2025-26 Coaching, Country and Discipline Changes | Page 5 | Golden Skate

2025-26 Coaching, Country and Discipline Changes

Ivana said:
F-B's last competition with ex-partner were 2024 Worlds (finishing 2nd at 4CC's the same year), she sat out 2024/2025 season due to well known reason. Her first intended international competition with new partner was 2025 Nebelhorn Trophy where she was already free to compete. If Skate Canada indeed has a policy of 2 years, instead of a year for athletes participating in Worlds/4CCs, it's interesting to know that they have now twice violated their own policies when it comes to F-B.
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I think it was more of a payback for France releasing Vanessa James when they did.
 
4everchan said:
like it's been answered already : Skate Canada had a 2 year policy for those who have competed at worlds or 4CC. However, it's not certain that they still are strict considering that Soucisse-Firus fought them about it. I am guessing they may not but then, I wouldn't be surprised if Paul had to sit out the entire season, not just the 1 year since last competition.
With Laurence, considering France was quick in releasing Vanessa James, and that they back and forth allowed Lauriault-Le Gac without too many problems (as much as it appears to a non-insider fan like me) there may be a willingness from both Feds to work well together.
I have no idea how Skate Canada will deal with this one as depending on retirements, Alicia and Paul could have been by far Canada's number 2 team (if LaLe and P2 do not come back). So it's a very big blow for the depth of ice dance in Canada.
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Are there any high level Canadian partners available for Alicia? If she can enter a partnership that would gel pretty quickly, I would think she still has a shot at 2030. But I am not familiar with Juniors and don't know who Canada has coming up who could also take those spots. And this is assuming Paul really will switch to representing Mexico. The assumption is that he has a game plan to skate for them, but he is actually half Mexican. He could want his citizenship for family reasons and just be open to a Mexican partnership.
 
saine said:
Brooke McIntosh was competing for Spain last season almost as soon as she had finished sitting out her year. I don't think the policy has been applied strictly since Soucisse/Firus went to SDRCC to get their release.
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Thanks. Can you spell out what authority is SDRCC?
 
4everchan said:
Alicia and Paul could have been by far Canada's number 2 team (if LaLe and P2 do not come back). So it's a very big blow for the depth of ice dance in Canada.
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For sure. Yet, this highlights a stark dilemma for fs athletes: lack of sufficient competitive opportunities and avenues for growth. It must be problematic for skaters on the cusp of getting close to being named for major assignments. Then, actually being named and contributing to maintaining 3 spots for Worlds and Olympics, yet not being assigned to one of those spots. It can't be a great feeling to be seen as the back-up alternative based on whether two other teams return or retire.

That said, we don't know if Alicia & Paul already had a plan in place to split regardless of whether they made the Olympic team, or to split solely if their Olympic dream did not happen in 2026.
 
Ivana said:
F-B's last competition with ex-partner were 2024 Worlds (finishing 2nd at 4CC's the same year), she sat out 2024/2025 season due to well known reason. Her first intended international competition with new partner was 2025 Nebelhorn Trophy where she was already free to compete. If Skate Canada indeed has a policy of 2 years, instead of a year for athletes participating in Worlds/4CCs, it's interesting to know that they have now twice violated their own policies when it comes to F-B.
Click to expand...
I think the FB situation is slightly different in that Laurence could no longer skate because her partner was banned. It wasn’t like she was just changing country for the sake of it or because she chose to end her partnership. The fact that she was released to France probably also helped since France released Vanessa James after the Morgan Cipres stuff to skate for Canada. So it was probably a quid pro quo. Who knows if they would have released her if it had been for another nation.
 
BlissfulSynergy said:
News re U.S. ice dance team Flores/ Jepsen:

Isabella Flores confirmed on IG to subscribers that she and Linus Jepsen have switched from the Lyon, France rink to train at I.AM in London, Ontario with Moir/Hubbell/Diaz.
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Hmm interesting - this was not the first US team I was expecting to hear about switching to one of the IAM camps.
 
IceDancingQueen said:
Hmm interesting - this was not the first US team I was expecting to hear about switching to one of the IAM camps.
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I am not surprised by this at all.
They were in Lyon - which is pretty much were MFD, Patch and Romain come from, so both IAM schools probably have similar methods ??
Also, Flores really wants this. If you look at the top twelve at recent worlds and you are a young ambitious ice dancer, you switch to IAM.
 
If you can get accepted, a young ice dance team would surely want to be helped by IAM coaches.

Yes, the switch to IAM Ontario by Flores/ Jepsen is not a huge surprise. When it was reported that F/J were training with Moir & Hubbell for two weeks in the lead-up to U.S. Nationals, there was speculation about a coaching switch. The speculation amped up when Scott and Madi appeared in the RD kiss 'n cry at U.S. Nats with F/J. Then, their French coach was with them during the FD and it was explained that Scott & Madi were only helping out due to the French coach's delayed arrival...

The coaching switch speculation died down, but fans still wondered. While I knew that Romain, Marie-France & Patch trained together in France many years ago under coach Muriel Boucher-Zazoui, it did not register for me that it was in Lyon. I do not know much about the training rink locations in France. Thanks for indicating this connection, @4everchan.

For sure, Isabella Flores is talented and passionate about pursuing a successful career in ice dance. Not many athletes would have survived the brutally unfair partnership setbacks she has endured. I admire her courage and determination.
 
www.nikkansports.com

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日本スケート連盟は22日、都内で理事会を開き、26年度のフィギュアスケート強化選手を発表した。女子で昨年度の強化選手Bだった村上遥奈は外れた。昨年度の全日本ジ… - 日刊スポーツ新聞社のニュースサイト、ニッカンスポーツ・コム（nikkansports.com）
www.nikkansports.com www.nikkansports.com
The Japan Skating Federation held a board meeting in Tokyo on the 22nd and announced the figure skating development squad for the 2026 season. Haruna Murakami, who was a B-level development athlete last year, was not selected.

Although she placed eighth at last year’s All-Japan Junior Championships, Yosuke Takeuchi (46), Director of the Development Division, explained, “She meets the ranking requirements for selection, but she has informed us that she will be competing for another country going forward. We have therefore removed her from the list of development athletes.” She revealed that this year, she will compete under the Australian flag, the nationality of her country of origin.

She had already been removed from the list of trainees at the Kinoshita Academy at the start of the 2026 season.
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Some interesting news from Japan:
- Haruna Murakami plans to switch federation and compete for Australia
- Mei Okada is listed under Kinoshita Academy (coaching change to Hamada)
- Takeru Amin Kataise is listed under Meiji Jingu Gaien (coaching change to Koji Okajima); as it was announced earlier this spring
 
Last edited:
cocteautwin said:
Some interesting news from Japan:
- Haruna Murakami plans to siwtch federation and compete for Australia
- Mei Okada is listed under Kinoshita Academy (coaching change to Hamada)
- Takeru Amin Kataise is listed under Meiji Jingu Gaien (coaching change to Koji Okajima); as it was announced earlier this spring
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Can you also supply the most recent coaches for Mei and Takeru? That would be very helpful :]
 
surimi said:
Can you also supply the most recent coaches for Mei and Takeru? That would be very helpful :]
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Mei Okada was coached by Yuko Monna, Rina Horie, Haruka Oshima at Meito FSC in Aichi.
Takeru was coached by Koshin Yamada at Kansai University SC.
I hope it's correct.
 
4everchan said:
I am not surprised by this at all.
They were in Lyon - which is pretty much were MFD, Patch and Romain come from, so both IAM schools probably have similar methods ??
Also, Flores really wants this. If you look at the top twelve at recent worlds and you are a young ambitious ice dancer, you switch to IAM.
Click to expand...
Yeah im not surprised they would want to move to IAM. They just weren’t on my radar as wanting to move since they were such a new pair. It makes sense, especially for Isabella. But I was just expecting to hear that one of the MIDA teams was moving there first, but it looks like they might be staying put.
 
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