U.S. Men 2025-26 Discussion - Quad God and the Mere Mortals

[beckab81]

I wish Jimmy had been able to bottle that success from 4CC's and carry it forward. With USFS only using current season WS in their criteria, it's really leaving him on the outside looking in .

 

[Willin]

TBH I don't want Jacob on this team.

I want him to pace himself to have a great next quad. That includes learning quads.

 

[kwanfan1818]

Or it means that there is a third spot they were being sneaky about. Is that even a possibility? Do we know for sure that it was horse-traded away or was that just an assumption?

There's nothing in the Announcement that says that if a host gives back a spot(s), and a competitor from any member withdraws, that if their skater/team is at the top of the Alternates list, they can't assign that skater/team to their GP. I suppose, in theory, that if their skater/team is second on the list, they could try to cut a deal behind the scenes with the member whose skater is at the top of the list and have them pass on the assignment, but that would be a real outlier case. The member, not the host, has to pay for part or all expenses, depending on how long in advance the skater/team is offered the spot, which might be an incentive for some Feds.

 

[Kiki5375]

That actually makes me wonder whether he's heading to Skate America instead, but that would mean that Brown or Kapeikis is dropping out. Or it means that there is a third spot they were being sneaky about. Is that even a possibility? Do we know for sure that it was horse-traded away or was that just an assumption?

Even if that would be possible why would they give the spot to jacob only 1 day after Max won a competition ahead of him?

 

[Kiki5375]

TBH I don't want Jacob on this team.

I want him to pace himself to have a great next quad. That includes learning quads.

Well quads don't seem to matter since Jason doesn't have one either. But I agree Jacob is so young. He should focus on france 2030. That gives him enough time to learn

 

[Kiki5375]

so they are sending Max & Liam to Tallinn and Max & Torgy to Zagreb with Jacob as sub for Zagreb. My guess they are not only counting the scores in their rulebook but want to compare as much as possible. This is gonna be exciting

 

[Allskate]

so they are sending Max & Liam to Tallinn and Max & Torgy to Zagreb with Jacob as sub for Zagreb. My guess they are not only counting the scores in their rulebook but want to compare as much as possible. This is gonna be exciting

I think they are thinking not only about the Olympics but Worlds and Four Continents. It probably does make sense to look at what international panels do and not have it come down just to Nationals.

I am glad that Max is getting some more opportunities since he understandably did not skate at Four Continents last season and only got one GP. (I really wish he had been assigned to Skate America.)

Jimmy Ma is notably absent. Camden is also listed as a sub. Who knows how realistic that is. I think some of the listings for these events are just there on the remote chance that the skaters want to participate. Alysa, Isabeau, and Amber are all listed as substitutes, but I think it's unlikely that any of them would do it.

 

[Sylvia]

Maxim Naumov feature by Lena Smirnova for Olympics.com that includes a 5-minute video (Nov. 11): https://www.olympics.com/en/milano-...dy-new-programs-milano-cortina-2026-interview

Excerpt re. his time in Courmayeur, Italy this past summer working with Benoit Richaud on his programs:

Naumov initially planned to stay for two weeks but ultimately ended up extending his stay to six weeks and crafting both his short and free programs for the Olympic season.
“Our plans were changing on the fly and Benoît was so incredibly willing and helpful to me because he provided all the resources that I needed and he said, ‘You can stay as long as you want’,” Naumov said. “And we ended up doing that.”
While Naumov usually has a concept in mind when he begins the choreography process, he arrived in Courmayeur without any ideas for which direction to take.
“This year, I really was starting from scratch,” he said. “In the past, we would sit down and have a meeting and think about it, throw strategies out there, and we didn't obviously have that this year. And I kind of just wanted to be open, open to any possibilities.
“I came to Benoît and I said, ‘Hey, I'm not really sure what I want to do this year. I want do something great. I want to do something different and new and fresh and clean, but I don't really know where to start’, and we just got to work immediately.”
Richaud took out his phone and started playing tracks from a playlist. The answer came almost instantly. As the second option sounded over the rink’s loudspeakers – Frederic Chopin’s "Nocturne No. 20" – Naumov had his short program music picked out.
“Immediately, there's a feeling that you know that this is the one,” Naumov said. “Especially because there's no lyrics, it's that much more meaningful. It's a classic piece, and I connected with it right away.”

 

[Theatregirl1122]

I’ll sign on to the recommendation of Torgashev bringing back both of last year’s programs.

Only if someone stops him from bringing back last year's SP costume with the program...

 

[Karen-W]

I don't think it's really much more than giving all of the men 4-5 competitions over the course of the fall.

Ilia - Lombardia, GPdF, SCI, GPF
Jason - Denis Ten Mem, Trialeti, SkAm, Finlandia
Tomoki - Cranberry, Kinoshita, Trialeti, CoC, SCI
Andrew - Nebelhorn, GPdF, NHK, Golden Spin
Liam - Cranberry, Nebelhorn, SkAm, Tallinn
Jimmy - Cranberry, Kinoshita, NHK, Finlandia
Max - Lombardia, GPdF, IceChallenge, Tallinn, Golden Spin
Jacob - Cranberry, Nepela, CoC, IceChallenge

Max and Tomoki are the only guys who will wind up with 5 comps, the rest will have had 4 (unless Jason qualifies for the GPF). Seems like the USFS is basically just giving all of them the chance to fill as many data points or improve the lower scores if they have more than 2 Challengers/Sr Bs.