism.
When the prime time events began in the Pepsi Center, MOMocrats were there too - on the perimeter, inside, in the blogger lounge, and seated in the rear to take it all in. It was a phenomenal night seeing Michelle Obama - and her adorable children, along with a quick video cameo by Barack Obama. More to come...
Sarah Granger is blogging the DNCC for MOMocrats, BlogHer, WomenCount, Obama for America, The Political Voices of Women, and the Silicon Valley Moms Blog. What a week!
]]>Ellen Malcolm founded EMILY's List to help raise money for and train Democratic women candidates. Her piece in today's Washington Post, "Quitters Never Win", emphasizes how far we have come over Malcolm's life because of women like Hillary Clinton (and I might add because of people like Malcolm). "Over and over again the media and her opponents have claimed that she is defeated -- it's over, she can't win, she's a loser. And over and over again... female voters poured out of their homes to cast their ballots for her."
Marie Wilson, founder of The White House Project, emphasizes on their blog, "Change Everything," that "An Army of Women" is a "deeply rooted cultural fear", and that this fear is driving the media to push toward Clinton stepping aside.
In my post at MOMocrats yesterday, I wrote of The White House Project's mission and their accomplishments in training and encouraging women to "Vote, Run, Lead." I also noted that if it's true that Hillary Clinton still has a 4% chance of winning the nomination, that's a better chance than she had of getting admitted to Yale, but she was. For women to have come so far, can't we just let her say a little longer? Every day is another big step for the progress of women in our democracy.
Malcolm writes: "The first woman ever to win a presidential primary is supposed to stop competing, to curtsy and exit stage right... Why on earth should one candidate quit before the contest is finished?" "I believe Hillary also has a responsibility to play the game to its conclusion."
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Sarah Granger graduated from the Emerge California political leadership training program, along with the EMILY's List Political Opportunity Program for Democratic women, and she is a strong advocate for The White House Project.
]]>First off, in terms of the Americans, see my posts from the U.S. Nationals Ladies Short Program and Ladies Free Skate for how things stood coming into this event. The gold and silver medalists, Mirai Nagasu and Rachel Flatt, are not at Worlds because they're too young. They went to Junior Worlds instead. (I guess this is a relatively new rule because Tara Lipinski won Worlds at age 14 a decade ago. I don't know when or why it changed, but many people are speaking out about their opinions on the change now.)
As the results stand going into the Free Skate, Kimmie Meissner, the most known name in U.S. ladies figure skating the past few years since her world title in '06, is in 9th place after the Short Program. She's had a rocky year and she skated well in the Short, but she only did a triple-double combination. It's just that other skaters had higher difficulty and also skated near perfect. So much for the American ladies having a chance at the podium.
Bebe Liang and Ashley Wagner, the 5th place and 3rd place finishers from Nationals respectively are in 10th and 11th place after the Short Program. As of the Short Program, there's a small chance one of them could make the top 5, but medal likelihood is slim. Liang skated a strong program and looked happy about her skate. Wagner skated well too; she just didn't have the difficulty she needed to contend with the top group, turning her triple-triple into a triple-double and skating without the relaxed artistry of the top skaters.
The final skating group for today includes leader from the Short Program, European Champion, Italy's Carolina Kostner, Joannie Rochette of Canada, Kiira Korpi of Finland, Yu-Na Kim of Korea (coming off an injury), Mao Asada, currently in second, and Yukari Nakano, currently in third, both from Japan. All of these ladies are solid, fantastic skaters and incredible to watch, especially the young Japanese and Korean skaters. Expect Kim, Asada and Nakano to shine along with Kostner, but don't count out Korpi. Note last year's champion, Miki Ando, is not in that group. She had a new look in her short program - very long with a more artistic flow, but she had the same problem as Meissner.
What impressed me the most about this event was how few flaws were in the top contenders' programs. They were all excellent. Mao Asada's triple lutz, triple loop combination seemed effortless and its height was superb (my Dick Button word of the day). Kostner's triple-triple was equally impressive although technically less difficult. To be totally honest, I don't know why her points were higher than Asada's. I thought Asada was better. It must've been in the footwork difficulty, spin positions and little details. Kim took an unfortunate fall, but otherwise looked incredible given that she had been off the ice for a month.
Every few years, the costumes fail to appeal to me in international events and while I admired the choices by Asada and Kim, Wagner and Sebestyen could have done better. I liked Korpi's unique choice, but the fabric selection was a bit off. I want to hire whoever did her make-up for Kimmie Meissner; it was gorgeous, and Meissner could use a bit of color for the TV. You might say that commenting about the costume and make-up choice is moot in a sporting event, but as a skater, it affects your movement and how you feel about the music. As an audience member, it affects your perception of the artistry as in a theater and it needs to be seen from the back row. As a judge, it affects how you view the appropriateness of the theme and the theatricality.
In the Mens event, American Johnny Weir, who has been on fire this year, is holding steady in a close second place behind Canadian Jeffrey Buttle. Weir reportedly had a career best Short Program. U.S. champion, Evan Lysacek, withdrew on the 13th due to an injury and equipment issues, which is a bummer to say the least, but he's looking to stay healthy for the Olympics. He was in top shape and won Nationals by a hair over Weir, but these things happen.
The pairs competition has already ended - spectacular German pair Savchenko & Szolkowy took the gold with exquisite detail and choreography, Zhang & Zhang (winners of the Short) of China took the silver, and Canadians Dube & Davison the bronze. Americans Inoue and Baldwin finished 10th, the best from the U.S. with Castile and Okolski behind them in 11th. In Dance, Belbin & Agosto came out in fourth overall, a disappointing finish compared to recent years. French team, Delobel & Schoenfelder took the gold, just ahead of Canadians Virtue & Moir, and Russians Kokhlova & Novitski inched into the bronze 0.26 points ahead of Belbin & Agosto.
Finally, to entice readers to watch the Worlds today, I will give one spoiler: we have a new Ladies World Champion. Look for the that on ABC from 3-6pm EDT/PDT today and the Men from 5-7pm tomorrow on ESPN.
Sarah Granger, Guest Contributing Editor, can't wait to teach her two year-old daughter how to do a spin on skates. Find her at Sairy, SFBayStyle, and the Silicon Valley Moms Blog.
]]>Out of the top ten skaters in the Senior Ladies division at Nationals, at least eight could be major contenders internationally. Unfortunately, we can only send three. Those ranked 6-10 after the Short Program skated in the first group tonight. As Bebe Liang completed her program, I knew the rest of the skaters must have done well. Her program was really good. Not superb, but really good. She came in fifth. I couldn't wait to see the rest skate.
Caroline Zhang, who was in 7th after the Short Program, skated after Liang. She was perfect. Her layback was exquisite, her positions gorgeous, and her jumps high and clean. She received a standing ovation. She earned fourth place with that performance - a skate that would have earned her a higher spot on the podium many years, but not this year. A perfect program and a standing ovation and fourth place. Unbelievable. After that, knowing the results, I could only assume the top three also skated incredible programs.
Rachel Flatt, who took the ice after Kimmie Meissner, completed seven triple jumps including a triple lutz, triple toe-loop combination and a triple flip, double toe-loop, double loop combination along with another triple lutz with a very difficult set-up, giving her even more points. And it wasn't just about the jumps. Her footwork, spiral position, connecting moves, speed and spins were all excellent. She received another standing ovation and when the numbers came up later, won the Free Skate. But not the gold.
Ashley Wagner followed, also with seven triples planned for the first time. She opened with a giant triple lutz, triple loop, followed almost immediately by a double axel. The amount of strength and energy required for that is amazing. And after she finished the last of the jumps, she still looked just as strong as she did at the beginning of the program. Her jumps were all high and strong. Another flawless program and another standing ovation. She scored in second place in both events, but she took the bronze medal. This shouldn't get her down though. She reminds me of Sarah Hughes. I think she's one of those sleeper skaters who could come out a World or Olympic champion in the future.
Mirai Nagasu, the last skater on the ice, leader after the Short Program, reigning Junior U.S. champion, the first time she ever competed with a four minute program, following three standing ovations, came in with a tiny bit of pressure on her. She opened with gorgeous spirals, but then had an odd fall on a double axel. After that, she skated cleanly and because she had such a strong lead after the Short Program, her points carried her through to earn the gold medal. Her overall presentation, her spin positions, and her characterization of her music all played a part as well. She wasn't smiling in the long program like in the short - she clearly knew she had to skate perfectly after that fall. She still earned a standing ovation. After she saw her scores and heard the results, she said, "What?!" Very exciting. According to Scott Hamilton commentating, the last time someone went from Junior champion to Senior champion in one year was 1938. "I'm just happy and without words," Nagasu said on TV.
I was able to connect with this year's Chief Announcer, Robert Richmond, who had what he called "the privilege of announcing the Free Skating Competition." Richmond summarized the field nicely by saying: "There were some interesting surprises in the talent of the younger Senior Ladies." Oddly enough, of the top four skaters at the U.S. Nationals, three can't go to the World Championships because they're too young. In my post about the Short Program, I alluded to this, but I really thought Meissner would pull through for the podium. Flatt missed the cut-off by 20 days, and Nagasu and Zhang are both 14. They must be 16 to go. Instead, they will return to Junior Worlds as veterans.
Most surprising was the finish of Kimmie Meissner, the 2007 national champion. She took 7th place in the Free Skate, nearly 25 points behind Flatt. Overall, she came out 43 points behind Nagasu. This was a result of a fall in the Short as well as three falls on her most major point jumps in the Free Skate. The benefit of the TV time delay for writing this post, however, is that the World team has now been named and Meissner made it due to her past rankings. She, Liang, and Wagner will be going the World Championships March 18-23 in Gothenburg, Sweden.
For those skeptical about the new point system, I want to illustrate something. In this event, in order to name the winner, we had what was very close to a three-way tie, but the point system proved definitively who took what place. Remember the 2002 Olympics that prompted the new judging system? Part of the reason why was the outcome of the ladies' event. Sarah Hughes, Michelle Kwan, and Irina Slutskaya essentially had a three-way-tie and the ordinals broke it. This year, the way the points lined up at Nationals, there was no way to dispute who won. If you want to understand a little better why the placements worked out as they did, here's some information I found about "How the International Judging System Works".
Richmond, who gets one of the best seats in the house explained. "The IJS (International Judging System) has a remarkable amount of technology and areas of redundancy to it that makes the decisions, perhaps much more precise than the audience realizes. At the risk of using an imprecise example, it is like the referee in the NFL reviewing a challenge for every play. There are Technical Specialists with vast amounts of skating knowledge and judging experience, and fast video replay technology that is utilized to assist to make, and if need be, review decisions. The programs are known in advance and can be judged on their execution etc. The level of expertise of the judges and referees is amazing."
In the other categories, McLaughlin & Brubaker won the Pairs event with a phenomenal program aside from one fall, Inoue & Baldwin took the silver (after he proposed on the ice just after their Free Skate), Castile & Okolski the bronze, and Vise & Trent the pewter. In Dance, Belbin & Agosto won their fifth title, Davis & White came in second, Navarro & Bommentre in third with Samuelson & Bates taking fourth.
The men skate tomorrow night, a change from previous years where the ladies always skated last. I'll post about that in the comments here tomorrow night. Meanwhile, congratulations to Mirai Nagasu, Rachel Flatt, Ashley Wagner, Caroline Zhang for their medals best wishes to all the members of the senior and junior world teams.
Sarah Granger, Guest Contributing Editor, won a bronze medal at a U.S. Adult Nationals by skating with a stuffed R2-D2. Find her at Sairy, SFBayStyle & the Silicon Valley Moms Blog.
]]>I never competed at Nationals, nor was it ever really a goal of mine. I didn’t have that kind of discipline, motivation, talent or athleticism and I wasn't willing to take that much time out of my daily life for one purpose. I did pass 16 tests as a child skater and another four as an Adult competitor in order to qualify and participate in the U.S. Adult Figure Skating Championships where I won a few medals, I’ve competed in over 20 competitions including internationally, and I worked hard for many memorable moments on the ice. When I watch competitions, I sometimes feel my muscles automatically contracting in anticipation of the jumps coming up, and I know what that look on their faces means when they lose concentration and what it will cost in their marks.
Watching Nationals has been a little different for me this year - rather than being there or watching a delayed, cropped version of the event on TV, I was able to see the entire competition live on my laptop, thanks to the icenetwork.com coverage. It felt somewhere between being there and watching on TV. I was able to see all the skaters warm-up, perform, and wait for their marks. I could actually hear the coaches giving feedback to the skaters after their programs while in the "Kiss & Cry" area. It was a whole new experience and I’m totally hooked.
Now for the Senior Ladies Short Program report... if you plan to watch the video online or TV coverage, don't read past this point because I will tell you who dazzled, who fell, and who's in the lead.
Last night, the Senior Ladies battled for top marks in the Short Program event (two minutes and forty seconds) in order to set themselves up for Saturday’s Free Skate (four minutes) where the top points add up to the title. Of the 20 competitors in the Senior Ladies event, Caroline Zhang was the first of the top contenders to skate.
Zhang, the reigning Junior World Champion, showed the nerve to attempt a high point triple-triple combination, but she stepped out of the second jump, was tentative on her double axel and slow on her footwork, leaving room for the skaters to overtake her marks. Following Zhang, Beatrisa Liang, whose bodysuit would not have been legal in competition a few years back, popped her triple lutz (stopping the attempt at rotation mid-air), but her speed and presentation moved her into the lead.
Kimmie Meissner, 2006 World Champion and 2007 U.S. champion, known for being the second U.S. lady to land a triple axel in major competition, skated in the second group. Meissner won Skate America in September but had a rocky performance at the Grand Prix Final, finishing sixth. With her title on the line and as the incoming favorite, Meissner began her program looking strong, but suffered an uncharacteristic fall on her triple flip – she just didn’t have the height to pull it off. However, due to the height on her other jumps, her speed, and the degree of difficulty in her other moves, she was able to pull into first.
Becky Bereswill, the first skater to perform a clean (no errors) program, was put into sixth at that point in the event, prompting the crowd to boo. The new judging system still leaves people confused – why not reward a perfect program? The devil’s in the details. Her elements just weren’t as difficult. She’s in 14th after the Short Program.
Alyssa Czissny, 2007 U.S. bronze medalist, known for amazing spins and artistry, skated with a cast on her wrist due to a broken thumb. She stepped-out of her triple lutz combination, two-footed her triple flip, and fell on her double axel. I give her credit just for showing-up with that cast and she still looked beautiful.
Katrina Hacker, the second competitor to skate a clean program, had a gorgeous spiral and strong jumps, putting her into second behind Meissner and warming the crowd just enough for what was to come.
Mirai Nagasu, who jumped into the top spot at the Junior level last year, skated to Gershwin’s "I Got Rhythm" in a bright pink dress with a big smile (here’s my Dick Button moment where I say she’s “my kind of skater”). Nagasu landed a gorgeous triple lutz, triple toe combination and at the end of the program, she reminded me a lot of Kristi Yamaguchi. She brought the house to their feet and she leaped nearly 13 points ahead of Kimmie Meissner. I’m no stats expert on this new system, but I don’t recall anyone recovering from that kind of point deficit in the Free Skate in order to win. It's possible, but highly unlikely.
Rachel Flatt followed by skating to “It Ain’t Necessarily So”, another Gershwin favorite, landed a nice triple lutz, triple toe combination (these triple-triples are huge in the point department) and scored 62.91 pulling ahead of Meissner into second.
Ashley Wagner, the last of the major contenders, performed a beautiful triple lutz, triple loop (more difficult than the triple lutz, triple toe), she had excellent speed in her jumps and spins and she moved into second with a score of 65.15.
At this point, another competitor performed to "Tosca", causing me to blank out due to a visceral reaction from hearing that music used in competitions so many times over the past ten years. I think it should be banned for at least ten (like the unitards), along with "Carmen".
The final skater in the event was a Minnesota local, Molly Oberstar, who skated well and took 11th place, ending the event on a high note.
Final marks for the top ten:
1 – Mirai Nagasu – 70.23
2 – Ashley Wagner – 65.15
3 – Rachel Flatt – 62.91
4 – Kimmie Meissner – 57.58
5 – Katrina Hacker – 56.87
6 – Beatrisa Liang – 55.10
7 – Caroline Zhang – 53.49
8 – Melissa Bulanhagui – 52.77
9 – Alissa Czisny – 50.58
10 – Danielle Kahle – 50.46
This translates to a solid lead for Nagasu, a battle for silver between Wagner, Flatt and possibly Meissner, and due to the closeness of the points, none of the top ten can be counted out for the bronze and the pewter medals. What makes it more complicated is that the top three spots are usually placed on the World team – unless those medalists are ineligible due to age. Nagasu, Flatt and Zhang are all too young for Worlds.
In the rare event that all three of them make the podium, that means the 4th-6th place finishers would be named to the team – good news for Meissner, even if she finishes fourth. However, one skater is missing this year – Emily Hughes, out from a hip injury. She should be recovered and training again in time for Worlds, so she could receive one of the slots for Worlds given past performance if she applies.
In a sport where athletes peak between age 15 and 19 and the premiere event (the Winter Olympics) comes every 4 years, it's nearly impossible to time it right, but most of these skaters are looking to 2010 for the world stage, not 2008, so it usually doesn’t faze them if they can’t go this year. The National title is an achievement in itself and it looks likely we’ll have a new champion.
If you’re watching the Pairs event, look for McLaughlin & Brubaker. Fresh from the junior ranks (they won Junior Nationals and Junior Worlds), they are in first place after the Senior Pairs Short Program. They're also not eligible for Worlds since McLaughlin is too young. Former U.S. champions Inoue & Baldwin are in second, just 1.3 points behind the leaders (a miniscule difference), followed by Castile & Okolski in third and Evora & Ladwig in fourth. Those two pairs are 1.85 points apart although it's unlikely either could recover enough for the gold medal. In Dance, Belbin & Agosto are solidly in the lead after the Compulsory and Original Dance events. The Free Dance will take place Saturday evening. The Senior Men skate Friday night in the Short Program and Saturday afternoon in their Free Skate.
BlogHer's month long Good Health-a-thon has one week remaining, and I think it's fitting that this is also the conclusion of National Skating Month, with the climax over the next few days as the U.S. Figure Skating Championships final events commence. Figure skating is supposedly the most popular women's spectator sport, so ladies, please join me in continuing to watch the coverage this weekend of some incredibly inspiring young athletes.
Sarah Granger, Guest Contributing Editor, took ten years to land a consistent axel. Find her at Sairy, SFBayStyle & the Silicon Valley Moms Blog.
]]>The truth is we need all of these things. Every diet is different and you can agree or disagree with them, but the Zone Diet immediately came to my mind when I saw the results tonight from the caucuses because the Zone Diet prescribes the ratio of 40:30:30 to keep the human body working. Iowans showed us tonight that they want a mix too.
Whomever will win the Democratic nomination (and from my POV, hopefully the general election) needs to come across with some sugar - inspiring speeches, some fat - issue substance, and some protein - concrete plans for how to achieve the change so craved by the majority of American voters. (I'm just projecting here based on polling, turnout thus far, and the current administration approval level.) I know it sounds silly comparing politics to dieting, but our country has been yo-yo'ing for a while now and we need to stop.
Also posted at sairy.com.
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