# This Week in Skating / Weekly Episode for Nov. 4, 2025

An episode of [This Week in Skating Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1621874792), 4 Nov 2025, 23 min.

Audio: https://audio2.redcircle.com/episodes/b15f844c-c7a8-4954-87ea-ee341f2adf30/stream.mp3

In this episode, Gina chats about the other news that happened in the skating world this past week, and looks ahead to NHK Trophy. (Note: Skate Canada International was discussed in a separate episode.) Show Notes: https://www.thisweekinskating.com/2025/11/show-notes-nov-4-2025/ This Week in Skating is hosted by Gina Capellazzi, Daphne Backman and Matteo Morelli is a cooperative project between Figure Skaters Online and Ice-dance.com. New episodes are available every Tuesday. Website: https://www.thisweekinskating.com Email: thisweekinskating@gmail.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thisweekinskating Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/thiswkinskating Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinskating Thread: https://www.threads.net/@thisweekinskating Patreon: patreon.com/ThisWeekinSkating Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

## Transcript

[0:00] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Hi everyone, I'm Vincent Jo.
[0:01] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Hi, I'm Kathy Reed.
[0:03] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And I'm Allison Reed.
[0:05] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Hi, I'm Ashley.
[0:06] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Hi, I'm Grace.
[0:07] \[SPEAKER_00\]: We're from the Hidden X.
[0:25] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Welcome to this week in Skating, the weekly podcast bringing you the latest news from the world of figure skating.
[0:31] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Here are your hosts, Daphne, Gina, and Matteo.
[0:35] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Happy November.
[0:36] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Welcome to another episode of this week in skating.
[0:39] \[SPEAKER_00\]: It's Gina here.
[0:41] \[SPEAKER_00\]: We are officially halfway through the Grand Prix season.
[0:44] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Three events down.
[0:46] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Breeze still to go.
[0:48] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Just a reminder, Mateo and I have a separate episode later today recapping skate Canada with photographer, Danielle Earl, who was the official photographer at skate Canada.
[1:01] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Now, where's Daphne you may ask?
[1:03] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Daphne is in Henderson, Nevada for the U.S. dance final and the Pacific Coast sectionals, so we look forward to hearing all about that next week from Daphne.
[1:14] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Also, make sure you stay tuned to the end of the show for details on a contest.
[1:20] \[SPEAKER_00\]: You don't want to miss that.
[1:21] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So let's get started with some general skating news.
[1:24] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I want to start out the weekly episode, talking about changes that were made to a policy within U.S. figure skating.
[1:32] \[SPEAKER_00\]: On Thursday, October 30th, members and coaches of U.S. figure skating received word via email that recently, the U.S. Olympic Imperial Olympic Committee,
[1:44] \[SPEAKER_00\]: determined that under the Ted Stevens Act and further under executive order, one, four, two, zero, one that all national governing bodies, which include U.S. figure skating, must adopt a policy that limits participation in the female category to athletes who were assigned female at birth.
[2:08] \[SPEAKER_00\]: In light of this, U.S. figure skating is releasing a new category policy for sanctioned competitions, requiring that athletes competing in the female category be listed as female at birth on their original birth certificate.
[2:24] \[SPEAKER_00\]: This policy effectively bars trans women and girls from competing, except for in open gender
[2:38] \[SPEAKER_00\]: In the email, U.S. figure skating row, and I quote, we remain deeply committed to providing meaningful opportunities for every member to participate.
[2:49] \[SPEAKER_00\]: This includes gender, neutral disciplines and programs such as synchronized skating, theatre on ice, showcase, solo dance, and team maneuver events.
[3:01] \[SPEAKER_00\]: As we navigate these changes, we ask all members to continue fostering a supportive, accepting environment, and respecting the dignity of every skater.
[3:13] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Discrimination, exclusion, or harassment of any kind will not be tolerated in our sport.
[3:20] \[SPEAKER_00\]: End quote.
[3:22] \[SPEAKER_00\]: With the exception of what was sent to US figure skating members, US figure skating has not made any additional comments or statements regarding this.
[3:33] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Again, it's important to note that this is not solely a U.S. figure skating policy, but a policy that all national governing bodies must adopt.
[3:44] \[SPEAKER_00\]: This new policy has drawn a lot of response and criticism on social media with some past competitors speaking out, including Korean Amanda and Jimmy Morgan.
[3:55] \[SPEAKER_00\]: future of figure skating podcasts host Anna Keller, who is non-binary and uses the pronouns they them is working on a story about this.
[4:06] \[SPEAKER_00\]: If you or someone you know is impacted by the new policy, please reach out to them.
[4:12] \[SPEAKER_00\]: We will put Anna's information in our show notes.
[4:16] \[SPEAKER_00\]: In response to the recent gender policy changes by U.S. figure skating a group of community members is working on resources to support trans and non-binary skaters in the skating community.
[4:30] \[SPEAKER_00\]: They are also working on resources for people within the community who support these skaters.
[4:35] \[SPEAKER_00\]: If you're interested in receiving these resources, providing feedback or getting involved, we will have information in our show notes as well.
[4:45] \[SPEAKER_00\]: We here at this week in skating believe figure skating is for everyone and it's supposed to be inclusive and accepting of all people.
[4:54] \[SPEAKER_00\]: This policy is very disappointing.
[4:57] \[SPEAKER_00\]: We will continue to stay on top of this and we'll report on any news regarding this.
[5:03] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Moving on, some Skate America changes.
[5:07] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Naomi Maria Talley and Noah LaFanara have withdrawn from Skate America.
[5:13] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Liam Capacas has officially been awarded the host to be determined spot for men at Skate America.
[5:20] \[SPEAKER_00\]: The entries for the Talentrophy Challenger event have been posted.
[5:24] \[SPEAKER_00\]: The Challenger is for singles and dance only.
[5:27] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Skater scheduled to compete include the top three Italian men, Daniel Grossle, Nikolay Memala, and Mateo Rito, Liam Capacas and Maxim Namoff are competing for the U.S. in the Women's Event, Nina Petricina and Kimmy Rapond will be competing.
[5:48] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Star Andrews and Sarah Everhart and Elena Bonello from the US.
[5:53] \[SPEAKER_00\]: This will be Elena's first senior challenger series event.
[5:59] \[SPEAKER_00\]: In the dance, it's a very crowded dance roster, Olivia Smart and Tim Deak, Natalie Tashar Ova, and Philip Tashler, Julia Turkala, and Mateus for Swease, Amalia Zingus, and Vadim Colleginick, Ava Pate, and Logan Bye, Amy Swee, and Jonathan Rogers, Holly Harris, and Jason Chen, there are also junior level events in men, women, and dance.
[6:26] \[SPEAKER_00\]: The entries for the Warsaw Cup Challenge or series have been posted as well, skaters scheduled to compete you will find in our show notes.
[6:35] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Stars on Ice announced its 2026 US Tour, which will kick off shortly after the Olympic Games.
[6:42] \[SPEAKER_00\]: The cast includes Ilya Malinin, Alyssa Lu, Amber Glenn,
[6:48] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Isabel Levito, Jason Brown, Madison Chakin, Evan Bates, and more skaters will be added later.
[6:56] \[SPEAKER_00\]: The tour cities and dates will be announced in the coming weeks.
[7:00] \[SPEAKER_00\]: The 2026 Canadian stars on ice tour was also announced,
[7:04] \[SPEAKER_00\]: The cast will include Keegan Messing, Dianna Stilato Dudek and Maxim Deschamps, Piper Gillis and Paul Porea, Madeleine Schesis and Elvis Stoico, Kurt Browning will once again serve as director and choreographer, the tour cities and dates will be announced in the coming weeks.
[7:23] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Tickets for the American Gold Live, a holiday ice spectacular are now on sale.
[7:30] \[SPEAKER_00\]: There will be two shows on Saturday, December 13th at Penn Ice Rink in Philadelphia, and all net proceeds will go to the U.S. figure skating National Development Team Legacy Fund.
[7:43] \[SPEAKER_00\]: The headlining performers are Elia Mallon, Alyssa Lu, and Isabella Vito with additional stars to be announced soon.
[7:52] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Jason Brown is going to be a guest on the Kelly Clarkson Show on November 7th.
[7:57] \[SPEAKER_00\]: He taped the appearance while in New York City last week for the Team USA Media Summit.
[8:03] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And Adam Rapan has been cast as a guest star on Season 2 of the NBC sitcom St. Dennis Medical.
[8:11] \[SPEAKER_00\]: We'll share more information about Adam's air date when it's announced.
[8:16] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So moving on to event results in coverage.
[8:19] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Again, we have a separate episode for Skate Canada International, and we will have our guest Danielle Earl, who was the official photographer at Skate Canada on to talk about the event with us.
[8:31] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And check out our show notes for the World Inclusive Skating Championships, Northern Lights Trophy, 17th Trevineal Ice Cup, 2025 Japanese Western sectionals, 202526 Skate Alberta, Northwest Territories and New Vault sectionals.
[8:50] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So moving on to upcoming events for the week, we are on to the fourth Grand Prix event of the season.
[8:57] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Hard to believe we are halfway through, and it's NHK trophy this week, November 7th to the 9th, and we'll give you a little preview of the event.
[9:08] \[SPEAKER_00\]: We'll start with the men Yuma Kageama, Mateo Rito, and Jimmy Ma kick off their Grand Prix series.
[9:16] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Shun Sato is looking to qualify for the Grand Prix final after Golden China.
[9:22] \[SPEAKER_00\]: We will also be seeing Lucas Brishki, Boyan Jin, Junwacha, Andrew Torgashev, and François Pinot.
[9:31] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And all those skaters have already competed once, so this is their second Grand Prix event.
[9:38] \[SPEAKER_00\]: In the women's event, Luna Hendrick returns after missing last season, so it will be nice to see Luna competing on the Grand Prix.
[9:46] \[SPEAKER_00\]: We know she is already looking pretty good after the qualifying event, so looking forward to seeing her compete this week in Japan.
[9:57] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Kawari Sakamoto is looking to make the Grand Prix final after she finished second in France.
[10:04] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Wakabahaguchi competes in her first Grand Prix event of the season.
[10:09] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Yuna Oki is the third Japanese woman at this event.
[10:13] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Now she won bronze at this event last season and she just competed in Canada where she finished in sixth place.
[10:20] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Sarah Everhart heads to Japan after a seventh place finish in Canada and a soon-une of Korea also competed at Skate Canada.
[10:30] \[SPEAKER_00\]: She was 10.
[10:31] \[SPEAKER_00\]: You know these skaters that do these back-to-back grand-preies, I give them so much credit because that's a lot especially when you're going from one side of the world to the other side.
[10:44] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I mean here you are in Canada one week and then
[10:49] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And then, you know, for some of the skaters, we saw some go from China to Canada.
[10:56] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Again, major props to all these skaters who do the back-to-back grand prize.
[11:00] \[SPEAKER_00\]: It takes a lot out of you.
[11:03] \[SPEAKER_00\]: moving on to the pairs, winging sweet, and Kong Hai will compete in their second Grand Pre-Event, and they're competing again against Sarah Conti and Nikolot Machi of Italy.
[11:15] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Maria Pavolova and Alexei Savichenko of Hungary are also competing in their second Grand Pre-Event.
[11:22] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Emily Chan and Spencer Howe and Alysia Afamova and Nisha Metrafanov are competing in their first Grand Pre-Event of this season.
[11:31] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Moving on to the dance event, Maya Shibutani and Alex Shibutani will make their debut after a 7-year hiatus from competitive skating.
[11:40] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Now, Lila Fear and Lewis Gibson and Charlene Guanard and Marko Fabri are also competing in this event along with Caroline Green and Michael Parsons and Katarina Wolfkosten and Dimitri Turfski.
[11:54] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So stay tuned to our episode next week as we recap.
[11:59] \[SPEAKER_00\]: NHK trophy should be another great event.
[12:03] \[SPEAKER_00\]: There are other events taking place this week.
[12:05] \[SPEAKER_00\]: November 4th to the 9th is the Dan Kova Savitsky Cup taking place in Bulgaria.
[12:11] \[SPEAKER_00\]: There is also a solo ice stance cup taking place with that event.
[12:17] \[SPEAKER_00\]: November 5th to the 9th is Ice Challenge and that is taking place in Gras Austria.
[12:23] \[SPEAKER_00\]: November 5th to the 9th is the 56 Volvo Open Cup and that is taking place in Riga, Lafayah.
[12:30] \[SPEAKER_00\]: November 6th to the 9th is the 2026 skate Ontario Junior and senior sectional championships and that is taking place in Rockland, Ontario.
[12:40] \[SPEAKER_00\]: November 6th to the 9th is the 2026 skate Canada British Columbia Yukon Super Series sectional and that is taking place in Richmond, British Columbia.
[12:50] \[SPEAKER_00\]: November 6th to the 9th is the 2026 Quebec sectional championships and that is taking place in Santa Maria Boucher, Quebec.
[12:59] \[SPEAKER_00\]: November 6 to the 9th is the 2026 ski Saskatchewan sectional championships.
[13:07] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I had to go very slow with that one, saying three usas in a row is pretty difficult, and that is taking place in Martin'sville Saskatchewan.
[13:16] \[SPEAKER_00\]: And finally November 2nd to the 6th is the 2026 Pacific Coast Sectional Singles in U.S. Ice Dance Final and that is taking place in Henderson, Nevada and at the beginning of the show I told you that is where Daphne is.
[13:33] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Daphne will be there all week, and of course she will have a lot to share next week, and is joining her as well, so I'm sure we will hear a lot from that event for sure.
[13:48] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So moving on to online updates, Michael Parsons provided an update on October 29 on his Instagram page that he injured his pelvis during the rhythm dance at Cup of China, but he is recovering well and can't wait to take the ice at NHK Cherofeat this week, and there are a number of articles and interviews that took place this past week, and we'll have them all for you in our show notes.
[14:15] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So, as I said at the beginning of the show, we have a contest.
[14:19] \[SPEAKER_00\]: If you remember, we had on Mara Sullivan Hill.
[14:23] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Now Mara Sullivan Hill is a journalist for Figure Skaters Online.
[14:27] \[SPEAKER_00\]: She's also written for US Figure Skating Fan Zone.
[14:31] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I stands calm.
[14:32] \[SPEAKER_00\]: was she wrote a book and that book comes out this week.
[14:36] \[SPEAKER_00\]: It's the legends of women's figure skating and she's giving away some copies.
[14:42] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So if you are interested in a copy of her book, you need to make sure you are following this week in skating on Instagram, Facebook, and X.
[14:54] \[SPEAKER_00\]: to find out details about this contest and how you can get a free copy of that book.
[15:00] \[SPEAKER_00\]: So make sure you follow us this week for the details because we will be posting that contest on social media.
[15:09] \[SPEAKER_00\]: What we'd like to end each episode by shining a lens on what is going on at icedance.com, figure skaters online, and this week in skating.
[15:18] \[SPEAKER_00\]: At this week in skating, remember we have a separate episode on skate Canada and with our special guests Danielle Earl.
[15:27] \[SPEAKER_00\]: we're in the process of finding a new vendor for our store so stay tuned.
[15:31] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I know that now Halloween is over and many people are going to be starting their holiday shopping season so we will try to get our new vendor up.
[15:42] \[SPEAKER_00\]: soon so you can do some potential Christmas shopping at this week in skating and you can join us on Patreon for access to ad free episodes as well as if you listen to your podcast via YouTube.
[15:55] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Make sure you subscribe to this week in skating.
[15:58] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Over at icedands.com, photos and recaps from skate Canada International are coming, and then of course, Stephanie is going to have photos and interviews from the dance final, so stay tuned for all of that coming from Henderson, Nevada.
[16:14] \[SPEAKER_00\]: Over at FSO, I will have a recap from skate Canada International, along with photos from skate Canada International.
[16:21] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I'll also have an NHK trophy preview.
[16:24] \[SPEAKER_00\]: I'm sure Daphne will have one over at iSans.com as well, and I'll have a new Paris team series article coming out midweek.
[16:33] \[SPEAKER_00\]: a lot is going on and Mateo and I are holding down the fort while Daphne is off at the dance final, but we are looking forward to breaking down everything that was Skate Canada with Danielle later today, so make sure you tune into that episode until then.
[16:50] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Thanks for tuning in to another episode of This Week in Skating.
[16:53] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Remember, you can keep up with us throughout the week by visiting our website at www.thisweekincading.com.
[16:59] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Connect with us on social media for additional updates.
[17:02] \[SPEAKER_01\]: You can find us on Twitter at This Week in Skating without the ease or Facebook Instagram and Threads at This Week in Skating.
[17:10] \[SPEAKER_01\]: You got a burning question or feedback for Gina Daphne or Mateo?
[17:13] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Reach out to us via social media or drop us an email at thisweekenscading at gmail.com.
[17:18] \[SPEAKER_01\]: And if you're really enjoying the show and want to support us further, consider joining our Patreon community at patreon.com slash this week in skating.
[17:25] \[SPEAKER_01\]: Until next time, have a nice week!

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