Gabriella Papadakis & Guillaume Cizeron

[cocotaffy]

Um..how is this unfair to other French skaters? This is silly, but silly all around, including on the part of P/C. This is not even an Olympic year. I almost want to say, "no one cares!" in case anyone forgets how marginal figure skating's presence is in a non-Olympic year. This is not arrogance, but paranoia. I mean is there anyone who is expected to challenge them this season? Are they even capable of skating a "bad" program at this point?

yeah that's true. I cannot think Gaby and Guillaume are arrogant. It's just some ver badly handled move from the Fed IMO. All they had to do was to announce they would be no live streaming. After all this is a National competition and not a Challenger. A bit like a test skate so they have zero obligation to broadcast it. So badly handled but I hope their fans won't turn on them for such a trifle.

 

[LaArdilla]

yeah that's true. I cannot think Gaby and Guillaume are arrogant. It's just some ver badly handled move from the Fed IMO. All they had to do was to announce they would be no live streaming. After all this is a National competition and not a Challenger. A bit like a test skate so they have zero obligation to broadcast it. So badly handled but I hope their fans won't turn on them for such a trifle.

Exactly, either stream everything or nothing at all.

 

[yuna13]

The statement the fed did was a "politically correct" statement.
The truth is something like that : following the hate and nasty comments that appeared 2 years ago when video footage of Gabriella and Guillaume sd leaked we decided that it was best that fans will see their dances with good quality image, light and camera angle.
But it's true that a warning would have been nice.
I thought the polemic and drama would be over but some people can't let them be.

 

[Plumededragon]

I honestly doubt it was a request from G/G, also considering they reposted on FB the fact that the competition was going to be showed live today. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was all Didier’s work, that man is scum.
The fact that FFSG is one of the worst fed ever lives on...

 

[LaArdilla]

The statement the fed did was a "politically correct" statement.
The truth is something like that : following the hate and nasty comments that appeared 2 years ago when video footage of Gabriella and Guillaume sd leaked we decided that it was best that fans will see their dances with good quality image, light and camera angle.
But it's true that a warning would have been nice.
I thought the polemic and drama would be over but some people can't let them be.

So what, Kevin Aymoz, Vanessa and Morgan, Laurine and Mae, they all can go without “good quality image, light and camera angle”? And P/C can’t? Again, either stream everybody or nobody at all. Are you saying that the video quality at Ondrej Nepela or Russian test skates has been all that better? The challengers always have crappy camera work and no one cares!

I’m not saying it’s P/C’s fault, it screams Didier to me. But it’s a bad look nonetheless.

 

[Eleanor]

I honestly doubt it was a request from G/G, also considering they reposted on FB the fact that the competition was going to be showed live today. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was all Didier’s work, that man is scum.
The fact that FFSG is one of the worst fed ever lives on...

This man should stay away from anything P/C related. They are doing great without him so let it be. The fact that he still president of the fed is disgracious enough and a stain on every french skater who won medals since 2002. Don't understand why noone else is taking over.

 

[Plumededragon]

So what, Kevin Aymoz, Vanessa and Morgan, Laurine and Mae, they all can go without “good quality image, light and camera angle”? And P/C can’t? Again, either stream everybody or nobody at all. Are you saying that the video quality at Ondrej Nepela or Russian test skates has been all that better? The challengers always have crappy camera and no one cares!

I’m not saying it’s P/C’s fault, it screams Didier to me. But it’s a bad look nonetheless.

The livestream quality was good, there were times when it stopped working but overall, despite average lighting, it was smooth. I was actually pleasantly surprised. So it would have been great for Gabby and Guillaume.
And apparently, Guillaume’s bf criticized the fed for the livestream being cut. More and more heading towards Didier’s fault. Not surprising.,.

This man should stay away from anything P/C related. They are doing great without him so let it be. The fact that he still president of the fed is disgracious enough and a stain on every french skater who won medals since 2002. Don't understand why noone else is taking over.

I don’t know either. Anyone, even someone who knows next to nothing about FS would be better than him at this point.

 

[floatingworld]

Wow! There are a lot of angry posts on the Federation’s Facebook page right now!

 

[Harriet]

Well, that's a bit pathetic on the the part of the FFSG, isn't it?

 

[LaArdilla]

Wow! There are a lot of angry posts on the Federation’s Facebook page right now!

And rightly so! Gabby and Guillaume did repost the streaming info on their Facebook page so it would be ridiculous if it turned out this fiasco had been their idea. It looks as if Didier didn't want other teams to copy P/C's programs, except most teams have already showed their new work! Such paranoia. This whole "foreign competition" statement is simply offensive.

They have all the right to not be ready this early in the season so it would have been better not to fly all the way to France at all, such a waste of time. On the other hand, I heard that Didier is strangely crazy about this silly event, somebody (was it Brian Joubert?) had lots of trouble after missing it.

 

[floatingworld]

And rightly so! Gabby and Guillaume did repost the streaming info on their Facebook page so it would be ridiculous if it turned out this fiasco had been their idea. It looks as if Didier didn't want other teams to copy P/C's programs, except most teams have already showed their new work! Such paranoia. This whole "foreign competition" statement is simply offensive.

They have all the right to not be ready this early in the season so it would have been better not to fly all the way to France at all, such a waste of time. On the other hand, I heard that Didier is strangely crazy about this silly event, somebody (was it Brian Joubert?) had lots of trouble after missing it.

Unfortunately, there are a couple of Twitter posts now interpreting the move as arrogance on P/C’s part. Of course, some of these are coming from non-fans (we know what this means )

 

[Roast Toast]

So what, Kevin Aymoz, Vanessa and Morgan, Laurine and Mae, they all can go without “good quality image, light and camera angle”? And P/C can’t? Again, either stream everybody or nobody at all. Are you saying that the video quality at Ondrej Nepela or Russian test skates has been all that better? The challengers always have crappy camera work and no one cares!

I’m not saying it’s P/C’s fault, it screams Didier to me. But it’s a bad look nonetheless.

I mean, I'm not gonna defend this BS -- it was ill-thought-out and ended up punishing fans such as ourselves first and foremost -- but also... yes? P/C do have to deal with far more online vitriol and armchair criticism than the rest of the French skaters. Remember the fuss when Guillaume fell at Finlandia last season? I could link you to a dozen twitter/tumblr accounts that stayed up (the SD was at what, past 1am in Canada?) for the express purpose of sh*tting on their program.

Personally I don't think Gabbi and Guillaume need the coddling, especially since they probably have all those idiots blocked already. And I think we have enough evidence (the article where they said they'll show their SD, the link to the stream on their FB page, the comment from Gui's bf) to say that it was sprung on them last minute. But sorry, I guess I don't find it the same apparently unspeakable degree of terribleness as others. French Masters is not a real competition, it is a glorified test skate that is really only being streamed at all because of its timing in the middle of Challenger events. I'm sure Aymoz et co. will recover from the grievous offense.

Overall, I'm disappointed, since the music announcement only for the FD had me convinced we would get to see this. But we also have to remember that P/C very rarely participate in the Challenger series -- they did last year because everything happens faster in an Olympic season, and they started training like right after Worlds. In this case they started in August and it sounds like they debated pretty seriously whether they would even participate in this year's GP. If you can respect Weapo skipping the GP, the Shibs skipping the whole year, then really not seeing P/C in early Challengers season should be easy peasy. Skating at Challenger events is not a ~duty~ owed to fans, it's a way for teams to accumulate points and get out their programs, rough as they may be. This method doesn't have to work for everyone, and P/C, being the perfectionists that they are, seem to prefer to have more time before they show their programs.

PS: The prevailing sentiment here appears to be that since they are World Champs, WR holders, they should not care and just skate, etc. I think this is a pretty severe misunderstanding of their personalities; I think this season they are very worried about moving out of their comfort zone, about progressing stylistically and technically, and so on. Just because this year is likely to be fairly stress free for us doesn't necessarily translate for them.

 

[peepsquick]

Well said Road Toast! After a little fit of pique ... I was really disappointed (like many others, I had put this date on my calendar and centered my day on it), I can understand the rationale behind it. And being a perfectionist myself, well ... I can empathize with G/G.
I just wish the Fed had not "played" us that way.
On the bright side, I enjoyed watching Kevin Aymoz (in spite of the bungled jumps) and Vanessa and Morgan and many others. So not a total loss!

 

[Gotlev]

The main issue, for me, is not that they didn't show it, but the way it was handled and announced. It is totally clear that GG were planning on showing it. We were already informed that they wouldn't show the FD. OK fine, no worries. They could have told also that they felt the RD was not really ready and they preferred no footage of it. All fine.

But that's not what happened. Everyone was ready for the live stream, as it was announced that way. And then all of a sudden they don't show close-ups in the warm up, and cut the feed just before they come on, and afterwards the fed gives a completely weird statement that feels simply paranoid.

It's obvious that GG didn't have much if anything to do with it, and they will obviously not be able to voice their opinion much if they have any.
So it's the Fed's decision, and if the real concern is 'behaviour of Canadian trolls during the two years that V/M came back', then either they are or I am completely cut off from reality.

How can this decision, executed in the way they did, not back-fire? It's simply silly to the extreme.
Who cares for the reaction of V/M ubers this year??
Who does not understand that announcing a live-stream of GG's first outing of their new programs, and then cutting it just before, is going to make you look moronic and anger all of us who were so excited that we would get a live-stream??

It's not me who is going to somehow blame GG for this, as it clearly had nothing to do with them, but haters will surely use this to spill some vitriol, as the absurdity and idiocy of this decision is probably already 'the' topic of the season so far.

I can't get it. Just do normal please. If they don't feel like showing it yet, great, no issues. But don't do weird around them. They don't need that.

 

[floatingworld]

In supposedly trying to 'protect' GG, the Federation has actually harmed them. GG are the visible personas here since they are in the limelight. They are likely to get the brunt of it, not the Federation. Such a bad way for them to start the season.

 

[cocotaffy]

And the music is Gidon Kremer Oblivion and Primavera Portena. Two gorgeous pieces of music. I have high hope for this RD. Also a little more info and impressions on this program but it's in French here: http://www.passion-patinage.com/201...eron-james-cipres-au-top-amoz-en-demi-teinte/ The starting pose is giving me chills already but I lost all objectivity with them so

 

[Plumededragon]

And the music is Gidon Kremer Oblivion and Primavera Portena. Two gorgeous pieces of music. I have high hope for this RD. Also a little more info and impressions on this program but it's in French here: http://www.passion-patinage.com/201...eron-james-cipres-au-top-amoz-en-demi-teinte/ The starting pose is giving me chills already but I lost all objectivity with them so

I translated (and simplified a bit as the author is quite eloquent when writing) the report:
« Right from the start, this tango suits them perfectly. Lot of maturity despite their young age, tense expression with, nonetheless, lot of relaxed and soft movements. This RD is full of character.
A good musical choice (including Primavera Portena from Gidon Kremer), a good success... we didn’t doubt it, but it had to be done! I especially like the fact that there’s no sparkling costumes (Gabriella has a nice lopsided black dress, and Guillaume had à see-through shirt): they don’t need it in order to shine. However, only the local public could see the show as the livestream has been cut for « confidentiality purpose regarding the rivals ». Knowing that some of them train with them, and that this RD is already a success, the stream should have continued. Anyway... regarding the protocols, all key points have been validated, GOE of +4 and +5 (with 2 +3 in the second part of the tango), and PCS from 9.5 to 10. Total score: 88.31 »
I think the max scores that dance teams can reach this season in the SP is 92 or 93...

 

[Eleanor]

The main issue, for me, is not that they didn't show it, but the way it was handled and announced. It is totally clear that GG were planning on showing it. We were already informed that they wouldn't show the FD. OK fine, no worries. They could have told also that they felt the RD was not really ready and they preferred no footage of it. All fine.

But that's not what happened. Everyone was ready for the live stream, as it was announced that way. And then all of a sudden they don't show close-ups in the warm up, and cut the feed just before they come on, and afterwards the fed gives a completely weird statement that feels simply paranoid.

It's obvious that GG didn't have much if anything to do with it, and they will obviously not be able to voice their opinion much if they have any.
So it's the Fed's decision, and if the real concern is 'behaviour of Canadian trolls during the two years that V/M came back', then either they are or I am completely cut off from reality.

How can this decision, executed in the way they did, not back-fire? It's simply silly to the extreme.
Who cares for the reaction of V/M ubers this year??
Who does not understand that announcing a live-stream of GG's first outing of their new programs, and then cutting it just before, is going to make you look moronic and anger all of us who were so excited that we would get a live-stream??

It's not me who is going to somehow blame GG for this, as it clearly had nothing to do with them, but haters will surely use this to spill some vitriol, as the absurdity and idiocy of this decision is probably already 'the' topic of the season so far.

I can't get it. Just do normal please. If they don't feel like showing it yet, great, no issues. But don't do weird around them. They don't need that.

This ! It's my only concern. I can wait until November, they have the right to not be ready and to want more time to polish things. However, the federation handled this very poorly. It takes one kind of stupid to sabotage their best skaters this way.
They got enough hate already just for being good. Now they are labeled arrogant and divas. Great. Thank you Didier. Another job well done.

 

[cocotaffy]

I translated (and simplified a bit as the author is quite eloquent when writing) the report:
« Right from the start, this tango suits them perfectly. Lot of maturity despite their young age, tense expression with, nonetheless, lot of relaxed and soft movements. This RD is full of character.
A good musical choice (including Primavera Portena from Gidon Kremer), a good success... we didn’t doubt it, but it had to be done! I especially like the fact that there’s no sparkling costumes (Gabriella has a nice lopsided black dress, and Guillaume had à see-through shirt): they don’t need it in order to shine. However, only the local public could see the show as the livestream has been cut for « confidentiality purpose regarding the rivals ». Knowing that some of them train with them, and that this RD is already a success, the stream should have continued. Anyway... regarding the protocols, all key points have been validated, GOE of +4 and +5 (with 2 +3 in the second part of the tango), and PCS from 9.5 to 10. Total score: 88.31 »
I think the max scores that dance teams can reach this season in the SP is 92 or 93...

Thanks. Max score is 91.52 according to Molina incidentally the controller at the Masters https://twitter.com/_David_Molina/status/1019514822256414722 and here is the protocols from yesterday http://www.csndg.org/resultats/Masters2018/MAST2018_SeniorsDanse_RD_Scores.pdf to be taken with a grain of salt (or many really) as it is a National Competition but it is a good start. I should look at the previous year to see if we can guess how many points to deduce from this to get an idea at what they're looking at. I would guess baring obvious mistakes they could start where they left off last year 82/83.In which case 5 points inflation sounds about right for those type of competition.

ETA: looking at last year Masters they received 80,54 with Christine Hurth as controller so it was quite in line with what they received in China. Anyway if I remember well prior to 2017 no international judges or controller were invited and it showed because in 2016 their score was on the ridiculous side, 84.30 , and we all know what happened that year with their SD. I think that is precisely why the Fed started to invite international judges for a more objective outlook. However, 88 sounds to high for a start.

 

[floatingworld]

And the music is Gidon Kremer Oblivion and Primavera Portena. Two gorgeous pieces of music. I have high hope for this RD. Also a little more info and impressions on this program but it's in French here: http://www.passion-patinage.com/201...eron-james-cipres-au-top-amoz-en-demi-teinte/ The starting pose is giving me chills already but I lost all objectivity with them so

Ooooh! I love Gidon Kremer’s violin renditions of Piazzolla’s works! They are the best. They give me chills listening to them. I have his ‘Hommage a Piazzolla’ CD which has ‘Oblivion’ in it. Excellent music choices! I can tell how those will suit GG’s style so perfectly.