2014 Asian Open Figure Skating Trophy
SYWTW FS
The long off season is slowly coming to an end, so here’s a post about the first Senior B competition of the 2014-2015 season! (Note: “B” comps are ISU-sanctioned international events where skaters can gain world ranking points and technical minimum scores, but scores recorded at these competitions do not count as ISU Season’s Best scores.)
The 2014 Asian Open Figure Skating Trophy (aka. Asian Trophy, because that name’s a mouthful) will take place August 6-10 in Taipei City, Chinese Taipei/Taiwan. Skaters will compete in the ladies’ and men’s singles disciplines at novice, junior and senior levels. Most of the competitors are from Asia. Juniors competing on the JGP (starting later this month) generally use this competition as a warmup for their new programs.
As far as I know, there aren’t any broadcasts or streams for this competition, but it’s possible that audience members will take fancams and upload them onto the internet.
Some names to keep an eye on:
Koshiro Shimada, 2013 Japanese Novice National Champion, competing in the Advanced Novice Boys category
Marin Honda, 2012 Japanese Novice National Champion, competing in the Advanced Novice Girls category. Marin’s regarded as a bit of a rising star in Japan. She can land 3Lz3T combos with some consistency and has a lot of flair for her age. She will be eligible for the JGP in the 2015-2016 season.
Taichi Honda, Marin’s older brother, competing in the Junior Men category. He will compete on the JGP later this season.
Wakaba Higuchi, 2013 Japanese Novice National Champion, competing in the Junior Ladies category. She will compete on the JGP later this season.
Miyu Nakashio, Rin Nitaya, Da Bin Choi, and Na Hyun Kim, competing in the Junior Ladies category
Shoma Uno, 2-time Japanese Junior National silver medalist and 5th at Junior Worlds last season, competing in the Senior Men category. Shoma has recently acquired a quad toeloop and it remains to be seen whether he will try/land it here. Shoma will compete on the JGP later this season.
Jin Seo Kim and June Hyoung Lee, competing in the Senior Men category
Ronald Lam is pretty inconsistent but he has a quad, so maybe he could medal here. Chih-I Tsao placed fairly well on the JGP last season. Both are competing in the Senior Men category.
Rika Hongo (2013 Japanese Junior National Champion) and Riona Kato, competing in the Senior Ladies category. Both have just turned senior this season and will compete on the senior Grand Prix later this season.
So Youn Park, 4-time South Korean National silver medalist and 9th at Worlds last season, competing in the Senior Ladies category. So Youn has nice jumps when she lands them and will be looking for more consistency this season. She will compete on the senior GP later this fall.
Hae-Jin Kim, 3-time South Korean National Champion, competing in the Senior Ladies category. Hae-Jin is expressive but inconsistent. She will compete on the senior GP later this season.