Potential Grand Prix Men

There are 28 men on the list including Kevin van der Perren who announced his retirement but could still receive assignments and several skaters that competed as juniors and may choose to move up to seniors or return to the Junior Grand Prix.


There are 60 Grand Prix slots (including host picks) with 40 of the 60 slots filled from this list, meaning approximately half of the skaters outside of top 12 finishers at worlds will be given a 2nd assignment.  If some of these men choose to remain junior, more spots will be available.  

If the "comeback skater clause is still in effect this season, Evan Lysacek would be eligible as he received assignments last season due to his World Ranking and would not have forfeited his comeback eligibility.

Note that this season the top 6 finishers at Worlds will not be able to compete at three events.


The assignments will be released on May 21st.  

Top 12 finishers at Worlds (guaranteed 2 GP spots, top 6 are seeded and may do 3 events)

1 Patrick Chan

2 Daisuke Takahashi

3 Yuzuru Hanyu

4 Brian Joubert

5 Florent Amodio

6 Michal Brezina

7 Denis Ten

8 Jeremy Abbott

9 Javier Fernandez

10 Samuel Contesti

11 Takahiko Kozuka

12 Kevin Reynolds

Top 24 Seasons Best (guaranteed 1 spot)

3 Evgeni Plushenko
6 Artur Gachinski
13 Nobunari Oda
14 Nan Song
15 Tomas Verner
17 Ross Miner
18 Adam Rippon
19 Han Yan (Junior)
20 Joshua Farris (Junior)
22 Takahito Mura
23 Jason Brown (Junior)
24 Kevin van der Perren

Top 24 World Standings (guaranteed 1 assignment)

15 Alexander Majorov
20 Richard Dornbush
21 Konstantin Menshov
24 Tatsuki Machida

Top 3 at Junior Grand Prix Final and Jr. Worlds (considered for 1 spot)

All meet one of the criteria above

Number of skaters eligible by country (not including host picks):

Japan: 6 
USA: 6
Russia: 3
Canada: 2
China: 2
Czech Republic: 2
France: 2
Belgium: 1
Kazakhstan: 1 
Italy: 1
Spain: 1
Sweden: 1

European Men's Preview

After sitting out the entirety of last season, Plushenko is back and ready to start his push toward the Olympics in Sochi in 2014.  He sat out the beginning of this season recovering from knee injuries and made his season debut at Russian nationals where he took home the title, defeating reigning World Bronze Medalist Artur Gachinski.  He is well known for his jumping abilities, including his quads, but he focuses on the jumps often at the expense of transitions and choreography.

Javier Fernandez has had a stellar season, winning the first ever Grand Prix medal for Spain and qualifying for the Grand Prix Final where he won bronze.  He has successfully landed 9 quads on the Grand Prix this season and has shown he can combine artistry with the technical content.  His problems have come in the free skate where he makes small errors on some of the jumps in the middle of his program.  He truly fights for everything and never gives up on his programs but he does give points away.

Brian Joubert is also making his season debut after sitting out the Grand Prix season due to injury.  He's returned to his Matrix free skate in hope's of claiming another European title.  In his first competition of the season, he defeated reigning European Champion Florent Amodio to claim the French national title.  He is also well known for his quads, but missing a quad can effect his mental game and cause a collapse in the rest of the program.

Artur Gachinski surprised many when he took home the bronze medal from last season's World Championships.  He also is armed with a quad jump but has wildly inconsistent results and hasn't lived up to his title this season, finishing well off the podium in his Grand Prix assignments.

Michal Brezina started off the season with a gold medal finish at his first Grand Prix event, but while his score improved throughout the season, his results continued to slip.  He keeps talking about putting the quad in his programs but hasn't been able to deliver.  He'll need to step it up if he wants to claim his first European medal.

Samuel Contesti improved throughout the Grand Prix season, going from 8th to 4th.  He has the ability to be an amazingly entertaining skater when he is clean, but the life can really go out of his programs if he starts making errors on his jumps.

Kevin van der Perren is another skater known for big jumps, including the quad, but also for inconsistency.  He has stated that Europeans will be his final competition before he retires and if he sticks to that he could go in to this event with nothing to lose and no reason to hold anything back.

My podium predictions:
Gold: Evgeni Plushenko
Silver: Javier Fernandez
Bronze: Brian Joubert

Bios of the competitors:
Slavik Hayrapetyan, ARM: He finished 21^st in the preliminary round at Junior Worlds.  He placed 18^th at JGP Latvia and 14^th at JGP Romania.  His personal best is 128.97.  He is 15 years old.

Viktor Pfeifer, AUT (Direct Entry): He finished 26th at Worlds and 18th at Europeans.  His personal best is 178.41.  He is 24 years old.

Vitali Luchanok, BLR: He finished 22nd in the preliminary round at Worlds and 23rd at Junior Worlds.  His personal best is 138.27.  He is 19 years old.  

Jorik Hendrickx, BEL (Direct Entry): He finished 19th at Worlds, 16th at Europeans and 13th at Junior Worlds.  His personal best is 188.24.  He is 19 years old.

Kevin van der Perren, BEL (Direct Entry): He finished 17th at Worlds and 4th at Europeans.  He won silver at Skate America and finished 8^th at Skate Canada.  He is the 2007 and 2009 European bronze medalist.  His personal best is 219.36.  He is 29 years old.

Manol Atanassov, BUL: He finished 19th in the preliminary round at World Juniors.  He is 20 years old.  

Michal Brezina, CZE (Direct Entry): He placed 4th at Worlds and 8th at Europeans.  He won gold at Skate America, bronze at Trophee Eric Bompard and finished 4th at Rostelecom Cup to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where he finished 6th.  He is the 2009 World Junior Silver Medalist.  His personal best is 236.06.  He is 21 years old.

Pavel Kaska, CZE: His personal best is 172.90.  He is 23 years old.

Tomas Verner, CZE (Direct Entry): He placed 12th at Worlds and is the reigning European Bronze Medalist.  He is the 2008 European Champion and 2007 European Silver Medalist.  His personal best is 232.67.  He is 25 years old.

Justus Strid, DEN: He finished 14th in the preliminary round at Worlds and 28th at Europeans.  His personal best is 91.30.  He is 24 years old.

Viktor Romanenkov, EST: He finished 18^th at the World Junior Championships.  He placed 9^th at JGP Latvia and 6^th at JGP Estonia.  His personal best is 162.19.  He is 18 years old.  

Ari-Pekka Nurmenkari, FIN: His personal best is 170.88.  He is 28 years old.

Florent Amodio, FRA (Direct Entry): He placed 7th at Worlds and is the reigning European Champion.  He finished 9^th at Skate America and 5th at Trophee Eric Bompard.  His personal best is 229.68.  He is 21 years old.

Chafik Besseghier, FRA (Direct Entry): He placed 9th at Trophee Eric Bompard.  His personal best is 185.69.  He is 22 years old.

Brian Joubert, FRA (Direct Entry): He finished 8th at Worlds and is the reigning European Silver Medalist.  He is the 2007 World Champion, 2006 and 2008 World Silver Medalist, 2009 and 2010 World Bronze Medalist; 2004, 2007 and 2009 European Champion; 2003, 2005 and 2011 European Silver Medalist; and 2002, 2006, 2008 and 2010 European Bronze Medalist.  His personal best is 241.74.  He is 26 years old.

Paul Fentz, GER: He finished 7th at JGP Romania.  His personal best is 151.40.  He is 19 years old.

Peter Liebers, GER (Direct Entry): He placed 15th at Worlds and 11th at Europeans.  His personal best is 205.59.  He is 23 years old.

Jason Thompson, GBR: He is 22 years old.

Marko Marton, HUN: His personal best is 84.99.  He is 23 years old.

Alexei Bychenko, ISR: His personal best is 129.24.  He is 23 years old.

Paolo Bacchini, ITA (Direct Entry): He finished 21st at Worlds and 12th at Europeans.  His personal best is 183.13.  He is 26 years old.

Samuel Contesti, ITA (Direct Entry): He finished 18th at Worlds and 6th at Europeans.  He placed 8th at Skate America and 4th at NHK Trophy.  He is the 2009 European Silver Medalist.  His personal best is 226.97.  He is 28 years old.

Kim Lucine, MON (Direct Entry): He finished 23rd at Worlds and 17th at Europeans.  His personal best is 171.93.  He is 23 years old. 

Maciej Cieplucha, POL: He finished 25th at Europeans.  His personal best is 139.41.  He is 23 years old. 

Zoltan Kelement, ROU: He finished 21st at Europeans.  His personal best is 161.70.  He is 25 years old.

Artur Gachinski, RUS (Direct Entry): He is the reigning World Bronze Medalist and finished 5th at Europeans.  He placed 5th at Cup of China and Rostelecom Cup.  He is the 2010 World Junior Bronze Medalist.  His personal best is 241.86.  He is 18 years old. 

Evgeni Plushenko, RUS: He is the 2006 Olympic Champion; 2002 and 2010 Olympic Silver Medalist; 2001, 2003 and 2004 World Champion; 1999 World Silver Medalist; 1998 World Bronze Medalist; 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2010 European Champion; 1998, 1999 and 2004 European Silver Medalist; and 1997 World Junior Champion.  His personal best is 258.33.  He is 29 years old.

Sergei Voronov, RUS (Direct Entry): He placed 7th at Rostelecom Cup.  He is the 2006 World Junior Silver Medalist and 2007 World Junior Bronze Medalist.  His personal best is 220.39.  He is 24 years old.

Javier Fernandez, ESP (Direct Entry): He finished 10th at Worlds and 9th at Europeans.  He won silver at Skate Canada and Rostelecom Cup to qualify for the Grand Prix Final where he won bronze.  His personal best is 250.33.  He is 20 years old.

Alexander Majorov, SWE (Direct Entry): He finished 28th at Worlds and is the reigning World Junior Bronze Medalist.  He placed 9th at Skate Canada and 6th at Trophee Eric Bompard.  His personal best is 195.71.  He is 20 years old.

Laurent Alvarez, SUI: He finished 22nd at Europeans.  His personal best is 159.45.  He is 21 years old.

Ali Demirboga, TUR: He placed 27th at Europeans.  His personal best is 95.22.  He is 21 years old.

Stanislav Pertsov, UKR (Direct Entry): He finished 15th at World Juniors.  He placed 10th at JGP Latvia and 8th at JGP Austria.  His personal best is 161.92.  He is 19 years old.

Italian Nationals Results

Senior Men

FPl.	Name	Club	Nation	Points	SP	FS
1	Samuel CONTESTI	SCB	ITA	223.03	2	1
2	Paolo BACCHINI	FOM	ITA	182.62	1	2
3	Paul Bonifacio PARKINSON	FORUM	ITA	159.11	3	3
4	Saverio GIACOMELLI	TRENT	ITA	157.43	4	4
5	Filippo AMBROSINI	FORUM	ITA	142.02	5	5
6	Maurizio ZANDRON	ICB	ITA	139.18	6	6
7	Alessandro PEZZOLI	OLYMP	ITA	113.65	7	7
8	Cesare BELLOMO	VALLE	ITA	107.59	8	8
9	Christian RAPIS	VALLE	ITA	92.33	9	9

Junior Men

FPl.	Name	Club	Nation	Points	SP	FS
1	Carlo Vittorio PALERMO	TRENT	ITA	127.62	4	1
2	Antonio PANFILI	APF	ITA	125.97	1	2
3	Giorgio SETTEMBRINI	FORUM	ITA	114.63	3	5
4	Matteo RIZZO	OLYMP	ITA	113.55	5	4
5	Alberto VANZ	FORUM	ITA	107.03	8	3
6	Mattia DALLA TORRE	AGP	ITA	105.04	6	6
7	Francesco BELLOMO	VALLE	ITA	101.12	2	9
8	Marco ZANDRON	ISB	ITA	99.27	7	7
9	Davide LORENZI	SGC	ITA	88.71	10	8
10	John Alexander VERUGGIO	VAL	ITA	85.04	9	10
11	Marco PAULETTI	AGP	ITA	83.93	11	11
0	Davide TREMEA	IAF	ITA	0.00

Senior Ladies

FPl.	Name	Club	Nation	Points	SP	FS
1	Valentina MARCHEI	SIS	ITA	141.63	1	1
2	Francesca RIO	FORUM	ITA	131.36	3	2
3	Roberta RODEGHIERO	SIS	ITA	127.92	2	5
4	Carol BRESSANUTTI	PAB	ITA	126.84	5	3
5	Micol CRISTINI	OLYMP	ITA	125.90	4	4
6	Silvia LOVISON	FOI	ITA	120.13	6	6
7	Ilaria NOGARO	PAT	ITA	114.17	7	7
8	Caterina ANDERMARCHER	TRENT	ITA	107.75	10	8
9	Agnese GARLISI	FORUM	ITA	107.07	9	9
10	Alice GARLISI	FORUM	ITA	105.50	8	10
11	Victoria MANNI	SIS	ITA	98.73	11	11
12	Elena VANZ	FORUM	ITA	92.75	12	12
13	Deborah SACCHI	FORUM	ITA	90.17	13	13
14	Silvia MONTI	GGR	ITA	88.62	14	14
WD	Carolina KOSTNER	FAZ	ITA

Junior Ladies

FPl.	Name	Club	Nation	Points	SP	FS
1	Giada RUSSO	ICT	ITA	118.38	1	1
2	Sara CASELLA	COURM	ITA	113.22	2	2
3	Elettra Maria OLIVOTTO	MERAN	ITA	111.79	4	4
4	Guia Maria TAGLIAPIETRA	COURM	ITA	109.87	6	3
5	Giorgia GRAVINA	ARTIS	ITA	103.30	3	6
6	Kristina BOUSTAMANTE	AGORA	ITA	103.05	5	5
7	Silvia MARTINELLI	TRENT	ITA	94.35	7	8
8	Jana SAVINA	PAB	ITA	93.08	8	9
9	Alessandra CERNUSCHI	FORUM	ITA	92.94	9	7
10	Silvia GHERARDI	FORUM	ITA	89.82	11	10
11	Rebecca TALEVI	ICT	ITA	88.45	10	12
12	Chiara DE MARTIN	USS	ITA	87.09	13	11
13	Amanda GALATI	PINER	ITA	84.60	17	13
14	Alice BARDEL	VALLE	ITA	84.39	14	14
15	Alice LUCCISANO	FORUM	ITA	83.88	15	15
16	Naomi DE SIMONE	FIEMM	ITA	81.00	12	16
17	Alessia ZARDINI	SGC	ITA	78.91	16	17
18	Martina SCOCCIMARRO	AGORA	ITA	74.66	21	18
19	Martina MANZO	FORUM	ITA	73.84	20	19
20	Martina ZOLA	OLYMP	ITA	71.78	19	20
21	Caterina FRATTINI	VARES	ITA	69.35	18	23
22	Martina PELAGALLI	AXEL	ITA	68.06	22	21
23	Gaia MELILLO	FIEMM	ITA	61.31	23	22

Senior Pairs

FPl.	Name	Club	Nation	Points	SP	FS
1	Stefania BERTON / Ondre HOTAREK	SIS	ITA	181.08	1	1
2	Carolina GILLESPIE / Luca DEMATTÈ	SIS	ITA	114.27	3	2
WD	Nicole DALLA MONICA / Matteo GUARISE		ITA

Junior Pairs

FPl.	Name	Club	Nation	Points	SP	FS
1	Giulia FORESTI / Leo Luca SFORZA	OLYMP	ITA	98.87	1	1
2	Alessandra CERNUSCHI / Filippo AMBROSINI	FORUM	ITA	78.00	3	2
3	Chiara LAFFRANCHI / Benjamin NAGGIAR	SIS	ITA	72.63	2	3
WD	Bianca MANACORDA / Nicolò MACII	SIS	ITA

Senior Dance

FPl.	Name	Club	Nation	Points	SD	FD
1	Anna CAPPELLINI / Luca LANOTTE	FAZ	ITA	172.31	1	1
2	Charlene GUIGNARD / Marco FABBRI	AGORA	ITA	141.06	2	3
3	Lorenza ALESSANDRINI / Simone VATURI	FORUM	ITA	137.79	3	2
WD	Federica BERNARDI / Christopher MIOR	FORUM	ITA

Junior Dance

FPl.	Name	Club	Nation	Points	SD	FD
1	Sofia SFORZA / Francesco FIORETTI	OLYMP	ITA	118.00	1	1
2	Alessia BUSI / Andrea FABBRI	AGORA	ITA	104.15	2	3
3	Carolina MOSCHENI / Igor OGAY	OLYMP/AGORA	ITA	93.15	4	2
4	Francesca CAZZANIGA / Jona Terzo ORTENZI	SGA	ITA	91.33	3	4
5	Andreea Chiara VANDONE / Nik MIRZAKHANI	FORUM	ITA	65.61	5	5
6	Bianca TOMASI / Andrea MORRONE	FORUM	ITA	62.47	8	6
7	Serena CALDERONE / Alessandro GUAZZOLINI	AGORA	ITA	61.48	7	7
8	Federica LONGHI / Dario ZAFFARANA	FORUM	ITA	55.58	6	8
WD	Valentina GABUSI / Daniele VERDI	FORUM	ITA

NRW Trophy Senior Results

Senior Ladies

FPl.	Name	Nation	Points	SP	FS
1	Viktoria HELGESSON	SWE	159.92	2	2
2	Yuki NISHINO	JPN	159.90	1	4
3	Kako TOMOTAKI	JPN	158.97	4	1
4	Kristina ZASEEVA	RUS	156.74	5	3
5	Joshi HELGESSON	SWE	154.68	3	5
6	Yretha SILETE	FRA	148.74	8	6
7	Francesca RIO	ITA	140.09	6	9
8	Roberta RODEGHIERO	ITA	140.04	12	7
9	Linnea MELLGREN	SWE	138.98	7	10
10	Natalia POPOVA	UKR	134.96	9	12
11	Nathalie WEINZIERL	GER	134.16	11	11
12	Alisa MIKONSAARI	FIN	132.54	18	8
13	Fleur MAXWELL	LUX	128.59	10	14
14	Monika SIMANCIKOV	SVK	127.27	16	13
15	Alice GARLISI	ITA	123.90	13	17
16	Isabel DRESCHER	GER	118.87	21	15
17	Cecilia TÖRN	FIN	118.65	14	20
18	Camilla GJERSEM	NOR	117.05	24	16
19	Viktoria HÜBLER	AUT	116.72	20	18
20	Belinda SCHÖNBERGER	AUT	116.59	17	19
21	Nicole SCHOTT	GER	114.12	15	25
22	Katharina ZIENTEK	GER	112.54	19	24
23	Eliska BREZINOVA	CZE	110.62	22	23
24	Reyna HAMUI	MEX	109.57	25	21
25	Sandy HOFFMANN	GER	107.08	23	26
26	Eva LIM	NED	106.04	26	22
27	Sera VÄISTÖ	FIN	98.88	30	27
28	Nastassiya LOBACHEVSKAYA	CZE	97.41	27	28
29	Toni MURRAY	GBR	92.63	29	29
30	Joyce DEN HOLLANDER	NED	89.67	32	30
31	Isabelle GLASER	GER	85.72	28	31
FNR	Michelle COUWENBERG	NED
FNR	Miriam ZIEGLER	AUT
FNR	Anna KREISFELD	GER

Senior Men

FPl.	Name	Nation	Points	SP	FS
1	Samuel CONTESTI	ITA	204.53	1	1
2	Peter LIEBERS	GER	199.93	2	2
3	Kento NAKAMURA	JPN	196.18	3	3
4	Takahito MURA	JPN	192.81	4	5
5	Alexander MAJOROV	SWE	191.54	6	4
6	Artem GRIGORIEV	RUS	190.82	5	6
7	Paul FENTZ	GER	171.99	9	7
8	Zoltan KELEMEN	ROU	170.90	7	10
9	Denis WIECZOREK	GER	168.85	11	8
10	Franz STREUBEL	GER	162.50	10	9
11	Ari-Pekka NURMENKARI	FIN	161.01	8	12
12	Petr COUFAL	CZE	156.93	12	11
13	Saulius AMBRULEVICIUS	LTU	143.17	17	13
14	Valtter VIRTANEN	FIN	140.11	14	14
15	Jason THOMSON	GBR	138.33	15	15
16	Alex Kang Chan KAM	KOR	128.30	13	20
17	Kamil BIALAS	POL	127.43	21	16
18	Norman KECK	GER	127.29	18	17
19	Jakub STROBL	SVK	123.71	22	18
20	Luis HERNANDES	MEX	123.13	20	19
21	Marco ZAKOURIL	CZE	120.95	16	22
22	Viktor ZUBIK	FIN	119.71	23	21
23	Stanislav PERTSOV	UKR	113.04	19	24
24	Florian GOSTELIE	NED	112.56	24	23
FNR	Aleksei MIALIOKHIN	BLR
FNR	Pavel KASKA	CZE
FNR	Ivan ALDINGER	GER
FNR	Viktor KREMKE	GER

Senior Pairs

FPl.	Name	Nation	Points	SP	FS
1	Mari VARTMANN / Aaron VAN CLEAVE	GER	151.20	1	1
2	Lubov BAKIROVA / Mikalai KAMIANCHUK	BLR	129.84	3	3
3	Natalja ZABIJAKO / Sergey KULBACH	EST	129.31	5	2
4	Daria POPOVA / Bruno MASSOT	FRA	126.04	2	6
5	Katharina GIEROK / Florian JUST	GER	121.96	4	4
6	Anne Laure LETSCHER / Artem PATLASOV	FRA	117.52	6	5
7	Ronja ROLL / Gustav FORSGREN	SWE	100.04	8	7
8	Sally HOOLIN / James HUNT	GBR	99.54	7	8
WD	Tatiana NOVIK / Andrey NOVOSELOV	RUS
WD	Evgenia TARASOVA / Egor CHUDIN	RUS

NHK Trophy Men's Free Skate

Group 1

Tomas Verner, CZE:

• 
  

Armin Mahbanoozadeh, USA: TES + PCS =
Samuel Contesti, ITA: TES + PCS =
Ross Miner, USA:

• Opens with a nice big triple axel with a solid landing
• Triple axel + double toe--he has such great deep knees going into his jumps
• Step out and hand down on his triple lutz
• Great speed in his combination spin with a great scratch spin
• This is a very gentle step sequence and won't get the crowd going for him but it flows very well with the music
• Triple salchow + double toe + double toe very solid
• Triple lutz + double toe combo
• Triple loop was a little scratchy going in and he has to really fight for the landing
• Nice low sit positions with good speed 
• Double axel with an easy landing
• Triple flip
• I really love this choreographic step sequence and how free he is and there is a lot of passion and intention behind the steps
• Flying entry into the camel with a flying change to the sit position for his final spin
• Very solid program and a great free skate for Ross

Group 2

Tatsuki Machida, JPN: TES + PCS =

• Quad toe--landed very low and two footed
• Triple axel + triple toe--very nice landings and very solid
• Double loop--just popped open, not enough speed going into the jump and I'd like to see more choreography in between these jumps at the beginning of the program
• Nice one foot sequence with lots of turns but he could use more movement through his upper body
• Good sit spin position with decent speed
• Single axel--he had such great height in the air, it just looked like he didn't get his body pulled in for the rotation
• Triple lutz + double toe--good height and nice spring in the jumps
• Double flip--Low landing and has to muscle out the free leg
• This choreographic step sequence flows very nicely with the movement and has a lot of character but I'd like to see him perform it more
• This spin set needs more speed as its moving slower than the pace of the music
• Triple lutz--Very nice speed and height on the rotation
• Triple salchow--a little forward on the landing and it looked like he thought about adding a combination but decided against it
• Good speed and use of his arms in the final spin but finished after the music

Konstantin Menshov, RUS:

• Quad toe + double toe--so much speed on the rotation in the first jump but two footed and landed on the toe picks on the second jump
• Double lutz--really awkward position in the air, he can't get the rotation and he falls
• Quad toe--he almost lands sitting on the ice and just can't control the rotation
• Not sure how we got from race car driving to Clair de Lune
• Double axel--Very loose in the air on his rotation
• Not a lot of rotations in his sit spin which could affect his level
• Triple salchow--nicely landed
• A little slow on his camel spin and he needs more flexibility through the catch foot position and he's lost almost all the speed at the end of the sit spin
• I'd like to see more upper body movement, commitment to the choreography and clean edges in his step sequence
• Triple loop--well done
• Triple toe + double toe + double toe--very tight but he gets it done
• Double axel + single toe--just can't get off the ground in the second jump
• Interesting arm choice in the combination spin
• A lot of flailing in this choreographic step sequence but not a lot of variation and difficulty

Brandon Mroz, USA:

• Quad lutz--off in the air and he falls on his side
• Triple axel--forward on the landing and has to put a hand down
• Double axel--not really sure if it was supposed to be a triple because it looked like a nice clean double
• Triple flip--very nice landing
• On the slow side for his sit spin
• He has some nice difficulty through this step sequence and its put together well with the music but he doesn't really push through those edges to really get great ice coverage
• Single axel--just never got his body in for the rotation
• Not a lot of flexibility at all through the catchfoot position of his camel spin
• Triple lutz + single loop with a pause in between
• Single axel
• Single lutz--completely popped
• This music is picking up in intensity and his performance level and skating quality is not matching that feeling
• Good speed through this combination spin and decent positions
• I know it was a tough skate but he also gave up a lot of points by not really performing this program

Takahiko Kozuka, JPN:

• Already from the opening he looks much more comfortable with this program and is really committed to the program
• Quad toe--two footed and a little choppy on the landing
• Triple axel--Nice height and landing
• Triple lutz + double toe--a little off on the landing of the lutz but he hangs on for the combo
• Very nice camel spin position into a nice tight sit spin position
• Nice step sequence with a lot of movement, turns and changes of levels with beautiful arms to complement the movement
• Triple axel + double toe + double loop--forward on the axel with a big ice spray but he hangs on
• Nice low sit spin position into a nice twist variation
• Triple flip with a nice landing
• Double loop--looks like he caught his edge on the entry 
• Triple salchow--nice recovery
• Triple lutz + double toe--I think if he had more speed going into these jumps he could add more triple + triples to his repertoire
• Gorgeous choreographic step sequence that nicely complements the music and really plays to his qualities as a skater
• Nice broken leg camel spin into a low sit spin with a change of foot into another nice camel and ending with a scratch spin

Daisuke Takahashi, JPN:

• He is just so smooth and there is not a single note of his music wasted
• Quad flip--huge but two footed and he had to put his hands down to control the landing
• Triple axel--right in front of the judges, great height and fast rotation with a solid landing
• Triple salchow--very easy with a nice transition out of the jumps
• Great camel spin position but he loses a big of his centering in the twist variation and a lot of his speed in the change of foot
• Great step sequence that doesn't look like an element but just like he's skimming across the ice 
• Flying sit spin with a nice low position into a camel spin with some lost speed and a nice upright spin
• Triple axel + double toe very solid
• Triple flip + triple toe--a little stiff on the landing of the second jump and no ride out
• Triple loop nicely done
• Triple lutz + double toe--couldn't hold the landing of the second jump for long but it'll count
• Triple flip--choppy and a little wild on the landing
• And he really sells it to the camera on the choreographic step sequence and his edges are so smooth and clean
• Nice camel position into an upright twist 

Pl.	Name	Nation	TSS =	TES +		PCS +	SS	TR	PE	CH	IN	Ded. -	StN.
1	Daisuke TAKAHASHI	JPN	169.32	80.04		90.28	8.96	8.79	9.00	9.14	9.25	1.00	#9
2	Takahiko KOZUKA	JPN	155.25	76.67		78.58	7.93	7.61	7.86	7.93	7.96	0.00	#8
3	Samuel CONTESTI	ITA	145.86	74.52		71.34	6.96	6.71	7.32	7.25	7.43	0.00	#3
4	Ross MINER	USA	141.24	74.22		67.02	6.86	6.36	6.82	6.68	6.79	0.00	#4
5	Tomas VERNER	CZE	133.67	63.89		71.78	7.25	6.93	7.18	7.21	7.32	2.00	#1
6	Tatsuki MACHIDA	JPN	123.19	54.57		68.62	6.93	6.64	6.96	6.96	6.82	0.00	#5
7	Armin MAHBANOOZADEH	USA	122.06	61.12		61.94	6.29	5.86	6.39	6.18	6.25	1.00	#2
8	Konstantin MENSHOV	RUS	121.21	58.57		64.64	6.61	6.14	6.43	6.46	6.68	2.00	#6
9	Brandon MROZ	USA	110.00	45.44		65.56	6.71	6.39	6.36	6.71	6.61	1.00	#7

FPl.	Name	Nation	Points	SP	FS
1	Daisuke TAKAHASHI	JPN	259.75	1	1
2	Takahiko KOZUKA	JPN	235.02	2	2
3	Ross MINER	USA	212.36	6	4
4	Samuel CONTESTI	ITA	209.69	7	3
5	Tomas VERNER	CZE	196.63	9	5
6	Konstantin MENSHOV	RUS	195.88	4	8
7	Tatsuki MACHIDA	JPN	195.45	5	6
8	Armin MAHBANOOZADEH	USA	185.58	8	7
9	Brandon MROZ	USA	184.83	3	9

Skate America Men's Free Skate

Group 1

Samuel Contesti, ITA: 68.32 TES + 66.36 PCS = 134.68  Total: 190.20

• He is wearing a red and white striped shirt with suspenders and a bandana
• Opened with a nice triple axel
• He's going for a comical French theme here today
• Nice triple flip
• Turned out of a triple lutz
• Nice position in his camel spin but it slows a little bit after the change of foot
• I'd like to see more stretch through the free leg in his sit spin but he has a nice low position
• He has a very nice relaxed expression on his face and very fluid movement through his step sequence; not a lot of difficulty here but the flow is very nice
• Triple axel+double toe was nice but a little tight on the landing
• Triple loop was a little scratchy on the landing with some ice spray
• Nice entrance into another axel with not a lot of prep
• Trouble with his three jump combination ans some turns out of his salchow before the two double toes
• Really nice sit spin with great speed in time with his music but loses speed at the end

Douglas Razzano, USA: 69.84 TES + 62.42 PCS = 132.26  Total: 192.95 and into 1st place

• Today is his birthday.  Hope he gets a good skate as a present!
• He is wearing a burgundy ombre shirt that transitions into black
• He opens with a triple axel with lots of speed and height
• Nice triple toe
• Triple axel + double toe combination was nice, but not as much height as the first one
• Triple lutz
• I like all the transition work in between his jumps and how he really uses the music
• Very nice catchfoot position in his camel spin with lots of flexibility and great speed
• Nice speed and positions through his sit spin
• Nice use of levels throughout his footwork sequence and he's really getting into his knees
• Triple toe + double toe
• Nice spread eagle right into the triple salchow
• Triple loop was well done
• I would like to see a little more in his choreographic step sequence
• Double axel + double toe +double loop was solidly landed
• Good changes in position through his combination spin

Florent Amodio, FRA: 56.86 TES + 68.28 PCS = 125.14  Total: 187.60 and into 3rd place

• He looks like Tigger attacked by the gay mafia
• I wish he committed more to these movements in the beginning and really performed them rather than just doing them
• Popped the quad salchow into a triple
• very nice triple axel
• His sit spin seems very slow especially with the build in the music
• Something seems off today--he just seems to be going through the motions rather than completely selling his program like normally does
• Very nice one foot section in his step sequence and lots of twists and turns
• Really weird entry into his triple loop, way off in the air but he sticks the landing
• Double axel and he lands with his upper body forward--he just looks like he's running out of steam, lots of pauses, and finishing behind his musical cues
• Triple toe and he has to take a pause before his second triple
• Really nice arched camel spin
• Triple axel and he's off on the landing and almost puts a hand down
• Double axel 
• Right before the choreographic step sequence you can see how he's panting
• Really slow in his combination spin and it seemed like he had just nothing left at the end

Armin Mahbanoozadeh, USA: 56.87 TES + 59.66 PCS -2.00 = 114.53 Total: 179.07 and into 4th place

• He is wearing a black top with a yellow stripe across his back
• Goes for the quad toe, didn't get fully rotated and his legs get tied up underneath him and he falls
• Recovers with a nice triple axel+double toe but not a lot of ride out 
• Popped open his lutz
• Nice triple loop
• The movements seem a little slow in his step sequence in relation to the music and there just doesn't seem to be enough power
• Not right in the air on his triple axel and he takes another fall
• Nice camel spin with a beautiful donut position
• Looks like he didn't get a good takeoff on his triple flip and has to put a hand down
• Spread eagle into a double salchow
• He also seems to just be going through the motions in his choreography instead of really committing
• Triple lutz with a hand down
• He has some really interesting variations in his camel spins that look so nice
• Priscilla is wearing a track suit with matching yellow stripes!

Denis Ten, KAZ: 64.38 TES + 67.22 PCS - 1.00  = 130.60 Total: 197.98 and into 1st place

• He is wearing a red top covered in sparkles and is getting some final words of encouragement from Frank Carroll
• Landed a quad toe to open his program
• Followed up with a nice triple axel with good ride out
• Triple flip + triple toe
• Very nice movement throughout his step sequence and he is putting a lot more attack and performance into it than the skaters before him
• Very nice low position in his sit spin with good speed
• He is using every note in the music and the program is very well choreographed
• Double axel+double toe+double toe but not a lot of speed or height on the jumps
• Spread eagle into a triple flip and he takes a little tumble on the landing
• Pops open his triple lutz
• Nice triple loop to recover
• Very nice camel position with a great arch and a very nice entry into the donut position
• Steps out of his next triple landing
• A little awkward in the change of foot from the camel into the flying sit and it costs him some of his speed

Group 2

Richard Dornbush, USA: 64.44 TES + 68.80 PCS -1.00 = 132.24 Total 202.27 and into 1st place

• He is wearing a black cowboy ourtfit for his spaghetti western free skate
• He really hangs on to that quad toe landing!  He is so low but he keeps his free leg up
• Nice triple lutz
• Two footed on his triple axel landing and he puts a hand down
• Nice choreography through his step sequence but I'd love to see him really sell it more and put a little more power into it
• Great position and speed in his camel spin with a nice transition to the sit position
• He has such nice edge quality and a great flow to his skating
• Pops open his second triple axel
• Really tough entrance to a triple jump from a crossed over lunge position
• Triple lutz +triple toe combination was really nicely done
• He is so good with his music and really makes sure to hit every nuance
• Pops open another triple
• This choreographic step sequence has a lot of potential but just looks like he doesn't have enough energy to really sell it
• A fall on his triple loop into a plank position
• Nice positions in his final combo spin

Kevin van der Perren, BEL: 74.61 TES + 67.78 PCS = 142.39 Total: 212.48 and into 1st place

• He is wearing a black costume with white and gold sparkle designs
• According to the announcers he will be retiring after Europeans
• Very nice quad toe with such a solid landing
• Steps out of the landing of his triple axel
• Nice triple jump
• Great low position in his sit spin
• This step sequence is well timed with the music but seems a little slow and is missing some of the body movement and ease of flow of some of the other skaters
• Triple salchow +triple toe+triple toe combination was very impressive!
• Double flip
• Double lutz+double toe
• I love how he's really selling this choreographic step sequence
• Nice triple loop
• Triple axel + double toe
• He could use a little more stretch through the free leg in his camel spin and he loses a lot of speed as he changes foot into the catch foot position
• Really slow on his final spin and he almost slows to a stop

Daisuke Murakami, JPN: 57.35 TES + 66.30 PCS -1.00 = 122.65  Total: 193.32 and into 4th place

• He is wearing a black costume with lots of gold detail work
• Triple lutz+double toe
• Great entrance into his triple axel with nice height and a great landing
• Fall on his quad salchow
• He's really showing off a lot of edges and turns in this step sequence with good speed
• Nice camel spin, but I wish he didn't have to drop his leg to get into the catchfoot position
• Triple axel but he doesn't add the combo on to it
• A little tight on the landing of his next triple
• Really tight on the next landing and very close to the boards
• Triple salchow was nicely done 
• He could use more stretch through the free leg in his sit spin
• Very nice triple salchow from a tough entry
• Nice choreographic step sequence

Takahiko Kozuka, JPN: 68.54 TES + 74.86 PCS  -1.00 = 141.40 Total: 212.09 and into 2nd place

• He is wearing a white and black top with a split in the back revealing a red patch
• I really think his expression and flow have improved this season; he is a really beautiful skater to watch
• Feet got caught on his quad toe and he falls
• Nice high triple axel
• Fall on his next triple
• Really beautiful camel spin with great speed
• Great timing with the music on his step sequence and it doesn't look choppy like some of the others; all the elements flow together really well
• Forward on the landing of his triple axel but he hangs on and adds a double toe
• Very nice low sit spin position with good speed
• Nice triple
• Triple loop but not a lot of height
• Triple salchow
• Not a lot of speed out of his triple+double toe
• Really expressive choreographic step sequence and he uses his arms very nicely
• Beautiful camel spin with a nice arched position

Michal Brezina, CZE: 64.50 TES + 73.42 PCS -1.00 = 136.92 Total 216.00 and into 1st place

• An interesting costume choice, red and black and white and an orange tie
• Very nice triple axel to open his program
• Triple flip + triple toe combination
• Double salchow
• Not enough stretch through his free leg in the sit spin
• Very nice step sequence with a lot of difficulty and use of his upper body plus well timed with the music but it starts to lose some of its spark in the middle
• Triple axel + double toe
• Very nice triple with a solid landing
• Pops open his loop into a single
• Falls on his triple lutz
• Pops open his double axel
• His position is a little high in his sit spin and the it's really slow through the camel position
• He could give so much more through the choreographic step sequence and it could be a real crowd pleaser

Pl.	Name	Nation	TSS =	TES +		PCS +	SS	TR	PE	CH	IN	Ded. -	StN.
1	Kevin VAN DER PERREN	BEL	142.39	74.61		67.78	6.89	6.39	6.89	6.86	6.86	0.00	#7
2	Takahiko KOZUKA	JPN	141.40	68.54		74.86	7.82	7.29	7.21	7.57	7.54	2.00	#9
3	Michal BREZINA	CZE	136.92	64.50		73.42	7.46	7.21	7.18	7.54	7.32	1.00	#10
4	Samuel CONTESTI	ITA	134.68	68.32		66.36	6.50	6.25	6.68	6.68	7.07	0.00	#1
5	Douglas RAZZANO	USA	132.26	69.84		62.42	6.36	5.96	6.43	6.21	6.25	0.00	#2
6	Richard DORNBUSH	USA	132.24	64.44		68.80	6.86	6.68	6.86	7.00	7.00	1.00	#6
7	Denis TEN	KAZ	130.60	64.38		67.22	6.93	6.50	6.79	6.64	6.75	1.00	#5
8	Florent AMODIO	FRA	125.14	56.86		68.28	6.89	6.43	6.75	7.00	7.07	0.00	#3
9	Daisuke MURAKAMI	JPN	122.65	57.35		66.30	7.00	6.43	6.61	6.61	6.50	1.00	#8
10	Armin MAHBANOOZADEH	USA	114.53	56.87		59.66	6.11	5.82	5.86	6.04	6.00	2.00	#4

Pl.	Name	Nation	Points	SP	FS
1	Michal BREZINA	CZE	216.00	1	3
2	Kevin VAN DER PERREN	BEL	212.48	4	1
3	Takahiko KOZUKA	JPN	212.09	2	2
4	Richard DORNBUSH	USA	202.27	5	6
5	Denis TEN	KAZ	197.98	6	7
6	Daisuke MURAKAMI	JPN	193.32	3	9
7	Douglas RAZZANO	USA	192.95	9	5
8	Samuel CONTESTI	ITA	190.20	10	4
9	Florent AMODIO	FRA	187.60	8	8
10	Armin MAHBANOOZADEH	USA	179.07	7	10

Ondrej Nepela Memorial Men's Free Skate Results

Pl.	Name	Nation	TSS =	TES +		PCS +	SS	TR	PE	CH	IN	Deduction -	StN.
1	Samuel CONTESTI	ITA	146.27	73.23		73.04	7.13	6.67	7.38	7.63	7.71	0.00	#15
2	Kevin VAN DER PERREN	BEL	146.20	75.28		70.92	7.33	6.42	7.38	7.25	7.08	0.00	#18
3	Daisuke MURAKAMI	JPN	140.18	67.00		73.18	7.54	7.17	7.33	7.38	7.17	0.00	#20
4	Kento NAKAMURA	JPN	129.48	68.20		61.28	6.46	5.71	6.17	6.17	6.13	0.00	#10
5	Jonathan CASSAR	USA	125.82	55.98		69.84	7.00	6.63	7.08	6.96	7.25	0.00	#17
6	Abzal RAKIMGALIYEV	KAZ	119.82	61.48		58.34	5.79	5.50	5.88	6.00	6.00	0.00	#11
7	Grant HOCHSTEIN	USA	119.81	54.89		65.92	6.79	6.42	6.54	6.71	6.50	1.00	#19
8	Ghafik BESSEGHIER	FRA	108.85	55.51		53.34	5.67	5.08	5.38	5.29	5.25	0.00	#8
9	Kim LUCINE	MON	105.61	47.79		57.82	5.46	5.33	6.00	6.04	6.08	0.00	#13
10	Maciej CIEPLUCHA	POL	104.32	53.06		53.26	5.46	5.00	5.42	5.50	5.25	2.00	#14
11	Dmytro IGNATENKO	UKR	100.77	52.25		48.52	4.92	4.71	4.92	5.00	4.71	0.00	#9
12	Artem GRIGORIEV	RUS	97.73	43.55		55.18	5.88	5.33	5.46	5.75	5.17	1.00	#12
13	Paul PARKINSON	ITA	96.39	40.21		57.18	5.92	5.46	5.71	5.79	5.71	1.00	#16
14	Justus STRID	DEN	90.85	41.25		51.60	5.08	4.63	5.17	5.42	5.50	2.00	#6
15	David RICHARDSON	GBR	83.18	38.86		46.32	4.54	4.58	4.54	4.79	4.71	2.00	#4
16	Patrick MYZYK	POL	83.08	36.32		46.76	5.04	3.96	4.83	4.88	4.67	0.00	#3
17	Miroslav DVORAK	CZE	78.80	36.44		44.36	4.63	4.13	4.46	4.54	4.42	2.00	#5
18	Saulius AMBRULEVICIUS	LTU	75.12	30.78		45.34	4.79	4.29	4.50	4.67	4.42	1.00	#7
19	Zheng Feng CHAN	MAS	67.30	32.06		36.24	4.04	3.54	3.54	3.54	3.46	1.00	#1
20	Jakub STROBL	SVK	66.96	29.62		37.34	4.08	3.71	3.67	3.75	3.46	0.00	#2

FPl.	Name	Nation	Points	SP	FS
1	Daisuke MURAKAMI	JPN	213.37	1	3
2	Kevin VAN DER PERREN	BEL	211.08	3	2
3	Samuel CONTESTI	ITA	204.72	6	1
4	Jonathan CASSAR	USA	189.68	4	5
5	Grant HOCHSTEIN	USA	189.58	2	7
6	Kento NAKAMURA	JPN	180.76	11	4
7	Abzal RAKIMGALIYEV	KAZ	171.80	9	6
8	Kim LUCINE	MON	159.20	7	9
9	Paul PARKINSON	ITA	156.37	5	13
10	Maciej CIEPLUCHA	POL	155.62	10	10
11	Ghafik BESSEGHIER	FRA	152.98	14	8
12	Artem GRIGORIEV	RUS	150.12	8	12
13	Dmytro IGNATENKO	UKR	147.25	13	11
14	Justus STRID	DEN	138.92	12	14
15	Patrick MYZYK	POL	125.28	17	16
16	David RICHARDSON	GBR	123.43	18	15
17	Saulius AMBRULEVICIUS	LTU	118.24	15	18
18	Miroslav DVORAK	CZE	109.95	20	17
19	Jakub STROBL	SVK	109.29	16	20
20	Zheng Feng CHAN	MAS	102.61	19	19
WD	Lawrence EVANS	GBR
WD	Marton MARKO	HUN