2021-22 U.S. Pairs Figure Skating

[labgoat]

I posted the following in Chelsea and Danny's Fan Fest, but I thought some people who'd be glad to read it here, might not see the FF.


I've been DM'ing with Chelsea via IG for a couple of months now, and I messaged her that I would pass on any news of how they're doing, if she felt up to answering.

She wrote back to say thank you to everyone for their love, prayers and well wishes. She said that they were planning to fly home today (following the team doctor's orders to delay their flight one day) so that they can rest, recover and see their doctors back home. They've both had head injuries before, and they'll "try to figure out the best plan of action for both of us to return to full health."

And later: "Health and safety is our number one priority and we will be sure to get the help we need to recover."

So it sounds to me like their priorities are in the right place. I hope the flight isn't too hard on them. I hope they have plenty of friends and family who can help them out so that they can rest, but also so that they don't get lonely. I recall Gabriella Papadakis saying that was one of the issues for her, along with and worsening the depression that came with her concussion.

I have feeling Kait Hawayek will also be contacting her.

 

[moonvine]

Sorry for the confusion, with such a bad fall I feel their recovery will take some time.

Me too. But I hope not.

 

[moonvine]

I have feeling Kait Hawayek will also be contacting her.

I hope so. That could be very helpful to her.

 

[moonvine]

Any more updates on Chelsea and Danny?

 

[skylark]

Any more updates on Chelsea and Danny?

I haven't heard since they were to fly back home; in fact I don't know when or if they did yet. If they did, I think it would be very tiring and I hope they're both getting a lot of rest. They may be having doctors' appointments too. I did pass on everyone's well wishes to both of them.

 

[moonvine]

I haven't heard since they were to fly back home; in fact I don't know when or if they did yet. If they did, I think it would be very tiring and I hope they're both getting a lot of rest. They may be having doctors' appointments too. I did pass on everyone's well wishes to both of them.

My get well cards just arrived in the mail. I ordered a pack of 48.

 

[clairecloutier]

Just wanted to share an interview that I did recently with Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir.

Seven years after ending their partnership, Marissa/Simon are teaming up again for a fundraising show at The Skating Club of Boston. They talk about how their relationship has changed & what it's been like to skate together again:

Castelli and Shnapir Reunite for a Cause

When Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir parted ways in 2014, they didn’t expect to ever skate together again. As a pairs team, based at the Skating Club of Boston, they won two U.S. national titles…

adivinesport.com

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

^^ Thanks for sharing @clairecloutier. As usual, a very informative and well-written article. Hearing from Marissa & Simon brought back a lot of memories. I'm happy for them that they somehow found a path back together again, to put bitter misunderstandings aside, to reflect on what they achieved together, and to actually skate again for a wonderful cause. It's so cool that they have both found fulfillment after their retirements. Had they been able to stay together, perhaps they might have achieved more U.S. national championships, but in the end, Simon likely still would have needed to retire sooner than later, for injury reasons. It was quite unfortunate that Marissa didn't achieve more deserved success with Mervin Tran. They were so smooth together and they possessed a lot of great qualities. Unfortunately, the obstacles Mervin & Marissa faced to fully develop their promising partnership, were too much to overcome.

Kudos to Marissa and Simon. It's nice to know how they are doing these days. It would be fun to visit the new Skating Club of Boston some day. Please follow up and let us know about the show on December 4.

 

[moonvine]

Kudos to Marissa and Simon. It's nice to know how they are doing these days. It would be fun to visit the new Skating Club of Boston some day. Please follow up and let us know about the show on December 4.

.

The Skating Club of Boston is an amazing facility. I will visit every comp I can there.

 

[skylark]

Update on Chelsea and Danny in their Fan Fest.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

Below is Wiki's detailed listing of 2022 U.S. figure skating championships competitors, now that qualifying competitions are concluded:

2022 U.S. Figure Skating Championships - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

I'm wondering about the pairing of Danny Neudecker and Sasha Fakhroutdinov. Will they stay together and keep trying? They were devastated not to make the cut for 2022 U.S. nationals. They looked to be a promising, athletic team. But Sasha is new to pairs, and she just didn't seem comfortable competing at U.S. championship series qualifying comps. Frankly, I would have rather seen Sasha/Danny at U.S. nationals instead of Mokhova/ Mokhov who are bringing the same-old same-old boring costumes and music to the ice every season.

At the same time, I also kinda miss seeing Danny competing with Nica Digerness (who supposedly paired with Mark Sadusky -- since it must not have worked with Ian Meyh who returned to juniors and is now competing with Ellie Kam).

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

Article on C/J's struggle to fight back against the faulty drug allegations, and their desire to continue pursuing their goals in the aftermath of clearing Jessica from any wrongdoing:

Calalang and Johnson Clear Hurdle, Ready to Live the Dream - U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone

When the news broke last month that Jessica Calalang had tested positive for a stimulant in a sample from the 2021 Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships, she

usfigureskatingfanzone.com

 

[mrrice]

It looks like things went well for Alexa and Brandon. Tight race at the top with only tenths of points separating the top 3. Wishing them the best in the free.

 

[gold12345]

Yup Alexa & Brandon did very well in the SP, probably better than the score indicated. In some ways, this was a better skate than what they did at GP France. I like that they have a steadiness, but also potential to get many more points rather easily; they're not near their ceiling. There were little things, but easily correctable things, that affected their score. Skating in the first group in a large field also didn't help their PCS, even though they ended up with the highest PCS of the event. If they do their normal FS that they've done all season, they're likely to win, especially since they have a sizable gap over most of their main competition like James/Radford. They really just have to let go and not tense up, easier said than done I know. It's not easy being in their position. But this is a very winnable competition for them.

I was looking at the predictions for the GPF Pairs and I don't see Alexa and Bradon on any lists.

Responding to an older post-- Part of making the GPF depends on the strength of GP fields you are in. K/F's actual combined score was very similar to Pavliuchenko/Khodykin who qualified to the GPF in 5th; P/K were just in somewhat easier fields. There were 3 GP pairs fields that were "easier" to medal in this year, and 3 that required much larger scores, and K/F happened to be in two of those more difficult fields. They still could have made it anyway, but it was just a more difficult route to the GPF. Medaling at Skate America required beating the World bronze medalist, which some argued they deserved to. But they ended up 2nd alternate for GPF (with a much higher score than the 1st alternate), which was pretty good, especially for their first year. A moot point since GPF was canceled. It's good they're getting competitive experience at Golden Spin instead, since as a newer team, they need experience.

 

[ladyjane]

Alexa and Brandon were one of the highlights at Golden Spin yesterday evening. Not a perfect skate perhaps, but they really stood out.

 

[skylark]

Audrey Lu and Misha Mitrofanov won Golden Spin today! Congratulations!

Alexa/Brandon came in 5th; Jessica/Brian are 6th.

 

[mrrice]

Audrey Lu and Misha Mitrofanov won Golden Spin today! Congratulations!

Alexa/Brandon came in 5th; Jessica/Brian are 6th.

Yikes! That's a big drop for Alexa and Brandon. Too bad, I was really hoping they'd win here

 

[skylark]

One way to look at it is that it's better to have a dip, or a less-than-expected competition, now -- rather than in January/February/March.

 

[mrrice]

One way to look at it is that it's better to have a dip, or a less-than-expected competition, now -- rather than in January/February/March.

I really need to do my homework. I have never heard of Audrey Lu and Misha Mitrofanov. They ended up winning the event! Congratulations!