U.S. Figure Skating announces 3A Award Winners
(From the U.S. Figure Skating press release) U.S. Figure Skating announced the 2012 Athlete Alumni Ambassador (3A) award recipients. The 3A award is a scholarship program that recognizes skaters who have achieved figure skating excellence while actively volunteering.
To earn a 3A award, skaters must have competed at the novice or junior level at the 2012 Prudential U.S. Figure Skating Championships or the 2012 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championship. They were asked to submit an application detailing their volunteer work. The Athletes Advisory Committee selects one overall winner and five winners from each discipline (ladies, men's pairs, ice dancing and synchronized). The overall winner receives $1,000 and the winners of each discipline receive $500 which can be used at the skaters' discretion.
Hannah Rosinski (pictured) of the Pavilion SC of Cleveland Heights won the 3A award for ice dancing. Rosinski volunteers at the Cleveland Foodbank and serves food to the homeless at St. Pat's Hunger Center. She has also volunteered at Catholic organizations, such as the West Side Ecumenical Ministry day care center, the Rose-Mary Center and the Catholic Worker Movement. Rosinski, who won the U.S. novice bronze medal with partner Jacob Jaffe, teaches learn-to-skate classes at the Cleveland Heights Community Center.
Vincent Zhou won the overall award, while the recipients of the awards for other disciplines were Jay Yostanto (mens), Ashley Cain (ladies), Britney Simpson (pairs) and Courtney Cameron (synchronized).
ISU Releases calendar for 2012-13
The International Skating Union has announced the following competitions for 2012-13. To view the list, download Communication 1727 (pdf).
Please note the inclusion of a U.S. senior international event which will be held in Salt Lake City, Utah from September 13-16 and include all four disciplines.
Around the World of Ice Dance Blog #4
SEASONAL PARTNER CHANGES: Last year, the ice dance world was rocked by an unusually high number of partnerships ending. This off-season has brought with it a similar number of splits, as well as the forming of new partnerships.
Who is out?
- Germany's number two team, Tanja Kolbe & Stefano Caruso, have called it quits as a team.
- Six teams who competed internationally as part of Team USA have ended their partnerships (Charlotte Lichtman & Dean Copely, Isabella Cannuscio & Ian Lorello, Anastasia Olson & Jordan Cowan, Lauri Bonacorsi & Travis Mager, Kaitlin Hawayek & Michael Bramante, and Jessica Mancini & Tyler Brooks).
- Both of Ukraine’s top junior teams broke up in March with Maria Nosulia & Evgeni Kholoniuk and Anastasia Galyeta & Alexei Shumski parting ways. Kholoniuk and Galyeta are both listed on partner search websites.
Dance is the Star in Investors Group Stars on Ice Presented by Lindt’s “Love ‘N’ Life” Tour
by Jacquelyn Thayer / Photo by Melanie Hoyt
For the first time in the show’s 21-year history, audiences at three stops on the Canadian leg of the Stars on Ice tour were lucky enough to catch three ice dance teams. Even better—all three of recently finished in the top four at this year’s World Championships. Three-time headliners Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir were joined by Canadian silver medalists Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje, who earned their new spot on the tour with an outstanding season. And fans in Hamilton, Toronto, and London, Ontario, received a special bonus in guest performers Meryl Davis & Charlie White.
It wasn’t just the line-up, though, that makes this year’s show one for the dancers. Long-time headliner and new choreographer Kurt Browning’s fresh and inventive group choreography places the emphasis on musical movement, complex footwork, and true performance—a real delight for any fan of dancing on ice.
I traveled eastward from Chicago to attend the London show, where, as expected, hometown duo Virtue & Moir were the biggest hits, even when engaged in promotional banter about show sponsor Lindt Chocolate. The couple’s two programs are an exercise in versatility. The first, a sensual, lyrical piece to Jeff Buckley’s “Hallelujah,” which the team debuted at the tour’s first stop in Halifax, is a return to an inward-focused style in which Virtue & Moir have long excelled. On the other hand, their outgoing Act II number, to “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” from Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, offers up some disco-infused choreography and a healthy dose of glitter from Virtue’s sparkly blue dress. Interestingly, the latter number has developed significantly over the course of the tour, with the London outing including several transitions and an additional mid-program lift not seen in the version recorded by fans in Halifax.
2012 IDC Photo Sessions at LPIDC
IDC is once again offering its off-ice photography service for teams who are interested in having pictures taken for use in sectional or national programs, etc. This service is offered for a small fee to help defray our expenses associated with covering LPIDC.
Download our brochure. If you have any questions regarding this photography service, please contact us.
To reserve a session, please fill out our reservation form. You will receive confirmation from IDC Staff after your order has been received. Available spots will be filled on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Dance items on the ISU Congress agenda
by Jacquelyn Thayer
From June 11-15, the International Skating Union’s 54th Ordinary Congress will convene in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The Union and member federations will finalize the new rules for the 2012-13 season and, in some cases, beyond. As customary, the ISU has issued a preliminary communication detailing the proposals under consideration. Here is a breakdown of those most pertinent to ice dance.
1. Tighter Age and Level Limits
With Proposal 67, the ISU Council has recommended that the maximum age for junior men in both dance and pairs be lowered from 21 to 20, beginning in the 2014-15 post-Olympic season. This proposal, if passed, could certainly have negative ramifications for new partnerships or still-developing teams. The ISU is already acknowledging its theoretical impact with the two-year grace period included in the proposal, a consideration that was not given when lowered age limits were proposed at previous Congresses. Interestingly, Russia has proposed an even stricter limit, lowering the maximum junior age for dance and pairs ladies to 18 from 19, and men to 19. Germany, on the other hand, has taken the opposite approach in its proposal for novice age limits, suggesting that the maximum age for novice dance and pairs men be raised from 15 to 17. The ISU, however, has already indicated its dismissal of both of the suggestions from Russia and Germany.
U.S. Figure Skating announces 2012-13 Team Evelopes
(Press Release) - U.S. Figure Skating announced today the individuals and teams that will compose the A, B and C team envelopes for the 2012-13 season. Athletes assigned to the Reserve team envelope will be announced at a later date.
The envelope level is primarily determined by the athlete's performance in international and U.S. Figure Skating qualifying competitions during the previous season, and is used to determine funding levels. It is not used as a strict guideline for selections to international competitions.
Further information about the criteria used to determine the members of the 2012-13 team envelopes can be found here.
TEAM A: Meryl Davis & Charlie White, Madison Hubbell & Zach Donohue, Maia Shibutani & Alex Shibutani
TEAM B: Alexandra Aldridge & Daniel Eaton, Madison Chock & Evan Bates, Lynn Kriengkrairut & Logan Giulietti-Schmitt
TEAM C: Amanda Bertsch & Sam Kaplun, Anastasia Cannuscio & Colin McManus, Madeline Heritage & Nathaniel Fast, Lorraine McNamara & Quinn Carpenter, Whitney Miller & Kyle MacMillan, Holly Moore & Daniel Klaber, Rachel Parsons & Michael Parsons, Hannah Rosinski & Jacob Jaffe, Emily Samuelson & Todd Gilles
To read the U.S. Figure Skating Team Envelope assignments for pairs, ladies and men, visit usfigureskating.org.
