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Wow, Tennell I kind of expected but Chen......
Anyway it's more training time for both.
Hopefully her team has a plan in place to help Karen deal with recent setbacks. Maybe she's just mentally exhausted and needs time to clear her head. With new programs and the pressure to defend her title, maybe it's just too much for her to deal with right now.
(kidding!).Or maybe Team Chen was unable to settle on a new SP in time(kidding!).
Anyway, I added a (?) next to "training time" because it seems like Chen may also have obligations to the publisher of her book...There's a lot going on in her world and hopefully she's getting good guidance.
If Karen was getting good guidance she wouldn’t have had 6 different programs this season. Not that Tammy isn’t an amazing coach, all her students are lovely skaters but I do wonder what the heck is going on with Team Chen. It seems like chaos. I worry Karen won’t make the team.
I'll agree with the new, more mature look, but leave the hair jewelsI have the same coloring, and it's so tough to break up the samey-samey coloring with hair and face
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Ashley just posted on Instagram-
“Exciting news and big changes coming your way soon! Stay tuned...”
Hmmmmwhat could it be at this time of the year and everything that’s going on with her?
Ashley just posted on Instagram-
“Exciting news and big changes coming your way soon! Stay tuned...”
Hmmmmwhat could it be at this time of the year and everything that’s going on with her?
Um...
What in the world? I was hoping to here that she was almost healed and back on the ice. This sounds like another endorsement. The timing is awful. She needs to train.
I wouldn't assume that she isn't training based on an Instagram post. Ashley is training.
... Tammy’s students seems to struggle this year. I mean it was pretty bad for Brendan to end up last place in Skate Canada, and that’s maybe why he make a 180 degree change to a new coach...and new training location Russia no less. ...
Is this the first time Tammy coach someone for Olympics?
Another example is Kevin Reynolds, who was working with Risport, but had persistent boot issues a couple of years ago. IIRC, he also went through something like 13 pairs and missed a whole season (or much of one?).
FWIW:
Before 2017 Worlds (on her media call, IIRC), Karen said her new boots were from Avanta.
Mentioned also in a pre-Worlds article by Lynn Rutherford for IN:
Jacksons would be a change since then.
On TSL interview with Karen last year, Karen mentioned she does need custom boots because her feet is more flat (?) than others. The boot company before 2016 is another custom boot company but they ran out of business in 2016/17, which is why she has to try so many pairs to figure out. Avana is what I remembered from that interview too.
Is there an article where she said she is using Jackson? I’m a bit shock she would change boot company on an Olympic year:/
You'll have to ask Ic3Rabbit whether and how she has reliable knowledge regarding a change to Jackson by Karen.
FWIW: AFAIK, Avanta is the brand that Karen most recently has mentioned in public.
That said, I cannot rule out the possibility that she has made a change to something else.
She also mentions that she uses Avanta in her book.
There also might be a good chance she’s resting and healing her ankle I would assume.
I wouldn't assume that she isn't training based on an Instagram post. Ashley is training.
Resting her ankle would not be considered a "Big Change" since I think we all knew that's what she's been doing. What could this possibly be? I doubt she's changing her programs. If so, I hop she goes back to Pollock and not Hip Hip Chin Chin.
https://twitter.com/JacksonUltima/status/909251535749627906
Also, they (Jackson Ultima) root her on like every other athlete of theirs when they compete, there are more recent tweets too but I wasn't in the mood to C+P all day.
Avanta's are basically updated Klingbeil's which went out of business (same people) so Jackson wouldn't be tweeting about Karen if she wore an Avanta. Last I knew Avanta wasn't doing so well and may have stopped boot production. IDK for sure. Avanta has a FB and IG page but nothing's been posted on FB since September and nothing at all on IG. The page is blank.
So draw what conclusions that you will.
The explanation for the tweet could be that Karen uses #MatrixBlades, per Jackson Ultima's website (which does not mention boots for Karen, FWIW).
No matter which brand is involved, I hope that Karen gets her boot issues resolved. And that she, along with all the other ladies, will skate at her best at Nationals :yay:.
If Karen was getting good guidance she wouldn’t have had 6 different programs this season. Not that Tammy isn’t an amazing coach, all her students are lovely skaters but I do wonder what the heck is going on with Team Chen. It seems like chaos. I worry Karen won’t make the team.
