2016-2017 State of Canadian Figure Skating

[Krunchii]

I keep hearing on here about Satoko's tiny jumps and for me her jumps were fine - it was her speed and ice coverage that surprised me. I was sitting on one end of the rink and she barely came over to my end during the SP. I wanted to take a photo or video and it was so hard. Her speed also felt slow to me. She's tiny though so maybe it's harder for her to be fast? Rika and even Yuka Nagai were faster. Nahyun's spins were slow. I found Dabin to be ok. Mirai's StSq was very slow. Her spiral was awesome. In comparison to all these ladies, I found Alaine alright, and Kaetlyn a bit fast.

Which side were you on? I thought Satoko was fine, she definitely wasn't the fastest but I never found her slow, Dabin did her 3-3 on my side and she just crawled into it. I agree with the critics who say Satoko needs to skate bigger and yea her jumps were not as bad as people say it is. Kaetlyn for me was definitely the fastest, her presence on ice is extremely big, combine those two together and she was quite the force.

Alaine was faster than I thought she was, I liked both of her programs a lot, she's becoming a real lady in the SP, her jumps were also higher than I thought they were. Of course Kaetlyn had the biggest and Evgenia's are very snappy with clean landings.

 

[Celine]

It's been exciting to see expansion of training centers to regions beyond the traditional Toronto and Vancouver "hubs" Arguably, Montreal has firmly planted a flag on the map that cannot be ignored, with multiple center of excellence, especially in pairs and dance, that now legitimately rival "Detroit" That HAS to be a positive for Canadian skating. Home grown talent needs homes to grow.

 

[Mango]

Which side were you on? I thought Satoko was fine, she definitely wasn't the fastest but I never found her slow, Dabin did her 3-3 on my side and she just crawled into it. I agree with the critics who say Satoko needs to skate bigger and yea her jumps were not as bad as people say it is. Kaetlyn for me was definitely the fastest, her presence on ice is extremely big, combine those two together and she was quite the force.

Alaine was faster than I thought she was, I liked both of her programs a lot, she's becoming a real lady in the SP, her jumps were also higher than I thought they were. Of course Kaetlyn had the biggest and Evgenia's are very snappy with clean landings.

I was on the side of the rink by the kiss and cry. I was watching Satoko closely so I picked up on it. To me, it felt like she was being cautious about not messing up her jumps. I didn't find her jump height to be awful as many on here complain.

I had never seen Alaine skate live so I was happy to do that. She is a lot better than some give her credit for. I'm a bit surprised that she's better in the FS this year than the SP - usually she has great SP performances. Her 3Lz is giving her some issues. I was rewatching her SP run through from Thursday and she basically performed her SP on Friday the same way. NHK will be a tough place for her to do well but I hope she continues to work on getting better.

It's been exciting to see expansion of training centers to regions beyond the traditional Toronto and Vancouver "hubs" Arguably, Montreal has firmly planted a flag on the map that cannot be ignored, with multiple center of excellence, especially in pairs and dance, that now legitimately rival "Detroit" That HAS to be a positive for Canadian skating. Home grown talent needs homes to grow.

It's interesting how it's split up. We've got Kevin and some novice and junior ladies in BC, ice dancers and pairs in Montreal, and Patrick, Gabby, Alaine, and some junior men from the GTA/Ottawa. And Kaetlyn in Edmonton. I guess lack of competition drives skaters to bigger areas - like some skaters from Saskatchewan coming to Ontario to compete at 2016 Octoberfest.

That reminds me, sectionals are starting. Central Ontario has their info up here. Pairs and ice dance are happening at Western Ontario Sectionals. Norther Ontario is also having sectionals this weekend. Some Ontario skaters have already qualified to Challenge via the National Summer Series.

And here is the tentative schedule for Challenge: https://skatecanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/2017-Challenge-Block-Schedule.pdf
9 hours of competition for pre-novice and novice women FS, 8.5 hours for junior women FS, 7 hours for senior women FS
Feeling for those judges.

 

[Krunchii]

I was on the side of the rink by the kiss and cry. I was watching Satoko closely so I picked up on it. To me, it felt like she was being cautious about not messing up her jumps. I didn't find her jump height to be awful as many on here complain.

I had never seen Alaine skate live so I was happy to do that. She is a lot better than some give her credit for. I'm a bit surprised that she's better in the FS this year than the SP - usually she has great SP performances. Her 3Lz is giving her some issues. I was rewatching her SP run through from Thursday and she basically performed her SP on Friday the same way. NHK will be a tough place for her to do well but I hope she continues to work on getting better.

Ah so we were on opposite sides, I didn't find Satoko's jumps all that awful either I agree. She did seem a bit cautious but I thought she had wonderful flow and beautiful upper body movement. Anyway we should probably stop discussing her in this thread haha

Alaine is better than people give her credit for, I was pleasantly surprised, she was always meh to me but now she's changed my feelings on her. The only thing is that her 2A-1Lo-3T was a bit unsightly, I don't know how to say it any other way, I thought she stepped out at first. On the other hand, I hope Patrick Chan brings back his 1Lo-3S combination again one day, I always thought he had one of the best, the hop looks very clean and deliberate.

Also Elvis Stojko was at the intermissions shooting T-Shirts into the audience, he has lost a lot of weight since CSOI in May, looks much leaner now, just a random observation haha

 

[4everchan]

Ah so we were on opposite sides, I didn't find Satoko's jumps all that awful either I agree. She did seem a bit cautious but I thought she had wonderful flow and beautiful upper body movement. Anyway we should probably stop discussing her in this thread haha

Alaine is better than people give her credit for, I was pleasantly surprised, she was always meh to me but now she's changed my feelings on her. The only thing is that her 2A-1Lo-3T was a bit unsightly, I don't know how to say it any other way, I thought she stepped out at first. On the other hand, I hope Patrick Chan brings back his 1Lo-3S combination again one day, I always thought he had one of the best, the hop looks very clean and deliberate.

Also Elvis Stojko was at the intermissions shooting T-Shirts into the audience, he has lost a lot of weight since CSOI in May, looks much leaner now, just a random observation haha

i also dislike Alaine's 2a-1/2l-3s.... she did right in front of me at aci and during the hop, everyone thought it was a mistake LOL....

patrick's was gorgeous but I think he took it out because he was often doubling the 3S... he would be able to bring it back and it would give him the same layout as Javi now that he has the 4S.... but of course, by the time he does the 3lz, it's really late in the program, and perhaps it's wiser to stick 2t-2l at the end of it?

 

[rvi5]

Also Elvis Stojko was at the intermissions shooting T-Shirts into the audience

He tried to bean Rod Black with one, who was up in the commentator platform area. He almost got him, hitting the edge of the platform next to him instead. It did get Rod Black's attention.

 

[Mango]

Elvis was doing an awful job with those T-shirts.

Skate Canada's CEO, Dan Thompson, is leaving: http://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/w...n-thompson-ceo-leaving-skate-canada-1.3831719

 

[Skatergal101]

Sorry to be blunt but why does "chuckm" bother commenting on this thread if he has nothing decent to say about Canadian skaters?!

- - - Updated - - -

Osmond is going to be a HUGE threat if she keeps it up. I guess that scares a lot of American Russian and Japanese fans.

 

[Skatergal101]

I mean Im sure no one on this thread has ever tried to come back to something so competitive after breaking a leg. Just my thought.

 

[Osmond4gold]

Sorry to be blunt but why does "chuckm" bother commenting on this thread if he has nothing decent to say about Canadian skaters?! ��

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Osmond is going to be a HUGE threat if she keeps it up. I guess that scares a lot of American Russian and Japanese fans.

Chuckie is a true Boy Scout at heart...he loves to start a fire!

Also, it was easy to put others down when programs like the Canadian Ladies were building, with 2 sixteen year olds and a 15 year old (Kaetlyn, Alaine, & Gabby). Now that our skaters are Top Ten threats, even world medal contenders while the US program is struggling at the moment (except for Ashley), he longs for glory days. A boxer past his prime, trying to get a jab or 2 in, while he still can.

I know it comes from a place of insecurity but I have lost my patience and compassion. If I ever get that jaded on here, someone pah-lease, call me on it. Thank you!

 

[SarahSynchro]

Also Elvis Stojko was at the intermissions shooting T-Shirts into the audience

Isn't that how Ned Flanders' wife died on The Simpsons?

 

[chuckm]

I've never been an Alaine fan, with her double-foot and edge problems and her inconsistency, but I've been complimentary of Gabby for the past year, and of Kaetlyn, too. I thought Kaetlyn showed promise last year if she could control her power, and now she has. But I am leery of hype, because I've seen what effect that can have on skaters. Everyone at Worlds is a medal contender. It's reaching the podium that is the hard part.

 

[SarahSynchro]

Oi vey, so you're saying that for all this time, your comments about Gabby and Kaetlyn were actually COMPLIMENTS? I'd hate to see your criticisms. :sarcasm:

 

[Osmond4gold]

Oi vey, so you're saying that for all this time, your comments about Gabby and Kaetlyn were actually COMPLIMENTS? I'd hate to see your criticisms. :sarcasm:

Back-handed compliments ...:sarcasm:

All anyone has to do is read his writings, the exclusions, his inferences and comparisons, to get a sense for his distain of all things Canadian, in particularly our women. Too late to put "maple syrup" on it now, to make it smell a little sweeter!

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

I must admit, when Kaetlyn first came to prominence, I was not impressed. I found her skating sloppy, her jump entrances scary, and her programs containing too many transitions that were very poorly executed. Her injuries may have been a blessing because it seems like, when she wasn't able to jump, she worked hard to improve every other aspect of her skating. She skated beautifully last season but the jumps were MIA, but it seems like everything is coming together for her. For me, she has the fewest weaknesses of any top skater: I have no complaints about her posture, presentation, eye contact, speed, transitions, spins, footwork, or jumps (aside from the lutz edge). Still, she has to continue skating cleanish programs to get her PCS even higher so that at the big events she comes in being viewed by the judges as a podium contender.

 

[TGee]

Skate Canada's CEO, Dan Thompson, is leaving: http://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/w...n-thompson-ceo-leaving-skate-canada-1.3831719

Dan's replacement will be Debra Armstrong, who has a lengthy career in banking. She is reported to have recently been appointed to the Canadian Olympic nominating committee.

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/winter/figureskating/debra-armstrong-ceo-skate-canada-1.3832865

 

[chuckm]

Back-handed compliments ...:sarcasm:

All anyone has to do is read his writings, the exclusions, his inferences and comparisons, to get a sense for his distain of all things Canadian, in particularly our women. Too late to put "maple syrup" on it now, to make it smell a little sweeter!

You obviously didn't read my comments on Gabby from 2016 Worlds.....

 

[rvi5]

Back-handed compliments ...:sarcasm:

All anyone has to do is read his writings, the exclusions, his inferences and comparisons, to get a sense for his distain of all things Canadian, in particularly our women. Too late to put "maple syrup" on it now, to make it smell a little sweeter!

Typically he defends American skaters when a non-American criticizes them. His posts would have a promote/demote format. Defending the US skater, followed by criticism of a non-US skater (often Osmond would be dragged in). In at least one occasion, what he criticized had no connection to the topic being discussed, and nobody had mentioned Osmond or the other skater he targeted. It's the old "make one person look better by making another appear worse" strategy.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

Ashley and Gracie are, imo, better than Kaetlyn right now. When I say that I mean they are better on paper. But competitively who knows. The ice is slippery. All 3 have had some pretty epic on ice meltdowns and all 3 have had beautiful moments. Did anyone really expect Sarah Hughes to win Olympic Gold even a few weeks before the Salt Lake Games? But it happened.

On paper, Gold has the potential to score higher than the two, but the reality is, she never does. So, on paper doesn't really matter, if you're not consistently executing your potential, or at least close to it. Obviously Gold is still in the mix, scoring 184 with that many errors. But it's obviously that Wagner and Osmond are outskating her.

On paper, Wagner should also score higher than Osmond, but IMO, Osmond is slowly gaining momentum whereas Wagner is trying to maintain her technical ability and avoid UR calls.

Skaters' levels also change from day to day or season to season. "On paper" Tuktamysheva or Lipnitskaia should beat a lot of other skaters, but their level has dropped since when they were at their best and from what we consider their ideal "on paper" to be.

 

[CanadianSkaterGuy]

Typically he defends American skaters when a non-American criticizes them. His posts would have a promote/demote format. Defending the US skater, followed by criticism of a non-US skater (often Osmond would be dragged in). In at least one occasion, what he criticized had no connection to the topic being discussed, and nobody had mentioned Osmond or the other skater he targeted. It's the old "make one person look better by making another appear worse" strategy.

I truly pity him tuning in to watch Skate Canada and having to stomach so many Canadian medallists.