French Fed™ strikes again.
As some of you may know, IDF is held in Grenoble, a city in the Southeast of France by the foot of the French Alps. Also known as a city with very little direct transport, which for someone as chaotically incapable of simple day-to-day tasks without either making myself or everyone who has ever come into contact with me, panic for my safety causes a lot of dramatic mishaps.
After an interesting trip on the Eurostar last year, which included me missing my train and losing my purse with all of my money, I decided this year I would just fly. On paper, sure… an hour and a half flight to Geneva sounds a lot better than a 3-hour train to Paris, but oh, how I was wrong. Everything had been going so well. I had made my plane, I had my purse, I even had my passport [shock horror for anyone who knows me.] I had made it to Geneva airport in one piece, and set off on my expedition to the bus station. Bless budget coach companies and their infrequent journeys forcing me to have a layover in Geneva for about 4 hours, because honestly, although the commute from the airport to the bus station should’ve only taken me about 30 minutes max, I think it ended up taking me 3 hours. Yes, you heard that right.
I was the epitome of a stressed tourist, trailing a suitcase behind me, a camera around my neck and my phone out on Google Maps, frantically running around the Geneva city center in the rain, almost in tears. No-one had told me that 1. Geneva is just full of lots of little side streets that all look the same on Google Maps and 2. the bus station is not a bus station. There I was, crying into my phone, panicking to my Twitter timeline that I was just going to be lost in Geneva forever, searching for a nice, big Gossip Girl-esque bus station – my theory was that Geneva’s a fancy, artsy European city, right? Surely, their central bus station would be the same. Indeed it was not. The fancy building I was keeping an eye out for ended up being a carpark in the middle of a road, hidden behind a monument. Don’t ask me what the monument was for, I was too stressed to even comprehend looking at it.
Here is your mandatory ‘hello, I was on a flight recently.’ sunset photo, leaving Geneva Airport on route to London.
Finally, I got on my bus, which then took 2 hours longer than it was meant to – again, budget coach companies, and after a full day of traveling and stress, all I wanted to was eat and pass out. Thankfully, since I had been to IDF last year, I had a rough idea of how Grenoble’s transport worked, and thankfully my hotel was in a great location [It was right beside the ice rink itself!!] because I don’t think my tired brain would’ve been able to navigate Grenoble as a first-timer and, honestly, I think I’d still be wandering the streets of Grenoble to this day, as depressing as that sounds. Last year, my accommodation was in a less than optimal location and I have very strong memories of walking around Grenoble in the dark at 10 pm with Google Maps that was taking me nowhere while trying to find my Airbnb, which was in a really dense residential area. I also remember having to walk to the rink because the bus system was too confusing for me, as a non-French speaker, and at 6 am there are little-to-no taxi services. God darn it, Jason, making me walk 45 minutes at 6 am in a city I don’t know, haha.
Disclaimer - this photo is from IDF 2018, but the entire of Grenoble is surrounded by some really lovely landscapes of the French Alps.
If you are able to get accommodation close to the rink, I would totally recommend it! We were very fortunate to get lodging in the hotel beside the rink, which honestly was a godsend. It meant we were able to run back and charge cameras or phones, or to pick up plushies or extra layers in between events without having to faff around with public transport, etc. In fact, I had forgotten to put my camera on charge before the Gala, so I left my camera on charge whilst I waited in line and then ran back to get it just before we went in!
Patinoire Polesud - the ice rink in which IDF is held - is in a really great location, with multiple hotels and B&B’s around, and it is directly beside one of the large malls in Grenoble, which I can’t even put into words how great this was because I don’t think I could’ve survived the weekend on only rink hot dogs, as great as they were. The mall had a McDonald’s and some other cafes and restaurants for if you had time to grab something more than a quick cheeseburger to run back into the line with. One thing about French McDonalds is that they do macarons which oh my God - Can I petition to get them in the UK, please?
I ventured out of McDonalds nuggets, and rink hot dogs for a more boujee panini and a fancy fruit tart
Moving onto the actual competition, although I’m sure none of us want to relive it in its entirety. IDF was the definition of chaos, with some amazing skates and achievements, and some…. not-so-great skates. In each event, there were some of my favorite skaters or teams I’ve grown incredibly fond of over the years which made it peak stress to watch in realtime. While there were some truly heart-breaking moments across the competition, there were also some really lovely pieces of skating and crowd-support, which honestly reminded me and reaffirmed my love of this sport.
The men’s event started off this competition, and uh… let’s just say it started as it meant to go on. I don’t think anyone had a completely clean short-program, with some having worse skates than others. I was definitely left a little heart-broken after a few. It was so nice to see both skaters I had seen before but maybe not been able to focus on in previous competitions due to line-ups, and also skaters I had never seen before!
A skater I always enjoy watching and fell completely in love with their skating last year is Kevin Aymoz, of course! His “The Question Of U” Short Program is probably my favorite program of the season so far, at least in the Men’s field, and I was so excited to see it live, even if he didn’t have the skate he probably wanted - with a fall on 3Lz resulting in no combo. However, if you’ve ever seen a Kevin program, you’ll know that he has an abundance of charisma and energy, so it’s very easy to forget about any mishaps or mistakes, especially when watching live. Also, being a home-crowd skater and favorite, the crowd energy was at the top of the game and honestly, there’s nothing I love more than the French crowd’s “Allez” before a French skater’s skate.
All skater photos unless clarified are by the wonderful and amazing Clara
I will openly and happily admit that I cried during Kevin’s Free Skate. It was by no means a perfect skate, but this music and program as a way of just sucking me in and for 4 minutes, the elements don’t matter. I had been anticipating this program ever since I had found out about the music, and it’s done nothing but impress me ever since we first saw it at Autumn Classic in September. Elements aside, this was such a moment, and I’d be shocked to find a person who was in that arena who wasn’t touched by his reaction to finishing the program.
Obviously, another skater I greatly anticipated seeing was Nathan Chen, of course. I saw him win at last year’s IDF but I hate to say I was a little too focused [and also stressed] about his country-mate to truly appreciate just how great he is to watch. Nathan has a certain charm and casual ease on the ice that’s really remarkable to watch, something that I find doesn’t portray itself as well on camera, and so every time I see him I’m shocked. Personally, I find I prefer his programs from last season, though props to him for doing a French song to a French crowd - it’s the little things, haha.
I will not dwell too much on Shoma Uno’s skates because I feel like we all know what happened here, and I don’t need to rehash it, but I do want to talk about the crowd. Being apart of such a supportive crowd, not just towards Shoma, although the majority of us I feel like were here to see him, but towards every skater was truly remarkable and a memory I’ll always treasure. I really hope we were able to take the atmosphere from sadness to that of support and well-wishes.
I’d also like to shout out to Nicolas Nadeau who, thanks to Karly, I have become incredibly endeared by over the course of this season. His programs are super fun, and it was lovely to see him after he had to withdraw from the free at last year’s IDF due to injury. Also, a massive shout to one of my many American sons, Tomoki Hiwatashi, who is the goodest egg and I feel the overwhelming need to protect. To see him come back after a really rough Short and place 5th overall made me so emotional, and I was so happy for him. If you haven’t seen his gala performance, I highly recommend it because you will not be disappointed.
This is why we use Clara’s photos for ITL social media… because mine look like this.
Next we had the Ice Dance competition which, of course, shocking absolutely no-one, Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron won. I had to try to stay away from watching their programs from French Masters online because I knew their international debut would be at IDF, and boy was I glad I did. Walking into practice to see their Fame costumes was truly a highlight. They’re so fun and unlike anything else on the field right now. We discussed this on the podcast episode, but their Free Skate is truly something you need to watch in person to fully appreciate. The music, and spoken word combination is just so haunting and gripping that it completely sucks you in, and is truly a program I’ll probably always remember.
This was my first time being able to see Madison Chock and Evan Bates live. I’ve loved their skating and have been supporting them for a few years now, so I was super excited to see them, even if their Free Dance isn’t my… personal favorite. Their “Too Darn Hot” Rhythm Dance, however, is super fun and I’m not ashamed to say I bopped for the 3 minutes it was playing because the music slaps.
Honestly, I was not expecting to enjoy Olivia Smart and Adrien Diaz’s Free Dance as much as I did. I have to admit, I had laughed at the theme and hadn’t super enjoyed the program when I had seen it at Autumn Classic. But for some reason I actually really enjoyed it. Maybe it was the competition mania really sitting in. But, I do have to give both of them credit for character-commitment, with Olivia’s Sandy look, and Adrien’s clown makeup.
Also, a shout out to another favorite of mine, Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri, for their amazing skating skills and technical elements.
Next was the Ladies events, and by this time of the competition, the stress and fatigue were really beginning to settle in. This Ladies’ event has such a great line up, although with how deep the Ladies’ field, every Grand Prix had a line up to die for.
This being Alena Kostornaia’s first Senior season, it was my first time to see her live and boy, does she live up to the hype. She has such an ease and maturity about her skating that is truly remarkable for someone so young, and new to the senior scene.
Both her programs are quite different from each other - with “Departure” being quite beautiful and emotional, whilst “Twilight” [still beautiful] is rockier and slightly sassy. It was so impressive to see her versatility at such a young age and to see her perform such technical elements [to a high grade of execution] whilst still holding onto the key elements of skating, like her performance and skating skills.
We also had the World and Olympic champion, Alina Zagitova, here who I have somehow managed to catch at all of the events I’ve previously attended - although, I do love her skating so I’m not complaining. Alina is one of those skaters who I’ve said ever since I first saw her live at GP Helsinki that carries such a different presence live than on camera. Her spins are so impressive, it’s insane, and even her skating skills are so much more defined live.
I had the pleasure of seeing my absolute favorite ladies’ skater, Kaori Sakamoto, for the second time and with two amazing programs - I am truly honored. Neither of her programs here were clean - with a fall in the Short, and a protocol riddled with calls for the Free, but I didn’t even mind because I was so entranced in her performance and her programs. In fact, I recall hearing a comment someone in the arena made following Wakaba’s Short, surrounding the scores - “I don’t even mind because I got to see that, and that’s something I’ll remember more than the scores." Something about it resonated with me and I hope it’s a sentiment I’ll remember going forward into future competitions, that scores can be changed and increased but performances can’t be redone. Being in the arena, with no access to the TES box, like the viewers at home are, it can be hard to tell how a program’s score is going to end up - and this truly was the case for the Ladies’ event, since the technical panel was so on the ball.
Let’s briefly talk about Wakaba Higuich’s Short Program. It’s beautiful, powerful, emotional, strong and incredible - that’s all.
But honestly one of the highlights of this entire competition was Wakaba’s gala performance to “And I’m Telling You…” Anyone who follows figure skating will know how Wakaba struggled last year with injuries and numerous other issues, and for her to come out and skate to a program about holding on, and not letting go? It’s safe to say I cried.
Finally, at the end of the day, we reached the Pair’s competition. I wasn’t super invested or attached to any of these teams, but in a way, I kind of liked that because it meant I could enjoy the skating, and competition without the stress that comes with watching a favorite compete.
My main shout out goes to Haven Denney and Brandon Frazier who, although I had watched compete before on streams, they had never really stood out to me in any way. But they did so well here, and their Free Skate is genuinely incredible and really engaging to watch. Who doesn’t love some Lion King? The ending of this program is incredible, and took my breath away when I first saw it - I had skipped Pairs practice, so I hadn’t actually seen this program until they competed it!
I also really enjoyed Anatasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov’s Short Program. Anyone who knows me will know I am a sucker for a good “Je Suis Malade” program, and so I belted my little heart out during this program. It’s really incredible to see the strength of Russian pairs these days, with Daria Pavliuchenko and Denis Khodykin taking silver behind Mishina/Galliamov - not to mention, another top Russian team [Zabiiako and Enbert] were meant to be competing here but had to withdraw. I really have to commend Pavliuchenko and Khodykin - they’re a really young team but have really great elements and a lot of potential to grow! Russian pairs, and honestly Dance, is such an interesting field right now that it’s always exciting to see two of their top teams compete against each other live.
Whilst IDF was a rocky competition for so many skaters, I made so many amazing memories throughout this competition - from seeing old friends, to meeting new ones, to being tricked by a seemingly taco-based fast food restaurant that turned out not to be tacos, to re-watching performances repeatedly with friends in hotel rooms, doing detective-work - even getting lost in Geneva. I don’t think I would’ve changed a thing about that weekend and it really made me remember why I loved this sport and why I keep watching and engaging in it. Figure skating is such a niche sport, especially where I’m from, and so the events are usually the only time I can meet up with people who share this similar, stressful interest and we can scream at each other about our favorite skaters.
With this, I bid you farewell with an image I feel accurately represents my emotions throughout this weekend:
Moo was the best emotional support cow and I hope he’s in a good place.
XXX
Niamh