US "Junior" (Intermediate/Juvenile) Nationals in Salt Lake City

US "Junior" (Intermediate/Juvenile) Nationals in Salt Lake City

The singles qualifying rounds are over (top 10 advanced) and the final rounds get underway today and tomorrow. USFS' pre-event press release: http://www.usfsa.org/Story.asp?id=45434&type=media

Icenetwork's live streaming schedule (all times Eastern):

Friday, Dec. 17
12:20 p.m. - Intermediate ladies short program
4 p.m. - Intermediate pairs free skate
7:45 p.m. - Intermediate pattern dance
10:25 p.m. - Intermediate men's short program

Saturday, Dec. 18
12:45 p.m. - Intermediate free dance
3:05 p.m. - Intermediate ladies free skate
7:05 p.m. - Intermediate men's free skate

I've compiled a roster of all the Intermediate and Juvenile level competitors, and included links to skater articles and event info in my blog: http://unseenskaters.wordpress.com/jr-nats/

Who is commentating on Ice Network for the Pairs right now? Oh...bummer technical difficulties again!

Do Intermediate Pairs do a short program too, or just a free?

Intermediate and Juvenile Pairs just compete once at JN's -- free skate only.

Just wanted to say that I'm loving that little Karen Chen. She is soo good at such a young age. She has the the presentation already and the jumps. Please puberty be good to her.

lavender said:

Just wanted to say that I'm loving that little Karen Chen. She is soo good at such a young age. She has the the presentation already and the jumps. Please puberty be good to her.

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I agree. I love little Karen Chen, too! She has the enthusiasm and performance ability similar to Sui Wenjing in pairs. Really precocious in this way. And she also has good jumps (good technique, position, flow, height), amazing spins (straight +3 GOE for her layback in the FS!), great basic skating skills and good footwork sequence. And she really attacks her programs and project to the audience. She has it all, and the "it" factor in spades. I really hope that puberty will be kind to her and she'll be able to fulfill all her potential.

She also seems extremely hard-working. Her coaches said in the IN article that she will go straight home to get her novice tests done and then start working on her new novice programs! And it's all her idea, because she feels like her new season starts "now." That is really unbelievable for a little 11-yr-old. So happy for her. I wish her all the very best in her future!

ETA: There is a lot to love about this little girl, but one thing that really impresses me is how precise and finished all her movements are. She has phenomenal body awareness. Her SP is especially impressive. She knows exactly where each of her body part is, down to her finger tips. It gives her skating a very polished, mature, aesthetically complete look. I think this is a quality all the great, great skaters share, like Michelle Kwan and Sasha Cohen and also Yuna Kim.

Hiwatashi is a fun little skater (I skate with him from time to time). He's still so young he meanders across your path when you least expect it during practice. He's got quick rotation in the air and jumps pretty big for his size. His spins are good (fast and centered) and he's like a little rubber band in his flexibility. I know he's been working on his skating skills as he is a learn by following kind of skater as opposed to really understanding the mechanics of stroking and turns at this stage of his development. It will be good for him to move up to Intermediate.