2025 Lake Placid Ice Dance Championships - Lake Placid NY, USA - July 27-31

[PRlady]

Well I’m here just in time for domestic FD. Coulda used another cup of coffee.

 

[PRlady]

And the award for the most awfully mismatched couple goes to Hessel/Klaber. She can barely skate and he’s good.

 

[PRlady]

Bella and latest partner: lots of difficult lifts and spins and hydroblade moves, taking g a page out of Chock/Bates to use size differential as an asset. She clearly out skates him.

 

[PRlady]

Yi/Savalev give me the tango @BlueRidge wished on me, but piano/violin rather than accordion so bearable.

He is so much better than she is, I wish he could skate with Bella or Oona or another talented shortie.

 

[PRlady]

Cui/Rogers, just gorgeous. Perfectly matched in terms of technique and emotional expression and the packaging is stunning. (At Long Last the music.)

Rob and I very impressed.

 

[her grace]

Yi/Savalev give me the tango @BlueRidge wished on me, but piano/violin rather than accordion so bearable.

He is so much better than she is, I wish he could skate with Bella or Oona or another talented shortie.

Since they're married, changing partners would be a bit more difficult than your average team breakup.

 

[her grace]

Yeah, but I'm not sure I think they're going to get a JGP assignment this season, unless Ilin/Cain are injured and out for the entire JGP season, but they may be assigned to Bolero Cup, with a chance of a JGP if the other teams underperform at their first JGP.

USFS has only named 6 dance couples so far to assignments or as alternates so there's room for 2 more to get 1 assignment apiece. And possibly not all of those 6 named couples will get two (depending on how they place in first JGP). There's also Calhoun/Zheltyshev who met the required score here and certainly look JGP-ready.

I do wonder who USFS is sending to JGP #3; likely, they didn't add any additional alternates and it wouldn't make sense to assign both Aboian/Veselukhin and Ilin/Cain to the same event so either one of the teams in JGP#1 or JGP#2 is getting a quick second assignment or USFS is giving up the spot.

I don't see the point of wasting JGP assignments. If it's a budget-issue, surely sending a team to a JGP over a Jr B makes more economic sense as you get more bang for your buck: usually better, stronger field, more World Standing points available, a chance to get on the SB list, etc. Of course, USFS might save money if they're requiring the families to pay for the Jr B.

 

[TanithandBenFan]

Cui/Rogers, just gorgeous. Perfectly matched in terms of technique and emotional expression and the packaging is stunning. (At Long Last the music.)

Rob and I very impressed.

I’m so glad to hear more praise for this FD! My sister and I were speechless after it in Dallas. They’ve really found something special with it. The score was too low then and it’s too low here again!

 

[Karen-W]

USFS has only named 6 dance couples so far to assignments or as alternates so there's room for 2 more to get 1 assignment apiece. And possibly not all of those 6 named couples will get two (depending on how they place in first JGP). There's also Calhoun/Zheltyshev who met the required score here and certainly look JGP-ready.

I do wonder who USFS is sending to JGP #3; likely, they didn't add any additional alternates and it wouldn't make sense to assign both Aboian/Veselukhin and Ilin/Cain to the same event so either one of the teams in JGP#1 or JGP#2 is getting a quick second assignment or USFS is giving up the spot.

I don't see the point of wasting JGP assignments. If it's a budget-issue, surely sending a team to a JGP over a Jr B makes more economic sense as you get more bang for your buck: usually better, stronger field, more World Standing points available, a chance to get on the SB list, etc. Of course, USFS might save money if they're requiring the families to pay for the Jr B.

Well, JGP entries for #3 aren't due until tomorrow. My view is they must have had a pretty good idea that Calhoun/Zheltyshev were looking good for a new team, otherwise they wouldn't have gotten his release & let them skate in the Int'l here rather than the NQS comp. We've seen the USFS give new teams assignments without publicly competing in previous seasons, so it wouldn't be out of the ordinary for them to have assigned CalZhel already.

I'm just not seeing that any of the just-up-from-novice teams of Feige/Middlekauff, the Fischers or the Fugates are showing they're quite ready for a JGP. They're barely beating the total score minimum to be on the ISP at these domestic NQS comps.

ETA - they've a better chance at World Standing points competing in an event like Bolero Cup than they do being sent to a JGP.

 

[Karen-W]

Sr NQS Final Results -
Place Start Name Rhythm Dance Free Dance Total Score
1 6 Amy Cui, SC of Boston / Jonathan Rogers, Texas Gulf Coast FSC 1 67.60 1 102.72 170.32
2 4 Isabella Flores, Thunderbirds FSC / Linus Colmor Jepsen, French Ice Sports Federation 2 60.06 2 83.49 143.55
3 5 Grace Yi, SC of New York / Danila Savelev, SC of New York 3 55.89 3 83.42 139.31
4 1 Addison Pehl, Skate Canada / Daniel Yu, Skate Canada 4 48.50 4 70.59 119.09
5 2 Klara Kowar, Aspen SC / Thomas Schwappach, Denver Colorado FSC 5 42.48 5 66.93 109.41
6 3 Marin Hessel, Pavilion SC of Cleveland Heights / Daniel Klaber, Pavilion SC of Cleveland Heights 6 28.09 6 35.13 63.22

Judges Protocols - https://ijs.usfigureskating.org/leaderboard/results/2025/35672/SEGM046.html

 

[Stephanie]

Well, JGP entries for #3 aren't due until tomorrow. My view is they must have had a pretty good idea that Calhoun/Zheltyshev were looking good for a new team, otherwise they wouldn't have gotten his release & let them skate in the Int'l here rather than the NQS comp. We've seen the USFS give new teams assignments without publicly competing in previous seasons, so it wouldn't be out of the ordinary for them to have assigned CalZhel already.

I'm just not seeing that any of the just-up-from-novice teams of Feige/Middlekauff, the Fischers or the Fugates are showing they're quite ready for a JGP. They're barely beating the total score minimum to be on the ISP at these domestic NQS comps.

ETA - they've a better chance at World Standing points competing in an event like Bolero Cup than they do being sent to a JGP.

Zheltyshev would need a visa for Italy. Maybe he already has a Schengen visa, but I think it’s more likely that we’ll see this team in Bangkok or Baku.

 

[Karen-W]

Zheltyshev would need a visa for Italy. Maybe he already has a Schengen visa, but I think it’s more likely that we’ll see this team in Bangkok or Baku.

I'm sure the USFS will work all that out.

Two weeks turnaround between JGPs isn't uncommon, so it wouldn't surprise me if either Robertson/Rohner or Deych/Hu are assigned to Varese for a 2nd JGP if Ilin/Cain are dealing with some sort of injury that is delaying their season start.

 

[Belsornia]

And the award for the most awfully mismatched couple goes to Hessel/Klaber. She can barely skate and he’s good.

Aren’t they a skater competing with her coach team, as more commonly found in the upper echelons of adult dance? I assume he’s getting paid for this.

 

[Rob]

Cui/Rogers, just gorgeous. Perfectly matched in terms of technique and emotional expression and the packaging is stunning. (At Long Last the music.)

Rob and I very impressed.

It was goosebumps gorgeous. Really special. Costumes are beautiful. Amazingly expressive and moving.

 

[Rob]

Aren’t they a skater competing with her coach team, as more commonly found in the upper echelons of adult dance? I assume he’s getting paid for this.

Yes I thought he was a JGP medalist many years ago so a coach/student pair. I think she had trouble breathing at the end too but she was ok. It looked like asthma to me (I have asthma so the coughing is distinctive).

 

[PRlady]

Here again but low battery so sparse comments.

 

[PRlady]

Ukrainians Cabaret very enjoyable, wouldn’t have thought he could do androgynous MC but he pulled it off. She’s still lagging him in teknik and expression.

 

[PRlady]

Mullen: this Danse Macabre could be a great program with more mileage. I spied several moments out of sync, including twizzles. Work in progress.

 

[PRlady]

Pham/Spiro: some musical we don’t know. Forgot to Shazam. Ok I guess.

 

[PRlady]

T/K Spartacus: just great. Dramatic, expressive, her stretch is terrific. 102 is underscored. (Note, my liking for them is not because they skate for Israel. I bet my cat knows more Hebrew than they do.)

 

[BlueRidge]

...

T/K Spartacus: just great. Dramatic, expressive, her stretch is terrific. 102 is underscored. (Note, my liking for them is not because they skate for Israel. I bet my cat knows more Hebrew than they do.)

They are a hometown team.

 

[PRlady]

Henson/Likkers, not your basic Canadian team. Sultry blues. Liked both their programs.

 

[her grace]

Pretty sizeable gap in score between T/K and Ichilov/Nosovitskiy. The former should get the nod to try to qualify an Olympic spot.

 

[Wyliefan]

I see the Peals went behind Tka/Kil. (That's an odd portmanteau when you look at it.)

 

[PRlady]

Pate/Bye, Lion King not the usual music cuts. Back to no extension, carriage, tension, stretch. Pass.

 

[PRlady]

L/Q. Gorgeous different style for them, passionate and dramatic. Not sure how I feel about Adagio with lyrics but they made the most of it.

 

[PRlady]

LeGacs. Strange mix of Cleopatra and ? Much better than RD, interesting shapes and choreo, skated with assurance. Probably will stay ahead of Koreans.

 

[Karen-W]

LeGacs. Strange mix of Cleopatra and ? Much better than RD, interesting shapes and choreo, skated with assurance. Probably will stay ahead of Koreans.

Quite easily - 187.08 overall v. LimQuan's 180.56, who just barely stayed ahead of the 178.92 PateBye put up.

 

[PRlady]

Browns, Godfather. Perfect. Dramatic, expressive, fabulous technique and lifts. No notes. Should be one of the FDs of the season.

 

[Karen-W]

Browns, Godfather. Perfect. Dramatic, expressive, fabulous technique and lifts. No notes. Should be one of the FDs of the season.

Judges didn't quite agree - they're behind Les Gacs in the FD. Still held on for the win here, though.