EIGHT ATHLETES TO REPRESENT UNITED STATES AT 2011 JPG AUSTRALIA
Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sept. 6, 2011) — The second event of the 2011 International Skating Union (ISU) Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating (JGP) Series takes place Sept. 7-11 in Brisbane, Australia. The event, held at Iceworld Olympic Ice Rink Boondall, begins Thursday 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. Icenetwork.com will provide complete event coverage including results and photos.
LADIES
Courtney Hicks, the reigning U.S. junior champion, made her international debut at the 2011 World Junior Championships, where she placed sixth. Hicks is joined by Vanessa Lam, who captured a gold medal at 2010 JGP Czech Republic, her only previous international assignment.
MEN
Jason Brown begins his second international season with the trip to Brisbane. A season ago, he recorded second- and sixth-place finishes, respectively, at his assignments in France and Japan. Philip Warren most recently earned the silver medal as a junior at the 2011 Gardena Spring Trophy in April.
ICE DANCING
Lauri Bonacorsi and Travis Mager, the 2011 U.S. junior silver medalists, own a pair of bronze medals in four Junior Grand Prix assignments, earning them at 2009 JGP United States and 2010 JGP Romania. Madeline Heritage and Nathaniel Fast, who competed as juniors at the 2011 AT&T U.S. Figure Skating Championships, will compete for the first time internationally in Australia.
Now in its 15th season, the JGP Series consists of seven international events in a cumulative point-scoring format. Approximately 400 athletes representing more than 35 countries are expected to participate in the series. Each athlete is eligible to score points in two of the seven scheduled events (pairs can compete in two of four designated events). The top eight point-earners in each discipline qualify for the Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, Dec. 8-11 in Quebec City, Quebec.
In addition to Brisbane, the Junior Grand Prix Series consists of the remaining events:
- JGP Poland: Gdansk, Poland – Sept. 14-18
- JGP Romania: Brasov, Romania – Sept. 21-25
- JGP Austria: Innsbruck, Austria – Sept. 28-Oct. 2
- JGP Italy: Milano, Italy – Oct. 5-9
- JGP Estonia: Tallinn, Estonia – Oct. 12-16
- JGP Final: Quebec City, Quebec – Dec. 8-11
U.S. ENTRIES AT JGP AUSTRALIA
| DISCIPLINE | NAME | HOMETOWN | TRAINING TOWN(S) |
| Ladies | Courtney Hicks | Chino Hills, Calif. | Aliso Viejo, Calif. |
| Vanessa Lam | Bellflower, Calif. | Westminster, Calif. | |
| Men | Jason Brown | Highland Park, Ill. | Northbrook/Buffalo Grove/Highland Park, Ill. |
| Philip Warren | Redlands, Calif. | Riverside, Calif. | |
| Ice Dancing | Lauri BonacorsiTravis Mager | St. Louis, Mo.Fulton, Md. | Aston, Pa. |
| Madeline HeritageNathaniel Fast | West Linn, Ore.Portland, Ore. | San Jose, Calif. |
– U.S. Figure Skating –
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 680 member clubs, collegiate clubs, and school-affiliated clubs and more than 1,000 registered Basic Skills skating schools representing approximately 180,000 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.