TOP 10 Musings on ‘23 US Figure Skating Nationals

A list both cheeky & sincere. It was a major joy to be able to attend the San Jose Nationals in person again, returning after a decade. Here’s some of what stood out…

1. Polina Edmunds, the latest Skating Queen of San Jose, walking with ease up and down the steep stairs of SAP Arena in jungle red 6-inch pumps was the 5th Nationals’ Discipline of the weekend.
2. Tanith (Belbin) White is the Coach we ALL want and need, swaying at the boards with every move of her teams, and feeling every moment of their programs. She looks rather austere and business-like in the Kiss ‘n Cry, but at the Boards she appears to be a true team member.
3. Ivan Desyatov & Keyton Bearinger should be Mr. January & February in the USFS Tiger Beat Calendar! I mean, wow. Beauty makes itself easily evident…I could take my eyes off neither of them in their programs, thanks to their aesthetics, charisma, AND their skating skills.
4. “Generically Lovely” has become the current Women’s program/choreo/costume/music aesthetic norm. Nothing was offensive, nor particularly memorable about much of the music, choreography nor costumes from the first few flights. SO many sequins, perhaps in just the right place, but I’d encourage them to take more stylistic risks…make a personal statement! I’m sure it’s largely the fault of the IJS, but I felt that Sonja Hilmer came closest to breaking from this template, with her own choreo and costume design, as I was told.
5. Pairs’ Spencer Howe should get an Oscar for how much he acted the shit outta that “Ghost” FS program
6. Nationals wouldn’t be the same without the laughing, kvetching, glowing, and WRITING of skating journalists extraordinaire Christine Brennan and Phil Hersh. We ran into them, roaming the sidewalks of downtown San Jose. She was particularly spacious and friendly, asking if we were having a good Nationals experience, as they disappeared into a nearby restaurant.
7. Pairs Girls/Women are the truest unsung heroes of our sport! Fearless. Bruised. Phoenixes, rising time and time again. (I wouldn’t last over an hour with those expectations and challenges.)
8. “The King and I” soundtrack can REALLY get a crowd going, or at least ME (skated by Ice Dancers Leah Krauskopf & YuanShi Jin).
9. Skating parents are a special breed. The investment they make immense, and largely selfless. I met Michael Parsons lovely mom in the stands…still moist in the eyes from watching her son’s FD. She thanked us for being such enthusiastic audience members. She (and his sister) were ALL aglow after his first Senior Nationals’ Podium. She noted she couldn’t be in Japan for Worlds, due to the travel cost.
10. Jason Brown is the Michelle Kwan of this generation. A skater who skates from their heart, and communicates that SO clearly. ❤️ Below is our banner, paying tribute to his art, longevity, and humanity!

The spirit of our sport is still very alive, even if TOO MANY of the seats were empty. It was a compact, but HEARTY crowd. The USFSA needs to rework their approach.