Predicting Parellel Championships Part 1: Euros, Pairs & Dance

You might have heard that there’s another major figure skating championships taking place across the pond at virtually the same time as U.S. Nationals next week.

Me, I think of it more like this: O-my-God-whose-big-idea-was-it-to-schedule-two-big-championships-at-the-same-time-so-horrific-for-bloggers-trying-to-write-about-both-how-COULD-they??

And then I realize I need to get over that quickly, because I have twice as many predictions to make as usual and time’s a-wasting. So without further adieu, let’s get started with PAIRS and DANCE predictions for Europeans:

For PAIRS:
Gold- Savchenko/Szolkowy (GER)
Silver- Kawaguchi/Smirnov (RUS)
Bronze- Volosozhar/Morozov (UKR)

Yes, the Germans slipped up at the GP Final last month… but the ones to whom they lost are not at this event. The Germans DID beat Kawaguchi/Smirnov last month, though, and even if the latter finds success with their throw quad salchow I’m not sure they could win. Savchenko and Szolkowy, even when flawed, continue to dominate pairs skating—at least as far as Europe is concerned.

You might think I’ve chosen Volosozhar/Morozov simply because I continue to be unimpressed by Mukhortova/Trankov. But seriously, I took another look at the Volo/Moro performance at Cup of China… and it’s infinitely more enjoyable than the chemistry-free Lady & Hooligan number that Muk/Trank have been trying to sell us this year. Fingers crossed for the Ukranians!

For DANCE:
Gold- Domnina/Shabalin (RUS)
Silver- Faiella/Scali (ITA)
Bronze- Khoklova/Novitski (RUS)

With the “other” D/S team out with an injury, the dance title might be up for grabs between at least a half-dozen other teams. Or is it? Domnina/Shabalin lost the Russian title to Khoklova/Novitski, but as weary as I am of their Spartacus spectacle, I think they’ll be pulling out all the stops to defeat the rest of the pack. I’ve yet to see them blow two competitions in a row. And I chose Faiella/Scali for the silver simply because, in re-watching the free dances, I found theirs to be the more seamless one.

It happens to still be available on You Tube in fact, so here it is as the Clip of the Day.

I’ll be back to predict the rest of Euros later in the weekend.