U.S. Champion Alissa Czisny and World Champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White Headline Grand Prix of Figure Skating’s First Event
New York and Los Angeles – October 20, 2011 – NBC Sports and Universal Sports Network take to the ice this weekend with coverage of the 2011 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating’s first event this season, 2011 Hilton HHonors Skate America. NBC will begin its coverage this Saturday at 3 p.m. ET with live coverage of the Men’s Free Skate and the Free Dance. Universal Sports will re-air that event on Tues., Oct. 25 at 6 p.m. ET. Universal Sports’ coverage begins on Sun., Oct. 23 at 1:30 p.m. ET with the Short Programs: Pairs and Ladies, followed at 4:30 p.m. ET with live coverage of the Ladies and Pairs Free Skates. Skate America will be streamed live on icenetwork.com for Season Pass subscribers.
The commentators for Skate America include play-by-play announcer Terry Gannon alongside NBC’s Olympic figure skating analysts Scott Hamilton, Sandra Bezic and Tracy Wilson with Andrea Joyce handling the interviews.
2011 Hilton HHonors Skate America will feature compelling skaters and storylines in each of the four categories.
Ladies
Alissa Czisny begins the season as the reigning U.S. and Grand Prix Final champion. She competes at Skate America for the third time, and first since winning silver in 2005. Caroline Zhang, who won the bronze medal at this event in 2007, makes her third Skate America appearance. Joelle Forte began the season last month at Nebelhorn Trophy.
Men
Richard Dornbush competes for the first time on the Grand Prix Circuit. Dornbush, the reigning Junior Grand Prix Final champion and U.S. silver medalist, was the United States’ highest-placing man at the most recent World Championships (9th). Armin Mahbanoozadeh comes to Ontario in defense of his bronze medal at this event last fall. Douglas Razzano began the season with a second-place showing at 2011 Finlandia Trophy earlier this month. He makes his Grand Prix Series debut in Ontario.
Pairs
Caydee Denney and John Coughlin, who teamed up in May, began their international competitive careers together with a bronze medal at Nebelhorn Trophy. Mary Beth Marley and Rockne Brubaker, the 2011 U.S. pewter medalists, make their Grand Prix debut in Ontario. Also making their first trip to a Grand Prix are Tiffany Vise and Don Baldwin.
Ice dancing
Meryl Davis and Charlie White are undefeated in their last six outings. Before becoming the first U.S. ice dancing team to win World gold in April, they won gold at a pair of Grand Prix events, including Skate America, the Grand Prix Final, their third U.S. title and the Four Continents Championships. Newly formed team Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue are the 2011 Nebelhorn Trophy titlists. Isabella Cannuscio and Ian Lorello, who placed sixth at the 2011 U.S. Championships, begin their second Grand Prix season this week.
Universal Sports and NBC Sports Broadcast Schedule
schedule subject to change
ALL TIMES ET
Skate America from Ontario, CA
Sat., Oct. 22 3-6 PM Free Dance & Men’s Free (LIVE) NBC
Sun., Oct 23 1:30-4:30 PM Short Programs: Pairs and Ladies (delay) Universal Sports
4:30-7:30 PM Ladies and Pairs Free (LIVE) Universal Sports
Tues., Oct. 25 6-9 PM Free Dance & Men’s Free (NBC re-air) Universal Sports
Skate Canada from Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Sat., Oct. 29 4-6 PM Pairs Free (LIVE) Universal Sports
7-9 PM Men’s Free (LIVE) Universal Sports
Sun., Oct. 30 12:30-2 PM Free Dance (LIVE) Universal Sports
Sat., Nov. 5 3-5 PM Ladies and Men’s Free NBC
Sun., Nov. 6 6-8 PM Ladies and Men’s Free (NBC re-air) Universal Sports
Cup of China from Shanghai, China (SDD)
Sat., Nov. 5 6-8 PM Ladies Free and Free Dance Universal Sports
10 PM-12 AM Men’s Free and Pairs Free Universal Sports
NHK Trophy from Sapporo, Japan (SDD & delay)
Sat., Nov. 12 6-8 PM Free Dance and Pairs Free Universal Sports
Sun., Nov. 13 2-4 PM Ladies and Men’s Free NBC
6-8 PM Men’s Free Universal Sports
9:30-11:30 PM Ladies and Men’s Free (NBC re-air) Universal Sports
Trophée Eric Bompard from Paris, France (SDD & delay)
Sat., Nov. 19 6-8 PM Pairs and Men’s Free Universal Sports
9-11 PM Free Dance Universal Sports
Sun., Nov. 27 2-4 PM Ladies and Men’s Free NBC
Sun., Nov. 27 4-6 PM Ladies and Men’s Free (NBC re-air) Universal Sports
Rostelecom Cup from Moscow, Russia (SDD & delay)
Sat., Nov. 26 4-6 PM Pairs and Men’s Free Universal Sports
8-10 PM Free Dance Universal Sports
Sat., Dec. 3 1-3 PM Ladies and Men’s Free NBC
6-8 PM Ladies and Men’s Free (NBC re-air) Universal Sports
Grand Prix Final from Quebec City, Canada
Fri., Dec. 9 1-3 PM Ladies Short and Short Dance (LIVE) Universal Sports
8-10:30 PM Shorts: Pairs and Men’s (LIVE) Universal Sports
Sat., Dec. 10 5-6 PM Men’s Free Skate (LIVE) Universal Sports
8:30-10 Pairs Free Skate (LIVE) Universal Sports
Sun., Dec. 11 12-2 PM Ladies and Men’s Free NBC
5-6 PM Free Dance Universal Sports
8-10 PM Ladies and Men’s Free (NBC re-air) Universal Sports
Universal Sports, a partnership between NBC Sports and InterMedia Partners, LP, is the premier multi-platform media destination for Olympic-related sports programming in the United States. Universal Sports is currently available over the air in 52 markets nationwide, including all of the nation’s top 10 media markets and 20 of the top 25, and on DIRECTV. Major world championship sports events aired on Universal Sports include track and field, skiing, swimming, gymnastics, marathons, figure skating, cycling and rugby. The network’s website, UniversalSports.com, delivers an immersive user experience via live and on-demand competition coverage, interaction with top athletes through interviews and blogs and in-depth access to Olympic sports news and information year-round. For more information, please visit UniversalSports.com.
For more information, Contact Megan Bondi at: mcwbondi@gmail.com
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