Walley & Flip: A Figure Skating Podcast

What can we say? sometimes you have to flop to fly...
Are the tables actually turning in ice dance or are we just desperate for an unpredictable podium at the olympics? We recap the European Figure Skating Championships starting on home ice with Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson and ask is their stock starting to slip. Meanwhile Guignard and Fabbri continue to quietly build momentum. Has their stock gone up enough that an Olympic medal is now a realistic conversation rather than wishful thinking?
In the women’s event we look at the injured European contenders and their fight back to full strength. What is their realistic runway through the rest of the season and who can actually peak in time rather than just survive.
Over in the men’s event we unpack one of the most shocking podiums of the championship. Reshtenk-who?
In pairs we are feeling extremely vindicated. Metelkina and Berulava continue to validate our early season prediction and we ask whether Europeans just made their Olympic case even stronger.
Only after the skating do we zoom out to the bigger picture. We discuss the ISU proposed changes what is realistic what feels performative and where the federation continues to miss the mark. And yes we get into the saga of Gabi Papadakis being fired from NBC. Cease and desist? Or twizzles amiss?

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!