2025-26 USFS International Assignments

While I'm grousing, wish they would have waited to assign the last JGP spot at UAE in ice dance until after Calhoun/Zheltyshev competed here in AZE. They are knocking on the podium after the RD and clearly look like a two-spot team to me.
 
her grace said:
Coats is confirmed for UAE for women.

USFS is really spreading out the assignments. Von Felton is only skater so far who has received two, which seems shortsighted to me. Only one assignment left to assign.
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The USFS made it clear last season that they were not going to give 2nd assignments to anyone who did not medal at their 1st JGP. Sophie Joline is the only US woman to have medaled so far & they're being very consistent in not handing out 2nd assignments until you've demonstrated you can deliver results.

IMO, it's paying off for them. The men have 1 TBD spot still and they're now in a position to give it to Farrington, who has posted the 2nd highest score for the US men on the JGP so far & earned a bronze medal, despite not having a Jr Cup or NQS score that would have suggested he was capable of delivering so well in his first major international assignment.

I actually question the USFS' decision to give Fugate/Fugate the 2nd JGP Abu Dhabi dance spot before Calhoun/Zheltyshev had a chance to compete, and wonder if they'll regret it should CalZhel pull up for a medal tomorrow.

My expectation is that the USFS will wait to confirm the last Abu Dhabi women's spot until after Kaya Tiernan competes next week. Coats was next on my list of potential JGP assignment recipients since the USFS didn't include Madison Chong as an alternate for any of the JGPs. If Tiernan doesn't medal (not likely) then I think it may go to Rachel Samiri.
 
I think the last women's spot should go to Chao. And I would have been fine with Shao and Bezkorovainaya getting a second as well. It's not like the US only had 7-9 spots this year. Reward your best performers with a second assignment and each of the skaters performed extremely well in their first event even if they didn't medal.
 
her grace said:
I think the last women's spot should go to Chao. And I would have been fine with Shao and Bezkorovainaya getting a second as well. It's not like the US only had 7-9 spots this year. Reward your best performers with a second assignment and each of the skaters performed extremely well in their first event even if they didn't medal.
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Eh. I could see an argument for giving both Chao and Bezkorovainaya a 2nd assignment, and I think I probably would have over sending Coats, but I don't think it's very likely given how firm the USFS has been in NOT giving skaters who fail to medal at their 1st JGP a 2nd assignment.
 
Karen-W said:
The USFS made it clear last season that they were not going to give 2nd assignments to anyone who did not medal at their 1st JGP.
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…
Karen-W said:
I actually question the USFS' decision to give Fugate/Fugate the 2nd JGP Abu Dhabi dance spot before Calhoun/Zheltyshev had a chance to compete, and wonder if they'll regret it should CalZhel pull up for a medal tomorrow.
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I do appreciate that USFS sets their criteria for these assignments, then honors them when skaters meet the criteria, whether it’s the best decision or not.

That being said, C/Z were much stronger in the RD in LP so we’ll see how much they’ve improved in two months. I’m just impressed that in such a deep dance field, they found an assignment for a new team who
hasn’t made it to Nationals.
 
TheOGSkateGuard said:
…


I do appreciate that USFS sets their criteria for these assignments, then honors them when skaters meet the criteria, whether it’s the best decision or not.
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If they set a medal as the requirement for ladies, it doesn’t make much sense when you have a full complement of spots. Other strong countries like Japan let their 4th-placers get a second assignment. Even countries with fewer spots prioritize their best skaters getting two, e.g, Switzerland. So the other countries’ juniors are gaining experience, name recognition, a second chance to medal, and world standing points, and the U.S. would rather dig deeper into its ranks and send its 11th or 12th best skaters?
TheOGSkateGuard said:
That being said, C/Z were much stronger in the RD in LP so we’ll see how much they’ve improved in two months. I’m just impressed that in such a deep dance field, they found an assignment for a new team who
hasn’t made it to Nationals.
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There’s only 2 American ice dance teams returning to the JGP this season. Five of the assigned teams haven’t made it to nationals at the junior level: Two new pairings and three teams up from novice.
 
AngieNikodinovLove (ANL) said:
Which reminds me, are the Mullens and the Peals senior now? Because I haven’t seen them on the entry list for squat.
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Yes, they are seniors. They both competed at Lake Placid International with Peals finishing higher. But no room at the inn for Challenger assignments. They’ll need to beat teams like Cui/Rogers and Koncius/Shchepetov if they want to go anywhere and higher ranked teams than those to get on GP.

ETA: if USFS is still doing the self-funded internationals, that would be another way to get out there in international competition.
 
her grace said:
If they set a medal as the requirement for ladies, it doesn’t make much sense when you have a full complement of spots. Other strong countries like Japan let their 4th-placers get a second assignment. Even countries with fewer spots prioritize their best skaters getting two, e.g, Switzerland. So the other countries’ juniors are gaining experience, name recognition, a second chance to medal, and world standing points, and the U.S. would rather dig deeper into its ranks and send its 11th or 12th best skaters?

There’s only 2 American ice dance teams returning to the JGP this season. Five of the assigned teams haven’t made it to nationals at the junior level: Two new pairings and three teams up from novice.
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Well, the difference is that a Japanese or Korean woman who finishes 4th at their Nats/selection competition, can usually be expected to be competitive for the podium. Chao and Bezkorovainaya are the ONLY US women apart from Sophie Joline who have posted a 173+ score at their JGPs - Annika's 175.75 would have been good enough for bronze at JGP Riga, while Sofia would have missed out on the podium by .17 there with her 173.50; and Shao's the only other woman with a 170+ score (from Riga where she placed 5th). Maybe an argument could be made to give those three another JGP, but... Eh...
 
Yeah I don’t see a Gracie Gold like skater ending up with jgp aka 2012
 
marshallpond said:
John Nicks, Tayside, Mezzaluna Cup, Robin Cousins, Bolero Cup, Warsaw Cup, Tallinn Trophy, Santa Claus Cup etc. are all self funded internationals
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Why would Warsaw Cup or Tallinn Trophy be self-funded for seniors? Those are Challenger Series events. Warsaw hasn't had juniors in years.

I can see John Nicks and Tallinn Trophy junior skaters/teams having to self-fund, but it would surprise me if the USFS expected the senior skaters assigned to those Challengers to self-fund.
 
Karen-W said:
Why would Warsaw Cup or Tallinn Trophy be self-funded for seniors? Those are Challenger Series events. Warsaw hasn't had juniors in years.

I can see John Nicks and Tallinn Trophy junior skaters/teams having to self-fund, but it would surprise me if the USFS expected the senior skaters assigned to those Challengers to self-fund.
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The ANL Athletic Cup is funded by the harem I heard

🤭
 
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Karen-W said:
Well, the difference is that a Japanese or Korean woman who finishes 4th at their Nats/selection competition, can usually be expected to be competitive for the podium.
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I meant that if Japan's skater finishes 4th at the JGP, they still get a second assignment. It's odd if USFS is holding its skaters to a higher standard than the top jr-women-skating nation.

Karen-W said:
Chao and Bezkorovainaya are the ONLY US women apart from Sophie Joline who have posted a 173+ score at their JGPs - Annika's 175.75 would have been good enough for bronze at JGP Riga, while Sofia would have missed out on the podium by .17 there with her 173.50; and Shao's the only other woman with a 170+ score (from Riga where she placed 5th). Maybe an argument could be made to give those three another JGP, but... Eh...
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I think an 170+ score is a good indicator of "deserving" a second assignment, particularly if that's what your 2nd-best American lady can score. Yeah, maybe it's off the podium in top 5, but USFS also needs to compare those results to what a lower-ranked American would achieve. Is sending 11th-best American Jr lady to finish 18th a better use of the spot? I think not.
 
her grace said:
I meant that if Japan's skater finishes 4th at the JGP, they still get a second assignment. It's odd if USFS is holding its skaters to a higher standard than the top jr-women-skating nation.


I think an 170+ score is a good indicator of "deserving" a second assignment, particularly if that's what your 2nd-best American lady can score. Yeah, maybe it's off the podium in top 5, but USFS also needs to compare those results to what a lower-ranked American would achieve. Is sending 11th-best American Jr lady to finish 18th a better use of the spot? I think not.
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Gotcha. That makes more sense.

And I tend to agree, based on what we're seeing out of Kim & Johnson this week. I have my worries about Tiernan & Coats. Like I said, I could make a reasonably sound argument that Shao, Chao & Bezkorovainaya should have received the last 3 TBD assignments based on the 170+ scores they achieved in their first JGPs.
 
My concern is that someone needs to go to junior worlds and help fight for spots, especially with Sophie (as a front runner) is still inconsistent and susceptible to callers.

Maybe USFS is betting on sending Elyce or even Sarah back to juniors, but they should have other options with experience, which is why I agree that USFS should favor giving ladies who have a decent shot at the junior world team a second assignment over an 11th or 12th ranked skater.
 
Tayside entries/results link is FINALLY available on their Sportity app - http://www.iceresultsuk.org.uk/Dundee/2025/TaysideTrophy/CAT001EN.htm

Men - Kovar, Savary (good for him!), Xie
Women - Bonillo (good for her!), Gasparotto
Pairs - Fitzpatrick/Bearinger, Liu/Bedard, Plazas/Fernandez, Williams/Lewer
Jr Men - Brooks, Elano, Meghavoryan
Jr Women - Ogorelkoff
Jr Pairs - Kaplan/Griffin, Kerr/Herbert, McDanold/Felberbaum, Taich/Apter
 
haribobo said:
Happy for the Tayside entries for all, but especially Alina Bonillo and Liu/Bedard who really should be at least 1st alternate for a SkAm spot...
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Agreed! The USFS really jumped the gun on filling those women's TBD spots at SkAm. ShiNagy aren't confirmed on the USFS Int'l Assignments page for the SkAm host TBD spot yet, so I think there's still a chance that LiuBed wind up with a SkAm assignment.
 
Karen-W said:
ShiNagy aren't confirmed on the USFS Int'l Assignments page for the SkAm host TBD spot yet, so I think there's still a chance that LiuBed wind up with a SkAm assignment.
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Like others have speculated, it appears that USFS might have reached an ISU deadline so they had to name someone.

Skate Canada's Slipchuk was quoted as saying:

shutterbug said:
Rob Brodie interview with Uliana Shiryaeva: Making time for a grand appearance:
"We kind of looked at where people are at right now because we have to make the decision (on SCI) by the 15th of September.

“So it wasn’t like we had any luxury to wait until further events. We had to make a decision at that point. So we just went on summer events and how people skated at the high performance camp and we just made a decision from there.”
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If USFS had the same deadline for SA, I will begrudgingly admit that choosing lower-ranked skaters like Shin/Nagy and Kapeikis to provisionally fill the spots was the right choice. USFS can easily trade them out for higher-ranked skaters later if those skaters meet whatever internal standards USFS has set for Challengers and it gives those higher-ranked skaters time to get a first/second assignment off the alternate list, e.g, McBeath/Parkman.

Kapeikis had a pretty good showing at his Challenger so he might get to keep the SA spot; Shin/Nagy have had two dismal international performances and don't deserve it more than Chan/Howe or Liu/Bedard.
 
her grace said:
Like others have speculated, it appears that USFS might have reached an ISU deadline so they had to name someone.

Skate Canada's Slipchuk was quoted as saying:
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I noticed that as well - and it makes sense since the USFS, Skate Canada, JSF and Finnish fed all filled their TBD spots at the same time.
her grace said:
If USFS had the same deadline for SA, I will begrudgingly admit that choosing lower-ranked skaters like Shin/Nagy and Kapeikis to provisionally fill the spots was the right choice. USFS can easily trade them out for higher-ranked skaters later if those skaters meet whatever internal standards USFS has set for Challengers and it gives those higher-ranked skaters time to get a first/second assignment off the alternate list, e.g, McBeath/Parkman.
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My only concern about choosing ShiNagy is that they are no longer listed on the GP Alternates List since they were provisionally given the SkAm TBD spot and it's, technically, their 2nd GP. They're so far down the list that they aren't likely to move up, but if I'd been the USFS, I'd have used LiuBed or FitzBear instead as neither had any GP assignments at all and that would have at least kept ShiNagy on the GP Alternates List as well (and the Pairs field is, per usual, getting decimated from the initial GP assignments).
her grace said:
Kapeikis had a pretty good showing at his Challenger so he might get to keep the SA spot;
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I think so too, but I'm a bit worried that if Camden winds up withdrawing from CoC (his only GP) he may wind up with the SkAm host spot if the USFS thinks he's healthy enough.
her grace said:
Shin/Nagy have had two dismal international performances and don't deserve it more than Chan/Howe or Liu/Bedard.
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Nope, but I do think ChanHowe are probably going to pick up a 2nd GP elsewhere; but I'd give the spot to LiuBed, for sure.
 
USOPC Team USA media summit ahead of 2026 Games will be held on Oct 28-29 in NYC.

FWIW: Glenn, Liu, Jason Brown, Chock, and Bates are on the athlete list (subject to change; last updated Sep 25).
The figure skaters are scheduled together for a group press conference and a group roundtable.
Plus one-on-one interviews with individual media outlets usually are held, IIRC.

"The event is strategically timed to mark the 100-days-out milestone to the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 on Oct. 29."

I think Grand Prix assignments could be having some effect on which figure skaters are or are not listed for the media summit?
(France, Oct 17-19; China, Oct 24-26; Canada, Oct 31-Nov 2; Japan, Nov 7-9; USA, Nov 14-16; Finlandia, Nov 21-23.)

BTW, in past Olympic cycles, NBC Today show and other NBC platforms have marked 100 days out with Team USA athlete appearances.
Plus the public has been invited to participate in a USOPC celebration in Times Square. Athlete appearances, sponsor booths, and such. I hope it will be happening again.
(For example: In 2017, Toyota had a free DIY-type station where fans could line up to create their own designs that then were printed on site on a tote bag or water bottle. Nathan Chen was shown on one of the ginormous screens in Times Square. Glimpses of Max Aaron and Jason Brown were in a USOPC video on another giant screen. Good times.)
 
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Karen-W said:
Why would Warsaw Cup or Tallinn Trophy be self-funded for seniors? Those are Challenger Series events. Warsaw hasn't had juniors in years.

I can see John Nicks and Tallinn Trophy junior skaters/teams having to self-fund, but it would surprise me if the USFS expected the senior skaters assigned to those Challengers to self-fund.
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This list is for juniors
 
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