NINE HEADED TO AUSTRIA FOR SECOND STOP ON JUNIOR GRAND PRIX SERIES

Competition starts on Thursday, Aug. 30, with the rhythm dance and the men’s short program. The ladies and pairs short programs will take place on Friday, Aug. 31.

In the ladies competition, Ting Cui will skate in her second-career JGP series event. Cui, who now trains in Colorado Springs, Colorado, finished sixth at JGP Australia last season. She is the reigning U.S. junior bronze medalist.

Camden Pulkinen and Dinh Tran will represent the United States in the men’s field. Last season, Pulkinen won silver at the JGP Final after earning a gold and silver medal at JGP Austria and JGP Poland, respectively. He is the reigning U.S. junior champion. Tran embarks on his second JGP series, having competed in Poland last season. He is the reigning U.S. junior silver medalist.

In the pairs field, Laiken Lockley and Keenan Prochnow will skate in their first event of the season. The duo finished fifth at both of their JGP series events last season. They are the reigning U.S. junior bronze medalists.

The United States will have two entries in the ice dance competition. The brother-sister duo of Sophia and Christopher Elder will make their season debut. They finished 11th in the junior competition at last season’s U.S. Championships. Jocelyn Haines and James Koszuta, who finished seventh in the junior competition at last year’s U.S. Championships, will be making their JGP debut.

Entering its 22nd season, the JGP Series consists of seven international events in a cumulative point-scoring format. Each athlete is eligible to score points in two of the seven scheduled events (pairs can compete in two of four designated events). The top six point-earners in each discipline qualify for the Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, Dec. 6-9 in Vancouver. The ISU will stream the event live on its YouTube page.