GRAND PRIX SERIE S P REVIEW
ASSIGNMENTS (lineups subject to change)
U.S. GRAND PRIX
SKATE AMERICA OCT. 19–21, KENT/SEATTLE, WASH. Rachael Flatt Christina Gao Ashley Wagner Jeremy Abbott Douglas Razzano Caydee Denney/John Coughlin Gretchen Donlan/Andrew Speroff Meryl Davis/Charlie White Lynn Kriengkrairut/Logan Giulietti-Schmitt
SKATE CANADA OCT. 26–28, WINDSOR, ONTARIO Gracie Gold Caroline Zhang Ross Miner Mary Beth Marley/Rockne Brubaker Tiffany Vise/Don Baldwin Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue
CUP OF CHINA NOV. 2–4, SHANGHAI, CHINA Mirai Nagasu Adam Rippon Caitlin Yankowskas/Joshua Reagan Madison Chock/Evan Bates
ROSTELECOM CUP NOV. 9–11, MOSCOW, RUSSIA Gracie Gold Agnes Zawadzki Caroline Zhang Richard Dornbush Johnny Weir Caydee Denney/John Coughlin Maia Shibutani/Alex Shibutani
TROPHÉE BOMPARD NOV. 16–18, PARIS, FRANCE Ashley Wagner Jeremy Abbott Johnny Weir
Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue
NHK TROPHY NOV. 23–25, SENDAI, JAPAN Alissa Czisny Agnes Zawadzki Richard Dornbush Ross Miner Adam Rippon Marissa Castelli/Simon Shnapir Lindsay Davis/Mark Ladwig Mary Beth Marley/Rockne Brubaker Meryl Davis/Charlie White Maia Shibutani/Alex Shibutani
Meryl Davis and Charlie White
U.S. SKATERS GETTING READY TO TAKE ON THE WORLD
by TROY SCHWINDT W
ith this year’s Grand Prix Final and the 2014 Olym- pic Winter Games in So-
chi, Russia, U.S. pairs champions Caydee Denney and John Cough- lin hope to give the Russian fans a preview of their dynamic skating when they travel to Moscow for the Rostelecom Cup, the fourth stop on the Grand Prix Series cir- cuit.
Te Grand Prix Series, which enters its 18th season, features six international competitions in a unified point-scoring series that awards prize money to eligible skaters. Te top six qualifiers in each discipline qualify for the Grand Prix Final in Sochi, Dec. 6–9, 2012. “For pairs skaters, Russia is
always an exciting place to go be- cause there is such a rich tradition of pairs skating there,” said Cough- lin, who has won the last two U.S. pairs titles with different partners. “Te crowd seems very knowledge- able about that discipline in par- ticular and respectful of everyone who is working at that craft. It’s always fun to skate your best there and get that reception from the Russian crowd, because they know what they are looking at.” Ludmila Belousova and Oleg
Protopopov’s victory at the 1964 Olympic Winter Games began a streak of Russian dominance in pairs which lasted until 2010. Coughlin has competed once
in Russia, with former partner Caitlin Yankowskas, at the 2011 World Championships, where they finished sixth. Denney has never competed in Russia. “We are training with an eye
toward Sochi and we are hoping we can be part of that (Olympic) team, so any chance we get to skate in that country and maybe build a fan base there and obvi- ously get some quality competi- tion is a great opportunity for us.," Coughlin said. Denney and Coughlin will kick off their season, with the other 2012 U.S. champions, at Hilton HHonors Skate America in Kent/Seattle, Wash., Oct. 19‒21. “Who doesn’t want to skate in their home country, especially in a region where skating has always been so well received,” Coughlin asked. “You think of the Spokane nationals. I went to Skate America in Everett (Wash.) a few years back and had a good time there, so I’m really looking forward to being in that region again.”
Earlier this summer, Denney
and Coughlin ventured to Detroit to work with Pasquale Camer- lengo, winner of the Professional Skaters Association’s Paul Mc- Grath Choreographer of the Year Award.
“He gave us two very differ-
ent programs, which both high- light our personalities in what we can bring to the ice as perform- ers,” Coughlin said. “During the Broadmoor Open, we didn’t skate in the competition, because we had just got our short program the week before. But we invited a lot of the judging panel to come and watch a training session and see our programs with the elements in them and give the judges a feel for the direction we are going. We got as good feedback from these two programs as we ever had.” For ice dancers Meryl Davis
and Charlie White, this Grand Prix season is filled with opportu- nity. Te reigning four-time U.S. champions will vie for their third consecutive Skate America title, third NHK Trophy crown and fourth consecutive Grand Prix Fi- nal championship. “Every season has a different
feel and we are excited about this coming season,” Davis said. “We are looking to achieve perfection with both of our programs every time we step out onto the ice, and we are looking to achieve that feel- ing at the end of our programs of pure satisfaction with each outing. “We put a lot of pressure on
ourselves going into the season to make sure we are prepared to do that with each competition. Every year we find new things we love about the sport, about performing and about training every day with each other. We are in a place where we can be excited about not only the Grand Prix but the couple of seasons ahead.” Davis and White, who won
the NHK Trophy in 2009 and 2010, said they look forward to competing in Japan again and have become comfortable there. In addition to having com-
14 AUG./SEPT. 2012
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