ISU Grand Prix Assignments 2018/19 season

[SamuraiK]

I, too, noticed that a lot of those going to Finland can just stay put and train for a week and a half and go directly next door to Russia.

I am thinking a lot of it was probably chosen that way for logistics / costs / easier on skaters...???...

and... dont you think Rostelecom always chooses their top skaters and then goes wayyyy down the list to fill a lot of their slots? It is ESPECIALLY noticeable when someone withdraws and then they replace it. They never go with the top 2 who are next in line but usually someone way down list......

I just went to go view the grids again.... and yes their Ice Dance, Mens and Ladies are the weakest of all the GPs. In mens Im not even sure whom the Italian is. Ive never even heard of him. Never heard of the Hungarian Ice Dance team.

All feds except maybe JPN are guilty of this but yes every year RUS is usually the main offender.

As for Maurizio Zandron. He's lovely and really cute but certainly not GP worthy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fztAbZ8fnFM

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

USFSA: http://usfsa.org/story?id=91606&type=media

ASSIGNMENTS FOR THE 2018 ISU GRAND PRIX OF FIGURE SKATING SERIES ANNOUNCED
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado (June 28, 2018) – The International Skating Union announced today athlete selections for the 2018 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series, which will begin Oct. 19-21 with 2018 Skate America in Everett, Washington.

The field at Skate America will feature U.S. champions Bradie Tennell, Nathan Chen, Alexa Scimeca-Knierim and Chris Knierim (pairs) and Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue (ice dance). Vincent Zhou, the 2018 U.S. bronze medalist, will also compete at Skate America.

 

[Bellanca]

Bradie and Nathan will have some downtime before their second assignment, so that should work out pretty well.

Grand Prix 2018/19!

ETA: Vincent @ Skate America! Woo-Hoo!

 

[misskarne]

No spot for Kailani

This was my first thought, too. Algotsson, Austman, and Paganini all are lower on the SB list than Kailani (in Austman's case, she's SB 125 vs Kailani's 59, but oh wait, big country, righto...).

Am somewhat disappointed for Brendan, as I was hoping he could pick up two this time around. Especially since Rizzo (SB36) and Erokhov (SB37) both got two and are below him on the SB list (SB33 for Brendan). Though at least Erokhov is JWC.

Delighted that Katia and Harley got two - the machinations of the big countries couldn't keep them out this time!

Canada appears to be my super GP of the season (Brendan, Jason, and Katia/Harley). Pleased for Jason that he got Canada and France - France, the scene of his first GP medal!

Surprised to see Gracie at Rostelecom. May her comeback go better than the last US comeback I was looking forward to...

EDIT: Nearly forgot! I'm so happy for Julian! YEAAHHHHH!

 

[Bellanca]

Gracie! How incredibly wonderful might that be?!

 

[honey]

Surprised to see Gracie at NHK. NHK appears to be the event where comeback skaters go. May her comeback be otherwise than the last US skater to be assigned NHK as a comeback event...

She's going to Russia

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Surprised to see Gracie at NHK. NHK appears to be the event where comeback skaters go. May her comeback be otherwise than the last US skater to be assigned NHK as a comeback event...

GG at Rostelecom.

 

[misskarne]

She's going to Russia

GG at Rostelecom.

*rubs sleep out of eyes* Crap, I could have sworn it said NHK. Whoops.

 

[Vagabond]

This was my first thought, too. Algotsson, Austman, and Paganini all are lower on the SB list than Kailani (in Austman's case, she's SB 125 vs Kailani's 59, but oh wait, big country, righto...).

Austman is a host pick. It may perhaps comfort you to know that if she had been an Australian too, she wouldn't have been picked either.

 

[misskarne]

Austman is a host pick. It may perhaps comfort you to know that if she had been an Australian too, she wouldn't have been picked either.

It points out the major flaw in the GP series. Big countries can pick SB125 but a little-country SB59 misses out.

 

[Vagabond]

It points out the major flaw in the GP series. Big countries can pick SB125 but a little-country SB59 misses out.

Why is it a flaw? The host federation defrays the cost of the competition. If non-host federations helped defray the costs, they might have an argument. But they don't.

 

[her grace]

Random Thoughts

Ladies
-Finland should have took two spots for Emmi and Viveca
-Only one spot for Lim . Hope she's first in line if anyone withdraws from SA.
-Yay for Japan and Russia with all their earned spots!

Men
-Not very many Americans on the circuit. Guess it's a waiting period now that Aaron, Miner, and Rippon have retired and Pulkinen, Torgashev, and Hitwatashi are stilll juniors.

Pairs
-maybe there was an actual doping reason for Stolbova's non-invite to the Olympics
-All the top U.S. teams got 2 spots so maybe SA for jr. champs Lu/Mitrofanov

Ice Dance
-2 spots for all the young Americans
-Stepanova/Bukin are going to make the GP Final and potentially with two gold medals
Guignard/Fabri have a great shot to medal on the GP

 

[barbarafan]

This was my first thought, too. Algotsson, Austman, and Paganini all are lower on the SB list than Kailani (in Austman's case, she's SB 125 vs Kailani's 59, but oh wait, big country, righto...).

Am somewhat disappointed for Brendan, as I was hoping he could pick up two this time around. Especially since Rizzo (SB36) and Erokhov (SB37) both got two and are below him on the SB list (SB33 for Brendan). Though at least Erokhov is JWC.

Delighted that Katia and Harley got two - the machinations of the big countries couldn't keep them out this time!

Canada appears to be my super GP of the season (Brendan, Jason, and Katia/Harley). Pleased for Jason that he got Canada and France - France, the scene of his first GP medal!

Surprised to see Gracie at Rostelecom. May her comeback go better than the last US comeback I was looking forward to...

EDIT: Nearly forgot! I'm so happy for Julian! YEAAHHHHH!

Katia and Harley with 2 is great. I can't wait to see their programs. I certainly had them placed differently on their last competitions. I think they will place well.

 

[victorskid]

Is there any word on the venue for the Helsinki GP? Great lineup, I'd love to go.

From SkatingFinland on Twitter:

Welcome to Helsinki! We are honored and excited to host this event. Ticket sale starts at the beginning of August. The venue is Helsinki Ice Hall. Further information will follow.

 

[kwanfan1818]

There's some August deadline that's not published in the GP Announcement by which the Feds have to confirm the initial selections or toss them back to the Alternates list, and then 10 days or two weeks later, the TBD's are supposed to be submitted, although they can be exchanged for other host picks.

In recent years, the TBA's have sometimes trickled in mid-August, but in general, they are finalized at the very end of August or beginning of September.

Great to see Finland hosting!

 

[happycamper2554]

Random Thoughts

Ladies
-Finland should have took two spots for Emmi and Viveca
-Only one spot for Lim . Hope she's first in line if anyone withdraws from SA.
-Yay for Japan and Russia with all their earned spots!

Men
-Not very many Americans on the circuit. Guess it's a waiting period now that Aaron, Miner, and Rippon have retired and Pulkinen, Torgashev, and Hitwatashi are stilll juniors.

Pairs
-maybe there was an actual doping reason for Stolbova's non-invite to the Olympics
-All the top U.S. teams got 2 spots so maybe SA for jr. champs Lu/Mitrofanov

Ice Dance
-2 spots for all the young Americans
-Stepanova/Bukin are going to make the GP Final and potentially with two gold medals
Guignard/Fabri have a great shot to medal on the GP

for pairs, Deanna and Nate only got one spot. I'll be interested to see what is done with the host spot

 

[her grace]

for pairs, Deanna and Nate only got one spot. I'll be interested to see what is done with the host spot

Oh, you're right. That makes them the front runners for SA unless USFS wants to spread the assignments around.

 

[happycamper2554]

Oh, you're right. That makes them the front runners for SA unless USFS wants to spread the assignments around.

They were given a host spot last year so i'm hoping they give it to someone else. Nothing against them. Maybe if a new team comes out hot in summer comps like Calalang/Johnson. Would it look good to not give it to your nnational bronze medalists. I don't know.

 

[goldberry99]

*No more Cappellini/Lanotte and Coomes/Buckland . They will be missed.

Whaaat? Coomes & Buckland are done???

 

[SamuraiK]

Whaaat? Coomes & Buckland are done???

Nothing official but they qualified for GP events and didnt get any , so.....

 

[suki]

Any word on Polina Edmunds? Is she done with skating?

 

[mag]

Why is it a flaw? The host federation defrays the cost of the competition. If non-host federations helped defray the costs, they might have an argument. But they don't.

Except that this is supposed to be sport. I say this as a Canadian. Yes, host countries pay, but there really should be some rules that must be followed. Something along the lines of all Skaters must be in the top 75 or even 100 in order to be chosen in the first round would be a good place to star. It is ridiculous that Kailani did not get one yet a skater who has had exactly one semi good international competition over the course of what, four or five years, who did not make the cut for the LP at the Olympics or Worlds, is getting a spot when there are a bunch in the top 100 who are not.

 

[manhn]

The Olympics host gets to field athletes and teams in all sports, no? Same for World Cup. Same for the grand slams, right?

Is there a tournament where the host country doesn't get guaranteed entry for their athletes?

 

[PRlady]

I thought I knew all the many good Japanese ladies but am drawing a blank on Matsuda. Who is she and why did she get a ticket to Russia?

 

[Vagabond]

Except that this is supposed to be sport. I say this as a Canadian. Yes, host countries pay, but there really should be some rules that must be followed. Something along the lines of all Skaters must be in the top 75 or even 100 in order to be chosen in the first round would be a good place to star. It is ridiculous that Kailani did not get one yet a skater who has had exactly one semi good international competition over the course of what, four or five years, who did not make the cut for the LP at the Olympics or Worlds, is getting a spot when there are a bunch in the top 100 who are not.

Skate Canada International predates the Season's Best Scores list, the World Rankings, the World Standings, the Code of Points, and even the Grand Prix (formerly the Champions Series) itself. Host federations pay for competitors' travel (and accommodation) costs. It's a lot cheaper to fly Larkyn Austman in from Coquitlam, B.C. than it is to fly in Kailani Craine from Australia. And guess what? Austman is almost certainly a bigger draw in Canada than Craine is. C'est la vie.

It is a concession on the part of the host federations to limit themselves to three host spots per discipline; this is not how it works with most Senior "B" events, where the hosts can and sometimes do have more than three entries per discipline. I don't remember anyone's squawking how there were four U.S. Ladies competitors at last season's U.S. International Fall Classic.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Any word on Polina Edmunds? Is she done with skating?

Honestly..... unless something major happens with her training then yes.

I wouldn't be surprised if she hasn't skated all year so far either.

 

[danafan]

How the heck are Xiangning Li/Zhong Xie eligible to be selected?

 

[BittyBug]

As for Maurizio Zandron. He's lovely and really cute but certainly not GP worthy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fztAbZ8fnFM

He's unlikely to medal, but unworthy to be there? He's at least as good as other lower rung guys, and he has a 3A so it's not like he's an embarrassment to men.

 

[Cleo1782]

Skate Canada International predates the Season's Best Scores list, the World Rankings, the World Standings, the Code of Points, and even the Grand Prix (formerly the Champions Series) itself. Host Federations pay for competitors' travel (and accommodation) costs. It's a lot cheaper to fly Larkyn Austman in from Coquitlam, B.C. than it is to fly in Kailani Craine from Australia. And guess what? Austman is almost certainly a bigger draw in Canada than Craine is. C'est la vie.

It is a concession on the part of the host federations to limit themselves to three host spots per discipline; this is not how it works with most Senior "B" events, where the hosts can and sometimes do have more than three entries per discipline. I don't remember anyone's squawking how there were four U.S. Ladies competitors at last season's U.S. International Fall Classic.

Don't disagree at all, but considering Paige Rydberg was our 4th entry at the US senior B and was dead last and didn't make it to Nationals this year-we certainly could have done without her or chosen more wisely......She was basically a non-factor as Larkyn will be at Skate Canada. BTW, Kailani trains in LA, but again she isn't much of a factor either. She will get WS points from B's this year and probably will get a spot with wds.

 

[Dobre]

I thought I knew all the many good Japanese ladies but am drawing a blank on Matsuda. Who is she and why did she get a ticket to Russia?

She's the one with the 3Lo in her combinations (that's how I remember her). She has 3F3Lo combo in the short and the 2A3T3Lo combo. She gets in because she has a higher Season's Best score than Shiraiwa, Kihira, Hongo, and Yamashita. (Also higher than Nagasu). Matsuda's score was from Lombardia, which was a nice high scoring Challenger. But she defeated Tuktamysheva there. Also bested Kostner in the free and Tennell in the short. She finished 11th at Japanese Nationals, behind Shiraiwa & Yamashita. So of course, one can argue that is also why she gets a ticket to Russia.

She did not do badly as a junior. Medaled in her final JGP. The 7th highest scoring lady on the JGP that year. But it was crazy hard to get a second JGP or out of Japan that season. With Higuchi, Honda, Mihara, & Shiraiwa all qualifying for either the JGPF or Junior Worlds.

Matsuda moved up. She finished 7th at Rostelecom and 6th at NHK in 2016-2017.