Johnny Weir fourth after short program at 2012 Finlandia Trophy

2012 Finlandia Trophy: Results after the men's short program. 

1 Javier Fernandez (ESP) 80.77
2 Yuzuru Hanyu (JPN) 75.57
3 Richard Dornbush (USA) 71.19
4 Johnny Weir (USA) 69.03
5 Zhan Bush (RUS) 69.01
6 Misha Ge (UZB) 61.32
7 Adrian Schultheiss (SWE) 57.30
8 Valtter Virtanen (FIN) 56.81
9 Kento Nakamura (JPN) 54.14
10 Maciej Cieplucha (POL) 53.59
11 Matthias Versluis (FIN) 52.71
12 Mikael Redin (SUI) 47.40  
13 Julian Lagus (FIN) 43.79
14 Viktor Zubik (FIN) 41.53  
15 Samuel Koppel (EST) 38.20  

The final results of the synchronized skating competition is as follows. In synchro, there is a Short Program and a Free Skate but at the Finlandia Trophy teams just performed the Short Program.

1 Team Unique (FIN) 60.43 
2 Rockettes (FIN) 57.95 
3 Paradise (RUS) 57.34 
4 Marigold IceUnity (FIN) 51.80 
5 Revolutions (FIN) 46.39

The Finlandia Trophy results page will be updated tomorrow with the remaining events which are:

Saturday, October 6 at 1:30 pm Finnish time
Ladies short program
Short dance
Men's free skate

Sunday, October 7 at 12 noon Finnish time
Free Dance 
Ladies free skate
Awards ceremony

Watch Johnny Weir's short program...He looks great! A stumble here and here but exciting to see him skate a competitive program:

2012-2013 Regional and sectional schedule

The 2013 US Figure Skating Championships will be held in Omaha, Nebraska from January 20 - January 27. Skaters qualifying for Nationals (as it's commonly called) first go through regional championships and if they place in the top four at their respective regionals, then go through sectional championships. If they place in the top four at their respective sectionals, it's on to Omaha and steaks! US Figure Skating has divided the country into nine regions. Click here to see which state belongs in which region.

Here is the 2012-2013 regional championships schedule:

WHEN	EVENT	FSC/LOCATION
Sept. 28 - Oct. 2, 2012	Northwest Pacific Regionals	Oregon Skating Council/Eugene, Oregon
Oct. 5 - Oct. 9, 2012	Eastern Great Lakes Regionals	Ann Arbor FSC/Ann Arbor, Michigan
Oct. 5 - Oct. 9, 2012	North Atlantic Regionals	Ice House of New Jersey FSC/Hackensack, New Jersey
Oct. 12 - Oct. 16, 2012	New England Regionals	Warwick Figure Skaters/Warwick, Rhode Island
Oct. 12 - Oct. 16, 2012	Southwest Pacific Regionals	SC of Phoenix/Peoria, Arizona
Oct. 12 - Oct. 16, 2012	Upper Great Lakes Regionals	Greater Green Bay FSC/Hobart, Wisconsin
Oct. 19 - Oct. 23, 2012	Central Pacific Regionals	Murray Silver Blades FSC/Murray, Utah
Oct. 19 - Oct. 23, 2012	South Atlantic Regionals	Triangle FSC/Wake Forest, North Carolina
Oct. 19 - Oct. 23, 2012	Southwestern Regionals	Denver FSC/Colorado SC/Littleton, Colorado

Here is the 2012-2013 sectional championships schedule:

WHEN	EVENT	FSC/LOCATION
November 9-13, 2012	Eastern Sectional	Yarmouth Ice Club/Hyannis Port, Massachusetts
November 9-13, 2012	Midwestern Sectional	Greater Cleveland Council of FSCs/Cleveland, Ohio
November 9-13, 2012	Pacific Coast Sectional	Peaks FSC/Provo, Utah

You may not see familiar faces at these events (e.g. Evan Lysacek, Johnny Weir, Jeremy Abbott, Ashley Wagner, Mirai Nagasu, you get the idea). Some skaters receive automatic byes depending on how they did in their prior seasons. For example, if they placed in the top five as a senior at last year's Nationals, 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.

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	LOCATION
Jan. 23 - Jan. 27, 2013	Midwestern Synchronized Sectional Championships	Kalamazoo, Michigan
Jan. 23 - Jan. 27, 2013	Pacific Coast Synchronized Sectional Championships	Kalamazoo, Michigan
Jan. 31 - Feb. 2, 2013	Eastern Synchronized Sectional Championships	Lake Placid, New York

The 2013 US Synchronized Skating Championships will be held in Plymouth, Michigan from February 27 - March 2, 2013.

As always, icenetwork is providing coverage of all these events for a mere $40.00! Click here to subscribe.

Johnny Weir prepares for first international competition - Finlandia Trophy

Johnny Weir (at right) is scheduled to compete at the 2012 Finlandia Trophy, in Espoo, Finland, which runs from October 5-7. This is kind of a tuneup competition for some senior skaters before the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series starts in late October. (It's also a chance for some of the lesser known skaters to get international experience.)

After the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics where he placed sixth overall, Johnny took a two year hiatus from competitive skating and recently announced that he was back for the 2012-2013 season, with the ultimate goal of representing the US at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. And if you haven't already heard by now, 2010 Olympic champion Evan Lysacek also announced his return after taking time off so let the rivalry resume!

I asked Johnny how he was feeling about going back into competition. He said, "The most important thing about competing at Finlandia Trophy is not winning, but simply competing. Coming back to competition after two years away is rather ominous, but I have the experience of competing at the highest level and I'm relying on that experience as well as good summer preparations to keep me as relaxed as possible. Also, I am looking forward to being back on the ice, performing for my fans and showing everyone what I've been working on. It will be very hard, but I know I have a fantastic group of people around the world supporting me. I want to inspire them to try something that may seem crazy and to find the value in pushing yourself beyond your own expectations."

I will be absolutely glued to YouTube -- thank you in advance to whoever will be uploading the performances! Besides Johnny, other top names competing at the Finlandia Trophy include Olympic and World ice dancing champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir from Canada, Yuzuru Hanyu from Japan, and Mirai Nagasu from the US.

Team Finland 1 wins 2011 World Synchronized Skating Championships

• Team Finland 1 takes gold at the ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships 2011. [ISU]

• Brian Orser analyzes the departure of Adam Rippon. [Chicago Tribune]

• Preparations for 2014 Sochi Olympics are ahead of schedule. [RT]

• Evgeni Plushenko seeks amateur status on his road to 2014 Sochi Olympics. [USA Today]

• 2011 U.S. Adult Championships kick off this week in Salt Lake City. [icenetwork]

• Jamie Sale, David Pelletier and Kurt Browning help honor Royal Glenora Club. [Canada.com]

• Great piece on Alissa Czisny. [YouTube]

• What took so long? A children's book about Yu-Na Kim (cover at right). [WSJ]

• Yu-Na Kim has her own skating reality show - Kim Yuna’s Kiss & Cry. [Allpop]

• Catching up with...college student Kimmie Meissner. [icenetwork]

• Johnny Weir, Brandon Mroz and Ashley Wagner headline Skate-To-Learn on May 1 in Hackensack, NJ. [Skate-To-Learn]

• Midori Ito entered the ISU's Adult Competition in Obertsdorf!?! And a review of Stars on Ice by What the Buck's Michael Buckley. [Aunt Joyce's Ice Cream Stand]

Johnny Weir is a weirdo

• Who is Johnny Weir? A weirdo. [ThePostGame]

• Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman return to the ice for Stars On Ice. [icenetwork]

• Meryl Davis and Charlie White just added to Stars On Ice tour. [StarsOnIce]

• Politicians and parade personalities come together for skating at Coney Island, Brooklyn. [Brooklyn Daily Eagle]

• Finnish figure skater Laura Lepistö to miss World Championships in Japan. [YLE]

• This is the best print interview of Evan Lysacek (at right) I've ever read. [NYMag]

• Yu-Na Kim to help with PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics bid. [FeverSkating]

• Final results of 2011 US Synchronized Skating Championships in Ontario, California. [icenetwork]

• High-priced lawyers duke it out on the ice. [NYT]

• Podcast with Yuka Sato, coach to Alissa Czisny and Jeremy Abbott. [ManleyWomanSkateCast]

• Figure skating pioneer Maribel Vinson-Owen spotlighted In RISE. [ThePostGame]