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!

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! /episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/37155290

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/ /episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/37068010

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 /episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/36962565

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 — /episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/36687050

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 /episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/36576055

The Shib Sibs Return?! 05/06/2025

Modernizing the Sport with FS.SkatingStan 05/01/2025

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 — /episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/36259240

World Team Trophy 2025 PREVIEW 04/15/2025

Scoreography Awards 2025, ISU Awards, and Olympic Qualifications 04/10/2025

World Figure Skating Championships 2025 RECAP 04/01/2025

Worlds 2025 PREVIEW Part Two: Men and Ice Dance 03/24/2025

Worlds 2025 PREVIEW Part One: Women and Pairs 03/18/2025

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 /episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/35623100

World Junior Championships 2025 RECAP + Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron Announcement 03/04/2025

Four Continents Championships 2025 RECAP 02/25/2025

Four Continents 2025 PREVIEW, plus Asian Winter Games and Challenge Cup Recaps 02/19/2025

Olympics 2022 Retrospective Part ONE: Mens and Pairs 02/14/2025

Olympics 2022 Retrospective Part ONE: Mens and Pairs With the 2026 Olympics just a year away, we look back at Beijing 2022. We examine the current Milano Cortina hopefuls who competed in the previous Olympic mens and pairs, to see how far they’ve come in the years between. Chapters 0:00 — Intro and Context 2:09 — Original introduction 3:39 — Pairs Competition 24:17 — Men's Competition 51:55 — Thoughts from the Future 54:58 — Wrap-Up This week we’re digging into the archives a bit, and looking back at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games. In particular, we’re discussing the Pairs and Men’s figure skating competitions, and reflecting on the skaters who were there that we also expect to be at the next games in Milano Cortina — what they looked like then vs. where they appear to be heading! This week marks one year until the start of the 2026 Olympic Games, so it feels like it’s time to start getting excited for them. Note this is part one of two — we’ll be discussing the Womens and Ice Dance competitions from Beijing soon. Pairs Competition While its hard to reflect on this competition without falling all over ourselves about how remarkable the gold medalists, Sui and Han, were, we try not to focus out attention there — though, its not out of the realm of possibility that we will see Sui and her new partner in Milano Cortina. Of those we expect to see, we take a look at many who have new parters including Luka Berulava, Minerva Hase, and Matteo Guarise. Of the teams who are still united, Riku Miura and Ryuchi Kihara are definitely the standouts. The Beijing games felt like their coming out party, and they have become favorites (and World Champions!) since. Men’s Competition The large, extraordinary shadows of Nathan Chen, Shoma Uno, and Yuzuru Hanyu still linger over us, but it was just as interesting to go back and see the men who’ve improved in skill and expression since 2022. The growth and evolution of Yuma Kagiyama, Adam Siao Him Fa, and Lukas Britschgi is absolutely remarkable. What’s also wonderful is reliving how great Junhwan Cha, Deniss Vasiļjevs, and Kevin Aymoz were already. Watching all of them and more in Beijing made us exponentially more excited to see where they will all be in another year — and how intense that competition is going to be. Follow Scoreography: Website — Instagram — BlueSky — /episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/35281285

European Championships 2025 Recap 02/05/2025

European Championships 2025 Recap We look back at Europeans 2025, a great event in the shadow of tragedy. We celebrate a remarkable win from Nina Petrokina, question the Ice Dance results, and share our bemusement with the men’s competition. Chapters 0:00 — Intro 1:48 — Women's Competition 14:19 — Ice Dance Competition 28:21 — Men's Competition 38:35 — Pairs Competition 44:38 — Gold in our Hearts 46:13 — Wrap-Up While the 2025 European Championships will forever be inextricably tied in time to the horrific and devastating plane crash in Washington, D.C., the competition did go on. In this episode, we want to celebrate the achievements of the athletes who competed through the grief and sadness that has fallen on the figure skating community. Women’s Competition Niina Petrõkina, after fighting through injury, came through when it counted the most and won Europeans in her home town! Even a fluke fall on choreo in her free skate couldn’t stop her from taking the title by nearly 10 points over an excellent effort from former European Champion, Anastasiia Gubanova. In third, Nina Pinzarrone edged out Kimmy Repond to take her second straight bronze at the competition. Ice Dance Competition It should come as no surprise that the two time reigning European Champions, Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri, made it three in Tallinn. The silver medal team of Evgeniia Lopereva and Geoffrey Brissaud appear to be gaining momentum with their two innovative programs this season. Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson settled for bronze. In fourth by .43, Juulia Turkkila and Matthias Versluis were positively stunning — so much so that we can’t help but feel they should have been on the podium. Men’s Competition Lukas Britschgi surprised everyone—including himself—and came back from 8th in the short program to take his first European title. In second with a stunning free skate was Italy’s Nikolaj Memola, who just keeps getting better and applying more pressure all the time. The favorite coming in, two-time European Champion Adam Siao Him Fa, essentially defeated himself here but still earned the bronze. Pairs Competition Heavy favorites of Minerva Hase and Nikita Volodin taking gold in sublime fashion. They are going to be very tough to beat at Worlds in Boston. In the silver spot were Italy’s comeback of the season, Sara Conti and Niccolò Macii, who looked extremely strong and ready to fight for titles again. In third, Georgia’s Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava came back after a rough short to get back on the podium. Follow Scoreography: Website — Instagram — BlueSky — /episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/35156740

Flight 5342 — In Memoriam 02/03/2025

US Nationals 2025 RECAP 01/28/2025

US Nationals 2025 RECAP We examine all the action from US Nationals 2025, including momentous performances from Alysa Liu, Efimova & Mitrofanov, and Andrew Torgashev, big wins for Ilia Malinin and Amber Glenn, and some questionably large scoring. Chapters 0:00 — Intro 1:41 — Men's Competition 16:05 — Pair's Competition 31:10 — Women's Competition 40:34 — Ice Dance Competition 45:52 — Gold in our Hearts 48:11 — Wrap Up U.S. Nationals 2025 have come and gone, but so many fantastic memories will remain! Unlike last year’s National Championships, in which saw quite a lot of messiness, this year felt like a great step forward for many towards the 2026 Olympic Games. Men’s Competition To absolutely no one’s surprise, Ilia Malinin dominated the competition — winning by nearly 50 points (in Nationals points, at least). While he was near-flawless in his short program, he was obviously disappointed with his one fall in the free skate on the illusive quad loop, missing out on a clean Nationals free skate. That said, he genuinely was skating on a whole other level here than the rest of the competition — though there were some fantastic performances from other men! Coming in for silver was a refined, patient, and compelling Andrew Torgashev. Both of his programs looked stellar, and his confidence and control are growing with each competition. Pairs Competition This was the one place where we saw an upset at the top. Last year’s silver medalists, Alisa Efimova & Misha Mitrofanov, proved they were there to win by skating their best competitive performance to date — earning them a standing ovation from the crowd and their first national title. After a disastrous free skate, reigning US Champs, Ellie Kam & Danny O’Shea, had to settle for bronze behind a strong performance by Katie McBeath & Daniil Parkman. Women’s Competition While we’re thrilled that this competition was as exciting and as close as it was, we almost wish there could have been two gold medals awarded. The ultimate victor here was reigning national champ and undefeated icon of the season, Amber Glenn, who came back after a tight short program to squeak just past Alyssa Liu. Our silver medalist, though, had THE skate of the competition — a nearly flawlesss, emotionally nuanced short program that left Alyssa, us, and many others watching in tears. Dance Competition Similar to the Men’s Championship here, it was essentially a forgone conclusion that Madison Chock & Evan Bates would clinch their sixth national title (which ties them with Meryl Davis and Charlie White for the most national championship golds). In second was the ever-evolving Christina Carreira & Anthony Ponomarenko. While their rhythm dance left people thinking they could be a bit vulnerable, their brilliant and aggressive free dance solidified their silver with an exclamation point. /episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/35044195

US Nationals 2025 Preview + Canadian Nationals and FISU Games Recap 01/22/2025

US Nationals 2025 Preview + Canadian Nationals and FISU Games Recap We look ahead to the talent-packed 2025 U.S. Nationals competition, right after we recap the results from Canadian Nationals and the FISU World University Games, which were both surprisingly exciting. Chapters 0:00 — Intro 0:57 — Canadian Nationals 2025 1:57 — Canadian Men's Competition 6:32 — Canadian Women's Competition 11:01 — Canadian Pairs Competition 15:53 — Canadian Ice Dance Competition 21:41 — FISU World University Games 21:45 — FISU Men's Competition 28:19 — FISU Women's Competition 33:12 — US Nationals Preview 33:27 — US Men's Competition 38:35 — US Pairs Competition 41:43 — US Women's Competition 49:34 — US Ice Dance Competition 58:16 — Gold in our Hearts 59:55 — Outro US Nationals Preview Men’s Competition It goes without saying that this competition is Ilia Malinin’s to lose, since no one else competing can touch his level of difficulty. Barring a major disaster, he will take gold. The rest of the field is far more up-in-the-air — especially with Jason Brown withdrawing. We expect good things from Andrew Torgashev and Jacob Sanchez, who have both been having great seasons so far. Also, keep an eye on Max Naumov, Daniel Martynov, and maybe even Camden Pulkinen. Also, never count out Jimmy Ma! Pairs Competition Reigning National Champs Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea are your definite favorites coming in, but we don’t quite know what to expect from Emily Chan and Spencer Howe — who have been as high as 5th in the world before. Also, coming off a solid first half of the season, Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov cannot be counted out. Also, we’re excited to see the Nationals debut of Audrey Shin and Balazs Nagy! Women’s Competition Similar to Ilia Malinin, Amber Glenn is a resounding favorite — especially after the withdrawal of Isabeau Levito. However, this field is deep and could provide a lot of surprises. We’re welcoming Alyssa Liu back to Nationals, as well a Bradie Tennell. The younger competitors Sarah Everhart and Elyse Line Gracey have both shown they are threats this season as well. This will be interesting, for sure. Dance Competition Unless there’s a major upset, Madison Chock and Evan Bates will take this easily with Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko following for the silver. The bronze, however, is anyone’s guess! It could be last year’s third ranking US team, Emily Bratti and Ian Sommerville. Or we could see the rising Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik snatch it from their hands! Then again, would we be entirely surprised if Green and Parsons made a bit of a comeback and took it? Anything is possible! Follow Scoreography: Website — Instagram — BlueSky — /episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/34951760

Korean Nationals 2025 Recap (plus Canadian Nationals preview) 01/14/2025

Korean Nationals 2025 Recap (plus Canadian Nationals preview) We discuss the results from Korean National Championships 2025, including great performances from Chaeyeon Kim and Junhwan Cha, as well as the return of Haein Lee. We also preview Canadian Nationals and the 2025 FISU World University Games. It’s Nationals season, and this week, we’re catching up on the Korean National Championships and getting ready for our favorite Canadians to hit the ice. Also, who knew the World University Games would be this stacked?! Korean National Championships 2025 In the men’s division, Junhwan Cha left no crumbs while winning his ninth national title. 9th!! He was not perfect, but with a fantastic free skate that is definitely the best we’ve seen this season so far, it puts him in great position going into the remainder of his international schedule for the year. In the women’s event, the top six was an even split between senior and junior skaters — with Chaeyeon Kim taking her first title with a phenomenal free skate that edged her just past two-time reigning national champ, Jia Shin. No pairs were eligible to compete at Korean Nationals, and only one dance team — the fabulous Hannah Lim and Ye Quan — competed in dance. Canadian Nationals Preview In both the men’s and women’s divisions at the 2025 Canadian Nationals, things are going to be tense. Only one representative will be named to the Boston World team from each of those disciplines — so pressure is the name of the game. If that weren’t enough, whoever gets that one spot for World’s needs to have a top 10 finish to give Canada more than one man or woman on the 2026 Olympic team. The dance competition promises to provide a different kind of tension as the field is fairly deep, with 2 competitions within the competition. In the pairs discipline, we’re excited to see Deanna Stellato-Dudek & Maxime Deschamps fight to defend their title. FISU World University Games This bi-annual event often sees a few well-known skaters mixed in with collegiate athletes from around the globe, but can sometimes make for a fairly uninteresting competition. This year, however, the men’s field includes Yuma Kagiyama, Shun Sato, Juhnwan Cha, Mikhail Shairorov, Daniel Grassl, and Sota Yamamoto. So, definitely NOT uninteresting! In the women’s event, Mone Chiba, Hana Yoshida, Rion Sumiyoshi, Lara Naki Gutman, Seoyeong Wi and others will make this also very much worth watching. /episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/34847840

Mid-Season 2024-2025 Catch-Up 01/10/2025

Mid-Season 2024-2025 Catch-Up In our first episode of 2025, we catch up on all things figure skating since the Grand Prix Final, including national championships in Japan, France, and Italy, plus other news. After a short winter’s nap, we’re back in 2025 and catching up on a lot of National competitions that have happened since the Grand Prix Final. Japanese Figure Skating Championships 2024 To no one’s surprise, Yuma Kagiyama was formally crowned Japan’s next great legend as he won his first national title. Much more surprising was the rest of the strong men’s field, which greatly underperformed. Up-in-coming junior star, Rio Nakata, took silver and a surprising bronze went to Tatsuya Tsuboi. On the Women’s side, Kaori Sakamoto reminded us all of her brilliance after a disappointing Grand Prix Final and performed two excellent programs that earned her a fifth national title. The reigning queen of juniors, Mao Shimada, came in a strong second and the surging Wakaba Higuchi continued her comeback in taking bronze — and a spot on the world team with Sakamoto. French National Championships 2025 The story of these games was the continued comeback of Kevin Aymoz, who went from 7th last year after a devastating free skate to winning his 6th national title this year. Adam Siao Him Fa remained MIA due to continued injury, though did claim a spot on the Europeans team where we’ll see him and Aymoz. Italian Nationals 2025 Both Conti & Macii in Pairs and Guignard & Fabbri in Dance continued to show their dominance at home — winning their disciplines by 33 and 46 points over their closest competitors, respectively. A much closer competition was the men’s, where we saw Daniel Grassl take his fifth national title over last year’s winner, Nikolaj Memola — who won the free skate, but was too far behind to catch Grassl after the short program. Other Skating News The ISU’s decision to allow Russia and Belarus to each nominate one female, one male, one pair team, and one ice dance team for the Olympic Qualifying competition means we very well may be seeing Russians competing internationally at the Olympic Games. Lastly, we want to wish a big and loud CONGRATULATIONS to both Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Allison Reed — who each received their respective citizenship to Canada and Lithuania recently. We cannot wait to see you both at the 2026 Olympic Games in Milano-Cortina! /episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/34798735

Grand Prix Final 2024 RECAP 12/10/2024

Grand Prix Final 2024 PREVIEW 12/03/2024

Cup of China 2024 Recap 11/28/2024

Cup of China 2024 Recap The Grand Prix qualifiers wrapped up at Cup of China with easily the most exciting Women’s event of the series, including a second GP gold for Amber Glenn. Plus standout performances from Mikhail Shaidorov, Smart & Diek, and Conti & Macii. The Grand Prix series qualifiers for 2024 came to a close in the incredible city of Chongqing, China, and the women’s event stole the show. That said, there were other highlights — including a breakout competition from Mikhail Shaidorov, a stunning dance from Olivia Smart & Tim Dieck, and a powerful comeback statement from Sara Conti & Niccolo Macii. Women’s Competition Amber Glenn proved the point that she can be consistent here — and consistently great! She came in as one of the favorites in this stacked competition, and likely the only non-Japanese skater with a chance to make the Grand Prix Final. After a slightly marred short that had her in second, Amber skated a gorgeous and clean free program that took the gold. In second, though with a score that would have won many other competitions this year, was Japan’s Mone Chiba. The rising star only seems to get better, showing not only her skating skills and consistent jumps, but an ever-increasing flair that will take her far. In for the bronze, another powerful competition from South Korea’s Chaeyeon Kim showed that while she may not have made the GP Final, she will absolutely be a threat in any competition she enters this season. Ice Dance Competition The Italian team of Charlene Guignard & Marco Fabbri shook off the disaster they had in France and came here with new costumes (!!), new choreography, and lot of grit to take the top spot on the podium. Their robot-themed free dance is still a topic of debate, but the win here gives them positive momentum leading into the rest of the season. They and the second place team of Marjorie Lajoie & Zachary Lagha from Canada both qualified for the Grand Prix Final here — and in particular, Lajoie and Lagha got some much needed mileage on their programs leading into it. They looked solid in the rhythm dance, but its their Sound of Silence free dance that is the stand-out and could take them farther up podiums. In the bronze spot was the US’s Christina Carreira & Anthony Ponomarenko. While they skated well, they were actually upset in the free dance by Spain’s Olivia Smart & Tim Dieck. While Smart & Dieck didn’t quite make the podium here, they’ve made huge strides this season and absolutely have THE Dune program of the season! Men’s Competition While not as electric as the women’s competition, the men did have some highlights including a win for Japan’s Shun Sato — who locked in his spot at the Grand Prix Final with it. However, while Sato has some of the best jumps in the sport, he still lacks the emotionality that could take him even farther. In second, and perhaps the bigger star of the event, was Mikhail Shaidorov from Kazakhstan. He again showed off his incredible triple axel-quad toe combination that has the sport in a tizzy, and also showed off his developing skill as a performer. Coming in for the bronze was France’s Adam Siao Him Fa, who is still recovering from injury and has not yet looked like the same ferocious competitor we saw last season. Still, this third place finish earned him a ticket to the GP Final — which hopefully he can take since he shared that he injured his ankle during the free skate here. (EDITOR’S NOTE: Adam has since withdrawn because of injury, which means Mikhail takes his spot at GPF.) Sending Adam all of the good vibes! Pair’s Competition Italy’s Sara Conti & Niccolo Macii came here with momentum and capitalized on an underpowered Hase & Volodin to take their first Grand Prix title. They looked calm, confident, and better than ever in their win — which bodes well for them going into the GP Final. Minerva Hase & Nikita Volodin from Germany won the free skate, but after a messy short program could not recover enough to move beyond silver. However, they are in the GP Final and hopefully will have enough time for Minerva to recover from the food poisoning she was fighting in China. The third spot on the podium belonged to Canada’s Lia Pereira & Trennt Michaud, who had a solid short program and an improved free skate here that will ideally give them a good boost leading into Canadian Nationals. /episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/34188265

Finlandia Trophy 2024 Recap 11/21/2024

Finlandia Trophy 2024 Recap Finlandia, the fifth stop in the Grand Prix qualifier circuit, gave us a few standout performances, several podium surprises, and a hot mess of a Men’s competition that almost rivaled Grand Prix de France’s low scores. Week 5 of the Grand Prix took us to Helsinki for the Finlandia Trophy, where we saw many men “menning” — even Yuma Kagiyama (!!!) — but problems plagued more than just the men. Still, there were some glowing stand-outs — like Deanna and Max having a near-flawless short program, Fear & Gibson taking their SECOND surprise Grand Prix gold, and Lara Naki Gutmann’s big step forward (and up onto the podium!) Women’s Competition Following the withdrawal of Loena Hendrickx and Isabeau Levito, this competition became a wide open opportunity for Hana Yoshida and Rino Matsuike to solidify their chances at the Grand Prix final. Both of them had ups and downs, but Yoshida’s steadiness in both programs helped her squeak out a win. With their one-two, Hana qualified for the Final and Rino put herself in excellent position to make it as well. The big story of this competition, however, was the surprise bronze for Italy’s Lara Naki Gutmann. Lara may not have expected a podium finish, but after a strong NHK Trophy, her momentum carried her to 2 standout performances and a well-deserved medal in Finland — her first in the senior Grand Prix series. Ice Dance Competition After the spectacular rhythm dance from Canada’s reigning World silver medalists, Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier, you would have thought they’d more or less coast to victory. However, as we’ve seen a lot this season, Ice Dance isn’t quite as predictable as it once was. A messy Free Dance with a fall dropped them back to second — providing another opportunity for Lilah Fear & Lewis Gibson to heist the top of the podium. What’s more impressive than the two great programs from Fear & Gibson that brought them to their victory was the knowledge that they’d had a rough accident in practices ahead of the competition that left Lilah unsure if she could even walk, let alone skate, in Finland. Their grit, determination, and recovery team helped them get through and become the only Ice Dance team to win two competitions on the Grand Prix circuit this season. In the bronze position, the hometown favorites Juulia Turkkila & Mattias Versluis showed off their incredible new tango free dance filled with their signature innovation and immaculate lines. They’ll skate again at Cup of China next week. Can they pull off an upset to grab a spot at the Final? Men’s Competition While Yuma Kagiyama was certainly in a class by himself during the short program, his long program saw quite a few mistakes — more than we’ve seen from Yuma in quite sometime. That said, while he was a shocking 5th in the free skate, he still held on to the gold medal and secured his spot at the Grand Prix final. In with a strong silver and reinforcing the message that “he’s back” was Kevin Aymoz. While both of his programs saw falls, it was great to see him shake off the mistakes and continue to have strong performances. Like Yuma, Kevin secured his spot in the Grand Prix Final, which will be extra special for Kevin as the competition happens in France this year. In third was Daniel Grassl from Italy, who continued his redemption tour and showed his consistency as a podium threat. It will be interesting to see how he evolves throughout the rest of the season. Pair’s Competition As expected, the reigning World Champs, Canada’s Deanna Stellato-Dudek & Maxime Deschampstook the top spot with relative ease. While their free skate is still evolving and did have errors, their short program continues to be stellar and magnetic. The silver and bronze medalists swapped spots from the short to the long, but both had relatively disappointing showings here overall. The team of Maria Pavlova & Alexei Sviatchenko from Hungary edged out Italy’s Rebecca Ghilardi & Filoppo Ambrosini, who had a solid short but a somewhat disastrous free skate. All in all, not the best of the Grand Prix events, but there’s just one more qualifier to go! See you in China. Chapters 0:00 Intro 0:41 Women’s Competition 1:12 Hana Yoshida 2:24 Rino Matsuike 3:54 Lara Naki Gutmann 5:40 Sarah Everhardt 6:53 Ahsun Yun 7:47 Niina Petrokina 9:42 Ice Dance Competition 9:56 Fear and Gibson 11:32 The top teams fight for gold 13:41 Gilles and Poirier 16:07 Turkkila and Versluis 18:22 Tascherlova and Taschler 19:41 Zingas and Kolesnik 20:48 Brown and Brown 21:07 Orihara and Pirinen 22:08 Lim and Quan 23:15 Men’s Competition 23:32 Yuma Kagiyama 25:42 Kevin Aymoz 27:39 Daniel Grassl 28:32 Sota Yamamoto 29:39 Juhnwan Cha 30:02 Kazuki Tomono 30:38 Pairs Competition 30:44 Stellato-Dudek and Deschamps 32:32 Pavlova and Sviatchenko 33:51 Ghilardi and Ambrosini 35:08 Laurin and Ethier 36:29 Chan and Howe 37:12 Nagaoka and Moriguchi 38:00 Williams and Lewer 39:08 Gold in our Hearts 40:53 Wrap-Up Follow Scoreography: Website — Instagram — Threads — BlueSky — /episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/34072876

NHK Trophy 2024 Recap 11/15/2024

NHK Trophy 2024 Recap Japan’s NHK Trophy competition proved one of the best of the Grand Prix series so far, with huge wins from Kaori Sakamoto and Yuma Kagiyama, a surprise gold for Metelkina and Berulava, and an astounding performance from Chock and Bates. Figure Skating’s Grand Prix 2024 made its fourth stop in Japan for the prestigious NHK Trophy. Never to be outdone, NHK Trophy created a beautiful event for audiences and skaters alike, and provided one of the best competitions of the series so far with stunning performances from Chock & Bates, Kaori Sakamoto, and Yuma Kagiyama, just to name a few. Men’s Competition Yuma Kagiyama was easily in a class by himself here. His short was nearly flawless, and while his free skate had a few errors, it still showed progress from his early season competition at Lombardia Trophy and continued to show his growth as an artist. In second, a bit of a surprise silver for Italy’s Daniel Grassl. While he was roughly 35 points behind Yuma, he still showed two solid programs that demonstrated improved technique. It will be interesting to see if both he and Yuma can maintain momentum going into Finlandia Trophy next week. Rounding out the podium was an excellent showing from Japan’s Tatsuya Tsuboi. With the Japan’s singles fields being as deep as they are, it can be tough to move up the ranks. This proved to be a great opportunity to do just that for Tatsuya — one he can hopefully build on. Ice Dance Reigning World Champions Madison Chock & Evan Bates came here to win, and did so with what may be their most iconic program yet. Their rhythm dance looked much improved since Skate America, but its their ‘Take Five’ jazz-themed free dance that really showcases their brilliance. With a total score of 215.95, this puts them at the top of highest scoring programs of the season — deservedly so. In silver, the rising team of Christina Carreira & Anthony Ponomarekno from the US continued to show they are a team to be reckoned with. Their free dance is also a stunner to the music of “Carmen” — and while we don’t always love a “warhorse” program, this suits them incredibly well. Taking the bronze after a disappointing Grand Prix de France last week was Lithuania’s Allison Reed & Saulius Ambrulevicius. In just one week, their programs looked more steady and “lived in”—and this medal brings them right back into the conversation mix for Europeans and more. Women’s Competition Japans’s Kaori Sakamoto looked like a women on a mission here, and not only took the gold but did so by nearly 20 points over a very strong fellow teammate from Japan, Mone Chiba. The three time World Champion left no room for questions, and looked much more like the Kaori we’re used to than she did earlier this season. Mone Chiba’s performances for silver were also some of the best we’ve seen this season, making her one to watch if she makes the Grand Prix final and beyond. Taking bronze and competing the second podium sweep for Japan this Grand Prix was Yuna Aoki. As a skated who had only ever competed in Junior Grand Grix and nearly retired last year, this was an incredible moment that she herself said made sticking around another season worthwhile. Pairs Competition In a bit of an upset, Georgia’s Anastasia Metelkina & Luka Berulava cleaned up their earlier performance problems and delivered two fantastic programs. This win puts them in a great position for the Grand Prix Final, and also sends a message that they are ready to start moving up in the ranks. In silver, Japan’s former World Champions Riku Miura & Ryuchi Kihara led after the short but had enough issues in the free to drop them just behind the Georgians. Still, they continue to look better than last season and their new programs stretch them in great directions. Taking bronze were Ellie Kam & Danny O’Shea — making their 4th consecutive podium of the season. They’re definitely in the running for Grand Prix final, depending on how the last two qualifiers shake out! Chapters 0:00 — Intro 2:10 — Men’s Event 2:32 — Yuma Kagiyama 4:53 — Daniel Grassl 7:57 — Tatsyua Tsuboi 9:39 — Andrew Torgashev 11:49 — Matteo Rizzo 12:48 — Kao Miura 14:53 — Jason Brown 16:25 — Ice Dance Event 16:35 — Chock & Bates 20:19 — Carreira & Ponomarenko 21:46 — Reed & Ambrulevicius 23:26 — Green & Parsons 25:14 — Orihara & Pirinen 26:26 — Women’s Event 26:29 — Kaori Sakamoto 28:03 — Mone Chiba 29:49 — Yuna Aoki 32:45 — Alysa Liu 34:12 — Bradie Tennell 35:52 — Lara Naki Gutmann 37:27 — Pairs Event 37:33 — Metelkina & Berulava 39:42 — Miura & Kihara 40:46 — Kam & O’Shea 43:15 — Hocke & Kunkel 44:32 — Gold in our Hearts 46:21 — Wrap-Up Follow Scoreography: Website — Instagram — Threads — BlueSky — /episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/33941987

Grand Prix de France 2024 Recap 11/09/2024

Grand Prix de France 2024 Recap We recap a tumultuous Grand Prix de France, with an exciting win by Amber Glenn, a startling upset in Ice Dance, and a shockingly low-scoring men’s competition. Grand Prix de France continued the trend we’ve seen throughout this Grand Prix season so far — which is to say it was messy with some highlights. The competition and Angers, France saw big wins, historic jumps that both the commentator and the technical panel “missed”, and a surprise winner in the Dance event that left us giddy! Women’s competition In what was arguably the best women’s event so far this Grand Prix, Amber Glenn skated the best short program of her career and took the top score in it by any US woman in history! While her free skate had some mistakes, it still looked composed and strong overall — and led her to her first Grand Prix gold! In second, we saw the continued rebirth of Wakaba Higuchi! With both a strong short and free skate, she looked even better than she had when she won Skate America a few weeks ago — and scored better as well by nearly 10 points. With this medal, she also became the first women to secure a spot at the Grand Prix final. Third was a close race between South Korea’s Chayeon Kim and Japan’s Rion Sumiyoshi. While Chaeyeon had a gorgeous short program that gave her the edge in the short, a cleaner and more complete program by Sumiyoshi in the free brought her up from 5th to the bronze medal. Ice Dance Competition We often like to say Ice Dance is the most predictable of all disciplines — but this season makes liars out of us! In what can be described as a shock upset, France’s avant-garde team of Evgeniia Lopareva & Geoffrey Brissaud took home the gold. That said, the favorites — Italy’s Charlene Guignard & Marco Fabbri — defeated themselves at this competition. Their typically spotless technical prowess was missing in their free dance, with Marco even taking a fairly bad fall. They later commented that this was the worst program they’d skated in quite some time, but it was still enough to earn them silver. In third, another notable surprise was the medal very much earned by Emily Bratti & Ian Sommerville of the US. While this team has been on the rise, they had a rough Skate Canada and were looking for two clean skates here. What they got was something quite special, landing them ahead of podium favs Allison Reed & Saulius Ambrulevicius. Men’s Competition The men were absolutely “menning” all over the place here, with this ending with a top 3 podium of scores that wouldn’t have made it above 5th at either of the previous Grand Prix’s. The favorite, France’s Adam Siao Him Fa, is just coming back from an injury and had quite a rough short program — landing in 8th. However, Adam “pulled an Adam” and came way back in the free skate to win gold. Taking the silver here ‚— with his first Grand Prix medal ever — was Japan’s Koshiro Shimada. While his score may not have been terribly high due to mistakes, he won the hearts of the crowd and the moment shared between him and his coach, Stéphane Lambiel, was truly lovely. In a big surprise, Andrew Torgashev of the US came in 4th for both the short and the free — which mathematically gave him enough to win bronze! We know that’s confusing, but so is skating sometimes. Pairs Competition There were really two competitions here: the top two teams vying for gold and the rest all fighting for bronze. With over 25 points separating 2nd and 3rd place, there was an obvious divide — with Germany’s Hase & Volodin and Italy’s Conti & Macii standing out above the rest. On this day, Hase & Volodin were unbeatable — taking the gold in a way that made it seem like they’re already the favorites for Worlds. That said, they had a strong first half of the season last year and diminished a bit as the season progressed, so who knows? In with a strong silver was Conti & Macii, who look far better this season than they did all of last year. Their new programs suit them well, and they seem to have picked up where they left off after that World bronze back in 2022. Italy’s Ghilardi & Ambrosini moved up from sixth to third to take their first Grand Prix medal of the season. Chapters 0:00 Intro 1:44 Women’s Competition 1:50 Amber Glenn 4:21 Wakaba Higuchi 5:40 Rion Sumiyoshi 7:17 Chaeyeon Kim 9:33 Sarah Everhardt 11:49 Nina Pinzarrone 12:35 Mai Mihara 13:21 Anastasiia Gubanova 14:49 Ice Dance Competition 15:04 Lopareva and Brissaud 15:41 Guignard and Fabbri 19:31 Bratti and Somerville 22:33 Reed and Ambrulevicius 24:13 Mrazkova and Mrazek 25:20 Neset and Markelov 26:16 Lauriault and le Gac 28:37 Men’s Competition 29:00 Adam Siao Him Fa 30:33 Kashiro Shimada 32:07 Andrew Torgashev 33:27 Mikhail Shaidorov 36:03 Kazuki Tomono 36:42 Nikolaj Memola 37:27 Aleksandr Selevko 37:52 Boyang Jin 38:34 Lukas Britschgi 39:32 Pairs Competition 39:35 Hase and Volodin 41:04 Conti and Macii 42:45 Ghilardi and Ambrosini 43:52 Efimova and Mitrofanov 45:00 Pereira and Michaud 46:09 Gold in our Hearts 48:15 Wrap-Up Follow Scoreography: Website — Instagram — Threads — BlueSky — /episode/index/show/a724c675-857f-4e04-a1b0-5f337aa6aa9c/id/33857787

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