Narumi Takahashi & Mervin Tran Fan Fest

[colleen o'neill]

I just love this pair and wish them the best of luck. It's really a pity that Japan won't allow dual citizenship. That's the big difference between their case and the cases of Katelyn Weaver and Tanith Belbin .. Yes, both girls' new citizenships may have been expedited ( I believe Tanith's was , at least )..but both countries allow dual citizenship. So both these young women can embrace their new countries without having to feel they're turning their back on their roots .

I'm Canadian , and I won't stop loving Narumi and Mervyn's skating whatever their nationality. It will be a difficult decision for Mervyn. I respect the seriousness with which he's facing it , and will respect him whatever he decides to do.



ETA: Another Gauthier team , Utako Wakamatsu and Jean-Sebastien Fecteau competed for Canada and faced a similar dilemma. They placed 8th at Worlds in 2005, ( I think) .In the end ,it was just a step too far for Utako. It was sad, but completely understandable.

[sky_fly20]

Sorry but i think it would be BS to give someone citizenship who doesn't come even close to qualifying for it just to be a stronger team at the Olympics.

Tran getting citizenship is very unlikely
its not like Japan will win team event anyway if they had T/T in pairs, they are still improving and Japan doesn't have an ice dance team

[colleen o'neill]

Do the Reeds not both have Japanese citizenship ? According to their Wikipedia entries , the choice must be made at age 22 , and Chris will turn 23 in July..So , unless they're thinking of calling it quits, Japan does have an ice dance team...No?

[brightphoton]

Considering how difficult it is for anyone to gain a Japanese citizenship, why not get the girl to become a Canadian citizen?

[icefan1005]

Considering how difficult it is for anyone to gain a Japanese citizenship, why not get the girl to become a Canadian citizen?

I don't think Narumi wants to give up her Japanese citizenship since it's very hard to get back. If she becomes a Canadian citizen, I think they'll have to sit out a season or two. They can give it a try if they want to target the 2018 Olympics.

[golden411]

Considering how difficult it is for anyone to gain a Japanese citizenship, why not get the girl to become a Canadian citizen?

Plus a practical issue is that Skate Canada already has viable pairs in contention for their Olympic slots. Giving up his/her native citizenship is a lot to ask of any skater, and in Narumi's case, it would not guarantee an opportunity for T/T to compete in Sochi or PyeongChang.

[Jammers]

I just love this pair and wish them the best of luck. It's really a pity that Japan won't allow dual citizenship. That's the big difference between their case and the cases of Katelyn Weaver and Tanith Belbin .. Yes, both girls' new citizenships may have been expedited ( I believe Tanith's was , at least )..but both countries allow dual citizenship. So both these young women can embrace their new countries without having to feel they're turning their back on their roots .

I'm Canadian , and I won't stop loving Narumi and Mervyn's skating whatever their nationality. It will be a difficult decision for Mervyn. I respect the seriousness with which he's facing it , and will respect him whatever he decides to do.



ETA: Another Gauthier team , Utako Wakamatsu and Jean-Sebastien Fecteau competed for Canada and faced a similar dilemma. They placed 8th at Worlds in 2005, ( I think) .In the end ,it was just a step too far for Utako. It was sad, but completely understandable.

Well also Tanith had been living in the US for years before she finally got her citizenship. She had gotten her green card back in 2002. So while she needed help to get her citizenship before the Olympics she was on the path for a long time to become a citizen. Tran on the other hand doesn't even live Japan i believe.

[golden411]

Tweet today from Tran:

"Performing @ the 2012 "Investors Group Stars on Ice presented by Lindt" tour @ the Brandt center in Regina, SK. ..."

How nice for his hometown fans!

[deedee1]

Tweet today from Tran:

"Performing @ the 2012 "Investors Group Stars on Ice presented by Lindt" tour @ the Brandt center in Regina, SK. ..."

How nice for his hometown fans!

Thank you for the info, golden.

Good for him! He must be very thrilled to perform in front of his hometown fans!
I hope he will get a lot of cheers and love from them.

[Becki]

Do the Reeds not both have Japanese citizenship ? According to their Wikipedia entries , the choice must be made at age 22 , and Chris will turn 23 in July..So , unless they're thinking of calling it quits, Japan does have an ice dance team...No?

Cathy renounced her American citizenship in favour of her Japanese one. I believe Chris has done the same.

[ImaginaryPogue]

1. As a pair, T/T are among the finest in the world. She has some beautiful positions, he's so stable with her in the air. Lovely lifts. Gorgeous musicality (the step sequence in their 2010/2011 SP is divine). I keep wishing that they had better jumps.

2. How often has Canada benefitted from foreign born-and-raised athletes competing for Canada as opposed to their home nation?

3. Whatever the case, I wish them the best.

[chloepoco]

Just love these two, and was surprised to learn that Mervin is the one who sharpens and makes the adjustments to her skates (from about 5:20). Oh, and makes me an even bigger fan of him (and her) when he says he would do anything to make sure she doesn't get her; that he would sacrifice his body first....so cute:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mLEag2HvCc

[ohheyskaters]

Narumi and Mervin are a wonderful, wonderful pair to watch. I don't care if they can't make it to the Olympics, they're still fabulous to watch both on and off the ice. I hope they stay together for a while because I don't think other partners can match up to the unison this pair already has together. They have improved so much year after year since they first paired up and I can still see them improving even more.

Also, I'm grateful for the rare upbeat fun they added to the galas this season!

According to Narumi's blog, they're already starting choreography for next season; the music is still a secret.

If anyone is interested, I translate Narumi's blog as a side project: http://narumiblogtranslations.tumblr.com

[skfan]

Narumi and Mervin are a wonderful, wonderful pair to watch. I don't care if they can't make it to the Olympics, they're still fabulous to watch both on and off the ice. I hope they stay together for a while because I don't think other partners can match up to the unison this pair already has together. They have improved so much year after year since they first paired up and I can still see them improving even more.

Also, I'm grateful for the rare upbeat fun they added to the galas this season!

According to Narumi's blog, they're already starting choreography for next season; the music is still a secret.

If anyone is interested, I translate Narumi's blog as a side project: http://narumiblogtranslations.tumblr.com

thank you for translating.

i wonder if the new short will have its debut at The Ice or one of the other summer shows, like 'imagine' was last season.

can veteran watchers comment on whether mervin has had more trouble with solo jumps this season than last, and whether that's due to increased difficulty (2a to 3t, 3t to 3s, etc.). i remember how surprised i was this season when narumi landed her solo jump and mervin fell.

as to the citizenship question, dinakt on FSU made a well-reasoned comment in post #82
http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/show...t=83415&page=5


i think if he learned japanese and coached in japan for a certain time-span, that, combined with the attention pairs skating would receive were he and narumi able to compete in olympics, would go a long way toward encouraging more grass-roots pairs skaters in japan.

[bibi24]

i think if he learned japanese and coached in japan for a certain time-span, that, combined with the attention pairs skating would receive were he and narumi able to compete in olympics, would go a long way toward encouraging more grass-roots pairs skaters in japan.

That certainly would be nice, but another factor why there hasn't been many pairs teams in Japan, is the height Japanese men tend to be short which isn't ideal for pairs (I remember Shizuka commenting on this in the past).