2012 Cup of Russia Free Dance

[WeakAnkles]

Ah, that makes sense. Neither D/W nor the Shibs strike me as folks that would completely burn ties with old coaches. I don't know about V/M, but there was some mention that they were uneasy about seeing Igor at SC, so perhaps there's more tension there for whatever reason?

I think "more tension" may be an understatement. In their remarks at the press conference after the RC, Virtue had some very interesting, and I think revealing, things to say:

The Canadian champions’ preparation for the season was affected by the fact that their long term coaches Igor Shpilband and Marina Zoueva parted ways. According to Virtue, it was a shock, but they believe in the end, it was all for the better.

“Obviously, it was extremely sad,” said the 23-year-old. “The circumstances were not ideal, and when you have such a great partnership, it is sad to see it end. But we had so much fun this summer training with Oleg Epstein, and also with Maurizio Margaglio. I think we have such a great team, the people that are around us now.”

“In fact, I just told Oleg a couple of weeks ago that he makes me like skating even more,” shared Virtue. “He brings so much passion, energy, and enthusiasm every single day, that it’s hard not to respond with equal energy. It’s nice to have a bit of a change. It’s easy to settle into something that is really comfortable, and we have been there for 8 or almost 9 years. Sometimes a bit of change of scenery is good. It really worked out well for us.”

This is the link to the article (it's from this site, so I think I can post the link--or at least try to!):
http://www.goldenskate.com/2012/11/v...cup-of-russia/

Apparently the dumping of IS "really worked out well for [them]." Classy .

Sounds to me like she's pretty much instantaneously embraced this new arrangement. But YMMV of course.

[ImaginaryPogue]

Eh, Shpilband basically shellacked them to the press, so I think she's trying to make the best of a bad situation.

[bramweld]

Thanks

[WeakAnkles]

Perhaps. But I think there are better ways to do that than essentially say, Wow, things are so much better now that you're gone.

[emdee]

Eh, Shpilband basically shellacked them to the press, so I think she's trying to make the best of a bad situation.

Agree here.

The break up was behind their control - they have to make the best of a potentially bad situation. I think Tessa handled the question well - why should she find a better way? Once they chose to stay and once Igor chose to bash them I dont think he deserved any more than the above. IMO she was quite restrained.

[Ravensque]

That's Tessa..........always positive!!!!

[golden411]

Eh, Shpilband basically shellacked them to the press, so I think she's trying to make the best of a bad situation.

Perhaps. But I think there are better ways to do that than essentially say, Wow, things are so much better now that you're gone.

Yikes, definitely a case of YMMV.
Before posting my previous comments, I had seen the video of Virtue's remarks at the press conference, and did not think for one second that it indicated any "tension" with Shpilband whatsoever. She did not say that things are better post-Shpilband.
She lamented an "extremely sad" and "not ideal" change, and then praised her new coaches.
I believe that her words were intended not as a slap in Shpilband's face, but as an expression of V/M's perfectly appropriate focus on moving forward and having a great season. If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with.

I don't mind a difference of opinion, but I really don't think she deserves WA's derisive pronouncement of "classy".
To me, only something truly egregious -- if she had refused Shpilband's hug, for example -- would warrant such sarcasm. But I did not detect any tension as she hugged Shpilband either, and I find nothing wrong with her enthusiasm for her new coaches.

[all that]

Apparently the dumping of IS "really worked out well for [them]." Classy .

Sounds to me like she's pretty much instantaneously embraced this new arrangement. But YMMV of course.

YMMV indeed. I thought she had a great response. Sad that the split happened, but enjoying the new coaches. Perfectly diplomatic, because she needs to support her new coaches as well.

[Mrs. P]

I believe that Virtue/Moir, Davis/White, and the Shibutanis all felt a strong personal attachment to Shpilband -- as they do to Zoueva. But the skaters (to their credit) seem determined to steer clear of the bad blood between the coaches. I doubt that Zoueva would give her blessing to collaboration with Shpilband, and the skaters surely recognize that going behind her back would only stir up more unwanted drama. I agree with IP that any contact with Shpilband is a continuation of their friendship, not of their professional relationship.

I think that V/M too would make a point of preserving their friendship with Shpilband.
Was "uneasy" a direct quote from them? That is not a snarky question; I ask because I did not catch the primary reporting on this point.

I did see the video of Shpilband hugging V/M after the SCI medal ceremony, and if the Canadians felt any uneasiness on the inside, they did not show it on the outside.

I recall that V/M wrote in their book that at their first competition after leaving Paul McIntosh, they felt some initial awkwardness (a totally different nuance than uneasiness). They sounded wistful that they had to skate right past McIntosh at the boards and break their comfortable habit of turning to him for advice and support.
It did not seem to be a matter of tension, but of separation anxiety (even though it was their choice to change coaches). They missed him.
The good news is that the awkwardness was only temporary, and V/M remain close to McIntosh.

The book also described how especially Virtue needed time getting used to training in Canton on a permanent basis. (McIntosh previously had sent V/M to Zoueva for temporary training.) Virtue would have felt disloyal to McIntosh if she had instantaneously embraced the new arrangement.

If anything, I suspect that V/M were glad that Shpilband needed to be in Windsor too -- so that they would have a chance to see him without going out of their way (i.e., without any risk of ruffling Zoueva's feathers).

That's why I said "I don't know." Some posts from SC mentioned "tensions" between the V/M and Shpilband at SC -- some even blamed their poor performance there for it! But perhaps that was nothing more than people speculating, which is why I was careful not to definitely say one way or the other. I did not see the video of the post medal ceremony, so I'm willing to put the speculation to rest. I didn't bring it up to make V/M look bad or anything but simply to say "???" since the posts I've seen only mention of D/W + Shibs interaction with Shpilband.

And I agree with you all that Tessa's comments were fine -- I wouldn't put that as evidence for the tension thoughts.

[golden411]

Well, ISU bios are interesting...I highly doubt that Sinitsina/Zhiganshin pull in 50+ hours a week during the summer - if so that means that they are also training full time on the weekends with no rest days...hmmm Mr. Shpilband would doubt this....

Or it could mean 5 days/wk x 10 hrs/day with weekends to rest. Still a very long week.
But plenty of non-athletes have jobs that consistently entail 10 hrs/day. I could be wrong, but I'd wager that some jobs in that category require physical labor or standing on one's feet the entire day.