Key figure skating talents to watch at the Australian Championships
An exciting 12-year-old prospect headlines the line up key talents to watch at this year’s Australian Figure Skating Championships. FULL LIST
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The Australian Figure Skating Championships take place in Brisbane on Saturday, hosted by Iceworld at Boondall.
The event will run over seven days and will feature skaters from all corners of Australia, competing in singles, ice dance, and synchronised divisions.
It marks the first Championships in three years with the last two cancelled due to Covid-19.
Prior to Covid, both the Men’s and Women’s senior divisions were dominated by Olympians Brendan Kerry and Kailani Crane respectively.
Neither will feature at this competition meaning a changing of the guard is on the cards with young talent ready to stake their claim as Australia’s best.
Here we profile the fields in the Senior Women’s and Men’s competition as well as some of the main chances in the other divisions.
KEY FIGURE SKATERS TO WATCH OUT FOR
SENIOR WOMEN
HANA BATH
The 12-year-old from Perth is the most exciting prospect for these Championships. Bath had everyone talking earlier this year, becoming the first Australian female to land a triple axel attempt and backed that up recently when winning the West Australian State title in both Junior and Senior Women’s divisions.
She will compete in both divisions again in Brisbane and despite her tender age, is the clear favourite for her first Senior National title.
VLADA VASILIEV
The New South Wales State Champion should contend strongly for a podium finish. She won the Hollins Trophy in Sydney earlier this year and competed strongly internationally in Singapore where she recorded a season-best score.
SHANIA SIME
Sime competed strongly early in the year and a repeat of that form would see her in contention here for a podium. The 22-year-old withdrew from the ACT Championships last month but is a multiple junior champion winner in the ACT.
Sime is one of the more experienced skaters in this field.
ANDREA GUO
Another competitor from New South Wales and like the favourite Hana Bath, will compete in both senior and junior divisions. Guo finished as runner-up to Vasiliev in the New South Wales State Championships and then recorded her personal best score at the recent Queensland State Championships so she is in good form with plenty of improvement to come.
AMY AVTAROVSKI
The Victorian State Champion has competed strongly all year having other podium finishes in competitions in Sydney and Brisbane to her name. Avtarovski won the Panda Challenge Competition in Adelaide two weeks ago so she is in good form but needs her best to be in contention here.
EMILY-JEAN KELLY
Kelly is a local skater who has the advantage of competing at her home rink. She’s the Queensland State Champion this year and won other Queensland events, the Crossland-Rosebowl and WinterSun.
A podium finish looks unlikely for her first time at this level but with strong support, a top-five finish would be a good result.
SIMONE AUBRECHT
Aubrecht finished third in the New South Wales State Championships but did have a convincing win at the prestigious Crystal Challenge in Melbourne in August.
A repeat of that performance could see her upset some of the more fancied competitors.
ASHLEY COLLIVER
Colliver, the current South Australian State Champion, is the veteran of the field at age 25.
She finished third at the Australian Nationals in 2019 so has the experience for this level but might find the overall quality and depth of this field to be stronger than in past years.
SENIOR MEN
DARIAN KAPTICH
Queenslander and local skater Darian Kaptich looks to be the man to beat on his home rink after winning his first senior State Championship title in October.
He competed strongly in the United States during the year, achieved a personal best score and earned his qualification ticket to the International Four Continents competition for 2023. Kaptich finished third at the 2019 Australian Nationals and is a multiple Junior Champion at the national level.
CHARLTON DOHERTY
Another Queenslander who is back competing after a break from competing in previous seasons. Doherty has four podium finishes at Junior National level and should add a senior medal to that this year.
He won at the Crystal Challenge and WinterSun this season and he looks to be the main danger to Kaptich if there is to be an upset.
JUAN CAMILO YUSTI
Juan Camilo Yusti is the current Victorian State Champion and Junior National Champion from 2019. Yusti competed in Brisbane recently, finishing third behind Kaptich and Doherty at the Queensland Championships. He also finished third at the Crystal Challenge in Melbourne in August.
Good chance for a medal here.
CALLUM BRADSHAW
The best male skater from Canberra who placed first at the New South Wales State Championships this year with a season-best score.
He finished third at the Crystal Challenge behind Doherty and Yusti in August but recently won in Adelaide at the Panda Challenge.
Should challenge Yusti for a podium finish.
JUNIORS
For the Junior Women, Hana Bath is the hot favourite, but we can expect strong showings from Luna Shimogaki, Sienna Kaczmarczyk, Andrea Guo, and Ariel Guo.
With a field of 18 skaters, there should be plenty of highlights and this is one division that should not be missed.
In the Junior Men’s division, New South Welshman Julio Potapenko has gained invaluable experience competing abroad this season and should win although Victorian Vinceman Chong has won three benchmark events this season as well as a state title and cannot be discounted.
The final place on the podium should be a tight tussle with Jeremy Adamlu, James Lin, and Manjesh Tiwari all having a chance.
SYNCHRO
Team Unity, from New South Wales, is the team to beat in the Senior Synchronised division having won three consecutive titles from 2017 to 2019. But they will need to overcome two Queensland teams, Ice Storm and Nova who should have great support from the home crowds.
ADVANCED NOVICE
The largest division is Advanced Novice Girls with a field of 32 from six states being represented. It looks to be a wide-open affair with eight girls recording a score above 75 points this year and all know they will need to be at their best to be in the mix for a podium finish.
The Men’s Advanced Novice has five competitors and the top three, Patrick Hardy, James Lin, and Kryshtof Pradeaux are only separated by two points going on this year’s best scores. It will surely be one of the closest divisions with all three having a strong chance of victory.
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Originally published as Key figure skating talents to watch at the Australian Championships
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