Walley & Flip: A Figure Skating Podcast

After a long week of US Nationals, we are breaking it all down - right here, right now.The whiplash going from Jason Brown's catastrophic competition to Max Naumov delivering in a pressure packed run to skate himself firmly into the Olympic conversation. Andrew Torgashev somehow managed to vindicate himself after his December trash talking episode raising eyebrows and questions in equal measure. And with Tomoki Hiwatashi left off both the World Championship and Olympic teams we ask the big question did USFS get the Olympic selection right? We break it down, people!On the women’s side the Big 3 Amber Glenn Isabeau Levito and Alysa Liu lived up to hype- but let's not forget about Bradie Tennell and Sarah Everhardt's star performances! Who of the up and coming US Women do we think could be in the conversation this next quad?Ice dance may have been predictable on paper but it delivered its moments- which was the standout moment for us that stole the spotlight? Over in pairs it was a disappointing competition overall but two teams still had to be chosen and we discuss what that says about the state of US pairs heading into the Games.We also unpack Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir’s many commentary antics and low blows as well as a brief canadian nationals recap!

Nationals season is in full swing, and Walley & Flip are breaking it all down. This week, we recap highlights from several nationals already in the books and look ahead to the upcoming Canadian and U.S. Nationals.Flip crunches the numbers to show just how tight the race is among U.S. men for that all-important third Olympic spot, while we also dig into the Shibutani siblings’ realistic (or not so realistic) path back onto the Olympic team, plus discuss other news surrounding them that’s dropped over the past week.We also touch on standout moments from Japanese Nationals, break down the men’s race for Italy’s second Olympic spot following nationals, and the implications of Nikolaj Memola’s withdrawal.

This week on Walley and Flip we break down a Grand Prix Final that delivered from start to finish. We open with Pairs, which featured one of the greatest competitions of the quad. Every team pushed the standard and we look ahead to how they may stack up once the season reaches its final boss stage in Milan. We also ask the central question of the moment: can Miura and Kihara be beaten, and what would it take.In Ice Dance we cover the battles between Chock and Bates, Fournier Beaudry and Sorensen, Gilles and Poirier, and Fear and Gibson. Were the results what we expected, and what trends might continue into the second half of the season. We also consider whether Guillaume and Laurence can close the gap on Chock and Bates and what factors may determine that race.In Men we look at the surprise strength of Shun Sato and Daniel Grassl, the rise of Yuma Kagiyama, and the extraordinary technical level from Ilia Malinin.And over in women, would you have ever thought the reigning world champion winning the Grand Prix Final would feel like a SURRPISE? The field remains as deep as ever and we can't wait to watch these women shine their light around the world in milan!

Walley and flip are back with a last-minute episode to recap all of the small but mighty (and impactful!) competitions from this past weekend.Between the comeback kids (Gabby Daleman and Keegan Messing) competing at Skate Canada challenge, to the always-tense Korean ranking competition, to one of the final Challenger events of the season at Tallinn Trophy, there was no shortage of drama or discussion!Also, how could we not discuss Andrew Torgashev's middle-of-the-night meltdown tweeting spree. Flip offers him some much-needed publicist advice before he continues his season!We also very informally preview the grand prix final this weekend in Nagoya. Japan! The last great showdown before the Olympics!

We are back after our hiatus from Skate America! This week we’re talking all things Finlandia Trophy, starting with the ice dance drama: technical calls that made zero sense, teams that looked targeted, others lifted onto a pedestal for… what reason exactly? And in the end, did any of it actually change the standings? (Short answer: no, because Guillaume and Laurence made it crystal clear they’re the top team.)Over in women, we’ve got our angelic trio- Mone Chiba, Amber Glenn, and Rino Matsuike- with Rino officially kicking off the holiday season thanks to a clean Nutcracker free skate.Men’s was shockingly quite predictable, with some of your usual sloppy programs keeping things interesting and us scratching our heads on how high some of the scores were...And we look ahead: what can we expect from Yuma Kagiyama and Adam Siao Him Fa at the Grand Prix Final and heading into the back half of the season? Do they have the momentum for an Olympic podium run?Over in pairs, it's a little less exciting- but how far has Hase/Volodin's stock fallen? Can they rise again before the olympics?