The Memorial Day Special

Come join me in the shade, pun intended.

For those of us in the US, it’s Memorial Day weekend. It’s the spiritual and meteorological start of summer, even if the official solstice doesn’t hit for another month. Some people can look forward to an easier season of work, as businesses slide into the rhythm of Summer Fridays. Not me, not my job. If anything, we’re busier than ever. The vibe: “It’s hot outside. All the more reason to be in the air conditioned relief of your desk.”

I would prefer a different vibe: “It’s hot outside. All the more reason to lay under a spinning ceiling fan and daydream.”

For now, it’s a three day weekend, and I’m sitting in front of an AC vent, fantasizing about ice cold arenas. Close enough.

Here’s what’s actually going on in those ice arenas.

---

The Partner Report

It’s two months post-Worlds, and the Ice Dancers and Pairs continue to act like they’re swapping partners at the Netherfield Ball.

• Conti/Macii (ITL), my favorite ex-lovers turned partners, have officially split. She wants to find a new partner; he is retiring to coach. Her Instagram post emphasized the success they had TOGETHER. His post is a picture of him, alone, and doesn’t reference his partner once, unless you count, “Thank you to everyone who has done something for me over the last 20 year career.” I suppose Sara Conti could be “everyone.” I saw someone on social media say, “throw the whole man away,” and I really can’t say it better than that.

• In happier news, reigning Pairs World Champs Hase/Volodin (GER), announced they will carry on to the 2030 Olympics. They accompanied their announcement with an edited video, so I’m guessing some funding came through. With the many Pairs splits/retirements, this is great news. It would be boring to watch the Georgians just run away with it for four years or until the Russians return, whichever comes first.

• In case you missed it, Marin Honda and Shoma Uno announced they will enter the Ice Dance fray on behalf of Japan. I’ll repeat what I said on Instagram: I know they are beloved, but I don’t think this will be handed to them. Their lifts appear iffy, neither one has ever had to deal with an Ice Dance pattern, and there are other more experienced Ice Dance couples in Japan who are further along in this process. Still, their popularity is good for business, and I get the sense that Marin Honda means to get to that Olympics by hook or by crook or by dragging Shoma up a mountain while his video game controller trails behind him. Competition can only help the Japanese Ice Dancers in general, so as Marin said in her post: Game On. My early bold prediction: the increased depth of the field ends with TWO Olympic Ice Dance spots for Japan.

• No official announcements yet, but there’s reason to believe two new American Pairs teams are imminent. A post from Team Todd and Jenni suggests Katie McBeath swapped her big strong silent type for the gamble of Balazs Nagy— a sure thing for citizenship and secure lifts, but not exactly known for being a nice guy who totally understands when you fall on your jumps. I find the difference between their facial expressions in this photo to be ominous. Godspeed, Katie. The other potential Pairs newlyweds: Audrey Shin and Spencer Howe, based on this post from the International Ice Dance Academy of Colorado (I think they were just using the rink, not switching to Ice Dance). Given the rumored tensions between Chan/Howe, this is not a total shock. I can see how this pairing might work out pretty well, so I watch with interest. Hopefully, Emily Chan is thrilled to have more time for photoshoots with her Selevbro and doesn’t really care.

• And ICYMI, here’s my post-mortem on the LaLa split. (paywalled)

---

Everyone on Team USA wants a skating sabbatical, maybe forever.

Coming off the Team Gold at the Olympics, the US Fed would very much like to have a banger 2026-2027 season to keep those four year fans interested. They know full well that American audiences are fair-weather fans who like a winner.

Unfortunately for them:

• Chock/Bates stop short of saying they will retire but indicate they are focusing more on show skating. (Forbes)

• Danny/Ellie haven’t confirmed a return to competition. She’s pretty young, but he’s in his 30s and has probably reached the peak of what he can win with that Team Gold.

• Ilia is telling anyone with a microphone that he doesn’t really know if he will compete at all next season, and it will depend on if he feels like it. This has similar vibes to when you ask your high school crush if he will be a party and he says, “Maybe.” Girl, don’t buy a new dress for this. (USA Today)

• Isabeau is supposedly injured and not doing jumps at Stars on Ice (can anyone confirm this is still true?)

• Alysa, as of this week, is telling reports that she sure would like to compete next season but she hasn’t talked to her coaches and doesn’t know if there will be time to get programs together. Of course, if anyone can randomly stroll into a season with half-baked programs and still win a Worlds medal by the end, it’s Alysa. Still, it sounds like she’s starting to plant the seeds that she’s not promising to compete this year. (USA Today)

• Amber Glenn isn’t saying one way or the other, Andrew Torgashev is like, “I don’t know man, competing is hard and I’m tired and let’s be real— what else is there for me,” and Max Naumov is maybe going to on a reality show where he goes to boot camp, which sounds truly unpleasant and I’d rather see him be the nice guy on The Traitors or Dancing With the Stars.

• Oh, and Jason Brown essentially said he doesn’t want to end his career at his abysmal Nationals but also he doesn’t sound enthusiastic about continuing to compete. (NBC)

So what does that leave?

• Sarah Everhardt plus a bunch of inconsistent Women. But don’t count out a very determined Bradie Tennell, who made it clear skipping Worlds did not mean she would retire.

• Adorable Jacob Sanchez plus a bunch of untested or tested-and-meh Dudes.

• A still very deep Ice Dance field, so they’ll be fine.

• And Emifova/Mirtofanov continuing to cosplay marriage. But also they are really good, so Pairs will not be a total loss.

In short, here’s Team USA’s season motto:

---

Three Non-Figure Skating Things: Three Backlist Summer Reading Books

‘Tis the season for summer reading guides. You absolutely do not need any more options because you can toss a coin and hit a great booklist. If you’re the literary type, FictionMatters has a great one. Still, here I am with three books I recall absolutely demolishing during on my annual summer beach trip. In all cases, I can remember huddling in the A/C of the condo, crispy cool Diet Coke at my side, eyes glued to the page for hours.

• The Princess Bride by William Goldman. This is one of my favorite reading experiences, ever. Even if you have seen the movie a million times, there’s still something to discover in the original book, which is very funny and has a quite memorable narrator.

• Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. A fast read that defies explanation. You’re dropped into very bizarre action with zero context and lots of urgency, and it’s worth the wait to watch the story reveal itself.

• Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Torzs. Sisters reuniting, books with special powers, hidden magical world. I think you will like this if you loved Buffy the Vampire Slayer, though I don’t believe there are vampires here. There’s just a similar tone.

---

What’s Next: Who knows what news the next week may bring! We’ll all be surprised together!