2021-2022 US Women's Figure Skating

[Minz]

*Will be updated throughout the season*

MAIN CONTENDERS: Bradie Tennell | Mariah Bell | Amber Glenn | Audrey Shin | Karen Chen | Lindsay Thorngren | Alysa Liu | Gracie Gold | Isabeau Levito

BIG QUESTIONS/THINGS TO WATCH - (feel free to recommend some)
Who do we send to Nebelhorn Trophy? (Cannot be Karen Chen or Bradie Tennell)
How will the US women stack up against the rest of the world this year and who has the best shot at winning?
Can Amber Glenn get her 3A consistent/landed? What about Alysa Liu and her 3A/4Lz?
Mariah Bell - Can she rebound from nationals?
Can Gracie Gold have a strong season/continue her comeback well?

Get ready, it's an Olympic season!


GRAND PRIX ASSIGNMENTS

SENIOR

Skate America Las Vegas, NV, USA Oct. 22-24	Skate Canada Int. Vancouver, BC, CAN Oct. 29-31	Grand Premio d'Italia Turin, ITA Nov. 5-7	NHK Trophy Tokyo, JPN Nov. 12-14	Internationaux de France Grenoble, FRA Nov. 19-21	Rostelecom Cup Sochi, RUS Nov. 26-28
Amber Glenn (6) Audrey Shin (12) Bradie Tennell* Starr Andrews**(10)	Karen Chen (10) Alysa Liu (5)	Bradie Tennell***	Amber Glenn (6) Alysa Liu (4)	Mariah Bell (6) Karen Chen (5) Starr Andrews+	Mariah Bell (4)

*WD 10/18/2021
**Added 10/18/2021
***WD 10/26/2021
+WD during SP

JUNIOR

JGP France Courchevel, FRA	JGP Canada Edmonton, CAN*	JGP Slovakia Kosice, SVK	JGP Russia Krasnoyarsk, RUS	JGP Slovenia Ljubljana, SLO	JGP Poland Gdansk, POL	JGP Austria Linz, AUT
Lindsay Thorngren Clare Seo	IsabeauLevito Josephine Lee (8)	Ava Marie Ziegler(6) Mia Kalin (7)	Kate Wang (6) Maryn Pierce (8)	Lindsay Thorngren Ava Marie Ziegler (7)	Clare Seo (4) Mia Kalin (7)	Isabeau Levito Kate Wang (6)

*Moved to Courchevel, France to be held with JGP France/JGP I

Grand Prix Final: N/A
Junior Grand Prix Final: Lindsay Throngren + Isabeau Levito (WD 11/30)
(Osaka, Japan)
NOTE: The JGPF and GPF have been indefinitely postponed and will not be held as planned.


2021-22 ISU CHALLENGER SERIES

Lombardia Trophy Bergamo, ITA | Sep. 10-12	Autumn Classic Pierrefonds, Quebec, CAN | Sep 16-18	Nebelhorn Trophy Oberstdorf, GER | Sep. 22-25	Nepela Memorial Bratislava, SVK | Sep. 30-Oct 2	Finlandia Trophy Espoo, FIN | Oct. 7-10
Alysa Liu Audrey Shin	Karen Chen (4) Starr Andrews (5)	Alysa Liu	CANCELLED	Karen Chen (6) Amber Glenn (10)

Asian Open Trophy Beijing, CHI | Oct. 13-17	Denis Ten Memorial Challenge Nur-Sultan, KAZ | Oct. 28-21	Cup of Austria Graz, AUT | Nov 11-14	Warsaw Cup Warsaw, POL | Nov 18-21	Golden Spin of Zagreb Zagreb, CRO | Dec. 8-11
NO LONGER A CS EVENT		Bradie Tennell* Star Andrews (5) Audrey Shin (4)	Lindsay Thorngren (5) Gabriella Izzo (13) Bradie Tennell**	Bradie Tennell*** Mariah Bell**** Gabriella Izzo+ (4) Amber Glenn++ (2) Hannah Harrell (7)

*WD 10/26/21
**WD 11/4/21

***WD 11/22/21
****WD 11/29/21
+ Added 11/22/21
++ Added 11/29/21

INTERNATIONAL TEAMS
Olympic Team: Mariah Bell (10) | Karen Chen (16) | Alysa Liu (7) | (Alternates - 1. Lindsay Thorngren, 2. Amber Glenn, 3. Gabriella Izzo)
Four Continents: Starr Andrews (9) | Gabriella Izzo (8) | Audrey Shin (4) | (Alternates - 1. Hannah Harrell, 2. Sierra Venetta)
Junior Worlds: Lindsay Thorngren| Clare Seo (6) | Isabeau Levito
Worlds: Mariah Bell (4) | Karen Chen (8) | Alysa Liu| (Alternates - 1. Amber Glenn, 2. Lindsay Thorngren, 3. Gabriella Izzo)

2022 US FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS

1. Mariah Bell
2. Karen Chen
3. Isabeau Levito
4. Gabriella Izzo
5. Lindsay Thorngren
6. Audrey Shin
7. Kate Wang
8. Hannah Harrell
9. Starr Andrews
10. Gracie Gold
11. Jill Heiner
12. Sierra Venetta
13. Rena Ikenishi
14. Wren Warne-Jacobsen

WD - Alysa Liu, Amber Glenn (both withdrew after the SP)

2020-21 SEASON RESULTS - Here is a link to a PDF I made that has links to competition results

 

[ice coverage]

I hope this new thread will include some discussion of JGPs and U.S. junior ladies too.

---

I like a new thread to have a reference link to the previous season's thread:

2020-21 US Ladies’ Figure Skating

2020-2021 US Ladies’ Figure Skating Big Questions: 1. Will there be a season? 2. Can the US ladies regain 3 spots for the Beijing 2022 Olympics? 3. Can Alysa Liu continue to excel at the junior level leading up to Beijing? 4. Will Gracie Gold make a splash on the world stage once again? 5. Can...

www.goldenskate.com

 

[Minz]

I hope this new thread will include some discussion of JGPs and U.S. junior ladies too.

I’ll add that to the thread info shortly! Thanks for the link.

 

[Bluediamonds09]

Many skaters' instagrams are private I believe, and there's no reporters at the rink, so is there someone out there with inside info on the 3 wild cards: 1. gracie 2.lindsay 3.audrey ? Because outside of the obvious top 5 ladies in the US, these 3 ladies are still in the game: we know they are capable of improvements. Gracie and audrey need consistency and Lindsay needs personality/performance.

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

Gracie and audrey need consistency and Lindsay needs personality/performance.

Honestly, I feel like even considering Gracie a "wildcard" does more harm than good at this point. Anyone who thinks she has an outside chance of making the US podium is bound to end up disappointed. Even if she were to hit all her jumps and spins, the speed and transitions are no longer there and she's fallen way behind the top American women on those aspects. She shouldn't be burdened by her fans' expectations; she should just go out there and enjoy the process and the performances.

 

[ptvvibezz]

I mean I've heard rumors that Gracie is doing better now (can do 3-3s), is skating two sessions a day, and is skating to more traditional music (East of Eden for SP and Daphnis et Chloe for LP) but I'll believe it when I see it. IMO, I think Audrey has a better shot at being on the Olympic team than Gracie but I'd love to be wrong and see Gracie skate well.

 

[halulupu]

Gracie has perfect chance to slay considering how weak the others are. It looks like that she doesn't even need to be at her former best

 

[Dawn825]

I mean I've heard rumors that Gracie is doing better now (can do 3-3s), is skating two sessions a day, and is skating to more traditional music (East of Eden for SP and Daphnis et Chloe for LP) but I'll believe it when I see it. IMO, I think Audrey has a better shot at being on the Olympic team than Gracie but I'd love to be wrong and see Gracie skate well.

What? Where did you hear this? Weird that she would recycle a program from 2017... Also I'm sure at this point eveyone would agree that however well Gracie skates in practice has little bearing on how she skates during the competition. As far and Audrey and Lindsay, they're very young and I don't really feel the need to see them on the Olympic team. I'd rather they just continue to improve so they have competitive content and strong reputations by the time 2026 comes around.

 

[katymay]

I mean I've heard rumors that Gracie is doing better now (can do 3-3s), is skating two sessions a day, and is skating to more traditional music (East of Eden for SP and Daphnis et Chloe for LP) but I'll believe it when I see it. IMO, I think Audrey has a better shot at being on the Olympic team than Gracie but I'd love to be wrong and see Gracie skate well.

At nationals-during the practices, -Gracie had the best jumps of all the women. She still has huge natural jumping ability, and watching her, frankly, I think, if only, if only, she had the work ethic as well. If she actually committed to putting in the work it would take to regain enough stamina and conditioning to get through a program-she would be a threat. Honestly, I would love to see it. God knows she has the athletic ability and talent.

 

[Weathergal]

Is it work ethic with Gracie? I had never heard that she lacks work ethic. Additionally she looks to be in great shape. I think she lacks confidence, and with everything she's gone through, who could blame her? It seems - and this obviously only a guess - that she's always had competition nerves, and they're even worse than they used to be. I'm rooting for her to do well, in whatever well means for her, and above all to be happy. I'm worried that even if she does slay at Nationals, she'll have trouble with the body of work requirement since she's struggled at so many competitions in the past few years. But you could say that about Amber Glenn as well. I feel like for either of them to get to the Olympics, it will take more than a stellar performance at Nationals - they'll need at least a strong fall season to back it up.

As for who to send to Nebelhorn, if she looks good in the summer, Champs Camp, etc. I'd send Mariah Bell.

 

[ptvvibezz]

What? Where did you hear this? Weird that she would recycle a program from 2017... Also I'm sure at this point eveyone would agree that however well Gracie skates in practice has little bearing on how she skates during the competition. As far and Audrey and Lindsay, they're very young and I don't really feel the need to see them on the Olympic team. I'd rather they just continue to improve so they have competitive content and strong reputations by the time 2026 comes around.

TSL, I'm unsure if I should believe it or not but then again they were right about the Eric and Megan thing. I think that choosing to repeat her 2017 long is interesting, it sure is way better than last season's long. I think that everyone who's a main contender for the Olympic team has a clean slate right now, except Karen who has a slight advantage. Right now I think it'll be Bradie, Karen, Alysa/Amber/Mariah (Audrey/Lindsay if any of the other contenders bomb the GP and/or Nationals or if they are amazing on the GP). I think if Audrey does get the 3A or 4T before the start of the summer and is consistent, then she'll be a lock but that's a big if.

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

Gracie has perfect chance to slay considering how weak the others are. It looks like that she doesn't even need to be at her former best

The US ladies field isn't that weak at the top. Which of Bradie, Amber, Karen, Alysa, or Mariah do you think Gracie has a reasonable shot at beating? I like Gracie and am rooting for her, but the others are working just as hard as she is and have a big head start since they aren't trying to regain their previous form.

 

[Amei]

Gracie has perfect chance to slay considering how weak the others are. It looks like that she doesn't even need to be at her former best

If they scored based off practice, then yes Gracie has the basic technical skills to still be somewhat competitive in the US ladies field, but in the last 2 years against the top US national talent she's not even cracked the top 10 at competitions even when you consider "how weak the others are" - to use your words to describe her competitors.

 

[halulupu]

The US ladies field isn't that weak at the top. Which of Bradie, Amber, Karen, Alysa, or Mariah do you think Gracie has a reasonable shot at beating? I like Gracie and am rooting for her, but the others are working just as hard as she is and have a big head start since they aren't trying to regain their previous form.

It is that weak! Amber is inconsistent and bad pcs internationally, bad choreo and music choices. Karen, Mariah, Bradie don't know how to rotate 3-3. Karen don't know how to rotate barely any of her jumps. Bradie seems to have reached her peak 2 years ago, now barely rotates her jumps and always looking little bit awkward on the ice(however much improved). None of them, besides maybe amber with 3a, which still needs to be landed in competition, has a higher base value than Gracie coud have. Karen and Mariah have even lower base value than Gracie. Alysa is a question mark, yes she might be the only one with a base value advantage, if she can get back her jumps. Remark: of course I am not talking about gracie last two seasons, but Gracie near her old best, which she still needs to reach first. She doesn't need to learn anything new to be competitive. but it just shows how stagnant and weak the us ladies field is these days. Could you imagine someone comming back (potentially) at the top with their Tech and base value from 5-10 years ago in Russia, Japan? In other countries yes sure, but the Us shouldn't be compared to non figure skating nations.

 

[mrrice]

I'm more than happy to see Gracie do well at Nationals however, to think she could make the Olympic Team is beyond me. I have loved her since she was a Junior. She had some great skates at Nationals and fantastic SP in 2016 at Worlds. I'll always cheer for her and wish her the best no matter what.

 

[Lzbee]

I have faith in Alysa making a comeback. Having the 3A would let her challenge for silver on the GP and she'll be getting much better PCS now especially as she's already a charismatic performer and her skating skills have improved.

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

Bradie seems to have reached her peak 2 years ago, now barely rotates her jumps and always looking little bit awkward on the ice(however much improved). None of them, besides maybe amber with 3a, which still needs to be landed in competition, has a higher base value than Gracie coud have. Karen and Mariah have even lower base value than Gracie.

So you think Gracie has a better chance of regaining her peak from 5 years ago than Bradie has to find her form from 2 years ago, based on where they are at now? I don't agree.

Base value could not be a more meaningless comparison. You can "plan" to do anything; Gracie went to Rostelecom in 2018 unable to land the 2A or any triples in practice, but had one of the highest planned base values in the SP (3Lz-3T, 3F, 2A).

 

[LiamForeman]

Who do you think will be at Skate America? Obviously the US wants to show who they are pushing. It's rare when the defending US champ isn't given SkAm. So Bradie will be there. But who else? I think they'll put Alysa Liu there, since they've invested so much into her. And for the third maybe an up and comer like Audrey Shin? I hope Alysa has regained her form.

 

[Tavi...]

Well I’m looking forward to seeing all our ladies this season - and I sincerely hope there is a season and that we find out about GP assignments soon! I hope all of them do well, but I’m especially interested to see how Gracie and Alysa are doing, just because we haven’t had as much opportunity to see them this year. At Nats it was clear Alysa has really matured (and she is beautiful!) and I’m so curious to see how working with Jeremy has impacted her skating. Gracie...I’m just hoping to see her come out strong and allow her light - and talent- to shine.

 

[daffygirl]

Question: if they give Audrey a Grand Prix assignment would she still be eligible to compete on the JGP? I’d love to see her get more competition experience but it’s likely she would only get one Senior Grand Prix assignment.