2012 World Figure Skating Championships, Nice France

Wednesday, 28 March 2012

Pairs Short Program

Savchenko & Szolkowy,Takahashi & Tran, and Pang & Tong take lead in Pairs Short Program.  U.S. Pairs hold seventh and tenth place.  German team lands throw triple Axel with two-footed landing.

Savchenko & Szolkowy were second to Pang & Tong in components, but bested them in elements despite the two-footed throw and also Szolkowy stepping out of a triple toe loop,  Pang & Tong let the lead slip away from them not so much due to the throw triple Axel, which earned 6.64 points, but from Tong under-rotating his triple toe loop and stepping out of that jump.

Takahashi & Tran were a surprise third place finish in the short, but they have plenty of company within a few points of their score.  Also a surprise was all three Russian teams falling leaving them in fourth, eighth and eleventh places.

 

Dance Short Dance

Virtue & Moir, Davis & White, and Pechalat & Bourzat take the lead in the Dance Short Dance.

Davis & White did not get the level fours they were working for in the two Rhumba sequences, nor in the circular step sequence.  But then neither did Virtue & Moir.  Levels and base values where the same for both teams, with Virtue & Moir leading Davis & White in both element scores and component scores.  Only 1.33 points separate them, but these teams have scored so closely in previous events that a 1.33 point lead in the Short Dance may be more than enough to win.

The French couple had a strong skate, with Pechelat skating with a broken nose.  `The omens look good for this couple, without a name team nipping at their heels and the Shibutani's buried in seventh place.  And then there is the ISU tradition of giving the host country at least one medal if they have competitor in some event where they are at least a remote contender.

The Shibutani's got killed in element scores, marked well bellow the leaders.  The third U.S. couple, Hubbell & Donohue lie in eighth, earning respectable element scores, but marked well below the leaders in components.

 

Estimated attendance for the Pairs Short Program: 2000 at the start building to 3000.

Estimated attendance for the Dance Short Dance: 2000 at the start building to 3200.





No Respect
- Choctaw of death frustrates top dance couples.

Tuesday, 27 March 2012

Ladies Qualifying Round
Men's Qualifying Round 

Estimated attendance for Ladies qualifying: 1100.  Half or more of these were grade school classes spending an afternoon at the competition.  This dropped to 400 when they left the event later in the afternoon.

Estimated attendance for the Men's qualifying: 600. 


Monday, 26 March 2012

Pairs Qualifying Round
Dance Qualifying Round

Estimated attendance for Pairs qualifying: 4200.  Half or more of these (up to perhaps 2400) were grade school classes spending an afternoon at the competition.

Estimated attendance for the Dance qualifying: 2000.  This dropped off to 1800 after the first two groups (first ice cut, and then dropped off again to 800 after the fourth group (second ice cut).

 

 
Copyright 2012 by George S. Rossano.  All rights reserved.