ISU 2019 Worlds - 18-24 March - Saitama, Japan

[Elizabeth]

Very unfortunate collision in the warm-up for the final group of pairs involving Vanessa James & Matteo Guarise It appeared to have impacted both teams in their short programs

Comments from the Italians via PJ Kwong's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/BvN6i1ig8Ui ... oitwwi8xi4

[kittykins]

Very unfortunate collision in the warm-up for the final group of pairs involving Vanessa James & Matteo Guarise It appeared to have impacted both teams in their short programs

Comments from the Italians via PJ Kwong's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/BvN6i1ig8Ui ... oitwwi8xi4

That's too bad! I had to go to bed before that as there was little hope of seeing the Ladies. I tuned in just after Aurora skated but managed to see Alaine and Gabby. Good for Gabby. I think she will only build on this in the FS and hopefully be able to secure 2 spots for next year's worlds. I imagine I'll see the collision on the show this afternoon. I prefer to watch everything live, as I'm not a huge fan of commentating unless they make sure to talk about what's happening on the ice, however I won't be able to this time.

Happy first day of spring everyone!

[Elizabeth]

A photo of the enthusiastic full house audience during the ladies SP - can you guess which skaters might have been on the ice?!?

[kittykins]

HA! Wow, it must be something for those in attendance to see this in person.

[Elizabeth]

An interesting addition to the on-screen information during replays at Worlds has to do with the across-ice distance coverage, height attained & speed on landing/glide out for certain throws (for pairs) and certain jumps (for singles). Two examples are below.

[Elizabeth]

Anyone watching the CBC TV coverage will see that Scott Russell and Brenda Irving are in Saitama for some on-site coverage and interviews. [PJ Kwong is there too - she's writing and posting online.] Dylan Moscovitch has joined Kurt Browning and Andy Petrillo in the Toronto studio for commentary on the pairs. Carol Lane will be commenting on ice dance, for sure, and likely the other disciplines as well.

[Judy]

What a wonderful surprise to see the throw stats for height, distance, and speed during the Pairs Short. Imagine the torque of 20km/hr and landing perfectly on a blade, on an outside edge, in time to the music! Not to mention going up over a meter in the air.

[Elizabeth]

What a wonderful surprise to see the throw stats for height, distance, and speed during the Pairs Short. Imagine the torque of 20km/hr and landing perfectly on a blade, on an outside edge, in time to the music! Not to mention going up over a meter in the air.

Apparently the Japanese had done this for a national championships, perhaps as a trial run for Worlds. Definitely an interesting demonstration of the physical demands of this sport and the extent of the skills of some of the skaters

The link to watch the live stream which begins at 9:30 PM EDT: https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/figu ... -1.5061826

[Elizabeth]

Now that the first medals have been awarded in Saitama, to answer the important question regarding of the number of entries for next year's Worlds in Montreal:

Number of entries this year ------ To earn 3 entries the next year ------------------ To earn 2 entries the next year
--- 1 ----------------------------------- Place in the top 2 ------------------------------------ Place in the top 10
--- 2 ---------------------------------- Total placements is equal to or less than 13 ------ Total placements is equal to or less than 28*
--- 3 ---------------------------------- Top two placements is equal to or less than 13 --- Top two placements is equal to or less than 28*

*Those reaching the free program and finishing in 16th through 24th spot each get 16 points.

[Elizabeth]

After posting a preview video ( https://youtu.be/U7rYRYZlgNc ), the ISU now has a section on their YouTube channel for the Saitama Worlds - there you will find interviews, post event press conferences, etc.

The on-site host is Cathy Reed who at one time represented Japan in ice dance with her brother.

Check it out/subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... qNV23xGiEM

[Elizabeth]

Guess who had just skated their free program before a packed house?



Russian TV commentator & former Worlds competitor Alexei Yagudin was in Saitama shared a video of the final moments and crowd reaction to Yuzuru Hanyu's free skate on his Instagram account: https://t.co/VY1CMO2Nst?amp=1 Also there is a brief appearance of his excited co-commentator, Tatiana Tarasova

There would have been many more Poohs on the ice, I'm sure, but it was announced repeatedly that only those in the Premium seats could throw items onto the ice. I know that some of those in said seats were kindly throwing Poohs for some who were not. Among those were some Canadian fans who were caught getting prepared by Japanese TV.

[Elizabeth]

The "small medals" for the top three in each of the separate parts of the event were handed out in ceremonies outside the arena venue - this is the crowd gathered for the ceremonies earlier today for those for the free dance.

[Elizabeth]

Another World Figure Skating Championship is in the history books

[Elizabeth]

Taking it back to the ladies short program, it was so nice to see these three smiling faces in the kiss 'n cry


It has been a long a challenging year for Evgenia.