As a Korean, the best part of this competition was the Estonian audience. They were soo supportive to every single skater all the time. Also it was so touching to see some local fans who brought their hand-made banners written in Korean or Japanese.

Jun Hwan Cha's Ina Bauer was gorgeous! And I'm a sucker for a Lutz-Loop combo, so I was a happy camper this week.

Junhwan Cha's SP is one of my favorites this season. I love the choreography, it matches the music perfectly. His movements are stunning and he is a great spinner. I mean talk about that Ina Bauer in his FP. To die for! Dany G could NEVER! He's a skater I want to see succeed.

Time stamps! Sorry if they aren’t very good, it’s my first time doing them! 0:00 Olympic excitement! (Discussion about past 4CC covered on the show, the meaning of being a medalist at 4CC in an Olympic year, 4CC in general) 7:05 What should federations do regarding sending skaters to 4CC during COVID and so close to Beijing (Orser was at 4CC. Which skater is Orser going with for the Olympics?) (The pull harness man- sorry I don’t know how to spell his name, Eddy Shipstad?- is from a skating family and was the one with the Colorado skaters.) 11:26 Galina pep talk ;) (re: a discussion about K&C and talks by the boards) 13:22 the Montreal dance school 14:45 On Edge (on the Olympic Channel) H&D and their goal to beat the French 17:49 Kazuki Tomono Back on a big stage, versus Junhwan Should he have been the first alternate for Worlds instead of Kao? 19:24 a strict caller on the step sequence 20:00 step sequence bullet points 1. Variety (minimum, simple, variety, complexity) 2. Rotations in either directions for 1/3 of pattern (nOt taLkINg AboUt tRuSOva hahaha) 3. Use of body movement for 1/3 4. Two combinations of three difficult turns on different feet executed with continuous flow within the sequence (clusters) 23:43 back to Kazuki (How he could have gotten that Level 2) 25:48 Junhwan Cha Jonathan loves the short :) Breezy, lyrical quality to his skating He needs different colored gloves 28:49 Tomoki Hiwatashi & Camden Pulkinen Middling by the Colorado boys Their momentum not carrying them to the next season (especially Tomoki) Dave would’ve sent Yaro over Tomoki, or maybe Liam 34:31 Jimmy Ma Lost his momentum from the fall, but certainly earned his spot on the 4CC team Do you lose motivation being in competition against Nathan, Vincent, Jason, Ilia? 36:59 Kao Miura Fast, good jumps, stiff body which shows in presentation and spins Get him into yoga class and ballet- Dave predicting the future of talk on Kao 38:09 Brendan Kerry Been around, did well, was lovely! 38:31 Mikhail Shaidorov Jumps are so clean, lovely, different federation would push 38:49 Canadian men Joseph had an injury Corey is getting experience and improving 40:33 Pairs, starting immediately with Deanna 41:01 Nathan Bartholomay Always looking like it’s the performance of his life 43:16 Deanna vs Nate Katie & Nate had an aesthetic short, Nate being a crane and just lifting Katie Deanna’s transitions are interesting but maybe let highlights be highlights instead of clusters 47:35 Evelyn Walsh & Trent Michaud Clean skate but low score, so emotions aside Canada probably made the right decision for Beijing More consistent than Vanessa & Eric but GOE and components are probably with V&E 50:52 Audrey Lu & Misha Mitrofanov Short program costume not good, free music not good Deserved win, good technical potential, but need finishing and quality in the elements 52:27 Emily Chan & Spencer Howe Nicer skating skills, choreography Dull music (for the free?) Throw techniques looked a bit rough 53:46 back to Audrey & Misha Her jumps were under in the free Good use of 4CC for the next season Should go to an edge class and connect 54:45 history lesson in pairs! Moskvina brilliance Boston pairs should go to lunch together (Olga should also cut Jimmy’s ponytail and help Gabby Izzo not look so washed out) 59:06 Ice Dance 59:23 Caroline Green & Michael Parsons Great! 59:48 Daisuke had the best short Posture in the free could be better Lifts are great but height difference shows 1:01:52 back to Green & Parsons Set the tone for the future Politics (school, momentum, relationships in skating) Music subdued, costume could be better 1:05:15 is eleven teams too much for one school? What’s going to happen in the future of ice dance? Marina hanging around? Feat. Circles 1:09:01 hopefully Green & Parsons do something completely different next season 1:10:39 Ian Somerville & Emily Bratti He is so talented, unbuttoned shirt Personalities seem unmatched? 1:11:15 Ponomeranko & Carreira At crossroads (1:12:30 Scott in K&C looking like he aged in reverse) Ponomeranko probably has an injury that needs surgery US dance has a big legacy to live up to (for the next generation) 1:16:23 Canadians Champagne night gown situation 1:16:37 nice Australian teams 1:16:58 top Korean ladies here Benefit in the long run to have them here? 1:18:18 what does this mean for Young You Triple axels feat. Trusova, Valieva’s left arm 1:21:01 Haein Lee Needs someone to help her get that extra 1% extension 1:22:01 Koreans need the 4T+3T Too much Yuna Kim imitation in program style, kind of under her legacy 1:24:27 Mai Mihara winning Looks so happy when she’s skating SHE NEEDS A HUG 1:27:22 Audrey Shin Lovely, loves to skate Jumps looked better here than at Nationals Offensive key change in the music on a spin (An interview? Not sure I caught what it was) 1:31:16 Rino Matsuike Great lunge moment! Feat. Sandra Bezic 1:33:23 moment of the week Jonathan: Junhwan cover-up on the 4S, both of Daisuke’s programs in content, Mai winning Dave: Rino’s lunge, Junhwan’s head and great hair on his Ina Bauer orbiting the sun My own side notes: I’m not Korean, but from what I have found it seems that Lee Haein is pronounced somewhat like “Eee Hay Een”. I’m not exactly sure why her surname was translated into Lee because that’s not what the Korean character says. Anyway, Hay-Een would be a closer pronunciation for her name. My own moment of the week was watching this video :). I had a massive national exam this past week so had to put a hiatus on watching figure skating. I missed 4CC, but now I’m back, so this recap was spectacular. Also, the moment I came out of exams I opened up Instagram and lo and behold! Panfilova and Rylov are training again! So that was my other moment of the week ;)

Junhwan's short is excellent. Comes a very close second to Sinnerman as favourite short program of the season. Also, I loved his win here (a long time coming!) and had fun watching Brian give a masterclass in being a great (and politically savvy) coach. Right down to the little Korean flag on his facemask :D

Jun was just a dream!

It was great to see Miramoto/Takahashi rhythm and free dances. Perfect music and choreography. It was still good even with the mishap.

Perfect timing!! Thanks for everything TSL!

Finally! Been waiting for this since 3AM Philippine time. Thank you!!!

Watching the three Korean ladies skate back-to-back-to-back in the free and every single program was a Yuna Kim homage was kind of a trip.

Once again you guys made me go search for Adam Rippon 2010 Japan Open as I don't remember it and I have watched ALL skating for many, many years. This must not have been on TV, or I must have been under a rock. My GOD what a performance that was. Thank you KZfaq for always having whatever I'm searching for.

Mai deserved to be named to the Olympic team, end of story. I'm so sad for her :(. When you look at body of work, it's really not even close between her and Mana. If Japan wants to give Mana experience and exposure, send her to 4CC, Jr Worlds and Worlds. On any given day, Mai could (and has this season) beat Kaori or Wakaba.

I love watching 4CC even though it arguably had weaker fields on some of the disciplines, I particularly enjoyed men and women. When watching 4CC women, I could not help myself comparing the scores with Euros. The way top skaters being prepped up in the Euros vs 4CC, it's not fair. I still think it's a mistake that KSU sending their Oly team when their women were being treated that way. The SP was particulary very egregious, the FP was better (missing lot of calls though). But the pcs distributions in both segments compared to the Euros women were not comparable, like they're judged in different universe. I found myself enjoying the skating more when I didn't pay attention to the scores.

In the clarification of the levels for the step sequences, it defines the number of turns needed for minimum (5), simple (7), variety (9), complexity (11). They have to be CLEAN turns and that’s where they loose levels when turns are not counted as clean. So if your edges are off on a cluster, you loose the cluster and the number of turns.

I think Kazuki Tomono's partnership with Misha Ge is finally paying dividends. I've always thought Misha's choreography to be over the top, making Kazuki look frantic and unsettling. Obviously they've found a sweet spot between originality, exceptional exuberance and a sense of being in control.

“Nate is like a crane. He’s like a brick. He’s a Mac truck. He is just lifting that girl. Brute force.” 😂

The Korean pronunciation for Haein Lee is "Hey"in Lee instead of "Ha"in Lee so the way they pronounced it at the Four Continents was correct

Just in time for my Sunday evening chores! Always a treat 💖

Love your thoughtful discussion! I understand figure skating so much better because of the two of you!

Kazuki should absolutely be the first alternate to Worlds.

I adore Mai. I think she is very sensitive to the music and, with her mastery of skating skills, can express its nuances in a way that few can. I agree that she is bringing everything she has been through to these programs and for I Dreamed a Dream in particular, which is quite tragic, it gives an extra dimension that younger skaters just don't have imo.

Everyone wants to know why Korea sent their team, but why did Australia send Brendan Kerry with a leg injury before the Olympics? He sounded really annoyed with the whole situation. My moment was Haien Lee's FS and Kazuki Tomono everything. They are both joys to watch.

Thank you Dave. The discussion about ice dance was especially interesting and informative!

I was happy for Starr having a nice short and Audrey having a great free.

Europeans is easier travel for many of those skaters. 4ccs always involves crazy long travel days for someone. In an Olympic year you could schedule 4ccs better but the travel will always be a problem.

Rino was clearly the most talented skater of the competition in her LP. Mai is a great sentimental story, and has been getting very favorable scoring and tech calls this whole season. But, as you said, she is a good student and isn't dynamic at all. The JSF made a rare good decision to send Mana to Oly and Worlds. The tech caller here was very lenient on rotation, especially with Audrey and Mai. When some of the Korean girls and Rino would jump and actually finish their rotation in the air, unlike the aforementioned pair, it was like a breath of fresh air.

You both make my Sundays! LOVE 💘 your commentary on RU's commenting on you! Reminds me of the Natl Enquirer & its wild nonreporting!

Yay Sunday video. Nice sweaters!!!

Jonathan loves the word "Amazing" lol

JSF was right to send Mana to olympics but it was a big mistake to send her to worlds. Mai is one of the most consistent skaters in the world and has placed top 5 at every event since turning senior. I love Wakaba and Mana (Waka is my favorite of all time) but neither of them are very consistent skaters and I wouldn't be surprised if JSF loses the 3rd spot with both of them on the team. Whereas with Mai + Kaori the 3rd spot is esentially guaranteed as this 4CC showed

The Japanese and Koreans made my week. 😍

It was actually nice watching a competition w/out the Russians in it, getting over scored & having questionable technique.

Jonathon on point with the Les Mis dresses glammed up in a thousand dollars of sparkle lol. Thanks for this TSL!

Been waiting for this, but the video will have to wait. I just subscribed to your Patreon. Excited to join the chat.

Re: Kao Miura's spins etc. I fully agree atm, but he said at the press conference that he had already looked at the protocols/performances for Jun and Kazuki and that he has to work on his spins and steps. He can 'forgive himself this time, but next season that will be unacceptable". That guy has some serious Yuzu energy ;-) (quoting the translation by the interpreter from Japanese here, but she sounded very competent)

Those step sequence calls were honestly bizarre, have never seen so many level 2s at a competition of this level. So different from Europeans. Turns are supposed to be 'clean.' It really stood out to me in the replay that Anna and Sasha were jumping their turns (I think Kamila's were clean though). Jun was the highlight for me here! Absolutely love both his programmes this year - such a stunning skater. I also have a real soft spot for Starr. I know she doesn't have the greatest tech content, and had a couple of really weird mistakes at the start of the free here, but there's something about her that is really engaging and draws me in, and I love watching her. The Korean girls are all generically lovely (except Hae-in, I've loved her since juniors, although she needs some better programmes, like her Firedance), but not a lot of personality. They need to work on bringing out their own style and personality more.

Meddling: great doc. Wish it had more interviews of journalists’ perspective and more post games impact on the athletes. NBC Olympic Bumps: they push NC, C&B...and 2017 swan footage of Karen Chen. Give Mariah some love. Huge KC fan but this is MBs moment. She earned it.

FYI Kao Miura, who had a fall and got a level 2 for SS in the FP, pulled muscle just before the FP apparently.

The comments from sportsdotru are something else. The comments about young girls after the junior champs the other day! My moment of the week was the Yelim and Haein's coach screaming at their results.

Didn't get to see all the performances, but am glad for Junhwan at getting his first gold medal at 4CC! Kazuki did well to place on the podium, too. Mai surprised me, but then she was consistent, and it worked out for her. She deserves the be in 1st place. Haein Lee and Yelim Kim did wonderfully as well; I have to agree about your assessment on the Korean ladies, guys. KFed tires out their skaters; it would have been better to send their Olympic skaters to the Olympics and have alternates for competitions like 4CC. You Young's 3A is inconsistent; her training plus the pandemic shutdowns have not been in her favor. I wonder if she got tired here from all those previous competitions at home. The Korean women need to find their own style of skating and pick their own music; they can't compete against the memory of their beloved idol. They need to compete against the present women if they want a chance at being 1-2-3 like the Russians. Loved watching KanaDai's Rhythm dance, even with the fall in the beginning. I'm glad they got their first medal here.

Breaking off from watching to say one of the most memorable step sequences I remember was David Liu all on one foot to The Mission. It wouldn't even rank as Basic under IJS it would be illegal but it was beautiful challenging technically and very entertaining.

The korean really do need to start politicking. Like the judges weirdly always seem to be very strict with their jumps and presentation except for Young. On the good news, Eunsoo is accepted to Korea University which is one of Korea's SKY/ top uni (probably as student athlete as well), so hopefully she is not going to retire yet. I m saying this bcs people gossip a lot about her going into the entertainment industry, when she is actually the only one from the top skaters who never been to any TV/ radio shows or remotely showed any desire into that path yet.

Kao Miura said he pulled his leg muscles before the competition. He was in pain and he doesn't know how he was able to jump.

Jonathan, I completely agree about the key change in Audrey's program. Jarring is the perfect word to describe it.

omg just in time guys

about how to pronounce "hae-in lee"'s name, saying "Hae" as in "Have, Had, Hello, Heroin ..." is correct

Dave’s cackle at 10:48 was everything 😂

“They should go to lunch!” I have a great place, The Feisty Greek, 5 minutes away from their rink. Very popular with the locals. I went there during US Classic. Delicious!

Deanna for Canadian national champion next year🙃🥰

Haein’s name was announced correctly at Estonia! It is like Hey In

Yeah the Korean ladies are so talented but they need to move on from the Yuna programmes. As much as I love them, I always remember Yuna doing the programmes and think "God, Yuna was good". It's a really wonderful homage, but Yuna was competing 8 years ago so we can save the tributes for 2040! But I do believe they could be the future of skating - they have proper technique which will survive ISU rule changes, which can't be said for other federations where entire dominance is hanging on a "pre-rotation isn't under-rotation" thread

I like Dave's love of Rino's shoulder moves. She should be called the anti Sakamoto. Lol

Re: Sunset Boulevard... Ashley should've done a "With One Look" FS at 2018 Nationals. Fight me 🤺

Right on about Junhwan (and I really didn’t find him that special before this event) - his Neck choreography on the Ina Bauer saved the most banal element from itself. (And the 4S double three with the arms behind his back actually looked cool lol ~ I actually rewind the video right back to see it again)

Do we need to consider that the Americans had to travel 24 hours over 3 flights to get there, combined with jet lag without no early arrival -- and they were skating at what would be 3:30am on their home turf? Would that affect their energy, strength, power?

Hae In Hae (the announcer here was correct- sounds like ‘hair’ minus the ‘r’ sound part of the word) In (as is, but to split hairs- slightly longer on the ‘i’ and slightly shorter on the ‘n’)

“We never got the full Andrea Joyce story.” 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

Haein Lee is the romanization of the name "이 해인", in it's ocidental form the "ae" it's actually just a representation of one the "e" sounding vowels of the Korean alphabet So saying Hein Lee would be the correct way

Watched the 4CC pairs event closely because of the negative reactions concerning the pairs team choices made. The results in the pairs event supported the choices made by Canada concerning their Olympic pairs teams. Sending skaters to the Olympics using their body of work through the season leading up to the Olympics is a better way to decide not the results of Nationals.

Yuhana yokoi was pretty emotional after her skate and in the kiss n cry she held a tshirt with messages on it. Was this her last competition? Is she retired?

Why were the participants in the pairs' competition limited to the USA and Canada.

Whereas we have Four Continents, I would like to a second large domestic/intrasquad meet for US skaters to practice for International events. Maybe it be called the "Incontinents Figure Skating Championships". What do you think?

Wait... You were compared to Grishuk and Baiul? Deets please! :D

1:21:08 as someone who knows a decent amount of korean based on the way her name is written natively (이 해인) it would make more sense to say "hay" instead of "hi"

Green and Parsons' free dance was and is breathtaking and mesmerizing.

Japan should reconsider their Olympic team if they want to set themselves up better for a medal in the team . Mai Mihara should have been selected because she’s been japans most consistent skater, especially in the long program for nearly 2 Olympic cycles and has super solid outing internationally this season, certainly better than Mana. And Daisuke and Kana would have came in 9th at Europeans and add that 2 of the top 8 teams from that competition aren’t going to Olympics.

such a good point about the Korean ladies. at the beginning of the season, it made sense to me that they all wanted to do a Yuna Kim medley because they all want to be the Next Yuna, but your point of view is probably what the judges think when they watch these programs.

I saw an interview somewhere that this season all the top Korean girls (the three girls here and Eunsoo Lim) are deliberately using musics that are from Yuna's iconic programs. It is indeed a deliberate tribute to Yuna. I don't know why they do this, maybe it is because this is the first Olympic since 2010 that we will not see Yuna in any form. And this is a special way to bring Yuna's legacy to this winter Olympic games. But I have to say while I was watching these programs, it reminded me Yuna's programs so much that I went straight back and watched Yuna's program right afterwards. And got to admit Yuna is still the best, none of the Korean girls' performance can touch her majesty. I think next season, the korean skaters will have their own music and unique programs.

Evelyn Walsh accused her own federation of manipulating with the results of Olympic announcement. Stupid move from her.

Marina Zoueva (sp?) was there. Wouldn't she be going for Davis/Smolkin?

Love seeing both of you. Dave and Jonathan you both are the best. You give the best view on ice skating. I have to say love all the way. This is going to be a really interesting Olympics.

Also shout out to Gabrielle Daleman for doing one of her strongest free skates this season!!

I wonder where the Korean skaters are training before heading to Olympics. They’ll have to quarantine if they go back to Korea…

Watch out -- Young You has a content to threat the podium in Beijing [with 3A and THREE combinations]. If she goes clean, and one of the three Russians has a bad day, there is no way the judges can thrust Kaori with her two combinations and no 3A in front of YY... Too many if's, I know... Loved Haien Lee and Yelim Kim but the most exciting to watch was Yuhana Yokoi in the free -- after such a frustrating season she finally manages to hold it together and skate cleanly the free. The most frustrating to watch is Camden Pulkinen. He's (by far) the most charismatic skater, very handsome, amazing musicality, beautiful technique, super promising in juniors... and with all of the striking qualities he has he is stagnating. Camden and Tomoki either have coaches who cannot figure them out, or they don't work/prepare properly, which again is probably a bad coaching... Hope they curb that curve and start progressing as they're expected to. For us it's exciting to see the success of Muramoto/Takahashi because of him, but I'd hate to be in the pairs that missed the podium. His skating is rough for ice dancing, there is no ease or smoothness in whatever he does. It's just no good, all fake... Props to Audrey and Misha, to Corey for moving in right direction and to Shaidorov for his fascinating jumps.

The fans are asking : Time stamp 1:32:23 . Dave living his best life.

I've been seeing posts on the figure skating subreddit about rumors of a Japanese lady wanting to train with Eteri - could there be any truth to this? I really hope not

Really shocked anyone went to 4CC this year (other than European skaters).

Are you both figure skaters?

This wasn't much of a competition let's be honest. It was USA vs Canada substitutes and Walsh michaud still failed. How can they handle Olympic pressure then.

Yaro didn't have tech minimum for 4CC?

hoping for some discussion about the russian juniors in the near future. I want the tea about so many hihi

Ilia! 4T-Euler-4S 🙌🙌🙌

This 4CC was a mix of disappointment over not being in the Olympic team and excitement over who to watch for the next 4 years. It was a bit sad watching Gabby Daleman here, considering that she was in the Pyeongchang. It was also quite sad to think that Canada only has 1 spot for the ladies considering that Katelyn Osmond win the Olympic bronze and world title (thanks to Zagitova's implosion) in 2018. I appreciate Chan & Howe and I am excited for this team. Last night's chat made me miss Jonathan!

One year later (almost) watching this, Vanessa and Eric flopped at the Olympics and I firmly believe Skate Canada made the wrong choice in sending them still and now Evelyn disappeared from competitive figure skating for Skate Canada (suspicious, looking at you Skate Canada)...

JunWahn is from Jin from BTS.

Nice. My replacement for CNN is back.

Two people made me mist up ..Mai and Kazuki's sp...I would have sent Mai to the Olympics..

Haein Lee's name is pronaunsed as Hein and not Hain.

I never get why Jun continues to wear those gloves. I get the reason for hand protection but they could at least match it with his costume. Oh wellz, we can never get it all. Jun with his gloves and his 3A. It's interesting that TCC didn't treat that 3A entrance properly. There was a blip of time in 2015 (or 2016) where he did a 3A with little to no prep. Or maybe it was a 2A. Anyway I don't know what happened to that progress but I guess TCC opted to just keep him healthy at that time.The 2-3 years leading up to Pyeongchang was rough health-wise to Jun as far as I can recall. I remember him almost not making the OG team due to injuries and the pointless competitions that KSU hosted. I am proud that Haein and Yelim got a redemption moment for their fall season. I feel sad for Young but I'm hoping that she's saving herself for Beijing instead. I still don't like their programs. LOL I'm apparently labelled a Korean skating hater for saying that. Whatevz, even I didn't like Eunsoo's programs either so they can't say that I'm biased to her. I wonder what will happen to Eunsoo though. Will next year be her swan song? Whatever her decision is, I hope she skates to a Blackpink program. I think she's truly the only one that could deliver the most kpop-adjacent program. The girl knows the choreo so it should be easy to inject the key dance moves to the program. I am so happy for Mai also getting that redemption moment from Nationals. I definitely agree that she's the definition of a Nice (tm) skater. I do think that JSF made the right decision of taking Mana to the Olympics but I can't help wonder if Mie Hamada made some deals in the background. Mana has the dynamo that Mai doesn't have BUT she's such a new (and inconsistent) skater to the scene. I'm hoping that Mana proves her place. I'm sure a lot of people will rally against her if she falters as Mai has that sentimental love from the public. Pairs is nice(tm). Ice dance is lovely. Green/Parson is truly the future of US Ice Dance. Hubbell/Donohue wishes they have their programs. I hope KanaDai stays for like a few more years to satiate my need for variety in Ice Dance. Even with some mistakes, their PB overshadows KoKo's.

I’m afraid ice dance in the US is going to have its Morgan Hurd moment in 2023-26 quad.

Dave, you rightly love to criticise Benoit's choreo. Scott Moir took 2 promising couples, Carr/Pon and Sales/Wamsteeker of Canada, and gave them both terrible Emo dreary dour music and boring choreo and inspite of Ponomarenko's injury, both couples were overtaken this season by better choreo'd programs.

I think I heard Lee Haein scream three times during her FS performance, it really distracted me. As did whatever was going on with her costume underwear. Never seen anything like that and I kept wondering if it was on purpose. Young You didn't look happy here, which is sad because the last time I remember seeing her she skated her FS with such joy.

50:00 consistently in being low in international competition vs Eric and Vanessa having Progress by each competition and new PBs first Grenoble GP new PB and then golden spin new PB.

썸네일 너무 ㄱㅇㅇ🤣🤍

Can't wait for you to talk about all the mediocrity 😋. Except for Green and Parsons. Their long is majestic.

Yelim was so stone-faced, her FS was genuinely hard to get thru. By the end I was ready to kick her off the team. Young has clearly worked very hard on her expressions, idk if this is that training in America thing again, but the others NEED what she has.

48:00 is Jonathan Bayer blind? Cause none of Walsh michaud programs were clean. Also If they have level 2, what do you expect their scores will be?

Hae-In pronounced as ‘Heh-Een’. ;))

I totally agree with David. Kazuki should've been placed first in the short. Shame on Japanese judges. They keep on doing this to their own people!!.

Yuzuru Hanyu didn't list any coach.