#JGP lake placid

[sunskate]

IAM.O programs 2024-25

Carreira/Ponomarenko: RD: Etta James - I Just Wanna Make Love to You; Little Richard - Long Tall Sally FD: Carmen

Skating's Elite Summer Sizzler: x x X Nebelhorn RD FD

Veillon/Brandys: RD: Beatles - Twist and Shout; Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs - Stay; The Contours - Do You Love Me FD: Nino Rota - La Strada Choreo: Cara Moir, Adrian Diaz

Next Gen: RD FD Aug Sectionals: RD FD JGP Czech Skate 2024 RD FD JGP Ljubljana

Hensen/Lickers: RD: The Commodores - Slippery When Wet, Brick House FD: Stravinsky - Firebird

Lake Placid: RD FD Aug Sectionals Denis Ten

Dozzi/Papetti: RD: The Champs - Tequila, Harry Belafonte - Jump in the Line FD: Asaf Avidan - Between These Hands, Reckoning Song Choreo: Adrian Diaz, Madison Hubbell

Lake Placid: RD FD Aug Sectionals Lombardia: RD FD Nebelhorn: RD FD

Robinson/Portz: RD: Saturday Night Fever FD: Dream Travel and LTJ Yard - Music in my Soul; Douglas Dare - Dance Me to the End of Love

Lake Placid: RD FD Aug Sectionals

Ritter/Brykalov: RD: Boney M - Daddy Cool, Fever FD: Francis Lai - Mayerling; Nicole Croisille and Francis Lai - Where Did Our Summers Go (La leçon particuliere)

Lake Placid: RD FD Aug Sectionals Lombardia: RD FD Nebelhorn: RD FD

Shilling/Baeten: RD: James Brown - I Feel Good, Super Bad FD: Celine Dion - It's All Coming Back to Me Now

Lake Placid: RD FD Aug Sectionals

Roberts/Alis: RD: Rolling Stones - Miss You, Satisfaction FD: I Monster - Who is She; CLANN - Her & the Sea

Lake Placid: RD FD Aug Sectionals Lombardia: RD FD Nebelhorn: RD FD

Corneil/Emery: RD: Aretha Franklin - Think, Respect FD: Cody Fry - Flying

Lake Placid: RD FD Aug Sectionals

Programs for outside skaters:

Maddie Schizas: FD Danse Macabre (choreo by Scott Moir, Madison Hubbell, Adrian Diaz)

Lia Pereira/Trennt Michaud: Tango FD (choreo by Adrian Madi - ISU bio. in an interview P/M said Scott also)

Utana Yoshida/Masaya Morita: RD Be Bop a Lula FD Romeo & Juliet (choreo by Scott, Adrian, Madi)

[wtficedance]

On Rhythm Dance Rules

As we wrap up the month of August (crazy how fast it went by), we have gotten a sneak preview of what new rhythm dances look like at summer sectional events as well as Lake Placid. And as I type this JGP Bangkok kicks off and we will get a wider picture of the wide variety of interpretation and composition we will see at the junior level. While there is a lot of focus on the 80s as a theme--much more of an "original dance" sort of construct--the technical changes are in many ways more interesting.

Notable changes to the "well-balanced" composition requirements for the rhythm dance this year. Both juniors and seniors may have any part of the body touch the ice during their midline or diagonal StSq provided it does not last more than five seconds, and the entry or exit edge of a difficult turn which temporarily changes overall direction of travel shall not count as a retrogression. For example, a skater could hold the exit edge of their bracket long enough 75% of a semi-circle is completed and the exit velocity points in a completely different direction.

On the junior level:

One of the two pattern sequences will be skated using the steps of the opposite gender.

On the senior level:

The ChRS (choreographic rhythm sequence) from last season which was essentially a ChSt (choreographic character step) has been re-defined to be essentially a choreographic pattern, where the team is required to skate the Silver Samba pattern. Last season, there was an unrestricted number of stops in the ChRS as long as they did not last longer than five seconds, this year none are permitted. Only one skater is required to do the steps at all times, i.e. steps 9-47 must all be skated but partners can switch between the man's and woman's steps and only one partner is required to maintain continuity. The silver samba ChRS must be skated at a MINIMUM of 100bpm, separations can not be wider than two arm lengths and/or last longer than two measures of music.

Additionally, the two-step per partner PSt must consist of a back entry Rocker, Counter, Bracket and Forward Outside Mohawk, removing the 2Tw as an option for level and solely for choreographic transition. The PSt and Style B StSq can be skated at any tempo, so either can be at the same tempo as the ChRS or neither.

Rocker Foxtrot (remixed)

As usual, juniors this year will skate two pattern sequences: steps #1-14 of the Rocker Foxtrot. But in one of the most interesting changes the ISU has made in the last two quads, 1RF will be skated as normal but in 2RF, skaters will be expected to skate the steps of the opposite gender. Rules around holds throughout the pattern have changed as well. In 1RF, the "typical" pattern, couples must maintain "Prescribed Holds during Key Points [and] Variation of Holds outside of Key Points." In 2RF, where opposite steps are skated, the skaters must also maintain the switched tracking and positioning and must maintain "Recognizable Holds during Key Points except Hand in Hand [and] Variation of Holds outside of Key Points."

The key points are seen below. For both patterns, the woman is evaluated on KP 1 and 3, the man on KP 2 and 4. This is why KP 1 & 2 are switched between the two sequences. For steps 11-13, they are identical but the skaters must MAINTAIN tracking, i.e. the man's steps for 11-13 place him to the left of the woman, so for 2RF when the skater's have swapped steps, the woman must be on the left side. Required holds for the key points are any closed hold variation for KPs 1 & 2 (steps 5-7) and any open hold variation for KPs 3 & 4 (steps 11-13).

All quotes in above paragraph from communication #2560.

Silver Samba

The last time the silver samba was a "compulsory pattern" in the short dance was 2014-15 on the junior level. The key points, found in ISU Communication #1857 are below:

It should be noted, that even when structured according to key points, the silver samba is primarily composed of various "simple" steps like swing rolls, three turns, chasses, slip steps, etc. It is not like the Tango Romantica where there is a lot of emphasis on difficult turns. What makes the silver samba a challenging pattern is the variation in timing, going from a steps which last half a beat to full to two beats and back to half beats rapidly. The timing scheme for the Silver Samba is below.

While the ISU has not placed any timing restrictions on specific steps, like there would be in a compulsory pattern KP, maintaining an overall sense of rhythm and tempo is important as steps 9-47 should be skated still on the 4 beat musical measure structure. While there is not a specific "duration" requirement listed, my understanding based on the programs we have seen so far is that the overall pattern should not significantly differ in duration from the number of measures in the original silver samba.

What kinds of results will we see resulting from these changes?

As opposed to last season's latin programs, expect to see much faster programs with significantly more ice coverage. With a 100bpm minimum and a pattern which consists of many half beat steps, this is the first time we are seeing a truly large tempo change in the rhythm dance. With the switch from style A to B step sequences over the past decade, skaters have increasingly and universally switched to slower more exaggerated step sequences, with a rocker for instance taking 2-4x the time that it might have taken previously. This is good for the demonstration of edge control for instance, but results in a lot of homogeneity across very different styles. With the silver samba, even if it is not difficult turns, skaters are being forced to show both a high tempo step section and then the more sedate and extended midline/diagonal style B and PSt.

In my opinion, the difference is night and day with program quality. Even just at the beginning of the season. The "freedom" offered by the ChRS still ended up with every single team having largely the same construction: stop, a cha cha New Yorker, stop for stationary footwork, maybe a samba roll, a twizzle or in place spin, and one or two mini-lifts. IMO, it was exceedingly boring and similar across the discipline, including across the different camps. By mandating a pattern, and encouraging teams to add in steps, new positions, different changes of hold, switching of traditional lead and follow steps, teams are not only forced to differentiate themselves with originality but they are also forced to demonstrate clear skating skills like edge control, power, posture, ice coverage, extension from center of gravity, and edge depth: the entire goal of a pattern comparison. In many ways, the ISU might have been inspired by Caroline Green/Michael Parsons's inverted Midnight Blues pattern with back-to-back holds as a method of differentiating themselves.

In juniors, I think this change is going to result in so much creativity and expansion of skillsets. While not all 2RF sections have had the woman leading, it certainly opens the door for both skaters to learn new aspects of partnering. By allowing variations in holds outside of the key points and requiring closed hold in the KP, it allows skaters to demonstrate creativity while also maintaining a baseline level of difficulty and similarity.

Where do we go forward from here?

Rhythm vs. Original

The ISU has reached a new intermediate between what was formerly the rhythm dance and the older original dance with this new format. What kinds of themes the ISU would use going forward and what combinations of patterns with said themes, in many ways need to be spelled out. Beyond the obvious decades (60s, 70s, 90s, etc.) what kinds of themes would the ISU consider? And how would patterns like the Paso Doble or Viennese Waltz be matched to these new themes?

If I could offer a few suggestions:

Swing: teams must incorporate a social dance rhythm (lindy hop, shag, charleston, jive etc.) with a pattern of quickstep

Nuevo Latin: new Latin rhythms, teams must select one to two Latin rhythms that have not been skated as compulsories (no samba, rhumba, or cha cha) with a pattern of Torville/Dean's Rhumba L'Amour (debut pattern)

Folk Dance: like 2010, teams must incorporate a folk dance element that represents their country or culture and skate the Yankee Polka

Percussive: teams must rely on a primarily percussion driven dance style like flamenco, paso doble, tap dance, Irish step dancing, South Indian bharatanatyam, etc., pattern of Paso Doble

What elements should the “short” include? How should they be scored?

Additionally, while I think the ChRS pattern format brings an element of overall evaluation of a pattern in size, ease of skating, unison, etc. that the key point system missed. There is room for both. An alternative format to the RD could be:

1 section of Pattern (KP system)

1 section of Choreographic Pattern (ChP which is equivalent to ChRS but maybe more clear), teams skate either the alternate section of the pattern or the same steps according to this year's rules which incentivize creativity and style. Maybe with the addition of Mandatory Contact

1 Style A Midline/Diagonal StSq which is composed of two parts: the 4 turn OfSt and the remaining 5 difficult steps and turns. Teams are required to skate one part in hold and one non-touch.

Lift

Twizzles

While the ISU has dropped the ball on coordinating new pattern dances from partial step sequences, perhaps a new, CONSISTENT system can be implemented, where in alternating years there is a PATTERNED short dance (see above) and on the off years there is a COMPULSORY short dance, where skaters are not assigned a pattern, but rather key points which they must incorporate into one or two Pattern Dance Type Step Sequence:

Replacing sections 1 and 2 above, 1PSt incorporates KP 1-4 and 2PSt has an alternative set of key points. Examples below:

KP 1 is a turn cluster: RBO Rocker, RFOIO, RFO Counter, RBO-LFI S-Step (Chocktaw)

KP 2 is a turn to skating position: LFO Rocker, LBOI to both partners in difficult skating positions (e.g. spread eagle, besti squat, spiral, hydroblade, lunge, side lunge, shoot the duck, etc.) on any edge

KP 3 is step based: 5 different chasses, progressives, or slip steps while doing 3 changes of hold to non-baseline holds (cannot do just tango or killian, has to be crossed or high killian, reverse foxtrot, a difficult hand-to-hand, or another creative variation)

KP 4 is synchronicity based, skaters must execute the corresponding turns: Partner A does LBI Counter to LFIO 3turn to LBI bracket while partner B does LFO counter to LBOI to LBI Bracket.

These turns would rotate every year and the tempo range would be decided based on the theme. Of course, these are only suggestions, but this technical apples-to-apples comparison might be helpful when using a decade theme like the 70s which covers such a diversity of sounds that establishing a pattern to suit the overall vibe of the decade might be difficult. I do think it would be helpful if the ISU established a general direction for how the original/short/rhythm dance is going to evolve with time.

But for overall changes? The Scale of Values needs a major makeover.

Scoring Shenanigans

Ice Dance scoring needs to be re-vamped. One of the most important parts of making figure skating scoring accessible to the public is the ability for the general viewer to discern "tiers" of scoring: e.g. what range do medalists vs. top 10 vs. top 20 teams score? With current seemingly unending score inflation, in the last decade ice dance has gone from scores 70-77 placing top 3 in the short program to scores 87-93. From 2011-2014, almost without exception the top two scores were 73-77, third rounded out in that low 70s range, and 60 points was essentially the cut off for top 10 scores. There was consistency from season-to-season that was understandable for both the general viewer and an avid ice dance fan. From 2016-17 to 2022-23, the top score in the rhythm dance went from 82 to 93. In fact, there was more consistency from 2017 Worlds to 2019 Euros top scores (82 to 83) with an entire revamp of the GOE system and rhythm dance composition than there was from the 2018-19 GP season through the 2022 Worlds (P/C led the field for both, scoring 84.13 at 2018 GPFrance and then 92.73 at 2022 Worlds). That doesn't even cover the changes over this past season. With the retirement of the undisputed top 3 teams from last quad, the RD record was still broken yet again at last Worlds! And this is despite constant downgrades in the technical robusticity of elements over the past decade and a half. This is even more obvious in the free dance, where top teams have gone from scoring 105 points to 140 points in just a decade.

We heard a lot of arguments last Worlds and WTT that the changes to the code merited a new world record in the RD after widespread disbelief that such a recent, and authoritative world record was broken. But despite the fact that I don't think a single person who regularly watches ice dance could argue that Chock/Bates this season ever out-executed (or even comparably-executed) Papadakis/Cizeron on Pattern Dance Type Step Sequences, a typical Style B step sequence, or twizzles. Much less teams like Hubbell/Donohue or Sinitsina/Katsalapov who never broke 90 points internationally. Yet, at World Team Trophy, C/B were awarded the same unweighted GOE +4.85 as P/C for their twizzles. C/B most definitely benefited from a weaker code, getting 9.07 free points for a ChRS (7.07 in GOE) which inched across the ice as opposed to a level 4 Midnight Blues pattern which earned just 1.72 points more (3.44 in GOE), but this rampant inflation can be accounted for in both recency bias in the retirement of top teams and in a warped scale of values.

Nowhere is this warped scale of values more apparent than for current Style D pattern dance type step sequences, where skaters who execute just two difficult turns/steps each earn, are rewarded more heavily than for any other element in the RD. Why on earth does an element where each skater only has TWO DIFFICULT STEPS AND TURNS merit 9.45 points base value, 15 points with +5 GOE? Style B step sequences where each skater has over twice the technical content have 8.96 base value, 14 points with +5 GOE. One foot sequences in the free dance with +5 GOE max out at 9.68. It is the ice dance equivalent of a double axel being valued more than a quadruple jump.

The ISU needs a return to baseline, wherever that threshold is decided to be, where scoring tiers can yet again be defined and the scale of values can be retroactively revamped according to difficulty and weighting of each element in a program. Because the current system? Feels a whole lot like this.

[icedancearchive]

Harshita RAWTANI / Vansh BHATIA

Free Dance || JGP Lake Placid 2019

[findthatsynchronicity]

Miku Makita/Tyler Gunara

➞ Rhythm Dance | JGP Lake Placid 2019

[ripplestitchskein]

“They know what they’ve done wrong, but they don’t always know what they’ve done right, and that’s what they need to celebrate.”

You’re. Killing. Me. Ted.

[shipwreckseemssweet]

Azusa Tanaka “Csárdás” Short Program

An homage to the beautiful performance by Azusa Tanaka at her first Junior Grand Prix in Lake Placid. Coached by Mie Hamada, the 13-year-old already has many of the great traits that set apart other Hamada students. Azusa's intentional and precise movements remind me of Satoko Miyahara, but I also think of Marin Honda in how soft and light her skating is. The music choice perfectly encapsulates all these qualities.

Azusa is a very refined skater for her tender age. While she may need more experience to fully bring out the character of the music, I great enjoy her ability to "feel" her performance through pitch changes and the various accents spicing up the choreography. Her spins, skating skills and range of movements are magnificent. It's her triple jumps that just aren't fully rotated yet, bringing her chances of competing internationally again this season near zero.

Her double Axel however is very good, performed here with difficult steps going into it. There's plenty of flow coming out of the jump, too.

Azusa shows enviable ease and flow throughout the program. A quality often overlooked, she has the ability to effortlessly change the direction of her turns while keeping up the speed. I'm looking forward to seeing her progress!

Below is a series of one foot turns from the delightful step sequence.

Please watch the whole performance here. Pay attention to her plush tissue box cover: while most kids have cute dogs or cats, Azusa brought along a great white shark. Rawr!

[figureskatingbirds]

All the kids look like fashion icons and then there's my son Gogolev with his finest gray t-shirt

[anythinggoe]

Our preview for JGP Lake Placid is here! Check it out to learn a bit more about the skaters and teams competing at the next event, including the PBs from last season and their music choices!

[asintoticamente]

Stop letting underage junior girls skate to big spender challenge its literally about prostitution

[thsevenseas]

Mariia Nosovitskaya / Mikhail Nosovitskiy La strada FD

[sunskate]

IAMO 2024-25 Schedule

2024 NextGen Competition and Camp (Gatineau, QC July 26-27, 2024)

Veillon/Brandys 2nd place🥈 (2nd RD, 2nd FD)

Lake Placid Ice Dance International (Lake Placid, NY July 30-31, 2024 Madison Hubbell and Adrian Diaz for IAMO)

Hensen/Lickers 12th place (11th RD, 16th FD) Dozzi/Papetti 14th place (13th RD, 15th FD) Robinson/Portz 15th place (16th RD, 12th FD) Ritter/Brykalov 19th place (21st RD, 18th FD Shilling/Baeten 20th place (20th RD, 20th FD) Roberts/Alis 21st place (19th RD, 21st FD)

Corneil/Emery 8th place jr (8th RD, 8th FD)

USFS Champs Camp (Norwood, MA, August 12-16, 2024. Madison Hubbell for IAMO)

Carreira/Ponomarenko

Sectional Series August (Waterloo, ON August 16-18, 2024, Sheri Moir, Cara Moir for IAMO)

Hensen/Lickers 🥇1st place (2nd RD, 2nd FD) Dozzi/Papetti 🥉3rd place (3rd RD, 1st FD) Robinson/Portz 4th place (5th RD, 3rd FD) Ritter/Brykalov 6th place (6th RD, 6th FD) Roberts/Alis 7th place (8th RD, 7th FD) Shilling/Baeten 8th place (7th RD, 8th FD)

Veillon/Brandys 🥇 1st place (1st RD, 1st FD) Corneil/Emery 5th place (5th RD, 6th FD)

Skate Canada High Performance Camp (Mississauga, ON Aug 28-30, 2024)

Hensen/Lickers

ISU Junior Grand Prix Czech Republic (Ostrava, Czech Republic, Sept 4-7, 2024, Adrian Diaz for IAMO)

Veillon/Brandys 🥉3rd place (3rd RD, 2nd FD)

Lombardia Trophy (Bergamo, Italy, Sept 13-16, 2024, Adrian Diaz for IAMO)

Dozzi/Papetti 9th place (9th RD, 9th FD) Ritter/Brykalov 12th place (12th RD, 11th FD) Roberts/Alis 13th place (14th RD, 13th FD)

Nebelhorn Trophy (Oberstdorf, Germany Sept 19-21, 2024)

Carreira/Ponomarenko 🥈2nd place (2nd RD, 2nd FD) Dozzi/Papetti 10th place (11th RD, 11th FD) Ritter/Brykalov 16th place (17th RD, 15th FD) Roberts/Alis 17th place (16th RD, 17th FD)

Denis Ten Memorial Challenge 2024 (Astana, Kazakhstan Oct 2-5, 2024 Sheri Moir for IAMO)

Hensen/Lickers 11th place (10th RD, 11th FD)

JGP Ljubljana Cup 2024 (Ljubljana, Slovenia Oct 2-5, 2024 Cara Moir for IAMO)

Veillon/Brandys 6th place (6th RD, 6th FD)

Budapest Trophy 2024 (Budapest, Hungary October 11-13, 2024 Adrian Diaz for IAMO)

Carreira/Ponomarenko 1st place🥇(1st RD, 1st FD)

Trophy Metropole Nice Côte d’Azur 2024 (Nice, France October 16-20, 2024 Justin Trojek for IAMO)

Ritter/Brykalov 11th place (15th RD, 11th FD)

Skate Ontario October Sectionals (Barrie, ON October 17-20, 2024)

Robinson/Portz 🥇1st place (2nd RD, 1st FD) Shilling/Baeten 🥈2nd place (3rd RD, 2nd FD) Corneil/Emery 5th place jr (5th RD, 5th FD) Anderson/Dawson 4th place jr (4th RD, 3rd FD)

IceChallenge 2024 (Graz, Austria November 4-10, 2024 Justin Trojek for IAMO)

Dozzi/Papetti 3rd place🥉 (3rd RD, 5th FD) Shilling/Baeten 8th place (8th RD, 8th FD)

2025 Skate Ontario Junior and Senior Sectional Championships (Oshawa, ON November 7-10 Sheri Moir, Alma Moir for IAMO)

Robinson/Portz 1st place 🥇(1st RD, 1st FD) Veillon/Brandys 1st place 🥇 jr (1st RD, 1st FD) Corneil/Emery 7th place jr (8th RD, 7th FD) Anderson/Dawson 4th place jr (5th RD, 4th FD)

ISU Grand Prix NHK Trophy (Tokyo, Japan Nov 8-10, 2024)

Carreira/Ponomarenko 2nd place🥈(2nd RD, 2nd FD)

ISU CS Tallinn Trophy (Tallinn, Estonia Nov 11-17, 2024)

Hensen/Lickers

ISU Grand Prix Cup of China (Chongqing, China Nov 22-24, 2024)

Carreira/Ponomarenko

Santa Claus Cup 2024 (Budapest, Hungary Nov 27 - Dec 2, 2024)

Dozzi/Papetti Ritter/Brykalov

Skate Canada Challenge (Winnipeg, MB Nov 28-Dec 1, 2024)

Canadian National Figure Skating Championships (Laval, QC Jan 14-19, 2025)

US National Figure Skating Championships (Wichita, KS Jan 20-26, 2025)

Carreira/Ponomarenko

[swiftbejeweled]

Anna Lavrova got a concussion in the fall today so her and Maxwell are out of the FD tomorrow 🙁

[icedancearchive]

Utana YOSHIDA / Shingo NISHIYAMA

Free Dance || JGP Lake Placid 2019

[woodwind-sensei]

ISU Junior Grand Prix USA

    The second stop on the JGP circuit is Lake Placid, NY, USA. This will also be the first event for Pairs, as JGP Courchevel did not have that particular discipline open for competition. With all four disciplines at play here, this will kick the Junior Grand Prix in full swing.

 This event will mark the international debut of Alysa Liu (USA), who made headlines for winning the Senior U.S. National Title last season. A jumping machine, Alysa will most likely attempt the triple axel at this event, which would make her the youngest to ever do so (the youngest ever right now being Mao Asada). We also know she is capable of quads, as there is footage of her doing quad lutzes in practice. If she hits, she could potentially win here. However, we really have no idea how she will be judged internationally. The skating skills are still in development. She isn’t the fastest person on the ice, and her jumps take considerable wind-up. Her performance at the new Aurora Games was good. The quad looked under-rotated to me. And she lands with almost no speed out of the jump. How the judges score these jumps will be very interesting.

  There will be a considerable amount of competition for Alysa at this event, with particular challenges from the Russians Anastasia Tarakanova and Ksenia Sinitsyna. This will be Tarakanova’s third consecutive year on the junior circuit (she’s so tall, I didn’t realize she was so young lol). After a season of being an Angel of Plushenko, she’s back working with her old coach Svetlana Panova, who also coaches Sinitsyna. Tarakanova can do a quad toe. Will we see it? Based on the Junior Test Skates, I don’t believe so, but we know it could be there soon. Sinitsyna has the added benefit of being 4th from the last Junior Worlds. There’s obvious momentum for her. 

  There are several ladies who could take home a medal at this competition. Recently I saw video of Mana Kawabe (JPN) training a triple axel, and it looked pretty solid. I had never really heard anything about her, but after some quick research, I’d be interested to see how she does. Out of all the skaters, she has some of the greatest fundamental skating skills. Another one of my personal favorites in this field is Alexandra Feigin (BUL), who will be in her third season on the JGP. She has the benefit of experiencing a lot of competition from last season, competing at Europeans and Senior Worlds as well as all the Junior events. She’s finished no higher than 8th at a Junior Grand Prix, but I expect her to climb here.

   Ice Dance is the second strongest field here. Avonley Nguyen/Vadim Kolesnik (USA) qualified to the Final last season, and will expect to return this year. They’ve got some great qualities, and they were relatively consistent last season, ending with a 4th place finish at Junior Worlds. The other team that intrigues me is Diana Davis/ Gleb Smolkin (RUS). Diana is the daughter of Russian figure skating coach Eteri Tutberidze. They’ve got this sass and fire I really enjoy. One team that turned some heads recently is Utana Yoshida/Shingo Nishiyama (JPN). Training in Canada currently, the pair competed at a Canadian competition as a special guest, and looked pretty solid! Ice Dance in Japan is virtually nonexistent. With only one really good team (Komatsubara/Koleto), this junior team will look to steadily improve and hopefully inspire an Ice Dance movement in the country, which already has a strong singles skating tradition.

   Pairs will be interesting, as the Russians will be pushing for a sweep here. All three Russian teams medaled on the Junior Grand Prix last year, with two teams, Apollinaria Panfilova/Dmitri Rylov and Ksenia Akhanteva/Valeri Kolesov reaching the Final. Panfilova/Rylov are also the World Junior silver medalists. Since the World Junior Champions Anastasia Mishina/Alexander Galiamov moved to the senior circuit, the top Russian spot will be wide open for any of these teams to grab, and that competition begins here.

  It’s only week two, y’all! The Junior Grand Prix has been on fire so far, and the competition is only bound to get better as the weeks progress. I really think this year will be anyone’s game, as the field is much more diverse than in previous seasons.

[ripplestitchskein]

Harshita Rawtani is like a middle school novel/inspirational Disney movie come to life. What a brave and determined little girl. I hope she keeps going I’d love to see it.

[figureskatingbirds]

Chiara Balbo's dress is so pretty that I didn't even realize she made mistakes wow

Btw she looks so happy, I'm so glad for her