The keyword “chock and bates” is currently trending with over 20K searches largely due to their recent performance at the Olympics. Madison Chock and Evan Bates led the rhythm dance event, capturing attention and generating significant interest in their athletic capabilities. This high-stakes competition typically garners heightened public interest, especially when top competitors are involved.
Additionally, their victory in the team event free dance has further propelled their visibility in the news. Coverage from major outlets such as NBC Olympics has spotlighted their achievements and successes, driving searches from fans and audiences eager to learn more about their performances and outcomes.
Furthermore, human interest stories, like how Chock and Bates fell in love on the ice, as reported by Bustle, add an emotional connection to their story. Such narratives can heighten public fascination and curiosity, resulting in increased search volumes as people seek to find out more about both their romantic and athletic journeys.
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Internet Reacts
A
Madi sells it. I remember really liking them in 2018 and being upset when she fell. When I saw them again in 2022 I remembered who they were, and Chock/Bates are the number one reason I started following figure skating more closely after Beijing. Chock/Bates are the only figure skaters I can get my dad to like and where he’ll take the time to stop and watch them perform. When I show fs programs to other “layman” C/B are always a favorite. She just has that “it” factor people talk about. Their unison, musical timing, and packaging are insane and are imo the best in the field. Their twizzles are slower but more consistent than some of the other top teams. Sorry but Marcos twizzles have not been great for 2 years and Piper is known to bobble. Even FB/C have had unison issues. Aside from the twizzles I don’t think they’re as slow as people make them out to be. They also have some of the best lifts. And they listen to feedback. Madi’s ability and WILLINGNESS to change and tinker with programs to make them better is crazy good. If I were a judge and I told someone what I didn’t like and then they didn’t change it, that’s their prerogative but don’t be shocked when the score doesn’t change. I personally think they’d be deserving OGM winners if they keep it together.
R
Madi could sell sand in a desert. Her ok ice charisma is legitimately insane. And they are really good at crafting programs around their strengths and minimizing weaknesses.
I
One of my favorite comments I’ve seen on this sub was someone alleging that the cameramen zoom in on Chock/Bates to make them seem faster than the other skaters… like yes, l am totally sure Chock/Bates are part of an international conspiracy with dozens of cameramen to help them look faster for televised events and that’s the only reason why there scores are so high.
F
Couldn’t agree more. Their ability to innovate and craft new themes, nuanced story lines and gorgeous costume designs to boot, combined with their technical mastery of constant movement, lifts, footwork, and intricacies, and interpretation of the choreography is just stunning. I’m breathless every time i watch them skate. My hubby whose not an FS fan at all calls them mesmerizing and entertaining to watch.
G
I could not have said it better. Thank you. I get so tired of Virtue/Moir fans shitting on them. Your favs are retired, that’s what happens when you follow a sport. And the bullshit about how C/B don’t deserve their accolades is tiresome— competitions are won by those who show up and playing the numbers game with titles is pointless, because it all depends on luck and how deep the field is at that time. If you’re a real figure skating fan there will be times when you love the current field and others when you just don’t. I’m a major men’s fan and I had to suffer through the era of Plushenko’s dominance. It was awful, but it happens. Things always change eventually.
2
V/M’s sexy romance baiting style caused a lot of teams to be boxed into that because it was what won. It was part of the ShibSibs’ problem: romance bait or die in PCS. P/C opened some doors with their “modern” style, but it still played off romantic cues. Of course there were teams always innovating despite the V/M influence, but they generally weren’t the podium favorites. In fact teams like G/P got dinged for it and only started winning when they leaned into sexy romantic/modern styles. But then we saw, ironically with an actual couple, C/B do the snake program and blow up both online and in scoring potential. The very next season teams were exploring a lot more creativity. And through this quad with C/B continuing their creative streak and winning for it we’ve seen an explosion in teams innovating and exploring what artistry in ice dance means – and it’s led to some of the most creative, fun to watch, and exciting ice dance programs. Would I like to remove many of the creative elements for tech elements? Yes. But even if you did ice dance is changed.
S
Also watching skating in TV isn’t the same as seeing it in person. It’s hard to judge speed on television, especially when the camera is zoomed in on the skaters. Ice dancing is very much about the precision of edges and turns, and how close together the partners are, and when the camera isn’t showing the skaters’ feet those nuances are lost (per peeve of mine).
A
I’ve only ever seen people who have seen them in person say they’re faster than on TV. Isabeau too. It’s because of how much they pack into their programs. It’s beautiful, IMO. I mean, it’s ice *dance*, not speed skating. I’d much rather watch Bock with their intricate programs. Heck, even I can skate fast across the ice as someone with limited experience. So that’s not my goal in watching, haha.
H
They are my favourite ice dancing pair. Before Covid I used to go to GPF and Worlds every year and yes, they are indeed faster than on TV.
A
I just had a watch party with the Opening Ceremony and a few figure skating competitions. Everyone (and my dad included) loved Chok and Bates and said how fun, flawless, and musical their routine was.
H
I’m generally not a fan of theirs because they do seem slower than other teams, but seeing their FD evolve over the season has been impressive. Seeing it at the team event today, I was like OK Madi, you have won me over. The Olympic versions of the costumes are incredible. The program itself looks fantastic.
S
This
W
I’ll start of by saying everyone has their own favorite teams so not liking Bock is a valid personal preference for a lot of people. They’ve also been at the top for a while so people start to get sick of it (especially when you’re not at the top and out of this world good like V/M or P/C). They are a very well packaged team and listen to what the judges want. They are incredibly in sync. They have some very intricate and beautiful lifts and transitions, imo they have great chemistry on the ice, and Evan know Maddie’s the star and helps her sell it. They also (historically) have had some very unique programs that have been weird (alien) and stunning (snake)
S
Their lifts! 🤌🏼
B
How solid Evan is! Everyone talks about Madison but I think Evan is the rock of this team, providing the stability for fluidity of transitions and lifts. That said he looked exhausted after giving it his all yesterday and I hope he is ok to perform 4 times.
S
I hope his back is okay (going off glitter and gold back injury).
B
Lifts, transitions, holds and presentation are some components that they excel at.
M
They have good holds and lots of changes in holds, superior to the other top teams. But additionally, as someone who has seen them in person, they preform their programs like they want the nearly blind person in the very back row to be able to see it and think ‘holy crap, that was awesome’. Their energy is just very uniquely big and good while somehow also not coming across as excessively cheesy/over the top, his too even though his does not translate well on screen. They are faster than they look on screen too, though their speed is comparable with other top couples not better.
B
I’ve seen them live and concur, TV doesn’t do them justice in showing that they skate big, to the whole arena. Great ice coverage, precise synchronized steps and movement and lots of different holds. Madi and Evan are smart, efficient skaters and know how to get levels and score well. Might not be my favorite skaters but I respect what they are putting out and have no problem with their placements.
C
I agree, I saw them at SkAm this past year and I was surprised how much more I enjoyed them. when Madi is in some of their lifts, she makes eye contact with the audience or judges and it’s really striking to see. also yeah, they’re not that slow; I’d say a lot of ice dance teams aren’t as fast as you’d think, especially with the elements they have to do now (character steps always seem to kill the momentum/speed imo.)
P
Their blade work reminds me of precise ballet footwork – clean, controlled, and technically sound. That’s what judges reward consistently.
N
Because people always hate those at the top. They justify their hate by coming up with conspiracy after conspiracy. Of course ice dance has politics but to say Chock/Bates is not deserving of where they are is just sour grapes. They have consistently worked on their craft and their hardwork shows.
D
I don’t watch ice dance and don’t understand the scoring system. They were my favorite yesterday. I was surprised that they were so heavily criticized on this sub.
S
This sub is filled with current and past skaters (and their friends/family)… I think the bitterness and jealousy comes through often
B
I think it’s more the fans. A few people say something, then many start parroting, and then it becomes “truth”.
2
It’s a lot more fans or adult skaters than skaters that were anywhere near this level of skating… I’ve done a lot more in my skating career than probably 90-95% of the sub including dance tests and I was nowhere near this level. I think the hate is mostly about IAM and unfair judging. Because honestly they aren’t the best technically. That’s obvious. Above average or very good? Yes. But deserve to win on tech? No. Ice dance is about politics, yes, but it’s also about what the judges are awarding. And right now that’s not the best in tech, it’s the very good in tech and best in entertainment. Ice dance is also very “wait your turn” and boy have they waited. In that sense there’s a lot of teams people think are better and like more than C/B, but they haven’t “waited their turn” yet or haven’t been politicked right (not the right coaches), or whatever. It’s easy to hate the top in ice dance because it’s never been completely fair.
E
Amen. At least Didier is gone…
4
Im pretty sure most of us are singles skaters and there’s nothing to be jealous of in…. ice dance??? If you don’t skate i can see how this conspiracy would make sense but I assure you it makes 0 sense and that non-skaters are more likely to have all these weird notions. How do I know? When you skate as much as us you just literally dont care 🤷♀️ we have seen friends and ourselves go somewhere, go nowhere, prodigys go no where. Like we have seen it all for decade(s) and it is really not that deep. Also if you are skating you are getting outside and working on yourself. Keyboard warriors are way more likely to be cray Edit oh yeah most skaters dont watching skating btw. The vast majority of kids dont know who Yuna Kim is for example, this kind of level of fandom of critique and getting mad at skaters is really odd and comes from fringe weirdos
S
Thank you for literally proving my point 🤪
4
Where did I show jealousy to chock/bates when they’re tied my faves with piper? Not gonna lie but the bad vibes seem to be coming from inside the house girliepop Edit: and yes, I absolutely think people who are bitter towards ice dancers are nuts and I stand by every downvote i get for saying it:)
L
I admit I’m bored of them and I never really warmed to their style. But I really enjoyed their performance yesterday, I was wowed.
S
I LOVED their dance yesterday too… Stunning
D
They have insane chemistry. The opening to their Rhythm Dance was not something many other skaters could pull off. Maddie has a lot of raw charisma. Ice Dance is a dance based sport and charisma is important. They are very mindful of making sure the whole package (music choice, costume, make up, theming) makes sense but isn’t over baring. They have great lifts. They partner quite well. That is to say they skate together rather than next to each other. Edit: typo
N
you are the first person i’ve ever met who thinks they have chemistry lol. two wet rocks could produce more spark
B
They have chemistry, just not V-M style “chemistry” like they want to jump each other’s bones. That’s also not really their vibe – they keep it classy-sexy, not raunchy-sexy. But their partnering skills are really insane. They skate like one unit and are able to pull off really intricate and difficult moves because of that. This is what i see as a big difference in Cizeron’s partnering with Gabi (one fluid unit) vs with Laurence (two insanely good skaters).
O
literally. i saw a tiktok of someone saying you can tell ice dancers are married if they have absolutely 0 chemistry and i agree hard 😭
O
They are so precise and intentional with every step. Their programs are very difficult. They have a ton of different holds and changes. They really sell it.
I
They are exceptionally good skaters. They have pretty much half of their lives into the partnership and it shows. That being said, I do not know if it is the music or what it is, for me, as far as emotions, they fell a bit flat.
J
I feel the same but then their gala program this season is one the most emotionally powerful I’ve ever seen
E
I always felt like their chemistry wasn’t all that good considering they’ve been in both a romantic and professional partnership together for many years. Especially when compared to other ice dance couples that had shown just how much chemistry is possible between two people.
I
As a ice dance fan for close to 2 decades, C/B programs are maybe more boring or staid than some recent champions but they are solid, insanely consistent, and really found something that works for them (a theme where they inhabit unique characters in a certain narrative like a snake or bull or alien). I really hope they do well. If it’s anyone’s time who has been a mainstay of the sport and put in the time and commitment for decades to become champions, it’s them.
O
I think they have a very American style and their program choices are quite approachable to a wide audience. Great carriage and presentation.
R
Love Love Chock/Bates. I kinda thought it would be really cool if he pulled out a red scarf from his neck at the end.
S
They’re amazing and the best by far. Haters need to get a life
G
I think there’s a tendency to think people in authority knows best and have rational reasons for doing what they’re doing. The reality, however, is that very often, they do not. I mean, have you seen the state of the world? The same is true of ice dance judging. There is no rationalizing the scores they give out. By the ISU’s own stated criteria, elements performed with a lack of speed cannot get higher than +3 GOE. Yet Chock/Bates regularly gets +4 and +5s. Their program component scores are also wildly misaligned with what they put on the ice: their lack of speed should dent their skating skills, and their lack of ice coverage should reduce their composition score. So why do they get the scores they get? Because ice dance judging relies on factors that are not covered in the rules: * The pressure for consensus – judges get scrutinized if their scores are regularly out of line with other judges. * Club-based bias. A lot of judges have ties to the club Bock skate for, and it’s been long noted that skaters from that club get better scores from those judges. * Seniority bonus. There is a wait-your-turn mentality amongst ice dance judges, where newer ice dancers get lower scores than they deserve, and vice versa. Bock is possibly the most high profile team that’s lasted this long.
B
With all due respect, I’ve seen a million posts about all the reasons they don’t deserve high scores, skate poorly, benefit from corrupt judging, etc. I’m specifically looking for comments about things they’re doing well.
G
You specifically asked why they receive the scores they receive. I provided a succinct but comprehensive answer. I’m sorry it was not to your liking.
S
You’re so wildly incorrect. If they’re misjudged then so are literally every other current team because they look like juniors in comparison
H
Bullshit. They skated with so much ice coverage during the rhythm dance that they almost ran their midline no touch into the boards. Get out of here with that. 🙄
O
personally I think they have great technical elements but to me they have no chemistry, their skating skills are lacking, and I really don’t like their rhythm dance in particular. I don’t get the 90s theme at all and I don’t understand what they’re even going for?? The dance break during the rap part especially makes me cringe every time.
Additional Sources:
Bustle – How Figure Skaters Madison Chock & Evan Bates Fell In Love On The Ice
NBC Olympics – Chock and Bates turn it up for team event free dance win
