2025-26 U.S. Ice Dance News, Updates & Discussion - Backstreet Boys & Spice Girls

[angi]

Congratulations to Christina!! Very happy for her. Does this mean she can stop having to commute back and forth daily from London to the US to maintain residency requirements? And just stay in London for a better schedule? Or did she already stop this a while ago?

Phebe Bekker commented on her post "Congratulations!!! Go get that apartment girl" so I guess many people are thinking about that

 

[Karen-W]

Congratulations to Christina!! Very happy for her. Does this mean she can stop having to commute back and forth daily from London to the US to maintain residency requirements? And just stay in London for a better schedule? Or did she already stop this a while ago?

No residency requirements once she has US citizenship, so she can stop making that commute anytime she wants now.

 

[skatingguy]

The irony that now that she has US citizenship she can live in Canada again.

 

[marshallpond]

Very interesting that she got her US passport during her oath-taking. Normally, you only get the Certificate of Naturalization, which is what you will show when you apply for a US passport (a separate process from the oath-taking). They really fast-tracked her application! Good for her.

 

[vireo]

Whew! Very happy and relieved for Christina. She has represented the USA very well for years and deserves the opportunity to earn one of the olympic spots.

 

[barbk]

I have very mixed feelings about the acceleration of citizenship for athletes when people going through the regular processing often have to wait weeks or months between passing the test and taking the oath and then waiting again to get a passport.

 

[Karen-W]

I have very mixed feelings about the acceleration of citizenship for athletes when people going through the regular processing often have to wait weeks or months between passing the test and taking the oath and then waiting again to get a passport.

Because Christina's path has been SOOOO accelerated that she's only represented the US for a dozen seasons now and made so many sacrifices already to maintain her residency in the US in order to finally receive her citizenship. It's such a darn shame that right here, finally at the end of the process, the process was slightly accelerated in order for her to be able to represent the US at the Olympics.

Here's a GREAT article from NBC Olympics that gives more information and details than we'd previously known about the experience she's had.

Christina Carreira earns U.S. citizenship, takes one step closer to her Olympic dream

Two-time national silver medalists, Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko spent years navigating the citizenship process so the pair could represent the United States at the Olympics. This week, their immigration struggles concluded.

www.nbcolympics.com

 

[kwanfan1818]

I am thrilled for her: she must be so relieved!

 

[DreamSkates]

Nope. I think at best, we’ll see them at Finlandia and Nationals. At worst, NHK is it. Most likely, NHK and Nationals just for the attention. It’s not like the USFS needs them and whatever positive exposure they could have brought ice dancing was destroyed by that LiveBarn video.

I personally did think they were the best team out of Chock/Bates and Hubbell/Donohue back in 2018, and I still think that, at their best, they are better than them. However, they’re not close to being back at that physical conditioning to even adapt to ice dance in 2026 because they’re not back to that 2015-2018 standard. I mean look at their low levels here.

They needed more seasons under their belt to get back into the rhythm of things and to be back in Olympic-level shape to have that endurance to do more. Most importantly, they need a real ice dance coach who has been coaching in this Olympic cycle(s) to tell them exactly what they need to do and how to train the IJS elements this go around.

I’m not saying I want them to continue because after what Alex revealed of himself, I don’t want to see him having a public presence again. However, had they taken this a lot more seriously and had more self-awareness I can’t help but wonder how much they could have improved and accomplished because I do think they had such solid foundations and potential to do so much more with their skills. At least, having a real coaching team would give them more than Coldplay.

Now, it’s clear that their hubris and inability to go beyond their comfort zone has limited them as dancers and athletes. The way they went about this whole comeback was just idiotic, and everyone was right that it had “desperate” written all over it.

Maia needs to live her own life as I can’t help but think she’s been attached to Alex’s hip all this time just because he needs someone to listen to his nonstop nonsense all of the time.

That said, conceptually, I think they have the best RD of the season. Too bad they went about their training and comeback in the worst way to make them not strong enough to execute it to where it is competitive ready as it should be. What a waste.

They were listed recently as going to Finlandia.
The video didn't ruin ice dancing for everyone. I haven't seen it nor do I want to know what is on it. Sad to hear that it was negative.
US has strong dance teams already, and I wish the Shubitabi's all the best. They will likely move on after this season and not likely represent the US at the Olympics.

 

[Tinycities]

I have very mixed feelings about the acceleration of citizenship for athletes when people going through the regular processing often have to wait weeks or months between passing the test and taking the oath and then waiting again to get a passport.

Christina is the last person that would have gotten accelerated. She applied in 2018 originally.

 

[marshallpond]

Despite her many accomplishments and the help of senators/other powers that be, they still made her wait the mandatory 5 years from getting permanent residence to qualify to apply for naturalization, though the application for naturalization must have been fast tracked. She got her green card November 2020, so she could have applied for naturalization only this month.

I am also in the process of applying for naturalization, and I applied for naturalization in May 2025 (though I've been eligible for more than a decade). I was scheduled for an interview/exam on October 14, and I'm still waiting for the schedule for my oath-taking (though I got a notice this morning that the letter with the schedule has been mailed). For her, the whole process of application submission, biometrics, exam/interview and oath-taking, took a couple of weeks at most.

Having gone through the nail-biting process of visa applications (obviously, mine is not the athlete of extraordinary ability visa LOL) that required help from powers-that-be, I am so happy for her. I know that road from St. Clair to London Ontario and that's miserable during winters, and for her to drive that distance every single day she trains is just incredible. Hats off to her! And yes, she deserves to have some huge celebration for getting that citizenship!

 

[PRlady]

As someone married to a naturalized citizen, who only had to wait three years from Green Card to citizenship, I can tell you the process is nerve-wracking and expensive no matter what. Congrats to Christina and I hope someday there will be an America to be proud of.

 

[jlai]

I have very mixed feelings about the acceleration of citizenship for athletes when people going through the regular processing often have to wait weeks or months between passing the test and taking the oath and then waiting again to get a passport.

I gathered her paperwork for the green card was horrendous so perhaps that evened out

 

[HeatherC]

So happy for Christina!!!

 

[Jammers]

I wonder if the waiting for her citizenship has been a bit of a weight on her mind this season as we got closer and closer to the Olympics and she still didn't have her passport and it affected her skating? With the shutdown lasting as long as it did she had to be a bit nervous about it even if her people were telling her it would get done soon.

 

[jackson]

As someone married to a naturalized citizen, who only had to wait three years from Green Card to citizenship, I can tell you the process is nerve-wracking and expensive no matter what. Congrats to Christina and I hope someday there will be an America to be proud of.

dramatic delivery. I am proud to be an American now so is the majority of the country. #facts

 

[Sylvia]

Congrats to Emilea & Vadym on qualifying for the Grand Prix Final for the first time! Silver in China & Bronze in Finland (24 points) and they have won the combined scores tiebreaker (202.27+196.02 = 398.29) for the 6th spot.

 

[Rhumba d’Amour]

Congrats to Emilea & Vadym on qualifying for the Grand Prix Final for the first time! Silver in China & Bronze in Finland (24 points) and they have won the combined scores tiebreaker (202.27+196.02 = 398.29) for the 6th spot.

Plus—we have to assume now that they are going to the Olympics. Don’t forget that!

 

[Allskate]

I'm so happy for Z&K medaling at Finlandia and making the GP Final!

I will be furious if the Shibs make the Olympic team. I don't care what happens at Nationals. They could have come back sooner, worked harder sooner, and built a better body of work in 2025. They didn't. They have not earned a spot.

 

[Karen-W]

I'm so happy for Z&K medaling at Finlandia and making the GP Final!

I will be furious if the Shibs make the Olympic team. I don't care what happens at Nationals. They could have come back sooner, worked harder sooner, and built a better body of work in 2025. They didn't. They have not earned a spot.

I don't think the Shibs have a realistic shot at making the Olympic team. Yes, they'll be in the Selection Pool by virtue of their 2018 Olympic bronze medal, but they're not even listed as substitutes for either Tallinn Trophy or Golden Spin, so their fall narrative is set and they're nowhere close to the Top 5 of the Selection Pool Calculation Table.

A bunch of teams have at least 1 more competition during the next two weeks - CarPon, PateBye, the Browns, NesMark, BraSom, CuiRogers, the Peals, FlorJep all have Challengers/Sr Bs on the calendar; ChoBat have the GPF; and ZingKol are currently scheduled for Tallinn next week followed by the GPF (I'm guessing ZingKol head home and are replaced at Tallinn by PhamSpir who are listed as substitutes & that would give them a chance to get on the SB list).

Here's how things are looking with the Selection Pool Calculation Table:

Skater

Level

Age Eligible/ISP

ISU Min Score (98/85/71)

2024 U.S. Nats

GPF / JGPF

GP/ JGP 1

GP/ JGP 2

GP/ JPG Highest

GP/ JGP Avg

CS/ Sr B/ Jr Int 1

CS/ Sr B/ Jr Int 2

CS/ Sr B/ Jr Int Highest

CS/ Sr B/ Jr Int Avg

Dance Final (Top 2 in each Section JR/SR)

NQS Score (Top 2 in each Section JR/SR)

Non-USFS Funded Event

Prev Yr Final Number

Total

Carreira, Christina/Ponomarenko, Anthony

S

Y

Y

191.23​

186.03​

191.23​

188.63​

192.35​

192.35​

96.18​

0.00​

0.00​

0.00​

10​

889.31​

Pate, Eva/Bye, Logan

S

Y

Y

178.68​

142.94​

178.68​

160.81​

186.96​

176.85​

186.96​

181.91​

0.00​

178.92​

178.92​

0​

881.94​

Wolfkostin, Katarina/Tsarevski, Dimitry

S

Y

Y

182.85​

146.28​

182.85​

164.57​

180.20​

172.44​

180.20​

176.32​

0.00​

0.00​

0.00​

8​

866.71​

Chock, Madison/Bates, Evan

S

Y

Y

208.25​

212.58​

212.58​

210.42​

0.00​

0.00​

0.00​

0.00​

0.00​

0.00​

0.00​

22​

858.74​

Brown, Oona/Brown, Gage

S

Y

Y

182.11​

170.47​

182.11​

176.29​

178.86​

178.86​

89.43​

0.00​

187.48​

187.48​

0​

834.54​

Zingas, Emilea/Kolesnik, Vadym

S

Y

Y

202.27​

196.02​

202.27​

199.15​

193.51​

193.51​

96.76​

0.00​

0.00​

0.00​

3​

812.85​

Green, Caroline/Parsons, Michael

S

Y

Y

187.90​

150.32​

187.90​

169.11​

184.18​

189.27​

189.27​

186.73​

0.00​

0.00​

0.00​

2​

805.58​

Neset, Leah/Markelov, Artem

S

Y

Y

165.19​

132.15​

165.19​

148.67​

176.27​

169.60​

176.27​

172.94​

0.00​

0.00​

0.00​

0​

698.30​

Bratti, Emily/Somerville, Ian

S

Y

Y

172.80​

166.32​

172.80​

169.56​

187.85​

187.85​

93.93​

0.00​

0.00​

0.00​

0​

686.24​

Shibutani, Maia/Shibutani, Alex

S

Y

Y

180.50​

185.68​

185.68​

183.09​

0.00​

0.00​

0.00​

0.00​

0.00​

0.00​

0.00​

10​

610.96​

Pham, Vanessa/Spiridonov, Anton

S

Y

4CCs

0.00​

0.00​

0.00​

0.00​

154.47​

123.58​

154.47​

139.02​

174.01​

161.30​

161.30​

0​

466.72​

Cui, Amy/Rogers, Jonathan

S

Y

Y

0.00​

0.00​

0.00​

0.00​

176.10​

171.12​

176.10​

173.61​

180.77​

170.99​

0.00​

0​

439.44​

Koncius, Raffaela/Shchepetov, Alexey

S

Y

4CCs

0.00​

0.00​

0.00​

0.00​

167.44​

167.08​

167.44​

167.26​

172.78​

164.61​

0.00​

0​

420.43​

Peal, Elliana/Peal, Ethan

S

Y

4CCs

0.00​

0.00​

0.00​

0.00​

0.00​

0.00​

0.00​

174.55​

168.31​

168.31​

0​

213.51​

Mullen, Caroline/Mullen, Brendan

S

Y

N

0.00​

0.00​

0.00​

0.00​

0.00​

0.00​

0.00​

0.00​

0.00​

150.53​

148.52​

0​

111.89​

Flores, Isabella/Jepsen, Linus

S

Y

4CCs

0.00​

0.00​

0.00​

0.00​

161.48​

0.00​

0.00​

163.78​

0.00​

0.00​

0​

81.89​

ZingKol are going to jump into the Top 5 and ChoBat will solidify their place at the top after the GPF. CarPon and the Browns will also solidify their position within the Top 5 of the Calculation Table after Golden Spin. PateBye will remain in the Top 5 until after Nats where they're likely to be surpassed by several teams who finish ahead of them.

 

[Allskate]

I don't think the Shibs have a realistic shot at making the Olympic team. Yes, they'll be in the Selection Pool by virtue of their 2018 Olympic bronze medal, but they're not even listed as substitutes for either Tallinn Trophy or Golden Spin, so their fall narrative is set and they're nowhere close to the Top 5 of the Selection Pool Calculation Table.

This is a major reason why it would make me furious if they were named to the team. They don't have the BOW that would merit it, no matter what happens at Nationals. If you can't earn a place in the selection pool for any other reason besides what happened seven or eight years ago, you don't belong on the team.

I don't know if they aren't substitutes for Tallinn and Golden Spin because they explicitly chose not to be or because it was USFS's decision. I actually wouldn't be surprised if it were their own explicit choice.

 

[miffy]

Surely the Shibs must realise now they won’t make the team - they’re probably just staying in for the experience and maybe possible future sponsorships or opportunities?

 

[Rukia]

Surely the Shibs must realise now they won’t make the team - they’re probably just staying in for the experience and maybe possible future sponsorships or opportunities?

Yeah I don't really understand why people think they have a chance. The only reason usfs would have to manipulate things for them is if they were a medal threat or needed for the team event and clearly they are just not. There's no reason for usfs to go to bat for them between their scores and the video of Alex. And I suspect the shibs know this.

 

[Karen-W]

Yeah I don't really understand why people think they have a chance. The only reason usfs would have to manipulate things for them is if they were a medal threat or needed for the team event and clearly they are just not. There's no reason for usfs to go to bat for them between their scores and the video of Alex. And I suspect the shibs know this.

Yes to all this. At this point, if ChoBat don't want to do both segments of the TE, then ZingKol can & will be swapped in.

 

[kwanfan1818]

I think the conventional wisdom is that the final five in the TE will be JPN, USA, GEO, ITA, and one of FRA or CAN. I don't see ITA falling out of the top 5, but stranger things have happened.

If the individual RD was not so close the FD, the strategy might be different, and Chock/Bates might want to do both, with a good rest between. But it's just a couple of days.

Whomever the US selects for the FD should be competing against Guignard/Fabbri, Davis/Smolkin, and Yoshida/Morita, all of whom have to do both. It sounds like Lopareva/Brissaud will have to skate both, if FRA makes the final. Otherwise, it's probably CAN. I can't see CAN having a good chance for TE bronze without general chaos, and Gilles/Poirier doing both makes no sense, and Lajoie/Lagha will likely be tapped.

Unless it's a blowout either way after the SP/RD's, USFS would have to be confident that US2 would beat D/S, Y/M, and L/B (if FRA) or has a good chance against L/L (if CAN). None of them are in the GPF, and there won't be a match-up between the US and any of the other teams until the Olympics, since the US and CAN Olympic teams skip 4C's in the Olympic year. If Davis/Smolkin hit at Euros and jump bigly in the scores, then USFS may be less confident in US 2.

 

[Belsornia]

I can't see CAN having a good chance for TE bronze without general chaos,

I wouldn't bet against general chaos, the way this season has gone so far....

 

[SidelineSkater]

And would USFS split Men and Dance for sure? Or would they want to split men and women?

 

[Evgeniafan]

And would USFS split Men and Dance for sure? Or would they want to split men and women?

Men and Women.

 

[Tinycities]

I feel like dance is more likely with the quick turn around.

 

[Debbie S]

And would USFS split Men and Dance for sure? Or would they want to split men and women?

I doubt C/B are going to want to compete 4 times in 6 days. Dance was split in 2022, so there is precedent, and not doing the FD didn't hurt H/D's medal chances. Assuming Z/K go to the Olys, given that they qualified for the GPF, they can be a solid contributor to the team.