2025-26 Coaching, Country and Discipline Changes

[surimi]

Follow all the latest figure skating coaching, country and discipline changes for the 2025–26 season in one place. This thread tracks confirmed announcements across singles, pairs, and ice dance.

Feel free to post additions/changes, along with the source, using full names of skaters or their coaches, which country they represent, or which federation the skater is switching from.

Coaching Changes

Women
- Gabrielle Daleman (Canada) - from Michael Hopfes to Michael Hopfes, Tammy Gambill, Damon Allen
- Karina Innos (Finland) - from Kotkan taitoluistelijat to Alisa Drei
- Chaeyeon Kim (South Korea) - stays with Hyungkyung Choi, Nahyun Kim, has added Lee Barkell, Jeffrey Buttle
- Ksenia Krouzkevitch (Canada) - from Andrew Evans, Laurisa Wyant to Paul Parkinson
- Lulu Lin (Canada) - from Andrew Evans, Paul Parkinson, to Paul Parkinson, Kensuke Nakaniwa, Momoe Nagumo
- Mei Okada (Japan) - from Yuko Monna, Rina Horie, Haruka Oshima to Mie Hamada
- Kamila Valieva (Russia) - from Eteri Tutberidze to Svetlana Sokolovskaia
- Selma Välitalo (Finland) - from Heidi Valkama to Alisa Drei
- Rinka Watanabe (Japan) - from MF Academy to Yusuke Hayashi
- Megan Woodley (Canada) - from Andrew Evans and Paul Parkinson to Lee Barkell
- Veronika Yametova (Russia) - from Sergei Davydov to Evgeni Plushenko

Men
- Corey Circelli (Italy) - from Brian Orser, Tracy Wilson to Olga Romanova
- Boyang Jin (China) - from Brian Orser, Tracy Wilson to Zhaoxiao Xu
- Yuma Kagiyama (Japan) - drops Carolina Kostner from his team
- Takeru Amine Kataise (Japan) - from Koshin Yamada to Koji Okajima
- Daniel Martynov (USA) - from Florent Amodio to Brian Orser, Tracy Wilson
- Andreas Nordeback (Sweden) - from Mélanie Joseph, Christina Batian to Kevin Jasko, Tatiana Magnusson
- Nikita Sarnovsky (Russia) - from Evgeni Plushenko to Eteri Tutberidze
- Roman Savosin (Russia) - from ? to Svetlana Sokolovskaia
- Mihhail Selevko - from ? to Svetlana Varnavskaia

Ice dance

Pairs
- Yuna Nagaoka/Sumitada Moriguchi - from Bruno Marcotte, Brian Shales to Dmitry Savin, Fedor Klimov, Sofia Evdokimova

Country Changes

Women
- Varvara Abramkina - from Cyprus to Bulgaria
- Victoria Barakhtina - from Russia to Canada
- Marie Bierwert - from Germany to United Arab Emirates
- Aleksandra Golovkina-Dolinske - from Lithuania to Great Britain
- Haruna Murakami - from Japan to Australia
- Nathalie Yonemori - from Canada to Austria
- Uma Zagele - from Canada to Lithuania

Men

Ice Dance
- Sofiia Beznosikova / Max Leleu - from Belgium to Azerbaijan
- Madelaine Breau - from South Korea to Canada
- Julia Epps / Blake Gilman - from USA to Israel
- Molly Hairsine / Alessio Surenkov-Gultchev - from Great Britain to Bulgaria
- Danil Pak - from Turkey to Canada

Pairs
- Miyu Yunoki / Tristan Taylor - from Japan to Canada

Discipline Changes

- Vivienne Contarino (Italy) - from pairs to singles
- Rika Kihira (Japan) - from singles to ice dance
- Ryota Kitamura (Japan) - from singles to ice dance
- Beck Strommer (USA) - from singles to pairs

See also:

• 2024-25 season
• 2023-24 season
• 2022-23 season

 

[saine]

Victoria Barakhtina is on the start orders for Skate Canada's NextGen competition - https://skatecanada.ca/results/25NEXTGENJuniorWomenSP1SO.pdf

Since this is evaluation for Junior international assignments, she has officially switched from Russia to Canada.

 

[saine]

Lulu Lin (Women, Canada) has left Andrew Evans, kept Paul Parkinson and added Kensuke Nakaniwa and Momoe Nagumo for her coaches per her updated ISU page.

Paul Parkinson left Toronto Lakeshore Skating School for Skate Oakville, so that's likely why she left Andrew Evans.

Lulu LIN - International Skating Union

Lulu LIN - International Skating Union

isu-skating.com

 

[4everchan]

Lulu Lin (Women, Canada) has left Andrew Evans, kept Paul Parkinson and added Kensuke Nakaniwa and Momoe Nagumo for her coaches per her updated ISU page.

Paul Parkinson left Toronto Lakeshore Skating School for Skate Oakville, so that's likely why she left Andrew Evans.

Lulu LIN - International Skating Union

Lulu LIN - International Skating Union

isu-skating.com

OK.. so if ever she decided to become a pairs daredevil, she'd be in the right club at this point... interesting move

 

[yyzskater]

I believe I saw Megan Woodley (also previously under Andrew Evans and Paul Parkinson) listed under Granite on the initial August Summer comp interim list. But it has since been taken down. So I can't be 100% certain.

 

[saine]

I believe I saw Megan Woodley (also previously under Andrew Evans and Paul Parkinson) listed under Granite on the initial August Summer comp interim list. But it has since been taken down. So I can't be 100% certain.

She did, I noticed it too when the list came out. When the NextGen team is announced, it should confirm her coaches this season.

I noticed Bombardier/Mimar had Julie Marcotte as their coach when the National Team was announced (and switched from Ontario to Quebec), but they haven't updated their ISU bio yet. I don't know if they're still with Andrew Evans.

 

[DemTuppesSeine]

She did, I noticed it too when the list came out. When the NextGen team is announced, it should confirm her coaches this season.

I noticed Bombardier/Mimar had Julie Marcotte as their coach when the National Team was announced (and switched from Ontario to Quebec), but they haven't updated their ISU bio yet. I don't know if they're still with Andrew Evans.

Re Bombardier/Mimar, this was posted on insta today, so it seems like they're with Julie Marcotte

 

[saine]

Re Bombardier/Mimar, this was posted on insta today, so it seems like they're with Julie Marcotte

They added Julie Marcotte and Josee Picard last season, and look to have changed training location to Montreal based on Instagram.

I'm waiting to see if they keep Andrew Evans as a coach. CQE entries have them representing TLSS/Ontario instead.

 

[saine]

Gabrielle Daleman (Women, Canada) has added Tammy Gambill and Damon Allen to her coaching team along with Michael Hopfes (she changed to him in the 2023-24 season, prior to that she was with Lee Barkell). She talked about it on This Week in Skating.

 

[saine]

Megan Woodley (Women, Canada) is now confirmed to have switched coaches from Andrew Evans and Paul Parkinson to Lee Barkell on the Skate Canada NextGen page.

(they're still updating it, right now it's skaters who were on the team last season and likely on it again this season)

 

[saine]

Country change from the JGP Riga entries that I just noticed:

Nathalie Yonemori (Women) from Canada to Austria. She is listed as a substitute, no ISU bio yet. She finished fourth at 2024 Novice Nationals.

 

[paulusfr]

According to ISU Bio Yuna Nagaoka/Sumitada Moriguchi have changed coaches from Bruno Marcotte and Brian Shales to Dmitry Savin, Fedor Klimov and Sofia Evdokimova.

http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00118478.htm

https://x.com/skatejapanews/status/1950962438129476003

 

[aroundtheworld778]

According to ISU Bio Yuna Nagaoka/Sumitada Moriguchi have changed coaches from Bruno Marcotte and Brian Shales to Dmitry Savin, Fedor Klimov and Sofia Evdokimova.

http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00118478.htm

https://x.com/skatejapanews/status/1950962438129476003

I saw them in an Instagram video with Savin's group so was wondering about that!

 

[Jumping_Bean]

Julia Epps / Blake Gilman (Junior Ice Dance) from the USA to Israel

They (temporarily) appeared on the Championnats québécois d'été entry list at the start of July under the Israeli skating federation:

They added Julia Epps/Blake Gilman to Junior Dance, listed as Israel instead of USA I couldn't find anything yet to confirm a switch for them other than this.

And their ISU bio has now been updated to reflect their new country:
https://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00115445.htm


And another country change I mentioned in the German skating thread - Marie Bierwert (Jr Women) from Germany to the United Arab Emirates according to the Pirouette Magazine.

 

[TT_Fin]

Selma Välitalo, women, Finland (national team member) has changed from Oulun luistelukerho (OLK), previous coach Heidi Valkama, to Espoon taitoluisteluklubi (ETK) and new coach is Alisa Drei.

Edit: Also Karina Innos, junior women, Finland has changed from Kotkan taitoluistelijat (Sorry don't remember who was the coach, was in Tatja Lebedeva? as it is not mentioned on her bios) to Alisa Drei's team, ETK.

Noticed these when I checked participant Finland's summer competition entries and checked they bios after noticing new club after their names.

 

[saine]

Miyu Yunoki and Tristan Taylor (Pairs) are switching from Japan to Canada:


I noticed them on the entries for Sask Skate in October, but thought it was related to Thanksgiving. Guess not.

 

[4everchan]

Miyu Yunoki and Tristan Taylor (Pairs) are switching from Japan to Canada:


I noticed them on the entries for Sask Skate in October, but thought it was related to Thanksgiving. Guess not.

They have learned from Mervin Tran... if they aim to one day go to the Olympics, there is no way it can be for Japan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

I was just working on my Predictions for the Lombardia Trophy, and noticed that Vivienne CONTARINO (ITA) has returned to Ladies Singles skating. She had been competing in Pairs since the 2018-19 Season.

I don't know when exactly she made the switch back to Singles. The most recent result I can find for her was in the 2022-23 Season, and that was in Pairs with James Albert GARBUTT. (They were in 5th and last position in Senior Pairs at the Italian Championships).

The most recent result I can find for her in Singles was in March 2018 at Junior level! If the Lombardia is her first Singles competition since then, talk about being thrown in at the deep end!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[saine]

Chaeyeon Kim (Women, South Korea) has added Lee Barkell and Jeffrey Buttle to her coaches on her ISU bio. She has Hyungkyung Choi and Nahyun Kim listed as well, her fan fest has Sungmi Han listed as coach at the moment.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

They have learned from Mervin Tran... if they aim to one day go to the Olympics, there is no way it can be for Japan

Yes, sadly. Mervin Tran was such a good pairs athlete. He was excellent with every one of his partners throughout his career. It's so sad that the five years he and Narumi Takahashi invested together was not respected by the authorities who ultimately gave them no hope for Mervin to receive citizenship, even after they'd won an unexpected bronze medal at 2012 Worlds. Of course, Ryuichi Kihara then got his start as a pairs skater with Narumi, but his career did not become successful until many years later with Riku Miura.