Maybe it’s meaningful for him personally to debut the FS in Germany.
@MGstyle, I’m sorry, I know you were hoping he would be at Lombardia, but I hope you’re able to travel to Obertsdorf.
Leaving aside my personal angst with the time difference (I think the men’s SP starts at 3:00 am Thursday my time) I think this is a good choice for Jason. It gives him a bit more time to polish the programs, it’s relatively low key, and it’s at almost the same altitude as Vegas.
I also think that going without his TCC teammates might benefit him. He’s such a team player and such a supportive friend but I sometimes think he hasn’t quite made the leap to thinking of himself as someone who could potentially win a GP or medal at Worlds. Some of that is realistic based on his technical deficit, but I think some of it is in his head - remember when Yuzu canceled at NHK and everyone thought Jason would win, but then he kinda fell apart? I think he needs to be able to handle expectations like that. He’s good at handling pressure when he’s doing it for the team (ie make sure we get 3 Olympic spots). Now I think he needs to be able to do it for himself. I know he’s won Challengers before, but I think a Challenger without Yuzu - where he doesn’t automatically see himself as fighting for silver or bronze - might help him start the season thinking of himself as someone who deserves to make the GPF and/or who can potentially medal or win on a bigger stage. JMO.
I think that you are absolutely right! This might just be worth getting up in the middle of the night to watch.