Am I trying to write this blog post in such a way that my parents can read through it and not have to ask me thousands of questions?
I, along with a few other ITL members, got the chance to go Fabulous Las Vegas™ for none other than the very first stop of the Grand Prix, Skate America. This wasn’t my first competition nor my first Grand Prix; I made it to Skate Canada last season, and have been to a few other comps. But this was my first international skating competition in America - and believe me, it makes a difference that I’ll elaborate on.
VIVAAAAA LAS VEGAS
Vegas’ nickname is indeed “fabulous Las Vegas”
If you don’t know anything about Las Vegas, let me tell you a bit about it. It’s the gambling capital of America, and rightly so - the moment you step off the plane at the airport you’re greeted by slot machines, and before you have the chance to even find the registration desk at your choice of extravagant hotel you’re surrounded by them. I recall heading to practice around 8am one day and there were people sitting at them betting their money - Las Vegas is one of those cities that doesn’t sleep.
Bright lights, big city - wait this isn’t New York
Resident Roman history buff Karly reporting for duty (fun fact: I bought my Latin teacher a Caesar bust at Caesar’s palace four years ago and she still has it)
The most famous part of Vegas is the strip, formally known as South Las Vegas Boulevard, and it’s party central. It’s where you can find the most fancy and expensive hotels such as Caesar’s Palace, Bellagio, and Excalibur. Every hotel has a theme - from Roman history to Venice to medieval castles - and just exploring them is a fun time. There’s a plethora of branded shops such as the Coca Cola store, the Hershey’s store and the M&M’s store, as well as the High Roller, which currently stands as the world’s highest Ferris wheel.
Now, Skate America Pairs practice started at 7:15 a.m. and the last competition of the day started at 9 p.m. Lots of us had no self-preservation and wanted to be there for it all, so we didn’t find time to explore the strip. I’ve been to Vegas twice (fun fact, the last time I was in Vegas was what got me back into figure skating, but that’s a story for another time) so I wasn’t that upset, and I got to live vicariously through my friends who arrived in the city earlier in the week and got to spend time sightseeing.
In Vegas you can visit Rome, Venice, New York, Paris… become Mr Worldwide
(Thanks to Yogeeta for the awesome pics of the extravagance of Las Vegas!)
Skate America, the first Grand Prix
Moving on to how the actual competition went, it was pretty much your standard Grand Prix event… with some American flair, however you may view that. We had the ISU fanfare before introducing the skaters of each group, and we had a myriad of international skaters, but we also had America’s own Rusty Kath to get us from event to event via interviews and special appearances, and DJ Romeo to blare us some fine tunes as we waited. As cringey as some of America’s additions to their competitions may seem, they’re certainly unique, and if you’re not so serious about it, they can even be fun! (See: a bunch of us dancing and singing along to “Shout” by The Isley Brothers, which USFSA plays at every. Single. Podium.)
Our hotel, the Orleans, was appropriately New Orleans-themed, complete with alligators and bayous.
Karly orders fried rice everywhere she goes (and irks Becs in the process): the saga
Most of the attendees of Skate America stayed at The Orleans Hotel & Casino, which was conveniently situated right next to The Orleans Arena, where the competition took place - it was at most a five minute walk from room to rink, which was super nice when you wanted to get to practice at 7:30 in the morning to see Peng/Jin and Cain-Gribble/LeDuc. We could also go back to our rooms in the hour-or-so long break between two events to charge our cameras and phones, or go out to dinner! Something that our group took advantage of on Friday…
What we were all really here for - the skating
Friday at competition saw the Short Program/Rhythm Dance for each discipline. I was in the rink by about 7:45 a.m. to catch group 2 of Pairs practice, followed by Men’s, Ice Dance, and Ladies, and then the actual competition in the same order. I won’t give you a rundown of the results (find that on our twitter ;D), but how about some highlights?
Wakaba Higuchi of Japan in the Short Program
I think everyone can agree that the standout performance of Friday was Japan’s Wakaba Higuchi, with a moving, emotional rendition of her Short Program set to “Bird Set Free” by Sia. It wasn’t my first time seeing Wakaba live, but it was by far my favorite - I hadn’t seen her Short yet, as I was waiting until I could see it live, and boy am I glad I waited! It was absolutely incredible. She performed it clean, and even though it’s the start of the season she was putting her all into performing this program, and it came through beautifully. She was clearly excited after the music ended, and so were we.
Keegan Messing of Canada during the short program
As for Men’s, there were many great performers, but one of the programs that stood out to me was Keegan Messing of Canada’s Short Program to “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran, even though I’d seen it before. “Perfect” was the first dance song for Keegan and his now wife at their wedding over the summer, and legend has it this was the first time that she got to see it performed, which made it all the more beautiful. I have cried both times I’ve seen this program, no shame. I actually adore Keegan’s set of programs this season. You can really see his performance capabilities come through with this Short.
Cheng Peng and Yang Jin of china performing their Short Program
In pairs, I was ECSTATIC to see Cheng Peng and Yang Jin of China again after seeing them at Skate Canada last year, and rightly so. Their short program is “Alegria” from Cirque du Soleil and it’s full of fun quirky moments, and they are just so captivating when they skate that I couldn’t help but love their short just as much as last year’s!
Finally, for Ice Dance there were so many teams I was excited to see. For me, the highlight of the Rhythm Dance was Alexandra Stepanova of Russia, seeing a costume deduction coming for her, saying “not today, Satan,” and emphatically slamming the door in its face. Her partner Ivan Bukin accidentally caught some of the tulle on her skirt and it came undone, and within seconds she had tucked it back up and moved on with the program. Mad respect.
Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin from Russia in the Rhythm Dance
Day 2 of competition, where champions are (literally and figuratively) crowned
With Saturday came the Free Programs and the victory ceremonies - and chances for flower crowns B). There was also 7 a.m. practice again, although on this day I decided to be kind to myself and have more breakfast than just a sip of apple juice - I went to Java Vegas in the hotel and got myself some tea and a donut. Self-care.
Cheng Peng and Yang Jin (again) in the free program
Pairs saw some amazing Free Skates being performed and debuted on the Grand Prix circuit. Peng/Jin (again!) have an amazing Cloud Atlas Free Program that was just so damn beautiful. Cheng fell on their first throw 3Lo and twisted her ankle, and somehow managed to perform the rest of the program! Can you believe how amazing pairs ladies are? Haven Denney and Brandon Frazier of USA also had a stunningly clean program set to The Lion King OST, which netted them their first ever Grand Prix medal. They’re not one of my favorite teams, but I can’t deny that seeing skaters be so happy during their performance is one of my favorite things!
Jason Brown of the US in the Free Skate
Koshiro Shimada of Japan performing his Free Skate
One of the skaters I was most looking forward to seeing in the Men’s event at Skate America was Koshiro Shimada of Japan (and likewise his coach Stephane Lambiel), and while neither of his programs were clean element-wise, they were performed with such a passionate, captivating energy, especially his free program set to The Artist OST, which had fun moments that really allowed his personality to shine and made me smile. Jason Brown of the US had a nearly-clean Free Skate to Schindler’s List that brought him from fourth to silver, which was so wonderful to see after a concussion around the time of Champs Camp forced him to withdraw from his Challenger. His Free was also stunningly beautiful and moving, and really allowed the performance ability that he’s known for to shine through.
Hong Chen and Zhuoming Sun of China skating their Free Dance
In the Free Dance, my main shoutout goes to the song “Cry Me a River”. Which version, you may ask? It doesn’t matter, because both were used, one right after the other. Laurence Fournier-Beaudry/Nikolaj Sorensen of Canada skated to Michael Bublé’s version, and the previously mentioned Stepanova/Bukin of Russia skated to a rendition featuring Justin Timberlake. Both programs were awesome, both teams medaled, with Stepanova/Bukin even winning the Free Dance! I also want to show some love to Hong Chen and Zhuoming Sun from China and their free dance, which was so awesome that I barely noticed it was a cover of “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” and not Céline.
Anna Shcherbakova of Russia post-costume change in her free skate
Finally, among the Ladies, Anna Shcherbakova and Elizaveta Tuktamysheva of Russia both had really memorable Free Skates. Neither were in the top three after the short program, but both performed clean free skates to get gold and bronze respectively. Anna jumped a quad Lutz-triple toe and a solo quad Lutz, Liza a triple axel-double toe and a solo triple axel, and the rest of both their elements clean. These technical feats moved them up from fourth and fifth to the podium. Anna also gets a special shoutout for that fun costume change that she clearly enjoys doing - I love seeing smiles on skater’s faces as they perform.
The main highlight of skating competitions - the new and old friends
Now presenting the ultimate figure skating media portal, Edges of Loop
My phone camera takes ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE selfies. what can you do.
So, admittedly at least half the reason I decide to trek so far for figure skating competitions is so that I can see my friends. I’ve been in the skating fan community for about a year and a half now, and have made some friends that I greatly and deeply treasure. Funnily enough, most of them I have only met in Canada since Skate America was the first international competition I went to that wasn’t there. I can finally say I’ve met American friends on American soil!
Not only do I love seeing my current friends, but I’m able to make new ones as well. I got the pleasure of meeting many new people at Skate America and having fun with them. In particular I spent a lot of time hanging out with someone you may recognize - Aly from Edges of Glory! We had the pleasure of meeting her and I sat with her for a few of the events, relating to each other over running figure skating media. She’s lovely and if you want some really awesome interviews with skaters, check out @edges_of_glory on Twitter!
Cool extras - the highly Vegasian gala, or should I say Skating Spectacular
Image pulled directly from the gala livestream - he has the best expressions (we were all Rusty Kath in the background)
I don’t even wanna think about how many times I heard the song “Viva Las Vegas” this weekend. At least twice during the skating spectacular (which is what USFSA calls their galas). The gala also included Vegas illusionist Rob Anderson appearing quite a few times to show off tricks to skaters before their exhibition programs. The highlight of his appearances was definitely the card trick he performed for Kazuki Tomono of Japan, who was MIND BLOWN.
Honestly, Kazuki was pretty much the highlight of the entire gala - he was having the time of his life shaking his booty during the hilarious men’s group number, and his exhibition program was just a smorgasboard of pure FUN.
Look at this funky kid (who’s my age). he’s having so much fun.
There were tons of amazing gala performances I’d like to talk about, but the one that deserves the most attention is Keegan Messing’s. If you didn’t know, Keegan’s younger brother Paxon tragically lost his life in an accident about a month ago, leaving behind his wife and three kids. Keegan skated a tribute to him, taking a picture of Paxon and leaving it on center ice for the duration of the program. It was incredibly beautiful and moving, and we were privileged to be part of such a send-off. Keegan really showed off how strong he is here at Skate America, coming to the event and putting on performances for people so soon after such a tragedy. I really have so much respect for him, and my heart is with the Messing family.
Jason confirmed as sweetest human being
Finally, some of the most exciting parts of Skate America - we saw some skaters out and about, and got to say hi and get some pics!
Big shoutout to Jason Brown who hugged everyone who came up to him and just showed how amazingly considerate and genuinely nice he is - I saw him the day after I got a picture with him, and he was like “Oh it’s so nice to see you again!” I love him.
White chocolate yuzu cake… so beautiful, so delicious
Since the gala was only from around 2 to 5 pm, we got the chance to go lunch AND dinner together *gasp*. A group of about nine of us went to lunch at Sapporo Revolving Sushi, my FIRST ever revolving sushi experience and OMG it was so cool. Not only was the conveyor belt with sushi constantly revolving around the tables and being cool, but if you ordered other food from the screen at your table, it was brought to you by a frickin’ ROBOT. Also a couple of us ordered “saketinis” and they came with color-changing LED ice cubes in them. This restaurant was off the charts.
Final thoughts
Overall… I had the most wonderful time. From seeing old and new friends, to getting pictures with some of my favorite skaters, to just the always-amazing experience of watching these wonderful athletes perform their best, it was awesome. American events are something unique, and I’m really glad I got to experience one. Grand Prix events themselves are awesome in their own way, and I’d really recommend getting to one if you can - I know they’re not always in the most convenient of places (read: Skate Canada in the middle of nowhere this season), and getting to competitions isn’t cheap. But I truly hope all figure skating fans have the chance to get to a competition one day and see the skaters they love because it’s so, so worth it. These skaters put their all into their performances to make you feel something and to express themselves, and it’s truly special to be able to witness it.
That just about wraps up my review of Skate America 2019 (presented by American Cruise Lines). If you wanna hear more about it, you can find me on twitter @cyberswansp and I’ll yell things that happened at you gladly. Otherwise, our episode about the first two Grand Prix events, Skates America and Canada, will be releasing the week after Skate Canada. Look forward to hearing our review of the start of the GP circuit!
Thanks for reading, and see ya later!
Love,
Karly