2013-2014 National Championships Round-Up

A number of countries held their national championships over the last few weeks.  Here's a look-see at the two major ones (Japan and Russia) and a few of the minor ones as well.

Japanese National Championships

I never would have predicted these results!

Around the World in Skating: December 18, 2013

A few things here and there have made the news over the past week or so.  To be honest it's mostly rumors and hearsay, but there are some facts in there somewhere.  Just don't quote me on any of this...

Mirai Nagasu Training in Japan

A result of Mura's tutelage?

End of Grand Prix Power Rankings: 2013-2014

Now that the regular season is over, we have an accurate snapshot to base the second half of the season on.  Of course things can and often do change once the year rolls over so nothing is set in stone. However, based on what we've seen so far and what we expect to see in the next few weeks, here are my power rankings for the top ten ladies:

10. Anna Pogorilaya (RUS)   

2013-2014 Grand Prix Final & Junior Grand Prix Final: Ladies Reviews + Yu-Na Kim's Debut at 2013 Golden Spin of Zagreb

I picked a terrible week to go on vacation!  So much skating has happened in the last week or so, but no worries...I'm going to cover it all.  I'll start with the Grand Prix Final, then look at the Junior Grand Prix Final and wrap up with the debut of Yu-Na Kim at Golden Spin of Zagreb.  Let's get to it!

2013 Grand Prix Final

A glimpse of things to come.  Maybe...maybe not.

2013 Rostelecom Cup: Ladies Review & Grand Prix Final Standings

Every season there's at least one competition where the judging raises eyebrows.  Last year it was Mao Asada's controversial win over Akiko Suzuki at NHK; this year it's the judging at Rostelecom Cup.  Terrible judging...just terrible...

Ahh, nothing like hometown scoring to make you feel good

2013 Trophee Eric Bompard: Ladies Review

The penultimate event of the Grand Prix season did not disappoint.  With a mini rivalry/feud brewing and trips to the Grand Prix Final on the line, the top competitors brought their "A" game.

All three As brought their "A" game!

2013 NHK Trophy: Ladies Review

And just like that we're already in the second half of the Grand Prix season.  NHK Trophy is always a big deal because Japan is where figure skating is the most popular.  It's the most exciting place to skate and, thankfully, NHK didn't disappoint this year...at least not too much.

Mao and Elena are on a roll! 

Around the World in Skating: November 5, 2013

Just a few updates and thoughts on some of the things making headlines this week...

Yu-Na Kim to Debut at Golden Spin

Time to kick off her season!

2013 Cup of China: Ladies Review

We've seen some good skating so far this season so, naturally, we were due for a splatfest.  Cup of China was a very disappointing competition for everyone but the winner...

Who had Anna as the #1 fantasy pick? No one, I'm sure...

2013 Skate Canada: Ladies Review

Please forgive me if this review rapidly descends into incoherent babbling.  I spent 18 of the last 48 hours on a bus and I'm running off of only a few hours of sleep.  I enjoyed my lightning fast mini vacay to Orlando (yay Disney World!) but it's time to get back to business.  I was able to watch the ladies SP on Friday but I had to check my phone while waiting on the fireworks show at Epcot to see who won the event.  So, here's my catch-up review...

A new darkhorse has emerged for Sochi...

2013 Skate America: Ladies Review

I spent nearly my entire weekend watching skating and I have to say I enjoyed all of it!  Men, pairs, ice dance and, of course, the ladies...it was an excellent competition across the board.  As always, I have to take a look back at the ladies and give my thoughts on this Olympic season Grand Prix opener.


First podium of the season...I approve!

2013 JGP Tallinn Cup: Ladies Review + Final JGP Standings

We're down to the final JGP event of the season!

Here are the final results

2013 Japan Open, 2013 Finlandia Trophy, 2013 JGP Czech Skate & 2013 Ondrej Nepela Trophy: Ladies Reviews

So so SO much skating to talk about!  A number of competitions featuring several of the top names in the sport went down this past weekend: Japan Open, Finlandia Trophy, JGP Czech and Ondrej Nepela Trophy.  Get ready cause I'm going for the high score: four competitions in one post!  Here we go...

2013 Japan Open

I always enjoy Japan Open and this season we were treated to some really strong performances, especially from the ladies.

Team Japan wins again!

2013 JGP Minsk & 2013 Nebelhorn Trophy: Ladies Reviews + Gracie and Yu-Na News

Lots of skating and news this past week.  I'll take a look at the ladies from JGP Minsk and Nebelhorn Trophy, and wrap up with a bit Gracie Gold and Yu-Na Kim news.  Let's get started...

2013 JGP Minsk: Ladies Review

The final standings:

2013 JGP Baltic Cup: Ladies Review & JGP Standings

The time is flying by!  JGP Baltic Cup marks the halfway point of the Junior Grand Prix season.  I’ll give my review of the ladies and wrap up with a look at the JGP standings so far. 

2013 JGP Baltic Cup

Final results

Around the World in Skating: September 18, 2013

There's never a dull moment in skating...yeah, that is a complete and total lie, but at least there is plenty to talk about this week.  Gracie's making moves (possibly), Miki's debut is around the corner, and the worst news ever about Johnny Weir!!

Gracie + Frank = Gold?

Can Carroll right the S.S. Gold before Sochi?

2013 JGP Kosice & 2013 US International Figure Skating Classic: Ladies Review

So much went on this weekend!  I’ll start with my JGP Kosice ladies review and then recap the senior ladies event at the US International Classic.  Let’s get to it.

2013 JGP Kosice

Final results:

JGP Mexico Cup 2013: Ladies Review

Me gusta el patinaje artistico!  The second event on the JGP stop was Mexico City and though the competition wasn't as evenly matched here as last week, there were still some pretty good performances from the ladies...

The final results:

JGP Riga Cup 2013: Ladies Review

Woohoo! The Junior Grand Prix has officially begun! Let's get to it...

Here are the final results:

Around the World in Skating: August 26, 2013

News has been trickling in all off season long but now seems like as good a time as any to give my 2 cents on what's going on...

Yu-Na Kim Announces 2013-2014 Programs...Finally!

Yu-Na will tackle a lyrical piece and a tango for her final season

Off Season Fun: A 2012-2013 Season Photo Album

A picture is usually worth a thousand words, but I'm going to keep it much shorter than that.  Here are some of my favorite photos from the 2012-2013 season:

Off Season Fun 2012-2013: Favorite Free Skates

Let the Off Season Fun continue!  Time for my favorite Free Skates of the 2012-2013 season.

5. Kanako Murakami – “Adios Nonino”

Off Season Fun 2012-2013: Favorite Short Programs

Yay for Off Season Fun!  Now I’m going to take a look back at my favorite programs from the 2012-2013 season.  First up, the Short Program!  Here are my favorites from last season…

5. Mao Asada - “I’ve Got Rhythm”

Off Season Fun 2012-2013: Fashion Review - Free Skate

Off Season Fun pushes onward!  Now it’s time to take a look at my favorite Free Skate dresses from the 2012-2013 season…

5. Zijun Li: “Sleeping Beauty”

Off Season Fun: 2012-2013 Fashion Review - Short Program

I’m back! Yes, I can hear the cheers and thank you, I missed you all too…

Anyhoo, as promised, it’s time for Off Season Fun! I’m going to start with my 2nd annual Fashion Review.  First up, the Short Program…here we go!

5. Elene Gedevanishvili: “Schindler’s List”

Thanks Everyone!

So, I was supposed to post my 2012-2013 Season Review but I’m thinking I’ll hang on to that for now and post it before the new season begins. Things will be quiet around here for the next few months. I’ll start updating again once the JGP starts. I definitely want to revisit my Off Season Fun posts from last summer. I had a lot of fun doing my fashion review and my list of favorite programs, so you can expect to see some of that again. If something important/interesting happens I’ll post an Around the World in Skating entry, plus I’ll be updating my Twitter account every now and then (@NakedIceBlog) so make sure to follow me!

Thanks to everyone who checked in here throughout the season to read my ramblings or leave a comment, and thanks to those who followed me on Twitter too. It feels good to know I’m not just talking to myself. I can’t wait until next season!

Ta for now!

I'll Be the Judge of That: 2013 World Championships - Ladies Free Skate

I’ve been pretty busy but I wanted to finish what I started here. Actually, the scores have been done for a while but it takes a minute to write out my explanations. Anyhoo, here are the FS scores and final standings for my mock scoring for the 2013 World Championships.

Does there need to be some shuffling of the podium?

I'll Be The Judge of That: 2013 World Championships - Ladies Short Program

As with every competition, there’s going to be some controversy after the scores come up. True, the bigger controversy in this year’s world championships was the outcome of the men’s event…but, loving the ladies as I do, I decided to focus my efforts on what I know best. I felt some skaters were held up, others were held down, and some got what they deserved.

Is this the correct order of the podium?

2013 World Championships: Ladies Review

So, um, this didn’t turn out to be the knock-down drag-out fight I thought it was going to be. In the end, only two people brought their "A" game for both segments of the competition.

The Queen reigns supreme once again...

2013 World Championships: Ladies Preview

It’s finally here!  The main event…the big showdown:  the 2013 World Championships.  Next to Olympic gold, there is no higher honor in figure skating than a world title. I have to say this is the first time in a long time that I’ve been excited for the ladies competition at worlds.

2013 Junior World Championships: Ladies Review

I can’t say it’s a surprise but I’m still a little shocked that my prediction (had I made one officially) ended up being correct. There was a Russian sweep of the podium at junior worlds in the ladies event. We saw some great skating, some bad skating and some questionable results but hey, this is figure skating after all…

Perfect end to a nearly perfect season!

2013 Junior World Championships: Ladies Preview

The ladies SP at junior worlds gets underway today in Milan, Italy. I have sworn off of making predictions for competitions this year (because I suck at it) but I think a preview is a safe way to make some “predictions” without really making them. Let’s take a look on a team by team basis…

Team Russia 

Elena Radionova, Julia Lipnitskaya, Anna Pogorilaya 

L to R: Lipnitskaya, Radionova, Pogorilaya

I'll Be The Judge of That: 2013 U.S. National Championships - Ladies Event

Following the results of 4CC, discussion has resumed regarding the US ladies, their placements at nationals and the prospects of the world team. I am one who believed there was a fair amount of propping as well as holding down at this year’s nationals. So, I decided to see what the scores would have been like if I were the one judging the ladies…

Was the "not impressed" expression justified?

2013 Four Continents Championship: Ladies Review

Incredible skating at 4CC this year!! For the last few years 4CC has been like a small preview of worlds. Well if the main event is anything like the preview, we are in for at treat in London this year! 

Japan sweeps the podium!

2013 U.S. National Championships: Ladies Review

Wow. This was definitely one of the most dramatic and controversial ladies championships we’ve seen in quite a while. I still don’t know how I feel about the outcome. This review isn’t going to follow my usual format mainly because I’m still really conflicted and don’t even know how to begin to sum this competition up. These judges took cheating, inflation and holding up to a completely different level this year...

The most blonde podium we've ever had!

Naked Ice is on Twitter!!

Okay, I caved.

After firmly denying any interest whatsoever in Twitter, tweeting, re-tweeting and all that stuff, I've decided having a Twitter account for Naked Ice might not be too bad...hell, it might actually be fun! I have oodles of random figure skating thoughts all day long and due to time and the fact that I'm supposed to be working while at work, I'm not able to post them to my blog.  This is a way for me to do just that!  Plus with US nationals, Europeans, 4CC and worlds coming up, there is going to be a lot to cover and comment on so I think Twitter is a good idea. I don't know how many people actually read this blog but, judging by the stats, I get a decent number of hits despite having only 5 followers (the best 5 followers in the world!!).

Anyway, if you'd like to follow me on Twitter you can do so at @NakedIceBlog.  I plan on giving this newfangled Twitter whachamagig a test spin tonight for the US junior ladies FS. I'll cover the senior ladies SP tomorrow and the FS on Saturday, and of course, I'll post a full review here for the ladies' event next week.

Follow me!! Oh jeez, it's starting...

Around the World in Skating: January 21, 2013

Just a quick update on what happened over the weekend...

Introducing Mr. & Mrs. Michelle Kwan!

All hail Mrs. Kween!

Our Kween is married!! 

2013 U.S. Nationals: Ladies Predictions

The last major national competition is right around the corner! I’m talking about the US nationals, taking place this week in Omaha, Nebraska. I’ve stayed away from making predictions about competitions this season (mainly because I sucked so badly at it last year) but I think I’m going channel my inner Miss Cleo and try for this one...

This ought to be pretty good...

Top 5 Favorite: Yu-Na Kim Programs

In honor of Yu-Na doing her thang this weekend at Korean nationals, I decided to take a look back at some of her best programs and performances (in my opinion anyway) in hopes that she’s able to channel the greatness from these programs and apply them to her current ones!

5. Tango de Roxanne – Worlds 2007 

2013 National Championships Round-Up

Happy New Year everyone!  I thought it'd be a good idea to catch up with all of the national championships that have taken place over the last few weeks.  The second half of the season is about to start and it's shaping up to be exciting!

2013 Japanese National Championships

Mao Asada - 193.56 (1st)