Friday, December 30, 2016

End of Grand Prix Power Rankings: 2016-2017

I started doing Power Rankings back in the 2013-2014 season and it's become part of the post list here at Naked Ice.  So you should know the drill by now...Based on what we've seen so far, here are my Power Rankings for the top 10 ladies.  We'll take a look at where they are and what we can expect in the second half of the season.

10. Ashley Wagner (USA)

Sunday, December 11, 2016

2016-2017 Grand Prix Final & Junior Grand Prix Final + 2016 Golden Spin of Zagreb: Review

I picked a terrible time to go sail the seas!  So much has happened over the past two weeks which means I have a lot to catch up on.  I'll take a look at the Senior Grand Prix Final, then the Junior Grand Prix Final, and wrap it all up with Golden Spin of Zagreb.  Here we go!

2016-2017 Grand Prix Final

Back-to-back gold for Evgenia & silver for Satoko. Welcome to the podium Anna!

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

2016 NHK Trophy: Review + Final Grand Prix Standings

The last event of the season was a good one!  With spots to the Final on the line it came down to who wanted it the most.

Another win for Anna!

Monday, November 21, 2016

2016 Cup of China: Review

The second to last event of the season looked as though it would be a pretty good one.  I figured there would be some competition but I have to admit, this was not the outcome I expected.

Not what I was expecting but I'll take it!

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Sunday, October 30, 2016

2016 Skate Canada: Review

The second event of the season was packed when it came to medal contenders.  Of course this one was pretty much decided before the competition began but there were a few surprises along the way.

One down for Evgenia. Five more to go...


Monday, October 24, 2016

2016 Skate America: Review

The first competition of the season was touted as being another Ashley v. Gracie showdown. The media loves to drum up the drama between these two stars but in the end, there wasn't much to be had.  Instead we saw a few new stars emerge and that's always something to talk about.

The Americans go 1-2!

Sunday, October 16, 2016

2016-2017 Season: Preview

Another season begins!  It's hard to believe we've already reached the halfway point between the 2018 Olympic Games in Pyeongchang.  A lot can change between now and then but for now, here's where we stand heading into the 2016-2017 season...

Evgenia Medvedeva (RUS)
Can she make it back-to-back titles?

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

We'll Be the Judge of That: 2014 Sochi Olympics - Results

So this was a much more massive undertaking than I originally thought.  I'm not the Excel wiz I wish I were otherwise this might not have taken so long.  Regardless, it was still a fun project.  I'm not surprised with the outcome but I am surprised with some of the scores we came up with.


Let's see if our judges agreed with the standings

Sunday, October 9, 2016

2016 Finlandia Trophy + 2016 JGP Dresden: Reviews & JGP Final Standings

Another busy week in skating though not nearly as busy as last week.  I still haven't recovered from last week's epic post but the season continues on and so must I!  I'll take a look at Finlandia Trophy as well as JGP Dresden and the JGP final standings.

2016 Finlandia Trophy
Surprise, surprise! 


Sunday, October 2, 2016

2016 Japan Open + 2016 Tallinn Cup + 2016 Autumn International Classic + 2016 Ondrej Nepela: Reviews

Oh boy, here we go!  This was a massively busy week in the skating world.  Four competitions!  I'll take a look at Japan Open, JGP Tallinn Cup, the Autumn International Classic and Ondrej Nepela Memorial.

2016 Japan Open
Japan Open is a bit of cheesefest that doesn't really count for anything, but it is a competition that gives us a sneak peek at where some of the bigger names are just a few weeks before the start of the Grand Prix season.  (Side note: It was super-weird not seeing Mao Asada here...)


Team Japan is still #1

Sunday, September 25, 2016

Sunday, September 18, 2016

2016 JGP Cup of Mordovia + 2016 U.S. International Classic: Ladies Review

With two competition series going on there's plenty to cover.  This week was JGP Cup of Mordovia and the second event of the ISU Challenger series, U.S. International Classic.


JGP Cup of Mordovia


2016 Russian Test Skates

I always look forward to the test skate videos.  It's always good to have an idea of what's coming before it gets here, especially when it comes to the Russian women.  I saw a number of programs I liked, a few I didn't, and even some I'm on the fence about.

I Like!

Anna Pogorilaya

Monday, September 12, 2016

2016 JGP Yokohama + 2016 Lombardia Trophy: Ladies Review

Lots of skating has taken place in the last few days.  I'm going to take a quick look at the third JGP event, JGP Yokohama, and the first event of the ISU Challenger Series: Lombardia Trophy.  Here we go!

2016 JGP Yokohama

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

2016 JGP Czech Skate: Ladies Review

I gotta say this was the first closely skated event in quite some time and I am majorly excited about some of the ladies we saw here.



Sunday, August 28, 2016

2016 JGP St. Gervais: Ladies Review

JGP season is officially here!  The first event of the series took place last week and, as expected, some new talent has emerged in the junior ladies field.  Let's get to it...



Sunday, August 21, 2016

Off Season Fun 2015-2016: Favorite Free Skates

After a longer than usual break (sorry about that!) Off Season Fun continues and concludes with my favorite Free Skates from last season.

5. Mao Asada: "Madame Butterfly"


Sunday, July 24, 2016

Off Season Fun 2015-2016: Favorite Short Programs

Off Season Fun continues onward!  Next up I'll take a look back a my favorite programs from the 2015-2016 season.  First up, the Short Program...

5. Anna Pogorilaya: "Bolero for Violin and Orchestra"



Sunday, July 17, 2016

Sunday, July 10, 2016

Off Season Fun 2015-2016: Fashion Review - Short Program

My Off Season Fun series is 5 years old! I can't believe I've managed to keep this going for that long.  Well here's to 5 more years!  This is my favorite way to waste time during the summer.  As usual, I'll kick things off with my Fashion Review.  First up, my favorite Short Program looks:


5. Maria Sotskova: "Black Magic Woman"

Sunday, May 1, 2016

End of Season Power Rankings: 2015-2016

Did that go by really quickly or was it just me?  It seems like this season flew by at light speed and here we are at the end of another year. With the season officially over it's time to take a look at the top skaters from my End of Grand Prix Power Rankings and see how they fared in the second half of the season.  Some people have moved up, others moved down, and there are quite a few new additions as well as skaters from earlier in the season who didn't make the list.


10. Mirai Nagasu (USA)

Sunday, April 3, 2016

2016 World Championships: Ladies Review

This was one of the most anticipated World Championships I've seen in a while.  I don't know if it was the fact that the event was in the States or that there was a real possibility we'd see the U.S. ladies medal drought come to end...whatever it was, I'm glad to say these championships did not disappoint.

Russia still reigns but the U.S. medal drought is over!

Sunday, March 27, 2016

2016 World Championships: Ladies Preview

We're almost there!  The 2016 World Championships start in just a few days and I'm so excited!  This is the first time these championships have been held here since 2009 and we are all dying to find out how this event will turn out.  As is customary for my previews, I'll take a look at where each competitor is coming and give them a bottom line for these championships.

Who will show up and show out in Boston?

Sunday, March 20, 2016

2016 Junior World Championships: Ladies Review

I was geared up for this to be a pretty decent Russia vs. Japan competition.  Thanks to not one but two freak accidents in two days, this ended up not being the match I was expecting.

The Russian streak has been broken!

Saturday, February 27, 2016

We'll Be the Judge of That: Judges Needed!

How good is your IJS (International Judging System) knowledge?  Can you tell the difference between a flip and lutz?  Do you look at the results of some of these competitions and think how much better you'd be at judging than the actual judges?  If so this one is definitely for you!

Think you can do a better job than these guys?

Sunday, February 21, 2016

2016 Four Continents Championships: Ladies Review

A lot of the top names were invited to this event but only a few of them came...and even fewer actually showed up.

Not the podium I was expecting but, I'll take it!

Sunday, January 31, 2016

2016 European Championships + 2016 Canadian Nationals: Ladies Reviews

More skating! The 2016 European Championships took place last week.  The ladies event at Euros is more like a mini rematch of Russian nationals.  The top 3 competed again here and the results were...eh, the same.  I'll also take a look at the ladies from last weekend's Canadian National Championships.

2016 European Championships
Another Russian sweep this year

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

2016 U.S. National Championships: Ladies Review

This went from being one of the worst competitions I'd seen since last year's NHK Trophy to rather interesting at the end.  Put on your reading glasses and get comfortable.  I have a lot to say about this one...

Gracie is back on top!

Saturday, January 16, 2016

2016 U.S. National Championships: Ladies Preview

The U.S. National Championships will take place later on this week and I'm so ready to watch this one shake down.  With the 2016 World Championships taking place in Boston, a much bigger spotlight will be trained on the U.S. champion this year.  The U.S. champ skating on home ice at Worlds...that's a major advantage.  So who will have it?  I'll take a look at where the top contenders stand coming in and give them a bottom line for these championships.


This year's top contenders have their work cut out for them

Sunday, January 3, 2016

2016 National Championships Round-Up

Happy New Year everyone!  While most of us were on a holiday hiatus, these skaters were not. A number of national championship battles were fought and won over the past few weeks.  Here's my nationals round-up...

2016 Russian National Championships
A new Russian queen is crowned