The 2011 Skate America was an ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating competition in the 2011–2012 season. Organized by the United States Figure Skating Association, it was the first of six events in the 2011–2012 ISU Grand Prix, a series of senior-level international invitational competitions.
The event was held at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California from October 21–23, 2011.[1] Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. Skaters also earned points towards qualifying for the Grand Prix Final.
Eligibility [edit]
Skaters who reached the age of 14 by July 1, 2011 were eligible to compete on the senior Grand Prix circuit.
In July 2011, minimum score requirements were added to the Grand Prix series and were set at two-thirds of the top scores at the 2011 World Championships. Prior to competing in a Grand Prix event, skaters were required to earn the following:[2]
| Discipline |
Minimum |
| Men |
168.60 |
| Ladies |
117.48 |
| Pairs |
130.71 |
| Ice dance |
111.15 |
Entries [edit]
The entries were as follows.[3][4]
Schedule of events [edit]
- Friday, October 21
- 7:05 p.m. – Men's short program
- 8:45 p.m. – Short dance
- Saturday, October 22
- 11:39 a.m. – Mens' free skate
- 1:34 p.m. – Free dance
- 7:00 p.m. – Pairs' short program
- 8:25 p.m. - Ladies' short program
- Sunday, October 23
- 1:05 p.m. - Pairs' free skate
- 2:45 p.m. - Ladies' free skate
- 7:00 p.m. - Exhibitions (Skating Spectacular)
Results [edit]
Michal Březina took an eight-point lead in the short program.[5][6] He was concerned by the narrowness of the rink: "I was kind of scared if I will fit with the curve because the rink is not so wide. I almost hit the board in practice when I was going for the triple flip."[7] He was third in the free skate but held on to win his first Grand Prix title.[8] Kevin van der Perren placed fourth in the short and won the free skate to take silver medal, his first GP medal since 2007 Skate Canada International.[9] It was the third Grand Prix silver medal of his career. The 2009 Skate America champion, Takahiko Kozuka, took the bronze medal. This was the first time that no US skater stood on the men's podium at Skate America.
Ladies [edit]
Alissa Czisny won the short program,[10][11] while Carolina Kostner placed first in the free skate.[12][13] Czisny edged out Kostner by only 0.13 points for the gold medal.[14] Viktoria Helgesson took the bronze and became the first Swedish skater to win a Grand Prix medal.[13]
In the short program, Savchenko and Szolkowy attempted the rare throw triple Axel for the first time in their career but experienced a hard fall.[15][16] They were given credit for completing the revolutions and finished in 5th place, 3.4 points off the lead.[17] They rebounded to place first in the free skate and won their second consecutive Skate America title and third in their career.[18] They added a reverse lasso lift to their free program but performed only a double twist because they were still working on a new entry to the triple.[19] Dan Zhang and Hao Zhang took silver, their fifth medal at Skate America, after missing the previous season due to hand, shoulder and knee injuries.[19] Kirsten Moore-Towers and Dylan Moscovitch won the bronze, their second medal at the event.[14]
Ice dancing [edit]
Davis and White repeated as Skate America champions, with Pechalat and Bourzat winning the silver medal, and Tobias and Stagniunas pulling up from fifth to take bronze, their first Grand Prix medal.[20][21][22][23] Bourzat was recovering from bronchitis.[24]
References [edit]
- ^ "Skate America returning to California in 2011". Associated Press (usatoday.com). March 3, 2011. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
- ^ "ISU Grand Prix 2011 - 12 Announcement". International Skating Union. July 2011. Retrieved July 29, 2011.
- ^ Entries
- ^ "2011 Skate America lineup finalized". U.S. Figure Skating (icenetwork). September 1, 2011. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
- ^ Walker, Elvin (October 22, 2011). "Brezina jumps to lead at Skate America". GoldenSkate. Retrieved October 22, 2011.
- ^ Rutherford, Lynn (October 22, 2011). "Brezina plays it safe, steps out to big lead". Icenetwork. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
- ^ "Michal Brezina leads Skate America". The Associated Press (ESPN). October 22, 2011. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
- ^ Walker, Elvin (October 23, 2011). "Brezina takes Skate America gold". GoldenSkate. Retrieved October 23, 2011.
- ^ Rutherford, Lynn (October 22, 2011). "Brezina hangs on for Skate America title". Icenetwork. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
- ^ Rutherford, Lynn (October 23, 2011). "Pretty in pink: Czisny glides to lead in short". Icenetwork. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
- ^ Walker, Elvin (October 23, 2011). "Czisny leads ladies at Skate America". GoldenSkate. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
- ^ Walker, Elvin (October 23, 2011). "Czisny wins gold at Skate America". GoldenSkate. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
- ^ a b Rutherford, Lynn (October 23, 2011). "Czisny edges Kostner for first Skate America title". Icenetwork. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
- ^ a b "Alissa Czisny wins Skate America title". Associated Press (ESPN). October 23, 2011. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
- ^ Rutherford, Lynn (October 23, 2011). "Zhangs edge Denney, Coughlin in short". Icenetwork. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
- ^ Walker, Elvin (October 23, 2011). "Zhang and Zhang lead pairs at Skate America". GoldenSkate. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
- ^ "Pairs short programs: Judges details per skater". International Skating Union. October 22, 2011. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
- ^ Walker, Elvin (October 23, 2011). "Savchenko and Szolkowy seize third Skate America title". GoldenSkate. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
- ^ a b Rutherford, Lynn (October 23, 2011). "Savchenko, Szolkowy win Skate America title". Icenetwork. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
- ^ Walker, Elvin (October 22, 2011). "Davis and White dance to easy lead at Skate America". GoldenSkate. Retrieved October 22, 2011.
- ^ Rutherford, Lynn (October 22, 2011). "Davis, White in command after sultry Latin short". Icenetwork. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
- ^ Walker, Elvin (October 23, 2011). "Davis and White win second Skate America title". GoldenSkate. Retrieved October 23, 2011.
- ^ Rutherford, Lynn (October 22, 2011). "Davis, White waltz away with dance crown". Icenetwork. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
- ^ Pucin, Diane (October 22, 2011). "White, Davis win second Skate America ice dance title". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 22, 2011.
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2011–2012 in figure skating
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| ISU Championships |
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| ISU Grand Prix |
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| Senior Internationals |
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| Youth Olympics |
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| Junior Internationals |
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| National Championships |
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Michal Březina
Alissa Czisny
Aliona Savchenko / Robin Szolkowy
Belgium
Japan
Kazakhstan
Italy
France
Sweden
Russia
Georgia
China
Canada
Lithuania
