Welcome to the third installment of The Finer Sports’ 2019 US National Championships preview! In this one, I’ll take a deep dive into the 12 ice dance teams competing at the senior level this year. For more information on how these previews are structured, see Part 1 of my Ladies’ Preview. Ice dance is the… Continue reading 2019 US Nationals Preview: Championship Ice Dance
Tag: Chock and Bates
16 Great Ice Dance Performances of 2017-18
Because it was an Olympic year, everything seemed heightened in 2017-18. When I asked a friend to help me narrow down my lists of best performances, she instead convinced me to add more. And there was no way to shorten my list of the season’s biggest disasters. If all goes well, my look back at… Continue reading 16 Great Ice Dance Performances of 2017-18
The 16 Most Epic Skating Disasters of 2016-17
Skating fans like to pretend we’re in it for the successes: the biggest and cleanest jumps, the most engaging and original performances, the mascara-ruining happy tears in the kiss and cry. But there’s something cathartic about an enormous failure. Often, the most memorable programs at a competition are not the technically cleanest ones, but the… Continue reading The 16 Most Epic Skating Disasters of 2016-17
10 Great Ice Dance Performances of 2016-17
It’s crunch time in my line of work, so these year-end best-of lists are going to roll out slowly. I’m starting with ice dance for a simple reason: it’s the one I’m most terrified to post. Ice dance fans are territorial and passionate, and boy, will they fight with you. Sometimes they’ll fight with you… Continue reading 10 Great Ice Dance Performances of 2016-17
6 More Things I Learned from the 2017 US National Figure Skating Championships
What’s a blogger to do when she wants to say everything about Nationals? Someone with more restraint – or an editor – might just skip stuff, but skating fans hate it when you skip stuff. As it does almost every year, NBC blacked out the live performances of a number of ladies and ice dancers in the… Continue reading 6 More Things I Learned from the 2017 US National Figure Skating Championships
2017 US Nationals Field Guide: Championship Ice Dance
The United States has the strongest ice dance program in the world. Even the Just Happy to Be Here contingent is terrific.