What's next for Patrick Chan? | Page 15 | Golden Skate

What's next for Patrick Chan?

plushyfan

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Country
Hungary
Sorry, realized you clicked the link before I edited it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qY8svdEMdg

If it still doesn't work, you can search for it in Youtube. The uploader is Yuzufan and the title of the video is "Patrick Chan - Story of the silver Olympic medalist 2014 SOCHI."

Thank you! It was very interesting I hope Patrick can compete if he wants. :yes:

Unfortunately, skating isn't as revered in Canada as professional sports. In Russia and Japan, of course, it is much more hugely popular.

Actually sport in general in Canada doesn't have a considerable focus compared to countries like Russia and China. I mean, we invest in it, but not nearly to the same degree, and you'll find less diehard sports fans who appreciate sports outside of the big 4 major league sports (basketball, football, baseball, hockey). I was actually pretty impressed with our medal haul in Sochi, as there is sometimes a tendency for a host nation to do poorly at the subsequent Olympics.

I understand and don't understand. If Patrick wins his victory brings glory for Canada. So I think the current government should support all elite athletes .. if not everyone, but a high-level athlete like Patrick definitely. The preparation, the best coaches, choreographers are very expensive, competition at a high level more expensive. Not every families are able to finance the costs. Go Patrick!
 

Meoima

Match Penalty
Joined
Feb 13, 2014
I understand and don't understand. If Patrick wins his victory brings glory for Canada. So I think the current government should support all elite athletes .. if not everyone, but a high-level athlete like Patrick definitely. The preparation, the best coaches, choreographers are very expensive, competition at a high level more expensive. Not every families are able to finance the costs. Go Patrick!
If I remember correctly, JFS has covered all expenses for Yuzuru in his 2 year training in Canada (using a scholarship from a institution I don't remember the name). In return, now he is attending all the ice shows for JFS's sponsors (which means, quite a lot, full time this summer).

Some sources in Japan said, JFS took 20% to 50% of Mao's income (some even said it's 90% but I don't think it's that high). I assume Japan's skaters don't have to pay up to $160,000/year for all the expenses but in return, lots of ice shows. I mean, looks at the schedule of Japan team this summer, I feel so worried about their health.:unsure: I mean, I hope they will not exhaust themselves before the new season start.

I don't know what happens in Canada, the federation doesn't do much to cover at least half of all the expenses for PChan? I mean, he is an elite skaters and he has brought so many wins back for Canada. It's obvious they have to help him some or other ways.
 

BusyMom

Medalist
Joined
Jan 10, 2014
I assume Japan's skaters don't have to pay up to $160,000/year for all the expenses but in return, lots of ice shows.

Oh honey, the cost of choreography alone is already around 1/3 of the amount you mentioned already. The summer camp for kids in middle or lower level in the US cost around USD30,000 for 2 months(including living expenses and airfare-for Asian kids in this case). The elite level requires more services than the summer camp offer too. The total amount of yearly expenses in FS is horrendous.

You also don't need to worry about his health too much. Doing the shows is much more laidback than full-time training. A lot of rest in between the shows too. I know a lot of elite skaters who train more hours during the low season. Yuzuru is one of the hard working skaters. He might be in the safer situation with all these touring.:laugh:
 

Meoima

Match Penalty
Joined
Feb 13, 2014
Oh honey, the cost of choreography alone is already around 1/3 of the amount you mentioned already. The summer camp for kids in middle or lower level in the US cost around USD30,000 for 2 months(including living expenses and airfare-for Asian kids in this case). The elite level requires more services than the summer camp offer too. The total amount of yearly expenses in FS is horrendous.
Yes, I mean JFS is paying all that expenses for Yuzuru (or at least half of it) so I suppose Canada Fed at least could do something for PChan? I mean, they must have helped PChan at some level, mustn't they? They couldn't let the athletes cover all the expenses, not to mention that athlete is the top one who has brought home 3 world titles. :mad:
 

plushyfan

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 27, 2012
Country
Hungary
Yes, I mean JFS is paying all that expenses for Yuzuru (or at least half of it) so I suppose Canada Fed at least could do something for PChan? I mean, they must have helped PChan at some level, mustn't they? They couldn't let the athletes cover all the expenses, not to mention that athlete is the top one who has brought home 3 world titles. :mad:

:thumbsup:
 

Ryan O

Final Flight
Joined
Mar 5, 2004
Country
Canada
If I remember correctly, JFS has covered all expenses for Yuzuru in his 2 year training in Canada (using a scholarship from a institution I don't remember the name). In return, now he is attending all the ice shows for JFS's sponsors (which means, quite a lot, full time this summer).

Some sources in Japan said, JFS took 20% to 50% of Mao's income (some even said it's 90% but I don't think it's that high). I assume Japan's skaters don't have to pay up to $160,000/year for all the expenses but in return, lots of ice shows. I mean, looks at the schedule of Japan team this summer, I feel so worried about their health.:unsure: I mean, I hope they will not exhaust themselves before the new season start.

I don't know what happens in Canada, the federation doesn't do much to cover at least half of all the expenses for PChan? I mean, he is an elite skaters and he has brought so many wins back for Canada. It's obvious they have to help him some or other ways.

I believe Skate Canada deducts about 5% from a Canadian skater's earnings from the prize money they win - that's apparently far less than what the Russian Federation deducts from its figure skaters (which I've read is something like 30%). These numbers may have changed since I last read about them a few years ago, but I believe they are in the general ballpark.

As for Chan, I would say he is doing pretty well compared to most other Canadian figure skaters. He certainly doesn't make the amount of money that some of the top American and European skaters do, but he's much better off than the other members of Canada's National Team.
 

Icey

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 28, 2012
^ Judging from this video (Patrick Chan: Story of the Silver Medalist Sochi 2014) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qY8svdEMdg (starting 16:55), there are financial considerations involved too. Patrick had to hold annual fundraising dinners in the Chinese Canadian community to help defray expenses for his skating which were basically borne by Patrick's family (read his parents). His father said that $160,000/year is a low estimate for the expenses for coaches, fees, etc. And of course as Kurt Borwning pointed out, figure skating now in Canada is not as financially rewarding as it was in Kurt's time.

How much less did he pay Johnson than he would have payed a regular coach?

In the vid "into his 12th hour of training": seems , perhaps, he overtrains. I question the wiseness of the leg compression treatments.
 

Alba

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 26, 2014
Wayne Scanlan: Fire still burns for Patrick Chan

Ottawa-born skater hints retirement not on the horizon


Patrick Chan has this crazy idea of how to relax following an Olympic Games competition.

He jumps aboard the Stars on Ice caravan, with multiple stops in Japan and Canada, a whirlwind spinning so fast he often forgets where he is and where he’s headed next. This much, he knows: the three-time world figure skating champion in men’s singles, and reigning Olympic silver-medallist, is having a ball.

“You kick your shoes off after the Olympics, and you relax, you have time for yourself, but after a while, you find out you like doing the activity,” Chan says by telephone from Halifax, in remarkably good spirits for a morning interview considering the group arrived from Japan at midnight the previous night.

“As an athlete, you actually feel worse when you’re not doing anything. For me, it’s a blast to do this. I always look forward to doing the tour at the beginning of every season.”…

“I do want to win another world championship,” he says. “I’m so competitive as an athlete, I want to win, I hate seeing other people win, so maybe that’s a sign that I should keep skating, and maybe striving for another Olympics. But the (Sochi) Olympics were such a high pressure event it kind of spooked me, and the idea of competition in me.”

Read the full article from the Ottawa Citizen here:

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/sports/Wayne+Scanlan+Fire+still+burns+Patrick+Chan/9763696/story.html
 
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anyanka

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 8, 2011

Esopian

Final Flight
Joined
Feb 18, 2014
He sounds like he's taken a high-level view of his career and where to go next. Clearly he still wants to win. But he sounds like he wants to plan life after competitive skating. Great read, thanks for sharing.

I'm actually really happy that this article was published, it adds a lighter aspect to Patrick Chan's career without the typical criticism concerning what happened at Sochi. It was written very well and assured the fans that he didn't lose his fire to compete.

With Daisuke Takahashi most likely retiring (due to injury), I'm glad that Chan still has the desire to win and compete. I feel like no one else in the field can match up to Chan and Hanyu's rivalry, hence it would be a pity if he left the field this early.

So no retirement in the horizon! :biggrin:
 

Ryan O

Final Flight
Joined
Mar 5, 2004
Country
Canada
Chan is certainly still competitive for the moment, but no skater, even the best, can be away for too long. He used to be the unquestioned #1 - now he has to fight for that title with Hanyu. And Machida and Fernandez are getting better all the time.

So if Chan is away too long, there are no guarantees that he can get back to the top of the World podium.
 

lbc2138

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 7, 2014
Chan is certainly still competitive for the moment, but no skater, even the best, can be away for too long. He used to be the unquestioned #1 - now he has to fight for that title with Hanyu. And Machida and Fernandez are getting better all the time.

So if Chan is away too long, there are no guarantees that he can get back to the top of the World podium.

Agreed. Not to mention the young ones like Kovtun and Han amongst some juniors that can possibly turn senior soon.
 

CanadianSkaterGuy

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 25, 2013
I understand and don't understand. If Patrick wins his victory brings glory for Canada. So I think the current government should support all elite athletes .. if not everyone, but a high-level athlete like Patrick definitely. The preparation, the best coaches, choreographers are very expensive, competition at a high level more expensive. Not every families are able to finance the costs. Go Patrick!

That would be good if glory for Canada were as important as it is in other countries. Canada won 25 medals in Sochi, 10 gold... and you'd be pressed to find Canadians who can name most of these medalists outside of men/women's hockey.
 

Panpie

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 11, 2014
I understand and don't understand. If Patrick wins his victory brings glory for Canada. So I think the current government should support all elite athletes .. if not everyone, but a high-level athlete like Patrick definitely. The preparation, the best coaches, choreographers are very expensive, competition at a high level more expensive. Not every families are able to finance the costs. Go Patrick!

I cannot speak for Canada, Plushyfan, but the United States is probably similar in that there is not a lot of government funding for Olympic athletes, if any. In the U.S., government funding may go to subsidize sports venues such as football and baseball stadiums, and/or the Olympics themselves, but not to individual athletes. I'm not saying that Olympic athletes get no government funds whatsoever, but I think whatever they might get would be minuscule compared to the costs of training.

Some people just assume that the Olympic athletes make a lot of money from endorsements. I was staying at my Mom's house during the Sochi Olympics. An ESPN commentator did a radio editorial in which he said that the drama was absent from the Olympics because the skiers, figure skaters, and many of the other athletes were millionaires. I don't know about the skiers, but that must have been news to most of the figure skaters. My guess is that he'd heard about Yuna Kim or perhaps Mao Asada and assumed that all or most of the skaters were pulling in big bucks from endorsements and skating shows. It's pretty hard to get people to support giving taxpayer dollars to others they perceive of as wealthy.

Even if some people are aware that most Olympic athletes are not rich, they probably wouldn't want their tax dollars going to support skaters, bobsledders, and so on. Having government funds go towards training for individual athletes is a tough sell in the United States, especially in this day and age of government cutbacks. I mean, there are people here (a fringe minority, I hope) who think we should get rid of essential services such as the National Weather Service.
 

Sk8Boi

Match Penalty
Joined
Feb 17, 2010
LOL @ the haterade in this thread.

Oh well. The records will always state that he has 3 World titles,

Yes it will, but given that these titles were awarded in Figure Skating by judges who, as a group, are known to be subjective, as well as out-right cheaters with Nationalistic biases, who cares?

Oh yeah, Canadians will care. But when the judging has no credibility and we all KNOW Dennis Ten beat him in 2013, etc., the fact that the "record will always state," means very very very little.

Oh yeah, except to Canadians.
 

CanadianSkaterGuy

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 25, 2013
Yes it will, but given that these titles were awarded in Figure Skating by judges who, as a group, are known to be subjective, as well as out-right cheaters with Nationalistic biases, who cares?

Oh yeah, Canadians will care. But when the judging has no credibility and we all KNOW Dennis Ten beat him in 2013, etc., the fact that the "record will always state," means very very very little.

Oh yeah, except to Canadians.

I think his first World title is indisputable. His 2nd World title can be justified if you pay attention to how CoP scoring works (he was technically more ambitious than Takahashi, and Takahashi's SP error). His 3rd World title is the controversial one, and that should have gone to Ten, but Ten had the misfortune of being a nobody in comparison and Chan opened up an insurmountable lead in the SP (and some other factors like Chan doing 2 quads to Ten's 1 quad, and Ten doubling two triples).

The history books will always say Chan won 3 World titles, and in terms of "the record will state", that's negligible anyways since he is widely regarded as one of the greatest skaters ever, regardless of how he got his titles or what he did or didn't deserve. You don't need medals or records to regard how good a skater is. And it's definitely not just Canadians who regard him as one of the best skaters ever. Everyone knows Hanyu was the best of the worst in Sochi, but the records will always state he's an OGM winner, because he is. Everyone knows Sotnikova didn't deserve to win over Kim/Kostner, but the reality is she did. People should accept it as what happens in a sport that is judged and has politics, and move on.

But let's be real. Even if Chan was indisputably the winner of all his titles, nobody outside of the figure skating community would really care and frankly it wouldn't change the perceptions of those within the skating community a whole lot either. Most people in the skating community know that he won the vast majority of his titles fair and square, and the rest were examples of judging gone awry, and they respect him as a skater a LOT. His overall skating is still the gold standard. If he won in Sochi, Canadians would congratulate him for being one of our gold medalists and being the first man to win, and then later people would probably remember him as that "Chang" guy who won the Olympics. Nobody here remembers how Browning did at the Olympics, and few remember Stojko's 1994 brilliance compared to his injury story in 1998. Few know of Barbara Ann Scott, but they all know about Joannie Rochette.

Our sport will always be plagued by bad judging (I mean, look at Kostner over Pogorilaya, B/S and Lipnitskaia winning CoR, Mao beating Akiko at NHK and that's home for both). Obviously people can get upset by the results, but it hardly changes the fact that the skaters who benefit from these results aren't bad skaters (in fact, the opposite) or will they be forever ridiculed -- to even suggest such a thing that Chan will be ridiculed as a skater who had controversial victories is like saying Hanyu will be defined by his poor OGM performance, and completely disregards all the positive things they bring to the table.
 

Tompson

Rinkside
Joined
Apr 15, 2014
Yes it will, but given that these titles were awarded in Figure Skating by judges who, as a group, are known to be subjective, as well as out-right cheaters with Nationalistic biases, who cares?

Oh yeah, Canadians will care. But when the judging has no credibility and we all KNOW Dennis Ten beat him in 2013, etc., the fact that the "record will always state," means very very very little.

Oh yeah, except to Canadians.
Judging controversy aside, Chan is already great. And don't pull of your canada-hate.
 

CanadianSkaterGuy

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 25, 2013
Judging controversy aside, Chan is already great. And don't pull of your canada-hate.

Agreed. A handful of controversial victories hardly negates the fact that he's a wonderful skater (I mean, he has the record for highest artistic marks ever earned under this system), and it's hilarious when people try to diminish his (overwhelmingly uncontroversial) achievements or call him un-artistic.
 
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