OK, look, it's a shock, right? We all--particularly the athletes--should have been asking about the criteria way before Nationals, and we slacked off because we thought the big battle was over and that S&D had no competition.
But let's be honest here. They have about the easiest road back to the Olympics that any brand new ice dance team could have.
If they were suddenly going to skate for Great Britain, would they have as open a road to the Olympics? No. If they were going to skate for Germany, would they have as open a road to the Olympics? No. Canada? No. The U.S.? No. Russia? Heck, no. Georgia, Czech Republic, Japan, China? No, no, no, and no.
So I guess, they'll survive & be grateful that Spanish citizenship is a possibility for Dieck (I certainly hope they did their research on that), and that next year is the qualifying season rather than this one.
Not that I would put it past the Spanish Fed to change their criteria at the last minute, but for now, assuming the announced criteria stands.