U.S. Men 2022-23 news & updates

[Trillian]

How recent? Can anyone provide a link please?

Jason Brown on moving forward

Jason Brown on moving forward USA's Jason Brown talks about moving forward in this interview leading up to the 2023 World Figure Skating Championships.

www.goldenskate.com

I haven’t had time to listen to the whole thing yet, but there is discussion of quads just past the 18-minute mark. I was actually struck by how definitive he was in his answer (it’s very “yeah, of course”), but it does sound like he is also very mindful of prioritizing his health.

ETA: and for the sake of fact-checking myself, he didn’t bring it up, he was asked. But it was how decisive he was in his response that surprised me.

 

[Sylvia]

ETA: and for the sake of fact-checking myself, he didn’t bring it up, he was asked. But it was how decisive he was in his response that surprised me.

Oh right, I remember watching this interview (Jason talks about the importance of getting healthy before starting the process of training quads again, starting here): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtyY7NLA44I&t=1095s
I didn't get the impression that his response was "decisive" re. quads, just that he would like to again if his body permits.

ETA his exact words (at 18:48): "The goal is, obviously, that I take the time to kind of get strong again and build back up and so that I can start training the quads again."

 

[Trillian]

I didn't get the impression that his response was "decisive" re. quads, just that he would like to again if his body permits.

He said something to the effect of, “That’s very much the goal,” which surprised me because IMO it really doesn’t have to be at this point. The other thing I noted was that the question was phrased as, “Have you been training quads?”, so it would have been easy for him to just say, “No, not right now” without volunteering that he wants to do so in the future. In general, he seems to have given more thought to future quads than I personally would have expected or thought necessary.

I know that doesn’t mean he’ll ever attempt one in competition again. But it’s interesting and probably does say something about his competitive mindset that he’s still having a conversation like that about it.

 

[Allskate]

I haven’t had time to listen to the whole thing yet, but there is discussion of quads just past the 18-minute mark. I was actually struck by how definitive he was in his answer (it’s very “yeah, of course”), but it does sound like he is also very mindful of prioritizing his health.

ETA: and for the sake of fact-checking myself, he didn’t bring it up, he was asked. But it was how decisive he was in his response that surprised me.

Oh right, I remember watching this interview (Jason talks about the importance of getting healthy before starting the process of training quads again, starting here): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtyY7NLA44I&t=1095s
I didn't get the impression that his response was "decisive" re. quads, just that he would like to again if his body permits.

ETA his exact words (at 18:48): "The goal is, obviously, that I take the time to kind of get strong again and build back up and so that I can start training the quads again."

This is the interview I was referring to when I brought up Jason's own statements about the quad. However, I would strongly recommend listening to the entire interview and not just parts of it or particular sentences before anyone draws any conclusions about what Jason is going to do. He does a lot of thinking out loud, going back and forth about a lot of things, saying that he was "shocked" that he realized he wanted to compete this season, and saying that much of what he is saying is what he is thinking right now but that may change.

At the time of the interview, he was pretty confident he would do at least some competing next season but said it wasn't clear if he would compete in the fall and even said he was saying he would likely compete based only on his feelings at that particular time. (His interview with Chock and Bates for their podcast, which was before Nationals, also provides some insight into his decision to compete at Nationals. I can't remember if this is the interview where he said that he wasn't competing at Nationals for the purpose of qualifying for Worlds.)

From the Golden Skate interview, he appears to be very much in flux. Will he have two new programs if he competes next season? (Yes, oh, wait, maybe not, but probably. ) IMO, listening to the entire interview, one of the few things he is clear about is that, even though he is a competitive person, he will no longer have a narrow mindset and goal that is only about competing. He absolutely wants to tour and do ice shows, do more choreography and media, and do more foreign vacations and traveling and "rest and recovery." Depending on how much of an opportunity he has to do all of these things and if he decides to do two new competitive programs (and additional new show programs?), he may not even have the time to build the strength and train quads. Regaining and maintaining his health is clearly important to him, though he is reluctant to discuss any details of the health and injury issues he had.

One other thing that is clear is that he wants to go to WTT and loves spending time in Japan. (He talks more about Japan in his interview with C&B.)

 

[Sylvia]

I can't remember if this is the interview where he said that he wasn't competing at Nationals for the purpose of qualifying for Worlds.)

I think that was his This Week in Skating's podcast interview in November 2022 (from my post in Jason's fan thread):

Jason is the guest on today's special episode of the "This Week in Skating" podcast!

This Week in Skating / Jason Brown (interview)

Listen to This Week in Skating Podcast on RedCircle

redcircle.com

...
He says he is "not going to Nationals to make the World team" but "if I was selected for the World team I would love to go and compete in Japan."

Cross-posting from Malinin's fan thread...

ILIA MALININ’S JOURNEY TO A FIGURE SKATING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS MEDAL by Lynn Rutherford (March 25, 2023): https://www.teamusa.org/News/2023/M...To-A-Figure-Skating-World-Championships-Medal
Excerpt:

Still, Malinin’s gratitude for winning bronze seemed tinged with a bit of regret. At the event’s final press conference, he hinted that we may not see him attempt six quads again.

“You have to take a lot of risks, sometimes you look back and think, there’s no need going for so much risk,” he said. “It’s hard to perform for the audience (doing so many quads). Next season I really want to focus on the performing side.”

 

[Marco]

He brought up training quads again in a recent interview. Jason is pretty media savvy*;

His PR angle on the quad has always been "The quad isn't the only element in skating but I will try my best to gain it, but no promises. Meanwhile please focus on my skating quality". I don't see any recent interviews where he deviates from this LTT.

But more than that, I am saying it isn't realistic to expect him to get it consistent since it was never consistent for him when he was younger.

 

[caseyedwards]

Congrats to Ilia. His mission this season is accomplished. First man to land the 4axel ever and at Worlds, and he won a National title, GPF medal and world medal this season plus a couple of GP titles. The judges are rightfully keeping his PCS in check in comparison to other more complete skaters at Worlds and he was right to point out that he should focus more on skating qualities and scale down on jumps for next season. It's OK to be more ambitious this season when he was trying to break out - but now that he has accomplished that, he should reconsider taking out the 4axel or the second 4lutz. His short program has been strong all around since Nationals but his free skate is still a little sloppy - perhaps due to more focus being placed on the quads or simply the duration / more elements in the free skate. Perhaps he should consider keeping his short program and spending the off season working on a new free skate so that he can have a complete set of programs by the time next Nationals / Worlds come around.

Stop asking Jason to return to the quad. There is never any quad to return to. He already said that due to his age he has had to train smart this season. If he wasn't getting the quad consistent when he was younger, he isn't going to get it now. Let's just enjoy his skating while we can. If and when there are 3 US men who can outSCORE him at Nationals, he will naturally get phased out. Before that happens, let's just hope he will continue competitive skating so that we can still enjoy his beautiful skating. Even so, my guess is he will minimize pre-Nationals comps and may not even do GPs, just like this season.

You know he almost won the free skate because he gets nearly all tens in pcs. Malinin barely outscored him.

The quads are very sloppy. But they need even sloppy quads because they aren’t going to get 10’s in pcs. That takes years. But the quads can be sloppy which means negative goe. Compare that to all triples with good goe and almost perfect pcs! It’s a nightmare

 

[Allskate]

His PR angle on the quad has always been "The quad isn't the only element in skating but I will try my best to gain it, but no promises. Meanwhile please focus on my skating quality". I don't see any recent interviews where he deviates from this LTT.

But more than that, I am saying it isn't realistic to expect him to get it consistent since it was never consistent for him when he was younger.

And, again, he wasn't the one who brought it up. The interviewer did. And he hasn't even committed for certain to competing more much less committed to trying for a quad. I think that anyone who believes that he's brought up quads in order to get media attention and get people talking about him doing quads hasn't listened to the entire interview.

 

[caseyedwards]

The patented Todd Eldridge get a quad by never doing one approach. Very effective

 

[Trillian]

I think that anyone who believes that he's brought up quads in order to get media attention and get people talking about him doing quads hasn't listened to the entire interview.

I don’t think he brought up quads to get attention, and I’m sure what he said was 100% honest. I just think he’s smart enough to shut down the conversation politely if he truly doesn’t want quads to be part of the narrative. He was asked whether he’s currently training quads, and instead of just saying no and explaining why not - which would have been more than enough - he said no, explained why not, and then went into his thoughts around training them for the future. I didn’t mean to imply that it’s a stunt or gimmick, just that he’s too good at managing his public image to leave a door like that open by accident.

 

[Allskate]

I don’t think he brought up quads to get attention, and I’m sure what he said was 100% honest. I just think he’s smart enough to shut down the conversation politely if he truly doesn’t want quads to be part of the narrative.

How? What could he have said that would have shut down the conversation and would not have been part of some narrative about quads in some way and would have been honest and not misleading? And have you actually listened to the entire interview and understood how Jason was talking in general? Jason couldn't even give a one word answer when he was asked if he would rather coach Tracy or Brian.

More importantly, why should he shut down the conversation? Because, this is what you said about Jason's discussion of quads:

I suspect Jason is media savvy enough that he wants people talking about him when he drops a detail like that.

I disagree. And I definitely don't think you can draw this conclusion listening to the interview.

 

[Karen-W]

I agree with @Trillian's take on this entire "will he quad or won't he quad?" discussion. Of course, I'm a known anti-Jason fan (not true at all - I've loved both of his last two SPs, but been less than impressed with the FS from this season or last), so, of course, my views can be dismissed, but I think Trillian's picked up on something that a lot of the Jason-ubers here would rather overlook. He is quite saavy with his social media presence and extremely articulate. He's leaving open the possibility of training quads just like he's leaving open his competitive options because it keeps his fans following along and eagerly consuming the content as well as getting him interviews and further exposure. Call me cynical, whatever, but I'm not buying the notion that Jason's ever going to train a quad again much less attempt one in competition.

 

[Trillian]

How? What could he have said that would have shut down the conversation and would not have been part of some narrative about quads in some way and would have been honest? And have you actually listened to the entire interview and understood how Jason was talking in general?

I’ve listened to the first 20 minutes or so, and I’ve also listened to a ton of other interviews with Jason. I’m a fan. He was asked about whether he’s currently training quads. He could have given a good, candid answer to that question without making any reference to his future plans whatsoever. And if he had been asked directly about the future, he was under no obligation to say it was a goal.

You brought up this interview two pages back and said you weren’t happy to hear he was talking about training quads, I said I wasn’t concerned because he seemed like he’d be smart about it, people asked why we were discussing quads, and I explained that you were referencing this interview. My apologies for trying to provide context and insulting Jason by calling him “smart.” To be clear: I love his skating, respect the hell out of his media savvy, and I could not care less if he never tries a quad again. Good night!

Call me cynical, whatever, but I'm not buying the notion that Jason's ever going to train a quad again much less attempt one in competition.

I appreciate the support, but I’ll disagree on this point. IMO Jason’s skill is being selective about what he shares, but he doesn’t seem dishonest. If he says it’s a goal, I believe it’s a goal. But he was also very clear that it may or may not be realistic for him. All he’s doing at this point - as with many other things - is keeping the door open.

 

[kwanfan1818]

Brown's fans have followed him through months of touring and family vacations on social media without any sense that he was considering coming back to competition, so he really doesn't need to drop teasers.

 

[Sylvia]

Phil Hersh’s Worlds article on Ilia & Jason (March 25):

Ilia Malinin eyed new heights at figure skating worlds, but a jump to gold requires more

Ilia Malinin took bronze at the world figure skating championships. Afterward, he reflected on his limitations and hinted at changes.

olympics.nbcsports.com

 

[YukiNieve]

The program for the Stars on Ice in Japan that is taking place now has Q and As from participating skaters.
Jason says he wants to learn back flip after this season is over. We might see it in his show performance one day!

 

[clairecloutier]

A very overwrought interview in the Russian press with Ari Zakarian, Ilia’s agent:

“Malinin went for quadruple axel and it was completely underscored. The judges just spat in his face!” Interview with sport’s agent Ari Zakaryan

Interview with sport's agent Ari Zakaryan. About this season, Ilia Malinin and World Championships.

fs-gossips.com

 

[On My Own]

After seeing something very recent, I'm not sure I'd trust fs-gossips translations, tbh.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1640379053638033408

of course, Ari is a dumb hypebeast, but still, wouldn't trust it.

 

[Sylvia]

A very overwrought interview in the Russian press with Ari Zakarian, Ilia’s agent:

After seeing something very recent, I'm not sure I'd trust fs-gossips translations, tbh.
...
of course, Ari is a dumb hypebeast, but still, wouldn't trust it.

Maybe we could move/continue any discussion to the Zakarian thread I just started, pretty please? https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/threads/ari-zakarian-interview.110622/ (so as not to take this thread too far off-topic? TIA!)

 

[YukiNieve]

Rohene choreographed a new SP for Yaroslav Paniot.
Very excited to see what Rohene can show us a new side of Yaro!

Yaroslav Paniot on Instagram: "New short program ✅ thank you @rohenew 🙏🏻 . . #newshort #newmusic #newprogram #iceskating"

411 likes, 14 comments - yaro_paniot on April 2, 2023: "New short program ✅ thank you @rohenew 🙏🏻 . . #newshort #newmusic #newprogram #iceskating".

www.instagram.com

 

[Dobre]

Wow, that will be a challenge for Yaroslav. I'm glad to hear he is getting a new SP.

 

[Sylvia]

Rohene choreographed a new SP for Yaroslav Paniot.

Paniot's latest Instagram story (now expired) showed him in Colorado Springs working with Ben Agosto and Katherine Hill -- presumably on a new FS program.

Rohene Ward's post from Great Park Ice today: https://www.instagram.com/p/CqvqsJnryy9/

Thank you @team__raf for such an amazing week of learning and sharing your expertise and knowledge of the basic foundation of what skating is and should be! Thank you for your time and energy! It is greatly appreciated!! We can not wait to come back!

He was there with fellow Chicago area coach Amber Gil, and students Nathan Chapple, Jan William Eraker (he previously competed at the Junior level in U.S. qualifying and was the only senior man at Norwegian Nationals in January), as well as Alexa Gasparotto and Lianna O'Grady.

Dinh Tran has a new SP to "L-O-V-E" by Nat King Cole - choreographer Misha Ge posted a photo on March 16: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp159EPOR9j/

Lucas Broussard shared a clip of his 4S (with arms overhead as is his preference) via Instagram story 2 days ago - re-posted by his fan account: https://www.instagram.com/p/CqqokPCoNEE/
ETA that this YT account has posted copies of his Nationals programs - FS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-boIaU5q7M
SP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16WGG-0rhMs

 

[YukiNieve]

David Shapiro skated to Moonlight Sonata at SCW Galaxy on Ice, where Johnny Weir did his final US performance. My friend shared her video with me. David's flexibility and gorgeous line have not changed!

David Shapiro, Moonlight Sonata 03_31_23

David Shapiro's performance of Moonlight Sonata at SCW Galaxy on Ice 03_31_23

www.youtube.com

David will skate at Kana and Daisuke's show, Ice Explosion, in Japan during 5/12-5/14.

アイスエクスプロージョン2023

ICE EXPLOSION 2023（アイスエクスプロージョン2023） 公式WEBサイト。

ice-explosion.com

 

[Sylvia]

Thanks @YukiNieve - I've re-posted your link to Shapiro's lovely EX program in the "Spring-Summer 2023 Club Ice Shows & Benefits" thread.

USFS' International Selection Pool was updated recently and lists 31 men right now [Jr./Sr. Grand Prix Final/Nationals/4CC/Junior Worlds/Worlds placement(s) included below]:

Competed Senior at 2023 Nationals and/or Sectionals, competed senior internationally in 2022-23 and/or have aged out of ISU Junior; * = U.S. senior level men still ISU Junior age-eligible in 2023-24:
*William Annis [S15]
Jason Brown [S2/W5]
Tomoki Hiwatashi [S10]
Liam Kapeikis [S6/4CC14]
Joonsoo Kim [S14]
*Joseph Klein [S13]
*Kai Kovar
Alexander Liu [new addition to ISP; J13]
Jimmy Ma [S5/4CC9]
*Ilia Malinin [GPF3/S1/W3]
*Daniel Martynov [S11/JW10]
Samuel Mindra [S9]
Daniil Murzin [new addition to ISP since his release is official; J4]
Maxim Naumov [S4/4CC10]
Yaroslav Paniot [S7]
Camden Pulkinen [S8]
Andrew Torgashev [S3/W21]
Maxim Zharkov

ISU Junior age-eligible in 2023-24:
Lucas Broussard [JGPF2/J1/JW7]
Nicholas Brooks [new addition to ISP; J12/N]
Aleksandr Fegan [new addition to ISP; J10/N]
Kirk Haugeto [J7]
Jonathan Hildebrandt [J9]
Lucius Kazanecki [J14]
Zachary LoPinto [new addition to ISP; J11/N]
Nhat-Viet Nguyen [J16]
Jacob Sanchez [J2]
Taira Shinohara [J8]
Beck Strommer [J6]
Michael Xie [J5/JW34]
Robert Yampolsky [JGPF5/J3/JW-wd]

November 16, 2022:

USFS' International Selection Pool (ISP) currently competing men's status updates after Sectionals with placements included where applicable:

SENIOR (these 15 have qualified for 2023 Nationals + Joonsoo Kim P1, Andrew Torgashev E2, Mitchell Friess M4):
William Annis (Bye)
Jason Brown (Bye)
Goku Endo P3
Tomoki Hiwatashi (Bye)
Liam Kapeikis (Bye)
Joseph Klein M3
Jimmy Ma (Bye)
Ilia Malinin (Bye)
Daniel Martynov M1
Samuel Mindra P4 - has a really cool percussion SP to "Earthquake" by by Andries de Haan (one of my fave performances at Sectionals!)
Maxim Naumov E1
Matthew Nielsen M2
Yaroslav Paniot P2
Camden Pulkinen (Bye)
Dinh Tran (Bye)

Did not qualify for Nationals :
Kai Kovar P6 (175.72)
Eric Sjoberg - did not compete at Pacs due to injury
Maxim Zharkov M5 (184.99)

Note: Max Lake P5 (187.97), who landed a 4T in both programs, is the first alternate.

JUNIOR (these 10 in the ISP have qualified for 2023 Nationals + Daniil Murzin P2, Sergei Evseev P3, Allan Fisher P4, Alexander Liu M4 & the top 2 Novices in each Sectional):
Lucas Broussard (Bye); JGP Final next
Kirk Haugeto E3
Jonathan Hildebrandt E5
Lucius Kazanecki E2
Nhat-Viet Nguyen M2
Jacob Sanchez E4
Taira Shinohara M3
Beck Strommer M1
Michael Xie P1
Robert Yampolsky (Bye; E1); JGP Final next

Did not qualify for Nationals:
Lake Liao M9
Antonio Monaco M6
Midwesterns was the deepest Sectional in Junior - I wish both Anthony Mugg M5 (162.71) and Monaco (160.18) could have qualified for Nationals as well.

 

[YukiNieve]

Ilia will be one of guest skaters for Dreams on Ice in Japan, which will be held during 6/30-7/2.

ゲスト：ドリーム・オン・アイス2023

「ドリーム・オン・アイス2023」は、2023年6月30日（金）7月1日（土）2日（日）KOSÉ新横浜スケートセンターで開催します。

www.onice.jp

Ilia will also perform for The Ice (the shows will be held during 7/22-8/4 in 4 places - Aichi, Nikko, Osaka, Morioka in Japan).

THE ICE（ザ・アイス）| 公式サイト

THE ICE（ザ・アイス）は、世界の現役トップスケーターたちを中心としたコラボレーション満載の真夏のアイスショー。メダリストたちのトップレベルのスケーティングはもちろん、まるでミュージカルのような世界観やここでしか見られない男子オンリーのグループナンバー、グランドフィナーレで会場全体が一体となるような企画など多彩な演出が特徴です。

fs-theice.com

 

[Marry]

If we can say Ilia should work more on artistry than jumps, we can also say Jason should work more on his jumps than artistry. Artistry is subjective, technique is not. Figure skating is still a sport, giving a pass to those who move nicely across the ice but doesn't contribute anything to the sport side of figure skating is not what's gonna make people respect figure skating as sport or as an olympic discipline. It's also not fair to those who bothered to learn quads. A jumper can learn to be a dancer, a dancer has obviously difficulties to become a jumper. But i heard they are gonna invent the solo dance category soon, so this might be something for those allergic to athleticism

 

[Marry]

Ilia will be one of guest skaters for Dreams on Ice in Japan, which will be held during 6/30-7/2.

ゲスト：ドリーム・オン・アイス2023

「ドリーム・オン・アイス2023」は、2023年6月30日（金）7月1日（土）2日（日）KOSÉ新横浜スケートセンターで開催します。

www.onice.jp

Ilia will also perform for The Ice (the shows will be held during 7/22-8/4 in 4 places - Aichi, Nikko, Osaka, Morioka in Japan).

THE ICE（ザ・アイス）| 公式サイト

THE ICE（ザ・アイス）は、世界の現役トップスケーターたちを中心としたコラボレーション満載の真夏のアイスショー。メダリストたちのトップレベルのスケーティングはもちろん、まるでミュージカルのような世界観やここでしか見られない男子オンリーのグループナンバー、グランドフィナーレで会場全体が一体となるような企画など多彩な演出が特徴です。

fs-theice.com

That's a lot of ice shows he's doing, good for him. Shows in Italy and Switzerland during the season, then the SOI Japan toure, now DOI and the Ice and SOI US still to come. And he's gonna quaxel through all of them He's probably gonna invest into another Louis Vuitton bag, can't wait

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

If we can say Ilia should work more on artistry than jumps, we can also say Jason should work more on his jumps than artistry. Artistry is subjective, technique is not. Figure skating is still a sport, giving a pass to those who move nicely across the ice but doesn't contribute anything to the sport side of figure skating is not what's gonna make people respect figure skating as sport or as an olympic discipline. It's also not fair to those who bothered to learn quads. A jumper can learn to be a dancer, a dancer has obviously difficulties to become a jumper. But i heard they are gonna invent the solo dance category soon, so this might be something for those allergic to athleticism

yeah.… but this sport is called “figure” skating. Not sport jumping or jump skating. I don’t think people are necessarily allergic to athleticism, but they’re not doing what you’re doing which seems like ignoring the figure in figure skating. If I want to watch what you’re describing, I will just watch pole vaulting and the long jump in track and field.

 

[Rukia]

I'm so confused Jason has great jumps just not as many rotations? Ilia is young and can use work on his skating skills?? Solo dance already exists????

 

[On My Own]

but they’re not doing what you’re doing which seems like ignoring the figure in figure skating.

Well that's everyone.