Wednesday, June 23, 2010

McLaughlin, Brubaker announce end of partnership

Pairs skaters Keauna McLaughlin and Rockne Brubaker, two-time (2008-09) U.S. champions and the 2007 world junior champions, announced today that they have decided to end their partnership after four years together.

McLaughlin plans to take a year off from competitive skating to focus on her schoolwork, while Brubaker will continue skating and begin the search for a new partner.

"My goal has always been to win world and Olympic medals; I still plan on working toward that goal and look forward to new challenges," Brubaker said.

"Rockne and I have had an amazing career together, and I can't thank him enough for that," McLaughlin said. "Right now I feel like I need to devote time to school as well as other interests -- photography, art, dance -- and spend some time away from skating competitively."

Partnering in 2006, McLaughlin and Brubaker won every event they entered in their first season together, including the 2006 Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final and the 2007 World Junior Figure Skating Championships.

In the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons, the team claimed two U.S. titles and medaled at all four of its assignments in the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series, winning three silvers and a bronze.

McLaughlin and Brubaker left Colorado Springs and their coach of three years, Dalilah Sappenfield, in early 2009 to train with John Nicks in Aliso Viejo, Calif. Last season saw the team take home a bronze from the 2009 Rostelecom Cup, place fourth at 2009 Cancer.Net Skate America and come in fifth at the 2010 AT&T U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Spokane, Wash. They capped their career together with a silver-medal win at the 2010 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Jeonju, Republic of Korea.

"Keauna and I have had a wonderful career together, and it has been a great experience," Brubaker said. "I wish her all the best and feel truly honored to have worked with her."

"We'd like to thank our families, fans and sponsors," McLaughlin and Brubaker said. "Last season was tough to get through, and we couldn't have done it without their support."


icenetwork.com

Hann-McCurdy, Coreno retire from competitive skating

After seven years of skating together, ice dancers Allie Hann-McCurdy and Michael Coreno have decided to take a new direction in their skating careers. Hann-McCurdy and Coreno have hung up their competitive skates and will now use their experiences to coach skaters in Ottawa at the Gloucester Skating Club.

Hann-McCurdy and Coreno are looking forward to enjoying life after years of competitive skating. "We would like to share all the knowledge and experiences we have gained in the seven years we have skated together with younger skaters and have decided to do this through coaching and volunteering. We feel this way we can help give back and thank those who made our journey possible"

The 2006 Canadian junior champions, 2008 senior bronze medalists and national team members closed off the 2009-2010 season with a silver medal at the 2010 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Korea. They also finished fifth at the 2010 BMO Canadian Figure Skating Championships.

"Allie and Mike have been great representatives for Canada at the many events they competed in. It was exciting to see them earn a spot on the Canadian team and compete at the 2008 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden," said Mike Slipchuk, Director High Performance. "We are glad to see that they will continue to stay involved with skating and we wish them the best of luck."

Their trainer Dylan Harries of Body Rock Fitness also commented on their transition from competitive skating.

"It is a sad day, because I believe Mike and Allie were at the stage of their skating career where they were both letting the creative side of their skating shine through. But on the other side, it is a day of celebrating new beginnings. It has been a pleasure and honor to work with them over the past eight years as their physical and mental trainer. Mike and Allie's hard work ethic on and off the ice and also their true love for the sport makes them role models for young skaters across the country. I wish them both all the best in their future endeavors,"

Hann-McCurdy has been accepted to Carleton University and will start school in the fall, and Coreno will continue his studies at Athabasca University online. Combined with their NCCP Level 1 and their Can-Fit Pro Personal Trainer Certification they will both begin coaching careers at the Gloucester Skating Club.


full article.

Belbin, Agosto retire from competitive skating

Ice dancers Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto, the 2006 Olympic silver medalists and five-time U.S. champions, announced today their retirement from competitive skating after more than a decade of international competition.

"We have accomplished and surpassed so many of our goals, from participating in two Olympic Games to pushing ourselves and developing our skills in this sport we love so much," Belbin said. "We feel we can move on from our competitive careers without regret."

Belbin and Agosto are four-time world medalists, winning silver in 2005 and 2009 and taking the bronze in 2006 and 2007. From 2004-08, they won a record-tying five consecutive U.S. titles.

"The world of skating has given us so much, the most valuable of which being the friendships and 'family' we have developed over the years," Agosto said. "As we move forward with new career paths and ambitions, we will forever take with us these cherished relationships and the life lessons skating have taught us."

Belbin and Agosto trained with Igor Shpilband and Marina Zoueva in Canton, Mich., from 1998-2008. In 2008, the team moved its training base to the IceWorks Skating Complex in Aston, Pa., to train under 1980 Olympic champions Natalia Linichuk and Gennadi Karponosov.

Their final competitive season saw the team win gold at 2009 Cancer.Net Skate America and at the Cup of China. Their silver-medal finish at the 2010 AT&T U.S. Figure Skating Championships helped earn them a trip to the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, British Columbia, where they finished fourth.

"We would like to thank our coaches, family, friends, fans and U.S. Figure Skating for their endless support throughout our journey," Belbin said.

The team recently completed the 2010 Smucker's Stars on Ice tour and plans on continuing to skate together professionally.

"Giving back to this sport and everyone who has supported us will remain a top priority for us far beyond our time on the ice," Belbin said.


icenetwork.com

Sunday, June 13, 2010

2010/2011 ISU Grand Prix Series - Entries Skate America, Cup of Russia and TEB

Skate America
Portland, Oregon, USA
12-14 November


Men
  • Viktor PFEIFER (AUT)
  • Kevin VAN DER PERREN (BEL)
  • Shawn SAWYER (CAN)
  • Nan SONG (CHN)
  • Daisuke MURAKAMI (JPN)
  • Nobunari ODA (JPN)
  • Daisuke TAKAHASHI (JPN)
  • Denis TEN (KAZ)
  • Adrian SCHULTHEISS (SWE)
  • Stephen CARRIERE (USA)
  • Adam RIPPON (USA)
  • TBA (USA)
Ladies
  • Amelie LACOSTE (CAN)
  • Laura LEPISTO (FIN)
  • Mae Berenice MEITE (FRA)
  • Elene GEDEVANISHVILI (GEO)
  • Jenna McCORKELL (GBR)
  • Carolina KOSTNER (ITA)
  • Kanako MURAKAMI (JPN)
  • Min-Jung KWAK (KOR)
  • Viktoria HELGESSON (SWE)
  • Rachael FLATT (USA)
  • Caroline ZHANG (USA)
  • TBA (USA)
Pairs
  • Kirsten MOORE-TOWERS / Dylan MOSCOVITCH (CAN)
  • Wenjing SUI / Cong HAN (CHN)
  • Aliona SAVCHENKO / Robin SZOLKOWY (GER)
  • Stacey KEMP / Davis KING (GBR)
  • Ksenia STOLBOVA / Fedor KLIMOV (RUS)
  • Caydee DENNEY / Jeremy BARRETT (USA)
  • Keauna McLAUGHLIN / Rockne BRUBAKER (USA)
  • TBA (USA)
Ice Dance
  • Vanessa CRONE / Paul POIRIER (CAN)
  • Kaitlyn WEAVER / Andrew POJE (CAN)
  • Stefanie FROBERG / Tim GIESEN (GER)
  • Alexandra ZARETSKY / Roman ZARETSKY (ISR)
  • Anna CAPPELLINI / Luca LANOTTE (ITA)
  • Cathy REED / Chris REED (JPN)
  • Ekaterina RIAZANOVA / Ilia TKACHENKO (RUS)
  • Meryl DAVIS / Charlie WHITE (USA)
  • Maia SHIBUTANI / Alex SHIBUTANI (USA)
  • TBA (USA)

Cup of Russia
Moscow, Russia
19-21 November


Men
  • Patrick CHAN (CAN)
  • Tomas VERNER (CZE)
  • Alban PREAUBERT (FRA)
  • Samuel CONTESTI (ITA)
  • Yuzuru HANYU (JPN)
  • Tatsuki MACHIDA (JPN)
  • Artur GACHINSKY (RUS)
  • Evgeni PLUSHENKO (RUS)
  • TBA (RUS)
  • Javier FERNANDEZ (ESP)
  • Anton KOVALEVSKI (UKR)
  • Jeremy ABBOTT (USA)
Ladies
  • Myriane SAMSON (CAN)
  • Elena GLEBOVA (EST)
  • Valentina MARCHEI (ITA)
  • Miki ANDO (JPN)
  • Akiko SUZUKI (JPN)
  • Yu-Na KIM (KOR)
  • Alena LEONOVA (RUS)
  • Ksenia MAKAROVA (RUS)
  • TBA (RUS)
  • Sarah MEIER (SUI)
  • Ashley WAGNER (USA)
  • Agnes ZAWADZKI (USA)
Pairs
  • Jessica DUBE / Bryce DAVISON (CAN)
  • Stefania BERTON / Ondrej HOTAREK (ITA)
  • Narumi TAKAHASHI / Mervin TRAN (JPN)
  • Yuko KAVAGUTI / Alexander SMIRNOV (RUS)
  • Tatiana NOVIK / Mikhail KUZNETSOV (RUS)
  • TBA (RUS)
  • Amanda EVORA / Mark LADWIG (USA)
  • Britney SIMPSON / Nathan MILLER (USA)
Ice Dance
  • Alexandra PAUL / Mitchell ISLAM (CAN)
  • Zoe BLANC / Pierre-Loup BOUQUET (FRA)
  • Sinead KERR / John KERR (GBR)
  • Nora HOFFMANN / Maxim ZAVOZIN (HUN)
  • Federica FAIELLA / Massimo SCALI (ITA)
  • Ekaterina BOBROVA / Dmitri SOLOVIEV (RUS)
  • Elena ILINYKH / Nikita KATSALAPOV (RUS)
  • TBA (RUS)
  • Anna ZADOROZHNIUK / Sergei VERBILLO (UKR)
  • Madisson HUBBELL / Keiffer HUBBELL (USA)

Trophée Eric Bompard Cachemire
Paris, France
26-28 November


Men
  • Alexandr KAZAKOV (BLR)
  • Kevin REYNOLDS (CAN)
  • Nan SONG (CHN)
  • Michal BREZINA (CZE)
  • Chafik BESSEGHIER (FRA)
  • Brian JOUBERT (FRA)
  • TBA (FRA)
  • Peter LIEBERS (GER)
  • Takahiko KOZUKA (JPN)
  • Sergei VORONOV (RUS)
  • Brandon MROZ (USA)
  • Johnny WEIR (USA)
Ladies
  • Cynthia PHANEUF (CAN)
  • Kiira KORPI (FIN)
  • Candice DIDIER (FRA)
  • TBA (FRA)
  • TBA (FRA)
  • Sarah HECKEN (GER)
  • Mao ASADA (JPN)
  • Haruka IMAI (JPN)
  • Fumie SUGURI (JPN)
  • Sonia LAFUENTE (ESP)
  • Alissa CZISNY (USA)
  • Mirai NAGASU (USA)
Pairs
  • Mylene BRODEUR / John MATTATALL (CAN)
  • Dan ZHANG / Hao ZHANG (CHN)
  • Vanessa JAMES / Maximin COIA (FRA)
  • TBA (FRA)
  • Aliona SAVCHENKO / Robin SZOLKOWY (GER)
  • Nicole DELLA MONICA / Yannick KOCON (ITA)
  • Joanna SULEJ / Mateusz CHRUSCINSKI (POL)
  • Vera BAZAROVA / Yuri LARIONOV (RUS)
Ice Dance
  • Kharis RALPH / Asher HILL (CAN)
  • Tessa VIRTUE / Scott MOIR (CAN)
  • Xintong HUANG / Xun ZHENG (CHN)
  • Pernelle CARRON / Lloyd JONES (FRA)
  • Nathalie PECHALAT / Fabian BOURZAT (FRA)
  • TBA (FRA)
  • Dora TUROCZI / Balazs MAJOR (HUN)
  • Ekaterina RUBLEVA / Ivan SHEFER (RUS)
  • Madison CHOCK / Greg ZUERLEIN (USA)
  • Emily SAMUELSON / Evan BATES (USA)

2010/2011 ISU Grand Prix Series - Entries NHK, Skate Canada and Cup of China

NHK Trophy
Nagoya, Japan
22-24 October


Men
  • Kevin VAN DER PERREN (BEL)
  • Jeremy TEN (CAN)
  • Jialiang WU (CHN)
  • Florent AMODIO (FRA)
  • Yuzuru HANYU (JPN)
  • Takahito MURA (JPN)
  • Daisuke TAKAHASHI (JPN)
  • Denis TEN (KAZ)
  • Arten BORODULIN (RUS)
  • Adrian SCHULTHEISS (SWE)
  • Jeremy ABBOTT (USA)
  • Ross MINER (USA)
Ladies
  • Diane SZMIETT (CAN)
  • Kiira KORPI (FIN)
  • Lena MARROCCO (FRA)
  • Elene GEDEVANISHVILI (GEO)
  • Carolina KOSTNER (ITA)
  • Mao ASADA (JPN)
  • Kanako MURAKAMI (JPN)
  • TBA (JPN)
  • Viktoria HELGESSON (SWE)
  • Rachael FLATT (USA)
  • Ashley WAGNER (USA)
  • Caroline ZHANG (USA)
Pairs
  • Qing PANG / Jian TONG (CHN)
  • Yue ZHANG / Lei WANG (CHN)
  • Maylin HAUSCH / Daniel WENDE (GER)
  • Stefania BERTON / Ondrej HOTAREK (ITA)
  • TBA (JPN)
  • Vera BAZAROVA / Yuri LARIONOV (RUS)
  • Caydee DENNEY / Jeremy BARRETT (USA)
  • Rena INOUE / John BALDWIN (USA)
Ice Dance
  • Kaitlyn WEAVER / Andrew POJE (CAN)
  • Xiaoyang YU / Chen WANG (CHN)
  • Alexandra ZARETSKY / Roman ZARETSKY (ISR)
  • Anna CAPPELLINI / Luca LANOTTE (ITA)
  • TBA (JPN)
  • Elena ILINYKH / Nikita KATSALAPOV (RUS)
  • Alla BEKNAZAROVA / Vladimir ZUEV (UKR)
  • Meryl DAVIS / Charlie WHITE (USA)
  • Emily SAMUELSON / Evan BATES (USA)
  • Maia SHIBUTANI / Alex SHIBUTANI (USA)

Skate Canada
Kingston, Ontario, Canada
29-31 October


Men
  • Patrick CHAN (CAN)
  • Kevin REYNOLDS (CAN)
  • TBA (CAN)
  • Alban PREAUBERT (FRA)
  • Paolo BACCHINI (ITA)
  • Yasuharu NANRI (JPN)
  • Nobunari ODA (JPN)
  • Artur GACHINSKY (RUS)
  • Javier FERNANDEZ (ESP)
  • Kristoffer BERNTSSON (SWE)
  • Adam RIPPON (USA)
  • Johnny WEIR (USA)
Ladies
  • Cynthia Phaneuf (CAN)
  • TBA (CAN)
  • TBA (CAN)
  • Laura LEPISTO (CAN)
  • Sarah HECKEN (GER)
  • Haruka IMAI (JPN)
  • Fumie SUGURI (JPN)
  • Ksenia MAKAROVA (RUS)
  • Sarah MEIER (SUI)
  • Alissa CZISNY (USA)
  • Alexe GILLES (USA)
  • Agnes ZAWADZKI (USA)
Pairs
  • Jessica DUBE / Bryce DAVISON (CAN)
  • Paige LAWRANCE / Rudi SWIEGERS (CAN)
  • TBA (CAN)
  • Huibo DONG /Yiming WU (CHN)
  • Yuko KAVAGUTI / Alexander SMIRNOV (RUS)
  • Anastasia MARTIUSHEVA / Alexei ROGONOV (RUS)
  • Marissa CASTELLI / Simon SHNAPIR (USA)
  • Keauna McLAUGHLIN / Rockne BRUBAKER (USA)
Ice Dance
  • Vanessa CRONE / Paul POIRIER (CAN)
  • Alexandra PAUL / Mitchell ISLAM (CAN)
  • Tessa VIRTUE / SCOTT Moir (CAN)
  • Pernelle CARRON / Lloyd JONES (FRA)
  • Christina BEIER / William BEIER (GER)
  • Sinead KERR / John KERR (GBR)
  • Lorenza ALESSANDRINI / Simone VATURI (ITA)
  • Kristina GORSHKOVA / Vitali BUTIKOV (RUS)
  • Madison CHOCK / Greg ZUERLEIN (USA)
  • Rachel TIBBETTS / Collin BRUBAKER (USA)

Cup of China
Beijing, China
5-7 November


Men
  • Jinlin GUAN (CHN)
  • TBA (CHN)
  • TBA (CHN)
  • Michal BREZINA (CZE)
  • Tomas VERNER (CZE)
  • Brian JOUBERT (FRA)
  • Samuel CONTESTI (ITA)
  • Takahiko KOZUKA (JPN)
  • Tatsuki MACHIDA (JPN)
  • Sergei VORONOV (RUS)
  • Ross MINER (USA)
  • Branzon MROZ (USA)
Ladies
  • Yan LIU (CHN)
  • TBA (CHN)
  • TBA (CHN)
  • Miki ANDO (JPN)
  • Akiko SUZUKI (JPN)
  • Yu-Na KIM (KOR)
  • Alena LEONOVA (RUS)
  • Joshi HELGESSON (SWE)
  • Amanda DOBBS (USA)
  • Kristine MUSADEMBA (USA)
  • Mirai NAGASU (USA)
  • Anastasia GIMAZETDINOVA (UZB)
Pairs
  • Qing PANG / Jian TONG (CHN)
  • Dan ZHANG / Hao ZHANG (CHN)
  • TBA (CHN)
  • Kaleigh HOLE / Adam JOHNSON (CAN)
  • Nicole DELLA MONICA / Yannick KOCON (ITA)
  • Lubov ILIUSHECHKINA / Nodari MAISURADZE (RUS)
  • Amanda EVORA / Mark LADWIG (USA)
  • Caitlin YAKOWSKAS / John COUGHLIN (USA)
Ice Dance
  • Kharis RALPH / Asher HILL (CAN)
  • Xueting GUAN / Meng WANG (CHN)
  • Xintong HUANG / Xun ZHENG (CHN)
  • TBA (CHN)
  • Nathalie PECHALAT / Fabian BOURZAT (FRA)
  • Nora HOFFMANN / Maxim ZAVOZIN (HUN)
  • Federia FAIELLA / Massimo SCALI (ITA)
  • Ekaterina BOBROVA / Dmitri SOLOVIEV (RUS)
  • Isabella CANNUSCIO / Ian LORELLO (USA)
  • Madison HUBBELL / Keiffer HUBBELL (USA)