2022-23 Grand Prix assignments

[Greengemmonster]

Please please please figure skating Gods, after a very tough FS year, please let me have Bradie and Rika at GPF together

 

[badknees]

I've been out of it for awhile. Why are the Russians not in the Grand Prix?
Was there an investigation about drugging Kamila at the Olympics?
What was the result?
Will the pairs Olympic team event ever award medals?

 

[karne]

I've been out of it for awhile. Why are the Russians not in the Grand Prix?
Was there an investigation about drugging Kamila at the Olympics?
What was the result?

Really? Do you just not watch the news or did the whole "Russia is trying to wipe Ukraine off the face of the earth" thing somehow completely escape your notice?

 

[badknees]

Really? Do you just not watch the news or did the whole "Russia is trying to wipe Ukraine off the face of the earth" thing somehow completely escape your notice?

Wow, that's pretty harsh of you. I did not realize that because of the war Russian athletes are banned.
I'm sorry that I missed this detail.
Perhaps next time I have a question, I will research it to find my own answers instead of asking my question in this forum.
I'll go now and research my other questions about the Olympic investigation and the pairs medals.

 

[Ziotic]

Wow, that's pretty harsh of you. I did not realize that because of the war Russian athletes are banned.
I'm sorry that I missed this detail.
Perhaps next time I have a question, I will research it to find my own answers instead of asking my question in this forum.
I'll go now and research my other questions about the Olympic investigation and the pairs medals.

No movement on Kamilla investigation and this no medals or movement on the team event front.

 

[Kris135]

I just looked at all the line ups for the events and found some interesting facts. It seems that Ilia is going to be be in the opening and closing event of the GP and that is good because the last one is over American Thanksgiving which means he will miss less school than other wise. Skate America will also be the first time that Ilia and Yuma will competing basically head to head and may the first shot in long rivalry between the two that go all the way to Milan in 2026.

It seems interesting that Jason is not competing either out of the top men he was the only one that had not shut the door on competing this season but it seems like he may be sitting out too though he might just start his season at Golden Spin at Zagreb which has been good for him he has won the event serval times.

Another one is Mariah Bell not getting GP at all, I thought that she was not retiring and Bradie Tenell getting two GP. Isn't she coming back from a serve foot injury and some say that she has not even started working on her programs for this season yet and has not be training regularly either. I want her to come back but I want her to be at her best not just show up and have a collapse like Gracie did 2019 Cup of Russia. I think she may be setting up too high expectations. If I had been giving the GP out I would have given Mariah Bell 2 GP's and Bradie 1GP near the end of season and after maybe a CS level event to get her confidence back.

Also it a year where we are going to see a lot of new faces and this the official kick off of the march to Milan in 2026 and let' journey begin.

 

[SnowWhite]

Many interesting entries here. I look forward to getting to know some of these skaters as I've never heard of them or they're a new pairing - Piegad/Strekalin, Chernyshova/Windsor, Fabbri/Ayer, Van Rensburg/Steffan and others.
It'll be interesting to see former juniors on senior GP for the first time - Gogolev, Chiu, Tsuboi, Shaidorov, Kapeikis, Levandi, Pinzarrone, Levito, Thorngren... Especially happy to see entered the two US girls, Wesley and Nina Pinzarrone, who already caught my eye in juniors last season. Is Canada's Kaiya Ruiter still too young to enter senior GP?
Also, it's going to be fun to watch the skaters from minor skating countries - the Crafoords for Sweden and both Australian pairs, both Finnish ID teams (I know Finand has an ID tradition, but they haven't made it to GP recently), the Nosovitskyis for Israel, Britschgi and Newberry and Carillo, Sauter, Van Zundert and Kitromilis and Yi Zhu...
Glad to see the return of the veterans - Chock/Bates, Gilles/Poirier, Guignard/Fabbri, Muramoto/Takahashi, Peng/Jin, Boyang, Gabby Daleman, and Bradie. Good to see Knierim/Frazier continue.
Glad to see both Bradie and Rika K getting two GP.
Strange approach by Japan Federation in sending Kao to one GP but Shun to two as they both gained big medals last season, and were fairly comparable.
I am sad to see Papadakis/Cizeron take a break, and astonished to see Jason do the same (I was totally not expecting Jason to skip the fall events). Mariah Bell's absence came as a surprise, too.

That all said, I hope I'll be able to watch on screen. I'm 90% sure I won't go to France to cheer for Sota (and others). It's too expensive for me if one wants to make it a proper holiday, and with good seats (I'm not a fan of sitting in top rows... I can watch a screen at home for free), plus the uncertainty re. covid restrictions and my domestic inflation situation in the autumn. Come to think of it, it's also uncertain if I'll be able to watch on TV. My national channel covered the GP in the last two seasons and they were doing a good job, but now they have announced sports coverage cuts. If Eurosport gets the rights, I'll need to learn to use a VPN as they're unwatchable... or maybe try the trial Player period if there's still one, and if the commentary is absent.

Shun had one GP spot guaranteed, because he was top 24 on the SB list (which generally always means you get two), whereas Kao was only 29 and didn't have any spots guaranteed. I noticed that in all the assignments this season (well, except pairs) there aren't many skaters who got two assignments (without a host pick) when they weren't guaranteed any. Also, the Japanese men are almost maxed out on the GP, which is probably another reason he didn't get a 2nd spot. Kao is at the top of the replacement list, but SA, SC (which he's is already at) and NHK with the host spot could have another Japanese man (unless one WDs).

Sad and astonished that Josefin(SWE) didn’t get a spot. I thought she was good enough. I never took the time to understand the selection rules, but I guess she is in line for a tbd or drop outs.

I would have chosen Finland: Keegan, Ilia… actually all men, Eva-Lotta, Rika and hopefully Bradie, Peng/Jin and interesting ice dancers. Close to me but too expensive.

Josefin was only 78th on the SB list, so I'm not even sure she was in the selection pool. It's supposed to be top 75 SB (except for host picks). But regardless, being that far down it would have been surprising if she got a spot. She's also far down for a replacement spot. And I wouldn't expect her to get a TBD - those are usually for skaters from the host country. The SA and NHK ones will definitely go to an American and Japanese women, respectively. And the French one will probably be Mae Berenice Meite if she's ready to come back.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

Regarding the men, I don't care much for Morisi's skating. He's over-scored quite often IMO. Another thing I wonder is how Morisi can get away with skating in the same Russian show that Petrenko skated in, and somehow that's just okay for Morisi, and he still gets to compete on the GP for Georgia too, while most of his personal and training ties are with Russia. One other noticeable thing, the ISU misspelled Morisi's last name. Not '... sashvili' It's 'Kvitelashvili.'

I wonder why Camden didn't get Skate America? It's on the East Coast, not far from NYC, where he'll be going to school at Columbia U. I suppose U.S. fed wanted to give SA to Malinin. They must have felt both are the next top gun U.S. men, so separate them. SC looks somewhat more stacked with Uno, Messing, Jin, Ma, Rizzo, et al. But, if Camden skates as well or better than he did at Montpelier Worlds, he could win silver, or bronze, and maybe even gold if Shoma has a bad day. Oh, and Yuma is at SA, so I guess it all evens out.

Since Camden's paternal ancestry (not parental) is Finnish, the Finland GP is certainly a good fit. He likely also asked for assignments that made sense with his school schedule.

ETA:
Now I see that Malinin is also scheduled for Finland, so Camden will be competing against him head-to-head. Is Tomoki Hiwatashi the TBD at SA? Otherwise, Tomoki appears to be listed for only one event, NHK.

 

[sworddance21]

I'm surprised to see Chock and Bates - I somehow thought they were retiring.

 

[el henry]

I'm surprised to see Chock and Bates - I somehow thought they were retiring.

Madi, in interviews prior to the Olympics, pushed back when asked about retirement. I was surprised too, but she definitely indicated they were staying. Purely speculation, I'm not convinced they will stay more than another year.

 

[el henry]

It seems interesting that Jason is not competing either out of the top men he was the only one that had not shut the door on competing this season but it seems like he may be sitting out too though he might just start his season at Golden Spin at Zagreb which has been good for him he has won the event serval times.

Jason was very coy in his interviews about retiring, but as time went on, it became clear that he was not going to do the GP. He has not been seen training competitively at all, and he has an active social media where he would post training videos if he were training. It's possible he would do a challenger, but I think he is loving the non-competitive life right now.

I wonder how whether in the past, all six singles Olympians have not skated in the GP the following year?

 

[Kris135]

Regarding the men, I don't care much for Morisi's skating. He's over-scored quite often IMO. Another thing I wonder is how Morisi can get away with skating in the same Russian show that Petrenko skated in, and somehow that's just okay for Morisi, and he still gets to compete on the GP for Georgia too, while most of his personal and training ties are with Russia. One other noticeable thing, the ISU misspelled Morisi's last name. Not '... sashvili' It's 'Kvitelashvili.'

I wonder why Camden didn't get Skate America? It's on the East Coast, not far from NYC, where he'll be going to school at Columbia U. I suppose U.S. fed wanted to give SA to Malinin. They must have felt both are the next top gun U.S. men, so separate them. SC looks somewhat more stacked with Uno, Messing, Jin, Ma, Rizzo, et al. But, if Camden skates as well or better than he did at Montpelier Worlds, he could win silver, or bronze, and maybe even gold if Shoma has a bad day. Oh, and Yuma is at SA, so I guess it all evens out.

Since Camden's parental ancestry is Finnish, the Finland GP is certainly a good fit. He likely also asked for assignments that made sense with his school schedule.

ETA:
Now I see that Malinin is also scheduled for Finland, so Camden will be competing against him head-to-head. Is Tomoki Hiwatashi the TBD at SA? Otherwise, Tomoki appears to be listed for only one event, NHK.

The other man in Skate America is one most perplexing choices in long time. Liam Kapeikis is a good skater but I know there are at least several other Americans who outrank him and would be more worthy of the spot. I mean he did get In top 10 at Junior World's but I am not even sure if he has ever competed in internationally as a senior so I not sure what US Figure Skating was thinking at this point. I know that he needs more international experience but is a GP is the best way for him to start. I really think that Americans were holding that spot for Jason Brown and when he did not get back to Federation in time they went to Plan B quickly and this was result. I feel for him he is going to an elite international event where he going to be so outclassed by the field that not going to be funny .Why did they not give to Tomoki who needed a second event and has competed on world class level. Just wondering here?

 

[TT_Fin]

3 host picks per discipline. If they don't use them, these spots are filled through the "normal" selection procedure: after having guaranteed 2 spots for those who earned them at Worlds and one spot for those in World Standing top 24 and previous Season Best top 24, they pick from previous Season Best top 75 list. To be considered there is a minimum score to have been achieved in previous season: it is equal to 3/5 of highest score per discipline at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships of previous year.

I saw speculation about Josefin getting TBD Finland, I would like it too, but there are many own skaters, so they want to give opportunity to them. Jenni S and Emmi P does not have minimun TES for worlds from last season, but there are others who have. Interesting situation to choose them so early, they could have kept the TBD and make the choices later. There also two young men age eligible in national team, developed a lot during last season, so I would also keep the door open for them and wait what they can do before choosing Dr. V. And Makar S. of them has won already him a couple of times in FS.

Otherwise Finland is ok to me. It is fine to have some uknownn skaters, because there will for sure be some of them who will be on top later. Maybe in Finland, maybe in some other countries, I don't know. I have heard Yuzuru had been in Finlandia Trophy before he was so famous as he was. So I will be there open minded and wish all the best to them all. In dance T/V would have got two spots even without host spot, but I wonder did Yuka and Juho get host spot to Japan? Or was it they got 1 spot anyway because there are 26th and host spot in Finland?

 

[Lyyli]

From the events I can’t go to, Finland got a fantastic lineup. I guess, Russian fans-driven.

Hi lariko, I am Finnish and I don´t understand completely what do you mean here. Do you think that Finland got these skaters due to Russian fans or what?

 

[TT_Fin]

Hi lariko, I am Finnish and I don´t understand completely what do you mean here. Do you think that Finland got these skaters due to Russian fans or what?

I get what she(?) means. This was replacement for Russian GP and these skaters who are coming to Finland, except for the host spots, would have been in Rostecolom if it was hold there.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

Wow! There were enough pairs teams! I’m impressed!

LOL. It's not that there aren't enough pairs teams. It's just that the level of ability and experience is not as stellar and uniform across-the-board. Obviously, this is due to no Russian teams as a result of the war and the ban, and because of the high number of splits, retirements, and decisions to take a break.

This is actually a huge opportunity for a number of teams to show what they've got and to take advantage of fields where they might be comparable or better than some newer teams, or on a par with teams who were formerly in the second and third tiers competitively.

Of course, the returning World champions, Knierim/ Frazier should be able to dominate both of their events, because I don't see competitors as strong or as credentialed as they are at either of their events. If the final is held, which it likely will go forward, since it's in Italy, K/F will face much stronger talent in Miura/Kihira, Peng/Jin, and the Georgian teams. But, K/F have a great opportunity to prevail. K/F should receive due respect from everyone as the current World champions. I hope K/F take everything on with confidence and a take-no-prisoners attitude.

 

[Lyyli]

I get what she(?) means. This was replacement for Russian GP and these skaters who are coming to Finland, except for the host spots, would have been in Rostecolom if it was hold there.

But it was clear from the beginning that there will be no GP in Russia. I mean when ISU started to plan this season they already knew it.

 

[TT_Fin]

But it was clear from the beginning that there will be no GP in Russia. I mean when ISU started to plan this season they already knew it.

Yes, you have it right. But we are nearest to Russian fans to come, maybe it. Otherwise I don't see the connection. Loena is very popular also in Russia, what I have understand, and Morisi is Eteri's boy, but I don't know about the others. There are some Russian born or related skaters, but it is not Finland only.

 

[Lyyli]

Yes, you have it right. But we are nearest to Russian fans to come, maybe it. Otherwise I don't see the connection. Loena is very popular also in Russia, what I have understand, and Morisi is Eteri's boy, but I don't know about the others. There are some Russian born or related skaters, but it is not Finland only.

You know the border to Russia was opened just a few days ago when the last Covid restrictions were removed and Russian tourists started to cross it at once and many continued their journey further from here. But at once also several politicians and Finnish people in general began to demand restrictions on Visa policy due to the war so it seems to be unsure whether Russian fans are allowed to come but we´ll see it later. For example Estonia already has a strict Visa policy which is in the discussions here too.

 

[katymay]

Shun had one GP spot guaranteed, because he was top 24 on the SB list (which generally always means you get two), whereas Kao was only 29 and didn't have any spots guaranteed. I noticed that in all the assignments this season (well, except pairs) there aren't many skaters who got two assignments (without a host pick) when they weren't guaranteed any. Also, the Japanese men are almost maxed out on the GP, which is probably another reason he didn't get a 2nd spot. Kao is at the top of the replacement list, but SA, SC (which he's is already at) and NHK with the host spot could have another Japanese man (unless one WDs).

Josefin was only 78th on the SB list, so I'm not even sure she was in the selection pool. It's supposed to be top 75 SB (except for host picks). But regardless, being that far down it would have been surprising if she got a spot. She's also far down for a replacement spot. And I wouldn't expect her to get a TBD - those are usually for skaters from the host country. The SA and NHK ones will definitely go to an American and Japanese women, respectively. And the French one will probably be Mae Berenice Meite if she's ready to come back.

How did Yi Zhu get a spot?