Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier Announce Partnership

[Simone411]

Here's something that I'd like to add. Everyone or every skater has to start from somewhere. It's been that way since the beginning of the sport; since the history of Figure Skating when it first began. I know there are fans that are partial and some fans aren't going to like all the skaters.

I guess I'm a rare breed fan so to speak because I love the majority of the skaters. I'm so thankful that I'm still here to enjoy it, and I'm so glad that Alexa and Brandon found each other and like each other enough to give it a chance. They love to skate. They love the sport. If they didn't, I figure they would have stopped skating all together.

There are lots of skaters that change partners, and there is nothing wrong with it. My goodness! What if so many of the skaters in the past gave up and decided not to skate at all. I'm so glad that they did continue. Now that's just me, and I just feel so blessed to still be alive and have had the privilege of seeing some of the best figure skaters in the world throughout the years. I plan on being around a few more years if God is willing. I'm so glad I still love Figure Skating as much as I do!

 

[Carolla5501]

Not worth the effort LOL

 

[AxelAnnie]

I'm sure this is meant to be funny, but no, that's not why he looked so miserable. He was in the midst of a deep depression. I don't think think this is something to be made light of.

This may be part of his depression.she i

What happens to Denney now? Is she retiring or searching for another partner?

She is left blowin' in the wind

 

[insideedgeua]

Chris learne the quad twist with a previous partner.

I don’t believe this is true at all.

Andrea Poapst was his previous partner and he did not work on quad with her.

He and Alexa quietly worked away on it for quite some time before it was made public. In fact, people at World Arena were seeing it every day on ice and kept completely quiet about it. It was wonderful.

Also, most pairs, if they are in the same city are continuing to work on lifts and twist off ice. This is a normal part of their training. They’re also keeping fit, joining dance classes remotely and things like that too.

It’s a shame that Brandon hadn’t already moved out west.

 

[insideedgeua]

What happens to Denney now? Is she retiring or searching for another partner?

I don’t have a source for this, but I was told that she was thinking about joining shows with Caydee. At this point, there are no shows, so if it’s true, that would be on hold.

 

[shan]

I don’t believe this is true at all.

Andrea Poapst was his previous partner and he did not work on quad with her.

He and Alexa quietly worked away on it for quite some time before it was made public. In fact, people at World Arena were seeing it every day on ice and kept completely quiet about it. It was wonderful.

Also, most pairs, if they are in the same city are continuing to work on lifts and twist off ice. This is a normal part of their training. They’re also keeping fit, joining dance classes remotely and things like that too.

It’s a shame that Brandon hadn’t already moved out west.

I thought he worked on a quad twist with Brynn Carman.

 

[wickedwitch]

I don’t believe this is true at all.

Andrea Poapst was his previous partner and he did not work on quad with her.

I believe he did one with Brynn Carman.

 

[Lacey]

It’s a shame that Brandon hadn’t already moved out west.

That's my only question, when is he going to get there?

Is it the *** illness in the country as a whole that is preventing him from traveling because of the stay in place orders in some states?

I think if they can start doing off ice moves and lifts, well, it will be a start. And then, in my imagination because Alexa doesn't let anything stand still, it's going to roll.

Maybe it has already happened that he is there and they just don't want it released yet?

 

[insideedgeua]

I thought he worked on a quad twist with Brynn Carman.

That is possible. Not something I’m sure about. I was thinking only of his immediate partner before Alexa.

 

[flyingsit]

That is possible. Not something I’m sure about. I was thinking only of his immediate partner before Alexa.

It was with Brynn.

 

[aftershocks]

That's my only question, when is he going to get there? ... Maybe it has already happened that he is there and they just don't want it released yet?

Of course, we're all curious and supporters hope they can start training soon. We just don't know what's going to happen anywhere going forward. All competitive athletes are affected at this point. Obviously the delay in Brandon relocating has to do with the global health crisis and travel restrictions. Alexa & Brandon have already noted how they are communicating with each other and trying to stay fit throughout this crisis.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

She is left blowin' in the wind

Id like to head up a Bravo reality show with the Denney sisters and Caitlin Yankowskas and see where it goes....

Wonder if I should start looking at production!!!????? hmmmm....

 

[aftershocks]

I believe he did one with Brynn Carman.

That is possible. Not something I’m sure about. I was thinking only of his immediate partner before Alexa.

It was with Brynn.

Mention of these different partnerships always reminds me of the 2011 U.S. junior pairs championships. I wish it was available for viewing somewhere. Maybe it is archived on U.S. figure skating fan zone. I don't know, but that's one of my favorite junior pairs championships, because there are so many recognizable names of skaters, many of whom are still competing today. The partnership changes to that point and afterward are very notable:

2011 U.S. Figure Skating Championships - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Scroll down to junior pairs results

Chris Knierim placed second with Andrea Poapst and they moved to seniors in 2012 and thereafter split.

Brynn Carman* and A.J. Reiss placed 4th and split that same year; Carman was formerly paired with Knierim from 2006 to 2009 in novice and juniors. Carman/Knierim placed 9th at Junior Worlds in 2009 and split soon afterward. I find it questionable that they would have been practicing quad twists as junior skaters, particularly with their partnership not solidified. Maybe it's not impossible they tried a quad twist successfully in practice, but they surely never competed a quad twist in competition. If they were working on a quad twist, why did they split? Was Carman injured? Did you witness Carman & Knierim practicing a quad twist @flyingsit, or you just heard about it?

*Carman is now a television news anchor. She formerly worked in Des Moines, Iowa at Channel 5 News, and she's currently a Channel 13 news anchor in Colorado Springs:

6:30 SHOW 11/15/19

www.youtube.com

At the 2011 U.S. junior pairs championships, Brandon Frazier and Haven Denney competed with different partners. Previously, they'd competed together as roller skaters, and then switched to figure skating as partners from 2005 to 2008 in juvenile and intermediate divisions. They split when Haven's family moved to Florida. After the 2011 U.S. junior pairs competiton, Brandon and Haven re-partnered and won U.S. junior pairs in 2012. Then they won the World junior pairs championships in 2013. They went on to a promising senior pairs career that was severely challenged by Haven's knee injury in 2015. It's amazing how they fought to come back, winning the 2017 U.S. senior pairs championships, and capping their career with two bronze medals on the 2019 GP circuit.

Of course, the above partnership histories are only the tip of the iceberg when you see all of the names on that 2011 U.S. junior pairs roster.

What about the year Haven injured her ankle? Do they have barely used programs from that season?

No. Haven broke her knee practicing off-ice after 2015 Worlds (where she and Brandon placed 12th). Alexa/Chris (with their quad twist) placed 7th, the highest for a U.S. pairs team since Yankowskas/ Coughlin placed 6th in 2011. Prior to that, Inoue/Baldwin were 4th in 2006 on the strength of their throw 3-axel. And the last Worlds podium placement for a U.S. pair was bronze in 2002 for Ina/ Zimmerman.

Haven & Brandon had not started working on new programs when she broke her knee after 2015 Worlds. She and Brandon had split with Zimmerman and were planning to work with Ingo Steuer as their coach. But their training plans were still up in the air at the time she suffered her injury. Ultimately, they ended up not working with Steuer who had personal obligations in Germany. They missed the entire next season with Haven's surgery and rehabilitation, but courageously returned to competition in 2016-2017.

 

[aftershocks]

Another write-up from NBC sports states Haven has "stepped away from competition, at least temporarily." Maybe they mean she's stepped away from the skating world temporarily:

Alexa Knierim, Brandon Frazier form new figure skating pair

A few weeks after her husband, Chris Knierim, stepped away from competitive skating, Alexa Scimeca Knierim has formed a partnership with Brandon Frazier.

olympics.nbcsports.com

If Haven returns to skating, probably it will be for shows, or for something like joining Cirque's ice extravaganzas, or performing on cruise ships. OTOH, Haven definitely seems to enjoy competition, and she fought back fiercely after her injury. She showed some incremental progress with the jumps this past season, but H&B's training situation obviously became a distraction after December 2019. They did not seem focused to compete well at 2020 U.S. Nationals. Falling to 5th from 2nd the previous season had to play into their decision to split.

ETA:
A nice, past feature on the Knierims re-posted by NBCSports:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujJ3o8dcs6w

And a feature on Denney/Frazier's partnership:

Meet Haven Denney & Brandon Frazier: From Floor to Ice

Haven Denney and Brandon Frazier started on the floor as a roller skating team. Now, they're the 2017 U.S. champions on the ice.

www.youtube.com

 

[skylark]

Mention of these different partnerships always reminds me of the 2011 U.S. junior pairs championships. I wish it was available for viewing somewhere. Maybe it is archived on U.S. figure skating fan zone. I don't know, but that's one of my favorite junior pairs championships, because there are so many recognizable names of skaters, many of whom are still competing today. The partnership changes to that point and afterward are very notable:

That was the year Ashley Cain and Joshua Reagan won gold at US Junior Championships! Timothy LeDuc won bronze with Cassie Andrews. And those two pairs went to Junior Worlds. Ashley and Joshua came in 4th at Jr Worlds, behind Sui/Han, Stolbova/Klimov, and Takahashi/Tran.

2011 World Junior Figure Skating Championships - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[carriecmu0503]

Mention of these different partnerships always reminds me of the 2011 U.S. junior pairs championships. I wish it was available for viewing somewhere. Maybe it is archived on U.S. figure skating fan zone. I don't know, but that's one of my favorite junior pairs championships, because there are so many recognizable names of skaters, many of whom are still competing today. The partnership changes to that point and afterward are very notable:

2011 U.S. Figure Skating Championships - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Scroll down to junior pairs results

Chris Knierim placed second with Andrea Poapst and they moved to seniors in 2012 and thereafter split.

Brynn Carman* and A.J. Reiss placed 4th and split that same year; Carman was formerly paired with Knierim from 2006 to 2009 in novice and juniors. Carman/Knierim placed 9th at Junior Worlds in 2009 and split soon afterward. I find it questionable that they would have been practicing quad twists as junior skaters, particularly with their partnership not solidified. Maybe it's not impossible they tried a quad twist successfully in practice, but they surely never competed a quad twist in competition. If they were working on a quad twist, why did they split? Was Carman injured? Did you witness Carman & Knierim practicing a quad twist @flyingsit, or you just heard about it?

*Carman is now a television news anchor. She formerly worked in Des Moines, Iowa at Channel 5 News, and she's currently a Channel 13 news anchor in Colorado Springs:

6:30 SHOW 11/15/19

www.youtube.com

At the 2011 U.S. junior pairs championships, Brandon Frazier and Haven Denney competed with different partners. Previously, they'd competed together as roller skaters, and then switched to figure skating as partners from 2005 to 2008 in juvenile and intermediate divisions. They split when Haven's family moved to Florida. After the 2011 U.S. junior pairs competiton, Brandon and Haven re-partnered and won U.S. junior pairs in 2012. Then they won the World junior pairs championships in 2013. They went on to a promising senior pairs career that was severely challenged by Haven's knee injury in 2015. It's amazing how they fought to come back, winning the 2017 U.S. senior pairs championships, and capping their career with two bronze medals on the 2019 GP circuit.

Of course, the above partnership histories are only the tip of the iceberg when you see all of the names on that 2011 U.S. junior pairs roster.



No. Haven broke her knee practicing off-ice after 2015 Worlds (where she and Brandon placed 12th). Alexa/Chris (with their quad twist) placed 7th, the highest for a U.S. pairs team since Yankowskas/ Coughlin placed 6th in 2011. Prior to that, Inoue/Baldwin were 4th in 2006 on the strength of their throw 3-axel. And the last Worlds podium placement for a U.S. pair was bronze in 2002 for Ina/ Zimmerman.

Haven & Brandon had not started working on new programs when she broke her knee after 2015 Worlds. She and Brandon had split with Zimmerman and were planning to work with Ingo Steuer as their coach. But their training plans were still up in the air at the time she suffered her injury. Ultimately, they ended up not working with Steuer who had personal obligations in Germany. They missed the entire next season with Haven's surgery and rehabilitation, but courageously returned to competition in 2016-2017.

You are the one who is incorrect. In addition to her 2015 knee injury, she had a stress fracture in her ankle in the fall of 2018 that caused her and Brandon to withdraw from Grand Prix and senior B events.

Haven Denney and Brandon Frazier: 'We're motivated to get to work' in off-season - Figure Skaters Online

Last month, Haven Denney and Brandon Frazier of the United States ended their 2018-19 season with a 5th-place showing at the ISU Four Continents Championships in Anaheim, California. It was a solid finish for the American team after a challenging season.

figureskatersonline.com

 

[Chemistry66]

Video evidence of Carman/Knierim's quad twist exists even if only in practice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwCldcB1XJc

 

[yfbg722]

Brynn Carman* and A.J. Reiss placed 4th and split that same year; Carman was formerly paired with Knierim from 2006 to 2009 in novice and juniors. Carman/Knierim placed 9th at Junior Worlds in 2009 and split soon afterward. I find it questionable that they would have been practicing quad twists as junior skaters, particularly with their partnership not solidified. Maybe it's not impossible they tried a quad twist successfully in practice, but they surely never competed a quad twist in competition. If they were working on a quad twist, why did they split? Was Carman injured? Did you witness Carman & Knierim practicing a quad twist @flyingsit, or you just heard about it?

[/QUOTE]
I believe the split was due to their age difference. Chris is 7 years older than Brynn so he had aged out of junior while she still had eligibility. I'm not sure they every competed the quad but my daughter was competing pairs at that point and it was well known that they could do it.

 

[aftershocks]

That was the year Ashley Cain and Joshua Reagan won gold at US Junior Championships! Timothy LeDuc won bronze with Cassie Andrews. And those two pairs went to Junior Worlds. Ashley and Joshua came in 4th at Jr Worlds, behind Sui/Han, Stolbova/Klimov, and Takahashi/Tran.

2011 World Junior Figure Skating Championships - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Yep, I was going to run down the list and do histories, but that prior post was long enough as it is! So I'll carry on here.

Cain and LeDuc being paired back then with other partners and both reaching the podium is of course one of the main reasons that U.S. 2011 junior pairs event is so memorable. Cain/Reagan went on to compete at senior U.S. pairs in 2012, where they placed sixth. Chris Knierim also competed in seniors that year with Poapst, doing well and placing seventh. Interestingly, Alexa Scimeca competed at 2012 senior pairs with Ivan Dimitrov. As we know, Scimeca and Knierim soon split with their respective partners and joined with each other due to Sappenfield's suggestion. A match made in heaven on and off the ice:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_U.S._Figure_Skating_Championships Scroll down to senior pairs

Meanwhile, Timothy LeDuc placed 11th at 2012 U.S. senior pairs with Cassie Andrews and then split, after which LeDuc paired successfully with Dee Dee Leng for a couple of seasons. Leng/LeDuc looked very promising together. However, when Marissa Castelli & Simon Shnapir (5th at 2012 seniors & later two-time U.S. champions) split after the 2014 Olympics, as we know, LeDuc tried out with Castelli who ended up choosing Mervin Tran. Leng then paired with Shnapir, and they looked good together but they both ended up retiring very soon afterward with injuries.

After Josh Reagan decided to move on, Ash Cain continued skating singles for a few years before pairing successfully with LeDuc. Reagan paired briefly with the partnerless wonder who'd reached 6th at senior Worlds with JCoughlin: Caitlin Yankowskas. But Yankowskas/ Reagan never managed to get it together competitively. Reagan eventually paired with Canada's Brittany Jones and they competed for a few years for Canada before retiring and marrying each other. Caitlin lingered around hopefully searching for another partner and eventually ended up in Great Britain with Hamish Gaman, winning the 2015 British pairs championships. Y/G eventually split, I believe due to financial and training drawbacks. Gaman had formerly been very briefly paired with Vanessa James, before she found her pairs fortunes in France.

Getting back to 2011 U.S. junior pairs, Josh Santillan skated with Olivia Oltmanns, placing 11th. They continued competing through 2012, but split afterward because Oltmanns was growing too tall for the partnership to be fruitful. Still, Oltmanns and Santillan had a lovely quality together. Of course, Santillan later found Jessica Pfund and they are still together, battling through injuries and setbacks. Santillan/Pfund have good qualities, including consistent triple salchows.

Daniel Raad who was paired at the 2011 event with Haven Denney, also competed in men's singles for a number of years. Canadian, David Leenen (paired with Morgan Sowa at that event) is Marissa Castelli's long time significant other. Kylie Duarte & Colin Grafton were a very nice looking pair coached by Sappenfield. Duarte/Grafton were 7th at 2011 junior pairs, and won bronze at 2012 junior pairs, and then disappeared. Meanwhile, A.J. Reiss who was 4th at 2011 juniors with Carman, moved on to join up briefly with Jessica Pfund, and they placed 5th together at 2012 junior pairs (I hadn't realized that). Pfund later joined with Santillan. Reiss subsequently paired with his girlfriend who came out of retirement, Erika Smith. They were speedy and very well-matched but ran into injury and training setbacks. Retiring after 2019 U.S. Nationals, Smith/Reiss are now skating for Cirque in the new production, AXEL.

Last, but not least Jessica Calalang & Zach Sidhu were 8th in junior pairs in 2011, 4th in 2012, 2nd in 2013. They then moved on to seniors where they placed as high as 5th twice. They also had some success at senior Bs along with building expectations on the GP, prior to Sidhu experiencing back problems. Of course, Calalang & Sidhu eventually split and Calalang paired with her former training partner, Brian Johnson, who'd split with Chelsea Liu (who is now training in China with Xie Zhong, as Liu Jiaxi -- Liu had competed promisingly in seniors with Ian Meyh, at 2019 U.S. nationals, before relocating).

Whew, what a musical chairs merry-go-round, that's not unsurprisingly globally encompassing. Hopefully, the going trend is to find a good partner and stay together, like we have seen with some remarkable couples in ice dance. I wonder why there have been more long term successful partnerships in ice dance? Perhaps it's partly due to ice dance not generally exacting huge wear and tear on young bodies.

 

[oleada]

There was also video of Brynn and Chris doing the quad twist in practice (unsure if on ice or off ice). I remember seeing it, not sure if it’s still around.

 

[aftershocks]

^^ Already linked by @Chemistry66 in post #77 above.

You are the one who is incorrect. In addition to her 2015 knee injury, she had a stress fracture in her ankle in the fall of 2018 that caused her and Brandon to withdraw from Grand Prix and senior B events.

Haven Denney and Brandon Frazier: 'We're motivated to get to work' in off-season - Figure Skaters Online

Last month, Haven Denney and Brandon Frazier of the United States ended their 2018-19 season with a 5th-place showing at the ISU Four Continents Championships in Anaheim, California. It was a solid finish for the American team after a challenging season.

figureskatersonline.com

It's unclear to me that MacMadame was referencing Haven's ankle stress fracture during the 2018-2019 season. Obviously, Haven resting her ankle during the late fall of 2018 was advisable, since Haven/Brandon came back to place second at the 2019 U.S. pairs event. They'd started that seaon well, winning bronze at 2018 Autumn Classic, and placing sixth at Skate Canada. After winning silver at the U.S. championships, they went on to skate very well at 4CCs, placing fifth. Therefore, it's not as if H&B lightly skated their programs that season, which were brilliantly choreographed by Charlie White.

MacMadame had asked whether H&B had "barely used programs from the season" when Haven had an ankle injury. So the answer to that question is still, 'No.' Without stating a year, any significant injury time out reference to Haven will surely remind anyone who's followed her career, of the 2015-2016 season when she was out rehabbing her serious knee injury.

Skipping their 2nd GP event (IDF) in the fall of 2018 due to Haven's ankle stress fracture, does not equate to an abbreviated season. H&B had excellent programs by Charlie White, but they were not 'barely used.' Hopefully, we'll find out soon enough the musical and choreographic direction the new pairing of Alexa and Brandon will take.

Video evidence of Carman/Knierim's quad twist exists even if only in practice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwCldcB1XJc

Thanks for finding that! I did a search but I was unsuccessful, likely because the video was posted without their names featured in the title. Plus, where Carman's name is mentioned, it's misspelled. I should have searched YouTube under "quad twist."

It's impressive that Caman/Knierim had started successfully practicing a quad twist. That was a good effort evidencing they were on their way with that element (in the second angle, or is it the second attempt? Carman touches into Knierim's chest right after completing the fourth rotation). So why did they split? ETA: Oh I see @yfbg722 says the split was likely due to an age difference and Chris aging out of juniors. Carman was later paired with A.J. Reiss, but not for long.

 

[PairSkater12345]

I don’t have a source for this, but I was told that she was thinking about joining shows with Caydee. At this point, there are no shows, so if it’s true, that would be on hold.

Haven is a very good pairs partner with very high level skills and one weak area.What makes her real compelling is that there's a lot of talent with a lot less drama. She would have to move on from the guidance she is getting to continue. The winds have shifted and there are more men with less experience and skills. (amazing how that situation changed, that's a whole different subject lol) High level pairs girls have far less choices at this moment. Alexa was in the same situation and looking back Brandon was really the only realistic option. Given the current landscape, Haven has to choose to skate with Men that have less skills or retire. She hasn't (or they haven't) made up her mind yet.... My thought.

 

[PairSkater12345]

Yep, I was going to run down the list and do histories, but that prior post was long enough as it is! So I'll carry on here.

Cain and LeDuc being paired back then with other partners and both reaching the podium is of course one of the main reasons that U.S. 2011 junior pairs event is so memorable. Cain/Reagan went on to compete at senior U.S. pairs in 2012, where they placed sixth. Chris Knierim also competed in seniors that year with Poapst, doing well and placing seventh. Interestingly, Alexa Scimeca competed at 2012 senior pairs with Ivan Dimitrov. As we know, Scimeca and Knierim soon split with their respective partners and joined with each other due to Sappenfield's suggestion. A match made in heaven on and off the ice:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_U.S._Figure_Skating_Championships Scroll down to senior pairs

Meanwhile, Timothy LeDuc placed 11th at 2012 U.S. senior pairs with Cassie Andrews and then split, after which LeDuc paired successfully with Dee Dee Leng for a couple of seasons. Leng/LeDuc looked very promising together. However, when Marissa Castelli & Simon Shnapir (5th at 2012 seniors & later two-time U.S. champions) split after the 2014 Olympics, as we know, LeDuc tried out with Castelli who ended up choosing Mervin Tran. Leng then paired with Shnapir, and they looked good together but they both ended up retiring very soon afterward with injuries.

After Josh Reagan decided to move on, Ash Cain continued skating singles for a few years before pairing successfully with LeDuc. Reagan paired briefly with the partnerless wonder who'd reached 6th at senior Worlds with JCoughlin: Caitlin Yankowskas. But Yankowskas/ Reagan never managed to get it together competitively. Reagan eventually paired with Canada's Brittany Jones and they competed for a few years for Canada before retiring and marrying each other. Caitlin lingered around hopefully searching for another partner and eventually ended up in Great Britain with Hamish Gaman, winning the 2015 British pairs championships. Y/G eventually split, I believe due to financial and training drawbacks. Gaman had formerly been very briefly paired with Vanessa James, before she found her pairs fortunes in France.

Getting back to 2011 U.S. junior pairs, Josh Santillan skated with Olivia Oltmanns, placing 11th. They continued competing through 2012, but split afterward because Oltmanns was growing too tall for the partnership to be fruitful. Still, Oltmanns and Santillan had a lovely quality together. Of course, Santillan later found Jessica Pfund and they are still together, battling through injuries and setbacks. Santillan/Pfund have good qualities, including consistent triple salchows.

Daniel Raad who was paired at the 2011 event with Haven Denney, also competed in men's singles for a number of years. Canadian, David Leenen (paired with Morgan Sowa at that event) is Marissa Castelli's long time significant other. Kylie Duarte & Colin Grafton were a very nice looking pair coached by Sappenfield. Duarte/Grafton were 7th at 2011 junior pairs, and won bronze at 2012 junior pairs, and then disappeared. Meanwhile, A.J. Reiss who was 4th at 2011 juniors with Carman, moved on to join up briefly with Jessica Pfund, and they placed 5th together at 2012 junior pairs (I hadn't realized that). Pfund later joined with Santillan. Reiss subsequently paired with his girlfriend who came out of retirement, Erika Smith. They were speedy and very well-matched but ran into injury and training setbacks. Retiring after 2019 U.S. Nationals, Smith/Reiss are now skating for Cirque in the new production, AXEL.

Last, but not least Jessica Calalang & Zach Sidhu were 8th in junior pairs in 2011, 4th in 2012, 2nd in 2013. They then moved on to seniors where they placed as high as 5th twice. They also had some success at senior Bs along with building expectations on the GP, prior to Sidhu experiencing back problems. Of course, Calalang & Sidhu eventually split and Calalang paired with her former training partner, Brian Johnson, who'd split with Chelsea Liu (who is now training in China with Xie Zhong, as Liu Jiaxi -- Liu had competed promisingly in seniors with Ian Meyh, at 2019 U.S. nationals, before relocating).

Whew, what a musical chairs merry-go-round, that's not unsurprisingly globally encompassing. Hopefully, the going trend is to find a good partner and stay together, like we have seen with some remarkable couples in ice dance. I wonder why there have been more long term successful partnerships in ice dance? Perhaps it's partly due to ice dance not generally exacting huge wear and tear on young bodies.

Your last comment is true. The other factor is that the precision to the discipline is so exact and the unison is so key to success that it takes many years to get to the place where you are competitive. At the higher levels you have worked so hard to get the unison and compatible skills it's difficult to find the options else where. Dance couples know this all to well. At the Junior and Senior level, If you loose your partner it's good by to competitive dance.

The sport is beyond Political. You have to wait your turn and pay your dues more than any other figure skating discipline. The scoring is more subjective (not totally subjective). After you get past the really good skills and unison phase it's all about your coach, where you train and experience in front of the judges.
An attest to staying power is the Shibs. Their turn took time and must have been very difficult to keep pace with the top. I'm sure having the same A personality parents kept the goal in check.

 

[LarrySK8]

Readers Digest version:

Chris's skating life has been depressing and competition results ruined because of his inability to do triple jumps under pressure like his wife can.
Brandon's skating life has been depressing and competition results ruined because of his partner's inability to do triple jumps under pressure like he can.
Chris and Haven understand the situation and appear to have given up the fight to master these triples in competition.
The pool of available, elite level pair skaters who can perform triple jumps consistently in competition is very limited.

Hence, it made absolute sense for them to try out. The pair elements, such as the twist, the more basic lifts, pair spins and death spirals will come easily to them. I have attended elite level pair skating clinics where the partners swap for demonstrations, and all pair men and ladies can adapt the basic elements to new partners easily.

This makes sense because neither Alexa or Brandon have a partner at their level, and neither has a partner who can reliably do triple jumps in competition.

 

[clairecloutier]

Haven is a very good pairs partner with very high level skills and one weak area.What makes her real compelling is that there's a lot of talent with a lot less drama.

Haven has a lot of strengths as a skater & it's nice to see someone point this out.

Dance couples know this all to well. At the Junior and Senior level, If you loose your partner it's good by to competitive dance.

I get your drift, but this is an overstatement. Although it may be difficult to overcome a partnership split at the junior/senior level in dance, it's by no means impossible. We've seen multiple examples within the last couple quads of new dance teams that have been relatively successful relatively quickly. Examples would include but are not limited to Muramoto/Reed, Tobias/Tkachenko, Popova/Mozgov, Min first with Gamelin and now Eaton, Harris/Chan, Wolfkostin/Chen. And also this season we had Green/Parsons, who showed great ability in their first year together. (Granted, some of these teams were able to gel more quickly because they were already working with the same coaches and therefore had similar technique.)

 

[MacMadame]

I get your drift, but this is an overstatement. Although it may be difficult to overcome a partnership split at the junior/senior level in dance, it's by no means impossible. We've seen multiple examples within the last couple quads of new dance teams that have been relatively successful relatively quickly. Examples would include but are not limited to Muramoto/Reed, Tobias/Tkachenko, Popova/Mozgov, Min first with Gamelin and now Eaton, Harris/Chan, Wolfkostin/Chen. And also this season we had Green/Parsons, who showed great ability in their first year together. (Granted, some of these teams were able to gel more quickly because they were already working with the same coaches and therefore had similar technique.)

Not to mention Hubbel/Donahue and Chock/Bates. Both world medalists. Somehow I don't think they "knew" that losing their partners meant "good by [sic] to competitive dance."

 

[VGThuy]

On the other end, things didn’t work out for the partners for the most part: He-Hubbel, Emily Samuelson, etc. Although some of them retired prompting the break and search for new partners, the others were left in a lurch and tried to find new partners or did and well...

 

[VGThuy]

Double post

 

[skatingguy]

On the other end, things didn’t work out for the partners for the most part: He-Hubbel, Emily Samuelson, etc. Although some of them retired prompting the break and search for new partners, the others were left in a lurch and tried to find new partners or did and well...

It does seem that the partner that makes the decision to end the partnership is usually the one in a better position to move forward with a new partnership. Maybe it's the psychological or emotional adjustment issues, or planning before ending the previous partnership that makes the difference.

 

[hoptoad]

I want to add that I also think Haven has fab pairs skills, and I feel badly for her that her pairs career may be ending not on her own terms.

Chris and Haven understand the situation and appear to have given up the fight to master these triples in competition.

I am not aware of any signs that Haven had given up on mastering those triples and think that "but for" Alexa becoming available as a partner, she would still be competing with Brandon.

Haven is in a tough spot - it is reasonable to think that Brandon might have a better shot at making the Olympic team with Alexa, and a part of her probably wishes success for him even she can't share it. If she wants to keep competing, I hope she is able to find a suitable partner and do so.

(For my part, I have pretty much given up hope that she will ever get consistent triples back, but I'm constantly amazed at skaters who just don't quit. Nate B and Deana S also come to mind. The will to compete is strong in some of them!)