It's Simon and Chris this week, with 16 and a half thousand Canadians, and
Chris is raving ALREADY about the atmosphere in the place.

Pang and Tong CHN
Nice black dress for her, suit for him and it's a tango! Tango steps to
start.....huge throw3sal...elevation was something else!...s/s jumps...clean
on the triple toes, she was a little low but made it...pairs spin...nice
changes of position on it....more tango steps as they build speed....huge
split 2twist...spirals....into death spiral which is very
high.....could'vebeen better....spirals...which don't really fit in with the
music....o/h lift with changes of position scrappy at the top but dismount
clean....s/s spins....lost the timing on the change....and they're out!
Simon calls the out of sync on the spin....Chris sings the song of the
sellout re seats and reminisces about his trip to the 81 worlds, skating in
front of 19000 people and how hard it was. Then he talks about the Chinese
and how technically they have the sport sussed. Both of these are 21....
Marks.....4.5-5.1....4.7-5.1....they're first right now.

Savchenko and Morozov UKR
First worlds....Spartacus...lilac dress for her, gladiator style top for
him...with much illusion fabric.....clean triple toes.....they look
relaxed....building speed...massive double twist....into an equally huge
throw 3sal...she was so high in the air there and had to fight to keep a
hand off....overhead lift where she's lying back....s/s spins and again they
lose it on the change but get it back quicker than the Chinese, and that's
one heck of a spiral that girl has! Chris says that the skating is a little
slow across the ice....death spiral, b/o, much lower than P/T.....pairs
spin...and they're slower on that than the Chinese. And they're done. We've
just seen the split again, and that was huge! Textbook!....She was very low
on the landing of the throw...did well to hold it.
Marks....4.4-4.9...4.7-5.0
Two have them ahead of the Chinese but they're second

Simon has just said that Yags has an injury, possibly a leg injury??

Totmianina and Marinin RUS
Cerise costumes....not a great colour....for anyone....ick....and he's down
on the toe....0.4 off....she was leaning too....double twist not as high as
the others we've seen....clean throw 3loop and that was super!....nice o/h
lift....secure as anything!...s/s spins...threee changes of position and
perfect timing on everyone!,,,,spirals....much arm waving..to music which
doesn't warrant it.....death spiral where she's a little late in getting
down....a little being a lot....and more spinny things to end. Super program
Simon says (whatever I say) but a big mistake..especially since the big
pairs are still to come....Liebestraum was the music...throw has a higher
tariff, so that might help them out. They've changed coaches to Oleg
Vassiliev since Euros...
Marks, 4.6-5.2...Simon reminds us the draw is back end
weighted....5.1-5.7...CZE gives 5.7...YUG have them in second.

That's all that we see of the first group, from what Simon says, as
Eurosport go to ads. At this point, I"m going to mention that the ISU are
doing the blind judging thing again, where we can't see the judges
nationalities, but Simon and Chris know where they're from and are giving
away the nationalities. Thus, I can do likewise .Aren't you all lucky?

Eurosport promise worlds at half seven every morning...oh the lack of sleep
of it all!

Scott and Dulebohn USA
Black for both, her with much sparkles at the sleeves....something
stringy...clean triple toes.....smile girl smile....nice low death
spiral.....and counter rotation just looks odd this hour of the
morning...split 2twist.....ending looked shaky.....s/s spins.....nice
timing.....o/h lift, nice exit from it.....throwtriple sal....not the height
or length of others ,and she had a very nice spiral in the spiral
sequences.....pairs spins...seem to be slowing down a little now....and they
finish bang on the music. And there are two happy happy bunnies! And we just
see on the replay that the timing was about to go on the spins but they got
it back with the change...and you can really see on the replay the lack of
length on the throw.
Marks...4.8-5.3...all in the 5s but one and she was smiling when they came
up. 4.9-5.5...couple of firsts and a third but mostly second.

Kawaguchi and Markuntsov JPN
Pale blue tops for him....first worlds....she has a pale blue dress
on....start off with death spiral which is unusual but nice....not high on
the twist, scrappy at the end....clean on the triple toes though....just
held onto the throw 3sal....not great on the height!...s/s spins...again
losing it on the change, and much travel going in.....gret o/h lift where
she ends up lying back all folded up at the top...and the crowd picked up on
that and clapped....spirals....in to pairs spins...one nice one where it's
like a Natalya but she's lying right back....and more spins and the crowd
claps as they finish. Simon talks of their great promise and reminds us to
remember their names...the last time they said something like this at
canadian worlds, it was about Shen and Zhao...I'm just saying! Chris says
you can see the influence of training with B/S.and Moskvina...since I think
she's raided Elena's wardrobe with that dress I have to agree. Replica of
the one she wore for the short at the Olympics in 98...
marks ...crowd aren't happy....4.1-4.8...I'm surprised too! AZE say
4.1....4.4-5.1....Tamara is also making signal with her hands as if to say
"what???"
5th at the moment.

Berankova and Dlabola CZE
First comp of the year...black and white costumes...mostly black with white
crisscrosses....and she might have had a hand down on the triple
toe...timing not great either....throw triple sal...death spiral....still
not the lowest....oh for a low spiral!....o/h lift.....into one handed lift
with a nice flip out...s/s spins and she seemed to mess up the change,
although Chris calls good sync....split twist was close...almost didn't make
the rotation....nice spirals...she has good extenstion....pairs spins...very
fast....even after the change....and they finish on the music. Busy ending
says Simon, as he praises them for doing so well with their first
competition....the stripes I see are more silver than white....very few
mistakes says Simon....as he once more praises the crowd....and that hand
was down on the toe I was right! And he also took off earlier than she
did....good speed across the ice...made it look easy he did says Chris
Marks ..as Chris tells us he spins on the wrong edge on the b/o sit
spin...he's on f/i.....4.4-4.8...4.6-5.1....5th overall.

Zagorska and Siudek POL
purple with sparkles and Mariusz has gone blond!Nothing says I love you like
matching hair colour what?Effortless split 2twist......he went ahead of her
on the triple toe but they were both clean....s/s spins change...great
timing...they pause briefly, as the music stops and then begins
apace.....super throw 3sal...pairs spins...nicely done....spirals, and
there's a lovely move where she's leaning against him, leg extended in front
and he spreadeagled....lift, with the upside down entry so hard! .and great
change of positions....back outside death spiral, fast and low...and they're
done!
Chris is saying that they drifted apart on the s/s spins..different
timing...calls the d/s the best position of the night......
Marks...5.4-5.6...they're in the lead.....5.3-5.6...first across the board.

Abitbol and Bernadis FRA
Red costumes ....same as EUros.....although more red.....humour at the
start, love her facial expressions!....these are new costumes......shiny
gold things on the back and he's down on the triple toe! huge split double
twist.....builds speed.....throw triple loop...leaning on the landing but no
deductions...spiral step....lif...nice change of positions plus flip
out....s/s spins....loked to lose the timing at the change got it back, lost
it again at the end...although they did hide it well.....d/s...where he's a
long time getting down....pairs spins....and they're done. He shakes his
head....and they don't look happy. Not the magic of last year opines Simon,
technically they were ok after that fall, but they never lost the air of
caution about it, even going in to the spins....that was a great twist, he
caught her with time to spare...they did lose time on the spins...he just
looks stunned....
marks...she pats him on the back, awww.....4.7-5.3 yeesh.....YUG gives 4.7,
he's marking low....5.0-5.6...seoncd at the moment....

Sargeant and Wirtz CAN
Nice all black for him, she's in black halter neck top, tarzan type
skirt....and she's hypenated her name, but I won't....slow music to
begin.....oh no, she's down on the toe.....shoot!...she got it all wrong
Chris says.....split 2twist and it didn't really get off the ground, oh
dear....o/h lift and that entry was shaky as you like....you could hear
Simon catch his breath and she'd down on the throw .....and I didn't even
say that I'm a fan this time!.....pairs spins nice change of position...s/s
spins....she's sppinning much faster than he is and the timing is all wrong
and they're even out at different times...spiral step.....you could hear a
pin dtop from the crowd...d/s that IS the best of the night! She's got a
fabulous position! But the look at the end just says it all....they are so
much better than that! triple toe, she got swing on the three turn and
leaned....but she was fine in the air on the throw, just tipped her foot on
the landing and down she went....Chris is also raving over the death
spiral......wow, hasn't Marina Zoueva gotten young looking?
marks...shakes of the head....4.2-4.6....eeeeeeesh....but what can you do?
4.8-5.5.....8th place....eeeeeesh.....

Kautz and Jeschke GER
Much midriff exposure from each of them...red top for him, dark crimson for
her.....isn't he cold???? split 2twist....oriental sounding music.....clean
on the toes although he jumped before she did.....o/h lift....where' she's
leaning back.....throw triple toe and it was double footed which Simon
misses.....death spiral...someone push her down!....pair sins...nicely
centred.....swivelly choreography.....into psiral steps....much waving of
the arms....s/s cmaels and they are both slow and out of time...change foot
to camel to sit....sit was much better timed but slow! And they end leaning
back away from each other in squats...not as sharp or as crisp as some of
the others Chris says...., although they do have the technique. It just
seemed to me like they were holding back an awful lot....0.2 off for the
twofooted landing on the throw...
marks...4.0-4.8....base mark is lower Chris explains, plus
deduction....4.4-5.2..they are 10th

Sale and Pelletier CAN
And I refuse to type that I love these two. Not gonna do it. Nice crimson
costumes,which surprisingly enough work on both of them, thus proving my
mother true, you CAN wear anything if you're good looking! Come rain or come
shine....and they create the atmosphere right from the start....into a
perfect throw 3loop....you can see the class....no!...she's down on the
toe...he skates and kisses her hand...to be that hand....huge split 2twist,
the hang time was otherworldly.....death spiral which is also very
nice.....oh yes says Chris as they schmoose into s/s spins which are
perfect.....nothing more needs to be said! The unison of these
two....lift....into star lift so many changes of position and no loss of
speed!...spiral....and he looks at the judges as they go by....and so does
she with a smile as they spiral by....pairs spins....and they finish with
beaming smiles...and a little kiss to the forehead, awwww! She looks
ruefully at the ice and shakes her head....the crowd are on their
feet....Chris says she made the mistake but it didn't affect the program at
all...brilliant he says...shows their strength of character...how does the
ice stay frozen he asks? He says she snatched at the takeoff...split twist
as huge, landed with arms out from Jamie...you could almost hear her
thinking "Easy!"...she was really into her knees she says....
marks...5.4-5.6....they will lead....wow!wow wow wow! 3 5.9s, the rest 8s!
Wow!

Lefrancois and Blanchard FRA
I raved about these two at Euros...a real stylish, long limbed couple, the
two of them goodlooking, great elegant costumes...I'm jinxing them to heck
but there ya go! Same costumes as Euros...grey dress for her, shirt for him,
black trousers...Summer of 42...slow piano to start....and he's down on the
triple toe, one of these days I will learn!...nice split 2twist....and she
double foots the throw 3sal...think Debi Thomas and you'll get it....nice
death spiral....although she's a while getting down.....pairs
spins....ending with her leg on his shoulder ,very pretty and the crowd like
it....o/h lift....wnds with her lying back and it's really
good......spirals....nice extension from the two of them...s/s spins are
slow but well timed....and they're done. ..they did well to keep it going
says Simon as he wonders what is wrong with the French men and that triple
toe....Chris raves about the quality of their skating, segueing as he does
so into "Pressure.....packed house....if you've never skated in a placel
like this one".....he also mentions how close the crowd is to the
rink....you can almost reach out and touch the skaters as they go by...oh to
be there....
marks...wait is getting longer.....3.8-4.7...4.4-5.2...they're 12th

Ina and Zimmerman USA
John. baby. Kill the shirt. It's the most horrific thing ever! Floaty, grey
and black with sequins...wispy sleevy things! and he hears my screams and
goes down on the toe....her dress matches his but she wears it
better...clean on the split....and he gets a look coming out of
it!....spirals, including besti squats...throw 3loop great control on the
landing.....spirals....Truman Show is the music....s/s spins....losing
timing gets it back when they change from camel to sit , the rest is
fine.....lift.....nice change of position....death spiral....it got there in
the end.....pairs spin....including Natalya death spin and they're
done.....a powerful program Simon says, but it didn't seem to do anything
for me....very drummy, very dark kinda music and it just didn't seem to grab
me....although S&C are raving over it....the throw which we've just seen
again was great....lift was made to look easy.....he shouts out to the doc
who worked on his shoulder....the shirt must die. It must. He's not so hard
to look at, why put that on him?
Marks...4.8-5.3...Americans react quickly and
predictably....5.1-5.6.....they're 3rd overall...scattered ordinals but
they'll live with that

Bereshnaia and Sikharulidze RUS
Same costumes as Euros...he's also kept the same hairdo which I like no
better.....cut it now! and like S&P you can see the class from the
start......clean on the toes...don't like the ruffle on the end of her
sleeve....split 2twist again made it look easy.....throw 3loop...and she
flew!...spirals....they are using every inch of the ice surface Chris
says....spiral sequence...pairs spins....mistake going in but they got it
back....lift....with a leaning back then forwards then exit.....they are
flying!...death spiral.....get down....and it seems to last longer than some
others.......pairs spins.......fair amount of travel from one position to
the next. ...But they're done and Simon calls it a champions program and no
argument from me. THey're going to lead and if that program will be beaten,
I can't wait to see it. She leaned on that toe, but she hid it well and
fought for it!.I could watch the throw all day!
Marks....5.7-5.8...(3.7s) 5.8(5)5.9(4) and 9 1sts.

Shen and Zhao CHN
All in black like the other Chinese...must've been on
sale....Allegretto....death spiral to start...not bad....clean on the triple
toes and bang on time.....spirals.....and they're moving....huge and long
throw triple loop and Simon almost comes through the tv screen,,,and would
you just look at the speed of the s/s spins?..wow!...lift....and they fly
across the ice for that too!....pairs spins.....huge split double
twist....and thye are done!.And the crowd, who want the Canadians to win,
are standing! Now that's what I love about Canadian fans...they just love a
good performance. Wasn't better than the Russians....the throw was the best
we've seen all night frankly....he was late coming out of the s/s
spins....good speed across the ice....
marks....crowd handclap during the wait....5.7-5.8...<4 7s>
5.4-5.8....second, with 4 3rds ...that was close!

Rodionova and Kroukov AZE
Nice cream top for him and matching dress for her...Time to Say
GOodbye....if I ever hear this music again......clean on the toes but they
took ages to set them up, jumped separately and miles apart .....clean onthe
throw 3sal but it was clean....s/s spins..when it went to sit it lost it but
got it back again...nice split 2twist....lift...start of as hand to hand but
nice changes of postion into one armed....spirals...and I must say it looks
as if they could be skaitng to anything...so why aren't they! nice low death
spiral but not much arcg...pairs spins inc Natalya to finish and they're
done. Eh. Simon says probably top ten. Eh. Fabulous Chris says. Yeah. He
calls it a blinder. And while it was technically fine, it didn't do much for
me, didn't grab me. ...sit back while I damn with faint praise, I can do
that!
marks....4.6-5.0...4.7-5.2...and they're 10th

Petrova and TIkhonov RUS
And he's got the blousy white angel suit on, she's all in black avec
sparkles....Francesca da Rimini.....and you can see the speed.....and clean
on the toes....split 2twist.....clean on the throw 3sal.....lift....nicely
done....into s/s spins...camel to sit change sit....timing is lost a
little....spirals with him in spreadeagle...he could do some work on his
extension in ordinary spiral though....into d/s...not terrible.....into
pairs spins.....seem to be well centred.....and that's that. A Russian
afternoon Simon calls it. Doesn't have the quality of B&S....but from where
Simon is sitting it doesn't look good for Canada!
marks 5.3-5.7...5.3-5.8..wow..they're in fourth....they take it well, but
Simon and Chris are surprised...

B&S< S&Z< S&P< P&T<Z&S<I&Z are top 6...