As soon as I heard they had pulled out I thought exactly the same thing — that they had spoke to Skate Canada and received some assurance that they wouldn't be out of it if they called it a day.
Canadian Olympic Team Announced
- Thread starter GoneWithTheWind
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Skate Canada is just glad they don’t have the spotlight on the right now.considering the US selections, I feel that Canadians cannot complain too much ... much less controversial...
This doesn’t sit too well for me. But, the fact that they were better than KMT during the GP season kind of justifies this decision. If J/R was the #2 team heading into Nationals, it could have been a different situation.
Also, there is very little hope for Canada to gain an additional slot due to the RUS and China teams. This decision is about sending the best teams to the Olympics and WM will just have to up their skating abilities.
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There's nothing even controversial about this Pairs selection. Walsh/Michaud have no good results or competitive scores, no stand-out technical elements, lackluster artistry and performance ability, and no particularly notable unison or chemistry. They are completely vanilla and Evelyn has weak skating skills, her blade wobbles a lot. She also lacks extension.
Vanessa and Eric aren't the power team we hoped for, but they deservedly outscored the other Canadians in previous events this season and are clearly better skaters and more talented than Walsh/Michaud. The twitter mobsters need to step down and look at facts and stop making gross accusations about Vanessa and Eric's personal lives.
Vanessa and Eric aren't the power team we hoped for, but they deservedly outscored the other Canadians in previous events this season and are clearly better skaters and more talented than Walsh/Michaud. The twitter mobsters need to step down and look at facts and stop making gross accusations about Vanessa and Eric's personal lives.
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Totally agree. I saw W/M’s free again and they look like the team that is in their first season together. Really slow tentative lifts and no amplitude in their throws or twist. Their transitional lifts look clunky and purposeless.
It’s not even just that W/M are not matching up to the level of J/R… I don’t even think they’ve been the caliber that they themselves were in previous seasons.
And yes she needs to work on her extension and project with her arms more - they looked limp half the time. It was still their best Free of the season but still not nearly as good as J/R even in J/R’s more mediocre showings.
Hopefully J/R can get it together for the Olympics in both SP and FS.
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Looking at the backlash on social media, it’s pretty clear that a lot of the hate is coming from people who don’t actually follow the season and just watch nationals. Apparently there’s a petition going around to get JR kicked off the team. I feel bad for them. They did well all season and now they get this stupid cancel culture social media mob after them even though they were the top team this season. Ugh. Are these people even real fans? I barely see anyone talk about Canadian skating, where did all these people come from?
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I really hope all these skaters don’t pay much attention to social media. It’s just awful the way people act.
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My feelings are that it's been a tough couple of years for Canadian Figure Skating, with COVID and the retirements of our "Dream Team" skaters, we've kind of gotten spoiled over the years. The Olympics have been kind of in doubt anyway with COVID still on the rampage. The Summer Olympics almost didn't happen. I think we should just get behind our skaters and know that they will make us proud, no matter the outcome. Canadian Figure Skaters and Athletes in general always play fair and support one another. I'm sure they are all just glad they will be there representing Canada. No we may not bring home many medals this round, but it's part of team building for the future. I saw lots of wonderful talent at this Nationals, not just the medal winners either. Go Team Canada!
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...for them there is nothing else to do...
The controversy is because people dislike James and Radford on a personal level, not over the sporting merits. Skate Canada made the right but unpopular decision.
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yup... and you know.. this is the olympics.. it's not a popularity contest... it's a sporting event.
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Sadly, in some quarters of 'Canadian Figure Skaters and Athletes in general,' there has not been much 'play fair and support one another,' when it comes to the James/Radford pairing. The negativity and 'fashionable' prejudice against James/Radford as a team has not boded well for those engaged in harboring this negativity and uncalled for bitterness.
If W/M wished to make a case for themselves with Skate Canada for being selected to the Olympic team, then they should have focused on competing better across the entire season, instead of pulling out of early competitions and fostering a 'victimized, woe is me' attitude for most of the season. The same goes for KM-T/M, regarding competing better throughout the season, and dropping their 'victimized, overly entitled, feeling sorry for themselves' approach to the season.
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There's nothing controversial about the U.S. selections actually. None of the selections are very surprising. If you are referring to Jason Brown over 'young-gun,' Ilia Malinin, there's no comparison when BOW is considered. Brown did not have a poor competition at U.S. Nationals either, while Vincent Zhou (who came in less than a point ahead of Jason overall), did have a poor free skate performance. Jason had to skate immediately after Malinin's youthful tour de force in the fp, and Jason did so with courage and brilliance.considering the US selections, I feel that Canadians cannot complain too much ... much less controversial...
If you are referring to Knierim/Frazier over Calalang/Johnson in the pairs division, that's a no-brainer, if K/F are healthy and ready to go to the Olympics when the time comes. Plus, a huge difference these days between Canadian pairs and U.S. pairs (aside from the depth of talent among U.S. pairs) is the camaraderie and sportsmanship among U.S. pairs teams, in spite of their close rivalries and ongoing head-to-head competitive challenges.
If you are referring to all the fan complaining and whining over U.S. alternate selections, that's par for the course, every year.
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I am entitled to my opinion right? thanks
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Sure, and I'm entitled to my response to your cryptic comment.I am entitled to my opinion right? thanks
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I don't like James and Radford for various reasons. Particularly, I'm just not into their skating with each other as much as I was with their previous partners. However, their selection was correct. I agree with all the selections made by the National selection committees this year. The federations are just trying to optimize their placements in the team and individual events and minimize risks. Will their decisions pay off? It is impossible to say but I don't think any of the decisions have been bad decisions. I like W/M but they have been flat-out terrible this year until Nationals.
the numbers don't lie, that is correct, however, SC is devastatingly reliable at failing to plan for the future - everyone is very well aware of the fact that this cycle is not a strong one, we don't have the depth of talent. What we do have though is kids that can skate now and use the experience as a building block for the future. SC consistently chooses their poster children and doesn't invest in the "red-headed step-children" - it's a flaw that regularly bites them in the rear. If they would invest in skaters for the future then maybe we'd have a more consistent presence.
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Honestly, James skating for Canada was a joy for me. I adore her. In fact, Canadians are the only fed that picked exactly the same skaters that I want to see! I love our fed!considering the US selections, I feel that Canadians cannot complain too much ... much less controversial...
