Even tho' the recent envelope funding list does not officially include the new U.S. pairs teams, there must be some other way that U.S. fed is providing a modicum of monetary assistance to these new teams. And once the season gets underway and results begin to show, surely some of these teams will be slotted in to the official funding list. While some teams pair up on their own (e.g. Sarah Nunez & Blake Eisenach*), I think the pairs officials in USfigsk had a lot of involvement in the off-season musical chairs partner switches.
In my estimation, there's a lot of exciting potential happening under-the-radar with the U.S. pairs discipline. But it's all being kept fairly muted and on the down-low. I suppose par for the course in how U.S. pairs have tended to be dismissed and looked down on in the skating community, despite some record-setting stats, along with an historic legacy and some influentual teams over the years.
*Apparently, Nunez is a former U.S. singles skater. Blake, of course, formerly skated in junior pairs, and he was briefly partnered with Megan Wessenberg in seniors. He has gone back-and-forth from pursuing a show career to dabbling with potential new pairs partnerships. Will this current effort last? Both Blake and Nunez are in their mid-to-late 20s. They are training in Chicago area with the Knierims/ LeDuc coaching team.
We need a palate cleanser re current U.S. pairings...
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