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00:00:00This is the PEARS event, practice group number one.
00:00:03This is a 30-minute free program practice.
00:00:07Bienvenue aux Internationaux de Patinage Canada 2026.
00:00:10Vous assistez à l'épreuve de patinage en couple, groupe d'entraînement numéro 1.
00:00:15Ceci est une séance d'entraînement de 30 minutes pour le patinage en couple, programme libre.
00:00:20The following skaters are invited to the ice for a warm-up period of six minutes
00:00:25before the music will be played in the following order.
00:00:33All right, we are back with the first group of PEARS practice.
00:00:38I'm Joni McPhail with Jackie Wong, and we are delighted to be joined by our PEARS expert, Kristen Moore-Towers.
00:00:47Good morning.
00:00:48Thank you for joining us.
00:00:50I'm so excited, so excited.
00:00:52I'm just going to sit back and listen.
00:00:56Kristen, what did you think of the PEARS yesterday?
00:01:00Well, I think there was a main highlight for me.
00:01:04It was, of course, Leah Pereira and Trent Michaud, and I really felt like they put the skating world on
00:01:09notice.
00:01:10They were great at Neville Horn in September, but last night were just at another level for me.
00:01:18But I thought overall we had a great...
00:01:19I don't think it's just for you.
00:01:20I don't think it's just for you.
00:01:21That's right.
00:01:21We had a great PEARS event.
00:01:23We have a little bit of a mixed bag here with experience level, and some of the earlier teams who
00:01:28are less experienced,
00:01:29we had a Grand Prix debut in Unoki and Taylor, and I thought they did a wonderful job to open
00:01:35the event.
00:01:35We had a really great mix of experience and newbies and some great skates all around.
00:01:41Yeah, totally. After the menning that was the men, it was a nice palate cleanser to have a short program
00:01:52for the PEARS.
00:01:52I generally skated very well, and I enjoyed the variety, and there are some really good up-and-coming teams
00:02:02here,
00:02:03and there are some very good established teams here.
00:02:06But like you said, Leah and Trent, wow. I don't think I've seen them execute as well either.
00:02:15Like, the confidence in everything that they did was superb.
00:02:19Yeah, that's what I was going to say. The confidence through in between each element, entering each element,
00:02:25there didn't seem like any concern or any doubt from them, and as a result, from the viewer.
00:02:30As a viewer, you could sit back and relax, and it's been like that for all of the practices that
00:02:36we've watched so far this competition.
00:02:40I've sat back and watched, and usually, being on the commentating team, I take lots of notes for each team.
00:02:45I want to make sure I'm remembering and catching what's happening, and with Leah and Trent,
00:02:49I've really been able to just sit back and watch, and they leave you feeling confident that they've got it.
00:02:55You know what they're doing.
00:02:56I will say for the viewers who don't know, Kirsten probably takes the most notes out of everybody except for
00:03:06maybe Mark Hanredi.
00:03:08Like, the amount of research that Kirsten does is also fantastic, and you're a skating nerd, and I appreciate it
00:03:17so much.
00:03:18Thanks. Thanks. I like to always have more than I need.
00:03:22But it really is a pleasure to have the platform to tell the skater's stories in a way that they
00:03:29want them to be told.
00:03:31And coming from an athlete perspective myself, I know how important that is to touch on things that the viewer
00:03:39may not have access to
00:03:40or may not get to know unless they're told.
00:03:43And so I like to always, in the most respectful way possible, tell the story the way the athlete wants
00:03:50it to be told as best I can.
00:03:52And that's where that research becomes important.
00:03:55Well, we talked about that on day one, about getting those stories out there and appreciating and understanding the athletes
00:04:01because you see them and you watch them skate and you form an opinion, and then you find out all
00:04:06these things about them,
00:04:07and you're like, wow, I had no idea.
00:04:10For sure.
00:04:10And respect and understanding.
00:04:12I become a bigger fan.
00:04:14Absolutely.
00:04:15And it's easier to invest in the skaters when you know more about them as humans.
00:04:20They're not just these people that are entertaining you.
00:04:23They have real stories and real challenges, and the more we get to know that, I think the more fun
00:04:28it is to be a skating fan.
00:04:30This morning at the hotel while I was waiting to walk over here, I saw Mew, so I was talking
00:04:34to her
00:04:35because I don't think she ever does not have a big smile on her face.
00:04:39Never.
00:04:39She just glows from ear to ear all the time.
00:04:42But she was waiting for her dad, who didn't get here yesterday.
00:04:45He was supposed to.
00:04:46And he was literally pulling up in two minutes, and she was so excited.
00:04:52Oh, that's so wonderful.
00:04:53Yeah, I saw an interview clip where she said that her mom was able to be here,
00:04:58and I think her grandma, but her dad's flight was delayed, so he didn't make it.
00:05:01And in the interview, she said she just wanted to make him proud today.
00:05:05I thought that was really wonderful.
00:05:06Well, he's here.
00:05:07Wonderful.
00:05:12There was a bit of a question mark yesterday in the last short program of the day.
00:05:21I watched Efimova and Mitrofanov's lift, and I was like, that doesn't look like a hand-to-hip.
00:05:28It was called a hand-to-hand, a group four lift.
00:05:33They reviewed it, and then it was marked as a group three lift.
00:05:38Did you get a chance to look at the replay?
00:05:40I looked at the replay, and I admittedly, Jackie, still didn't get it.
00:05:45So when I got to the rink this morning, I talked to some people because I was curious,
00:05:50and it doesn't come from a place of thinking I'm right.
00:05:53Because if viewers watched the stream last night, I was obviously perplexed.
00:06:00A lot of us were.
00:06:01So there's a lift that you must do in the short program, and it is a hand-to-hip or
00:06:06hand-to-upper leg.
00:06:07There's, you know, a couple, very few different, I guess, like, abilities that you have to make it the correct
00:06:16group of lift,
00:06:17and I just didn't think that it qualified.
00:06:18So I asked some people here this morning, and the general consensus is that it was hard to tell
00:06:25because from our camera angle, Elisa's left shoulder and left hip was kind of blocking the back right hand.
00:06:32But it appears as though, to the panel, Misha's hand was on Elisa's hip as it crossed his shoulder and
00:06:41above his head
00:06:42and then switched to the hand.
00:06:44And the ruling deems that it's correct if the hand is on the hip as it ascends before the change
00:06:51of position.
00:06:53Regardless, a really questionable choice for me to make the panel have to look at it twice.
00:07:00You never want the panel to have to look at things more than once
00:07:03because potentially then they're going to find something else, as you know.
00:07:07Yep.
00:07:13Phantom of the Opera to start.
00:07:28I saw on this team has a team of coaches in Colorado.
00:07:32They're here with Natalia Mishkutinuk, who is a Pair legend.
00:07:37Yes.
00:07:37But another coach, Drew Meekins, and they have this MM Pair School in Colorado,
00:07:43and Drew Meekins posted that he was proud of this team for accomplishing their Grand Prix dream.
00:07:50So it's clear that it was a big goal of this team to be at a Grand Prix this season,
00:07:57and now they've done it.
00:07:58We talked yesterday about limited and minimal expectations for them,
00:08:02just trying to have a great experience.
00:08:06Nice triple toe there.
00:08:07I mean, they just debuted on the international scene at John Nix.
00:08:13That's right.
00:08:14And for them to have gotten that experience and then the second competition that they're at internationally
00:08:20is a Grand Prix is very special.
00:08:29I was very impressed with his footwork and the smoothness of maybe less of this one.
00:08:39But earlier in the week, I was seeing stronger footwork for just kind of steadiness in his lifts.
00:08:53This team only doing one throw triple in the free program.
00:08:57I saw, Jackie, that you noted that in your Grand Prix preview.
00:09:00And the goal for them is to get the second throw triple in for whatever reason.
00:09:04It's not ready yet.
00:09:06Obviously don't have the mileage for it, but they have increased their difficulty from last season in their triple twist.
00:09:12This is the first season that they're including it in their programs.
00:09:15That was good.
00:09:16It was wonderful.
00:09:17Yeah.
00:09:17Yeah, well done.
00:09:19Yeah, it's not one of those twists where you're a little afraid for whether or not they're going to finish
00:09:25the rotation.
00:09:26Or a really low catch.
00:09:28Things that we just, as a viewer, you want the pair teams to invoke confidence in you that you know
00:09:37that they've got it under control.
00:09:38It can be a scary discipline when not done well.
00:09:43And that's not the quality we hope or expect to see on the Grand Prix.
00:09:47And I thought they did a great job.
00:09:50I think watching pairs, it can be scary.
00:09:53But when you're watching at this level, for the most part, everything is well executed.
00:09:59Yes, I agree.
00:10:00You have confidence in what they're doing.
00:10:02I've had the opportunity to watch new pair teams or pair teams learning new tricks.
00:10:07And I can't.
00:10:09I remember that about you.
00:10:11I remember I would leave the ring or walk by with my eyes closed because I just, I couldn't do
00:10:16it.
00:10:17And so I'm always seeing it here.
00:10:19It just looks so effortless and easy compared to, and I think you do have to have a strong stomach
00:10:27to watch you guys.
00:10:28And how you do it, I don't know, when you're learning new elements and more difficult elements.
00:10:37And you know what?
00:10:38It takes an experienced coach.
00:10:40I'm glad you mentioned that, Joni, because it's, being a new coach myself, I find the most difficult part of
00:10:48coaching is knowing when a young team is ready to try something that is more difficult.
00:10:53And in the past, I feel like I have perhaps waited longer than necessary to allow the teams to try
00:11:01something new because I want to be 100% certain that they're safe.
00:11:05And then when they try it, it's pretty good.
00:11:08And I think, oh, they probably could have tried this a few weeks ago.
00:11:11I think if you're erring on one side of the spectrum, that's the better one.
00:11:15The better one, the better one.
00:11:16But when I look at coaches that I had, like Alison Perkis or Bruno Marcotte, they have more experience to
00:11:22know.
00:11:23No, no, they can handle, this team can handle this.
00:11:25But I think that's a learned skill.
00:11:27Oh, absolutely.
00:11:28And understanding the athletes.
00:11:30Totally.
00:11:30And what, because it could be different for different athletes on when you know they're not necessarily physically, but mentally
00:11:36ready to do that.
00:11:38Oh, we got a back plank to start.
00:11:45Cleopatra, perhaps?
00:11:46Middle Eastern theme, probably with Middle Eastern hands, inspired.
00:11:57That was a little bit of a character step sequence from a free dance kind of start.
00:12:05Totally.
00:12:06Along the short axis.
00:12:07Yeah.
00:12:12This team has found themselves the lone Italian representatives on the circuit this year after being a part of a
00:12:22nation that had so much depth in pairs.
00:12:24And really great Italian pair teams in Sarah Conti, Niccolomacci, as well as Rebecca Gilardi and Filippo Ambrosini.
00:12:33And so now they're the only ones on the Grand Prix series.
00:12:36They found themselves at the World Championships last year.
00:12:42And we still see some growing pains, I think, as a result of that.
00:12:46They've been together since 2021.
00:12:49But it takes time to be confident with these pair elements.
00:12:53Ironically for these two, it seems more like the solo elements, the side-by-side jumping elements, are more of
00:12:59a struggle.
00:13:02Yeah, I think even compared to what we saw at Worlds, I feel like they're a stronger, more solid kind
00:13:11of foundation team now.
00:13:14Last year, it just felt like, and maybe it was just because it was their first Worlds, it felt like
00:13:18they were just at times a little bit lost.
00:13:23And they feel like a better pair now.
00:13:27And you know what, they had the chance to participate in, like, a little summer tour.
00:13:31And I always, I said this on the stream last night as well, I'm such a proponent of teams getting
00:13:37out and touring and doing shows while they're still in their competition era.
00:13:43Because it really does help increase that performance and the ability to move fluidly in and out of your elements.
00:13:52That was a lean.
00:13:56Seeing difficulty in both throws from these two, and that has been a little bit of the trend this week
00:14:01in competition and in practice.
00:14:05I think any time skaters can get out and do shows and tour with the shows, it brings a whole
00:14:12different element to their performance.
00:14:13I agree.
00:14:15Well, you saw that with Lear and Trent, too.
00:14:18I think them having done more shows as they've become the top pair in Canada and having those opportunities to
00:14:27do shows, that's helped them.
00:14:32I felt that I did my first Stars on Ice tour after I was retired.
00:14:37And when the tour finished, I thought, this would have helped.
00:14:42But you know what?
00:14:42We did a, gosh, I think it was called, with my previous partner, Dylan Moskovich, we did a tour, I
00:14:48think, called Celebration on Ice, maybe?
00:14:50It was over Christmas.
00:14:51No, it was in Ontario, it was like a small tour bus show, Jeff Buttle was on it, Jamie Selle
00:14:58and David Peltier, so I was totally in my glory learning from, Joanie Rochette was on it, Cynthia Faneuf.
00:15:05And we did our competitive short program every night over Christmas and won our first national title a month later.
00:15:12And it did help with consistency and with performance.
00:15:17Okay, I need you to talk me through lifts.
00:15:19Okay, chat about it.
00:15:21The mechanics of lifting, I've heard a lot of people talk about who leads, the man leads, the woman leads,
00:15:30and how do you balance the balance of those two, and what were you taught, and what is the general
00:15:41technique of it?
00:15:42Because I think people just see somebody getting lifted up, and it's like, oh, it's the man doing all the
00:15:47work, but it's not.
00:15:48Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.
00:15:49I'm so sorry to cut you off.
00:15:51There, there, coach.
00:15:52What happened?
00:15:53It's kind of like a choreo slide move, which is, of course, not an element.
00:15:57Choreo slide.
00:15:58Fair skating, but they seem to have one, maybe they had more music.
00:16:02Perhaps this program was choreographed before the new rules came out, and they had music to play with.
00:16:07It is really cool.
00:16:08I saw it work on Thursday.
00:16:10Choreo graphic slides.
00:16:11Choreograph slide.
00:16:12Slide right into the board.
00:16:14But yeah, let's talk about when they lift.
00:16:16I want to hear what your thought process is.
00:16:20I will start by saying what I was taught and what I teach is for the man to bring the
00:16:24woman to him, close to him, and then stand up.
00:16:27If the man lifts the woman from far away, he's lifting with his back, and it makes the job much
00:16:32harder.
00:16:33Dribble flips.
00:16:35They want to land these.
00:16:37Oh, my gosh.
00:16:37That's a thing that they were saying.
00:16:39They were like, we want to get these landed.
00:16:41And they haven't yet, and at least not with positive GOE.
00:16:45They've been trying for a number of seasons, so maybe today's the day.
00:16:51Here, the twist.
00:16:52They're going for steps, split, arms down, and catch.
00:16:54So they're going for a four.
00:16:56Whether or not the technical panel awards them all those features, I don't think they would.
00:17:00I think that was a two.
00:17:02I don't think they would have gotten the split.
00:17:04Oh.
00:17:04Oops.
00:17:07That was a throw triple attempt from Miyu and Tristan off of camera.
00:17:12Throw triple Lutz, which is not currently in their planned program content.
00:17:16She looks to have been a little bit...
00:17:20Came down a bit hard.
00:17:21...hurting.
00:17:22Yeah.
00:17:24The knee, it looks like.
00:17:27Oh, goodness.
00:17:28This throw, for me, is so outside of the circle this week.
00:17:33Do you notice?
00:17:34Well, and then she holds on to it.
00:17:36And the thing about that is, when she holds on to it, it actually accelerates her out of
00:17:41that...
00:17:41Totally.
00:17:42...that throw.
00:17:43It just, the technique of the takeoff for me this week is a little bit, um, unpredictable.
00:17:50You don't see it as much from, I think, the judge's point of view, because you don't see
00:17:55where the circle is from there.
00:17:57But from our point of view, you can see him throw her to his left.
00:18:02Totally outside the circle, yeah.
00:18:04We would hope that he would continue him on with our young teams.
00:18:09We call them train tracks.
00:18:10Throw her onto the train tracks, not off of the train tracks.
00:18:18It's so good when she lands it, though.
00:18:20It's amazing.
00:18:21It has so much flow and speed out, like you said.
00:18:42One more throw.
00:18:43And there's a second.
00:18:45That's more inside the circle.
00:18:46Way better.
00:18:47And you can see she's right on top of her right side when she lands.
00:18:50It shouldn't be work for her to have to correct, course correct, in the air.
00:18:55Okay, here we go, a lift.
00:18:58Group three.
00:18:59There's the entry.
00:19:02Back crossovers.
00:19:03He's doing back crossovers, which used to be a feature, is no longer a feature.
00:19:07But it's hard.
00:19:08It is cool.
00:19:09It's a difficult one-arm position.
00:19:12Sophia's in a difficult position.
00:19:14And then turning the other way, which is also a feature.
00:19:18But you can see with that entry they did where he put Sophia on his hip.
00:19:24She's close to him now.
00:19:25He needs to bend and press her straight up.
00:19:30I think the difficult ones, we're not seeing it in this program, but, you know, the more difficult ones are
00:19:38those lasso lifts.
00:19:40Totally.
00:19:40And it certainly gets to your technique around how far out does the lasso then pull in in order to
00:19:48get the skater out there, right?
00:19:51It's a different kind of lift.
00:19:53And that's what makes it so hard.
00:19:56Oops.
00:19:56I think she was supposed to connect with him there.
00:19:59So that new element for the pear skaters this year, it is the Choreo Pear Spin.
00:20:04The Choreo Pear Spin is automatically assigned a level one for difficulty.
00:20:11The judges are looking for it going with the theme of the program and matching the music.
00:20:18And that's how they will award them those extra grade of GOE.
00:20:22Grade of GOE.
00:20:23Grade of GOE.
00:20:25Good morning.
00:20:26Atm machine.
00:20:27It took me a second to say, what's wrong about what I just said?
00:20:31There's something.
00:20:32Something doesn't make sense there.
00:20:34To assign the additional grade of execution points.
00:20:38We can talk about that more.
00:20:39I'll try not to stumble through it.
00:20:42Valese Bidar, a team that I have loved watching over the past few years.
00:20:47All right.
00:21:12This team did two senior B international assignments before this competition, and their coach, Andrej Hotarik, told me that they
00:21:21were a little bit disappointed in the results.
00:21:23They were training better in the summer, training better than what showed on the results sheets.
00:21:30And sometimes that's a blessing. It caused them to rework their short program choreography in a way that coaches felt
00:21:38like would better allow them more space and time between elements.
00:21:42I think Anna would get an under rotation on that Sal, but for them to keep it on their feet,
00:21:54it's a win for them.
00:21:57It's often hard for them to get those side-by-sides really consistent.
00:22:04And you mentioned an under rotation. We know that that will incur a deduction in the total value that the
00:22:14element gives them, but it's not giving them a fall deduction.
00:22:19It's not interrupting the program. So I know when you say it's good for them, that's what you mean.
00:22:24Yeah. I mean, he's very solid in his lifting.
00:22:38And you can see that they're organized. Oh, this is a new element for them this season.
00:22:44It's a nice forward outside. I don't know if she's going to get the credit.
00:22:49If they're going to count it. Yeah, you're right. It's beautiful.
00:22:52Sometimes we see teams do the forward outside desk barrel and they do it because it is worth so much
00:22:57more.
00:22:58It doesn't feel like so much more. Half a point more.
00:23:00So when you say you don't think they're going to get it, for what reason?
00:23:04So in order for the position to be valid, Anna's head has to be below her skating knee. And for
00:23:10me, I think it was borderline.
00:23:12The forward outside desk barrel is worth 3.5 points as opposed to the back outside worth 3.2.
00:23:18So 0.3 doesn't seem like a lot. But when these teams are so close together, it really can make
00:23:23a difference, as you know.
00:23:25Yeah. Well, they're only one point below the team ahead of them. So it is a lot.
00:23:29Exactly. It's also a huge risk to be doing, like if you're doing a back outside death spiral and you
00:23:38get a level 4, it's much easier to then get that base value than trying to do that forward outside.
00:23:46The forward outside has that kind of built in peril of it not being able to go down as low
00:23:54as it should.
00:23:55Mm-hmm. And that's why you see some of these ugly positions because you're trying to bend the knee more
00:24:03so that you can bend the body more so that you can get the head to the right place.
00:24:08So at what point do you go for a lower base value but more Joey's and points?
00:24:15It's like food.
00:24:16I think if the coaches are watching it every day in training and they're seeing that it's borderline and might
00:24:21be a question mark, for me that's the time to say, okay, this is not going to work.
00:24:26How cool is this?
00:24:28That is a cool entrance to that lift. Choreo lift. Wow.
00:24:31Now for the choreo lift to be valid. Oh, I don't know that that's the choreo lift, Jackie.
00:24:39Maybe not.
00:24:40I don't think it is.
00:24:41Yeah, because it was certainly a lot more than one rotation.
00:24:44Let me tell you why we think that. The choreo lift to be valid needs one rotation with the man's
00:24:50arm straight or almost fully straight, the wording says, above his head.
00:24:56And so with that very cool entry, I think all of us up here thought that that was going to
00:25:02be the choreo lift because it satisfies the theme of the program.
00:25:05It goes with the music. And let's look. Last lift of the program.
00:25:11What did they do before?
00:25:16So it says on their sheet from their competition a month ago that the choreo pair lift is the last
00:25:23lift that they do.
00:25:23So they just do the rotation.
00:25:26And I think what's wonderful to see in that respect is that they're not playing it safe.
00:25:32They could make that lift way easier and it would still satisfy the requirements, but they're really trying to get
00:25:37the extra grade of execution.
00:25:39Do you think I'm wrong?
00:25:40No, I think you're right. But I also think they have changed that program because they ended with that lift,
00:25:47right?
00:25:47Yes. And they didn't do a spin.
00:25:49Because a pair spins after.
00:25:50Yeah.
00:25:50Yeah. So I guess we'll have to see later when we see the program with all of the elements.
00:25:54They're a better throw loop from Sophia and Artem.
00:26:00Did you all hear yesterday?
00:26:03Yes.
00:26:04Artem, after he came off the ice, looked right at the camera and said, I love Ted Barton.
00:26:10Did you see that?
00:26:10I did not see that.
00:26:13I did not see that.
00:26:14I unfortunately am doing different jobs.
00:26:15As are you here, Kirsten.
00:26:17Yes.
00:26:17You're also our in-venue host.
00:26:19How are you liking that?
00:26:20I'm wearing many hats.
00:26:21I love it.
00:26:22You know what?
00:26:23For me, I really enjoy being in the rink and in the action.
00:26:27It's easier for me to support the skaters here.
00:26:30I enjoy the atmosphere that I spent so much of my life in.
00:26:35And you do like being on camera.
00:26:37No.
00:26:38No.
00:26:38I do.
00:26:39I remember doing an interview with Kirsten once and she said to me, do you have a side?
00:26:44And I knew immediately it didn't matter if I did because she did.
00:26:49No.
00:26:49You're right.
00:26:49It doesn't.
00:26:50Sometimes Ted doesn't let me go on the side that I want though, I will say.
00:26:54We just saw a wonderful throw triple lutz from Irma and Riccardo of Italy.
00:27:00There we go.
00:27:00Perhaps the first cleanly done throw lutz I've seen from them this week actually.
00:27:05Okay.
00:27:05So that lift that I had pointed out in the program, that was not done as well.
00:27:12That was done a lot better.
00:27:14Yes.
00:27:14The ice coverage.
00:27:15He traveled probably an extra five feet than what he did in the program.
00:27:20Well, and in the program we were looking at their group five lift, which is more challenging
00:27:24for the reason that the woman has to turn a full rotation for the group five axle lift
00:27:30at least on the way up.
00:27:31And so sometimes when you're lifting a woman and she's doing a rotation on the way up,
00:27:36that can make the lift look really spinny.
00:27:38It can be really hard to control versus a group three lift that we just saw where he's
00:27:43drawing her into him and then continuing on his path.
00:27:46So it is a little bit more simple to allow the turns to be longer and cover more ice
00:27:52and space.
00:27:54And that's why the group five lifts are worth more points.
00:27:57They're harder.
00:27:58Kristen, did you have a favorite lift?
00:28:00You know what?
00:28:00Ted asked me this last night.
00:28:01I loved lifts.
00:28:03I loved all the lifts.
00:28:05I loved when coaches would give us a challenge to try to do different changes of positions
00:28:10when we were already in the air.
00:28:11I loved figuring out that puzzle.
00:28:13So to answer your question, no, I didn't really have a favorite, but I loved them all.
00:28:18Okay.
00:28:18Let's talk about this.
00:28:19This is a back outside desk barrel.
00:28:20We see that Irma's head is below the level of her skating knee and continuing to apply
00:28:27tension with her partner, which is why the rotations look faster.
00:28:31That's going to earn them higher grade of execution and also ensure that the desk barrel
00:28:36counts for a level.
00:28:38That was two revolutions that I counted for him.
00:28:41And it looked like an intended two and not an intended three.
00:28:44Well, three is very hard to get to.
00:28:46Three is very hard.
00:28:47And also the pairs don't have to do it this season because now in the ruling.
00:28:51Oh, there's almost the triple flip from Sophia in the rules.
00:28:57Here.
00:28:57Let's look.
00:28:57Here's an entry back outside desk barrel.
00:29:00They're in their low position.
00:29:01So that's one.
00:29:03And, oh, I think Tristan might have come up, but there's their exit.
00:29:07Yeah, the exit adds to feature.
00:29:09So now they have two features in the entry and the exit.
00:29:12They need to only do two revolutions in a low position for that to be a level four.
00:29:17However, I think Tristan might have lifted up in his pivot just a little bit,
00:29:22and that would mean that the technical panel stops counting the rotations.
00:29:26I hope that is not confusing.
00:29:29Not confusing to me.
00:29:30Well.
00:29:33You have to basically, you have to stay seated.
00:29:36That's right.
00:29:37And he didn't stay seated.
00:29:38Correct.
00:29:43Those pivots are also, you know, sometimes you look at a death spiral and you're like,
00:29:48why did that get a base level?
00:29:49Mm-hmm.
00:29:50And oftentimes that happens with the pivot.
00:29:52And if you see the guy kind of going up and down on his pivot, you're done.
00:30:02There's no level.
00:30:04As well as if the man drops his pick or drops his heel off of his pick.
00:30:09That's a complete invalid, right?
00:30:12Mm-hmm.
00:30:12Yeah.
00:30:15It looks like her knee is okay after that fall.
00:30:18Oh, I thought it was her hip.
00:30:20Was it her knee?
00:30:20Was it her hip?
00:30:20And I noticed she's wearing a pad there too.
00:30:22Yeah.
00:30:22So I'm thinking that's...
00:30:24And...
00:30:25So off of camera, Miu and Tristan try to throw tripletts, which in their program is a planned
00:30:31double at this time.
00:30:32And we saw Miu put some padding in under her dress to allow some protection for her on the
00:30:40throw.
00:30:41And she did take a little bit of a hard fall, but we can see that the team is working
00:30:46for
00:30:46this second throw triple to be in the program.
00:30:48And that's wonderful because they will need that to be competitive with the world of senior
00:30:52pair skating.
00:30:53Yep.
00:30:54All right.
00:30:54Here we go with the second and last group of pair skaters on the ice for their practice.
00:31:02Well, and to be competitive internally in Canada because I think depending on who ends
00:31:10up materializing this season, they could be kind of going for that third spot.
00:31:18You know what?
00:31:19Pairs are, apart from Leah and Trent, they're kind of wide open.
00:31:25Ava and Yanni are really solidifying themselves as the number two pair team.
00:31:29They've been wonderfully consistent.
00:31:30They did two senior B competitions prior to this Grand Prix and have shown great consistency
00:31:37throughout.
00:31:38But then below them are a number of different, a number of pair teams that are similar, maybe
00:31:43different in strengths, but could really be vying for that spot.
00:31:48You're right.
00:31:48And some new ones we haven't even seen yet.
00:31:50That's right.
00:31:51That's what I'm talking about materializing.
00:31:52I mean, Fiona Bombardier and-
00:31:54Luca Etier.
00:31:55Luca Etier.
00:31:58Having been part of the great pair shakeup of Canada, we haven't seen them yet.
00:32:03Are we seeing them at sectionals?
00:32:05I don't know.
00:32:06Yes, they are registered.
00:32:07They are registered.
00:32:08And in order to go to nationals, I believe they have to go to sectionals.
00:32:11Yes, exactly.
00:32:12So, sectionals in Canada, the first stop on the qualifying process, there's sectionals
00:32:18and then there's Skate Canada Challenge and then nationals.
00:32:23There are not enough pair teams in Canada for them to not qualify from a numbers perspective.
00:32:29There is a score that they need to achieve to compete at Skate Canada nationals.
00:32:35Do you know that score off the top of your head?
00:32:38Sorry to put you on the spot, Joni.
00:32:40No.
00:32:40Forget I said anything.
00:32:41Feel free, feel free.
00:32:42I was actually looking, because I think there are sectionals actually this weekend.
00:32:45It's 153.0.
00:32:48That's a big score.
00:32:51Nobody goes to nationals.
00:32:56So, very different look for Leah and Trent today.
00:33:01It was interesting.
00:33:03When I saw them at Nebelhorn doing this program, the first thing I thought was, oh, this is
00:33:09the music that all the European women use.
00:33:12Oh, really?
00:33:13Oh, yeah.
00:33:14I mean, it was a bit of an epidemic of this eternal eclipse track that they were using.
00:33:23And then I was like, oh, wait, no.
00:33:25But they do something very different with it.
00:33:26And I really like the direction of this program for them.
00:33:30Yeah, I really enjoy when skaters in the first year of a quadrennial try to do something that's a little
00:33:35bit different for them.
00:33:36It's the time for it.
00:33:37It really is the time for it.
00:33:39It's the time to experiment.
00:33:40And sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.
00:33:42But then you have three years to really solidify and firm up what your goal will be and how your
00:33:50team wants to come across from your musical and choreography choices leading into the Olympic Games.
00:33:56And I think that these two programs really work for Leah and Trent.
00:34:01Yes.
00:34:02I like how I heard them say in an interview that they've done so many character and clear storyline pieces
00:34:09in the past.
00:34:10They've done Pirates of the Caribbean.
00:34:11They've done Gladiator.
00:34:13And this program has less of a story.
00:34:16They're more trying to show the skating skill and the power and the speed.
00:34:20And I think it's a wonderful program for them.
00:34:22They worked with Madison Hubbell and Adrian Diaz on both the short and the free program this year.
00:34:27And I said on this dream yesterday, this collaboration really seems to just work for them.
00:34:33They seem to understand them well as people and as athletes to know where they can take chances.
00:34:41And also what strengths to highlight and what weaknesses to, you know, kind of avoid.
00:34:51Avoid.
00:34:51Avoid.
00:34:52Yeah, avoid.
00:34:55And also what, I mean, not speaking about Leah and Trent specifically, but for all teams,
00:35:02what weaknesses are worth working on to make them strengths?
00:35:05Yes.
00:35:06Because sometimes, you know, there are some athletes over the years where you just know it's never going to be
00:35:13perhaps a balletic strength.
00:35:16And maybe isn't worth spending hours and hours of time.
00:35:19But with some athletes and pair teams, there's something that you see could be almost a diamond in the rough.
00:35:26Where it's worth spending your hours figuring out how to make that something special.
00:35:32Well, in the corporate world, which I used to be in, we talk about something called strengths-based feedback.
00:35:40And so you want to work on your strengths, not just to say like, oh, this is good.
00:35:47But it's like, this is something that you're good at.
00:35:49So there's more opportunity for you to be even better at it so that you can use it as a
00:35:54differentiator.
00:35:56It's not to say you don't work on your weaknesses, but you want to make sure your weaknesses are brought
00:36:00up to par.
00:36:01But then you're really highlighting the stuff that you're really good at and making those even better.
00:36:06That makes sense.
00:36:07All right.
00:36:08I have an answer for you.
00:36:10So they've adjusted, though, because of the rule changes.
00:36:13Right.
00:36:13So if you achieved the minimum technical score required prior to July 1st or June 30th, 2026 was 38.
00:36:22After July 1st of this year, it's 35.
00:36:25Okay.
00:36:27Good to know.
00:36:27And that is the requirement to go to Canadian Nationals for those who forgot.
00:36:32For senior.
00:36:32Because we talked about this about 25 minutes ago.
00:36:35I'm just kidding.
00:36:38Wait.
00:36:3835 for the free skate.
00:36:39You found it way faster than I would.
00:36:42And is it the free skate, Joni?
00:36:44Or?
00:36:45Let me see what it has here.
00:36:46It's not a total.
00:36:47No, no, no.
00:36:48It's not a total.
00:36:48And it can't be short.
00:36:49That would be quite high for a short.
00:36:50Yeah, exactly.
00:36:51It has to be.
00:36:51The only people that passed that yesterday were Leigh and Trent.
00:36:54Correct.
00:36:54The short.
00:37:04It's got to be free because it doesn't say.
00:37:08It must be.
00:37:09Yeah.
00:37:11In years past, it's only been the free where we look for the technical with our skaters.
00:37:16So it would be odd.
00:37:17Oh, the free program.
00:37:18Yeah.
00:37:19That makes sense.
00:37:20All right.
00:37:21I was just bummed for this team yesterday, Oxana and Tom.
00:37:24They have such potential.
00:37:25They were 10th at Senior Worlds last season.
00:37:28And I felt like their Michael Jackson program in practice in the morning hit a lot stronger
00:37:34than it did in the competition with just minor errors.
00:37:37They got a little bit off in their movements.
00:37:39And I was bummed for them because it's a fun program when they do it well.
00:37:43Well, and they're obviously a Michael Jackson fan to do Michael Jackson two years in a row.
00:37:49Different song.
00:37:50Yes.
00:37:51Well, and you know what?
00:37:53It's...
00:37:53Well, and it started off yesterday with this twist.
00:37:56It was...
00:37:57The twist was off.
00:37:59And then it sort of threw the rest of the program.
00:38:02Yeah.
00:38:02I agree.
00:38:02We see here more simple transitions off the bat.
00:38:07They're going into their series here.
00:38:09It will be a triple Saukow double axle.
00:38:13What do you think about them taking out the third jump for this season?
00:38:18Um...
00:38:18I understand.
00:38:20I get that.
00:38:22And you know what?
00:38:22I've listened to the Run Thru podcast complain about the three jump enough times to know that
00:38:30for not a pair fan, it can be hard to watch teams jump, jump, jump.
00:38:34But I do like that those who have side-by-side jumps as one of their strengths
00:38:39had the option to capitalize on that.
00:38:42And now they don't.
00:38:43It's a little bit of an equalizer having that out.
00:38:47And then also having only two leveled lifts now.
00:38:51100%.
00:38:53That's a cool lift.
00:38:55That's a very cool lift.
00:38:57This, their choreo lifts.
00:38:59So we saw that Tom did at least one turn with Oksana over his head.
00:39:04And I think it does satisfy the program and the music.
00:39:06It's effective.
00:39:07It's an appealing position in the air.
00:39:10She's kind of like a kite.
00:39:11Totally.
00:39:12One, two, two.
00:39:15He gets so low in his pivot.
00:39:18I noticed yesterday.
00:39:22He kind of has to given she's a lot smaller than he is too.
00:39:25Yeah, that's a great point.
00:39:26That's another thing.
00:39:28I really want this team.
00:39:30They have so much potential.
00:39:31I want them to continue working on the posture throughout their skating.
00:39:36Especially when Oksana lands a commanding through a triple,
00:39:40which we didn't see in the program yesterday, but so often she does.
00:39:43I want to see her, like, expanding through her upper body and taking up so much more space.
00:39:48I think it will add to the extra points that the judging panel can give them for the element.
00:39:55I'm sure it's something that their team is working on.
00:39:59Well, it's also landing positions are learned very early in your career.
00:40:04And it's hard to break out of a landing position that you learned when you were a kid.
00:40:09And for her, her shoulders are pretty closed when she lands.
00:40:15And that's the stretch that you're talking about.
00:40:18Yeah.
00:40:19There's some scares.
00:40:19Do we see?
00:40:20You see that there.
00:40:21When she doesn't have to do the actual throw and she marks it, she opens her shoulders quite a bit
00:40:28more.
00:40:29It's still not enough for me, but I see what you're saying.
00:40:31I find she opens her shoulders, but her head is still down, so you still have that.
00:40:36Totally.
00:40:38Here we're looking at Group 5 lift.
00:40:40Well done.
00:40:41Covering lots of ice.
00:40:48See, just a little bit more simple in the transitions.
00:40:50This is a young team.
00:40:53Junior only a couple years ago.
00:40:55There it goes again.
00:40:56There's that landing position.
00:40:59And you know what?
00:41:00There's so many.
00:41:00It's so easy for us to sit up here on our chairs and talk about what we want to see.
00:41:06But there's so many things for teams to work on.
00:41:09Yeah.
00:41:09Likely, they're thinking, we're getting to it.
00:41:12We're trying to do everything.
00:41:13You know?
00:41:13It's hard.
00:41:15They're a Group 3 lift.
00:41:17The same one we saw them do yesterday.
00:41:20It looks a little bit like a pressure lift, which is a Group 4.
00:41:23But if you look really closely, you can see that Tom's hands are on Oksana's hips, and she's holding his
00:41:28wrists.
00:41:34Hip hip chin chin.
00:41:49I had some judges talking to me about this free program for Ava and Yanni as I was walking in
00:41:54the rink this morning, so it's been well received so far this season.
00:41:59You often can't go wrong with Sandra Bezik.
00:42:03Sandra Bezik and I believe a David Wilson collaboration.
00:42:07Oh, is this a David Wilson?
00:42:08They usually, I will double check, but they typically work together with this team.
00:42:12The short was, I think, Jeffrey Buttle.
00:42:15It was.
00:42:21So earlier in the week, Yanni came in with facial hair, and I was like, oh, is that a new
00:42:27look that they're trying out that he shaved?
00:42:29I guess not.
00:42:30No, guess not.
00:42:32Trying to look more mature in the field.
00:42:35Doesn't have to.
00:42:35You know what?
00:42:36The skating speaks for itself, and I find their ankle bend and the lilt when they skate has improved drastically.
00:42:44Yeah.
00:42:44You know who they kind of remind me of back in your generation?
00:42:49Careful.
00:42:50My generation was only four years ago.
00:42:52Jackie?
00:42:53No.
00:42:54Before that.
00:42:55Before that.
00:42:56We've talked about golden ages of skating.
00:42:59I was there.
00:43:00Jackie has one ten and I have like five golden ages.
00:43:03Okay, go ahead.
00:43:05Sagan and Bilodeau.
00:43:07Oh, yes.
00:43:08I can see it.
00:43:09And not just because, from afar, she kind of looks like Julia and Sagan.
00:43:13Similar stature, totally.
00:43:15But their power, their kind of effortless power, I think, is something that I see with them.
00:43:23Oops.
00:43:25Uncharacteristic side-by-side miss for Yanni.
00:43:27And Charlie Bilodeau, who's actually doing our French broadcast.
00:43:30That's right.
00:43:35And they also skated to this music.
00:43:37Yes, they did.
00:43:47I like how the start of this music, at least for me, I don't expect this song to come in.
00:44:15But you see some of the choreography in this program already, and if you compare side-by-side to what
00:44:23Oxide and Tom did,
00:44:24the transitions between elements are much more complex on this program.
00:44:29Yes.
00:44:29That's right.
00:44:30And that should be reflected in the program components that the teams are awarded.
00:44:36Nice.
00:44:36And the stretch.
00:44:42And, you know, we spoke yesterday about different athletes' strengths on the stream.
00:44:48And we can see, sorry, cut myself off, Ava's head very clearly below her skating knee on that desk by
00:44:54roll, satisfying the requirements for it to be valid.
00:44:57And a difficult entry and a difficult exit.
00:45:01That's right.
00:45:03Some athletes, to continue what I was saying, the performing comes easily.
00:45:07It's easy for them to, you know, at a low-level smile as they're performing.
00:45:12And obviously, as you're portraying different characters in different stories, sometimes it expands more than just a smile.
00:45:18But for Ava and Yanni, it's not come naturally.
00:45:21It's been very clear, hard work to make that a part of how they perform.
00:45:27And I can see the work that they're doing.
00:45:29They're not all the way there yet, but they're so early in their career at their first Grand Prix.
00:45:34I appreciate that they're working on things that are not necessarily their strengths.
00:45:40Here, I believe, their choreo lift.
00:45:44Here, one rotation.
00:45:47I think this is an element, obviously, it's still going.
00:45:51I think this is an element that they can continue to make a little bit more special to go with
00:45:57the rest of the program.
00:46:04I do think about these choreographic elements, and their main objective, if you read the rules, their main objective is
00:46:17to match with the music choreographically.
00:46:20There's then an element of how difficult do we make it? How special, spectacular do we make it?
00:46:29That element did work with the music.
00:46:31Could it have worked with the music better and be more spectacular? Sure.
00:46:36But sometimes I wonder if coaches and choreographers do things that are too difficult just for the sake of the
00:46:44wow factor, and it doesn't actually work with the music.
00:46:46That's a great point. That's a great point.
00:46:51So I'm curious for them, for Efimo Mitrovanov, what their conditioning looks like, because yesterday in the short program, toward
00:47:00the last half of it, it looked labored.
00:47:04Yeah, I agree. I appreciate that they're trying something so different for them.
00:47:08For me, yesterday wasn't quite there yet, but I understand that he's had so many injuries through the summer and
00:47:15that they were really tired after the Olympic season.
00:47:17And wanted to take a well-deserved break. I know his left skate broke. So they had a myriad of
00:47:24issues.
00:47:27Which is unfortunate because you don't know those obstacles that they're overcoming, but you watch, as Jackie mentioned, the conditioning,
00:47:35but the music demanded so much energy that it only magnified the fact that it was lacking, which is unfortunate.
00:47:45The challenge elements for this team always are the side-by-side jumping passes.
00:47:50We see them working so hard on them. They drill. Elisa, in particular, drills these jumps in practice, and we've
00:47:59heard that she works so incredibly hard on them back home as well.
00:48:02But even when successfully done, they're a little bit far apart. Not their strength for sure. I love this costume.
00:48:13Gratuitous fashion tweet.
00:48:15We love gratuitous fashion tweets. That entrance into the loop is very nice.
00:48:22Cool. This team had hoped to include a throw quad in their repertoire. Is that right?
00:48:29Yes, I saw that in an interview that they did and haven't been able to work on it because of
00:48:33the myriad of issues and injuries that they've had over the season.
00:48:36But you can see when Elisa is in her air position on the throw loop, she has so much space.
00:48:43Meaning, if she squeezed a little bit tighter, I have no doubt she could rotate for.
00:48:47Yeah, the rotation, absolutely. She has a way of not checking out immediately when she lands a throw, which gets
00:48:59me a little bit scared for a quad.
00:49:03It's the momentum of that, right?
00:49:06100%, yeah.
00:49:07I mean, her core is keeping her upright and centered on the ice before she checks out.
00:49:14And if you've got the extra torque of that quad, it becomes a very different core workout.
00:49:21Great point. That's beautiful.
00:49:25It's very subtle.
00:49:26This is my favorite forward-to-outside death spiral in the world.
00:49:29And that is definitely under the knee.
00:49:33For reasons that I don't even need to explain after you watch it.
00:49:37So beautiful.
00:49:41And Joni, your question around when did they change it.
00:49:44Last year, we saw a change.
00:49:48Hasif Volodin was trying to do the forward-outside death spiral for a long time, and they just couldn't get
00:49:57it called.
00:49:57Yeah, yeah.
00:49:58And they were like, you know what?
00:49:59It's time to scrap it, because we need to get a level four back outside death spiral.
00:50:04They couldn't afford the potential to lose three and a half points.
00:50:08Well, and Kirsten, we were talking about that yesterday.
00:50:10At what point?
00:50:11Because it's, you know, new in the season, new programs, new elements.
00:50:14And you're trying things, and then it's not quite working for various reasons.
00:50:18Do call it and say, okay, time to change.
00:50:21Nice.
00:50:22You know, I gotta say, her throw landings have gotten better this season already.
00:50:27I really like her throws.
00:50:29Yeah.
00:50:31Beautiful air position.
00:50:32Nice flow in and out.
00:50:34All things that the judging panel's looking for.
00:50:35Hear their choreolift.
00:50:38And we're gonna see this handstand.
00:50:42Oh.
00:50:45Oh.
00:50:45Oh.
00:50:46That is so scary.
00:50:49So, I mean, that speaks to your point.
00:50:51I did see it on Thursday.
00:50:52It looked a lot safer than what we just saw.
00:50:55It looked better.
00:50:55Yeah, it looked better on Thursday.
00:50:55But when you're saying, do you try something super hard just for the sake of trying it,
00:51:00I think we'll see something similar with Leanne Trent's choreolift.
00:51:05And when done well, I believe that not—I don't want to say phoning it in.
00:51:10I'm not suggesting that the less experienced teams are phoning it in.
00:51:14But you could do something more simple and have it still count.
00:51:18I appreciate the teams that are trying to do something challenging and innovative.
00:51:24Yeah.
00:51:26And taking that risk.
00:51:27But, of course, safety is paramount.
00:51:29We don't want to be gasping in our seats.
00:51:32No.
00:51:33Or in Spanish.
00:51:34Right.
00:51:38That choreographic lift did work very well with the music, though.
00:51:41Yes, it did.
00:51:42And, like I said, it did work on Thursday.
00:51:44Yeah.
00:51:54I love the opening of that program really showcases basic skating skills.
00:52:01And, you know, working with Maddie and Adrian has also helped.
00:52:06Yes.
00:52:06Because, you know, going with ice dancers and seeing them move and trying to get to their level of movement,
00:52:13like that certainly helps freestyle skaters.
00:52:16Oh, my gosh.
00:52:17It's only a benefit.
00:52:23Marking the twist and jump series.
00:52:30I like the abstract shapes they make in this program.
00:52:35And this sow entry is so cool.
00:52:41That was an issue they had at Nebelhorn.
00:52:44Yeah.
00:52:44I talked to Trent because they changed the technique of that sow.
00:52:48You see them do a little bit of like a swizzle right beforehand.
00:52:56And he told me that it helped their timing more to be able to have that extra movement.
00:53:03Mm-hmm.
00:53:05This is the music that I'm talking about that all the European women use.
00:53:09Okay.
00:53:11The clock.
00:53:13Tick, tick, tick.
00:53:17I also really like this costume.
00:53:20Another gratuitous fashion tweet.
00:53:23Never too gratuitous.
00:53:26Obviously, costuming and packaging a huge part of figure skating.
00:53:31The judges and the technical panel are judging what they see, the elements that they see.
00:53:35But all of this leads into the product, the overall product that you're showing, I think.
00:53:41Do you agree?
00:53:42I agree.
00:53:42But we've had conversations about the costuming and its importance.
00:53:46I think Ted was trying to get us debating the issue.
00:53:49But we all agreed that it was so important.
00:53:53Ted was basically holding mock trials here the whole week.
00:53:57Okay.
00:53:57Oh, my gosh.
00:53:59Asking us to, you know, have a pro and a con side.
00:54:04Two tough questions.
00:54:05But we both had pro sides.
00:54:07Yeah, I know.
00:54:07So it was really hard.
00:54:09Oops.
00:54:10A little tight on the circle for that throw loop.
00:54:14Which isn't usually what they do.
00:54:15No, it's not.
00:54:16That's a different pattern.
00:54:17You're right.
00:54:18Back outside death spiral.
00:54:20They're in.
00:54:21Here's one.
00:54:22Here's two.
00:54:22This is one of the strongest death spirals of this group.
00:54:25Absolutely.
00:54:26And there's the exit.
00:54:27And, I mean, the new entry and exit feature, I would say, is not a benefit for Leah and Trent
00:54:32because they're one of the few teams that can do three rotations in a low position.
00:54:37Well, and they're like, hey, we're still going to do the three rotations for you, judges.
00:54:43Yeah.
00:54:43You better give us those GOEs.
00:54:45And so now it's just easier for the other teams to get the level that they were getting
00:54:49when the rule was harder or more difficult.
00:55:07When you watch these athletes, really good athletes in teams in practice, they will still
00:55:11be performing the same way they perform in the competition.
00:55:14And the reason for that is just another opportunity to practice your elements with performance.
00:55:20And the more you get those opportunities, the better the performance gets.
00:55:23If you only ever, I'm always trying to bring this point home with my skaters, if you only
00:55:30ever perform during competition, you only get eight chances to practice in the season.
00:55:34That's silly.
00:55:35And can I just say, because I've watched you practice, you perform whenever you practice.
00:55:41It's important.
00:55:41I think it's important.
00:55:42You did.
00:55:43You were projecting to the audience.
00:55:45You were smiling.
00:55:46You performed every practice.
00:55:49And I remember that because then when you did it, it was just natural and easy for you.
00:55:53You don't have to think about it.
00:55:54Yeah.
00:55:55And my point for saying that is we see Leah and Trent performing no more, no less than
00:56:01they'll do later.
00:56:03Oops.
00:56:04Now we've seen a few of these, we call them botched twists from Oksana and Tom.
00:56:09It's such a huge element, but clearly still working out the timing because a couple times
00:56:14they've done what you just saw there where they go into it, it looks like they're going
00:56:18to do it and then nothing happens.
00:56:20Which is a little bit scary.
00:56:22Yeah.
00:56:22And I do not recommend.
00:56:23You don't see popped twists very often.
00:56:27No, for good reason.
00:56:28Those are really just like mistimed.
00:56:29Really nice side-by-side triple saokou for Ava and Yonatan.
00:56:40Oh, and we're going right into, nope.
00:56:43Oh, it looked really like they were going to do it, hey?
00:56:45What a fake out that was.
00:56:50Probably skating into that triple toe pattern so that they can ensure that the pattern is
00:56:55exactly where they want it to be for later.
00:56:57And so it looked so much like they were going to do it, probably because they wanted to put
00:57:02their bodies and minds in that mindset.
00:57:03Here we go again.
00:57:06Yeah, they're really just trying to time that.
00:57:08So they do, they often will do a single twist on purpose, this team.
00:57:13However, that one, I assure you, was not on purpose.
00:57:17And sometimes Oksana likely feels like the timing is incorrect and doesn't feel as though
00:57:23she's able to pull in and rotate on a triple.
00:57:28That's not ideal because you can't do that in competition.
00:57:32We'll get zero points where the element for them probably is worth about seven and a half.
00:57:37It's a huge loss.
00:57:41It's also the perils of their twist being so huge is that...
00:57:46It's a little unruly.
00:57:47Yeah, you don't get that leeway.
00:57:50And yesterday it caught around the corner, so it didn't get positive grade of execution.
00:57:58And the same thing again.
00:58:01And it's difficult.
00:58:02They're obviously not doing this on purpose.
00:58:03We're not suggesting that they're not trying their hardest to make this work, but...
00:58:09There's a bit of frustration with Oksana.
00:58:12For sure.
00:58:13I think the technique could use a little bit of a rework to be a little bit more sustainable
00:58:19and predictable to allow them to rotate it every time in a way that's safe.
00:58:23It might be slightly smaller, but the overall product will earn them more points.
00:58:28Well, let's...
00:58:29Actually, let's...
00:58:30Watch this.
00:58:31Oops.
00:58:31Let's talk about the twist.
00:58:33The technique on the twist.
00:58:34I think a lot of people when they look at the twist, they're like,
00:58:37Oh, it's just the man throwing a woman over his head.
00:58:42It's...
00:58:42There's a lot more to that.
00:58:44And to basically every single pair move that the woman has to do plenty of work during those elements.
00:58:53And it's not just like somebody throwing somebody around.
00:58:56There's a lot of...
00:58:58The mechanics of the twist has to do with the push off of the arm from the woman to be
00:59:04able to get that timing correct.
00:59:05So you get the pop.
00:59:06Mm-hmm.
00:59:07That's right.
00:59:07Sorry.
00:59:08Just looking at a choreo lift on your screen.
00:59:10Similar to Elisa and Misha.
00:59:12A little bit different, but really effective with the music, as you'll see later.
00:59:16And yeah, you're right, Jackie.
00:59:17The woman does a lot in the twist.
00:59:20It's so much about timing and about being really stiff and strong within your core and your legs.
00:59:26It's kind of like if you think about throwing a wooden rod versus a cooked piece of spaghetti.
00:59:35Mm-hmm.
00:59:36That was the same way.
00:59:37You know what I mean?
00:59:38Yeah.
00:59:38You can get much more power out of throwing something that is super strong and in place.
00:59:44But the timing has so much to do with how the woman feels she's able to release and get her
00:59:52hip through for rotation.
00:59:53We just saw another single for Oksana and Tom.
00:59:58And twist, Jackie, was my least favorite thing in figure skating.
01:00:05Yeah.
01:00:05I don't think that's a surprise.
01:00:07Nope.
01:00:07Not a surprise.
01:00:08And partially because of what you said earlier about landing positions.
01:00:12I learned it a certain way when I was quite young and then had a really hard time, not for
01:00:17lack of effort or intent, changing that technique and making it a little bit more workable.
01:00:23So please believe me when I say there's no judgment through my comments.
01:00:26It's simply just talking about what I'm seeing.
01:00:27But it can be really hard to match your timing with your partners and also sometimes a little bit scary
01:00:34when it goes off and you're so high up in the air.
01:00:38It can be frightening for some women, I think, for good reason.
01:00:42Well, you also had two partners both for an extended amount of time and then different coaches, right?
01:00:50Yeah.
01:00:50So you've got the different timings of the partners, the different teachings of the coaches, so all that.
01:00:56For sure.
01:00:57All right.
01:00:57As we wind down the end of this final practice of our practice sessions today, thank you, Jackie Wong, because
01:01:04I know you've been here all morning with Ted earlier.
01:01:07Kristen, thank you so much for joining us and enlightening us into the world of pairs.
01:01:12Thanks for having me.
01:01:12Stay tuned.
01:01:12We're going to have not a long break and then you're going to be back with Jackie's favorite event, the
01:01:18Women's Short Program.
01:01:19Oh, come on.
01:01:20We will also be back with Ted Barton and Caitlin Osmond to give you all their thoughts and commentary.
01:01:29So, enjoy and we'll be back.
01:01:31Let's go.
01:01:35We'll be back.
01:01:37We'll be back.
01:01:45We'll be back.
01:01:57Muziek.
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