I feel like one can’t compare Sarah and Camden. Camden flounced and bounced his way through the Grand Prix series completely untrained and skated like an absolute train wreck. His skating, scoring and placements were embarrassing. His performances at Nationals were better, but in typical Camden fashion, he was popping left and right in the FS and his completed technical content is not competitive with the top 10 men in the world. Sarah showed up well trained to her GP events and skated consistently and respectably, with no real major errors. She also skated consistently and respectably at Nationals and her completed content is competitive with the top 10 women in the world.
While I totally agree with all of this, I also understand the selection committee viewing what happened during the Grand Prix series and what happened during this competition and concluding that the US does not have a reliable 3rd man among the roster of skaters who competed at Nationals (excluding Jacob Sanchez since he is competing as a junior internationally). Jason Brown has been the very definition of a reliable, consistent skater through his entire career prior to this fall’s GP series, much more so than Camden, Maxim, Jimmy, and Tomoki, who all 4 have been the very definition of inconsistent and unreliable through their careers. If Jason can get his issues resolved and prove during the return to play protocol that he is fit to return to competition, then I am right on board with this decision. From my understanding of how the protocol works, he would have to perform both his SP and FS with all of his planned technical content, including clean, consistent 3Axels, to be cleared to compete.
He did better ones later. At the gala and at the awards ceremony.
Camden last went to Worlds in Montreal 2024 and finished 20th. I’m sure that also factored into the committee’s decision.
I think that's the whole point though : if he is tired after attempting 7 quads to the point that his backflip is iffy, borderline dangerous, maybe he should save them for the gala
OK... fair enough.. I was in the arena and i don't even remember him
point taken... 
I think this is all happening because it is the pre-Olympic Worlds that determines Olympic spots. Jason having placed in the top 5 at Worlds 3 times and as high as 6th at the Olympics along with all of his career GP medals has proven to be a more reliable international competitor than Camden. I totally understand the reasoning behind backing Jason if he can remedy his problems and show a reliable 3Axel and all of his other content during this monitoring test. If he is unable, then Camden is in.OK... fair enough.. I was in the arena and i don't even remember him
so i was talking about 2022.. where he was very close from the podium, getting a small bronze for the LP
Honestly, i think the USA will rely on Andrew to get these 3 spots with Ilia. Without quads and something that wasn't a problem last year, with a very iffy 3axel, Jason, may not get the PCS scores he usually gets. I enjoyed his performances in Montreal, those I remember very well and will cherish forever, but this year, he hasn't been himself. If he is not clean in the SP, who knows where he will end up.
I get what you mean, and all the spots talking in the US in particular is exhausting, but having a reliable 3rd entry is more of a safety net. You never know what will happen in competition and anyone can have a really bad skate in a pressure situation. I remember back when Nobunari Oda had an absolute meltdown in the SP at the 2010 Worlds and finished in 28th place, thus not making the FS final. Thankfully, for Japan, it was not a pre-Olympic Worlds. The US has had that happen in other disciplines; for example, Denney/Frazier entered the 2017 Worlds as National Champions where they finished 20th in pairs and didn’t make the FS final. This was a pre-Olympic Worlds and the US, as a result, only had 1 pairs spot in the 2018 Olympics that went to the Kneirims.
sure.. and when that happens, like both Canadian men screwing up last year, a spot is lost... no biggie
Yeah, the USFSA is going to have to make a lot of amendments to their rulebook as a result of how events have played out through this season. I agree with a comment you made earlier about the National Championship losing its importance. Why put the players through all of the stress that surrounds this event if the results don’t really matter in the end? If the outcome is truly all about body of work at the end of the day, then just let the athletes rest in January and do away with Nationals. Nationals now is really only a marquee event for those who competed through the Regionals and Sectionals competitions to fight for a spot to get there.
I was in the rafters for the short and then got upgraded to handicapped for the long.
Yeah a lot of people thought you and I were completely out of line talking about Brown being behind the scenes petitioning for this World's spot, but that's what he did. Would he have missed World's or the Olympics because his boots weren't 100% broken in? I think we know the answer to that
.
).
