US Pairs 2012-13 news & updates

[Skittl1321]

but unless you followed skating closely you hadn't really heard of them.

To be fair, unless you follow skating closely, you probably have not heard of ANY US pairs, for a considerable amount of time back (when was the last US Pair to really reach mainstream status?)

Most people who don't follow skating can't name any current single skaters (maybe Johnny now that he is back?) Pair recognition is even less likely.

[carriemarie]

To be fair, unless you follow skating closely, you probably have not heard of ANY US pairs, for a considerable amount of time back (when was the last US Pair to really reach mainstream status?)

Most people who don't follow skating can't name any current single skaters (maybe Johnny now that he is back?) Pair recognition is even less likely.

Touche, but even if you followed figure skating to a degree and knew the more famous competitors to know about D/B you would have been following lesser known competitions like Indy, Easterns, and (I believe) Oberstdorf that year and that is pretty obscure. I consider myself to be a follower of figure skating, but wasn't expecting success to that degree from them so soon. My point was is that it made Nationals quite exciting that year and they were fantastic! I really enjoyed that team and their power and consistency. I can't ever say I enjoy Caydee's positions or much of her skating skills, but I do respect her and John for being reliable and consistent. There is a lot to be said for that and it is very clear they work hard and get the job done.

[Cloudy_Gumdrops]

I would be suprised if Caitlin went past 2014, but Davis and Reagan certainly could. They are young. I was just saying their partnerships would most likely not continue post-Olympics.

Caitlin is only 2 years older than Davis and she's a year younger than Reagan. She'll only be 24 in 2014 so I don't see why she wouldn't continue, esp. considering pairs tends to have some of the older competitors.

[julieann]

Caitlin is only 2 years older than Davis and she's a year younger than Reagan. She'll only be 24 in 2014 so I don't see why she wouldn't continue, esp. considering pairs tends to have some of the older competitors.

She could feasibly go another 8 years.

[carriemarie]

Caitlin is only 2 years older than Davis and she's a year younger than Reagan. She'll only be 24 in 2014 so I don't see why she wouldn't continue, esp. considering pairs tends to have some of the older competitors.

She could. I just don't get the feeling she will. Nothing is out of the realm of possibility, but if she does not make it after two tries at the Olympics, will she be back for more? Making a commitment until you're nearly thirty in pairs is certainly not unheard of, but unless they have positive results the next two years I don't think Caitlin will continue. It's speculation on my part. She could continue, but I haven't been overly impressed with the partnership of Y/R at all. I also am not convinced Lindsay is right for pair skating, either and at the very least Mark is not the right partner for her after skating with Amanda for so long.
It may sound mean and horrible and maybe they need time to 'gel', but I don't see either one of these teams as being terribly successful. Realistically, they haven't been impressive like some first year teams (S/K, Denney/Coughlin, Denney/Barrett, Marley/Brubaker, etc.).
I may seem unsupportive of skaters and what not, but the up and comers (the lower ranked seniors and some of the juniors) seem to be where we should focus US pairs. I may not be popular or PC, but US pairs has been in disarray for years and if we want US teams to be contenders the USFS needs to focus on keeping their younger teams together and getting teams like S/K, Denney/Frazier, Zhang/Bartholomay out there

[carriemarie]

"Word of Mouth" is that Denney/Frazier have left coach Delilah and are with John Zimmerman in Florida now. The Denney "Merry go round" seems to never end...

[johndockley92]

"Word of Mouth" is that Denney/Frazier have left coach Delilah and are with John Zimmerman in Florida now. The Denney "Merry go round" seems to never end...

I thought they moved to Jim and Lyndon.

[shan]

I thought they moved to Jim and Lyndon.

Didn't they move from them at some point?

[Sylvia]

Looks like Denney and Frazier have confirmed their coaching change to John Zimmerman and Silvia Fontana in Coral Gables, Florida on their official website: http://www.havendenneyandbrandonfrazier.com/

[reese]

Looks like Denney and Frazier have confirmed their coaching change to John Zimmerman and Silvia Fontana in Coral Gables, Florida on their official website: http://www.havendenneyandbrandonfrazier.com/

Is the Denney family made of money? Baffling to me.

[aftershocks]

^^ Made of money, I have no idea. I did once happen to meet the Denney girls' grandparents at a Nationals event (not sure if they were the mother's or father's parents), and they seemed like regular, down-to-earth people -- part of the 47/%, but who knows or really cares anyway.

The Denneys are from Florida originally, so maybe Haven (along with her partner) felt more comfortable moving back there to train so as not to experience sibling rivalry under the same coach.

Interesting factoid: Haven's and Caydee's parents were both competitive artistic roller skaters, and I suppose that's how they first met.

[grandma]

I do not know if it already has been posted Duarte / Grafton seem to have split . He is up on ice partner search http://icepartnersearch.com/showbio.php?i=4181

[Sylvia]

Duarte/Grafton's split (and her retirement) was announced on Oct. 17 - link to the post with article link: http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/show...=1#post3713838

It looks like only 5 Senior pairs will compete at Sectionals: Zhang/Bartholomay and Kayne/O'Shea at Easterns and Scimeca/Knierim, Baga/Toth and Leng/LeDuc (awaiting confirmation of the latter two) at Mids.

ETA: This week Denney/Coughlin and Vise/Baldwin will compete at Rostelecom Cup in Moscow, while Castelli/Shnapir and Donlan/Speroff will compete at Ice Challenge in Graz, Austria.

[grandma]

sorry didn`t see that

[olympic]

Duarte/Grafton's split (and her retirement) was announced on Oct. 17 - link to the post with article link: http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/show...=1#post3713838

It looks like only 5 Senior pairs will compete at Sectionals: Zhang/Bartholomay and Kayne/O'Shea at Easterns and Scimeca/Knierim, Baga/Toth and Leng/LeDuc (awaiting confirmation of the latter two) at Mids.

ETA: This week Denney/Coughlin and Vise/Baldwin will compete at Rostelecom Cup in Moscow, while Castelli/Shnapir and Donlan/Speroff will compete at Ice Challenge in Graz, Austria.

So, this means that all of Z/B, K/O, B/T, S/K and L/L are guaranteed spots at Nationals?

[Jayar]

Yes, Olympic. Provided that they actually show up and compete at Sectionals. They just have to skate around for the time that is required for the SP and FS to qualify.

[Sylvia]

By my count, 12 Senior teams are scheduled to compete at 2013 Nationals.

6 teams from last season: Denney/Coughlin, Donlan/Speroff, Castelli/Shnapir, Zhang/Bartholomay, Vise/Baldwin, H. Denney/Frazier (J1).

New teams (6): Davis/Ladwig, Scimeca/Knierim, Yankowskas/Reagan, Baga/Toth, Kayne/O'Shea, Leng/LeDuc.

[sammyf]

Didn't Cassie Andrews/Nicholas Anderson reteam this summer?

[Sylvia]

Didn't Cassie Andrews/Nicholas Anderson reteam this summer?

That's what was posted on FSU but they haven't competed yet AFAIK and so I don't know if they are, in fact, skating together and taking a bye through Mids (due to 4 or fewer teams registered) to Nationals. Anderson is scheduled to compete in the Novice Men's event at Mids.

[Lacey]

nm