2011 US Nationals ** SPOILERS **

[Isk8NYC]

2011 U.S. Figure Skating Championships
January 22 - January 30, 2011
Greensboro, North Carolina 
Event website: http://www.northcarolina2011.com/

The Events and Practice schedules are available on the USFSA website here:
http://www.usfsa.org/event_details.asp?id=42675

[Isk8NYC]

Ryan Bradley and Brandon Mroz are both competing!?!?!   AWESOME!
I have to buy tickets now, lol.

[kssk8fan]

I wish Ryan would have told me earlier that he was competing!!   HAHAHAHA  Seriously though - I so would have made the trip to see him.  Greensboro is a stones throw from my home town!  UGH....

[Schmeck]

Flatt is skating to East of Eden?  Good luck girl - everyone will compare it to Kwan's and those are big skates to fill.  Can't believe Nichols choreo'd it and suggested the music - is she running out of creative juices?

[Isk8NYC]

I know you dislike Flatt, but she's still a wonderful skater.  While I adored Kwan, I don't remember her East of Eden routine anyway, so I won't be comparing Flatt to anyone but herself.  I wish her well and hope I get to see her skate this week.

For those interested in on-the-spot news, the official Nationals site has a live Facebook and Twitter feed page on their website.

http://www.northcarolina2011.com/live.html

Not sure if it's being moderated or not; you might read some practice reports and voids.

[Schmeck]

I do remember the Kwan EoE programs (and they are are YouTube), and they were exquisitely choreographed by Nichols.  Don't know how she would be able to make a better one for Flatt, especially with Flatt's lack of flexibility/shortness of movement.  Also, IJS doesn't give you a lot of time for nuances, which is what the EoE music is full of.  Not sure anyone could do EoE justice right now except of Czisny, and it would work better for a FP, where you'd have more time.

Not sure why you brought up my 'dislike for Flatt' when my previous post was more of a complaint against Nichols?  Wishing her luck, and comparing her to Kwan, who pretty much owns this piece of music, (until someone can do it better), doesn't show any dislike in my book, just a question of judgement for choosing this piece of music for this skater.

For the record, I do dislike Flatt's skating, she has a certain posture and lack of stretch that I find ugly, but from what I've seen online about her, she's a talented, well educated, polite young woman with a strong work ethic who has earned every accolade she has achieved.  I also think she hasn't found her style yet, and hope she does soon.   

[Isk8NYC]

Here's a live video feed from the practice rink: http://www.myfox8.com/wghp-story-live-video-100118,0,3307619.htmlstory

Looks like the local Fox affiliate has a few other webcams set up:
There's a live video stream from the Fox local affiliate:  http://www.justin.tv/myfoxwghp/b/277922962

[Isk8NYC]

Pairs are practicing now: http://www.myfox8.com/wghp-story-live-video-100118,0,3307619.htmlstory

[jjane45]

I am rooting for Caroline Zhang, wish she bounces back just like Mao did. Whatever the result at Nationals, just keep it up girl!

[Isk8NYC]

Adding spoiler warnings to this thread

Starting order and results from the USFSA site:

http://www.usfigureskating.org/leaderboard/results/2011/68096/results.html

[Isk8NYC]

There's a little skating demonstration at the 1:30 mark of this video:
http://www.justin.tv/myfoxwghp2/b/278242912

[Isk8NYC]

Ladies Exhibition Rehearsal - someone has a yellow umbrella...I think I read that one of the competitors is skating to "Singing in the Rain." 
http://www.justin.tv/myfoxwghp?utm_campaign=live_embed_click&utm_source=www.myfox8.com#/w/803128880

[FigureSpins]

Results link: http://www.usfsa.org/leaderboard/results/2011/68096/results.html  (Still unofficial.)

Ladies Standings (after 11 skaters):

[spoiler] 1 10 Mirai Nagasu, Pasadena FSC 63.35
2  3 Alissa Czisny, Detroit SC 62.50 
3  7 Agnes Zawadzki, Broadmoor SC 61.54 
4  4 Christina Gao, Northern Kentucky SC 58.43
5 8 Caroline Zhang, All Year FSC 48.48 
6 6 Alexe Gilles, Broadmoor SC 47.75 
7 9 Ellie Kawamura, All Year FSC 45.19 
8 5 Kristiene Gong, All Year FSC 44.12 
9 1 Kelsey Traunero, SC of Wilmington 42.28 
10 2 Felicia Zhang, SC of New York 41.23 
11 11 Katy Jo West, Rocky Mountain FSC 40.07 [/spoiler]

[jjane45]

I am nervous for the ladies...

[Schmeck]

Can we make comments without doing the spoiler-linking/hiding yet?

[Schmeck]

PCS is a bunch of hooey!  It's being used to hold a skater up, or take one down, no matter how she skated.  I'm very disappointed with USFSA right now, and will be making contact with a friend who is connected to the organization to ask what's going on there. 

[Isk8NYC]

Found this on YouTube - look for vids of the ladies sp http://www.youtube.com/user/ChariceBillboard

Loving the seat for nats.  Slushers wearing helmets or cowboy hats.  One skater lost part of his costume on ice.  Search and delay-nada.  Skater after abbott found the little silver thingy. 

[Schmeck]

Watching ladies' free skate, and almost half the seats appear to be empty!  That's discouraging.  I hope they fill up as the night goes on.

[Isk8NYC]

Watching ladies' free skate, and almost half the seats appear to be empty!  That's discouraging.  I hope they fill up as the night goes on.

It's 3/4 full now.  A lot of people were getting food, I think.
thereLs a twitter feed search -  #NC2011

[Isk8NYC]

Just went for a walk.  Met Tom Hickey from Shattuck-St Mary's and thanked him for the videos on icoachskating.com

Saw the new Wilson blades with the carbon-fiber uppers.  Best feature: no more cuts on catchfoots.  They're lighter than regular Gold Seals.  (and 40% off here)

Saw Edea skates.  Meh.  They look weird with the plastic sole covered by the boot skin.  Heel looks small and stumpy, but part of it is also hidden.
Not sure I like the all-plastic sole, but it does eliminate boot rot.  They use boat screws to attach the blades.  The screws have threads with two different heights, to give it more grip and less chance of slipping/coming loose.  (I need these)

Risports are super-stiff, but they only had the boot-only models, so that makes sense.  They looked okay, seemed a little hefty to me, but again, their weren't LTS models.

Riedell has a new line of blades called  Eclipse blades.  Four different models, looked nice and shiny!  (Always a sign of quality, imo.)

Asked about Ultima Lites - the rep insisted that they are mainly for dance because of the short heel, but they're okay for free too.  I asked about a weight limit - he said 225 lbs. would be fine as long as the skater wasn't doing doubles.  The cutout blade design does have a lot of flex, he said.

[Isk8NYC]

Universal sports says they're coming to DirecTV soon and they will have full coverage of Worlds.  All skaters, all disciplines.

I like the smartbug radio - I can hear a tech spec call the planned elements or the NBC coverage.  There's a third option - not sure what it's for yet. 

[Isk8NYC]

*  NBC LIVE COVERAGE STARTS @ 9PM *

[Isk8NYC]

[spoiler]wagner at the top of the leaderboard - great program, only one mistake.[/spoiler]
last group warming up now.  Czisny's even more beautiful in person.

[Isk8NYC]

cool - I was just on tv

[Isk8NYC]

[spoiler]zawadski takes over 1st.[/spoiler]