The skating season might be done, but there is still lots of action happening in this Olympic off-season with retirements, partner swaps, coaching changes, etc.
A small number of copies of the IFS April 2022 issue are now available!
August 23: U.S. ice dancers Eva Pate and Logan Bye announced their engagement today. Instagram
August 22: Bradie Tennell announced a coaching change. Benoît Richaud will now be her head coach and Cédric Tour will be her jump specialist. She is moving to Nice, France, to work with her new team. Instagram
August 20: U.S. ice dancers Caroline Green and Michael Parsons have made it official that they have changed coaches and are now working with Charlie White, Tanith White and Greg Zuerlein at MIDA in Canton, Michigan. Instagram
August 19: Italy’s Daniel Grassl made it official in an Instagram post that he has left his Egna base and is now training in Boston. Instagram
August 18: Kurt Browning announced on Twitter that he and two-time U.S. champion Alissa Czisny had married.
August 12: Ukrainian ice dancers Oleksandra Nazarova and Maksym Nikirin, who moved the world with their powerful rhythm dance at 2022 Worlds, have announced their retirement. Instagram
August 6: Former U.S. pairs skater Ashley Cain has joined “Disney on Ice” and is now in Saudi Arabia where she will perform the starring role of Elsa in the “Frozen” production.
August 5: The Canadian pairs team of Evelyn Walsh and Trennt Michaud have ended their partnership. Walsh is headed to university and Michaud is now looking for a new partner.
August 1: Our exclusive interview with ISU commentator Mark Hanretty has been published online. Read it HERE.
July 29: Tickets are now on sale for the Grand Prix Final in Torino, Italy. Click HERE.
July 22: The 2022 Grand Prix Series assignments have been published. Click HERE.
Ticket information for NHK Trophy is now available HERE.
July 21: The 2022 Grand Prix Series assignments will be announced Fri., July 22. Sheffield, Great Britain, is now confirmed as the host of the fourth event.
July 19: Yuzuru Hanyu announced his retirement from competitive skating at a press conference today. Read more HERE.
Four years ago today, the world lost one of its brightest lights with the death of Denis Ten. We reflect on his accomplishments and legacy in our feature story that ran in the October 2019 IFS issue.
July 18: Yuzuru Hanyu will hold a press conference on Tue., July 19 at 5 pm (local time) in a Tokyo hotel to make a “statement of determination,” his management agency announced today.
Former ISU president Ottavio Cinquanta, who had been ill for a long time, passed away today at age 83.
July 16: Japan has announced its team for the 2022 Japan Open: Shoma Uno/Kaori Sakamoto/Rika Kihira/Yuma Kagiyama. Official Site
July 12: Nathan Chen will be performing on ″Dancing With Myself″ tonight on NBC at 10 p.m. EST.
July 11: Viktor Petrenko was fired as vice president of the Ukrainian Figure Skating Federation and expelled from the organization for taking part in a show in Sochi, Russia that was organized by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov’s wife, Tatiana Navka.
Sheffield, England and Espoo, Finland will host the Grand Prix events in place of Cup of China and Rostelecom Cup.
July 3: Some members of Team Japan 2022-2023 debuted new programs at shows the past few weeks. Watch them HERE.
July 1: In a comment posted on the Japan Skating Federation website today, Yuzuru Hanyu gave the first indication he will return to competition in the fall: ″This season, too, I want to do my best and aim even higher still.″
Ashley Wagner announced her engagement to her longtime boyfriend Alex Clark today. Instagram
June 25: The election for president of the French Ice Skating Federation took place today. Nathalie Péchalat was defeated by Gwenaëlle Gigarel-Noury, a colleague of former president Didier Gailhaguet. L’Equipe article.
A video interview with Wenjing Sui in English. She talks about her Olympic experience and the career path she wants to follow. ″I want to become a choreographer.″ Watch it HERE.
June 24: Piper Gilles announced today that she said yes to the marriage proposal of her longtime boyfriend Nathan Kelly in Colorado on June 21. Instagram
June 23: Following his retirement on May 23, Spanish ice dancer Adrián Díaz announced today he has joined the I.AM Academy coaching team and will work with Scott Moir at the London location. Instagram
Former Canadian novice and junior champion Joseph Phan has announced his retirement. Read the article HERE.
June 22: The 2023 Four Continents Championships, originally slated to take place in Sydney, Australia, has been moved to Colorado Springs — Feb. 7-12.
All-event tickets for 2022 Finlandia Trophy are now on sale at Ticketmaster.
The ISU Council has appointed two members to the Ice Dance Technical Committee: Skater: Kaitlyn Weaver (CAN) and Coach: Alper Uçar (TUR).
June 20: Gabriella Papadakis/Guillaume Cizeron announced they are putting their competitive careers on hold and will focus on performing in shows next season. They will make a decision in a year about whether they will return to competition. Read the article HERE.
The German Skating Union announced today that the pairs team of Minerva Fabienne Hase/Nolan Seegert and ice dancers Katharina Müller and Tim Dieck have ended their respective partnerships. Hase, Müller and Dieck hope to continue with new partners. Press Release.
June 18: Zachary Donohue and Chantelle Kerry announced today they became engaged in Sydney, Australia, on June 11. Instagram
Former U.S. ice dancer Benjamin Agosto wed his longtime girlfriend Katherine Hill on June 18 in Colorado Springs.
June 17: The 2022-2023 ISU World Standings have been published. Links and info are HERE.
June 16: Evan Bates decided Thailand was the perfect place to propose to his longtime girlfriend Madison Chock. People Magazine
All-event tickets for 2022 Skate Canada International will be available for pre-sale Wed., June 22 @ 10:00 a.m. EST. Sale to the public starts Mon., June 27 @ 10:00 a.m EST. Online at Ticketmaster or by phone @ 1-855-985-5000.
June 15: Mexico′s Donovan Carrillo will be honored with the Ice Theatre of New York Will Sears Award this fall. The award is given annually to a skater who demonstrates exceptional courage in the pursuit of his or her dreams. No date has been announced at this time.
June 13: U.S. pairs skaters Ashley Cain and Timothy LeDuc announced their retirement today. Ashley is headed to the professional show circuit and Timothy is turning to coaching. Instagram
June 10: French skater Adam Siao Him Fa announced he has left his Courbevoie training base and his coach Laurent Depouilly. Reports are he is now training in Nice with a former coach.
June 8: Armenian ice dancer Tina Garabedian has announced her retirement. Her partner, Simon Proulx Sénécal, is now in Blackpool, England, preparing for a show, which will run from July through September. Garabdedian Instagram
June 7: Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro officially announced their retirement. Moore-Towers Instagram
June 3: The 58th Ordinary Congress of the International Skating Union (ISU) will take place in Phuket, Thailand, June 6-10. Overview and links are HERE.
June 1: A report in the Psychiatric Times — On Thin Ice: Competitive Sports and Youth Mental Health — highlights the effects of the pressures placed upon young, high-level athletes.
May 27: Japanese ice dancers Kana Muramoto and Daisuke Takahashi announced their intention to continue their career and will be back on the competitive circuit next season and are currently working with Massimo Scali in California. Instagram
Following her partner’s retirement, Spanish ice dancer Olivia Smart has decided to take some time to herself to evaluate her options and see what else life has to offer. Instagram
May 23: Spanish ice dancer Adrián Díaz announced his retirement from competitive skating today. Instagram
May 21: Skate Canada has announced its 2022-2023 NextGen team.
May 20: Canada′s Nam Nguyen formally announced his retirement today. Rob Brodie caught up with Nguyen for our March/April issue to talk about his reasons for quitting the sport and what his future plans are. Article is HERE.
May 18: Unconfirmed reports are that Canadian pairs skater Zachary Daleman has teamed up with Natalia Zabiiako, an Estonian-born pairs skater who previously represented Russia with Alexander Enbert.
May 16: Kori Ade, the former coach of Jason Brown, has been diagnosed with Stage 3 B Cell Lymphoma and is currently undergoing treatment at a hospital in Nashville, Tennessee.
May 13: The ISU Council approved a new ISU Athlete Safeguarding Policy along with related updates to the ISU Code of Ethics. The Athlete Safeguarding Policy was drafted in close cooperation with the ISU Athletes Commission.
China’s Wenjing Sui and Cong Han talk about their journey to Olympic gold and what it took for them to achieve their goals. Article is in English HERE.
May 12: Ilia Malinin landed two clean quad Axels at a U.S. Figure Skating jump camp today. Watch him execute one HERE.
May 11: The Chinese Skating Association has cancelled the Grand Prix Cup of China. The ISU is now looking for a new host.
May 8: China′s Han Yan announced the news that he has become a father. He did not provide any information about the sex of the baby or its name.
May 7: The Stars on Ice tour has returned to Canadian soil and no one could be happier than show choreographer Jeffrey Buttle. Read the article HERE.
May 6: A Michelle Kwan tribute show is scheduled to take place at The Green Room in New York City on June 29.
May 3: Following a silver medal finish at the 2022 World Junior Championships, the Canadian ice dance team of Natalie D’Alessandro and Bruce Waddell have ended their partnership. D’Alessandro is retiring and is headed to university in the fall.
The U.S. pairs program took yet another hit with Kate Finster announcing her retirement. With the end of her pairs partnership with Brian Johnson, Jessica Calalang announced she is headed to UC Irvine in the fall to study psychology.
May 2: Skate Canada has come under fire for not publicly announcing a coach′s removal from its Hall of Fame and for refusing to remove two other offenders from the site. Read the article HERE.
April 27: Probably no one is happier than Jason Brown to be back on the tour circuit, performing for live audiences once again. Read what he had to say HERE.
April 26: With ISU president Jan Dijkema retiring, two candidates for the position have now been confirmed. U.S. Figure Skating has nominated its former president Patricia St. Peter and the Korean Skating Union has nominated Jae-Youl Kim (Yonhap News).
April 25: The ISU has banned participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes/officials from all competitions. No competitions will be held in either country. Read the article HERE.
Skate Canada announced today that 2022 Skate Canada International will take place in Mississauga, Ontario, Oct. 28-30.
Great Britain’s ice dance team of Sasha Fear and George Waddell announced the end of their partnership. Instagram
April 23: French skater Geoffrey Brissaud proposed to his girlfriend Ekaterina Ryabova of Azerbaijan. Ryabova went to France following the 2022 World Championships. Instagram
Gabriella Papadakis, Guillaume Cizeron and Vanessa James spent time working with Premiers de Cordée, an organization in France that offers sporting opportunities to children in hospitals and those with disabilities. Instagram
April 22: Wakaba Higuchi revealed she was recovering from an injury. Following her return to Japan after the World Championships Higuchi was experiencing some pain. She attended at a hospital on April 15 and learned she had suffered a stress fracture in her right shin. She was advised to rest for about a month and not to attempt any jumps.
Higuchi said she is not committing to another four-year cycle but will take it year by year. ″This season is the season I did my best. For the next four years, I want to divide one year into one year. I want to concentrate on one thing without thinking about the next year.″ She plans to begin preparing for next season in July.
Japanese new sources report that Mana Kawabe is leaving the Kinoshita Academy in Kyoto and her coach Mie Hamada to train with Mihoko Higuchi, the former assistant coach/choreographer for Shoma Uno, at Higuchi’s newly formed LYS club in Kawabe′s hometown of Nagoya.
April 14: The Professional Skaters Association announced the winners of the EDI Awards for Best Performances at the 2022 U.S. Championships.
April 11: Japan’s Keiji Tanaka announced his retirement. The 27-year-old, who has been skating for 20 years and spent eight seasons on the competitive circuit, is moving into the professional show ranks. He also plans to start working as an assistant coach. “The experiences I have gained throughout my competitive life are irreplaceable,” said Tanaka, who was coached by Utako Nagamitsu and Sayaka Yodo. “It was a happy competitive life.”
April 9: Alysa Liu of the U.S. announced her retirement in an Instagram post. “Heyyyyy, so I’m here to announce that I am retiring from skating. I honestly never thought I would have accomplished as much as I did. I feel so satisfied with how my skating career has gone. Now that I’m finally done with my goals in skating, I’m going to be moving on with my life.”
April 4: Misha Mitrofanov announced the end of his pairs partnership with Audrey Lu.
“Life is full of bittersweet moments. After six incredible seasons together, Audrey and I have ended our partnership,” Mitrofanov wrote in an Instagram post announcing the news. Lu, who he described as “the best partner I could ever dream of, and an even better friend,” is headed to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the fall to pursue her academic ambitions. Though Lu said she intends to continue skating, she did not say in what capacity. On April 14, Mitrofanov, 24, announced he had teamed up with Hazel Collier, a 15-year-old skater from Charlestown. Massachusetts.
April 3: The American pairs team of Jessica Calalang and Brian Johnson announced the end of their four-year partnership. The news came as a surprise to most. After weathering a rough 2021, which saw Calalang suspended from the sport for a doping violation that was subsequently dropped, the pair seemed to be getting back on track.
In an Instagram post, Johnson wrote he had made the decision to retire. “I realize that many people will be shocked by this, but I feel the need to move on with life. Skating has been a wonderful, thrilling, emotional and heartbreaking experience and is a time that I will reminisce upon with smiles and gratification.
Johnson thanked Calalang “for the best four years” and wished her the best in “whatever endeavours you choose to pursue. I apologize that I cannot go on. Leaving skating and the tight knit group of people it encompasses will definitely be a change, but one I feel I’m ready for.”
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