2021-22 U.S. Pairs Figure Skating

[BlissfulSynergy]

It is certainly much more concerning not to see C/J on the ISP list, nor named in the funding envelope. But from Todd/Jenni's recent post, C/J are still together and still training.

C/J's lower profile reminds me of Stephen Gogolev and Andrew Torgashev being absent from the competitive arena, while also apparently intensively training with Raf.

 

[twirlingaround]

One of the highest, effortless-looking, and best triple twists in the world, par none! Likely, the Instagram post is in response to all of the ! and unfounded speculation that has ensued since the GP assignments were revealed.

What you said @readernick is what I have been suggesting all along in my earlier posts. C/J surely want to fully improve their sbs jumps. Last season, there was a lot of talk and buzz about Jess having problems with jump technique and that she was working with Raf (which means re-learning technique -- always a problem when you are trying to compete while re-learning). The other part of this is that Brian clearly has had a lot of inconsistencies on jumps as well. I think the blame was being placed on Jess exclusively, which is unfair and untrue. Brian is probably re-learning his jumps under Raf too.

In fact, it could all boil down to being that simple. Raf has always told us that when he works with skaters on improving jump technique, better results take time. Skaters are not gonna make detailed announcements about their progress and plans when they are working on improving competitive weaknesses, particularly in this current, overly gossipy social media environment. That's why I say, respect C/J's lower profile and their relative silence regarding their competitive plans, for now.

Typically a team at the level that Calalang and Johnson are at, A Team would not just pull out of International Competition all together unless their is an injury preventing them to be at the level they need to be to compete. Worlds, okay, but the Grand Prix Season when they have had since January to work on jump Technique and risk losing the International exposure during an Olympic Season. I don't know seems very odd, but perhaps they are taking a year off of competing, but seems odd that they would not want to get the international exposure at least by the fall. Now to see that they are not even in the ISP or in a Team Envelope and as the Silver Medalists at the 2021 Nationals they should be in an enevlope no? It's just a very odd situation that they are putting themselves in if they are indeed not injured but still training together to just improve. But I guess when they are ready to share why they are not competing this season internationally they will share. They are such a good team and it's ashame that they would make a decision to not compete because they may have jump weaknesses, but don't all US Pairs have issues with Jumps, lol lol Just Saying. No team is spot on with Side by side jumps. I hope they resolve what ever the reason they are not competing on the Grand Prix.

 

[Apple1078]

It's so odd that a team that is still training (not injured) and got new programs heading into an Olympic season (one of the most important seasons of their careers) would make a decision not to compete. I'm starting to fear that maybe the decision was made for them? Why would USFS pull them from the International Selection Pool? They are such a lovely team, so talented (I love watching them), that I don't think the USFS would want to remove them from the ISP unless they didn't have a choice.

 

[Seven Sisters]

Respectfully, I think we need to leave this alone.

My guess would be a medical issue (as distinct from an injury) which they don’t feel comfortable discussing publicly, and which makes the timing of a return to competition difficult to predict. I hope that whatever is involved here is resolved in a satisfactory way and that we get to see them compete again when they are ready.

 

[centerpt1]

I don't think the USFS would want to remove them from the ISP unless they didn't have a choice.

For some reason, they have been unable to compete internationally this year. No team voluntarily gets defunded or pulls themselves out of international competition before an Olympics. They don't look injured in videos. If they were sanctioned or unable to leave the country for legal reasons-wouldn't it be public?

 

[skylark]

They are such a good team and it's ashame that they would make a decision to not compete because they may have jump weaknesses, but don't all US Pairs have issues with Jumps, lol lol Just Saying. No team is spot on with Side by side jumps. I hope they resolve what ever the reason they are not competing on the Grand Prix.

It's none of my business, but I still wish they would give out some reason. People who love their skating and who love their partnership are feeling disappointed, among other emotions.

If it is jump issues, and they're struggling with (Raf's notorious) changes in technique, that would let judges know, too. If it's something so personal that they won't say, then that leaves all this room for questions and confusion.

Just want to repeat that the reason people are questioning is because we care about Jessica and Brian!


ETA: What @Seven Sisters said.

 

[skylark]

Someone has freed the dancer in Danny! Maybe Adam and his choreo, maybe Chelsea, maybe the coaching team, or maybe Danny himself!

Just got my morning fix of Danny and Chelsea skating to Taylor Swift.

 

[twirlingaround]

It's none of my business, but I still wish they would give out some reason. People who love their skating and who love their partnership are feeling disappointed, among other emotions.

If it is jump issues, and they're struggling with (Raf's notorious) changes in technique, that would let judges know, too. If it's something so personal that they won't say, then that leaves all this room for questions and confusion.

Just want to repeat that the reason people are questioning is because we care about Jessica and Brian!


ETA: What @Seven Sisters said.

They are such a promising Team and hope all works out for them and whatever the reason they are back in the saddle soon

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

Respectfully, I think we need to leave this alone.

My guess would be a medical issue (as distinct from an injury) which they don’t feel comfortable discussing publicly, and which makes the timing of a return to competition difficult to predict. I hope that whatever is involved here is resolved in a satisfactory way and that we get to see them compete again when they are ready.

Thanks for your thoughts. This probability came to my mind as well, particularly as I recalled the circumstances around Alexa's former difficult to diagnose illness, and her subsequent surgery that had been life-threatening, not just career-threatening.

As I just posted in U.S. Ice dance, DelCamp/Somerville, U.S. junior bronze medalists are similarly not listed in the IPS, nor in the Team Envelope this season. Also, Katarina hasn't posted on Instagram for awhile. So, this is another unusual development in an Olympic season, without any announcement. However, in today's gossipy, nosy, noisy and oversaturated social media environment, many athletes may understandably wish to protect their privacy.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

Someone has freed the dancer in Danny! Maybe Adam and his choreo, maybe Chelsea, maybe the coaching team, or maybe Danny himself!

Just got my morning fix of Danny and Chelsea skating to Taylor Swift.

Probably all five combined were instrumental in sparking the unleashing of Danny's inner dancer!

I got this sudden image of people in the sport contacting Danny and encouraging him not to retire. One of those people being Adam Rippon, who might have mentioned to Danny that he'd like to choreograph a program for him when/if he found a new partner. Of course, the Rippon, Liu, O'Shea hook-up could have transpired differently. LOL

I don't know if this was posted here already:

Former U.S. pairs champ Danny O’Shea and Chelsea Liu announce partnership

O'Shea is the 2018 Four Continents champion with Tarah Kayne, while Liu previously competed with Brian Johnson.

olympics.nbcsports.com

 

[GS Forum Staff]

With respect to Calalang / Johnson, please be mindful of GS Forum guidelines, including:
"Discussions of off-ice behavior, religion, political affiliation, sexual orientation, health (mental or physical) matters, dating life, etc. should be limited to what has been publicly disclosed by the skater. While speculation is one thing, accusation is another, and is considered slander. Posting personal information pertaining to another member and/or skater that is not official public knowledge is strictly prohibited."

 

[Jammers]

Clearly, Calalang and Johnson are still together and don't appear injured:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CQwuV2YjSFn/?utm_medium=copy_link

Are they just taking time off competition to improve their SBS jumps?

So when are we going to see these improved jumps when Nationals and the Olympics are over? You compete simple as that and let the chips fall where they may. Not going to Worlds and then taking the GP season off in an Olympic season is ridiculous everyone in skating is always working on things but they also keep competing too.

 

[gold12345]

Being removed from the Team Envelopes without splitting or leaving to represent another country is unprecedented. I can't recall another US skater/team getting their funding taken away when they still intended to continue competing. What would be grounds for getting removed from your Team Envelope and the ISP? Even serious injury/illness wouldn't cause that, unless I suppose it was very long-term. In 2014, when Tarah Kayne had surgery for a torn hip labrum and there was a question mark whether she would compete that season, it's not like they lost their funding; I'm almost certain they remained in a Team Envelope. If anything, when you pull out of competitions, you rely on that funding even more just to get by.

Regardless of what's going on, this is a rough situation. Nobody would intentionally choose to lose their funding, esentially be removed from Team USA, and miss all the international competitions in the year before the Olympics. They definitely posted that training video to let people know they aren't split or have serious health problems, but in doing so, it also sends across a message that they may not be allowed to compete, sadly.

 

[readernick]

Being removed from the Team Envelopes without splitting or leaving to represent another country is unprecedented. I can't recall another US skater/team getting their funding taken away when they still intended to continue competing. What would be grounds for getting removed from your Team Envelope and the ISP? Even serious injury/illness wouldn't cause that, unless I suppose it was very long-term. In 2014, when Tarah Kayne had surgery for a torn hip labrum and there was a question mark whether she would compete that season, it's not like they lost their funding; I'm almost certain they remained in a Team Envelope. If anything, when you pull out of competitions, you rely on that funding even more just to get by.

Regardless of what's going on, this is a rough situation. Nobody would intentionally choose to lose their funding, esentially be removed from Team USA, and miss all the international competitions in the year before the Olympics. They definitely posted that training video to let people know they aren't split or have serious health problems, but in doing so, it also sends across a message that they may not be allowed to compete, sadly.

After seeing them removed from the ISP, the jump improvement explanation no longer makes sense. An injury doesn't make sense either since Torgashev is working with the same coach, was injured, and is still getting funding despite not participating in nationals last year or this year's GP. The only possible solution I can think of is that they have decided to switch countries. Last season was strange, so they haven't technically participated in any international competitions since 4CC 2020. Their coaches showed them practicing, they got new programs, and there have been no announcements about possible sanctions. I just wonder if the USFS would actually be willing to release them?

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

The only possible solution I can think of is that they have decided to switch countries. Last season was strange, so they haven't technically participated in any international competitions since 4CC 2020. Their coaches showed them practicing, they got new programs, and there have been no announcements about possible sanctions. I just wonder if the USFS would actually be willing to release them?

Who knows? None of us know, so we will have to be patient. Yet, that does sound intriguing because Jessica might be eligible to compete for the Philippines. However, Brian would surely have citizenship issues in that case. And with C/J placing second at U.S. Nats the last two years, it doesn't seem to truly make sense to switch countries when citizenship issues would be incurred for 1/2 of the team.

Jessica has always competed for the U.S. to my knowledge, and she's been successful representing the U.S. Most of the time, when country switches are involved, it's about finding a new avenue for opportunity to compete at major competitions. C/J have already climbed that mountain here in the U.S.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

This is great to see Danny so happy. He is soooo strong. He lifts Chelsea like she doesn't weigh anything - oh wait, she doesn't!

LOL, yes. Tarah has a similar slim frame. I think Danny has always been very good at all the pairs guy skills though. Lifts were one of K/O's strong points, just not a lot of power and pop on the twist, and not great speed. L/O have wonderful speed together, judging by this clip. And what they are doing in this program seems to come naturally. They have a palpable rapport and chemistry, similar to what was evident in the partnership of Calalang/Johnson, right out of the blocks at their 2019 U.S. Nationals debut. This Taylor Swift song is also a great music choice, that has sparked infectious choreo.

The OIP clip is infectious altogether, so I've watched multiple times. I've begun taking note of other skaters in the background. At the end of the clip, the skaters in the upper left hand portion of the frame, who are skating to center ice for practice, appear to be Matej Silecky and Kate Finster (apparent to me now that news has leaked about their newly formed partnership). In addition, from a distance, I can make out Nate Bartholomay and Katie McBeath skating around rink side, warming up. It may have been during this session that Jordan Cowan captured Nate & Katie on video skating to The Blower's Daughter, posted earlier in this thread.

 

[gordana]

I just wonder if the USFS would actually be willing to release them?

I can hardly imagine that, since the USFS demands a great pay off from Jessica Pfund and Joshua Santillan for their release. And Jessica and Brian are reigning silver medalists.

 

[noskates]

Why would they want to skate for another country when they've been fairly successful here and would still be very competitive (based on their last performance at Nats)

I just hope that whatever "it" is gets resolved because I truly enjoyed this team. I also appreciated the fact that their sportsmanship was so apparent - seeing them clap for Frazier and Knierem at Nationals was very nice.

 

[Spiralgraph]

C/J's status is very puzzling to say the least. We know very few facts, and we have many more speculations and guesses,
One of the few facts we do know is that they are still training and haven't split. Which means they aren't physically injured.

I'm not willing to speculate any more than that (tempting though that is.) I'll hope for the best for both of them

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

As we continue talking about what's up with C/J, the more anxiety-producing and speculative it becomes. I personally just want to shower Jess & Brian with love, support and encouragement! Tremendous thanks to them and to their coaching/choreo team for all the joy and heartwarming smiles their skating has given me these past seasons! Hoping and praying for much more joy, success, gratitude and glory in the seasons ahead.