ICE SKATING: Skate America: Women

Skate America 2000 October 26-29, 2000 Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA

Skate America is the premiere event of the amateur season figure skating. It is the first of six Grand Prix competitions, which will take place all around the world. Skaters can compete in up to three of the six Grand Prix series.

Two of those will count in the Grand Prix standings. Each skater is given a certain number of points for their final placement in the event (first place gets the most points, and so on).

At the end of the Grand Prix series, the top six skaters go on to the Grand Prix Finals, where they will compete for the Grand Prix title. The Grand Prix Finals has become one of the most important competitions in figure skating now, along with the European Championships, the World Championships, and, of course, the Olympics.

Its importance lies in the fact that it is the last international competition before the Worlds, and the Olympics. Competitors can know where they stand and what they need to work on, before going on to the Worlds or Olympics.

Skate America took place this year, for the second time, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, a city that is best known for its extremely high altitude - over a mile high in altitude. The thin air has proved to be quite a problem for about 90% of the skaters. Many skaters, even the best, get totally wiped out in the high altitude. This year, many skaters struggled again with the altitude, although there were, amidst the problems, some stellar performances.

The Women's Event The favorite going into the event was Michelle Kwan, the defending champion from last year, and three-time and reigning World Champion. Challengers included her teammates Angela Nikodinov, Sarah Hughes, and Russians Elena Sokolova and Viktoria Volchkova. Kwan was in the lead after the short program, with Hughes in second, and Sokolova in third. Viktoria Volchkova was in fourth, and Angela Nikodinov in seventh.

Angela Nikodinov led things off. She is a startling different skater this year, compared to last year. Nikodinov has lost about 15 pounds, and has a new hairstyle and carriage over the ice. Known as a very technically proficient, but cold and emotionless skater, Nikodinov had worked very hard over the summer to improve her extension and expression, and she hoped to show this off at Skate America. She wore a pristine white costume, with her hair bound back in the style of a ballerina. Fitting because her music was Tchaikovsky's ballet "Sleeping Beauty."

Unfortunately, the altitude totally drained Nikodinov, as it had last year. Although her weight loss has given her a lighter look on the ice, and less heavy and labored stroking and jumps, Nikodinov singled her first jump, a double axel. This is how the rest of her program would go. She did land a very nice triple lutz immediately after, but left out the combination double toe that she had planned. She also landed a very nice triple flip, but doubled every single jump after that: her triple loop, salchow, second triple lutz, and triple toe. In her final combination spin, Nikodinov even slipped off the toe. Nikodinov looked totally exhausted after her program.

The improvement in her presentation, however, was evident. She has greatly improved the way she holds her arms and her upper body. She had better stretch in her spirals, and, of course, her trademark layback spin was gorgeous - her back perfectly arched and her leg effortlessly turned out. What makes her layback so beautiful is that it does not look forced or contorted, but very naturally graceful.

Because Nikodinov had omitted so many jumps, her scores dipped into the 4.8 range, although her presentation marks improved, as high as 5.4. She was very disappointed in her poor showing.

Sarah Hughes skated to music from the ballet "Don Quixote," playing a young flirt. This was a new character for her, and she was very excited about debuting the program and hopes it will be one of her best. Hughes had lost some training time due to a broken bone in her hand over the summer. She is trying to improve her jumping technique (she has very weak toe jumps), as well as her artistic presentation. Hughes, only 15, had already made some improvements in artistry and her posture last season; however she still has an awkward or gangly appearance on the ice.

Hughes donned a flamboyant red and black costume, and put a red rose in her hair to play the flirt and flirt with the audience. She opened with a very nice, high double axel. She then landed a triple salchow - triple loop combination, very tough!! Hughes was one of the only skaters who did not seem affected at all by the altitude!! Following her wonderful combination, she ticked off a second triple loop, triple lutz (although it was, technically, a flutz), triple flip, double axel, and a triple toe. Hughes also demonstrated strong spins and spirals, smiling the whole time. Her layback spin had nice arm variations, and her spirals have even better extension than Michelle Kwan, although they do not have the same steadiness as Kwan. For Hughes, it was a great way to start the season, and one of her best performances. She was ecstatic afterwards, and received a standing ovation.

The music, however, was too slow in the beginning. It did not quite allow for her energy to come through. When the music changed, the energy improved and her flirty character was able to emerge more. This program has a lot of promise, and Hughes even seemed to have some of her gangliness. Perhaps playing this fun, flirty role allowed her to feel and look more like a teenager, and being true to herself makes her look less awkward.

Elena Sokolova skated next. Trying to reestablish herself as a real force in skating, Sokolova had moved from Moscow to St. Petersburg to train with Alexei Mishin, legendary coach of Olympic Champion Alexei Urmanov, and 1999 World Silver Medalist Evgeny Plushenko. Her hopes were to show everyone the new, improved Elena Sokolova this season. Her music was "Masquerade Waltz," by Khachaturian. Perhaps this choice of music was not that great for Sokolova. The music does not have a lot of ups and downs, but has a strong, sometimes overbearing rhythm. Since Sokolova has quite a charming and cute face and personality on the ice, she may need a more energetic or graceful piece of music, instead of a piece which seems to weigh her down more than it lifts her up.

Sokolova landed a very nice triple lutz-double toe combination. Her characteristically long, hesitant entries into her jumps proved to be a problem, though. She popped her next triple flip and triple loop, although she attempted the triple loop again and was successful. Towards the end of the program, Sokolova managed to land a triple toe and double axel. However, her spins and spirals lacked a lot of stretch or speed, maybe because she was trying to conserve her energy. Her final footwork sequence was slow and tired looking, instead of energetic and full of personality. Sokolova was placed behind Sarah Hughes.

Next to skate was Michelle Kwan. She was skating to "Song of the Black Swan," by Villa Lobos. Kwan stepped out of her opening triple loop. The loop is her worst jump, and this was probably not a strategic place to attempt her worst jump. She rebounded with a nice triple lutz - double toe combination. Kwan was planning a triple toe - triple toe combination, but doubled the second triple toe. She followed that with a doubled triple flip. Her spin, which came after the doubled flip, was extremely slow, nearly grinding to a dead halt.

Kwan then got a bit of rest in her program, doing some well-extended spirals. The short period of rest served her well, as the second half of her program was far better than the first. She landed her next triple salchow, and replaced her "Charlotte" spiral with the triple toe she had left out of her combination. Kwan did a spin sequence that she had pioneered in 1998 - spinning in both directions. Her second triple lutz was better than her first. Her program seemed to end very suddenly - there was no build up of the music to lead to a climactic ending. It seemed very abrupt.

This program does not have a lot of spark, but was this due to the altitude, or the lackluster way that Kwan interprets the music? Or was it because of the costume, which was so plain it looked nothing like traditional swan attire? Kwan definitely needs to add some more "swan" to this program, because there is not a lot of swan in the program as it is now. Maybe Kwan can take some lessons from Oksana Baiul, who's 1994 Olympic short program and exhibition program were quite possibly the most beautiful swan programs ever choreographed and performed.

Kwan was placed above Sarah Hughes by all the judges, winning her fifth Skate America title.

Viktoria Volchkova, the two-time European bronze medalist, was last to skate. A very tall skater and striking figure on the ice, Volchkova is an extremely talented jumper with a light and effortless quality. However, she has a reputation for faltering under pressure and bailing out of her jumps. Tonight, she performed quite well, although she too seemed to be affected by the altitude.

Volchkova skated to "Free Yourself," by Saint-Preux. She has a very smooth stroking ability and a lot of speed. She opened with an amazing double axel - it was so high it would not be surprising if she one day attempted a triple axel! Her next triple lutz, one of her favorite jumps (even though it is one of the hardest), had a lot of spring and height, but she opted to leave out her planned double toe on the end of it. She completed her triple flip easily. Volchkova does need to improve the stretch in her spirals, and the positions of her spins. Unfortunately, Volchkova popped her second triple lutz, and fought to land her triple salchow cleanly. She only completed 2 1/2 revolutions on her final jump, a triple toe.

Overall, the program has potential. The beginning was very nice, but towards the end the choreography and personality started to collapse, possibly because fatigue was starting to set in.

The final standings: Michelle Kwan, Sarah Hughes, Elena Sokolova, Viktoria Volchkova, and Angela Nikodinov.