Twenty-seven U.S. Athletes to Compete this Week in Three International Events
Icenetwork.com JGP Great Britain Event Page
Icenetwork.com Karl Schafer Memorial Event Page
Icenetwork.com Coupe de Nice Event Page
(10/15/08) - Twenty-seven skaters from the United States will compete in three international competitions this week. Fourteen athletes will head to the eighth event of the 2008 International Skating Union (ISU) Junior Grand Prix (JGP) of Figure Skating Series in Sheffield, Great Britain, while seven U.S. skaters will compete at the Karl Schafer Memorial, Oct. 14-17 in Vienna, Austria, and six skaters will compete at the Coupe De Nice, Oct. 16-19 in Nice, France.
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| Madison Chock and Greg Zuerlein Photo by Michelle Harvath |
The JGP event, which will be held at Ice Sheffield, begins Thursday, Oct. 16 with the compulsory dance and men's and ladies short programs. Official practice will take place Wednesday.
The JGP Series, now in its 12th season, consists of eight international events in a cumulative point-scoring format. Approximately 400 athletes representing more than 35 countries are expected to participate in the series. Each athlete is eligible to score points in two of the eight scheduled events (pairs can compete in two of four designated events). The top eight point-earners in each of the disciplines qualify for the Junior Grand Prix Final Dec. 11-14 in Seoul, South Korea.
The United States medaled in three disciplines at the JGP event last week in Cape Town, South Africa, winning three golds, one silver and one bronze. Alexe Gilles won the ladies gold, Richard Dornbush won the men's gold, and the ice dancing team of Madison Hubbell & Keiffer Hubbell won ice dancing gold. Piper Gilles & Zachary Donohue collected ice dancing silver, while Amanda Dobbs took ladies bronze. To date, the United States has won 23 medals in this year's JGP Series.
Ladies
Angela Maxwell won silver medal last month at JGP Czech Republic and also captured the silver as a junior at the 2008 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Saint Paul, Minn. A performance in Sheffield like the one she gave in Ostrava would qualify her for the Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, Dec. 10-14, in Goyang City, Republic of Korea. This is also the second go-around on the JGP circuit for Tenile Victorsen. In 2005, she was the junior pewter medalist at the U.S. Championships and won junior silver at that year's Gardena Spring Trophy.
Men
With a strong showing this week, Alexander Johnson can lock up a spot in the JGP Final. He won gold last month at JGP Czech Republic and is the 2007 U.S. novice silver medalist. This is also the second time competing in the JGP series for Keegan Messing, who finished fourth at JGP Czech Republic. He finished fifth as a junior at the 2008 U.S. Championships and won novice bronze at the 2007 State Farm U.S. Championships.
Pairs
Marissa Castelli & Simon Shnapir finished fourth at JGP Czech Republic and will need to place at least that high to have a shot at competing in the JGP Final. They won novice bronze at the 2008 U.S. Championships. Kloe Bautista & Galvani Hopson made their JGP debut in the Czech Republic, where they finished sixth. The pair finished fourth at the 2008 U.S. Championships as novices. Newly formed pair Molly Aaron & Daniyel Cohen finished eighth in their first international event together at JGP Mexico.
Ice Dancing
Reigning U.S. junior bronze medalists Madison Chock & Greg Zuerlein look like a good bet to earn a berth to the JGP Final as they won gold last month at JGP Italy. Rachel Tibbetts & Collin Brubaker finished sixth at JGP Spain last month. Last season, they finished fifth at both JGP Croatia and JGP Romania.
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| Lynn Kriengkrairut and Logan Giulietti-Schmitt Photo by Michelle Harvath |
The 2008 Karl Schafer Memorial will be held at the Vienna Ice Arena. Competition begins Tuesday with the compulsory dance.
The Karl Schafer Memorial began in 1991, although it was not held in 2007. Since its beginning, notable American skaters to win gold include Nicole Bobek in 1991, Rudy Galindo (men's) in 1994 and Sarah Hughes in 1999.
Ladies
Molly Oberstar will be making her senior international debut. She finished 15th at the 2008 U.S. Championships.
Men
Making his senior international debut is Wesley Campbell, who finished seventh at the 2008 U.S. Championships. Also debuting on the senior level internationally is Tommy Steenberg, who finished ninth at both the 2008 U.S. Championships and World Junior Championships.
Ice Dancing
Charlotte Maxwell & Nick Traxler will be competing in their second international event. They finished seventh at the 2008 U.S. Championships and eighth at the 2007 Golden Spin of Zagreb. Also competing in their second international event are Lynn Kriengkrairut & Logan Giulietti-Schmitt. They finished ninth at the 2008 U.S. Championships and eighth at the 2007 Nebelhorn Trophy.
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| Chloe Katz and Joseph Lynch Photo by Paul Harvath |
The 2008 Coupe De Nice will be held at the Jean Bouin Skating Rink. Competition begins Friday with the men's, ladies and pairs short programs.
The Coupe De Nice began in 1995 and, except for 2005, has been held continuously since then. The U.S. Collegiate senior ladies and men's silver and bronze medalists are offered the opportunity to compete at Coupe De Nice.
Ladies
Amy Nunn of Metropolitan State College in Denver, Colo., won the 2008 U.S. Collegiate silver medal while Abigail Legg of Indiana University was the 2008 U.S. Collegiate bronze medalist.
Men
Jonathan Cassar of Oakland (Mich.) University captured the 2008 U.S. Collegiate silver medal. He was the 2006 U.S. Collegiate junior gold medalist. Michael Solonoski of Drexel University is a three-time U.S. Collegiate bronze medalist.
Pairs
Chloe Katz & Joseph Lynch are representing U.S. Figure Skating at the event. The pair placed eighth at the 2008 U.S. Championships and finished fifth at the 2005 Nebelhorn Trophy.
