Golden West Review pt. 1

Culver City Ice Arena

As the start of the 2010 international season draws near, skaters have been taking the opportunity to try out their new programs at various club competitions across the country. Last night kicked off the senior events at the 2009 Golden West Championships in Culver City, CA, and some of the top competitors in the sport displayed their off-season work and new programs in front a panel of judges and a small but enthusiastic audience.

Although local competitions aren’t televised and have minimal impact on a skater’s season, they’re a great chance for skaters to get back into the competitive atmosphere following the off-season. And while these competitions don’t take place in the big arenas in front of thousands of fans, it doesn‘t mean that these events are easy. Some of the best skaters in the country face off during these smaller events, which can put pressure on athletes to outskate their closest competitors. Along with this, the arenas for local competitions are small–practice rinks–and the relaxed atmosphere of these events can make it tough for a skater to get him or herself pumped up with the necessary amount of adrenaline needed for a great skate.

It’s always good for skaters to perform at least once before the international season begins, and club competitions are great for fans because of their intimate nature. Fans can sit a few feet away from the ice and hear every scratch from a skater’s blade and soak in the full impact of a skater’s performance. These events also provide fans with the unique opportunity to interact with skaters following the competition.

Last night I was excited to attend the senior pairs and men’s short programs at Golden West, and here are a few impressions from the two events.

PAIRS

Unfortunately I arrived right after the skate of two-time national champions Rena Inoue/John Baldwin, but I heard their new short program looked pretty good. Like last season, rather than performing side-by-side triple toe loops, they chose to perform simpler side-by-side double axels in their program. While they successfully landed their axels last night, they’re going to have to bring back their side-by-side triple toe loops to be competitive on the world stage. Inoue stepped out of the landing of their throw triple loop and they finished slightly behind the music, but the strength of their skating skills and artistry helped to give the pair the win.

The newly formed team of Tiffany Vise/Don Baldwin had a rough skate but managed to win the silver medal. Vise was known for her impressive throws when skating with her former partner, Derek Trent, and she and Trent were the first team to land a throw quadruple salchow in competition. However, last night it appeared that Vise and Baldwin haven’t mastered the timing of their throws, and Vise took a hard fall on the landing of their throw triple salchow. Early in their program they went for side-by-side triple toe walleys, but Vise doubled hers and Baldwin put his hands down on his. They skate with a lot of speed, but they’ll have to increase their consistency to be a threat this season.

The final two teams to take the ice–Amanda Sunyoto/Darryll Sulindro and Amanda Dobbs/Joseph Jacobson–showed promise but struggled a bit during their performances. Dobbs/Jacobson had a few small mistakes–namely Jacobson’s miss on their side-by-side double axels and a step out on by Dobbs their throw triple salchow–but their artistry is great. It’s a shame that they’re unable to compete on the junior level at Nationals this year, because they could possible win a medal in Spokane if that were the case. They finished 4th.

Sunyoto/Sulindro, who compete on behalf of Chinese Taipei and won the bronze last night, had a pretty good skate but lack in presentation and skating skills. They got through their side-by-side double axels and executed the sole split triple twist of the evening, but Sulindro’s footwork during their lift was scratchy and they lost speed towards the end of their program. Their first international competition of the season is Nebelhorn Trophy, which takes place at the end of this month, and they’re hoping to place well enough there to win a spot at this year‘s Games. They need to focus on skating consistency–like they did last night–and try to increase their power and speed before they leave for Germany.

MEN

Jeremy Ten

Yesterday was the first time that I had seen Jeremy Ten skate, and I was really impressed. His skating is incredibly fluid, and he has a wonderful, natural grace on the ice; I could watch him skate all night. While he had some errors in his program–opened with a fall on his triple axel, had a scratchy landing on his triple lutz and a messy final combination spin– his Beatles short program was beautifully choreographed and, if skated cleanly, will be a crowd favorite. However, in order to be a threat this season and make the Canadian Olympic team, he is going to have to learn how to handle his nerves under pressure. Last night he wound up in third place.

The winner of the men’s event was Douglas Razzano. He opened his program with a huge quadruple toe loop but did a relatively easy triple toe loop-triple toe loop combination jump. He has good speed and gets great height on his jumps, which makes him exciting to watch. He and Canadian Kevin Reynolds skated the cleanest performances of the night, and Reynolds nailed the jumps in his short program, including a quadruple salchow-triple toe loop combination. Reynolds lacks the skating skills and speed of Razzano, though, which resulted in his second-place finish.

Other impressions from the men’s event:

• Dennis Phan, Luis Hernandez, and Wesley Campbell are beautiful skaters but struggled with their technical elements.
• Hernandez has extremely fast and well-centered spins, but he is missing the triple jumps needed to be competitive on the world scene. None-the-less, his artistry surpasses the three medalists from Worlds last year, and his skating is exquisite.
• Andrew Huertas–who competes for Puerto Rico and will join Hernandez and Sunyoto/Suldrino at Nebelhorn–had a great short program and was a crowd favorite. While his combination jump was relatively easy–triple loop-double toe loop–he gets good height on his jumps and seemed really pleased with his performance, which can sometimes be worth more than a medal.

Since leaving the sport I have an immense appreciation for its athletes, and it was great to attend last night‘s competition. It’s really important for skaters to test their programs out before the season’s big events, and while some thrive on the relatively relaxed atmosphere of club competitions, competing in local events and getting “up” for their performance can be difficult for others.

Tonight the ladies take the ice, and the buzz is that along with 2008 national champion Mirai Nagasu, reigning national silver and bronze medalists, Rachael Flatt and Caroline Zhang, are scheduled to compete. I am eagerly awaiting the debut of Zhang and Nagasu’s programs, and it will be really interesting to see how the three ladies handle the pressure of facing each other for the first time this season. I’ll be posting a detailed review at the conclusion of the competition, but in the meantime, here’s a link to the complete results from Golden West.