2024-25 British and Irish figure skating

[elbkup]

Is Lorraine McNamara looking for a new partner? Just thought I’d throw this out there..

I am beyond sad for Nadia and Peter, my favorites by a country mile since their Junior days.. and a very attractive team! I wish them the very best

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Layla Karnes is looking for a partner. She's the right age and has previous partnered experience at Europeans (for GBR). She just won an international solo dance competition against Lucas Appel in Atlanta.

Thank you for the tip off. I have to be honest, I didn't even notice that she and Liam Carr hadn't been about this season. But I went hunting, and found that Liam announced his retirement on Instagram back in July.

I also found out something interesting when I went to Layla's Instagram page. She is heavily involved in deaf awareness, and is an ambassador for the Wales Council For Deaf People.

After finding out that, I'm really rooting for her! I hope she does find a new partner soon, be it Peter or somebody else. And in the meantime, I wish her all the sucess in Solo Dance.

Oh, and in case anybody is wondering, although Layla is representing a Welsh charity, her family is actually from Bedfordshire.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Having compatible citizenship doesn't mean they'd be compatible as a team. Or Lucy may not want to switch to Carol Lane.

There are plenty of options for Peter that don't involve returning to representing Britain. He may want to continue representing Canada. Or he could find a partner in Canada who has dual citizenship and decide to represent Moldova. Or he'll take up solo dance.

True, there are plenty of options for male Ice Dancers who find themselves without a partner. Especially one as good as Peter. He will be able to select the best option for him. I was just putting one idea (which I like the sound of) out there.

Incidentally, when I saw that Lucy was 162cm, my initial thought was that she might be a bit short for Peter, given that he is used to a taller partner (Nadiia is 167cm). But then I noticed that Peter was the same height as Ilias, and the height difference between Lucy and Ilias didn't seem to be an issue.

Hey, have you anybody in mind for Moldova? You know how I love seeing skaters from small Feds.

As for Solo Dance, no. He's too good to be partnerless for long.

That said, as @elbkup pointed out, Lorraine McNamara hasn't got a partner. She is another one that is too good to be on the shelf.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[FlossieH]

Lucy is likely to get more opportunities representing Hungary than she would as part of the third British ice dance team. I'm not sure that switching back to GBR would aid Peter's career either. Canada automatically have three spots for 4CC and it is likely that he would be one of the teams fighting for that third spot. If representing GBR, he would need to overtake Bekker and Hernandez to get equivalent opportunities. Although Nadiia and Peter were the higher ranked team in juniors, they had stagnated since and had been overtaken by Phebe and James.

 

[saine]

Hey, have you anybody in mind for Moldova? You know how I love seeing skaters from small Feds.

Not really, Moldova was the first country I thought of that didn't have an ice dance team. It's just an example, there could be more Canadian ice dancers with dual citizenship out there who'd be willing to make use of it.

As for Solo Dance, no. He's too good to be partnerless for long.

This is more about what he wants to do while searching for a partner. He has options, he could team up with another man since he is in Canada.

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Not really, Moldova was the first country I thought of that didn't have an ice dance team. It's just an example, there could be more Canadian ice dancers with dual citizenship out there who'd be willing to make use of it.

I thought that, but just wanted to check in case there was somebody that fitted that bill that I didn't know about.

As you have probably picked up by now, I am fascinated in finding out about the family backgrounds of people.

This is more about what he wants to do while searching for a partner. He has options, he could team up with another man since he is in Canada.

But if he went down this route, they would only be able to compete domestically in Canada. True, that isn't much less than the Canadian skaters get at the moment anyway. But if Peter wants to continue competing internationally, there is not much point. It would only be a temporary partnership while looking for a female partner. And that would not be fair on the male partner, knowing that he had the sword of Damocles hanging over him all the time. He deserves to be able to make long-term plans too.

Anyway, just to bring into this discussion something you brought up in the Canadian thread in relation to something completely different:

Molly Lanaghan and Dmitre Razgulajevs had a Lord of the Dance free dance last season. They split at the end of last season, Molly was on Dancing On Ice recently and won it.

I completely forgot about Molly.

Has Molly got any ideas about coming back to competition? If she has, she could be another option for Peter.

Like Lucy and Peter, Molly and Peter would be an all-Yorkshire partnership. (Doncaster and Rotherham are 12 miles apart).

The bonus here is that Molly and Dmitre trained with Carol and Jon. As I already said in a previous post in relation to Peter staying with the Lanes, when forming a new partnership, you want to keep as many things as possible the same. And in this case, both of them would have continuity in coaching.

Yes, I'm starting to like the sound of Molly and Peter.

Since I looked at heights for Lucy and Peter, I should maybe do the same here. At 158cm, Molly is 4cm shorter than Lucy. That said, Dmitre is only 1cm shorter than Peter, so she is used to skating with somebody around that height. But, Peter is used to skating with somebody 9cm taller than Molly. So, he may find the 22cm height difference with Molly too much.

And after winning "Dancing On Ice" at her first attempt, Molly might want to continue down that route.

Ah, we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Lucy is likely to get more opportunities representing Hungary than she would as part of the third British ice dance team. I'm not sure that switching back to GBR would aid Peter's career either. Canada automatically have three spots for 4CC and it is likely that he would be one of the teams fighting for that third spot. If representing GBR, he would need to overtake Bekker and Hernandez to get equivalent opportunities. Although Nadiia and Peter were the higher ranked team in juniors, they had stagnated since and had been overtaken by Phebe and James.

To be honest, I was thinking more about them being a British field that does not have Lilah and Lewis in it.

You see, I wouldn't be surprised if Fear / Gibson called it a day at the end of next season. You mentioned that Nadiia and Peter were stagnating. Well, that is what I am seeing with Lilah and Lewis. But maybe that is just me, because I got bored with them a long time ago.

When Lilah & Lewis exit stage right, they will in all probability leave a legacy of at least two slots at the Majors. And I am sure that Phebe & James, and the hypothetical Lucy & Peter or Molly & Peter, would be able to maintain at least two slots for many years to come.

Canada may always have three slots at 4 Continents, but they also hava a bigger and deeper field, where there is more competition for the slots. I still think Peter and whoever his new partner is would have more opportunities in a British field.

Especially since Skate Canada are reluctant to send their skaters on international assignments.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[4everchan]

^^ ice dancers get sent out a bit more... It is all about getting the required scores...
Peter will stay in Canada. I just have that feeling. Piper and Paul will most likely retire after 2026... And Carol will want a top Canadian team at her rink. Peter is the best option for that

 

[pesto]

I wouldn't be too sure Lilah and Lewis will retire - she's only 25, and dancers typically have long careers compared to solo skaters.

Plus, if Guignard and Fabbri, Chock and Bates and Gilles and Poirier retire at the end of next season, they could be in the frame for regional and global hardware. Obviously, the new Franco-Canadian alliance is a fly in the ointment for all the elite teams, but who knows how that will pan out. Ice dance is always a bit "Dead Man's Skates".

I'm also far from confident that Phebe and James and a hypothetical second team could maintain 2 spots at Worlds and Euros without them.

 

[CelticRose22]

I personally think the only scenario I see Lilah & Lewis retiring is if they were to win an Olympic medal next year and even then that's not guaranteed. Lewis is a few years older than Lilah but by 2030 he'd be younger than Evan Bates and Marco Fabbri will be next year and thankfully neither of L&L seem to have had any injuries that have kept them off the ice for a period of time.

 

[Ruthypegs]

I personally think the only scenario I see Lilah & Lewis retiring is if they were to win an Olympic medal next year and even then that's not guaranteed. Lewis is a few years older than Lilah but by 2030 he'd be younger than Evan Bates and Marco Fabbri will be next year and thankfully neither of L&L seem to have had any injuries that have kept them off the ice for a period of time.

I agree that it looks unlikely that Lilah and Lewis would retire in the next few years. They are a hugely ambitious and very professional team, who seem to have very clear goals to reach.

My guess is that they're aiming to win Europeans at home next year, then Worlds and then Olympics in 2030 - this is pure speculation on my part, but they've been very determined so far in reaching the goals they've set themselves. For example, I read somewhere that they hoped to win more National titles than Torvill and Dean (who won 7). Lilah and Leah now have 7 National titles, and it's unlikely that they'll be overtaken at home anytime soon.

They've been a fantastic boost for British Ice Skating - hope they continue skating for a good few years yet!

 

[FlossieH]

Arina Vorbeva has now gained the minimum for junior worlds. If the minimums stay the same next season, we now have three girls who have them.

 

[CelticRose22]

Happy World Champs day everyone.

Fingers crossed for the GB Team. Hoping they all qualify for Free skates and earn Olympic spots. I am hoping the drama over the luggage doesn't affect Ana and Luke too much; I was quite confident about their chances before that thinking top 10 wasn't even out of the question; although top 12 perhaps a more realistic target.

Phebe and James and Kristen have good chances but equally it could go either way. It really does feel that they and others of a similar standard really can't afford any errors. At last year's Worlds Phebe and James and Nina Povey missed the Free skate by 1 spot so really hope that doesn't happen again. Amazing to think Kristen is the only skater in the women's field to compete at Boston in 2016.

Ed I am probably least confident about qualifying for the Free but if he avoids the Menning and others don't then he definitely has a chance.

I'm working from home today and have leave tomorrow and Friday and should be able to log off in time for the Women's Short

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Ooooh. Only 2 hours to go!

After the shock of the BBC showing all the segments LIVE at Europeans, we are going back to the normal amount of coverage for Senior Worlds.

Well, sort of. Because the BBC are actually giving us one segment more than they normally do. BOTH Ice Dance segments are being shown LIVE. Presumably because they are expecting Lilah and Lewis to win the title. (When will the BBC ever learn? They always build up expectations of the British athletes and then, when they don’t win, make out that it is a disaster).

Because there is a highlights programme on BBC2 on Sunday, I suspect that the BBC will have their own commentators, rather than just using the World Feed commentary like they did with Europeans.

By the way, in my schedule listings, I have also included the final showing of a programme about the Special Olympics held earlier this month that was first shown last weekend on the BBC News Channel. I haven’t actually seen the programme yet, but I saw the last minute or so of it a few days ago when waiting for something else to come on, and there were figure skaters shown.

And sorry that this is rather late. I didn’t have a chance to do it any sooner.

CaroLiza_fan


BBC Red Button 1 (i.e. Standard Definition) is available via:

Digital terrestrial (UK only): Ch. 601 on Freeview


BBC Red Button 1 HD is available via:

Digital cable (UK only): Ch. 991 on Virgin Media UK
Digital satellite (UK only): Ch. 970 on Freesat
Digital satellite (Europe): Ch. 970 on SkyDigital

Astra 28.2E, Transponder 46 (10.788V. DVB-S2 8PSK. MBaud 23,000. FEC 3/4)​

BBC2 (i.e. Standard Definition) is available via:

Digital terrestrial (UK only): Ch. 2 on Freeview


BBC2 HD is available via:

Digital terrestrial (UK only): Ch. 102 on Freeview
Digital cable (UK only): Ch. 102 on Virgin Media UK
Digital cable (Ireland only):

BBC2 NI HD – Ch. 109 or 140 on Virgin Media Ireland​

Digital satellite (UK only): Ch. 102 on Freesat

BBC2 England HD – Ch. 949 on Freesat
BBC2 Wales HD – Ch. 971 on Freesat
BBC2 Northern Ireland HD – Ch. 969 on Freesat​

Digital satellite (Europe): Ch. 102 (UK) / 142 (IRE) on SkyDigital

BBC2 England HD (Ch. 967 on SkyDigital) – Astra 28.2E, Transponder 50 (10.847V. DVB-S2 8PSK. MBaud 23,000. FEC 3/4).
BBC2 Wales HD (Ch. 968 on SkyDigital) – Astra 28.2E, Transponder 48 (10.818V. DVB-S2 8PSK. MBaud 23,000. FEC 3/4).
BBC2 Northern Ireland HD (Ch. 969 on SkyDigital) – Astra 28.2E, Transponder 45 (10.773H. DVB-S2 8PSK. MBaud 23,000. FEC 3/4).​

BBC News (i.e. Standard Definition) is available via:

Digital terrestrial (UK only): Ch. 231 on Freeview
Digital cable (Ireland only): Ch. 201 on Virgin Media Ireland


BBC News HD is available via:

Digital cable (UK only): Ch. 601 on Virgin Media UK
Digital satellite (UK only): Ch. 200 on Freesat
Digital satellite (Europe): Ch. 503 on SkyDigital

Astra 28.2E, Transponder 61 (11.023H. DVB-S2 8PSK. MBaud 23,000. FEC 3/4)​

BBC (All times GMT)

Thursday 27th March 2025
BBC RB1 22:15 – 02:15 Pairs Free LIVE

Friday 28th March 2025
BBC News 01:30 – 01:55 Special Olympics Ep.2: The World In Turin
BBC RB1 15:15 – 21:20 Short Dance LIVE
BBC RB1 22:00 – 02:10 Ladies Free LIVE

Saturday 29th March 2025
BBC RB1 17:30 – 21:10 Free Dance LIVE
BBC RB1 22:00 – 04:10 Men’s Free LIVE

Sunday 30th March 2025
BBC2 12:00 – 13:30 Highlights

 

[FlossieH]

Well done Kristen.

 

[pesto]

She must have had an anxious few minutes, waiting to see how the others would do. Didn't have to wait too long though.

 

[CelticRose22]

Well done Kristen.

Never in doubt.

 

[FlossieH]

Unfortunately the way the results are working out, Ana and Luke are likely to need to place top 8 to qualify for the Olympics at Worlds.

While this is usually how it works out, technically, it is not guaranteed that everyone who made the Free qualifies for the Olympics.

For example, in pairs (yes, I know, fewer spots than FS qualifiers anyway, but definitely the discipline with the largest number of singular entries to exemplify the problem), based on current standings, it could turn out like this:

2 spots - JPN*, ITA, GER, GEO*, USA, HUN*, CAN, AUS*

In this case, every single one of the 16 spots up for grabs here will go to these 8 countries, with 4 spots being added to the Qualification event pool. Uzbekistan, Great Britain, the Netherlands and Finland would not qualify for the Olympics despite placing in the top 16 and neither GEO, HUN or AUS having a second Olympic-eligible pairs team.

Even if the Usbek team got top 8 instead of one of the others, there would still be the same problem.

 

[pesto]

I don't think that's right. The maximum number of automatic Olympic qualifying spots a country can get is the number of skaters they have in the the FP here.

If the scores of their top two skaters qualify for two world spots (less than 28 on aggregate), they get a chance to qualify another at the Nebelhorn replacement. So JPN, GEO, HUN, AUS can only get 1 spot here, though they get 2 WC26 spots.

ITA, USA, CAN have 2 pairs in the top 16.

GER has two pairs in the FP, but Annika and Robert aren't currently top 16. So I'm not sure, but I think that over-rides placement within the event.

So if placements were to remain the same (obviously they won't) I make the qualifiers:

ITA 2
USA 2
CAN 2 (this is the only team that can possibly automatically qualify 3, if either or both of their top two teams move up significantly in the Free - very possible)
GER 2
JPN 1 (+1 Beijing possible)
GEO 1 (+1 Beijing possible)
HUN 1 (+1 Beijing possible)
AUS 1 (+1 Beijing possible)
UZB 1
GB 1
NED 1
FIN 1

FIN are unlikely to use their spot due to citizenship, and I guess that will be added to Beijing.

For any of the teams with 2 automatic spots in this hypothetical, they are almost assured of those. They would need a top two aggregrate of >28 to miss out. That means a top skater in 13 or lower, and a second skater 16 or lower, or 14th and 15th. Pretty unthinkable.

The weird awkwardness of the pairs qualies is due to worlds having a bigger FP than Olympics. If the cut here was 16, the German anomaly wouldn't occur.

 

[pesto]

Deciphering the 2026 Olympic figure skating qualification process — Rocker Skating - Figure Skating Analysis by Jackie Wong

How does figure skating qualification work for the 2026 Winter Olympics? Here’s a primer

www.rockerskating.com