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

[Allskate]

I don’t count the Shibs out yet. A lot can happen between now and US Nationals.

They've done one RD, so it's a bit soon to come to any conclusions regarding their skating. I assume the Shibs are more comfortable with the music in their FD. (Personally, so far, I prefer the RDs from both Z&K and G&P.) I think they already are benefitting from reputation.Plus, if USFS wants to find a way to name them to the Olympic team, they will.

Anyone actually believe he apologized her to her right after.

You don't think he immediately told her that he was "committed to being a better teammate?" Yeah, I don't either.

I'm guessing that they didn't address it publicly until they had to and after they consulted with some PR foks.

 

[my little pony]

they should say Fix You is about trying to make him a better person and they will skate to it until he is, if you must spin it, spin it as hard as you can

 

[Rukia]

they should say Fix You is about trying to make him a better person and they will skate to it until he is, if you must spin it, spin it as hard as you can

Tears stream, down Alex's face,
when he loses something he cannot replace
(a place on the olympic team not his sister who cares about her)

 

[Skaterbob]

Im sure their FD is very anticipated for all the wrong reasons.

 

[mtnskater]

I never thought the Shibs were super serious about their comeback in the first place. I figured it was an opportunity to make some endorsement money as former Olympic medalists. They did get the Ralph Lauren ad campaign and maybe other endorsements. I think if they had been super serious about the return, they would have come back at least a season earlier. Reminds me of Sasha Cohen’s comeback. An opportunity to be back in the spotlight in an Olympic year and make endorsement $$.

 

[orbitz]

Elaine Zayak, Brian Boitano, Katerina Witt, G&G, D&M and T&D all came back during the Olympic season. Elaine came back because she wanted to prove to herself that she could get back into shape and to finish her career in a higher note ( She definitely accomplished that). D&M came back in 94 because they were not satisfied with how they skated in 92. BB, G&G and T&D all felt that they had a good chance of winning the Olympic gold for a second time. One of the reasons that Witt came back was because her parents would finally be able to travel outside of Germany to see her compete.

 

[SkateSand]

At least they addressed it. Maybe not completely honestly, but it was addressed. That's more than I expected.

 

[angi]

At least they addressed it. Maybe not completely honestly, but it was addressed. That's more than I expected.

It seems very intentional, like they worked with the reporter on how to publicly acknowledge it so they can control the narrative. The phrasing (berating his sister) downplays a lot of what happened, and the article is mostly about the Shibs responding to it without really going into details of what the video showed, which is why many of the responses online have been "what's the big deal, siblings fight". There wasn't even a small attempt to challenge what their narrative.

 

[jlai]

Fans are angry or are confused about the Shibs' return, and think this is stupid or naive. Comebacks are hard, very few succeeed. There are worse comebacks than this, and of course there are better ones.
Depending on what their goal is, it may or may not be foolish. I mean they outperform the Japanese team in NHK, and I'm sure they attract media attention in Japan at least.

 

[thatskater]

Can someone please explain how Flores got a CS Warsaw comp and a senior B competition when they were beat not only at Lake Placid but also beat by 5 other teams at Dance final (which none have CS comps except Cui/Rodgers)?

 

[VGThuy]

Fans are angry or are confused about the Shibs' return, and think this is stupid or naive. Comebacks are hard, very few succeeed. There are worse comebacks than this, and of course there are better ones.
Depending on what their goal is, it may or may not be foolish. I mean they outperform the Japanese team in NHK, and I'm sure they attract media attention in Japan at least.

I just think we expected better from them. Results are whatever, but the entire way they went about this comeback just seemed entitled and naive. After watching the FD, I kept thinking how much better their elements would have looked with one more year of serious full-time training at a real ice dance center and doing challengers to get comfortable. Also, doing champs camp would also show they are willing to be humble and put the work in by getting real feedback and not being afraid to see what other ice dancers are doing and showing them what they’re doing.

 

[Willin]

They seemed downright shocked by how low their score was tonight. One wonders if they've been watching the other teams they're competing against...

I don't think Massimo set them up for failure - he wouldn't do that - but I do think, based on the choreography, that he knew how ready they were to be competitive. What they got for choreography wasn't competitive, but it was the only way they could probably get through that program looking as strong as they did.

 

[my little pony]

they were robbed, I cant believe I typed that, who am I?

 

[Taso]

Bets on when the Shibs withdraw from Finlandia?

 

[VGThuy]

I think their own personal worst case scenario already happened so I expect to see them at Finlandia and just enjoy being back on the ice and in front of an audience again.

 

[mtnskater]

Plus they still want endorsements and media spotlight I would think, so why not continue on to Finlandia??

 

[Skaterbob]

I would be very surprised if Shibs did this comeback for a "chance to be on the U.S team." I don't think they came back to be 12th at the Olympics which is where they would be at this point. They might show up to Finland but unless their marks go up by 15 points overall I don't they will be on a flight to Nationals.

 

[tony]

I would be very surprised if Shibs did this comeback for a "chance to be on the U.S team." I don't think they came back to be 12th at the Olympics which is where they would be at this point. They might show up to Finland but unless their marks go up by 15 points overall I don't they will be on a flight to Nationals.

But even getting back to the Olympics, with the sponsors they already racked up without anyone having seen them skate, is something. They might be using this in part (big or small) as a platform to get themselves back into the social media/relevant spotlight.

All of their social media persona and even on-ice persona has been calculated since the beginning of time, so they probably need a push to once again get them some kind of opportunity away from the rink.

 

[Rukia]

But even getting back to the Olympics, with the sponsors they already racked up without anyone having seen them skate, is something. They might be using this in part (big or small) as a platform to get themselves back into the social media/relevant spotlight.

Tbh I've always thought this was a big part of this comeback, and I don't mean that in a negative way necessarily. I'm sure they wanted to get to skate too on some level, but I have a feeling the attention was even better. I said to someone that this Fix You redux would kill as a show program, so maybe they'll get some ice shows out of this and keep their name in the spotlight for a bit. That would probably be a win.

 

[Skaterbob]

But even getting back to the Olympics, with the sponsors they already racked up without anyone having seen them skate, is something. They might be using this in part (big or small) as a platform to get themselves back into the social media/relevant spotlight.

All of their social media persona and even on-ice persona has been calculated since the beginning of time, so they probably need a push to once again get them some kind of opportunity.

I have no doubt they want to cash in. But what sponsors with a brain would sign them up after the video and meh results. I don't expect any current ones to drop them. It is just begging for backlash and why. My spouse walked by and was like "They are still skating? They look tired." They aren't a safe bet to put money on even though they tried their hardest to manage their image. I'm surprised they didn't put on covid masks to shield their expressions in the k&c.

 

[Allskate]

I never thought the Shibs were super serious about their comeback in the first place. I figured it was an opportunity to make some endorsement money as former Olympic medalists.

I initially thought that was only part of it. Why tarnish their brand with a weak comeback? I figured that they had been training and preparing before their announcement but that they would have been better off competing last season.. But, when they skipped Champs Camp and didn't enter any of the Challengers and planned to wait until a month into the GP to compete, I started to wonder. I don't think they are stupid enough or naive enough to think that this approach was a smart move if they wanted to do well in competition and make the Olympic team. Sure, Alex is obviously quite arrogant, but if he really thought that they were great or wanted to do great, he would have showed up at Champs Camp.

I found the FD slow and underwhelming. Yes, they can improve in the next two months, but they can't make major changes, much less test them out before Nationals. I'm going to be really, really annoyed if a team that has not only been working harder, but skating better ends up not being on the Olympic team because of the Shibs.

Also, doing champs camp would also show they are willing to be humble and put the work in by getting real feedback and not being afraid to see what other ice dancers are doing and showing them what they’re doing.

Were they really afraid of seeing what other dancers were doing? Or, did they not want others, including USFS, seing how unprepared they were?

At least they addressed it. Maybe not completely honestly, but it was addressed. That's more than I expected.

I don't think they could have avoided it forever. If there is a press conference, it would be asked. Is Alex going to respond to a question by "berating" the reporter?

They seemed downright shocked by how low their score was tonight.

I didn't think they looked shocked at all. Bummed, yes. But not shocked. The look they gave each other seemed to say, "yup, we got a lower total score than several of other American dance teams have and this is not good."

 

[Willin]

@Skaterbob The sponsors signed on pretty much as soon as they announced their comeback, so well before the video and meh results. USFS and NBC were similarly enthusiastic this summer, although their enthusiasm died very quickly after the ShibSibs skipped out on Champs Camp.

They've always been very good at marketing themselves and seem to have a lot of connections, so it's not surprising they'd get sponsors early.

 

[Karen-W]

Bets on when the Shibs withdraw from Finlandia?

I think their own personal worst case scenario already happened so I expect to see them at Finlandia and just enjoy being back on the ice and in front of an audience again.

I don't think they'll compete at Finlandia. Why finish as the 3rd ranked US team for a 2nd time in three weeks?

 

[VGThuy]

Were they really afraid of seeing what other dancers were doing? Or, did they not want others, including USFS, seing how unprepared they were?

The reason I said it was both in the part you quoted was because when one is not as prepared as they’d like to be, they tend to want to hide so others won’t see how unprepared they are, and they also don’t want to see how prepared others are in comparison. It’ll only hammer the truth home.

I don't think they'll compete at Finlandia. Why finish as the 3rd ranked US team for a 2nd time in three weeks?

Why not? Get more air time while any good PR and marketing team can spin competing in both as a positive even when discussing their low placement. Might as well take the advantage of the opportunity to have the spotlight that haven’t had in 7 years l, no matter how dimmer it has gotten now.

 

[mattiecat13]

You don't think he immediately told her that he was "committed to being a better teammate?" Yeah, I don't either.

I'm guessing that they didn't address it publicly until they had to and after they consulted with some PR foks.

I look forward to hearing how Alex spins the video when he’s being grilled by Christine Brennan at Nationals.

 

[thatskater]

I don't think they'll compete at Finlandia. Why finish as the 3rd ranked US team for a 2nd time in three weeks?

That’s what I am wondering as well, also if they do compete and get similar scores to NHK, will they pull from Nats and just retire?

 

[thatskater]

Do we think the Shibs marketing and partnering with Olympic sponsors will ultimately put them on the Olympic team despite low scoring?

 

[Karen-W]

Do we think the Shibs marketing and partnering with Olympic sponsors will ultimately put them on the Olympic team despite low scoring?

Nah, I don't think their sponsors will get them on the Olympic team when there are 3 other teams who are clearly out-scoring them internationally. Maybe if Christina's passport doesn't come through in time and it's close between them and GreenP, possibly they get the nod.

In the hierarchy of who out-politicks who at US Nats, I don't see Marina triumphing over BOTH Igor and IAM. She can certainly out-politick MIDA, which is why I could see the Shibs getting selected over GreenP if CarPon aren't in the mix. But if Christina's citizenship & passport are in order by Nats, then I expect the Olympic team will be ChoBat, CarPon and ZingKol based upon what we're seeing with scores internationally right now.

I also expect Finlandia to be a joint effort by Igor and M-F to depress the Shibs scores and see them finish as the 3rd ranked US team again behind both ZingKol and the Browns.

 

[Karen-W]

So, I was just looking over the USFS & USOPC's agreed upon selection policy for the 2026 Winter Olympics and I wanted to bring this particular section into this thread for clarification purposes:

1. Nationality/Passports Requirements:
o Have a valid United States passport at the time of nomination that does not expire for six months after the conclusion of the 2026 Olympic Winter Games (Games).

Source - https://www.usfigureskating.org/sit...SK Athlete Selection Procedures FINAL OLY.pdf

Some people have been throwing out December as the deadline for Christina to receive her passport but this document makes it clear that the deadline for Christina to receive her passport is actually January 11, 2026 when the US team is officially nominated by USFS. For practical purposes, she probably needs her passport in hand when they leave Detroit the week before, so January 5 or 6, 2026 at the latest. But there is still a reasonable amount of time for her to receive her passport and be all set for the Olympic team should CarPon finish in the top 3 at Nats.

 

[jlai]

So, I was just looking over the USFS & USOPC's agreed upon selection policy for the 2026 Winter Olympics and I wanted to bring this particular section into this thread for clarification purposes:



Source - https://www.usfigureskating.org/sites/default/files/media-files/2026 FSK Athlete Selection Procedures FINAL OLY.pdf

Some people have been throwing out December as the deadline for Christina to receive her passport but this document makes it clear that the deadline for Christina to receive her passport is actually January 11, 2026 when the US team is officially nominated by USFS. For practical purposes, she probably needs her passport in hand when they leave Detroit the week before, so January 5 or 6, 2026 at the latest. But there is still a reasonable amount of time for her to receive her passport and be all set for the Olympic team should CarPon finish in the top 3 at Nats.

I don’t remember throwing out December as the deadline. Isn’t Jan 6 and the end of December just a matter of days?

I do remember mentioning this being a tight deadline which it is, especially not knowing when the government will reopen.

Also I can’t help but wonder if Z/K’s score boosts may have something to do with them now being eligible. Again, I will be the one to say I have no insider knowledge but just reading tea leaves which we all do to some extent here.

Also I like C/p and they have carried US ice dance quite a bit the last two years and I hope they get to go.