U.S. Pairs 2021-22 season - News & Updates, Part X

[skatingguy]

Because there seems to be a romantic element in pairs and ice dance, do these people practice those lifts at home to integrate them into their personal lives and activities?
Furthermore, are some of these lifts inspired by what they do in their personal lives?
I'm thinking many of these people have high ceilings in their homes.

Based on this video clip of Kayne/O'Shea, no.

https://youtu.be/253DiiFjVak?t=223

 

[clairecloutier]

AnythingGOEs tweeted that Martins/Bedard have withdrawn from Junior Worlds.

2021-22 International Assignments and Results

2021-22 International Assignments and Results

usfigureskatingfanzone.com

 

[Sylvia]

The 2 alternate pairs for Junior Worlds were 2022 U.S. Junior bronze medalists Cat Rivers/Timmy Chapman (who lack both TES minimums) and Cate Fleming/Chase Finster (must have declined).

ETA that I saw a recent Instagram story clip of Junior champs Sonia Baram/Daniel Tioumentsev starting to learn a triple throw jump (forgot which one but they deliberately did double throws this past season, their first together).

 

[wickedwitch]

The 2 alternate pairs for Junior Worlds were 2022 U.S. Junior bronze medalists Cat Rivers/Timmy Chapman (who lack both TES minimums) and Cate Fleming/Chase Finster (must have declined).

USFSA’s ridiculous standards for sending out new teams bites them in the ass. This is the least shocking thing ever. I just feel bad for the team who can’t go.

Maybe next year they’ll actually use their allotment of JGP slots. But probably not.

 

[Karen-W]

USFSA’s ridiculous standards for sending out new teams bites them in the ass. This is the least shocking thing ever. I just feel bad for the team who can’t go.

Maybe next year they’ll actually use their allotment of JGP slots. But probably not.

Are the standards that ridiculous? There are very few junior pairs competitions outside of the JGP. I know there were a few during the fall but not many (CS Austria was the only event we assigned Sr skaters and they had a Jr Pairs comp as part of the separate Ice Challenge event, Budapest Trophy also had Jr Pairs). And there was a Jr Pairs comp at Bavarian Open a couple weeks after Nationals. While it probably would have been good for the USFS to have sent 2-3 teams to that event to try and get the mins, but heck, even the ones that do have the TES mins were pretty pathetic on the JGP. Having watched Jr Pairs from Nats, there really isn't a lot of depth right now, so I'm not sure it's a huge loss to only be sending one team (our best one, who might sneak in for a medal now that there aren't any Russians going).

 

[wickedwitch]

Are the standards that ridiculous? There are very few junior pairs competitions outside of the JGP. I know there were a few during the fall but not many (CS Austria was the only event we assigned Sr skaters and they had a Jr Pairs comp as part of the separate Ice Challenge event, Budapest Trophy also had Jr Pairs). And there was a Jr Pairs comp at Bavarian Open a couple weeks after Nationals. While it probably would have been good for the USFS to have sent 2-3 teams to that event to try and get the mins, but heck, even the ones that do have the TES mins were pretty pathetic on the JGP. Having watched Jr Pairs from Nats, there really isn't a lot of depth right now, so I'm not sure it's a huge loss to only be sending one team (our best one, who might sneak in for a medal now that there aren't any Russians going).

New good teams have a trouble hitting the standards every year so JGP slots go unused every year. So yes, the standards are too high.

 

[tapdancer10]

The 2 alternate pairs for Junior Worlds were 2022 U.S. Junior bronze medalists Cat Rivers/Timmy Chapman (who lack both TES minimums) and Cate Fleming/Chase Finster (must have declined).

I thought both teams split? They haven't been training together full time since Nationals. Rivers was home from Nationals until two weeks ago. USFS will send out alternates in the spring that don't have the minimums unless the teams decline or split.

 

[Sylvia]

I thought both teams split?

I have yet to see public confirmation (i.e., posted by these skaters or coaches on social media).

I recently saw that Matej Silecky posted on his Instagram on Feb. 21 that he and Kate Finster (S7 at 2022 Nationals) have split: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CaPz-wNpjYf/

Here’s my compilation of U.S.
pair skaters — who’ve competed at Nationals and/or been in the ISP in recent years — listed on IcePartnerSearch.com as of 3/16/22 (as many know by now, some skaters elect not to list themselves on IPS and circulate their availability for tryouts privately):

Sydney Cooke, 19 (S8 at 2022 Nationals & J5 in 2021 with Keyton Bearinger)

Jake Pagano, 22 (J7 with Winter Deardorff)

Liliana Murray, 16 (J11 with Jordan Gillette)

Jedidiah Isbell, 20 (teamed up with Laiken Lockley last year but they did not compete in qualifying season)

Grace Hanns, 22 in May (S8 in 2021 with Jim Garbutt)

Nicholas Hubbart, 22 in June (qualified for IPS with Haley Scott in summer 2020 but they did not compete in qualifying that season)

Haley Scott, 16 (see above)

Ellie McClellan, 19 (N4 in 2018 with Garbutt)

 

[Sylvia]

Jessica Calalang has shared 4 photos of her and Brian Johnson skating in a March 5th show in Klamath Falls, Oregon (includes a group photo of them with fellow headliners Ashley Wagner, Max Aaron & Polina Edmunds): https://www.instagram.com/p/CbIwHnTPCY9/

 

[skatingguy]

The rumor is Lu/Mitrofanov have split.

So is this confirmation of the split, and a new team of Hazel Collier/Misha Mitrofanov has formed.

Cast

The 2023 Cast HOSTS Emily Hughes : 2006 Olympian, 2007 U.S. National Silver Medalist, Harvard Class of 2011 Paul Wylie : 1992 Olympic Silver Medalist, 2008 U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame Inductee,...

www.aneveningwithchampions.org

 

[Sylvia]

Re-posting here from the Spring/Summer shows thread (^^^ @skatingguy was faster):

Are Audrey and Misha not skating together anymore?

Yes, apparently so. Hazel Collier (national level junior singles skater new to pairs) and Misha Mitrofanov are listed as skating together in the EWC show, April 9-10: https://www.aneveningwithchampions.org/cast.html

ETA: Hopefully Audrey will let us know her plans herself when the time is right.

 

[love skating]

I'm so sad that Lu & Mitrofanov split, they had so much promise

 

[AYS]

I guess you just never know what's going on in pairs and dance couples but Lu/Mitrofanov splitting is quite the head-scratcher.

That said, I've never been pulled in by their skating in spite of their steady performances and potential, so maybe they felt the same way.

 

[SidelineSkater]

I just faxed @AngieNikodinovLove the bad news.

Grrr.

 

[Wyliefan]

Is Collier new to pairs?

 

[jkl]

I’m happy that Audrey got into UCLA and will go to school full time in the fall. But I am sad to lose another US Pair team. I’m so happy that Misha has found a partner and will continue. Good Luck to them!

 

[~tapdancer~]

So many times I start to get invested in a team (especially a young, promising team) and they split.
I don't know what goes on behind the scenes because it never seems like it is because of their skating. I will certainly miss Lui/Mitrofanov.

Anyway, that's why Davis/White will always be my absolute faves...they had skills, they had an amazing work ethic and partnership and most of all they stayed together! To top it off, they exceeded my expectations and became Olympic and World Champions!

 

[Sylvia]

Hazel Collier (national level junior singles skater new to pairs)

I ran into Simon Shnapir at Nationals this year and told him that I really wanted to see his student Hazel try pairs at some point.

I've heard Collier has had pair tryouts in the past. She skated injured in Nashville so was not able to show her full potential there.

When she's "on" she skates fearlessly and aggressively - she had a memorable "Pirates of the Caribbean" SP several years ago that I recall posting about here on FSU.

ETA - Jan. 2019 Nationals Intermediate Ladies SP play-by-play thread:

REALLY impressive performances from the top 3!

Lindsay Thorngren 53.74 - 3Lz+3T<, 3F(!), 2A; "Fly" by Celine Dion; coached by Julia Lautowa

Isabeau Levito 51.85 - 3S+3T, 3Lo, 2A; Russian folk tune; coach is Yulia Kuznetsova, I believe

Hazel Collier 50.85 - 2A, 3S+2T, 3T; skated with attack to main theme of Pirates of the Caribbean (received the highest PCS deservedly, IMO); coached by Suna Murray

 

[Wyliefan]

I ran into Simon Shnapir at Nationals this year and told him that I really wanted to see his student Hazel try pairs at some point.

Wow, @Sylvia, you are persuasive! (Sorry I missed your earlier remark about her being new to pairs!)

 

[Sylvia]

Just to clarify - I don't know for a fact that Collier has paired up officially with Mitrofanov. All we know for sure right now is that they are scheduled to perform at EWC next month.

So many times I start to get invested in a team (especially a young, promising team) and they split.
I don't know what goes on behind the scenes because it never seems like it is because of their skating. I will certainly miss Lui/Mitrofanov.

While I understand that some fans may be upset if L/M have indeed split, I don't think academically-minded skaters like Audrey Lu (she graduated as the salutatorian of her high school class in Texas 2 years ago) need to put their post-skating life plans on hold if they feel the time is right/an opportunity may be too good for them to pass up.

For the majority of teams, "just" staying together for a long time does not guarantee making it to the Olympics or an Olympic and/or World title or medal (just stating the obvious here).

 

[Sylvia]

Since they competed in the USA for the majority of their career together...

Jessica Pfund & Joshua Santillan had hoped to be named to their first World team by the Swiss federation but explain what happened in their blog post as well as their immediate & future plans (March 17, 2022):

Final Blog – Joshica’s Blog

 

[kwanfan1818]

New good teams have a trouble hitting the standards every year so JGP slots go unused every year. So yes, the standards are too high.

I agree with this. Juniors are a time when we'd expect a bunch of splits for any number of reasons and teams of varying ability and longevity. Sending them to international events gives them experience of competing internationally: getting used to long-haul long travel and travel with their partners instead of their families, acclimating to time zone, food, and not being fluent in a language, learning how different ways events are organized, practicing on a different schedule with teams they don't know, learning to navigate different facilities, ie, all of the "backstage" and organizational things that are stressful and distracting the first time encountered.

Enough of them will pair up with someone else and have that experience behind them.

 

[Sylvia]

New good teams have a trouble hitting the standards every year so JGP slots go unused every year. So yes, the standards are too high.

I used to believe this years ago but have since changed my mind. As long as USFS pays the expenses for junior pairs' international assignments, it's reasonable to expect a certain level of technical ability before sending a team to their first JGP.

ETA:

New good teams have a trouble hitting the standards every year so JGP slots go unused every year. So yes, the standards are too high.

Just curious and anyone can answer - what should the standards be for a junior pair, new or not, to be assigned to a JGP?

 

[kwanfan1818]

nm. I see it above.

 

[haribobo]

Yes its pretty sad that we only have 1 team going to jr worlds now and nobody super strong waiting in the wings there. I think we are still in the early stages of the meno/sand and letov/ganicheva pairs coaching era and hopefully they are fine tuning their teams and methods to allow for stronger junior teams to develop. The steady decline and essential breakup of the dalilah camp (and all around scary vibes), and covid, may have left our younger pairs program in a kind of floundery place, but hopefully a solid worlds result next week will give us pairs a huge shot in the arm. Its worth noting that brandon f has been competing in pairs since 2005 (jr in 2010, sr since 2012), with 2 previous partners before Alexa.... Alexa also started in pairs around 2010 (2 previous partners). Timothy leduc also began around the same time and had 3 previous pairs partners. So i guess if any of the newish teams achieve intl success by 2030, we should be wildly excited!

 

[Sylvia]

First Senior level program music announcement for 2022-23 - Valentina Plazas/Maximiliano Fernandez (6th at 2022 Nationals): https://www.instagram.com/p/CbVenKuLvBk/
SP: Music from West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein (2021 film)
FS “will be from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.”
Choreographer (I assume): Jim Peterson

 

[wickedwitch]

I used to believe this years ago but have since changed my mind. As long as USFS pays the expenses for junior pairs' international assignments, it's reasonable to expect a certain level of technical ability before sending a team to their first JGP.

ETA:

Just curious and anyone can answer - what should the standards be for a junior pair, new or not, to be assigned to a JGP?

I wouldn't necessarily make it easier, just more flexible. New teams get in very few competitions -- maybe one or at the most two -- before the initial assignments. Now there's some score x in the SP and y in the LP they need to achieve. Instead, I'd allow for x+5 in the SP or y+10 in the LP, as an additional way to qualify. That way a good, new team won't be denied one of the early assignments and the chance for two JGPs just because they had one lousy day. Right now, we've seen multiple teams achieve only the SP score or only the LP score before the early assignments and only get the other one when it's too late for two assignments or sometimes even one assignment.

*5 and 10 are just example values that could obviously be tweaked.

 

[barbk]

Just to clarify - I don't know for a fact that Collier has paired up officially with Mitrofanov. All we know for sure right now is that they are scheduled to perform at EWC next month.

While I understand that some fans may be upset if L/M have indeed split, I don't think academically-minded skaters like Audrey Lu (she graduated as the salutatorian of her high school class in Texas 2 years ago) need to put their post-skating life plans on hold if they feel the time is right/an opportunity may be too good for them to pass up.

For the majority of teams, "just" staying together for a long time does not guarantee making it to the Olympics or an Olympic and/or World title or medal (just stating the obvious here).

Also, UCLA does not allow typically allow deferred admissions. In the rare cases they do, it is for a max of one year.

 

[Carolla5501]

Just to clarify - I don't know for a fact that Collier has paired up officially with Mitrofanov. All we know for sure right now is that they are scheduled to perform at EWC next month.

While I understand that some fans may be upset if L/M have indeed split, I don't think academically-minded skaters like Audrey Lu (she graduated as the salutatorian of her high school class in Texas 2 years ago) need to put their post-skating life plans on hold if they feel the time is right/an opportunity may be too good for them to pass up.

For the majority of teams, "just" staying together for a long time does not guarantee making it to the Olympics or an Olympic and/or World title or medal (just stating the obvious here).

I honestly think it’s very inappropriate of us to just assume that skaters can put off college forever so that we can watch them skate. If they’re ready to move on and go to college good for them.


Yes you can wait and go to college when you’re older, but that’s a totally different experience. I have 2 degrees. One I got when I was 21 and one I got when I was older. It was not the same experience and I’m certainly glad I didn’t miss the first experience.

 

[AxelAnnie]

Yes its pretty sad that we only have 1 team going to jr worlds now and nobody super strong waiting in the wings there. I think we are still in the early stages of the meno/sand and letov/ganicheva pairs coaching era and hopefully they are fine tuning their teams and methods to allow for stronger junior teams to develop. The steady decline and essential breakup of the dalilah camp (and all around scary vibes), and covid, may have left our younger pairs program in a kind of floundery place, but hopefully a solid worlds result next week will give us pairs a huge shot in the arm. Its worth noting that brandon f has been competing in pairs since 2005 (jr in 2010, sr since 2012), with 2 previous partners before Alexa.... Alexa also started in pairs around 2010 (2 previous partners). Timothy leduc also began around the same time and had 3 previous pairs partners. So i guess if any of the newish teams achieve intl success by 2030, we should be wildly excited!

Welcome to pairs in the USA.