Delobel and Schoenfelder will stay for Olympics

This has been a question asked repeatedly on this board I think, and I just found this article over at fsuniverse that states that the FFSG has convinced them to stay for the Olympics. Here's the article:
http://www.ouest-france.fr/actu/actu_sport_FluxRSS.php?idArticle=238439&indexFlux=1

Only problem is...it's in French, so I can't translate lol.

Well my french is a little rusty but I'll have a go!

The French federation of Winter sports (FFSG) announced on Thursday that the ice dance couple Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfleder will continue their career until the Olympic Games in Vancouver in 2010. The 2007 European Champions and 2008 World Ice Dance Champions , Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfleder will try to win the only medal they are missing, in 2010 with the Olympic games in Vancouver. The FFSG, which announced the news on Thursday, stated in an official statement “proud to have convinced them to continue their brilliant career. Today the couple, who are world number 1, will continue to work until Vancouver at the sides of their coaches Muriel Zaoui-Butcher and Romain Haguenauer in Lyon Charlemagne, France”.

Feel free to correct it as there where bits I didn't understand (esp last sentence) but I think I got the idea!

Glad they're staying, looking forward to some more interesting programs from them!

Yes!!! Thank you for posting this!

Great news! I'm so glad that they'll continue to compete as eligibles. :agree:

Yay! Now all I need to make my joy complete is for D/L to come back and for Wester/Barantsev to make it there too. Those would be two incredible nights of skating.

Yay! So glad to hear this! Olys without them wouldn't be the same. They are such a great couple!

Audrey19 said:

Yay! So glad to hear this! Olys without them wouldn't be the same. They are such a great couple!

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yay! That's all I will say!

wow. that is really a surprise. Now it will be a question of they can keep up that level of excellence or was this year just a fluke? Can they beat the russians?

Tinymavy15 said:

wow. that is really a surprise. Now it will be a question of they can keep up that level of excellence or was this year just a fluke? Can they beat the russians?

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Good question. They've had such a tough career, not always getting the deserved recognition (as many other skaters).
For Domnina & Shabalin, I believe that Delobel and Schoenfelder are a lot better because although the russians have pleasant skating, it lacks maturity and intricacy. The question is will the judges allow Delobel and Schoenfelder to keep up with Domnina and Shabalin?
For K&N that's a tougher question. They're definitly the rising stars of ice-dancing, although this season they didn't quite have the right level to beat Delobel and Schoenfelder but they very quickly will, the question is when?
As for the excellence, they're pretty irregular, but I think this season has given them wings. They are capable of doing amazing programs (like this year's one or the venice carnaval one) and are technical wizards, but they need to work more on their exhibitions (something they've started doing) if they want to keep on being favourites. But it's true, after such an amazing FD this year it's going to be hard to keep up the standard.

Tinymavy15 said:

Can they beat the russians?

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They prob can't. I so see them wuzrobbed. And then there are amerikans and canadians as well.

I like their skating, so I'm glad they are staying. I don't think they'll ever top another World or Olympic podium though. Dom&Shab wil be back, B&A will be on home turf next year, and V&M will be on home turf in 2010. I think Del&Shoe will get pushed down/off the podium.

Honestly, I think their World Championship was a gift this year. Not that they didn't skate well and have had a long, illustrious career but I think they are courting disappointment by staying in. I just don't see them staying on top, that's for sure.

But I guess if you can still be competitive and healthy then go ahead on. I really think they didn't make a wise choice, though.

omg....does this mean...los angeles....my home town....worlds?!
*jumps for joy!*

~tapdancer said:

Honestly, I think their World Championship was a gift this year. Not that they didn't skate well and have had a long, illustrious career but I think they are courting disappointment by staying in. I just don't see them staying on top, that's for sure.

But I guess if you can still be competitive and healthy then go ahead on. I really think they didn't make a wise choice, though.

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a gift... :sheesh:

Tinymavy15 said:

wow. that is really a surprise. Now it will be a question of they can keep up that level of excellence or was this year just a fluke? Can they beat the russians?

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honestly who knows. and plus at this point of their careers i doubt they have extreme worries of "losing" i see it more as having fun and living the sport they love. right?
of course they will try their best blah blah blah....but come on. fluke....

~tapdancer said:

Honestly, I think their World Championship was a gift this year. Not that they didn't skate well and have had a long, illustrious career but I think they are courting disappointment by staying in. I just don't see them staying on top, that's for sure.

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Well they're a bit used to disappointment.
Their world title may have been a gift, but I think it's one they deserve as they didn't get medals they should have got before (for example olympic bronze).

I don't think their World Championship was a gift at all, but I do think that if they wanted to retire at the pinnacle doing so now would be the way to go. I wouldn't be surprised if there is/was a general feeling or expectation in the skating community that it would be a good time for them to retire, too -- as in, you've got that gold, go out on top.

But, if they want to stay, great! But I hope _they_ really want to, and they're not doing it just to please their federation or whatever.

~tapdancer said:

Honestly, I think their World Championship was a gift this year.

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not to knock them, but after re-watching their freedance last weekend I have to say how surprised I was they won. he stepped out of a lot of thier turns and it looked tentative at times. Virtue and Moir owned that night. I liked the French dance, but i felt they did not skate it well enough.

Tinymavy15 said:

not to knock them, but after re-watching their freedance last weekend I have to say how surprised I was they won. he stepped out of a lot of thier turns and it looked tentative at times. Virtue and Moir owned that night. I liked the French dance, but i felt they did not skate it well enough.

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lead in their CD and OD...the points add up. they win.

but you can treat the gift theory two ways:
a gift as pity
or
"finally they are rewarded"

sorry if i misinterpreted.

irregardless of pleasing their federation....THEY ARE STAYING! LOS ANGELES!!

NatachaHatawa said:

Their world title may have been a gift, but I think it's one they deserve as they didn't get medals they should have got before (for example olympic bronze).

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That's how I felt, too. This has been my favorite team for several years. Time after time they gave the most entertaining performance of the evening, only to be left off the podium. Now finally they get their reward -- but for a performance that was far from their best.

1795 said:

lead in their CD and OD...the points add up. they win.

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I can see why they got the lead for the OD. It was very imaginitive and Virtue/Moir's wasn't that good... but i felt they were over-marked in the CD.

Tinymavy15 said:

I can see why they got the lead for the OD. It was very imaginitive and Virtue/Moir's wasn't that good... but i felt they were over-marked in the CD.

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IMO, they were more tentative than V/M, but they weren't any worse than the canadians. Those two presented 2 totally different styles. The french had the most complex choreography of all teams this year, and V/M had the easier, less complex program that was skated with greater passion, vigor and attack than the French had. IMO, it was a tossup. In fact the judges gave them the higher marks to V/M for technical elements, but I think they were right to give the top presentation marks to D/S. I think this article from a site I came upon by accident sums it up pretty well:

"Delobel/Schoenfelder followed with "The Piano," in which they incorporate sign language to further the love story. They are not an uber-dramatic couple, which is why I love them so: they don't need to be over the top to convey the emotional undercurrents of the dance and the complicated relationships between the characters. [Full disclosure: they are the only team since Uzova/Zhulin who have made my all-time favorites list.] They skated the program with great flow and an emotional depth and maturity that I think is unmatched. They did not win the Free Dance -- Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir did with their very fast "Umbrellas of Cherbourgh" program -- but they were worthy champions. Virtue/Moir are wonderful skaters -- in coach and skating royalty interviews, Scott Moir is routinely mentioned for his talent -- and their goal this year was to gain the speed that was lacking. They succeeded, but they lost the nuance of last year's "Valse Triste" along the way."

and I have to say ice dancing is one discipline where the generation gap stands out and disadvantages the older skaters the most. For instance, it surprised me when I learned that before CoP, skaters didn't have to twizzle in both directions. I always could tell almst all the older teams were not too comfortable with these long sets of twizzles. For instance, Lauzon and Deubriel had the messiest and most unsynced twizzles out of everyone, but in retrospect it makes sense. So what I find a bit frustrating about this debate about v/M and D/S is that people in general don't give the older genrations much credit for adapting to a completely new system.