2022 Beijing Olympics: Top Women to Watch

The 2022 Beijing Olympics are about to begin! In case you haven't been keeping up with what's going on in the world of women's figure skating, I've put together a quick who's who for the women's event. These are the women to watch over the next few weeks: Kamila Valieva, Alexandra Trusova, Anna Shcherbakova, Kaori Sakamoto, Loena Hendrickx, Alysa Liu, Young You, Wakaba Higuchi, Mariah Bell, Yelim Kim, Mana Kawabe and more!

2022 Four Continents Championship: Recap

We're down to the final big competition ahead of the 2022 Olympics kicking off next week. In an Olympic year Four Continents is a chance for Olympians to work out kinks ahead of the big event and a chance for those who didn't make the team to end their season on a high note. Check out my quick review featuring Mai Mihara, Haein Lee, Yelim Kim, Audrey Shin, Young You, Rino Matsuike, Yuhana Yokoi, Starr Andrews and Gabrielle Daleman.

2022 European Championships: Recap

The 2022 European Championships was one of the last major competitions we'll see ahead of the Olympics in Beijing. As usual, these championships are like a rematch of the Russian nationals, with the top three finishers (Kamila Valieva, Anna Shcherbakova and Alexandra Trusova) all battling for the gold medal. There were some surprises, however, from Belgium's Loena Hendrickx as well as stand out performances from Poland's Ekaterina Kurakova and Georgia's Anastasiia Gubanova. Check out my quick review of the women's event.

2022 U.S. National Championships: Part Two

In part two of my 2022 U.S. National Championship recap, I take a look at the men's, ice dance and pairs event.

 

2022 U.S. National Championships: Part One

This past weekend the U.S. National Championships took place. The competition is always stressful but the pressure was on even more as this year it counted as the Olympic Trials for the selection of the 2022 Beijing Olympic Teams. With the additional hurtle of COVID to worry about, the competition quickly turned into a bit of a hot mess. Hot mess that it was, there were still some great moments as well as some rather controversial ones people will be talking about for weeks... In Part One of this recap I take a look at the women's event which featured Alysa Liu, Mariah Bell, Karen Chen and Amber Glenn as well as Isabeau Levito and Gracie Gold. Check back soon for Part Two which will cover the men, ice dance and pairs! 

2022 US Nationals: Preview

The 2022 US National Championships are here! The senior women will compete in the short program later this evening. We'll see Alysa Liu, Mariah Bell, Karen Chen, Amber Glenn, Isabeau Levito, Lindsay Thorngren, Gracie Gold and more. Check out my quick preview of this event before the competition gets underway! Click the video below or check it out on my YouTube channel, Bare Ice.

2021-2022 Russian & Japanese Nationals: My Thoughts

Happy New Year! Over the holidays two of the biggest countries in figure skating held their nationals championships. With spots to the 2022 Beijing Olympics on the line, the pressure and stakes were higher than ever. I'm a little too late for a recap but decided to give my thoughts on the outcome of the events for the women's event anyway. I take a look at Kaori Sakamoto, Wakaba Higuchi, Mana Kawabe and Mai Mihara of Japan, and then give my thoughts on Kamila Valieva, Alexandra Trusova, Anna Shcherbakova, Adeliia Petrosian and Elizaveta Tuktamysheva of Russia. Check it out below or on my YouTube channel, Bare Ice.

Alena Kostornaia's Season Ends & Figure Skating Fails Yet Again...

Alena Kostornaia suffered a fracture to her wrist which will prevent her from competing at Russian nationals, effectively ending her chances to make the Olympic team and her season as well. I take a look at this devastating end to this chapter of her career as well as give my thoughts on why injuries like this are symptomatic of a much bigger problem within the skating community.

2021 Grand Prix Series: Top 5 Element Scores - Short Program

 With the Grand Prix Final canceled, the Grand Prix season is officially over. In light of that fact, I decided it was time for some fun with numbers. I selected a few elements from the short program and free skate, and compared them across all six competitions. Many of the top scores were predictable but there are a few surprises. Click the video below or check it out on my YouTube channel, Bare Ice.

2021 Rostelecom Cup: Event Recap

The final event of the 2021-2022 Grand Prix Season, Rostelecom Cup, took place last weekend. With spots to the Final on the line, there was still plenty of competition in this last event. Check out my review for 2021 Rostelecom Cup below or on my channel, Bare Ice.

2021 Internationaux de France: Women's Event Recap

The 2021 Internationaux de France was the second to last event of the 2021 Grand Prix season and spots were on the line for a number of skaters. Anna Shcherbakova went for her 4th straight Grand Prix gold medal, Alena Kostornaia looked to bounce back after disappointment at her first event, and Wakaba Higuchi aimed to finish her Grand Prix season on a high note. Check out my recap of the women's event below or on my channel, Bare Ice.

2021 NHK Trophy: Event Recap

Injuries took a lot of key competitors out of the event, but NHK Trophy still ended up being a great competition overall.  Check out my event recap below or on my channel, Bare Ice.

2021 Gran Premio D'Italia: Event Recap

Check out my recap of the 2021 Gran Premio D'Italia! Click the video below or visit my YouTube channel, Bare Ice.

2021 Gran Premio D'Italia: Preview

 I take a quick look at the women's event for 2021 Gran Premio D'Italia. Click the video below or check out my channel, Bare Ice.

2021 Skate Canada: Event Recap

I'll take a look at all of the action that went down at 2021 Skate Canada. Click the video below or visit my channel, Bare Ice. Please like, share and subscribe!

2021 Skate Canada: Preview

 It's a packed field in the women's event at Skate Canada this year: Kamila Valieva, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, Alysa Liu, Alena Kostornaia, Wakaba Higuchi, Mai Mihara, Mana Kawabe and Haein Lee... This event is going to be amazing! 

Check out my quick preview of the competitors we'll see when the competition kicks off tomorrow. Click the video below or visit my channel, Bare Ice.  Please like, share and subscribe!

2021 Skate America: Event Recap

I'll take a look at the women's event at 2021 Skate America and, for the first time, I'll also give my thoughts on the men, ice dance and pairs. Check it out below or on my channel, Bare Ice.  Please don't forget to like and subscribe!

2021 Skate America: Preview

Woot woot!! The Grand Prix season is officially here!  Check out my preview of the top women competing this weekend at Skate America on my channel, Bare Ice.

2021 Budapest Trophy & Asian Open

 Check out my thoughts on this past week's competitions, Budapest Trophy and Asian Open, on my channel, Bare Ice.

I'm Back and I've Got Big News!

Guess who's back?  It's ME!  Yes, I know, I've missed all of you too!  So it's been three years (to the day!) since my last post here on Naked Ice.  As promised, I'm back...but things are going to be a little different around here...

Managing this blog was a labor of love and I'm immensely proud of it.  However, I'd been feeling like I wanted to take Naked Ice to the next level.  It was an idea I bounced around for the past year or so and, finally, I decided to just go for it.  So...

I started a YouTube channel!