Bradie Tennell, SKATING magazine's cover subject for October, enters this season with a bold goal.
"I want to be unrecognizable from last season," she said at Champs Camp in late August, then added with a laugh, "Obviously, I'm not going to be completely changed, but I really want to show I've stepped up the artistry and the maturity."
Tennell was good as her word at her first international event this season, the Autumn International Classic, held in Oakville, Ontario Sept. 20-22. There, the U.S. champion won gold, skating two stellar programs to edge Olympic silver medalist and two-time World champion Evgenia Medvedeva, who settled for second place. Tennell's 206.41 point total - her highest international score ever - included markedly improved program component scores (PCS), and she showed off a challenging new combination: triple Lutz-triple loop.
"I had a bit of a rough warm-up, so I'm really glad I was able to come back out there and do what I normally do," Tennell said after her free skate In Oakville. "Obviously, there are some improvements that can be made, but overall I'm really happy with it, because it's just the first one of the season."
Tennell, version 2.0, took full advantage of the offseason. After placing a solid sixth at the 2018 World Figure Skating Championships, she joined the Stars on Ice tour for its entire 22-city run, performing alongside proven showstoppers like Meryl Davis
Don't stop believin'! 2018 U.S. champion Bradie Tennell graces her first solo cover on the October issue of SKATING magazine.
and Charlie White, Jason Brown, Ashley Wagner and Maia and Alex Shibutani.Â
"Just getting out in front of audiences on a consistent basis and having to put it out there with two programs a night, that helped build her confidence," Tennell's longtime coach, Denise Myers, said.
Then there are her programs: a free skate to a
Romeo and Juliet medley and short program to "Rebirth" by Hi-Finesse (featuring Natacha Atlas), both choreographed with Benoit Richaud, who traveled to Tennell's home rink outside of Chicago three times between June and August.
"I really believe my programs this year will show a different side of me, will show that I'm not just a jumper," Tennell said. "I'm telling a story with my programs, really pulling the audience into the performances."
"My short program is edgy, I haven't done a piece like it before," she added. "It's not classical at all. I think a lot of people are going to be surprised."
When she ran her programs for U.S. Figure Skating technical specialists and officials at Champs Camp, Tennell was fully prepared, having competed in early August at DuPage Open. That's where she unveiled her triple Lutz-triple loop, a combination with a base value of more than 12 points.
"It was fully rotated in both programs (at DuPage)," Myers said. "It gives her a few more points in the short (than the triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination) and opens the door for different combinations in the free skate, like the triple Lutz-triple toe or a three-jump combo."
New International Judging System (IJS) rules, published mid-summer, forced a change in Tennell's free skate: a triple jump planned for maximum bonus points had to be moved, after the ISU restricted the number of jumps a skater can do in the second half of a program. But Tennell may take a page out of some top Russian ladies' books this season and do a few jumps with a hand over her head.
"Ever since I was little, I've always been slightly afraid of doing it, in a good way," Tennell said. "It's such a huge challenge, and I'm all about challenges. You really have to go for it, you can't hesitate. Hesitation leads to awkward, weird falls and injuries. No good can come from hesitating, or playing it safe."
