NHK Trophy – Day 1 Recap

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The Grand Prix Series continued last night at NHK Trophy with the pairs, men’s and ladies short programs. While Team USA landed out of the top three, contenders in all three disciplines are within striking distance of the podium.

The event opened with pairs, where Russians Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov continued to dominate their competition with a score of 82.03 points. Settling for nothing less than gold at their last nine individual events, including a record-breaking win at Skate America last month and their first World title in March, Volosozhar and Trankov enter this evening’s free skate with an 11.90-point lead over their competitors, namely the Chinese teams of Wenjing Sui and Cong Han and Cheng Peng and Hao Zhang, who sit in second and third place, respectively.

Reigning World Junior champions Haven Denney and Brandon Frazier sit in fourth with 58.67, while 2013 U.S. champions Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir sit less than a point behind with 58.60.

The men took the ice next, with Japan’s Daisuke Takahashi leading the way. The 2010 Olympic bronze medalist leads the field heading into tomorrow’s free skate with 95.55 points, followed by Spain’s Javier Fernandez with 84.78. Takahashi’s compatriot, Nobunari Oda, rounds out the top three with 82.70.

Less than a point from the podium, 2012 U.S. silver medalist Adam Rippon earned 82.25 points for the segment. His performance opened with the debut of Rippon’s quadruple toe loop, followed by two Level 4 spins, a triple Axel and a triple flip-triple toe combination. Rippon opened his Olympic campaign with a second place finish at Skate America last month. His teammates, three-time U.S. champion Jeremy Abbott and 2013 U.S. champion Max Aaron, sit in seventh and eighth place, respectively. Aaron, who found himself in sixth after the short program at Skate America, came back to earn the bronze medal in his Grand Prix Series debut last month.

Japan delivered another one-two punch when the ladies took the ice, with 2010 Olympic silver medalist Mao Asada and 2012 World bronze medalist Akiko Suzuki earning the top spots. Asada, who topped the field at Skate America last month, earned an impressive 71.26 points for her performance, which featured a triple Axel, worth a program-high 6.64 points. Suzuki, who earned silver at Skate Canada, sits second with 66.03.

In a battle for third place, 14-year-old Elena Radionova of Russia and reigning U.S. silver medalist Gracie Gold both earned 62.83 points for the segment. Gold enters the event on the heels of a bronze medal finish at Skate Canada, while Radionova continues her first Grand Prix season after a bronze medal finish at Skate America. Rounding out Team USA’s placements for the day, 2008 U.S. champion Mirai Nagasu enters the free skate in eighth place with 51.01 points.

Icenetwork’s live coverage of Friday’s action will begin with the short dance at 10:05 p.m. ET, where two-time reigning World champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White will begin their campaign to claim their 14th-straight Grand Prix Series title.

For full event coverage, visit www.icenetwork.com.

 

Friday’s Schedule (all times ET)

Short Dance – 10:05 p.m. (LIVE)

Shibutani/Shibutani – 10:44 p.m.

Davis/White – 11:04  p.m.

Pairs Free Skate – 11:55 p.m. (LIVE)

Castelli/Shnapir – 12:27 a.m.

Denney/Frazier – 12:43 a.m.

 

Saturday’s Schedule (all times ET)

Men’s Free Skate – 2:05 a.m. (LIVE)

Aaron – 2:28 a.m.

Abbott – 2:37 a.m.

Rippon – 3:09 a.m.

Ladies Free Skate – 5:10 a.m. (LIVE)

Nagasu – 5:29 a.m.

Gold – 6:08 a.m.

Free Dance – 10:00 p.m. (LIVE)

 

2013 NHK TROPHY UNIVERSAL SPORTS NETWORK BROADCAST SCHEDULE
(All times Eastern; subject to change; check local listings)

Friday, Nov. 8
Pairs dance – 6 p.m.
Men’s short – 7 p.m.
Ladies short – 9 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 9
Short dance – 10 a.m.
Pairs free – 11 a.m.

Sunday, Nov. 10
Free dance – 10 a.m.

Competition begins today in Salt Lake City

Twitter  #SLC2013 | icenetwork Event Page  |  Schedule   |   Competition Notes |  Results

The senior international season begins today as competition commences at the 2013 U.S. International Figure Skating Classic with the pairs and men’s short programs.

Competition Schedule (All times Eastern, subject to change)

Thursday, Sept. 12, 2013

Pairs short program – 8:50 p.m.

Men’s short program – 10:15 p.m.

In the pairs event, Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir will begin their Olympic campaign as reigning U.S. champions. They will be joined by 2012 U.S. champions Caydee Denney and John Coughlin, who will return to competition for the first time since Coughlin underwent surgery last December. Also competing are 2013 U.S. bronze medalists Felicia Zhang and Nathan Bartholomay, who finished fourth at this competition last year.

Max Aaron, the 2013 U.S. champion, will lead Team USA in the men’s event. Aaron hopes to defend his 2012 title at this event and in October will embark on his first Grand Prix season. Reigning World Junior champion Joshua Farris will make his senior international debut today, while Stephen Carriere will compete internationally for the second time since 2010. Recently named to the event, Grant Hochstein will also return to the international scene for the first time since 2011.

Competition also begins today for the 2013 Challenge Skate, an invitational for American skaters who have competed nationally at the intermediate, novice and junior levels. The event will begin at 10:45 a.m. MDT with the novice pairs short program, followed by the novice ladies short program at 11:52 a.m. and the novice men’s short program at 1:28 p.m. Expected to take the ice are reigning U.S. intermediate silver medalist Anastasia Kortjohn, 2013 U.S. intermediate champion Andrew Torgashev and reigning U.S. intermediate champions Alicia Bertsch and Austin Hale.

Icenetwork will provide complete event coverage, including live and on-demand event video to Season Pass subscribers. Results, news, photos and more will be available for free to all users.

2013 World Team Trophy: Day 1

Twitter  #WTT13 icenetwork.com Event Page   |  Schedule   |   Results

Competition Notes

2013 ISU World Team Trophy | Tokyo

The fun began Thursday afternoon at Yoyogi Stadium, home of 2013 World Team Trophy. Team USA opened to great results and is tied for first place with Japan.

Madison Chock and Evan Bates won the short dance by about three points, totaling 66.54 points for their “Quidam” performance. The 2013 U.S. silver medalists are having a great time in their first World Team Trophy.

“It’s unlike any other competition I’ve experienced ever,” Bates said. “The atmosphere is infectiously fun. It’s not like a normal skating competition in the way that everyone is cheering for each other. Everyone is excited. It’s the last hurray.”

For more of Bates’ musings through the weekend, check out his icenetwork.com blog.

Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir don’t begin competition until Friday so they were full time cheerleaders, along with many of Team USA’s coaches. Castelli even started the wave during the ice dance warm up.

After the short dance, Shnapir quipped, “My hands are very red after clapping along to all six teams’ short dance music. I watched the most short dance I ever have at one time, it was fun.”

The men’s standings are close with Jeremy Abbott in fourth place and Max Aaron in sixth. Abbott is separated from Japan’s Daisuke Takahashi, in second place, by about 0.6 points.

Abbott, competing for the first time since the U.S. Championships in January, earned 80.24 points for his spy-themed short program. His performance included a triple Lutz-triple toe and a beautiful triple Axel. A three-time World Team Trophy competitor, Abbott has been working hard to stay in shape since his third-place finish back in January.

“After nationals, I started very hard in the gym and completely changed my diet,” he said. “I have been sore for about two months straight. I’ve been working very, very, very hard. I’m in the best shape of my life. I’ve never felt so comfortable doing a long program in training. I came into this event very seriously, this was my world championships since I didn’t get the opportunity to go.”

Aaron came very close to breaking his season’s best score and totaled 77.38 points in the short program. He opened with a 13.09-point quad Salchow-double toe combination and continued to skate clean from there.

“I had a good time out there,” he said. “I want to finish the season strong. I actually wanted a season’s best, I didn’t reach that, but it makes me go back and look at what I need to focus on.”

Patrick Chan of Canada won the short program with 86.67 points.

A pair of World Team Trophy veterans are representing Team USA in the ladies event. Gracie Gold and Ashley Wagner are in third and fourth places, respectively.

Skating to “Hernando’s Hideaway” for the last time this season, Gold earned 60.98 points. After falling on the second half of her triple Lutz-triple toe combination, the 2013 U.S. silver medalist rebounded for a solid program.

“It was pretty good. Not perfect,” she explained. “I probably should have done a triple Lutz-double toe. It’s the last competition of the season, I’m a little bit tired. I had a lot of fun and the crowd is so supportive. I’ve been working on my choreography since worlds, even more than my jumps. The components score really reflected that.”

Wagner was intent on putting a triple-triple jump combination into her short program, and did so today. She skated a great program, with the exception of a near-fall on the double Axel, a mistake she also made last year at this competition. Wagner, who is the team captain, shook off the mistake and was happy with meeting her goal of executing the triple-triple.

“I got the triple-triple out there, and that’s really what I was focusing on more than anything else,” she said. “Then going into the Axel, I was thinking, ‘don’t repeat last year.’ I’m happy with what I did. I really wanted to do the triple-triple, I got it out there and I’m happy.”

Friday, April 12, 2013

Pairs short – 3 a.m.

Castelli and Shnapir: 3:14 a.m.

Free dance – 4:25 a.m.

Chock and Bates: 5:17 a.m.

Men’s free – 6 a.m.

Aaron: 7:05 a.m.

Abbott: 7:21 a.m.

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Pairs free – 2:15 a.m.

Ladies free – 3:50 a.m.

Wagner: 5:07 a.m.

Gold: 5:15 a.m.

2013 ISU World Team Trophy Viewer’s Guide

Useful Links

Twitter  #WTT13 icenetwork.com Event Page   |  Schedule   |   Results

Competition Notes

2013 ISU World Team Trophy | Tokyo

Competition at the 2013 ISU World Team Trophy begins Thursday, April 11, with the short dance and men’s and ladies short programs. Team USA features several new faces to World Team Trophy, including 2013 U.S. pairs champions Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir U.S. men’s champ Max Aaron. Madison Chock and Evan Bates, who won U.S. silver in January, will compete in the ice dance event. As for the alunni, two-time U.S. champion Ashley Wagner, 2013 U.S. silver medalist Gracie Gold and three-time U.S. champion Jeremy Abbott will compete in Tokyo.

In 2012, Team USA took home the silver medal. Team USA was victorious in the inaugural World Team Trophy in 2009.

The ISU will stream the event live here. The six best national figure skating teams of the 2012-13 season will perform. Based on the scoring scale used for the ISU World Standing points, the six teams qualified for this event are Canada, China, France, Japan, Russia and the USA. For the first time a team event, which differs slightly to the ISU World Team Trophy format, will be included in the program of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. To read a comparison of World Team Trophy and the Olympic Team Event, click here.

Each skater/couple will compete with a short program/dance and free skate/dance. In each discipline, the top ranked skater(s) earns 12 points, the second ranked skater/couple receives 11 points and so on. The last ranked single skater gets one point, the last pair/ice dance couple gets 7 points. These points are added together to determine the winning team.

Daily Schedule (All times Eastern)

Thursday April 11, 2013

Short dance – 2:15 a.m.

Chock and Bates: 2:47 a..m.

Men’s short – 3:35 a.m.

Aaron: 4:02 a.m.

Abbott: 4:48 a.m.

Ladies short – 5:40 a.m.

Gold: 6:13 a.m.

Wagner: 6:53 a.m.

Friday, April 12, 2013

Pairs short – 3 a.m.

Castelli and Shnapir: 3:14 a.m.

Free dance – 4:25 a.m.

Men’s free – 6 a.m.

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Pairs free – 2:15 a.m.

Ladies free – 3:50 a.m.

2013 World Team Trophy Notes

2013 World Figure Skating Championships Photos – Day 3

Photos from the men’s and pairs free skates courtesy of Peter Zapalo.

2013 World Championships: Day 3

Useful Links

Twitter  #FSWorlds13| icenetwork.com Photos

icenetwork.com Event Page   |  Schedule   |   Results

Competition Notes

Friday, March 15, 2013

The first World champions were crowned Friday in the pairs and men’s events at Budweiser Gardens in London, Ontario.

Russia’s Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov won their first pairs title by a landslide, beating 2012 champs and eventual silver medalists Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy by 20 points. The Russians earned 225.71 points and they set world records for both free skate (149.87) and total scores. Canada’s Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford won bronze.

Both American pairs teams put out solid free skates to have an enjoyable conclusion to their first Worlds experience.

Alexa Scimeca and Chris Knierim easily set new season’s best scores and achieved all of their levels as they recorded 117.78 points for the “Life is Beautiful” skate.

“We got everything (levels) we were going for so we are very happy,” Knierim said. “We didn’t know until we got off the ice. In the program, everything felt really good. Relaxed. It was like another day at the office. We’ve been focusing on making sure we get the levels and doing everything that’s needed so there’s no gray area.”

The total score of 173.51 points put them in ninth.

Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir  were also “thrilled” with their outing. Despite not matching their best score of the season, the duo were satisfied with the energetic and clean skate.

“We’re thrilled. That was a great performance,” Shnapir said. “That was a great turnaround for both of us from the short. We really wanted to put out a strong program and we’re thrilled with what we were able to present today with our long. We’re happy with the outcome.”

Their free skate earned 108.32 points en route to 164.00 total. They finished 13th.

Once again, Canada’s Patrick Chan reigned supreme, winning his third straight World title with 267.68 total points. His flawless short program propelled him to a slim victory over unlikely hero and silver medalist Denis Ten of Kazakhstan. Ten bested his previous free skating personal best by 20 points to win the free skate with 174.92 points. His grand total equaled 266.48 points. Bronze went home with Spain’s Javier Fernandez. He had not finished above ninth in six previous Worlds.

Max Aaron once again brought the crowd to its feet after his West Side Story free skate. Aaron started strong with a quad Salchow-double Salchow combination. He made a few little mistakes, but was happy overall with his top 10 showing in his first Worlds. Joking with the media after the performance, Aaron explained he has a habit of running into the walls when he skates, as he did following his triple Axel tonight.

“I always want a bigger and bigger rink,” he said to lots of laughter. “I want a giant pond and I’ll bring everyone to the pond. I like to use the entire ice sheet. I have it, why not use it all? I paid for it, too. I don’t want to use half the sheet.”

He continued that even on his home ice rink, which is Olympic size, he runs (literally) into the same issue.

“I still run into the wall on the Olympic ice. I don’t really know how I do it, it just happens. I keep pushing things out more and more. Like I said, I have the ice, I want to use the whole thing. That’s my take on that. Sorry, it’s kind of silly.”

Aaron netted 238.36 points overall, including 160.16 for the free skate, to place seventh overall.

Ross Miner finished 14th with 211.90 points. His free skate totaled 141.66. Miner conceded after the free skate that he lost sight of some of what carried him through a very successful fall and U.S. Championships season.

“I’m a little disappointed,” he said simply. “Based on NHK and nationals, I think I had the capability to be competitive with the upper end of the top 10. I think top 6 would have been a reasonable goal for me. I got a little wrapped up in that and tried a little too hard instead of focusing on doing my job. I’m going to go home and try to find my mojo again, which is what got me here in the first place. That was focusing on what I can control.”

The stage is set for fantastic ice dance and ladies finals on Saturday. Meryl Davis and Charlie White began their quest for their second World title on Thursday, and they did so by producing the best short dance of the night to the tune of 77.12 points, which is the best short dance score ever.

The race is certainly a tight one from 1-9 going into the free dance. Canada’s Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, the reigning World champs, are in second place with 73.87 points followed by Russia’s Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev with 70.05.

Madison Chock and Evan Bates are competing at their first Worlds together (they each previously came to this event with former partners) and were extremely satisfied with the short dance result. They earned a personal-best 66.74 points for a seventh-place showing. Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani also enjoyed their best performance of the season and narrowly trail their teammates with 66.14 points (8th).

The race for the podium is also a tight one in the ladies event. Ashley Wagner totaled 63.98 points for her “Red Violin” short program. She is in fifth.

Wagner is here with a clear goal: to help the U.S. earn three entries for the 2014 Olympics next February. To earn a third spot, Team USA needs to record a combined total finish of 13 or lower between Wagner and Gracie Gold (they have a combined placement of 14 after the short).

Gold made her World Championships debut to the tune of 58.85 points. Reigning Olympic champions Yu-na Kim leads with 69.97 points followed by current World champ Carolina Kostner of Italy with 66.86 and Japan’s Kanako Murakami with 66.64. Just 11 points separate Kim and Gold.

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Free Dance – 2:30 p.m.

Shibutani and Shibutani: 4:38 p.m.

Chock and Bates: 4:46 p.m.

Davis and White: 5:24 p.m.

Ladies Free – 7 p.m.

Gold: 9:11 p.m.

Wagner: 10:06 p.m.

2013 World Championships: Day 2

Useful Links

Twitter  #FSWorlds13| icenetwork.com Photos

icenetwork.com Event Page   |  Schedule   |   Results

Competition Notes

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Competition continued Thursday from the Budweiser Gardens in London, Ontario.

The ladies short program, featuring 35 athletes, made for hours of entertainment for the excited fans. The U.S. ladies are in great position going into the short program, sitting fifth and ninth. Ashley Wagner totaled 63.98 points for her “Red Violin” short program. She opted for a triple-double combination, rather than a triple-triple jumping pass.

“I wanted to do that triple-triple combination but I decided to play it safe,” she said. “Mr. Nicks told me if it doesn’t feel right, don’t risk it. I would rather play it safe than sorry. The landing on the flip wasn’t exactly how I wanted it.”

Wagner is here with a clear goal: to help the U.S. earn three entries for the 2014 Olympics next February. To earn a third spot, Team USA needs to record a combined total finish of 13 or lower between Wagner and Gracie Gold (they have a combined placement of 14 after the short).

“At an event this huge and this important, my focus is to get the three spots back and I figured playing it safe with a triple-double of quality was the better way to go,” she explained. “The U.S. ladies team here is here to get that third spot back. It’s almost a personal agenda. I was the person most directly affected last Olympics and I want that third spot back. We’ve been trying for too long to get it back.”

Gold made her World Championships debut to the tune of 58.85 points. She hit all of her jumps, including a program-opening triple Lutz-triple toe. She did experience one bobble on her layback spin, saying she got too excited when the time came to changer her edge.

She explained, “I’m supposed to pull it up for an edge change. I think I got a little bit excited and as I was pulling it up, I went for the edge change immediately. I wasn’t able to get either of those features. Simple mistakes today. Easy things that I think I can fix with time and more competitions.”

Meryl Davis and Charlie White began their quest for their second World title, and they did so by producing the best short dance of the night to the tune of 77.12 points, which is the best short dance score ever. The veteran duo had a great time doing it, too.

“We felt as though it wasn’t only our season’s best in terms of result, but it was our season’s best skate,” Davis said. “To do that at the World Championships is really exciting. Charlie and I both got off the ice and the first thing we said was that it was a lot of fun to perform. The program went smoothly and we enjoyed every minute of it.”

Madison Chock and Evan Bates are competing at their first Worlds together (they each previously came to this event with former partners) and were extremely satisfied with the short dance result. They earned a personal-best 66.74 points and hope to emulate their performance quality in Saturday’s free dance.

“If we can have a similar performance to what we did today with a great feeling in the program and score a personal best, that would be great,” Bates said.

Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani: also enjoyed their best performance of the season and narrowly trail their teammates with 66.14 points. They looked very dapper in new royal blue and purple costumes, and were all smiles following the skate.

“We are really happy with our short dance. The audience is so great. It was a season’s best for us. We feel like this program has grown so well over the course of the season. We are looking forward to Saturday,” Maia said.

Chock and Bates sit in seventh, with Shibutani and Shibutani in eighth. The race is certainly a tight one from 1-9 going into the free dance. Canada’s Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir are in second place with 73.87 points followed by Russia’s Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev with 70.05.

Friday will see the conclusion of the pairs and men’s events. Alexa Scimeca and Chris Knierim and Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir  sit in 12th and 13th, respectively. Atop the pairs leaderboard are Russia’s Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov with 75.84 points followed by Canada’s Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford and reigning World champs Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of German.

Max Aaron, also in his Worlds debut, brought the crowd to its feet after a great Tron: Legacy short program. He is in eighth place after posting a score of 78.20 points. Ross Miner has some ground to make up after finishing 14th with a score of 70.24 points for the short program. Patrick Chan of Canada leads after posting a short program score of 98.37 points. He is followed by Kazakhstan’s Denis Ten and his teammate Kevin Reynolds, who won Four Continents last month.

Friday, March 15, 2013

Pairs Free – 11:55 a.m.

Castelli and Shnapir: 12:02 p.m.

Scimeca and Knierim: 12:59 p.m.

Men’s Free – 5:45 p.m.

Miner: 6:58 p.m.

Aaron: 8:35 p.m.

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Free Dance – 2:30 p.m.

Shibutani and Shibutani: 4:38 p.m.

Chock and Bates: 4:46 p.m.

Davis and White: 5:24 p.m.

Ladies Free – 7 p.m.

Gold: 9:11 p.m.

Wagner: 10:06 p.m.

2013 World Figure Skating Championships – Pairs Short Program

Photos from the pairs short program courtesy of Michael Kass.

2013 World Figure Skating Championships Photos

Click through the photos from competition and practice today in London, Ontario, Canada at the 2013 World Figure Skating Championships. Photos courtesy of Peter Zapalo/U.S. Figure Skating and courtesy of Michael Kass.