What is your run down on Australian national championships for each division?
A few people have asked me this question so here I go…
DISCLAIMER: I don’t claim to be an expert! These are my own opinions, I try to be as honest and unbiased as possible so don’t hate.
SENIOR
I think this is the strongest field ever in the senior division. There hasn’t been a whole lot of competition in recent history so it was really awesome to see 5 strong teams competing! I don’t exactly agree with the results of the senior division. I didn’t get a chance to see any of the teams skate on the day, so obviously the judges/tech specialist saw something that doesn’t translate to video.
Infusion improve every time I see them skate. They came to win, and I think that shows in their performance. I really enjoyed their SP, it had great energy and I think that kind of music really suits their bouncy skating style. There were a couple of rough spots throughout the FP, especially towards the end and I wasn’t a massive fan of the music cuts. The program was very cleverly choreographed, they got pretty much all of their calls which put them ahead on technical for both programs. I thought some of the transitions were interesting and I am excited to see how they develop the program for worlds!Fire On Ice, wow what a comeback. I saw them skate earlier in the season and both programs were a bit of a shamble. I thought both programs were strong this year. I really liked their SP and it looked like they loved skating it! I really didn’t think they should have been 6 points behind after the short, but it came down to technical. I thought their FP was well skated, I just wasn’t sure what the theme was (Psycho?). I didn’t feel like the music gave the skaters a lot to work with, if that makes sense. They have such a lovely skating style and I feel like their component scores should reflect that more. Nova, I don’t think the team was particularly happy with their result. I didn’t feel like either of their programs had the same punch as usual. Not necessarily in the choreography more in the performance on the day. I had the chance to see their FP earlier in the week and I thought it was a winner. Not sure if the team was nervous or the pressure got to them but on FP day they cracked. Their SP was nice, a little bleh in that it was kinda one note from start to finish, but I thought that it was a solid skate. I didn’t see 5 points behind them and 1st but Nova had 2 massive downgrades in their line and circle. (I’m not sure what the TS saw but I can’t see the down grade on the video I have, so please share if you know what they did wrong – just so I can expand my knowledge of the rules). Thought their FP started out strong then slowly started to unravel (I’m still not sure how they got a PB1 with that many people on the ice). Ice Storm, They have definitely improved from last year. I heard they have started working with Danielle O’Brien and Gregory Merriman and I think it shows in their basic skating skills. If they continue to improve like this I feel they could be a real threat next year. I didn’t love their SP, it didn’t really have anything to do with the skating, just the music. I think it was maybe a bit too soon to use hallelujah after Paradise did it so well. I think the main thing this team needs to work on is components, and that comes from music the skaters can connect with. Their FP was great! And I think it is because the team likes skating to that kind of music. I think the team did awesome considering how many double teamers they have (there were 5 skaters only skating senior). Adelaide Ice Magic, are 100 times better than the last time they competed in the senior division. I think the programs just needed a little bit more polishing, to fix unison errors etc. Sometimes I think the team looks frantic or rushed, if they would just get down in their knees and relax I think they could do very well.
Congrats to all teams on an awesome comp! Good luck overseas! Onwards and upwards!Next up Junior…
