Ballroom with a "Twist"

Evan Lysacek has parlayed his Dancing with the Stars clout into a part-time hosting gig for Louis van Amstel's new road production Ballroom with a Twist. Other hosts will include Mario Lopez, Sabrina Bryan, Gilles Marini, and fellow figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi.

The show is described as an extravagant evening of entertainment for the entire family, highlighted by stunning costumes, magnificent music (to be provided by former American Idol contestants) and breathtaking performances. "The costumes are pretty much what you see on Dancing With the Stars," says van Amstel. "They're young, they're hot, they're in the best shape of their lives."

Interested? The show may be coming to a city near you!

July 14: 2010 Clayton Opera House, Clayton, NY, USA
July 16: Chautauqua Institution, Chautauqua, NY, USA
July 17: Hershey Theatre, Hershey, PA, USA
July 23: River Rock Casino, Richmond, BC, Canada
Aug 12: Casino Nova Scotia, Halifax, NS, Canada
August 14: Motor City Casino, Detroit, MI, USA
October 1 & 2, 12: Southern Jubilee Auditorium, Calgary, AB, Canada
October 13: Northern Jubilee Auditorium, Edmonton, AB, Canada
October 14: TCU Place Sid Buckwold Theatre, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
October 15: Evraz Place, Regina, SK, Canada
October 17: Centennial Concert Hall, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
October 18: Copps Coliseum, Hamilton, ON, Canada
October 19: Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto, ON, Canada

Tickets will be available through Ticketmaster and Ticketmaster.ca

Loss of Eligibility

Plushenko's grand designs on competing again in Sochi may be dashed.

During the ISU June Congress, the ISU yanked his eligibility:

Decision of the ISU Council on Eligibility of Mr. Evgeny Plushenko (RUS)
Based on evidence presented the Council has concluded that Mr. Evgeny Plushenko breached the ISU eligibility rule 102, paragraph 2, i) of the ISU General Regulations and as a consequence has become ineligible under paragraph 7 a) of that rule. The evidence has proved to the satisfaction of the Council that Mr. E. Plushenko, a skater and member of the Figure Skating Federation of Russia (FSFR), skated in exhibitions held in March and April 2010, in Russia and other countries, without the express prior authorization of the FSFR. Such activity is a breach of the ISU eligibility rules and results in the loss of eligibility

.

But Plushenko has recourse. He has 21 days to file an appeal if he so chooses with the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne. He must do this and win the appeal if he hopes to compete at an ISU event in the future. A similar situation occurred last season when Joannie Rochette performed on the show "Thin Ice," however, she obtained an exemption allowing her to keep her eligible status, Plushenko did not.

UPDATE: FSFR has released an official statement.

All Good Things...

Must come to an end that is...

Keauna McLaughlin and Rockne Brubaker (or McBru as most of us have fondly called them) are splitting up. After two promise filled seasons as seniors, the duo fell from grace last season, failing to make the U.S. Podium or Olympic Team.


"Rockne and I have had an amazing career together, and I can't thank him enough for that," McLaughlin said. "Right now I feel like I need to devote time to school as well as other interests - photography, art, dance - and spend some time away from skating competitively."

Brubaker has begun a search for a new Pairs partner (I have some thoughts on this...another post). "My goal has always been to win World and Olympic medals, I still plan on working toward that goal and look forward to new challenges."

The split seems amicable and all parties okay with the decision.

ISU Cheers and Jeers

I'm still waiting for the full full report but here are some of the preliminary changes the ISU has gone ahead and approved.

Speedy remains President of the ISU...JEER!

Compulsory Dances are officially out and the Short Dance is in...CHEER (I know there are mixed feelings about this but I like the change.)!

The ISU is reducing the number of skaters allowed into an event and the number allowed into the free skate...JEER!

ISU World Team Trophy is an official ISU event now...CHEER!

Many of figure skating rules are now consistent across disciplines...CHEER!

2013 European Championships are given to Zagreb, Croatia...JEER (shouldn't that be Sochi's Olympic Test event?)!

2013 World Championships in London, Ontario Canada...CHEER!

Grand Prix Assignments Announced

The ISU has released the 2010 Grand Prix Assignments. This is kind of a rough draft as some of the spots are TBD and there will likely be several substitutions before the event.

With the releasing of the assignments, it appears the rumors that France would not have a Grand Prix event haven't played out as Grand Prix Paris is slated to be the final Grand Prix stop this upcoming season.

Amongst the men's entrants I'm kind of surprised to see Kevin Van der Perren, Evgeny Plushenko, and Johnny Weir. Johnny, at this point, scheduled for both Skate Canada and Grand Prix Paris. Plushenko is currently only scheduled for Rostelecom Cup. Van der Perren, who by all accounts was retiring, is scheduled to compete at NHK Trophy and Skate America.

In Ice Dance the only surprising entrants are the Kerr's. If they opt to not retire and compete they are scheduled at Skate Canada and Rostelecom Cup.

In Pairs, Olympic Silver Medalists and World Champs Pang and Tong are scheduled to back next season competing at NHK Trophy and Samsung Anycall Cup of China. Oddly, Inoue and Baldwin are slated to compete, only at NHK Trophy. Japanese farewell for Rena?

Amongst the women, Kim Yu-Na IS slated to compete in both China and Russia. Uber veterans Kostner and Suguri are also on the list of entrants. Also, like her husband Van der Perren, Jenna McCorkell has found her way onto the list. Also of interest...Mao Asada and Kim Yu-Na will NOT face one another in regular Grand Prix events unlike last season.

You can see all the entrants on this page (downloads a PDF file).

ISU June Congress

Tomorrow all the ISU who's who will convene in Barcelona at the annual June Congress. Demonstrations, meetings, lunches, conferences, yadda yadda yadda.

Most importantly this is where all those changes we see year to year get ratified. And there are big changes in store for the upcoming season.

I'll be keeping an eye on all that is happening in Barcelona and try to keep everyone in the loop about the decisions that are made.

You can read the Agenda for this upcoming weeks proceedings here.