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Post by Admin on Apr 23, 2016 1:15:10 GMT
The inaugural Team Challenge Cup kicks off tomorrow, April 22 in Spokane, WA where figure skaters will compete in teams to win not only bragging rights, but a large sum of money. The event is somewhat like the World Team Trophy, but the breakdown and the way it plays out is structured very differently. Three teams will be competing against each other: North America, Europe and Asia and all four disciplines will be included, but of course with a team-scoring format and for $617,000 in prize money. Now a reigning world silver medalist, Ashley Wagner is riding the momentum of her recent victory into the Team Challenge. “I’m just on cloud nine still,” Wagner said on a phone interview on April 21. “I think it’s an admirable trait for anyone to be able to push through over the years, but to kind of do that myself and then reap the benefits…I think that I was just so happy to see that this was all for a reason and I definitely think that my career is one that nothing has been given to me and I’ve really had to fight for so much. To have all of that pay off in such a big way was so incredible.” Since winning her silver medal, Ashley has been on the go training not only for this new team competition, but also performing in Stars on Ice. “The show is absolutely incredible,” Wagner said. “It’s so intricate and entertaining and there’s just so many different aspects of it that are exciting, it’s a great show.” Also performing on Stars on Ice is national champion Gracie Gold. Gold had a tough showing at the World Championships, but has received a lot of support from her fans and she loves meeting them in person during the Stars on Ice meet and greet sessions. Gracie is also set to compete at the Team Challenge this weekend. “This event [Team Challenge Cup] isn’t about any personal goals or achievements, it’s strictly about Team North America and what I can bring to the team,” Gold said during a phone interview on April 21. “Nobody knows what to expect, but as a team event it’s no longer about me or how I want to skate or perform, but you just want to get as many points for your team as possible and every point counts.”
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Post by Admin on Apr 24, 2016 1:50:22 GMT
The unique competition format divided the competitors into three teams: Team North America, Team Europe and Team Asia. On Friday evening, the men and ladies squared off, skating their short programs in head-to-head-to-head battles. Each team fielded three men and three women, one in each of three rounds, with the highest score of each round earning that team 12 points. Second place in the group gained 10 points and third earned 8. At stake was more than $100,000 in prize money. Vice-champion of the world and Europe - 2015 Elena Radionova ranked third in the third group. The Russians Mikhail Kolyada and Sergei Voronov showed the third place result in the first and third groups, respectively. After the first day skaters from Asia are in the lead with a score of 64 points, a second place is the North American team, which scored 62 points, and what closes the top three teams is Europe, which received 54 points. Asian Team won the short program at the unofficial team world championship, which started in the United States. Team Europe, advocated by the Russians Mikhail Kolyada, Sergei Voronov, Elena Radionova and Evgeny Medvedev is in third place. Note that the competitions are held on the unusual rules: all athletes in each single species is divided into three workouts. The winner of each of the workouts gets 12 points, second runner - 10, the third - 8 after adding the sum of six singles determined part of the world - the winner. The strongest skaters on the basis of a short section of the program the prize fund of 132 thousand dollars. Results from the singles short program did not affect the outcome of the World Cup teams. Short program 1. Asian Team - 54 (Bojan Jing, Sean Mind, Denis Ten / Elizabeth Tursynbayeva Rick Hongo, Satoko Miyahara) 2. North American Team - 50 (Jason Brown, Nam Nguyen, Adam Rippon / Gracie Gold, Ashley Wagner, Gabriela Deylman) 3. European Team - 46 ( Michael Kolyada, Sergei Voronov / Elena Radionova, Evgeny Medvedev , Robert Rodegeyro)
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Post by Admin on Apr 25, 2016 1:54:15 GMT
Winner of the World Cup-2015 Russian woman Elena Radionova serving for the European team won in her group. at the command Challenge Cup Figure Skating - Team Challenge Cup in Spokane. Russian figure skater outstripped Japanese girl Rika Hongo and representative of Canada Gabrielle Daleman. Tournament Team Challenge Cup. Spokane (United States). Women. A second group. 1. Radionova Elena (Russia) - 133.31, 2. Rick Hongo (Japan) - 122.15 3. Gabriella Daleman (Canada) - 115.93.
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Post by Admin on Apr 26, 2016 1:19:18 GMT
On a day where moments of skating brilliance shown through, it was the consistency of Team North America, powered by its results in the pairs and ice dance portion, that gave the skaters from the United States and Canada the victory at the inaugural Kosé Team Challenge Cup Saturday night in Spokane, Washington. Team North America won the competition with a score of 892.42, claiming the first-place prize of $210,000. Team Europe was second with an aggregate of 848.06, while Team Asia finished third with 820.22. The North American side was spotted to a healthy lead entering the evening singles session, thanks to the performances of its pairs and ice dance members Saturday afternoon. The top scores for each team in each afternoon discipline were added to determine overall team standings. It was Canadian products Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje (111.56 in free dance) and Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford (147.48 in pairs) who combined to give North America a score of 259.04, nearly 20 points ahead of Europe’s 239.42, while Asia sat a distant third at 201.96. “This is a great way to close the season,” said Duhamel. “We aren’t trained the way we were going into the world championships. Maybe we were a little bit slower, a little bit more cautions, but we knew that today that’s how we had to approach this program. We had to be slower, we had to focus on breathing more.”
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Post by Admin on Apr 27, 2016 1:45:50 GMT
The scoring system dampened what could have been a runaway score by Team Asia’s talented men’s jumpers, led by Japan’s Shoma Uno. The 18-year-old earned a score of 105.74 by becoming the first skater ever to land a quad flip in competition. “I was not sure if I could make it tonight,” said Uno of the historic quad flip. “Since I made it I’m really confident for next season. To land that flip successfully is making my other jumps better. As dramatic as his performance was in the second round, it still earned only 12 points for his team, but it also earned Uno the men’s individual title and a $5,000 prize. The women’s individual title went to Russia’s Evgenia Medvedeva, the newly crowned ladies’ world champion. “The support of my team was very important to me,” said Medvedeva, “because this was my first experience being part of the team and being supported by a team. I thought it was going to be a burden, but to the contrary, it was motivating me.” At the halfway mark of the competition, the score was tied with each team earning 30 points. Uno’s performance spotted Team Asia a two-point lead over Team North America entering the fifth round, where 2016 world bronze medalist Boyang Jin laid down his usual athletic performance to complete a Team Asia sweep of the men’s groups. Jason Brown, a bronze medalist in the team event for the U.S. at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games, returned to competition after being sidelined by injury and clearly relished the opportunity to be on the ice, taking second in his group behind Jin.
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