Vakho
Good practises with nice 3 axels, all the triples consistent. Tried 4 toe as his new coach (Tchaikowskaia) wants him to work on it, but he fell all the time.
SP
3A step out, 2T
3L
2A
As usual, very fast spins, many turns and nice variations. Is very flexible. Good steps. Both SP and FP of last year.
FP
3A, fall
3L
3F
3R
3A, step out, 2T
3S
3T
3F2T
Good spins, good choreography, presence on the ice.

Jeanette
Very bad practises comparing to Oberstdorf's ones where he was so good. He said he didn't know what was happening as he was lot injured and in good shape. Problems on the 3A, lots of double jumps.
SP
3A2T, nice one, he was lucky!
2L
2A
Very nice variations on the combo spin, looks wonderful.
FP
3A, fall
3F
3L, impressive splat close to the corner
3A, fall again
3S
2R, step out
3T
Same good spins but a very bad performance I'm afraid.

Vlascenko
Incredibly bad at the practises. He barely landed a triple flip, axel, sal and toe all in all. Don't know what was happening to him. His level was so low! Went for some quad sal, but they were not there, step out, overrotation, etc...
SP
3A, step out (but he was very lucky to perform a triple axel at all)
2T
3L, fall out
2A
New program on a tango I think, costume was awful, very juniorish, choreography was good, spins and steps ok, of course, his standard is so good.
FP
Same ending as the past two years (incredible he can't just get a new program) The new parts do nothing for me. It's nothing special, not a lot of choreography. He had an amazingly good warm up.
3A, huge splat on all the back and head
2S
3F
3L, fall out
3A, step out, 2T
3R, just, unbalanced backwards
3S2T
3T

Zivanovic
Seemed injured and was a little (his coach asked me not to tell people, so I won't but it's nothing serious) so practises were not good at all in the beginning then much better. He managed some quads. His triple axel is still very rough, he has a strange technique on it, and it makes the jump not aesthetic. Had lots of problems adding a triple toe in his combos.
SP
3L, amazingly saved because he was so much leaning sideways, the landing was perfect though, good job, even his coach couldn't believe it!
3A2T
2A
Choreography is ok on the Mommie soundtrack.
FP
3A, step out, 3T
3T, quad was planned
3F
3A
3R
3L
3S
Same FP as last year, I personnaly don't like it but others do.

Guo
Good practises except the first day. Lots of quad toes, all the triples easily, triple triple combos.
SP
3A3T
4T
2A
FP 3A3T
4T
3L
4T, big fall that really interrupted the flow of the program
3F
2R
followed a long part in which he skated very slow and it really looked weird
3S, low on the landing
He's skating on Bach's Toccata (beginning is the original Bach version, then Mae's, then Warm air, and at the end, Four seasons by her) and he hasn't improved so much on artistry though the program is pleasant. The slow part at 2/3 of the program really penalized him.

Plushenko
Lots of falls on the quad in the beginning, not great 3A3T but then they got better as the quad. Lots of triple loop-triple toe, tried some combos with three triples but last one was fallen out. Tried an impressive combo with two triples then a triple loop but he overrotated the loop and stepped out. Not a sign of another quad. For someone who said he would have more quads.. and his quad toe is very often two footed.
SP
First time
3T, quad was planned
He then stopped the program at 42 seconds because his boothook broke. The referee let him skate again from the beginning at the end of the group. He was lucky as Baiul at Europeans 93 cos he got to try the quad again, but seemingly the hook had broken before the quad because he picked it up the ice from the spot where he had started. Almost never practises the 3L.
Second time
4T, hardly two-footed
3A3T
2A
Steps and spins no problem.
Choreography is quite neat, it's very fast and energetic.
FP
4T, two-footed, 3T
3A, landing too tentative to have a 3T to follow
3A2T
3L3T
3F
3R
3S
I prefer the SP. Russian music, nothing fantastic. He and his coach really acted as if it was the performance of the year, but it wasn't, it's their strategy to have the judges let themselves go on the marks. I really dislike it.

Tamura
Nice improvement esp. thanks to the 4T he has now in his repertoire, but he's not close to getting the 3A. He has trouble in tacking a triple toe after his landings which are often very low. In practise, managed once 4T3T.
SP
4T
3flip3T
2A
Spins were very very slow. He really needs to improve them, esp. the sit spin which barely rotates. He got twice 5.7 technically which I think is very generous as there is no triple axel, just the double. It's funny cos now that he's got more technical content, I find him less elegant than before, weird!
FP
4T, just
1 . A, triple was planned but he opened and did a mess
3R
3F
3T
3L, step out, 1T
3S
2A
Same problems on the spins.

Smalun
He has improved a lot I think. His jumps are very powerfull, very high, and his 3L after steps is great. He landed a fair amount of 3A but fell many times as well, it's like 50%.
SP
3A, big fall, 2T
2L
2A
He really could have done much better. Choreography is neat. Jungle theme. Good spins and fast skating.
FP
3A, fall
3F, fall
3L, hand down plus step out
3F, fall
1R
2L
2S
3T, step out
A very bad performance. He really cracked cos he's good in practise. Skated as last year on Rachmaninov's variations on a theme of Paganini. Nice choreography as well, but the SP is better. Fast skater.

Hopfes
Is trying and trying the 3A, but it's never there, I'm afraid he'll never have it unless he changes his technique on it. Right now, he just pushes himself in the air and spins, but he has no heiht, no length on it, no rotation. It's stupid he performs it in the short, you can really tell it's just not there.
Went for some 4T as well, but only landed one on two feet and it was short of rotation. He still flutzes. Really, he's such a pleasant skater to watch, but technically he's nowhere.
SP
3A, fall
3F, fall
2A, just
Nice presentation on Riverdance, very impressive steps (that aren't always technically difficult, but really look like the steps the dancers perform in the show and it looks great). Good style but one critic: you can see the "Stojko" influence so much in the composition of his programs. He always waits 10 seconds at the board then performs his step sequence in a line. It looks so stojkoish and really bad, in a 2 min 40 sec program, to lose so much time for nothing, it's very annoying.
FP
3flutz, fall
2A
3F
3S
3R, hand down
3T2T
Mask of Zorro, AGAIN!!! Nice presentation but you guys know what I think of this music. The end part of his program is Michelle's music (96 SP) with the Olé at the end. Cool he hasn't used Zorro in the whole routine!

Dmitrentko
Unfortunately, I have to say he's not "in" any more. I'm afraid that he is over. Bad practises, lots of singles and doubles, some 3 axels but never with 3toe, and lots of two footed landings on many jumps. Moreover, his new programs have nothing from the originality he showed in the past.
SP
3A, step out, 2T
3L, two footed
2A
Good steps but he's slow.
FP
3A, two-footed, 2T
3T
3F, two-footed
3L
3A, step out (cos he landed on the inside edge)
3T, two-footed
Skates on Scent of a woman soundtrack. Nothing wonderful to say about his presentation. Awful costume.

Sandhu
The big question about him was: "Has he improved his speed?" Well, the answer is yes, but… only in practise! No, I'm exagerating, his SP is faster. But the FP is too slow. His speed into the 3A is still too slow. In practise, he could perform them with more speed. But he had a lot of trouble on this jump, same thing on the lutz. I talked with him a lot, and he said his injury came from running from practise to school with untied shoelaces: very stupid! He said he was ok in here in Gelsen, just the lutz was painful. He wouldn't say what was happening on the axel. It's true that Emanuel loves singling it, then try a triple right after (without any turn). But this time, it wasn't working that much.
Getting a triple toe after each jump is no problem for him, triple flip was very consistent, so was triple loop and salchow. He was working on triple loop triple loop combo, wasn't clean on the second jump unless he added a turn out in between. I'm sure he can get it soon. Worked also on the 3S-3R. He was working on the 4 toe. He landed a fair amount of them. Many times, he doubled out or he two-footed them, but he landed clean ones with double toe, and even one with triple toe combo, which was great! His landing positions are so neat! Spins are too, not to talk about the spirals. I advised him to do one step sequence and one spiral sequence in the SP instead of two step sequences as this is allowed, since he can rise the leg so high, much more than Klimkin who is the only man to perform a spiral sequence in the short.
SP
1A3T, triple axel was planned, of course
3L, two-footed (I told him to switch to a triple flip but he wouldn't)
3A, fall (double was planned)
Disaster! He was courageous to go for the 3A again but I think he took too many risks. He really needs to become more consistent on the 3A. New choreography on Albinoni's Adagio, same music as Dmitrenko, which was not cool as they skated one after each other. It's nice except that he has a new move I hate, sweeping his hand though his hair. Oh yes, I forgot to say he now has long hair.
He's also trying to have a beard, but growing is not over yet, so it looks awful. Physically, he has really changed a lot since last year. Some like his new style (kind of latino), some (I'm amongst those) don't. He grew taller (he's 1.80m now).
FP
3A2T
2T, quad was planned
3R
3L, two-footed?
3A, step out
2F
3S
Same elegant FP as last year. Too slow again, but really deserved better on the presentation mark. Marks were from 4.6 to 5.2 technically and 4.8 to a higher 5.4 artistically. Both performances were not convincing for such a promising boy.

Savoie
As I read, his entrances into the jumps are amazing. He performs the 3A after a spread eagle, or after a difficult turn out, the 3L after a hydroblading, etc…
It's neat and he's very consistent on every jump. His big problem is that he barely gets off the ice. He has no height at all on the jumps. I've personally never seen a boy jumping so low. His landings are clean and the jumps are all fully rotated but I think it's not as beautiful and impressive as the other men's jumps, and it's much easier. Of course he can easily perform any triple triple combos but the toe is so low. A good triple-triple combo should have the second jump as high as the first one if not higher.
Artistically, he has still to work. He looks lost on the ice, and he skates with the mouth open. All in all, he's a good skater (very good sit spin position and his entrances are great), extreemly consistent in practise. I just wish someone would oblige him to jump higher. This would give him much more credit.
SP
3A, just, lacked a bit of rotation, but very difficult entrance into it
3F3T, very low, esp. the 3T
3L
Music was Rolling Stones' Paint in Black, orientalized version
FP
3A2T, no speed but entrance from a spread eagle
3F3T, as always, no height at all
3R
3A, difficult entrance
3S
3L, just but it was after an hydroblading
Swedish music (sounds kind of Irish) but he's not good on the presentation field for me.

Mind that
L is lutz!
R is loop!
FL is flutz (inside edge lutz=flip)
Lip is an outside edge flip (=lutz)

Tanja Szewczenko, as expected, didn't compete. On Tuesday, her coach told a friend she was so ready, had gorgeous practises, and would surely win in here. Two days later, she pulled out, saying she had injured. Weird, really... So many mysteries around her. Nobody knows whether it's true or not she was fit.

MALININA
She had great practises, all the jumps were there, exc. the loop. It’s really her worst jump and she was fighting to land it cleanly, or she would double it all the time. Her lutz is fantatstic, such an ease, such a speed, such a flow out of it. Flip was good, too.
She always practises her jump in the sequence of the FP in which it is. She wasn’t doing two 2A in a row, neither the 3A. She told me she had pain in her leg. She had landed clean triple axels last season in practise. And also 3T3T. She couldn’t here because her leg was painful. She is really nice and modest. At close sight she’s cute, but she’s still too thin. I touched her back and I only felt bones!
SP
3L2T, wondeful, as usual
2F
2A, unbalanced backwards
She started well but then she started to be temptative. She had no speed nor self-confidence, who knows why? After such great practises?
Music is Libertango by Piazzolla. Could be good but she wasn’t selling the performance at all, just being temptative.
FP
The morning of the FP, she injured during the practise. I couldn’t attend that one, but she likely fell on a jump and got pain. She then said she wasn’t sure she would compete further. She came to the warm up though, but she was obviously suffering on all the landings, you could see the pain on her face. She skated her FP, but it was bad, as expected from someone who’s injured
3L, great
2F
3T
3S, hand down
1A
2R
2L, fall, this year she’s going for a second 3L, which is excellent
2A, fall out
Music is Malaguena, a slow version, not the one Yamagushi used nor Maria’s one. I think Spanish music suits her well, I remember her 95 and 96 SP, she was really selling the performance, was very expressive. Well, here, I couldn’t judge, cos she didn’t practise all the parts during the practises and the FP was not how it should have been.
I think it’s a valuable performance for someone injured. It took her a lot of courage to compete nevertheless. She was crying at the end of her FP, poor her! We wish her good luck and good healing up!

MASHA
Practises were good, her 3T3S sequence was giving her trouble sometimes, and flip as well. But she was nearly perfect and landed all the jumps, incl. that hard sequence and her bad flip!
SP
3L, overrotated one turn on the ice (just like at EUR 98 but straight on to the) 2T
3R, just
2A
Spins were slow, esp. the layback. Otherwise, the music, very sweetened (Bilitis), fits her skating so much.
FP
3L
3F, two-footed and fall out
3T 1/2 R 3S, fall out
3R
3R2T
2A
2T
Quite good technically, but artistically I am disappointed. Perhaps, I have to get used to it, but I was expecting more from her, I thought on this music she would be brilliant. It’s too slow and not very original.

VON DER THUSEN
In practise, just the T and the S. Was trying hard to get a 3L but it was always 2 and a half turns, landing on left foot, then step out or fall.
SP
3T, fall on no real steps into it
2 1/2 L, step out, 2T
2A
FP
2A, then three turns into 3T
3S, two-footed
2R
3T
2F2T, fall out
2A
Music is Yanni (Liashenko’s first part last year, I forgot the name of the track)
Not a great skater I’m afraid. She was lucky to get this competition and Lalique, too, cos she doesn’t have the level.

ARAKAWA
Really not good in practise comp. to two years before. No more 3L3T combo, she took the 3lip out of her SP cos it’s really not consistent. L is not consistent. Many jumps are underrotated. She’s very slow.
SP
3L2T
3T
2A
Jumps are low, and speed is poor.
FP
1L
3S2R
2A
2L
3LIP, two-footed
3T, three turns into 3T, lacked rotation
3R, fall
Giselle, ballet music again for her, she’s always using ballet musics. Very slow. I was disappointed cos she really hasn’t improved.

MC CONN
Practises were ok, flutz was giving her all sorts of trouble, and flip too.
SP
3FL, fall
2R, fall out
2A
Fever, again! I prefered her last year’s SP. Spins are good, and so is the 2A. She got unbalanced after the steps into the 3R, so she doubled it and fell out. She’s always so nervous in SP’s!
FP
3S2T (her toe loop is a toe axel, which is bad)
3FL
3R
3F
2FL, should have been triple, fall
2A
2T2T
Flamenco music and Concierto de Aranjuez (slow part). Nice presentation though a little simple. Good program, she was v. happy. Unfortunately, she got to skate first.

DREI
Practises were ok, but her jumps are just so low. Her 3T3T has always the same defect, the second one isn’t rotated (lacks 1/2 rotation) so it looks like it’s two-footed but it’s not (it’s exactly as Chen’s 3T3T in OG 98). I don’t understand why she needs to show her body around, her outfits being transparent. Esp. that she’s fat around the heels and the stomach!
SP
3L, leaning forward, hand down, fall, fast into 2T
3R, no flow
2A
combo spin was not centered
Good presentationt but same SP as last year.
FP
3T3T, same problem, second toe lacked rotation
2L
3F, hand down
3R
2S
2L
3L, fall out
1S
2A
Quite a mess, and she’s not allowed to try three times the lutz.

LIASHENKO
The 3R is not there yet, it’s always two-footed. All the other jumps are consistent.
SP
1 1/2 L, don’t know why she missed her 3L!
3lip
2A
Blues. Good presentation.
FP
3L2T
3lip
3T
3R, harsh two feet
2S
3S2T
2A, two-footed
Grieg’s piano concerto, beautiful music, but I think she should change her style, it just looks as all her past FP, exc. last year’s music, but presentation is always the same.
Well, it was a good program, elegant, thanks to this beautiful music that suits her.
Got a lot of applause from the crowd who thought she deserved to be in front of Masha but I disagree. Technically, it was lower, that’s for sure. And artistically, Masha’s better. Got a good reaction from the public, anyways, and was very happy of her performance, it’s true that lately she was often cracking in the FP.

BELLEMARE
Good in practises, and the only one to skate her FP from the beginning to the end.
Trouble on the F, and L was there but the landings weren’t clean (although it was very high) and it was not always set as a triple. Huge flaw on the axel, exactly as Lipinski, there is no pushing of the free leg, she just spins into the air, it looks scary and she’ll never have a 3A if she doesn’t change that. She told me she already had improved a lot on the take off. I wonder how bad it could be.
This skater, for the ones who are still wondering, has no relation with Daniel Bellemare. There are just many Bellemares in Quebec! I like her skating a lot, and I think she’ll be good.
SP
1A
1L
3T, fall out
Disaster and it was the same thing in the
FP
3S
3L, fall out but very high
2F
3R, fall
3T, fall out
3L, fall
2A, just
3T2T, fall out
Sad cos she’s much much better in practise. Oh well, she’s still young and she must learn to control her nerves (but being a Canadian girl, are there many hopes?).
My fair lady, good speed, and lots of courage, cos she went for the triples always and try them again if she had missed them (which was the case!). Good luck to her! Her level is surely not to finish last!

RECHNIO
Good practises, the flip is so consistent but amazingly she tries it thousands of times. It is beautiful, huge, as all the jumps. Lutz is not consistent yet, it’s either two-footed or badly landed. Why does she have so much problems on it??? But the most important question is why is she unable to skate as she skates in practise in front of the judges?
She was working on 3T3T and got one or two clean. Otherwise, it was two-footed.
SP
3L, two-footed, fall out, 2T
3F, two-footed? I think not, but the free leg was very low.
1A
FP
3L, bad two feet
3F2T
3R, fall
3T, fall out
2S
2 1/2 F
1A
1A
Again, a disaster, I don’t know why... Seems like she can only skate well at Worlds, like Hubert! Artistically, I was disappointed, nothing too great.

SLUTSKAYA
As I was expecting it, it was a new Irina in the practise. Everything worked. Last year, she changed her technique on the flip, and this year, on the lutz. The take off is now out of a straight line, then she turns out to the right (clockwise) half a turn and toes. It was working, she missed it only sometimes. And it gives her a true outside edge which she hadn’t before. Flip was perfect. So much that it’s now her solo jump in the SP.
She tried 3S3R and she always landed it!!! And how nice she did! Incredible. Such an ease in these practises, and now, she stays until the end of the practise, doesn’t leave after 15 min. She was impressive and if logic ruled skating, she was the winner for sure. But of course, as I was fearing it, now that she’s good in practise, nothing works in front of the judges, sad. I think she’s much more nervous than before, is it because she had few competitions last year? Anyways, her fans can be happy, even if you didn’t get to see her lots last year, she hasn’t slept meanwhile, she questionned herself a lot, and changed many things. She’s a big threat this season.
SP
3L, huge splat
2A
2F
Slow music, romantic program, people loved it. (As for me, I’m not sure though...)
FP
3L, splat
1L
3S, why didn’t she try a R after it??? She was too scared after two big mistakes, I guess.
3R
3F
2A
3T
Carmen. She can still improve on the artistic field. But really, it’s so disappointed comparing to the practise. She was on the podium though.

Sorry, I know it's very short concerning the SP, and there are no notes concerning timing, spins, etc... Just forgive me, I didn't have the time.
// is side by side
Tw is twist
t is thrown
R is loop

SALE/P
SP
3T//
t3R
Great! Deserved 1st place
I love the way out of the lift. She looks so strong.
FP
3T//
t3S
3Tw
2A//, she fell
2A//
t3R
This pair is fantastic, you can fell the love between them so much on the ice, great harmony, romatism, great speed, good lifts and everything was perfect exc. the fall from her, but they did it again, so it’s ok (exc. that a jump sequence is missing, which penalizes them) and for me they deserved the win.

SAVCHENKO/M
SP
3T//
t3S, huge but just on the landing
FP
3T//
3Tw, very high
t3S, huge
2A//
2A//, very high, steps into 2T//
t2A, huge
Robin Hood
A great pair that confirmed its 1st place from Oberstdorf. They are strong, jumps are huge, and although she’s young and little, she’s strong and sure. Bright future for them.

HARTSELLS
SP
3T//, both put their hand down
t3S
FP
3tw
3T //
Huge double fall just from skating backwards because he caught an edge. Looked scary and really interrupted the flow of the program but they recovered well.
t3S
2A//
t3R
2T//
Malaguena.
They are very consistent in practise. Throwns are too low and lack length I find. A very good pair. Very strong. Deserved more.

SHEN/Z
SP
3T//
t3R
Firebird, it fits their skating.
Their third place was kind of a shock but it’s true that they haven’t improved at all artistically, esp. in the FP.
FP
3tw
2A//, steps into 2T//
t3R
3T//
t3S
Throwns were huge, but they had many surprising mistakes for such a good pair.
Some stumbles just in basic skating, even a fall fom her that had them get lost for 15 seconds.
They didn’t deserve better. But artistically, the message was clear, the judges didn’t like their new FP. It’s true there’s nothing special.

KAUTZ/J
SP
3T//, very high
t3T, two-footed
their 2Tw is ugly
FP
2tw
3T//, she fell out
t2R
2A//, her was very low
t2T
2T//, steps into 2R//, he singled his
This pairs needs to work on the throwns!

BERANKOVA/D
SP
3T//, he doubled his
t3S
Lawrence of Arabia
FP
3T//
3Tw, he caught her too early, so it was messy, she finished the rotation in his arms then landed
t3S, higher than usual but he screamed (why???)
2A//, she two-footed hers
t3T, two-footed, very slow, prepared for like 10 sec.
2T//, steps into 2T//
He was too high in the death spiral
Spins//, he committed a mistake
In a lift, he glided and slowed down
He commited another little mistake (stumble)
Mask of Zorro
So, it was far from being clean, they looked scary sometimes. Their throwns are still too little. He screams too much in the spins and during the throwns.
Marks were from 4,2 to 5,2
and from 4,1 to 5,3 !!!

SCHWARTZ/M
SP
3T//, she fell
t3S
Music composed for them. Swingy.
FP
3tw
3T//, he almost fell out but held it
t3S
2A//, she fell, as usual
t3T
2S//, she two-footed
Patch Adams
Not brilliant, but this time the throwns were good.

ZAGORSKA/S
SP
3T//, he fell
t3S
Problem on a lift
He can’t sit on his sit spin, it looks awful.
Kolya soundtrack, very nice music.
FP
t2A, incredibly huge, when will they go for the 3?
3tw, just, too low
3T//
2A//, she singled hers
t3S, low landing, just
Same Fp as last year (Dvorak)

RYBKOWSY/R
SP
3T//, she two-footed hers
t3S
He stumbled once, and they missed their hands
She landed her lift on two feet.
FP
2tw
3S//, she doubled out
2R//
t3S
3T//, he doubled out, she two-footed hers
t3R, fall
Missed the last lift.
Man in the iron mask. Are temptative, often break down in the FP, she’s too emotive.

PETROVA/T
SP
3T//, she two footed hers
t3S
FP
3T//
2A//, steps into 2t//
3tw
t3S
t3T
Lifts very original in the positions and in the way out. But the speed left much to be desired. Plus, they use the same FP as last year. I would have placed the Canadians first, but you can’t say the Russians didn’t deserve the win, it’s just they were too slow and didn’t look brilliant.
Many many pairs have new lifts this year. There’s been a lot of creativity over the summer.