U.S. Men 2022-23 news & updates

[On My Own]

I haven't dared to watch Ilia after it turned out he bombed lol. But happy he won US Nationals!

 

[Stephanie]

I’m a little diss appointed for him but the others were doing intl competitions this season and he wasn’t on the junior Grand Prix

I got to talk to mom after his free skate and he’s planning on staying a junior for a while

Jacob wasn't on the JGP mainly because he had an injury in the early summer and missed the selection competition (Milwaukee). He came back for Cranberry in August but wasn't yet 100% and by then there were only a couple of spots left and they went to Broussard and Martynov.

I hope Jacob at least gets Egna Spring Trophy in April to build his experience. He is younger than most of the other junior guys and has 3 more seasons left of junior eligibility so there's plenty of time for him to get the 3A consistent and continue to improve.

 

[mtnskater]

I haven't dared to watch Ilia after it turned out he bombed lol. But happy he won US Nationals!

He didn’t bomb that bad….still landed a quad lutz, quad flip and quad salchow. Plus an unreal triple lutz, triple axel, triple toe combination. He is in another category of skater when that content is still considered bombing.

 

[Sylvia]

Re-posting here from Ilia's fan thread:

Ilia Malinin's 4-minute "Chasing Gold" segment (season 1 episode 5), narrated by Terry Gannon (includes scenes from his public high school and an interview with his parents): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMcsoUPvwOA

NBC Sports also has posted Ilia's truly impressive Nationals SP (he worked in CA with Shae-Lynn Bourne in late December and I think it really showed in this performance): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrllwsJDkTM

And his flawed FS with the gutsy 3Lz+3A+3T at the end: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nd1qXv27MyA

 

[Rhumba d’Amour]

He didn’t bomb that bad….still landed a quad lutz, quad flip and quad salchow. Plus an unreal triple lutz, triple axel, triple toe combination. He is in another category of skater when that content is still considered bombing.

It’s a pretty tough crowd here!

 

[On My Own]

He is in another category of skater when that content is still considered bombing.

Because he factually did bomb - and finished in second place for the Long Program when it should have been him in first with no effort. (ETA: and didn't have a third combo.)

Maybe we can stop telling ourselves botching three out of seven of the jumping passes isn't bombing? Good for him for putting up a show and going for all those jumps knowing he would win anyway, but he didn't deliver his content all that well.

 

[kwanfan1818]

No one has to watch anything except the judges, tech panel, and referee, but while Malinin's FS performance was substandard for him -- and I don't think a fall on a 4A is, in itself, bombing -- it was an interesting performance, especially watching his reactions to his failures, and seeing him fight back with the unplanned 3/3/3. It was hardly a performance where you wish for the skaters that they could pretend it never happened, like when all of their jumps escaped them and half or more of their jumps ended in falls.

 

[On My Own]

It wasn't even meant to be a negative comment. I genuinely don't get why the word "bombed" is inspiring debate. Who the heck cares if I personally don't wish to watch a performance with three passes botched?!

 

[tony]

It wasn't even meant to be a negative comment. I genuinely don't get why the word "bombed" is inspiring debate. Who the heck cares if I personally don't wish to watch a performance with three passes botched?!

Saying you don't have time to watch performances or flat-out just not wanting to watch them doesn't always work out so well here.

 

[Sylvia]

Revisiting this September 2022 article on Jacob Sanchez by @Gina_FigureSkatersOnline:

Jacob Sanchez will compete in his first NQS later today at Middle Atlantics in NYC - here's a new article on him:

Getting to know Jacob Sanchez – Figure Skaters Online

Excerpts:

Sanchez: My main focus has been just improving on consistency. I've been just trying to focus on getting all my jumps in and also improving on my choreography, my spins, and my presentation.
My goals this season are to set personal bests for myself at these competitions coming up. My top goal for this year is to qualify for the Junior World Team or at least qualify for the World Team camp. Being on the podium at Nationals would also be one of my big goals for this season.

FSO: What are you most proud of so far in your skating career?
Sanchez: Probably my ability to perform and the feedback that I've gotten from just competing and how there are people that enjoy my skating. That makes me really happy to hear that there's others, other than just people that watch figure skating, that like what I'm doing and how I skate.
FSO: Are you still involved with Diversify Ice?
Sanchez: Yes, I'm an ambassador for Diversify Ice. As an ambassador, I feel like it's a big role, not just to promote diversity in figure skating and just in ice skating in general, but to reach out to the other skaters of color and of different races to encourage them to try skating and letting people know and conveying the message that skating is for everybody.

I'm glad to hear you got to chat with Jacob's mom, @skatfan!

I got to talk to mom after his free skate and he’s planning on staying a junior for a while.

I got a clip of Jacob's dad (a retired police officer) rushing down the aisle to hug his son after his amazing FS performance as well as a photo of Jacob with his dad and mom (a teacher) afterwards in the concourse: https://twitter.com/SylviaUnseen/status/1618545085016342529

Jacob's little brother also was in attendance in San Jose and Kristi Yamaguchi went over to speak with Jacob's parents in the stands (my "paparazzi shot" ): https://twitter.com/SylviaUnseen/status/1621924098875047937

Jacob wasn't on the JGP mainly because he had an injury in the early summer and missed the selection competition (Milwaukee). He came back for Cranberry in August but wasn't yet 100% and by then there were only a couple of spots left and they went to Broussard and Martynov.

I hope Jacob at least gets Egna Spring Trophy in April to build his experience. He is younger than most of the other junior guys and has 3 more seasons left of junior eligibility so there's plenty of time for him to get the 3A consistent and continue to improve.

Usually USFS uses the spring developmental competitions for skaters who have yet to compete internationally outside the U.S. so I don't expect Jacob to be assigned. He posted today (including photos from the selection camp; Will Annis & Kai Kovar rounded out the 8 men invited to the camp in Las Vegas) that's he's looking ahead to next season: https://www.instagram.com/p/CoPyHrsrbU_/

After some time to reflect on the 2022-2023 season I’ve come to realize how much has changed since last year and how much I’ve accomplished this season. After having the two skates of my life at nationals this year and being selected to participate in my first junior world selection camp, I can say that this season was a huge step up from last season. I just want to thank everybody who has supported me through every competition whether it’s good or bad. I also want to thank @johnwilsonblades and @jackson.ultima for providing me with the best skates. I’m excited for what the 2023-2024 season brings!

 

[Spiralgraph]

Can someone please tell me which competition Andrew Torgashev has to compete in to attain the minimums for worlds?

 

[jiejie]

Can someone please tell me which competition Andrew Torgashev has to compete in to attain the minimums for worlds?

He must get the minimums at least 21 days before start of Worlds. The last opportunity is Challenge Cup in the Netherlands, and that is also the likely one he will be entered into. I think there are a couple of small minor ones in Europe that might work, but Challenge is the most probable. We should know something more definite soon. Challenge Cup's deadline for entries was January 23, which was before the US Nationals results was known. So, either there would need to be provision for late entries (and their wording under entry fee implies this is possible), OR Torgashev could have been entered as a just-in-case, before the deadline. I don't think there have been any entrants' list for Challenge Cup posted anywhere yet.

 

[acraven]

Can someone please tell me which competition Andrew Torgashev has to compete in to attain the minimums for worlds?

He's been assigned to the Challenge Cup in the Netherlands, February 23-26.

The assignment chart can be found here: https://usfigureskatingfanzone.com/sports/2022/7/25/2022-23-international-assignments-and-results

 

[Spiralgraph]

Thank you!

 

[Jayar]

Just jumping in to say that it was a joy to see Tatiana Malinina in the interview at the link above. I have always enjoyed that her performances and her humble demeanor. "I don't have a second program," will always be one of my favorite skating moments.

 

[Dobre]

Martynov (age 16) had two solid triple axels in the free skate at senior nationals.

He fell on it in the short.

 

[Holy Headband]

Andrew Torgashev is on the entry list for Challenge Cup in late February.

 

[Jayar]

Just got unconfirmed news that former US men's competitor Doug Mattis passed last night. I was told that it was due to cardiac arrest. Can anybody confirm?

 

[Jeanine]

Just got unconfirmed news that former US men's competitor Doug Mattis passed last night. I was told that it was due to cardiac arrest. Can anybody confirm?

The Skating Lesson have tweeted it, so has Robbie Przepioski who Doug used to coach. His brother also has posted about it on Facebook… it only says following a long illness.

 

[A.H.Black]

https://snbc13.com/doug-mattis-psa-...figure-skating-has-died-at-56-death-obituary/
Another story about Doug Mattis. Jackie Wong also posted the facebook page announcement.

I remember seeing Doug skate at Nationals several times. Always a performer. Several of his performances are on youtube. Here's his short program from 1991 Nationals - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_L0JFgPLcw8

 

[tony]

Heard about this just now and I'm devastated. Doug was the emcee of an annual local big skating show in Ohio ~10 years ago that always pulled in top names, and he gave me tickets and unrestricted access to practice and choreography sessions and to talking/going to dinner with the skaters; it's when I had a blog and the skaters were all very receptive toward me. He also was one of my guests on Skate Talk Online, reviewing a Grand Prix event. Always so generous.

 

[tony]

Double-posting, but here's a really memorable program from him:

Doug Mattis (USA) - 1994 U.S. Open Professionals, Men's Artistic Program

Worcester, Massachusetts, USA - 1994 U.S. Open Professional Figure Skating Championships, Men's Artistic Program - Doug Mattis of the United States

www.youtube.com

 

[Trillian]

I’m really sad to hear the news about Doug Mattis. I enjoyed watching him perform in the 90s. I didn’t know him at all, but at one point when I was still a very young skating fan, I had a brief interaction with him, and he went above and beyond to be kind to me. I always got the impression that he had a lot of warmth and generosity - skating was very lucky to have him.

 

[Trillian]

Double-posting, but here's a really memorable program from him:

Doug Mattis (USA) - 1994 U.S. Open Professionals, Men's Artistic Program

Worcester, Massachusetts, USA - 1994 U.S. Open Professional Figure Skating Championships, Men's Artistic Program - Doug Mattis of the United States

www.youtube.com

Double-posting myself to say thanks for the link. I watched that program so many times on VHS as a kid. He was one of a kind.

 

[Cayuse]

Double-posting, but here's a really memorable program from him:

Doug Mattis (USA) - 1994 U.S. Open Professionals, Men's Artistic Program

Worcester, Massachusetts, USA - 1994 U.S. Open Professional Figure Skating Championships, Men's Artistic Program - Doug Mattis of the United States

www.youtube.com

Thank you for sharing this!! Laughing out loud is such a great way to start the morning!

 

[Integrity]

Thank you Tony, I hadn't seen that before. Loved the layback.

 

[Frau Muller]

Doug Mattis understood the essence of so many skaters. I found his tribute to Petrenko the most hilarious: just two seconds striking a “tah-dah!” pose. Two seconds said it all!

 

[her grace]

The U.S. junior men have their work cut out for them at Junior Worlds with both Miura (4CC1) and Memola (JGPF1) competing. Not a lot of room for error to be in the top 3 nations.

 

[Karen-W]

The U.S. junior men have their work cut out for them at Junior Worlds with both Miura (4CC1) and Memola (JGPF1) competing. Not a lot of room for error to be in the top 3 nations.

Not too worried with Broussard and Yampolsky on the team.

 

[jlai]

The U.S. junior men have their work cut out for them at Junior Worlds with both Miura (4CC1) and Memola (JGPF1) competing. Not a lot of room for error to be in the top 3 nations.

More competition for gold, but the top 3 nation didn't change.