By Scott Mammoser, Team FSO contributing writer
\nPhotos by Robin Ritoss; Headshot courtesy U.S. Figure Skating<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/usfigureskatingfanzone.com\/images\/2024\/8\/22\/Moss_and_Galbavy_headshot_cropped.jpg?width=300\")
Reagan Moss and Jakub Galbavy made their international debut this season by competing at two Junior Grand Prix events. Earlier this fall, the junior-level pairs team that is based in Minnesota placed sixth in the Riga Cup in Riga, Latvia and was ninth in the Solidarity Cup at Gdansk, Poland.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis year is my first year of traveling for skating,\u201d 17-year-old Reagan said. \u201cI met a lot of new people, which I enjoy. Meeting all of these people from new countries is exciting. Skating there is really cool and exciting and fun, and we had a blast.\u201d<\/p>\n
The experience on the Junior Grand Prix was a different perspective for Jakub, who turns 19 on Nov. 23. He had already traveled for skating as he moved from Bratislava, Slovakia, to Minnesota to skate with Reagan.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am glad I could meet my old friends,\u201d Jakub said of competing internationally. \u201cAlso, I really enjoy traveling, and it was great to be by my parents because I only see them a couple of times a year. It was neat that they came and supported us.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Reagan, skating ran in her family. Her mother, Ann, took skating lessons until her senior year of high school herself. Shortly after the family moved to Minnesota from Arizona, she took Reagan skating at a young age. Although she wasn\u2019t convinced at first, Reagan returned to the rink when she was six or seven more inclined.<\/p>\n
\u201cI went to one Nationals when I was little and saw all of the pairs skaters,\u201d Reagan said. \u201cI told my mom that was what I wanted to do, and she said \u2018You\u2019re crazy!\u2019 We went home and found coach Trudy Oltmanns, and I started pairs skating when I was around 10.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jakub also began skating in his early childhood. While his father wasn\u2019t involved in skating, he excelled in a variety of dance clubs and competitions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was in kindergarten, I was trying a lot of new sports,\u201d Jakub added. \u201cWe had this program in our school, where we went every Monday to skate. In elementary school, they told me \u2018Why don\u2019t you join the club?\u2019 I always liked dance, since my dad was a dancer, too. I started liking it more and more when I joined the club.\u201d<\/p>\n
The two brought their partnership into place on the site Ice Partner Search<\/a>. Oltmanns contacted Jakub, who after skating singles for more than 10 years, was looking for a partner to skate pairs with. He made a profile after he wasn\u2019t getting anywhere with European girls his coaches matched with him.<\/p>\n \u201cAs I made that profile,\u201d he noted, \u201cI was looking over all of the girls and was like \u2018Oh, My God!\u2019 Reagan looked amazing. That would be so great if I skated with her. At first I was shy, but during one of my skates in Europe, Trudy texted me. The answer had to be very quick, and I replied right away. I went to try out here [to Minnesota], and I enjoyed it so much. It was something out of my world. I learned so much new stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n Preparing for their sophomore season together, Reagan and Jakub said they were planning on using the same programs from their first season, but one day at practice, they decided they didn\u2019t feel it anymore and changed mixed things up. In came \u2018You Are The Reason\u2019 by Calcum Scott and Leona Lewis for the short program, with a free skate of \u2018The Greatest Showman.\u2019 Jakub skated to \u2018The Greatest Showman\u2019 previously in his singles career, so he said he is highly familiar with it. The two even sing the music while they are skating.<\/p>\n The programs were choreographed by Oltmanns. According to both skaters,\u00a0Oltmanns has also been a constant bright light.<\/p>\n \u201cShe is definitely really fun,\u201d Reagan said of her coach. \u201cShe is enthusiastic all of the time and has a very loud personality. She always makes you smile, even if something is scary or hard.\u201d<\/p>\n Reagan also noted that in one example, Oltmanns texted her in the middle of the night with enthusiastic ideas to change the program. While that might seem like an annoyance to most people, Reagan welcomes the occasion with laughter.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/figureskatersonline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Reagan-Moss-Jakub-Galbavy-US-Nationals-2024-fsReagan-Moss-Jakub-Galbavy-US-Nationals-2024-fsIMG_1673_EDIT-300x242.jpg\")
<\/a>Reagan and Jakub formed their partnership in June 2023, and Jakub moved from Bratislava to Minnesota to train under Oltmanns. A few months later, in November 2023, the team finished 5th on the junior level at the U.S. Pairs Final to qualify for the U.S. Championships. The team placed sixth in juniors at U.S. Nationals last season in Columbus, Ohio.<\/p>\nCompany on the ice<\/b><\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/figureskatersonline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Reagan-Moss-Jakub-Galbavy-US-NATS-23-spIMG_2632-2-300x190.jpg\")
<\/a>A singles skater might seem like the loneliest person in the world after a fall or downgrade. For pairs skaters, having a teammate on the ice can be a huge mental boost.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/figureskatersonline.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/Reagan-Moss-Jakub-Galbavy-US-NATS-23-spIMG_2765-2-273x300.jpg\")
<\/a>e to their minds.<\/p>\n