U.S. Pairs 2018 - News & Updates, Part VIII

[Sylvia]

Thanks. I recall that they brought back Take Me to Church in 2016-2017 after starting out with a different sp.

Yes - I posted this in an archived U.S. Pairs thread on August 31, 2016 (copied from their IN profile):

SP Music: "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?" and "Back to Black" by Amy Winehouse
FS Music: "A Song of India" by Rimsky-Korsakov and "Marche Slave" by Tchaikovsky
Choreographers: Judy Blumberg, Jim Peterson

I believe the Amy Winehouse program was what they performed during Mao Asada's The ICE tour in Japan? I never found or saw a video of this program, however.

Thanks again, Heather, for sharing K/O's journal update:

Here is a new blog from Tarah & Danny about how things are going with them right now.

Link: http://figureskatersonline.com/kayne-oshea/alongupdate/

FYI: I don't know what their SP music is yet but I do know that they're keeping their Swan Lake LP for this coming season since they didn't get to skate it very much last season. I'm very happy about this news and can't wait to see it again!

I'm really looking forward to seeing their new SP by Shae-Lynn Bourne and Shae Zukiwsky!

 

[TanithandBenFan]

Are Chelsea Liu and Ian Meyh skating together now? He's in a lot of her recent Instagram stories.

 

[happycamper2554]

Are Chelsea Liu and Ian Meyh skating together now? He's in a lot of her recent Instagram stories.

That's the impression i got. plus his instagram which is private says Cali on the top. I wonder if they are going to train with Calalang and Johnson. That would be interesting/awkward.

 

[Sylvia]

Are Chelsea Liu and Ian Meyh skating together now? He's in a lot of her recent Instagram stories.

I'm assuming they are (but haven't heard for certain) - he just turned 18 in May and she won't be 19 until December of this year so they are ISU Junior age-eligible in 2018-19.

 

[aftershocks]

That's the impression i got. plus his instagram which is private says Cali on the top. I wonder if they are going to train with Calalang and Johnson. That would be interesting/awkward.

Why should it be awkward when Liu/Johnson trained with Calalang/Sidhu for years under Meno/Sand? It seems to me that Zach's back problems became insurmountable and it was likely mutually decided that Jessica would try out with Brian. It apparently clicked, and Chelsea seemingly began looking for a new partner. It's not as if Chelsea and Brian had so much success together that they were being touted as an unbeatable team. This way perhaps Meno/Sand will end up training three teams* who may have long term potential and/or a chance for greater consistency than Jessica/Zach were having after his back injury affected their momentum. Another factor: Chelsea/Brian were still a young team starting out in the senior ranks who had not yet had consistent success. Maybe the coaches saw some possibilities for Jessica with Brian. And perhaps suggested that Chelsea might do well to find another partner and continue to hone her talents.

* Calalang/Johnson; Serafini/Tran; Liu/Meyh (although the last two have not been officially announced)

Good luck to all involved. And a thumbs-up shout-out to Zach Sidhu! Zach was a wonderful pairs partner with Jessica, and I always enjoyed watching them skate. They definitely gave it their all to make things work after his injury, and it was worth every effort! Good luck to Zach in his future endeavors!

 

[happycamper2554]

Why should it be awkward when Liu/Johnson trained with Calalang/Sidhu for years under Meno/Sand? It seems to me that Zach's back problems became insurmountable and it was likely mutually decided that Jessica would try out with Brian. It apparently clicked, and Chelsea seemingly began looking for a new partner. It's not as if Chelsea and Brian had so much success together that they were being touted as an unbeatable team. This way perhaps Meno/Sand will end up training three teams* who may have long term potential and/or a chance for greater consistency than Jessica/Zach were having after his back injury affected their momentum, and that Chelsea/Brian were having trying to break through as a young team out of juniors.

* Calalang/Johnson; Serafini/Tran; Liu/Meyh (although the last two have not been officially announced)

Good luck to all involved. And a thumbs-up shout-out to Zach Sidhu! Zach was a wonderful pairs partner with Jessica, and I always enjoyed watching them skate. They definitely gave it their all to make things work after his injury, and it was worth every effort! Good luck to Zach in his future endeavors!

I think it's awkward/interesting on the Liu/Johnson side we don't really know how or why they broke up. But Liu/Meyh probably didn't have to train in CA. He was with Peterson and Evora in FL before. So it seems like everyone is amicable. I'm just curious how it went down. Especially because initially on his ice partner search Meyh said he wouldn't be willing to relocate

 

[aftershocks]

^^ Yeah sure. We are speculating when we don't really know or have an insider source. But I think it's obvious that both Liu/Johnson and Calalang/Sidhu were coached by the same coaches and Calalang/Johnson joined up and Chelsea apparently is still planning to train with Meno/Sand? If Chelsea moves to different coaches, that might make it seem things weren't amicable. But even then, as you indicate Meyh formerly trained in Florida. So even if Chelsea had decided to move there with Meyh, that wouldn't mean she didn't willing agree to split with Brian and team up with a different skater and skate Juniors another year or two.

As I mentioned in my previous post, Zach Sidhu has had back issues for several seasons that he's tried valiantly to work out, but it wasn't working. It looks to me like some discussions eventually happened among the two teams and their coaches, and this is the result. Of course we don't know exact details, and we won't unless it's ever made public. The main thing right now is training hard for all of the newly formed teams and doing the best they can, full steam ahead.

 

[happycamper2554]

^^ Yeah sure. We are speculating when we don't really know or have an insider source. But I think it's obvious that both Liu/Johnson and Calalang/Sidhu were coached by the same coaches and Calalang/Johnson joined up and Chelsea apparently is still planning to train with Meno/Sand? If Chelsea moves to different coaches, that might make it seem things weren't amicable. But even then, as you indicate Meyh formerly trained in Florida. So even if Chelsea had decided to move there with Meyh, that wouldn't mean she didn't willing agree to split with Brian and team up with a different skater and skate Juniors another year or two.

As I mentioned in my previous post, Zach Sidhu has had back issues for several seasons that he's tried valiantly to work out, but it wasn't working. It looks to me like some discussions eventually happened among the two teams and their coaches, and this is the result. Of course we don't know exact details, and we won't unless it's ever made public. The main thing right now is training hard for all of the newly formed teams and doing the best they can, full steam ahead.

I agree. my reason for the curiosity is that when Calanang and Johnson first paired up, I assumed that both Liu and Sidhu had retired. Liu had been public about concussion issues that she had suffered. That is why I was interested in the possibility about awkwardness or an non amicable split. Obviously, it hasn't been announced, but it appears she is continuing with Meyh. I honestly hope that everyone gets along and is happy in their new situation, But my first thought was wow did Johnson ditch her. Pairs can break up for numerous reasons, but I am curious from that angle how it went down. Obviously we will never know what really happened.

 

[aftershocks]

^^ Both pairs and/or their coaches could just as easily explain in interviews during the season how the re-pairings happened. I don't think it's necessarily a traumatic or angsty situation (at least that's my take). For all we know, Zach called it quits first, and Chelsea may have felt she needed a break, which then prompted Jessica and Brian to plan a tryout. With a few weeks off and reflection, Chelsea may have felt better and had second thoughts, or she had an unexpected opportunity to train with Meyh and accepted. Or, Chelsea didn't plan to quit at all and it was mutually decided between her and Brian to find new partners. And Brian didn't have far to look when Zach was forced to retire due to struggling with his back injury. The possible scenarios are endless.

In any case, these particular splits/re-pairings don't seem to me like a huge deal, but as you say, we don't know. Still, it's not definite that we'll never find out.

The new pairs landscape in the U.S. and internationally will be intriguing to watch unfold.

 

[happycamper2554]

^^ Both pairs and/or their coaches could just as easily explain in interviews during the season how the re-pairings happened. I don't think it's necessarily a traumatic or angsty situation (at least that's my take). For all we know, Zach called it quits first, and Chelsea may have felt she needed a break, which then prompted Jessica and Brian to plan a tryout. With a few weeks off and reflection, Chelsea may have felt better and had second thoughts, or she had an unexpected opportunity to train with Meyh and accepted. Or, Chelsea didn't plan to quit at all and it was mutually decided between her and Brian to find new partners. And Brian didn't have far to look when Zach was forced to retire due to struggling with his back injury. The possible scenarios are endless.

In any case, these particular splits/re-pairings don't seem to me like a huge deal, but as you say, we don't know. Still, it's not definite that we'll never find out.

The new pairs landscape in the U.S. and internationally will be intriguing to watch unfold.

I'm here for 50% drama and 50% skating, so I'm always going to air on the side of drama. Hopefully everyone is happy where they ended up. That's why I love pairs, the second person adds to the interest/drama for me at least.

 

[aftershocks]

...I'm always going to air on the side of drama.

Err or air, I getcha!

 

[Sylvia]

Max Settlage's tweeted photos from Pairs Camp -- I believe this is the first time Fedor Klimov helped out: https://twitter.com/Max_Settlage/status/1007399644425420800

So I’m gonna go ahead and start the hashtag #Fedorable

Thank you so much @usfigureskating for giving us the opportunity to work with Fedor Klimov and other wamazing coaches this week

Some of the Senior teams at the camp (Klimov kneeling at right): https://www.instagram.com/p/BkBsaHbFaL-/?taken-by=allisont.justinhb
Pictured L to R:
Allison Timlen/Justin Highgate-Brutman
Nica Digerness/Danny Neudecker
Ashley Cain/Timothy LeDuc
Winter Deardorff/Max Settlage
Nadine Wang/Spencer Howe

Jessica Calalang shared a photo with Stellato/Bartholomay plus a brief video of her new partner Brian Johnson lifting her off ice: https://www.instagram.com/p/BkBOeIOl7NR/?taken-by=jessicacalalang

Jim Peterson shared some photos, including one of Kayne/O'Shea off ice and Kyoko Ina with Jenni Meno: https://www.instagram.com/p/BkBzjO3FfS3/?taken-by=jpcoach

ETA:

Ashley Cain's photo (1st one) includes Nina Mozer flanked by Klimov and Vladislav Zhovnirski, plus Erika Smith/AJ Reiss (far right) and Sarah Feng/TJ Nyman (far left): https://www.instagram.com/p/BkDtftIjoeu/?taken-by=icegirlash

Jacob Simon's photo includes Klimov and Robin Szolkowy with Nyman (center) and Balázs Nagy (far left): https://www.instagram.com/p/BkDiam2lDmg/?taken-by=jacobsimonsays
Eliana Secunda is Simon's new partner and Nagy's is Kate Finster.

 

[Skittl1321]

Thanks for the update. Mervin is such a laugh riot. He's got a unique sense of humor. I hope he has fun in Cali with Liv!

His hometown of 'Re-gyn-a' rhymes with 'fun'?

That's apparently a thing- everyone I know from Regina (um n = 3) plus an extensive google search will say "The city that rhymes with fun."
I can't tell if it is a joke with Regina rhymes with vagina, or just a city slogan that there are lots of fun things to do there.

 

[happycamper2554]

Max Settlage's tweeted photos from Pairs Camp -- I believe this is the first time Fedor Klimov helped out: https://twitter.com/Max_Settlage/status/1007399644425420800

Some of the Senior teams at the camp (Klimov kneeling at right): https://www.instagram.com/p/BkBsaHbFaL-/?taken-by=allisont.justinhb
Pictured L to R:
Allison Timlen/Justin Highgate-Brutman
Nica Digerness/Danny Neudecker
Ashley Cain/Timothy LeDuc
Winter Deardorff/Max Settlage
Nadine Wang/Spencer Howe

Jessica Calalang shared a photo with Stellato/Bartholomay plus a brief video of her new partner Brian Johnson lifting her off ice: https://www.instagram.com/p/BkBOeIOl7NR/?taken-by=jessicacalalang

Jim Peterson shared some photos, including one of Kayne/O'Shea off ice and Kyoko Ina with Jenni Meno: https://www.instagram.com/p/BkBzjO3FfS3/?taken-by=jpcoach

ETA:

Ashley Cain's photo (1st one) includes Nina Mozer flanked by Klimov and Vladislav Zhovnirski, plus Erika Smith/AJ Reiss (far right) and Sarah Feng/TJ Nyman (far left): https://www.instagram.com/p/BkDtftIjoeu/?taken-by=icegirlash

Jacob Simon's photo includes Klimov and Robin Szolkowy with Nyman (center) and Balázs Nagy (far left): https://www.instagram.com/p/BkDiam2lDmg/?taken-by=jacobsimonsays
Eliana Secunda is Simon's new partner and Nagy's is Kate Finster.

Interesting because Kayne and O'shea were seemingly at the OTC for the beginning of pair camp. Did they come for just the end part?

 

[aftershocks]

I love the 'fedorable' hashtag, and all of the pictures were fun! Thanks for sharing.

 

[aftershocks]

In other gossip-related news, there's the below from the latest episode of TSL (regarding Alexa & Chris in connection with Bradie Tennell); cross-posting from U.S. ladies thread. Also during the episode, Dave returns to a bit of fawning over Alexa now that she's been Aliona-inspired and re-energized:

TSL's Dave Lease was up to his usual 'in-the-know' tidbit-dropping when he mentioned in passing that Bradie Tennell is now perhaps going to utilize Jeremy Allen as her main coach. Dave appeared to suggest that the change was desired for awhile, but had been slowed by Bradie's limited financial resources (at least that's my impression of Dave's comments), which of course is unconfirmed TSL-chatter. Here's a direct quote: "Something is going on in the Bradie coaching situation... Supposedly Bradie couldn't leave Denise because of financial issues. And now apparently Bradie made [enough] money on the SOI tour to cover her coaching expenses... So it looks like now that Jeremy Allen may become Bradie's more primary coach. That's interesting... Jeremy Allen is also going to be working with Alexa & Chris for four hours a day when Aliona is out of town... I can see Bradie training alongside Alexa & Chris and maybe some of Bradie's consistency could rub off on Chris by osmosis..."

Disclaimer: the above is unconfirmed TSL gossip starting about just past the mid-point of the latest episode on ISU rules changes (58:57)

Anyway, when he's healthy Chris can be and has been a decent jumper. With Aliona behind the Knierims, there are sure to be improvements. I'm not that familiar with Jeremy Allen. He's apparently a good technical coach...

 

[HeatherC]

Tarah and Danny are in Colorado because Tarah's rehab team is out there so they're training there for a little while to make sure they don't have any setbacks with the recoveries for her knee and the stress fracture. They were not planning to participate in the pairs camp. I'm not sure if that info was in Tarah's blog or not but I did specifically ask her about it and them not doing the camp was her answer. I'm pretty sure they will be partipating in Champs Camp later this summer though.

I got to speak to Deanna & Nate after the Skate It Forward show in Columbus, OH tonight (more info from this show will be posted in the summer skating show thread here in GSD) and they confirmed to me that they are still planning to do the quad throw in their LP this season (they've apparently been training it well so they're very excited about it). They came straight from the pairs camp to Columbus for the show this weekend so they were tired but in really good spirits. Their first competition this summer will be the Cranberry Open in July (I think that's when it is) and they're excited to share their programs with everyone soon (they'll be announcing it on social media within the next couple of weeks). They are SO awesome and I'm excited for them!

 

[aftershocks]

And in this cross-post from TSL thread, there's a link to Chris 'atta boy' Knierim calling out Dave Lease Perfect gif too btw. Any beside-the-point defensive comments by TSL-fanatics are

Go Alexa & Chris!

https://twitter.com/ChrisKnierim/status/1008744775116316673

Chris Knierim calling out TSL. I would assume that this means they are not working with Jeremey Allen, but who knows. I'm here for sassy Alexa and Sassy Chris. They can come out any day.

ETA:
Actually, it looks like there was an Alexa & Chris fan who whined below Chris' TSL tweet about hoping A&C were working hard to land their jumps and Chris tweeted this hilarious response complete with a gif of a cat doing rolling backflips. We all know that Alexa is a serious cat mommy. Of course in addition to mothering their two huge St. Bernards.
@[B]ChrisKnierim[/B] 6h6 hours ago
You’re a fan obviously. We are working hard don’t you worry. Fortunately for me I have breaks in the day to do things like eat, sleep, brush my teeth and tweet.

 

[clairecloutier]

In the “Where are they now?” category ... an interview with Matej Silecky:

https://tresamagazine.com/2018/06/22/matej-silecky/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

Matej was last seen skating pairs at 2016 U.S..Nationals. Now he has moved on to appear on Dancing on Ice. He’s also making a documentary film and coaching, I think in the NYC area.

 

[clairecloutier]

I have a new interview with Deanna Stellato/Nate Bartholomay up on my web site:

https://adivinesport.com/2018/06/27/interview-with-stellato-bartholomay-june-2018/

 

[honey]

I have a new interview with Deanna Stellato/Nate Bartholomay up on my web site:

https://adivinesport.com/2018/06/27/interview-with-stellato-bartholomay-june-2018/

I love Deanna's attitude! She's not just out there for the sake of it; she wants medals and isn't afraid to say it. I loved her back in 2000 and am so glad she came back. Fingers crossed for good things for the this season!

 

[HeatherC]

I have a new interview with Deanna Stellato/Nate Bartholomay up on my web site:

https://adivinesport.com/2018/06/27/interview-with-stellato-bartholomay-june-2018/

Great interview! You must have talked to them not long after I did at the Skate It Forward show. They mentioned some of those things to me there too but I couldn't get them all into my article! Thanks so much for sharing this Claire!

 

[el henry]

I have a new interview with Deanna Stellato/Nate Bartholomay up on my web site:

https://adivinesport.com/2018/06/27/interview-with-stellato-bartholomay-june-2018/

Great interview; I love how mature, adult and clear headed Deanna and Nate are! And how the US pairs know exactly what needs to be done without the "Captain Obvious" comments pairs so often get, and support each other as well.

 

[Firedancer]

I have a new interview with Deanna Stellato/Nate Bartholomay up on my web site:

https://adivinesport.com/2018/06/27/interview-with-stellato-bartholomay-june-2018/

Great interview @clairecloutier! I love that Deanna is not afraid to say that she wants to medal! And I really enjoyed reading more about pairs camp and working with each of the coaches. Good luck to Deanna and Nate this season!

 

[happycamper2554]

I have a new interview with Deanna Stellato/Nate Bartholomay up on my web site:

https://adivinesport.com/2018/06/27/interview-with-stellato-bartholomay-june-2018/

Maybe i'm making my own drama, but interesting that they mentioned the other top US pairs Cain/Leduc and Scimeca Knierim /Knierim, but not the ones that they train with Kayne/O'shea. Then again I could be making a mountain out a molehill.

 

[hoptoad]

Another great interview, @clairecloutier !

After all the discussions fans have had about how USFS can better support pairs, it was interesting to hear what Deanna had to say:

Stellato: That’s where U.S. Figure Skating is starting to step in. That’s why they put this pairs camp on [U.S. Figure Skating National Pairs Camp, June 9-15, 2018]. They did this pairs camp last year for the first time, with all of Nina Mozer’s [coaching] team. And they did it again this year, and it was longer, and it was more intricate, and there were more things involved. They’re trying to not just assist the top pairs in the nation, but also the new pairs skaters at the junior and novice level, to try to get the technique started as early as possible.They’re also really stepping in to help us financially as well.
I just turned 35, and Nate just turned 29. We certainly don’t have Mom and Dad paying for this for us. We are fiscally responsible for everything. And it’s very difficult to train, and then take care of the means that it takes to be able to train. So they’ve been very helpful in assistance of that. We’ve been more vocal with them, also, which I think has been helpful.The communication has opened up. We’re expecting and hoping to be getting more [support]this year, so that Nate and I don’t have to work so much. It’s more so Nate than I. Nate works until eleven o’clock almost every single night. So there’s not proper recovery, ever, in his day.

Both the camp and providing more support to athletes so they can get proper recovery to train seem like good investments. Not cheap, but worthwhile.

It would be interesting to hear the perspective on the training camp from one of the newer junior or novice pairs.

 

[Cleo1782]

Maybe i'm making my own drama, but interesting that they mentioned the other top US pairs Cain/Leduc and Scimeca Knierim /Knierim, but not the ones that they train with Kayne/O'shea. Then again I could be making a mountain out a molehill.

Probably no issue since they train with them and see them everyday. They were just talking about other top pairs. Dee and Nate are very determined and seem to have the same goals and perspectives. I have never heard any rumors of K/O and S/B not getting along. In fact, they seem quite friendly when I have seen them together.

 

[Sylvia]

Listing out all the U.S. pairs' Grand Prix initial assignments that were published today (10 spots total):

Knierims (2): Skate America (#1) & Japan (#4)
Kayne/O'Shea (2): Japan & France (#6)
Cain/LeDuc (2): Skate America & Russia (#5)
Denney/Frazier (2): Skate Canada (#2) & France
Stellato/Bartholomay (1): Russia
Skate America: 1 spot TBD
No pairs in Finland (#3).

 

[aftershocks]

Why did Stellato/Bartholomay receive only one GP? Did their overall total scores not reach the level of the other pairs? They did well at 4CCs, even if they didn't podium. And they did attend Worlds, despite not making the cut-off due to depth of field and ISU's blind ignorance regarding the need to give skaters enough opportunities in the changing competitive dynamic.

 

[RoseRed]

Why did Stellato/Bartholomay receive only one GP? Did their overall total scores not reach the level of the other pairs? They did well at 4CCs, even if they didn't podium. And they did attend Worlds, despite not making the cut-off due to depth of field and ISU's blind ignorance regarding the need to give skaters enough opportunities in the changing competitive dynamic.

Lower SB. They're the top team SB-wise for the replacement list. All the teams guaranteed 1 got 2, and they weren't guaranteed any. Only a few teams below them got spots, and those were all host picks IIRC. They could also get the SA TBD.