Jason Brown

[DizzyFrenchie]

Yes. When Evan Lysacek sadly had to withdraw from 2013 Skate America, USFS made good use of the host pick vacancy, giving a U.S. skater the opportunity to make his Grand Prix debut there.
The skater's name was Jason Brown. He placed second in the short program.

If/if/if Jason were to decide to withdraw from 2026 Skate America (not my wish), I hope/believe that USFS would give a U.S. skater the opportunity to fill the vacancy.

(My guess would be that Jason intends at this point to keep his 2026 GP assignments, but if he were to change his mind later, I hope that he would feel free to do whatever makes him happy.)



I think non-U.S. federations inviting skaters to their GPs would be scrutinizing ISU SB and ISU WS lists.
Not really placements at U.S. Nationals -- which I'm guessing is where your comment is coming from?

I don't see how Kapeikis and Kazanecki were "skipped ... to get to Ma." Canada invited Kapeikis, China invited Kazanecki, France invited Ma. One invitation for each.
My point of view is that Martynov and Kovar also were not skipped. They are below Ma on the ISU SB list. Also below Ma on the ISU WS list (as are Kapeikis and Kazanecki too).

But, is Jason Brown's spot at Skate America a host spot?

 

[macy]

i will admit, i was more expecting Jason to be ready to move on even after how last season ended for him, but i am more than elated to see his name in the GP assignments!! i'm sure he wants to end his career on a higher note than that. i'd say i was 60/40 on what he would do. wishing him a very successful season, i'm just so happy we get to see more of him. and i can't wait to see what they cook up for programs.

 

[cc07]

But, is Jason Brown's spot at Skate America a host spot?

I think technically yes. But I might be misinterpreting the criteria.

The bottom line is though, if he was a hard no, his name wouldn't have even been in the hat to choose from. Maybe it's delulu of me, but now that there isn't the pressure of the Olympics, I think we'll see the Jason we all know and love. Maybe we'll even get sassy Jason a la 2018-2019 and get something akin to the Love is a B program.

 

[Bookseller]

Musing on all of this, I realized that given current World Standings, Jason would be skating in the first group, pretty early in the first group at NHK for sure, which is not his usual placement. So will he be doing multiple Challengers to raise his ranking before doing the GPs or just let the chips fall where they may? Would placement be a deterrent to his competing at all, or a challenge? Maybe even a fun challenge? We all know the scoring advantages and potential disadvantages of where you skate in the skate order. There is a lot that goes into this. That said, if Jason wants to skate this GP season and it will make him happy, I'm all in! I had been contemplating retiring my Peacock subscription if he retired this year. But if he's in, I'm in!

 

[ice coverage]

But, is Jason Brown's spot at Skate America a host spot?

Yes. Each host federation gets spots for three "host country skaters" (ISU's terminology) per discipline at its own GP.
As of now, USFS has assigned the three 2026 Skate America "host country skater" spots for men to: Jason, Ilia, and TBD.

7. Host Country Skaters​

A maximum of three (3) skaters/couples in each discipline from the host country may skate in the host country’s event. This includes skaters/couples from the host country from any of the categories 2 - 6 above. ...​

https://isudam.blob.core.windows.net/isudamcontainer/2026-27-GP-Skater-Selection-Criteria-Final-1781605419-3012.pdf

Category 2 = Seeded Skaters/Couples (Placements 1 – 6) [at 2026 Worlds]
Category 3 = Placements 1 - 3 (Skaters/Couples) 2026 Olympic Winter Games
Category 4 = Placements 7 – 12 (Women/Men); Placements 7-10 (Pairs/Ice Dance) [at 2026 Worlds]
Category 5 = ISU World Standing / Season’s Best Score (Ranking 1 – 24)
Category 6 = ISU World Junior Championship Medalists/ISU Junior Grand Prix Final Gold Medalists

Jason is in Category 5. He is #23 on ISU WS list and #20 on ISU SB list.

 

[noskates]

I just hope Jason has a great program to great music....his Sinnerman, for me, is the benchmark for short programs. And I hope his free skate is to something dramatic that shows off his incredible ability to interpret music. Last year's free skate, again to me, was just a bad piece of music that didn't lend itself to figure skating. I know he picked it out but I always imagined Rohene cringing....