U.S. Men 2018-19 season (cont.) - news & updates

[Sylvia]

In one of the recent articles, Zhou credits Hamada with helping him understand where he is in the air, so she is definitely working on his jumps. But she does say that his jumps are really good, and the rest of his skating needs to catch up.

I posted the link to Jack Gallagher's recent article that included quotes from both Vincent and Mie Hamada as a separate thread in GSD: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...amada-helps-vincent-zhou-find-success.105538/

Copying over the names of the 21 men initially listed in USFS' 2019-20 International Selection Pool (ISP) on April 5th:

Nathan Chen S1
Vincent Zhou S2
Jason Brown S3
Tomoki Hiwatashi S4
Alex Krasnozhon S5
Andrew Torgashev S7 (final season of ISU Junior age eligibility is 2019-20)
Camden Pulkinen S12
Ryan Dunk J1
Dinh Tran J2
Joonsoo Kim J3 (turned 19 last month & has aged out of ISU Junior)
Peter Liu J4
Lucas Altieri J5
Joseph Kang J6
Max Lake J8
Eric Sjoberg J10
William Annis N1
Matthew Nielsen N2
Ilia Malinin N3
Joseph Klein N4
Liam Kapeikis N5
Eric Prober N6

 

[Marco]

I will miss Tim's lovely spins.

 

[olympic]

Yes. Tim had great spins, a certain sense of style and was more of an adventurous type with choreography. I would like to have seen him conquer the harder jumps before retiring, but I wish him well.

 

[livetoskate]

Tim was wonderful to see at Eastern as well as Nationals. One of those elegant well-rounded skaters who unfortunately just doesn't have a quad. I remember when he was just a kid competing at places like the Atlanta Open. So with his retirement, I guess Jimmy Ma is likely to win Eastern sectionals later this year, unless there's anybody else up and coming. Has Kevin Shum officially retired?

 

[BittyBug]

I would like to have seen him conquer the harder jumps before retiring....

His build was not in his favor. He has very broad shoulders - almost swimmer shoulders - which makes it so much harder to rotate quickly (more to get around).

 

[wickedwitch]

Camden Pulkinen changed coaches: https://www.instagram.com/p/BwqBkfSHv9K/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=1222qdhuu0lz6

 

[VGThuy]

Camden Pulkinen changed coaches: https://www.instagram.com/p/BwqBkfSHv9K/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=1222qdhuu0lz6

Interesting because as far as I know Tom and Tammy are still working together for Vincent. I wonder if Tom will still be in the picture.

 

[Sylvia]

Camden Pulkinen changed coaches:

For those who can't click on the link right now, Tammy Gambill and Damon Allen are in Pulkinen's photo with him.

ETA in reply to @livetoskate re. Kevin Shum: He hasn't said anything publicly yet about his plans, AFAIK -- he will graduate from MIT this year (June).

 

[RoseRed]

So we have at that rink:

Andrew Torgashev - Christy Krall, Eric Schultz, Josh Farris
Tomoki Hiwatashi - Christy Krall, Damon Allen
Camden Pulkinen - Damon Allen, Tammy Gambill

ETA and Vincent (as of this past season) - Tammy Gambill, Tom Zakrajsek, Christine Krall

Plus Mie Hamada who wasn't in his bio.

 

[greenapple]

There are unconfirmed rumours floating around that Tom Z. might be leaving COS and moving to California.

 

[nathanfan]

There are unconfirmed rumours floating around that Tom Z. might be leaving COS and moving to California.

Interesting. Wonder where he would go ... could it be the new rink in Irvine?

 

[carriecmu0503]

There are unconfirmed rumours floating around that Tom Z. might be leaving COS and moving to California.

The whole reason Tammy left California was to move to Colorado Springs to join the team with Tom. It would be kind of weird if Tom now moved to California while Tammy stays in Colorado Springs.

 

[greenapple]

AFAIK Tammy moved to COS to continue coaching Vincent Zhou who decided that was where he wanted to train. Not sure it had anything to do with teaming up with Tom.

 

[carriecmu0503]

AFAIK Tammy moved to COS to continue coaching Vincent Zhou who decided that was where he wanted to train. Not sure it had anything to do with teaming up with Tom.

Tom, Tammy, and Christy formed an Academy at World Arena. That was why Tammy moved there. Notice that Tammy and Tom have been coaching a lot of students together this past year.

 

[Sylvia]

Coach Tom Zakrajsek posted this IG group photo a few days ago of Mie Hamada-sensei with his students at the World Arena Ice Hall -- Emmanuel Savary, 11th in Senior at 2019 Nationals, is at the back and the other boy is Daniel Tioumentsev who competed in both Novice Men & Intermediate Pairs at Nationals: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bwf813-lMcH/

 

[layman]

I will miss Tim's lovely spins.

I wonder if Tim Dolensky would consider Pairs Skating. I think he would make a great Pairs partner.

 

[maureenfarone]

I wonder if Tim Dolensky would consider Pairs Skating. I think he would make a great Pairs partner.

Tim's ISU info lists him as 168 cm which converts to 5'5 inches so he is shorter than Nathan Bartholomay and Rockne Brubaker. I think it would be almost impossible for Tim to find a partner small enough for pairs.

I will miss Tim he had many lovely qualities and interesting choreography. I wish him well and hope he enjoys his time performing on cruise ships.

 

[Sylvia]

Vincent's post today (from the Brown University campus): https://www.instagram.com/p/BwsKz_Pn8dd/

Took a fall backstage during the [4/20 SOI] Long Island show and injured my knee so I won't be able to perform with Stars On Ice this weekend and possibly next. We'll see. I'm really sorry for those of you who were hoping to see me I'm doing my best to heal up and return for the last few weekends of Stars! Meanwhile, during my off time, I'm remaining productive with very important things

ETA - replying to @rinettoii who asked in the U.S. SOI thread:

Is he going to Brown?

I believe this is the first time Vincent has shared anything publicly about potential college plans? I assume he applied to Brown, was accepted, and is getting a feel for the campus and university before making any decisions.

 

[layman]

Tim's ISU info lists him as 168 cm which converts to 5'5 inches so he is shorter than Nathan Bartholomay and Rockne Brubaker. I think it would be almost impossible for Tim to find a partner small enough for pairs.

I will miss Tim he had many lovely qualities and interesting choreography. I wish him well and hope he enjoys his time performing on cruise ships.

Tim is also a talented musician and composer. He composed many of the pieces that he skated to.

Skaters are always in need of original music. I see a career for him in music composition.

 

[Lacey]

Vincent's post today (from the Brown University campus): https://www.instagram.com/p/BwsKz_Pn8dd/


ETA - replying to @rinettoii who asked in the U.S. SOI thread:

I believe this is the first time Vincent has shared anything publicly about potential college plans? I assume he applied to Brown, was accepted, and is getting a feel for the campus and university before making any decisions.

What?

A switch?

He should try University of Pennsylvania, it's a great school. There's a rink at Penn, and PSC&HS in Ardmore is 1/2 hour away. My daughter was a member of a varsity sport team, dedicated many daily hours there (not skating--she gave that up when she went to college), tutored inner city children and college athletes, also was able to finish very high academically as a double major in Econ and French and was very happy socially--later married her college bf from freshman year, they are so excited to be going to their 10th reunion. Happy place, something for everyone.

I am quite sure if he didn't before that he can apply now, as a transfer--smart young man, excellent life credentials.

 

[Sylvia]

I will miss Tim he had many lovely qualities and interesting choreography. I wish him well and hope he enjoys his time performing on cruise ships.

He seems to be enjoying himself so far! https://www.instagram.com/p/BwdRPxDl5xR/
1977 (one of Tim's hashtags) is an ice show on Symphony of the Seas: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruise-activities/1977-ice-show
(Fellow castmate Garrett Gosselin was one of my fave lesser known Canadian men to watch.)

Tim is also a talented musician and composer. He composed many of the pieces that he skated to.

Twice - Dolensky composed his own SP music in the 2011–12 (Junior) and 2014–15 seasons.

 

[Vagabond]

He should try University of Pennsylvania, it's a great school. There's a rink at Penn, and PSC&HS in Ardmore is 1/2 hour away.

Let's go, Quakers!

But to cross-post from another thread:

A quick check for current acceptance rates at some elite priivate colleges and universities yielded this:
....
Pennsylvania 9%
...
Brown 9.5%

It's a lot easier to apply to Penn than to be admitted. For all we know, he did apply to Penn and either didn't get in or simply prefers Brown.

 

[Theoreticalgirl]

As a former Penn employee, I think you meant "portal to hell slightly resembling the form of an ice rink".

 

[A.H.Black]

Tim's ISU info lists him as 168 cm which converts to 5'5 inches so he is shorter than Nathan Bartholomay and Rockne Brubaker. I think it would be almost impossible for Tim to find a partner small enough for pairs.

I will miss Tim he had many lovely qualities and interesting choreography. I wish him well and hope he enjoys his time performing on cruise ships.

I tried your conversion and came up with 168 cm converts to 5.51181 ft. Isn't that 5'6"? Not much of a difference, I know - just playing with the math. On the other hand, I have seen Tim at competitions more than once and I would swear he was a bit taller - 5'8"? 5'9"? 5'10"? I wouldn't stake anything on it though.

In looking at images, I see that he is taller than Hiwatashi (of course), and Torgeshev. Shorter than Krasnazhon.

I think he will be great on the cruise ships.

 

[Sylvia]

And here is Vincent visiting Columbia today (eta: brace is on his left knee in the 2nd photo): https://www.instagram.com/p/Bwu27GmnHz9/

ETA:

Vincent has been invited for the first time to perform as a guest skater in the Dreams on Ice (annual Team Japan exhibition) show in Yokohama, June 28-30, 2019: http://onice.jp/DOI19/guests.html
I posted in Nathan's fan thread several weeks ago that he's been invited for the third straight year as a guest performer.

 

[Vagabond]

I tried your conversion and came up with 168 cm converts to 5.51181 ft. Isn't that 5'6"? Not much of a difference, I know - just playing with the math. On the other hand, I have seen Tim at competitions more than once and I would swear he was a bit taller - 5'8"? 5'9"? 5'10"?

Seeing is believing.

http://figureskatersonline.com/news/2017/05/16/new-coaches-new-training-facility-for-tim-dolensky/
http://figureskatersonline.com/news...een-Shot-2017-05-14-at-3.24.36-PM-300x297.png

Ryan Jahnke's ISU biography states that he is 180 cm. tall (just under 5'11", if that measurement is taken at face value). There's no way that Dolensky could be 5'8", let alone 5'10".

 

[Spun Silver]

Seeing is believing.

http://figureskatersonline.com/news/2017/05/16/new-coaches-new-training-facility-for-tim-dolensky/
http://figureskatersonline.com/news...een-Shot-2017-05-14-at-3.24.36-PM-300x297.png

Ryan Jahnke's ISU biography states that he is 180 cm. tall (just under 5'11", if that measurement is taken at face value). There's no way that Dolensky could be 5'8", let alone 5'10".

But Tim only looks a little shorter than Timothy LeDuc who's 6'. ??

 

[concorde]

As a former Penn employee, I think you meant "portal to hell slightly resembling the form of an ice rink".

The rink shut down about 2 weeks ago for a huge rehab. The only thing they are keeping is the ice foundation - the boards and seating are being redone. It is scheduled to reopen after Labor Day and is to look great. Keeping my fingers crossed!

But I believe only ~2 freestyle sessions are offered a day. That really is not enough ice time for a world class skater.

 

[Vagabond]

But Tim only looks a little shorter than Timothy LeDuc who's 6'. ??

That's not a full-length shot. Dolensky could be wearing skates or platform shoes.

 

[ilovepaydays]

Ryan Jahnke's ISU biography states that he is 180 cm. tall (just under 5'11", if that measurement is taken at face value). There's no way that Dolensky could be 5'8", let alone 5'10".

How tall is Farris? 5’9” or 5’10”? Dolensky posted a picture of them hanging out last summer and there looks like at least a two inch difference. Maybe more if Tim’s hair is a tad poofy.

Anyway, I never thought that Tim looked tall enough to be a pairs skater, although he otherwise looked like he did the bench press enough for it.