Release courtesy of U.S. Figure Skating
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The kickoff event for the 2010 International Skating Union (ISU) Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating (JGP) Series takes place Aug. 25-28 in Courchevel, France. The competition, which will be held at the Forum 73120 Courchevel, begins Thursday, Aug. 26 with the ladies and men’s short programs.
Eight athletes will represent the United States at the event in three disciplines: ladies, men’s and ice dancing. A pairs competition will be held at only four of the seven JGP events this season.
LADIES
Both members of the U.S. ladies contingent are making their JGP debuts in Courchevel. Yasmin Siraj is the 2010 U.S. junior silver medalist, and she placed second as a novice at the 2010 Gardena Spring Trophy. Nina Jiang, who most recently finished fifth as a junior at the 2010 AT&T U.S. Figure Skating Championships, has U.S. juvenile (2007) and intermediate (2008) titles to her credit.
MEN
Like their ladies counterparts, Jason Brown and Max Aaron will be making their first appearances in the Junior Grand Prix Series. Brown, the 2010 U.S. junior champion, and Aaron, the 2010 U.S. junior bronze medalist, placed one-two, respectively, as juniors at the 2010 Gardena Spring Trophy.
ICE DANCING
Anastasia Cannuscio & Colin McManus are competing in the JGP Series for the second year. They finished seventh at both JGP Turkey and JGP Belarus last season. Joining them are Alexandra Aldridge & Daniel Eaton, the 2010 U.S. novice champions.
In addition to Courchevel, France, the 2010 Junior Grand Prix Series consists of the following events (*includes pairs)
JGP Romania: Brasov, Romania – Sept. 8-12
JGP Austria: Graz, Austria – Sept. 15-19*
JGP Japan: Karuizawa, Japan – Sept. 22-26
JGP Great Britain: Sheffield, England – Sept. 29-Oct. 3*
JGP German: Dresden, Germany – Oct. 6-10*
JGP Czech Republic: Ostrava, Czech Republic – Oct. 13-17*
JGP Final: Beijing, China – Dec. 9-12*
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U.S. Figure Skating is the national governing body for the sport of figure skating in the United States as recognized by the United States Olympic Committee and the International Skating Union. U.S. Figure Skating is comprised of more than 763 member clubs and Basic Skills Programs representing approximately 179,000 members. U.S. Figure Skating is charged with the development of the sport on all levels within the United States including athletes, officials, sanctioning of events and exhibitions, and establishing the rules and guidelines by which the sport is governed.
