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MIKHAIL SHAIDOROV YOU ARE THE NEW 4CC CHAMPION!!!!!!!!

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I love whatever this is.

SKDFHSKJFHSJKDF?????????????

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how many times...must i use this godforsaken reaction imagine in one comp.........

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Four Continents Championships Preview

Men - My Predicted Top 6 (in no particular order)

Daiwei Dai (China) - I think he’s going to be a dark horse not gonna lie. His 4T seems pretty solid and he did decent at Cup of China and just got 4th at the Asian Winter Games. I feel like he has a lot of positive momentum going for him.

Kao Miura (Japan) - I really thought he was going to withdraw but I feel like if he was going to withdraw he wouldn’t done it by now so I’m hoping that the fact that he hasn’t withdrawn means that his injury is better. If he’s skating while still injured I’m gonna be so upset. I cannot take a 3rd disaster skate in a row. If he does not do well here you may not hear from me for a long time because I will lose my mind. I remember how happy I was when Kao won this event with the iconic Beauty and the Beast program and I hope I will be that happy once again but I am scared.

Tatsuya Tsuboi (Japan) - He actually must do well because I really don’t love the idea of him bombing before Worlds. I’m really glad that he got assigned here so he can get some more international practice in, and hopefully it will go well so he can go into Worlds with some good momentum. If he bombs we panic.

Mikhail Shaidorov (Kazakhstan) - I’m very excited to see him. It’s cray cray that he’s turned into such a fav this season. If he does what he’s been doing all season I see no reason why he won’t be on the podium.

Junhwan Cha (South Korea) - This is his event to lose. He’s been on a podium streak since Korean Nationals and I’m not ready to see it end. He’s been killing it this second half of the season and I just want the good vibes to continue.

Camden Pulkinen (USA) - If he betrays me I will not forgive him. He was beautiful at US Nationals but consistency is not his speciality. If he does well here I really think he could get the Worlds spot over Jason.

Women - My Predicted Top 6 (in no particular order)

Mone Chiba (Japan) - I wish nothing but the best for my daughter. I love her so much and I believe she will soar. I actually need her to get on top of the podium because if she gets another 2nd place I will go feral.

Wakaba Higuchi (Japan) - I really need her on the podium as well. I better not see a popped 3S in the free :) I feel like this women’s competition is going to be a blood bath so if she makes a tiny mistake like popping the 3S I think that’ll be enough to keep her off the podium.

Rino Matsuike (Japan) - Need to see two clean program again just like JNats, because I don’t think she’ll be able to make a comeback in the free if she struggles in the short like she’s been doing all season. No matter what happens I’m excited to see her perform.

Chaeyeon Kim (South Korea) - My main girl just won Asian Winter Games and is gonna ride the wave of victory through this competition. I can’t decide who I want to win more - Mone or Chaeyeon. Mone keeps getting 2nd but I really want Chaeyeon to win at home. I just hope both of my daughters do their best.

Sarah Everhardt (USA) - The pressure is on her here because Isabeau is doing the Olympics test event this week as well. Idk what we’ll see from Isabeau, but if she doesn’t do well and Sarah does well here, we might be seeing Sarah at Worlds. She has a fire within her and she is hungry. I can sense it.

Alysa Liu (USA) - Still not over her short program from US Nationals. Once again I’m really happy that she’s getting some more international practice before Worlds.

I’m actually so excited for this competition!!!!!I’m a little worried about the men because the men will always men but I think the women’s competition is stacked and has excellent blood bath potential. With that being saidI hope we see a good fight from everyone. I have so many favorites at this competition that I wish there was room on the podium for everyone. I really feel like Four Continents snuck up on me but I am ready. Happy watching everyone!!!

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European Championships Review

Once again this is very late. I wasn’t ready to jump into Europeans after Flight 5342 and then when I was ready to catch up I got a migraine and then when I was ready to write this review I got the flu that everyone is getting right now, so it’s been a little rough but I am ready. Let’s do this.

Men:

Lukas Britschgi (Switzerland): Total Score 267.09 - 8th in the short, 1st in the free. Did not see this coming. I really liked the short here even tho the jumps did not go as planned. The technical elements in the free were the best I’ve even seen from him. Very nice comeback after the short.

Nikolaj Memola (Italy): Total Score 262.61 - 5th in the short, 2nd in the free. I’ve yet to see two clean programs from him this season but omg did he kill this. The 4Lz3T blew me away, but he needs to fix those level 2 spins, but he’s so tall Idk how he’s supposed to fix them lol.

Adam Siao Him Fa (France): Total Score 257.99 - 1st in the short, 3rd in the free. My man was really just throwing himself into all the jumps during the free. Nearly gave me a heart attack. I’m glad that it looks like he’s sticking to SOS in the short. I really really want to see the Dune program clean.

Nika Egadze (Georgia): Total Score 243.87 - 2nd in the short, 8th in the free. It really was looking like he was gonna make the podium but the free betrayed him which is disappointing because I feel like he consistently ends up in 4th place. We need to get him away from Eteri stat.

Matteo Rizzo (Italy): Total Score 241.21 - 4th in the short, 6th in the free. Love the new free program. Really happy that he’s keeping it for the upcoming season. Looking forward to seeing it again when it’s a little more polished. Attempted 2 quads in the free which is a step in the right direction because at his Grand Prixs he was only doing the 4Lo in the free.

Deniss Vasiljevs (Latvia) : Total Score 239.7 - 12th in the short, 4th in the free. NO MORE 4S IN THE SHORT I AM SO TIRED OF THIS. I wish he would stick with his Skate America layout where he did the 3A, 3Lz3T, and 3F. However, his free program was stunning. He sacrificed the stsq for the jumps but there were tears running down my face. I love him.

Women:

Niina Petrokina (Estonia): Total Score 208.18 - 2nd in the short, 1st in the free. I also did not see this coming, but I’m so happy she had her moment here. Her jumps were so solid although that freak stumble in the free gave me a heart attack but I’m glad it didn’t impact her score too much.

Anastasiia Gubanova (Georgia): Total Score 198.61 - 1st in the short, 2nd in the free. Miss girl will really have the most mid Grand Prix season and then go to Europeans and kill it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ . Glad she was able to do well here but it’s a shame that she’s so inconsistent.

Nina Pinzarrone (Belgium): Total Score 191.44 - 4th in the short, 3rd in the free. Pretty sure she changed her costume for the short and I liked it. I actually like the short way more than I have all season. Still not liking the free tho, which is disappointing because I really do like my little Belgium girl. I thought she absolutely killed it here

Kimmy Repond (Switzerland): Total Score 186.64 - 3rd in the short, 5th in the free. I feel like Kimmy has been fighting hard all season and I’m so disappointed that she’s didn’t make it onto the podium. I really like the short, but I recently saw Gladiator for the first time and now that I have I really do feel like I understand these Gladiator programs better, but I also understand that Kimmy’s Gladiator costume is not very good.

Anna Pezzetta (Italy): Total Score 186.19 - 6th in the short, 4th in the free. Her jumps could not have been bigger even if she tried like OMG. Where did she come from??? She had a handful of mistakes here but I am so impressed with her.

Lara Naki Gutmann (Italy): Total Score 181.51 - 5th in the short, 6th in the free. It’ll be interesting to see the rivalry between Lara and Anna going into next season. But Lara will always be my girl. Still obsessed with the short, but we couldn’t keep it together in the second half of the free which is disappointing. Also, her blue eyeshadow seemed shockingly blue, like I don’t think I’ve ever seen an eyeshadow look so blue in all my life.

Pairs:

Minerva Fabienne Hase / Nikita Volodin (Germany): Total Score 212.48 - 1st in the short, 1st in the free. They serve great face in the short, but the free is a little boring in my opinion. Their 3Tw is so solid.

Sara Conti / Niccolo Macii (Italy): Total Score 206.89 - 2nd in the short, 2nd in the free. Once again I really like their short. They are so fast and their movements are so sharp, but I also feel like their free is bit of a snooze fest. I do not like the song and I don’t like her jumpsuit. I wish everyone would stop doing SBS 3 jump combos because they all look bad.

Anastasiia Metelkina /Luka Berulava (Georgia): Total Score 191.88 - 9th in the short, 3rd in the free. Clawed their way onto this podium by the skin of their teeth. Kept the performance up even tho the short was not going the way they wanted which is great. I’m glad they had a good comeback because they’ve really grown on me this season.

Ice Dance:

Charlene Guignard / Marco Fabbri (Italy): Total Score 212.12 - 1st in the rhythm , 1st in the free. I’m officially tired of the ketchup and mustard program and I never liked the robots program to begin with so it’s a bit rough out here. I love watching them because their technique is stunning but I just really don’t like either one of their programs this season. They better bring out the good stuff next season.

Evgeniia Lopareva / Geoffrey Brissaud (France): Total Score 206.76 - 2nd in the rhythm, 4th in the free. My new favs. I cannot put into words how much I love the Rasputin rhythm dance. It lives rent free in my head 24/7. Their stsq in both the rhythm and free is amazing.

Lilah Fear / Lewis Gibson (Great Britain): Total Score 206.02 - 3rd in the rhythm, 2nd in the free. She had some trouble with the twizzles in the rhythm but other than that I loved it. Beyoncé program also gets me so hyped.

I can’t believe Four Continents is next week! I’m really excited because the lined up is pretty stacked in all disciplines but I’m super excited to see what goes down with the men. Will Kao compete? Will Jun continue his podium streak? Who knows!?!?!

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a smile might be nice

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the height difference gets me every time

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Skaters, coaches, and family killed in the Washington Plane Crash over the Potomac River:

These skaters were returning from the post-Nationals Development Camp for young skaters in Wichita, KS. This is an event for up and coming athletes that gives them the opportunity to be seen by USFS officials and train with top coaches. All of these skaters were extremely young. Please correct me if I made an error, but I don't believe any of them were older than sixteen.

Unfathomable tragedy. Skating is such a small community. Everyone is going to feel the resonance of this. It's reminiscent of the 1961 Team USA figure skating plane crash. My heart goes out to everyone affected.

Spencer Lane (athlete at Skating Club of Boston) and his mother, Christine Lane

Jinna Han (athlete at Skating Club of Boston) and her mother, Jin Han

Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shiskova (coaches, 1994 world pairs champions, two time Olympians, and parents of US skater Maxim Naumov- Skating Club of Boston)

Eddie Zhou (athlete, Skating Club of Northern Virginia)

Everly and Alydia Livingston (sisters and athletes at the Washington Figure Skating Club)

Franco Aparico (athlete, Washington Figure Skating Club)

Inna Volyanskaya (coach, former pairs champion- Washington Figure Skating Club)

Angela Yang and Sean Kay (athletes, ice dancer partners- University of Delaware Figure Skating Club)

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Cuties

2025 US National Championships: Women's Podium

🥇Amber Glenn 🥈Alysa Liu 🥉Sarah Everhardt 4. Bradie Tennell

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US National Championships Review

Men:

Ilia Manlinin: Total Score 333.31 - 1st in the short, 1st in the free. My heart stopped after the fall on the 4Lo. It looked really rough and I think it really shook him up. I was praying that he wasn’t going to do the backflip but of course he did and he almost smashed his face into the ice. I really don’t like the 7 quad program but he likes doing it so I guess he’s gonna keep doing it. I don’t think he’ll be able to keep it up forever tho.

Andrew Torgashev: Total Score 286.49 - 2nd in the short, 2nd in the free. My man smiled and nodded to the judges during the free because he knew he was going to Worlds lol. Pizza King is having the season of a lifetime and I love seeing his confidence. I just hope he can keep the good momentum going but I’m not too worried about him tbh.

Camden Pulkinen: Total Score 252.92 - 4th in the short, 4th in the free. I did not have high hopes for Camden going into this completion because his Grand Prixs were both very bad. His short program was amazing. My eyes were misty and my heart was soaring. I’m so glad he also delivered a clean free. I am staying cautiously optimistic about 4 Continents because Camden usually skates well at nationals but then he’ll fall a part at his next assignment.

Maxim Naumov: Total Score 248.16 - 7th in the short, 3rd in the free. In think this is his 3rd year in a row getting 4th at nationals. But if you’re gonna keep getting 4th at nationals it’s good to be a US nationals because at least you get the pewter. The 4S was not working for him this competition which is a shame, but I’m glad that he didn’t let the problems with the 4S mess up the rest of his programs.

Jimmy Ma: Total Score 236.78 - 3rd in the short, 7th in the free. He was fabulous in the short but it’s so frustrating that he can’t do two clean programs at competition. He was out there looking like Nathan in the free tho. I’m glad he was able to get the 4T2T after the 2T, but he couldn’t keep it together in the second half of the program. I love watching him perform.

Tomoki Hiwatashi: Total Score 229.53 - 10th in the short, 5th in the free. He is so entertaining and I am absolutely obsessed with his free. I think it fits him so well. So sad about the 4T in the short. He really needed some chapstick.

Women:

Amber Glenn: Total Score 216.79 - 3rd in the short, 1st in the free. I think the nerves really got to Amber here, especially in the free, but I’m glad she got her back to back titles. The 3A in the free was stunning. Unfortunately nether one of Amber’s programs really stand out to me so we’re gonna need some better music for the Olympic season please and thank you.

Alysa Liu: Total Score 215.33 - 1st in the short, 2nd in the free. That damn spin. I really thought she had it and if she had won I would’ve been over the moon. Seeing her happy just makes me so happy. Her short was probably my favorite performance of the season. I was crying fat tears. She is an icon and she is going to worlds!!!

Sarah Everhardt: Total Score 207.36 - 4th in the short, 3rd in the free. Needs to replace the 3T3T in the short or at least do it in the second half of the program. Both of her programs really clicked with me at this competition, because I was not really feeling either of them. So excited to see her at Four Continents and just like Amber said she needs to train like she’s going to Worlds because who knows what is going to happen with Isababy.

Brandie Tennell: Total Score 199.94 - 2nd in the short, 4th in the free. Slayed the short program. Second half of the free kinda fell apart but it’s still very pretty.

Sherry Zhang: Total Score 188.48 - 5th in the short, 7th in the free. It was her senior debut and she lowkey killed it. Short was great. I liked the Hunger Games free, and I loved the bow and arrow movement at the beginning. First half was great but she couldn’t keep it together. But she did fight to the end.

Starr Andrews: Total Score 185.97 - 12th in the short, 5th in the free. I love Starr so much. I’m glad she had a good comeback in the free. It was a bummer not seeing her at a Grand Prix this season but she just doesn’t have the consistency.

Pairs:

Alisa Efimova / Misha Mitrofanov: Total Score 211.9 - 3rd in the short, 1st in the free. This pairs event was crazy. They have really good speed and were giving great attitude in the short. In the free they landed all the SBS jumps and the throws. Not much more you could ask for.

Katie McBeath / Daniel Parkman: Total Score 190.57 - 4th in the short, 2nd in the free. I don’t really vibe with either one of their programs tbh. Biggest mistakes was the SBS 3F in the free, but the throw 3Lo was great!

Ellie Kam / Danny O’Shea: Total Score 189.57 - 1st in the short, 5th in the free. Short was excellent but the free was my goodness the free was scary. I’m just glad they’re both okay after that fall. Danny is a great partner because he really took the brunt of the fall. I hope they are able to move past this performance.

Ice Dance:

Madison Chock / Evan Bates: Total Score 223.52 - 1st in the rhythm, 1st in the free. Maddy was really not looking good after the free. I have no idea how she went out there and performed the way she did. She is a warrior. Rhythm was pretty solid but the free was not their best.

Christina Carreira / Anthony Ponomarkenko: Total Score 210.79 - 2nd in the rhythm, 2nd int he free. I am so, so happy that he got a new costume for the free but I’m upset that she also changed her costume because I really liked the yellow! Rhythm is pretty solid, but the free was amazing. I love it so much. Glad they got some transfer proof lipstick lol.

Caroline Green / Michael Parsons: Total Score 205.37 - 4th in the short, 3rd in the free. I lost my tech box during their free which was rough because I don’t know enough about ice dance yet to not have a tech box. I don’t really know what the story of their free program is but I could tell that they were telling a story (lol idk if that made any sense) and it was very pretty.

The score inflation that was going on here was insane but I hope everybody got a big confidence boost from these big scores. I am not going to be able to get a Europeans preview out because it starts tomorrow and once I get this posted it will be my bedtime but I will be writing a review! Ngl I am looking forward to a break after Europeans because Canadian Nationals, US Nationals and Europeans all back to back has been a lot.

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US National Championships Preview

Men - My Predicted Top 6 (in no particular order)

Andrew Torgashev - I am still very cautiously optimistic about him. I hope he does well, but two good competitions in a row isn’t gonna make me forget about his past filled with consistency issues. However, with Jason Brown withdrawing the door is wide open for him to get on the Worlds team and I hope it happens.

Ilia Malinin - I think the only way he isn’t winning this thing is if he has to withdraw and I don’t see that happening. Who knows how many quads he’s gonna do, but I don’t think these judges are gonna be as strict on the rotation calls compared to the judges at the Grand Prix final. I think he’ll end up with a pretty big score similar to what he got at Lombardia.

Jacob Sanchez - I was very surprised when he won the Junior Grand Prix but I liked him. I’m excited to see him perform again and I think he has the ability to really shake things up.

Jimmy Ma - Has ended up in the top 6 at nationals for the last 4 years and would like to see him keep his streak up. Didn’t have a Grand Prix assignment this year so I haven’t watched him this season, so I don’t really know what to except.

Maxim Naumov - Did pretty decent at Skate America. I hope he’s been able to get the 4S more solid in the past couple of months. I like the Tron program and I think it’s funny that several people are doing Tron this season lol.

Tomoki Hiwatashi - His free program at NHK trophy was great and he’s an excellent performer. I think he had just started training in Japan last season and if that’s true I think it’s payed off for sure. I’m really looking forward to his performance.

Women - My Predicted Top 6 (in no particular order)

Alysa Liu - Miss girl is attempting 3A in practice and if she lands it in competition she’s really gonna spice things up. She changed the jump layout in the free which is good stuffs. I’m so happy to see her back and looking happy.

Amber Glenn - Amber has been undefeated all season, so I think she will be going into this event with plenty of confidence. I would love to see her a little more refined from the Grand Prix Final, however with a 3A in the both the short and free I think she has it. I just hope the nerves don’t get to her.

Brandie Tannell - Riverdance isn’t my fav but I love the Nessun Dorma free. It’s gonna be great to see at Nationals again after missing last year. With Isabeau and Ava out I think if she goes clean and others make some mistakes I think she has a chance of making the podium.

Elyce Lin-Gracey - Her Grand Prixs did not go the way she wanted, but it’s been a couple of months so hopefully Nationals goes a bit better.

Lindsay Thorngren - The short program hasn’t really been her thing this season, so I would love to see two clean performances from her. I would also like to see more speed/energy overall.

Sarah Everhardt - Amazing technical elements but not a single emotion to be found while she’s performing. She’s been very consistent this season and I think she has an excellent chance of making it onto the podium.

I’m so excited that Adam Rippon and Ashley Wagner are gonna be commentating again this year. But I’m a little sad that they won’t be commentating together. After JNats US Nationals is the nationals that I look forward to the most so I am looking forward to a weekend filled with skating. Also, it’s very cold where I live rn so the cozy figure skating watching vibes will be immaculate.

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Isn’t it crazy that there was no one is 2nd place ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

JUNPODIUM JUNMEDAL JUNBRONZE

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Canadian National Skating Championships Preview

I’m only gonna do a top 3 for each discipline because I don’t know enough about the Canadians to do a top 6, and their depth of field is not very deep especially in the singles lol.

Men - My Predicted Top 3 (in no particular order)

Aleksa Rakic - Was decent at Skate Canada. Seems like he has a solid 4T which is good. Don’t remember his programs very well, but I do remember not loving his jump technique.

Anthony Paradis - I was able to watch a couple of his performances from the Junior Grand Prix and I love him. Not the strongest when it comes to the technical elements but his PCS will be huge. You can feel every emotion he portrays when he’s performing.

Roman Sadovsky - With Wesley out it’s Roman’s time to shine. It’s crazy that the only thing I’ve seen from him this season is his short from Skate Canada lol. I hope his injury is all good and hopefully he can put down two clean skates.

Women - My Predicted Top 3 (in no particular order)

Kaiya Ruiter - Had a pretty okay short at Skate Canada but she struggled a bit in the free with a couple of URs, but I did like the Wonder Woman theme she had going on.

Madeline Schizas - She was great at Skate Canada. Cup of China went okay, she had a couple of small mistakes but she this is her’s to loose. Don’t love the Lion King program on her just because it makes me think of Wakaba but I love her Danse Macabre. I just really want miss girl to do well.

Sara-Maude Dupuis - Her Skate Canada was pretty rough so hopefully things go better here. She got a lot of UR so she needs to get everything around. She also popped her 2Lz in the short which really hurt her.

Pairs - My Predicted Top 3 (in no particular order)

Deanna Stellato-Dudek / Maxime Deschamps - Things will have to go very wrong from them to not win. It was so sad not seeing them at the Grand Prix Final. I’m hoping that they’ve been able to polish their programs a bit - especially the free. I am so excited to see them! And Deanna is officially a Canadian!!

Kelly Ann Laurin / Loucas Either - They are super slow. But I think Separate Ways is a great song choice for them because it is also slow. They improved quite a bit between Skate Canada and Finlandia Trophy so I I hope we’ll see two solid performances from them.

Lia Pereira / Trennt Michaud - We also saw a lot of improvement from them between their two Grand Prix events. I remember liking their Sing, Sing, Sing short. I hope they land the Throw 3Lo.

Ice Dance - My Predicted Top 3 (in no particular order)

Marie-Jade Lauriault / Romain Le Gac -They are good performers but I unfortunately do not vibe with them. Their free dance is a cowboy program and I’m not the person you try to impress with a cowboy program lol. But I did think he had a good cowboy mustache. .

Majorie Lajoie / Zachary Lagha - His free dance makes me laugh every time and that program is just very goofy in general. However, their free is stunning. I really like them.

Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier - If Paul falls again imma lose it. I wonder which costumes they’re gonna wear for their rhythm dance. I don’t like Paul’s backless suit at all. I actually it it’ll be pretty close between them and Lajoie / Lagha.

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Late South Korean National Championships Review

Men:

Junhwan Cha: Total Score 281.02 - 1st in the short, 1st in the free. Both of his programs have grown on me a bit, and his free skate was excellent here - only mistake was popping the 3Lo after the 3F in his combo. Hopefully his injury is doing better because he has a busy second half of the season because the Korean federation doesn’t let their skaters rest. He is the love of my life.

Minkyu Seo: Total Score 246.78 - 5th in the short, 2nd in the free. Pretty decent spins and speed and I absolutely adore his free program, I think it fits him so well. I think he’s moving up to seniors pretty soon so that’ll be exciting.

Sihyeong Lee: Total Score 241.69 - 2nd in the short, 3rd in the free. Would love to see him work on his speed a little more. Both of his programs were pretty solid, biggest mistake was a step out after the 3A in the free program. Did a great job of emoting after he finished the jumps.

Hyungyeom Kim: Total Score 240.25 - 3rd in the short, 4th in the free. I think he improved a lot since Cup of China which was reflected in his score. Picked up the speed a lot, but still needs to work on the spins.

Habin Choi: Total Score 238.97 - 4th in the short, 5th in the free. He has good technical skills but really needs to work on the PCS. But he’s only 15 so he has some time. He also does a Tron program and I think I like his music cut better than Chaeyeon’s.

The men were pretty strong this event which was nice to see after the men at JNats. I watched the replay on the KBS YouTube channel and they only showed the final group which is why I’m only doing the top 5 :)

Women:

Chaeyeon Kim: Total Score 216.09 - 2nd in the short, 1st in the free. I’m obsessed with her, and she had the cutest lil snoopy plushie with her in the kiss and cry. Usually I go cray cray for the Tron short, but at this competition I felt like the free really spoke to me. The choreography sequence is gorgeous, especially the spiral.

Jia Shin: Total Score 214.15 - 1st in the short, 2nd in the free. Won in the costume category because both of her’s are stunning. Very solid tech content. Looking forward to when she turns senior.

Yujae Kim: Total Score 193.92 - 3rd in the short, 5th in the free. I liked the commitment to the Swan Lake program because I feel like we’ve had a lot of “kinda” Swan Lake programs. Did the 3A in booth programs! But she did go down in the free.

Yuseong Kim: Total Score 192.52 - 5th in the short, 3rd in the free. She was a little late on the ending in both programs. I really enjoyed watching her during the junior Grand Prix and she was lovely here.

Ashun Yun: Total Score 188.15 - 6th in the short, 4th in the free. I really like the Oppenheimer short. I feel like the free only picks up once she finishes the jumps. Has definitely improved since Finlandia, especially in terms of her speed. I’ve grown to like her a lot this season.

Just like the men, the women killed this event.

Once again I’m sorry that this is a bit late but I’m almost caught up! Preview for Canadian Nationals coming tomorrow! Winter University Games is also going on this weekend. I’m not going to watch all of it but I will watch and take notes on some of the heavier hitters that will be attending!

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Super Late Japanese National Championships Review

This is so late but I'm still gonna do it.

Men:

Yuma Kagiyama: Total Score 297.73 - 1st in the short, 1st in the free. A bright spot in the disaster that was the men’s event. However, it was not his best performance - he went down on the 3A in the short and had a couple of stepouts in the free. I’m just glad he had no problems with the 4S this event. I’m glad he changed his costume. I love him so much.

Rio Nakata: Total Score 263.99 - 2nd in the short, 2nd in the free. I love him. The Pirates of the Caribbean program slayed. His fist pumps were so cute. Overall it was a very strong performance. He ran out of gas a bit at the end of the free but he was clean so that’s all that matters. Wish he was old enough to go to worlds lol.

Tatsuya Tsuboi: Total Score 247.31 - 14th in the short, 3rd in the free. After his free skate I remember saying to myself that I hope he gets two Grand Prix assignments next season… and now he’s going to Worlds lol. In all honesty, he was great at the NHK Trophy and if he hadn’t popped the 3A in the short he wouldn’t have a pretty decent score. I just hope the World’s pressure doesn’t get to him, but I’m happy we’ll see him at Four Continents first.

Nobunari Oda: Total Score 234.68 - 5th in the short, 6th in the free. This man had me crying so hard. He was crying, and I was crying, and he was amazing. I have no words. 100/10.

Kazuki Tomono: Total Score 233.95 - 3rd in the short, 8th in the free. All season he has put up decent scores in the short, but then struggles in the free and it is so frustrating. Not really loving either of his programs.

Sena Miyake: Total Score 233.49 - 11th in the short, 4th in the free. His Titanic free means everything to me. He had two Grand Prix assignments a in 22-23 season I believe but he hasn’t really been able to put down consistent results. In the short he was fighting hard to stay up, and he looked a lot more confident in the free. I am so happy he did well and I hope to see more of him next season.

Shun Sato: Total Score 230.8 - 6th in the short, 7th in the free. The 4Lz really betrayed him this event, and the fall he had on it in the free was so scary. Overall his free program was pretty rough but I’m glad he got his disaster skate of the season out of the way because Shun is finally going to worlds!!!!

Kao Miura: Total Score 230.09 - 4th in the short, 9th in the free. This was heartbreaking. I’m glad he’s taking a break and allowing his injury to heal. This season has been a bit rough, but it’s next season that really matters so he needs to get healthy. I wish he would have had the Fuecoco Trio at Worlds but hopefully we’ll see them together at the Olympics. I loved his new free costume.

Koshiro Shimada: Total Score 224.04 - 15th in the short, 5th in the free. Don’t love the short, but I really like the free. I was surprised to see him go for the 4Lz in the free, because I don’t think I’ve seen him do it in competition this season.

Sota Yamamoto: Total Score 217.09 - 7th in the short, 12th in the free. This made me so sad. However, he also got a new costume for the free and I loved it. I’m obsessed with his free. The quads weren’t quading for him this competition which is such a shame. I’m salty that he didn’t get assigned to Four Continents.

Women:

Kaori Sakamoto: Total Score 228.68 - 1st in the short, 1st in the free. I was so scared of the backloaded combo in the short but Kaori proved me wrong. She killed it and her speed is amazing. Even tho her tech score wasn’t as high as Mao’s her PCS got her to the top and I love that for her because I thought her performance was very engaging.

Mao Shimada: Total Score 219 - 2nd in the short, 2nd in the free. Her Defying Gravity short had me crying at 5:48AM. She Is a star, a bight shining star. But I don’t want her to do the 4T anymore. She doesn’t need and she doesn’t land it, so take it out.

Wakaba Higuchi: Total Score 206.4 - 4th in the short, 3rd in the free. Words cannot begin to describe how happy I am to see her on the podium. Wakaba and Kaori had me crying, their friendship is so cute. Popped the 3S in the free which is what she did at the Grand Prix Fina… suspicious. But other than that she was a solid 100/10. AND SHE’S GOING TO WORLDS!!!!!

Mone Chiba: Total Score 205.69 - 3rd in the short, 7th in the free. If she hadn’t gone down on the 3S in the free she would’ve made the podium. She has grown on me a lot this current season and the fact that I adore her programs probably play a big part in that. So excited to see her at Worlds!!!

Rino Matsuike: Total Score 204 - 5th in the short, 5th in the free. I am so happy we finally got to see her put down a clean short program! Popped the 3S in the free and had a lot of elements under review but she is an amazing skater and I’m so glad we got to see her put down two clean performances.

Mako Yamashita: Total Score 200.25 - 12th in the short, 4th in the free. I really did not expect to see her in the top 6 but her free program was so impressive. Even though she was 12th in the short, her performance was still pretty solid but the women were just absolutely killing it.

Rinka Watanabe: Total Score 198.55 - 11th in the short, 6th in the free. She really needed to pick up the speed in the short. The 3A was so good!!!! Felt like she had a lot more speed and confidence in the free. Stsq was only level 3. I’m also bitter that she didn’t get assigned to Four Continents.

Rion Symiyoshi: Total Score 197.53 - 7th in the short, 11th in the free. She put a hand down on the 2A in the short, and fell on the 3S in the free, but like I said, the women were doing so great those two small mistakes took her out of the running. I love that her free program is about a planting getting watered but unfortunately I do not love the plant program itself… idk if that made sense.

Saki Miyake: Total Score 196.55 - 8th in the short, 9th in the free. Loved the Phantom short and it was a pretty good performance. Her 3T3T in the free was HUGE. Little slow on the spins, but overall very nice.

Kaoruko Wada: Total Score 195.63 - 10th in the short, 8th in the free. She’s literally just a baby. I love both of her programs, especially the Titanic free. I love that she spins both ways! She had pretty good spins and speed.

Pairs:

Riku Miura / Ryuichi Kihara: Total Score 212.33 - 1st in the short, 1st in the free. I think this was the first time they’ve been at nationals in an absurd amount of time lol. Love the short program. They missed the 2A sequence after the SBS 2T but I’m glad they made it out alive.

Yuna Magoka / Sumitada Moriguchi: Total Score 176.68 - 2nd in the short, 2nd in the free. Had a couple of small mistakes but they got their season’s best so yay! I really like both of their programs.

Sae Shimizu / Locus Tsuyoshi Honda: Total Score 136.72 - 3rd in the short, 3rd in the free. During their free, they stopped and went up to the judges and then they just kinda skated around for a couple of minutes before they resumed so that was kinda weird and I had no idea what was going on. I didn’t take very good notes on them so unfortunately I don’t have much to report, sorry.

Ice Dance:

Utana Yoshida / Masaya Morita: Total Score 176.21 - 1st in the rhythm dance, 1st in the short. I am lowkey obsessed with them. Both of them are great actors and I think they look good together. Pretty decent speed as well. Love the free dance ending.

Azusa Tanaka / Singo Nishiyama: Total Score 168.92 - 2nd in the rhythm dance, 2nd in the free. I really like their rhythm dance, but I think the first half of the free is too slow. However I think they’ve improved their speed since NHK Trophy which I love to see.

Ayano Sasaki / Yoshimitsu Ikeda: Total Score 141.09 -3rd in the rhythm dance. 3rd in the free. He fell out of the twizzles in the free and the dance spin was only level 1. Can’t remember the rhythm dance, but I did like the free.

I am so sorry that this is a million years late, but this holiday season was crazy for me and I just started a new job! I’m gonna try and get caught up on Korean Nationals and I will hopefully get a review up late this week or early next week (sorry that I was unable to get a preview done), and then it’s back to our regularly scheduled program with a preview and review for Canadian Nationals, and then the following week is US Nationals, and then It’s Europeans!!!! Skating is going to keep me busy the next couple of weeks and I’m so excited!

I hope everyone had a good holiday season! Happy New Year! I hope everyone has a great 2025!

[lilfishiefigureskates]

Stunning

Rinka Watanabe: 3A +2.06 GOE » 2024 Japanese Nationals

[lilfishiefigureskates]

かわいい!

Okay, I'd seen the moment where Yuma tries to stand on his toe picks to be taller but had not paid attention to Rio's reaction 😂