We return from our Christmas break to discuss the rest of Russian Nationals, starting with the ice dance. We discuss how close we think it is between the top two teams, our disappointment that Zagorski/Guerreiro were never able to have a fully clean free dance, and which teams off of the podium we've excited to see do a Broadway themed RD next season.

Russia has a history of producing some of the best ever pairs skaters, and the entrants in this year's nationals fit right in. We revel in seeing teams finally skate up to their full potential, try to figure out what types of programs would work best for some up and coming teams, and go on a lengthy tangent about Tamara Moskvina's talent for unique and yet classical pairs choreography.

National championships season is starting, and what better way to start our full recaps of national competitions than with the Russian ladies! This was an amazing and exciting competition, and we break down how the competition's youngest skaters were able to dominate, discuss who might get the coveted spots to Europeans and Worlds, and admire just how strong all of the skaters in this competition are.

We rewind a bit to look back on last week's Challenger event, the Golden spin of Zagreb, and discuss why it's vitally important for the ISU to have a concussion protocol, how much more important GOE can be than levels in ice dance this year, and speculate on how Kolyada's health has impacted his skating this season. Plus, we take a look at the results of a few National competitions that have taken place in the last few weeks.

The junior pairs event at the Final was a preview of all the amazing teams to come at Russian nationals, and we discuss some of the best side by side jumps being done by pairs at any level here, our excitement at the potential future of some of the younger skaters in this event, and just what consequences a bad twist can have for a pairs skater.

The junior dance event at the Final was a nailbiter, and we discuss just how close the top four teams were to each other and the title, the relative difficulty of the Argentine Tango pattern to the Tango Romantica, and just how devastating a foot down in your pattern can be in a dance field this deep.

The junior men at the Grand Prix Final had a pretty strong event, and we discuss our sadness over Pulkinen's rough free skate, our awe seeing Gogolev's growth in competition over the years, and why Hiwatashi had one of our favourite jump elements of the entire Final.

The junior ladies were our most anticipated event of this Grand Prix Final, and they put on quite the show! We discuss our awe over the maturity of Kostornaia's skating, how little points a poor quad Lutz attempt can get you, and speculate on just who will be on the podium at Russian junior and senior nationals.

There were a lot of new faces at the Grand Prix Final in ice dance, which led to an exciting competition. We discuss our feelings about the changes made to Hubbell/Donohue's free dance, how Sinitsina/Katsalapov have been able to thrive this season, and how Stepanova/Bukin's Tango Romantica issues kept them from the podium here.

With Hanyu missing due to injury, the men at the Grand Prix Final were all in an exciting fight for the podium, and we break down Brezina's resurgence, Cha's amazing consistency, and question just what Uno can do to get his jumps under control and defeat the top men in the world.