ISU’s Cranberry Cup International* hosted by the Skating Club of Boston last weekend is going to be my new Boston summer staple. It’s been hot and humid here and so far I have spent my summer weekends on the beaches of Cape Cod and at Tanglewood (Boston Symphony’s summer residence in the Berkshires). Last weekend I left the beach behind to report from the ISU’s season opening Challenger event (with women and men’s skating events in both junior and senior segments). I am putting Cranberry Cup firmly on my Boston summer list and here is why.
(*Cranberry Cup also has the Cranberry Open component for US skaters of all levels and age groups – that event happened earlier during the week).
First, it is a celebration of the new season of skating and beautiful programs (2025-2026 being an “extra” special Olympic season of course). It is so early in the season that many skaters did not yet have their competition costumes ready, but that is also what makes Cranberry Cup so exciting…
Then there are the Competitors. Cranberry Cup has traditionally been headlined by some seasoned international competitors as well as relative newcomers. This year’s women’s lineup included 2024 Worlds silver medalist (US’) Isabeau Levito, 2024 US silver medalist Josephine Lee, Korean Jia Shin in her long anticipated first senior season and Kazakhstan’s Sofia Samodelkina (formerly of Russia). Men’s field was headlined by Canada’s Steven Gogolev and Roman Sadovsky whom I have been following for several years and Boston’s own (Four Continents-2025 bronze medalist) Jimmy Ma. I was also looking forward to see Aleksandr Selevko of Estonia (2024 European silver medalist) as well as a group of up and coming Israeli and Korean skaters. Junior women’s field was highlighted by (2025 US Jr. Champion) Sophie Joline von Felten competing on home ice.
There is also a very special atmosphere. I am partial to Skating Club of Boston’s “newish” (2021) rink and enjoy every opportunity to attend a competition there (it also helps that I live nearby). Not only it is a gorgeous facility, it also feels very “homey”, especially during the “pre” season events. While I hope that more fans will follow suit and attend Cranberry Cup next summer, I enjoyed the opportunity to soak in the unique atmosphere of a close knit home town event where you feel like a part of a community (even if you have never set your own feet on ice); note that all day-tickets were around $20.
You could see Olympic champions – now coaches at the stands (92’s Victor Petrenko and 98’s Ilya Kulik) and say hello to local athletes stretching at the concourse (I chatted briefly with SCB’s Alysa Efimova who with Misha Mitrofanov is a reigning US Pairs Champions; they were getting ready to showcase their new programs at the US Champs Camp that followed the competition). At the food stand I ran into 2025 US national bronze medalist Sarah Everhardt and her Mom (who were also here for the Champs Camp; speaking of food, I had a very decent lobster roll at the Club’s food stand prepared to order).
In the women’s event, Isabeau Levito finished in first place with her new season programs performed in Levito’s “signature” lyrical style – which I love. I enjoyed both of her programs and I believe they will only get better as season progresses.
Sofia Samodelkina of Kazahstan finished second but actually won the free skate with her solid jumps and improving presentation skills. Sofia came here without a coach (she is currently training with Rafael Arutyunyan in California) and had a wonderful showing with two clean skates (Czardas and Sunset Boulevard).
Korea’s Jia Shin had a bit of a hard time with her jumps but still managed to wow the fans with her presence on ice. And Sonja Hilmer of the US was the talk of the fans onsite and on line admiring her unique style (there was a tap dance in the short!), jumping passes and choreography (she choreographed her programs and designed her costumes).
In the Men’s Competition Roman Sadovsky and Stephen Gogolev earned Canada two spots at the podium (gold and bronze, respectively). It was Roman’s first international win in 10 years and he made his many fans around the world very happy. They both jumped from less than perfect placements in short program to clean free skates: Roman from fifth to first and Stephen from eleventh! to second. Gogolev had the highest technical score of the night with three landed quadruple jumps, one in combination. Aleksandr (Sasha) Selevko of Estonia earned second overall (he was consistently third in short and free- two very expressive programs that are still very new and (according to Sasha) need work. I had a chance to speak to Sasha following the competition-about his move to train in Boston and his new programs; interview link is coming up tomorrow.)
Israeli’s Tamir Kuperman finished in fourth with a lot of promise for later in the season.
US’ Jacob Sanchez, Mexican Donovan Carrillo and Estonia’s Aleksandr Selevko had some of the most entertaining programs.
It’s a chance to see local skaters perform: I was very excited to see Skating Club of Boston’s skaters perform. Jimmy Ma, one of the most expressive US skaters, won short program but unfortunately was not able to hold on to the podium with the free skate.
Sophie Joline von Felten on the other hand, won junior women’s event and made history with her quad Salchow and a triple axel (in combination) which she landed in her free skate (she fell on another triple axel attempt) – being the first US woman performing these two jumps in competition. I was able to chat with Sophie Joline briefly and she told me how much she loves performing on home ice. Her short program is in honor of the skating friends she lost in January’s devastating plane crash (there is a photo memorial at the arena for local skaters and coaches lost in that tragedy). She is excited about her Junior Grand Prix assignment in Turkey later this month. Her biggest goal for the season is to try to make the Junior Grand Prix Final.
I already told you about Skating Club of Boston’s new addition- Aleksandr Selevko of Estonia. Sasha trains with Jimmy Ma under Olga Ganicheva and Alexey Letov.
My next stop this figure skating season is at Skate America in Lake Placid in November. Stay tuned.
Very passionately written article! Thank you for sharing your feelings and all the details. Very good photos!. Your style of writing definitely increasing number of figure skating fans!