ryan bradley

[sasha4ever02]

so im confused. i thought he was skating at the same level as the other senior men like timmy, evan, etc. but did he switch to college skating or something? maybe i just missed it....what college does he go to? and how does college skating work?? what are the advantages and disadvantages and how good do you have to be? just curious!!

[Skatemusicgirl]

All I know is that Ryan Bradley skates for University of Colorado, Colorado Springs.

[frosti_babi]

I believe that Ryan Bradley had an injury last season so he couldn't compete at US Nationals, but the year before, in 2004, he came in 6th! I guess you could call the National Collegiate Championships his comeback competition. Basically, you sign up for the National Collegiate Championships which means that any full-time college athlete can participate as long as they are US Figure Skating members and they've passed the corresponding test level. So to compete in Senior you need to have passed the Senior Freestyle test!

The advantages of skating collegiate are usually that the competitions are more laid back, not quite as serious as a regional or national event. Usually the skaters aren't as competitive as other skaters their level that are not even in college yet. Last year, ALisa Czisny won Senior ladies, but is also a competitive in the amateur ranks. That's pretty rare, though. Also you can still compete at US Nationals if you compete at the Colllegiate Championships. The disadvantages are that if you win you're name is not as well known as someone who wins the US Title, but for skaters looking to skate through college and present their stuff against the other collegian figure skaters then this is their thing!

[sasha4ever02]

I believe that Ryan Bradley had an injury last season so he couldn't compete at US Nationals, but the year before, in 2004, he came in 6th! I guess you could call the National Collegiate Championships his comeback competition. Basically, you sign up for the National Collegiate Championships which means that any full-time college athlete can participate as long as they are US Figure Skating members and they've passed the corresponding test level. So to compete in Senior you need to have passed the Senior Freestyle test!

The advantages of skating collegiate are usually that the competitions are more laid back, not quite as serious as a regional or national event. Usually the skaters aren't as competitive as other skaters their level that are not even in college yet. Last year, ALisa Czisny won Senior ladies, but is also a competitive in the amateur ranks. That's pretty rare, though. Also you can still compete at US Nationals if you compete at the Colllegiate Championships. The disadvantages are that if you win you're name is not as well known as someone who wins the US Title, but for skaters looking to skate through college and present their stuff against the other collegian figure skaters then this is their thing!


Oh ok. Thanks so much for explaining all that to me!!! That clears things up a bit. I also read somewhere Ryan was homeschooled in high school or maybe all his life or something. That's great you can do both, if I were skater I would love to compete in both college competitions and the US Title stuff but I guess it's too hard to balance both right?? Thanks again!