I hope Joannie Rochette wins this one

shine · Dec 14, 2003

She seriously is the most talented skater of her generation. Her skating and her arms absolutely mesmerize me. I doubt she doesn't play an instrument herself, because the kind of classical musical sophistication is so apparent in her skating. I think Secret Garden should be banned from skating after Joanie. I've never been a fan of skater skating to slow, pretty music, but Joannie does it like no other. I don't mean this to sound like a cliche, but she totally skates like a poet.
Gush gush gush. I hope she wins this one.

rain · Dec 15, 2003

I hope she wins this one too, if only for the promotion of new blood if nothing else. I do think of all the ladies skaters in Canada right now she has the most potential to compete internationally. The other ladies have been around a long time now and none of them have progressed to podium-quality international performances. I can't help but think that part of what is wrong with the Canadian ladies program as a whole is that there hasn't been anyone to shoot for for quite some time. Just look at the renewed vigor of the pairs program post-Sale/Pelletier....in a few years I think Canada will have one of the strongest pairs fields in the world, rivaling China/Russia. Bourne and Kratz have been a light in the dance field, and our men's program has produced a succession of international-calibre champions, with Buttle and Sandhu now coming of age. In ladies, while I don't want to diminish what Jennifer Robinson has accomplished, as I've always felt she is an excellent ambassador for Canada, she's never really broken through into that top rank of skaters, because, well, she's not ever really been more than "decent." Shooting for someone ranked maybe 7th in the world is a lot different than setting your sights on someone ranked 1st. Every year I watch the ladies field hoping to see some new spark of inspiration and I haven't seen much. I was impressed when I saw Joannie Let's hoping this year at nationals is different.

Tonichelle · Dec 15, 2003

I have yet to see her skate... she got chacked on ABC the other day

shine · Dec 19, 2003

That was idiotic of ABC to chack Joannie and show Sokolova, who placed above Sokolova in both phases of the competition at CoR. Hopefully Joannie will make a member of the ABC on air list soon.

hockeyfan228 · Dec 19, 2003

Rochette was one of the fastest Ladies' at Worlds last year. She had fine edges too. I think the speed and power in her stroking was the antidote to the sweetness of her music.

Spark · Dec 22, 2003

I've been pretty excited about her too. She certainly is beautiful to watch. She doesn't seem to be that secure competing internationally yet though, so I'm not sure what winning nationals would do to her mentally. She may be better off going to 4CC and worlds as the second-ranked skater in Canada again, and getting some strong international performances under her belt before she's crowned as Canada's Top Skater. But who knows: a win at nationals just may have the opposite effect on her and boost her confidence. Also, I'd like to see Rochette perform up to her full potential at nationals, and if she does that she can definitely win.

In any case, I hope to see Jennifer Robinson on the world team as well, because Jennifer has a lot of experience and she knows how to put down the jumps under pressure. I agree that she's never been spectacular, but she's been solid. If Robinson goes to worlds, she will take the pressure off the other, less experienced ladies skater that goes with her, because Robinson has shown she can get into the top ten.

lise · Dec 22, 2003

I agree with Spark. Joannie would benefit more by going to Worlds without the pressure and expectations it takes to be Canadian champ. This is her first season on the GPF, and she's done not bad. 1 more season, and she will be ready to take on the world.

With Jennifer being National champion for so long, she has allowed other skaters to develop at their own pace. She is top 10 at Worlds, which takes the pressure off the other skater. She knows what it takes to compete on the world stage, and we still need her. SC have a lot of faith in her and her ability to get the job done. She also tends to skate her best at Nationals.

I can honestly say that this is going to be a real treat to watch!!

shine · Dec 29, 2003

I think you guys are right!!!!!!!!!! Joannie has to go to worlds, but without the heavy expectation as the new Canadian champ!!!!! Hopefully she'll be there and place At LEAST top ten

Joesitz (RIP) · Dec 29, 2003

Give this gal a good coach and a good choreographer and Canada has an Olympic contender. There is soooo much talent there that needs to be gathered up and organized.

Joe

Spark · Dec 29, 2003

I don't know, I think the coach she has has done a pretty good job with her so far! I would like to see how a different choreographer would look on her though. Not that her programs by David Wilson aren't any good, just that I'd like to see what someone else could do for her.

Joesitz (RIP) · Dec 30, 2003

Hi Spark - I agree. She needs someone to bring out a 'style' which I think is not quite there yet.

Joe

shine · Dec 30, 2003

I think Joannie already has style galore and all the artistry in the world. All she needs is some consisteny and a mentality that helps her get into the fighting mode everytime she's on the ice, the thing which most of the Canadian women have lacked for a long, long time.
And I don't want her to leave David Wilson just yet. They have been putting out some of the most beautiful, musical programs I've seen.

Spark · Dec 31, 2003

I think her programs have been pretty, but they don't really stand out. I agree that Joannie has a natural flow and musicality, but I think she's got potential to be better than she is in terms of unique and meaningful choreography. Of course, since she's kept her free program from last season, she and her coach may be trying to focus on her jumping technique and her competitive mentality, which is probably wise at this point.

I haven't seen her new short program, so I can't form an opinion on whether it's better than her previous ones.

Miss Mushie · Jan 1, 2004

Joannie

I've seen Joannie skate three times at competitions, Pierrefonds a summer competition in Quebec, 2002 Nationals in Hamilton, and Skate Canada in Mississauga.

I've seen great improvements in her skating! Her SP this year is beautiful, and she has wonderful presence on the ice. I agree that another year of SR GP would be very beneficial for her. She enjoys working with David Wilson...and as the year has gone on, she's improved making that confidence level go up. I often tell her to skate for herself, because she has no control over the judges, just what she does. That's all you can do! I think it would be interesting to see what another choreographer could do for her...but who would you suggest? I really enjoy Lori Nichol. She's made some beautiful programs.

Anyway, the last time I saw Joannie was in Newmarket, doing Celebration On Ice. She was skating REALLY well, Jenn was there also, and I didn't find her skating as refined...and that's speaking on a spectator level, not a friend level LOL! I think Joannie feels confident now, though I'm sure nerves do play a part, and for her, her goal is whatever happens happens, and I'm very confident that she will finish top 3

Until Nats start

Sarah

Ladskater · Jan 3, 2004

This all sounds good. No disrespect to Jennifer, but it would be nice to see a "changing of the guards!"

Blade1 · Jan 4, 2004

I too see alot of greatness from Joannie. The first and only time I've seen her skate live is at Nationals in 2002 and she was enjoyable to watch. And watching her on TV from then on forward, she remindes me of a young Josee Chouinard.

With Nationals this week, I'd like to see a fresh new face on top of the podium, and like someone said, others like Bellemare, Currie etc... who have been out there , Joannie has probably improved and developed more so than the others. No disrespect to Jennifer either, just to me, I find her "slow" in her speed, and just doesn't have that same "spark" as to use to. So I'd be a happy Canadian if I saw Joannie on top this year at Nationals. I think she would do extreamly well at World's too. I mean you've got to give her a chance !!

RealtorGal · Jan 5, 2004

shine said:
She seriously is the most talented skater of her generation. Her skating and her arms absolutely mesmerize me. I doubt she doesn't play an instrument herself, because the kind of classical musical sophistication is so apparent in her skating. I think Secret Garden should be banned from skating after Joanie. I've never been a fan of skater skating to slow, pretty music, but Joannie does it like no other. I don't mean this to sound like a cliche, but she totally skates like a poet.
Gush gush gush. I hope she wins this one.

Wow, I guess you are REALLY a fan!

I think "most talented skater of her generation" is going a bit too far, doncha think? The only performance I've seen is at Cup of Russia, and she came across as fairly ho hum--nothing to write home about. I see potential but not much else at this point. She reminded me a lot of Tonia Kwiatkowski, whose movements I always found a bit jerky.

Lynn226 · Jan 5, 2004

I enjoyed watching Joannie at the SC practices and she did well in her short program which was shown during the CoR broadcast.

shine · Jan 5, 2004

Re: Re: I hope Joannie Rochette wins this one

RealtorGal said:
Wow, I guess you are REALLY a fan! I think "most talented skater of her generation" is going a bit too far, doncha think? The only performance I've seen is at Cup of Russia, and she came across as fairly ho hum--nothing to write home about. I see potential but not much else at this point. She reminded me a lot of Tonia Kwiatkowski, whose movements I always found a bit jerky.

Obviously you are not seeing what I am seeing. Not unusual

And Kwiakowski has never been the most talented skater of any generation so Joannie doesn't remind me of her.

Not sure how Joannie's movement could be called jerky. She is one of the most fluid skaters I've EVER seen. Edges to die for, arms and all.

ice_mommy · Jan 5, 2004

I agree with your assessment of Kwiatkowski, but I don't see how you can say that Joannie looks like this when she skates. I think one of her strong points is that she's able to connect her movements seemlessly with each other and her music. She's had jump consistency problems this season. I'm hoping that her 6 triple qualifying skate means she's dealt with these problems. Go Joannie...skate well

I hope Joannie Rochette wins this one

shine

rain

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll

shine

hockeyfan228

Spark

lise

shine

Joesitz (RIP)

Spark

Joesitz (RIP)

shine

Spark

Miss Mushie

Ladskater

~ Figure Skating Is My Passion ~

Blade1

RealtorGal

Lynn226

shine

ice_mommy

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