The Browns Savor Junior Worlds Victory

Last month, Oona Brown and Gage Brown achieved the biggest success of their career to date, winning a world title in ice dance at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2022.
 
The siblings are still savoring their victory and enjoying the moment. They're also assessing how it will affect their plans for next season.
 
The Browns train on Long Island, New York, with coaches Joel Dear and Inese Bucevice. This was their second time competing at Junior Worlds in Tallinn; the event also took place there in 2020. Back then, the Browns placed 10th. This year, they entered the event as medal contenders.
 
 "We knew that winning was a possibility," Gage Brown said. "We weren't just saying, 'Oh, I hope we get on the podium.' No. Our goal was the podium, and anything less than that, we would be very disappointed. But there were a lot of good competitors. We were very aware that any of them could take it. That's why we had to put on our game face. We had to really bring it on every single program and every single practice."
 
Not everything was smooth from the start. As they were warming up for the rhythm dance in Tallinn, Gage had a slight collision with Canadian ice dancer Natalie d'Alessandro.
 
"The warmup did not feel the greatest," he said. "So while they were announcing the scores for the team [that skated] before us, I did a whole new warmup, just to get my mind right."
 
The last-minute prep paid off, and the Browns attacked their rhythm dance, skating with flair and speed.
 
"I had to push my nerves away," Oona commented. "I find I perform much better if I enjoy the performance. So I tried to do that."
 
"This was a special competition, so we just put it all out there," Gage added. "We knew the rhythm dance was a deciding factor of where you stood."
 
Mastering this season's rhythm dance took some time for the Browns, as Gage admitted he is not a fan of the compulsory Blues pattern.
 
"Other people liked the Blues. Oona thought it was fun. But I wasn't a huge fan. It was one thing only: The choctaw," he explained, referring to the third/fourth scoring key points of the dance. "For some reason, that choctaw was difficult for me. The rest was good, but the choctaw was a problem. Oona got one at Junior Worlds [was credited for doing it correctly], but I didn't get one. So that was a little frustrating."
 
Another challenge was keeping consistent speed throughout, as the Blues pattern features long, sustained edges.
 
"I felt like we did a pretty good job maintaining speed at Junior Worlds," Gage said of their performance. "We were definitely in tip-top shape." 
 
The Browns earned a season-best 66.98 points in the rhythm dance, taking a lead of nearly three points. Next, they put out a strong performance of their Muse free dance. The siblings scored 170.25 overall to take the Junior World title.
 
"It was a moment that we're going to remember for the rest of our lives," Gage said. "I didn't think I would get emotional, but I did. When Oona got emotional [on the podium], that got to me. It was amazing and overwhelming."
 
The win was especially satisfying after a challenging season. Prior to Junior Worlds, the Browns missed the 2022 Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships and Bavarian Open when they tested positive for COVID-19.
 
"The six months off [between competitions] was tough. But it gave us a lot of training time and alone time," Gage reflected. "We honed in on what we needed to do, and we did it multiple times a day. We improved so much. Time was very important for us this season, and not holding back. We learned to just go for it. Don't be afraid."
 
Soon, the Browns must decide whether to remain as juniors next season, or move up to the senior level. It's a choice they've been contemplating for several months.
 
"Moving up makes a lot of sense, having just won Junior Worlds," Gage said. "We're leaning toward seniors right now, and our coaches' stance is the same."
 
"But we're not 100% sure," Oona cautioned.
 
"If we do juniors again, it puts pressure on," Gage noted as being the reigning Junior World champions would mean high expectations for them. "I'm confident that we could do well. But, it would be nice to get a couple of senior years under our belt. I feel like now is the right time. And I'm actually pretty excited."
 
If the Browns move up to seniors next season, they'll be doing a rhythm dance without a compulsory pattern for the first time. The ISU recently announced the inclusion of a pattern step sequence in next year's rhythm dance, instead of a traditional compulsory.
 
"It's a little bit interesting," Oona said of the decision.
 
"Yes, it's an interesting choice," Gage agreed. "But I think it's cool. It's different. It gives you a little bit of freedom. It gets rid of the worry of having a pattern dance that you don't enjoy, which is not ideal. Although, after a couple of weeks, the pattern becomes part of your program, and you add your own things to it."
 
The Browns are excited to explore Latin music in next year's rhythm dance.
 
"We've never skated to a salsa or a samba before. I feel like it's good to try new rhythms. We should be trying every style, just to expand our musical and interpretive repertoire," Gage said.
 
They're also excited to see how their skills match up in the senior ranks.
 
"We obviously know that we wouldn't be at the top," Oona said. "It would be testing the waters."
 
The Browns are recognized for their strong skating skills and performance ability. They credit their coaches for pushing them in that area.
 
"They hone in on skating skills," Gage said. "Joel tries to make the transitions between elements very intricate. We don't want to make the mistake of just doing a couple of crossovers. Joel and Inese hone in on making everything look intricate and seamless. Transitions are a big thing we focus on."
 
Pursuing other interests gives the siblings a mental break from skating. The weekend before Junior Worlds, the two were in Florida competing in an Irish marching band competition, where their band took second place.
 
"We got right back to training on Monday and didn't skip a beat," Gage said.
 
It seems the Browns thrive on competition of all sorts.