It is a season of important firsts for Reagan Moss and Jakub Galbavy. Now in their third season together, the U.S. pair recently earned their first ISU Junior Grand Prix medal in Riga, Latvia.

“We waited a little bit for our first Junior Grand Prix medal. It’s super exciting,” Moss said.

“We are super grateful that we are able to compete here,” Galbavy added, regarding the Junior Grand Prix circuit. “I’m grateful that I can compete with my partner and achieve this kind of success together with her.”

First Challenger Series Experience

From Riga, they headed directly to Tokyo, Japan, for the Kinoshita Group Cup Challenger Series event, their first Challenger Series appearance, where they placed seventh.

For Moss and Galbavy, competing at the Challenger level felt familiar in some ways, but the atmosphere provided a new experience.

“It was honestly very similar to our Junior Grand Prix experiences, but the larger crowd at this event made it feel especially exciting and enjoyable!” said Moss.

“It felt good to compete against higher level pair teams,” added Galbavy. “We definitely enjoyed the experience!”

The back-to-back schedule also presented its own challenge. After competing at the JGP in Riga, they traveled across the globe to Japan and switched between their junior and senior programs.

“We were excited for the challenge of doing back-to-backs with one junior and one senior, and alternating between different programs and different continents,” Moss shared.

The team also earned a new personal best in the free skate at Kinoshita.

“It was not the score we were hoping for going into the competition, but we are ready to keep climbing,” said Moss. “We felt really comfortable at the event and although it wasn’t the performance we were hoping for, we are ready to keep improving both our Junior and senior programs.”

Galbavy agreed, adding: “There is still a lot of work to be done.”

For now, the team’s primary focus remains the Junior Grand Prix, but the Challenger experience provided valuable exposure to senior competition.

“We were happy to get ourselves out there and skate the senior programs,” said Moss. “Our main focus this year is our Junior Grand Prixes. We are just super grateful for the opportunity to compete at this Challenger Series and experience the Japanese culture and amazing crowd!”

The pair are eager to bring their senior programs back to the ice later in the season.

“We feel that with our normal senior run-throughs, we are prepared to move into the senior ranks,” said Moss. “We did have to technically modify the senior programs after a fall in Riga. So we are excited to show the senior programs again throughout the season.”

Beyond the competition itself, the trip gave the pair their first opportunity to experience Japan. The atmosphere left a particularly strong impression.

“I love people there!” said Galbavy. “They were so nice! We went out to see a temple in Asakusa, part of Tokyo. We stayed around Koto City, and we also explored the streets of Shinjuku.”

“The fan base and the venue were so amazing and it was cool to finally experience that firsthand,” added Moss. “The people, the food, all the experiences were all so positive. We’d love to come back to Japan again!”

Searching for the Right Programs

Testing their new senior programs was an essential step in the team’s development.

“We really wanted to do some new programs, more senior style,” Moss said. “We’re trying to take our steps up to senior.”

Choosing music for this transitional year was not that easy.

“We couldn’t decide,” Moss explained. “Our coach Trudy [Oltmanns] wanted something fun, a little something dancey because Jakub is a very good dancer.”

“No, I just like to dance. I’m not that good of a dancer,” said a modest Galbavy.

“He is a good dancer,” Moss insisted. “So we were deciding between a bunch of pieces, but ‘September’ [by Earth, Wind & Fire] was the highest on everybody’s rating combined.”

For Galbavy, the goal was simple: to perform and “make other people dance with us.”

Their free skate to Céline Dion’s “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” sets a distinctly romantic tone.

“We wanted to skate to it last year, but we decided to hold off a year,” Moss revealed. “I love, love, love the free program. I was very happy when we got to skate to it this year. I love the song in general—sometimes I listened to it before we were even skating to it. I just think it has so many highlights, and Céline Dion is such a great singer.”

“I think it was a good idea to wait a year because we grew a little bit, and I think now we are more mature for it,” Galbavy acknowledged.

A Well-Matched Team

Moss and Galbavy teamed up after Galbavy traveled from Slovakia for a tryout in May 2023. He had posted his profile on the Ice Partner Search website, where coach Trudy Oltmanns spotted him and reached out.

“It was my first time in the U.S. I always wanted to go, and the whole experience was very exciting,” Galbavy recalled. “But obviously, the main goal was to find a partner. I had only tried out a little bit back home, and I wanted to switch to pairs permanently.”

Two weeks after arriving, the Slovakian skater—who first discovered skating through a school program—decided to relocate to the United States to train with Moss.

“We matched really well, I think,” Galbavy said. “Literally from day one, we always had so much fun. And not just fun—we’ve gone through so many things together, and I’m just grateful that I can do it with Reagan.”

Galbavy adjusted quickly to life in a new country, supported by Moss, their coach, and his host family.

Moss, whose mother was a recreational skater, had only limited pairs experience before teaming up with Galbavy. He is her first long-term partner and the first with whom she has reached the international stage.

“It’s always nice having the comfort that your partner is right there,” Moss said. “And I do like to get tossed in the air and land it. There’s just something so exciting about it!”

Their strong chemistry is evident both on and off the ice.

“I think we both have very positive energy,” Moss noted. “Jakub is a very go-with-the-flow, chill type of guy.”

“We complement each other,” Galbavy added. “Reagan is always on top of everything. Even though I’m chill, I don’t know a lot of things sometimes. I always have to ask, but that’s why we can work together so well. I think that’s what makes our partnership stronger—our personalities are just very well matched.”

Beyond their personalities, their vision for skating aligns well. Moss particularly enjoys throws, while Galbavy favors jumps. Their twist remains a work in progress.

“We are working on our strengths and our weaknesses, always trying to make things better,” Galbavy pointed out.

Learning from the Best

Rather than modeling themselves after a single team, Moss and Galbavy draw inspiration from across the field.

“We look up to bits and pieces of everyone to try to take the best of people’s skating skills, presentation, and elements,” Moss said.

“We always like to watch events, and exactly as Reagan said, we just want to take the best from each team,” Galbavy agreed.

Both were deeply moved by Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara’s Olympic free skate in Milan.

“It was really exciting to watch!” Moss recalled. “I love how it built—I felt it in my heart. I hope that we can eventually put out something as good as that.”

Galbavy pays close attention to other teams’ lifts, highlighting Germany’s Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin.

“I like that team in general,” he said. “They’re very performative, too.”

Looking Ahead

The duo has established clear benchmarks for the rest of the season.

“We definitely want to improve our jumps, transitions, and skating skills,” Moss said. “We also have a new Group 5 Axel Lasso lift that we want to refine.”

Following their silver medal performance in Riga, the team is in a good position to qualify for the Junior Grand Prix Final—a prospect Moss calls “a dream come true.” They are next slated to compete at the JGP in Gdańsk, Poland.

“We will evaluate our strengths and weaknesses and make whatever changes we need to from there,” said Moss.

Participating in the 2027 World Junior Figure Skating Championships is another major target.

“The U.S. has three spots this year, so I hope we go. That would be fun,” Moss said.

For Moss and Galbavy, a Junior Worlds berth would be yet another important first in a partnership that continues to gain momentum.

Tatjana Flade

Tatjana is a freelance sportswriter from Germany specializing in figure skating. She has covered the sport since 1992 and attended Olympic Games, World and European Championships as well as many other events. When not sitting in an ice rink, she enjoys writing fiction, cooking, travelling and spending time at home with her cat. Tatjana is a published fiction author in Germany.