Naked Ice is Taking a Break!

Hi all!

After giving it lots of thought I've made the decision to take a break from my blog for this season.  I'm not sure if I'll take the Grand Prix off and pick it back up for nationals, or if I'll take the entire season off and come back to blogging full-time next season.  As of now, it's an indefinite break.

I will, of course, continue to follow the season as I always do--the only difference is I won't be talking about it at length here on my blog.  However, I will be around on the forums and I'll give my quick thoughts on Twitter too, so make sure to follow me if you don't already (@NakedIceBlog).

Thank you so much to everyone who has continued to check in over the years.  I'll be back, I promise!

- Naked Ice 😘

2017-2018 Off Season Fun: Top 5 Favorites From the Past 4 Seasons (2014-2018)

I'm going to wrap up the 2017-2018 Off Season Fun with a look back at the past four seasons.  There have been so many amazing moments over the past four years but I've narrowed it down to my top 5 favorite things from each season.

2014-2015 Season

5. Samantha Cesario's "Carmen" FS

"Carmen" is so overused but Sammie's amazing program breathed new life into this battered old warhorse.  This is my all-time favorite "Carmen" program.

2017-2018 Off Season Fun: Top Fashion Looks + Top 5 Favorite SPs & FSs

Hi all!  It's time for Off Season Fun, YAAAY!  Given it's a bit late this year, I'm only doing two posts.  Still, it should be fun.  First up, Fashion Review and Top 5 Favorite programs for both the SP and FS...all in one!

2017-2018 Fashion Review - Top Looks

Short Program

Winner - Ashley Wagner

2018 World Championships: Review

This was by far the most surprising World Championship competition I've seen in a long long time.

If you predicted this I'll give you a million dollars

2018 World Championships: Preview

The 2018 World Championships are just a few days away.  Post-Olympic Worlds are a good place for those who struggled at the Olympics to have a shot at redemption and for new talent to stake their claim for the coming quad.  Here's a quick look at who we'll see this week...

Alina Zagitova (RUS)

2018 Junior World Championships: Review

I'm still a little hungover from the Olympics but this season isn't over yet!  Last weekend was the 2018 Junior World Championships and we saw some majorly historic stuff go down in the FS...

History has been made!

2018 Pyeongchang Olympics: Review

I don't know about you but I am officially wiped out.  I didn't think it was possible to have a figure skating overload but that's where I am.  It's been two weeks of basically nonstop skating and I watched about 90% of it.  Thus, I am burned out.  So rather than my usual in-depth review, I'm just giving my overall thoughts about each skater.

2018 Olympic Medalists

2018 Pyeongchang Olympics: Team Event - Review

The team event gave us an opportunity to look at a number of the headliners before the individual competitions get under way later this week.  Some of the events were skated rather poorly (*cough* men's SP *cough*) but others stepped it up and made it a memorable (and in some cases historic) event.

"Oh (hell yeah!) Canada..."

2018 Pyeongchang Olympics: Top Skaters to Watch

It's hard to believe that nearly four years have passed!  But they have and here we are yet again, just a couple of days away from the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics.  The women won't compete for gold until later in the month but I'll look at the top skaters we can expect to see battling for a spot on the podium.

2018 Four Continents Championships: Review

Most of the focus has shifted to Pyeongchang and the Olympics which are less than two weeks away.  However, there was still one major competition to get out of the way: Four Continents.  In Olympic years the competition is rather light; however, thanks to Japan we ended up with a pretty competitive event. 

It's a Japanese sweep!

2018 European Championships + 2018 Canadian National Championships: Review

We're getting down to the final few competitions before the Olympics take center stage.  This week was the Eteri student showdown:  Evgenia vs. Alina.  I'll take a quick look at the 2018 European Championships and also catch up on what happened weekend before last at the 2018 Canadian National Championships.

2018 European Championships

The Queen has been dethroned!

I'll Be the Judge of That: 2018 U.S. Nationals - Ladies' Event

The scoring of this sport is and will always be a subject of debate.  It's just bound to happen in a subjective sport like figure skating.  Every now and then the scoring leaves me not so sure if I agree with the results.  U.S. nationals gave me that "not sure" feeling this year, so I decided it was time for me to grab a pen and paper, watch these performances, and judge the competition myself.

Did the judges get it right?

2018 U.S. National Championships: Review

There's nothing like the Olympic Trials to remind everyone that this sport is the epitome of grace, athleticism and controversy.

This was one for the books!

2018 U.S. Championships: Preview

It's almost here!  The most pressure-filled event any U.S. skater will attend this year--yes, that includes the Olympics.  I expect this to be a dramatic event, especially in the women's field.  No one is a lock.  Some may have a better chance than others, but no one's ticket is stamped yet.  I'll take a look at where the competitors stand coming in and give them a bottom line for these championships.

There can only be 3...