A Preview for 2017 World Team Trophy (aka. The Most Important Event of the Season)
SYWTW FS
Thought the season was over? Not quite! The last competition of the 2016-17 season, World Team Trophy, will take place in Tokyo, Japan, from April 20-22! The top 6 countries based on world standings will participate, and unsurprisingly, those countries are Canada, Russia, USA, Japan, China, and France. We’ll be seeing lots of familiar faces here, so this preview will focus less on individual skaters and more on teams as a whole.
COMPETITION FORMAT
What the ads tell you to expect: A fierce battle between the top countries of the world!
What will actually happen: K&C parties, silly hats, streamers, vuvuzelas, no one taking the event seriously, messy performances because everyone’s tired after Worlds (let’s be honest here), basically one last bit of fun before the reality of the Olympic season sets in. Watch this video to get a preview of the WTT experience.
World Team Trophy is a team competition hosted in Japan every other year starting in 2009 (the 2011 competition was postponed to 2012 due to the earthquake in Japan). Each team is composed of two ladies, two men, one ice dance team, and one pairs team, for a total of 12 men, 12 ladies, 6 pairs and 6 dance teams. Skaters earn points for their team based on their placements in both the short programs and free skates. For the singles events, 1st place earns 12 points, 2nd place earns 11 points, and so on until 12th place, which earns 1 point. For the pairs and dance events, 1st place earns 12 points, and so on until 6th place, which earns 7 points. Teams are represented by a Team Captain in the press conferences. As WTT is an ISU Competition, scores recorded there count for season’s/personal best scores and world records.
But let’s be real, the most important part of WTT isn’t the competition itself, but the kiss n’ cry, which is truly the life of the event. Skaters cheer for their teammates with silly hats, costumes, noisemakers, props, dancing, anything they can come up with. (Sometimes even the officials join in.) The most creative and enthusiastic team is awarded the Team Spirit Award. Team France won the Team Spirit Award in 2012 and 2013, but Team China is the defending champ from 2015, and we can’t wait to see all of them bring their A-games to the K&C.
TEAM CANADA
Captain: Kaitlyn Weaver
Ladies: Gabrielle Daleman, Alaine Chartrand
Men: Patrick Chan, Kevin Reynolds
Pairs: Kirsten Moore-Towers/Michael Marinaro
Ice dance: Kaitlyn Weaver/Andrew Poje
Competition prospects: Team Canada is fresh off one of their most successful World Championships in years, buoyed especially by their two ladies’ medalists in a discipline that has often been their weakness in recent seasons. However, the team that Canada will send to Tokyo is missing some of its biggest stars; the absence of Virtue/Moir, Kaetlyn Osmond, and their top 3 pairs teams could make the results more unpredictable. But with a deep field in every discipline, Team Canada still has a very solid shot at the WTT podium and will be fighting primarily with Team USA and Team Russia for their first WTT title. The team will be led by Weaver/Poje, Gabby Daleman, and Patrick Chan with solid backup from Kevin Reynolds, while Alaine Chartrand and Moore-Towers/Marinaro - strong skaters in their own right - will use WTT as another opportunity for competition experience and to finish their seasons on a high note.
K&C prospects: Expect many moose hats, mountie hats, and maple leaves, tried and true symbols of Canadian patriotism. Alas, Scott Moir isn’t here to tell us he hates this event, which has been a real highlight of Team Canada in the past.
TEAM RUSSIA
Captain: Ekaterina Bobrova
Ladies: Evgenia Medvedeva, Elena Radionova
Men: Mikhail Kolyada, Maxim Kovtun
Pairs: Evgenia Tarasova/Vladimir Morozov
Ice dance: Ekaterina Bobrova/Dmitri Soloviev
Competition prospects: Team Russia isn’t fooling around this season, sending their highest-ranked skaters from Worlds to Tokyo next week - the sole exception being Elena Radionova, who can use this competition as another opportunity after missing her country’s European and World teams. Evgenia Medvedeva, Bobrova/Soloviev, and Tarasova/Morozov will be the anchors of the team, while Team Russia’s final placement will likely depend on the performances of Elena and the men, who can be a bit of a wild card. Russia didn’t start sending their strongest skaters to WTT until 2015, where they took the silver medal, and if this year’s team can skate to their potential, Team Russia might just win the entire competition.
K&C prospects: Team Russia’s K&Cs have a wide range of quality depending on who’s on the team. They can be a lot of fun or they can be a snooze; their performance this season is a bit hard to predict.
TEAM USA
Captain: Ashley Wagner
Ladies: Ashley Wagner, Karen Chen
Men: Nathan Chen, Jason Brown
Pairs: Ashley Cain/Timothy LeDuc
Ice dance: Madison Chock/Evan Bates
Competition prospects: Three-time and defending WTT champions, Team USA has what it takes to win once again. Fielding high-level competitors in singles and ice dance, they’ll be looking for consistent performances across all disciplines in order to snatch the gold. Team USA has some very strong skaters, but there are a few questions up in the air: Has Nathan Chen fixed his boot problems? Will he attempt 6 quads in the free skate again? Will he survive this competition in one piece? Will Karen Chen continue her rise? Will Ashley Wagner and Chock/Bates redeem themselves from Worlds? Will someone try to start a “U S A” chant, only to be shut down by Captain Wagner? All this and more will become apparent next week in Tokyo!
K&C prospects: Expect at least a few “U S A” chants, and for the team to be bedecked like a Fourth of July parade. The enthusiasm is usually there, but may require more creativity to truly contend for the Team Spirit Award.
TEAM JAPAN
Captain: Kana Muramoto
Ladies: Mai Mihara, Wakaba Higuchi
Men: Yuzuru Hanyu, Shoma Uno
Pairs: Sumire Suto/Francis Boudreau-Audet
Ice dance: Kana Muramoto/Chris Reed
Competition prospects: Team Japan has medaled at every WTT held so far, with 3 bronze medals and one gold (in 2012). As the host nation, Japan is allowed to participate in WTT by default, but Team Japan is always high enough in the rankings to qualify anyway. Although pairs and dance are Japan’s weakest disciplines, they are still a podium contender by virtue of having some of the strongest singles skaters in the world. However, unless their pairs and dance teams can pull off a miracle, Japan is unlikely to contend for anything higher than bronze this year. Their biggest potential point-getters are the men, Yuzuru Hanyu and Shoma Uno, fresh off gold and silver medals at 2017 Worlds. (Then again, if they’re a disaster here, we would not be surprised either.) Team Japan’s final placement will likely come down to the performances of their ladies, who are capable of high scores when they’re on; Mai Mihara brings consistency to the table, while Wakaba Higuchi will no doubt be looking for revenge after her Worlds debut. Muramoto/Reed and Suto/Boudreau-Audet will also be looking to end their seasons on a good note after just barely failing to qualify for the free skates at Worlds.
K&C prospects: Japan’s K&C performance has ranged from lackluster (2015) to good (2013), with their best years coming under the captaincy of legendary uncle Daisuke Takahashi. Ice dancer Kana Muramoto will lead the team this year, and it will be interesting to see how this young, rather shy version of Team Japan gels together.
TEAM CHINA
Captain: Yang Jin
Ladies: Zijun Li, Xiangning Li
Men: Boyang Jin, Tangxu Li
Pairs: Cheng Peng/Yang Jin
Ice dance: Shiyue Wang/Xinyu Liu
Competition prospects: Team China has never medaled at WTT and that’s not about to change this year, either. Boyang Jin and Peng/Jin have the best chance at high placements, Xiangning Li and Wang/Liu have risen steadily this season, and Zijun Li will be looking for redemption from Worlds, but it’s unlikely that Team China will place higher than 5th overall. But truthfully, who cares?
K&C prospects: This is where Team China shines. With a close-knit group of skaters all around the same age, Team China really feels like a team. Their enthusiasm and creativity in 2015, as well as their mastery of props and choreographed dancing, nabbed them the Team Spirit Award. If they can bring the same quality to their K&Cs this year, Team China has a shot at defending their title - but those performances from 2015 may be hard to top. Personally, we’re looking forward to Boyang Jin’s WTT debut, and whatever machinations Zijun Li comes up with to raise Team China’s K&C game. (Yang Jin is listed as the captain, but we know who’s really calling the shots.)
TEAM FRANCE
Captain: Morgan Cipres
Ladies: Laurine Lecavelier, Mae Berenice Meite
Men: Chafik Besseghier, Kevin Aymoz
Pairs: Vanessa James/Morgan Cipres
Ice dance: Marie-Jade Lauriault/Romain Le Gac
Competition prospects: Sixth-place qualifier this year, Team France will probably fight with Team China for 5th place in the standings. With the exception of James/Cipres, the members of Team France are unlikely to place very high at WTT, and they’re really just here to have a good time.
K&C prospects: If previous years are anything to go by, Team France will be fighting once again for first place in Team Spirit - they won the Team Spirit Award in both 2012 and 2013, and put up a good fight in 2015, too. Their efforts in 2012 and 2013 revolutionized K&C cheerleading with the use of costumes, props, and themed acrobatics. And you’ve really gotta give props to a team that cheers wildly when they hear they’re in last place, and will likely stay there. However, team composition is also important when considering K&C prospects, and Team France is missing some of its big K&C players of the past, so we’ll just have to wait and see what they come up with this year.