2021-2022 U.S. Men's Figure Skating

[TontoK]

Depends on how you look at it. I meant more that Vera did more extravagant and less plain (nathan like) costumes for Lysacek, Kwan, and Kerrigan in the past.

I imagine Vera Wang's first priority is pleasing her client, especially for a custom piece that will have no public market opportunities. She's got to appeal to the masses if it's a commercial piece, but she just has to please her client for a figure skating costume.

I don't know if skaters just turn over artistic control to designers, but I doubt it. Like it or not, Nathan is expressing himself through his costume choices. If he wanted all the bells and whistles, I don't doubt there are many designers who would be happy to deliver.

 

[Sasha'sSpins]

Well, this is a lie.

Well, I disagree. I loved Evan's costumes - as well as Nathan's!

 

[moonvine]

Has anyone heard anything about Samuel Mindra? (Current US Junior Bronze Medalist). He finished 8th at Cranberry, has he done any other comps?

 

[ice coverage]

Has anyone heard anything about Samuel Mindra? (Current US Junior Bronze Medalist). He finished 8th at Cranberry, has he done any other comps?

Since Cranberry Cup, Sam Mindra placed fourth in Junior Men at U.S. Challenge Skate in mid-September.
In late August, he was the only competitor in Junior Men at Sherwood Invitational in Oregon.
Higher total scores at both than at Cranberry.
(Not sure whether he also has competed recently elsewhere?)

As a fan of Sam since Greensboro Nats, I regret that he has seemed off his game so far this season.
Wishing him better luck ahead.

---

Re this week's Championship Series events:

- Among Junior Men listed in the start order for Allen, Texas, are Philip Baker, Goku Endo, Joe Klein, Maxim Zharkov, and Will Annis.​

​

- Dinh Tran and Torgashev now are marked as WD from Henderson, Nevada. ​

---

... Ilia's goal should be to skate clean in both JGPF and Nationals. He will be on a pause until December whereas Jason's season has just begun. ...

For Ilia to get his ISU senior minimums in time, my expectation is that USFS will send him to a senior international between now and JGPF.
I think Ilia's next three months will be quite full (and exciting ) with his first Senior International, his first JGPF, and his first Senior Nationals.
(With the possibility of other first-time events for him to come soon thereafter.)

(I do get the contrast of Ilia's two JGPs already behind him vs. Jason's two GPs still ahead of him.)

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

I imagine Vera Wang's first priority is pleasing her client, especially for a custom piece that will have no public market opportunities. She's got to appeal to the masses if it's a commercial piece, but she just has to please her client for a figure skating costume.

I don't know if skaters just turn over artistic control to designers, but I doubt it. Like it or not, Nathan is expressing himself through his costume choices. If he wanted all the bells and whistles, I don't doubt there are many designers who would be happy to deliver.

Never ever in any of my posts did I say that the client didn't want and control at least somewhat what their costume is made like.
Also, never did I say anything negative about Nathan's costumes, if you were to read my past posts, you would know I regularly defend Nathan and his choices.

As a skater myself who had to deal with designers and costumes, I know how things work, just saying.

The end.

 

[Tavi...]

I’m curious:

Are there any clips / news re Nathan’s programs this season (I know he’s bringing back one, but do we have any more info than that)?

What do people think about the changes Jason has made to both of his programs - did you notice them / like / dislike them?

What do people think are the biggest changes / improvements in Vincent’s skating in the past year?

 

[el henry]

I am afraid something is up with Andrew T.

He has only done Glacier Falls (and Peggy Fleming).

He maintains radio silence (podcast with Polina where he sounded like he was competing this year. His own social media shows the beach. That’s OK, in Colorado it was the mountains. ) I sure hope I’m wrong.

 

[sheetz]

Vincent spoke during a pre-Skate America conference call yesterday.

https://twitter.com/olyphil/status/1448045775825612807

1 / On media Zoom to preview #SkateAmerica, Vincent Zhou said he would like to “attack a five-quad” free skate to “get more mileage” on that jump layout. Zhou did 4 quads (2 sal, 1 lutz, 1 toe) in winning Nebelhorn (with three judged 1/4 short). The fifth would be a flip.

2 / Zhou’s goals for the season are: winning medals at both GP events to make GP Final and improve his world ranking (now 44); score 300 in an international event (his PB is 299.01); make the Olympic team; win an Olympic medal.

3/ Zhou said he plans to return to Brown University next fall (he left after the fall semester of 2019 due to issues with getting ice time.) "That doesn't mean I am going to stop skating, but my focus will definitely shift,” he said.

 

[TontoK]

Never ever in any of my posts did I say that the client didn't want and control at least somewhat what their costume is made like.
Also, never did I say anything negative about Nathan's costumes, if you were to read my past posts, you would know I regularly defend Nathan and his choices.

As a skater myself who had to deal with designers and costumes, I know how things work, just saying.

The end.

My friend, I never meant to imply that you did.

I was simply tagging on to the most recent post in the mini-discussion about Vera Wang as a costume designer, and that happened to be yours. That may have been a clumsy way to participate, but it was not ill-intentioned.

If anything, I agree with you about Nathan's choices. I like them because they apparently suit his personal style and approach to his skating.

 

[Laid-Back Enthusiast]

For Ilia to get his ISU senior minimums in time, my expectation is that USFS will send him to a senior international between now and JGPF.

Do you reckon the USFSA will send Ilia (and Lindsay) to a single challenger event (the Warsaw cup, about two weeks from the JGPF, for example)?

 

[Tavi...]

Do you reckon the USFSA will send Ilia (and Lindsay) to a single challenger event (the Warsaw cup, about two weeks from the JGPF, for example)?

Since Junior and Senior programs are different, it might not be the the best choice. But they might be sent to a post-Nationals Senior B like the Bavarian Open in mid-January.

 

[ice coverage]

Do you reckon the USFSA will send Ilia (and Lindsay) to a single challenger event (the Warsaw cup, about two weeks from the JGPF, for example)?

Merely a guess, but maybe the Challenger in Austria the previous week would be more likely??
To give Ilia more time to regroup before JGPF.

[OTOH: Also possible(??) that Ilia's competition calendar could include one or two Championship Series events for Senior Men??
By qualifying for JGPF, he already has a bye to Nats (his choice of Senior or Junior category, and he clearly has chosen Senior). And he has the USFS senior tech minimums for Nats.
But if he wanted to compete in Championship Series anyway to gain experience, he could.
FWIW, he is on the list (as of Oct 10) of Senior Men for Alpharetta, Georgia, which is the same week as Warsaw Cup.
I am not/not/not saying that it is a sure thing that he would compete in Alpharetta.

(FWIW: Torgashev, Savary, Prober, Hubbart also are among Senior Men listed for Alpharetta.)]

 

[Seven Sisters]

I am afraid something is up with Andrew T.

He has only done Glacier Falls (and Peggy Fleming).

He maintains radio silence (podcast with Polina where he sounded like he was competing this year. His own social media shows the beach. That’s OK, in Colorado it was the mountains. ) I sure hope I’m wrong.

I also am hoping for the best for Andrew. I do note that those who train with Raf, as he does now, tend to be a little more close-mouthed about what is going on with their training (see, Gogolev), and I‘m telling myself that that maybe that’s it, and he will just show up at Nationals and dazzle us with some newfound skills.

 

[ice coverage]

I also am hoping for the best for Andrew. I do note that those who train with Raf, as he does now, tend to be a little more close-mouthed about what is going on with their training (see, Gogolev), and I‘m telling myself that that maybe that’s it, and he will just show up at Nationals and dazzle us with some newfound skills.

Torgashev cannot just show up at 2022 Nationals.
Those without byes first must qualify via Championship Series.
As a general comment: As in previous years, no medical byes to 2022 Nationals.
(I have no idea why Torgashev withdrew from Henderson -- I am *not* saying that injury is known to be the reason.)

If Torgashev really does compete in Alpharetta, it would remain possible for him to qualify for Nashville.
I hope that he does compete there and does qualify.

---

Since Junior and Senior programs are different, it might not be the the best choice. But they might be sent to a post-Nationals Senior B like the Bavarian Open in mid-January.

Four Continents is the same week as Bavarian Open.

My two cents: I do not think USFS will wait until Bavarian Open for Ilia and Lindsay to get their ISU senior minimums.

At this early point in the season, they are looking like potential candidates for the Four Continents team (among other possibilities).

 

[mrrice]

I imagine Vera Wang's first priority is pleasing her client, especially for a custom piece that will have no public market opportunities. She's got to appeal to the masses if it's a commercial piece, but she just has to please her client for a figure skating costume.

I don't know if skaters just turn over artistic control to designers, but I doubt it. Like it or not, Nathan is expressing himself through his costume choices. If he wanted all the bells and whistles, I don't doubt there are many designers who would be happy to deliver.

I agree. The costumes that Evan Wore at the Olympics would not have been my first choice but, they sure looked good on Evan. The made him look even taller than he is and really gave his body a strong line.

 

[moonvine]

Torgashev cannot just show up at 2022 Nationals.
Those without byes first must qualify via Championship Series.
As a general comment: As in previous years, no medical byes to 2022 Nationals.
(I have no idea why Torgashev withdrew from Henderson -- I am *not* saying that injury is known to be the reason.)

If Torgashev really does compete in Alpharetta, it would remain possible for him to qualify for Nashville.
I hope that he does compete there and does qualify.

---

Four Continents is the same week as Bavarian Open.

My two cents: I do not think USFS will wait until Bavarian Open for Ilia and Lindsay to get their ISU senior minimums.

At this early point in the season, they are looking like potential candidates for the Four Continents team (among other possibilities).

If Andrew withdrew can he still enter 2 more or is he limited to just one?

 

[Bookseller]

I’m curious:

Are there any clips / news re Nathan’s programs this season (I know he’s bringing back one, but do we have any more info than that)?

What do people think about the changes Jason has made to both of his programs - did you notice them / like / dislike them?

What do people think are the biggest changes / improvements in Vincent’s skating in the past year?

I didn't notice significant changes in Sinnerman at Finlandia. I have not done a video comparison. That actually might be a good idea, but I haven't done it. I hesitate to evaluate the changes to SL. That seemed more like a work in progress at Finlandia. Sinnerman had some rocky moments, so it's hard to evaluate. Jason was clearly not yet at his full competition potential. I think we'll know better how he is mentally and physically at SCI. I like both programs very much. I like the costumes. I think overall he looks great. I am worried about the inconsistency of the 3As. Clearly he was not the only one with jump inconsistencies, but I still don't like seeing the 3A so iffy.

Vincent has clearly been working hard and is committed to upgrading his PCs. He's paying attention to that. The under-rotations are a problem. He is clearly trying to overcome them. And he was definitely better at Nebelhorn. It's a work in progress.

Nathan has posted nothing. Team Rafa has been very quiet.

 

[ramurphy2005]

Nathan has posted nothing. Team Rafa has been very quiet.

The only thing I've seen of Nathan was the clip where he suddenly comes into the frame doing a quad loop.

 

[Apple1078]

I didn't notice significant changes in Sinnerman at Finlandia. I have not done a video comparison. That actually might be a good idea, but I haven't done it. I hesitate to evaluate the changes to SL. That seemed more like a work in progress at Finlandia. Sinnerman had some rocky moments, so it's hard to evaluate. Jason was clearly not yet at his full competition potential. I think we'll know better how he is mentally and physically at SCI. I like both programs very much. I like the costumes. I think overall he looks great. I am worried about the inconsistency of the 3As. Clearly he was not the only one with jump inconsistencies, but I still don't like seeing the 3A so iffy.

I haven't done a Sinnerman comparison either but just know that I loved it last season and loved it at Finlandia.

The only thing I've seen of Nathan was the clip where he suddenly comes into the frame doing a quad loop.

I saw that, too. It looked like an unintentional photo bomb. But the 4Lo was gorgeous. No hesitation at all.

 

[Dogo]

I’m curious:

Are there any clips / news re Nathan’s programs this season (I know he’s bringing back one, but do we have any more info than that)?

What do people think about the changes Jason has made to both of his programs - did you notice them / like / dislike them?

What do people think are the biggest changes / improvements in Vincent’s skating in the past year?

On a sort of related note, I'm watching "The Morning Show" on appletv and every time I hear the start of the show's intro music to "Nemesis" it reminds me so much of Nathan:

The Morning Show Opening Credits

TV Themes#tvthemes #tvintros #tvopeningcredits More Themes @ #cappazack!Opening Credits for the Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Steve Carrell Apple Tele...

youtu.be

In a way, I feel like the lyrics create this crescendo that can end in this very very big moment (whether good or bad) at the olympics. We already saw the 'bad', and hopefully we see the 'good' next year

Edit: corrected bad grammar bc I constantly skip words on my phone..