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Did they say themselves (I may have missed it) that they are no longer going to be commentating? Because many coaches still have time to do commentary for the networks.
New ice dance centre headed by Charlie and Tanith White
- Thread starter GoneWithTheWind
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Will they not commentate anymore? Doesn’t Tracy Wilson commentate on occasion?
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Right, I thought that was Zuerlein with Bratti/Somerville in the kiss 'n cry at the recent Cup of Austria event. But I thought Zuerlein was affiliated with Somerville's former coaches.
I think this is a nice move for Somerville, post his split with Katarina DelCamp. (Plus, Kat's move to Great Britain, partnered with Billy Wilson-French, and coached by Hanretty and Dean, is a great move for her). Somerville matches well with Bratti, though they are close in height. Somerville is such a wonderful ice dancer. Bratti holds her own too. I really enjoyed both of their programs/ music selection in Austria. They competed well, finishing 8th overall, out of 17 teams. There were event videos up on YouTube (I couldn't find an individual one of Bratti/Somerville, but I located the rhythm dance and free dance videos of the ice dance competition).
Good luck to Charlie, Tanith, and Greg. I'm sure they will develop an excellent ice dance academy.
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I certainly have missed Tanith & Charlie commentating for U.S. nationals and GP events.
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No, I'm assuming they won't be commentating as much. It does sound like Tanith will be in Beijing. Going forward, if they're coaching higher level elite teams, I frankly don't think they should be commentating. I know a lot of other coaches do but it honestly is a conflict of interest.
To be clear - they're both fantastic ID commentators and are very honest and fair.
Tracy Wilson commentated for CTV. The Canadian figure skating broadcast rights were split between CTV (Skate Canada International and Canadian Nationals) and CBC (all other international competitions). It looks like CBC has all the rights this year; probably Tracy will not continue commentating.
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I just watched the FD from last weekend with Tanith commentating. She’s also commentating the RD (which I’m currently watching.). Charlie has commentated other GP events.
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I watch on Peacock, not NBC/ NBCSN, so I miss out. Thanks.
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I start out by watching live either on Peacock (US events only) or the ISU stream. I automatically DVR all skating events and if there is something I want someone else’s take on (in this case H/B) I go back and watch the NBC broadcast
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Your thoughts go to Meryl, but mine immediately went to Ben Agosto, who does have coaching experience—and would be a great addition to any coaching team IMHO
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Yes! Mine too! Hopefully he will be involved. This is all seriously exciting.Your thoughts go to Meryl, but mine immediately went to Ben Agosto, who does have coaching experience—and would be a great addition to any coaching team IMHO
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Your thoughts go to Meryl, but mine immediately went to Ben Agosto, who does have coaching experience—and would be a great addition to any coaching team IMHO
As a fan of Ben Agosto, I sorta hope that his permanent base will remain in Colorado Springs, where singles skaters
(as well as ice dancers) benefit from working with him.Plus if he were to relocate to Michigan, I would fear that Katherine Hill would go with him ... which would mean a double-whammy loss for Colorado Springs.
If a schedule of teaching visits to MIDA were possible, I would see it as the best of both worlds.
(But of course Ben and Katherine should do whatever they want.)
I wish that Greg were named in the title of this thread, along with Charlie and Tanith.
All three have my respect and congratulations -- and the same title as "Founder / Head Coach" of MIDA.
Anyway, in case anyone has not seen yesterday's article yet:
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I'm not sure I see a huge conflict. Tanith and Charlie are very knowledgeable, fair, balanced and generous to all of the younger generation of skaters coming up. They have both made enormous and invaluable contributions to the sport, as competitors, commentators, coaches, and in Charlie's case, a choreographer for pairs and ice dance, and probably singles too. It's nice to see them expanding into this new venture, which will provide them with the opportunity to widen and further enhance their contributions to the sport.
Back-in-the-day, I thought that Sandra Bezic was unfairly targeted for being a commentator and a choreographer. She wasn't working as a coach, just as a choreographer. And I think she was made to choose between choreographing and commentating. Sometimes, Bezic came off as biased in some of her comments, but in general, she is and has always been passionate and opinionated about the sport. I don't think she's ever intended to be negatively biased in her commentary (even though some of her comments came off as biased). As to the point of conflicts of interest, I still feel that it wasn't a conflict necessarily for Bezic to choreograph programs for particular skaters, while serving as a commentator. It has happened all the time ever since regarding choreographers/ commentators, including Kurt Browning, Charlie White, et al.
In terms of 'conflicts of interest' in the sport, the more concerning conflicts are the political judging conflicts of interest, that are apparently okay and nothing to give a second thought about by anyone. SMH
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I didn't realize that Ben Agosto and Katherine Hill have been located at Colorado Springs and working closely with skaters there for awhile. I did know about some of their individual work with skaters. I'm also familiar with Hill's background via her competitive choreography some years back as a contestant with Young Artists Showcase. I've seen interviews and read articles about Hill's work with movement dynamics, and I know of her work for U.S. men's competitor, Jordan Moeller.
I wasn't aware either that Ben and Katherine choreographed the ice show, Axel, for Cirque du Soleil. That's a show I would have liked to see performed live! It's great that Cirque ventured into ice shows, which have provided so many opportunities for figure skaters, in a world where few opportunities exist to make a living outside of eligible competition and coaching.
www.khill.co
I wasn't aware either that Ben and Katherine choreographed the ice show, Axel, for Cirque du Soleil. That's a show I would have liked to see performed live! It's great that Cirque ventured into ice shows, which have provided so many opportunities for figure skaters, in a world where few opportunities exist to make a living outside of eligible competition and coaching.
Choreography — Katherine Hill
www.khill.co
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Your thoughts go to Meryl, but mine immediately went to Ben Agosto, who does have coaching experience—and would be a great addition to any coaching team IMHO
He's already a coach/choreographer in CO Springs and has been for awhile.
ETA: I didn't see the previous posts about this.
