When 2020 U.S. junior pairs champions Kate Finster and Balazs Nagy partnered up two seasons ago, the team quickly developed a sibling-type relationship with Nagy as the protective big brother. This dynamic comes into play with their music selection and the characters they portray.
They both must mutually agree on the piece, as does their coach and choreographer Dalilah Sappenfield. The free skate is to a medley of "To Build a Home" by Cinematic Orchestra and "Rain in Your Black Eyes" by Ezio Bosso. Finster says these songs tell the story of how they are building together as a team and constantly improving. Their short program this season is to "Hallelujah," which Finster explains they dedicated to loved ones they lost.
At the U.S. Championships, Mariah Bell won the silver medal in the senior ladies' division after bringing the house down with her interpretation of "Hallelujah." Nagy was close to the ice to witness her memorable performance firsthand. "It was just a very emotional performance by her that I really kind of connected I think with everyone in the audience," he remembers.
Finster and Nagy both also began as singles skaters, but ultimately decided to switch to pairs. After her partnership with Eric Hartley ended, Finster's mom and Nagy connected via an online pairs team matchmaking website. Nagy thought he had hung up his skates for good when his singles career ended, but he decided to create an online profile and explore pairs. After a couple of tryouts with Finster in her home state of Kentucky, the rest was history in the making. They now train in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
The newly formed team won silver at the 2019 U.S. Championships at the junior level in their first season together and moved on up to the top of the podium this year, taking home the top prize. "I feel after getting silver, which I was very happy with, [we were] more motivated to be at the top of the podium this year," Finster says. "We felt more comfortable [that] the team was working together and overall just trying to get to our goal of winning."
Their singles backgrounds certainly come into play with the consistency of their jumps, which many pairs struggle with. Finster says their daily training regimen includes devoting at least 45 minutes solely to jumps. She is working on adding more triples to her repertoire and they have added a triple Salchow to their program in preparation for competing against the best of the best at the World Junior Championships.
Nagy found communicating with a partner on the ice and tracking her positioning to be amongst the most difficult adjustments to make when transitioning to pairs. "[It] was very difficult for me at first to understand where my partner was going to be and where I need to be to move as one," he says. "Doing a jump in such close proximity to somebody is kind of scary at first because you feel like you're going to hit them, but then you don't."
Also in pairs, you are only as strong as the weakest link. The judging system stipulates that, in a side-by-side jump, the team only receives the full point value if both skaters execute the element completely. "That's where you have to kind of check your ego because it doesn't matter if you do it because, if your partner makes a mistake, you still don't get the credit," says Nagy. "Pairs really isn't about you; it's about the team."
Another area of strength for this promising team is their fast speed in the death spiral and general skating elements, as well as the height of their explosive throw triple twist. "Speed in most pair elements is the result of the two people on the team working as one and it just becomes more effortless," explains Nagy. "The biggest thing with the twist is when your twist is bigger, it's also more efficient… It's less effort to do a bigger twist than it would be to do a smaller twist with worse technique."
Their approach to improving the speed of their death spiral sounds like a physics lesson. "We've been really focusing on keeping tension between the both of us and just understanding the pull," says Finster.
Due to Nagy aging out of the junior level at the conclusion of this season, they plan to make their debut on the senior circuit next year. In the meantime, be sure to catch Finster and Nagy represent Team USA at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships 2020 from March 2-8, 2020 in Tallinn, Estonia. Competition is available live and on-demand on the
ISU YouTube page.
