ISU Grand Prix Assignments 2006-2007

Mathman said:

Did Ryan Jahnke retire?

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Not officially, but he won't be competing this season and is retaining his eligibility. You can read his latest, amusing journal entry at:
http://www.figureskatersonline.com/ryanjahnke/thoughts/thought14.html

First-time skaters/teams on the GP include:

Katy Taylor USA, Christine Zukowski USA, Yu-Na Kim KOR, Elene Gedevanishvili GEO, Aki Sawada JPN, Binshu Xu CHN, Meagan Duhamel CAN, Mai Asada JPN, Amanda Nylander SWE, Chae-Hwa Kim KOR, Arina Martinova RUS, Kiira Korpi FIN, Tugba Karademir TUR;

Geoff Varner USA, Takahiko Kozuka JPN, Sergei Voronov RUS, Patrick Chan CAN, Alexander Uspenski RUS, Peter Liebers GER, Ryo Shibata JPN (Ryan Bradley subbed at 2002 Skate Canada as his only GP);

Vlassov & Meekins USA, Moyle & Seitz USA, T. Vise & Trent USA, Nam & Leftheris USA (their first international as a team), Adeline Canac/Maxime Coia and Rinata Araslanova/Jerome Blanchard (new teams from FRA), Piatkowska/Khromin POL, Efaieva/Menshikov RUS, Li/Xu CHN ;

Davis/White USA, Pratt/Gilles USA, Navarro/Bommentre USA, Virtue/Moir CAN, Mikhailova/Sergeev RUS, Cappellini/LaNotte ITA, Gorshkova/Tkachenko RUS, Platonova/Maksimishin RUS, Hann-Curdy/Coreno CAN.

Others I've missed?

Mathman said:

There are two Asadas, Joe, Mao and her older sister Mai. (Why do they make the print so small on these pdf files, LOL.)

Bebe and Katy both got two events, along with Emily.

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Thanks MM. I forgot about the sisters! I was up too early to see all this.

I'm not surprised about Katy (4cc Champ) and Emily (top ten worlds) to get two GP places, but Bebe never seemed to be a favorite at the USFS camp. Things should rock in Hartford this Fall.

In addition to the obvious, I'll be checking out improvements with Korpi and Meier.

It should be a nice colorful drive up through New England that time of the year.

Joe

I'm still confused about assignments. I understand when 2 assignments are given out except for some names. Just a for instance: Voronov has 2 assignments and neither is in the host country venue. What did he do in last year other than do fairly well in juniors?

Joe

My Skate America predictions: Van der Perrin, Ando, Nam/Leftheris, Matthews/Zavosin. :yes:

Mathman said:

My Skate America predictions: Van der Perrin, Ando, Nam/Leftheris, Matthews/Zavosin. :yes:

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These early predictions get to me. I see it quite differently. It will be:

Ryan Bradley
Joanne Carter
Mukhartova/Trenkov
Rubleva/Shefer

Joe

AlissaCzisnyFan said:

I only see one Mao Asada in Skate America.
Were you think of Mai and Mao Asada?

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Do you think that, at SA, there will be lots of fluff on "skating sisters" (i.e., Emily and Sarah, Michelle and Karen, as well as Mao and Mai)?

That's a great angle. You should pitch that to ESPN. :agree:

But I think the main thrust will be, out with the old, in with the new. Michelle who? Sasha who? Come see the enfants terrible, the world champion squaring off against the ISU Grand Prix victor!

I'm looking forward to see how the Grand Prix unfolds with all the new names. However, I was surprised to see the following:

Ladies - Yoshie Onda -- I thought that after not being named to the Olympic team that she quit, but then decided to come back to compete at Worlds (I think she replaced Ando). At Worlds she didn't perform her best, so I thought that was the last we were going to see of her.

Pairs - Petrova/Tikhanov -- I thought they were going to retire for various reasons (time to move on, Maria's injury). Did the federation persuade them to stay another year?

Dance - Drobiazko/Vanagas -- Thought their return was only for the Olympic year? Did they stay because they were oh-so-close to a medal in Calgary?

Bring on the skating!!!

Herm (sk8ngnutt)

Joesitz said:

I'm still confused about assignments. I understand when 2 assignments are given out except for some names. Just a for instance: Voronov has 2 assignments and neither is in the host country venue. What did he do in last year other than do fairly well in juniors?

Joe

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Voronov won the silver medal at Junior Worlds.

What is more surprising to me is that Arina Martinova got two assignments. Arina was 12th at Junior Worlds and 20th at Senior Worlds. Tugba Karademir and Amanda Nylander, who both finished ahead of Arina at Senior Worlds, got only one assignment each. So it looks to me as if selection heavily favors the host nations, as usual.

chuckm said:

Voronov won the silver medal at Junior Worlds.

What is more surprising to me is that Arina Martinova got two assignments. Arina was 12th at Junior Worlds and 20th at Senior Worlds. Tugba Karademir and Amanda Nylander, who both finished ahead of Arina at Senior Worlds, got only one assignment each. So it looks to me as if selection heavily favors the host nations, as usual.

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I thought that host countries got to pick one of "their own skaters" in each discipline (sending 3, whereas everyone else sends two) so maybe that is how Aroma amd Amanda got their second assignments.

attyfan said:

I thought that host countries got to pick one of "their own skaters" in each discipline (sending 3, whereas everyone else sends two) so maybe that is how Aroma amd Amanda got their second assignments.

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Amanda Nylader received just one assignment, at NHK. She was 17th at Worlds, Tugba Karademir was 18th, and Arina Martinova was 19th. #15 and #16, Yan Liu and Idora Hegel, each got two assignments; then Amanda and Tugba each got one, while Arina got two (Arina was picked by CoR, of course, and she got a second assignment at NHK).

My point was that host nations have better opportunities to get two assignments for their lesser skaters, while federations like Turkey and Sweden are hard-pressed to get even one assignment for their best skaters.

W-O-W!
Cool to see new generation coming.
. We have Gedevanishvili, Nylander, Martinova, both Asadas, Leung...
also great that we have Sokolova, Carter, Luca, Sbestyen still here!

there will be big buttle!



when will we know junior entries?

Joesitz said:

I'm still confused about assignments. I understand when 2 assignments are given out except for some names. Just a for instance: Voronov has 2 assignments and neither is in the host country venue. What did he do in last year other than do fairly well in juniors?

Joe

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Among the men, every skater but one who qualified for one event, either by being on the ISU top 24 list, having a top 24 personal best in 2005-6, or medalling at Jr. Worlds or JGPF, got two assignments. The only one who didn't was Geoffrey Varner, who got the one he was guaranteed.

Of the top 75 from which the Feds could choose their discretionary picks, but didn't are:

Still in Juniors: Carriere, Schultheis, Guan, Pfeifer, Reynolds, Mura, Kanallakan, Yang, Pfeifhofer, Kaska, Colot, Steenberg, Pietersen, Magerovski

Retired: Zhang, Savoie, Honda, Ferreira, Lezin

Unknown: Nakaniwa, Othman, Ma, Berntsson, Carlow, Santer, Kishimoto, Rogers, Rouse

I'm wondering why four skaters who were guaranteed no spots, but were discretionary due to placing in the top 75 in the World standings, were given two instead of one: Smalun (SC, NHK), Wu (rated 69, CoC, NHK), Craig (rated 42, SC, NHK), and Smith (SA, CoC), as opposed to Varner, who earned a Jr. medal like Voronov, or any of the non-junior and non-retired top 75 who got none.

Has anyone heard that Berntsson, ranked 55th, or Othman, ranked 42nd, have quit skating?

attyfan said:

I thought that host countries got to pick one of "their own skaters" in each discipline (sending 3, whereas everyone else sends two) so maybe that is how Aroma amd Amanda got their second assignments.

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The host countries choose any three first for each discipline. Then there's a draw for the order in which the host countries choose the other skaters. However, there's no rule that says if a skater is guaranteed one spot by being top 24 in ISU standings, having a top 24 PB last season, or winning a Jr. Worlds or JGPF medal, s/he is entitled to another, discretionary spot in addition to being chosen for their Federation's host event.

Eeyora said:

I am surprised to see Belbin/Agosto listed for China and Russia not Skate America. Gives them a few weeks longer to put things together.

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Yes, I too was surprised to not see them at SA or SC...But then again, they've skated those and perhaps they are wanting to be farther into the season before they skate - as they have a real chance at winning the GPF and Worlds.

Did anyone notice that there were no US men at the France event?....did I look at it wrong?

Looks like Scott Smith finally made it to the Big Time.....what, he finished 4th at Nats last year????....Hmmm..I'm not terribly impressed with him.

Good to see Evan and Johnny on the list....I like them both.

Oh, the Turkish gal that looks like Jamie Silverstein....she's in the GP events and so is the Georgian skater who did so well in Italy.

You know, the absence of Cohen, Kwan and Slute is so noticeable....I miss them.

The current crop of skaters...specifically the US, in my opinion not really that strong. There is talent there, but most of them are in need of a lot of development artistry wise that they almost seem Junior-ish. I know many of you will disagree, but….
(1) Emily has shown some moments that lead me to believe that she can develop into something. While I like here more mature style and that she's not a waif, I do worry that her more athletic build might hamper her.
(2) I don't get Kimmie. I think she has a great personality and while she has the jumps, I don't see the slightest bit of artistry or originality. I've never seen anything remotely in her skating that gets me thinking that over time she can be refined. Frankly, I wasn't impressed with her LP last year. It seemed like a paint-by-numbers program. No feeling.
(3) Katy...baby ballerina. I think that 3C's was a fluke – riding high from Nats. .I think she had a great year last year, and good for her, all skaters need that kind of boost, but I suspect she will not be able to sustain it this year. She reminds me of Lipinski and I don't mean that in a positive way. While she has some fire/spirit, it’s not all that unique. I’ve seen dozens of skaters that have some spark and they do well, but it burns out.
(4) Bebe....love her, great style and technique but she lets those nerves get to her. She and Emily are the only "seasoned" gals I really see in this field.
(5) Christine Z. Good, but still too Junior-ish for me.
(6)Alyssa...If she could get her nerves under control...I can see her going far. However, I don't see her nerves being delt with.

I think that aside from Hughes/Liang/Cizney, the whole group seems so Junior-ish to me. Their skating all looks the same. Everything is choreographed to the point that it’s not believable. I don’t know how to explain it, but when I see all of the above skate w/exception to Bebe and Emily, the moves are forced and well, not honest.

While some may win titles, I don't think we're looking at a group of skaters who will make real names for themselves. I suspect that they will go into history as winners at a few events but nothing noteworthy. I guess I really feel that the US ladies are not that deep....I know, I know...most don't understand this, but I think we've been spoiled with Kwan and Cohen and how they pushed the sport. I loved the whole Kwan/Cohen/Hughes/Kirk/Nikodinov group.

Anyone hear if Nikodinov will skate again?

D

dwiggin3 said:

Looks like Scott Smith finally made it to the Big Time.....what, he finished 4th at Nats last year????....Hmmm..I'm not terribly impressed with him.
Anyone hear if Nikodinov will skate again?

D

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actually Mike Weiss was fourth last year...

Nikodinov hasn't given up, per se, but I think it's a given she won't be competing anytime soon... she still has nerve damage in her hand

Wow, what's with Skate Canada getting fab entries year after year? Great skaters must love to skate on Canadian soil
And SOOOO happy that Smalun is in the GP!! Must have decided to give it another year!

hockeyfan228 said:

The host countries choose any three first for each discipline. Then there's a draw for the order in which the host countries choose the other skaters. However, there's no rule that says if a skater is guaranteed one spot by being top 24 in ISU standings, having a top 24 PB last season, or winning a Jr. Worlds or JGPF medal, s/he is entitled to another, discretionary spot in addition to being chosen for their Federation's host event.

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Oh how the rules can bend when there is some interest for the host federations. Is Piseev behind all this? How come the age of a skater (think Mao) is a hard fast rule not to be broken in qualifying for the Worlds and Olympics, but this GPSeries which does has a set of rules can just be willy nilly bent to serve a particular host federation.

Joe

Interesting analysis, DWiggins. The way I look at it, it's a new day thanks to the CoP. A triple Lutz (even a triple flutz) is still worth 6 points no matter how gawky and juniorish the performer is.

Weak spins and spirals? It doesn't matter as long as they have enough strange positions to get a level 4.

I think Kimmie is fine. She's got the rest of her career to work on artistry and originality. In the mean time she can rack up the wins with her triple-triples (unless Mao beats her with her triple Axel.)

Alissa -- love, love, love her, but I think her problem is more than just nerves. I think she has some serious issues with her jump technique. I don't know if it can be fixed or not, at this stage of her career.

Katy -- well, maybe she'll turn out to be another Tara in the good sense!

Bebe -- Wonderful athlete and super person. I think she has reached the level that her talent can take her. Time to re-evaluate her goals in the sport.

Christine Zukowski -- I haven't seen her. I look forward to it.

I don't think we can blame the current crop for not being the reincarnation of the 16-year-old Michelle Kwan. We will never pass that way again.

As for Scott Smith and his fourth place finish, well, the third place finisher (Savoie) retired, along with Weiss, Goebel and perhaps Jahnke, so -- hey, you've got three spots, you have to put someone up. (William Brewster is too young.)