Europeans

Well, I haven't been following Euros too closely seeing as U.S. Nationals are going on at the same time, but I did get the chance to watch the ladies and mens LPs.

Most of the ladies imploded, but Meier and Kostner were clearly above the rest of the field.  It was so heartwarming to see Meier's expression at the end of her program, and then after seeing her scores.  I have always appreciated her maturity and elegance on the ice, but she never seems to do it when it counts.  I was so happy she could come out with her first performance of the season and nail her LP (with the exception of a single toe at the end), and to do it at home.  I really like this new program of hers and I wish she would stay and compete at worlds this season, but with all of her injuries and success at this competition, I can see why she wants to retire on a high note.

The only other highlight was Kostner's LP.  She went for the flip for the first time this season, and although she fell out of it, she didn't let this mistake affect the rest of her performance.  She went on to nail a couple of double axels, one in combination with a triple toe, and some other jumps later in the program that were OK.  She did fall once, but it wasn't that bad.  I really appreciate her use of the new spiral requirements instead of contorting herself into some ugly beillman position she really isn't good at.

The Men's event, on the other hand, turned out to be a very interesting competition, with near clean performances skated by the top 4.

Kevin van der Perren was the biggest surprise for me.  I by NO means like his skating or his style, but I actually enjoyed this performance.  When he is on, he is one of the best jumpers out there, but his spins and presentation are still meh.  His opening quad toe and triple axel were both beautiful.

Florent Amodio won overall, but was only 3rd in the LP.  His triple axels were good today, but for worlds he needs to make sure he does one of his lutzes in a 3-jumps combo if he wants to contend with Chan and the Japanese.  I still think his spins need some work, especially the sit-change-sit at the end, but there are a few months until worlds to get those cleaned up.  Overall, it was a pretty good performance and I think he is on the right track for worlds.  This may not be his year to emerge on top, but it is a year to build his reputation and establish himself as a contender for Sochi.

Thomas Verner finished second in the LP, but opened up with a HUGE quad toe, landing it for the first time this season.  He lost his concentration on the triple axel, but got it back for the loop.  Although he doubled a lutz at the end and did a single toe on the back end of a combination, this was a good performance for him - he doesn't want to peak too soon.  I think training in Canada and doing full run-throughs is agreeing with him and helping his confidence.  In the past, I don't think he could've recovered from the step-out on the triple axel.

Finally, the comeback kid (or man...).  Brian Joubert surprised me with a near clean skate, and I liked it.  He seems to have improved his spin positions and transitions this season, and this new style is working for him.  The quad and two triple axels were great, but the choreography step was kind of pathetic.  It was smart of him to put the flip in the second half of the program to lessen the penalty of the edge call, but then again he lost points on unnecessary touchdowns on easier triples (loop, sal).  He, like Amodio, needs to clean up and polish his programs a little more before worlds, where the two Frenchmen will face stiff competition from Chan, the Japanese, and even the Americans (if they can get it together).  Overall a great performance and confidence booster going in to worlds.