Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2022 i International Figure Skating

As summer draws to a close, we are gearing up for an action-packed season. With several skaters and teams having retired and others unsure about their competitive futures or sitting out the first half of the campaign, the lineups for all the events will be a mix of veterans and rookies. That there will be many new faces on the Grand Prix circuit this year is cause for celebration. While we all love the top skaters in the world, discovering new favorites to cheer for is something I look forward to every season. The seven-event Junior Grand Prix Series opens in Courchevel, France on Aug. 24. All competitions will be live streamed worldwide on the ISU Junior Grand Prix YouTube channel. The Challenger Series will get underway in a couple…

Four years and two days after their first date, Piper Gilles said yes to the proposal of her boyfriend Nathan Kelly. Though they had talked about getting engaged — and Gilles had shown her preferred ring style in a visit to a jeweler — she had no idea if Kelly had bought a ring or when he intended to propose. At the end of last season, Gilles and her on-ice partner Paul Poirier decided to take a six-week break during which Gilles planned to spend part of the time with her family in Colorado. “Nathan had booked a videography job for Porsche Colorado Springs to film Pikes Peak, so I it was perfect timing for us both to go there,” said Gilles. “As it turned out, my brothers and sisters…

Former Canadian pairs skater Eric Radford was elected Chair of the Athletes Commission at the 2022 International Skating Union Congress in June. Though the 37-year-old never envisaged himself being in this role while he was competing, it is one he now finds himself deeply invested in. IT TOOK JUST ONE CONVERSATION with skating officials at a competition in 2018 to plant the seed. When asked if he had ever thought about joining the Athletes Commission, Eric Radford admitted it had never crossed his mind. But that question would be the catalyst that set in motion a new train of thought, and ultimately the path he now finds himself on. Following his retirement in 2018, Radford knew he wanted to keep his foot in the door of the skating world and…

The 2022 senior Grand Prix Series will have a very different look than in previous years due to retirements, those taking a break from competition and the International Skating Union (ISU) ban preventing Russian and Belarusian athletes from sanctioned competitions this season. The Chinese Skating Association advised the ISU in May that it would not be able to host Cup of China this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in that country. Adhering to the request of the International Olympic Committee, the ISU canceled Russia’s Rostelecom Cup. Not wanting to have a watered-down Series, it reached out to other nations to host one of these two events. Great Britain will hold its first ever Grand Prix in place of Cup of China and Finland has taken on the competition…

FRENCH UPHEAVAL In a move that took many by surprise, a new president of the Fédération Française des Sports de Glace (FFSG) was elected on June 25. Gwenaëlle Gigarel-Noury, an unknown from a small French club, won the election with 452 votes over Nathalie Péchalat, who received 412. Gigarel-Noury’s victory was aided by former president Didier Gailhaguet, who was forced to resign in 2020. “Although I skated when I was young, it’s only been five years that I’ve been really active at the federation level,” she said in an interview with the French news outlet L’Equipe. “It is not alone that one can lead such a boat and I want to surround myself with competent people who know this federal machine and Didier is one of them.” Péchalat, who had…

Jean Westwood, a former ice dancer and long-time coach, passed away in British Columbia, Canada, on July 26 at age 91. Westwood — along with her partner Lawrence Demmy — made history in 1952 when they won the first World ice dance title and added to their legacy when they claimed the inaugural European ice dance crown in 1954. Born in Manchester, England, in 1931, Westwood began skating at age 7, competing initially in singles. Her career was interrupted with the outbreak of the Second World War. In 1950, a trial was held to select two teams to enter the World Ice Dance Championship in Milan, which took place in February 1951. Westwood and Demmy, who had begun an ice dance and pairs partnership in the fall of 1950, were…

In many ways, Isabeau Levito is a typical teenager. Ask her what she likes to do in her spare time, and the 15-year-old will tell you “I love to hang out with my friends and play with my cats.” She also admits to being “hooked” on reading and every now and again plays a melody or two on the piano. Nothing out of the ordinary there, right? But strap a pair of skates on Levito’s feet, set her free on the ice and that’s when ordinary can suddenly become extraordinary. The American teen is a young phenom on the rise in the world of figure skating, with a trail of success already on her résumé after just one full season on the international scene. This, after all, is a skater…

Chantelle Kerry and Zachary Donohue have had anything but a normal courtship. The couple first crossed paths at 2020 Four Continents, but it was a fleeting connection. At the time, both were dating other people, but just a few months later Kerry and Donohue ended their respective relationships. “About four months into COVID I was single again. I reached out to Chantelle when I commented on an Instagram post of her with her adorable dog. She ignored me for three weeks before she responded,” recalled Donohue, who was in the United States while Kerry was in her hometown of Sydney, Australia. “He kept replying to things and I was like, ‘why is he messaging me? Whatever,’” Kerry recalled with a laugh. “But when I eventually answered in August, we clicked…

When figure skaters retire it rarely draws the attention of anyone in the international press beyond those who cover the sport. But, as a testament to the respect and admiration afforded Yuzuru Hanyu throughout his long and illustrious career, his decision to leave the amateur ranks was reported by major networks and newspapers around the globe. As he addressed the 150 invited media outlets at a press conference on July 19, Hanyu stated he felt “no sadness” about his decision to step away from the amateur stage. “I’m no longer confined to the realm of competitions. In terms of results, I’ve achieved everything I could achieve — I have already won everything I want to win. I stopped wanting to be evaluated.” Four years earlier, following his historic triumph at…

In a July 18 press release, the Italian Ice Sports federation announced the passing of former International Skating Union president (ISU) Ottavio Cinquanta at age 83, following a lengthy illness. Born in Rome, the multi-lingual Italian — whose background was in speed skating — began his career with the ISU as a member of the technical committee (1975-1992). He was elected vice president of the ISU in 1992, a position he held until 1994 when he became president of the sport’s governing body. Cinquanta’s 22 years at the ISU helm made him the second-longest serving president in ISU history, behind Viktor Balck of Sweden, who led the organization for 30 years from 1895 to 1925. Cinquanta was elected as a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1996, a…

OFF THE AIR NBCUniversal is closing another sports cable channel in its vast portfolio. The company announced on July 1 that it will shut down the Olympic Channel on Sept. 30. This follows on the heels of the shuttering of the NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) at the end of 2021. An NBC Sports spokesperson said the company will figure out where the Olympic Channel’s sports content will live once the channel is taken off the air. “In order to best reach our target audiences, we are reevaluating our programming distribution strategy regarding the content that currently airs on Olympic Channel: home of Team USA with our partners at the IOC and USOPC,” the spokesperson said. “We will be announcing our exciting new plans for Olympic content in the fall.” Launched…