U.S. Pairs 2019-20 season - News & Updates, Part X

[DimaToe]

I am sure all team selections for worlds can be justified one way or another, but when your discipline is depleted it is foolish to dismiss rising talent for those with the “most potential” or the teacher’s pet. Other pairs have had their shot and it seems odd to keep on giving pairs with more experience more and more opportunities instead of testing the waters with a newer pair. There is more to gain than to loose. Were it to backfire it’s not like it hasn’t happened before and it gives that pair experience instead of having the veteran teams underperform yet again. Just my thoughts.

 

[VGThuy]

And it becomes a cycle. Keep giving the same teams Worlds berths even if they place lower than newer ones because they have experience and the newer ones don’t even though the newer teams are showing similar scoring potential based on that fall season. That said, if next season has a similar trajectory for the teams, I doubt BOW will save a team again unless one of the teams medals at Worlds or something.

 

[shan]

I don't know if this has been posted anywhere, but here's an interview with Calalang/Johnson about their amazing FS at Nationals.

“No One Can Take That Moment Away From Us”: Calalang and Johnson Head to Four Continents After U.S. Championships Silver - U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone

For Jessica Calalang and Brian Johnson, their free skate at the 2020 Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships was a lesson in staying calm.

usfigureskatingfanzone.com

 

[Carolla5501]

I’m a little shocked that the fact that the K’s missed the side by side jumps is now the reason they missed the spin. If that was the case then how did they do Spins in all these other events? because the times that they land side by side jumps are so rare that it’s hard to believe missing them suddenly is a shocking occurrence. This is not Nathan Chen suddenly only being able to only land double jumps.

Of course I’m also a little shocked that everyone keep saying they have world-class elements, and yet they consistently can’t land the side by side jumps . It’s like we’re only looking at part of the elements

 

[Jammers]

I think moving forward it's time to look to younger teams like C/J for the future and the Olympics in 2022. K/K have had numerous chances and can't ever put it together.

 

[mtnskater]

I too am very excited about Calalang and Johnson and not happy about USFS decision to take Cain-Gribble and LeDuc to Worlds. To my eyes Calalang and Johnson have a superior twist, far better lifts, more reliable throws and overall more power. I too think we will see Calalang and Johnson as the US leading team going into the next Olympics. The talent is clearly there and rising rapidly. I hope USFS is investing just as much in them with resources like RAF and Szolkowy as they are in Cain/LeDuc. I’m sad 4CC is the last time we’ll see C & J this season. They’ve got some good momentum going. Congratulations to them for an excellent breakout season.

 

[nylynnr]

It’s kind of hard for me to see the decision being clear cut from the criteria when we don’t know how much each competition is weighted and how the placements are weighed for each competition in each tier.

Each competition in each tier is weighted equally.

 

[VGThuy]

Each competition in each tier is weighted equally.

But how does that quantify with the other tiers and placements within each competition?

 

[nylynnr]

But how does that quantify with the other tiers and placements within each competition?

The first tier weights the competitions in it equally, as do the other two. The first tier is worth more than the second; the second more than the third. You are correct in that specific percentage are not assigned, i.e., a Grand Prix in the second tier counts 20% versus a Challenger in the 3rd tier 10%. There is absolutely wiggle room. Phil agrees with you -- check out his article on his website.

This season, the committee decided what C-G & L did over the past two seasons, gave them the nod over C & J. I don't know that agree -- I think there is something in going with the "hot hand," so to speak. But, call it political, call it unfair, call it an outrage, that's what it did, and there are criteria in place that justified it. Now, let's see if C & J are called upon as first alternates.

 

[haribobo]

For a team like the Knierims, I would choreograph any next element at least 10 seconds after a jumping pass, knowing how they struggle so mightily with those.

 

[Sedge]

They were okay on everything else aside from the sbs jumps and the really detrimental lapse on the spin

The throw was very bad despite 2 judges giving it a +3, particularly on the replay angle.

 

[olympic]

Top ranked US pair teams could get away for the past couple of decades with being a disaster on an element, if they were decent or world-class on everything else. The US has always had 1-2 teams that could land in the top 10 at Worlds (with 2018 being one exception off the top of my head), but really no one else. So, there never was a challenge to remove those top team(s) with their flawed element from moving on to Worlds. For example, go back to the 90s when Meno / Sand and Ina / Dungjen had SBS jump issues, or Inoue / Baldwin last decade. The US always had at least 2 spots, and there really wasn't a team just below them to push them as examples off of a Worlds team. So, these teams with certain flaws went year after year after year. There certainly have been teams with promise that threatened to upset the apple cart, but they never panned out.

This year, there were 3-5 teams (based on performances up until Nationals) that could realistically have made the team. That is a much bigger number than what we've seen in decades. It has led to a serious and spirited discussion about which teams will represent the US at Worlds, but I find it fascinating and in the end, IT IS good news! We have for the first time several teams that will probably push each other, but to get a leg up, a team MUST be stronger on all elements overall.

 

[yeslek]

The throw was very bad despite 2 judges giving it a +3, particularly on the replay angle.

Very bad?

 

[Spiralgraph]

Top ranked US pair teams could get away for the past couple of decades with being a disaster on an element, if they were decent or world-class on everything else. The US has always had 1-2 teams that could land in the top 10 at Worlds (with 2018 being one exception off the top of my head), but really no one else. So, there never was a challenge to remove those top team(s) with their flawed element from moving on to Worlds. For example, go back to the 90s when Meno / Sand and Ina / Dungjen had SBS jump issues, or Inoue / Baldwin last decade. The US always had at least 2 spots, and there really wasn't a team just below them to push them as examples off of a Worlds team. So, these teams with certain flaws went year after year after year. There certainly have been teams with promise that threatened to upset the apple cart, but they never panned out.

This year, there were 3-5 teams (based on performances up until Nationals) that could realistically have made the team. That is a much bigger number than what we've seen in decades. It has led to a serious and spirited discussion about which teams will represent the US at Worlds, but I find it fascinating and in the end, IT IS good news! We have for the first time several teams that will probably push each other, but to get a leg up, a team MUST be stronger on all elements overall.

Amen. We haven't had a serious "competition" among US teams in a long long time. Even though I favor C-G/L and Kayne/O'Shea I know that I should support any team that skates well at other events and at Worlds. US pairs in general have been so fragile that any success for one team gives me hope for all the others and the teams who will follow them in the seasons to come.

 

[Lacey]

Not wanting in any way to sound ridiculous, but we still haven't had "family illness" clarified, was it a member of Knierim's families' illness or their own? I know the tweet was deleted, but perhaps since there might be a diagnosis, there would be no need to alarm but a reason.

There is plenty of flu going around, also other named and unnamed viruses, plus there could be vertigo--all of which could cause a skater to have trouble with jumping (I know, don't blame) or spinning.

(And if one of a pair is sick, perhaps the other could get it later.)

I wonder if the mess on the spin by Chris was a result of the previous sbs jumps or was he himself sick?

I am going to withhold judgment until we hear from them. Something's missing here...

 

[yeslek]

Not wanting in any way to sound ridiculouos, but we still haven't had "family illness" clarified, was it a member of Knierim's families' illness or their own? I know the tweet was deleted, but perhaps since there might be a diagnosis, there would be no need to alarm but a reason.

There is plenty of flu going around, also other named and unnamed viruses, plus there could be vertigo--all of which could cause a skater to have trouble with jumping (I know, don't blame) or spinning.

(And if one of a pair is sick, perhaps the other could get it later.)

I wonder if the mess on the spin by Chris was a result of the previous sbs jumps or was he himself sick?

I am going to withhold judgment until we hear from them. Something's missing here...

Their isu withdrawal also states family illness

 

[Sedge]

Very bad?

Off axis in the air, reach for the ice , slow coming out...probably not one they'd like to do at Worlds.You can usually count on their throws even if the jumps have been a problem

 

[stjeaskategym]

I’m a little shocked that the fact that the K’s missed the side by side jumps is now the reason they missed the spin.

I'm guessing Chris slipped on the entry to the spin because ice is slippery and sometimes you slip. Why did Michael Marinaro practically bellyflop on the ice in the LP? Why did Daria Pavliuchenko completely wipe out at the GP Final? There doesn't have to be a reason, sometimes random things happen. There are so many different types of elements crammed into a pairs program, there are bound to be random fluke errors at times, especially with 2 people on the ice.

I think moving forward it's time to look to younger teams like C/J for the future and the Olympics in 2022. K/K have had numerous chances and can't ever put it together.

The 2nd Worlds spot wasn't even between C/J and K/K, so what does this even mean? We should get rid of all of our pairs, have C/J go at it alone and be the savior of US pairs? It always works out so well when we try to anoint the latest US pair as the next big hope, just as many fans did with Cain/LeDuc last season, or with any pair who happens to skate one clean program at US Nationals as if it's the most important event of the year (see Kayne/O'Shea in 2016).

C/J only have two scores above 190 in their entire competitive history (one of which was at an empty Sr B), only two LP scores above 119, only two SP scores above 62, and have just started to land any jumps, but we should dismiss all our other pairs because they can't get it done and C/J can? That's how you end up with no pairs at all, which is the case for most countries. And good luck to C/J trying to skate well if we heap ALL the pressure on them. This season, everything was new for them and they didn't have to skate under the burden of any expectations. It's much easier to be in their position than it is to be in the Knierims' position, where everything they do is scrutinized by the peanut gallery.

Why is it not possible to be supportive of more than one US pair at a time? We can't ever get 3 spots without 2 pairs working together. So why do we need to discredit the Knierims to prop up C/J? Sorry to those who wanted C/J to win Nationals (or wanted K/K to lose because you don't like Alexa's personality, which is the case for at least one person in this thread), but Alexa and Chris's win was well deserved. They also outscored C/J by 18 points at Skate Canada, and they have a substantially better scoring history in general. So again, why do we have to tear them down to prop up C/J? We should be supporting both teams.

It's totally understandable to believe that C/J deserve Worlds over C/L. But it seems tasteless to hope K/K are suffering from something terrible because you see it as the only avenue for C/J to get to Worlds, nor does that actually give the US its best chance. If C/J are that good, they will have plenty of opportunities in the future. I'm also confused by the person who thinks that if you withdraw from 4CC, you should be removed from the World team. That's not how it works; 4CC is an optional event. Skaters like Nathan and Mariah didn't even attend, and Worlds isn't even until March 18. Back in 2013, K/K withdrew from 4CC due to injury, and they ended up skating very well at that Worlds. There's a long time in between events.

There's a small chance that K/K and C/L could earn 3 spots at Worlds. It's not something we should ask of them because the pairs field is crowded at the top with 3 Russian pairs and 2 Chinese pairs, but if it happened, I wouldn't be that shocked. But they definitely shouldn't read message boards like this.

Of course I’m also a little shocked that everyone keep saying they have world-class elements, and yet they consistently can’t land the side by side jumps . It’s like we’re only looking at part of the elements

But it's entirely true the Knierims have world class elements, and that doesn't change whether they land jumps or not. I'd put their pair elements up against anybody's. To me their twist is the best in the world. They can do throw 3F and throw 3Lo as huge as any great pair in the world. They are a highly skilled and athletic team, which doesn't grow on trees in the US. There are 11 elements in a pairs FS, only 2 of which are jumps. They could literally leave out the jumping passes and still post decent scores. When they land the jumps, it feels like a bonus. In some ways, they are our Tarasova/Morozov-- inconsistent, but if they put it together, the scores will be gigantic.

I find some of K/K's current jumping issues (mostly Chris; Alexa is a fantastic jumper when her head is on straight) exacerbated by this new Rafael technique/pattern they're doing. I'm not sure if taking Chris so far away from what feels natural is the best approach, but they're trying it. I'm concerned they will get so frustrated with Raf's radical changes that they will just quit instead of maybe just scaling back a bit and realizing Raf's way isn't the only way. For some reason, they switched their SP jump to 3T this season, when the 3S has been a much more comfortable jump for Chris in competition. Especially given that he stood up and rotated most of his 3S last season, why take it out of their SP? Their 3Ts are getting better, but I'm not sure why it's in both programs already. You can tell the Raf technique feels foreign to Chris and he's had issues with the timing of it, so he's ended up popping more than usual. Raf's technique isn't one you master overnight. And I don't think their jumps actually needed radical changes. If you get K/K in a good headspace and they don't rush, they will land a decent number of jumps.

 

[Carolla5501]

Well the slip on the entrance of the spin makes a lot more sense than some other comments I’ve seen where it appears that people think Chris lost focus because he missed the side by side jumps

I feel like the two missed elements are unrelated.

As for Chris and the jumps I know that Raf says it takes at least two years to master his techniques. I think the question is do they have two years left?

 

[stjeaskategym]

Off axis in the air, reach for the ice , slow coming out...probably not one they'd like to do at Worlds.You can usually count on their throws even if the jumps have been a problem

It wasn't their ideal throw, but Alexa held on on one foot, and to call it very bad is quite an exaggeration. A "very bad" throw is one that lacks height and/or distance and falls. Their throws have great height and distance every time which is why they may still get good GOE even if the landing isn't perfect.

 

[aftershocks]

You know, if missing the SBS jumps was some sort of fluke for them and that caused the lapse of concentration on the spins, I could give it a pass the same way many of us gave Tim a pass on the re-position of his pivot during their DS at Nats that cost them all the points on that element. But, errors on the SBS jumps for Alexa and Chris are so freakin' common that everyone reacts in shock when they DO land them successfully. As common as those jump errors are, I'm not giving Chris any pass for a lapse on the SBS spins as an effect of the jump error. You want to give away crucial points on the SBS jumps every program, you do that, but you darn well better bring it on the rest of the elements if you want to have any chance at being competitive.

Heck, no disagreement with the above. But I reiterate: the point of my previous post in response to your prior comment is that the entire program was not a 'mess.' OTOH, it was completely deflating and messy for Chris to allow himself to miss on that sbs spin. That kind of miss on a basic element that should not be difficult is hugely undermining after the failure on the sbs jumps. Problems do happen on spins because ice is slippery, and jumps can be missed, but it's very problematic for both things to happen when the pressure and the heat is on.

Regarding the jumps, my point is that a lot of the top teams had problems on their jumps. The difference is the necessity to make sure the miscues do not get into your mind and prevent you from focusing on the next element and finishing out the program as strong as possible. Since trying to rework and get stronger on the jumps is a work-in-progress for the Knierims and the heat and attention is on them regarding their jumps, they need to find a way not to stress when they miss their jumps. And at the same time, don't give in to failure in advance. Fight for the jumps, and if you miss, move on with strength and focus.


ETA:
I don't know though what it is that Alexa & Chris are dealing with under the surface. Has it been too much attention on their mistakes, and the difficulties they've faced trying to get better and facing enormous challenges? Not to mention the dismissive comments about them being favored? Or is it a combination of that along with disappointment in them having trouble living up to their talent after coming back from Alexa's life-threatening illness? I think there has been a huge amount of snark directed toward the Knierims that has been uncalled for.

A contrasting example for me is how Canadians treat their skaters when they are in a down period. There's not a huge amount of rubbing their skaters noses in their mistakes. There's just a bit more support and understanding that Canadians tend to have for all of their skaters. With the odd exception, Canadians tend to love their skaters unconditionally.

 

[aftershocks]

I’m a little shocked that the fact that the K’s missed the side by side jumps is now the reason they missed the spin.

Seriously? All of us are making assumptions. None of us are inside the Knierims' heads. Plus, I didn't say the missed jumps is 'the reason' for the missed spin. The reason probably has more to do with taking a wrong step and slipping off the entry into the spin. The reason for taking a wrong step is anyone's guess. My point once again is that any skater who misses a jump has to be prepared to forget it, not get down on themselves, and be prepared to fight for the rest of the program which is obviously easier said than done, and not just for the Knierims.

ETA:
I posted my reply prior to seeing that @stjeaskategym had already responded in the same way to your apparent 'shock.' Thanks stjeaskategym for sharing your logic and common sense.

Other pairs have had their shot and it seems odd to keep on giving pairs with more experience more and more opportunities instead of testing the waters with a newer pair.

Yeah, but I'm not sure what you are trying to say since in the aftermath of 4CCs, everyone has been focusing on the Knierims' poor showing at 4CCs. The issue of Worlds assignments is a different matter that was already decided. The Knierims finished first and were apparently going as the winners. If you want to debate the scoring at Nationals, that's another topic. The decision for the second spot apparently was between C/J/, K/O, and C-G/L. As I've said plenty of times already, I was surprised by the choice. Still, I was never sure that C/J were automatically going to be sent to Worlds. I thought the decision might be between C/J and K/O. And as much as I absolutely love C/J, I think the U.S. has a lot of good teams and I wasn't going to be put out by any choice that was made.

In the aftermath of what happened at 4CCs, for those fans who are doubly unhappy with the Worlds assignments, the only thing to do is put a petition together. Bitching and arguing in this thread solves nothing and helps no one.

If the argument is about U.S. fed making different Worlds assignment choices other than medalists at Nationals, again that's an argument we've been having since the BOW policy was put in place, and even before it was put in place. No figure skating fan is going to be completely satisfied all of the time, every time. That's unheard of.

 

[aftershocks]

The throw was very bad despite 2 judges giving it a +3, particularly on the replay angle.

Now we're going to nitpick over how Alexa landed the jump. The jump and the landing was more successful than the way many pairs ladies end up pulling out jump landings. It is the discretion of judges to decide how they are going to score elements that aren't exactly perfect. Some top skaters often get breaks and solid GOE on landings that are fought for and not perfect.

Alexa's landing was okay. It did not get huge GOE. When judges vary, that means the element was not spectacular but it also wasn't 'very bad.' The jump WAS landed without serious issues. Alexa's free leg did not touch the ice, even though it came down close to the ice. I've seen that happen before with plenty of pairs ladies. I do not know what you are trying to get at by saying the jump was 'very bad.' It could have been better, but it wasn't bad, and it's not even worth pissing about. The only thing I can think is that some of you seem to hate Alexa/Chris for whatever reason.

I feel like the two missed elements are unrelated.

We don't know. Taking a bad step and missing the spin entry is obviously the reason. But loss of focus could lead to a bad step.

It is common knowledge how difficult it can be to recover from an error in a skating program and get back into a rhythm with complete focus for the next element, and the next. Try it some time yourself.

We've all seen skaters recover quickly after a mistake and end up completing their program strongly. And we've seen everything in between, including skaters losing focus after serious errors and then making mistakes on easier elements they are trained to do in their sleep.

I think the question is do they have two years left?

What do you mean exactly? There are two years till 2022 Olympics. We have no idea what the Knierims' trajectory for improving their jumps will be while training with Raf.

Your question reminds me of how after Adam Rippon did not make the Olympics in 2014, U.S. fed appeared to have written him off, judging by how they scored him in the sp at 2015 Nationals. Thankfully, Adam had already decided he was not going to be phased out, not even after his foot injury in 2016-17.

In the end, it's not up to U.S. fed and it's not up to fans, it's down to each individual athlete finding out what they're made of.

 

[NAOTMAA]

I am sure all team selections for worlds can be justified one way or another, but when your discipline is depleted it is foolish to dismiss rising talent for those with the “most potential” or the teacher’s pet. Other pairs have had their shot and it seems odd to keep on giving pairs with more experience more and more opportunities instead of testing the waters with a newer pair. There is more to gain than to loose. Were it to backfire it’s not like it hasn’t happened before and it gives that pair experience instead of having the veteran teams underperform yet again. Just my thoughts.

Their whole pairs selection since the BOW argument entered the conversation is all based on "most potential" and what's "on paper" and not actually what's on ice. They cling to the flash in a pan moments and hope that somehow it becomes a norm even though time and time again it proves a disappointment. That's why the overall appearance of the US pairs program remains stagnant for so long. It's the same group of teams over and over and only includes new teams when an old team is no longer available.

C/J could have scored a little higher at 4CC with what they did but didn't because they didn't have the reputation. Part of that is because they are still new but also because the USFSA have been slow to embrace them. Just look at how fast the Russian fed. embraced B/K and the difference it's made on their scores this season. C/J have been rising all season long while the Knierims remained as inconsistent as ever and C-G/L consistently underperformed. Yet the the USFSA instead of jumping on what's currently hot (and they should since as you said with everything in the dumps there is more to gain then lose by taking a chance) they still cling. Cling to the hope that the Knierims can repeat their nationals SP again and cling to the scoring potential that C-G/L have even though both have only been living up to it on ice once in a blue moon while C/J are held down simply because they are new.

This season is the best season to take the risk on a newer pair like C/J because it's a not as important as others. They can't take risks next year because that's the pre-Olympic season that decides the number of spots for the Olympics. They lost a chance to give the new team, that showed great potential all season long, valuable experience in a year where much wasn't at stake for teams that have been tested over and over with little results (yes C-G/L did excellent last season but the key word there is last. What have they done this year?). The USFSA only have themselves to blame if US pairs keep going nowhere.

 

[her grace]

For everyone who is concerned about 4CC results, it's not uncommon for the best athlete from U.S. nationals to have a subpar 4CC. The turnaround is brutal and peaking back-to-back is hard. For example, Karen Chen was national champion in 2017 and then underperformed at 4CC (the worst of the 3 American entrants), but she turned it around for worlds and finished 4th.

Why is it not possible to be supportive of more than one US pair at a time? We can't ever get 3 spots without 2 pairs working together. So why do we need to discredit the Knierims to prop up C/J? Sorry to those who wanted C/J to win Nationals (or wanted K/K to lose because you don't like Alexa's personality, which is the case for at least one person in this thread), but Alexa and Chris's win was well deserved. They also outscored C/J by 18 points at Skate Canada, and they have a substantially better scoring history in general. So again, why do we have to tear them down to prop up C/J? We should be supporting both teams.

It's totally understandable to believe that C/J deserve Worlds over C/L. But it seems tasteless to hope K/K are suffering from something terrible because you see it as the only avenue for C/J to get to Worlds . . .

I agree with a lot of what you wrote. While I disagree with the world team selection, I'm not a fan of assignments being yanked. The last thing USFS needs is to become more like Marta Karolyi with an iron grip on selection and deselection and no accountability. K/K and C/L are the team and should remain so unless some injury prevents their attendance.

My only quibble is that

we should dismiss all our other pairs because they can't get it done and C/J can? That's how you end up with no pairs at all

I don't think the USFS has lost any pair teams because fans have grumbled about controversial selections or anointed a new team the next big thing. USFS has lost pair teams that they've deliberately skipped over for post-season assignments, e.g., Castelli/Tran and Stellato/Barthalomay. Those teams heard the "retire already" message loud and clear.

 

[wickedwitch]

For everyone who is concerned about 4CC results, it's not uncommon for the best athlete from U.S. nationals to have a subpar 4CC. The turnaround is brutal and peaking back-to-back is hard. For example, Karen Chen was national champion in 2017 and then underperformed at 4CC (the worst of the 3 American entrants), but she turned it around for worlds and finished 4th.



I agree with a lot of what you wrote. While I disagree with the world team selection, I'm not a fan of assignments being yanked. The last thing USFS needs is to become more like Marta Karolyi with an iron grip on selection and deselection and no accountability. K/K and C/L are the team and should remain so unless some injury prevents their attendance.

My only quibble is that


I don't think the USFS has lost any pair teams because fans have grumbled about controversial selections or anointed a new team the next big thing. USFS has lost pair teams that they've deliberately skipped over for post-season assignments, e.g., Castelli/Tran and Stellato/Barthalomay. Those teams heard the "retire already" message loud and clear.

I totally agree with so much of this post. However bad the initial assignments were, the USFSA cannot pull assignments. It would be violating their own rules. The 4CC following Nats is not one of the competitions that is part of the criteria. If they change the rules in the future to say that 4CC can be used as a skate off, then they can use it as a criteria. But that has not happened.

I also agree that USFSA has sent messages to teams to go away (and I'm still irate about C/T). I don't think that's what's happening with C/J; I think it's more about rewarding C-G/L for getting two spots back. I expect C/J to get a ton of support next season. The reasons they had for not supporting C/T or S/B, however stupid, don't apply with C/J.

 

[aftershocks]

the USFSA have been slow to embrace them.

Huh? How are you reaching this conclusion exactly??? Because C/J didn't get the Worlds assignment?

If that's your reasoning, it seems to me that your thinking on this is rather faulty. C/J were picked for Skate Canada, and then they got Skate America. Before the season started, they won Skate Detroit and later in the season, they won Warsaw Cup. C/J also placed fifth with a very good score at their first U.S. Nationals as a team, last year. I don't see any evidence that U.S. fed are being 'slow to embrace' C/J. In what universe?

Did you read the recently posted U.S. fan zone article on C/J written ahead of 4CCs?

C/J speak about how they competed in a 'skate-off' at Champs Camp:
"[Calalang/Johnson weren't] initially guaranteed two Grand Prix assignments. They were assigned to Skate Canada, and were a late-summer addition to Skate America after they attended Champs Camp and proved their mettle.

'We had to do a little skate-off, which was… fun,' Calalang said with a laugh. 'All the other teams just had to show their programs, and we actually had to be prepared. Really prepared. Which, I mean, it worked out. We're a new team. We have to pay our dues. We have to put in the work. We have to prove ourselves.'"

While C/J surely would have been stoked to be assigned to Worlds, apparently they are keeping their heads on straight and trying to stay on an even keel and be prepared for all the opportunities that do come their way.

Jessica's perspective on their silver medal at U.S. Nationals:
"'This was our second year together. We weren't skating perfect at every competition, but we were training really hard at the rink, day in and day out. It all paid off to have that moment. No one can take that moment away from us.'"

Brian reflects on their silver medal performance and their 4CCs assignment:
"Even more satisfying than winning a spot at the highest-level event of their careers is doing so on the back of a nearly flawless performance. 'I think if you skate well, it always means a lot more when you make a team.' Johnson said."

 

[aftershocks]

US pairs in general have been so fragile

I agree with the main points in your earlier post. However, I personally would not characterize U.S. pairs as 'fragile'. Perhaps that's been fans' perception. My view is that U.S. pairs have been resilient. There have been talented U.S. teams for awhile, but unfortunately many of them have faced injury and illness problems which slowed their momentum and forward development in recent years (Knierims; K/O; D/F; Calalang/Sidhu; Pfund/Santillan; Smith/Reiss -- now retired).

The Knierims and D/F hung in, didn't give up and have showed signs of overcoming a lot of challenging adversity. K/O have had a number of injury setbacks and obstacles, but in general they have shown resilience and consistency. P/S have been courageous and steadfast in holding onto their dreams and trying to overcome their injury setbacks. Zack Sidhu tried mightily but he was unable to overcome a back injury, which led to his split with Jessica and her eventual tryout with training partner, Brian Johnson, who had split with Chelsea Liu. And who knew? Magic materialized when Jessica & Brian came together. Meanwhile, the formation of Ash/Timothy and Deanna/Nate should not be underestimated as being instrumental in building competitiveness and improvement among U.S. pairs.

Fortunately, there have been good signs of U.S. teams improving and becoming stronger competitively (despite ups-and-downs). This positive turnabout in some part appears to be due to U.S. fed taking more of an interest in actively encouraging and supporting the growth of the pairs discipline in the U.S.

 

[Marco]

Bravo to Calalang & Johnson. Consistency is so rare for US pairs. What a mistake for USFS to have not named them for Worlds. All other teams have been so inconsistent for years. It was probably smarter to leave naming of the team til after 4CCs. With the Knierims and C&L, the second spot might be at stake again...

Having said that, I hope Knierims aren't experiencing anything super serious. I for some reason kept thinking she might have gotten pregnant.

 

[kwanfan1818]

the USFSA cannot pull assignments

They can and should if there's a serious enough injury involved.

This isn't specific to the Knierims. See Flatt, Rachael, which is why there was a lack-of-disclosure slap on the wrist.