U.S. Men 2019-20 season - news & updates

[barbarafan]

The Glacier Falls Summer Classic club competition (Thursday, July 18 through Sunday, July 21) recently changed venues from their usual rink in Anaheim to Great Park Ice & FivePoint Arena in Irvine, California (as announced in the competition thread in the Kiss & Cry section): https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/threads/2019-glacier-falls-summer-classic-venue-moved.105783/

For those who can't access the Kiss & Cry, some of the notable U.S. men registered for the competition include (SENIOR): Sean Rabbitt, Ryan Dunk, Joonsoo Kim, Emmanuel Savary, Paul Yeung; (JUNIOR): Max Lake, Eric Sjoberg, Goku Endo, Liam Kapeikis.

hi..if anyone takes a vid of GoGolev's programs would love if they could post it. He is skating junior apparently.

 

[Tavi]

Can't say I'm surprised they changed venues given the trajectory of figure skating at the anaheim rink over the past few years (influential skating director leaving, synchro program downsizing big time, figure skating ice time scrapped for hockey, etc.) and given how obsessed USFS is with the Irvine rink, but I'm still surprised it's such a last minute change.

According to crzesk8dad’s post in kiss n cry, the venue was changed due to rink maintenance. I also noticed that the competition dates are about a week earlier than usual.

 

[crzesk8dad]

Can't say I'm surprised they changed venues given the trajectory of figure skating at the anaheim rink over the past few years (influential skating director leaving, synchro program downsizing big time, figure skating ice time scrapped for hockey, etc.) and given how obsessed USFS is with the Irvine rink, but I'm still surprised it's such a last minute change.

Anaheim is still Glacier Falls' home rink and will continue to be. The move was only because the rink was rebuilding the main arena NHL sheet but was unable to meet time deadlines. Note only did the ice need to be made, it had to have time to solidify and harden for upper level events.

Irvine Great Park Ice is the home rink of All Year FSC. They graciously are allowing us to use their home ice.

 

[Tavi]

Anaheim is still Glacier Falls' home rink and will continue to be. The move was only because the rink was rebuilding the main arena NHL sheet but was unable to meet time deadlines. Note only did the ice need to be made bit it had to have time to solidify and harden for upper level events.

Irvine Great Park Ice is the home rink of All Year FSC. They graciously are allowing us to use their home ice.

Hi - I know in the past GF has been a public comp with a nominal entry fee. Is that true this year? A friend of mine living in the area is eager to attend. Thanks!

 

[crzesk8dad]

Hi - I know in the past GF has been a public comp with a nominal entry fee. Is that true this year? A friend of mine living in the area is eager to attend. Thanks!

$30 all event (all four days), $10 at the door daily, kids under 10 are free.

 

[Tavi]

$30 all event (all four days), $10 at the door daily, kids under 10 are free.

Thank you!

 

[Sylvia]

As of today, here are the top 7 total scores of the U.S. men who are eligible to be selected for a JGP:

Ryan Dunk 196.32 (68.85 SP, 127.47 FS) Lake Placid (Senior)
Ilia Malinin 191.17 (73.14 SP, 118.03 FS) Atlanta Open (Junior)
Maxim Naumov 189.48 (66.18 SP, 123.30 FS) Lake Placid (Junior)
Liam Kapeikis 180.96 Seattle Ice Fest (Junior)
Matthew Nielsen 170.72 (64.46 SP, 106.26 FS) Broadmoor Open (Junior)
Daniel Martynov 170.16 Southport (Novice)
Eric Sjoberg 168.36 L.A. Open (Junior)

ETA:

The first North American Cup Novice Men invitational competition of the summer was held at Skate Milwaukee last week (I started a NAC thread in the Kiss & Cry section and posted this results photo link there but forgot to post here as well): https://twitter.com/SylviaUnseen/status/1149442783360561153
Samuel Mindra won the gold and Robert Yampolsky the bronze.

 

[Tahuu]

Dick Button will turn 90 this Thursday. It's also marks the day before* the anniversary of Denis Ten's shocking death last July.

I wonder whether USFS will give a shout out to Button? Uncle Dick should be celebrated more and lauded more often for his contributions before he's gone. I wonder if his family is planning a party for him? Does anyone know how Dick is doing these days? He's active on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PushDicksButton

ETA:
I see @Sylvia has revived the old Dick Button 'auction of his skating collection' thread, so I posted there about his upcoming milestone b'day as well. Perhaps on the day, we can start a new thread here congratulating Dick for his contributions and his amazing longevity!


*as corrected for accuracy by greenapple in the Dick Button thread

HBD to Dick! An icon, 2-time Olympic champion, 5-time world champion, and 7-time US champion.

TSL's tribute video.
AinsworthSports #1 all-time FS ranking.

 

[Sylvia]

Maxim Naumov (his previous JGP was in 2017) and Matthew Nielsen (2019 Novice silver medalist) are listed on USFS' International Assignments page for JGP #1 in Courchevel, France.

ETA on July 23 that USFS has submitted the names of these 14 men as substitutes for JGP Courchevel (entries/subs link is posted in the JGP thread):

Lucas ALTIERI
William ANNIS
Ryan DUNK* (209.40, 1st in Sr. at Glacier Falls)
Joseph KANG*
Liam KAPEIKIS
Joseph KLEIN
Max LAKE
Peter LIU*
Ilia MALININ
Daniel MARTYNOV
Eric PROBER
Eric SJOBERG* (183.91, 2nd in Jr. at Glacier Falls/1st in FS)
Andrew TORGASHEV*
Dinh TRAN*

* indicates previous JGP experience

 

[aftershocks]

A nice sp by Alexei Krasnozohn at Skate Detroit; video courtesy of Sarah Rasher via her Twitter, and uploaded on Youtube:

Alexei Krasnozhon 2019 Skate Detroit SP

Alexei Krasnozhon's senior men's short program at Skate Detroit, July 26, 2019. He earned 75.31 and was 2nd in the segment.

www.youtube.com

Also:
Dinh Tran https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOwJ6LvCqtE

Jimmy Ma https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPtc0Ql2oxU

 

[haribobo]

SENIOR MEN top summer club comp scores-

Jimmy Ma 219
Ryan Dunk 209
Alexei Krasnozhon 208
Dinh Tran 197
Sean Rabbitt 178

TBD: Nathan Chen, Jason Brown, Vincent Zhou, Camden Pulkinen, Tomoki Hiwatashi, Andrew Torgashev

 

[dinakt]

A nice sp by Alexei Krasnozohn at Skate Detroit; video courtesy of Sarah Rasher via her Twitter, and uploaded on Youtube:

Alexei Krasnozhon 2019 Skate Detroit SP

Alexei Krasnozhon's senior men's short program at Skate Detroit, July 26, 2019. He earned 75.31 and was 2nd in the segment.

www.youtube.com

I quite like Krasnozhon's program, it's different and expressive. Would anybody remember who choreographed it?
I just wish somebody would get on his case and improve his posture, as in neck back and ears over shoulders, especially in slow choreographic moments. Alexei's movement is beautiful now, but the posture ruins the effect.

 

[aftershocks]

I quite like Krasnozhon's program, it's different and expressive. Would anybody remember who choreographed it?
I just wish somebody would get on his case and improve his posture, as in neck back and ears over shoulders, especially in slow choreographic moments. Alexei's movement is beautiful now, but the posture ruins the effect.

You can check the spreadsheet, but I believe Alex Johnson choreographed one or both programs for Alex K.

So I checked, and yes, both sp and fp were choreographed by Alex J for Alex K. Great job by both of them, eh! Kudos to Alex Johnson, who had begun choreographing his own programs too before he retired.

 

[RoseRed]

I quite like Krasnozhon's program, it's different and expressive. Would anybody remember who choreographed it?
I just wish somebody would get on his case and improve his posture, as in neck back and ears over shoulders, especially in slow choreographic moments. Alexei's movement is beautiful now, but the posture ruins the effect.

Alex Johnson did both his programs.

 

[Sylvia]

Ryan Dunk, Ilia Malinin and Joseph Klein (JGP debuts for the latter two) will compete in Lake Placid, as posted on USFS' International Assignments page today.

 

[Sylvia]

Skate Detroit top 3 Senior Men this past weekend (very small field of 5 total):
Jimmy Ma 219.95 1 1 (75.32 SP, 144.63 FS)
Alex Krasnozhon 208.16 2 3 (75.31 SP, 132.85 FS)
Dinh Tran 197.26 4 2 (61.80 SP, 135.46 FS)

A few FS notes from watching the live stream on Saturday (originally posted in the Kiss & Cry section):

Ma ("Blues for Klook" that I heard was choreographed by Pasquale Camerlengo): 4T fall, 3A+3T step out, 3Lo, 3Lz+2T / 3A-half loop-2S, 3Lz, 3F, then really turned on the expression in footwork. I like this program for him!

Krasnozhon (Dracula theme): 3A landed then suddenly fell, 4Lo didn't look rotated/fall (his SP attempt looked better), 3A(pitched forward on landing)+2T step, 3S / 3F+3Lo, 3Lz+3T, 3Lz, showed good energy in his footwork at the end. After a rough start jump-wise, he finished strongly. Had moments where he looked like he was thinking through the program but it has potential, IMO. I'm glad he is working this year with Alex Johnson as his choreographer.

Tran (Sherlock Holmes OST): 3Lz+3T, 2A (planned triple? opened up), 3F, 3Lz high / 3Lo, 3F+2T+2Lo, 3S+2T.

Links to results/protocols:
Senior Men SP
Senior Men FS

 

[all_empty]

Anyone else feel old that the sons of Malinina/Skorniakov and Shishkova/Naumov are now competing on the JGP lol?

 

[haribobo]

Top Junior Men scores thus far- (and top novice scores)

Ilia Malinin 191.17 Atlanta Open E
Maxim Naumov 189.48 Lake Placid E
Eric Sjoberg 183.91 Glacier Falls P
Liam Kapeikis 180.96 Seattle Ice Fest P
Nicholas Hsieh 174.09 Skate Wilmington E
Matthew Nielsen 170.72 Broadmoor Open M
Goku Endo 170.48 Glacier Falls P
Daniel Martynov 170.16 Southport (Novice) M
Daniel Argueta 157.57 Detroit M
William Annis 153.70 Detroit E
Lucas Altieri 151.99 Broadmoor E
Joseph Klein 150.73 Broadmoor (Novice) M

 

[Sylvia]

Thanks to @katmari for sharing an Instagram link in Jason Brown's fan thread... here's a post that appears to have most of Jason's SP exhibition performance in Sun Valley this past Saturday to "I Can't Go On Without You" by KALEO (first 4 clips): https://www.instagram.com/p/B0d9koMncb5/

 

[kwanfan1818]

Anyone else feel old that the sons of Malinina/Skorniakov and Shishkova/Naumov are now competing on the JGP lol?

Ballet fans are so used to it, given multiple generations performing with the Bolshoi, Mariinsky, Paris Opera Ballet, New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Danish Royal Ballet, just to name a few and then family members performing for different companies, plus someone like Denys Ganio who not only has a son who's an Etoile at POB, but has a protege, Aran Bell, who is tearing it up at ABT.

But, yeah, old.

 

[Sylvia]

Jordan Moeller Q&A article: http://figureskatersonline.com/news...-enjoyment-from-skating-in-a-different-scene/

3A on show practice ice: https://www.instagram.com/p/BzOoPo9ndKg/

 

[vesperholly]

I quite like Krasnozhon's program, it's different and expressive. Would anybody remember who choreographed it?
I just wish somebody would get on his case and improve his posture, as in neck back and ears over shoulders, especially in slow choreographic moments. Alexei's movement is beautiful now, but the posture ruins the effect.

Baby steps! Hopefully he gets repeat touchups from Johnson throughout the season to help refine the movement as he gets more comfortable with it. Straight leg in the camel would be nice too.

 

[Sylvia]

The Philadelphia senior international competition in Aston, PA on Friday & Saturday includes (hearsay still; SP draw is late this afternoon) Krasnozhon, Pulkinen, Torgashev and 2019 junior bronze medalist Joonsoo Kim who just won the Senior Men's Collegiate title representing UCLA earlier this week in Aston. Past JGP competitors Daniel Kulenkamp (Arizona State U.) and Tony Lu (Univ. of Delaware) won silver and bronze, respectively.

ETA that the junior international event is happening now and 4 of the six competitors in the field are USA: Lucas Altieri, Ilia Malinin, Eric Prober and Nicholas Hsieh (recently added to the ISP).

 

[Tinami Amori]

Nathan's full SP from the "Ice" show:

Nathan Chen - Laboheme (The Ice 2019)

* Nathan Chen - Laboheme (The Ice 2019)

www.youtube.com

 

[Tinami Amori]

Nathan Chen - back flip on ice (for show)

YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

 

[Sylvia]

Nathan's back flip clip was posted by Nathan himself on his Instagram yesterday and was learned AFTER the show (on Sunday morning). Pro skater Ashley Clark taught him in one session, apparently (her Instagram story on Sunday morning was copied for posterity here): https://twitter.com/aboutNathan0505/status/1160614772963856385

BTW, you forgot to post (in this thread) the link to Nathan's Rocketman FS (3 min. exhibition version/fan cam) that he debuted in Sun Valley this past weekend.

 

[Sylvia]

We're I'm behind on updating this thread... prepare to be "spammed"!

Vincent is featured on the cover of the August/September issue of SKATING Magazine and here's a preview of his story: https://usfigureskatingfanzone.com/...orizons-vincent-zhou-in-skating-magazine.aspx
Short video of his photoshoot (same as the video embedded in the preview): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpM-S61rtzo

ETA that his Team USA bio has been updated for the new season: https://usfigureskatingfanzone.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=167

 

[Sylvia]

IFS article on Jason Brown by Robert Brodie (published online on August 10, 2019; I assume it was published in an earlier IFS issue?): https://www.ifsmagazine.com/jason-brown-risky-business/
Excerpts:

Given the direction of the sport today, Brown knows quads will have to be part of his own arsenal. He now works on them every day and he is hoping to have one in each of his programs next season. The quad Salchow is likely to come first (Brown had that quad in his long program last season), but said, “we’re exploring more of them, and honing in on the technique and the base. Hopefully, it pays off.”
Fortunately, he has Hanyu, one of the planet’s great quad masters, at the Cricket, and the Japanese star is always happy to share his insights. “I watch when he does them, and after our sessions he’ll come to me and sometimes he’ll give me advice,” Brown said. “He’ll say things like ‘good job’ and give me a little pep talk. It’s special and it’s neat to have that support.”

“As far as a non-results based goal, just building my consistency. Last season, I struggled a lot with all the changes, and it took me half the season to start getting into the flow of it all.
“It wasn’t until Four Continents and Worlds that I truly started rotating my quad Salchow. It was just at those last competitions where I thought, ‘Oh, I’m building that momentum.’ That’s really my biggest goal, to start the momentum a little earlier and to be able to build upon that sooner in the season.”

 

[Sylvia]

Sean Rabbitt Q&A article, published today by FSOnline: http://figureskatersonline.com/news...his-season-is-to-love-skating-and-to-inspire/

 

[Sylvia]

Andrew Torgashev debuted his Tosca FS ("E Lucevan le Stelle") in the Philadelphia Summer International competition earlier this month and here's a fan cam of his winning FS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gq0O5YHaO1w
His Team USA bio is updated with both program music & choreographers (Scott Brown, Sam Chouinard, Andrew Torgashev): https://usfigureskatingfanzone.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=164
Torgashev's first JGP will be the 3rd one in Riga, Latvia (Liam Kapeikis will make his JGP debut there with him).

Camden Pulkinen's 2nd place FS in Philly to The Last Emperor OST by Ryuichi Sakamoto (choreo. by Stéphane Lambiel): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NYT05c--EY
His updated Team USA bio: https://usfigureskatingfanzone.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=159

Alex Krasnozhon's 3rd place Dracula themed FS in Philly (choreo. by Alex Johnson): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHZq6axDYUk
His updated Team USA bio: https://usfigureskatingfanzone.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=149

As mentioned in post #173 above, 2019 U.S. Junior bronze medalist Joonsoo Kim won the Senior Men's Collegiate national title, representing UCLA, and also made his senior international debut in Philly later the same week (fan cam of his FS to "Nuages... en montagne" by Pierre Porte, choreo. by Misha Ge):
Part 1: https://twitter.com/simplyallysonn/status/1158121324318998528
Part 2: https://twitter.com/simplyallysonn/status/1158122323582554114
His updated Team USA bio: https://usfigureskatingfanzone.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=173

The 4 U.S. men's final standings in Philadelphia (no ISU WS points were given because only 6 men from 3 countries competed & the minimum for a Senior B is 8 entries from 4 countries; ISU TES minimum scores did count, however):
1 Andrew TORGASHEV USA 212.61 1 1 (78.52 SP, 134.09 FS)
3 Aleksei KRASNOZHON USA 193.62 3 3 (65.78 SP, 127.84 FS)
5 Camden PULKINEN USA 186.42 6 2 (57.81 SP, 128.61 FS)
6 Joonsoo KIM USA 175.01 5 6 (62.60 SP, 112.41 FS)

Camden Pulkinen has been assigned to the ISU Challenger in Canada, Autumn Classic, as listed on USFS' International Assignments page today: https://www.usfsa.org/story?id=84032&menu=TeamUSA