Scoreography
Scoreography is a show about the art, athleticism, culture, and entertainment of Figure Skating. We discuss current competitions, the sports history and legacy, up-and-coming skaters and absolute legends, and the action outside of the rink. Our goal is to promote Figure Skating to a broader, casual audience, particularly in the United States. Whether you’re new to the sport’s fandom, a once-in-awhile watcher, or a seasoned skating veteran, you’ll find something to enjoy in our program. Hosted by lifelong skating fanatic Wendy Buske and her skating-convert husband Adron Buske — along with guest commentators — Scoreography is your accessible and enthusiastic celebration of the greatest sport on ice!
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Finlandia Trophy 2025 Recap — ISU Figure Skating Grand Prix Series
11/25/2025
Finlandia Trophy 2025 Recap — ISU Figure Skating Grand Prix Series
The final 2025 Grand Prix qualifier event provided a terrific women’s competition, more judging controversies in ice dance, plus blood, tears, and several truly memorable, beautiful performances. Chapters 0:00 — Intro 0:31 — Dance Scoring Controversy 19:47 — Errors and Incompetency 21:21 — Ice Dance Competition 47:50 — Ice Dance GPF Qualifiers 49:47 — Men's Competition 1:02:54 — Men's GPF Qualifiers 1:03:38 — Pairs Competition 1:12:21 — Pairs GPF Qualifiers 1:14:27 — Women's Competition 1:29:00 — Women's GPF Qualifiers 1:30:32 — Gold in our Hearts 1:32:04 — Warsaw Cup 1:36:19 — Wrap-Up
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Skate America 2025 Recap (Figure Skating Grand Prix Series)
11/18/2025
Skate America 2025 Recap (Figure Skating Grand Prix Series)
The penultimate Grand Prix Qualifier, Skate America, featured a hotly contested women’s podium, some spectacular ice dance performances, numerous disasters in pairs, and a surprisingly weak men’s event. Chapters 0:00 — Intro 1:44 — Women’s Competition 1:51 — Alysa Liu vs Rinka Watanabe 4:56 — Anastasiia Gubanova vs Lara Naki Gutman 7:06 — Starr Andrews 10:00 — Top 5 score comparisons 11:31 — Chaeyeon Kim 12:21 — Lea Serna 12:43 — Haein Lee 14:31 — Hana Yoshida 15:11 — Ekaterina Kurakova 15:49 — Wakaba Higuchi 17:47 — Josephine Lee 18:26 — Pairs Competition 18:54 — Miura and Kihara 19:58 — Metelkina and Berulava 24:55 — Laurin and Ethier 27:05 — Chan and Howe 29:18 — Hocke and Kunkel 29:57 — Akopova and Rakhmanin 31:30 — Plazas and Fernandez 31:53 — Flores and Wang 32:10 — Men’s Competition 32:23 — Kevin Aymoz 36:39 — Mikhail Shaidorov 41:33 — Kazuki Tomono 44:14 — Jason Brown 45:33 — Daniel Grassl 47:16 — Vladimir Litvintsev and Joker Cosplayers 52:45 — Ice Dance Competition 52:48 — Chock and Bates 56:53 — Lajoie and Lagha 1:00:42 — Lopareva and Brissaud 1:03:00 — Demougeot and le Mercier 1:04:29 — Carreira and Ponomarenko 1:06:54 — Brown and Brown 1:10:12 — Mrazkova and Mrazek 1:13:31 — Bekker and Hernandez 1:18:24 — Gold in our Hearts 1:20:51 — News and Errata 1:23:08 — Nat Taschlerova Post 1:28:40 — Finlandia Trophy Preview 1:30:51 — Wrap-Up
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NHK Trophy 2025 Recap
11/11/2025
NHK Trophy 2025 Recap
Kaori Sakamoto reigned supreme at her final NHK Trophy competition! The Japanese Grand Prix event gave us exciting podium wins, surprise come-ups, frightening injuries, and a disappointing debut from the returning Shib Sibs. #FigureSkating #GPfigure Chapters 0:00 — Intro 1:33 — Women's Competition 1:50 — Kaori Sakamoto 5:52 — Sofia Samodelkina 7:55 — Loena Hendrickx 10:34 — Young You 14:05 — Sarah Everhardt 16:29 — Yuna Aoki 19:23 — Anna Pezzetta 20:02 — Wakaba Higuchi 21:17 — Elyce Lin-Gracey 22:17 — Canadian Women / Ice Challenge 24:18 — Ice Dance Competition 25:25 — Fear and Gibson 25:56 — Guignard and Fabbri 29:02 — Green and Parsons 33:09 — Taschlerova and Taschler 34:21 — Wolfkostin and Tsarevski 36:36 — Shibutani Siblings 44:49 — Orihara and Pirinen 45:36 — Fabbri and Ayer 46:49 — Men's Competition 46:58 — Yuma Kagiyama vs Shun Sato 50:39 — Lukas Britschgi 52:17 — Boyang Jin 53:06 — Junhwan Cha 54:39 — Adam Hagara 56:00 — Andrew Torgashev and Jimmy Ma 1:02:35 — Pairs Competition 1:02:38 — Conti and Macii 1:03:49 — Pavolva and Sviatchenko 1:06:04 — Sui and Han 1:09:56 — Nagaoka and Moriguchi 1:12:36 — Efimova and Mitrofanov 1:13:58 — Chan and Howe 1:14:52 — Kovalev and Kovalev injury withdrawl 1:17:26 — Other NHK thoughts 1:18:34 — Gold in our Hearts 1:21:10 — Skate America Preview 1:23:02 — Wrap-Up
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Skate Canada 2025 Recap
11/04/2025
Skate Canada 2025 Recap
The third stop on the Grand Prix series gave us a bombastic new world record from Ilia Malinin, a shaky win from Gilles and Poirier, some pleasant surprises in pairs, and a charming trio of medal-winners in the women’s event. Plus more frustrating judging, and potentially racist kiss ’n cry fan gifts. Chapters 0:00 — Intro 1:57 — Men's Competition 21:39 — Ice Dance Competition 52:34 — Women's Competition 1:10:06 — Pairs Competition 1:18:20 — Racist Kiss 'n Cry fan gifts? 1:23:22 — Gold in our Hearts 1:24:53 — NHK Trophy Preview 1:29:13 — Wrap-Up
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Cup of China 2025 Recap (Figure Skating Grand Prix Series)
10/27/2025
Cup of China 2025 Recap (Figure Skating Grand Prix Series)
The second Grand Prix event of 2025 featured the return of Olympic champions Sui & Han, exciting wins from Amber Glenn and Shun Sato, and a nervous victory for Chock & Bates. Plus more questionable judging, and a kiss ’n cry controversy. Chapters 1:37 — Women's Competition 24:10 — Pairs Competition 39:16 — Men's Competition 57:21 — Ice Dance Competition 1:21:45 — Final thoughts on Cup of China 1:22:25 — Gold in our Hearts 1:23:42 — Skate Canada Preview 1:26:23 — Wrap-Up #figureskating #gpfigure #cupofchina #figureskatingpodcast
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Grand Prix de France 2025 Recap
10/21/2025
Grand Prix de France 2025 Recap
The first 2025 Grand Prix event featured extraordinary upsets (Ami Nakai, Fournier-Beaudry and Cizeron), expected dominant wins (Ilia Malinin, Miura and Kihara), and controversial Ice Dance scoring (Guignard and Fabbri) sure to spark heated debate for some time… We dig into the incredible highs, and truly WTF moments, from Grand Prix de France. Adron savors his perfect podium prediction for the Women’s competition. The wild ice dance judging ties us in knots. If this is the sign of things to come, this season is gonna be a roller coaster… Chapters 0:00 — Intro 2:44 — Ice Dance Competition 22:32 — Guignard and Fabbri Controversy 35:10 — Ice Dance Continued 41:10 — Women's Competition 54:10 — Pairs Competition 1:02:47 — Men's Competition 1:22:42 — Skaters out of the GP from injury 1:23:54 — Gold in our Hearts 1:24:55 — Deniss Vasilyevs coaching change 1:27:51 — Cup of China preview 1:32:19 — Wrap-Up
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Trialeti Trophy 2025 Recap and Grand Prix Preview
10/14/2025
Trialeti Trophy 2025 Recap and Grand Prix Preview
We discuss Georgia’s first ever Challenger event, the Trialeti Trophy, where Georgian skaters (rightfully) swept the golds. We also preview and give predictions for the Grand Prix de France, which kicks off the GP season. And we talk about the unsettling Shibutani Siblings rink video. Chapters 0:00 — Intro 2:07 — Trialeti Pairs Competition 14:52 — Trialeti Men's Competition 24:57 — Trialeti Ice Dance Competition 35:32 — Trialeti Women's Competition 45:04 — Grand Prix de France Preview 46:46 — GP France Men's Preview 52:05 — GP France Dance Preview 57:18 — GP France Women's Preview 1:05:21 — GP France Pairs Preview 1:09:13 — Podium Predictions 1:13:34 — Shibutani Siblings rink video 1:26:46 — Gold in our Hearts 1:29:02 — Wrap-Up
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Denis Ten Memorial Challenge 2025 Recap
10/07/2025
Denis Ten Memorial Challenge 2025 Recap
The Denis Ten Memorial Challenge gave us our first look at Mikhail Shaidorov’s new programs, a terrific showing and win from Haein Lee, and solid first outing from Davis & Smolkin. We also talk about Rika Kihara’s move to ice dance, Bradie Tennell’s successful program switch, and more. Chapters 0:00 — Intro 0:54 — Men’s Competition 23:21 — Dance Competition 39:38 — Women’s Competition 49:35 — Adam Siao Him Fa improvements 52:20 — Rika Kihara and Shingo Nishiyama ice dance pairing 57:49 — Bradie Tennell changes short, scores big 1:03:06 — Gold in our Hearts 1:05:01 — Wrap-Up We examine the performances and results from the Denis Ten Memorial Challenge, including wins from Mikhail Shaidorov, Haein Lee, and Diana Davis & Gleb Smolkin. We discuss the skates from men’s competitors Nika Egadze, Jason Brown, and Siyeong Lee, women’s competitors Ashun Yun, Maddie Schizas, and Josephine Lee, and Ice Dance teams Oona Brown & Gage Brown, Milla Ruud Reitan & Nikolaj Majorov, Alicia Fabbri & Paul Ayer, and Leah Neset & Artem Markelov. We also talk other news from around the figure skating world, including improvements from Adam Siao Him Fa at a French domestic event, Bradie Tennell’s change of short program and big score at the Boston Open, and the new Japanese ice team of Rika Kihara and Shingo Nishiyama.
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Nebelhorn Trophy and Nepela Memorial 2025 Recaps
09/30/2025
Nebelhorn Trophy and Nepela Memorial 2025 Recaps
We recount a long, LONG weekend of skating with two major Challenger Series competitions: Nebelhorn Trophy and Nepela Memorial. The highlight reel includes big wins from Amber Glenn, Lara Naki Gutmann, Hase & Volodin, and Smart & Dieck. But, wow, were there some sloppy skates in there too… Chapters 0:00 — Intro 2:13 — Nebelhorn Women’s Competition 14:31 — Nebelhorn Pairs Competition 24:06 — Nebelhorn Men’s Competition 31:20 — Nebelhorn Ice Dance Competition 41:28 — Nepela Women’s Competition 1:01:50 — Nepela Men’s Competition 1:09:38 — Nepela Ice Dance Competition 1:37:58 — Gold in our Hearts 1:40:36 — Wrap-Up
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Skate to Milano Cortina Olympic Qualifier Event Recap
09/23/2025
Skate to Milano Cortina Olympic Qualifier Event Recap
The final Olympic spots have officially been decided, the Russians have (sort of) returned, some of our favs punched their tickets, and the judges pulled some funny business at the Skate to Milano Cortina — aka Chinese Nebelhorn. Chapters 0:00 — Intro 1:26 — Women's Competition 25:01 — Ice Dance Competition 39:24 — Men's Competition 53:03 — Pairs Competition 59:52 — Gold in our Hearts 1:01:05 — Outro The (officially unaffiliated) return of the Russians. Many sighs of relief as some favorites lock their spots. And what’s an official Olympic-related event without some suspicious judging and unfair-feeling outcomes? Oh, and this is our 75th episode. That's kinda neat. #FigureSkating #SkateToMilano #ChineseNebelhorn
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Lombardia Trophy 2025 Recap
09/16/2025
Lombardia Trophy 2025 Recap
We examine the results from a very enjoyable Lombardia Trophy competition, including a great season debut from Ilia Malinin, a dominant gold from Conti and Macci, and surprise wins from Rion Sumiyoshi and Pate & Bye. Chapters 0:00 Intro 1:07 — Men’s Comeptition / Ilia Malinin 7:26 — Yuma Kagiyama 12:24 — Nikolaj Memola 14:00 — Shun Sato 14:48 — Adam Siao Him Fa 16:28 — Kao Muira 17:22 — Andreas Nordeback 17:41 — Luc Economedies 18:28 — Maxim Naumov 19:44 — Pairs Competition / Conti and Macci 22:11 — Ghilardi and Abrosini 23:27 — Valesi and Bidar 24:04 — Women’s Competition / Rion Sumiyoshi 26:54 — Ami Nakai 29:21 — Sarah Everhardt 32:15 — Alysa Liu 37:36 — Lara Naki Gutmann 39:59 — Seoyoung Kim 40:32 — Olivia Lisko 41:50 — Rino Matsuike 42:51 — Josefin Taljegard 43:54 — Ekaterina Kurakova and Judging 47:24 — Ice Dance Competition / Pate and Bye 51:50 — Mrazkova and Mrazek 56:46 — Wolfkostin and Tsarevski 1:00:13 — Gold in our Hearts 1:02:31 — Wrap-Up Follow Scoreography: Website — Instagram — BlueSky —
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Kinoshita Cup 2025, Bolero Cup, John Nicks Pairs Challenge Recaps
09/10/2025
Kinoshita Cup 2025, Bolero Cup, John Nicks Pairs Challenge Recaps
We recap a busy week of skating comps with the four-discipline Kinoshita Cup in Japan, the John Nicks Pairs Challenge, and the Bolero Cup ice dance event. Many heavy hitters debuted their new programs, and we have lots of feelings about them! Chapters 0:00 — Intro 0:50 — John Nicks Pairs Competition 15:06 — Kinoshita Cup Men's Competition 22:49 — Kinoshita Cup Pairs Competition 30:52 — Kinoshita Cup Women's Competition 45:18 — Kinoshita Cup Ice Dance Competition 54:51 — Bolero Cup Ice Dance Competition 1:07:16 — Gold in our Hearts 1:10:20 — Wrap-Up
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French Masters 2025 and Junior Grand Prix
09/03/2025
French Masters 2025 and Junior Grand Prix
We check out the French Masters event, featuring the debut of ice dance team Fournier-Beaudry and Cizeron, and a fantastic performance from Kevin Aymoz. We also look at the Junior Grand Prix, including a controversy in Pairs, and a breakout gold in women’s. French Masters 2025 — Fournier-Beaudry & Cizeron Debut, Aymoz Dazzles In this week’s episode of Scoreography, we dig into the French Masters competition where Laurence Fournier-Beaudry & Guillaume Cizeron made their much-awaited competitive debut. With two very refined programs — including an especially memorable free dance — they came out on top over country-mates Lopareva & Brissaud and Demougeot & LeMercier. This sets up what will be an interesting few months leading to the Olympic team selections. In the men’s event, Kevin Aymoz reminded us why his Bolero is so iconic, winning the event in style. Adam Siao Him Fa had some unfortunate skates to start his season, but no one outside the arena will ever see them since he requested they not be streamed. Junior Grand Prix — Quad Twist Controversy and Breakout Performances Also, after quite a few requests from listeners to cover more Juniors, we take advantage of less happening on the senior circuit to look at a bit of what’s happened at the first two junior Grand Prix events. Of particular note, the new-to-juniors pairs team from China, Guo & Zheng, threw a rarely-seen quad twist — the first since Sui & Han did one in Beijing in 2022! Unfortunately, the judges mis-called it and only a triple was counted. While this was disappointing, there was a lot to be excited about for them as well as the Canadian team Kemp & Elizarov, who earned gold. We were also impressed with the evolution of both Minkyu Seo and Rio Nakata — who are already setting up the men’s events this season to be strong and exciting. Both scored new personal bests in their respective wins in the Grand Prix of Riga (Nakata) and Grand Prix Ankara (Seo.) The Junior international debut of Japan’s Mayuko Oka delighted us, as did Yujae Kim’s strongest performance to date and an emotional short program from Sophie Joline Von Felten. Upcoming Event Previews Last but not least, we begin previewing what feels like the “real” start to the Olympic season with 2 events — the John Nick’s Pairs Challenge and the Kinoshita Cup — happening the first week of September. Chapters 0:00 — Intro 0:40 — French Masters Ice Dance 17:39 — French Masters Men’s Competition 23:13 — French Masters Women and Pairs 24:25 — JGP Quad Twist Controversy 29:36 — Kemp and Elizarov pairs victory 31:28 — JGP Men: Nakata vs Seo 34:57 — JGP Women: Oka, Kim, and Von Felton 44:18 — Williams and Lewer JGP Medal 45:36 — John Nicks Pairs Challenge Preview 48:40 — Kinoshita Cup preview 57:18 — Look ahead to Lombardia and Olympic Qualifiers 59:16 — Wrap-Up
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US Summer Sizzler 2025 and Return of Keegan Messing
08/26/2025
US Summer Sizzler 2025 and Return of Keegan Messing
We dig into the new program previews on display at the US Summer Sizzler gala, featuring almost all the top American skaters and teams. But first — Canadian hero Keegan Messing returns for the Olympic Season! Chapters 0:00 — Intro / Return of Keegan Messing 5:59 — Returns Uncertain? (Sui and Han, Shib Sibs) 9:40 — Fear & Gibson Free Dance Announcement 10:35 — Lombardia Trophy Men's Comp is mini Oly 13:48 — US Summer Sizzler 2025 15:22 — Isabeau Levito short program 17:42 — Jason Brown free skate preview 19:16 — Amber Glenn's Like a Prayer short 21:51 — Efimova and Mitrofanov short program 24:41 — Andrew Torgashev free skate 26:05 — Maxim Naumov short program 30:18 — Carreira and Ponomarenko rhythm dance 32:17 — Bradie Tennell Lana Del Ray short 34:23 — Elyce Lin-Gracey Broken Vow short 35:28 — Chan and Howe and McBeath and Parkman shorts 37:55 — Sarah Everhardt returning short 39:34 — Jimmy Ma's Cyber Phoenix short 40:50 — Green and Parson's Sunset Blvd gala 42:59 — Starr Andrews brings back Fur Elise 45:59 — Women adding Ultra-C's 47:40 — Post-Olympic program requirement changes 50:18 — Wrap-Up
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Cranberry Cup 2025 Recap and More Skating News
08/20/2025
Cranberry Cup 2025 Recap and More Skating News
The Olympic season is upon us with our first notable singles competition, Cranberry Cup. We talk about exciting wins from Isabeau Levito and Roman Sadovsky, a standout showing from Sofia Samodelkina, and Sonja Hilmer’s marvelous short program. Plus news and other program debuts. Stargate Fandom Podcast Appearance You can hear — and SEE — Wendy and I as guests on the Stargate Fandom podcast! We talk with hosts Alyssa & Emily about our mutual fandom crossovers between Figure Skating and Sci-Fi/Fantasy. We had a terrific time with them in this wide-ranging conversation, and we hope you give it a listen and a Like! Watch it here: https://youtu.be/R23QXvLQmxI Chapters 0:00 — Intro 1:56 — Stargate Fandom Podcast Appearance 4:19 — Cranberry Cup 2025 5:15 — Women's Competition 19:43 — Men's Competition 35:07 — Other News 35:23 — Fear and Gibson and Spice Girls 36:33 — Smart and Dieck and Dune Part Two 39:18 — Yuma Kagiyama debuts his free skate 43:13 — Mai Mihara brings back her best programs 44:50 — Jason Brown brings back Riverdance 46:59 — Sarah Everhart's Poor Things free skate 48:21 — Wrap-Up
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Kaori Sakamoto Retirement Plans and other Skating News
06/25/2025
Kaori Sakamoto Retirement Plans and other Skating News
Three time world champion Kaori Sakamoto announces her post-Olympics retirement plan, and we have some feelings about it. Plus lots of new program announcements, and we talk about our experience at the North American Adult Synchronized Skating Camp. Chapters 0:00 — Intro 0:31 — NAASC Synchro Camp Experience 4:52 — Kaori Sakamoto Retirement Plans 10:43 — Other Skating News 11:06 — Young You’s Triple Axel 13:22 — Gabby Daleman returns 14:32 — Kovalevs change coaches 16:05 — US Summer Sizzler and Program Announcements 17:53 — Riku and Ryuchi choreographers 18:33 — Mai Mihara brings back her ’23-’24 programs 20:39 — Mao Shimada’s programs 22:05 — Mona Chiba’s programs 23:11 — Conti and Macii working with Romain Haganaur 24:38 — Thoughts on the Pre-Season 26:51 — Wrap-Up This week, we glide through quite a few off-season updates. But first, we give a shout out to the North American Adult Synchronized Skating Camp — or NAASSC for short. We were able to record at this event for a YouTube video we’ll be sharing soon! This exciting, sold out event happened the weekend of June 20-22 in St. Louis, MO and was an absolute blast. Big thanks to founder & director, Ashley Carlson, COO Ryan Carlson, and Assistant Director Victoria Smith for allowing us to be flies on the wall… er, boards in this case. More to come from this soon! Back to the news…. The most notable announcement of the week was certainly Kaori Sakamoto’s confirmation that she will retire at the end of the 2025-2026 season. Commence sobbing! In all seriousness, this was not a huge surprise — especially considering her Olympic short program music was announced to be “Time to Say Goodbye” — but it will absolutely make each remaining competition with her a little more significant. Kaori is such an incredible ambassador of figure skating, and we look forward to her still being one as a coach. United States Figure Skating announced that they would again be having “Summer Sizzler” event at the Skating Club of Boston — which apparently will be the stage where some US skaters will be premiering their Olympic season programs. We are skeptical that we’ll see competitive program peeks from Chock and Bates, but they will be there on August 14th along with Ilia Malinin, Alysa Liu, Amber Glenn, Jason Brown, Isabeau Levito, and many more. We talk about all of that, share a bunch more program announcements, and muse on a few more updates we’ve been drinking up online while we wait for Dreams on Ice (where it is rumored that a good number of Team Japan favorites will be debuting their programs for next season). Fingers crossed!
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In the Mixed Zone - featuring Judith Dombrowski
06/19/2025
In the Mixed Zone - featuring Judith Dombrowski
We talk with figure skating journalist Judith Dombrowski about her work with Golden Skate and Pirouette Magazine, and what it’s like conducting interviews in the ‘Mixed Zone’ at skating competitions. Chapters 0:00 — Intro 2:06 — What is the Mixed Zone? 15:28 — Overcoming language barriers 18:12 — Skaters seeking content creators and alternative press 20:32 — A push to find “drama”? 24:40 — How much skating does a reporter actually see? 30:02 — Covering the Road to 2026 Event 33:56 — Familiar faces at events 35:45 — Best skaters in the Mixed Zone 38:50 — Looking ahead to next season 42:35 — US Nationals in our home area 44:29 — Wrap-Up Figure skating journalist talks about working in the ‘Mixed Zone’ In this episode, we chat with Judith Dombrowski, a German figure skating journalist who writes for Golden Skate, and the german-language Pirouette Magazine. Judith has been a fixture of the competitive figure skating circuit for several years, primarily conducting post-program interviews in the press area called the “Mixed Zone”. After receiving their scores in the kiss ‘n cry, skaters advance to the Mixed Zone to speak with reporters, discuss their performance, and take photos. Judith often speaks with every competitior and team during a major senior event. We talk about the format and compulsary nature of the Mixed Zone, how reporters and skaters overcome language differences, and how content creators can support and interact with the sport. Judith’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/judithdomi89/ Golden Skate Founded in 1999, Golden Skate provides resources for the sport of figure skating worldwide. This includes interviews, features, videos, club listings, a discussion board and more. https://www.goldenskate.com/ https://www.instagram.com/goldsk8/ Pirouette Magazine Pirouette has been the leading magazine for figure skating in the German-speaking world since 1968. They introduce the stars of skating, look behind the scenes, portray personalities, report on results and records, and provide competition schedules. http://pirouette-online.de https://www.instagram.com/pirouette_magazin/
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Grand Prix 2025 Assignments and Return of Sui and Han
06/11/2025
Grand Prix 2025 Assignments and Return of Sui and Han
We dig into all of the Grand Prix assignments for the upcoming figure skating season, as well as the unsurprising return of the Olympic Pairs champions, China’s Sui and Han. It may be skating’s off-season, but there was a lot to be excited about this past week as the 2025 Grand Prix assignments were announced — and two legends of the sport quietly confirmed their long-rumored return. The biggest story to come out of the assignments was unquestionably the return of reigning Olympic pair’s gold medalists, Sui Wenjing and Han Cong from China. While there had been rumors of their return for months, their appearance on the competitors list for each Cup of China and NHK Trophy still rocked skating fandom and left us conflicted in our feelings. Unlike other returns this season, this one “feels” different — and we can’t help but be a little excited to see them skate again. The Grand Prix series will kickoff in France this year, which switches things up right out of the gate since Skate America has been the series launch for decades. In France, we’ll see Ilia Malinin vs. Adam Siao Him Fa light up the men’s competition while Kaori Sakamoto, Chaeyeon Kim, and Isabeau Levito battle it out in the women’s. However, the most buzzed about will be Ice Dance here as we see the first Grand Prix competition with Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron. The drama level will be HIGH at this one! Cup of China is next, which is where Sui and Han will make their debut on the series very appropriately. Here we will also see a rather stacked Women’s field with the unexpected match-up of reigning Grand Prix Final champion, Amber Glenn, vs. reigning World Champion, Alysa Liu. We also get the senior GP debuts of Jia Shin from Korea, who could mix things up this season, as well as Jacob Sanchez for the US. Skate Canda has a few key match-ups to watch including an early pairs showdown between Deanna Stellato-Dukek and Maxime Deschamps and Minerva Fabienne-Hase and Nikita Volodin. We’ll also get our first glimpse at Piper Gilles and Paul Porrier one week after their biggest rivals, Madison Chock and Evan Bates, debut in China. As if that drama wasn’t enough, ice dance keeps the hits coming at NHK Trophy as we see the debut of Maia and Alex Shibutani as well as the face-off between Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri and the team that took their World podium spot away from them, Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson, for the SECOND time in this Grand Prix series. We’ll also see Sui and Han again here in pairs, Yuma Kagiyama’s first appearance in men’s, and the Grand Prix return of Loena Hendrickx vs. her Belgian rival, Nina Pinzarrone. Skate America gives Jason Brown top billing in the men’s, where he has a legitimate chance to medal against Kevin Aymoz and reigning World silver medalist, Mikhail Shaidorov. Pairs also gives us the potential for a fairly heated battle between reigning World Champions, Riku Miura and Ryuchi Kiharaand the surging Georgian team of Anastasia Metelkina and Luka Berulava. Rounding out the GP series will be Finlandia Trophy, which will likely be a bloodbath of people trying to make the Grand Prix Final. Lots of big match-ups. Lots of exhausted skaters. Who will win? We’ll have to wait and see… Chapters 0:00 — Intro 1:08 — Sui and Han Return 6:20 — Grand Prix Assignment Announcements 7:22 — Skate France 17:55 — Cup of China 29:50 — Skate Canada 39:49 — NHK Trophy 48:33 — Skate America 55:28 — Finlandia Trophy 1:04:21 — Closing Thoughts on the Grand Prix 1:07:32 — Wrap-Up
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Spring Skating News (May 2025)
05/23/2025
Spring Skating News (May 2025)
We round-up the past week or so of off-season skating news, including new-and-returning programs from Kevin Aymoz, Kaori Sakamoto, and the Brown siblings. Haein Lee’s suspension has formally been nullified, and the Taschler siblings move to Finland with a new coaching team. And lots more. Chapters 1:17 — Stars on Ice and Show Season 4:57 — Kevin Aymoz brings back Bolero 9:09 — Oona and Gage Brown skate to The Godfather 11:18 — Haein Lee does Carmen; suspension is nullified 13:36 — Chaeyeon Kim working with Benoit again 15:03 — Rion Sumiyoshi working with Misha Ge and Shae Lynn Borne 16:16 — Rika Kihira working on returning? 17:12 — Kaori back in Montreal for programs 19:31 — Taschlerova and Taschler to train in Finland 22:03 — Russian neutral athlete qualifications 30:25 — Boitano and Witt go sight-seeing 32:16 — Wrap-Up Skating News for May 2025 It’s the off-season before an Olympic year, so you better believe the figure skaters are staying busy! Stars on Ice takes their “Rockstars” tour on the road in the US, after two successful legs in Japan and Canada. We’ve got new (and returning) program and choreographer announcements from Kevin Aymoz, Rion Sumiyoshi, Chaeyeon Kim, Kaori Sakamoto, and Oona and Gage Brown. Haein Lee and Young You’s suspensions have been formally nullified by the KSU and Korean authorities. The Taschler sibling ice dance duo are changing coaches and relocating to Finland. The Russian “neutral” Olympic eligibilities have been announced—and no ice dance or pairs teams were deemed qualified by the ISU guidelines. And, while our US champions have gathered at Universal Studios to shoot promos for the Olympic season, skating legends Brian Boitano and Katerina Witt were sight-seeing together in Germany. (And it was adorable!) Follow Scoreography: Website — Instagram — BlueSky —
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Listener Q&A 2025 Edition — Your Questions Answered!
05/15/2025
Listener Q&A 2025 Edition — Your Questions Answered!
In our second annual Q&A episode, we answer listener submitted questions about the upcoming Olympic season, our all-time favorite programs, the origin story of the podcast, and lots more. The off-season can feel LONG… especially the off-season before the Olympic season! This is why it was especially fun to dive into some “what if” scenarios, skating nostalgia, and even a few messy predictions for the coming year. We also dig into a few more serious topics, including the pros and cons of getting into the figure skating creator space, why big success for the U.S. in women’s figure skating always seems to be the barometer for its popularity, and even a little bit more discussion on “comebacks”. Without getting into spoilers, the links below are all relevant to our discussion — so either consider them teasers or listen first and come back to enjoy them! Lastly, thank you to everyone who took the time to send us questions. We appreciate it immensely, and appreciate you all for listening! Mai Mihara’s “Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence” — alt link: Jason Brown’s “Melancholy” Brandi Carlile’s “The Joke” at the Grammy’s Dee-Lite “Groove is in the Heart” Sneaker Pimps “Six Underground” Duran Duran “Out of my Mind” U2 “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me” Seal “Kiss From a Rose” Yelim Kim’s “A Thousand Years” Papadakis and Cizeron 2022 Rhythm Dance Shoma Uno 2023 Worlds Nathan Chen’s 2022 Olympic Short Kurt Browning 1993 Worlds “Casablanca” Chapters 0:00 — Intro and previous episode reactions 2:21 — Thoughts on Figure Skating Critique 7:44 — Q: Who would you choose for Olympic teams? 16:13 — Q: One program to watch on a moonlight lake? 17:46 — Q: Programs/music you’d like to see this next season? 20:50 — Q: 90s theme for the Rhythm Dance, and AI music? 25:48 — Q: Should any piece of music be banned? 27:14 — Q: What do we think about Adelia Petrosian? 31:33 — Q: 5 performances you rewatch all the time? 35:34 — Q: Why is the Free Skate order random sometimes? 39:27 — Q: Why did we start a FS podcast? 43:50 — Q: Have you ever taken skating lessons? 45:36 — Q: Have you watched roller skating competitions? 46:58 — Q: Why don’t we appear on video? 51:50 — Q: Advice for FS content creators? 56:20 — Q: What has changed the most about FS? 1:02:07 — Q: Skaters that revolutionized the sport? 1:07:40 — Q: Waning US popularity and focus on the Women’s discipline 1:25:36 — Wrap-Up
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The Shib Sibs Return?!
05/06/2025
The Shib Sibs Return?!
After SEVEN years away from competitive figure skating, ice dance Hall of Famers the Shib Sibs — Maia and Alex Shibutani — are returning. Just in time for the Olympic season. We have complicated feelings about it (especially Adron). We ruminate on the sport’s inextricable tie to the Olympic quadrennial, how that both helps and hinders skating fandom, and the role of nostalgia in promoting the sport. Referenced in this episode: Follow Scoreography: Website — Instagram — BlueSky —
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Modernizing the Sport with FS.SkatingStan
05/01/2025
Modernizing the Sport with FS.SkatingStan
We’re joined by Haley from FS.SkatingStan, one of our favorite figure skating Instagram accounts, to talk about her experience at Worlds 2025, the efforts from the ISU to modernize the sport, and the role content creators play in the skating’s future. Modernizing the Sport, and the Role of Content Creators in Skating’s Future This episode of Scoreography features our very first guest on the show. Haley from FS.SkatingStan — one of our favorite figure skating fan accounts on Instagram — drops in for a wide-ranging conversation about the season, her experience at Worlds 2025, and the sport’s future. We talk with Haley about the ISU’s apparent efforts at modernizing the World Championships through updated tech and presentation, as well as what’s in store for future seasons. We also discuss the sport’s current relationship with the content creator community, and how they could be better promoting skating through access, partnerships, and outreach to new fans. Haley is a former competitive skater who now works in media and marketing. She uses the FS.SkatingStan instagram account, substack, and more to educate and entertain, with smart design and insightful commentary. You can find here at: Instagram: YouTube: Threads: SubStack: Follow Scoreography: Website — Instagram — BlueSky —
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World Team Trophy 2025 RECAP
04/22/2025
World Team Trophy 2025 RECAP
We look back at all the fun shenanigans and terrific performances from the 2025 World Team Trophy competition in Japan, including a dominant win from Team USA and first WTT medal for Team Italy. Chapters 0:00 — Intro 1:51 — Predictions and Results 3:09 — Women's Competition 15:49 — Pairs Competition 23:27 — Men's Competition 33:00 — Ice Dance Competition 40:05 — Mao Shimada in the Gala 41:50 — Gold in our Hearts 46:16 — Wrap-Up Recap of 2025 Figure Skating World Team Trophy The 2024/2025 figure skating season finally came to its official end in Tokyo, Japan, at the World Team Trophy — and, WOW, did it go out with its sense of humor fully on display! From team wigs to furry onesies to Kevin Aymoz’s schoolgirl-clad antics, the kiss-and-cry was almost as entertaining as the skating itself! However, as we are a figure skating show, we should probably talk about the skating. This competition was really a battle for 1st between Team USA vs. Team Japan… And Team USA was once again victorious, with the highest point total ever achieved at World Team Trophy. Team USA was bolstered by having three of the four reigning World Champs — Ilia Malinin, Alysa Liu, and Chock & Bates — show up like the champions they are, winning the short and long in each of their disciplines. However, the biggest “winners” may have been Jason Brown and Amber Glenn, who each had incredible moments here. Jason landed in the top 3 in both the short and long. Amber scored a personal best for her near-flawless free skate! Team Japan did put on quite a show, though. Team captain, Kaori Sakamoto, gave two of her best performances of the season as she worked hard to support everyone else throughout the competition. World Champions Riku Miura & Ryuichi Kihara also brought their best again here, with their short program being especially spectacular, taking top spot in both pairs events. Team Italy took their first medal at World Team Trophy, led by strong performances from Conti & Macii, Lara Naki Gutmann, and Daniel Grassl. Off the ice, the Team Spirit award went to Team USA, which was wonderfully accepted by Team Captain Jason Brown. However, if we’re being honest, Team France had our hearts with their pure wackiness. RESULTS GOLD — Team United States (126 points) SILVER — Team Japan (110 points) BRONZE — Team Italy (86 points) 4th — Team France (78 points) 5th — Team Canada (72 points) 6th — Team Georgia (68 points) Follow Scoreography: Website — Instagram — BlueSky —
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World Team Trophy 2025 PREVIEW
04/15/2025
World Team Trophy 2025 PREVIEW
We look ahead to one of our favorite and most fun figure skating events, the bi-annual World Team Trophy. The competition features teams from the USA, Japan, Canada, Italy, Georgia, and France. Chapters 0:00 — World Team Trophy Overview 9:57 — Team Rosters 29:50 — World Team Podium Predictions 32:22 — Wrap-Up Follow Scoreography: Website — Instagram — BlueSky —
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Scoreography Awards 2025, ISU Awards, and Olympic Qualifications
04/10/2025
Scoreography Awards 2025, ISU Awards, and Olympic Qualifications
We reflect on the post-Worlds ISU Awards, dig through the official Olympic Qualifications, and then hand out our own 2025 Scoreography Awards across 10 different categories. Chapters 0:00 — Intro 0:54 — Olympic Spot Qualifications 19:43 — ISU Awards 28:38 — The Scoreography Awards 29:10 — Favorite Program: Men 31:09 — Favorite Program: Women 32:27 — Favorite Program: Pairs 34:03 — Favorite Program: Ice Dance 35:15 — Breakout Skater or Team 38:44 — Best Costume 41:16 — Best Gala Performance 44:03 — Future Star 45:48 — Skater or Team of the Year 48:34 — Moment of the Year 50:11 — Wrap-Up Follow Scoreography: Website — Instagram — BlueSky —
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World Figure Skating Championships 2025 RECAP
04/01/2025
World Figure Skating Championships 2025 RECAP
We take an in-depth retrospective of the World Figure Skating Championships 2025, including the extraordinary wins of Alysa Liu, Chock and Bates, Ilia Malinin, and Miura and Kihara. Chapters 0:00 — Intro 2:00 — Women's Championship 33:26 — Women's Predictions in Review 34:15 — Pairs Championship 51:17 — Pairs Predictions in Review 52:10 — Men's Championship 1:16:42 — Men's Predictions in Review 1:17:40 — Ice Dance Championship 1:48:05 — Dance Predictions in Review 1:48:48 — Gold in our Hearts 1:56:24— Wrap-Up Follow Scoreography: Website — Instagram — BlueSky —
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Worlds 2025 PREVIEW Part Two: Men and Ice Dance
03/24/2025
Worlds 2025 PREVIEW Part Two: Men and Ice Dance
In the second part of our World Figure Skating Championships 2025 preview, we look at the Men’s and Ice Dance competitions — both with clear leaders, but primed for potential upsets on the podiums and down the rankings. Chapters 0:00 — Intro 3:32 — Men’s Competition 30:21 — Men’s Podium Predictions 32:30 — Ice Dance Competition 58:25 — Ice Dance Podium Predictions 1:00:25 — Wrap-Up Follow Scoreography: Website — Instagram — BlueSky —
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Worlds 2025 PREVIEW Part One: Women and Pairs
03/18/2025
Worlds 2025 PREVIEW Part One: Women and Pairs
Our first preview episode for the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships focuses on the Women and Pairs events. We compare the season’s best scores and most consistent performers to pick the likely podium threats, as well as who might round out each top ten. Chapters 0:00 — Intro 3:06 — Worlds Preview Part One 3:53 — Women's Top Competitors 20:28 — Women's Dark Horse Candidates 31:21 — Women's Podium Predictions 33:32 — Pairs Top Competitors 43:40 — Pairs Dark Horse Candidates 51:00 — Pairs Podium Predictions 54:00 — Wrap-Up Follow Scoreography: Website — Instagram — BlueSky —
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Legacy on Ice Impressions, Skating Lesson Controversy, and other news
03/11/2025
Legacy on Ice Impressions, Skating Lesson Controversy, and other news
We give our impressions of the Legacy on Ice event, performed in honor of the skating community lives lost on Flight 5342, and fundraising for their families and communities. We also discuss the Skating Lesson controversy attached to the event, plus other competition news. Chapters 0:00 — Intro 1:10 — Legacy on Ice Impressions 22:13 — Skating Lesson Controversy 31:30 — Sonja Henie Trophy 34:03 — Maria Olszewska Memorial 37:59 — Gold in our Hearts 39:08 — Wrap-Up Legacy On Ice tribute benefit reactions, Skating Lesson controversy, and competition news This week, we take a close look at the emotional benefit event for the victims of Flight 5342, Legacy on Ice. With a lineup of US skaters past and present like no other, this sold out show in Washington, D.C., brought together the skating community to process its grief, help those who need it, and hopefully find a bit of comfort and peace. We also take a quick look at a few small skating competitions that are leading towards Worlds in a few short weeks that saw both Adam Siao Him Fa and Bradie Tennell grab titles. Legacy on Ice From Amber Glenn to Nancy Kerrigan. Paul Wylie to Ilia Malinin. The list of skaters who came together to support the families and communities of the victims of American Airlines Flight 5342, as well as first responders who were on the ground at the tragedy was genuinely astounding. Hosted by Olympic Champions Brian Boitano and Kristi Yamaguchi, this event had some of the most emotional skates we have ever seen. In particular, the tribute to his parents, Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, performed by Maxim Naumov was a moment of true strength like we’ve never seen in this sport. A gorgeous, powerful program followed by a group performance with fellow Skating Club of Boston members, Jimmy Ma, Alisa Efimova, and Misha Mitrofanov, this was just one of many moments honoring those who were so tragically lost that we will never forget. A list of where you can still donate to help those most impacted by the crash can be found below. Legacy on Ice will be rebroadcasted at 1pm ET on March 30th on NBC in the United States. Pre-Worlds Competitions We are only a few weeks away from the World Championships in Boston, but there were a couple of smaller events leading up to this past week. The Sonja Henie Trophy saw a strong warm up outing for last year’s World bronze medalist, Adam Siao Him Fa from France. With strong short program and a few mistakes in his free skate, he earned a total score of 281.99 — which keeps him very much in the conversation for the World podium. On the Women’s side, Lara Naki Gutmann took the title after being second in the short. At another smaller competition, the Maria Olszewska Memorial, Bradie Tennell delivered excellent skates to take the title with a whopping score of 220.29. Another American competing, Alexa Gasparatto, made history here by becoming the first black woman ever internationally to land a triple axel. Congratulations, Alexa! Legacy on Ice links: open through April 3 – Proceeds benefit U.S. Figure Skating Family Support Fund
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World Junior Championships 2025 RECAP + Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron Announcement
03/04/2025
World Junior Championships 2025 RECAP + Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron Announcement
We examine an exciting Junior Worlds 2025 event, with spectacular wins from Mao Shimada and Rio Nakata. Plus, we dive into the Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron ice dance team news. Chapters 0:00 — Intro 0:32 — Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron Announcement 11:48 — Junior Worlds Recap 12:35 — Women’s Competition 30:10 — Men’s Competition 38:59 — Pairs Competition 47:29 — Ice Dance Competition 51:02 — Gold in our Hearts 53:00 — Wrap-Up
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