Sasha & Weiss join SOI this fall! | Golden Skate

Sasha & Weiss join SOI this fall!

Frau Muller

Final Flight
Joined
Mar 1, 2005
Weiss said he & Sasha joining SOI this fall!

I was out of the office on Friday & couldn't post it then. Apologies if someone else duplicates this info elsewhere...but it's too good to ignore.

Last Friday, during his daily 'analysis stint' on the local Wash, DC, NBC affiliate (around 6:45 am every day, during the Games), Michael Weiss mentioned that he is looking forward to touring with SOI come this fall. At the very end, he snuck in this shocker: "Sasha Cohen and a lot of other Torino skaters will also be in the show."

I rewound my tape, to make sure that I heard the right thing - He definitely said "Stars on Ice" and not "Champions on Ice."

Didn't any other DC-area viewers catch Michael's announcement?

This would mean that Sasha is definitely retiring from eligible skating, right? You read it here first.
 
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Grgranny

Da' Spellin' Homegirl
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
If I remember correctly, didn't Todd Eldridge get permission from the skating association to skate with them and then when he wanted to go back to eligible, they refused to honor it. I think the way I remember that sometimes they will ok it. Of course, you must remember that my memory doesn't work to well. I think there's something wrong with the doors in my house because every time I go through one, it just sucks everything out of my brain.
 

FreeKatie

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 21, 2005
Grgranny said:
If I remember correctly, didn't Todd Eldridge get permission from the skating association to skate with them and then when he wanted to go back to eligible, they refused to honor it. I think the way I remember that sometimes they will ok it. Of course, you must remember that my memory doesn't work to well. I think there's something wrong with the doors in my house because every time I go through one, it just sucks everything out of my brain.

I think that was Yagudin
 

Dee4707

Ice Is Slippery - Alexie Yagudin
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
Country
United-States
Sarah Hughes got permission too, didn't she???

Dee
 

Grgranny

Da' Spellin' Homegirl
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
She must have because it was rumored that she was thinking of going back to eligible.
 

Frau Muller

Final Flight
Joined
Mar 1, 2005
Just to get this subject back on track: Did Weiss speak correctly? Did any other DC-area viewers see this? Has it been confirmed elsewhere?

It's more important to note that Weiss announced this to begin with, rather than go off on a tangent about whether or not folks who join SOI can retain eligibility.

So to go back to my original subject:

Sasha & Weiss are joining SOI this fall, according to Weiss' Feb 24th appearance on NBC4 in Washington, DC. Pretty big news, eh?
 

merrywidow

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 20, 2004
Grgranny is correct. Most of the foreign skating federations allow their skaters to participate in SOI if asked. That includes the Russian federation. The USFSA does not sanction SOI & only has allowed its skaters to participate in COI in the past. My understanding was that COI contributes millions to the coffers of USFSA on a regular basis. SOI does not. They may be making special deals with some skaters (as they did for Eldredge) or they may have lifted the non-sanctioning.
 

leon

Rinkside
Joined
Nov 25, 2003
Only American skaters need permission from USFSA to skate with SOI while retaining olympic eligibility. Although never considered a real contender, Sarah Hughes was allowed to keep her Olympic eligibility while skating with SOI. Would be hard for USFSA to lower the boom on Sasha and Johnny after what they did for Sarah. I think the absence of Sasha and Johnny will really hurt Collin's show especially if Michelle finds she can't skate all the shows as she did in the past.
 

Frau Muller

Final Flight
Joined
Mar 1, 2005
Well, I'm tryig a different angle for this, as my earlier post has become a discussion about eligibility (or not) for SOI skaters.

******

Last Friday, during his daily 'analysis stint' on the local Wash, DC, NBC affiliate (around 6:45 am every day, during the Games), Michael Weiss mentioned that he is looking forward to touring with SOI come this fall. At the very end, he snuck in this shocker: "Sasha Cohen and a lot of other Torino skaters will also be in the show."

I rewound my tape, to make sure that I heard the right thing - He definitely said "Stars on Ice" and not "Champions on Ice."

What do you guys think about this? I wonder if Sasha will still be welcomed on the spring tour of COI, if it is known that she has signed onto next season's SOI????
 

jciskate

Spectator
Joined
Nov 14, 2005
Sasha might only be skating at some venues of SOI as a guest. That does not mean she will be skating with SOI full time. She can still be eligible. Michael Weiss skated for SOI as a guest and was at Nationals and Worlds.
 

attyfan

Custom Title
Medalist
Joined
Mar 1, 2004
Michael Weiss skated part time with SOI after Nats -- when he came in fifth, and didn't make the world team. I don't think it is realistic for any skater to tour at the same time they are competing -- remembe what happened to both Nicole Bobek and Todd Eldredge when they did "Nutcracker on Ice" before '96 Nats?
 

Frau Muller

Final Flight
Joined
Mar 1, 2005
attyfan - Thanks for this info. I didn't know that he already had skated with SOI, after Nationals, this year.

So Weiss obviously is a creditable source for info on SOI. It will be interesting to see if what he mentioned on local TV about Sasha will come to pass. He may have spoken a bit prematurely, assuming that few of us 'rabid fans' would be up so early int he morning, listening to his NBC4 spots.

If Sasha is indeed already committed to starring in SOI, then it lends her meaning to Scott Hamilton's constant praising of Sasha's showmanship (already knowing that she was signed up for his show). LOL!
 

SusanBeth

Final Flight
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
Weiss skated with SOI both before and after Nationals. Sasha just needs an individual sanction from the USFSA to clear the way. It wouldn't be hard for her to get it OK'd. I am pretty certain the powers-that-be want her back for at least another year.
 

Dee4707

Ice Is Slippery - Alexie Yagudin
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
Country
United-States
Frau Muller said:
I wonder if Sasha will still be welcomed on the spring tour of COI, if it is known that she has signed onto next season's SOI????
Does anyone know if her contract is up with COI?? I know that she is advertised with the show this summer. SOI doesn't start until fall so maybe it will work out for her. I don't know whether she can still be under contract with COI and skate in SOI though.

Dee
 

Germanice

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Weir said he & Sasha joining SOI this fall!
So it's *just* Weiss? :biggrin: Thank you for giving me the shock of my life! :laugh:

Not a great choice when it comes to Weiss, IMO. I wouldn't go to watch him. Oh well, at least he's US-American .... ;) I wonder who he'll replace?
 

flying camel

Medalist
Joined
Nov 16, 2005
I wonder if that means Weiss & Sasha are bypassing the Grand Prix events this fall. Maybe the skaters aren't making enough money in those events. I am going to miss seeing them.
 
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Frau Muller

Final Flight
Joined
Mar 1, 2005
flying camel said:
I wonder if that means Weir & Sasha are bypassing the Grand Prix events this fall. Maybe the skaters aren't making enough money in those events. I am going to miss seeing them.

I thought the same thing about Sasha. [It's Weiss -- not Weir -- as per my correction later.]

I would bet that Sasha may 'pull a Fontana' and embark on a full-scale pro career, then get back into the eigible ranks in time for the Vancouver Olys.
 

SusanBeth

Final Flight
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
Frau Muller said:
I thought the same thing about Sasha. [It's Weiss -- not Weir -- as per my correction later.]

I would bet that Sasha may 'pull a Fontana' and embark on a full-scale pro career, then get back into the eigible ranks in time for the Vancouver Olys.

I don't know if the USFSA would go that far. They want Sasha competing for them. They stopped sanctioning Todd, when he stopped commiting to competitions. They said they had to give their support to skaters committed to staying in the eligible ranks.
 

rjulie510

Rinkside
Joined
Jul 30, 2003
Can't be Yagudin. SOI is non-sanctioned for USFSA skaters but as far as I know it's sanctioned for skaters under Russian Federation and other federations. Yagudin skated in 2003 SA SP, then had to pull out from LP. Due to his hip injury, he had to retire from eligible competitions but his original plan was to do SOI, skip GP events then do Worlds.

Who would join SOI Michael Weiss (who BTW I think will be a great addition to the tour. He's a great show skater and the audience adores him.) and if true, Sasha Cohen? I know it's not Tot/Mar (no recognition among North American audience), Shen/Zhao (they're skating 2006/2007 season), Evan or Johnny (I don't expect them to retire), Matt (off to law school, done with competitions), doubt it's Navka/Kostomarov (Navka wants a second child, and I doubt she wants to spend 8 months on the road away from her daughter and husband in NJ), other dancers (no name recognition, Belbin/Agosto are skill skating eligibles), Michelle (under contract with COI, I have a feeling we will see her in Nationals next season) or Irina (I don't think she wants to spend that much time touring, besides she said she wants to have kids now) so that leaves Shizuka Arakawa, who I think will retire.
 
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