There’s always more to do, another mountain to climb, another challenge to conquer.

Just ask Australia’s top men’s figure skater and Sochi Olympian Brendan Kerry, who has managed a foot bone bruising for a year – an injury which seems to have been the making of the widely acknowledged talented skater who has gained confidence and maturity comp by comp, step by painful step.  

Always the precocious talent, sometimes hot and cold with results to match, this season has seen a distinct change in approach, attitude and results for the 22-year-old who relocated to Los Angeles four years ago to chase down his talent into the elite of men’s figure skating.

“I’ve always been able to do big tricks but mentally didn’t deal with errors in competition. The things I am able to do now with the quality that I’m doing has changed. This year has been a big step forward because if I wanted to stay in the game I had to manage injuries,” Kerry said.

His path hasn’t been a walk in the park – financially, emotionally or mentally until recently.    

“My approach to training is very different. For me before, it was enough to just do the program. Now I put a lot more into warm up and recovery than I used to.”

Coaching Kerry at Riverside in Los Angeles is his now long-time coach Tammy Gambill who has gone through the ups and downs with the talented young man.

“The before and now Brendan is like night and day. And it’s nice to have seen how he’s matured and grown up over the years here at Riverside,” coach Gambill said.

“Brendan is very endearing. A goof ball yes, but very sensitive at the same time. He’s a great team mate here and a very hard worker now. He is the early into the rink warming up and watching when and what he eats.”

“He is much more engaged and finally doing run throughs all the time. That was a hard process. I feel comfortable that he’s really well trained going into Worlds.”

The respect goes both ways.

“I trust Tammy and my choreographer Mark Pillay. We are leaving the short as it was in Four Continents and only made minor adjustments to the free. Tammy and Mark thought it best to leave it – so I’m pretty happy and just gonna trust that.”

The former junk food lover is consigned to memory.

“In general, my health and well-being is better. I do have the odd unhealthy meal and instead of going out after comps having a drink, these days it’s only one,” he said.

“So, yeah – compared to last season I do feel more accomplished and more confident. The better competitive vibe and performances goes hand-in-hand with doing better. No-one enjoys competing poorly.”

Gambill does have high expectations for Kerry, yet for this World Championships her hope is that the boy who became a man, “will go out and perform two great programs.”

The Asian Winter Games in Sapporo have proven to be a happy hunting ground for Australia’s best figure skaters Brendan Kerry and Kailani Craine.

Kerry, who is now firmly established as one of the world’s top men’s figure skaters, landed three perfect quad jumps throughout his Sapporo campaign – two of which were in the free program to earn personal best scores in all phases of the event and a total of 237.37 points.

The 22-year-old Sochi Olympian has used the Asian Winter Games as a stepping stone for next month’s World Figure Skating Championships in Helsinki, Finalnd where he will aim to qualify Australia for the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games. 

Despite performing well in Friday’s short program Kerry admitted to being nervous in the free. 

“This is my first program in competition successfully landing two different quads so that was pretty awesome but I feel it was a bit sloppy and I was disappointed with my mindset going into it, (I was) self-doubting a lot,” Kerry said. 

“Doing these back to back events it’s a huge drop off in training. I go from having as much ice as I want to being limited to one practice a day. I feel as though doing quality elements is a strength of mine but my stamina is on the low end so when you take the training schedules away it’s pretty hard to maintain that,” he said.

Having successfully competed at the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships and now Asian Winter Games, Kerry is confident his routine can secure Australia a start in the men’s event at next year’s Olympics.

"I saw my choreographer about a month ago and we made some changes, so last week was a good simulation and this week was a chance to test things out and figure out what we need to change, so it should be good going into Worlds,” he said.  

The men’s event was won by Japan’s Shoma Uno, with Boyang Jin (China) in second and team mate Han Yan in third.

Kailani Craine continued her good Asian Winter Games form, producing a strong routine in the women’s free program at Sapporo’s Makomanai Indoor Skating Rink.

Encouraged by her personal best result in the short program, Craine gave another competitive performance in the free program to finish in fifth position overall.

 “Still a lot of work to do,” Craine said. “It wasn’t a personal best but definitely it was twenty points better than last week (at Four Continents).”

“I was happy about being able to do a lot better than last week and stay physically and mentally strong.

“I don’t think I delivered a really good performance tonight but once again I was really focused on each element, I really do need to work on the performance factor,” she said.

 “Obviously still a lot of work to do before Worlds but I think now I’m on the right pathway.”

“Top 17 is the ultimate goal but I really want to show everyone what my potential is and what I can do every single day in training because I think that’s the most frustrating part that sometimes it doesn’t always work out.

In the pair’s competition, Matthew Dodds and Paris Stephens had their final Asian Winter Games outing in the free program with a total score of 91.90, which ranked them seventh.

The pair were disappointed with their short program and in Saturday’s free program they were out to prove they could deliver a polished performance.

“We wanted to get the twist done,” Stephens said. “Being able to show that I can do the twist was important because I missed that yesterday so that was good,” she said.

While they were happy with the performance Dodds admitted they had more to give.

“We would have hoped for a little bit higher, I think we were missing a couple of levels in some of our elements so even though everything happened it wasn’t top quality for us,” Dodds said.
 

Sochi Olympian Brendan Kerry has set a new short program PB at the Asian Winter Games in Sapporo last night posting a score 82.54 and nailing his opening quad toe in the process.

Kerry's top five finish gives the 22-year-old a strong foundation for the free program on Sunday, moving him into the prestigious final flight of skaters and amongst the top ranked men ahead of the World Championships at the end of March.
 
“I came to this competition not worried about placement or scores. It’s always nice to get a good score but I want to use this event for practice in preparation for Worlds where I have to qualify a spot at the Olympics,” he said.  
 
As Australia’s only man with not one but two quad jumps, being able to return to his quad toe jump after battling bone bruising in his left foot all season is an important breakthrough.
 
Kerry landed the quad salchow jump in both the short and free at last week’s Four Continents but the Asian Winter Games has provided the opportunity to go after the quad toe again, relax a bit and fine tune his performances.
 
“The short program here is definitely a good feeling, I’m not worrying about anything, I’m just having fun and enjoying it,” Kerry said.
 
Kerry is happy to be building form at a crucial time.
 
“I feel like I’m putting out consistent skates,” he said. 
 
“The hardest part about competing in these big events is you’re always nervous and I was still a little anxious but it was also fun so that was nice.”
 
Leading the men’s event  is Boyang Jin, the 2016 World Championship bronze medallist.
 
Also competing yesterday was ice dance duo William Badaoui and Matilda Friend who achieved their second personal best in as many days, scoring 42.56 in the free program for an overall 105.98 and sixth place finish.
 
“Regardless of the mistakes all the technical parts of the program were still good,” Friend said.
 
“We had wobbles at the beginning and fitness problems but when we got to our elements we could focus and re-group and got it all out technically,” she said.
 
The couple is part-way through a busy competition schedule and will now return to Australia for two weeks before heading to the World Junior Figure Skating Championships.
 
“We have to go back and modify our programs and it’s just going to be about drilling the fitness and getting back into that constant training so we can skate our peak and get another personal best.”
 
“Our big goal is to perform well enough in the short so that we can qualify through to the free dance and if we can skate the free at the Junior Worlds that would be a big thing because we didn’t make the cut-off last year.”  

In the Pairs, Paris Stephens and Matthew Dodds completed their short program for a score of 29.52 for a sixth place ranking.
 
“There were a couple of things missing that are usually standard for us so obviously we’re disappointed in that,” Dodd said.
 
“Looking at the marks there were still some things that were pretty good, the lift went well and we got a four in our spin.
 
“There were things in there we were happy with and things that didn’t quite go as well but overall fairly happy,” he said.
 
The couple has had to adjust to an unfamiliar competition environment.
 
“I find the ice a bit soft so I find it harder to get my toe jumps and get off my toe,” Stephens said.
 
“The whole arena is a bit overwhelming but I need to get used to that,” she said. 
 
 

Gangneung Ice Arena has proven it is well and truly ready to host the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games, as the Australian Figure Skating Team wrapped up their ISU Four Continents Championships campaign with great results across the board.

Serving as the Test Event for the 2018 Games, the South Korean arena saw the largest Australia contingent of skaters compete at the event, with athletes in every discipline for the first time since 2006.

The first pairs skaters in over a decade, Harley Windsor and Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya, finished the Championship in 11th place, with consistent results in both the short and free program.

“I feel like we're becoming more of a mature senior team now,” said 20-year-old Windsor, who has been skating with 17-year-old Alexandrovskaya since January 2016.

“Overall we are pretty happy with our senior championship.”

Windsor and Alexandrovskaya will now turn their attention to Junior World Championships in mid-March before taking on the world’s best at World Championships later in the month, which is also an Olympic qualification event. 

In the men’s event, Sochi 2014 Olympian Brendan Kerry produced fantastic results, finishing 11th overall with a season’s best and his highest ever Four Continents result.

“I was incredibly happy and incredibly annoyed after my season’s best,” said Kerry who recorded his first short program score inside the top ten at an ISU Championships.

“I had so much fun out there and gave it my all.”

Despite nailing majority of his routine, the 22-year-old walked away frustrated with a mistake on his triple axel in the short program.
 
“I missed my money jump. Ask anyone at my training rink and they'll tell you- it's never the 3A he's worried about.”

But a mistake won’t deter Kerry in his quest for PyeongChang 2018 qualification as he hopes to feature on the Olympic program for the second time.

“That's my number one focus.

“I know that if I give my absolute best at every other event and treat it like an Olympic qualifying competition that when the time comes it won't be as big of a deal,” said Kerry who was also eager to test out the Gangneung Arena.

“The Olympic venue was awesome! Less intimidating than I thought it would've been.”

Kerry now turns his attention to Sapporo, Japan where a team of 30 Australian athletes will make their Asian Winter Games debut.

“I'm excited to do the AWG as there isn't any pressure for a specific result - it's a competition I can do just to enjoy the experience. I'm also really looking forward to going to Japan.”

Fellow Aussies Andrew Dodds and Mark Webster finished in 20th and 21st position respectively in the men’s event.
In the women’s competition, 2014 Olympian Brooklee Han wrapped up her campaign in 14th, two places ahead of Australian teammate Kailani Craine in 16th.

Mixed results for the Aussies saw Han record her best ever free program routine, while a bad day on the ice and two falls for Craine proved to be an important learning lesson for the 18-year-old.

“I expected everything to go as it has gone in practice, so when I made a mistake on the triple lutz I was in a state of shock, and just couldn't recover,” Craine said.

“I am told ‘all champions have had bad skates’, so now I have had mine.”

The Newcastle native is determined to put her bad skate behind her and is looking forward to bouncing back for the Asian Winter Games.

“Even though I know myself that I work way too hard to perform the way I did, the bad days at the office make the good days feel even more special.

“I'm so grateful to have the incredible support from my Australian team mates, and I'm the luckiest girl alive to have my two number one fans by my side; my mum and dad.”

Rounding out the green and gold skaters, the three sets of Australian Ice Dancers finished their ‘4CC’ campaigns with the free dance event on Friday afternoon.

Adele Morrison and Demid Rokachev finished in 14th overall, while AWG skaters Matilda Friend and William Badaoui secured 15th position ahead of Kimberley Hew-Low and Timothy Mckernan in 16th.

Craine, Kerry, Friend and Badaoui will now join pair skaters Paris Stephens and Matthew Dodds plus their AWG teammates in Japan and will look to record some more strong results for Australia.

The 2017 Sapporo Asian Winter Games’ were officially opened overnight and figure skaters are set to take to the ice on Thursday February 23, with Ice Dance the first event on the program.

Live streaming is available on the Sapporo17 website.
 
Ashleigh Knight
AOC

IMAGE: Brendan Kerry and coach Tammy Gambill wait for the scores after the free program at the ISU Four Continents Championship. Photo: ISA Facebook

In a breakthrough performance in ISU Championships last night, figure skater Brendan Kerry recorded a PB in his short program (78.11) to place tenth in the short program at the ISU Four Continents Championship and Olympic test event in Gangneug Area in Korea.
 
The hot field includes Olympic Champion Yuzuru Hanyu, former World Champion and Olympic medallist Patrick Chan and many of the top ranked world skaters from USA, China and Japan and will be a precursor to the World Championship in late March.
 
Kerry skated very early in the event, nailing a flowing quad salchow and then equally good triple lutz/triple toe combo before coming to grief on a triple axel that looked technically solid on entry and in the air but a slip on the landing cost Australia’s best male skater approximately five points.
 
The change-up in his training preparation has paid dividends with a much more comfortable Kerry giving the performance side of his skate a greater look of ease in the 2.40 minute routine.
 
“We've been super focused on training the long program with three quads and having the core difficult jumps in the second half. I feel that because of this style of training the short program doesn't take much out of me and just allows me to try and focus on the character,” Kerry said.
 
“It also gives me the chance to push from start to finish - no holding back.
 
After a few years knocking on the door of the top echelon in men’s figure skating, 22-year-old Kerry is more focussed than before.

“This season is Olympic qualifying so that definitely changes my mind set. That's my number one focus.
 
“I know that if I give my absolute best at every other event and treat it like an Olympic Qualifying Competition that when the time comes it won't be as big a deal.
 
“Also I feel as though it puts it in the judges head as well as my own that I'm going to qualify a spot.”  

Kerry is delighted with his short program, which will see him compete in the all-important final two groups in the free program on Sunday.
 
“I was incredibly happy and equally incredibly annoyed after my short.”
 
“I had so much fun out there and gave it my all. However, I missed my money jump. Ask anyone at my training rink and they'll tell you - it's never the triple axel he's worried about.”

Coach Tammy Gambill was thrilled.
 
“Tammy said that she knew I tried my best and that we still have more to give. We want to add a second quad to the short and hopefully not fall on a triple axel next time,” he said.
The men’s free program will be competed on Sunday from 1pm (AEDST).
 
 
 
 



 

Change is never easy, but Brendan Kerry believes his changes will be for the better as the figure skating season heats up again in 2017.

Next week's ISU Four Continents Championships is the next stop for the 22-year-old, before heading to the Asian Winter Games in Sapporo.

Kerry's last competition was in in December in Zagreb, Croatia, where he finished 5th.

Kerry took a short break over Christmas to physically and mentally rest, before his focus switched back to training for the Championship season and all-important World Championships and Olympic qualifying in late March.

Both he and his coaching staff have developed a rigorous and intensive program, which has pushed him to his limits, and with Four Continents and the World Championships on the horizon, Kerry believes it is a program that has helped. 

"Since nationals we've completely re-structured my training plan which has been more exhausting than ever before," Kerry said.

"The main focus has been on improving the quality and consistency of all the elements I have as well as just hammering away at my stamina."

Kerry is predicting a massive season with all sorts of records to be broken over the coming months.

"I feel as though men's skating is at the highest level it's ever been at in all aspects of the sport," he said.

"The minimum standard is incredibly high and it's pushing everyone to go one better."

Kerry will use next week's Olympic test event in Korea as a simulation for the World Championships in Helsinki starting on March 29, where he  hopes to qualify for his second Olympic Winter Games.

Quad jumps have been the main focus in his training leading into the test event, with Kerry saying he plans one in his Short Program and three in his Free Program.

"I've successfully been doing clean programs with those two current layouts and hopefully if I can skate the way I have been in training I can set some new PBs by a substantial amount."

The ISU Four Continetns Championship starts next Thursday with Ice Dance, Pairs and Ladies. Kerry will compete on Friday 17 February and Sunday 19 February.

A team of thirty athletes have been selected to become Australia’s first event competitors at an Asian Winter Games when they hit the ice and snow in Sapporo in February.

The team, which features some of the nation’s brightest winter prospects, was selected to compete in snowboard, freestyle skiing, alpine skiing, cross country skiing, biathlon, short track speed skating and figure skating.

The event will give a host of young athletes the opportunity to compete against the continent’s finest as many look to build towards the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games.

“Our team we have selected for Sapporo 2017 features plenty of athletes on the rise that highlight the continued strengthening of winter sports in Australia,” Chef de Mission Geoff Lipshut said.

“Australia’s first foray into the Asian Winter Games will be a great test for our athletes against some strong competition and will potentially be a stepping stone towards Olympic competition.”

Among the athletes competing are three-time Olympian Holly Crawford (snowboard – halfpipe), Vancouver 2010 Olympian Ben Sim (cross country skiing), and Brendan Kerry (figure skating), Pierre Boda (short track speed skating) and Deanna Lockett (short track speed skating) who all competed in their first Games at Sochi.

“It's an honour to represent my country at an event like this,” Kerry said.

“It's a little unnerving when thinking about how big this event is and the added pressure, however it's also exciting and an incredible feeling knowing that you are the one chosen from your country to represent it as the best.

“There is always something new to learn and accomplish at every competition and Sapporo will be no different.”

Fresh off testing out the PyeongChang 2018 venue in last week’s World Cup Pierre Boda and Deanna Lockett will have arguably the most difficult test at the Games.

“Asia is very dominant in short track,” Lockett said.

“I think I will be able to grab a lot of experience being able to race with all Asian countries from the first round and I expect it to be very competitive right from the heats.”

Added Boda: “These Asian Games will definitely be a stepping stone to the Winter Olympics as it will most likely share the same format of racing so it will be a great eye opener as to what we can expect at the 2018 Winter Games.”

While the team features a number of athletes who regularly compete on the world circuit, the Games will also give the likes of young moguls stars Cooper Woods-Topalovic, Ben Matsumoto, Sophie Ash and Jakarra Anthony some major international event experience.

“I think this will be a great opportunity for me to experience a bigger event atmosphere,” Anthony said.

“The experience will help me manage myself when I achieve qualification to bigger events like World Championships and Olympic Games. I hope to be able to it to enhance my performances at the next Olympics in PyeongChang, if I qualify, and at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing.”

As Australia’s biathlon ranks continue to deepen, Sapporo will see four young guns in brother and sister duo Darcie and Damon Morton, Jill Colebourn and Jeremy Flanagan compete.

“As an Olympic sanctioned event, I think it will be a good experience into what an Olympics would be like,” Damon Morton said.

“It's also likely to be a really high level competition and so doing well there will be a good indication of how I'm doing at a world level.”

Darcie has had a massive 12 months having competed in the Lillehammer 2016 Youth Winter Olympic Games in February and is looking forward to competing alongside her brother in Japan.

“It will be awesome to travel to Japan and race with Damon,” Darcie Morton said.

“He's really supportive during competitions, kind of like a second coach, giving me tips before the race and calming me down when I'm stressed. It will be really great to have him there with me.”

The 8th Asian Winter Games will be held from February 19-26 and involve five sports, 11 disciplines and 64 events.
The Olympic Council of Asia invited the Oceania National Olympic Committees to compete in Sapporo as guests, following an approach by the Australian Olympic Committee.

The athletes from Oceania can enter individual sports only and will not be eligible to win medals.

Athletes:
Snowboard
Millie Bongiorno                       Snowboard – Giant Slalom, Slalom
Christian De Oliveira                Snowboard - Giant Slalom, Slalom
Nicholas Masjuk                       Snowboard – Giant Slalom, Slalom
Holly Crawford                          Snowboard Halfpipe

Moguls
Jakara Anthony                        Freestyle Mogul Skiing, Dual Moguls
Sophie Ash                                Freestyle Mogul Skiing, Dual Moguls
Ben Matsumoto                       Freestyle Mogul Skiing, Dual Moguls
Cooper Woods-Topalovic       Freestyle Mogul Skiing, Dual Moguls

Alpine        
Zanna Farrell                            Alpine – Giant Slalom, Slalom
Liam Michael                            Alpine – Giant Slalom, Slalom

Cross Country Skiing
Jackson Bursill                          Cross Country - 1.4km Sprint*, 10km Classic, 15km Free, 30km Free (Mass Start)
Ben Sim                                     Cross Country - 1.4km Sprint*, 10km Classic, 15km Free, 30km Free (Mass Start)
Casey Wright                            Cross Country – 1.4km Sprint*, 5km Classic, 10km Free, 15km Free (Mass Start)

Biathlon
Jillian Colebourn                        7.5km Sprint, Mixed Relay
Jeremy Flanagan                        10km Sprint, Mixed Relay
Damon Morton                          12.5km Pursuit, Mixed Relay
Darcie Morton                            10km Pursuit

Short Track Speed Skating
Pierre Boda                                 Short Track (events TBC by mid-Jan)
Denali Blunden
Keanu Blunden
Alex Bryant
Joshua Capponi
Andy Jung
Deanna Lockett

Figure Skating
Kailani Crane                                         Figure Skating – Ladies
Brendan Kerry                                       Figure Skating – Men
Matthew Dodds & Paris Stephens     Figure Skating – Pair
William Badaoui & Matilda Friend      Figure Skating – Ice Dance

A narrow podium miss has frustrated Brendan Kerry at the Golden Spin of Zagreb in Croatia at the conclusion of the ten-event ISU Challenger series.

Kerry tried to hang onto his slim bronze medal position from the previous day, landing two triple axels in the free program and posting a PB for his components scores in another incremental step forward but missing the opening quad and having two spins called at Level 3 kept him off the podium by less than two points.

Finishing with 221.94 and 5th overall garnered valuable ISU World Standing ranking points, which determine the start groups at the World Championships in Helsinki next March.   

Added to the frustration of coming within a whisker of his 222.40 PB set in Salt Lake earlier in the season was also just missing out on the overall Challenger Series podium that would have required  222.47 points.

The up-and-down event saw Israeli skaters Alexei Bychenko, win the gold with fellow countryman Daniel Samohin slipping to 2nd after placing 7th in the free. Bronze went to Keegan Messing with 223.30 points and a leap by 11th placed Alexander Petrov from Russia was 4th on 222.92 points.

The Ladies overall result remains somewhat of a mystery almost two days after the event concluded early on Saturday morning (AEDT).

In a very strong field, which included highly ranked competitors, Kailani Craine was sitting in 7th after the short program, having landed her first clean triple/triple jump combination, with fellow Australian Brooklee Han in 9th.

Leading the field was the returning Sochi bronze medallist Caroline Kostner, who has made a brilliant comeback.  

Craine’s free program was a step up from her nationals win the week prior, landing five triples and two double axels in a more measured, emotionally connected performance.

Like many others in the field, any questionable jump rotations were penalised across the event, leaving Kailani with a free program score of just over 100 points, placing 8th - however the overall scores and final result for the entire event are yet to be published.  
 
What is less clear is the treatment of apparent error by the Technical Panel in the calling of Kailani’s triple loop to triple salchow jump sequence, which initially showed on the competition protocol as a triple/double sequence and has since been amended to reflect the triple salchow, but with a downgrade.

For Kailani, who has already won a silver and bronze internationally this season, the overall placement in Zagreb is of lesser importance. She had other goals on her to do list.

“My one major goal coming into this competition was to go for the triple/triple in the short program. Therefore, it was never about the placings for me,” she said.

“It was what I was able to take from this competition. The free skate went pretty well. Of course I need to increase my speed, which will come as I gain more confidence with these high level jumps.”

“This competition was successful because I was able to take away a lot of experience and overall I am proud of myself.  It’s given me more confidence to achieve more in the future, such as the qualification to the 2018 Winter Olympics.”

Coach Galina Pachin agreed.

 “I think Kailani started to show more consistent skating at this competition. There where errors, but I know we can fix them. She looked very confident on the ice and this comp had a lot of big names. I am happy with her Free Program,” Pachin said.

Brendan Kerry was always on the hunt for a strong result in the final ISU Challenger event in Zagreb, Croatia.

The 22-year-old figure skater and five-time Australian Champion finds himself in medal contention in a hot field after placing 3rd in the short program overnight with a PB of 76.36 – an increase of almost three points.

In a display of increasing mental strength, Kerry found the quad toe jump when he needed it in competition, even though the difficult element had eluded him in practice.

“I’m happy I did the quad, because I haven’t done any since being here (in Zagreb),” he said.

Not only did he land a text book quad, Kerry achieved all Level 4 spins with positive Grade of Execution points and that is definitely a step in the right and smart direction.  The only hiccup was an over-rotated triple axel.

Kerry wants more.

“I felt as though I did everything but it was all sloppy so that’s a bit of a downer.”

Finding perfection is the ultimate quest for all top athletes. Overcoming injury is also part and parcel of the elite sportsperson’s life. Brendan Kerry is no exception, having struggled with Achillies tendonitis since March and during his two Grand Prix events. 

“It feels good to come off a really bad GP season and get it all together headed into Championship season,” Kerry said.

The race for the medals in Zagreb will be very tight.

Currently leading the pack is the talented but often inconsistent Israeli Daniel Samohin on 82.35. Bunched up within just three points after Samohin are all top flight competitors in Messing (Canada), Kerry, Boychenko (Israel), Dolensky (USA) and world medallist Denis Ten (Kazakhstan).

The medallists will be the smart and brave in equal measure.

The free program at the ISU Zagreb Challenger begins at 1am Sunday (AEDT)
 

The 2016 Australian Figure Skating Championships have concluded at the O’Brien Group Arena in Melbourne’s Docklands, with reigning champions Kailani Craine and Brendan Kerry holding onto their national titles.

In the Senior Ladies, Craine finished with an overall score of 157.66 points ahead of Brooklee Han on 150.72.   
     
Following on from her short program score of 59.35, Craine opened her free program with a strong triple flip, double toe jump combination and presented a mature performance to ‘Hallelujah’, which included her signature triple loop, half loop, triple salchow and high level spins.

In defending her title and coming from behind, Kailani missed one triple flip and didn’t hold the landing of the opening triple lutz but it mattered for little as she scored 98.31 points to secure her third crown.

After leading the short program with 59.45 points, an improved Brooklee Han began impressively with a triple loop but also struggled on the opening lutz, taking a costly fall. Her spins have always been a trademark and she was also able to include some impressive jumps.

It wasn’t enough to hold onto the slim lead, but it was an effort the 2014 Olympian could be proud of.​

​In the Senior Men, Brendan Kerry continued his dominance, following up his outstanding short program score of 81.01, with yet another brilliant skate, finishing with 225.84 points overall.

Australia’s quad king, Kerry landed another quad in his free program tonight along with a slew of further triples including two triple axels.

Skating to ‘Pirates of the Carribean’, tonight’s competition was a good tune up ahead of the ISU Challenger Series in Zagreb, Croatia, which Kailani Crane will also be attending.

Junior men’s champion James Min backed up from yesterday to take the Silver medal in the Seniors category, after a passionate and entertaining program where he did not stop jumping for four and a half minutes.
​
He poured his heart and soul into his debut National Senior program, finishing with a score of 170.14 and a few macaroons with his family as a celebratory treat.

“I definitely haven’t peaked yet.”

If coming up against Brendan Kerry this week at this week's Australian Figure Skating Championships wasn’t a daunting proposal, the 2014 Olympian has sent a strong message to the rest of the field with an outstanding performance in his short program, securing a score of 81.01 points.

Being based in LA for nearly four years has lightened his travel load, but Kerry is glad to be back in Australia.

“It’s fantastic in LA and it’s good for my training but being home with my family and friends is always nice,” he said.

Brendan is aiming for his fifth national title and while he’s far from complacent, he’s focusing fully on his own preparation and routine.

“I try not to worry about the external factors. I’ll have a 6-minute warm up, try and do this jump or this spin and get my mental preparation right,” he explained.

“I’m not concerned about other skaters - sometimes it happens naturally but I’m coming off a big injury so my priority is about bouncing back strongly.”

At 22-years-of-age, Kerry is by no means old. But for the sport of figure skating, he’s an experienced athlete whose body has taken its fair share of knocks.

“I would’ve liked my fitness levels higher at this point of the season,” Brendan said.

“But at the same time, it means I can work on my mental strength to push myself through if I struggle with a few things towards the end of a program.”

Consistency is at the top of his Christmas wish list heading into the new year and Kerry will be using this week to showcase the work he’s done on his impressive quad jumps.

“At the moment I can do two, close to a third and I want to start hitting my fourth one soon,” he said.

 “I’ve worked a lot on the component side of my skating, as well as my spins and steps. It’s headed in the right direction.”
​
Don’t get in Kerry’s way, because the only direction is up, as he aims to secure another national crown with his free program this afternoon at 3pm. Catch it on the livestream below.

https://livestream.com/iceskatingvictoria

Could it be less than three years since the Sochi Olympics when the quad jump truly came of age in men’s figure skating?
In the Sochi final, 24 men attempted 21 quads between them of which 13 were successful. The debate on how necessary quad jumps were for men was over.

Unlike Vancouver in 2010, it became impossible to ever again consider a men’s podium finish at Olympics without a quad jump.
Fast forward to the 2016 Progressive Skate America Grand Prix in Chicago this weekend where the world’s number one and two ranked men Yuzuru Hanyu and Javier Fernandez were not competing, but they will now know that to hold their top spots, the heat is most definitely on.  

In a ten-man field at the first Grand Prix of the season in Chicago, 12 successful quads from 14 attempts were landed in the free program by the high-quality field.

The quads were flying at the beginning of the free programs – as they did in Sochi, including a quad flip by winner Shoma Uno from Japan whilst the Chinese jumping bean Boyang Jin went for four quads – nailing three, including a magnificent quad lutz.

American Jason Brown, who has struggled with lifting his technical arsenal into the quad club, managed his first quad toe - albeit under-rotated but credited. With his strong performance skills, the one quad and well executed technical program was enough to deliver silver behind Uno. Without the quad Brown would have been looking at bronze at best.

Unlike the run-up to Sochi, men are now attempting and landing quad jumps beyond the mid-way point of the four-and-a-half minute programs. No longer are the quads only planned as the first and second elements in the haul to the final pose.
Multiple quads are slotted in as the 6th, 7th and 8th elements. That’s a herculean work-load and let’s not forget the performance value, which equals the technical score for importance.  

It’s the mix of high-level technical skill with all-or-nothing artistic performance delivery that is sky rocketing men’s figure skating into eminently watchable, which the sport sorely needed for casual viewers.   

Once upon a time the men’s event at major championships could be a snooze fest from the middle of the field to bottom place getters. The music (usually bland or boring or both) and performance value was incidental to the delivery of the all-important jumps. Those days are over for any man wanting to be in the World’s top rankings.

Indeed, just making it to an ISU Grand Prix event requires a potential top World 20 ranking.  

OWIA skater Brendan Kerry competed at Skate America and he’s the only Australian in the Grand Prix events in any discipline. Kerry finished 10 out of 10 landing a gorgeous quad toe plus triple axel combo and triple/triple, raising his personal performance bar and scoring a very respectable 211 points. 

It was a good skate in anyone’s language and the Aussie is starting to fulfil his long known about potential, but it’s a tough world for men now. They must have it all and avoid serious injury.  

If the 2016 Skate America GP proves anything, it is that the bar has been raised for the equal mix of technical and artistic. Thankfully music choices have widened to include vocals, opening the door for a more modern feel with less trusty old standards and over-used classical pieces taking centre stage.

That’s not to say that classical music or the rusty musicals are all passé. However – figure skating is young person’s game that is governed by mostly older people.

The skaters, their coaches and choreographers are taking the sport to the viewing masses by upping the ante across the board and delivering big-time.  

There are five remaining Grand Prix events, which will provide interesting viewing on SBS every Saturday at 2pm, beginning October 29 with the just completed Skate America. How the men hold up over the season will be test of their physical and mental endurance.  
Eighteen months out from the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympic Winter Games, the heat is on.
 
Story courtesy Belinda Noonan

TOP IMAGE: Brendan Kerry with coach Tammy Gambill

“Being disappointed I didn’t medal is a new feeling” is how Brendan Kerry summed up his first international competition this season after placing 4th at the US International  Figure Skating Classic in Salt Lake City on the weekend.

Decimating his personal best from the World Championships back in March, Kerry advanced by 12 points scoring a total 222.40, landing three quads along the way and raising his performance scores across the short and free programs.

“Achieving a PB at an ISU event is a huge confidence booster. I’m ecstatic about that,” Kerry said.

“I feel like the free program overall was better than the local lead up events but due to a tendonitis injury in my left foot, I had to change the program and sacrifice some of the difficulty.”

“The salchows and axels are excruciating off my left foot but I have to do the triple axels. There was a lot of ground to make up from the short program and I knew the podium wasn’t going to happen but I felt like a competitor.”

Eight years since his debut as a 13-year-old on the Junior Grand Prix series in 2008, Kerry now has a real sense of belonging on the world figure skating stage.

“I’m in a medal mindset now. It’s a feeling of belonging. I will keep up the therapy and ice to my foot before the next event in Montreal at the end of the month. I gave away 10-11 points in the short and about 15-16 in the free, so there’s plenty to aim for.”

“Tammy (Kerry’s coach) was proud of my skate but annoyed I gave away levels in the spins.”

The Men’s US International Classic was won by USA’s Jason Brown (254.04) followed by Takahito Mura from Japan with 252.20 points. In third was Adam Rippon who scored 248.24.

Australia was also represented by Queensland’s Andrew Dodds who placed 12th with 160.54 followed by his brother, Jordan on 139.44.
 
 

OWIA Figure Skater Brendan Kerry has finished a successful season on a high after winning gold overnight at the Gardena Spring Trophy in Egna, in Northern Italy.

Following on from his best-ever World Championships result (17th) in Boston, USA two weeks ago, Kerry skated his strongest short program to date in Italy, scoring a PB of 74.45 trailing Canada’s Kevin Reynolds by almost three points.

Kerry’s free program backed up his superb result from the Worlds Championships by landing a perfect quad toe and two triple axels, scoring 138.49 in a skate that exuded new-found confidence, pushing up his performance and program components score into new territory during the four-and-half minutes.

Scoring 138.49 with a total PB of 212.94, Kerry was assured of silver but had to wait until Canadian Sochi Olympian Kevin Reynolds skated. Reynolds was unable to match Kerry’s technical power, finishing third in the free skate and second overall. Switzerland’s Stephane Walker took the bronze medal.

“It feels really great to have won my second senior international,” Kerry said last night.
 
To watch Brendan's winning performance on youtube go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBriZelJ1_U

Article Courtesy of Belinda Noonan

IMAGE: Brendan Kerry with coach Tammy Gambill

Australian Men’s Figure Skating champion and OWIA athlete Brendan Kerry stood up to the pressure-cooker short program at the World Figure Skating Championships in Boston, USA this morning, delivering a personal best score of 71.04.
 
He has also called for the quad jump to be a required element in men’s figure skating. 
 
Kerry, who trains with coach Tammy Gambill in Los Angeles, has easily qualified to the top 24 and final Free Program after placing in 17th in the short, performing a quad toe, triple/triple jump combo and effortless triple axel. 
 
“The short program felt awesome,” Brendan said from Boston. “For me the hardest thing about competing is that I always forget how much I love going out in front of a crowd and trying my best until I’m actually out there doing it.”
 
His controlled, smooth delivery to ‘Blue Drag’ was only marred by a hand down on the opening quad toe in an otherwise masterful skate by the 21-year-old Sydney-sider.
 
“My approach to this event was that it didn’t have to be perfect every day – it had to be my best in the moment. I had a week where I didn’t miss and it stressed me out. The I did make a mistake and felt relieved knowing I can make that error and still keep it together.”
 
Scoring a personal best did not figure in his mental preparation for the World Championships.
 
“I wasn’t too focussed on a personal or season’s best. I’ve been training harder than ever since Four Continents last month. I went out there knowing I had a job to do and that was to make sure I gave it all I could. I knew I was well prepared – sick, injured or half asleep. I was going to make it happen and get my job done.”
 
Men’s skating has never been this good
 
The pressure of the quad jump in men’s figure skating has lifted the bar across the board and soon a quad will be essential just to make the final Kerry says. Of the top 20 in the short program, 14 went after quads. Or as another stat, almost 50 per cent in the 30-strong field.
 
“Any year now a quad jump will be a must-have. The quad isn’t a choice. If you want to be competitive at all, you need multiple quads as well as the whole package. Men’s skating has never been this good. It’s exciting, exhausting, nerve wracking and it’s what the sport needs,” he said.
 
“I think at the senior men’s championship level, that a quad should be a requirement.”  
 
Sochi Olympic Champion Yuzuru Hanyu proved again why he has been in a class of his own all season, setting record after record and establishing that his greatest competitor is himself.
 
Skating to Chopin, Hanyu was the only top contender to lay down a flawless two quad program, scoring 110.56, twelve points ahead of defending Spanish World Champion and training mate, Javier Fernandez who fell on the quad salchow, earning 98.52. Canada’s Patrick Chan, the three-time former world champion came to grief on the triple axel, and had to be satisfied with 94.84.
 
The Men’s Free Program will be live on Saturday, 2 April on SBS TV from 9.45am until 2pm (AEDT).
 
The ladies event gets underway tomorrow (Friday morning AEDT). Australian Champion Kailani Craine has drawn to skate her short program in 10th position. Coach Tiffany Chin said from Boston today that “Kailani is fighting fit” and raring to go.

Article Courtesy: Belinda Noonan/Burwood Scene
 
 
 

OWIA Figure Skating athlete Brendan Kerry, has secured the first international podium performance of his career, finishing in third place at the Nordic Open in Aalborg, Denmark.

The result gives Kerry improved world standing points ahead of the World Championships in Boston, USA, which will take place from March 28 to April 3.

Finishing ahead of Kerry on the podium was Swedish athlete Alexander Majorov in first and Valtter Virtanen of Finland in second.

After the event, Kerry reflected on his performance.

"Not the skate I was looking for, but I got the job done and it's another experience leading into Worlds next month."

IMAGE: Brendan Kerry's podium prizes from the Nordic Open © Brendan Kerry Instagram
 

 
 

Fans of Australian winter sport are in for a treat this Saturday, with SBS airing the finals of the 2016 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships from Taipei City, Chinese Taipei.

The event, held last week, was a great success for Australia, with OWIA athlete Kailani Craine placing 13th, setting a huge personal best in the long program and being selected for Australia at the 2016 World Championships, which will be held in Boston, USA, during March 28 to April 3.

Kailani, one of Australia's most exciting talents, is building a strong reputation on the international stage.

The 90-minute show goes to air this Saturday, February 27, at 2pm on SBS featuring the Mens, Pairs, Dance and Ladies events.

OWIA athletes Kailani Craine and Brendan Kerry will be in action along with fellow Australians Brooklee Han, Katie Pasfield and Andrew Dodds.

Saturday 27th February
1400 – 1530: Four Continents Championships (Ladies and Dance)

IMAGE: Kailani Craine with coach Tiffany Chin at the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships

With two years until the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics in Korea, the ice is heating up for prospective Australian figure skating athletes, as the 2016 ISU Championships get underway.

Jostling for international rankings positions and making an impression during the international championship season is where it’s at for the world’s leading figure skaters.

The initial qualifications for each country at PyeongChang are the World Championships in March 2017, but the coming World Championships and next week’s Four Continents Championship, play a vital role in determining the all-important ISU rankings, which determine entries into next season’s highly-coveted  ISU Grand Prix series.

Olympic Winter Institute of Australia (OWIA) Figure Skaters and National Champions Brendan Kerry and Kailani Craine, lead a seven-strong Australian team into the 2016 Four Continents, which will be held from February 16 to 21 in Taipei City, Taipei and both are looking for personal best performances.

For Los Angeles based Brendan Kerry, it’s his return to the form he showed earlier in the season at Skate America that is fuelling his determination.

“I feel like I’m actually in shape,” said Kerry. “Fitness wise this is the best, so far, I’ve been in years. I absolutely want to crack 200 points again,” he added.

Training the quad jumps into his short and free programs whilst dealing with niggling injuries has been a challenge. 

A bursar on his heel, slight bone bruising on the shin, and minor groin pain, are not caused by the quad jumps, but all parts of the body are required for those high-level jumps.

“I probably overdid the running and my guess about the groin pain is excessive spinning; but it’s all fine,” Kerry said. “I’m planning two quads in the free program and I’ve been training both the salchow and toe for the short,” he added.

 “The past few weeks have been equally gruelling and amazing – figuring out how to train the programs every day with two quads, one quad or on some days none.”

Along with his main coach Tammy Gambill, Kerry has been working regularly with legendary Olympic Gold Medallist coach Frank Carroll.

“The programs have been consistent. We will all decide once we are in Taipei which quad will be in the short. I’ve landed both in the free program run-throughs multiple times, so that’s going well too,” Kerry said.

The ‘Frank factor’ is not lost on the 21-year-old when he was asked how he feels about having such a legendary coach by his side.

“I feel nervous and excited, because he is Frank Carroll. I really don’t want to mess up with Frank there,” Kerry said.

Brendan will be looking to advance on his 17th placing from last year.

Los Angeles has also been a temporary home since early January for 17-year-old Australian Ladies Champion Kailani Craine. 

“I’m ready to go,” Craine said. “I’ve been training five sessions a day every day except Sunday. I feel really good going into this comp and my programs are really consistent,” she added.

 “My body is feeling stronger, particularly on the technical things. Holding positions is easier. Usually when I get to USA I get sore, but all that work in the NSWIS gym and now this training, has been good,” Craine said.

The emerging talent has always been there, but there’s newly acquired senior, elite focus coming to the fore.

“I’ve definitely been working on the technical side because I need that technical score and doing many program run throughs,” Craine added.  There’s also been a lot of focus on refining the step sequences and the coaches have been working on skating skills between the elements – removing the ‘bounce’ in my skating.”

Along with US coach Tiffany Chin, Crista Fassi has been providing a guiding hand.

“Crista has added more rockers between the elements. All these details are important.”

The results from Four Continents will likely determine Australia’s entries to the World Championships in Boston next month. Australia has one entry into each discipline but the skaters must have reached the minimum qualifying score to compete.

Also competing for a spot on the world team is 2014 Sochi Olympian, Brooklee Han.

Joining Brendan, Kailani and Brooklee is Queensland’s Andrew Dodds and newcomers to the senior international stage Katie Pasfield (Ladies) and National Junior Ice Dance Champions Matilda Friend and William Badaoui.

The competition gets underway with the Ice Dance and Ladies Short Program on Thursday, 18 February.

All the action can be seen on SBS-TV on Saturdays from 2pm – 3.30pm. 
​
Saturday 20th February
1400 – 1530: Four Continents Championship (Mens and Pairs)
Saturday 27th February
1400 – 1530: Four Continents Championship (Ladies and Dance)

IMAGE: Brendan Kerry in action © Michael Santer Oz Skater Magazine

It’s been a while, but keen figure skating viewers can ignore the heat, blast the air-con into arctic temperatures and pretend they are in the northern hemisphere over the summer holidays.

SBS are bringing figure skating back to our television screens every Saturday afternoon from December 19 after securing the Australian broadcast rights to the six-series Grand Prixs, Four Continents Championships and 2016 World Championships.

Only the world top-ranked ladies, men, ice dancers and pairs can compete in the prestigious Grand Prix series, vying for a place in the GP Final.

Olympic Champion Yuzuru Hanyu from Japan is back in form and also returning to international competition is Canada’s Patrick Chan, who was the Sochi silver medallist, but watch out for the young Chinese, Boyang Jin. The ladies events are wide open as new stars rise to the top and push the technical barrier even further.

Ice Dance (think Torvill and Dean) has always been a firm favourite and these days, it’s the American and Canadian teams taking it to the Russians.

The 90 minute shows kick off on Saturday, December 19 at 2pm on SBS with Skate America from Milwaukee, USA featuring OWIA athlete and four-time Australian Champion Brendan Kerry competing in his first-ever Grand Prix.

Five of the six Grand Prix events will be televised, the Grand Prix Final over two broadcasts plus the ISU championship events.

Schedule

Saturday 19th December
1400 – 1530: ISU Grand Prix America

Saturday 26th December
1400 – 1530: ISU Grand Prix Canada

Saturday 2nd January
1400 – 1530: ISU Grand Prix China

Saturday 9th January
1400 – 1530: ISU Grand Prix Russia

Saturday 16th January
1400 – 1530: ISU Grand Prix Japan

Saturday 23rd January
1400 – 1530: ISU Grand Prix Final (Mens and Pairs)

Saturday 30th January
1400 – 1530: ISU Grand Prix Final (Ladies and Ice Dance)

Saturday 6th February
1400 – 1530: European Championships (Mens and Pairs)

Saturday 13th February
1400 – 1530: European Championships (Ladies and Dance)

Saturday 20th February
1400 – 1530: Four Continents Championship (Mens and Pairs)

Saturday 27th February
1400 – 1530: Four Continents Championship (Ladies and Dance)

By Belinda Noonan/Burwood Scene
http://www.burwoodscene.com.au/2015/12/skating-back-on-the-small-screen/

IMAGE
OWIA figure skater Brendan Kerry defending his national title at Penrith last week. Photo: Michael Santer Oz Skater

Talent and potential is all OWIA athlete Brendan Kerry has ever heard about his ability in the tough world of Men’s Figure Skating.
 
After three hard years in the senior ranks trying to make it into the International Skating Union’s prestigious Grand Prix series, Brendan squeaked in to the opening GP of the season at Skate America in Milwaukee this weekend, ranked 12th out of 12.
 
He saw his chance and he took it.
 
It took a stellar free program to smash his PB and overcome a weaker short program to score over 200 points, ending up in 8th place overall beating out the likes of an out-of-form Olympic and World Bronze Medallist Denis Ten and last year’s Skate Canada winner, Takahito Mura.
 
Skating first in the short program, Brendan landed a fast, high quad toe-loop and backed it up with a triple axel. The lutz combo failed and he had a problem on one of the three required spins. Costly mistakes, but a there’s a new, certain calm in his skating and even though the score was 14 points lower than he would have liked, he placed 11th with 65.41 points.
 
His new free program, to Beethoven’s Five Secrets by One Republic, is the perfect vehicle for this emerging talent and showcases his smooth skating skills and technically superb jumps.
 
Starting out the free program with a soaring quad toe-loop, Brendan also landed two triple axels plus a further four triple jumps. Despite singling out an axel toward the end of the four and half minutes, what stood out was his new-found composure, attention to detail and improved artistic delivery.
 
It was the performance he’s been searching for and delivered in spades with a score of 138.07, bringing his overall total to a new personal best of 203.48 points.
 
“It’s definitely a breakthrough and I’m very happy,” Brendan said of his result in Milwaukee. “It was a good turn around after the mistakes in the short program.”
 
“It was hard starting the season with a stress fracture, which meant I had to pull out of a warm-up comp at Salt Lake City last month. However, it was a PB at Skate America and I'm consistently putting out the big elements and catching up to the top skaters in the world.”
 
Coach Tammy Gambill believes the free skate performance was a turning point.
 
“I’m so proud of Brendan, and proud of both programs he skated at Skate America.”
 
Brendan, who lives full-time in Los Angeles, had recently sustained a bony stress injury to the second metatarsal in his left foot.
 
“The injury meant I had to stay off the ice for a while and when I got back on the ice, I needed new boots and we had to be careful of the quads.”
 
But it’s all good now.
 
“My boots are good, my foot is good, my brain is good and so is my body. I’m good to go.”

The event was won by Max Aaron of the USA scoring 258.95 points, with Japanese skater Shoma Uno in second with a score of 257.43 and the final place on the podium going to Jason Brown, also of America, with a score of 238.47. 
 
Captions:  Brendan Kerry with coach Tammy Gambill in the stands after the free program

Brendan Kerry and Kailani Craine have recorded victories at the 2014 ISA Australian Figure Skating Championships at the Iceworld Olympic Ice Rink in Boondall, Brisbane.

Kerry’s win makes it three National titles for the 2014 Sochi Olympian, which he did in commanding style winning both the short and free program. Brendan performed the first ever successful quad salchow by an Australian to open his free program. 

With three Australian junior titles to her name, Craine can now add her first senior title to her trophy cabinet after winning the ladies event.

After the short program, 2014 Sochi Olympian Brooklee Han was in first place, with Craine in second, but the 16-year-old NSW skater reversed the tables in the free program. Craine recorded an overall score of 154.37 points to move into first place with Han a close 2.18 points behind in second.

Both Craine and Han landed triple lutzes in their programs.

Overall Results

Senior Men
1) Brendan Kerry (NSW) 183.28 Points
2) Cameron Hemmert (NSW) 147.58 Points
3) Andrew Dodds (QLD) 138.43 Points

Senior Ladies
1) Kailani Craine (NSW) 154.37 Points
2) Brooklee Han (VIC) 152.19 Points
3) Jaimee Nobbs (WA) 92.5 Points

IMAGE: Kailani Craine in action at the National Championshipsin Brisbane © Michael Santer