2025-26 Grand Prix Assignments predictions?

[soccerjc77]

I would like that Madeline Schizas get her 2 spots outside of Skate Canada for having 3 other Canadian girl at Skate Canada.
Because if we put Maddie in Skate Canada, it will remove probably 1 Canadian ladies to have the chance competing internationnaly.

 

[Mathman]

I am too...unfortunately.

Why is this (Ilia at Skate America) unfortunate? Skate America will want to put on a dazzle-dazzle show for the live and TV U.S. audiences.

I also think that Loena Hendricks would be a popular choice for a Grand Prix event organizer to consider, despite the "what have you done for me lately?" factor. Multiple medals in World and European Championsjips, a crowd-pleasing entertainer.

I have to admit that I am somewhat put off by federations concentrating only on strategy and out-gaming each other. Sometimes I wish they would say, let's put on the best competition we can and let the results speak for themselves.

 

[Jumping_Bean]

I also think that Loena Hendricks would be a popular choice for a Grand Prix event organizer to consider, despite the "what have you done for me lately?" factor. Multiple medals in World and European Championsjips, a crowd-pleasing entertainer.

Sure, Loena would be a crowd-pleaser, but she still has to fulfill the requirements for a GP assignment. It seems like she won't be able to use the "comeback rule" (as she hasn't been out for the full season), she'll fall out of the top 24 in WS when the 2022/23 season is removed (nobody seems to be quite sure if this happens before or after the GP assignments) and she doesn't have a Season's best score. Unfortunately, if this interpretation of the rules is true, she wouldn't have a way to be picked for any initial GP assignments.

If she does well at early Challengers, she'll be added to the GP replacement list for sure though, and is likely to get one or two assignments that way.

 

[FlossieH]

Why is this (Ilia at Skate America) unfortunate? Skate America will want to put on a dazzle-dazzle show for the live and TV U.S. audiences.

I also think that Loena Hendricks would be a popular choice for a Grand Prix event organizer to consider, despite the "what have you done for me lately?" factor. Multiple medals in World and European Championsjips, a crowd-pleasing entertainer.

I have to admit that I am somewhat put off by federations concentrating only on strategy and out-gaming each other. Sometimes I wish they would say, let's put on the best competition we can and let the results speak for themselves.

It depends whether USFS wants to maximise the number of men they have competing across the GP series as a whole. If they do, then it would not be sensible to use one of their Skate America host spots for Ilia. He is already guaranteed two grand prix spots. If he goes elsewhere, then that Skate America host spot can be used for a US skater who doesn't have a GP spot at all or who only has one spot (to give them a second). If Ilia does Skate America, then that uses up one of their host spots and what would have been his second spot in effect goes back into the general pool and doesn't go to a US skater unless the next one on the ISU's list happens to be from the US.

 

[el henry]

Ilia gets to choose. If he wanted to go to Canada, I don't think they could refuse him, no matter who is footing the bill. That power is for the unseeded skaters.

That said, every world champ will want to skate at home. So Ilia, Madi and Evan and Alysa can choose their assignments, and they will choose SA. USFS has no power to "force" them to go elsewhere (soft power, maybe, like we will pull your envelope funding, but that's crazy talk ).

Host spots are usually reserved for skaters who would not qualify otherwise. Ilia and company are not taking up host spots, no matter where they go.

It would be lovely if SA used their host spot for Donovan (it does not need to be an American, after all.) But that is a pipe dream....

 

[Ziotic]

Ilia gets to choose. If he wanted to go to Canada, I don't think they could refuse him, no matter who is footing the bill. That power is for the unseeded skaters.

That said, every world champ will want to skate at home. So Ilia, Madi and Evan and Alysa can choose their assignments, and they will choose SA. USFS has no power to "force" them to go elsewhere (soft power, maybe, like we will pull your envelope funding, but that's crazy talk ).

Host spots are usually reserved for skaters who would not qualify otherwise. Ilia and company are not taking up host spots, no matter where they go.

It would be lovely if SA used their host spot for Donovan (it does not need to be an American, after all.) But that is a pipe dream....

Ilia could be refused for skate Canada in specific situations.

For example, even is C/B want skate Canada they will not be there as G/P will be and they can’t meet due to seeding.

The hosting fed has veto.

 

[NanaPat]

Host spots are usually reserved for skaters who would not qualify otherwise. Ilia and company are not taking up host spots, no matter where they go.

All skaters affiliated with the host country are "host spots", no matter if they are World Champion or not on the "guaranteed one GP" list or somewhere in between. Each host has 3 host spots per discipline.

 

[Mathman]

All skaters affiliated with the host country are "host spots", no matter if they are World Champion or not on the "guaranteed one GP" list or somewhere in between. Each host has 3 host spots per discipline.

Still, I think that the term "host spot" is used informally to mean that TBD guy that the federation wants to gift with a chance at the big time, rather than the two "regular spots" that largely follow the seedings and world rankings.

It also seems to me that a national federation sometimes outsmarts itself iwhen it starts playing the game of, well we don;t want to send Jason brown to NHK because he might get beaten by Yuma Kaigiyama and knocked out of the final, so we'll dend him to Finland instead and hope that the competition won't be as fierce. Or when they say, we don't want to send two Americans to the same event because they might knock each other out. Is it better to send them to two separate events and have them knocked out by skaters from other countries instead?

To me, this is too much scheming, not enough skating.

 

[4everchan]

Still, I think that the term "host spot" is used informally to mean that TBD guy that the federation wants to lift with a chance at the big time, rather than the two "regular spots" that largely follow the seedings and world rankings.

It also seems to me that a national federation sometimes outsmarts itself iwhen it starts playing the game of, well we don;t want to send Jason brown to NHK because he might get beaten by Yuma Kaigiyama and knocked out of the final, so we'll dend him to Finland instead and hope that the competition won't be as fierce. Or when they say, we don't want to send two Americans to the same event because they might knock each other out. Is it better to send them to two separate events and have them knocked out by skaters from other countries instead?

To me, this is too much scheming, not enough skating.

But it isn't... Each host gets 3 host spots. You're confused because Skam usually has relative start skaters in each disciplines and will name them right away to boost tickets sales..and, yes, they often do not name the third host for various reasons... Including they over you mentioned

 

[saine]

Still, I think that the term "host spot" is used informally to mean that TBD guy that the federation wants to gift with a chance at the big time, rather than the two "regular spots" that largely follow the seedings and world rankings.

It also seems to me that a national federation sometimes outsmarts itself iwhen it starts playing the game of, well we don;t want to send Jason brown to NHK because he might get beaten by Yuma Kaigiyama and knocked out of the final, so we'll dend him to Finland instead and hope that the competition won't be as fierce. Or when they say, we don't want to send two Americans to the same event because they might knock each other out. Is it better to send them to two separate events and have them knocked out by skaters from other countries instead?

To me, this is too much scheming, not enough skating.

I think of those host spots as part of the strategies used by the hosts to maximize the number of skaters they can get on the Grand Prix. Assign Ilia and Jason to Skate America when they're both guaranteed two spots, that's one less spot that they have guaranteed to use for their own skaters. That's one less chance to give a lower ranked skater experience that they wouldn't be guaranteed otherwise.

The new rules for alternates cut down on the scheming you're thinking of. They have to pick who the top eligible alternate is now, and that changes with the Challenger results. Last season that helped Geynish/Chigirev win silver at Skate Canada and Lara Naki Gutmann win bronze at Finlandia when they may not have been chosen as alternates based on the old rules of picking from the top 10 alternates.

 

[Mathman]

But it isn't... Each host gets 3 host spots. You're confused because...

Hmmm... Yes. I guess I am confused. What if Skate America says, OK, we have threee "host picks." We pick unknown skaters X, Y, and Z. Those are our picks..

Then the ISU says, no, you sillies, you have to choose a top three at Worlds or a 4-6 at worlds and/or a top twenty-four on the leaderboard list, or...

Is this what "host pick" means -- that you can pick anyone you want as long as it is who we tell you to pick? In that case, I dp not see that the terminology "host spot" carries any meaning at all. Why have a special name for it?

 

[4everchan]

Jmmm... Yes. I guess I am confused. What if Skate America says, OK, we have threee "host picks." We pick unknown skaters X, Y, and Z. Those are our picks..

Then the ISU says, no, you sillies, you have to choose a top three at Worlds or a 4-6 at worlds and/or a top twenty-four on the leaderboard list, or...

Is this what "host pick" means -- that you can pick anyone you want as long as it is who we tell you to pick? In that case, I dp not see that the terminology "host spot" carries any meaning at all. Why have a special name for it?

Seeds and host spots are both mandatory and not necessarily combined.

There are requirements but not for hosts spots.

 

[saine]

she'll fall out of the top 24 in WS when the 2022/23 season is removed (nobody seems to be quite sure if this happens before or after the GP assignments)

Standings were updated for removing the 2021-22 season on June 1, 2024. GP Assignments came out on June 9, 2024. So it looks like the removal is before the GP assignments.

 

[Jontor]

Standings were updated for removing the 2021-22 season on June 1, 2024. GP Assignments came out on June 9, 2024. So it looks like the removal is before the GP assignments.

Yes. This season Stepcenko entered the top 24 after the removal of 21-22 season and she got a spot at SA because of that.

 

[Mathman]

Seeds and host spots are both mandatory and not necessarily combined/

There are requirements but not for hosts spots.

I 'm trying, I really am. When you say that a hosting federation gets three host spots, do you mean three per discipline;ine. or three overall?

 

[FlossieH]

I 'm trying, I really am. When you say that a hosting federation gets three host spots, do you mean three per discipline;ine. or three overall?

Three per discipline.

 

[4everchan]

I 'm trying, I really am. When you say that a hosting federation gets three host spots, do you mean three per discipline;ine. or three overall?

Per discipline

 

[el henry]

All skaters affiliated with the host country are "host spots", no matter if they are World Champion or not on the "guaranteed one GP" list or somewhere in between. Each host has 3 host spots per discipline.

I had never thought of it that way, thank you. I think of the host spot as the unused spot for an unseeded skater (the one where I would venture that USFS will in all likelihood choose Max Naumov, if he chooses to skate the GP).

If Madi and Evan said we want Canada or bust, would they get it? No. But at least this year, that has nothing to do with Canada wanting Piper and Paul. Madi and Evan pick first: USA. Piper and Paul pick second: Canada. So this year , (and most every year where both Madi and Evan and Piper and Paul are top three) that is theory, but not practice. I agree that in theory, Piper and Paul are not getting SA to the exclusion of Madi and Evan, and Madi and Evan are not getting Skate Canada to the exclusion of Piper and Paul.

 

[TontoK]

I think I sparked this plotline with my hypothetical musings on how GPs are assigned, but I can't imagine that USFSA wouldn't want their World Champions, and I can't imagine that any of them would decline to pick Skate America. Likewise, I don't see how or why Madi and Evan would attempt to deny Piper and Paul their home GP. These people are professionals; none of them are going to do anything petty, never mind the uproar it would cause. Neither Alysa nor Ilia are going to NHK either. That's reserved for Kaori and Yuma, and they know it.

These skaters seem pretty loyal. I don't know about Canada, but in the US Championships, they're introduced as hailing from the Such-and-Such Figure Skating Club - their "home" club where they learned to skate. I do know that in Canada, their provincial flags are displayed on the leaderboards (at least I think that's what it is). It's a little shout-out to the home crew.

 

[4everchan]

I had never thought of it that way, thank you. I think of the host spot as the unused spot for an unseeded skater (the one where I would venture that USFS will in all likelihood choose Max Naumov, if he chooses to skate the GP).

If Madi and Evan said we want Canada or bust, would they get it? No. But at least this year, that has nothing to do with Canada wanting Piper and Paul. Madi and Evan pick first: USA. Piper and Paul pick second: Canada. So this year , (and most every year where both Madi and Evan and Piper and Paul are top three) that is theory, but not practice. I agree that in theory, Piper and Paul are not getting SA to the exclusion of Madi and Evan, and Madi and Evan are not getting Skate Canada to the exclusion of Piper and Paul.

You are assuming that Madi and Evan pick first, then Piper and Paul second, then Lilah and Lewis third then back to Madi and Evan 4 etc

It's more like Madi and Evan pick first and second. Piper and Paul 3rd and 4th and Lilah and Lewis get the rest.

So Madi and Evan wouldn't get SCI even if they begged for it as the hosts would veto it to have Piper and Paul

The real kickers in ice dance this year will be where are LaLa and Lopareva Brissaud, going to end up as they are not seeded, have GPs in their home countries and have a team from their own country placed above them potentially. For instance, if Canada decided to have Piper and Paul AND LaLa and CPom for instance, it could wreck CPom's chances, as a seeded team, to earn their GPF spot... even more so if Canada also decided to invite another very competitive team like the Fins or even maybe FB/Ciz

Seeds 3 to 6 will be extremely vulnerable this year.... Usually, we can expect seeded skaters 5-6 to get passed over by another strong team... but this year, WOW...

I totally expect Smart and Dieck NOT to qualify for GPF.