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!
info_outline
ISU Awards 2026 and Scoreography Awards
04/06/2026
ISU Awards 2026 and Scoreography Awards
With the season finally complete, we reflect on the post-Worlds ISU Awards, catch-up on the latest skating news, and hand out our own 2nd annual Scoreography Awards. After an amazing Olympic season of figure skating, it feels appropriate to give out awards to the skaters, programs, and costumes we loved most. Inspired by the ISU Awards, which we discuss in this episode, we give out our own Scoreography awards that, while involving no actual trophy or medal, we are sending from our hearts ti the skaters. The ISU Awards, given out directly following the Gala Exhibition at the World Championships, is still a fairly young award show but appears to be something the skaters are enjoying — and even campaigning for in a few cases. Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:02:55 Skating News 00:12:12 ISU Awards 00:28:25 The 2026 Scoreography Awards! 00:49:20 Gold in our Hearts — Season Edition 00:52:49 Wrap-Up
/episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/40742360
info_outline
World Championships 2026 RECAP
04/01/2026
World Championships 2026 RECAP
The 2025-2026 figure skating season finally wrapped up with the World Figure Skating Champions in Prague, and it absolutely lived up to the promise of Olympic redemption for many skaters. Unfortunately, it also provided more scoring confusion in the ice dance competition. Chapters 00:00:00 Motion Graphic 00:01:15 Podcast Chapters vs AI Slop 00:03:41 Women's Competition 00:31:41 Pairs Competition 00:45:34 Men's Competition 01:08:27 Ice Dance Competition 01:21:01 Fear and Gibson and Controversy 01:46:45 Gold in our Hearts 01:51:27 Wrap-Up
/episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/40694970
info_outline
Worlds 2026 Ice Dance PREVIEW
03/25/2026
Worlds 2026 Ice Dance PREVIEW
Ice Dance at the 2026 World Figure Skating Championships could set the stage for the next Olympic cycle. Two of the three Olympics medal-winning teams are in Prague, along with teams from the US, Lithuania, and Great Britain all vying for medals. The ice dance competition in Prague promises to tell several different stories! One will very likely be a victory lap for the Olympic Champions, Laurence Fournier-Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron. With Chock and Bates not coming to Worlds (and possibly retiring soon), the biggest threat to a first World title will be Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Canada. However, it would be quite an upset at this point for “GuiLo” to be defeated after a dominant season and the wave of momentum off of their Olympic victory. They have kind of indicated they will be continuing after this season, so this could be the start of a new World’s dynasty. Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:51 Withdrawals: Who Won't Be Competing 00:03:08 Fournier-Beaudry and Cizerone 00:04:35 Gilles and Poirier 00:07:34 Fear and Gibson 00:09:14 Zingas and Kolesnik 00:11:31 Lopareva and Brissaud 00:13:03 Reed and Ambrulevicius 00:14:55 Davis and Smolkin 00:16:18 Smart and Dieck 00:18:08 LaJoie and Lagha 00:21:04 Carreira and Ponomarenko 00:22:30 Turkkila and Versluis 00:23:48 Rest of the Field 00:31:34 Podium Predictions 00:33:05 Wrap-Up
/episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/40615645
info_outline
Worlds 2026 Men's PREVIEW
03/24/2026
Worlds 2026 Men's PREVIEW
The men’s event at the 2026 World Figure Skating Championships is all about redemption. Ilia Malinin comes in as the favorite, but with questions around the effect his Olympic experience may have on what he delivers in Prague. Best case scenario is he “goes ham” and holds nothing back. Ilia is almost always at his best when he’s going for the biggest and boldest programs. Also looking to have two consecutive clean skates are the Olympic Silver and Bronze medalists from Japan, Yuma Kagiyama and Shun Sato. Both of these men had one brilliant skate in Milan, and several that were less than they would have wished for. If they can bring great short and free programs to the competition, they will try likely both be getting medals on this podium as well. There’s a long list of others that are sure to make this an exciting — and likely nerve wracking — event to watch. Who gets their redemption arc?! Only time will tell. Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:52 Withdrawals: Who WON'T Be There 00:05:32 Ilia Malinin 00:12:21 Yuma Kagiyama 00:16:14 Shun Sato 00:18:12 Daniel Grassl 00:19:07 Adam Siao Him Fa 00:21:11 Stephen Gogolev 00:24:52 Kao Muira 00:26:12 Nika Egadze 00:27:51 Kevin Aymoz 00:29:15 Andrew Torgashev 00:31:19 Other Men in the Competition 00:33:55 Podium Predictions 00:36:38 Wrap-Up
/episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/40601965
info_outline
Worlds 2026 Pairs PREVIEW
03/23/2026
Worlds 2026 Pairs PREVIEW
The pairs competition at the 2026 World Figure Skating Championships will be missing some of the top competitors from Milano Cortina — including Olympic Champions Riku Miura and Ruche Kihara. Olympic silver medalists, Anastasia Metelkina and Luka Berulava, have the advantage of momentum being on their side to take their first World title in Prague, but several other extremely talented teams are standing in their way. Most notably, the German pair of Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin are fresh from earning bronze at the Olympic Games and were first after the short program in Milan. They are more than capable of taking their first World title here, but will likely need a very strong free skate to beat the Georgians. Also in the running for a Worlds medal will be Maria Pavlova and Alexei Sviatchenko of Hungary. They are the season’s most improved pair and have taken big steps forward. Making their first World podium is definitely within their grasp. Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:38 Withdrawals: Who WON'T Be There 00:06:17 Metelkina and Berulava 00:08:57 Hase and Volodin 00:11:04 Pavlova and Svietchenko 00:13:10 Efimova and Mitrofanov 00:15:37 Nagaoka and Moriguchi 00:18:20 Chan and Howe 00:19:26 Pereira and Michaud 00:21:38 Other notable teams competing here 00:25:50 Podium Predictions 00:27:29 Wrap-Up
/episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/40583100
info_outline
Worlds 2026 Women's Competition PREVIEW
03/19/2026
Worlds 2026 Women's Competition PREVIEW
The 2026 World Figure Skating Championships are just a week away, and the women’s competition may again be the most hotly contested event! While Olympic Champion, Alysa Liu, has withdrawn, there will be a wildly talented group of women competing for the title, including 3-time World Champion and reigning Olympic silver medalist Kaori Sakamoto of Japan. This will be Kaori’s last time on competitive ice, so emotions are sure to be running high for her and all of us watching! Japan could very well sweep this podium, as Olympic bronze medalist and rookie of the year, Ami Nakai, will be bringing her triple axels to Prague. And Mone Chiba will be hunting for the elusive medal she just missed in Milano Cortina. Likely seeking a little redemption is one of Milan’s “Blade Angels”, Amber Glenn of the USA. Amber is entirely capable of taking this title or getting on the podium. We expect she’ll be coming in hungry after one small mistake in her Olympic short program lost her a medal. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:55 Alysa Liu is too famous for Worlds (j/k) 00:04:51 Kaori Sakamoto 00:07:15 Ami Nakai 00:10:00 Mone Chiba 00:12:26 Niina Petrokina 00:13:50 Amber Glenn 00:15:53 Isabeau Levito 00:17:06 Sarah Everhardt 00:18:32 Haein Lee and Jia Shin 00:20:16 Sofia Samodelkina 00:21:48 Nina Pinzaronne 00:23:01 Kimmy Repond withdrawal and coaching change 00:23:58 Olga Mikutina 00:24:17 Maddie Schizas (and Gabby Daleman pairs girlie?!) 00:26:18 Iida Karhunen 00:26:48 Anastasiia Gubanova 00:27:48 Lara Naki Gutmann 00:29:16 Podium Predictions 00:30:29 Wrap-Up
/episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/40539745
info_outline
Junior World Championships 2026 RECAP
03/10/2026
Junior World Championships 2026 RECAP
We're still in the afterglow of the Olympics, but one of the final major ISU events of the season just went down in Estonia. The 2026 World Junior Figure Skating Championships featured a record breaking short program from Rio Nakata, and an incredible 4th consecutive win from Mao Shimada. While Japan took the top spots in the men's and women's event, the rest of those podiums were no less impressive. Korea's Minkyu Seo delivered two gorgeous programs, even though his total score lagged almost 25 points behind Nakata. Australia's new superstar Hana Bath gave stunner skates on her way to a Silver. American ice dancers Hana Maria Aboian and Danniil Veselukhin edged out terrific French and Ukrainian teams for Gold. With huge charisma and sharp skills, this young US team could be dominant in Juniors for several years to come. Canada took the top two spots in Pairs, with the win going to Ava Kemp and Yohnatan Elizarov. But the big surprise for us was the Bronze finish of terrific new Ukrainian team Hannah Herrera and Ivan Khobta. (Also, how many Hana's and Hannah's were in this competition?!?) After we wrap the Juniors, we catch up on other skating news — primarily who's in, or out, of the upcoming senior Worlds competition. Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:01:28 Junior Women's Competition 00:19:06 Junior Ice Dance Competition 00:25:09 Junior Men's Competition 00:37:47 Junior Pairs Competition 00:46:26 Gold in our Hearts 00:47:52 Other Skating News 00:58:36 Wrap-Up
/episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/40380165
info_outline
Olympics 2026 Airing of Grievances!
03/04/2026
Olympics 2026 Airing of Grievances!
The Olympic Games are complete — but our complaints are not! In the spirit of good faith critique, we recount some of our least favorite aspects of the figure skating competition at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games. It's an Olympic Airing of Grievances! And these aren't just OUR opinions. We asked our audience for their concerns, quibbles, and frustrations with the games, the scoring, the broadcast commentary, and more. And YOU delivered! These Olympics were exhilarating, heartbreaking, stunning, and confounding. Some moments are going to be LEGENDARY. But there's a lot that could have been done better, and plenty of things to fix in the future. Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:04:01 Attack on Iran and impact on figure skating 00:10:04 Let the Grievances Begin 00:10:34 The Media 00:22:51 Questionable Judging 00:32:00 Olympic Quality Control 00:37:18 Commentary and Broadcast 00:51:28 NBC-ification 01:00:02 Listener Grievances! 01:15:21 Coal in our Hearts?! 01:18:29 Look ahead to Junior Worlds 01:19:54 Wrap-Up
/episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/40310400
info_outline
Olympic Figure Skating Gala REACTION
02/23/2026
Olympic Figure Skating Gala REACTION
Olympic figure skating competition is complete at the Winter Games in Milano Cortina — but the show wasn't over! The Olympic Exhibition Gala allowed medalists and other notable skaters to perform a wide range of entertaining programs, showcasing artistry, acting prowess, and lots of humor. Women's champion Alysa Liu dazzled with a new dress and new dance number. Men's winner Mikhail Shaidorov delivered his fan-favorite Kung-Fu Panda program, complete with full-body panda suit! Pairs silver medalists Metelkina Berulava combined Mortal Kombat with Spandau Ballet. Korea's Haein Lee transformed into a Kpop Demon Hunter. Estonia's Niina Petrokina unalived her male counterparts in the theatrical Cell Block Tango. And USA's Ilia Malinin mesmerized with a high impact performance addressing the pressures and media attention athletes face in the spotlight. We also highlight some of our favorite moments from Olympic figure skating overall, and pick our ultimate Gold in our Hearts recipients from these Games. Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:01:45 Your Input Needed! 00:03:12 The Olympic Gala 00:04:35 Carolina Kostner and Team Italy 00:06:36 Ami Nakai 00:11:05 Amber Glenn 00:13:32 Junhwan Cha 00:15:25 Adeliia Petrosian 00:17:01 Metelkina and Berulava 00:19:11 Niina Petrokina 00:21:54 Adam Siao Him Fa 00:24:46 Haein Lee 00:27:26 Yuma Kagiyama 00:29:58 Kaori Sakamoto 00:32:06 Ilia Malinin 00:37:44 Mikhail Shaidorov 00:40:13 Alysa Liu 00:45:01 Figure Skater Flag Bearers 00:45:57 Other Favorite Olympic Moments 00:59:48 Gold in our Hearts 01:02:14 Wrap-Up
/episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/40197575
info_outline
Olympics 2026 Women's Figure Skating RECAP
02/20/2026
Olympics 2026 Women's Figure Skating RECAP
The figure skating competition at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games comes to a glorious conclusion with the women's event! USA's golden girl, Alysa Liu, comes through in the clutch with a flawless free skate and climbs to the top of the podium. Queen Kaori Sakamoto holds onto Silver with two incredible skates, and claims her home in our hearts forever. And while Ami Nakai can't maintain the first place ranking she earned in the short, she still brings home the Bronze with abundant charisma and joy. What an event! Everyone in the top ten was terrific, and there are performances to celebrate even down into 20th. The women of figure skating dazzled, showed courage and grit (looking at you, Amber Glenn), and finished off Olympic competition in grand style. Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:02:38 The Women’s Olympic Podium 00:22:39 The Rest of the Top 10 00:41:49 Outside the Top 10 00:53:03 Gold in our Hearts 00:54:39 Wrap-Up
/episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/40174270
info_outline
Olympics 2026 Pairs RECAP
02/17/2026
Olympics 2026 Pairs RECAP
The Olympic Pairs event was everything we needed to restore our faith in Milano Cortina figure skating. An astounding, World Record breaking, come-from-behind victory for Miura & Kihara earned the first-ever Japanese Pairs medal. Two terrific skates from Metelkina & Berulava garnered Silver and Georgia's first-ever Winter Games medal. And Hase & Volodin followed up a magical short program with a shaky free skate that just managed to lock a Bronze for Germany. The rest of the top ten was populated with strong performances and a few disappointing finishes, but still so much to be proud of. With so many displays of great sportsmanship and good vibes, the entire event left us feeling warm and happy — which we hope carries over into the Women's event... Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:02:08 Olympic Pairs Podium Results 00:17:01 4th-6th placements 00:25:52 Teams 7th and below 00:37:33 Gold in our Hearts 00:41:30 Look ahead to the Women's event 00:44:01 Wrap-Up
/episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/40135895
info_outline
Olympic Women's Figure Skating PREVIEW
02/16/2026
Olympic Women's Figure Skating PREVIEW
The final competitive figure skating event of the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milano Cortina is upon us! The Women's competition gives us the deepest field of skaters who are likely to challenge for a medal. Expect the competition to be fierce as these women all hunt for their Olympic moment. It's our 100th episode! We forgot to talk about it 😅 but we really appreciate you joining us for this milestone, and thanks to everyone who has supported us along the way! We discuss the women we perceive as the top eight contenders, based on best scores of the season: Kaori Sakamoto, Ami Nakai, Alysa Liu, Niina Petrokina, Amber Glenn, Mone Chiba, and Adeliia Petrosian. But we're not counting out any of the dark horse podium possibilities, including Jia Shin, Anastasiia Gubanova, Lara Naki Gutmann, Sofia Samodelkina, and Haein Lee. We also take some time to address feedback on our previous episode about the men's olympic final — specifically many commenters' misunderstanding of the episode's opening observations. Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:01:16 Addressing the previous episodes and responses 00:12:26 Top Women's Competitors 00:37:41 The Dark Horse Candidates 00:49:04 Podium Predictions 00:51:40 Prediction Success So Far; State of the Games 00:55:44 Wrap-up
/episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/40122900
info_outline
Olympics 2026 Men's Final RECAP
02/14/2026
Olympics 2026 Men's Final RECAP
In a stunning, dramatic upset, Kazakstan's Mikhail Shaidorov won gold in the Men's competition at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milano Cortina. Japan's Yuma Kagiyama and Shun Sato took the silver and bronze medals, as many predicted, but with shaky performances. Yet the skate most will be talking about was the shocking collapse of "Quad God" Ilia Malinin in the free program, plummeting the expected champion from 1st to 8th place overall. In this recap and reaction to the men's final, we do our best to celebrate the winners while examining how things went horribly awry for the star of USA men's figure skating. Looking ahead, we also preview the Pairs competition, starting this weekend, including our podium predictions. We're thrilled for Mikhail, who put together two fantastic skates, coming through in the clutch again as the hero of Kazakstan skating. But, of course, we're also incredibly heartbroken for Ilia, who had the worst skate of his career at exactly the worst moment. After 3 undefeated years, the pressure of Olympic ice overwhelmed him. It's a result nobody saw coming — though we should have listened closer to Wendy's "crystal ball" from our preview episode... Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:02:33 The Men’s Olympic Podium 00:17:50 NBC-ification 00:23:04 Ilia Malinin 00:38:24 The Rest of the Men's Field 00:48:55 Gold in our Hearts 00:51:17 Pairs Preview 00:57:20 Pairs Podium Predictions 00:59:38 Wrap-Up
/episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/40107165
info_outline
Olympic Ice Dance RECAP
02/12/2026
Olympic Ice Dance RECAP
Olympic Ice Dance REACTION — 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games After a wonderful Team competition, Olympic figure skating in Milano Cortina hits its first big controversy. The individual Ice Dance event ends with France's Fournier-Beaudry & Cizeron in gold, despite several visible errors in both programs. Meanwhile, Chock & Bates are awarded silver even with two dynamic, clean performances. Gilles & Poirier take home the bronze, capping their Olympics with a magnificent, emotional free dance. We dig into why the outcome of this event felt neither fair nor surprising, after a season of shoddy, questionable judging. And, despite our anger and frustration, we revisit all of the memorable performances that made the competition great — including fantastic skates from Zingas & Kolesnik, Guignard & Fabbri, Smart & Dieck, and Lopareva & Brissaud. Chapters 00:00:00 Intro and Ice Dance Controversy 00:03:23 Ice Dance Podium 00:20:09 The Rest of the Top Ten 00:36:58 Outside the Top Ten 00:46:14 Overall thoughts on the competition 00:51:32 Gold in our Hearts 00:53:45 Wrap-Up
/episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/40085500
info_outline
Olympics 2026 Men's Figure Skating PREVIEW
02/10/2026
Olympics 2026 Men's Figure Skating PREVIEW
After a dramatic Team Figure Skating event, the Men prepare to take center stage in the individual competition at the Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games. We walk you through the front runners, including USA's "Quad God" Ilia Malinin, and Japan's stars Yuma Kagiyama and Shun Sato. But there are plenty of dark horses in the mix who could shake up the results and the podium. Kazakstan's Mikhail Shaidorov, France's Adam Siao Him Fa, Italy's Daniel Grassl, Korea's Junhwan Cha, and Georgia's Nika Egadze are all capable of big jumps and big scores. Russian's "neutral" athelete, Petr Gumennik—largely unseen in international competition but highly successful at home—also presents a potential podium spoiler. Beyond the medals and even the battle for the Top Ten, though, are another dozen skaters worth watching and cheering on. The potential for record breaking scores exists side-by-side with looming disaster as these athletes throw the most technically challenging programs possible. Fortune favors the brave, but sometimes the ice has other ideas... Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:03:38 Podium Favorites 00:16:49 The Dark Horse Contenders 00:44:41 Other Men Worth Watching 00:55:10 Predictions 01:00:20 Wrap-Up
/episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/40056080
info_outline
Olympics 2026 Team Competition Recap
02/09/2026
Olympics 2026 Team Competition Recap
The first figure skating event of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games is officially complete! The Team Competition exceeded all expectations, delivering truly world class performances, and a last possible moment showdown to decide gold. The United States team took victory in dramatic fashion, via dominant ice dance showings from Chock & Bates, a clutch free skate from Kam & O'Shea, and a final heroic effort from Ilia Malinin. Japan took silver, missing the top of the podium by only a single point. Kaori Sakamoto, Yuma Kagiyama, and Miura & Kihara posted career high scores and likely-to-be-legendary performances. Shun Sato came up just short in the final skate, despite an exceptional, nearly flawless program. But it's the home country Bronze finish for Team Italy that pulled the most heartstrings. Stellar appearances from Guignard & Fabbri, Lara Naki Gutmann, and Conti & Macii put the podium in play for the Italians. But it was the sensational free program from Matteo Rizzo that locked third place and a coveted Olympic medal. Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:59 Team Event Overview 00:02:59 Gold - USA 00:14:54 Silver - Japan 00:29:04 Bronze - Italy 00:37:12 Rest of the Competition 00:51:28 Gold in our Hearts 00:53:36 Wrap-Up
/episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/40041900
info_outline
Olympic Team Competition PREVIEW — 2026 Olympic Games
02/05/2026
Olympic Team Competition PREVIEW — 2026 Olympic Games
The 2026 Olympic Games figure skating competition kicks off in Milano Cortina with the Team Event. Ten countries. Three medals. Zero room for error. We examine the teams most likely to vie for the podium, and which ones probably won't make the free skate. Many of the competitors haven't been officially announced yet, so we conjecture on which skaters will take part, and the strategy behind those choices. With world champions in the mix — like Ilia Malinin, Kaori Sakamoto, Alysa Liu, Muira & Kihara, Chock & Bates, and Sui & Han — expect the competition to be FIERCE in Italy. Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:00:45 ISU disables VPN access on YouTube 00:05:38 Team Event Preview 00:11:29 Team USA 00:18:24 Team Japan 00:20:46 Team Georgia 00:22:31 Team Italy 00:25:45 Team Canada 00:30:16 Team France 00:32:47 Team China 00:35:02 South Korea 00:37:18 Team Poland 00:38:54 Team Great Britain 00:42:02 Predictions 00:44:34 Wrap-Up
/episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/40003790
info_outline
Olympics 2026 Ice Dance PREVIEW + We're in Glitter and Gold?!
02/03/2026
Olympics 2026 Ice Dance PREVIEW + We're in Glitter and Gold?!
The Olympics are upon us, and we're here to help you get ready to watch Ice Dance! We walk you through the top 5 teams battling for the podium, and explain why there's one fight for Gold and another for Bronze. We thoroughly break down the competition between podium hopefuls Madison Chock & Evan Bates (USA), Laurence Fournier-Beaudry & Guillaume Cizeron (France), Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier (Canada), Charlene Guignard & Marco Fabbri (Italy), and Lilah Fear & Lewis Gibson (Great Britain). But there are plenty of other excellent teams in the hunt for a top 10 finish, so we give you a complete rundown of who to keep an eye on. Plus: GLITTER AND GOLD — Did you hear us in the new Netflix ice dance documentary?! (Yes, you did, and no, we didn't know it was happening!) Chapters 00:00:00 Glitter and Gold 00:02:36 Olympic Ice Dance Preview 00:05:50 The Fight for Gold 00:17:09 The Fight for Bronze 00:24:46 The Spoiler Candidates 00:37:44 Other Teams to Watch 00:43:56 Podium Predictions 00:48:49 Looking Ahead 00:55:08 Wrap-Up
/episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/39977755
info_outline
Four Continents 2026 RECAP
01/26/2026
Four Continents 2026 RECAP
We dive into the last major competition before the 2026 Olympics, Four Continents Championships in Beijing, China. We celebrate the surprise but oh-so-satisfying victory from Japan's Yuna Aoki. An Ice Dance gold medal should give an extra boost to USA's Zingas & Kolesnik as they prepare for Milano Cortina. The same could be said for Olympics-bound Kao Muira, who will represent Japan at the Games as well. And America's Efimova & Mitrofanov score an unexpected win over the legendary Sui & Han in the Pairs event. But there were thrilling skates all down the rankings, too, as well as some wonderful moments of sportsmanship. Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:02:44 Women's Event 00:23:30 Dance Competition 00:32:41 Men's Competition 00:49:56 Pairs Competition 00:59:30 Gold in our Hearts 01:01:28 Wrap-Up / Look Ahead #FigureSkating #ISUfigureskating #4ContsFigure
/episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/39877470
info_outline
European Championships 2026 RECAP
01/19/2026
European Championships 2026 RECAP
We react to the 2026 European Figure Skating Championships event in England, featuring a historic repeat win from Estonia's Niina Petrokina, two Georgian golds in Pairs and Men's, and a slightly surprising outcome in Ice Dance. Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:01:45 Ice Dance 00:20:55 Women's Competition 00:32:10 Pairs Competition 00:41:09 Men's Competition 00:56:00 Canadian Nationals 01:03:42 Four Continents Preview 01:07:29 Gold in our Hearts 01:08:26 Wrap-Up
/episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/39782880
info_outline
US National Championships 2026 RECAP
01/13/2026
US National Championships 2026 RECAP
The much anticipated 2026 US National Figure Skating Championships were everything they promised to be: thrilling, tense, bittersweet, and revelatory! The week-long event happened in our hometown of St. Louis, and we were on-site throughout the event to witness historic skates and the selection of the Olympic team. The Women's and Ice Dance events delivered powerhouse performances that will go down as some of the best Nationals competitions of all times. The Men's event featured shocking twists, tear-jerking surprises, and a dominant win from Ilia Malinin. And the Pairs ended with two thirds of its podium ineligible for Olympic spots, creating a disparity between the medal winners and our representatives in Milan. We give you our firsthand account from the arena, and discuss why this one of the greatest US championships ever! Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:03:54 Women's Competition 00:36:42 Ice Dance Competition 01:04:23 Men's Competition 01:40:27 Pairs Competition 01:55:18 Gold in our Hearts 01:58:55 Wrap-Up
/episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/39714090
info_outline
US Nationals 2026 PREVIEW
01/05/2026
US Nationals 2026 PREVIEW
It's our first episode of 2026, and we're preparing for US Nationals — which will be held in our home city of St. Louis! We preview the upcoming competition with a laser focus on the biggest stakes: who will represent the USA at the Olympics. From virtually guaranteed locks like Ilia Malinin, Chock & Bates, and Alysa Liu, to the uncertainty around the pairs and additional dance spots, there's so much to be excited—and anxious—about. We also cover the results of this past weekend's Korean Nationals, including Olympics selections for Junhwan Cha, Haein Lee, and Jia Shin. Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:04:17 Women's Competition Preview 00:20:50 Ice Dance Competition 00:35:55 Men's Competition 00:48:56 Pairs Competition 01:00:50 Korean Nationals Results 01:10:22 Wrap-Up
/episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/39612485
info_outline
2025 Year End Figure Skating News and Review
12/30/2025
2025 Year End Figure Skating News and Review
As 2025 comes to a close, we catch up on a bunch of last minute figure skating news: citizenships, announcements, Olympic teams, a combined ISU Worlds event (?), and much more. We also recap our top Gold in Our Hearts moments for the year. And we share our appreciation for our listeners and community, including a particularly touching Christmas Eve message from an audience member. Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:01:49 We'll be at US Nationals! 00:04:37 Skating News 00:20:50 ISU Combined Worlds Events 00:32:01 Four Continents announcements 00:43:30 Listener support and Poetry! 00:48:22 2025 Gold in our Hearts Moments 00:56:54 Wrap-Up
/episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/39564150
info_outline
Japanese Nationals 2025 RECAP
12/24/2025
Japanese Nationals 2025 RECAP
All-Japan Championships 2025 gave us an Olympics-worthy collection of amazing performances — including final competitive skates from several of our favorite athletes. Kaori Sakamoto and Yuma Kagiyama clinched their Olympic spots, and Yuna Aoki gave two of the finest programs of any skater this season. We also talk about the results of the French and Italian nationals events, including their locks for Olympic teams. Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:02:10 Women's Event 00:33:07 Men's Compeititon 00:44:32 Pairs Compeition 00:47:14 Ice Dance Competition 00:52:09 French Nationals 00:58:44 Italian Nationals 01:08:21 Gold in our Hearts 01:09:38 Wrap-Up
/episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/39526765
info_outline
Japanese Nationals 2025 Preview and Junior Grand Prix Final Recap
12/16/2025
Japanese Nationals 2025 Preview and Junior Grand Prix Final Recap
We preview the All-Japan Figure Skating Championships (Japanese Nationals) and its hotly contested Olympic team outcomes. We also look back at the Junior Grand Prix Final, particularly the very exciting junior women’s event. Golden Spin 2025 receives a recap as well, along with a number of other smaller federation national championships. As mentioned in the episode, here is Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:01:06 J-Nats Women’s Competition 00:11:59 J-Nats Men's Competition 00:16:16 J-Nats Pairs Competition 00:17:34 J-Nats Ice Dance Competition 00:20:19 French Nationals 00:24:21 Italian Nationals Preview 00:30:57 German Nationals 00:32:08 Four Nationals 00:34:51 Estonian Nationals 00:36:18 Finnish Nationals 00:38:59 Junior Grand Prix Final Recap 00:39:18 JGPF Women's Competition 00:50:26 JGPF Men's Competition 00:55:13 JGPF Pairs — Guo and Zhang 00:56:13 JGPF Ice Dance — Abonian and Veselukhin 00:58:15 Golden Spin recap 01:09:17 Wrap-Up
/episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/39422250
info_outline
Grand Prix Final 2025 RECAP
12/08/2025
Grand Prix Final 2025 RECAP
The Grand Prix Final in Japan took us on a rollercoaster of emotions. Ilia Malinin shattered his own world record. Alysa Liu is golden once again. The pairs competition was outstanding. And ice dance somehow managed to generate even more controversy, outcry, and shocking twists. Chapters 0:00 — Intro 03:34 — Pairs Competition 04:22 — Miura and Kihara 08:17 — Conti and Macii 12:41 — Hase and Volodin 15:32 — Metelkina and Berulava 18:50 — Pavlova and Svietchenko 20:10 — Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps 23:45 — Women's Competition 24:36 — Alysa Liu 29:24 — Ami Nakai 33:41 — Kaori Sakamoto 36:14 — Amber Glenn 38:53 — Mone Chiba 45:00 — Rinka Watanabe 52:15 — Ice Dance Competition 54:34 — Chock and Bates 1:00:25 — Fournier-Beaudry and Cizerone 1:07:52 — FB/C vs F/G vs G/P scoring 1:11:00 — Fear and Gibson vs Gilles and Poirier Scoring Controversy 1:18:09 — Social Media Backlash 1:19:54 — Reed and Ambrulevicius, Zingas and Kolesnik 1:25:41 — Men's Competition 1:30:05 — Yuma Kagiyama 1:34:16 — Shun Sato 1:36:28 — Daniel Grassl 1:42:25 — Adam Siao Him Fa 1:45:15 — Mikhail Shaidorov 1:50:47 — Gold in our Hearts 1:53:15 — Wrap-Up
/episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/39321670
info_outline
Grand Prix Final 2025 PREVIEW
12/01/2025
Grand Prix Final 2025 PREVIEW
We get ready for the 2025 Grand Prix Final with a rundown of all the competitors across the 4 disciplines, comparing their scores and performances so far this season, and making our (highly dubious) podium predictions. Chapters 0:00 — Intro 1:58 — Men's Competition 19:09 — Men's Podium Predictions 20:47 — Pairs Competition 34:09 — Pairs Podium Predictions 35:39 — Women's Competition 52:57 — Women's Podium Predictions 56:16 — Ice Dance Competition 1:21:20 — Ice Dance Podium Predictions 1:22:59 — Other Skating News 1:24:23 — Talinn Trophy 1:28:00 — South Korean Ranking Competition 1:32:16 — Wrap-Up
/episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/39218580
info_outline
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
/episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/39164205
info_outline
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
/episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/39074270
info_outline
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
/episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/38990835