Homesense Skate Canada International in Ottawa, Ontario, opened Friday with the Compulsory Dance, the Pairs, Ladies and Mens’ Short Programs. Skate Canada is the second of six events in the 2008/2009 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. The skaters compete for a global prize money of US $ 180, 000 per individual event of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating and receive points according to their placements. This is the 35th edition of Skate Canada International.
Pairs, Short Program
Today’s competition kicked off with the Pairs Short Program. Yuko Kawaguchi/Alexander Smirnov of Russia captured the Short Program ahead of Keauna McLaughlin/Rockne Brubaker (USA) and Canada’s Jessica Dubé/Bryce Davison.
Kawaguchi/Smirnov delivered a very balletic program to “The Swan” by Camille Saint-Saens, producing a solid side by side triple toeloop, a triple twist, throw triple loop as well as a forward inside death spiral, flying side by side combination spin, spiral sequence, hand-to-hip lift and a pair combination spin that all were graded a level four by the Technical Panel. The reigning European bronze medalists earned 65.02 points (37.10 element score/27.92 program component score) to take the lead. “We are almost satisfied with our elements”, Smirnov smiled. “We’ve skated this program much better in practice, in terms of speed and choreography. This is our second competition this year, we did all the elements, maybe not with positive grade of executions, but at least with the base value.” Kawaguchi agreed. “There are still so many things to work on, but for today it was good.”
McLaughlin/Brubaker’s dynamic performance to “Malaguena” included a triple twist, throw triple loop and a side by side triple Salchow with a shaky landing on his side. They were a little off in their side by side spin, but were awarded a level four for the spiral sequence, the pair combination spin and the lift. The 2007 World Junior Champions scored a new personal best of 60.66 points (35.22/25.44). “Today we did a good job as far as overall goes. Coming from Skate America last week obviously were are a little tired, but we are doing a good job with pushing through it. Overall it definitely is a step in the right direction, technically and component-wise”, Brubaker commented.
Dubé/Davison opened their routine set to “Fix You” by Coldplay with an excellent side by side triple Salchow, but the catch of the triple twist was flawed and she landed on two feet on the throw triple loop. The current World bronze medalists received a level four for their two spins and a level three for the death spiral, but the spiral sequence was graded only a level one. The Canadians received 60.14 points (32.78/27.36) to place just behind the Americans. “It wasn’t our best and we know we can do much better than that. We are a little disappointed, but we are coming back tomorrow and try to do better”, Dubé told the press. “We are pretty satisfied with how we skated it, it’s just the elements that were a little crash and bang. We are looking forward to getting back on the ice tomorrow and practice and showing a new side of our skating which not plenty people have seen”, added Davison. Asked about including the triple twist for the first time into the program, he answered: “It crashed a little on the landing. The timing was a little bit off. It was good to get it out there. We broke the ice with it and we are looking forward to doing it again tomorrow and during the rest of the season.”
Tiffany Vise/Derek Trent (USA) came in fourth. The produced a double twist and difficult spins, but he two-footed the side by side triple toe and she stumbled on the throw triple loop (53.94 points). Reigning World Junior bronze medalists Huibo Dong/Yiming Wu (CHN) came in fifth at 50.84 points.
Ladies, Short Program
Joannie Rochette of Canada won the Ladies Short Program with Japan’s Fumie Suguri and Caroline Zhang (USA) following in second and third.
Skating to “Summertime”, Rochette hit a triple Lutz, a double Axel and a triple flip-double toeloop combination, although she did a three-turn out of the flip. The four-time Canadian Champion was awarded a level four for the flying sit spin and the combination spin as well as a level three for the layback spin and the footwork. The current Four Continents silver medalist set a new personal best for herself with 64.74 points (36.70 element score/28.04 program component score). “I felt really relaxed. I smiled more in the warm up. I trust my training which has been better than ever. My main goal for this season was to improve my component score, to be more calm on the ice, and I think we achieved that”, Rochette told the post-event press conference. “I made a little mistake on my flip, but I’m happy that the performance was still good.”
Suguri opened her program to “Fanfan” with a triple Lutz-double toe and landed a solid double Axel. The Japanese showed two-level four spins, but two-footed the triple flip and got only a level one for her wobbly layback spin. The 2006 World silver medalist scored 57.92 points (33.52/24.40). “I didn’t skate in Canada since 2006 and I was very happy that I could come back here. These past two years I had a tough time with my jumps. I’m pretty happy with how I did tonight. But I had some points where I had mistakes. During the season, I want to improve on them”, Suguri commented.
Zhang missed her first jump, a triple flip, that was planned to be in combination, but rallied back to add a double toe to her triple loop and made no further mistake, hitting a double Axel and excellent spins. Her layback spin drew extra applause from the crowd at Scotiabank Place as the 15-year-old showed off difficult positions. “I could have done a lot better today. I fell on my triple flip, but I added a double toe to my loop, so that was ok”, the 2008 World Junior silver medalist said.
Jenna McCorkell (GBR) is sitting in fourth place after a good performance that contained a triple Lutz, triple flip-double toeloop combination and a double Axel (51.64 points). Beatrisa Liang (USA) fell on her triple flip attempt and finished fifth at 49.92 points. Reigning World silver medalist Carolina Kostner (ITA) fell while stroking just before her double Axel and then added the jump at the very end of her program, but went down again. She came in seventh (48.56 points).
Ice Dancing, Compulsory Dance
The Compulsory Dance for Homsense Skate Canada International is the Paso Doble. The Paso Doble is a dramatic and powerful Spanish dance requiring good body control and precise footwork. It can be expressed in terms of it's origins from the music of bull fighting or in Flamenco style. The Paso Doble was created by Reginald B. Wilkie and Daphne B. Wallis. It was first performed in London in 1938.
Meryl Davis/Charlie White (USA) danced to the lead, edging out Nathalie Pechalat/Fabian Bourzat of France by less than one point. Kimberly Navarro/Brent Bommentre came in third.
Dressed in a red dress and a classical Torero costume, Davis/White put out a precise Paso Doble with excellent timing. They earned 34.29 points (17.18 element score/17.11 program component score). “It was pretty solid. It wasn’t the best that we‘ve ever skated Paso, but we are pretty pleased with it and obviously very pleased to be in first place”, Weiss commented. “It’s not one of our favorites (dances) and not one of the hardest ones, but there are a lot of little things about it that you have to think about. We did it consistently but not with quite as much attack as we would have liked”, he continued. “We could have had more speed, power, more attack. I think there are a few things to improve upon in our compulsory dance, just really go for it”, Davis added.
Pechalat/Bourzat opted for the Flamenco style in their interpretation of the Paso Doble and gave a strong performance as well to score 33.90 points (16.96/16.94). “We were holding back a little and were a little stiff, that’s what we told each other when we got off the ice”, Pechalat explained. “This explains our second place. We are still giving it all and we’ll see tomorrow, and hopefully to move up and to win. For us, we feel more comfortable as the competition goes on. The compulsories are always the first part and it’s harder to get into it”, the dancer went on.
Navarro/Bommentre turned in a solid Paso Doble with character and picked up 31.67 (16.20/15.47) points. “I think this was the best start of any season we’ve had yet. We are very happy with how we skated. This is the first time we performed the Paso Doble in competition. It’s a fun dance, and there is a lot that you can do with it with expression. It lets you show off your skating skills”, Bommentre said.
2008 World Junior silver medalists Vanessa Crone/Paul Poirier (CAN) are ranked fourth (31.11 points) ahead of World Junior bronze medalists Kristina Gorshkova/Vitali Butikov (RUS/30.50 points).
Men, Short Program
Yannick Ponsero of France grabbed the lead in the Men’s Short Program. Patrick Chan of Canada finished second ahead of Ryan Bradley (USA).
Performing to a modern arrangement of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 named “Ice 5”, Ponsero nailed a strong quadruple toeloop-double toeloop combination, a triple Axel and a triple Lutz. The Frenchman got a level four for his three spins and a level three for the straight line step sequence. Ponsero was awarded 78.05 points (44.70 element score/33.35 program component score), improving significantly his previous personal best of 69.05 points, established two years ago at Skate Canada. “I’m pretty happy with my short program, with my jumps. I’ve worked a lot on my choreography and it wasn’t easy for me to dance like a Hip Hop man, because I was more a classical skater”, the Frenchman explained. “I chose this program, because I wanted to change my style. I asked a friend to rearrange Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. I really like this program, it’s a different style for me and people are looking at me differently.”
Chan’s routine to “Tango de los Exilados” featured a triple flip-triple toeloop combination, a triple Lutz, a level four flying sit spin and level three footwork sequences, but he put his hand down on the triple Axel and stumbled briefly at the very end of the straight line steps. The Canadian Champion scored 77.47 points (44.70/36.05), which was a new personal best for him by 4.66 points. “Today was pretty intense for me. Going into the program I was pretty nervous. I think this is because this is the first competition of my season and it’s with two new programs. It was quite of a challenge mentally”, the 17-year-old commented.
Bradley put out an entertaining performance to an Elvis Presley Medley. He stumbled on his opening quadruple-triple toeloop combination, but recovered to land a triple Axel and a triple Lutz. His flying camel and combination spin were both graded a level four, but the 24-year-old touched down with his hand on the combination spin. Bradley, too, set a new personal best for himself with 72.50 points (42.70/29.80). His previous personal best was 68.83 points. “I was pretty happy with how things turned out today. They weren’t perfect, I left a lot of room for improvement, but (it’s good) just to start, to get my foot in the door for tomorrow. It’s a little tough to skate in that first group, then have to sit there. Everything is out of my hands. There were a lot of good skates, especially for so early in the season. It was really cool to be part of it”, Bradley told the press.
Evan Lysacek (USA) came in fourth at 71.40 points. He stepped out of his triple Lutz before adding the triple toe and subsequently didn’t get credit for a combination. Sergei Voronov (RUS) is currently ranked fifth with 70.45 points. He nailed a quad toe-double toe combination and a triple Axel, but the triple loop was shaky.
Homesense Skate Canada International continues Saturday with the Original Dance, the Ladies, Men’s and Pairs Free Skating. For full results, please refer to www.isu.org.
