by Jacquelyn Thayer What could be considered a disadvantage — a pending federation release that curtailed their chance to compete on the international circuit in 2014-15 — was, for Marissa Castelli and Mervin Tran, a distinct benefit. “I would say that is the best thing that could have happened to us, because unlike the other…
by Jacquelyn Thayer Gretchen Donlan and Nate Bartholomay, matched in July, kicked off their competitive career together under less than auspicious circumstances. After an initial assignment to November’s Ice Challenge, the team had to decline in favor of ankle surgery for Bartholomay in late October to repair a disc and remove bone spurs, forced by…
by Jacquelyn Thayer With a quiet entry to the senior ranks in 2013, marked by a silver at their single international assignment at Cup of Nice and an eleventh-place finish at the 2014 U.S. Championships, American pair Jessica Calalang and Zack Sidhu anticipated a similarly modest schedule for 2014-15. And then, in summer, came the…
Senior dance teams competing: 15 Senior pairs competing: 7 New teams: 5 Catherine Daigle-Roy & Dominic Barthe (sixth, dance, Skate Canada Challenge) Lubov Iliushechkina & Dylan Moscovitch (first, pairs, Skate Canada Challenge) Alexa Linden & Jean-Luc Jackson (eighth, dance, Skate Canada Challenge) Kirsten Moore-Towers & Michael Marinaro (Grand Prix competitors; second, pairs, Skate Canada Challenge)…
Senior dance teams competing: 17 *Alissandra Aronow & Collin Brubaker withdrew after qualification Senior pairs competing: 12 *Brianna de la Mora & Taylor Wilson withdrew after qualification New teams: 5 Marissa Castelli & Mervin Tran (first, pairs, Eastern Sectionals) Anya Davidovich & AJ Reiss (first, pairs, Pacific Coast Sectionals) Gretchen Donlan & Nate Bartholomay (bye,…
While our previous entries have focused exclusively on the question of PCS, an overall evaluation of fall results has prompted a secondary question: what relationship, if any, exists between the role of PCS and that of the ostensibly more objective TES? *Note: Deductions when present have been added back to total scores to allow for…
by Jacquelyn Thayer Though they skate this week for British national gold, North America has proven a home for Caitlin Yankowskas and Hamish Gaman. After the American Yankowskas and British Gaman kicked off their international partnership at the dance-centered Arctic Edge in Canton in 2013, the two relocated in April 2014 to the more freestyle-oriented…
by Jacquelyn Thayer Before proceeding to the next topic in our PCS series, let’s take a moment to look at the national ranking trends suggested in entry #1 as applied to our other discipline of interest — pairs. PCS and National Ranking: Pairs This analysis, it must be cautioned, does not take into consideration technical…
The dance event in Nagano, Japan, at the 1998 Winter Olympics is remembered probably in significant part for an off-the-podium finish for reigning Canadian champions and World bronze medalists Shae-Lynn Bourne & Victor Kraatz — a result not wholly unjustified given errors in the Golden Waltz compulsory and the rawness of the team’s new “Greased…
For U.S. and Canadian pairs, the Grand Prix offered up a rather mixed bag of results: while two Canadian pairs are once more Grand Prix Final-bound and closer in ranking than ever, established and up-and-coming national teammates are vying for their own opportunity. In the U.S., technical consistency is proving a key to success, and…
