Canadian Olympic Team Announced

[Mista Ekko]

It was the London Free Press, doing an investigative piece on the practices of this Nationals versus Skate Canada's practices in the past. For instance, noting that previously teams who had placed in the top spots in nationals had been notified if selected or not. For some reason, that didn't happen this year with W/M - the first time anyone can remember. Also interviewing other people in the locker room who heard James saying that SC seems to have told them before the competition was over that they were already chosen. Raises some very valid questions about the organization and the need to have skaters travel across the country during a pandemic to "compete" for a spot if other skaters were being told before the competition they already had secured a spot, regardless of their participation.

That's the bit that sounds gossipy to me, I'm not sure what I think about things people supposedly thought they
heard through locker room walls, And I'm not sure what I think about someone who thinks their first stop with info
like that is the media.

On a side not, It's funny because I'm currently conversing with a couple people on the US selection thread and they're claiming
that Malinin could've won Nationals and still due to criteria selected by USFS in September not had a chance to be
chosen for the team over Brown, And they're arguing it as if it's legitimate.

 

[withwings]

No, there is a news article where Walsh is quoted as saying after the short vanessa was in the change rooms discussing how their spot was already secured and they didn’t have to worry.

Oh really?? It is so, so sad... I believe it was not Walsh who initiated the article but rather some so-called journalist intentionally "squeezed" from her to say what she said... I strongly believe in normal circumstances W/M would be able to coupe with the selection in respectful manner and would have find a strength not to waste time on all this but to move forward with heads up. They both seem to have very nice personalities and they are so young, too Evelyn only 20 (?) year old

 

[withwings]

That's the bit that sounds gossipy to me, I'm not sure what I think about things people supposedly thought they
heard through locker room walls, And I'm not sure what I think about someone who thinks their first stop with info
like that is the media.

On a side not, It's funny because I'm currently conversing with a couple people on the US selection thread and they're claiming
that Malinin could've won Nationals and still due to criteria selected by USFS in September not had a chance to be
chosen for the team over Brown, And they're arguing it as if it's legitimate.

Agree.

 

[el henry]

That's the bit that sounds gossipy to me, I'm not sure what I think about things people supposedly thought they
heard through locker room walls, And I'm not sure what I think about someone who thinks their first stop with info
like that is the media.

On a side not, It's funny because I'm currently conversing with a couple people on the US selection thread and they're claiming
that Malinin could've won Nationals and still due to criteria selected by USFS in September not had a chance to be
chosen for the team over Brown, And they're arguing it as if it's legitimate.

who has said that about ”Malinin not had a chance”. And what have posters done other than cite to you USFS own criteria, which is completely legitimate?
if you are going to reference the posts in this thread, then you should not mischaracterize them like this.

And, on topic, I feel so bad for Evelyn and Trennt. I think Skate Canada has not gotten the traction that they thought they would out of Vanessa and Eric, and they are not going to get it in the future. But I have not read the SC criteria, and if they fulfilled it, they fulfilled it.

 

[BearryBear]

The article I read with all the junk in it was from The Star. The original headline for the article was “Second place is not enough for a second pairs spot at the Olympics as Skate Canada manipulates for medals” lol, they later changed it to “…Skate Canada seeks medals”.

 

[4everchan]

The article I read with all the junk in it was from The Star. The original headline for the article was “Second place is not enough for a second pairs spot at the Olympics as Skate Canada manipulates for medals” lol, they later changed it to “…Skate Canada seeks medals”.

omg that title LOL

 

[rain]

you know, the criteria for Olympic selection is not just "nationals" so the thing about "what's the point of nationals" well... it's about getting funding and national medals for one, and getting assignments is another separate thing etc... which WM got plenty of.... it's about more than just the Olympics but also worlds, 4CC, and even GP events, and they have been selected plenty of times. Saying nationals is useless then, fine, they do not have to compete if that's what they believe.. Nationals achieved many things this weekend.

We fans know about all of this, so I am pretty sure Walsh knows this too. I am pretty sure that they knew that Vanessa and Eric were clearly in the lead prior to Nationals with their international showings. They knew that they were fighting not with JR but with MTM for their selection. MTM clearly dominated them at Nationals. Did they really think that they had a shot of earning a spot? There was one slim chance of doing that : only if MTM did very poorly and if they themselves brought something amazing... none of which happened. It was never about JR.

Also, I wish some people would use a bit more sympathy towards JR in the sense that they were sick! The way I see this is that they tried to compete. They mentioned they might withdraw but they did give it a try. It wasn't working out for them. They could have stayed home altogether as their international showings spoke for themselves but they had the guts to try competing. People should look at them with respect and compassion instead of the opposite.

Yes to all of this. I find it very hard to believe that anyone involved in skating is surprised by the outcome here with the team selection, since it was what was most likely to happen unless something very unexpected happened at nationals. I, as a fan who is in no way connected to Skate Canada, knew that the team was very nearly set as J/R and MT/M due to the way the season had gone. As you said, with W/M's terrible season and middling previous international performances, the only way they were going to get the nod was to skate exceptionally well and have MT/M bomb badly (like off the podium badly).

I thought Meagan Duhamel (whom I love) didn't help viewers to understand reality with her nationals commentary when she acted as if W/M's second place finish had earned them an Olympic spot. In fact, I was baffled by it. Like I said, even I knew as a fan that this wasn't true.

I have a great deal of sympathy for J/R. Did they handle their pairing up as well as they should have? No, but I also think they received a disproportionate amount of hate that has seemed completely over the top. It must have been terribly disappointing for them to get sick just before nationals, which I'm sure they wanted to come to and win — and they had every expectation that they could do so after the fall season.

I honestly just can't believe this is even considered a controversy. I thought all of the team picks in all of the disciplines were total no-brainers.

 

[Mista Ekko]

who has said that about ”Malinin not had a chance”. And what have posters done other than cite to you USFS own criteria, which is completely legitimate?
if you are going to reference the posts in this thread, then you should not mischaracterize them like this.

And, on topic, I feel so bad for Evelyn and Trennt. I think Skate Canada has not gotten the traction that they thought they would out of Vanessa and Eric, and they are not going to get it in the future. But I have not read the SC criteria, and if they fulfilled it, they fulfilled it.

Evelyn and Trent had a different situation than Ilia does

And I'm not sure it was you but a couple people did suggest there was no chance for him to be chosen
by the time of Nationals

My issue is with the legitimacy of the US criteria, It was chosen by people 4 months ahead, They chose the parameters
when they already had an idea of what's going to happen, Plus I don't really believe that they would've cited
this criteria in any situation possible to make a decision (Which is what some posters are suggesting), That's all.

 

[4everchan]

there is already a very long thread about the US selection can we stick to the Canadian selection on this one

 

[NanaPat]

The article I read with all the junk in it was from The Star. The original headline for the article was “Second place is not enough for a second pairs spot at the Olympics as Skate Canada manipulates for medals” lol, they later changed it to “…Skate Canada seeks medals”.

Let me guess.... was the article by Rosie DiMano? She's quite notorious for her shit-stirring er, yellow "journalism".

 

[Skater Boy]

Sometimes things just don't work out the way you wish. Now we know Nam had Covid just before Nats and only started skating I believe Monday the week of Nats. Trennt and Evelyn can be prowd of themselves. National medals! And it ain't over yet with Covid and worlds.

 

[Osmond4gold]

The least J/R could do then is prove their supposed talent and go and get Canada 3 spots to worlds then, can’t they. If they’re as glorious as Skate Canada want us all to think they are.

They could, but I'm thinking the OG is the prize and then they're gone. I hope for Team Canada's sake, that this is not the case.

 

[Osmond4gold]

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.

Twitter mobsters, really? 'THIS', from the original twitter mobster. Insert Meagan Duhamel and Kaetlyn Osmond, here, and sooo many others.

 

[BearryBear]

Twitter mobsters, really? 'THIS', from the original twitter mobster. Insert Meagan Duhamel and Kaetlyn Osmond, here, and sooo many others.

Meaghan posted on her Instagram yesterday that JR were the right selection based on the selection criteria. Other posts about it (like the one from Manley) have been removed too now.

 

[4everchan]

Meaghan posted on her Instagram yesterday that JR were the right selection based on the selection criteria. Other posts about it (like the one from Manley) have been removed too now.

glad to see she's admitted that. I am a huge Meagan fan but was conflicted about her very emotional stance during the livestream

 

[HeadBanger]

Meaghan posted on her Instagram yesterday that JR were the right selection based on the selection criteria. Other posts about it (like the one from Manley) have been removed too now.

Usually doesn't take long for Skate Canada to circle the wagons and get everyone to plaster on their best fake smile

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

No, there is a news article where Walsh is quoted as saying after the short vanessa was in the change rooms discussing how their spot was already secured and they didn’t have to worry.

Do you have the source?

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

It was the London Free Press, doing an investigative piece on the practices of this Nationals versus Skate Canada's practices in the past. For instance, noting that previously teams who had placed in the top spots in nationals had been notified if selected or not. For some reason, that didn't happen this year with W/M - the first time anyone can remember. Also interviewing other people in the locker room who heard James saying that SC seems to have told them before the competition was over that they were already chosen. Raises some very valid questions about the organization and the need to have skaters travel across the country during a pandemic to "compete" for a spot if other skaters were being told before the competition they already had secured a spot, regardless of their participation.

That's a bit different than Walsh herself saying it. I mean all it takes is one person to spread a rumour. One W/M supporter spreads it and tells another W/M supporter and suddenly it's a story that holds weight because enough people said it. I wonder if there were people who denied Vanessa having said that and the LFP included them.

And, real tea, whether Vanessa said so or not, J/R did pretty much secure this spot before this competition had begun with their results this season.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

These are the only ones I can find really?

London figure skater, partner not named to Olympic squad, angering fans

Londoner Evelyn Walsh and skating partner Trennt Michaud won’t be heading to Beijing next month for the Winter Olympics despite a second-place finish in the…

lfpress.com

No answers from Skate Canada for Walsh, Michaud

The Olympic snub of figure skating pair Evelyn Walsh and Trennt Michaud should have been handled much better.

lfpress.com

“There are a bunch of steps that don’t apply to (James and Radford) because they only teamed up 10 months ago. They have their results for this season, which they didn’t podium at any of them, and nationals, which they didn’t complete,” [Alison Purkiss] said.

Not sure who Alison Purkiss is but, gurl, get your facts straight. They podiumed at Autumn Classic, and never finished lower than 5th (including 4th at both of the Grand Prix). Wanna share W/M's season's stats/results, Alison?

 

[Andrea82]

These are the only ones I can find really?

London figure skater, partner not named to Olympic squad, angering fans

Londoner Evelyn Walsh and skating partner Trennt Michaud won’t be heading to Beijing next month for the Winter Olympics despite a second-place finish in the…

lfpress.com

No answers from Skate Canada for Walsh, Michaud

The Olympic snub of figure skating pair Evelyn Walsh and Trennt Michaud should have been handled much better.

lfpress.com

“There are a bunch of steps that don’t apply to (James and Radford) because they only teamed up 10 months ago. They have their results for this season, which they didn’t podium at any of them, and nationals, which they didn’t complete,” [Alison Purkiss] said.

Not sure who Alison Purkiss is but, gurl, get your facts straight. They podiumed at Autumn Classic, and never finished lower than 5th (including 4th at both of the Grand Prix). Wanna share W/M's season's stats/results, Alison?

She is one of W/M's coaches