Sorry if this is already posted but coverage about to Start on BBC 2 1pm today

Thanks for the heads up Bendy. I might watch that

anyone watching this - how much better does Robin Cousins look today?? his hairstyle much better he looks years younger

i'm watching it now! Thanks for the heads up!

Anyone know when the dance is coming?

What about Robin and Aliona in the pairs, they were just brilliant, they are my favourites of course. Streets ahead of the rest, just like Ray.

Were they the German pair? I really don't know my skaters!

EDIT: Just seen they are the Germans and i did really enjoy them.

The Germans were great but the problem I have with most pairs and solo skaters are they could be dancing to any music (mostly classical!) and you just know the routine would be exactly the same, it's like the music isn't part of it, it's more like background noise. Only the very top skaters have any artistry, other than flailing their arms about madly during the step sequence.

That's why I go for the dance more, although what the others do is dangerous it's not very interesting at times.

same here and also i feel that most routines are the same, they tend to have the same jumps, spins, lifts it seems only the top couples vary the lifts and the spins at all to make it more interesting.

Yeah, it's rather difficult to me, as someone not very good with their names, to tell them apart. And entry into that pair spin is always the same and not very fast, there was only one couple last year who changed the entry by instead of pulling by the hands they actually yanked each others legs and it made them go faster then the commentator said, "They'll all be doing that next year."

I watched it too. Thanks Bendymixer for the reminder.

I felt sorry for the Russian girl (didn't get her name) but she has one heck of a tumble and landed right on her face. Ouch.

The german couple streets ahead of anyone else, it was a great routine even with the fall from the chap.

I was looking forward to watching the free dance coverage on Friday night on Eurosport, DD and DH are out and I would be able to enjoy it in peace.....but guess what, they are showing it on Saturday morning instead

Oh me too. Pairs used to be my favourite when G&G, Mishkutenok & Dmtriev, Bereznaya & Sikharulidze, Sale and Pelltier used to be around, but I haven't taken to the new crop, and certainly not the routines. Pairs lifts used to be the most beautiful part of routines, and now apart from two or three exceptions they're all almost the same. I don't like what's happened to death spirals either, with the change of foot, it looks messy.

I am enjoying ice-dance more now and appreciate it for all it's flowing and intricateness more than I used to. Like the COP system's washed the life out of pairs, I think it's been good for ice dance.

The American pair skating to Spartacus were my highlight The rest of the field was full of mistakes. I have to admire the Russians for that quad attempt though.

I think ice-dancing has been the worst affected discipline by the new rules, they have to make the moves difficult and it spoils the flow of the dance for me. It is still my favourite though

Oh yeah, don't get me start on those twizzles.

That's the problem with the new marking system, skaters are now looking for which moves will give them the most points and certain moves are marked a lot higher.

I found a few of the earlier pairs short routines totally soulless, especially during the spiral sequences. I was getting bored towards the end because you could pretty much predict what a couple would do based on their seasons best.

I loved the German short though, it had so much more energy than any of the others.

I suppose that's what you get when you force skaters to go for technicality rather than artistry.

I think a couple needs to come along like T&D who have all the technical difficulty and the artistry. They had the creativity to come up with more steps that were both technically very difficult and artistic.

Can i ask you how the presentation marks are awarded now? In layman terms as much as possible. Do you think it is possible to get a perfect marks for presentation ala T&D?

I agree, there needs to be more of a balance.

I've only been learning about the scoring method in the last couple of days with a mix of google and Chris and Simon on Eurosport . There is no longer a maximum mark, so the only way to tell how well people are doing is to compare marks against their seasons best or others in the competition.
From what I can gather, presentation is similar to things Jason and Ruthie comment on in DOI - arm/leg lines, choreography, synchronisation etc. Mistakes that aren't falls (hand on the ice, two footed landings) seem to come into presenation rather than techinical.

On this page is a score sheet for Mao Asada, which should give you an idea of how things add up. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISU_Judging_System

I thought there was a maximum for presentation, i don't think there is a maximum for the technical score but the program components i think there is.

They are given marks on a scale of 0.25-10 with 0.25 increments for:

- Skating Skills
- Transitions / Linking Footwork and Movements
- Performance/Execution
- Composition/ Choreography
- Interpretation/Timing.

I think these are multiplied by some factor depending on the discipline.

I thought the theme for the compulsory dance was "Swing" but the music that Shabalin/Domnina danced to sounded very much like a waltz....and where did the flat cap and muffler fit into it?

The last dance couple, when he fell down...she looked like she was going to hold a grudge for years to come! Mind you, if you're going to look like an idiot falling over, might as well take someone else down with you.

The Kerrs did a really good skate, when he did that flip thing near the end where she takes his skate reminded me of T&D doing it, they are such inspirations.

i'm disappointed that i don't have eurosport so am relying on the bbc who are showing the men's live on the red button in like 40mins!

why not watch it all on British euro sport been on from Staple centre LA everynight this week our two are doing very well

I was just looking at the tv guide myself and only realised its on at 00:30. I thought I'd get a couple hours of sleep in, but I guess not!

i don't have british eurosport!

I think I heard the commentators say the theme was 40s or something along those lines.

I was happy that the Kerrs skated well, I hope they can keep it up for the free. Annoyed though that we didn't get to see the other UK couple.

What happened to the Italians at the end was such a shame, she really did look like she was ready to kill him!