Required Elements - All Posts

The Goodbye Post

2012-09-04T07:22:50-04:00

This is the most difficult post to write. Life out in the real world, it seems, has gotten in the way of being able to follow and write about figure skating news and competitions as well as I would like. So, I have made the difficult decision to discontinue Required Elements. I have had an amazing time and I've learned so much through sharing figure skating news and analysis with you over the past four-and-a-half years since starting this blog.

Some of the memorable things that have happened during that time:

-Quads were gone and then they came back, and Brandon Mroz got credit for landing a quadruple lutz in competition

-A North American team won ice dancing gold at the Olympics

-Meryl Davis and Charlie White became the first American world ice dancing champions

-It was the 50th anniversary of a plane crash that took many lives and devastated U.S. Figure Skating; a documentary highlighted those lives and the crash's impact on figure skating

-I was lucky enough to liveblog several world championship events as well as the Olympics, not to mention Grand Prix events

-An earthquake devastated Japan and nearly led to the cancellation of the 2011 world championships

-Shen and Zhao had a heartwarming and successful comeback

-Coaches were fired, often controversially

-Nicole Bobek did time for her participation in a meth ring and then had a comeback

-Daisuke Takahashi remained mesmerizing

-Patrick Chan lived up to the hype

-we got to see outfits like this and this and this and so many more

-Skaters danced with the stars and stars skated with the skaters

-The original and compulsory dances were scrapped and the short dance emerged

-Jeremy Abbott and Alissa Czisny and Mirai Nagasu won us over and broke our hearts (again and again and again)

-Johnny Weir and Evan Lysacek's media-fueled rivalry lasted into a second decade and Lysacek became the first U.S. male olympic singles champ since Brian Boitano in 1988.

-Evgeny Plushenko won a platinum medal

-Zero American women won world championship singles medals

-4 5,6 9 7* American pairs split up (*estimate)

-Yu-na Kim delivered Olympic excellence

-Joannie Rochette delivered Olympic inspiration

-Feel free to add your favorite or least favorite moments in the comments!

I have to thank Brian Michael at Phillies Nation for his help in getting the blog started. And of course a huge thank you to SB Nation for bringing me on in 2009 and putting so much support behind this site. I am still a writer at my day job and I try to be funny sometimes in my spare time by performing comedy, so please feel free to follow me on Twitter at @LauraSpadanuta if you'd like to keep in touch.

A blog is a great way to get your opinions out there but it's nothing without readers. I can honestly say that my favorite part of this experience has been the feedback from you readers, both via e-mail and in the comments. I've loved hearing what you think about things. Thank you so much for taking the time to see what I had to say and for becoming part of the community. Figure skating is a beautiful sport, and it was heartwarming to find others who are as passionate about it as I am. I'll never stop being a skating fan and I can't wait to see how the sport develops and changes in the future, just as I'm looking forward to my next steps as well. I'll always appreciate the time I spent working on Required Elements and I thank you all so much for your support.

Goodbye and thank you!

Laura Spadanuta

Marley and Brubaker Split

2012-08-15T11:13:12-04:00

This one took me by surprise. Mary Beth Marley and Rockne Brubaker have ended their pairs skating partnership. Marley is leaving competitive skating, according to the Kansas City Star. It was a promising pair so it's too bad. Now Brubaker will have to start over again.

The two got together a couple of years ago after Brubaker and partner Keauna McLaughlin failed to make the 2010 Olympic team and split up. Brubaker says it is still his goal to make the Olympic team. I guess it won't be too difficult for him to find another partner.

Marley and Brubaker came in fourth in their first national championship last year and they earned the silver medal this year. They came in 10th at the world championships.

The pair was scheduled to participate in two Grand Prix events so we'll see who those go to instead.

Evan Lysacek Says He Will Compete at Skate America

2012-08-10T09:51:13-04:00

Stop me if you've heard this one, but Olympic champion Evan Lysacek says he is returning to competitive skating. Icenetwork reports that Lysacek will compete at Skate America.

Lysacek had been planning to participate in the Grand Prix and U.S. National Championships last season but could not come to a contract agreement with U.S. Figure Skating. I assume that the agreement has been reached for this year, but no word on the details. Not that those things would be made public, but I wonder who made the concessions.

So now we have (likely) Johnny Weir and Evan Lysacek competing against the younger crowd. And Jeremy Abbott. I feel like it's the aughts again!

Michelle Kwan Joins President's Delegation to Olympics

2012-08-10T09:45:48-04:00

She may be a winter sport superstar, but Michelle Kwan will be representing the United States at the Summer Olympics closing ceremonies this weekend, according to The Hill.

Kwan joins the president's delegation led by United Nations ambassador Susan Rice.

The delegation will attend athletic events and meet with Team USA athletes in London, and attend the closing ceremony on Sunday, according to the White House.

Summer Competitions Update

2012-08-07T08:59:03-04:00

The summer skating competitions are ongoing and Unseen Skaters is pretty amazing at listing all the scores, so check for the nitty gritty.

Some of highlights that I can glean featuring some of the well-known names: -Vanessa Lam dominated Caroline Zhang at the Hidden Valley Open in July. Lam debuted a free skate to The Artist soundtrack. Videos here.

-Marley and Brubaker debuted a short program to Hernando's Hideaway at the LA Open. It was an exhibition.

-Former Junior National Champ Courtney Hicks was back in action at this event and won the free skate handily.

-Armin Mahbanoozadeh easily beat Jared Farris at the Vail Invitational last month.

-Winners of the Liberty Summer Competition include Samantha Cesario, Max Aaron (who led a field that included Ross Miner and Brandon Mroz), Zhang and Bartholomay for pairs.

-Moore-Towers and Moscovitch of Canada won the Indy Pairs Challenge by more than 20 points over Americans Castelli and Shnapir. The Canadians did a Queen medley.

-Skate Detroit was a few weeks ago. Hannah Miller eked out a win over highly touted world junior champ Gracie Gold. Miller has been working with Tanith Belbin, among others. Gold has been doing the Rippon triple lutz, which is a lutz with two hands over her head. Moore-Towers and Moscovitch won the pairs competition. Alex Johnson won for the men.

-At last weekend's Glacier Falls competition, Mirai Nagasu just beat out Vanessa Lam for the win. Courtney Hicks was a ways behind them. Richard Dornbush easily won on the men's side.

Be Good Johnny Weir to Return

2012-08-02T09:14:18-04:00

Be Good Johnny Weir, a television series that chronicles the life and times of Olympic skater and media favorite Johnny Weir, is finally returning. The first season aired in 2010. It will return to television on the Logo channel on September 26, according to On Top Magazine. The new season will take a look at the release of Weir's memoir, his marriage to lawyer Victor Voronov, and his attempt to return to competitive figure skating.

Figure Skating on Buzz Feed

2012-07-31T14:56:44-04:00

BuzzFeed likes to pick on awkward skating faces. And now it's comparing awkward figure skater faces to awkward diving faces. I don't mind, as long as it reminds people of skating even when it's the offseason!

Higher Technical Standards Demanded

2012-07-26T14:41:24-04:00

Icenetwork has an interesting article looking at the higher minimum technical element score standards put forth in a recent International Skating Union Communication 1742 and also seen here in 1751:

For entries to Word Figure Skating Championships Men SP 35.00 points FS 65.00 points Ladies SP 28.00 points FS 48.00 points Pairs SP 28.00 points FS 45.00 points Ice Dance SD 29.00 points FD 39.00 points

The new TES requirements have nearly doubled in each discipline. In order to compete at the 2013 world championships in London, a skater must hit the minimum at least once in the prior two seasons, according to the article. According to the article:

Things have come to this pass because at the 54th ISU Congress, held in Kuala Lumpur the second week of June, a majority of member skating federations voted to abolish the preliminary (qualifying) round at worlds in favor of entering skaters and teams directly into the short programs or short dance. This vote was likely prompted by housing costs: If entered in the main draw, the organizing federation of the world championships, and not the member federations, would pay for the skaters' hotel. It would also have meant that 50 or 55 ladies and men, including 20 or 25 that would have been eliminated in the preliminary round, would compete short programs at worlds, something the ISU Council did not want. "Our competitions are not festivals," ISU President Ottavio Cinquanta has said on several occasions.

I do think the world championships should have the highest quality competitors possible, and I never have time to watch preliminary competitions ever. However, these scores do seem high if you take a look at scores from the last world championships, where numberous ladies in the top 20 did not earn a 28 in technical elements at worlds. Some quoted in the article think this would mean a financial loss to the ISU because countries will not be represented at worlds and would not purchase broadcast rights. I think if the ISU had any inkling this would lose money for them, they would not have done it. The article also states that the ISU has left itself an out:

The Council did leave itself an escape clause: Communication No. 1742 states it may change the minimum requirements during the season, if it determines insufficient skaters will qualify for the ISU championships.)