2013 Skate Canada Challenge

[colleen o'neill]

I didn't see a list of entrants at the Skate Canada site , and I've been shunted right out of my normal obsessive attention , recently. Can anyone tell me who we're likely to see in Sr. Dance ... besides Paul and Islam ? My brain has totally gone to mush.

ETA: Never mind...found it.

[golden411]

In case it still has eluded anyone else:
This Skate Canada page has links to starting orders for Challenge entrants.
http://results.skatecanada.ca/2012-2....cfm?strLang=E

[trains]

Emannuel Sandhu is listed in Senior Men!

[golden411]

Excerpt from Skate Canada's preview of Skate Canada Challenge http://www.skatecanada.ca/AboutUs/Ne...S/Default.aspx:

Among the competitors are national team members Paige Lawrence, 22, Kennedy, Sask., and Rudi Swiegers, 25, Kipling, Sask., who will compete in the senior pair discipline. They are the current Canadian bronze medalists. Canadian bronze medalist and recent winner of the 2012 Skate Canada International, Kaetlyn Osmond, 16, Marystown, Nfld., will compete in the senior ladies discipline which she won for the first time in 2012.

Other notable contenders are national team members, Elladj Baldé, 21, Pierrefonds, Que., in senior men, Adriana DeSanctis, 24, Barrie, Ont., in senior ladies, and Alexandra Paul, 21, Barrie, Ont., and Mitchell Islam, 22, Barrie, Ont., in senior ice dance. In addition three-time Canadian Champion Emanuel Sandhu, 32, Vancouver, B.C., will compete in Regina for the first time since the 2006-2007 season.

[hohoho]

Sandhu is not there yet. I will believe it when he actually steps on the ice.

[ajjcanada]

I was wondering about who has to go to Challenge. It seems that many of the top skaters aren't there, but some are. Someone had told me that everyone had to go if they were able to, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Clarifications gratefully appreciated. And, by the way, Sandhu doesn't need to do sectionals? Although I agree with hohoho, I'll believe it when I see it.....

[hohoho]

The only skaters who receive byes past challenge to nationals are last years podium, SGP competitors, and JGPF participants. Everyone else who qualified past sectionals [U]should[U] participate at Challenge. As we see in the Senior Pair and Dance there may not be enough teams to fill all the vacancies at nationals. Therefore they have the option of competing. I don't agree with it. I think unless you have a "competition" bye past challenge, you should have to compete and get much needed experience. I will expect that some teams may show up at nationals without doing any qualifying competition.

Sandhu probably received a bye past sectionals as Ten, Reynolds, and Firus all had byes to nationals.

[ajjcanada]

The only skaters who receive byes past challenge to nationals are last years podium, SGP competitors, and JGPF participants. Everyone else who qualified past sectionals [U]should[U] participate at Challenge. As we see in the Senior Pair and Dance there may not be enough teams to fill all the vacancies at nationals. Therefore they have the option of competing. I don't agree with it. I think unless you have a "competition" bye past challenge, you should have to compete and get much needed experience. I will expect that some teams may show up at nationals without doing any qualifying competition.

Sandhu probably received a bye past sectionals as Ten, Reynolds, and Firus all had byes to nationals.

Thanks for that. I do wonder whether the Challenge event is really the best way to winnow down the numbers for nationals- given the expense to run a competition, and without the big names, you usually won't get people coming out. I would love to say that you would go by the marks from each section, but it already seems that some sections over mark their own skaters, expecially in dance, in order to make them appear on paper better than they are.....

Interestingly, Kaetlyn Osmond is going to Challenge. Laurence & Swiegers are too, but I assume because it is in Saskatchewan. There are some that probably should be there to get that experience - Jeremy Ten did sectionals (and came 2nd), you'd think they would want to get out there? Look forward to seeing what transpires next week....;-)

[hohoho]

From an interview that Osmond did after SCI, she stated she was hoping for another GP but if not was doing Challenge. I believe her coach are trying to make the season the same as any other. Basically SCI replaced sectionals. So the next step would have been Challenge and then nationals. Good planning on their part trying to keep consistency.

L/S did compete last year at Challenge. It is their home section and I believe it would be the same with other competitors if Challenge in their home section.

Personally I think there is a better way to qualify for nationals. But unless they do a qualifying round at nationals, it wouldn't work. My idea would be to have three regions - West (Manitoba to BC), Ontario, and East (QC to NL). There are many summer and fall comps in these regions and any skater who wants to qualify for regionals has to compete in at least two summer/fall comps. The top 20 skaters from the region/discipline go to regionals where the top 10 advance to national qualifying round. Similar to worlds prior to this year, the 30 skaters would skate their long program for the remaining qualifying spots for nationals. So in senior ladies, 30 regional qualifiers go to nationals for qualifier and top 16 would advance to nationals. I have said 16 because Osmond and Lacoste has a bye. Goal would be to have 18 in final. Reason for this is to push the skaters to do competitions in the summer/fall. Some will say it isn't fair for this as, for example, QC would have alot of skaters qualify against the weaker Atlantic sections. But this is a competitive environment. Realistically, if you can't qualify out of a reginal competition, chances are you will not make it out of Challenge.

[golden411]

OTTAWA, ON: Paige Lawrence, 22, Kennedy, Sask., and Rudi Swiegers, 25, Kipling, Sask., have withdrawn from the 2013 Skate Canada Challenge. The senior pair team will skip the event to focus on their training schedule in preparation for the 2013 Canadian Figure Skating Championships in January.

Lawrence and Swiegers have a bye to the 2013 Canadian Figure Skating Championships because of their ISU Grand Prix assignments.

https://www.skatecanada.ca/AboutUs/N...S/Default.aspx

[martipellow2]

Does anybody know why Alexandra Najarro is not on the list for Skate Canada Challenge? Has she retired? She finished 4th at last year's nationals, so she shouldn't have a bye.

[nadster]

Does anybody know why Alexandra Najarro is not on the list for Skate Canada Challenge? Has she retired? She finished 4th at last year's nationals, so she shouldn't have a bye.

She had surgery over the summer so she is forced to miss the whole season. She won't be at nationals.

[martipellow2]

She had surgery over the summer so she is forced to miss the whole season. She won't be at nationals.

Thanks for letting me know. Sorry to hear it.

[kalle]

Osmond's great programs;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BA9PT6s2Gts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xgObMFqkWU

I really like her energy out there

[mariposa]

Does anyone know where there are videos from senior ladies posted...I've been checking Skatebuzz, but they are not archived yet.