2023-24 Pairs General Discussion - Join the SBS Double Salchow Club!

[Belsornia]

I won't really be surprised if some, or even most, of the changes aren't passed, with an understanding that they will be in 2026 once the committee has defined them better, and giving skaters, coaches and choreographers more time to prepare. If not, seems like next season has the potential to be very messy.

 

[Karen-W]

I won't really be surprised if some, or even most, of the changes aren't passed, with an understanding that they will be in 2026 once the committee has defined them better, and giving skaters, coaches and choreographers more time to prepare. If not, seems like next season has the potential to be very messy.

This is where I hope Eric Radford really speaks up in support of the pairs skaters who are going to be dramatically impacted by this rather sudden shift. Fabio Bianchetti's rationale - that these proposed changes need to be implemented immediately - employs some pretty faulty logic.

“Bureaucratically, it is very complicated,” he continued, “because we have to propose everything one year before the Congress, and we have to organize the idea one year before the proposal. If we implement everything two years after the Congress that means that every new idea has to be implemented nearly four years after it was thought of. When it is implemented, it is already old.”

If you have to propose everything one year before the Congress then why were the discussions with the skaters & coaches only held this past winter at Euros and Worlds? Shouldn't those discussions have taken place in 2023, with the Tech Committee going back and tweaking their proposals based upon the feedback received then? Furthermore, it's not a full four years from "idea to implementation" as he is implying if they wait to implement anything until the 2026-27 season, but rather three years. It all feels just very rushed and sort of just going "well, Ice Dance really has gotten better with the addition of these non-leveled choreo elements that are GOE-whores, so how can we incorporate them into Singles and Pairs?" And while I think that the proposed changes for Singles are fine, I'm not at all convinced that the Singles & Pairs Tech Committee has much of a clue about Pairs and what SHOULD matter for the discipline.

I made the comment over in GSD and I'll stick it in here too - I'd have rather they eliminated the SBS solo jumping pass in the FS and only allowed one SBS jump combo/sequence in the FS.. I'm also, the more I think about it, not much of a fan of losing the necessity to demonstrate mastery of both the SBS spins and the Pairs Spin Combo by alternating those two elements in the SP and FS every season. Losing the SBS solo jumps would open up space for another choreo element - whether that be a non-leveled choreo lift, choreo spin, choreo step sequence, or choreo field moves sequence - it could be the team's choice and that would open up some degree of variety in the programs that doesn't exist at the moment.

But really, I think we all need to form a prayer circle that the Pairs Tech Committee proposal passes.

 

[Sylvia]

And... representing France - Flavien Giniaux & Chloe Panetta (previously skated for Canada with Kieran Thrasher) - training in Caen with Bruno Massot and in Oakville with Bruno Marcotte.

Meet Chloe & Flavien:

AJustrainer on Instagram: "🎙 l L’interview de l’athlète 🥇 l Aujourd’hui, nous vous présentons le couple de patineurs artistique Chloé et Flavien @chn_acsel_caen #ajustrainer #preparationphysique #preparateurphysique #coaching #training #caen #calva

109 likes, 3 comments - ajustrainer on May 2, 2024: "🎙 l L’interview de l’athlète 🥇 l Aujourd’hui, nous vous présentons le couple de patineurs artistique Chloé et Flavien @ch...".

www.instagram.com

 

[Sylvia]

Also, IceLab is apparently holding another Pairs Seminar this week

2-min. IceLab COE video of moments from “The Artful Duo” pairs seminar in Bergamo, Italy:

Ice Lab - Center of Excellence on Instagram: "The Artful Duo - Pairs Seminar 2024 Highlights part 1 #icelab #icelabcenterofexcellence #theartfulduo #isudevelopment"

175 likes, 1 comments - icelab_coe on May 5, 2024: "The Artful Duo - Pairs Seminar 2024 Highlights part 1 #icelab #icelabcenterofexcellence #theartfulduo #isudevelopment".

www.instagram.com

 

[Sylvia]

Sandra Bezic, who skated pairs with her brother Val, talks about the top pairs at 2024 Worlds in part 2 of Anna Kellar's "The Future of Future Skating" podcast conversation with her (May 6): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWs3q0_TZ0g

Part 2 of my conversation with choreographer, director, and producer Sandra Bezic! We talked about the World Championships in Montreal and the moments that made Sandra more optimistic about pairs skating and the future of the sport. We also got into the proposals from the ISU Technical Committee for Singles and Pairs to add a choreographic lift and spin to the pairs free skate.

 

[Sylvia]

Patinage Quebec published their annual sectional development teams document dated 4/25/24 with a new pair team listed in Team B - Thierry Ferland (will be 27 in August) and Joy Weinberg, 27 (2016 U.S. Junior Pairs champ with Maximiliano Fernandez and 9th in their Senior debut at 2017 Nationals): https://patinage.qc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Athletes-B-RC_2024-2025-V2.pdf
(ETA - will cross-post this in the Canadian Pairs news thread)

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Has anyone seen any updates on Barquero and Zandron? I mean more than enough time has gone by for the suspension correct? Are they still together? Any updates?

 

[Karen-W]

Has anyone seen any updates on Barquero and Zandron? I mean more than enough time has gone by for the suspension correct? Are they still together? Any updates?

She spent a fair bit of time in India this spring - I think doing some sort of yoga certification program. She posted on her IG this past week from a rink in Madrid. No updates to the doping suspension, AFAIK.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

She spent a fair bit of time in India this spring - I think doing some sort of yoga certification program. She posted on her IG this past week from a rink in Madrid. No updates to the doping suspension, AFAIK.

Wow, I can’t believe after all this time no information has been released and who knows if any progress has happened. I was really into this team three years ago, I would love for there to be some sort of transparency regarding the situation.

 

[Sylvia]

Anastasia (stasya_golybeva) Golubeva shared an Instagram story clip today of her skating a new SP with Hektor Giotopoulos Moore - music is Muse's Exogenesis Symphony Part 3 Redemption (sorry, folks!). Igor Tchiniaev (based in Montreal) was included in her caption - as the filmer or choreographer?

Annika Hocke’s off season training day video:

Annika Hocke on Instagram: "Wie sieht ein ganz „normaler“ Trainingstag bei mir in der Off- Season aus? Ich nehme euch mit💪🏻 #AnnikaHocke #Eiskunstlauf #ADayInMyLife #Skating #Iceskating #Vlog"

358 likes, 6 comments - anni_kamaria on May 20, 2024: "Wie sieht ein ganz „normaler“ Trainingstag bei mir in der Off- Season aus? Ich nehme euch mit💪🏻 #AnnikaHocke #Eiskunstlauf #ADayInMyLife #Skating #Iceskating #Vlog".

www.instagram.com

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Anastasia (stasya_golybeva) Golubeva shared an Instagram story clip today of her skating a new SP with Hektor Giotopoulos Moore - music is Muse's Exogenesis Symphony Part 3 Redemption (sorry, folks!). Igor Tchiniaev (based in Montreal) was included in her caption - as the filmer or choreographer?

Annika Hocke’s off season training day video:

Annika Hocke on Instagram: "Wie sieht ein ganz „normaler“ Trainingstag bei mir in der Off- Season aus? Ich nehme euch mit💪🏻 #AnnikaHocke #Eiskunstlauf #ADayInMyLife #Skating #Iceskating #Vlog"

358 likes, 6 comments - anni_kamaria on May 20, 2024: "Wie sieht ein ganz „normaler“ Trainingstag bei mir in der Off- Season aus? Ich nehme euch mit💪🏻 #AnnikaHocke #Eiskunstlauf #ADayInMyLife #Skating #Iceskating #Vlog".

www.instagram.com

OMG I read that the first two times as Gubanova and Hektor and I’m like what are they drinking? That makes no sense.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Annika Hocke’s off season training day video:

Annika Hocke on Instagram: "Wie sieht ein ganz „normaler“ Trainingstag bei mir in der Off- Season aus? Ich nehme euch mit💪🏻 #AnnikaHocke #Eiskunstlauf #ADayInMyLife #Skating #Iceskating #Vlog"

358 likes, 6 comments - anni_kamaria on May 20, 2024: "Wie sieht ein ganz „normaler“ Trainingstag bei mir in der Off- Season aus? Ich nehme euch mit💪🏻 #AnnikaHocke #Eiskunstlauf #ADayInMyLife #Skating #Iceskating #Vlog".

www.instagram.com

I would not mind doing “The Holiday” with her and doing a home swap, that looks quite nice there.

 

[Sylvia]

(Also posted in the OES thread) Zoë Pflaum and Linus Mager are a new Junior pair team for Switzerland: https://www.instagram.com/zoelinus_pairskating/
The English version of their GoFundMe says their "goal is to participate in the Junior World Championships in 2025":

Our journey takes us to training in Swindon, England and Zurich Oerlikon, where we work hard under professional guidance to refine our technique and perfect our choreographies. We will train mostly in Swindon, UK with Christopher Boyadji, Zoe Jones, and Lloyd Jones and also live in Great Britain. During the competition phase of the Swiss Cups, however, we will also train again and again in Zurich Oerlikon with our club ESCZ with Gheorghe Chiper and his team.

 

[Karen-W]

Robin Szolkowy will be coaching at the Dundee Pairs Training Camp and Tryout this month -

British Ice Skating on Instagram: "📣 Exciting news alert! We can confirm that Robin Szolkowy, the five-time World champion and two-time bronze Olympic medallist will be coaching at the Dundee Pairs Training & Tryout Camp at the end of this month!

181 likes, 1 comments - britishiceskating on May 22, 2024: "📣 Exciting news alert! We can confirm that Robin Szolkowy, the five-time World champion and two-time bronze Olympic medallist will b...".

www.instagram.com

 

[Sylvia]

November 26, 2023:

Stocktake of pairs teams who have competed this season but do not have the technical minimums to compete at the big events.
...
Junior Worlds
...
ESP - Linda de Nardin / Patrizio Rossi Lopez (need both), Ines Moudden / Alejandro Garcia (need both)

Meagan Duhamel's Instagram reel video yesterday shows Megan Yudin training off ice with Spain's Patrizio ROSSI LOPEZ, now 21:

Meagan Duhamel on Instagram: "Off ice training should always have a fun component to it :) Working hard and keeping things light and fun! Featuring : @megan_yudin @patrizioromanorossi1 @skateoakville #figureskatingtraining #pairsskating #car

478 likes, 6 comments - meaganduhamel on May 22, 2024: "Off ice training should always have a fun component to it :) Working hard and keeping things light and fun! Featuring : @megan_yudin @patrizioromanorossi1 @skateoakville #figureskatingtraining #pairsskating #cardiotraining...

www.instagram.com

He last competed internationally for Spain with Linda De Nardin in Oct. 2023 (http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00115531.htm); she was 8th in Jr. Pairs at 2024 Canadian Nationals with Aidan Wright.

 

[Sylvia]

2-min. IceLab COE video of moments from “The Artful Duo” pairs seminar in Bergamo, Italy:

Ice Lab - Center of Excellence on Instagram: "The Artful Duo - Pairs Seminar 2024 Highlights part 1 #icelab #icelabcenterofexcellence #theartfulduo #isudevelopment"

175 likes, 1 comments - icelab_coe on May 5, 2024: "The Artful Duo - Pairs Seminar 2024 Highlights part 1 #icelab #icelabcenterofexcellence #theartfulduo #isudevelopment".

www.instagram.com

“The Artful Duo” seminar - Highlights part 2:

Ice Lab - Center of Excellence on Instagram: "The Artful Duo - Pairs Seminar 2024 Highlights part 2 #icelab #icelabcenterofexcellence #theartfulduo #isudevelopment"

224 likes, 0 comments - icelab_coe on May 6, 2024: "The Artful Duo - Pairs Seminar 2024 Highlights part 2 #icelab #icelabcenterofexcellence #theartfulduo #isudevelopment".

www.instagram.com

Anastasia (stasya_golybeva) Golubeva shared an Instagram story clip today of her skating a new SP with Hektor Giotopoulos Moore - music is Muse's Exogenesis Symphony Part 3 Redemption (sorry, folks!). Igor Tchiniaev (based in Montreal) was included in her caption

Golubeva has posted the clip I saw (Tchiniaev sounds like the choreographer?):

Instagram

www.instagram.com

Conti/Macii recently worked with dance choreographer Roberto Tedesco on their new program (Streisand’s “Papa, Can You Hear Me?”) - short clip copied from his Instagram story: https://x.com/abbylckharts/status/1793678938973364483
ETA that I knew there would be snarking about this music choice.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Streisand’s “Papa, Can You Hear Me?”

Please no

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Golubeva has posted the clip I saw

The more I read of your post the more I wish I hadn’t.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

In May 2024 how is any figure skater or team choosing Exogenesis? I don’t understand this anymore. Trying not to do a rant here. Lol but this deserves a rant.

 

[Karen-W]

In May 2024 how is any figure skater or team choosing Exogenesis? I don’t understand this anymore. Trying not to do a rant here. Lol but this deserves a rant.

Well, Chan/Howe used it last season. Mind we only saw their FS just once, so maybe they'll bring it back for another season. Or not given then changes that are happening with the pairs FS elements.

 

[Sylvia]

ISU Congress to Decide Big Changes for Pairs ; Rule makers hope to boost creativity with new elements by Anna Kellar (April 30, 2024): https://anythinggoe.com/isu-congress-to-decide-big-changes-for-pairs/
ETA - relevant excerpts from this new GSD discussion thread on the ISU Congress 2024 Agenda that was published today: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/threads/2024-isu-congress-agenda.111760/
... "ISU Council is proposing the following age limits for Junior Pairs: 21 for women, 23 for men. Max 7 years age gap" ...

Re-posting here from the GBR news thread in GSD (IF the ISU Council's Junior Pairs age rule proposal passes, Davison/Borisov might be able to skate in junior internationally since I believe he is 23 or younger?):

Neamh Davison, 19 (previously skated in Junior Pairs with Shailesh Caller for GBR until 2023: http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00114293.htm) has formed a new pair with Daniel Borisov (competed in Junior Men at the U.S. Midwestern Sectional Singles Final in November 2022) - looks like they are training with Trudy Oltmanns in Minnesota; announced via their new team account:

Neamh Davison & Daniel Borisov on Instagram: "So excited to start our new journey with @britishiceskating 🇬🇧⛸️"

208 likes, 17 comments - neamhanddaniel_ on May 25, 2024: "So excited to start our new journey with @britishiceskating 🇬🇧⛸️".

www.instagram.com

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Well, Chan/Howe used it last season. Mind we only saw their FS just once, so maybe they'll bring it back for another season. Or not given then changes that are happening with the pairs FS elements.

I’m talking about figure skating in general. I don’t understand why everyone wants to skate the same music. was it court ordered in Switzerland?

Figure skating for me was always about creativity, and there’s almost none of it anymore.

 

[Amy L]

I saw on Reddit that there's a rumor that Akopova/Rakhmanin are switching from Russia to Armenia but the RusFed won't decide on a release until this winter. Any of our Russian speakers know if there's truth to it?

edit: @TAHbKA already mentioned it in the OES thread!

 

[Ka3sha]

I saw on Reddit that there's a rumor that Akopova/Rakhmanin are switching from Russia to Armenia but the RusFed won't decide on a release until this winter. Any of our Russian speakers know if there's truth to it?

edit: @TAHbKA already mentioned it in the OES thread!

Yes, it has been confirmed by several journalists. But there is no release yet, so I wouldn't say that it is a done deal. One of her parents is Armenian, so she has some roots there and documents/passport potentially should not be an issue.

Also, it has been mentioned in other threads but not here, Ekaterina Geinish and Dmitrii Chigirev are to represent Uzbekistan starting next season

 

[BrightSkates]

Lori-Anne Matte and Pier-Alexandre Hudon playing around with lifts.
Not an actual pairing as his caption says he is retired but it's nice to see them having fun
https://www.instagram.com/p/C7cX1z1M0bo/?igsh=M3Jhb3dsNGdleHMy

 

[Karen-W]

Another new British team (competing in juniors) - Rebecca Ritchie and Kyle McLeod (previously partnered with Lucy Hay - link to their ISU bio - http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00113899.htm) -

Ice Dundee on Instagram: "‼️New Partnership‼️ Here at Ice Dundee, we are delighted to announce our new Junior Pair Team ➡️ Rebecca Ritchie and Kyle McLeod💪⛸️ Kyle is no stranger to pair skating having competed at the 2024 Junior World Championships a

303 likes, 4 comments - ice_dundee on May 30, 2024: "‼️New Partnership‼️ Here at Ice Dundee, we are delighted to announce our new Junior Pair Team ➡️ Rebecca Ritchie and Kyle McLeod💪⛸️ Kyle is no stranger to pair skating having competed at the 2024 Junior World Championships and has teamed up...

www.instagram.com

 

[Karen-W]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1797005300462981380

Didn't realize that Valesi/Piazza are no more. That opens up a GP spot since they were WS Top 24 and therefore guaranteed 1 assignment.

Also, this bumps the Mokhovs up to WS Top 24 (as well as Caldara/Maglio) but I'm really curious as to whether or not they'll get 1 GP since they're not even on the USFS' ISP list due to their low scores this past season both domestically and internationally.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1797005300462981380

Didn't realize that Valesi/Piazza are no more. That opens up a GP spot since they were WS Top 24 and therefore guaranteed 1 assignment.

Wrong thread, I know, but what happened to our beloved, Conrad

 

[Sylvia]

Wrong thread, I know, but what happened to our beloved, Conrad

Retired (his video is linked here): https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...n-news-and-updates.110809/page-4#post-6593751

 

[Sylvia]

Re-posting here from the Canadian Pairs news thread re. Brooke McIntosh and Marco Zandron:

There were some rumours swirling on Xitter back in late April that Brooke McIntosh's new Euro partner was Marco Zandron from Spain. Looks like there may be some truth to the rumours - there are a number of photos of them skating together posted here: https://eislauffotos.de/piwigo/index.php?/category/2572#&gid=1&pid=24 According to Germany's figure skating fed's website, the event they were taking part in was for both pair skating and ice dance [May 21-25 in Berlin]: https://www.eislauf-union.de/de/med...zur-saisonvorbereitung-in-dortmund-und-berlin
...
They have a nice look, both tall and long-limbed.

Google translation from German: "From May 21 to 25, the joint ice dancing and pair skating course took place in Berlin for the second time. Under the direction of the junior national coaches Stefano Caruso and Rico Rex ... five junior and three senior pairs took part. All pairs developed new choreography lifts and spins under the guidance of Robynne Tweedale (OSP trainer from Berlin) and the ice dancing coach from France, Fabian Bourzat. For the basic training of skating skills, the pairs worked with Catherine Papadakis and for the basics of pair skating lifts with the Ukrainian trainer Philip Zalevskiy. The motivation for the young pairs was the training visit of the World Championship third-place finishers Minerva Hase/Nikita Volodin and the 2022 European Championship participants Letizia Roscher/Luis Schuster."

ETA from the U.S. Pairs news thread re. Gabriella Izzo and Austria's Luc Maierhofer (they're also in the photos linked above):

So, the other day, I saw a post on X with photos of both McIntosh/Zandron as well as Gabbie Izzo & Luc Maierhofer. I didn't think much of it but I just recalled that Gabbie has been posting on her IG stories the past couple weeks about relocating to Germany and now, I'm thinking perhaps there is something here we weren't aware of.