U.S. Nationals are underway in Greensboro, N.C.!
If you’re following them from stem to stern (meaning, from the Novice events straight through to the Championship Gala), you already knew that. But whether you’re one of them, or one more inclined to pay attention to the big guns (aka Senior-level stuff)… you might take an interest in these various lists of streaming/broadcast times over the next several days…
Here is the schedule for streaming video from IceNetwork.com (subscription required):
Jan. 24 (Monday)
10:30 a.m.: Novice free dance
12:30 p.m.: Novice ladies free skate
3:45 p.m.: Novice men's free skate
5:45 p.m.: Novice pairs free skate
8:45 p.m.: Junior ladies short program
Jan. 25 (Tuesday)
11:00 a.m.: Junior short dance
8:30 p.m.: Junior men's free skate
Jan. 26 (Wednesday)
11:00 a.m.: Junior pairs short program
1:30 p.m.: Junior dance free dance
9:00 p.m.: Junior ladies free skate
Jan. 27 (Thursday)
3:30 p.m.: Senior pairs short program
7:15 p.m.: Senior ladies short program
Jan. 28 (Friday)
11:00 a.m.: Junior pairs free skate
3:00 p.m.: Senior short dance
7:30 p.m.: Senior men's short program
Jan. 29 (Saturday)
10:45 a.m.: Senior pairs free skate (Early groups only, late groups will be shown live on TV and will available on-demand only)
12:35 p.m.: Senior free dance (Early groups only, late groups will be shown live on TV and will available on-demand only)
6:40 p.m.: Senior ladies free skate (Early groups only, late groups will be shown live on TV and will available on-demand only)
Jan. 30 (Sunday)
1:35 p.m.: Senior men's free skate (Early groups only, late groups will be shown live on TV and will available on-demand only)
And as for what’ll be shown on NBC… (with assorted repeats on Universal Sports)
Jan. 29 (Saturday)
3-6PM Pairs Free Skate and Free Dance
9-11PM Ladies Free Skate
Jan. 30 (Sunday)
4-6PM Men’s Free Skate
Feb. 5 (Next Saturday)
2:30-4:30PM Gala (Exhibitions)
And while all four champs from last year will be returning to defend their titles**, here a few more notable names who have recently withdrawn from Nats:
**= remember that Evan Lysacek and Belbin/Agosto only won silver at 2010 Nats.
Amanda Dobbs:
She competed the Senior GP this season in one event (Cup of China), placing 6th, and finished 6th at Senior Nats last year. But as per a message on her website, she “took a weird fall” last week and injured her ankle too badly to compete (though a full recovery is expected).
Felicia Zhang/Taylor Toth:
They were last year’s Junior Pairs champs and competed at two Senior GP events this season; their best finish was 5th at Trophee Eric Bompard. But Zhang has bruised ribs, so the twosome will sit out this Nationals (although Zhang will still be competing singles).
Kiri Baga:
She was the 2009 Novice Ladies Champion, and had some success (including a silver medal) in the Junior GP earlier this season, but “left Achilles tendinopathy” prevented her from competing the GP final… and is now keeping her from competing in Greensboro too. Here’s what she posted on Twitter a few days ago (actually 3 “tweets”):
After everything I've done I still have slight pain in my ankles, not letting myself get reinjured, so no nationals for me.
I've done everything that I should, mentally and physically, to get ready to compete. As of 9 am this morning I was packing. No regrets.
You'll see me next year. Ill be ready. Sick of being injured but couldn't be happier skating all the time.
Baga is only 15, so hopefully her ankle woes will clear up in time to allow her several more years in senior ladies.
For the Clip of the Day I’ve got Patrick Chan’s mighty fine free skate from Canadian Nationals this past weekend… yes, he landed both quads AND a triple axel, and I must admit he earned every bit of his over-scoring this time :-D
Speaking of which… I’ll post a Canadian Nats recap very soon.
5 comments:
Evan won silver, ranked 2, at last year's Nationals.
Whoops, I was thinking of 2009! Thanks-- I fixed it.
I just found your blog. It's great and full of info.
Just wondering, why do you think there is so much less "Skating on Air" this year than in the past? I miss watching figure skating on TV with Dick Button's commentary. I loved how he explained the skaters' choreography during the performances.
I was fortunate enough to be able to see the world premiere of Gantz at one of my local theaters. The manga series (still ongoing) is currently up to thirty volumes in Japan and the fifteenth volume was released in English by Dark Horse earlier this month. That's a lot of material to fit into two films and obviously since the manga is still being published some things are going to be a bit different. It has its problems, but overall the first film was a fairly decent distillation of the manga; I'm interested in seeing how things are wrapped up in the second film.
Hi Ann--
Just saw your comment... thanks!
You ask a question that's on the mind of many skating fans these days, and has a lot to do with why I wrote my book. I think there are more factors involved than most people realize, but at the heart of it is the simple fact that skating doesn't pull the Nielsen ratings it did one or two decades ago(mostly on ABC)... which means it doesn't bring the advertising $$ as it once did either. TV is a buisness above all else-- it makes room for what is most profitable.
Doesn't mean it can't have a resurgence though... :-)
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