Brilliance On Ice

23/12/05		The 74th National Championships The starting order for the ladies short program have been posted to the JSF official site. Mai will be first competitor of the first group and Mao will be third competitor of the first group. GOOD LUCK to MAI and MAO in the SP !!

18/12/05		2005/2006 Grand Prix Final - Free Skating A very big congratulations to Mao for winning the first Grand Prix Final title !!! Mao landed a triple axel as part of six triple jumps (triple flip, triple lutz, triple loop-double loop-double loop, triple flip-double loop, and triple lutz-double loop) in her free skating to scored 125.24 points(personal best score FS),beat world champion Irina Slutskaya 189.62( beating her personal best) to 181.48. Congratulations MAO !!!

16/12/05		2005/2006 Grand Prix Final Ladies Short Program Well done Mao !! Mao performed a solid short program to "Carmen", landing the triple flip-triple loop combination, triple lutz and a double axel. She earned 64.38 points, 36.30 for element score and 28.08 for program component score, beat her previous personal best which puts her into first place after the short program !! Good luck and best wishes to MAO tomorrow's free skating !!

15/12/05		2005/2006 Grand Prix Final in Tokyo - Starting List for the Ladies Short Program Skaters will start the Short Program in reverse order of the ranking order as to which they have qualified for the Final(by ISU).Therefore Mao is going to skate 5th in the short program. Good luck in the Short Program Mao!! Three cheers for you Mao! CHEER CHEER CHEER!!! Have fun and go for it!!!

26/11/05		Junior Grand Prix Final - Free Skating Mai was awarded 87.78 points(TES‐45.39 / PCS‐42.39) and moved up from seventh to fifith place with a total score of 129.99 points.

25/11/05		Junior Grand Prix Final - Short Program Mai earned 42.21 points, 20.81 for element score and 21.40 for program component score in the short program. Mai sits seventh after the short program. Good luck to Mai in tomorrow's free skating !! We are 120% behind you Mai !!!

24/11/05		2005/2006 Junior Grand Prix Final - Starting List for the Ladies Short Program The starting order for the ladies short program have been posted to the ISU site. Mai is going to skate 4th in the short program. We wish you the very best of luck at the Junior Grand Prix Final !!

19/11/05		Official news release from ISU In what was a very competitive Ladies’ event at a high level, Japan’s World Junior Champion Mao Asada claimed the gold and the title, while reigning World silver medalist Sasha Cohen (USA) finished second and 2004 World Champion Shizuka Arakawa settled for the bronze.Asada, who skated first in the final group, really sparkled in her balletic perfomance to “The Nutcracker”. The 15-year-old reeled off a triple Axel, a triple flip, triple Lutz, double Axel, triple loop-double loop-double loop combination, a triple flip-double loop (stepped out of the second jump) and a triple Lutz-double loop combination as well as lovely spins with rarely seen confidence. The only major glitch came at the very end, when Asada lost her balance in the combination spin and had to touch down with her hand before recovering and finishing the element. The World Junior Champion scored 118.46 points (61.50/56.96) and racked up a total competition score of 182.42 points, beating her personal best. “All my jumps were good, but I regret the mistake in the spin. I was tired”, Asada commented. “I hope to include two triple Axels in my program in my next competition, the Grand Prix Final in Tokyo.” Asked about her confidence on the ice, she smiled. “I’m not so confident in myself, but I have confidence in my jumps.” Trophee Eric Bompard - Free Skating A huge congratulations to Mao for winning the gold medal at Trophee Eric Bompard !!! Mao took the first place (TES-65.10/ PCS-56.96) in the free skating, she collected an overall event score of 182.42 points and won the gold medal !!! Mao got 12 points and has 21 points from her two events to proceed to the 2005 Grand Prix Final in Tokyo !!! Conrgrats MAO !!! Trophee Eric Bompard - Starting List for FS The starting order for the ladies free skating have been posted to the ISU site. Mao will be first competitor of the second group. Good luck and best wishes to MAO in today's free skating !!

18/11/05		Official news release from ISU World Junior Mao Asada of Japan upset favorites Sasha Cohen (USA) and Shizuka Arakawa (JPN) to win the Ladies’ Short Program. Asada’s playful “Carmen” contained a triple Lutz out of footwork, a triple flip-triple loop combination, a double Axel as well as a difficult spiral sequence (level four) and an excellent layback spin into a one-hand-held Biellmann spin. “My goal was to skate clean, and I’m happy to have skated without any mistake”, the World Junior Champion said, smiling. When asked what she is aiming for this season without being able to participate in the Olympic Winter Games and the World Championships because she is not age-eligible, she answered: “I want to land a quad!” Asada has been practising the quadruple loop. Trophee Eric Bompard Ladies Short Program Good job MAO !! You did it !! Mao earned 63.96 points, 36.60 for element score and 27.36 for program component score, beat her previous personal best which puts her into first place after the short program !! WAY TO GO MAO !! Trophee Eric Bompard - Starting List for SP The starting order for the ladies short program have been posted to the ISU site. Mao will be fourth competitor of the second group. We wish you the very best of luck at Trophee Eric Bompard !!

5/11/05		2005 Cup of China - Free Skating Congratulations to Mao for winning the silver medal at Cup of China !!! Mao took the thrid place (TES-59.76 / PCS-53.92) in the free skating, she collected an overall event score of 176.60 points and won the silver medal !!!

4/11/05		2005 Cup of China - Starting List for FS The starting order for the ladies free skating have been posted to the ISU site. Mao will be first competitor of the second group. Good luck and best wishes to MAO tomorrow's free skating !!

3/11/05		Official news release from ISU World Junior Champion Asada made sure that she drew attention in her debut at the international senior scene. The 15-year-old pulled off a triple flip-triple loop combination (the only triple-triple combination of the evening), a triple Lutz, double Axel and beautiful spins to collect 62.92 points (35.60/27.32). Asked about how it feels to compete in her first international senior event, she smiled. “I was always nervous in juniors, and I was nervous here, so I don’t feel a difference. Of course, it felt bigger, the rink is bigger.” Referring to the fact that she competed against such prominent skaters like Slutskaya for the first time, she answered: “I really respect Irina Slutskaya. I’m not at her level yet. She is perfect in eveything she does. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to watch her performance (as she prepared for her own).” 2005 Cup of China Short Program Well done MAO !!Mao made an excellent debut in the Cup of China !! Mao earned 62.92 points, 35.60 for element score and 27.32 for program component score in the short program and beat her previous personal best, Mao sits second after the short program !! 2005 Cup of China Opening Draw Mao is going to debut on the senior Grand Prix. Mao and her family had long awaited this day. Mao will be last competitor in the ladies short program. Good luck to MAO in the short program !! Relax and skate the best you can.

24/10/05		JGP SBC Cup 2005 Mai opened her program to "Morning" with a beautiful triple lutz. She went to almost complete a triple flip-double loop combination,a double Axel and strong spins to score 49.86 points (28.58 technical score/21.28 program component score), placed second in the short proram. However, Mai dropped from second to fourth place in the free skating with a total event score of 124.09 points. Mai got 9 points and has 24 points from her two events to proceed to the Junior Grand Prix Final.

20/10/05		JGP SBC Cup 2005 Opening Draw Mai will be last competitor of the thrid group in the ladies short program. GOOD LUCK to MAI in the short program !!

26/9/05		Mai has been assigned to SBC Trophy for her second event of the 2005-2006 ISU Junior Grand Prix series. Good luck Mai !!

25/9/05		Happy Birthday, Mao !! A Very Happy 15th Brithday !! We wish you all the best for your new challenges.

17/9/05		Mao's new SP for the 2005-2006 season : "Carmen" by Georges Bizet choreographed by Mihoko Higuchi.

11/9/05		JGP Andorra Cup 2005 - Free Skating Congratulations Mai on your gold win at Andorra Cup !! Mai scored 85.49 points (39.29/47.20) in the free skating and beat her previous personal best by a wide margin. She collected an overall event score of 141.29 points and won the gold medal. Click here to see the results.

9/9/05		JGP Andorra Cup 2005 - Starting List for FS The starting order for the ladies free skating have been posted to the ISU site. Mai will be skating 22nd in the FS. Good luck to tomorrow's free skating Mai-chan !! JGP Andorra Cup 2005 - Short Program Mai took the lead in the short program !!Mai earned 55.80 points, 30.84 for element score and 24.96 for program component score. WAY TO GO MAI !!

8/9/05		JGP Andorra Cup 2005 The starting order for the ladies short program have been posted to the ISU site. Mai will be second competitor of the first group. GOOD LUCK to MAI in the short program !!

27/8/05		Mai's new free program for the 2005-2006 season : "Amethyst" (YOSHIKI) choreographed by Machiko Yamada & Mihoko Higuchi.

26/8/05		Mao's new free program for the 2005-2006 season will be "The Nutcracker" (Tchaikovsky) choreographed by Lori Nichol.

10/8/05		Mai has been assigned to Andorra Cup for the 2005-2006 ISU Junior Grand Prix events. Good luck Mai!

4/8/05		The Japan Skating Federation has announced that Mao will make a guest appearance in "Japan International Challenge 2005". It will be held in Higashi-Fushimi Ice Arena, Tokyo on Oct 1st.

28/7/05		Mao is the cover of vol.633, July 28,2005, issue of "Number" magazine which is one of the most popular sports magazine in Japan.

17/7/05		Happy Birthday, Mai !!! Happy Birthday sweet seventeen !! We are thinking of you especially on this day.

15/7/05		Mao and Mai cooperated with Aichi Prefecutural Police(Chikusa police station) for a traffic safety campaign on July 14th.

19/6/05		Mao has been awarded "New Talent of JOC(Japan Olympic Committiee's)Sports Award 2005". Awards ceremony was held in the NHK Hall, Tokyo on June 19th. Congratulations Mao !

31/5/05		Mai and Mao will debut thier New Exhibition program at the Dreams On Ice 2005.

18/5/05		Grand Prix assignments for the 2005-2006 season has been announced that Mao is schedule to compete at Cup of China and Trophee Eric Bompard(Mao will skate in the senior Grand Prix series from next season). Click here for more info on the Grand Prix assignments.

6/5/05		At the end of April, Mao visited her choreographer Lea Ann Miller to make her new programs. We are going to announce this in detail later.

15/4/05		Due to tight schedule, Mao canceled her appearance in the Ice Chips 2005.

14/4/05		Mao is the cover of VOL.18 issue of WORLD FIGURE SKATING(Japanese). The magazine will be put on sale tomorrow.

3/4/05		Mao will be performing in the Prince Ice World Show in Shinyokohama,Kanagawa on May 3 - May 5.

28/3/05		Mai will make her debut as a model in the EXPO 2005 AICHI, JAPAN. Mai and her family expressed their intentions that Mai will continue to do an amateur skater(eligible) for the future.

27/3/05		On Sunday, Mao skated another solid program that included a triple flip-triple toe, triple loop-double loop-double loop and a solid triple axel. She finished first at the 41st Chubu Nippon Seniors. Congratulations MAO !

26/3/05		Mao competed in her last competition of this season, The 41st Chubu Nippon Figure Skating Competition. On Saturday(Mar 26), she performed a very solid short program with a triple lutz-triple loop, double axel and a triple flip.

3/3/05		A Huge congratulations to Mao for winning her first World Juniors title !!! Mao won the gold medal with an excellent perfromance and became the first female to land a triple axel at World Junior Championships. Mao skated last. She started strong with a triple axel followed by a triple lutz, double axel, triple flip, triple flip-triple toeloop (the toeloop was downgraded to a double) combination as well as a triple lutz, and a triple loop-double loop combo. Mao recieved an impressive 119.13 points (TES-62.73 PCS-56.40 ), and collected a total event score of 179.24 points.

1/3/05		Mao performed a lovely program "The Wizard of Oz", took the lead in ladies short program at 2005 Junior Worlds in Kitchener,Canada. Mao earned 60.11 points, 33.26 for element score and 26.85 for program component score.

28/2/05		Mao took the lead in Qualifying Group A at 2005 World Juinor Championships. Mao opened with a triple axel. However it was downgraded to a double axel. Mao was successful on six triple jumps(only two-footed the second jump in her triple flip-triple toeloop combo). Mao was awarded 112.32 points(TES-59.52 PCS-52.80).