Crystal Skate

This may be just a Grand Prix event, but the stakes are as high as ever because the competition is fierce.Half of the ladies competing today have a chance at the podium, which means they will be ready to give their best on the ice. This is going to be a thrilling final. Elizabet Tursynabaeva  is off to a nervous start and misses the initial combination. Her prayers are heard though, and she finishes without error. Her score: 115.32 . Overall: 165.16 . Isabelle Olsson  dives right into Summer  by Antonio Vivaldi, and that is the problem. She rushes everything, which makes her put her hand down on the first triple Lutz and both triple Salchows. She gets 91.35  points. Overall: 141.58 . I'm not quite sure what the concept behind Alena Leonova 's free skate is. It seems to be about a good girl gone bad from the '60s. Technically, she double-foots the second triple Toeloop and misses the triple Salchow. Her score: 108.29 . Overall: 160.37 . Veronik Mallet  sk...

It's time to get ourselves in the ballroom! This season's imposed rhythms for the ice-dancers' short programme are waltz combined with march/polka, so expect to see lots of gorgeous gowns and men in tuxedos and military uniforms. Cue sadness! Elisabeth Paradis/Francois-Xavier Ouelette  tell the story of a soldier who dies in battle and the girl left at home waiting for him. The first half of it is quite touching, but the song they use for the march takes something away from the melancholy mood. The lift is also messy as he loses his balance mid-way - luckily, no fall. Their score: 47.77 . Ekaterina Bobrova/Dmitri Soloviev  skate very early due to missing last season entirely because of a serious injury. Their waltz is beautiful, but because they do classical music 90% of the time, I feel like I've seen it before. It just doesn't stand out to me. They get 64.38  points. Best waltz costumes of the season? Yes, I believe so! Photograph: Skate Canada Internatio...

It is becoming increasingly frequent that figure skating competitions count so many astonishing skaters, it's really hard to predict an outcome. This is, of course, great news for the sport itself, so let's enjoy what some of the best ladies of the US, Russia and Japan have to offer today in Lethbridge. The first to skate is Kaetlyn Osmond , who we've missed a lot last season. She was out last year due to health issues, and her start here is also unfortunate. She falls on the death drop into the first spin, which throws her off and makes her also fall on the double Axel. Her score: 59.21 . Veronik Mallet  skates to Waltz No. 7  by Frederic Chopin. It's pretty, but not flawless - the second triple Toeloop is double-footed. Love the ribbon in her hair. She gets 52.17  points. Isabelle Olsson  seems to set her goals by choosing Beyonce's I Was Here . She timed it perfectly, as this is her first important senior competition. She is also trained by her mot...

There are some things you can rely on in figure skating: that Canada will make a trailer for its competitions, that Canadian fans are extraordinary and, lately, that Canadian pair skaters are going to smash their rivals wherever they go. Welcome to Skate Canada International 2015, the pairs' short programme. We start the competition with the first outing of a brand new partnership: Melissa Castelli/Mervin Tran . The two skate to Summertime  by B. Walsh. Their side-by-side triple Salchows are slightly out of synch, but otherwise, this is a decent programme. Their score: 61.85 . Vanessa Grenier/Maxime Deschamps  skate to Por Una Cabeza . Despite the fact that this is one of the most famous tangos of all time, they fail to express its sweet melancholy or even the passion of the dance. Plenty of errors too: he barely catches her out of the triple twist, she puts a hand down on the thrown triple Salchow and also singles the side-by-side triple Toeloop. They get 45.45  poin...

The ice-dancers' short programme saw Madison Chock & Evan Bates waltz their way effortlessly to the first position, but that's something we all saw coming. The pleasant surprise was the second place of Victoria Sinitsina & Nikita Katsalapov, who are indeed trying to improve their image after last season's fiasco. On third came the always-innovating Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier from Canada. Let's see what happens in the free: I am amazed at how much I love Shiyue Wang/Xinyu Wang 's Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon . My only experience with this story is Stolbova/Klimov's free skate from last season, which is probably why I like the dance version more. It's more complex in terms of story and music, displaying a softness I wouldn't have thought existed. I'm very glad they kept the Chinese lyrics. Their score: 80.22 . Overall: 129.59 . I need to make a note to count the positions in Alexandra Nazarova/Maxim Nikitin 's straight-line lift b...

This is a very important moment for Russia - they are about to break the record for the highest number of brilliant skaters competing for one country at the same time. Elizavet Tusynbaeva  falls on the triple Flip, but if I hadn't seen it, I wouldn't have known. She moves on from the error as if it was just in her imagination, which is something more mature skaters can find impossible to do. I'm impressed! Perfect choice of music for her age and style - Papa, Can You Hear Me?  Her score: 119.30 . Overall: 178.56 . Julia Lipnitskaia  is visibly insecure before her jumps, which leads to a single Lutz instead of a triple and missing a combination. Her acting skills are still as good as ever though, and her blue dress is very elegant. She gets 108.39  points. Overall: 170.63 . Karen Chen 's blue, white and red costume is pretty, but I would have wanted to see her in something more 'miserable' or period-accurate. Apart from that, her presentation of Les Miserab...

Figure skating is an ever-fighting battle - newbies fight to prove themselves and superstars fight to stay on top. Who will be victorious today? There is a lot of mystery in Ksenia Stolbova/Fedor Klimov 's The Man and the Shadow , and an aura of unease. Love the two original lifts, but they make quite a few mistakes: she steps out of the thrown triple Salchow and falls on the side-by-side one, the synchronised spins are not in sync and they finish behind the music. Their score: 125.65 . Overall: 189.06 . I'm not sure why Julianne Seguin/Charlie Bilodeau  are wearing dark blue for  A Whiter Shade of Pale , but the performance is so good, I don't really care. Love the difficult entries into their lifts. One error: they are out of unison on the side-by-side triple Toeloops. They get 124.64  points. Overall: 189.49 . The medalists Photograph: Tasos Katopodis / Getty Images Xuehan Wang/Lei Wang  are another pair specialising in difficult entries into lifts. I a...

Victory somehow seems sweeter when the winner is an underdog. That being said, the power of a superstar should never be underestimated. The fact that these two rules co-exist in figure skating, only makes the sport more thrilling. Who will take the lead in the men's short programme? Max Aaron  is having a particularly great start of the season. He's completely pulling off the tragedy of Nessun Dorma  and acing every single element. He may not be the most graceful of skaters, but I don't see that as a problem. Everyone has their own style, and I appreciate his efforts to improve his artistry. His score: 86.67 . The white top and black pants are becoming Max Aaron's trademark style Photograph: Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images North America Russia's male skaters are struggling to catch up to the ladies' fame and ability right now. Aidan Pitkeev  is no different. He is good, even flawless technically at times, but he's just not feeling the music. His ca...

Figure skating is an interesting sport. Some of the girls seem fragile, but are in fact steel-strong, while the ones that look tough as iron, can be cotton-candy soft. Whatever category they fit in, I wish all the girls competing at Skate America today the best of luck. Miyu Nakashio  is as good as advertised. Love the happy, silly music; it seems to fit her personality very well. The Halloween-ish costume is also very appropriate, and her elements are without mistake today. It's always nice to see a skater who doesn't try too much, but simply enjoys herself on the ice. Her score: 57.01 . Karen Chen 's Nessun Dorma  is the exact opposite of the Japanese's, but it is equally fabulous. The drama and grandeur are there despite the skater's young age, as is the elegance of a full-grown woman. She gets 62.28  points. Gracie Gold is close to giving her surname a prophetic allure Photograph: Atsushi Tomura / Getty Images Asia Elizabet Tursynbaeva  may seem fragi...

Don't you just love that tinniest second before the boy throws the girl across the ice, when everybody in the audience gasps and holds their breath simultaneously? And then the girl lands perfectly, knee bent, free leg fully extended and the crowd erupts into cheers. Be ready for plenty of such moments - the pairs' short programme is about to begin. We see the consequence of last season's rule change immediately, as Jessica Pfund/Joshua Santillan  skate to Sara Bareille's Gravity . Lovely song, but the presentation is quite dull. There is also a shaking moment in the step sequence where he struggles to get up from a kneeling position. Still, overall, not bad. They get  50.20  points. Another relatively new pair to perform very well are Xuehan Wang/Lei Wang . Skating to Romance , the Chinese skaters ace every single element. Their score: 64.95 . I really love the way Kristina Astakhova/Alexei Rogonov  use words to set the scene for their programme. Really approp...

That wonderful time of the year is here again! No, I'm not talking about Christmas, but the start of the figure skating Grand Prix series. I've been waiting for this event since the last day of the 2015 World Team Trophy, and I know I'm not the only one, so let's get started. The logo of Skate America 2015 Photo: www.isu.org Skate America will open the Grand Prix series, as usual. It is held this year in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Milwaukee is not known for anything related to figure skating, but for its beer and festivals - beer festivals, I assume. In fact, the logo for Skate America this year looks so much like a beer label that I wouldn't be surprised if the party favours proved out to be small bottles of beer with the logo as labels. Wouldn't that be cool? As creative as the marketing of the event is, the logo isn't what it's going to make this event spectacular. That task is given to the skaters, and judging by the big names competing, they...