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....

 

[Bookseller]

Jason is at his best when he's entertaining. When he's doing something that makes the audience happy, he's happy. I felt like Say Something made nobody happy and we were all puzzled by what it meant to him. He can make us cry or make us feel joyful, but it's not so good when we're confused. We want to cry for the joy Jason brings, and feel uplifted when he's uplifted. And it's great if it's fun! Sinnerman is and was a masterpiece of beauty and joy. Riverdance was youthful exuberance. Say something projected sadness and frustration. He couldn't sell it. Possibly even to himself. Jason needs to follow his heart. If he can do that, he'll have a great season!

 

[sworddance21]

Remember that on paper, USFS only controls Skate America entries. The other hosts decide who they want for their events. Of course, USFS may have asked another federation to take Malinin/Brown. Or they could have told them "Malinin will pick you if you also agree to take Brown".

USFS could well have chosen Jason because he is a fan favorite and they hope he can drive ticket sales.

I don't think I realized this. I assumed USFS decided who went where. Thank you.

 

[sworddance21]

I must have been the only person (other than Jason) who actually felt moved by his Say Something program. I liked it.

 

[Bookseller]

I must have been the only person (other than Jason) who actually felt moved by his Say Something program. I liked it.

I felt like everyone who loves Jason, wanted to love it, but it just didn't translate. Had every element been perfect, maybe it would have resonated differently. But it just didn't work. He was too stressed while skating it.

 

[noskates]

I have to say that the most painful skating program I've ever watched in person was Jason's free at Nationals this year. It left me depressed and hating that song. There was no connection with the music, the choreography was just lacking (mostly because it didn't mesh with the music) and to see Jason fall apart like that brought tears to my eyes (and I HATE crying!) If he retired right then I would have understood and would have gone back and watched many of his programs just to remind me what a treasure to figure skating he's been. But now that he's apparently not retiring and is still competing, I can only hope his music choice is befitting his insane ability and that if this is his last year he makes it a brilliant one. For me it's not about Jason winning medals but showing the world what he's capable of. Fingers crossed!

 

[Bookseller]

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

He's doing NHK and he was eligible for one guaranteed spot. They chose him. But the most likely GP to put him in the lineup is, of course, SKAM. There is still a TBD, so basically that is the host spot. SKAM wants to sell tickets. Ilia and Jason sell tickets, and Alysa and others of course. They have a good lineup. But it's not a powerhouse lineup. Jason in good form, could medal. And USFS, knows that Jason can skate competitively when asked to. Plus, who else is there to send? Andrew has two spots, Jacob has two spots. Liam and Lucius each have one. They may be waiting to see how they do at their respective outings to decide who gets the TBD. Or they saved it Camden or Max, just in case. Next year there may be a bigger pool as the Juniors compete this year. But this is pretty much it.

Jason had a mental health crisis at last year's Nats. I expect to see the best Jason this year if he actually decides to compete. It's not a done deal yet. I'm waiting to see what happens. But he's clearly thinking about it, or his name wouldn't be on the list.

 

[Skating47]

Jason is at his best when he's entertaining. When he's doing something that makes the audience happy, he's happy. I felt like Say Something made nobody happy and we were all puzzled by what it meant to him. He can make us cry or make us feel joyful, but it's not so good when we're confused. We want to cry for the joy Jason brings, and feel uplifted when he's uplifted. And it's great if it's fun! Sinnerman is and was a masterpiece of beauty and joy. Riverdance was youthful exuberance. Say something projected sadness and frustration. He couldn't sell it. Possibly even to himself. Jason needs to follow his heart. If he can do that, he'll have a great season!

Well said, Yes!

 

[cc07]

I must have been the only person (other than Jason) who actually felt moved by his Say Something program. I liked it.

You aren't the only one. I liked it too, and after I saw the show version he did at Yuzu's Notte Stellata, I loved it. Maybe I have a different perspective as someone who competes in an artistic sport, but sometimes doing a piece for competition that is SO personal gets you so far in your head, you look disconnected from it. He had said the program was about trying to find his own voice when all the noise around him was telling him he wasn't good enough. To go into that headspace repeatedly to do that program during an Olympic year? That would be a tall ask for anyone. I choked in a similar fashion with a similar themed piece, and I wasn't even going for an Olympic spot. I think some performance themes are better for a show situation OR you have to completely divorce yourself from the competitive outcome and be okay with it maybe not being perfect.

Regardless of if he takes competitive ice or not, I think he's gonna continue to give us some wonderful art to watch. Cause he is, after all, Jason Brown.

 

[Magill]

You aren't the only one. I liked it too, and after I saw the show version he did at Yuzu's Notte Stellata, I loved it. Maybe I have a different perspective as someone who competes in an artistic sport, but sometimes doing a piece for competition that is SO personal gets you so far in your head, you look disconnected from it. He had said the program was about trying to find his own voice when all the noise around him was telling him he wasn't good enough. To go into that headspace repeatedly to do that program during an Olympic year? That would be a tall ask for anyone. I choked in a similar fashion with a similar themed piece, and I wasn't even going for an Olympic spot. I think some performance themes are better for a show situation OR you have to completely divorce yourself from the competitive outcome and be okay with it maybe not being perfect.

Regardless of if he takes competitive ice or not, I think he's gonna continue to give us some wonderful art to watch. Cause he is, after all, Jason Brown.

I also thought about Notte Stellata immediately where it was one of the absolute highlights of the show for me, and the whole audience seemed to love it, too. As for me, I liked it all the way though, it just did not work so did not get to shine properly before.

 

[Bookseller]

You aren't the only one. I liked it too, and after I saw the show version he did at Yuzu's Notte Stellata, I loved it. Maybe I have a different perspective as someone who competes in an artistic sport, but sometimes doing a piece for competition that is SO personal gets you so far in your head, you look disconnected from it. He had said the program was about trying to find his own voice when all the noise around him was telling him he wasn't good enough. To go into that headspace repeatedly to do that program during an Olympic year? That would be a tall ask for anyone. I choked in a similar fashion with a similar themed piece, and I wasn't even going for an Olympic spot. I think some performance themes are better for a show situation OR you have to completely divorce yourself from the competitive outcome and be okay with it maybe not being perfect.

Regardless of if he takes competitive ice or not, I think he's gonna continue to give us some wonderful art to watch. Cause he is, after all, Jason Brown.

You are 100% right on all counts! That program was a tall order with all the other pressure on competing that year. I think he's made his peace with that. I'm looking forward to whatever he does next, competitions, shows or whatever. He is Jason Brown! He's unique and special one of a kind!