U.S. Men 2021-22 season news & updates

[jlai]

Boitano and Wylie turned senior before the first Olympic season, so they had two shots.
Goebel did his first senior in an Olympic season but didn't do full senior until the year after. He medalled at his first Olympics.
Lysacek went to worlds the year before his first Olympics also.

Other examples of those who went to the Olympics twice include Bowman and Todd, Weiss, Weir, Jeremy, Brown who all didn't medal for various reasons (training, jump technique, lack of difficult jumps, nerves, Cop)

 

[SkateFanBerlin]

Looking forward, I am happy for Camden but I wonder where he wants to go from here. Right now, that performance at ‘22 Worlds is even with the best RUS has to offer for example (and I realize that may be a bad example because RUS future is questionable).

I think he will need to land a 4S and another type of quad to be competitive with JPN men and maintain all that momentum. International judges are willing to give him strong GOE and PCS

Or maybe he is just competing with himself and this is all he ever wanted

I'm as surprised as anyone at Camden's performance. Yes, a 4S wold be good. Kagiyama has only 4T & 4S. Right? Camden's secret weapon, something that let's say Grassl lacks, is beautiful skating. Buried the last couple years over lack of 4's and dodgey performances. But, I remember him as a junior - lovely positions and skating skills. If he gets this kind of skating going next season could see him getting a GP medal.

 

[Karen-W]

Hardly. 30 minutes. Try getting across L.A. to a rink.

It is all a matter of perspective. Trust me, when I lived on the East Coast a lot of friends and acquaintances were horrified at the thought of driving 30 min let alone an hour to get anywhere.

Beyond that, "L.A." encompasses a much larger area, geographically, than Manhattan. And, when you think about it, as the crow flies or even in exact mileage, it is 5.4 miles from Columbia University to Chelsea Piers and Google Maps says it takes 25 min to make the trip right now.

Just for grins and giggles, I looked up the nearest rink to UCLA (since Audrey Lu has been accepted there) - Iceland Skating Center in Van Nuys is 9.0 miles and per Google Maps takes 24 min to make the trip at this time. Sooooo... Going 3.5 miles further in the same amount of time. I think the nearest major training center is The Rinks in Lakewood, which is 31 miles and takes 37 min right now. And, if she wanted to to continue to skate pairs and train down in Irvine at Great Parks, it is 58.4 miles and an hour drive at this time. So, ten times the distance yet only twice the travel time.

Perspective is such a great thing.

 

[LeafOnTheWind]

I really want Camden to use this as a catalyst for confidence. I'm trying to decide if I should allow myself to get my hopes up for next year. Camden likes to shred my heart to scraps.

 

[Jayar]

It is all a matter of perspective. Trust me, when I lived on the East Coast a lot of friends and acquaintances were horrified at the thought of driving 30 min let alone an hour to get anywhere.

Beyond that, "L.A." encompasses a much larger area, geographically, than Manhattan. And, when you think about it, as the crow flies or even in exact mileage, it is 5.4 miles from Columbia University to Chelsea Piers and Google Maps says it takes 25 min to make the trip right now.

Just for grins and giggles, I looked up the nearest rink to UCLA (since Audrey Lu has been accepted there) - Iceland Skating Center in Van Nuys is 9.0 miles and per Google Maps takes 24 min to make the trip at this time. Sooooo... Going 3.5 miles further in the same amount of time. I think the nearest major training center is The Rinks in Lakewood, which is 31 miles and takes 37 min right now. And, if she wanted to to continue to skate pairs and train down in Irvine at Great Parks, it is 58.4 miles and an hour drive at this time. So, ten times the distance yet only twice the travel time.

Perspective is such a great thing.

I am not sure why you think your projections of commute time are remotely accurate. Sundays are a bit less trafficky in the LA area, but in general, it would not take one 37 minutes to get to Lakewood from UCLA. I have done that commute and it can take up to 90 minutes depending on the time of day. To go to Great Parks could be 2 hours from UCLA. It's not something that I would want to do on a regular basis.

 

[Karen-W]

I am not sure why you think your projections of commute time are remotely accurate. Sundays are a bit less trafficky in the LA area, but in general, it would not take one 37 minutes to get to Lakewood from UCLA. I have done that commute and it can take up to 90 minutes depending on the time of day. To go to Great Parks could be 2 hours from UCLA. It's not something that I would want to do on a regular basis.

Well, remember, I'm looking at Google Maps on a Sunday morning. I'm sure the travel times take much longer. There's a reason why I haven't attempted to drive in LA in 20 years, lol.

All I'm saying is that going 5.4 miles in 30 min isn't any more reasonable than taking 2 hours to go 58 miles or 90 minutes to go 31 miles.

 

[kalamalka]

Yuma seemed to do quite well in his first Olympics - a silver medal. Ilia will be ok.

Shoma Uno also won silver at his first Olympics. I think Plushenko did too. And both Kulik and Hanyu got gold.

 

[sk9tingfan]

It has been a long time since I've lived in Manhattan, but it appears the A train(local) still goes directly from 116th street (Columbia) down to W 23rd Street. The Chelsea Piers Skyrink is on West 21st street, but not as far west as Chelsea Piers, which may require him to take the 23rd street crosstown bus. The West Side Highway gets in the way of safely crossing. I don't envy anyone walking there because of the stiff winds during the winter.

https://new.mta.info/map/5256

Visit Our Sports Facility in Chelsea NYC | Chelsea Piers New York

Come visit us at Chelsea Piers New York! Get all the information you need to plan your visit, including directions, parking info, and more.

www.chelseapiers.com

 

[bladesofgorey]

It's not so bad of a walk- I used to walk from the 23rd Path to the rink. At least the Westside highway crossings didn't feel particularly dangerous to me- especially with the bicycle path infrastructure. There were nice long pedestrian crossing signals.

 

[euterpe]

Walking is always a good choice in NYC. I lived on E 53 and 3rd Ave and used to take ballet lessons on W52nd and Broadway. I could take the subway, but the trains don't run frequently enough so it wasn't time efficient. A brisk walk would get me there in no more than 20 min.

Bus travel in NYC isn't good. The buses are packed and make frequent stops, as well as having to maneuver in heavy traffic. On a swaying bus it's hard to hold on to a bar above your head since there's no chance of getting a seat. I NEVER took buses in the city.

 

[Trillian]

There might be a way to figure out the logistics, but realistically, I think Camden’s going to find training while attending Columbia about as easy as Vincent did at Brown. There are reasons no top-level skaters train in either New York or Providence. I can’t think of a single example of a skater who’s managed to continue training at an elite level as a full-time student at a rigorous university when there was a significant commute to the rink involved, and that’s because even 20-year-olds don’t have that many hours in a day.

 

[sheetz]

I hope he can prove me wrong but I can't see Camden doing anywhere near as well next season. Nathan is the only elite level skater I've heard of who has been able to successfully combine skating and school under those types of conditions and even then he was stretched to his limits. Besides the commuting Camden will be, for the most part, going it alone with neither coach nor training mates. From what I've heard Nathan's remote "coaching" consisted of him facetiming Raf a few times a year, and his "training mates" largely kids learning their doubles. Nathan somehow managed because he's superhuman but I just can't shake the feeling that Camden will struggle the way Karen and Vincent did.

 

[Spikefan]

Camden has always struggled until this stars aligned Worlds. Go to Columbia, skate and see if it works. Next season is the perfect one to test this.

 

[mtnskater]

Camden has always struggled until this stars aligned Worlds. Go to Columbia, skate and see if it works. Next season is the perfect one to test this.

Let’s not forget his two stellar skates at US Nationals!

 

[Karen-W]

Can I just state how impressive these US men are? Nathan at Yale, Vincent at Brown, Camden at Columbia... Ilia specifically mentioned college in his future in the TSL interview. Something tells me not to be surprised if he winds up somewhere equally impressive (and there are some excellent universities in his area if he doesn't want to change his training arrangements).

 

[sk9tingfan]

There might be a way to figure out the logistics, but realistically, I think Camden’s going to find training while attending Columbia about as easy as Vincent did at Brown. There are reasons no top-level skaters train in either New York or Providence. I can’t think of a single example of a skater who’s managed to continue training at an elite level as a full-time student at a rigorous university when there was a significant commute to the rink involved, and that’s because even 20-year-olds don’t have that many hours in a day.

Vincent didn't at Brown. He attended for a semester and then decided it was just too difficult. Brown gave him a lot more leeway in terms of continuing in with his education.

 

[lurkz2]

I hope he can prove me wrong but I can't see Camden doing anywhere near as well next season. Nathan is the only elite level skater I've heard of who has been able to successfully combine skating and school under those types of conditions and even then he was stretched to his limits. Besides the commuting Camden will be, for the most part, going it alone with neither coach nor training mates. From what I've heard Nathan's remote "coaching" consisted of him facetiming Raf a few times a year, and his "training mates" largely kids learning their doubles. Nathan somehow managed because he's superhuman but I just can't shake the feeling that Camden will struggle the way Karen and Vincent did.

What worries me is I have not heard of any training plans so far from Camden. Among all the elite skaters going to university, Nathan seems to have been the only one with training rink(s) sorted out from day 1.

 

[Marco]

Happy for Vincent's bronze given how his Olympics went. I actually felt some of the calls he got were literally "uncalled for" but many deserved to be called.

Camden was a big, pleasant surprise. I would definitely have him at least 4th. Everything was sure and confident. Beautiful to watch.

Don't worry about Ilia. It's just his 1st Worlds. If he is made of the same champion material as so many people believe him to be made of, he will be just fine. Those 4lutzes were gigantic! I wanna bet he kills it at Jr Worlds and sets him up nicely for next season / next quad.

 

[Jarrett]

Is it confirmed Ilia will be skating at Jr. Worlds?

 

[barbk]

Is it confirmed Ilia will be skating at Jr. Worlds?

He said so!

 

[SkateFanBerlin]

It is all a matter of perspective. Trust me, when I lived on the East Coast a lot of friends and acquaintances were horrified at the thought of driving 30 min let alone an hour to get anywhere.

A college student would take the subway, not drive. Agree a drive from Columbia to Chelsea Piers could take a while. Lived in Manhattan 23 years; I know about this.

 

[sk9tingfan]

A college student would take the subway, not drive. Agree a drive from Columbia to Chelsea Piers could take a while. Lived in Manhattan 23 years; I know about this.

There are also very few places to park a car, and inevitably one would have to move the car at least once a day due to alternate side of the street parking restrictions. Garaging a car is prohibitively expensive in Manhattan.

 

[olympic]

There are also very few places to park a car, and inevitably one would have to move the car at least once a day due to alternate side of the street parking restrictions. Garaging a car is prohibitively expensive in Manhattan.

LOL. I used to visit an army buddy in Manhattan in 1991, traveling by car from PSU (State College, PA) to his apartment on 8th Ave. which was a 4 hr. trip. It cost me $15

 

[sk9tingfan]

LOL. I used to visit an army buddy in Manhattan in 1991, traveling by car from PSU (State College, PA) to his apartment on 8th Ave. which was a 4 hr. trip. It cost me $15

I remember when the NYC subway cost a dime, the NY Times was a nickel and a slice of pizza was $.15. What should I say?

 

[barbk]

I remember when the NYC subway cost a dime, the NY Times was a nickel and a slice of pizza was $.15. What should I say?

I remember the 15 cent subway fare and 35 cent pizza. And a nickel to ride the Staten Island Ferry. (Possibly the only publicly-operated service in NYC that has declined in price...it is now free.)

Anyway, Columbia is a long haul for anything close to daily practice. Given the extensive core class requirements, I'd wonder if he'd even have time?

 

[AYS]

A college student would take the subway, not drive. Agree a drive from Columbia to Chelsea Piers could take a while. Lived in Manhattan 23 years; I know about this.

It's probably like a half hour or so total, including a bit of a walk from the subway and I don't think he would want do it every day, but a few days a week might be doable. (It used to take me longer to get from the lower east side to the old Sky Rink every day, because only buses were convenient from where I lived). With the PATH or driving, Hackensack would be a PITA.

My daughter is up and down on the subway every day for various work/dance classes/auditions from w 145th to 30's and 40's on the west side, you just get used to that.

Nice that we have Camden's plans sorted out for him.

 

[layman]

I think it's still a bit of a commute between Columbia and Chelsea Piers, but there are some good coaches there - Lindsay Thorngren is a member of SCNY and I think she's in NYC too. It could definitely work for him, if he's able to find the right balance between school and training. I'm crossing my fingers for him because if he's finally getting on track with his competitive mindset, he's going to be an exciting factor during the next quad.

We've all been saying "if only" and worrying about our men post-Nathan/Jason/Vincent, but, I'm feeling more hopeful. Ilia is a mad talent, Camden is glorious, hopefully Max Naumov will be healthy next season, and if Tomoki can get on track like Camden... then there's Liam Kapeikis, Kai Kovar, and the rest of the junior guys who are just starting to get their 3As and quads... And I expect that Nathan's gold has just inspired a whole new generation of boys to take up the sport, so I think we're in a great spot for a long time to come.

Columbia U is just across the Hudson from Hackensack, NJ (just minutes away across the GW Bridge) and the great coaches based there. I am fairly certain that's where Camden will end up if he is training for Olympic level competition in the NYC metro area.

 

[Rhumba d’Amour]

Columbia U is just across the Hudson from Hackensack, NJ (just minutes away across the GW Bridge) and the great coaches based there. I am fairly certain that's where Camden will end up if he is training for Olympic level competition in the NYC metro area.

Wherever he ends up training, whatever he does competition-wise for the rest of his life, our Mr Camden Pulkinen was IMHO THE breakout star of this Worlds, and no one will ever be able to take that away from him. As someone who has watched him struggle for years, despite his obvious talent, I found watching him skate here absolutely thrilling. Well done, Camden!

 

[Frau Muller]

Cross-posting from the KnC Worlds subforum, as this promises to be an historical day for US figure skating! Prepare to celebrate very soon!!!!


Happy for Vincent, returning to the Worlds podium…and Team USA remains on track to MEDAL IN EVERY DISCIPLINE AT A WORLDS!!! When’s the last time that that has happened…1967?

M - Gary Visconti - bronze
W - Peggy Fleming - gold
P - Kaufmanns - bronze
D - Dyer/Carrell - silver

…shhh…I was 11, in Puerto Rico, and watched on ABC Wide World of Sports…shhh

1967 World Figure Skating Championships - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

By the way, all but one of the Team USA world medalists from 1967 are alive. (Ice dancer John Carrell past away in late 1980s.) Would be so cool to interview them…or if USFSA could organize a get-together of some sort, live or virtual.

 

[Stephanie]

I remember the 15 cent subway fare and 35 cent pizza. And a nickel to ride the Staten Island Ferry. (Possibly the only publicly-operated service in NYC that has declined in price...it is now free.)

Anyway, Columbia is a long haul for anything close to daily practice. Given the extensive core class requirements, I'd wonder if he'd even have time?

I believe Camden is transferring from University of Colorado Colorado Springs, not starting his freshman year, so hopefully he'll already have met a large number of the core requirements.

Columbia U is just across the Hudson from Hackensack, NJ (just minutes away across the GW Bridge) and the great coaches based there. I am fairly certain that's where Camden will end up if he is training for Olympic level competition in the NYC metro area.

I agree this is the most sensible option. I just hope he can organize his schedule so that he can avoid as much rush hour traffic as possible. He'll also have to keep a car in the city, which can cost around $500/month