Tickets on Sale Now! The Spin: More than 300 revolutions per minute in perfect balance with only a single blade in contact with the ice. The result is…simply stunning. 2014 U.S. Ladies Champion Gracie Gold The 2015 Prudential U.S. Figure Skating Championships Simply Stunning. JANUARY 17-25, 2015 Order tickets now: NorthCarolina2015.com HOST VENUE Welcome to Chicago! On behalf of U.S. Figure Skating, it is my pleasure to welcome you to the 2014 Hilton HHonors Skate America. As we begin the 20th ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series, we look forward to great performances by some of the world’s most gifted athletes. Skate America is the first of six events in the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series and features 56 competitors, many of whom competed in the Sochi Olym- pics, from 18 countries gathering here to showcase their skills and talents. At the conclusion of the Grand Prix Series, the top skaters qualify for the Grand Prix Final, taking place Dec. 11–14 in Barcelona, Spain. Over the next three days, skaters will compete for medals in ladies, men’s, pairs and ice dance. As the season continues, many of these athletes will compete for a spot on their respective nation’s World Team. We wish them the best as the season continues. I would like to thank the coaches, officials, volunteers, parents and fans for their continued support of the sport of figure skating. And to the athletes, thank you for your determination, dedication and love of the sport. You are the true backbone of the sport of figure skating. Selection to compete in the Grand Prix Series is quite an achievement — congratulations! I am particularly thrilled to have you here because Chicago is my hometown and this is the first international competition ever hosted in this area. The stage is set for an exciting event! Skating fans, we hope you thoroughly enjoy this year’s competition. Sincerely, Samuel Auxier President, U.S. Figure Skating 1 On behalf of Hilton HHonors, ™ the official hotel partner of U.S. Figure Skating, it is my pleasure to welcome you to the 2014 Hilton HHonors Skate America competition. At Hilton, we believe in the power of travel—whether a quick weekend getaway or that long overdue vacation. We believe in the power of connecting people across the globe. We believe in the moments you’ll create and experience and know these will be the memories you’ll cherish for a lifetime. Personally, I cannot think of a more exciting reason to travel than to participate in sport or cheer on those competing. The talented young athletes participating in this weekend’s event remind us to dream bigger, to reach higher and to achieve the seemingly impossible. They inspire us and are the reason we are so passionate about U.S. Figure Skating. In fact, every time you stay in one of our hotels, you help us support these athletes. And when you book through HHonors.com/USFigureSkating, you’ll save up to 15% at participating hotels and resorts and help us increase our contribution to U.S. Figure Skating. With more than 4,000 hotels and resorts in over 90 countries, no matter where your journey takes you, our Hilton Team is ready to welcome you and cheer you on. Thank you for joining us in Chicago, IL. We hope you enjoy what is sure to be a great competition! Best wishes, Jeffrey Diskin Executive Vice President, Commercial Services P.S. If you are not yet a Hilton HHonors member, I’d like to invite you to join our award-winning guest loyalty program. Through complimentary member benefits and the HHonors Points you earn, HHonors empowers our members to create memories, you can’t help but to share. Please visit HHonors.com/Join for more information and to join for free. Competitors/schedule . 5 Ice dance profiles . 38 Event preview . 6 Ice dance scoring guide . 43 Santee story . 10 About U .S . Figure Skating . 44 Ladies profiles . 16 Skate America Q&A . 46 Ladies scoring guide . 21 Chicagoland Basic Skills . 53 Men’s profiles . 24 Skate America medalists . 54 Men’s scoring guide . 29 Grand Prix Series . 56 Pairs profile . 32 Pairs scoring guide . 37 U.S. Figure Skating welcomes you to 2014 Hilton Elena Radionova of Russia and her country mate, Eliza- HHonors Skate America at the Sears Centre in Hoffman veta Tuktamysheva, the 2013 Russian champion. Estates, Ill. For three days, some of the best athletes in In the men’s event, four-time and reigning U.S. cham- the sport of figure skating will compete for ladies, men’s, pion Jeremy Abbott and U.S. silver medalist and fellow pairs and ice dance titles. Skate America is the kickoff Olympian Jason Brown lead the way. They’ll face stiff event to the 20th annual International Skating Union competition from defending Skate America champion Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series. The Series includes Tatsuki Machida of Japan and 2014 Olympic bronze six competitions held in October and November in the medalist Denis Ten of Kazakhstan. United States, Canada, Japan, China, Russia and France. Skaters are awarded points at the two events in which The pairs team of Alexa Scimeca and Chris Knierim, they compete. The top six point-earners in each discipline the 2013 U.S. silver medalists, and Haven Denney and secure spots at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final Brandon Frasier, the 2013 World Junior champions, will Dec. 11–14, in Barcelona, Spain. go head-to-head against a solid roster of international teams, including the Chinese Olympic team of Cheng 2014 Hilton HHonors Skate America includes competi- Peng and Hao Zhang. tors from the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, U.S. Olympic ice dance teams Madison Chock and Evan Korea, Philippines, Russia, Sweden, Austria, Slovakia, Bates, and Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani, are two of Ukraine. the favorites to claim hardware in Chicago. U.S. champion Gracie Gold leads the ladies’ contingent. U.S. Figure Skating and the ISU hope you enjoy the 2014 She’ll face off against 2013-14 World Junior champion Hilton HHonors Skate America and your visit to Chicago. 3 Here’s to those who create the gold standard. AT&T IS A PROUD PARTNER OF U.S. FIGURE SKATING. ©2014 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. All other marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners. ATM_OLP_M4_6478_R2.indd Saved at 8-29-2014 12:00 PM Printed At None Client AT&T Media Type None DEPARTMENT: Art Director Copywriter Acct. Manager Studio Artist Proofreader Traffic Production Live 7.75” x 10.25” Trim 8.375” x 10.875” Bleed 8.625” x 11.125” APPROVAL: Job Title US Figure Skating - October Pubs U.S. Figure Skating Magazine Addl. Notes: MCD: 8/28/14 Ad Code None competitors OFFICIALS LADIES REFEREES JUDGES Brooklee Han, Australia Gilles Vandenbroeck (FRA) Kylie Yacopeti (AUS) Maé-Bérénice Méité, France Beatrice Pfister (SUI) Irina Medvedeva (AZE) Elene Gedevanishvili, Georgia Adriana Domanska (SVK) Francoise De Rappard (BEL) Haruka Imai, Japan So Youn Park, Korea TECHNICAL CONTROLLERS Leslie Keen (CAN) Elena Radionova, Russia Elisabeth Louesdon (FRA) Wei Shi (CHN) Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, Russia Alexander Lakernik (RUS) Christian Baumann (GER) Joshi Helgesson, Sweden Linda Leaver (USA) Philippe Meriguet (FRA) Here’s to those who Natalia Popova, Ukraine Alexey Beletsky (ISR) DATA & REPLAY OPERATORS create the gold standard. Samantha Cesario, United States Michela Cesaro (ITA) Gracie Gold, United States Richard Ostiguy (CAN) Mami Maeda (JPN) Mirai Nagasu, United States David Santee (USA) Tomie Fukudome (JPN) TECHNICAL SPECIALISTS Na Young Ahn (KOR) MEN Singles Yuriy Guskov (KZK) Jorik Hendrickx, Belgium Jae-Eun Chung (KOR) Alexander Kogan (RUS) Nam Nguyen, Canada David Kirby (USA) Yulia Andreeva (RUS) Chafik Besseghier, France Peter Levin (SWE) Alexei Bychenko, Israel Pairs Anastasiya Makarova (UKR) Tatsuki Machida, Japan Lorenzo Magri (ITA) Tamie Campbell (USA) Denis Ten, Kazakhstan Troy Goldstein (USA) Peggy Graham (USA) Michael Christian Martinez, Philippines Ice dance Artur Gachinski, Russia Taffy Holliday (USA) Adian Pitkeev, Russia Andrzei Dostatni (POL) John Millier (USA) Jeremy Abbott, United States Sergei Ponomarenko (RUS) Jason Brown, United States Douglas Razzano, United States PAIRS Event Schedule Miriam Ziegler and Severin Kiefer, Austria Vanessa Grenier/Maxime Deschamps, Canada Friday, Oct . 24 Cheng Peng/Hao Zhang, China 7 p .m . – Short dance Annabelle Prolss/Ruben Blommaert, Germany Yuko Kavaguti/Alexander Smirnov, Russia 8:30 p .m . – Men’s short program Madeline Aaron/Max Settlage, United States Haven Denney/Brandon Frazier, United States Saturday, Oct . 25 Alexa Scimeca/Christopher Knierim, United States 12 p .m . – Pairs short program ICE DANCE 1:30 p .m . – Ladies short program Nicole Orford/Thomas Williams, Canada 7 p .m . – Free dance Elisabeth Paradis/Francois-Xavier Ouellette, Canada 8:30 p .m . – Men’s Free Skate Competition Charlene Guignard/Marco Fabbri, Italy Cathy Reed/Chris Reed, Japan Alexandra Stepanova/Ivan Bukin, Russia Sunday, Oct . 26 Federica Testa/Lukas Csolley, Slovakia 1:15 p .m . – Pairs free skate Anastasia Cannuscio/Colin McManus, United States Madison Chock/Evan Bates, United States 3 p .m . – Ladies free skate AT&T IS A PROUD PARTNER OF U.S. FIGURE SKATING. Maia Shibutani/Alex Shibutani, United States 7 p .m . – Smucker’s Skating Spectacular ©2014 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. All other marks contained herein are the property of their respective owners. 5 ATM_OLP_M4_6478_R2.indd Saved at 8-29-2014 12:00 PM Printed At None Client AT&T Media Type None DEPARTMENT: Art Director Copywriter Acct. Manager Studio Artist Proofreader Traffic Production Live 7.75” x 10.25” Trim 8.375” x 10.875” Bleed 8.625” x 11.125” APPROVAL: Job Title US Figure Skating - October Pubs U.S.