Twelve Americans will travel to two international competitions this week. The Challenger Series continues this weekend with the 2019 Nepela Memorial in Bratislava, Slovakia, while the 2019 International Skating Union (ISU) Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating (JGP) Series continues in Gdansk, Poland. Additionally, 18 Americans will compete at the 2019 U.S. International Figure Skating Classic in Salt Lake City.
Lorraine McNamara and Quinn Carpenter are the sole Americans competing at 2019 Nepela Memorial. The 2019 U.S. pewter medalists claimed the silver medal at this event last year, marking their first Challenger Series medal. The duo will take the ice for the rhythm dance on Friday, Sept. 20.
The ISU Challenger Series is a group of 10 senior-level international figure skating competitions held each year to help skaters prepare and qualify for ISU Championship events.
The United States will bring a team of 10 to the Junior Grand Prix in Gdansk, a northern Polish city located on the Baltic Sea. The event begins Thursday, Sept. 19, and concludes on Saturday, Sept. 21.
Reigning U.S. ladies champion Alysa Liu headlines the ladies competition in Poland. In her JGP debut in Lake Placid, New York, Liu captured the title and now skates for a spot at the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final. 2019 U.S. intermediate champion Lindsay Thorngren will make her JGP and junior international debut in Gdansk.
In the men’s competition, Ryan Dunk makes his second JGP appearance of the season after finishing fifth at the JGP event in Lake Placid. Dunk is the 2019 U.S. junior champion, and this is his third season on the JGP circuit. Joining Dunk is 2019 U.S. junior silver medalist Dinh Tran. He will make his season debut in Poland in his third-career JGP event.
Kate Finster and Balazs Nagy are the sole pairs team representing the U.S. in Poland. The Colorado-based duo finished sixth at JGP Lake Placid earlier this month.
Also returning for their second JGP event in ice dance, Avonley Nguyen and Vadym Kolesnik will look to punch their ticket to the JGP Final after earning gold in Lake Placid. The 2019 U.S. junior silver medalists finished fifth at the 2018 JGP Final. Ella Ales and Daniel Tsarik return for their second JGP event after making their debut in Lake Placid where they finished in fifth.
Entering its 23rd 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 ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final 2019, Dec. 5-8, in Torino, Italy. The ISU will stream the event live on its YouTube page.
