We got into practices today, though just as they were starting. There was only one practice for each discipline today so they managed to deal with that by making them about 50 minutes long and having first a short run through and then a long run through.
The mens field is the most competitive one here. I was nearly cross-eyed for the first group, which I nicknamed 'NATO'. (Not to be confused with the second group, The Warsaw Pact.) The skaters are Micheal Chack(USA),Scott Davis(USA),Todd Eldredge(USA),Jayson Dénommée(CAN), Stannick Jeannette(FRA), and Gabriel Monnier(FRA). I was really won over by Jayson Dénommée at Skate Canada last year. I think he is getting better this year and only attacked the triple axel a few times before landing one. He was showing more flashes of Sebastien Britten in his choreography and also in a much cleaner triple lutz. However, poor boy, his long is to Gettysburg. It's not the same cuts as Todd but it's a tough choice.
Short Program:
Jayson drew first. His new program is, at least in part, to Sebastien Britten's short program from 1992. The one in the spats. Jayson did not wear spats but a baggy black shirt and pants and a black tie with yellow spots. I was worried because he had been coughing earlier and was using an inhaler. He didn't get a good triple axel in the warmup but he got it clean in the program. With a bit of a toe axel double toe on the end. The rest of the program was clean, triple Lutz, good spins, neat footwork in character. I was very happy. I had stuffed a animal to toss and when I did, he picked it up and waved. I was happy until I saw the marks. There must have been some deduction, first marks in high fours, second all 5.2.
Talked to Sandra the next day and she was counting spins revs and said there was a deduction for missing revs in the change sit. (Lots of the men apparently missed spin revs. Suprising.)
I arrived in time for the first group of men, which I had expected to be the Warsaw Pact, i.e. Group 2. I saw Abt and Pluschenko standing in the Zamboni entrance and then Dénommée also appeared, wearing skates. It turned out they rearranged the groups by short program order and this would be the top six. They also skated in the order for the long and I was very happy to see that Jayson drew last and also not after Todd. Jayson seems to have a cold and looks fairly miserable. His skating looks better than his demeanour, though. The triple axel is working much better and he did get some triple flip-triple toes. There are lots of nice Sebastien touches in the long program.
In the second group, Dénommée looks totally miserable. He was on about 1/4 impulse power and barely making the triples. Lots of coughing as well.
Long Program:
These are Eda's notes: Gettysburg, 3A (good) -2T, 3F (almost fell over but saved it), 3Lz(toe) - 2T(toe), ina to 3 Lp (nice), spirals, 3A(hand), 3Lz, 2T, Russian splits, getting very slow, death drop.
I didn't take many notes but tried to use a single use camera. Don't even ask how the pictures came out, fishbowl would be a generous description. My impression of the program was pretty good, though. For someone who had been coughing and wheezing at most practices, he managed to stay mostly upright and did nearly everything in the program but he slowed a great deal at the end and that probably cost him in the second mark.
After the long I found out Angela had an inadvertent conversation with Louis Stong while waiting in the food line. She said she hoped that Jayson would get another assignment to make the top 6 and he said that the CFSA had not given up on him. Best news of the day and thanks Angela!.