All Things Ice Dance: Canadian

[Dragonlady]

The Wing & Lowe teams are coming along just fine but it's still to early to crown the school the Great Canadian Hope just yet. We've been prepared to do this for a long time, first when Bruno Marcotte went out there to start the Pairs School, and then when the Kraatz's first started coaching out there. To be honest, O&W are the only team I've seen from this school so I can't really comment on the school when I haven't seen the students or how they skate, and to be honest, I wasn't that taken with what I saw of O&W at Canadians. I'm more impressed with the 6th from Jr. Worlds for O&W than their Lake Placid results because the field was tougher.

Yes, the Lake Placid result was very good and we'll get a chance to see O&W on the GP circuit this fall and see what they look like. A"very fine dance school" to me is one which is consistently putting skaters on the top podiums. We don't have any schools in Canada doing that. We have some decent schools and some promising schools, but no very fine dance schools.

[Dragonlady]

Double post deleted.

[slipslidin]

Dragonlady, I understand your reluctance to comment on Wing and Lowe's school. I'm sure you'll get a chance to hear of their skaters very soon. Just an example; one of their very good junior teams, Edwards and Pang, had the highest score of any junior team at Lake Placid. Stay tuned for further developments!

ETA: Yes, we'll see Orford and Williams at two GPs in their first year as seniors. They earned enough points last year to qualify.

[colleen o'neill]

Dragonlady ...No one said anything about the Great Canadian Hope ... It's too bad you saw nothing of the Jr. competition at Canadians last year, there was lots of talent on display, and it was easier to get to see than it's ever been, between TV , skatebuzz and Ustream.

Why would you compare O/W's Jr World's finish with the first summer competition of their first full senior year ? Perhaps Jr World's compared to 6th place finish at Sr. Canadians ( fifth in the FD ) would be more apros pos..that being a competition where the first two couples were unassailable , and O/W's overall marks were very close to the 4th and 5th place teams ( surpassing the overall 5th place team in the FD )...and it was their first Sr. competition.

Unlike Wing and Lowe's JR .teams ... which are all pretty equal in ability , partner to partner, having been with W/L from the beginning..O/W have only been together 2 yrs..Thomas having come from other schools. Last year, you could see that they'd made some progress bringing Thomas up to Nicole's level of polish .. I'll be watching to see what the progress is this year.

What is promising to me is the meeting with 2 different ( I think ) judging panels at LPIDC..no Canadian judges , let alone BC judges , and that they were given some very creditable scores.. even though by the few reports that have come out so far, they didn't have completely error free skates.

[ImaginaryPogue]

It seems like it's a semantics debate, at this point.

[slipslidin]

It must be semantics, as Dragonlady claims no actual knowledge of the school and teams in question. I'm willing to concede that fine may have a very different meaning for her than good, and will therefore amend my original comment, thus: I find it amusing that so many Easterners are unwilling to admit that there is a good ice dance school in B.C. For me the meaning of that statement remains unchanged.

[Dragonlady]

It must be semantics, as Dragonlady claims no actual knowledge of the school and teams in question. I'm willing to concede that fine may have a very different meaning for her than good, and will therefore amend my original comment, thus: I find it amusing that so many Easterners are unwilling to admit that there is a good ice dance school in B.C. For me the meaning of that statement remains unchanged.

When would I have seen these skaters? Most of the teams you discuss, I've never heard of, much less seen? I go by international results, and one JGP gold will cause me to take notice for the future, but not send me into ecstasy. And for some reality, O&W's SD score at Lake Placid would have placed them in 16th spot at Worlds last year, right behind Ralph & Hill.

Every since 8 Rinks opened, we've been waiting for something amazing to happen there, but other than incessant whining by Joanne McLeod that her skaters don't get the marks they deserve, there has been little in the way of international results to get people excited.

Now I have a question for you. Why do you need easterners, or anyone for that matter, to validate your opinion?

[slipslidin]

I find your Question unanswerable, Dragonlady, my dear. It seems to be based on a faulty premise. I post my opinions here with some trepidition, and read, without posting for some years, because I cannot debate with those who take every dissenting opinion as a personal afront and rush to the attack, spittle flying.

Let me mention, in passing, that I have not mentioned Ralph and Hill in these comments. They did not go to Lake Placid and are from a dfferent school.

[dorispulaski]

Will Ralph & Hill be at the Thornhill competition? I seem to remember that they will be.

[colleen o'neill]

I believe R/H are entered in both the SD and the FD at Thornhill ( also G/P and P/I )

[blue dog]

As an American, I am jealous that Canada has so many wonderful schools.

However, there are only two Canadian "schools" that are truly making waves in ice dance, and they're run by Russians. In Detroit.

Wing/Lowe, Dubreuil/Lauzon, Islam, and the Lanes all have wonderful schools...but none of their skaters are out there cracking the top 6 at worlds. None of their skaters have ever cracked the top 6 at worlds while skating for them, but that's fine. They all teach fine technique, and maybe one day, they will.

[slipslidin]

I agree with your assessment, but now that I am on my toes semantically, I wonder if it might be wiser to say 'good'.

[golden411]

I believe R/H are entered in both the SD and the FD at Thornhill ( also G/P and P/I )

Ralph/Hill only in SD at Thornhill -- not FD.
Gilles/Poirier and Paul/Islam will compete in both.

http://www.skatecanada-centralontari...2012/ssden.pdf
http://www.skatecanada-centralontari...2012/sfden.pdf

[colleen o'neill]

Yes, blue dog , too true .. which is why , after last year's Canadians , many of us were praying that some , at least , of the #'s 4 , 5, and 6 teams would go to Detroit ( or somewhere ) to get that extra push to take them to the next level.

Having said that, I'm interested in how the coaching , as well as the skating is developing nationally , and don't judge who I think has qualities deserving of praise only based on World or Sr.GP results ... or , necessarily, on the length of establishment of the school... Our skaters can't just be farmed out at 8 or 9 yrs. of age.... Good, fine , wonderful , excellent up to a given level is an admirable thing ,especially if, in time, that level can be moved higher.

If there's been a bit of a shake-up going on with the advent of W/L's and D/L's schools ..I think that's a good thing. We're always saying that one of the benefits of sending our teams elsewhere is that they have other good teams to compete with / be inspired by... The same has to be true of coaching..everybody benefits from competition ..keeps everyone on their toes and striving for excellence. ( However this will only work if everyone admits the competition exists. It will do no good to say "La-la-la-la" and look the other way. )

ETA: I'm disappointed that R/H will not compete their FD at Thornhill .

[chuckm]

And for some reality, O&W's SD score at Lake Placid would have placed them in 16th spot at Worlds last year, right behind Ralph & Hill.

It is NOT reality to compare O/W's score from their first competition of the season to R/H's score in their final season competition.