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teams comps programs

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IAMO Season Schedule 2026-27

2026 Dallas Classic (Plano, TX July 9-12, 2026 Adrian Diaz for IAMO)

Peal/Peal 🥇1st place (2nd RD, 1st FD) Flores/Jepsen 🥈2nd place (1st RD, 2nd FD)

Skate Canada Next Gen Competition (Gatineau, QC July 17-18, 2026 Cara Moir for IAMO)

Anderson/Dawson 4th place (8th RD, 1st FD) Eby/Stark 10th place (11th RD, 9th FD)

Championnats québécois d'été (Pierrefonds, QC August 6-9, 2026)

Lauriault/Le Gac Robinson/Portz Veillon/Brandys

Skate Ontario Sectional Series August (Waterloo, ON August 14-16, 2026)

Bashynska/Perron Hancock/Dotzert Robinson/Portz Veillon/Brandys Anderson/Dawson Eby/Stark

USFS Champs Camp (TBA)

Carreira/Ponomarenko

Grand Prix de France (Angers, FR October 23-25, 2026)

Carreira/Ponomarenko

Skate Canada International (Kelowna, BC October 29-November 1, 2026)

Lauriault/Le Gac Veillon/Brandys

GP Finlandia Trophy (Helsinki, FIN November 20-21, 2026)

Lauriault/Le Gac

NHK Trophy (Tokyo JPN November 27029, 2026)

Carriera/Ponomarenko Yoshida/Morita

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ok i love it - Manon it is - that's the Massenet Elegie for cello/piano in her post, and if that's the version they're using it's very full and lush - we probably won't get to see more than hints of the oniceperspectives video til after they debut, but this looks good. funny how people are just walking by the rink going about their day, paying no attention to them. i'd be riveted lol can't wait to see the whole thing

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i love this, elegant, a little playful - what is it??? lol i hope we don't have to wait til october or something to find out haha

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She trains for Team USA. She still found time to finish her degree. - Penn State World Campus

Raffaella Koncius has spent 20 years as a competitive figure skater with no off-season, no flexibility, and no room for a traditional colleg

Raffaella Koncius trains at MIDA - their skaters talk about such long hours - she says she's at the rink daily from 7:00 am - 4:00 pm. part of this is off ice but still seems longer than IAM and IAMO skaters say when they talk about their schedules

found an older interview with more detail -

“We usually skate from 8-2 with breaks here and there. Then on Tuesdays/Thursdays we have ballet, Monday/Wednesday is workout, and Fridays are pilates. We have all three coaches every day for about an hour, and then we also skate by ourselves”.

so an hour of off ice stretching and warm up, then on ice from 8 am - 2 pm, 6 hours - which includes breaks but also 3 one hour sessions with what were the 3 main coaches back then plus additional session(s) where they train on their own. then either off ice workout or dance/Pilates class

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Surprised that Hannah and Ye were the first to split. And that she had tried out with Ayer (as if he was a better option, both in terms of skill and age - 4 years older than Ye). I think there is much we aren’t privy to and I’d bet the coaches played an important part in these new partnerships. All these teams being in the same school makes it easier, I guess.

Glad Scott didn’t give up on Tessa in 2008…

Scott not splitting from Tessa in 2008 when they'd been 2nd at Worlds earlier that year seems normal and practical. what feels unbelievably avoidant and unfortunate is that he didn't go see her, that they didn't communicate, that he apparently didn't reassure her - that caused all sorts of problems and painful misunderstandings down the road. the other weirdness was that Marina was already bringing in tryouts for him, but that's another story

deciding to split when you don't know if you'll have a next partner has to be complex. so even though it doesn't feel great that Hannah's saying Ye's mistakes at 4CC and the Olympics led to ending the partnership, i have to think there was more to it if she didn't see another quad together. it also wasn't great that she named Paul Ayer, but one of the interviews from media day said there was a group tryout with 7 women/5 men from IAM who were all looking for partners - there aren't many available ice dancers on their level, so it would be stranger if Hannah and Paul hadn't had a tryout?

coaches would be involved in helping their students find new partners, and it doesn't sound like the IAM coaches encouraged any splits? besides Romain running his mouth, it sounds like they did what they're supposed to

it does feel a little yucky that Zak seems to have called Hannah to gauge her interest before he split with Marjo, based on Hannah's own words. she said when Zak called her, Hannah didn't know if they'd split, and Zak doesn't seem to have said he had. but he and Marjo stayed together that rough rough season when he was injured, then she was concussed. if they persevered through that but he's saying they'd come to an impasse artistically that wasn't solveable, i believe it. but i agree with you that there's a lot all around that we're not privy to

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this lady drove from Utah to Idaho to watch CPom's show in Sun Valley last night and has clips in her post - they skated the 2 exhs we expected - Cold by Chris Stapleton and Say it Right/Maneater

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'You're a star, baby': Olympic ice dancers and their silly meme skate into Sun Valley

Right before they skate, Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko say the same thing to each other, every time.

after such a rough 2nd half of 2025, i love that they're having such a great 2026. and that she says "i'm a fan of us" after the interviews over the years where she said she struggled with feeling like enough

“I’m a fan of us,” Carreira said. “Any day in training when we’re working super hard and everything feels like it’s flowing—those days are really fun and really rewarding, sometimes more so than the big competitions. You feel like you gave it your all and everything worked out.”

and that they feel like this about their Milano FD:

“It was really nerve-wracking to begin with,” Ponomarenko said. “Stepping into that arena, seeing the Olympic rings everywhere—once we got into our starting pose, it felt so right. We didn’t hold back, and it was a great performance.”

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2026 Next Gen results - this was so fun - juniors can grow so much from season to season

Homick/Buelow - (Evita) it's bigger music than Ghost and asks them to stretch and be more dramatic. it's hard to tell on the stream, but their ice coverage looks bigger than last season. this program has voiceover announcing Evita's passing midway through. in last year's FD Nicholas's character had also passed. making art is vulnerable in that it's personal whether you intend it or not. it's poignant and understandable if a huge loss is expressed through your creative work. Mitch Islam seems like an excellent coach - he comes off really well in the Gabby Daleman documentary, too

Gans/Pak - (Tron Legacy - Daft Punk) this program showed a little bit more than the RD did where there's still work to be done on matching lines, but they're off to such a good start

Briere/Celestino - (Resilience Mattia Turzo, Lights that Flicker Tonal Chaos Trailer Music) i'm intrigued - their sensibilities and style mesh really well, they feel fresh, and i like them a lot already. yet even though he's taller, her hip level is higher, and i thought that's difficult in a pair - that's the Charlene/Marco issue that Scott has talked about. so i wonder if the match is good in other ways enough to override that. this FD is a huge contrast to their RD and works really well til the music starts to feel bigger than them towards the end. but they have all fall to grow into it

Anderson/Dawson - (Rain in Your Black Eyes) they have a realistic shot at being the top junior team in Canada this season - they won the FD here despite a DSp miscue that cost them 2.5-3 pts and an extended lift deduction. they easily won PCS. they should still get their 2 JGP's 🤞

this is more musically complex than their FD last year, so it requires them to stretch, but i think parts of the choreo could be stronger - once it goes into RIYBE, it asks for movement that has both flow and rhythm (Lori Nichol addressed this so well in the Sui/Han version). the build to the big peak and then the whoosh release is little hop/kicks and then the spin - that's always a challenging part to choreograph, and it's not really working here

the combo lift is lovely - Charlie's good at hitting beautiful positions that are also expressive. they had an issue with the exit, which might have led to the deduction. despite the bumps, i think their skating has grown in how they're going into the ice. i love that you can hear the blades on this stream. Cayden is a strong partner - his attention is always with her, and he's alert - he saved the spin. if he can grow his upper body extension and open his carriage, they'd look even more matched

the music splice going into RIYBE 😨 the first piece is in one flat with an F natural, and then they just mash RIYBE on top of it, which is in b minor and has an F# - very dissonant. it needs a musical transition. or to move the key of the first piece up half a step (though you risk changing its character if you do that)

Charlie and Cayden have so much going for them, looking forward to seeing them and their team grow this

Ben Khelifa/Levesque - (Gladiator) he was like a hip 60s mod last season, and now both programs are more traditional. this works well for this new pairing though. she has a beautiful quality of holding energy and tension in her body and movements that makes her feel very present and expressive. atm, their styles aren't the same, but there's so much potential

Carandiuc/Carandiuc - (Mask of Zorro) - they kept this FD from last season, changing up the layout of the steps and one of the choreo elements. again, this kind of fiery theme is their wheelhouse. maybe keeping a program they like and working on the technical side is the goal

Breau/Che - (Things You Said, Waltz for Sweatpants - Cody Fry) - they've grown a lot in a year. this program feels well suited to them - the music has a build that they can grow into, but it has a sweetness and isn't too big, and that feels like it can show them to advantage

Theroux/Gossard - (La Cumparsita tango) this gives them lots of character and flair to play and asks for sharpness and connection. seems like when a team is coming along well, and coaches are looking to challenge them on the next level of performance and clarity, they often give a tango (or a paso or a flamenco) to help them grow those things

Beausoleil/Thibaud - (Who Wants to Live Forever - The Tenors) he had a twizzle issue where he sort of stutter stopped, and her hand hit him but then it looked like she pushed him away and gave him a look. and at the end, she came up from the end pose really fast, she pushed on his chest when she didn't need it for balance and looked unhappy. idk if they're having other issues bts, but i guess part of juniors is learning how to navigate partnership

Eby/Stark - (Somebody I Used to Know - Gotye feat Kimbra) they've progressed so much - they look more unified, more expressive. the combo lift is cool, they take advantage of her flexibility. i like the slightly edgy vibe, they could lean into it even more. noticing IAMO's giving the same elements to teams - maybe it's hard to avoid, but when they're memorable for one team, it's super noticeable if you have other students repeat the same thing. like the CPom spin position where they cross ankles and she lays back - Dozzi/Papetti did it, E/S are doing it here. Charlie and Cayden have the choreo lift where she has a leg intertwined around his which Dozzi/Papetti had last season (Lim/Quan had it memorably in Umbrellas, P/C did it before all of them). it's not unusual to see repeats in ice dance, but between your own teams, idk

Mitchell/Cincon-Debout - (Stand by Me, Dog Days are Over - Florence + the Machine) this put a smile on my face - their first comp together, some of the elements still feel new, but this program's well designed for them, lets them skate and show some glide

Chao/Ma - (Not About Angels - Birdy from The Fault in Our Stars) this felt sincere and expressive - the StaLi took advantage of their height difference in a really nice way

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Rilee Eby & Jacob Stark 2026 Next Gen FD - Somebody I Used to Know - Gotye

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Kaitlin Hawayek has been helping Hannah and Zak in training.

https://mskating.com/articles/hannah-lim-zachary-lagha-interview

good interview with a lot of info. overall it feels respectful of their previous partnerships, but they are pretty candid - she says she had tryouts with a few people and names Paul Ayer but says "it was Zach, no hesitation"

he says "I think she's [Hannah] the most talented girl in the field right now"

and it's unclear if he and Marjorie were split when Zak called Hannah to feel out skating with her. Hannah says the whole school knew she and Ye had split, but she didn't know if he'd split with Marjorie

Hannah says she'd already decided to split with Ye after the Olympics because 4CC and the Olympics were disappointing, and he asked to finish their career together at Worlds

they're showing only their RD at CQE and will be showing both programs at a Quebec comp in October (not sure what that would be - Georges Ethier is Sept, sectional championships is Nov). Romain made their RD and Patch is also working a lot with them on it. Marie-France made their FD. Hannah says she barely saw Romain so far in her career til now, which is surprising - he made their RDs in 2022, 2023 and 2024

about Kaitlin, it's the interviewer who brings her up because they were working with Kaitlin right before the interview - and Zak says "I didn't know she was such a good coach. If she wants to pursue coaching she'll be great at it" which is odd, because she's been with some of the newer IAM teams quite a bit for at least a year

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Summer Homick & Nicholas Buelow 2026 Next Gen FD - Evita

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Charlie Anderson & Cayden Dawson 2026 Next Gen FD - Rain in Your Black Eyes

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Marjorie Lajoie and Jean-Luc Baker: Rebuilding a Comeback and Creating Moments

In May this year, Canadian ice dancer Marjorie Lajoie announced the end of her 15-year partnership with Zachary Lagha, after the two had fin

some of this interview has been out there already? but the new:

"Our plan is to be ready for [NHK],” he continued, adding that they would probably do a competition at the end of October as part of their preparation. 

there's no Challenger at the end of October - Budapest Trophy is October 15-18, but there aren't any others til mid-November. so would they debut at a senior B, or in Budapest?

Baker added that they have bigger goals in the longer term. “We definitely want to win National Championships this year. I mean, we would love to be on a Four Continents podium. We want to be in the top 8 at Worlds, because we really want to give ourselves and also other athletes for the future an opportunity to be competing at a high level in ice dance. We have some amazing teams.

so he's talking about earning spots for Canada - with Piper and Paul gone, more than 2 spots for next season is unlikely, but the competition for them is going to be pretty exciting

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i don't read the forum boards often except to skim for info bc a lot of the posters are grumpy or call CPom Car/Pon 😅 but many of them are knowledgeable and been watching for a long time, and they're complaining that very few of the waltzes at Next Gen are actually waltzes, and while i loved watching the teams, it's true - the lilt of a real waltz and how that goes with the knee action of a team is part of the look and musicality of the compulsory and OD waltzes of yore, and not that many of the teams are using music that has even a hint of that, they're using songs which technically are in a time signature in 3s but don't really resemble a waltz for their pattern

i wonder if judging is going to take any of this into consideration for PCS, especially in seniors - it used to be that you had to have the right character, not just the kp's. will teams get lower Composition/Presentation marks if their Golden doesn't feel at all like a waltz

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Did you see the picture of Scott from the Ilderton concert?

it sounds like the Ilderton synchro teams ran the beer tent at the concert, and that article said he was bartending - it seems like he must have been pouring beers to help out?

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was next gen earlier this year than last? some of these programs look very new

last year was July 17 too. the year before started July 26. last year there were 9 teams, this year there are 12, and the scores are pretty comparable if you leave out Layla and Alex, who scored 10 points higher than the next team

but it's true there are a lot of new partnerships who've been together just a few months. only 4 of the 12 teams who skated today were here with the same partner last year

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Rilee Eby & Jacob Stark 2026 Next Gen RD - Cinderella