SCNY Skaters Shine at Eastern Sectionals

Olivia Serafini, Cape Cod Times

The ice at the Hyannis Youth and Community Center and the Yarmouth Ice Club played host this past weekend to a number of stellar performances from our very own SCNY skaters. 

Congratulations to all skaters who competed, and best of luck to those who are moving on to Nationals in Omaha in January!

Samantha Cesario took the gold in Senior Ladies, while Joelle Forte secured two spots in the field at Nationals for SCNY skaters with a 4th place finish. Samantha has bounced back this year after a season-ending injury that kept her from competing at Nationals last year, and this is Joelle's third trip to Nationals at the Senior level. 

Grant Hochstein snagged a berth in Senior men with 4th place in a tough field of skaters from the New England region. The 2009 Intermediate Dance Champions Danielle Gamelin and Alexander Gamelin are on their way to Omaha after also finishing 4th in their debut at the Senior level. Felicia Zhang also earned a spot in Senior Pairs with partner Nathan Bartholomay.

Jay Yostanto, Jimmy Ma and James Schetelich
receive their medals.

Olivia Serafini will be returning to Nationals again this year, this time as a Junior, after a 3rd place finish in Junior Ladies. Jay Yostanto, Jimmy Ma and James Schetelich will join her in Junior Men, having nabbed the gold, silver and bronze respectively in Hyannis. James won the silver medal in Novice Men at last year's Nationals, an event in which Jimmy Ma also qualified.

Emmy Ma will represent SCNY in Intermediate Ladies in January, taking home a silver medal from Hyannis. She competed in Juvenile Girls last year at Nationals. Darbie Burke and Griffin Schwab took home the gold in Intermediate Pairs. They also competed at the Juvenile level at last year's Nationals. Jessica Guo and Davis Tong will also head to Omaha, placing 4th in Juvenile Pairs.

A big thank you to the Yarmouth Ice Club and all of the volunteers and officials who ran a great competition. 

See the complete results from the 2013 Eastern Sectional Championships here.

More photos from Easterns:

Danielle & Alexander Gamelin

Emmy Ma

Jay Yostanto and Derrick Delmore

Elaine Zayak, Jimmy Ma, Olivia Serafini & Steven Rice

Skyliners Senior & Junior Teams to Appear on TODAY Show

SCNY's very own Skyliners are set to open the winter skating season at the iconic Rockefeller Center rink tomorrow morning (Tuesday, October 16th) live on the TODAY Show! The opening will be followed by a live performance of the Junior and Senior lines on Kathie Lee & Hoda. 

Be sure to tune in to your local NBC affiliate to catch the beginning of what is sure to be an exciting season of skating in New York!

For information on skating at Rockefeller Center, visit the rink website.

SCNY Throwing Regional/Sectional Send-Off Exhibition and Brunch

Fall may mean back-to-school and falling leaves to most, but for many skaters, it means the exciting start to the competitive season. It's a time of goal-setting and high hopes for the year ahead, and as any skater who has competed at regionals will tell you, support from friends, family and fellow skaters is essential to a successful competitive year.

So friends, family and fellow skaters, here is your chance to help out. The Skating Club of New York is throwing a Regional/Sectional send-off exhibition and brunch at Sky Rink on Sunday, September 30th from 10:30-12:20. Send off your skaters in style! It's a tradition at the SCNY and it will be great fun.

This is also a chance for SCNY skaters (Juvenile and above) competing at regionals to try out their competitive programs in front of an audience. There's no charge to skate, but space is limited. If you're interested in skating, email SCNY (mail@thescny.org) by Monday, September 24th with your name, skating level, program length, phone number and coach's name. First come, first served, so hurry! SCNY will let members who have applied know by week's end if they are on the schedule.

Good luck to all skaters competing this year!

Only Two Days Left to Register for Mids!

Hurry! The deadline for registration to compete in this year's Middle Atlantic Championships is fast approaching. Skaters will have until August 8th to enter. Click here to register now to compete in one of the country's most prestigious non-qualifying competitions!

SCNY is hosting the 87th Annual Middle Atlantic Figure Skating Championships at Sky Rink Chelsea Piers, September 6-9th. Mids has a long and glorious history of providing a competitive venue for some of the country's most accomplished figure skaters during their formative years. The competition has seen thousands of skaters throughout its tenure, including Sarah and Emily Hughes, Johnny Weir, Dick Button, Carol Heiss-Jenkins, Dorothy Hamill, Kyoko Ina & John Zimmerman and Tara Lipinski.

The competition is open to skaters of all levels (No-Test through Senior test levels, including Pre-Preliminary and Preliminary test track events), so long as they are members of US Figure Skating or of SCNY. This year Mids will also reprise its unique team competition for skaters at No-Test through Pre-Juvenile levels. Skaters must indicate their home rink on the entry form to participate. Event prices include a DVD of the full event for each event entered.

The competition will also feature its prestigious Pairs Critique, now several years running and sponsored by The Will Sears Fund. This year's critique will feature special guest Hely Abbondati, an ISU official and pairs specialist, among other international specialists, controllers and judges. The critique is included in the event price, so if you're a pairs skater, take advantage of this unique opportunity! 

Don't miss out on the fun at Mids this year. Sign up now!

Mids 2012 to Feature Exclusive Seminars with ISU Technical Experts

While the sport of figure skating is no doubt imbued with artistry and grace, it's the technical aspects of the sport that are more valued in competition. And it is important for all involved in competitive figure skating to gain a maximum understanding of this year's new ISU rules.

At this year's Middle Atlantic Championships, SCNY is offering a unique chance to get on top of it all before the season of qualifying competitions begins. 

The club is sponsoring a series of seminars for judges, officials, coaches, skaters and parents on Saturday, September 8th on Sunset Terrace at Sky Rink. Each seminar will feature actual ISU Committee members, ISU Referees, World and Olympic judges and Technical Controllers.  

The first seminar, "Understanding the New ISU Technical Rules Changes and Clarification of Rules," welcomes judges, coaches and skaters from 10:45 to 11:45 a.m., during which a panel of ISU Technical Committee members, World Technical Specialists and Controllers will explain the latest changes and proposals. The aim is to give all attendees a clearer understanding of the new ISU singles rules and their implications for competitors. 

The second seminar, from 1:15 to 2:15 p.m., will take a look "Inside the Headsets" of the Technical Panel. Officials, coaches, skaters and parents will get to watch from behind the panel as a mock competitive event is called live, and witness the real discussion and debate that goes on among actual ISU Technical Panel members during a live event. This is a rare peek behind the curtain and a great chance to get ahead of the competition! 

Seminar panelists include Australia's Susan Lynch, an ISU Committee member who served as the 2010 Olympic Pairs Technical Controller; and World Technical Specialist Troy Goldstein, among others.

Space is limited for both seminars, so reserve a spot now! To register online, sign in here and go to the "Merchandise" page. Entry is $25 for one seminar or $35 for both. You do not have to be a Mids competitor to attend. We hope to see you there!

Figure Skating Still Plays a Part in Summer Games

Icenetwork.com

The Olympics are here! Sure, there's no figure skating competition in the summer games, but some of the sport's biggest stars are still playing a role in London!

Notably, SCNY's very own Sarah and Emily Hughes are in London, reporting on all the Olympic fun for icenetwork.com. Follow their adventures across the pond via Sarah's chronicles on Ice Network and on her Twitter feed! 

Icenetwork.com also has a great slideshow of famous skaters who carried the Olympic torch for these London games. Torvill and Dean, Michelle Kwan and many more! 

When the Olympics are held, summer or winter, most of the figure skating community is glued to the television. Artistic gymnastics bears the most similarities in rules and athleticism to figure skating, and many figure skaters who watch it find it as compelling a competition to watch.

The scoring system for gymnastics has recently evolved similarly to that of figure skating, it seems, with open-ended scoring and emphasis on technical accuracy. The sport of gymnastics has had its share of Olympic judging scandals too, particularly at the 2008 Games in Beijing when Chinese gymnast He Kexin beat out American gymnast Nastia Liukin on the uneven bars event, despite technical bobbles and identical marks from the judges. So far in London though, the gymnastics competition has been riveting, and hopes for Team USA are high!

What's your favorite summer Olympic sport? Share with us in the comments section below.

New Rinks Open at Chelsea Piers Connecticut

Chelsea Piers in Stamford opens today! Two brand new rinks are now open seven days a week, along with dance/fitness studios and athletic training facilities.

There are no freestyle sessions set up as of yet, however if you'd like to test out the ice, there are open skating sessions every Saturday from noon to 4 p.m.

A few weeks ago, the Skyliners got a chance to try out the new ice as part of the facility's ribbon cutting ceremony. Check out some of their photos here!

Have you seen the new facilities yet? Let us know what you think of them! In the meantime, keep an eye on the Chelsea Piers Connecticut website for information on freestyle sessions and other skating opportunities.

Colorado Springs Wildfires Threaten Skating Community

US Figure Skating HQ

While the wildfires devastating the Colorado Springs area are thousands of miles away from the skating community here in New York, we can still help the relief efforts! The Red Cross and other relief organizations are now taking donations to help those affected by the wildfires. Go to helpcoloradonow.org to find out how you can help.

As many in the skating world have recently pointed out through tweets and social media, in many ways, the heart of US figure skating is out in Colorado. Our governing body is there, as well as one of the most influential skating clubs in the nation—the Broadmoor SC. Several skaters, coaches and officials have had to evacuate, and others remain under the threat. Please take a moment to think of them and others out west whose lives are directly affected. 

Icenetwork.com is closely following the news on the wildfires. Colorado Springs-based coach and skater Drew Meekins has shared his account there of how the fires are affecting the skating community out west on icenetwork.com. The Denver Post also has up-to-the-minute coverage and photos.

Also, Icenetwork.com has confirmed that USFS headquarters remains safe from the wildfires. It is currently open and operating during business hours. 

Get Excited for Mids!

Registration for the 87th Middle Atlantic Championships is now open! Enter online now for the competition, which will take place September 6-9th, 2012. Skaters will have until August 8th to enter. 

The entry fee includes a DVD of each skater's entire flight, as well as 15 minutes of official practice ice. There will also be a pairs critique with international judges and specialists for those interested. And remember, if you're entering as a Pre-Juvenile-level skater or below, list your home rink on your entry form to take part in the team competition! Also this year, the competition will include test track events at the Pre-Preliminary and Preliminary levels.

I remember my first time competing at Mids. To me, it was a momentous occasion. For the first time in my skating career, I had a real chance of holding my own against some very seasoned competitors in my level. I'd been training hard all summer and I was ready to test out my new programs for the competitive season. It was also my first time ever visiting New York City from upstate New York where I lived, so I was doubly excited. Skating in the big city? Sky Rink was legendary! When I walked in the East Rink for the first time and saw that beautiful view, I knew it was going to be a great competition. 

I remember skating a magically clean long program to get to finals, and a magically clean short program which vaulted me to 2nd place ahead of some very good skaters that I'd never previously been able to best. I was on cloud 9 the whole weekend. My final long program was pretty good, with a few minor bobbles though, and I ended up 5th overall. Even though I didn't win a medal, it was an experience to be proud of, for sure! And I picked up lots of valuable tips and advice from both officials and fellow competitors that I could take with me to better my chances for the upcoming competitive season. 

For higher-level competitive skaters, Mids is a great opportunity to test out your new moves and programs before regionals, and to do so against skaters from a range of regions—skaters who enter Mids come from not just the North Atlantic region but also New England, South Atlantic, Midwestern and beyond. There isn't another non-qualifying competition out there that can promise that much every year! And for skaters at the lower levels, it's a great way to build up confidence and experience in a very fun and welcoming competitive environment. 

Whether it's your first time or your 5th, whether you're a high-level competitor or a recreation skater, this year's Mids is bound to be a wonderful experience. Can't wait to see everyone at this year's competition. Sk8 Gr8!

Do you have a favorite Mids memory? Share it in the comments section!

Year-End Celebrations for SCNY

The skating year came to a close last week with a fantastic exhibition at Sky Rink, followed by a delicious bbq on the Sunset Terrace overlooking the Hudson River and the Statue of Liberty!

SCNY had a lot to celebrate this year, including some fantastic finishes from club skaters in regional, sectional, national and international competitions, high-level tests passed, and seniors graduating. Over 120 club members came to Chelsea Piers to join in the fun.

The celebration began with the annual Will Sears Exhibition, featuring the club's International, National and Junior National skaters as well as group numbers from the various rinks affiliated with the club, including Sky Rink, Sport-O-Rama, The Rinx, Wollman and Figure Skating in Harlem.

Afterward, skaters and their families made their way to the terrace, where the club honored its graduating high school seniors and the skaters who passed a gold medal test.

Proud gold medalists gather for a group shot.

The graduating seniors smile for the camera!

SCNY member and Olympic Gold Medalist Sarah Hughes came to join in the festivities, posing with club skaters (and possibly future Olympians themselves)!

And now it's time to start thinking about next year! Club registration for the 2012-2013 season is now open (register online), and club officials are meeting in the coming weeks to start plans for the 87th annual Middle Atlantic Figure Skating Championships. Stay tuned and happy summer!

SCNY Members Up for Skater of the Year

'Skating' magazine has opened up voting this year for it's Readers' Choice Skater of the Year Award (aka the Michelle Kwan Trophy), and several SCNY members are nominated!

Readers have until July 15th to choose one skater or synchro team that they think had the best competitive year. Eligible skaters include the medalists (USFS members only) from Worlds, Junior Worlds, Synchro Worlds, Synchro Junior World Challenge Cup, and the top five finishers at the senior level from this year's U.S Championships and U.S. Synchro Championships. 

That means U.S. Silver medalists Adam Rippon and Maia Shibutani are up for the award, as are the Skyliners senior team, who placed 5th at this year's Synchro Nationals. 

'Skating' fans and readers have been given readers choice since 1989, when Kristi Yamaguchi received the first Skater of the Year award. Since then, the award has been named after Michelle Kwan, who won it seven times. SCNY member Johnny Weir-Voronov has won twice, in 2008 and 2010.

Voting happens at the U.S. Figure Skating website only and is open until July 15th. The winner will be revealed in August. Let's give our fellow SCNY-ers some support! Click here to vote. 

ISU Makes Grand Prix Series Selections; 3 SCNY Members Chosen

The ISU has made its assignments for the 2013 Grand Prix season—it's 18th season—and three SCNY skaters have been selected to compete.

Three time U.S. Champion Johnny Weir-Voronov was selected to compete at the Rostelecom Cup in Moscow, November 9th-11th and at Trophee Eric Bompard in Paris, November 16th-18th.

2012 U.S. Men's Silver Medalist Adam Rippon was selected for the Cup of China in Shanghai, November 2nd-4th and the NHK Trophy in Miyagi, Japan, November 23rd-25th. 

2011 World Bronze Medalist Maia Shibutani was selected with her dance partner and brother Alex to compete at the Rostelecom Cup and the NHK Trophy. 

The 18th Grand Prix series will consist of six international competitions: Skate America, Skate Canada International, Cup of China, Rostelecom Cup, Trophee Eric Bompard and NHK Trophy. Skaters' results from all competitions are tallied based on a points system, and the top 6 points-scorers from each discipline are invited to compete at the Grand Prix Final, which will take place in Sochi, December 5th-9th.    

Congrats to all SCNY members who were selected this year. We'll be rooting for you!

Great Skates on YouTube

About once a week these days, I am struck with an urge to root around YouTube for old skating videos. The quality of what I find is not always great—many times it's a low-resolution video from before the advent of HD, or it's a cam-rip of someone filming their television. 

While not necessarily endorsed by the networks that broadcast them, many of the more famous performances are nonetheless available to watch on YouTube, and they are simply fantastic! Old videos from the '50s. New videos from this past year. You can find pretty much anything. 

A few weeks back, I read that legendary coach Christa Fassi had been elected by the PSA to the Figure Skating Coaches Hall of Fame. Thinking about that this week, I was inspired to search for a video of one of her husband's (Carlo Fassi) most famous pupils—Dorothy Hamill—who just so happens to have been an SCNY member. I found several, including a good quality video of her historic 1976 Olympic long program. I've seen it probably a hundred times before (she was one of my idols!), but for me, it never gets old. It's such a solid performance.

That got me thinking about another Olympic gold medalist, also from SCNY: Carol Heiss-Jenkins. I'd grown up hearing about how wonderful she was, but I'd never seen her skate. Sure enough, not even two minutes later, I was watching her 1960 Olympic-winning freeskate. It was interesting to see how large a role footwork and edges played in her program. While jumps took center stage in the '70s, '80s and '90s, the return to an emphasis on edgework in the last decade makes this video even more valuable.

My afternoon of YouTubing wouldn't be complete without digging up a performance by SCNY's third Olympic champion, Sarah Hughes. Her 2002 Olympic long program is just as amazing now ten years later as it was when I watched it live! 

There are hundreds of skating videos on YouTube and around the Web. Have you found any good ones lately? If so, let us know where to find them in the comments section below!

ITNY's Celebrity Skate Benefit Takes the Ice this Week

Ice and theater go together like peanut butter and jelly these days! This relatively new discipline in the skating world is growing fast and fabulous, combining the choicest elements from each of the other disciplines of skating—including freestyle, pairs, dance and synchro—with theatrics to create a highly creative and visually stunning brand of performance. 

Aside from a few "Showcase" (USFS) and "Spotlight" (ISI) performances in my youth, I didn't have the opportunity to try it out. But skating in New York, I'm exposed to some of the best ice theater around.

This city is home to a world class professional Ice Theater troupe, Ice Theatre of New York. It's right here on our doorstep, and this Thursday, May 17th, the troupe is hosting a Spring Fling at Chelsea Piers to raise money for rehearsals and performances for their upcoming season. It's billed as a "glamorous evening of skating, cocktails and light bites," and I have no doubt it will be a wonderful time. Ice Theater will be performing two new ensemble pieces, the Junior Ice Theatre performers will take the ice, followed by a celebrity skate-off that will feature the on-ice talents of 'All My Children' star Rebecca Budig and NY1 anchor Pat Kiernan, among others. Who will be judging the skate-off? Two-time Olympic champion Dick Button! 

Tickets are available for purchase online, or by calling (212) 929-5811. The evening begins with performances at East Rink at 7 p.m., followed by a reception on the Sunset Terrace around 8:15 p.m.

Here's a fantastic video of ITNY's performance at the Moncler Grenoble Fashion Show this winter at Wollman Rink:

Have you ever done any ice theater? Tell us about your experience in the comments section!

Skate-to-Learn Exhibition This Weekend

If you are a skater like me, you probably have a vividly happy memory of the moment you first fell in love with figure skating. That was a great feeling, right? This weekend, you can help hundreds of kids get the chance to experience that same joy.

How? Just come to the second annual Skate-to-Learn exhibition this Sunday, April, 29th at 3 p.m. at Sport-O-Rama in Monsey, NY. This SCNY-sponsored show's proceeds benefit Brooklyn Ice, a program that has provided free figure skating lessons and enrichment classes to children living near Prospect Park in Brooklyn since 2005. Proceeds from the show will also benefit the Boys and Girls Clubs of Hackensack and Lodi. 

Last year, the show raised over $17,000 for charity. This year's show will feature Russian champion Ksenia Makarova, accomplished pairs teams Gretchen Donlan and Andrew Speroff and Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir, and performers from Ice Theater of New York, and many other SCNY skaters.

This week, I had the chance to chat briefly with two of the founders of this very successful show--accomplished skaters Christine Mozer and David Cruikshank. These two teens came up with the idea for the show and fundraiser in 2010, after they heard about Brooklyn Ice needing funds to continue at a new rink. With the help of some dedicated fellow skaters, they put together a show called CitySkate that year, which raised over $15,000, and then in 2011, started the Skate-to-Learn exhibition. 

Christine, who represents SCNY, says she's very excited about the show this year, and proud of the SCNY members who have chipped in to help produce it. "In watching the shows from year to year, it is great to see how cast members of previous shows continue to improve and share their love for the sport," she said.

Looking back on the last two years, David (who represents the Hickory Hill FSC) is floored by the success. "We decided to put on a show because we thought we could get our friends to help out by skating in the show and helping with the day-of-show logistics and things like that," he said. "We never imagined the shows would be this successful."  

Both Christine and David are heading off to college next year, but they've no doubt that the show will go on and continue to be a great success. Show coordinators are always looking for volunteers to skate or help out backstage, so if you're interested, email skatetolearn2011@gmail.com. If you'd like to attend the show, you can buy tickets at the door or send an email to that address. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for kids and seniors. 

If you can't make the show this weekend, but still want to help out, you can send donations to Courtney Taylor c/o Figure Skating Office, Sport-O-Rama, 20 College Road, Monsey, NY 10953.

SCNY's Adam Rippon Helps Team USA Win Silver at ISU World Team Trophy

USFSA.org

Team USA scored big at this year's ISU World Team Trophy in Tokyo this weekend, thanks in large part to Adam Rippon's great skates. Rippon added six points to the team's 53-point tally with his season's best scores in both short and long programs, placing seventh overall in the men's event. Congrats to Adam! 

Team Japan won the event and Team Canada came in third. This is only the second time the ISU has held a team competition—the last one was held in 2009, when Team USA took home the gold. There was to have been another last year, but the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in March of 2011 put a hold on things. From here on out it looks like this competition will be held every two years. 

Skaters on a recreational level are no strangers to team competitions, especially if they've ever participated in ISI-sanctioned events. SCNY has been incorporating a team event at Mid Atlantics for the No-Test through Pre-Juvenile events for a few years now, using a scoring method similar to that used in the World Team Trophy competitions.

To participate in the Mids team competition, all you have to do is indicate your home rink on your entry form—that will be the team that you skate for. Many skaters skate at multiple rinks, so the choice as to which rink you represent is yours. That is all you need to do and there are no additional events or fees. The winning team will be awarded a trophy to take home to their rink.

Sochi 2014 is slated to make Olympic history by featuring a team competition for the first time. I'm a huge fan of watching figure skating's summer cousin, gymnastics, which seems to place more emphasis on the overall team aspect of competitions than the individual's performance. I always wondered why figure skating events on a world scale didn't have a similar team competition. I feel like it amps up the spirit and collegiality of a skating competition when you're not just in it for yourself. 

What do you think? Should there be more team competitions in the higher echelons of figure skating? Let us know in the comments section below!

SCNY Rink Closes for the Season, Looking Forward to Next Year

Since Wollman Rink closed at the beginning of this month, I've been going through a bit of outdoor skating withdrawal. 

Until I first set my blades on the iconic rink in Central Park two years ago, I had never skated outside. All my practice and competition and recreational skating was within the confines of a refrigerated building. When I took my first lap around Wollman, it felt truly like flying. 

Feeling nostalgic for this past season, I found this quick photo I snapped with my phone as I was leaving the rink last November. I think it really captures the essence of what makes Wollman so special. 

Wollman is affiliated with SCNY and is home to both the largest basic skills program and the largest basic skills competition in the country (the Wollman Open). Skating at Wollman will open back up in October of this year. To keep us all tided over until then, please share your favorite Wollman experience in the comments below!

SCNY Team to Have Adult Synchro Tryouts

Attention adult skaters! Are you new to skating and looking for a fun challenge? Or are you a seasoned competitor looking to stay involved in the sport?

Gotham City Synchro is looking for new skaters, ages 25 and up, to join the synchronized skating team for the 2012-2013 competitive season. 

Tryouts are Thursday, May 3 from 6:00-7:20 a.m. at City Ice Pavilion. There's a $20 fee for ice time, cash or check payable to the Skating Club of New York. No synchro experience necessary. Visit the Gotham City Synchro website for more information. 

GCS is coming off a successful season that included two bronze medal-winning performances in a challenging competitive field. This coming season, the team will skate in the Masters division and will compete at the Eastern Sectionals in Lake Placid and the National Synchro Championships in Plymouth, Michigan. 

Gotham City Synchro is a skater-run organization founded in 2007. They represent SCNY, and the team's average age is over 35.

SCNY Members Boost Hopes for Sochi in Nice

The 2012 World Figure Skating Championships were disappointing for U.S. athletes, yet despite troubled performances and low finishes, two SCNY members helped ensure multiple berths for U.S. Figure Skating on next year's World Team, increasing the nation's qualifying prospects for the Sochi Olympics in 2014.

Two-time U.S. silver medalist, 2011 World bronze medalist and SCNY member Maia Shibutani dropped to 8th place overall in the ice dance event this year. Skating with her brother Alex, the pair's top-10 finish, combined with a silver medal earned by Meryl Davis and Charlie White, was enough to ensure three spots for U.S. ice dancers in next year's World Championships in London, Ontario.

SCNY member and U.S. silver medalist Adam Rippon had a disappointing 13th place finish in his second time competing at Worlds. His result, combined with U.S. men's champion Jeremy Abbott's 8th place finish, secured two spots for U.S. men at next year's competition. Though both Rippon's short and free skate weren't his best, he attempted a quad salchow and he completed one of his trademark Rippon lutzes—a variation of the 'Tano lutz with both arms up during rotation—and turned in energetic finishes despite the technical bobbles.

Also competing in the ice dance event, SCNY member Isabella Tobias placed 18th overall with her partner Deividas Stagniunas. The pair represented Lithuania.