Igor Shpilband fired

[ice coverage]

Quotes from Virtue/Moir and a few details are in Skate Canada press release today:


6/7/2012
Olympic Champions Virtue and Moir Confirm Plans for 2012-2013 Season

OTTAWA, ON: The 2010 Olympic Ice Dance Champions and two-time world champions Tessa Virtue, 23, London, Ont., and Scott Moir, 24, Ilderton, Ont., plan to continue training in Canton, Michigan. With preparation underway for the 2012-2013 season, Marina Zoueva will be the main coach for the team.

When the duo returned to their training base in Canton after a six-week absence which saw them touring with Stars on Ice and taking some planned vacation time, they learned that their coaching team of Marina Zoueva and Igor Shpiland would no longer be working together.

The two had moved to Canton, Michigan at the ages of 15 and 17 to train with the team of Shpilband and Zoueva. According to Moir, “their coaching partnership provided an enjoyable and productive training environment and together we experienced great success on the ice. We were obviously disappointed to receive the news that our coaching team of Marina and Igor will no longer be working together.”

Virtue appreciated the positive relationship they have shared with Shpilband during that eight-year period. “It was an honour to work with him every day, and we respect his dance knowledge and technical expertise. We are very grateful to him for everything he has helped us achieve.”

The duo is back on the ice preparing for the upcoming skating season and focused on training. Virtue added, “We’re in in the process of creating two new programs and are really excited to compete in the 2012-2013 skating season.”

The two are scheduled to compete at two events on the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating® circuit this fall, Skate Canada International in Windsor, Ont., October 26-28 and Rostelecom Cup in Moscow, Russia, November 9-11.

http://bit.ly/McPxaG

 

[Tonichelle]

Awww, there's nothing like a good PR spin to greet the day with, eh?

So clean and happy and roses... oh well, we'll see how this plays out when the season starts.

 

[blue dog]

Awww, there's nothing like a good PR spin to greet the day with, eh?

So clean and happy and roses... oh well, we'll see how this plays out when the season starts.

Gone are the days when Maia slugged Pasha...

or are they? =P

 

[callalily]

At present, Shpilband is American and Zoueva is Canadian.

She still has a Canadian passport, I believe, but Zoueva has been living and coaching in the USA for more than ten years. Surely she acquired American citizenship long ago.

 

[Jaana]

According to the article, she did not approach them directly. She asked a Lithuanian judge to talk to them. I assume it was yesterday or the day before.

Maybe D/V have also understood that co-working with Zoueva is not the best idea in the long run.

 

[Violet Bliss]

Awww, there's nothing like a good PR spin to greet the day with, eh?

So clean and happy and roses... oh well, we'll see how this plays out when the season starts.

There is no spin in this release which states as precisely and succinctly as necessary relating to Virtue and Moir. It is not Skate Canada's role or interest to tell the story.

 

[Skater Boy]

Agreed. But still I remember hearing as a young boy the sordid tales in the 90's of the Russian no. 1 male dancer sleeping with the no. 2 female ice dancer and how the no. 1 Russian dance team and faves for the OGM ended up skating some puppet routnie instead of their reknowned romantic dramatic routines allowing the No. 2 team OGM It also catapulted the "good" Oksana as she liked to be known in contrast to the orphan waif singles OGM skater who coincidentally got a blade in her back (unintentionally) by the German skater who rotates in the opposite direction only to be helped off the ice by the then Queen seeking her crown and adoration (Katrina Witt) Supposedly the no. 1 team's female pushed the "good" Oksana's head in a bowl of soup as she was mad how the "good" Oksana destroyed her marriage. And to think this was secondary to the Tanya - Nancy fiasco. Maybe this should have been the first reality tv????

 

[Skater Boy]

Oops the above post by me was in response to no need for drama in ice dance - but oh so much fun lol.

 

[ice coverage]

Awww, there's nothing like a good PR spin to greet the day with, eh?

So clean and happy and roses... oh well, we'll see how this plays out when the season starts.

Sure, the Skate Canada release does contain some spin, but I think the two passages below implicitly acknowledge that all was not clean and happy and roses -- and understandably are intended to distance V/M from what went down:

"When the duo returned to their training base in Canton after a six-week absence which saw them touring with Stars on Ice and taking some planned vacation time, they learned that their coaching team of Marina Zoueva and Igor Shpiland [sic] would no longer be working together."

" According to Moir, '... We were obviously disappointed to receive the news that our coaching team of Marina and Igor will no longer be working together.' ”​

[Just noticed that Skate Canada had a typo in Shpilband's name in the first passage ... talk about adding insult to injury ...]

 

[Tonichelle]

There is no spin in this release which states as precisely and succinctly as necessary relating to Virtue and Moir. It is not Skate Canada's role or interest to tell the story.

I wasn't speaking of Skate Canada specifically. Nor was I being negative towards V/M...

But considering that they're completely ignoring why the split happened, it's squeaky clean...

 

[Violet Bliss]

I wasn't speaking of Skate Canada specifically. Nor was I being negative towards V/M...

But considering that they're completely ignoring why the split happened, it's squeaky clean...

Did you expect them to dirty it up? The skaters, under advisement of their federations, are of course keeping it as clean and detached as possible. Of those involved, only some would get emotionally riled up to defend themselves or their kids who are vilified but most will try to stay as cool as possible and hope the distraction will blow over as quickly as possible. Or they work diligently and quietly at revenge. Everybody needs to focus on rebuilding now though fans have other vested interests such as curiosity to satisfy.

 

[icefan1005]

Quotes from Virtue/Moir and a few details are in Skate Canada press release today:


6/7/2012
Olympic Champions Virtue and Moir Confirm Plans for 2012-2013 Season

OTTAWA, ON: The 2010 Olympic Ice Dance Champions and two-time world champions Tessa Virtue, 23, London, Ont., and Scott Moir, 24, Ilderton, Ont., plan to continue training in Canton, Michigan. With preparation underway for the 2012-2013 season, Marina Zoueva will be the main coach for the team.

When the duo returned to their training base in Canton after a six-week absence which saw them touring with Stars on Ice and taking some planned vacation time, they learned that their coaching team of Marina Zoueva and Igor Shpiland would no longer be working together.

The two had moved to Canton, Michigan at the ages of 15 and 17 to train with the team of Shpilband and Zoueva. According to Moir, “their coaching partnership provided an enjoyable and productive training environment and together we experienced great success on the ice. We were obviously disappointed to receive the news that our coaching team of Marina and Igor will no longer be working together.”

Virtue appreciated the positive relationship they have shared with Shpilband during that eight-year period. “It was an honour to work with him every day, and we respect his dance knowledge and technical expertise. We are very grateful to him for everything he has helped us achieve.”

The duo is back on the ice preparing for the upcoming skating season and focused on training. Virtue added, “We’re in in the process of creating two new programs and are really excited to compete in the 2012-2013 skating season.”

The two are scheduled to compete at two events on the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating® circuit this fall, Skate Canada International in Windsor, Ont., October 26-28 and Rostelecom Cup in Moscow, Russia, November 9-11.

http://bit.ly/McPxaG

Well this totally contradicts the idea that the skaters were behind the firing.

 

[mskater93]

It doesn't contradict it, it whitewashes whatever happened and the teams' involvement in this issue. So did the articles on IN with quotes from D/W and S/S as they were also on vacation.
Quote from IN:
Davis and White, the reigning four-time U.S. champions and 2011 world champions, had trained under Zoueva and Shpilband since 2006.

"After a long and rewarding partnership with Igor Shpilband, we hold the firm conviction that Igor's expertise and investment in our career have been integral to our success," Davis said. "We will have nothing but fond memories and sincere appreciation for our time with Igor."

The Shibutanis, the reigning two-time U.S. silver medalists, had trained under the former coaching pair since 2007.

"Our experience with Igor has been very rewarding," Alex Shibutani said. "He is a great coach, and we appreciate everything he has done for us."

 

[Skater Boy]

What's done is done. WHo knows the real truth but God and we can't even agree on that. I just hope the skaters will be able to move on. Sadly life is about getting what we want - the problem is everyone wants something different often at the cost others.

 

[Olympia]

I have no knowledge of the situation, but when people speak blandly or politely in public about a thorny event (or refrain from speaking), they're not necessarily lying or putting on a false face. They're keeping things quiet because it's nobody else's business. Sure, we'd all like to know the truth, and maybe we will someday, but the Canton bunch has not obligation to come clean with all of us. Maybe we're all too used to reality TV, where people sit around a table yelling at each other about a text message one of them sent to another during/after/instead of a party that was intimate but fully televised.

Of course the skaters are going to utter carefully manicured platitudes in public. They don't want this to become what they concentrate on for the next year or two. They want an uninterrupted sequence of practices and competitions that keep them at the top of their game until Sochi. When they were nine and ten years old, they didn't dream of having huge arguments on international television. They dreamed of winning the Olympics. You could call that self interest, good manners, or just plain determination. Any which way we interpret it, they're entitled to conduct themselves this way and keep their eye on the goal.

Come to that, for all the revelations on both sides of the YuNa/Brian O. breakup, we never got to the bottom of that one either. So what's the point of expecting tell-all statements from people? They might not tell all anyway.

 

[Mathman]

Craig O'Neill, general manger of the Arctic Edge:

What it came down to was the kids didn't want to skate there (in Canton) anymore with Igor. Either they were leaving or Igor was leaving.

Scott Moir:

We were obviously disappointed to receive the news that our coaching team of Marina and Igor will no longer be working together.

 

[phaeljones]

Now, wait a minute. In the days when the Soviet Union was ruthless about winning skating gold, did we want to see skaters like Gordeeva-Grinkov get their "collective butts" kicked for the good of the sport? In the days of the Cold War and the Iron Curtain, did we want Romanian gymnasts to end up off the podium in favor of some more enlightened country, or did we want to see Nadia Comaneci rack up another perfect 10? The coldness or warmth of the leadership doesn't have much to do with the quality of an extraordinary athlete. If skaters are the best in the world, they ought to win.

At this point D/W and V/M are the world's best. They are the best due to a combination of factors, including coaching and their own talent and determination. If Zoueva and Shpilband had a feud (and we don't know the story), they are not being "ruthless" by choosing a coach. They have to choose a coach. What should be an act of conscience in this matter--should they retire from skating? No. They have to choose either Shpilband or Zoueva. How does that make them deserve to finish off the podium?

I concede that they have to be ruthless. Part of what I was trying to get across is that it is pretty well a requirement to be a competitive skater. This is a systemic issue for the sport and the type of people who compete and succeed in it. As well, I was trying to balance two points. Point 1 is that, although I agree that if they are the best, they deserve the podium, the time has come that it would be better for the sport if it branched out beyond V/M and D/W, and the one rink they skate at. I hope that other teams starting get good enough so that the focus broadens. Point 2 is that, yes, there is a karma issue here. Nobody anywhere anyhow deserves to be dumped like Igor was dumped (for those who disagree, let's agree to disagree), and V/M and D/W cannot say that they were not a part of it. I have no sympathy for them on that one. If they had any empathy, at the very least, the skaters should have expressed regret about the way that the dismissal was carried out. They didn't because they don't. Instead, we get the kind of whitewash statements any one of us on this board could write because we have heard them so many times.

 

[blue dog]

Point 1 is that, although I agree that if they are the best, they deserve the podium, the time has come that it would be better for the sport if it branched out beyond V/M and D/W, and the one rink they skate at. I hope that other teams starting get good enough so that the focus broadens.

Didn't you get the memo from the ISU? In order to save money, all worlds and olympics for ice dance will be held in Michigan, since at this point, holding a club competition in Detroit is proving more competitive, than, say Europeans

 

[Dragonlady]

Nobody anywhere anyhow deserves to be dumped like Igor was dumped (for those who disagree, let's agree to disagree), and V/M and D/W cannot say that they were not a part of it. I have no sympathy for them on that one. If they had any empathy, at the very least, the skaters should have expressed regret about the way that the dismissal was carried out. They didn't because they don't. Instead, we get the kind of whitewash statements any one of us on this board could write because we have heard them so many times.

None of the skaters has said ANYTHING. Statements were issued which were so obviously prepared as press releases that it's unlikely the skaters had any part in writing them. V&M are on vacation and have said nothing. But by all means, blame the skaters for this.

Skaters come and skaters go, so I find it hard to believe that the head coach of a major training centre was fired because the skaters didn't like him. That makes no sense at all. Why dismantle 20 years of work to accommodate 6 people who will likely be gone in two years?

 

[ice coverage]

John Alastair Kerr ‏@Jkerrbear

"One wonders whether recent events in Canton might have been handled a little better..."
2:41 PM - 7 Jun 12​

ETA:
Meanwhile, here's happier news from Team Canton:

Maia Shibutani ‏@MaiaShibutani

" I'm so glad to have "survived" high school. Huron High Class of 2012! Can't wait for fall at @umich!!! "
3:28 PM - 7 Jun 12
​

Alex Shibutani ‏@AlexShibutani

" Congrats to @MaiaShibutani on her high school graduation! It'll be great having her on campus in the fall at @umich! ‪#GoBlue ‬"
3:40 PM - 7 Jun 12
​