- Joined
- Oct 12, 2020
Happy ISP found a way for skaters to skate and earn much needed pay. Happy for Nathan 1st placeNew article about the ISP challenge. Our boy got his prize money as well as some feedback about programs, and probably costumes
Skaters Use ISP Points Challenge as Opportunity to Prepare for the Season - U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone
Mariah Bell was having new tires put on her car when she learned she won a figure skating competition. Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue had forgotten for a coupleusfigureskatingfanzone.com
Nathan part
Nathan Chen, the two-time reigning World champion who trains at the same rink as Bell in Irvine, California, noted that it felt more like an exhibition or Champs Camp, but was still a great experience.
He topped the men's field with a 315.32 total, followed by five-time U.S. medalist Jason Brown (268.31), 2020 U.S. bronze medalist Tomoki Hiwatashi (244.76) and Alex Krasnozhon(219.46).
"Given that it's so early in the season and given that we won't have many competition opportunities, this is a great idea from U.S. Figure Skating, and they implemented it quite well," Chen said. "I don't think anyone had any issues with how it was set up or the proctors or recording or anything, so it was a pretty trustworthy event."
All skaters had two opportunities to skate both of their programs, and their top-scoring total from either the first or second opportunity counted as their final overall score. While some chose to only compete once, Chen felt it was a no-brainer to enter both times. His first opportunity ended up being his winning score.
Skating his short program to "Asturia" by Frida Lopez and "Cancion del Mariachi" by Los Lobos, and his free skate to a medley by Philip Glass, the 2018 Olympian is used to announcing his program music before his first competition, but without a Champs Camp this year to solicit feedback from U.S. Figure Skating and judges, he chose not to say anything until judges saw it through the Points Challenge, which meant fans found out at the same time.
"I saw comments before I even talked to the judges, which was weird," he said. "But I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. At the end of the day I want to be aware of what people are saying, what fans are saying, but the decision still remains within my coaching team. … Overall there's positives and negatives. I think the negative comments that I have received are actually quite helpful because they're much more quantifiable and I can actually apply them to my skating."
l like all skaters but Nathan is special. I’m so in awe how he came back from such serious injury to be Star he is today. I like his music but I would love for him to skate to this, music only version
