U.S. Ice Dance 2017/18 season news & updates

[Sylvia]

2018 Four Continents Championships results:
GOLD Kaitlin HAWAYEK / Jean-Luc BAKER USA 174.29 1 1 SD video (69.08) & FD video (105.21) - all ISU season best scores for them + Winner's Interview
4 Lorraine MCNAMARA / Quinn CARPENTER USA 160.12 4 4 FD (97.29): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04Y2HUHjRLE
6 Rachel PARSONS / Michael PARSONS USA 155.30 6 6 FD (95.12): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMcSuTQf2yc

 

[Lara111]

Good to see USFS apparently is assigning 4 age-eligible teams from Novice Nationals to their first internationals in the Adv. Novice categoy at the end of this month: Katarina Wolfkostin/Howard Zhao (N1) and Elizabeth Tkachenko/Alexei Kiliakov (N4) to Mentor Torun Cup in Poland, and Caroline Liu/Kenan Slevira (N3) and Oona & Gage Brown (N5) to Bavarian Open in Obertsdorf, Germany (awaiting confirmation to be posted on the USFS website).

Right, it is good but no Junior teams.

 

[her grace]

Happy for the four novice teams getting this chance to get valuable international experience. Buckley/Chen (N2) are too old for the advanced novice category, right?

Of the junior teams, the top 6 each got two JGPs so they don't need a spring developmental international. I would like to see Haines/Koszuta (J7) get one. Does Challenge Cup include junior ice dance? That's the last unfilled senior B listed on USFS' international assignment page.

Getting a JGP next season is going to be quite the battle!

 

[wickedwitch]

Of the junior teams, the top 6 each got two JGPs so they don't need a spring developmental international. I would like to see Haines/Koszuta (J7) get one. Does Challenge Cup include junior ice dance? That's the last unfilled senior B listed on USFS' international assignment page.

I really hope H/K can get an assignment this spring. They definitely deserve one.

 

[Lara111]

I really hope H/K can get an assignment this spring. They definitely deserve one.

H/K deserve it more than Elders for sure. At the end of the day I do not think H/K would have been very successful on Junior International arena anyway.

 

[Bellanca]

Evan Bates has been elected the U.S. Winter Olympic Figure Skating Team Captain by his teammates! Congratulations!

 

[chapis]

What beauty products do figure skaters use? Madison H., Madison Chock, Evan B., Maia + no ice dancers ( Mirai, Adam, Vincent, Alexa)

http://wavy.com/2018/01/25/what-beauty-products-do-figure-skaters-use/

 

[aemeraldrainc]

What beauty products do figure skaters use? Madison H., Madison Chock, Evan B., Maia + no ice dancers ( Mirai, Adam, Vincent, Alexa)

http://wavy.com/2018/01/25/what-beauty-products-do-figure-skaters-use/

Mirai Nagasu:

I use razor, shampoo, conditioner, moisturizer and a tweezer

 

[Dobre]

Happy for the four novice teams getting this chance to get valuable international experience. Buckley/Chen (N2) are too old for the advanced novice category, right?

I don't know. Per one article from Nationals, Jeffrey Chen is 15 so he is age-eligible for Advanced Novice. He moved up to novices from intermediates this season. Can't find Gianna Buckley's age online. She moved up from intermediates to skate in novice for the first time in 2016 with her former partner so perhaps she is a little past the Advanced Novice age requirement now. (I'd be surprised if she is much past it). Or perhaps the Chen family is busy trying to get the entire family to Korea to watch Karen?

 

[emilieh]

I don't know. Per one article from Nationals, Jeffrey Chen is 15 so he is age-eligible for Advanced Novice. He moved up to novices from intermediates this season. Can't find Gianna Buckley's age online. She moved up from intermediates to skate in novice for the first time in 2016 with her former partner so perhaps she is a little past the Advanced Novice age requirement now. (I'd be surprised if she is much past it). Or perhaps the Chen family is busy trying to get the entire family to Korea to watch Karen?

The Ice-Dance.Com event coverage from 2014 nationals says that Buckley was born in 2001, so she's a bit older than Chen. https://www.ice-dance.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/2014USNationalsProfiles-Intermediate.pdf

What's the cutoff for girls for advanced novice? 15 or 16 maybe?

 

[Lutzlvr]

I think in ice dance, the age limit for advanced novice is 15 for the girls and 17 for the boys.

 

[Dobre]

The Ice-Dance.Com event coverage from 2014 nationals says that Buckley was born in 2001, so she's a bit older than Chen. https://www.ice-dance.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/2014USNationalsProfiles-Intermediate.pdf

What's the cutoff for girls for advanced novice? 15 or 16 maybe?

Girls cannot be 15 prior to the July before the event so there you go.
http://www.isu.org/communications/487-2024-novice-2016-17-replacing-2013/file

 

[Firedancer]

Chock & Bates pre-Olympic teleconference comments (from Jackie Wong's twitter):

Chock/Bates: We've made a lot of progress on our short dance - we worked with Serge Onik on it. We are really excited about the changes we've made ... the program is still evolving in a great way.

Chock/Bates: The closeness btwn the top US teams has given a lot of credence to our sport. The unpredictability from event to event gives a lot of excitement to the public. There is objective criteria to be judged - as athletes, you think you have a chance at every competition

Chock/Bates: We know what to expect from an Olympic experience. In that aspect, now we know how rare it is to go to multiple Olympics .. we can really appreciate it so much more. I’m looking forward to soaking everything up and meet new athletes and get to know their stories.

 

[skatingguy]

Sax Mettlage‏ @Max_Settlage 27m27 minutes ago
Legends, icons, even in adolescence. Thank you, holy mother for blessing us with this piece of history. @Meryl_Davis @CharlieaWhite
https://twitter.com/Max_Settlage/status/958537765611757569

 

[Lara111]

Girls cannot be 15 prior to the July before the event so there you go.
http://www.isu.org/communications/487-2024-novice-2016-17-replacing-2013/file

Has anybody heard any rumors or facts about possibly changing age for junior/adv novice girls in ice dance so that they could compete in junior/adv novice until 20/17 years like boys? We see many teams now where girls are older than guys.

 

[Bellanca]

https://twitter.com/SkatingLesson/status/959848945051750400

If this turns out to be the case, good news for the Shibs! Maybe a chance to get the momentum back into their corner, but, nonetheless, a bummer for H&D, C&B. Although, If the teams were or still might be splitting, my pick, H&D.

 

[wickedwitch]

USFSA is always going to double up on singles because it prioritizes singles and having singles skaters win medals. It doesn't care about additional ice dance medalists.

It sucks for C&B and H&D. I will be rooting for them in the ice dance competition over S&S now.

 

[kwanfan1818]

The ISU SB list so far is:

Short Dance:

1 82.68 Tessa VIRTUE / Scott MOIR CAN ISU GP Skate Canada International 2017 27.10.2017
2 82.07 Gabriella PAPADAKIS / Guillaume CIZERON FRA ISU Grand Prix Final 2017/18 07.12.2017
3 79.18 Maia SHIBUTANI / Alex SHIBUTANI USA ISU GP Skate America 2017 25.11.2017

4 77.47 Kaitlyn WEAVER / Andrew POJE CAN ISU GP Skate Canada International 2017 27.10.2017​

5 76.33 Ekaterina BOBROVA / Dmitri SOLOVIEV RUS ISU GP Rostelecom Cup 2017 20.10.2017
6 76.31 Madison HUBBELL / Zachary DONOHUE USA ISU GP NHK Trophy 2017 11.11.2017
7 75.87 Anna CAPPELLINI / Luca LANOTTE ITA ISU GP NHK Trophy 2017 11.11.2017

8 75.38 Alexandra STEPANOVA / Ivan BUKIN RUS ISU European Championships 2018 19.01.2018​

9 74.36 Madison CHOCK / Evan BATES USA ISU Grand Prix Final 2017/18 07.12.2017


Free Dance:

1 121.87 Gabriella PAPADAKIS / Guillaume CIZERON FRA ISU European Championships 2018 20.01.2018
2 118.33 Tessa VIRTUE / Scott MOIR CAN ISU Grand Prix Final 2017/18 09.12.2017
3 115.07 Maia SHIBUTANI / Alex SHIBUTANI USA ISU GP Skate America 2017 26.11.2017
4 113.35 Madison HUBBELL / Zachary DONOHUE USA ISU GP Skate Canada International 2017 28.10.2017
5 112.79 Madison CHOCK / Evan BATES USA ISU Grand Prix Final 2017/18 09.12.2017
6 112.70 Ekaterina BOBROVA / Dmitri SOLOVIEV RUS ISU European Championships 2018 20.01.2018
7 112.54 Kaitlyn WEAVER / Andrew POJE CAN ISU GP Skate Canada International 2017 28.10.2017
8 110.99 Anna CAPPELLINI / Luca LANOTTE ITA ISU Grand Prix Final 2017/18 09.12.2017

Two of FRA, CHN, ITA, and JPN should make the FD.

Even though the Shibs faltered at GPF, their SA score came later than H/D's SC SB to date, and H/D's GPF score didn't surpass their earlier SC score.

These are the numbers that USFS may have been looking at.

 

[VGThuy]

Great, now the Shibs will get an even bigger online backlash than they were getting pre-Nationals.

 

[Debbie S]

Even though the Shibs faltered at GPF, their SA score came later than H/D's SC SB to date, and H/D's GPF score didn't surpass their earlier SC score.

These are the numbers that USFS may have been looking at.

If USFS really looked at numbers and momentum over the course of the season, then C/B should be doing the FD b/c they got the highest score of the U.S. teams at both GPF and Nats. But as wickedwitch said, USFS prioritizes singles. Although I think if Ashley had made the team and/or if Karen had a better season, they might have put either out for both programs, given their experience under pressure. I don't blame Nathan for only wanting to skate 1 program in the TE - unlike the ladies, he is a medal contender and deserves to be in the best shape for the individual event.

 

[Willin]

TBH I like the Shibs. I just hope they switch their FD back to the pre-nationals version - that splice in of Fix You was just a bizarre choice. I also think that as the ones with the most international success, they're the ones who make the most sense for that spot. Not to mention even if they get the team medal, they're no lock for the bronze in the Ice Dance event, so maybe USFSA is going to hope they can use this as a strategy to get two different US Ice Dance teams medals.

 

[kwanfan1818]

If USFS really looked at numbers and momentum over the course of the season, then C/B should be doing the FD b/c they got the highest score of the U.S. teams at both GPF and Nats.

They got the highest scores at GPF and Nationals doing their best with the Shibs faltering. The Shibs could falter again, but their SB from two weeks before GPF is still higher than C/B's FD score at GPF. I think H/D's FD is the best of all three, and they have the second-highest FD score, but I'm not sure the judges agree, and they could be sacrificed easily for B/S in the TE, especially.

From a bureaucratic point of view, choosing the Shibs for both and making C/B and H/D hungry, and possibly angry, like Sotnikova was, is better than choosing between the team with the higher recent FD, although different by a small margin, and the National Champions, whom I would have chosen. This isn't like 2014 Ladies, where Edmunds was clearly not in the running for the TE.

I disagree that, if true, the decision is only based on singles vs. ice dance. Both D/W and V/M were clear in 2014 that they wanted to go skate both, and I think part of this was because they wanted to face-off in the TE for both programs. And while Chen has a higher potential upside than any current US Dance team in the individual event, with V/M and P/C clearly ahead of all, his potential downside in the individual event could look like Helsinki, given the risk and difficulty he brings and momentum Jin, Uno, and Fernandez are bringing from 4C's and Euros, plus Hanyu being the warrior he is, although his physical shape is unknown, and never knowing which Kolyada will show up.

The US could be scrambling for bronze in the TE, or they could be fighting for silver. US Dance is a better points-getting bet, at least on paper, than Men, especially with Chen splitting.

 

[Barbara Manatee]

Great, now the Shibs will get an even bigger online backlash than they were getting pre-Nationals.

That's okay, I think they will happily accept internet bashing in exchange for an Olympic medal. (So will Hubbell/Donohue or Chock/Bates, if they get the chance at the team spot.)

Add me to the 'I'll be cheering for one couple (or two!) to medal with the team, and another to medal individually' list.

 

[jlai]

I am extremely disappointed that they won't split dance but will split ladies. I don't see any reliable-ish lady other than Bradie and the Shibs could split ice dance team success with another team

 

[VGThuy]

This may be the martinis talking, but eff that noise. Shibs for all the medals.

 

[Sylvia]

Good to see USFS apparently is assigning 4 age-eligible teams from Novice Nationals to their first internationals in the Adv. Novice categoy at the end of this month: Katarina Wolfkostin/Howard Zhao (N1) and Elizabeth Tkachenko/Alexei Kiliakov (N4) to Mentor Torun Cup in Poland, and Caroline Liu/Kenan Slevira (N3) and Oona & Gage Brown (N5) to Bavarian Open in Obertsdorf, Germany

Follow-up post with results:

Bavarian Open:
Gold - Caroline LIU / Kenan SLEVIRA USA 80.00 2 3 1
Bronze - Oona BROWN / Gage BROWN USA 74.31 3 5 2

Re-posting from the Mentor Torun Cup competition thread in Kiss & Cry:

They finished with Tkachenko & Kiliakov in 2nd and Wolfkostin & Zhao in 4th. I believe that's the first time any other U.S. novice dance team has defeated Wolfkostin & Zhao in the FD all season. (Though Buckley & Chen have done it a few times in the compulsories and once overall). I confess the underdog fan in me is thrilled T&K pulled this off with their quirky FD, even if it really came down to an extended lift deduction for W&Z. Apparently both teams, as well as the winners, gave up 2 levels on the twizzles.

Silver - Elizabeth TKACHENKO / Alexei KILIAKOV USA 86.56 2 2 3
4th - Katarina WOLFKOSTIN / Howard ZHAO USA 83.38 3 3 5

 

[HeatherC]

This may be the martinis talking, but eff that noise. Shibs for all the medals.

Haha, well, I haven't had any martinis but I've been watching the Shibs since they were little novice dancers in komonos and I wouldn't mind seeing them win two Olympics medals in Korea (although I do love the other two dance teams...Shibs are just my faves).

 

[TanithandBenFan]

C/B for the upset and the joy of watching the interwebs implode!

 

[jlai]

I don't mind Shibs getting two medals in Korea but US ice dancing is so successful that another team deserves to split team glory with the Shibs. I am not sure what USFS is thinking. If they lose team medal because of a weak lady showing it is their fault

 

[GloriaW]

Great, now the Shibs will get an even bigger online backlash than they were getting pre-Nationals.

Nah, perspective my dear. FSU, etc. is a tiny teapot (referencing tempest, etc.)
Step back. Rise above. Look beyond. What does one see?

"Love from Brazil! Germany! Finland! Russia! China! Australia!" REAL people on social media from all over the world, expressing their appreciation for Maia and Alex, as sportsmen and as people. They are admired for their kindness, and in many instances for making people feel connected once again with the sport of figure skating! Real people see their resilience through all those tough years in the face of naysayers. Real people see the Shibs rising above the "internet BS", using connectivity in POSITIVE ways. THAT is real. THAT shows the impact that Maia and Alex are having, from years of effort and contributions, to and for the sport of figure skating.

P.S. make mine a "dirty" martini