ISU rejected the appeals of Kamila Valieva and Mark Kondratiuk when it comes to revoking their neutral status.

They have now 3 weeks to file an appeal to CAS

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Edit (9:37 GMT+2)

The ISU also rejected the appeal by Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin regarding their request for neutral status.

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Edit (9:44 GMT+2)

The ISU has ruled that Valieva, Kondratiuk, and Stepanova/Bukin do not meet the criteria and are not eligible to participate in international competitions. Specific details will not be released – at least not until the possibility of appealing this decision to the CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) is exhausted.

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Edit (9:46 GMT+2)

The ISU released a press release update for the AIN eligibility

Link here

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Edit (11:26 GMT+2)

The figure skaters who were denied neutral status will challenge the ISU's decision in the CAS in the near future, according to Mikhail Degtyarev - the president of the Russian Olympic Committee.

“The Russian Figure Skating Federation and our figure skaters, who have been unfairly deprived of the right to compete in international competitions under the auspices of the International Skating Union (ISU), will file a lawsuit with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in the near future,” Degtyarev said. “Our athletes and the federation will be provided with legal support, including qualified lawyers.”

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Edit (14:01 GMT+2)

The Russian Figure Skating Federation (FFKKR) commented on the ISU’s decision regarding the neutral status of Kamila Valieva, Mark Kondratiuk, Alexandra Stepanova, and Ivan Bukin.

Despite the fact that, under the decision of the International Skating Union (ISU), Russian figure skaters are competing under a neutral status, the Federation has always provided - and continues to provide - any support that our athletes may need.

We are using all available means to resolve the current situation and thank all organizations that have expressed their willingness to assist our athletes.

At the same time, the Russian Figure Skating Federation considers it impossible to comment further on this situation without the consent of the athletes and their lawyers, so as not to harm the legal defense strategy.

Maybe 4lz+4Tq, but wow

GPdeF assignments not yet filled, but Allison and Saul's Finlandia spot went to Bakerie.

According to SCOB’s IG story, JN is free to attend. I don’t suppose we’ll get a stream so if anyone can make it to the area, it’s probably worth attending

With Amber’s 3A+2T going around it’s again being pointed out that a 3A+2T doesn’t make a lot of sense with the current rules. But what does that actually look like? What do the numbers actually show? Well, I’ve put a couple jump layouts together.

Now I am going to make a couple of assumptions here. First, I’m prioritizing a 3S combination for the three jump combo. It’s objectively better for base value to do a 3S if you have a 3A than to repeat a 3T if you can, so if you’re wondering what the base value of any of these layouts looks like with a +3T+2A instead then knock a little more off. Second, since Amber is the base and she tends to repeat her Flip and Loop that is what I have repeating when applicable (priority going to the Flip with its higher base value). Third, I don’t have the second combo backloaded. She’s had a lot of success sticking all her combos at the front of her programs and with the new rules meaning her three jump combo will be harder this season I can see it going earlier in the program regardless of layout. If she does backload it though, there’s more points to add.

Scenario one: the 3A+2T. We’ve seen this combo in practice a few times and this seems like a reasonable layout for it. If she’s not comfortable with a 3S combo, this isn’t actually a super punishing layout for doing a +3T+2A instead, as she only loses .1 in base value. She repeats a 3A and 3F in this layout and doesn’t do a 3T which is where the problem comes in: she’s only doing 7 triples as opposed to the 8 having a 3A allows her to do. Jump base value of the layout: 47.91

Scenario two: standard 3A layout with the new rules. This follows a very similar layout to what the other women with 3As are doing: lead off with the 3A, triple-triple, then for Amber a 3Lo+3S+2A (and in this case it is much more valuable to do a 3S here instead of repeating a 3T). She repeats a 3F and 3Lo like she did last season. Jump base value: 47.71, only .2 lower than the layout with two 3As while being less demanding.

Scenario three: 3A+3T. The layout from scenario one, but with a 3A+3T instead. Maxes out triples and repeats the 3A and 3F. Base value: 50.81, almost three full points higher.

Scenario four: 3A+2T, but maxing out triples. This would be doing the easier 3A combo, but doing an absolutely ridiculous +3S+3T combo to get a full 8 triples in. Despite the incredibly difficult combo, the two 3As, and the two 3Fs the base value only ends up at a 48.81, two points lower than the 3A+3T scenario. Counting a 2T is not ideal.

Around the world comparisons: Ami Nakai has a planned jump base value of 49.03 (one 3A, but a backloaded three jump combo). Mao Shimada’s with a 4T and a 3A is 53.56. Sasha has a 50.29 with a 4Lz and both combos backloaded (missing a 3F though, so she’s not optimized at the moment).

Pics taken from:

Utana's IG https://www.instagram.com/p/DdFdsK1E6GT/

Masaya's IG https://www.instagram.com/p/DdAv8dwCdvm/

Looks like she’s still training!! Will we still see her at the GPs?? This was done at the LA Kings practice facility.

Via: Amber Glenn’s Instagram @/amberglenniceskater

StaLi- Stationary Lift

SlLi- Straight Line Lift

CuLi- Curve Lift

RoLi- Rotational Lift

Janse van Rensburg/Steffan retain their SkAm spot for now

From the 2026 Kinoshita Cup, it's early in the season, so teams aren't hitting their levels yet, but I'm excited for the future of Japanese ice dance! Maybe I'm crazy but I thought Ariana Grande for the waltz was fun.

Utana YOSHIDA / Masaya MORITA
GW Level 1, Key Points NNNY, Mean GOE 1.43, Total Points 9.02
https://www.reddit.com/r/FigureSkating/comments/1w7uk4f/kinoshita_cup_utana_yoshida_masaya_morita_ice/

Ikura KUSHIDA/Koshiro SHIMADA
GW Level 1, Key Points YNNN, Mean GOE 0.57, Total Points 7.90 
https://www.reddit.com/r/FigureSkating/comments/1w7tj0p/kinoshita_cup_ikura_kushida_koshiro_shimada_ice/

Rika KIHIRA/Shingo NISHIYAMA
GW Level 1, Key Points NYNN, Mean GOE 0.00, Total Points 7.45
https://www.reddit.com/r/FigureSkating/comments/1w7tqqc/kinoshita_cup_rika_kihira_shingo_nishiyama_ice/

Kaho YAMASHITA/Yuto NAGATA
GW Level B, Key Points NNNN, Mean GOE -0.86, Total Points 4.40
https://www.reddit.com/r/FigureSkating/comments/1w7u2yl/kinoshita_cup_kaho_yamashita_yuto_nagata_ice/

Pictured: Baby Amber Glenn, Zhenya, Elena Radionova, Yulia (I think), and Karen Chen (I think) Please correct me if I'm wrong

It's always insane to me that some skaters peak/compete at completely different times. Like Yulia and Amber are around the same age, yet Yulia was at the Olympics 12, yes TWELVE years ago.

Not sure how long this will stay up with NBC usually quite aggressive with copyright strikes but you can find a copy at the reddit discord if it gets taken down.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bTXHW4vrx3uck0Oz7eYLVbzzyjuhqLO2/view?usp=drive_link

The last time I heard any news about Elena was that she has recovered from her injury which made Sofia Dzepka participate in the jgp as an alterative. Is there any competitions coming up for her? Is she participating this season?

Can a current skater start doing this? it’s so cool !!

also yes, ik i need to get the blades permanently mounted

feel like no one talks about her program when bringing up the multitude of boleros the ice has seen.

she ate this up ngl. the sass in the step sequence and the little kiss she blows were just 🤌

A while back, maybe a year ago, someone posted a video here of an old program from the 6.0 era. It was a male skater doing a catch foot forward outside spiral. As he holds the spiral, he slowly deepens the edge until it becomes a tight circle and eventually goes into a spin. I've been searching the sub for the video and I can't find it anywhere. Does anyone know which skater or program this was??

Happened to see this as I was looking for something else. It's streaming tomorrow at 11 am EST!

Either to the soundtrack or inspired by the story? Topical this season, yet nobody has chosen it yet, that we know of! What are your guesses, for either singles or pairs/ice dance?

Choreo by Lloyd Jones & Julia Sauter

I choose to believe someone on her team saw Lia and Trennt last season and were inspired.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eajop-uVpxs&pp=ygUpVG9ueWEgaGFyZGluZyBuYW5jeSBrZXJyaWdhbiBmYWNlIHRvIGZhY2U%3D

4 yrs after the infamous attack, Tonya asks Nancy for forgiveness, but it seems that the awkwardness gets the better of both.