2011 Regional and Sectional Championships schedule

Ever wonder how all the skaters you see at the US Championships (or commonly known as "Nationals") got there? Most qualified through regional and sectional events. US Figure Skating has divided the country into nine regions. Click here to see which state belongs in which region.

From October 1 - 19, regional championships ("regionals") will be held through the country:

WHEN	EVENT	HOST FSC/LOCATION
October 1-5, 2010	Upper Great Lakes Regional	Greater Green Bay FSC/Cornerstone Community Center in DePere, WI
October 1-5, 2010	North Atlantic Regional	Skating Club of Lake Placid/Lake Placid, NY
October 1-5, 2010	Northwest Pacific Regional	Boise FSC/Idaho Ice World, Boise, ID
October 8-12, 2010	Southwest Pacific Regional	Los Angeles FSC/Pickwick Ice Arena, Burbank, CA
October 8-12, 2010	New England Regional	Charter Oak FSC/Simsbury, CT
October 8-12, 2010	Eastern Great Lakes Regional	Nashville FSC/Franklin, TN
October 15-19, 2010	Southwestern Regional	Broadmoor Skating Club/Colorado Springs, CO
October 15-19, 2010	Central Pacific Regional	Capital City FSC/Skatetown Ice Arena, Roseville, CA
October 15-19, 2010	South Atlantic Regional	Triangle FSC/The Polar Ice House @ The Factory, Wake Forest, NC

Skaters who place in the top four at their regionals qualify for the sectional championships. There are three sectional championships:

WHEN	EVENT	HOST FSC/LOCATION
November 9-13, 2010	Eastern Sectional	IceWorks Skating Club/IceWorks Skating Complex, Aston, PA
November 9-13, 2010	Midwestern Sectional	Ann Arbor FSC/Ann Arbor, MI
November 9-13, 2010	Pacific Coast Sectional	All Year FSC/Culver City, CA

And you guessed it, skaters who place in the top four at sectionals qualify for the 2011 US Championships, which will be held in Greensboro, North Carolina, from January 22 - 30, 2011. Some skaters don't need to qualify through regionals and sectionals -- they will receive automatic byes if they placed in the top five as a senior at the 2010 US Championships, if they won a medal at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics or World Championships, went to the Grand Prix Final or Junior Grand Prix Final, or if sectionals conflict with an international competition they've already been assigned to.

Keep in mind also that the US Championships will crown the winners in the novice, junior, and senior divisions in men and ladies singles, pairs and ice dancing. The other two levels below novice -- juvenile and intermediate -- hold their own Nationals called the "U.S. Junior Championships" and it will be held in Salt Lake City, from December 14 - 18, 2010. Below is a great chart from U.S. Figure Skating explaining all of this:

For all the synchronized skaters out there, they have their own US Championships and sectionals. For synchro skaters, there are no regionals -- teams qualify for the US Synchronized Skating Championships at one of three sectional competitions:

WHEN	EVENT	HOST FSC/LOCATION
February 3-5, 2011	Eastern Sectional	Skating Club of Lake Placid, Lake Placid, NY
February 3-5, 2011	Midwestern/Pacific Coast Sectional	Rochester FSC/Rochester, MN

The 2011 US Synchronized Skating Championships will be hosted by the Glacier Falls FSC and will be held at the Citizens Bank Arean, in Ontario, California from March 2 - 5, 2011.

Joelle Forte hitting her stride mentally and physically at 24 (video)

Joelle Forte is on fire! No, not literally of course. But this girl is awfully determined to make the most of this season, beginning with the North Atlantic regional championships next week in Lake Placid. Joelle is 24, so kind of on the older side for senior girls. But she's actually hitting her stride at 24 mentally and physically which I find very interesting. Her coaches are US and World champion Elaine Zayak and Russian skater Dmitri Gromov and they've helped Joelle to reach her peak while other skaters her age may be contemplating a post-skating career.

I first took note in 2009 when Joelle placed 12th at the US Championships in January. She had been out of the competitive circuit for a while so it was great to see someone that talented return to the ice. Then during the 2009-2010 season she disappeared, kind of. I saw her name on the roster for a few events where she was representing Azerbaijan so that was a little confusing. Thank goodness I caught up with her in NYC earlier this year to clear up some of the mystery. Joelle and others, including Oksana Baiul, Lucinda Ruh, Tai Babilonia, Melissa Bulanhagui, Angela Maxwell and Parker Pennington, were on hand to support One Step Closer, an AIDS benefit held at Lasker Rink in Central Park.

From our conversation, here are the highlights:

• On which country she is representing for the 2010-2011 season - Joelle: "I'm not representing Azerbaijan anymore. I tried but I did not want to wait another year to have nothing happen again so I will be skating for the USA. My plans for this season are to improve my program component scores. I have been working on my presentation a lot this year."

• On her graduating from Fordham University in NYC with a degree in psychology - Joelle: "I really felt it was important to get my diploma! While skating and competing I was going to Fordham full time so it was pretty hectic but well worth it. I majored in Psychology and yes, I want to continue my studies -- I already started looking at graduate schools."

• On her short and long programs this season - Joelle: "My short program is Cirque Du Soleil and my long is Piano Concerto 2 by Rachmaninoff."

• On why she continues to skate - Joelle: "I really love figure skating. I wake up every day and I couldn't imagine my life doing something else. I truly love what I do."

Below is Joelle's skate to Cirque du Soleil during the One Step Closer AIDS benefit. Love her crisp clean jumps!

Sasha Cohen and Johnny Weir attend Russian Children's Welfare Society benefit gala

• Sasha Cohen, Johnny Weir, Viktor Petrenko, Evgeny Platov and Galit Chait are guests of honor at Russian Children’s Welfare Society benefit gala. [Examiner]

• Rachael Flatt leaves agent Tara Modlin in search of greener pastures. [Denver Post]

• Photos from behind the scenes at Shall We Dance on Ice, airing November 7 on NBC. [Universal Sports]

• Watch Evan Lysacek on Who Wants to be a Millionaire -- does he know what a proper dinner place setting looks like? [YouTube]

• Read press release for The Caesars Tribute starring Evan Lysacek, Nancy Kerrigan, Sasha Cohen, Brian Boitano, Sarah Hughes, Peggy Fleming, Scott Hamilton with special presentations by Kristi Yamaguchi and Dick Button. [World Figure Skating]

• I wonder how Improv-Ice hosted by Brian Boitano and Kristi Yamaguchi, featuring Evan Lysacek, Rachael Flatt, Jeremy Abbott, Joannie Rochette, Sasha Cohen (see below) , Jeffrey Buttle, Alissa Czisny and Ryan Bradley went? [Coloradoan]

• Tamar Katz's brother killed in a hit-and-run. [Daily News]

• Yu-Na Kim finds anonymity in Los Angeles. [LA Times] Ever wonder how she and Michelle Kwan rehearsed when Michelle couldn't be there? [YouTube]

• Figure skating training videos to take wherever you go! [mysk8coach]

• Three dozen fans line up to purchase tickets for 2011 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. [digtriad]

• Melissa Gregory, US ice dancer and Olympian with hubby Denis Petukhov, receives Rings of Gold award. [USOC]

• Environmental concerns plague Katarina Witt's efforts to bring 2018 Winter Games to Munich. [Reuters]

• Michal Brezina talks about his brush with hockey great Jaromír Jágr at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. [Universal Sports]

• Ekaterina "Katia" Gordeeva prepares for battle in Battle of the Blades. [thestar]

• Jamie Sale also prepares for battle and is as competitive as ever. [Calgary Herald]

NBC Sports announces 2010 Grand Prix of Figure Skating schedule

Here's the press release from NBC Sports, Universal Sports and U.S. Figure Skating on how we can watch the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series, which begins on October 22 with the NHK Trophy in Nagoya, Japan. (Click here to see entire Grand Prix schedule) Looks like we can watch the whole enchilada -- NBC, Universal Sports channel, UniversalSports.com (subscription fee of $14.95) and icenetwork.com (they haven't posted the subscription fee yet) have joined forces to show everything.

NBC Sports, Universal Sports, U.S. Figure Skating Announce 2010 ISU
Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series Broadcast, Digital Schedule

― Networks to cover entire Grand Prix season for the first time in history ―

(New York and Los Angeles – September 21, 2010) -  NBC Sports and Universal Sports, along with U.S. Figure Skating, today announced the broadcast schedule for the 2010 International Skating Union (ISU) Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series. NBC Sports will broadcast 12 hours of live and taped coverage of five  Grand Prix events, including Skate America, and the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final on Dec. 12, in Beijing, China. Universal Sports will show more than 34 hours of original programming from five events, as well as re-broadcasts of the featured programming that appears on NBC Sports.

"The Grand Prix events will be a cornerstone of Universal Sports’ programming lineup during the upcoming winter season,” said David Sternberg, CEO of Universal Sports. “We are excited to team with U.S. Figure Skating to enable figure skating fans nationwide to watch all of their favorite athletes in world-class competition both on TV and online.”

In addition, UniversalSports.com and icenetwork.com will combine to deliver an unprecedented amount of online video coverage, with 90-plus hours of live streaming ― every session of every event ― plus on-demand replays, highlights, interviews and analysis. UniversalSports.com will offer live and on-demand coverage of six Grand Prix events (including the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating – China and excluding Skate America) for a one-time subscription fee of $14.95; icenetwork.com will provide live streams and on-demand replays from all seven stops on the Grand Prix circuit as part of the annual icenetwork.com subscription package. Both sites will also deliver news, blogs, photos, standings and more.

The deal was made possible after Universal Sports acquired the rights to the Grand Prix Series from the ISU last summer. This marks the second straight year that coverage of the Grand Prix Series events will appear on NBC and Universal Sports, and third consecutive year coverage will appear on icenetwork.com.

“U.S. Figure Skating is pleased to again team with NBC, Universal Sports and icenetwork.com to offer exceptional coverage of the Grand Prix Series,” said David Raith, executive director of U.S. Figure Skating. “Figure skating fans will now have the opportunity to follow our elite athletes throughout the entire Grand Prix season, competing against the best figure skaters in the world.”

2010 ISU Grand Prix Series Schedule on NBC Sports
(all times ET, check your local listings for times in your area):

A detailed broadcast schedule for Universal Sports will be released at a later date. NBC Sports and Universal Sports will both televise coverage from the 2011 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, and Universal Sports will have coverage of the 2011 ISU World Figure Skating Championships, which take place March 21-27, in Nagano, Japan.

ABOUT UNIVERSAL SPORTS: Universal Sports, a partnership between NBC Sports and InterMedia Partners, LP, serves as the preeminent multiplatform destination for Olympic-related sports programming on television and online. Universal Sports is available in more than 63 million homes, including all of the nation’s top 10 DMAs: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Dallas-Fort Worth and Washington, D.C. Recent expansion includes launches in Boston, Atlanta, Houston, Miami, Denver, Portland, and Jacksonville. Go to UniversalSports.com for a complete list of TV markets. Major world championship and Olympic qualifying events found on Universal Sports range from track and field, skiing, swimming, gymnastics, marathons and cycling, to volleyball, rowing, triathlon, fencing, speed skating and martial arts. UniversalSports.com delivers an immersive experience via live and on-demand competition coverage, interaction with top athletes through blogs and in-depth access to Olympic sports news and information year round. For more information on the availability of the Universal Sports 24-hour television channel, please visit UniversalSports.com.

ABOUT U.S. FIGURE SKATING: U.S. Figure Skating is the national governing body for the sport of figure skating in the United States as recognized by the United States Olympic Committee and the International Skating Union. U.S. Figure Skating is made up of 743 member, collegiate and school-affiliated clubs and more than 990 Basic Skills programs representing approximately 176,000 members. U.S. Figure Skating is charged with the development of the sport on all levels within the United States  including athletes, officials, sanctioning of events and exhibitions, and establishing the rules and guidelines by which the sport is governed.

Tai Babilonia turns 50 and begins reinvention (video)

Okay that's a slight lie -- Tai Babilonia (at right) turned 51 last week! But it's so much more dramatic to say the big five oh. Why is that significant? Well, in addition to 50 (or 51) being a milestone age in anyone's life, Tai was completely reinventing herself while turning 51. For those asking, "Great name, who is she?" Tai is a legend in the US figure skating circle -- With pairs partner Randy Gardner, Tai and Randy won the US Championships five times and also won the 1979 World Championships. They were a leading contender to win Olympic gold in Lake Placid in 1980 before withdrawing when Randy hurt himself during a warmup. After turning pro shortly thereafter, they headlined a ton of ice shows and were the picture of happiness and perfection. Unbeknownst to the public, Tai was struggling with drugs, alcohol, a suicide attempt and an eating disorder. She bounced back and is now focusing on a variety of projects. 

Back to the reinventing part -- A few years years ago, Tai moved from Los Angeles where she had been all her life, to Ashland, Oregon. She said she removed herself from the stress of LA and in calm and peaceful Ashland, started coaching a little and continuing to devote her time to a line of skatewear called the Tai Collection. I believe her teenage son remained back in LA as he was attending school and was seriously into tennis. Tai also turned vegan, or vegetarian or something -- she's into animal rights bottom line. In fact, last November, on behalf of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), she railed against people wearing fur by skating around Rockefeller Rink almost nude holding a No Fur sign (see video below). Earlier this year, she was in NYC so I had a chance to catch up on her latest endeavors and that is our interview above. Enjoy!

Tai skates almost nude for animal rights at Rockefeller Rink: