Shoma Uno, two-time world champion and decorated Olympic mens skater, has officially announced his retirement. We share our feelings about his career and exit from competition, talk about other recent retirements, and explore the new Rhythm Dance themes and proposed ISU rule changes.

The inevitable has finally happened: Japan’s legendary short king, Shoma Uno, has announced his retirement. As you may expect if you’ve listened to this podcast — or are also a huge Shoma fan — we have a lot of feelings about it that we share during this episode.

There have been hints for the past year the his retirement from competitive figure skating was coming, but the reality of the hit the men’s field takes without having Shoma’s distinct artistry, ability, and sportsmanship cannot be overstated. 

However, if there’s a bright side, it’s that Shoma can now pursue more artistic endeavors with his skating — which hopefully fans far and wide will be able to enjoy for years to come. Also, there’s something to be said for the new guard of men’s skating taking its rightful place and going forward.

The field has its next tri-velry — with Ilia Malinin, Yuma Kagiyama, and Adam Siao Him Fa showing they are all in line for podium spots at the next Olympic Games. Behind them, there’s a long list of men who are not too far behind and perhaps soon will be vying for those top spots as well. It’s a time of change, and we’ll have to wait and see what the landscape looks like next season.

Ice Dance Thematics for the Next Two Seasons

Speaking of next season, we also dig into the updated themes for the Rhythm Dance for the next two season — which will be “Social Dances and Styles of the 1950s, 1960s & 1970s” next season and “Dance Styles and Music from the 21st century – high energy and pop culture” in the 2025/2026 season. 

Proposed ISU Rule Changes

There are also rule changes potentially coming soon. The ISU will be voting this July on quite a few adjustments to the current rules, which are rumored to include everything from the removal of one jump combination in the free skate for single skaters to no more penalties for the backflip. We’ll have to wait and see what passes and what doesn’t, but its certainly something the keep an eye on during the offseason!

Deanna Stellato-Dudek Petition

If you’d like to help Canadian pairs team—and reigning world champions!—Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deshamps realize their Olympics 2026 dream, here’s how: Sign the Change.org petition in support of Deanna’s bid for Canadian citizenship! View and sign the petition here.

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