US Figure Skating announces 2011 World and Four Continents teams

At the conclusion of the 2011 US Figure Skating Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S. Figure Skating announced the World, Four Continents and World Junior Teams. Worlds will be held in Tokyo, Japan from March 21 - 27. Four Continents will be held in Taipei City, Taiwan from February 15 - 20.

FOR THE LADIES:

2011 World Championships: Alissa Czisny and Rachael Flatt (Alternate 1 - Mirai Nagasu (at right); Alternate 2 - Agnes Zawadzki; Alternate 3 - Christina Gao)

2011 Four Continents Championships: Alissa Czisny, Rachael Flatt and Mirai Nagasu (Alternate 1 - Ashley Wagner; Alternate 2 - Agnes Zawadzki; Alternate 3 - Christina Gao)

2011 World Junior Championships: Christina Gao, Courtney Hicks and Agnes Zawadzki (Alternate 1 - Vanessa Lam; Alternate 2 - Yasmin Siraj; Alternate 3 - Kristiene Gong)

FOR THE MEN:

2011 World Championships: Ryan Bradley, Richard Dornbush and Ross Miner (Alternate 1 - Jeremy Abbott; Alternate 2 - Adam Rippon; Alternate 3 - Armin Mahbanoozadeh)

2011 Four Continents Championships: Jeremy Abbott, Armin Mahbanoozadeh and Adam Rippon (Alternate 1 - Brandon Mroz; Alternate 2 - Douglas Razzano; Alternate 3 - Jonathan Cassar)

2011 World Junior Championships: Max Aaron, Jason Brown and Keegan Messing (Alternate 1 - Alexander Zahradnicek; Alternate 2 - Steven Evans; Alternate 3 - Philip Warren)

FOR PAIRS:

2011 World Championships: Amanda Evora/Mark Ladwig and Caitlin Yankowskas/John Coughlin (Alternate 1 - Caydee Denney/Jeremy Barrett; Alternate 2 - Mary Beth Marley/Rockne Brubaker; Alternate 3 - Marissa Castelli/Simon Shnapir)

2011 Four Continents Championships: Caydee Denney/Jeremy Barrett, Amanda Evora/Mark Ladwig, Caitlin Yankowskas/John Coughlin and Mary Beth Marley/Rockne Brubaker (Alternate 1 - Mary Beth Marley/Rockne Brubaker; Alternate 2 - Marissa Castelli/Simon Shnapir; Alternate 3 - Tiffany Vise/Don Baldwin) Note: Denney and Barrett withdrew due to injury. See article here.

2011 World Junior Championships: Ashley Cain/Joshua Reagan and Cassie Andrews/Timothy LeDuc (Alternate 1 - Kylie Duarte/Colin Grafton; Alternate 2 - Brynn Carman/AJ Reiss; Alternate 3 - Mandy Garza/Brandon Frazier)

FOR ICE DANCING:

2011 World Championships: Madison Chock/Greg Zuerlein, Meryl Davis/Charlie White (at right) and Maia Shibutani/Alex Shibutani (Alternate 1 - Madison Hubbell/Keiffer Hubbell; Alternate 2 - Lynn Kriengkrairut/Logan Giulietti-Schmitt; Alternate 3 - Isabella Cannuscio/Ian Lorello)

2011 Four Continents Championships: Madison Chock/Greg Zuerlein, Meryl Davis/Charlie White and Maia Shibutani/Alex Shibutani (Alternate 1 - Madison Hubbell/Keiffer Hubbell; Alternate 2 - Lynn Kriengkrairut/Logan Giulietti-Schmitt; Alternate 3 - Isabella Cannuscio/Ian Lorello)

2011 World Junior Championships: Lauri Bonacorsi/Travis Mager, Anastasia Cannuscio/Colin McManus and Charlotte Lichtman/Dean Copely (Alternate 1 - Anastasia Olson/Jordan Cowan; Alternate 2 - Alexandra Aldridge/Daniel Eaton; Alternate 3 - Joylyn Yang/Jean-Luc Baker)

2011 US Figure Skating Championships: Final results of senior division

Here are the results from the senior men's, ladies, pairs and ice dancing competition at the 2011 AT&T US Figure Skating Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina. In pairs, Caitlin Yankowskas and John Coughlin won gold, followed by Amanda Evora and Mark Ladwig who won the silver. Last year's champions Caydee Denney and Jeremy Barrett won the bronze. In dance, Meryl Davis and Charlie White won gold, Maia and Alex Shibutani won silver, and Madison Chock and Greg Zuerlein won bronze. For the ladies, Alissa Czisny won gold, Rachael Flatt silver and Mirai Nagasu bronze. In men's, Ryan Bradley won gold, Richard Dornbush won silver and Ross Miner won the bronze. Jeremy Abbott came in fourth.

Top 10 results for senior pairs:

Rank	Name	SP	FS	Points
1	Caitlin Yankowskas, Broadmoor SC / John Coughlin, Kansas City FSC	1	1	188.45
2	Amanda Evora, Southwest Florida FSC / Mark Ladwig, Red River Valley FSC	2	2	185.22
3	Caydee Denney, Panthers FSC / Jeremy Barrett, Panthers FSC	4	3	175.49
4	Mary Beth Marley, DuPage FSC / Rockne Brubaker, All Year FSC	3	4	163.55
5	Marissa Castelli, SC of Boston / Simon Shnapir, Colonial FSC	6	5	151.92
6	Tiffany Vise, Broadmoor SC / Don Baldwin, Los Angeles FSC	5	7	151.26
7	Lindsay Davis, All Year FSC / Themistocles Leftheris, Los Angeles FSC	7	6	148.25
8	Gretchen Donlan, SC of Boston / Andrew Speroff, Broadmoor SC	9	8	145.25
9	Chloe Katz, SC of New York / Joseph Lynch, SC of New York	12	9	140.00
10	Becky Bereswill, Detroit SC / Trevor Young, Detroit SC	8	12	137.71

Top 10 results for senior dance:

Rank	Name	SD	FD	Points
1	Meryl Davis, Arctic FSC / Charlie White, Detroit SC	1	1	185.48
2	Maia Shibutani, SC of New York / Alex Shibutani, Arctic FSC	2	2	173.18
3	Madison Chock, All Year FSC / Greg Zuerlein, Arctic FSC	3	3	154.62
4	Madison Hubbell, Detroit SC / Keiffer Hubbell, Detroit SC	5	4	141.70
5	Lynn Kriengkrairut, All Year FSC / Logan Giulietti-Schmitt, Ann Arbor FSC	4	6	138.42
6	Isabella Cannuscio, University of Delaware FSC / Ian Lorello, University of Delaware FSC	7	5	136.55
7	Shannon Wingle, Arctic FSC / Timothy McKernan, Broadmoor SC	6	8	130.20
8	Rachel Tibbetts, Broadmoor SC / Collin Brubaker, All Year FSC	10	7	118.25
9	Meredith Zuber, University of Delaware FSC / Kyle Herring, University of Delaware FSC	9	9	118.06
10	Ginna Hoptman, IceWorks SC / Pavel Filchenkov, IceWorks SC	8	10	117.53

Top 10 results for senior ladies:

Rank	Name	SP	FS	Points
1	Alissa Czisny, Detroit SC	2	1	191.24
2	Rachael Flatt, Broadmoor SC	3	2	183.38
3	Mirai Nagasu, Pasadena FSC	1	3	177.26
4	Agnes Zawadzki, Broadmoor SC	4	4	173.84
5	Christina Gao, Northern Kentucky SC	5	6	167.20
6	Ashley Wagner, SC of Wilmington	7	5	165.36
7	Vanessa Lam, All Year FSC	6	7	162.91
8	Yasmin Siraj, SC of Boston	8	8	152.47
9	Joelle Forte, SC of New York	12	9	149.28
10	Melissa Bulanhagui, University of Delaware FSC	15	11	144.53

Top 10 results for senior men:

Rank	Name	SP	FS	Points
1	Ryan Bradley, Broadmoor SC	1	4	231.90
2	Richard Dornbush, All Year FSC	7	1	225.56
3	Ross Miner, SC of Boston	6	2	224.35
4	Jeremy Abbott, Detroit SC	2	6	224.16
5	Adam Rippon, SC of New York	9	3	220.04
6	Armin Mahbanoozadeh, Washington FSC	8	5	215.05
7	Brandon Mroz, Broadmoor SC	3	9	213.49
8	Keegan Messing, Alaska Assoc of Figure Skaters	4	8	213.29
9	Jason Brown, Skokie Valley SC	11	7	208.76
10	Douglas Razzano, Coyotes SC of Arizona	5	10	206.76

Complete results for the novice and junior divisions can be found here.

Kristi Yamaguchi debuts children's book Dream Big, Little Pig!

Figure Skating Superstar Kristi Yamaguchi to Make Her Inspiring Children’s Picture Book Debut in March 2011

Chicago, IL —Figure skating superstar Kristi Yamaguchi is an Olympic athlete, artist, wife, mother, and philanthropist. In March 2011, she will add children’s picture book author to her accomplishments with the  publication of Dream Big, Little Pig! (ISBN: 9781402252754; Sourcebooks Jabberwocky; MARCH 2011; $16.99 U.S.; Juvenile Fiction/Picture Book; Hardcover)

Poppy the Pig has big dreams—lots of them! But following her dreams isn’t always easy, and whenever Poppy thinks it might be time to give up, her family reminds her to “Dream Big!” While on a “pig’s day out,” she has so much fun ice skating that she doesn’t even notice those around her who think pigs can’t skate…and without even knowing it, she achieves her dream while doing something she loves! In this funny and inspiring tale that’s perfect for family read-alouds, Poppy realizes she can succeed at anything as long as she believes in herself and has fun doing it!

Kristi Yamaguchi is an Olympic gold medalist and world champion who knows about dreaming big. The motto “Always Dream” serves as Kristi’s personal inspiration, as well as the name of her charitable  foundation for children. This philosophy has contributed to Kristi’s success on and off the ice, and she aspires to instill it in the hearts of children.

Following her figure skating victories at the 1992 Winter Olympics and World Championships, Kristi embarked on a successful professional career that went nonstop for more than a decade.

This past year, Kristi Yamaguchi’s Friends and Family TV special aired on NBC for the fourth straight year, and she became the first woman to claim the trophy on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars. One of her lasting legacies will be her Always Dream Foundation, which was founded in 1996 and has been an active fundraiser and supporter of children’s charities in the San Francisco Bay Area, sponsoring, among other events, annual Christmas toy drives. For more information, visit http://www.alwaysdream.org/.

Below is my interview with Kristi when she was honored in NYC in April 2010 by Figure Skating in Harlem:

2011 US Nationals begin on January 23 in Greensboro, NC

• 2011 US Championships begin with the novice division on January 23. [icenetwork]

• Meet Lenore Teer, one of US Figure Skating's official masseuses, working at Nationals. [Jamestown News]

• Adam Rippon prepares for US Nationals. [Figure Skaters Online]

• Canadian Championships already underway without Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir and Joannie Rochette. [Winnepeg Free Press]

• Life as a Canadian figure skating coach. [CBC Sports]

• Johnny Weir stops by Buffalo and dispense advice for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender youth. [WIVBTV]

• Johnny Weir on the Howard Stern show -- really really insightful and funny. [YouTube]

• Meet Evan Lysacek (at right), Katia Gordeeva, Tanith Belbin, Ben Agosto and Michael Weiss in NYC on Friday for a Stars on Ice promotion. [Aunt Joyce's Ice Cream Stand]

• Evan Lysacek to receive Thurman Munson Award on February 1. [Chicago Breaking Sports]

• Coaches stay competitive by participating at 2011 Adult Nationals in Salt Lake City. [US Figure Skating]

Joannie Rochette: Photo gallery from Today Show appearance

As promised, here are scenes from Joannie Rochette's appearance January 3 on NBC's Today Show. If you want to see a video of her performance, click here.