Report and Photographs by Anne Calder
The 2026 Pacific Coast Sectional Singles & U.S. Ice Dance Last was held on the America First Middle November 02-05, 2025 in Henderson, Nevada. Twelve Juvenile, eleven Intermediate, twelve Novice, 13 Junior and 9 Senior groups competed.
Ten Junior groups plus two with Last byes will be a part of the 5 highest scoring Novice groups to compete on the Centene Group Middle within the northwest St. Louis, MO suburb of Maryland Heights the week of the 2026 U.S. Nationwide Championships.
The 2025-2026 Junior Rhythm Dance contains the music dance kinds and feeling of the 1990’s.
Any music is feasible so long as it was launched, both initially or as a canopy model within the 1990’s and fulfills the Rhythm/Theme in addition to the required traits. Remixes and/or remastered music, together with cowl variations is permitted. Music created by way of AI within the model of the 1990’s is permitted.
The groups need to execute two sequences of the Rhumba adopted by one sequence of the quickstep of their sample dance ingredient, with a constant tempo (a minimal of 120 beats per minute, in 2/2, 2/4, or 4/4 time).
The awarding of a pewter medal for fourth place started at U.S. determine skating championships in 1988. It isn’t given at worldwide occasions.
The Junior Rhythm Dance highest scoring groups: Effie Chen & Gordei Chitipakhovian (59.53), Jane Calhoun & Mark Zheltyshev (58.22), Aneta Vaclavikova & William Lissauer (58.07) , Anaelle Kouevi & Yann Homawoo (54.47).
The Junior Ice Dance Last podium: (gold) Jane Calhoun & Mark Zheltyshev (146.58), (silver) Effie Chen & Gordei Chitipakhovian (146.51), (bronze) Aneta Vaclavikova & William Lissauer (146.18), (pewter) Anaelle Kouevi & Yann Homawoo (135.07).
QUICK QUOTES
Jane Calhoun / Mark Zheltyshev
JC: We’ve been skating collectively for 9-10 months.
MZ: That is simply our second competitors. The ice is admittedly good.
Coach Giulietti-Schmitt: Mark got here to Colorado Springs from Perm, RUS. We had a two day tryout, then in July competed at LPIDI. It occurred quick. It’s been nice from the very starting. They match very effectively collectively. They get alongside. Every thing goes rather well.
Ellie Chen / Gordei Chitipakhovian
EC: I’m so pleased to be right here. It’s superb. We’re so grateful for this chance.
GC: I’m particularly grateful to be right here. The competitors is sweet. I used to be in Colorado Springs for only one week.
EC: We obtained him. He’s a keeper!
Right this moment is William’s nineteenth birthday
WL: Our Rhythm Dance was undoubtedly good. A season’s finest. You possibly can’t complain about that. There’s at all times stuff to enhance. The FD felt fairly good apart from a bobble within the twizzle. We’re concentrating on skating collectively, making an attempt so as to add energy to the connection.
Anaelle Kouevi / Yann Homawoo
AK: Our skate might have been higher, however over all it was good.
YH: There’s at all times room to enhance, however it’s not dangerous for this competitors.
AK: Our first JGP was to Ankara, TUR. It was actually enjoyable and fulfilling. I actually favored it loads.
YH: Seeing skaters from completely different nations and their customs was actually nice.
AK: The ice was slightly bizarre at present. This system felt good, apart from my bobble on the twizzle.
MK: Right this moment’s skate was higher. We recovered from yesterday’s mistake [in the RD Rhumba Steps].
AK: Our first JGP in Ankara, TUR was superior and a tremendous expertise assembly so many new individuals.
Clara Fugate / Warren Fugate
CF:. I really like Juniors. That is our first yr. It feels very free.
WF: It offers us extra alternatives – to go locations just like the JGP. We’ve been very lucky to expertise all these items. To have the ability to share it with my sister is superior. Our laborious work is paying off.
CF: We’re dwelling out our dream collectively.
Marian Carhart / Denis Bledsoe
MC: I assumed the skate went fairly effectively particularly since we had been off ice for a month and a half with my harm. I fractured my femur. I’m very proud what we did at present.
DB: We now know what we have now to work on for the subsequent competitors at Nationals. We’ll come again higher.
Michelle Deyche / Ryan Hu
The group commented on their purpose after a fall within the Rhythm Dance.
MD: Our plan at present was to indicate what we’ve skilled. We did do loads this previous month to organize for the occasion. RH: Mainly we skated so far as we might. I needed to take a second to cease. Once we got here again we skated the place we left off.
Grace Fischer / Luke Fisher
GF: Shifting to the Arctic Edge Enviornment in Canton, MI has been very difficult. It has helped us be higher skaters. We’re actually making an attempt to continue to grow as a group.
LF: Our program wasn’t one of the best. I obtained injured two weeks in the past, so we needed to take day without work.
GF: We went to Gdansk, Poland for a JGP. It was my favourite competitors ever.
LF: It was so cool skating internationally – assembly all of the individuals.
Sophia Feige / Wiles Middlekauff
SF: [The skate] began off okay with the one-foot. It’s been doing higher in follow.
WM: After the twizzles and dance spin, we pulled ourselves collectively and obtained higher because it went alongside.
Annie Huang / Simon Minz
AH: The skate wasn’t our greatest. We made a mistake on the twizzles.
SM: That is simply our second season collectively.
Nicole Kirsanov / Kejin Peng
NK: We’re very pleased with our rating for the period of time we’ve been skating collectively, which is simply 5 months. We partnered when Coach Gates moved from North Carolina to Delaware. He introduced Kejin alongside.
KP: We had a tryout and every thing was good.
