With the dance field expanded to 10 couples apiece for the first time since the 2010-11 season, competitors saw additional opportunity — though some absences for those guaranteed at least one spot are also worth noting. Pairs, which remains at eight teams apiece due to additional regulations (only four teams allowed per warm-up session), was…
The ISU figure skating powers-that-be meet this Wednesday and Thursday to set out the coming season’s Grand Prix assignments across six events — this year, in a minor shake-up of schedule, Skate America, Skate Canada International, Rostelecom Cup, the renamed Trophée de France, Cup of China and NHK Trophy. With only eight slots per event…
by Jacquelyn Thayer One could say that the reports of Canadian ice dancer Thomas Williams’s retirement were an exaggeration. “I planned on continuing—that was my original plan all along,” said Williams, who split from partner Nicole Orford in early 2015. Certain reports, however, suggested that he had publicly concluded his career. “I never announced anything…
by Jacquelyn Thayer It was a classic quote of much-debated origin — “Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts” — that concluded the ice dance team’s reflective Facebook post, a season wrap-up tradition begun in the wake of a devastating Canadian Nationals, where an element error…
As the partnered disciplines go, pairs lends itself most readily to analysis by technical improvement — a fall or aborted element are explicit, easily marked errors and likewise, GOE typically does fairly well in grading an element’s obvious level of execution. TES is also democratic; Olympic champions can fall short if the technique fails them…
