Paul Wirtz has passed away (Canadian coach & brother of Kris Wirtz)

candycane · Apr 6, 2006

Paul Wirtz has passed away (Canadian coach & brother of Kris Wirtz)

My heart goes out to the Wirtz families. Apparently he died of cancer yesterday. What a shock to the skating community, he had such an impact on skating, coaching many of Canada's finest pairs. How sad, and fast and just unfair.

STL_Blues_fan · Apr 6, 2006

what terrible news. is it the same Kris that skated (and married) Kristy Seargent? Or is it another family member? My condolences to Kris's family and friends.

Sylvia · Apr 6, 2006

Yes, Paul was the brother of Kris who married Kristy Sargeant. Reportedly, Paul Wirtz's cancer was non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He coached several pair teams -- Cronin/Shales in senior and the gold and silver medalist junior pairs -- at Canadian Nationals in January, and used to coach Elizabeth Putnam/Sean Wirtz (his nephew).

dlkksk8fan · Apr 6, 2006

That is very sad news. He wasn't that old was he? In his 40's?

lotusland · Apr 6, 2006

Sad news for the Wirtz family and friends. My thoughts and prayers go out to them at this time of loss.

Paul Wirtz was almost obsessed with coaching figure skating. He was 150% dedicated to his profession. For someone so young (IIRC, mid to late 40's) he was a very old fashioned coach ... a real task master. Although not everyone may have understood his ways, Paul was always able to get much more out of his students than most people thought was possible. The coach of many Canadian single and pair champions, as well as international medallists, and World and Olympic competitors, his record stands amongst the best in Canada. The Canadian coaching landscape will definately be the poorer for Paul's absence.

Petlover · Apr 6, 2006

My heart goes out to Paul Wirtz's family. I lost my sister to cancer last November, and oh, how it hurts.

Antilles · Apr 6, 2006

What terrible news. Did he have a family? It sucks no matter what, but I hope he didn't have little ones.

Mathman · Apr 6, 2006

lotusland said:
Sad news for the Wirtz family and friends. My thoughts and prayers go out to them at this time of loss.

Paul Wirtz was almost obsessed with coaching figure skating. He was 150% dedicated to his profession. For someone so young (IIRC, mid to late 40's) he was a very old fashioned coach ... a real task master. Although not everyone may have understood his ways, Paul was always able to get much more out of his students than most people thought was possible. The coach of many Canadian single and pair champions, as well as international medallists, and World and Olympic competitors, his record stands amongst the best in Canada. The Canadian coaching landscape will definately be the poorer for Paul's absence.

Well said. A great loss. I add my sympathies to his family.

PAskate · Apr 7, 2006

Official announcement is now posted on the Central Ontario Skate Canada website...

http://www.skatecanada-centralontario.com/

When I hadn't seen anything official yesterday, I was still hoping that this might have been a miscommunication. I'm sure his family and friends will be in many of our thoughts.

PAskate · Apr 7, 2006

Offiical Skate Canada Announcement Now Posted...

http://www.skatecanada.ca/en/news_views/news/2005_2006/06_apr7_2.cfm

Ladskater · Apr 7, 2006

Wow! What a shock to read this news. The Wirtz's are a figure skating family. Indeed it is not only a great loss to them but to the Skate Canada family as well. Paul Wirtz contributed a lot to our pairs discipline. He will be missed by all. My condolences to the family.

lotusland · Apr 9, 2006

Here is a link to a story in one of the Ottawa newspapers about Paul's passing:
http://ottsun.canoe.ca/Sports/OtherSports/2006/04/09/1526662-sun.html

Paul Wirtz has passed away (Canadian coach & brother of Kris Wirtz)

candycane

STL_Blues_fan

Sylvia

dlkksk8fan

lotusland

Petlover

Antilles

Mathman

PAskate

PAskate

Ladskater

~ Figure Skating Is My Passion ~

lotusland

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