by Jacquelyn Thayer After dreaming of the Olympic Opening Ceremony as newly-minted members of Team Canada, the real thing proved no disappointment for ice dancers Alexandra Paul and Mitch Islam. “It was the most unbelievable feeling, walking into that stadium, having everybody cheering, just looking up into the stands,” says Paul. “It was butterflies in…
With the conclusion of another Olympic season come changing dynamics, from retirements, breakups, and new formations to the rise of younger couples and shifting fortunes for more established duos. For our first quick take on The Off-Season That Is, a review of the major American and Canadian teams who’ve taken their last bows — at…
by Jacquelyn Thayer Since its introduction under the International Judging System in 2004, the program component score (PCS) has in popular view functioned as a sort of equivalent to the previous system’s “second mark” — that score which weights the aesthetic qualities of performance, rather than difficulty and purity of technical content. This is something…
First-Time Senior World Competitors = 4 (Aldridge/Eaton, Paul/Islam, Zhang/Bartholomay, Lawrence/Swiegers) Former Junior Worlds Medalists = 4* (Shibutani/Shibutani, Aldridge/Eaton, Weaver/Poje, Paul/Islam) *Madison Chock, Evan Bates, and Paul Poirier also earned Junior Worlds medals with previous partners Combined Previous Worlds Appearances, Dance = 10 Weaver/Poje = 5 Shibutani/Shibutani = 3 Chock/Bates = 1 (1 additional for Chock…
by Jacquelyn Thayer Six dance and five pairs teams representing the U.S. and Canada will take on Sochi ice in the two weeks to come (with some competing as well in the first-ever Olympic team event this weekend). As ever, the attempt here will be to take a closer look at the participants by more…
Offered here is a non-exhaustive list of official websites, verified or otherwise official social media accounts, and other links that may be of use during the Olympic Games. We’ll continue to update this content to keep things current. Event Websites & News Sochi 2014 @Sochi2014 | Twitter @Olympics | Twitter @iocmedia (IOC Media) | Twitter…
The six events comprising this pre-Olympic Grand Prix series established more firmly than ever the central storylines for North American ice dance as the countdown to Sochi continues. By the numbers and more than a little data analysis, the key takeaways. 1. The Battle for First – No contest has been more discussed or more…
This weekend marks the first competitive visit to Russia for 2013 Skate Canada silver medalists Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje since 2011, when the couple twice traveled to Moscow to tackle two events — a delayed World Championships, closing out one season, and Rostelecom Cup, the final Grand Prix stop of 2011-12. Moscow proved rather…
Finlandia Trophy featured return visits from two teams who last began their season there in 2011 — World silver medalists Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir and U.S. silver medalists Madison Chock & Evan Bates, who took gold and bronze at that year’s event and here caught gold and silver. The stakes for an early beginning…
For all four U.S. couples entered, Ondrej Nepela Trophy held a particular import: for Gretchen Donlan & Andrew Speroff, it was an opportunity to recoup after the ups and downs of the 2012-13 season; for U.S. silver medalists Alexa Scimeca & Chris Knierim, a return to the major competitive stage after a mid-summer ankle injury;…
