British Skating News, 2022 and beyond

[miffy]

It's a bit of a shame that the October qualifier is the same week as the POL2 JGP - it would be nice if they were sent to that, so that all three of the British junior pairs teams received a JGP assignment this year.

Lucy and Kyle must be doing the second one - I read they are going to Poland, and they are only listed as subs for the first.

It will be exciting to hopefully have 3 pairs teams in Junior at Nationals!

 

[Sylvia]

I'm blanking... has GBR ever had a JGP medal in ice dance before, anyone know?

 

[Belsornia]

I'm blanking... has GBR ever had a JGP medal in ice dance before, anyone know?

Not to jinx Phebe and James this afternoon, but no.

We've had a silver (Alan Street) and two bronze (Matthew Davies, Ed Appleby) from the men and another bronze (Jenna McCorkell) in ladies.

I was wondering about this the other day, and I think the best GB JGP results in dance to date are seventh place finishes from Olivia Smart / Joe Buckland and Sasha Fear / George Waddell - though I didn't go back and check every JGP results list, so I could be overlooking someone.

 

[litenkyckling]

I can't get over how much Phebe and James have improved since last year. I loved their FD last year so wasn't sure if this would be as good but it really suits them!

Amazing!

 

[morqet]

I loved B/H's FD. It shows off their long lines & wouldn't look out of place in a senior event. Really promising for the rest of the season!

It's great to see Penny and Nick having success as coaches too. They were both very thoughtful and honest about their own strengths and weaknesses when they competed & it seems that's translating well to working with Phebe and James.

 

[Belsornia]

I don't like B/H's FD as much as I like their RD (my favourite of the season, so far) - which is partly personal preference, of course, but also I don't think the softer and more abstract style fits their skating and where they currently are presentationally as well as the stronger style of movement. I understand why they may have wanted a contrast with the RD though, and it's great that we have up-and-coming teams already showing good versatility (Ash and Atl too), especially since that isn't Lilah and Lewis' strength.

It's great to see Penny and Nick having success as coaches too. They were both very thoughtful and honest about their own strengths and weaknesses when they competed & it seems that's translating well to working with Phebe and James.

Penny and Nick were my favourites, so I'm really happy to see them doing well as coaches. From the outside, the main disadvantage seems to be the lack of other elite teams to train with, so hopefully the good work Penny and Nick have done with Phebe and James will encourage another team or two to go to them.

And it's great to see so many skaters from the 07-10 quad (IMO the best for British dance) still involved in the sport and supporting each other and their teams - especially after all the at the time.

 

[Sylvia]

Mark Hanretty interviewed Bekker/Hernandez with coach Nick Buckland after the JGP Ostrava medal ceremony : https://twitter.com/BritishIceSkate/status/1566368094590832641

https://twitter.com/x/status/1566368094590832641

 

[Sylvia]

Sarah (of AnythingGOEs) "talked to British ice dancers Phebe Bekker and James Hernandez about their off-season and their programs" [before they competed in Ostrava) - this 26-min. video was uploaded on Sept. 3, 2022: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FU47pcSL1lA

 

[SandraMGfan]

BIS is accepting volunteer applications for the Grand Prix in Sheffield until Friday 26th August at 5pm:

Volunteer for the ISU Grand Prix - Sheffield 2022

Play a part in one of the biggest figure skating events to ever come to the UK!

www.iceskating.org.uk

Just heard I had been accepted and will be contacted for more details on which role soon. Anyone else applied?

 

[Belsornia]

Tao MacRae is on the start list for the international competition at the Tayside Trophy (competition thread) so looks like he's got his release from USFS.

BIS have published the selection criteria for this season's ISU championships. No significant changes since last season, just doing away with the pandemic work arounds: selection will be based on the sum of a skater/team's two highest international scores in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons plus their score at the 2022 British Championships - though the selection panel can then apply their absolute discretion.

Bekker/Hernandez can sub in their JGPF score ( first ever GB skaters at a JGPF!) in place of the British Championships, assuming less then a week between events is close enough to count as a clash. If Fear/Gibson qualify for the GPF they automatically get the Euros/Worlds spots - but who else would BIS send anyway.

BIS have also published the competitor list for the British, but only on the Sportify app they've started using for event management, not on their website... Anyway no real surprises. This is shaping up to be a great season for our top senior and junior dancers, but behind them the fields are looking very shallow and very few young teams coming through: 3 teams in senior dance, 5 in juniors, 1 advanced novice and 1 intermediate novice. I do hope some of the dancers currently looking for partners have success soon.

More positively: full podiums in junior and advanced novice pairs! And we're up to 6 senior and 12 junior men.

 

[Sylvia]

Tatjana Flade interviews British Ice Dance Champions Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson (after they won Nebelhorn Trophy on September 26, 2022; Copyright 2022 by Ice Skating International Online): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erv859HfHBE

 

[antmanb]

Not really skating news but thought i'd ask in here - do we in the UK get the ISU youtube feed this year for the GPs?

 

[skatingguy]

Not really skating news but thought i'd ask in here - do we in the UK get the ISU youtube feed this year for the GPs?

Is this video available?

 

[antmanb]

Is this video available?

No sadly not

 

[morqet]

Not really skating news but thought i'd ask in here - do we in the UK get the ISU youtube feed this year for the GPs?

Nope I think the only option is a Discovery+ subscription for £6.99/month.

 

[skatingguy]

No sadly not

Nope I think the only option is a Discovery+ subscription for £6.99/month.

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[litenkyckling]

Discovery plus for now (they’ve taken over Eurosport) but apparently either this season or next skating will be moving to viaplay (launches in the UK November 1st). They will also have some football (mostly European plus some Scottish leagues I believe), hockey and more. It will be £14.99 a month (but that includes their entertainment package too).

 

[miffy]

I saw there was skating scheduled for overnight tonight on the Eurosport player.

 

[Belsornia]

Ash & Atl (/their parents) have started a Go Fund Me. It wouldn't meet all their expenses, of course, but I was hoping they'd get some support from the new UK Sport funding - they seem like obvious candidates. But maybe they're not eligible, since funding is for the Olympic cycle and Ash will be too young for Milano Cortina.

The only other GB skaters Go Fund Me I'm aware of: Lydia Smart / Harry Mattick, who are also completely self-funded. (Invest in a pairs programme, BIS!)

 

[Belsornia]

Ed Appleby’s ISU bio has John Kerr listed as one of his choreographers this season. Anyone know which of his programmes John did?

 

[Aceon6]

I half watched the MKJW gala this afternoon. The junior girl who led off was quite pleasing to my eye. Can some kind person fill in her details for me? Will she be old enough to unseat Natasha soon?

 

[miffy]

Alexa Severn is 14, so not old enough yet And she turned 14 after the cut off.
She was on the JGP this year, she placed 28th at her event with a PB of 116.36. She’s one of the more promising juniors but does have a way to go yet. I’m not sure Natasha will still be competing by the time Alexa reaches seniors!

 

[Karen-W]

Alexa Severn is 14, so not old enough yet And she turned 14 after the cut off.
She was on the JGP this year, she placed 28th at her event with a PB of 116.36. She’s one of the more promising juniors but does have a way to go yet. I’m not sure Natasha will still be competing by the time Alexa reaches seniors!

What's the minimum age to compete seniors at British Nationals?

 

[miffy]

What's the minimum age to compete seniors at British Nationals?

If there is one I don’t know! But I think the majority of skaters tend to stay junior as long as possible - Edward is a notable exception

I read an article where BIS said they approved of the new ISU age rule changes but of course that doesn’t necessarily mean they’d do the same.

 

[miffy]

The entries are out for British Nationals, but I notice a couple of previously listed as qualified entries are missing: Elena Komova was qualified in senior women and Sophia Bushell/Alex Lapsky in junior dance. I guess they must be injured?

(There are probably more skaters that qualified that are not listed as entries, those are just ones I noticed weren’t there).

British Figure Skating Championships 2022

Event results for British Figure Skating Championships 2022

www.johnds.org

 

[Belsornia]

The entries are out for British Nationals, but I notice a couple of previously listed as qualified entries are missing: Elena Komova was qualified in senior women and Sophia Bushell/Alex Lapsky in junior dance. I guess they must be injured?

That's disappointing. I don't hope that anyone is injured, but I really hope that Bushell/Lapsky haven't split. I thought they showed potential last year - they had a higher FD base value than Bekker/Hernandez - despite some not great programmes.

ETA: They’ve split. Sophia is on IPS.

The good news is that it looks like both Fear/Gibson and Bekker/Hernandez are planning to compete, even though it's less than a week before the (J)GPF. And last year's senior men bronze medallist Elliot Thompson wasn't on the original list but is now included.

 

[Belsornia]

Ahead of the British Championships, here's my tally of how things stand against the selection criteria for this season's ISU Championships (sum of top two scores at any ISU internationals in the 2021-2022 or 2022-23 seasons plus British Championship 2022 score).

Dance and pairs are straightforward, with fewer teams with tech minimums than spots available. Likewise junior ladies where only Arabella Sear-Watkins has both minimums.

Senior ladies is interesting: Natasha McKay leads the pack thanks to some good scores early last season, Nina Povey has the best results this season, and Kristen Spours is the only one with the Worlds tech minimums. My guess is that Tash will go to Euros, Nina will go to some more seniors Bs in search of that SP minimum, and Kirstin will take Tuktamisheva's record for longest gap between World Championships appearances.

I was thinking that Graham Newberry and Ed Appleby were pretty evenly matched this season, but it turns out that Graham is streets ahead in the selection critera thanks to his scores at the World Championships and Britannia Cup. So whatever happens this week it looks like Graham will be off to Euros and Worlds and Ed will get another trip to Junior Worlds. Which looks like the junior men will just be fighting it out for the glory of the national title - potentially a good competition, with six guys with similar PBs but similarly inconsistent track records.


Senior Women
1. Natasha McKay 330.29 = 167.75 (Tayside Trophy 2021) + 162.54 (Finlandia Trophy 2021) [needs Worlds SP and LP minimums]
2. Kristen Spours 320.93 = 162.34 (Triglav Trophy 2022) + 158.59 (Tirnavia Ice Cup 2021)
3. Nina Povey 317.36 = 160.44 (Skate Celje 2022) + 156.92 (Ondrej Nepala Memorial 2022) [needs Worlds SP minimum]
Elena Komova 265.71 = 139.05 (Budapest Trophy 2021) + 126.66 (Golden Spin 2021) [needs Worlds SP and LP minimums] [not competing at British Championships]
*4. Rebecca Gillespie 224.84 = 117.48 (Britannia Cup 2022) + 107.36 (Tallinn Trophy 2022) [needs Worlds SP and Euros/Worlds LP minimums]

Senior Men
1. Graham Newberry 421.47 = 211.07 (Britannia Cup 2022) + 210.40 (World Championships 2022)
2. Edward Appleby 375.68 = 190.69 (Tayside Trophy 2021) + 184.99 (Tayside Trophy 2022) [needs Worlds LP minimum]
*3. Ken Fitterer 329.85 = 167.57 (Volvo Open 2022) + 162.28 (Egna Spring Trophy 2022) [needs Euros/Worlds SP and Worlds LP minimums]
4. Brandon Bailey 313.44 = 164.13 (Britannia Cup 2022) + 149.31 (Tayside Trophy 2022) [needs Worlds SP and LP minimums]
*5. Henry Privett-Mendoza 307.65 = 156.58 (Tayside Trophy 2022) + 151.07 (Volvo Open 2022) [needs Euros/Worlds SP and Worlds LP minimums]
*6. Elliott Thompson 282.93 = 147.02 (Tayside Trophy 2021) + 135.91 (Britannia Cup 2022) [needs Worlds SP and Euros/Worlds LP minimums]

Senior Pairs
1. Anastasia Vaipan-Law / Luke Digby 306.79 = 158.93 (Tayside Trophy 2021) + 147.86 (Warsaw Cup 2022)
*2. Lydia Smart / Harry Mattick 254.62 = 127.50 (Ice Challenge 2022) + 127.12 (Lombardia Trophy 2022) [need Euros/Worlds SP minimum]

Senior Ice Dance
1. Lilah Fear / Lewis Gibson 415.78 = 209.18 (Skate Canada 2022) + 206.60 (Nebelhorn Trophy 2022)

Junior Women
Elena Komova 251.04 = 130.02 (Budapest Trophy 2021) + 121.02 (JGP Krasnoyarsk 2021) [needs SP minimum] [not competing at British Championships]
1. Arabella Sear-Watkins 247.96 = 125.35 (Crystal Skate 2022) + 122.61 (Coupe du Printemps 2022)
*2. Alexa Severn 233.68 = 117.32 (Ice Challenge 2022) + 116.36 (JGP Solidarity Cup 2022) [needs LP minimum]

Junior Men
Edward Appleby 366.87 = 184.46 (European Youth Olympic Festival 2022) + 182.41 (JGP Courchevel II 2021) [not competing Junior at British Championships]
1. Freddie Leggott 293.65 = 147.62 (JGP Egna 2022) + 146.03 (Budapest Trophy 2021)
*2. Lucas Fitterer 286.08 = 143.21 (Viktor Petrenko Cup 2021) + 142.87 (Volvo Open 2022) [needs LP minimum]
*3. Jedidiah Lincoln 279.96 = 153.01 (Bellu Memorial 2022) + 126.95 (Open d'Andorra 2022) [needs LP minimum]
*4. Conor Bray 267.04 = 142.29 (Ice Challenge 2022) + 124.75 (Budapest Trophy 2022) [needs LP minimum]
*5 Arin Yorke 144.27 = 144.27 (Tayside Trophy 2022) [needs LP minimum]
*6. Tao MacRae 137.55 = 137.55 (Tayside Trophy 2022) [needs LP minimum]

Junior Ice Dance
1. Phebe Bekker / James Hernandez 318.40 = 159.55 (JGP Czech Skate 2022) + 158.85 (JGP Solidarity Cup 2022)
2. Ashlie Slatter / Atl Ongay-Perez 250.94 = 129.42 (JGP Riga 2022) + 121.52 (JGP Egna 2022)

 

[miffy]

Wow thank you @Belsornia for putting that together!

So sad Sophia and Alex have split, they seemed promising for how new he was to dance.

I’m Tash doesn’t have the Worlds minimums, I wasn’t expecting that. I presume they would leave Worlds open for her to try to get them at Euros if she wins Nationals as well as having the highest international score?

Would Edward’s senior men’s score qualify him under the criteria for Junior Worlds?

I think it’s so sad we only have one senior dance team when we have 2 Euros and Worlds spots At least we have the 2 teams for the Junior Worlds places, or that would just make it more depressing!

I’m guessing Lydia and Harry will get another international to try to get the SP mins for the 2nd world spot. Were they anywhere close to it?

 

[morqet]

Thanks @Belsornia

I really want Nina or Kirsten to get the chance to go to Euros - it's only Natasha's 2021 season that's keeping her ahead. Her 2022 scores have her well behind the others & I'd rather see the ones who've stepped up this season get a shot. Nina particularly has made huge progress.

 

[Belsornia]

I’m Tash doesn’t have the Worlds minimums, I wasn’t expecting that. I presume they would leave Worlds open for her to try to get them at Euros if she wins Nationals as well as having the highest international score?

I’m pretty dubious about Tash’s ability to get the new SP minimum, given her jump content. She had an excellent SP at GP Sheffield, with all level 4 spins and steps and positive GOE across the board, and was still over two points short.

I really want Nina or Kirsten to get the chance to go to Euros - it's only Natasha's 2021 season that's keeping her ahead. Her 2022 scores have her well behind the others & I'd rather see the ones who've stepped up this season get a shot. Nina particularly has made huge progress.

I do think that she has the highest quality skating of the three contenders by quite some way - from that perspective she fitted right in with the GP field - and that has kept her ahead (along with her ability to mostly deliver when it counts) but she never got back 3 flip, or really 3 lutz after the pandemic. A 3 loop - 2 toe, 3 sal, 2 axel SP plus the inevitable massively telegraphed pop/fall/downgrade on the lutz attempt in the FS doesn’t really cut it with the current international criteria.

Anyway, not to be too down on Tash: I always enjoy her skating a lot and she looked like she was having the time of her life at GP Sheffield. I’m so glad she had that opportunity (too bad Nina or Kristin couldn’t have too).