Yes, of course. Jepsen is all-in. He waited nearly two years to find a match after the split with his last partner. Both Flores and Jepsen are putting in the hard work because they want their partnership to succeed, despite the huge challenges.
It took them several years to rise...
they actually cannot hold on to skaters indefinitely. No fed can.
is the release already in the bag for Baker ? Nobody knows that yet, right ?She had asked U.S. fed for help after the split with Nate B due to his uncertainty about continuing post-surgery. But they were lukewarm about offering assistance, so Deanna headed north and the stars aligned.U.S. fed made Deanna wait two years, and they gave Gabby Izzo a hard time, too. Of course, Gabby later ended up in Austria with Luc Maierhofer, having not been active competitively for over two years. Thus, finally receiving her release was expected.
The recent release of the amazing Jean-Luc Baker, is not because U.S. fed was eager to let him go. They had little choice of holding onto him under the circumstances of his starmaking pairing with Marjo, and the fact he has been inactive competitively for three years. Added to that, his stellar work as a commentator & choreographer, plus the heartbreak of Hawayek/ Baker having to prematurely retire a few years ago. Not granting a release for Baker immediately would have been sulky and silly on the part of USfed.
Deanna & Max used the two years U.S. fed held onto her to work hard domestically. When their opportunity in Canada for elite international competition came, they were prepared to shine. They definitely and unsurprisingly rose quickly in their 2022-23 GP debut.
Of course they can't any longer. U.S. fed and other feds, such as French fed under Didier Gailhaguet, notoriously have detrimentally held onto skaters in the past. In any case, U.S. fed did not release Deanna easily. I was referencing your comment that U.S. fed 'releases even bigger stars.' Each situation is obviously unique. In general, no fed desires to easily release skaters. That's why there's legislation and skater challenges surrounding releases.
As you added, the release of Baker already happened. Jackie Wong, on his latest Sunday podcast, confirmed that Baker had been released, prior to GP announcements.
Wow. Big change. I didn't think she would go oversea but it sounds like a good choice. She will now train in Colorado Springs with Amber Glenn as a training mate. Cool.Now we know who Nina Pinzarrone's new coach is: it's Damon Allen!
Nina Pinzarrone trekt naar VS voor nieuw hoofdstuk, met coach van Amerikaanse topper: "Had nood aan verandering" | Sporza
Nina Pinzarrone staat voor een nieuw hoofdstuk in haar nog steeds prille schaatscarrière: de 19-jarige Belgische kunstschaatsster verhuist naar de VS, op zoek naar een nieuw elan in Colorado Springs. "Het voelde daar meteen goed", vertelt ze in een uitgebreid gesprek met Sporza.sporza.be
Nina wants a triple axel in her repertoire and sees the great work Damon & Amber have done.
Well. Nina under-rotates a lot of her jumps. Longevity for me would be to get help in that first instead of chasing a jump that very few women can rotate. I don't know.
Maybe she thinks a change could get her both
Ther started their X team account very recently and introduced themselve as team Germany so it's probably just an error.They also have Kishimoto/Savitskiy representing Japan when they were initially competing for Germany
My ÉmileOlympia Kalaganis/Emile Deveau (Ice Dance) have switched representation from Canada to Greece per the updated CQE entry list, now I have my answer for why they were removed from the Quebec lists - https://patinage.qc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/CQE2026-Liste-des-participants-au-29-juin.pdf
They also have Kishimoto/Savitskiy representing Japan when they were initially competing for Germany
and they also updated Proulx and Laliberté-Laurent, junior ice dance team officially now representing France.
Why this coach? I don't get it. I hope she's not bitterly disappointed.
Seemingly, Nina could get help with the technical basics first. Going to Damon does not necessarily mean she will immediately start training a triple-axel. Hopefully, not! Surely, Damon will counsel Nina wisely. I certainly also hope Damon and his team at WASA might be able to help Nina improve her
crossover technique. She definitely has wonderful abilities and a lovely presence on the ice in other aspects.
