Skaters at Skate America 2019

This is just really for me as I will be attending Skate America next month (first time for me to attend an international competition AND my first trip to Vegas). I like to have an idea of what the programs look like, especially since I hope to snap quite a few pictures. I can't help it, I love the challenge of shooting sports! I know people say to make sure to enjoy the moment and not just live through the camera, but I really do enjoy it so much more when I'm also trying to get the shot. I'm weird.

Here's hoping the lists don't change much due to injury. I've got 28 days till I'm in Vegas!


Ladies

Bradie Tennell skates her Long Program.
2018 US National Championships
San Jose, CA / January 5, 2018

Veronik MALLET (CAN)
Short Program / Long Program

Wakaba HIGUCHI (JPN)
Short Program / Long Program

Kaori SAKAMOTO (JPN)
Short Program / Long Program

Mako YAMASHITA (JPN)
Short Program / Long Program

Elizabet TURSYNBAEVA (KAZ)
Short Program / Long Program

Eunsoo LIM (KOR)
Short Program / Long Program

Stanislava KONSTANTINOVA (RUS)
Short Program / Long Program


Anna SHCHERBAKOVA (RUS)
Short Program / Long Program

Elizaveta TUKTAMYSHEVA (RUS)
Short Program / Long Program

Karen CHEN (USA)
Short Program / Long Program

Bradie TENNELL (USA)
Short Program / Long Program

Amber GLENN (USA)
Short Program / Long Program



Men

Nathan Chen skates his Short Program.
2018 US National Championships
San Jose, CA / January 4, 2018

Keegan MESSING (CAN)
Short Program / Long Program

Boyang JIN (CHN)
Short Program / Long Program

Michal BREZINA (CZE)
Short Program / Long Program

Romain PONSART (FRA)
Short Program / Long Program

Koshiro SHIMADA (JPN)
Short Program / Long Program

Kazuki TOMONO (JPN)
Short Program / Long Program

Junhwan CHA (KOR)
Short Program / Long Program

Dmitri ALIEV (RUS)
Short Program / Long Program

Roman SAVOSIN (RUS)
Short Program / Long Program

Jason BROWN (USA)
Short Program / Long Program

Nathan CHEN (USA)
Short Program / Long Program

Alex KRASNOZHON (USA)
Short Program / Long Program

Pairs

Ashley Cain & Timothy LeDuc's Free Program
2018 US National Championships
San Jose, CA / January 5, 2018

Ekaterina ALEXANDROVSKAYA/Harley WINDSOR (AUS)
Short Program / Long Program

Camille RUEST/Andrew WOLFE (CAN)
Short Program / Long Program

Cheng PENG/Yang JIN (CHN)
Short Program / Long Program

Daria PAVLIUCHENKO/Denis KHODYKIN (RUS)
Short Program / Long Program

Natalia ZABIIAKO/Alexander ENBERT (RUS)
Short Program / Long Program

Ashley CAINGRIBBLE/Timothy LEDUC (USA)
Short Program / Long Program

Haven DENNEY/Brandon FRAZIER (USA)
Short Program / Long Program


Jessica CALALANG/Brian JOHNSON (USA)
Short Program / Long Program






Dance

Madison Hubbell & Zachary Donohue's Short Dance
2018 US National Championships
San Jose, CA / January 4, 2018

Laurence FOURNIERBEAUDRY / Nikolaj SORENSEN (CAN)
Rhythm Dance / Free Dance

Hong CHEN / Zhuoming SUN (CHN)

Rhythm Dance / Free Dance

Marie-Jade LAURIAULT / Romain LE GAC  (FRA)
Rhythm Dance / Free Dance

Sofia SHEVCHENKO / Igor EREMENKO (RUS)
Rhythm Dance / Free Dance

Alexandra STEPANOVA / Ivan BUKIN (RUS)
Rhythm Dance / Free Dance

Tiffani ZAGORSKI /Jonathan GUERREIRO (RUS)
Rhythm Dance / Free Dance

Olivia SMART / Adrian DIAZ  (ESP)
Rhythm Dance / Free Dance

Christina CARREIRA / Anthony PONOMARENKO (USA)
Rhythm Dance / Free Dance

Madison HUBBELL / Zachary DONOHUE (USA)
Rhythm Dance / Free Dance

Caroline GREEN/ Michael PARSONS (USA)
Rhythm Dance / Free Dance

Serum Run film partners with Iditarod Trail race

In a press release shared this afternoon, the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race announced it was partnering with P12 Films to bring the company's film "The Great Alaskan Race" to theaters with a nation-wide release this fall. The film is a retelling of the real life story of the 1925 Serum Run to Nome that made Balto the husky a household name. "The Great Alaskan Race" will follow Leonhard Seppala, Togo and Balto as they brave the Alaskan trails to bring the antitoxin back to Nome to save the village children.

P12 has also partnered with the premiere long distance stage stop race in the Lower 48, the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon. They have also partnered with Iditarod finisher Rick Casillo's charity Battle Dawgs that supports US Veterans as they navigate life after war.

“On behalf of the Iditarod Board of Directors, mushers, volunteers, and the entire “Iditarod Nation” – we would like to extend our thanks to P12 Films”, said Rob Urbach, CEO of the Iditarod Trail Committee. “We believe our partnership with P12 will help advance awareness about one of the greatest athletes on the planet, and our ongoing commitment raise awareness about the standards of animal welfare that exist in our event and our culture.”

Director/Writer/Producer Brian Presley (who is CEO and Founder of P12 and also stars in the film) said that partnering with the Iditarod was a "no brainer." Citing Iditarod's continued work and research to improve the care of dogs as a main factor in the partnership, Presley stated, "We at P12 Films wanted to provide a new platform for them to voice that mission to a more general audience.”

The film premieres October 25, 2019 in at least 500 markets across the country including the city where the Iditarod begins - Anchorage, AK. There are plans to have a private screening at UAA prior to the premiere, and Iditarod promises to share the details of other events soon.



Do you plan to see the movie? Have you seen the trailer? What are your thoughts on this latest partnership? Comment below!

Tustumena 200 cancelled for 2020, future of race unknown

Hal Hanson's team charges down the trail at the start of the Tustumena 200.
Caribou Hills, January 26, 2019.

Rumors are all but officially confirmed today as reigning Tustumena 200 champion Dave Turner took to social media to share an email he received from the event organizers:

"The Tustumena 200 Sled Dog Race Association Board of Directors has decided that we will not have a race in 2020. The current board will take some time to reevaluate the future of the T200. We encourage you to support all the amazing sled dog races in Alaska.

Thank you for your support, we hope to reorganize and come back with something in 2021. Our Facebook and website will stay active, please check back for additional information."

The race had its share of problems in the last few years. Poor winter conditions lead to several races being cancelled due to warm weather and lack of snow for a trail. The race saw a significant change in course to counteract the effects of global warming, with the start and finish moving from Kasilof to the Caribou Hills where snow pack stayed relatively unaffected while in the lower parts of the trail were rained on. Freddie's Roadhouse became the hub, hosting the start, finish, and half way checkpoint in last year's race, and all seemed good to go for the 2020 season.

Then things took a wonky turn when Freddie packed up and left the Hills after a heated election cycle this spring for the Caribou Hills Cabin Hoppers. Freddie felt that his family and business were not respected by those in the area and decided to close his doors. With the closure of the roadhouse, the future of the Tustumena 200 was already a concern to fans and mushers alike. 

The Tustumena 200 started in 1984 when Dean Osmar decided to create a race to help his son, Tim, acquire the required number of miles needed to qualify for the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race (which at that time was 500miles). Originally the "winner's purse" consisted of a case of beer. In 1994 the race was reorganized to become the race as mushers and fans know it today. It was a joint effort by Suzie Cook (Tustumena Lodge) and Evy Gebhardt (who was, at the time, married to local Iditarod musher Paul Gebhardt). 

For thirty years (several races were cancelled due to lack of trail due to weather) the Tustumena 200 was used as an Iditarod and Yukon Quest qualifier. Most mushers would claim the T200 as a great training run for the first part of the Iditarod with all of its miles in the Caribou Hills. It promised to be the hardest 200 mile race, and it rarely disappointed. Whenever it was discussed of making it a 250-300 mile race, mushers were often heard responding with "are you crazy?!"

Iditarod champions such as Jeff King and Lance Mackey were known to travel from their homes in Fairbanks/Denali to compete, and some near photo finishes happened a time or two. It was a premiere sporting event for the Kenai Peninsula for years. Fans followed the race as it changed the physical course, and mushers continued to come in record number - many years the race had a waiting list several teams deep.

The sport of mushing has had a lot of hits recently with the pressure from Animal Rights Groups waging war with the races, sponsors pulling out, and global warming concerns. There are fewer mid-distance races every year, and those that continue often have last minute cancellations when the weather turns foul (or winter never comes). With fewer qualifying races, rookie mushers are having a harder time qualifying for the 1,000 mile sled dog races. The T200 is one of the longest running qualifying races, and this is a huge blow for the mushing and race community.

Keep checking back for more info as it becomes available.


ETA: Soon after Turner took to social media with the news, the Tustumena 200 took to their facebook page to announce the cancelled 2020 race.