U.S. Women [#4]: How Dare You

[Sylvia]

The ISP has been updated this week -

Oops, I had posted in the U.S. Club & NQS Competitions thread in Kiss & Cry (but didn't cross-post in this thread) that Michelle Lee, Katie Shen, and Wren Warne-Jacobsen were all re-added to the ISP for this season in May/June.

Gabriella Izzo's and Kate Wang's names were removed from the ISP in late June.

I hope Kate is ok.

She's fine - graduated from her public high school in San Francisco in late May (photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cs4ZB9ESUh9/) and will begin her studies in marine biology at UC Santa Cruz this fall.

 

[Willin]

Well either she's doing a long commute to SJ daily or she's retired and going to go live her best life in college. Either way good for her!

I wonder if Gabby's was removed since she seems to be giving pair's more focus?

 

[ptvvibezz]

According to her ISU bio, Audrey Shin is now being coached by Tatiana Malinina (Ilia's mom) along with Tammy Gambill

 

[mtnskater]

According to her ISU bio, Audrey Shin is now being coached by Tatiana Malinina (Ilia's mom) along with Tammy Gambill

That’s an exciting development. Maybe working on full jump rotations??? Audrey has it all otherwise. Really like her skating.

On another note, I’m going to miss seeing Kate Wang develop as a skater if she is done.

 

[Karen-W]

JGP Bangkok entries are up and Annika Chao is listed as the USFS placeholder entry. Based upon her strong 2nd place showing at the Junior Team Cup competition a couple weeks ago, it won't surprise me if her entry is confirmed once the USFS International Assignments page is updated this week.

https://results.isu.org/events/jgptha2023_JuniorWomen.htm

Chao is confirmed! https://usfigureskatingfanzone.com/...24-international-assignments-and-results.aspx

 

[mtnskater]

I enjoyed Glacier Falls senior ladies short programs.

Loved Sonja Hilmer’s Matrix program. She really captures so many nuances in the music and her expression is great. Her edges and creative moves are such a treat. I’m always captivated. Please give her consistent jumps skategods

Love Audrey Shin’s program with the purple midriff dress and hair in a sassy braid. She is such an excellent all around skater, but the loose in the air jump positions and leg wrap issue keeps showing up when she is nervous in competition. So wish she could conquer that. She could be great. For me she is a treat to watch despite jumps issues.

Alexa Gasparotto…so put together and steadily improving. Her speed is better and her jumps are so high! And she seems to be controlling them better. Spins still need work…but great progress.

I also thought Mia Kalin looked better. A bit better posture and line. She looks taller and is growing but still improving overall.

I like Hannah Herrera. She is improving too. Better posture. Still needs more work on posture and especially hanging arms. Her program is pretty awful to me unfortunately…way too frantic, which she doesn’t need And doesn’t help her.

Elyce Lynn G. is looking quite good too. She is really an excellent all around skater already. Exciting prospects!

Courtney skated better than I expected. She seems pretty serious about the comeback.

 

[Allskate]

Gracie Gold has a release date for her book. February 6.

Gracie Gold on Instagram: "When I sat down to write my book, I wanted to offer an inside look into the high-pressure world of figure skating that’s been a second home to me since I was a kid. What came is a culmination of so much healing for me—an

12K likes, 311 comments - graciegold95 on August 2, 2023: "When I sat down to write my book, I wanted to offer an inside look into the high-pressure world of figure skating that’s been a second home to me since I was a kid. What came is a culmination of so much healing for me—an introspective...

www.instagram.com

 

[Baby Yoda On Skates]

Gracie Gold has a release date for her book. February 6.

Gracie Gold on Instagram: "When I sat down to write my book, I wanted to offer an inside look into the high-pressure world of figure skating that’s been a second home to me since I was a kid. What came is a culmination of so much healing for me—an

12K likes, 311 comments - graciegold95 on August 2, 2023: "When I sat down to write my book, I wanted to offer an inside look into the high-pressure world of figure skating that’s been a second home to me since I was a kid. What came is a culmination of so much healing for me—an introspective...

www.instagram.com

I saw US Figure Skating responded to the announcement with "Proud of you." Hmmm...

 

[coppertop1]

The way she was treated and criticized was awful. I hope she burns everything to the ground

 

[Willin]

I saw US Figure Skating responded to the announcement with "Proud of you." Hmmm...

Lol I wonder if they'll be proud of her in 6 months...

 

[her grace]

Lol I wonder if they'll be proud of her in 6 months...

Publicly, I’m sure they will be. Besides, the events described were all in the past, and they’re under new leadership and have made xyz changes. [/sarcasm] Supportive of Gold and positive about the future is the PR approach I expect them to take.

 

[VGThuy]

Publicly, I’m sure they will be. Besides, the events described were all in the past, and they’re under new leadership and have made xyz changes. [/sarcasm] Supportive of Gold and positive about the future is the PR approach I expect them to take.

Yeah, if they were smart and haven't done anything recently that would "shock" the public, then the USFS could actually use Gracie Gold's book to promote their new, improved leadership and how are a "different" USFS from the one Gold dealt with.

 

[Frau Muller]

It’ll be good publicity for the USFS now, appearances on NBC Today Show, etc. Gracie may even get into the NBC Announcing team…a new Andrea Joyce? I noticed that Andrea was recently honored by NBC; she may be moving on.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

I enjoyed Glacier Falls senior ladies short programs.

Loved Sonja Hilmer’s Matrix program. She really captures so many nuances in the music and her expression is great. Her edges and creative moves are such a treat. I’m always captivated. Please give her consistent jumps skategods

Love Audrey Shin’s program with the purple midriff dress and hair in a sassy braid. She is such an excellent all around skater, but the loose in the air jump positions and leg wrap issue keeps showing up when she is nervous in competition. So wish she could conquer that. She could be great. For me she is a treat to watch despite jumps issues.

Alexa Gasparotto…so put together and steadily improving. Her speed is better and her jumps are so high! And she seems to be controlling them better. Spins still need work…but great progress.

I also thought Mia Kalin looked better. A bit better posture and line. She looks taller and is growing but still improving overall.

I like Hannah Herrera. She is improving too. Better posture. Still needs more work on posture and especially hanging arms. Her program is pretty awful to me unfortunately…way too frantic, which she doesn’t need And doesn’t help her.

Elyce Lynn G. is looking quite good too. She is really an excellent all around skater already. Exciting prospects!

Courtney skated better than I expected. She seems pretty serious about the comeback.

just chiming in, I don’t come here anymore. I think my favorites were Sarah Everhart, and Sonja.

someone did the Halloween theme song and I thought it was brilliant. I’ve been waiting for someone to do jaws or Halloween and I thought it was awesome but she wore purple with purple gloves. I did not get it at all

I thought the Halloween music would’ve been some thing really good for pairs if Alexa and Brandon were still around

shout out to Audrey for best hair and make up however, that costume…

 

[mtnskater]

just chiming in, I don’t come here anymore. I think my favorites were Sarah Everhart, and Sonja.

someone did the Halloween theme song and I thought it was brilliant. I’ve been waiting for someone to do jaws or Halloween and I thought it was awesome but she wore purple with purple gloves. I did not get it at all

I thought the Halloween music would’ve been some thing really good for pairs if Alexa and Brandon were still around

shout out to Audrey for best hair and make up however, that costume…

I forgot to mention Sarah Everhart. She really improved too since last year. Jumps were quite good. She needs more expression and less fabric on her skirt, but good improvements from last year. I’ll be interested to see how she develops.

And I also forgot to mention there were too many over the boot tights at this event. Just no!

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

and less fabric on her skirt

I understand what you mean about this, but when so many skaters look identical to one another I appreciated something different. Kind of remind me of a Irinas dresses

 

[moonvine]

It’ll be good publicity for the USFS now, appearances on NBC Today Show, etc. Gracie may even get into the NBC Announcing team…a new Andrea Joyce? I noticed that Andrea was recently honored by NBC; she may be moving on.

Gracie is still competing this season. Although I guess by late February the season will be done. Unless one is going to Worlds.

 

[Karen-W]

Gracie is still competing this season. Although I guess by late February the season will be done. Unless one is going to Worlds.

Apart from her still being listed on the ISP, do we have any reason to believe she plans on competing this season?

 

[moonvine]

Apart from her still being listed on the ISP, do we have any reason to believe she plans on competing this season?

Yes. This is translated from Ice Jewels, Volume 18 which is a Japanese skating magazine.

"Q: Who else is on the coaching team?
JW: My right-hand person is Megan Stewart, who I've trained with since I was a kid, and I trust her. One other person is not yet decided, but I plan to hire a male coach. The three of us will work together to give the students the reassurance that they will always be supported. Gracie (Gold) was originally planned too, but she wanted to continue competing so (she?) prioritised that. I need a coach who will be there full-time."

Also there is this article about Road2Gold. https://www.vaildaily.com/news/olym...oad-to-gold-ice-skating-camp-returns-to-vail/

Key takeaways:

"Fankhauser said Gold, who is still competing, has plans to publish a memoir this winter. She’s excited to see how the 27-year-old weaves her personal, but universal, mental health takeaways into a narrative filled with some pretty serious athletic achievements. Fankhauser believes it will “be more than just a book about a figure skater.”

""With the Road to Gold season winding down to allow Gold more energy for focusing directly on her training and competition schedule, the camp will travel to Tulsa, Oklahoma on Aug. 5 and Exton, Pennsylvania at the end of November. Vail — for obvious reasons — always sticks out as a unique destination. Fankhauser cherishes the daily commute along the mountain stream from her condo to Dobson Ice Arena."

 

[Coco]

Well it makes sense, it's a good way to promote the book.

 

[moonvine]

Well it makes sense, it's a good way to promote the book.

I don't care why she is doing it, as long as she is doing it!

 

[Hedwig]

I don't care why she is doing it, as long as she is doing it!

As long as she loves doing it especially. Good for her.

 

[emilieh]

I saw US Figure Skating responded to the announcement with "Proud of you." Hmmm...

the entire USFS media team has turned over. some of the roles have even turned over twice since Gracie was in her most competitive era. anyway, I'm confident that the person who is responsible for the social media is quite new to usfs, but she's not new to skating.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Ava for SkAm!!!!!

Great cranberry short program score

 

[her grace]

Junior GP Selections Thoughts

U.S. Ladies earned 1 entry in each JGP at last year's Junior Worlds, and IIRC, picked up 1 additional spot in one of the later JGPs, so not a lot of total assignments to work with this season.

The US has selected so far
Chao (JGP#1)
J. Lee (JGP#2)
Lin-Gracey (JGP#3)

At some point soon, I hope that they would save assignments in case one of the competitors earns a second assignment. I would require a medal for that simply because there's so few assignments available.

Who else might be chosen? USFS seems to put a lot of emphasis on doing well at Junior Team Cup, so Kalin and Everhardt would be next in line from that competition.

Junior Team Cup results (athletes in bold have been selected)

1	Elyce Lin-Gracey, Pasadena FSC	188.55	1	1
2	Annika Chao, Glacier Falls FSC	176.43	4	2
3	Mia Kalin, St. Moritz ISC	170.31	3	4
4	Sarah Everhardt, Washington FSC	170.19	2	5
5	Soho Lee, Glacier Falls FSC	162.14	9	6
6	Josephine Lee, All Year FSC	161.33	10	7
7	Cleo Park, Glacier Falls FSC	159.02	7	9
8	Logan Higase-Chen, Broadmoor SC	158.24	12	8
9	Sherry Zhang, Glacier Falls FSC	154.56	5	11
10	Teryn Kim, Glacier Falls FSC	151.55	18	3
11	Katie Shen, Glacier Falls FSC	150.81	11	10

Cranberry Open just happened, and Shen and Higase-Chen would also be potential choices.

1	Katie SHEN	USA	163.52	2	1
2	Logan HIGASE-CHEN	USA	162.69	3	2
3	Josephine LEE	USA	156.71	1	5

Finally, Sylvia has compiled a list of the best NQS scores from this season. As of July 29,

Current top 10 NQS Junior Women's scores after the first 4 competitions:
Sherry Zhang P1 182.44 (Glacier Falls NQS, 1st in group B); 154.56 (US Jr. Team Cup, 9th)
Logan Higase-Chen M1 175.06 (Glacier Falls NQS, 1st in group A); 158.24 (US Jr. Team Cup, 8th)
Jessica Jurka M2 173.57 (Detroit NQS 1st in A); 139.22 (US Jr. Team Cup, 15th)
Annika Chao P2 172.71 (Glacier Falls NQS, 2nd in B); 176.43 (US Jr. Team Cup, 2nd)
Keira Hilbelink P3 168.74 (Glacier Falls NQS, 2nd in A); will be ISU Junior age-eligible in 2024-25
Jiaying Ellyse Johnson M3 166.37 (Detroit NQS, 2nd in A); 150.24 (US Jr. Team Cup, 12th)
Cleo Park P4 156.05 (Glacier Falls NQS, 3rd in A); 159.02 (US Jr. Team Cup, 7th)
Ella Kim P5 154.03 (Glacier Falls NQS, 4th in A)
Teryn Kim P6 151.11 (Glacier Falls NQS, 5th in A); 151.55 (US Jr. Team Cup, 10th)
Maria Platonova E1 150.18 (Charleston NQS, 1st in A)

Zhang is leading that list with a high score and could also be selected.

 

[Karen-W]

If I had to guess, I'd say Mia Kalin and Sarah Everhardt are likely to get one each, which would be 5 out of the 8 spots. After that... Zhang and Higase-Chen, maybe? But, my suspicion is that their assignments would be placeholders that, along with the 8th spot, go unconfirmed until after at least JGP Budapest. Should more than one of the first three ladies win gold or silver, then they'll get a 2nd assignment, if not then Zhang then Higase-Chen get an assignment. I tend to think Shen is the least likely to get a JGP, but we'll see. It also could be that Zhang and/or Higase-Chen are selected before Kalin or Everhardt. Who the heck knows?

 

[Karen-W]

As I thought likely, Mia Kalin was assigned to JGP Osaka.

Lombardia Trophy entries are also out - Ava Ziegler is the only US woman, with Hannah Herrera as the only substitute. After Cranberry Cup, they seem to be the two most likely contenders for the SkAm TBD spot and this seems to confirm that line of thinking.

 

[Karen-W]

Shin, Tennell and Thorngren are assigned to Autumn Classic.

 

[Vagabond]

Shin, Tennell and Thorngren are assigned to Autumn Classic.

Ma, Malinin and Murzin are assigned to Autumn Classic.

Does USFS just go down its lists and make assignments in alphabetical order?

 

[Karen-W]

Does USFS just go down its lists and make assignments in alphabetical order?

I'm thinking it's up the list...

Ziegler
Thorngren
Tennell
Shin

Torgashev
Pulkinen
Naumov*
Murzin
Malinin
Ma

*seems like there could be some sort of minor injury he is dealing with since he WD from Cranberry Open.