Some sources on other skating message boards are claiming that Kirsten is more likely to skate with Michael Marinaro.
So I guess we'll have to stay tuned.
Is he any good?
It reads to me that she wants a commitment for at least one full Olympic cycle, or even two from a new partner.
Dylan says he wants a partner for 2014-2015. BIG difference there--it sounds like he's taking it one year at a time. Considering he's turning 30 in September, that seems reasonable.
Kristen needs to start working with a partner now in order to be at an elite level in 2018. Given the difference in goals the split makes perfect sense.
Well, Marinaro is a solid pairs skater, but he obviously has much less experience than Kirsten or Dylan because he hasn't been to a (Senior) Worlds yet. Michael and Margaret were 4th at this year's Canadians, and they were the Junior World Silver medalists a couple of years ago. Margaret's tall height was considered the main problem in that partnership.
Although Marinaro has less experience than Moore-Towers, one advantage he has over Dylan is that he is much younger. He's almost as young as Kirsten - (Turned 22 earlier this year, and Kirsten will be 22 in a few months).
I expect the MT/Marinaro pairing to be announced soon. The more interesting question now to me is who Moskovitch might team up with.
If things don't work out with Massot, Aljona Savchenko?
I wonder how much interest Dylan is going to get from potential partners given that he's only proposing a short-term association. Wouldn't most women skaters be aiming for long-term goals?
It's probably best for them to split now, to give Kristen the maximum amount of time to train and gel with her new partner for the next Olympics. She won't be able to replicate her results with Dylan right away, but it's good to get an early start (and take the meh results next season) in order to prepare for the long haul.
If her new partnership doesn't "click" and fizzles after a year or two like so many new partnerships do, she will have wasted those years trying to get something off the ground when she could have been continuing her already strong partnership with Dylan. But I'm sure she put a lot of thought into what had to have been a very difficult decision and is prepared to live with any possible regret.
It's always difficult to analyze the pros & cons of a new skating partnership, as well as to deal with the potential fallout from skating fans. Sometimes one partner will get blamed by the fans more than the other for why the original partnership ended, even though those fans are often not privy to all of the factors that go into making these decisions.
But I don't know if they would accept it: train together every day, go to competitions etc. and at the same time having tryouts with other partners? Not impossible, of course, but not a lot of partners would accept that I think But I think that it is even more difficult to accept for our selfish fan spirits!If I was in Kirsten's shoes (which would be weird given that I'm a guy!), I think I would have carried on with Dylan for next season, but at the same time been having try-outs with other skaters. Playing it like this would have left all options open for both of them:
- It would give Dylan more time to assess his ability and desire to continue.
- It would allow Kirsten to test the water and see if she can find somebody who she feels comfortable with just in case Dylan can't commit for any longer.
If, at the end of the year, Kirsten can't find somebody she feels comfortable with, and Dylan does want to continue, then they can just carry on without having wasted a year with other people.
It would also mean that neither of them would be left high and dry if the other found a partner, and they didn't.
But, alas, they have decided to just split now.
And as a result, we have missed out on what could have been a great battle between them and Duhamel/Radford to be the top Candian couple in Pairs Skating in the next quad.
Oh well! hwell:
I wish both of them all the best with whatever their futures hold.
CaroLiza_ fan
I'm thinking Dylan might end up pairing up with someone to skate in shows, if he can't find someone to skate with competitively again. I'm not sure who, though. Jessica Dube? I know she doesn't want to compete anymore, but she might do shows. Mukhortova? lol.
Any word on whether Kristen will stay with Wirtz and Wirtz as coaches? I thought they were a well suited team. I would think there might be some contenders in the wings for Kristen if she was willing to make the break. Rockne Brubaker? Too old?