I think that makes sense to me and maybe since Victoria couldn’t go, Megan was available and able to go as the first alternate.
2025-2026 Canadian Figure Skating
- Thread starter 4everchan
- Start date
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2015
I think @saine may have the answer (visa)... because the goal here is to send the JWC team for another outing... to give them international experience and perhaps help in their start order ? (no idea if that's the case with juniors)
Yes, Megan got a consolation prize but Victoria needs the practice too
They would get points for the Junior standings here which could help their start orders.
- Joined
- Sep 1, 2024
Where was Skate Canada the last few years then if they were so concerned about start orders at JWC? How many times in the last, say, 3 years, has a Canadian skater not made it to the free program because the PCS were abysmal due to the low world ranking because they only got at most 2 opportunities during the year to get points? In addition, Anthony Paradis and David Bondar had a lower world rank last year than Grayson Long has now, and even then they weren't sent to any international competitions between Nationals and JWC. Coincidentally, now that Cricket skaters are being sent to JWC, most of the JWC assigned skaters are getting an additional competition after Nationals.
And if you factor in when the deadline for Bavarian Open was (mid December), now it makes sense why some of the entries for JWC did not reflect the results of Nationals. Like, David Li with ZERO international assignments this year, beat Grayson Long by 11 points. Why are they making these decisions? And why are they naming a Russian national who will NOT get a visa to Estonia, onto the JWC team? Russian nationals are being denied entry into UK and Germany now, but Estonia along with Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Czechia have had a visa ban for Russian nationals in place since 2022. I looked into it during the summer, the only exception is if you have an Estonian family member you are visiting for like a wedding, funeral or other significant life event. Megan Woodley got a higher score at Nationals and finished on the senior podium at Challenge, why must they name a Russian national with visa problems instead? Where's the logic?
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2015
Are you saying that the team was decided before Nationals?
With the standings for Juniors only being established in April 2023, they wouldn't have long to get concerned about them. I agree, they weren't really concerned about the start orders. There was a question if they would get points, which they have the possibility of getting. But I don't think that's the goal, probably more experience.
I know Kemp/Elizarov and Ariano Kent/Laliberte-Laurent did compete at Bavarian Open last year. But for them, they hadn't been able to compete internationally up to that point in the season. It definitely is a change this season from recent ones for almost the whole team to get that opportunity.
- Joined
- Nov 30, 2016
Exactly one of the seven skaters/teams being sent to the Bavarian Open is from the Cricket Club, so this seems like a reach.
Because Nationals results are not the only criteria for assignments? They state this clearly (I mean, the criteria are left quite open, but the fact that it's not just Nationals is very clear).
As for the men's spot, not sure why you brought up David Li, given that David Bondar and Anthony Paradis were both ahead of him and Grayson at Nationals. But let's look at all their seasons:
Nationals
- David B (7th) – 211.83
- Anthony (8th) – 211.70
- David L (10th) – 206.02
- Grayson (11th) – 195.89
- David B (5th) – 208.12
- Anthony (6th) – 206.96
- Grayson (7th) – 205.49
- David L (15th) – 162.95
- Grayson (IceChallenge - International Senior B) – 223.91
- David B (ON Sectional Champs) – 210.81
- David B (ON October Sectional Series) – 186.52
- Grayson (JGP Latvia - 2nd) – 221.71
- Grayson (JGP UAE - 5th) – 205.77
- Anthony (JGP Bangkok - 6th) – 181.39
- David B (JGP Italy - 10th) – 168.78
- Grayson (2nd) – 200.97
- Anthony (3rd) – 200.91
- David B (4th) – 200.25
- Grayson (1st) – 195.01
- Anthony (3rd) – 184.73
- David B (4th) – 184.17
- David L (5th) – 175.46
David B and Anthony were very close at Nationals, with Grayson behind. The results between them at Challenge were much closer, but in the same order. If SC was picking the team just from Nationals and Challenge, David B would get the assignment. Internationally, Grayson had by far the best JGP results of the three, and David's JGP performance was really weak. Grayson also had a strong result at his senior B. At Cranberry, the results were super close, with Grayson on top. Grayson did have more international assignments, but he got that 2nd JGP and likely the senior B based on how strong his first JGP was. So by international results, Grayson would be the obvious choice.
I think either Grayson or David B would have been reasonable choices. SC apparently felt that Grayson's strong international season outweighed David's stronger Challenge/Nationals, which I can see given the results.
As for Victoria, I know nothing about her visa situation and whether she'll be able to go to JW. But based on the results this season, she is also a reasonable choice (Megan would have been too). Victoria didn't skate well at Challenge, and Megan did, but the difference at Nationals wasn't very big. You need to remove the FS step sequence from Megan's score to compare fairly, which gives 174.55 for Megan and 171.93 for Victoria. Internationally, Victoria had 168.71 at her JGP, while Megan had 140.75 at Cranberry and 144.01 at IceChallenge. In summer/fall domestic events, Victoria had 167.51 at NextGen, 155.52 at ON August Sectional Series and 174.91 at ON October sectional series. Megan had 129.42 at NextGen and 152.28 at ON October Sectional Series.
Megan was slightly better at Nats, and a lot better at Challenge. Victoria was stronger over the rest of the season. I'm honestly not sure who I would have picked between them, and it may be a moot point in the end, if Victoria can't go to JW and Megan gets the spot. But there certainly was a solid justification to assign her based on the season as a whole.
TLDR: International results matter for assignments, not just Challenge and Nats
For me, this goes back to Homick/Buelow over Anderson/Dawson since Anderson/Dawson had the higher scores internationally. It ends up being international in one case but then domestic in another. It's another where it could have gone the other way.
I wish that there were more consolation assignments being given out in these cases. If it could go the other way, then reward the other way too.
- Joined
- Sep 1, 2024
Yes. If the theory that Bavarian Open is meant to boost world standings for start orders of JWC then the skaters going to Bavarian Open and JWC are the same. That means that the committee needs to wait until Nationals before committing to the entry list for Bavarian Open. However, the entry list deadline was December 15 so they needed placeholders. And as we just learned, the list of assigned skaters to Bavarian Open makes sense leading up to Nationals. But if the selection committee was waiting until after Nationals to decide who would go to Bavarian Open, then post Nationals some names on that list should have changed, if the results of Nationals were taken into consideration, which according to the selection criteria they should. If that wasn't the case, then Skate Canada would have published the entry list to Bavarian Open before Nationals.
Hopefully, I explained it coherently, but based on the timing of announcements and how much results of Challenge and Nationals contradict some of the decisions, I am fairly certain that the JWC decision for some disciplines was unofficially made in December.
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2012
I have no issue with selecting Victoria over Megan to go to Jr Worlds but let's not fuss about Megan's early season performance too much as she was coming back from injury and lost training time. But I am very happy Megan is going to the Bavarian open so to demonstrate her readiness to be a solid alternate.
David Li does not have the technical minimums for junior worlds. Also, his scores in the Summer and Autumn competitions (175 and 162) were a fair way below Skate Canada's benchmark for receiving international assignments - which was 200 for men with 2 years or less of junior eligibility remaining. Nationals was the first competition where he achieved the benchmark.
- Joined
- Nov 30, 2016
Yes, it's true they went in a different direction in dance (although it wasn't my point that Nationals doesn't matter, just that it's not the only factor). I guess the argument there would be the that difference in the international results wasn't as big between them as for the singles.
H/B had 143.56 and 142.38 on the JGP, compared to 149.79 and 150.77 for A/D. That's not insignificant, especially in dance, but it's also not a huge gap, and both teams medalled at both events. It's a much smaller gap (6-8 points) compared to the singles skaters. Victoria's 168 was 24 points better than Megan at IceChallenge (leaving out Cranberry since she was returning from injury). David B and Grayson on the JGP were 37-53 points apart. If you count Cranberry and IceChallenge, David B's international average was ~184.5, and Grayson's was ~213. If David B had had a stronger JGP performance, still behind Grayson but closer, then he might have been selected. I'm not trying to be super critical of David for that JGP, to be clear. Bad events happen, and like I said above, I would have been fine with him getting the spot. I'm just exploring what SC's thinking may have been. Equally, if Grayson had been further behind David at Nationals, or Victoria's Challenge and Nationals results had been swapped, they maybe/probably would not have gotten the spots.
So yeah, it was a bit inconsistent between disciplines, and I would have been happy to see Anderson/Dawson chosen, but Homick/Buelow's international results were a lot stronger than David B or Megan. So it's not entirely the same situation, and I do think it makes sense to consider that.
And I would really like to see A/D and David B (at least) to get some other assignment, so I'm with you there.
More interviews.
Wesley Chiu talks to In The Loop
www.inthelopodcast.com
Madeline Schizas has one with McMaster University
science.mcmaster.ca
Wesley Chiu talks to In The Loop
Interview with Wesley Chiu — In The Loop
Maryam had the chance to chat with Wesley Chiu, 2024 Canadian National Champion, about his skating journey, his comeback post-injury, as well as his current interests. He just finished competing at the 2026 Canadian National Championships where he finished in 4th place with a score of 241.48. He has
www.inthelopodcast.com
Madeline Schizas has one with McMaster University
Science student returning to Winter Olympics while roommates cheer her on back at Mac - Faculty of Science - McMaster University
Madeline Schizas will finally experience residence life during her last year as a science undergrad. But she won’t be staying on campus or making an IKEA run before moving in. Instead, Schizas will fly to Italy and spend February at the Milano Olympic & Paralympic Village as a returning member...
science.mcmaster.ca
Wow Gabby did really well at 4CC. But don't understand how she got lower PCS then Sarah or Bradie. Is it just because she has been away from things for so long?
Kelly Ann and Lucas did well too. And Fee Ann did pretty well as good as she could on her first big stage event.
Kelly Ann and Lucas did well too. And Fee Ann did pretty well as good as she could on her first big stage event.
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2015
She skated very very early. I think she deserved a couple points higher.
Fée Ann did well as well... also a bit low for her in PCS but she was a bit less spunky than usual. It's her first ISU championship indeed so I am happy for her. She went for the 3-3... it was <. on the toe but still... that's a huge step forward If she can secure that 3-3. I didn't think much of the two Chinese skaters who placed just above her. They had their mistakes too, so call me biased but I would have Fée Ann in 10th instead of 12th.
I fell asleep at some point so I cannot say much about the last couple groups
- Joined
- Jan 6, 2021
Gogolev’s scoring potential certainly changes the math in a good way. Imagine we’d still need some help on top of good skates… but needing one flopfest from a rival country is a lot better than needing two or three
Went back and rewatched some of the Canadian performances from 4CC and boy some of the judges were really hard on the Canadians. Gabby's GOE on her 3/3 and her 2A should have been higher. Fee Ann's score should have also been higher. Even the commentator kept going on about the height of her jumps. Kelly Ann and Lucas also were dinged by a couple judges esp in PCS. I really do not see why the USA skaters across the board get higher GOE on very similar elements.
Similar threads
