This week the Figure Skating season began in Hartford, Connecticut at the Smart Ones Skate America event. Skate America is the first of six International Skating Union (ISU) competitions denoted as the grand prix, which act as qualifying rounds that lead up to the finals where the best of the best skaters vie for gold.

The grand prix was put into place following the 1994 Winter Olympic Games which marked one of the highest watched sporting events ever. Those Games centered around the tumultuous scandal involving Tonya Harding hiring hit men to take out her major competitor National Champion Nancy Kerrigan. Kerrigan recovered from a knee injury inflicted by the attackers and put together two exceptional performances to earn the silver medal while Harding finished in eighth place.

However controversial, the event propelled Figure Skating into the national spotlight and the demand in the sport allowed events to open up so that it was not just watched once every four years.

Since that time figure skating has become one of America’s most favorite pastimes. The ISU saw the popularity growing for the sport and decided to put in place the Grand Prix event which would allow competitors the opportunity to debut routines and get judges feedback before competing in national and world championships. This world-class event features four days of competition in ladies and men’s singles, pairs, and ice dancing, as well as an exhibition of champions. Competitions take place in the United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, France, Russia, and China.

This year Skate America launched with the men’s competition. Nobunari Oda, the fourth-place finisher at the world championships in March, punctuated his rising star status with the second-highest score for a short program at an International Skating Union event. His high score easily beat American Evan Lysacek, the two-time world bronze medallist who also made a great showing. Lysacek preformed a brand new short program to Peter Gabriel’s "Last Temptation of Christ" which was choreographed by four time World Champion Kurt Browning. Lysacek took the ice with his long program from last year to the music of Carmen which he preformed for the last time this season. The showing was good enough to earn him the silver medal behind Oda. France's Alban Preaubert rounded out the podium capturing his first senior Grand Prix medal. When asked about his great programs Oda told ESPN commentators "I was just enjoying my skating today, I was [here] not just to win, but for myself."

With the absence of such great American Skaters as Sasha Cohen and Michelle Kwan, the ladies field saw many new faces and the outcome seemed to be wide open. Current World Champion Kimmi Miessner, who emerged onto the scene just last year, put together an exhilarating performance to capture the silver medal for the United States, but it was the Japanese skaters who again showed their polish and poise and took the field by storm.

The 18-year-old from Nagoya City, Miki Ando, combined personal-best scores in her short program and free skate to win the gold medal against competition that featured fellow countrywoman and rising star Moa Asada who earned the bronze medal. Ando has been criticized in the past by the Japanese team for not being able to rise to the level of champions like Yuka Sato, Fumi Suguri, and Shizuka Arakawa, but this year her performance level and confidence has grown and she feels more acceptances from her team. After her win Ando remarked to ESPN that “(in past years) I didn't have the image or the attitude that I was part of the Japanese team. This year, that attitude is very strong, and that's why I was able to perform well tonight.”

Over the past few years American pairs teams have been unable to reach the upper echelon of the sport. At this competition two teams proved that that is about to change. Rena Inoue and John Baldwin, and Naomi Nari Nam and Themi Leftheris accomplished something at this competition that had not been done by two U.S. pairs teams in 10 years: win a medal at the same ISU Grand Prix event. Winning the gold gives Inoue and Baldwin confidence going into this season. This is not the first accomplishment for the team who landed the first throw triple axel at last years National Championships and since then has become a staple in their routines. The American teams were split on the podium by the Polish husband-and-wife team of Dorota Zagorska and Mariusz Siudek who have had years of success on the world level.

The ice dancing competition was again a spectacular event created by drama both on the ice and off. World champions Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviski from Bulgaria skated a flawless program to earn the gold medal, but not before a collision during warm up with the British brother and sister team. Both teams checked in with their coaches before deciding to complete the practice session. Both Bulgarians were holding their backs, and Denkova had a cut to the back of her right thigh that was bleeding. Denkova had to wash the blood off Staviski's costume before the competition, but it had little impact on their solid performance. Although the World Champs won the competition, it was the American team of Melissa Gregory and Denis Petukhov who stole the hearts of the crowd. The team has often been under the shadow of Olympic Silver medallists Tanith Blebin and Ben Agusto, but this was the first time the couple were allowed to show exactly how capable they are and were rewarded with the silver medal. France's Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat earned the bronze in a field of talented up and coming American ice dancers.

Later this month Skate Canada, the second event of the series, begins, and the competitors will have another chance to show the world the elegant, dramatic and intense sport of figure skating.

Until next time!