U.S. Men in 2018 - articles & latest news

[becca]

For me body of work should really only be skaters with really strong results. I don't think making the GPF as an alternate and finishing 30 points behind in last place should be enough to derail Nationals. Especially when your skating is so far behind the rest of the field technically. Sending someone top five several consecutive Worlds and a reigning GPF medalist and legit Olympic medal contender yes.

 

[el henry]

Jordan Moeller's instagram post is really lovely. The caption read:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BdmQzwLBNMc/?taken-by=jomosk8

Best of luck to him in the LP!

This was such a heartfelt statement, about realizing the place of skating in the world and his world.

And not only that, but Sean Rabbitt’s reply that “we are all brothers” and Tim Dolensky’s encouragement. Everything that is good about the US Men.

Jordan is such a lyrical skater; best of luck in the free.

 

[Lizziebeth]

For me body of work should really only be skaters with really strong results. I don't think making the GPF as an alternate and finishing 30 points behind in last place should be enough to derail Nationals. Especially when your skating is so far behind the rest of the field technically. Sending someone top five several consecutive Worlds and a reigning GPF medalist and legit Olympic medal contender yes.

I don't think Jason's skating is 'so far behind technically.' Yep, he has not shown us a quad, but he does almost everything else extremely well. Plus, he has a head for competition and seldom chokes.

 

[becca]

I don't think Jason's skating is 'so far behind technically.' Yep, he has not shown us a quad, but he does almost everything else extremely well. Plus, he has a head for competition and seldom chokes.

He doesn't have a consistent triple axel and he doesn't choke because he is doing way easier jump content than everyone else. Men are doing quad Lutzs. And Jason can't do a quad toe.
Sorry no points for consistency.
You get points for consistency when your out there doing harder or similar jump content than everyone else. There are no points for doing easier stuff.

As for the body of work thing let's not forget Zhou beat Jason at last years Nationals too at some point it becomes unfair to continuely deny someone the opportunity because your denying them the opportunity to develop a reputation in front of the judges.

 

[Lizziebeth]

Becca, I already said Jason does not have a quad. As far as the rest of the jumps, all of the men are doing the rest of the triples, including Jason. Plenty of men attempt quads and fall on them.

Jason gets plenty of points for attempting "easier" stuff. He has fabulous spins and footwork, is excellent at skating to his music and has pretty damn good skating skills. he is great at getting positive GOE on his elements and that is a main reason he scores well. Doesn't this stuff matter?

I also enjoy Vincent and think he has a bright future and don't think he has been denied anything. If I recall correctly, Vincent did not have the minimums to go to 2017 Worlds. Maybe I am wrong about this.

 

[becca]

Becca, I already said Jason does not have a quad. As far as the rest of the jumps, all of the men are doing the rest of the triples, including Jason. Plenty of men attempt quads and fall on them.

Jason gets plenty of points for attempting "easier" stuff. He has fabulous spins and footwork, is excellent at skating to his music and has pretty damn good skating skills. he is great at getting positive GOE on his elements and that is a main reason he scores well. Doesn't this stuff matter?

I also enjoy Vincent and think he has a bright future and don't think he has been denied anything. If I recall correctly, Vincent did not have the minimums to go to 2017 Worlds. Maybe I am wrong about this.

He got the minimums by the time of Worlds was injured first time and the new rule is juniors don't count. They could have given him the opportunity before they bybassed they have done that in the past.

Jason has Level four spins and footwork like many other skaters. He also had more energy to spin faster because he is not doing quads. No it does not make up the lack of quads.

We are not talking about men going out and landing one quad. To me it's an equivalent to the days when you had skater doing numerous triples and a skater doing doubles. It matters. It's telling. it is wrong.

I don't care that Jason had nice spins and footwork. Plenty of skaters do. I have a feeling if Brown was skating for let say Poland he would not get those PCS internationally. It is not fair. And my suspicion about his scores is he was skating for Poland is part of the reason I am so annoyed.


He is an Olympian. He can do great in shows. But I will be annoyed if he bybasses another skater yet again.

 

[ilovepaydays]

This is just too sad for words.

GoFundMe: Josh Farris Eye and Brain Therapy Fund

If you feel inspired, please give what you can.

 

[Deleted member 19433]

This is just too sad for words.

GoFundMe: Josh Farris Eye and Brain Therapy Fund

If you feel inspired, please give what you can.

Oh, how awful to hear that he's going through this. Thanks for sharing the link.

 

[SmallFairy]

Oh no I don't know what to say... I so hope he can get the surgery he needs and recover fully.

Skating is getting more dangerous with the increasing of quads. We are seeing some nasty falls (not only on quads) and I'm amazed and thankful there's not more serious injuries.

 

[Lanie]

Oh Josh. I’m so sorry he’s dealing with that.

 

[Sylvia]

I started a separate thread in GSD: Joshua Farris: Medical update and GoFundMe therapy fund

 

[misskarne]

He got the minimums by the time of Worlds was injured first time and the new rule is juniors don't count. They could have given him the opportunity before they bybassed they have done that in the past.

What idiocy are you blathering on about? Zhou was given the opportunity to get the minimum TES scores for Worlds before Nationals last year. Golden Spin, remember? He screwed up the short program and then withdrew. The USFS did give him the opportunity. He wasted it.

Zhou was then named first alternate to the Worlds team and sent to Bavarian to get the scores, which he did. But the USFS made the (correct) decision that even though the rookie wonderkid was doing great (Chen), it would be a good idea to balance him out with a seasoned, experienced competitor renowned at that point for his consistency (Brown) instead of sending two rookies - one of whom was going to be a complete Senior novice - to get the three spots for the Olympics.

And considering what we saw when Zhou did move up to Seniors, I'd say they were proved right. They were proved right when Jason and Nathan got the three spots back and they were proved right when Zhou's big Senior debut was a splat-filled mess.

This is just too sad for words.

GoFundMe: Josh Farris Eye and Brain Therapy Fund

If you feel inspired, please give what you can.

Happy birthday, Josh. I will never stop hoping for you.

Woke up to this and now facing down what could be Max's last skate. I can't handle today already.

 

[becca]

Zhou scored pretty high in the free at one of his competitions higher than Brown scored in the free all year. Only one of Browns skates scored overall higher than Zhou and not by a huge amount.
Zhou is also newer first year Senior and mistakes are to be expected but Jason has not score wise shown repeatedly he is clearly better. Zhou is also going for harder content and it takes time to get it consistent. As for right decision Zhou went to Worlds and skated like he did at JR Worlds HE MIGHT have placed higher thsn Brown.

Brown got very lucky he skated at weak Skate Canada only reason he made GPF as alternate.

It Brown beats Zhou at Nationals send him. But I think it is stupid and unfair to bypass Nationals.

Keeping Zhou back only makes it harder for him to get experience under pressure and for HIS PCS to grow. No real medals on the line so there is no rhyme or reason just to send Brown just because.

 

[Tavi]

@becca, could you please give it a rest? You’ve been saying essentially the same things for the past year. Unless you are in the selection committee, what you think is right or fair won’t change the outcome.

 

[misskarne]

The real question is going to be, how many of Zhou's quads will be called rotated and how many posters here who were upset about Jason's SP 3A will get upset about Zhou getting any tech panel favours?

The silly part about last year's Nationals? If the tech panel had been less kind to Zhou, he would have been third. Behind Jason.

EDIT: Jason's new FS costume gets the thumbs up from me. Black and red look very striking on him.

 

[MAXSwagg]

Although I agree with @becca it amazes me how many have just dumped Jason when a guy/guys with quads shows up. What about all that stuff about “artistry” and “quality” they were proselytizing before?

Anyway, Jason should be on the team. Vincent manages some technical skates and while he inherently has something better qualities than Nathan, Nathan has shown to be more consistent internationally. I don’t have a clue why Adam is going. The debate should be between Adam and Vincent, not Jason and Vincent.

 

[Fiero425]

Although I agree with @becca it amazes me how many have just dumped Jason when a guy/guys with quads shows up. What about all that stuff about “artistry” and “quality” they were proselytizing before?

Anyway, Jason should be on the team. Vincent manages some technical skates and while he inherently has something better qualities than Nathan, Nathan has shown to be more consistent internationally. I don’t have a clue why Adam is going. The debate should be between Adam and Vincent, not Jason and Vincent.

I don't watch that much skating these days, but from what little I've seen, Brown wouldn't be in the top 10! Even his 3-Axel isn't consistent enough to keep him in the running for a medal! It's one thing to have American judges holding him up, internationally he'll be scratching to be in the 2nd or 3rd to last group for his LP! "Sorry guys!" Just calling it like I see 'em! We have some real cuties skating tonight! Alexei Krasnozhon looks like a man even though only 17!

 

[smarts1]

These Nationals just need to end...

 

[Fiero425]

These Nationals just need to end...

Just waiting for the decision of who's going to the Olympics! No one picked Miner to even contend, but not sure they can take it away from him being the Silver medalist! Decisions, decisions!

 

[tylersf]

Given the results, who are your choices for the team? 1-2-3 or ?????
Place Start Name Short Program Free Skate Total Score
Place Score Place Score
1 21 Nathan Chen, Salt Lake Figure Skating 1 104.45 1 210.78 315.23 - well deserved
2 18 Ross Miner, SC of Boston 6 88.91 2 185.60 274.51 - 2 great skates
3 16 Vincent Zhou, SC of San Francisco 5 89.02 3 184.81 273.83 - Nice job, few URs
4 19 Adam Rippon, SC of New York 2 96.52 4 171.82 268.34 - Broke my heart
5 17 Grant Hochstein, SC of New York 4 92.18 5 163.13 255.31 - Nice job
6 20 Jason Brown, Skokie Valley SC 3 93.23 6 160.45 253.68 - Broke my heart, too many mistakes
7 15 Timothy Dolensky, Atlanta FSC 7 85.06 9 151.27 236.33 - Nice job
8 12 Alexander Johnson, Braemar-City of Lakes FSC 10 79.60 8 153.02 232.62 - Nice job
9 10 Max Aaron, Broadmoor SC 12 74.95 10 149.25 224.20 - We tried

 

[MAXSwagg]

I don't watch that much skating these days, but from what little I've seen, Brown wouldn't be in the top 10! Even his 3-Axel isn't consistent enough to keep him in the running for a medal! It's one thing to have American judges holding him up, internationally he'll be scratching to be in the 2nd or 3rd to last group for his LP! "Sorry guys!" Just calling it like I see 'em! We have some real cuties skating tonight! Alexei Krasnozhon looks like a man even though only 17!

It is true. And with this performance, I find it hard to send Jason over Vincent (although to me, I see no significant difference in quality between Vincent and Nathan, and those two between even Boyang when he's clean, and I like them both). It will be Nathan, Adam, Vincent.

Vincent made the correct choice to switch the free skate earlier in the season.

 

[Lanie]

If Ross doesn’t go I’ll be furious.

 

[aftershocks]

Oh well. Tough it is. That's the sport. The short program is not the whole show. Did Adam and Jason jinx themselves during the sp presser? Just some random happy thoughts from them there about following each other's energy again in the fp. But it's never over till it's over and anything can happen.

That was a wonderful program for Ross in his final season. Grant did it in the short program, but Ross had a good short program and an exceptional free program. With the body of work decision, who knows what the decision will be? A lot of Vincent's jumps were under-rotated, and he won't get good credit internationally, but that's a beautiful quad-triple he does with arm overhead. Maybe it might be Nathan, Ross and Adam for the Olympics, and Nathan, Vincent, and either Ross or Adam for Worlds. And Vincent, Jason and Grant for 4CCs. I'm not sure how they can justify denying Ross for the Olympics with his second place. I'm sure his coaches will fight tooth and nail for Ross' inclusion on the Olympic team. He's had a good career with a lot of contributions.

@MAXSwagg, no significant difference in quality between Nathan and Vincent??? Vincent still looks somewhat juniorish, and he still gets a lot of under-rotation calls on his quads. While Nathan was a bit over-scored on PCS at Nationals, I think Nathan's programs and overall feel for his choreography and the music is a bit superior to Vincent. I think Vincent needs more seasoning and polishing, but the fed may want Vincent for the Olympics. The only thing is that Adam is a former U.S. National champion with a better body of work on the last two GPs, and at his last couple of Worlds appearances than Vincent (who of course won Jr. Worlds, but has never been to Sr Worlds).

 

[casken]

No way they knock off hard-working, golly-gee shucks, "I did a program about the Boston Bombing", Ross Miner after coming in second.

The team will be the same as the final results, just like ladies.

Excuse me if I take a second to take in the irony of being an American without a single American skater I care about making the team in *any* discipline. (Dance is wash for me, so who cares how it turns out.)

Go... every other country with quality skaters I care about? I guess?

 

[Fiero425]

If Ross doesn’t go I’ll be furious.

It wouldn't be fair, but Miner isn't known internationally and can't really compete against the "Quad Kings" of the world! It would make sense to replace Miner with Adam, but it would be more egregious than what they did to Mirai 4 years ago! Do they really want to have that much controversy yet again?

 

[NAOTMAA]

I wouldn't be upset if Adam gets placed on the team but I honestly don't think his "body of work," while certainly superior to that of Ross and Vincent, is frankly enough to justify it. He isn't a medal contender and his narrative is nowhere near as strong as Ashley's in 2014 (where the precedence was set). They can't just keep using it every possible chance otherwise nationals becomes a joke. USFSA need to be selective when pulling that card out and I don't think Adam is one of them

 

[jiejie]

If I were on the Committee, I'd make the case for:
Olympics--Nathan, Ross, Adam
Four Continents--Vincent, Grant, Jason
Worlds--Nathan, Vincent, Adam
Jr Worlds--Alexei, Andrew, Camden

Oh to be a fly on the wall in that committee meeting....

 

[misskarne]

So I just realized that today is Josh Farris' birthday. What lousy timing. I hope he's doing something awesome today that he couldn't do if he was competing. And whatever he's doing -- eating lots of cake or going skiing would by my suggestions -- next time he can bring Max along.

I really hope to see some choreography from him in the future if we can't watch him perform.

Can I just say, this induced a lovely mental image in my mind of the two of them curled up on a couch, with a (dairy-free) cake on the table in front of them, Josh strumming his guitar and singing, and Max busily typing away at his latest assignment in the warmups.

 

[toddlj]

If I were on the Committee, I'd make the case for:
Olympics--Nathan, Ross, Adam
Four Continents--Vincent, Grant, Jason
Worlds--Nathan, Vincent, Adam
Jr Worlds--Alexei, Andrew, Camden

Oh to be a fly on the wall in that committee meeting....

I'd guess:
Olympics--Nathan, Vincent, Adam
Worlds--Nathan, Ross, Vincent
Jr Worlds--Alexei, Andrew, Tomoki

 

[Allskate]

Although I agree with @becca it amazes me how many have just dumped Jason when a guy/guys with quads shows up. What about all that stuff about “artistry” and “quality” they were proselytizing before?

This long program from Jason is my favorite from him ever. I definitely think his PCS deserves to be significantly higher than Vincent's. For years Jason was consistent, but he has struggled this year. Even if he had come in fourth tonight, it would be hard to justify sending him. I don't know what to do about Ross. I don't know where he pulled that performance from, but it was great! Unfortunately, it really was an anomoly given his recent performances. Adam has had a really good season, and the odds are very high that he would do better than Ross at the Olympics. Vincent has not had a great season. Even though he has improved from last season and he did better tonight, he still isn't a contender for a medal. But, TPTB might want to give him the experience. So, it's a tough call for the committee. I think Jason is out. I have a hard time leaving Ross out because he did have such a great competition and came in second, but I understand the argument for leaving him home. Adam really has had a better season overall than everyone except for Nathan, and he's really worked for it. I'm glad I'm not on the committee! Personally, I was hoping the top three finishers would be Nathan, Adam, and that they would all go. Now, I guess I'm hoping for Nathan, Adam, and, um, er, Ross?

ETA:

I'd guess:
Olympics--Nathan, Vincent, Adam
Worlds--Nathan, Ross, Vincent
Jr Worlds--Alexei, Andrew, Tomoki

When was the last time they selected an Olympic team that was different from the Worlds team they selected? 1992 with Paul Wylie and Mark Mitchell?