This Week in Skating / Special Weekly Episode (May 15, 2024)

This Week in Skating is hosted by Gina Capellazzi, Daphne Backman and Matteo Morelli is a cooperative project between Figure Skaters Online and Ice-dance.com. New episodes are available every Tuesday.

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May 15, 2024

General Skating News 

• Shoma Uno announced his retirement: Instagram/Press Conference/Olympics.com article
• U.S. Figure Skating announced the 2024-25 U.S. Qualifying Season and International Events Schedule.
• Halifax, Nova Scotia to host 2024 Skate Canada International. 
• Grenoble will host the 2024 Grand Prix and Junior Grand Prix Final
• A new location is needed for the 2025 European Championships
• The first Junior Grand Prix iin France has been moved to become the 7th & final event in Wuxi, China.
• Eric Radford, who is the Athletes Commission member of the ISU Council, has temporarily stepped down as a Council member for the period during which the appeal against the ISU in which he is named as an appellant is pending at CAS.”

https://www.isu.org/inside-isu/isu-communications/communications/33778-isu-communication-2634/file

• The ISU released its list of proposals for the upcoming Congress in Las Vegas from June 8-14.
• U.S. Figure Skating released its 2023-24 Combined Report of Action, which was published after last month’s Governing Council.

Retirements/End of Partnerships/New Partnerships

• Japan’s Misato Komatsubara has announced the end of her competitive career.
• Adrienne Carhart has announced the end of her competitive career
• Team USA’s Helena Carhart announced that Volodymyr Horovi has decided to his competitive career and will now focus on coaching.
• Georgia’s Maria Kazakova announced the end of her partnership with Georgy Reviya.
• Team USA’s Kristina Bland announced that she is stepping away from skating; Matthew Sperry will continue skating.
• Chloe Panetta and Flavien Giniaux are announced as a new pairs team for France
• Oxana Vouillamoz and Tom Bouvart, who both previously represented France, announced they are a new pairs team for Switzerland

Other News

• Congress okays Filipino citizenship for figure skater Alexander Korovin.
• Figure skating coach Slava Uchitel shared that a brick block has been added to the entrance of Philadelphia Skating Club & Humane Society in memory of Joshua Soto, a figure skater/ice dancer who was killed in November 2021 during a robbery.
• Three men were convicted in 2021 fatal shooting of 18-year-old figure skater Joshua Soto.
• 1964 Olympic Champion, three-time ISU World Champion and five-time ISU European Champion Sjoukje Dijkstra of the Netherlands passed away at age 82 on May 2, 2024.

Safe Sport Topics & Online Resources for skaters, parents and the figure skating community:

• Three-time Olympian Brendan Kerry of Australia has been sanctioned with permanent ineligibility (subject to appeal) by the U.S. Center for SafeSport for sexual misconduct involving a minor.
• Gymnasts for Change (Canada) will now be known as Athletes Empowered, and is advocating against abuse in all sports, at all levels. 

Event Recap

• Nation’s Cup Theatre on Ice international competition: Replay videos/
• ISU International Adult Figure Skating Competition in Oberstdorf, Germany, May 12-17, 2024: Event info/schedule link, results page,

free live streams by day (+ replays). Midori Ito won the Masters Elite Women III + IV Artistic Free Skating event, skating to “Aqua” by Ryuichi Sakamoto:

• Mexico Cup is May 16-18, 2024, in Queretaro, Mexico. 
• Oceania International Figure Skating Competition, May 29-31, 2024, in Melbourne, Australia.

Recent Interviews:

• Golden Skate’s interview with Elizabeth Tkachenko & Alexei Kiliakov (Golden Skate)
• Nathan Chen: Pursuing Passions, New and Old (Yale University)
• Olympic Champion Nathan Chen graduates from Yale (People Magazine)
• Engaged Olympians Madison Chock & Evan Bates Share Their Top Wedding Planning Tips (Knot.com)

Social Media Updates:

• Madison Chock, Nathan Chen and Vincent Zhou, #TeamUSA 2022 Olympic Gold Medalists honored at #GoldGala by Kristi Yamaguchi, Apolo Anton Ohno, Chloe Kim, and Shibutanis.

Kristi’s photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C676A21O3RO/

Madi’s photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C69DavORHc2/

Shibutanis’ photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C67h2l7rQtV/

• Camden Pulkinen graduated from Columbia University on Monday, May 13 with a degree is Psychology.
• Alexe Gilles graduated from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.
• Congratulations to Carolane Soucisse and Shane Firus who got married on May 2 in Cancun, Mexico.

Upcoming Events

• May 18: Marjorie Lajoie’s Patinage Atypique: https://fondationautisteetmajeur.fundkyapp.com/fr/patinage-atypique
• June 14-15, 2024: Diversify Ice’s Skate Raiser Soul Chicago https://diversifyice.org/events/

New at IDC: Morgan Matthew Pennington joined the team, solo dance interviews, photo shoots in LP, etc. 25 years!

New at FSO: Photos from Ice Theatre of NY, Interviews with Lukas Britschgi and Hilbelink sisters.