2026-27 Grand Prix assignments are out

[Bord]

No Max? Maybe the TBD spot at Skate America?

whats the story with Bradie - she finished up really good last season

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

Bradie deserved to win bronze at 4CCs, and she was lowballed at other times, too, during the season. She has shown such courage and grit. I've always enjoyed and respected Bradie. She took her results and the dissing from judges in stride. She's probably dealing with lots of emotions and reflections right now. She's a stellar person, athlete, and role model. I will miss Bradie so much if she doesn't return to competition. Quite often, I hate this sport and the way its run and the way it discards and runs over skaters and their ambitions and indefatigable striving.

 

[yuumagical]

whats the story with Bradie - she finished up really good last season

I believe her coach Benoit Richaud had mentioned in an interview last season that it would be her last season, so this turn of events is not surprising to me.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

I believe her coach Benoit Richaud had mentioned in an interview last season that it would be her last season, so this turn of events is not surprising to me.

Eh. Bradie herself has never said that. Even when she pulled out of Worlds, she specifically said it was not about retiring. Benoit does not speak for her. He should stay in his lane. Let Bradie decide if she's retiring, and if so, how or whether she wants to officially announce it.

For many skaters, even if they have made such a decision, they do not necessarily want to use the term, 'retire.' Many people, in all walks of life, do not view the end of one career and the beginning of something new in terms of the deathly label 'retire.'

In fact, a number of skaters who may never return to eligible competition (and many who have never returned) will and have not ever voiced the words, 'retire, retiring, retirement.' They still have so much to offer, to do, to live, to be, to experience. I'd love to know more about what all the skaters we miss are doing in their lives. How unknowingly bereft we would have been had Deanna Stellato not amazingly returned and given so much that has inspired so many of us forever.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

Another skater I will dearly miss and never look upon as an afterthought, is Roman Sadovsky. Shout out to this lovely young man and to all his loyal fans. The beauty and athleticism he has given to the sport should be honored and celebrated. I get that he had trouble with consistency and big moments at some competitions. But he did well last season, and he's extremely gifted. He's very witty, a fine filmmaker, and a creative vlogger, etc. He possesses many untapped talents! He's done some of his own choreography as well.

I tell you, this sport doesn't deserve any of these amazing skaters! The sport does not appreciate them, not even truly their so-called stars. The fact that the ISU Prez recently made it clear to Jackie Wong that they don't give a hoot about shows and pro competitions speaks volumes!

Roman is a skater I'd love to see have a pro career. A pro tour would be great to get a chance to see Chock/Bates, Piper/ Paul, and Guignard/ Fabbri continue to compete, and also some of the skaters who have come back eligibly who might benefit more from excelling on a well-organized and monetarily rewarding pro tour. I wish some deep pockets and people with apropos organizing skills would help to launch a viable pro tour. It's the ISU and U.S. fed who killed the amazing pro tour that existed in the 1980s and 1990s! A pro tour would work in tandem with the eligible world, each feeding the other, without so many older, accomplished skaters feeling the need to hold on to eligible skating forever. Kristi Yamagichi and Paul Wylie are two skaters who had memorable pro careers.

Roman Sadovsky, Jason Brown, Bradie Tennell, Max Naumov, Jimmy Ma, Kaori Sakamoto, Wakaba Higuchi, Kam/ O'Shea, et al., are skaters I'd love to see compete on a pro tour. Some of them will or are doing shows already. If Roman doesn't compete again, I hope he will get an opportunity to perform with one of the existing ice theatre companies, or with shows in Japan.

 

[Skater Boy]

Wow some surprises. NOt surprised Piper and Paul and Chock and bates are gone for at least this season.. WHile I think Z will have a fast rise there is ahue step orspace etween the French and theothers so I can see why FB and Cizeron are continuing as there isn't much competition andho knows if C will really come back. I think we see how hard it is to retire. I am surprised we keep seeing Jason Brown on the list. I was waiting for the day a skater like Roman Sadovsky beats him. WHile we all love Jason's skating the numbber of withdawls and such make me want to wish to see him more in shows. Sad to see Roman not on the scene. I don't see Bradie but mabe I missed her. I am surprised Madi Schizas is still on the GP list. ut I guess she has one more year before the other ladiesmight pass her in Canada. Sad that Gabby though no. 2 in Canada gets so little respect. I wonder if they will give her the Skate Canada spot even though she will have ust done France? Good to see Ilia and Alysa competting ut we will see if this holds true. The Japanese men and women are missing their top skaters as wel as in pairs whcih will affect their strength in the team event. I am curious will Jason skate in all his scheduled events while doing shows. He didn't last Season dropping worlds and I believe 4ccs .

 

[4everchan]

Again, Bradie is 28 you guys . How many women skaters in singles skate for that long ? Gabrielle Daleman is a unicorn

However, in the case of Gabby, she's had a very long break. Bradie had some injury time off too but nothing like Gabby. Not everyone can be a Caro Kostner...

If you have trained in any sport, you know how much harder it is to keep training, especially elite, when the body gets a bit older. It's really tough to recuperate. I admire all these athletes who make it past 25-26. That's already a great ask on their bodies, especially in figure skating with the stress put on the articulations.

 

[throw_triple_flip]

Of course, things can change, but spent most of the time reading the entries being happily surprised about the skaters who appear to have NOT retired.

 

[macy]

Eh. Bradie herself has never said that. Even when she pulled out of Worlds, she specifically said it was not about retiring. Benoit does not speak for her. He should stay in his lane. Let Bradie decide if she's retiring, and if so, how or whether she wants to officially announce it.

i'm going to assume Benoit and Bradie had a conversation where Bradie mentioned it would be her last season. i highly doubt Benoit just made that up. Even if she did say that, she can always change her mind.

 

[DizzyFrenchie]

i'm going to assume Benoit and Bradie had a conversation where Bradie mentioned it would be her last season. i highly doubt Benoit just made that up. Even if she did say that, she can always change her mind.

I remember an instance when Benoit Richaud started to speak of something in French with an if and conditional, then went on with indicative probably because he was immersed in the possibility, he's an imaginative person! It was mistranslated in English as a whole statement and made waves. So, I wouldn't be surprised if there again, Benoît Richaud had evoked Bradie Tennel's R* (which will come some day, after all) and been understood as having said that she was to retire after last season? That's pure extrapolation, I know, but at least I'd like to have his statement in French before forming an opinion.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

i'm going to assume Benoit and Bradie had a conversation where Bradie mentioned it would be her last season. i highly doubt Benoit just made that up. Even if she did say that, she can always change her mind.

Yeah, we do not know. And, once again, Bradie specifically said when she withdrew from Worlds that it was not about retiring. Like I said earlier, let's allow the athletes to speak for themselves.

To the reminder that Bradie is 28. Bless her! Her skating career could have been ended several times due to devastating injuries!!! Yet, she's still standing, and she skated better than ever this past season, with her head held high in the face of being dismissed in the scoring by judges and fed officials. Thank you, Bradie, for all you have achieved in your career and contributed to the sport and to U.S. womens singles!

BTW, Deanna Stellato-Dudek is 42; she will be celebrating her 43rd birthday on Monday, June 22. Happy B'day and Amen, sister!

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

Laurence Fournier-Beaudry is 33 (turning 34 next month)
Guillaume Cizeron is 31
Jean-Luc Baker is 32
Olivia Smart is 28
Spencer Howe is 29
Jason Brown is 31
Jimmy Ma is 30
Katie McBeath is 31
Paul Ayer is 28
Emily Chan is 28
...
I could go on and on listing skaters ages. Suffice to say: Age is just a number.

 

[cc07]

I'm sad to not see Bradie on the list. The highlight of going to 2026 Nats for me was her free skate. I'm not a person who cries in public, and I was moved to tears. I wasn't even particularly a big Bradie fan before that skate. I agree with BlissfulSynergy, it's too bad there isn't a pro circuit anymore. I grew up watching those competitions.

I'm always happy to see Jason Brown on anything. And I'm super excited to see what the Brown siblings do with their programs this year. My other highlight of Nats was their Godfather skate. Can't wait to see what they do with Queen's Gambit!

 

[norwegianfairytale]

Laurence Fournier-Beaudry is 33 (turning 34 next month)
Guillaume Cizeron is 31
Jean-Luc Baker is 32
Olivia Smart is 28
Spencer Howe is 29
Jason Brown is 31
Jimmy Ma is 30
Katie McBeath is 31
Paul Ayer is 28
Emily Chan is 28
...
I could go on and on listing skaters ages. Suffice to say: Age is just a number.

Julia Sauter is 29. Actually today - congratz Julia and with your GP spot

 

[Skater Boy]

Age is just a number - I totlly agree. But watching Jason over the last few years and he is a glorious skater but he is not progressing. He is at the top artisticall already. And technically hehas had more than a quadrennial to get the qua and if anyting is starting to have issus with the triple axel. AS much as I love watching him he has had his cance and so many pullin gout of events and yet USFS continues to give hime the benefit of the doubt. Similarly Madi Schizas though not pulling out of events continue to skate with great mediocrity unale to crack the world top 10. Not sure if this is the norm but it seems like a lot of skaters are desperate fo find new partners for that winnign combo but they are older thant maye in the past.

 

[4everchan]

I think saying that at 28, it's understandable that a skater retires is different than saying, she's 28, she should retire.

Those are two different things. I love it when skaters keep skating into their 30s and even, their 40s They do it for the love of the sport, because they feel they have more to give and achieve and as fans, we are blessed with their presence on the ice. I will never be grateful enough to the skating gods for Max and Deanna, finding finally each other, way late in their respective career and not only that, but working so hard to develop their own branding and winning worlds, at home, in Montreal, with me losing my voice and mind, cheering with ecstasy.

So, yes, Bradie is 28 and she wants to do something else .... Roman is also up there and he wants to do something else. I thank them for their gift to the sport and fans. Yet, I am not surprised they are moving on.

And yes, Jean-Luc is no longer that young but if he wants to go to the 2030 Olympic Games, why not ? I will support him.

 

[SubRosa]

I wonder/suspect that some skaters are skating another season (as opposed to committing to an entire quadrennium) to A. take care of unfinished business (for instance, a less than stellar showing on the Grand Prix/at the Olympics) and/or B. get a chance to compete at one more World Team Trophy. I seriously thought Sadovsky might continue one more season, for those reasons. That may be part of why Schizas is investing in another season. The Olympics doesn't have to be the capstone to a competitive skating career.

 

[Jeanie19]

I wonder/suspect that some skaters are skating another season (as opposed to committing to an entire quadrennium) to A. take care of unfinished business (for instance, a less than stellar showing on the Grand Prix/at the Olympics) and/or B. get a chance to compete at one more World Team Trophy. I seriously thought Sadovsky might continue one more season, for those reasons. That may be part of why Schizas is investing in another season. The Olympics doesn't have to be the capstone to a competitive skating career.

I think this, too. Plus I think 4 years is a long time and they may decide see how I feel after one more season. I think some will skip a season and then decide to continue for 2 more.

 

[Jammers]

Jason and Jimmy Ma are competing again this season? Umm why exactly Jason is clearly past his prime and Jimmy is nearly as old and really wasn't a factor over the last four years even with the US men being weak other then Ilia.

 

[FlossieH]

Jason and Jimmy Ma are competing again this season? Umm why exactly Jason is clearly past his prime and Jimmy is nearly as old and really wasn't a factor over the last four years even with the US men being weak other then Ilia.

Perhaps they love skating and enjoy the buzz of competition? Is that not a valid reason for continuing? Most skaters will not ever be in contention for medals at major championships, but can still achieve personal goals and satisfaction by competing.