Your One-Stop Shopping for Skating's JGP and "B" Events Starts... HERE!

And just like that, figure skating’s pre-season is underway!

That’s an unofficial term, of course, but I tend to see it as the entire Junior Grand Prix (JGP) season... which started today, as it happens... and a few of the “B” events that come before Senior Grand Prix.

(Which kicks off Friday, October 18 in Detroit with Skate America—but you knew that already, right?)

As it happens, Wikipedia has a page dedicated to ALL the important dates of the 2013-14 figure skating season, 

So you might want to check that out. But if you’d like a quick rundown of the who/what/where for the next month—especially as far as U.S. skaters are concerned—keep on reading. (And don’t forget that the ISU posts video from all the JGP events on its own YouTube channel.)

JGP Latvia (this weekend)

Featuring (from the U.S.): Jordan Moeller, Karen Chen, Yasmin Siraj, the pairs team of Zaitsev/Stevens, and the dance teams of McNamara/Carpenter and Pogrebinsky/Gudis

JGP Mexico (Sept. 5-7)

Featuring (from the U.S.): Nathan Chen, Tomoki Hiwatashi, Mariah Bell, Polina Edmunds, and the dance teams of Hawayek/Baker and Lewis/Bye

JGP Slovakia (Sept. 12-14)

Featuring (from the U.S.): Shotaro Omori, Nix Phengsy, Leah Keiser, Barbie Long, the pairs teams of Budd/Cheban and Liu/Perini and the dance teams of Moore/Klaber and Parsons/Parsons

ALSO THE WEEKEND OF SEPT. 12-14... The U.S. International Figure Skating Classic in Salt Lake City, Utah (the Classic made its debut last year). Here’s a complete list of entrants;  it includes four U.S. reps for each discipline, including Evan Lysacek for men, Gracie Gold for ladies, Denney/Coughlin for pairs, and Davis/White for dance. Other recognizable names include Amelie Lacoste, Misha Ge, Moore-Towers/Moscovitch, Weaver/Poje, and Pechalat/Bourzat.

JGP Poland (Sept. 19-21)

Featuring (from the U.S.): Brian Krentz, Jordan Moeller, Yasmin Siraj, Angela Wang, and the dance teams of Hawayek/Baker and Pogrebinsky/Gudis

JGP Belarus (Sept. 26-28)

Featuring (from the U.S.): Spencer Howe, Jimmy Ma, Karen Chen, Hannah Miller, the pairs teams of Aaron/Settlage and Zaitsev/Stevens and the dance teams of McNamara/Carpenter and Patsis/Johnson

ALSO THE WEEKEND OF SEPT. 26-28: Nebelhorn Trophy in Oberstdorf, Germany. This longtime annual “B” event is set to feature athletes such as Nobunari Oda, Jason Brown, Kiira Korpi, Elena Radionova, Ashley Cain, the U.S. pairs team of Davis/Brubaker making their international debut, the U.S. dance team of Hubbell/Donohue... oh, and reigning World Pairs Champions Volosohzar/Trankov are supposed to put in an appearance as well.

So this takes us through all of September. With any luck, I’ll actually keep up with these events and even post about them (and more about new programs, old concerns, etc.) with a lot more consistency.

See any up-and-comers on the JGP circuit you’re thrilled about? Or are the “B” events catching your attention more than usual this year? Feel free to name names (as it were) in the Comments!