Join us for our fourth stop on the grand prix road trip as we recap the NHK trophy!

In ice dance, the Shibutanis took us out for a night in Japan, and Flip might still be on the dance floor at the club. Meanwhile, Guignard and Fabbri faced off with Fear and Gibson in what might be their last meeting before Europeans, but can Guignard and Fabbri overtake Fear and Gibson as the season heats up?

Over in men’s, it was the most predictable podium on paper, but who saw Shun Sato and Yuma Kagiyama ending up this close? The pairs event brought another nail-biter between Conti and Macii and Pavlova and Sviatchenko, while the women’s field delivered one of the strongest showdowns of the season, with Kaori, Loena, and Sofia rockin the podium. Will Loena and Sofia skate their way into the Grand Prix Final?

Listen to find out our thoughts and delusional takes!

We're saska-tuning out the judges moving forward for the rest of the season, but please, come join us as we recap this weekend's happenings at Skate Canada!

In the women’s field, Canada’s Olympic race is heating up: Maddie Schizas vs. Sara Maude Dupuis- who’s got the edge? And is Gabby Daleman still in the mix? Meanwhile, the Sarah Everhardt betrayal stuns everyone- can she bounce back stronger at NHK? The podium was as expected but still delightful: Mone Chiba, Isabeau Levito, and Ami Nakai took the top three spots.

The men’s event? Everyone brought it, yes, even last place Aleksa Rakic, who rocked the house along with the other canadian men. Ilia Malinin delivered one of the calmest, most commanding skates of his career, and Kevin Aymoz screamed at the judges, thank you, Kevin.

In pairs, Deanna Stellato Dudek and Max Deschamps silenced any doubters (how dare you ever doubt them) with a powerhouse performance that firmly cements their podium potential.

As for dance, let’s just say the vibes were off. Where is this season going? Not the ending we were hoping for, but the conversation’s just getting started.

Walley and Flip are back to unpack all the Cup of China drama. Amber Glenn looks composed and confident, maybe even on track for another undefeated start. Alysa Liu’s Lady Gaga revival has us questioning her Olympic prep timeline, and Rino Matsuike’s 65-point short with 30 in components? Judges need to find god.

In ice dance, Chock and Bates debuted their zebra and bull era with mixed results, Green and Parsons’ Twizzle fall sparked concern, and Smart and Dieck delivered one of the strongest rhythm dances of the event.

On the men’s side, Tomoki Hiwatashi brought star power, Shun Sato stunned, Daniel Grassl became the pope, and Mikhail Shaidorov was treated unfairly.

Pairs brought the drama too- Metelkina and Berulava’s lift nearly stopped our hearts, while Sui and Han made a surprise return.

It’s early-season chaos in full form, and we’re here for every questionable costume, underscored skate, and moment of brilliance.

This week, we're recapping Grand prix de France! Ilia Malinin takes it home in the men’s event in just an absolute shocking turn of events, Adam Siao Him Fa stages another of his signature free skate comebacks, Nika Egadze goes for a sail, and Gabriele Frangipani counts to four.

The Japanese women continue to impress and exhibit complete perfection, leaving us plotting how to sneak an extra Olympic spot or two their way.

Things feel completely despondent over in ice dance, rich with injustices and more disturbing shake-ups looming for the rest of the season.

0:50 - 12:01 Grand prix de France Women's Recap

12:02 - 16:59 Grand prix de France Pairs Recap

17:00 - 27:25 Grand prix de France Men's Recap

27:26 - 39:29 Grand prix de France Ice Dance Recap

39:30 - 46:16 Breaking news and Cup of China preview

Walley and Flip are so back. This week, we’re recapping the Denis Ten Memorial Challenger and a handful of early domestic events. The season has only just begun, but there’s already a lot to talk about.

Keegan Messing made his return at a Canadian event, but the scoring left us with some questions. With just one Olympic spot available for Canadian men, the competition is already intense. We also get into the growing conversation around Mikhail Shaidorov and Ilia Malinin’s skating skills and how that comparison is playing out.

On the women’s side, we’re applauding Bradie Tennell’s switch to Young and Beautiful for her short program. We’re also wondering whether Haein Lee might be finding her way back to the form that earned her a world silver in 2023. And with Maddie Schizas competing a lot this fall, we’re asking whether this strategy will help her build momentum or end up putting her Olympic spot at risk.

We also talk about Oona and Gage Brown’s new free dance (and violent ending) to The Godfather.

To close out the episode, we debut a new game - "Three Beats to Glory" where we each name three pieces of music a skater or team has used, and the other has to guess who we’re thinking of.

Tune in for another fun episode!

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00:00 Introductions

01;02 Keegan Messing at Texas Trophy

02:09 Bradie Tennell at Boston Open

03:05 Adam Siao Him Fa shoutout

03:48 Denis Ten Memorial Men recap (Mikhail Shaidorov)

05:52 jump value discourse: are difficult combinations awarded appropriately?

08:49 Ilia Malinin vs. Mikhail Shaidorov skating skills?

09:39 Denis Ten Memorial (Nika Egadze and Jason Brown)

13:30 Den Ten Memorial Women recap (Haein Lee, Maddie Schizas)

18:39 Denis Ten Memorial Ice Dance recap (Diana Davis/Gleb Smolkin, Oona/Gage Brown)

Walley and Flip are back to recap the final stretch of the pre-grand prix figure skating season from the Olympic Qualifier (aka Chinese Nebelhorn), to the actual Nebelhorn, and the Ondrej Nepela Memorial. With the Grand Prix series just around the corner, we’re breaking down the highs, lows, and head-scratchers from the final major Challenger events.

We talk Amber Glenn’s fired-up Olympic campaign, Jia Shin’s quiet brilliance, and Isabeau Levito bringing back that sparkle. But not everyone impressed- Adelia Petrosian and Peter Gummenik fell short of sky-high Russian expectations, and we’re not holding back. The Italian men’s fight for just two Olympic spots is heating up, while the Italian women are leveling up fast.

And of course, we crash out on the drama: Ice Dance travesties at the olympic qualifier, Rika Kihira switches to ice dance, USFS sabotaging their own skaters, programs that already need to be reworked, and Saki Miyake left without an NHK host spot?!

00:00 Introductions

02:30 Beijing Olympic Qualifier/Chinese Nebelhorn (Adelia Petrosian, Anastasia Gubanova, Loena Hendrickx, Peter Gummenik, Donovan Carrillo)

15:45 Beijing Olympic Qualifier Ice Dance Judging Controversy (Wang/Liu vs. Majorov/Reitan)

18:25 Rika Kihira switches to ice dance

20:30 USFS (hopefully unintentionally) sabotaging Audrey Shin and Balazs Nagy

23:15 Yuna Aoki over Saki Miyake for the NHK host spot

25:00 Nebelhorn Recap (Amber Glenn, Jia Shin, Isabeau Levito, Stephen Gogolev, Andrew Torgashev, Lukas Britschgi, Miura/Kihara vs. Hase/Volodin, Fear/Gibson, Carreira/Ponomarenko)

37:30 Ondrej Nepela Recap (Lara Naki Gutmann, Anna Pezzetta, Kevin Aymoz, Matteo Rizzo, Daniel Grassl, Nikolaj Memola, Smart/Dieck, Taschlers, Green/Parsons, Tomi Guarino Sabate)

49:00 Alysa Liu Short Program change

In this episode of Walley and Flip, we dive into the latest happenings in figure skating, starting with Flip’s dramatic Reddit cleanup and a few words on Ilia Malinin. The Lombardia Trophy takes center ice, with a packed men and women's field.

The Ilia vs. Yuma rivalry heats up early in the season, while Nikolaj Memola cements himself as the Italian Stallion with crowd-pleasing charisma. Shun Sato, Kao Miura, and Adam Siao Him Fa round out a strong men's showing.

Over in the women's event, Ami Nakai’s face card never declines, Lara Naki Gutmann emerges as the shark in the water with her fierce “Jaws” program, and the discussion of impending heartbreak continues for Japanese women as we harp on the limited Olympic spots, highlighting the intensity of the competition among elite talent like Rion Sumiyoshi, Rino Matsuike, and more.

Pairs and Ice Dance get a quick recap, we also break down the Italian federation’s Olympic selection criteria, and preview what has felt like the mythical Beijing Qualifier event looming on the horizon.

Timestamps:

00:00 Ilia Malinin and Flip needs to delete her reddit

04:44 Lombardia Trophy Men's Recap (Yuma Kagiyama, Nikolaj Memola, Shun Sato, Kao Miura, Maxim Naumov, Adam Siao Him Fa)

13:19 Italian federation Olympic selection criteria

14:59 Lombardia Trophy Pairs Recap

15:46 Lombardia Trophy Women's Recap (Rion Sumiyoshi, Ami Nakai, Sarah Everhardt, Alysa Liu, Rino Matsuike, Alysa Liu, Lara Naki Gutmann)

35:15 Lombardia Trophy Ice Dance Recap

35:50 Bejing Olympic Qualifier Preview

This week on Walley and Flip, we break down what felt like the first legitimate competition of the season. We gush over Mone Chiba’s magical performance, send our prayers to Kao Miura and Wakaba Higuchi, and officially begin construction of a shrine for Saki Miyake- because who casually medals at their first international senior event at 22? Historic.

We also briefly check in on the Bolero Cup, where Lilah and Lewis debuted their Spice Girls rhythm dance and very Scottish free dance.

00:00 Opening and Flip was stung by a jellyfish

01:45 Kinoshita Cup Women (Mone Chiba, Kaori Sakamoto, Saki Miyake, Bradie Tennell, Hana Yoshida, Wakaba Higuchi, Maddie Schizas, Rinka Watanabe)

20:50 Kinoshita Cup Men (Jun Hwan Cha, Kao Miura, Jimmy Ma, Kazuki Tomono, Tomoki Hiwatashi)

25:05 Kinoshita Cup Pairs (Miura/Kihara, Metelkina/Berulava)

26:28 Kinoshita Cup and Bolero Cup Dance (Fear/Gibson, Lauriault/Le Gauc, Zingas/Kolesnik, Neset/Markelov)

32:08 Lombardia Preview!!

This week on Walley and Flip, we attempt to tiptoe around our real thoughts on ice dance at French Masters (and the rest of the ice dance season)... but let’s be honest, they still come out. We've got opinions, and they don’t stay buried for long.

Then it’s pairs time. Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps bring the drama at the John Nicks Challenge - can backflips turn into backflops? What would John Nicks say? We also begin to preview US pairs race, with a few rising teams making their case for that third olympic spot.

Quick, sharp, and a little snarky - just the way we like it.

00:00 Introductions

00:46 French Masters Ice Dance (Guillaume Cizeron and Laurence Fournier-Beaudry, Evgenia Lopareva & Geoffrey Brissaud) + other ice dance nuggets

14:42 French Masters Men's Recap (Kevin Aymoz, Adam Siao Him Fa, Francois Pitot, Luc Economides)

20:09 Lea Serna vs. Lorine Schild for the olympic spot

22:42 John Nicks Pairs Challenge (Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps)

27:00 The US Pairs race (Spencer Howe & Emily Chan, Ryan Bedard & Chelsea Liu, Audrey Shin & Balazs Nagy)

31:00 Closing

This week on Walley and Flip: A Figure Skating Podcast, we open up about our skating fan origin stories.

Then we dive into the land of maple syrup and miraculous recoveries: the Canadian comebacks are coming in hot. We try to make sense of Gabrielle Daleman and Keegan Messing's return, and the chances of them making the Olympic team.

We break down what little we know (and wildly speculate) about USFS Champs Camp and Summer Sizzler...where were the Shibtuanis?

We also brace ourselves for this season’s 90s-themed Rhythm Dance- a theme that sounds fun until you remember some people think Macarena counts as choreography inspiration.

And we debut a new game: “Whose Warhorse Is It Anyway?” - where one of us shouts out a classic overused (not necessarily negative) piece of music and the other has to yell out the first skater who comes to mind. No thinking, just instinct.

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00:00 Opening and how we became fans of figure skating

07:00 Canada comebacks (Gabrielle Daleman, Keegan Messing)

13:25 Japanese women tangent

15:50 Canada comebacks (cont'd)

16:46 USFS champs camp and summer sizzler (+ shibutanis)

23:30 Rhythm Dance 90's theme

26:15 Program announcement highlights

39:20 "Whose Warhorse is it Anyway?"