US Ice Dance 2024-25 News & Updates

[skategal]

Will Laurence Fournier Beaudry have French citizenship in time for the 2026 Olympics? I know there's more competitions than the Olympics, but we know why comebacks from medaled/champion competitors happen.

They are quite upfront that they are trying to get to Olympics 2026.

But no one online here knows how that will happen re:Citizenship.

But the way they talk about being there makes it seem like it won’t be an issue.

 

[VGThuy]

Is the French citizen process flexible?

 

[skategal]

Is the French citizen process flexible?

Probably if your partner is Guillame Cizeron.

 

[Debbie S]

I'd laugh for days if ChoBat told the USFS they'd only be interested in splitting if the other team put in was CarPon, lol.

I suspect H/D are secretly pining for that too...and not just b/c Madi H is CPom's coach.

 

[Dobre]

Will Laurence Fournier Beaudry have French citizenship in time for the 2026 Olympics?

Technically, I think we dunno.

But practically speaking, my feeling is that if Lauriault could get it for her first Olympics the season of the Olympics and F-B&C made the decision to go through what it's gonna take to skate as a brand-new team, plus the whole we-are-coming-back-to-be-first-and-only-first politicking at their press conference, plus that they chose to skate for France when he's been in Canada forever--then they've probably been told she's gonna get it.

I'm actually more nervous for Carreira, and she should have it. But if they need a candle--given how many people do right now in the country--I will light one for them on this because they've put in the time.

 

[kwanfan1818]

F/B has a French grandfather, and, apparently, that's something.

 

[kwanette]

Will Christina have citizenship for the Olympics? Will Vadym? Who knows what role USFS has in all of this..

 

[Rukia]

Will Christina have citizenship for the Olympics? Will Vadym? Who knows what role USFS has in all of this..

They should in theory. But also, well, that may not be the case.

I seriously doubt usfs was hitting up the shibs to come back when they are pretty stacked in ice dance. It's not like anyone past c/b were podium threats (except in my heart).

 

[NinjaTurtles]

Always appreciated ShibSibs attention-to-detail and somewhat hipster/cool kid approach to ice dance, but really surprised by this announcement. Happy that Maia is doing well; renal cell carcinoma is no joke.

Plus, this gives us more @VGThuy again!

 

[Karen-W]

I'm just waiting for the Vincent Zhou comeback announcement at this point.

I know, not ID, but it's not as if we're getting KniFraz back in pairs & we already had Alysa come back in women, so gotta play the odds with the remaining disciplines, lol.

 

[vireo]

The USA would have to put 2 ice dance teams in the team event (the competitions are on 6/2 and 7/2 team events and 9/2 and 11/2 dance events) - don't believe Chock/Bates would be able to compete 4 times in one week. Between Shibutanis and CarPon my bet is that Shibutanis are a safe bet for the medal.

The US fed has a very specific formula for assigning skaters to the team event. IIRC, disciplines are ranked by strength, then skaters/teams within the disciplines. Would the Shibutanis be able to earn enough points in one season to pass CarPon in the rankings? Should Christina not get citizenship in time, would the Shibutanis be able to pass Green/Parsons (or whoever is ranked third)?

 

[Spiralgraph]

Wow, I take a little time away and I log on the forum and read this news. Wow! I didn't really expect this but it makes me happy. Now I'm dreaming of +5 twizzles and a possible return to the Olympics. Maia and Alex are smart, they wouldn't undertake this path unless they're prepared to train,work and accept whatever happens in victory or defeat. This off season is already something else.. that's for sure.

 

[Karen-W]

The US fed has a very specific formula for assigning skaters to the team event. IIRC, disciplines are ranked by strength, then skaters/teams within the disciplines. Would the Shibutanis be able to earn enough points in one season to pass CarPon in the rankings? Should Christina not get citizenship in time, would the Shibutanis be able to pass Green/Parsons (or whoever is ranked third)?

Have we ever been clued in to how the USFS chooses who the 2nd skater/team is when the disciplines are split?

What we know is that the USFS ranks the disciplines and then the #1 skater in the top 2 disciplines gets to choose whether they want to split or do both segments.

2014 - Dance & Ladies were the strongest disciplines. 2013 Worlds Placements - Davis/White 1st, Chock/Bates 7th, Shibs 8th; Wagner 5th, Gold 6th; Aaron 7th, Miner 14th; Scimeca/Knierim 9th, Castelli/Shnapir 13th. Davis/White clearly chose to do both segments, so the Ladies & Men were split.

2018 - Dance & Men were the strongest disciplines, 2017 Worlds Placements notwithstanding since we had 2 men qualify for the GPF and 3 dance teams qualify for the GPF. Shibs decided to do both segments, so the Ladies & Men were split.

2022 - Men & Dance were, again, the strongest disciplines, based not just on 2021 Worlds but the GPF qualifiers as well with 3 men & 2 dance teams qualifying. This was the only time where the two strongest disciplines we had both chose to split, and with dance it was a no-brainer for HubDon & ChoBat to each get one segment. Nathan was obviously one of the men, but how was it decided between Vincent & Jason? I presumed it was because Vincent was the higher qualifier for the GPF as well as his 2019 World bronze and not because he was higher on the WS or some internal ranking by the USFS' Int'l Committee.

 

[TanithandBenFan]

Should skaters who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame be eligible to compete again?

 

[VGThuy]

Should skaters who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame be eligible to compete again?

Ask Torvill and Dean. Do they have social media accounts we can DM?

 

[kirkbiggestfan]

Zoueva is making sure Shpilband doesn't make it to the olympics this time! That is my konspiracy theory.

 

[Karen-W]

Zoueva is making sure Shpilband doesn't make it to the olympics this time! That is my konspiracy theory.

I mean, he wasn't anyway, but, yeah...

Best have plenty of for US Nats!

 

[Rukia]

Should skaters who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame be eligible to compete again?

crying i forgot that even happened i wonder if they can be inducted in twice

 

[TanithandBenFan]

Ask Torvill and Dean. Do they have social media accounts we can DM?

That was a different situation because the ISU made a special rule change to allow retired skaters to come back. Why does USFS even have the rule about being retired for five years before HOF nomination if it means nothing. Let’s go ahead and induct Ilia and C/B now then!

 

[kwanette]

They should in theory. But also, well, that may not be the case.

I seriously doubt usfs was hitting up the shibs to come back when they are pretty stacked in ice dance. It's not like anyone past c/b were podium threats (except in my heart).

Theory vs Reality..
Take out C Pom and Z/K for citizenship..then Gr/Parsons? Bratti and Sommerville? The Browns?

 

[kwanette]

That was a different situation because the ISU made a special rule change to allow retired skaters to come back. Why does USFS even have the rule about being retired for five years before HOF nomination if it means nothing. Let’s go ahead and induct Ilia and C/B now then!

Boitano, Witt..plus T/D..

 

[kwanette]

I mean, he wasn't anyway, but, yeah...

Best have plenty of for US Nats!

I have old teeth..

 

[Debbie S]

Boitano, Witt..plus T/D..

Boitano wasn't inducted into the HoF before his comeback. I believe his induction was in 1998, with Kristi.

 

[kwanette]

Boitano wasn't inducted into the HoF before his comeback. I believe his induction was in 1998, with Kristi.

I thought we were focusing on comebacks..

 

[clairecloutier]

I'll just say it. I'm glad Maia & Alex are coming back ... as long as they do not skate to Coldplay! LOL.

They were young to leave the sport after Pyeongchang. I'm interested to see what more they have to offer. And they have as much right as anyone to skate and pursue their dreams--even if they did already fulfill some dreams in 2018.

I'm a big supporter of our younger U.S. ice dance teams too. If any of them beat the Shibs for a spot on the Oly team, good for them. Nothing is a done deal IMO except for Chock/Bates's place on the team. Let's see what happens. I for one am curious, very curious. Sometimes comebacks fizzle, and sometimes they produce something incredible.

 

[VGThuy]

That was a different situation because the ISU made a special rule change to allow retired skaters to come back. Why does USFS even have the rule about being retired for five years before HOF nomination if it means nothing. Let’s go ahead and induct Ilia and C/B now then!

You bring up a good point. Maybe they should amend it and make 10 years given how much longer skaters' careers can last and that there are realistic chances that they can come back after more than 5 years hiatus.

 

[Willin]

Honestly I'm not looking forward to this. I think if they'd have come back 1-2 seasons ago I would've been more open to it, but coming back just for the Olympics (and just as USFS has well and truly moved from using you for fluff pieces and your other pursuits like book deals and YouTube are suffering from your time out of the sport) is a true copout.

I loved them when they competed, but since then I feel like they've become self-serving influencers with no real ties to skating beyond hyping up their past skating. Like, they're influencers but they're not using that influencing at all to promote the sport like retired Russian/Japanese/Korean skaters or Americans Olympians of the past. Every time there's a competition or show on TV Kristi is still out there doing the press tour even if she's not attending. Adam Rippon and Ashley Wagner have their podcast. Brian Boitano is a celebrity chef, but still promotes skating as much as he can. Polina Edmunds is bonified influencer - but she also interviews current skaters and recaps events for her fans. Meanwhile the ShibSibs didn't even really post themselves skating on social media unless it was a throwback.

It's just so weird and makes the comeback feel like it's not about the skating or love of the sport as much as it is about that $$$.

 

[sk9tingfan]

Honestly I'm not looking forward to this. I think if they'd have come back 1-2 seasons ago I would've been more open to it, but coming back just for the Olympics (and just as USFS has well and truly moved from using you for fluff pieces and your other pursuits like book deals and YouTube are suffering from your time out of the sport) is a true copout.

I loved them when they competed, but since then I feel like they've become self-serving influencers with no real ties to skating beyond hyping up their past skating. Like, they're influencers but they're not using that influencing at all to promote the sport like retired Russian/Japanese/Korean skaters or Americans Olympians of the past. Every time there's a competition or show on TV Kristi is still out there doing the press tour even if she's not attending. Adam Rippon and Ashley Wagner have their podcast. Brian Boitano is a celebrity chef, but still promotes skating as much as he can. Polina Edmunds is bonified influencer - but she also interviews current skaters and recaps events for her fans. Meanwhile the ShibSibs didn't even really post themselves skating on social media unless it was a throwback.

It's just so weird and makes the comeback feel like it's not about the skating or love of the sport as much as it is about that $$$.

Just, OMG

 

[Aaron MB Fan]

Skating never fails to bring the drama

 

[Jammers]

I just have one word about this. Why? I just have problems with teams or skaters who come back just for the Olympic season at least V/M came back the year before and put in the work. It just feels sneaky trying to compete as little as possible to steal an Olympic spot from teams that have been compete for the whole Olympic cycle.