Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir end partnership

caitie said:

It was kind of an insensitive tweet about something hard a lot of his teammates are going through. It's not surprising one of them took it personally. He was probably just trying to be funny, but it was not really the time/not really appropriate for his public account IMO.

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I agree. He might not have thought it was rude but others in the situation could see it that way. That only hurts them in future.

caitie said:

It was kind of an insensitive tweet about something hard a lot of his teammates are going through. It's not surprising one of them took it personally. He was probably just trying to be funny, but it was not really the time/not really appropriate for his public account IMO.

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IMO I have to agree that the timing was not appropriate for Knierim to tweet what he tweeted. However, I do not think the intentions were meant to be malicious. However, although Knierim put a ring on his partners finger doesn't mean anything nor a guarantee they will be together for the long haul. From what I hear the Coach encourages the relationships to assist with getting chemistry between the teams and then promotes her athletes to tweet all about there relationships. That is just what I heard from a reliable source that currently trains in Colorado in the Sappenfield camp. There coach doesn't seem to have a history of keeping Teams together for the long haul. I could be wrong, but Dalilah Sappenfield doesn't have a Team she has coached consistently that has stayed together beyond 4 years once they were competitive at the Junior and Senior Levels. She has had the boys that seem to stay with her for a long time, but the girls seem to come and go like a revolving door either to other partners or quit the sport all together. Hopefully Chris and Alexa will stick it out as the US needs some longevity in Pairs and they certainly have demonstrated the Talent
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UnsaneLily87 said:

Personally, I think skating needs a bit more drama to liven it up! No complaints here.

C/S were really growing on me though. Can't say I'm not disappointed at this (entirely expected) news. At SOI Chicago, I was with a non-skating-fan friend and she leaned over during their program and said to me "wow, they do not want to be here right now." If she could feel it in the 20th row, it was time to quit.

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I was impressed with C/S at the olympics. They were bringing it I thought. What I am more surprised is that they were doing SOI. I wouldn't think they would be that marketable when the Canadians who were higher ranked probably were available not to mention other retired pairs from yesteryear.

Skater Boy said:

I was impressed with C/S at the olympics. They were bringing it I thought. What I am more surprised is that they were doing SOI. I wouldn't think they would be that marketable when the Canadians who were higher ranked probably were available not to mention other retired pairs from yesteryear.

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The entire SOI tour this year was a victory lap of sorts for the US Olympians, particularly the bronze medalists. There was no one on the tour who was not American. And in the US, at this moment, I would say yes they are far more marketable/recognizable to the general public and the young skaters who fill the SOI stands than older pairs or either Canadian pair. They're also pretty good show skaters with a fun program that I will say was a lot more fun when I saw it earlier in the season than at SOI.

Skater Boy said:

I was impressed with C/S at the olympics. They were bringing it I thought. What I am more surprised is that they were doing SOI. I wouldn't think they would be that marketable when the Canadians who were higher ranked probably were available not to mention other retired pairs from yesteryear.

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Considering that they won the bronze medal at the Olympics (even if it was "only" the team event), it would have been a massive burn had they not been invited to join SOI. I agree with flutzy13--SOI this year was pretty much a victory run for the team OBM and some other U.S. skaters that people might know of or want to watch.

Really sad to see that these two split, but it was for the best. It's a toxic environment if you don't get along with your partner. Good for them for keeping together as long as they did. Simon was in Indianapolis yesterday for a tryout.
When I found out they split my first thoughts were. Does Rockne come out of "retirement" now and pair with Marissa? My other thought was of a cross border team up with Rudi Swiegers for some reason. This will definitely be interesting as it develops.

IcyEdges said:

Really sad to see that these two split, but it was for the best. It's a toxic environment if you don't get along with your partner. Good for them for keeping together as long as they did. Simon was in Indianapolis yesterday for a tryout.
When I found out they split my first thoughts were. Does Rockne come out of "retirement" now and pair with Marissa? My other thought was of a cross border team up with Rudi Swiegers for some reason. This will definitely be interesting as it develops.

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DeeDee Leng perhaps?

Funny my first thought as a new partner for Simon is Becky Bereswill. She has switched back and forth between singles and pairs. She doesn't have the toughest jumps, but has been almost too tall for pairs at 5'6". I believe she last tried out with Joshua Reagan, but that didn't work out. I have always been disturbed by the extreme height difference between Marissa and Simon so I'd like to see him with a taller partner.

There must have been something in the Sochi water. Whoever drank it, split up.

icenetwork has an interesting article on the two of them and their split: http://www.icenetwork.com/news/2014/05/08/74777280

And apparently he's already had one interview/try out with someone; and he wanted to continue with Marissa but understood why she wanted to split. If nothing else, at least it seems like they're splitting on good terms.

This IN articles kind of a sad read although their comments are all class. Bobby Martin is the last person who should be blaming himself as it seems he was instrumental in getting them out of a rut in 2012 and onward to 2 National championships and an Olympic medal. Its sad that they won't get to reap the benefits of toughing out the 8 years- more Stars on Ice, Boston Worlds etc. Although the making the Olympic team at home and the Olympic bronze are pretty sweet rewards for their work.

Its clear from the article that it was Castelli who ended the partnership when Simon and the team at SCoB were looking to continue. I certainly don’t begrudge her the right to do what she feels she needs to do for herself as these partnerships are an intense commitment where both parties need to be 100% all in. But I think she’s taking a big risk. There's not a bevy of available pairs guys at her level. Definitely not in the US. I don’t doubt she has the talent to get back to the top but I think this is a bold choice as she would have been reigning US champion in a now depleted field with not only a US Worlds but a hometown Worlds in 2016. It will be interesting to see how it plays out for them.

flutzy13 said:

Its clear from the article that it was Castelli who ended the partnership when Simon and the team at SCoB were looking to continue. I certainly don’t begrudge her the right to do what she feels she needs to do for herself as these partnerships are an intense commitment where both parties need to be 100% all in. But I think she’s taking a big risk. There's not a bevy of available pairs guys at her level. Definitely not in the US.

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Yes, I concur with you! I feel like their partnership must've been way too tumultuous and unhealthy for her to want to split now. I mean they would've been in an ideal position to really set themselves up for success this next quad....and because (as it's been discussed) it will most likely be much more difficult for her to find another partner than him. He's already tried out for a new partner at least once according to the article.

As shocked as I was, it has to be tough to spend day after day after day putting all your efforts and trust into a partnership where people A & B just can't get along on a basic level. I enjoyed watching them this season. Wishing the best for each in whatever direction this takes them in.

Well, sounds like they thought it through and realized good results weren't worth it if you spent every moment together feeling miserable. Best wishes to them in the future. Hopefully they'll find partners they get along better with... while still pulling in respectable results.

They're marketable as part of the bronze medal winning Olympic team. Otherwise - probably not so much.

It's been said for a while that C&S have a tumultuous relationship, yet I still find it hard to imagine the relationship being that bad if they spent 8-9 years together. But things may have grown progressively worse over time, and it must be considerably draining to train together every day if the relationship is unhealthy or unhappy. I'm a little surprised they're both looking for new partners because they've grown up and trained in the Boston area their entire lives, and possible new pairings would likely require some significant changes for at least one of them. It also doesn't sound like Shnapir wanted this split, which could make major changes even harder to swallow. Wishing them the best. Although they weren't a particularly well matched team, they did the best they could with what they had, hung in there through very tough times, and got some good results.

desertskates said:

Heck, Aliona probably would have been better off with Schnapir that Massot. It's so hard to keep track

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What's so bad about Massot? He didn't have an easy time with Popova, but he seems to be a sufficient pair partner. What do people not like about him, or are people mainly just making observations based on his results with Popova?

flutzy13 said:

I find these tweets today from Scimeca and Knierim execeedingly tacky. I know they're mean to be funny but the timing is just bad. I'm sure they're happy as hell that the team that beat them twice at Nats are gone but keep that between yourselves and your inner circle. You were teammates at Worlds and you were beaten fairly and handily at Nationals. This just reeks of poor sportsmanship and jealousy that C/S have an Olympic medals while these two watched Sochi on television. After all her pouting on the GP, at Nationals and 4CC, I don't know why I'm surprised.

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The 70 people who favorited Knierim's tweet, several of whom are skaters including Meagan Duhamel and training partners of Castelli & Shnapir, might say your rather tacky post is an overreaction. And as for Lindsay Davis's post, don't you think she might have a chip on her shoulder at the moment over her own partnership not working out? Every pair skater has been through breakups before, including Knierim. He was poking fun at himself by saying he still has a partner because he's marrying her, and Scimeca replied to acknowledge that it was funny and to say she loved him. That was it. You'd have to be a little bitter, IMO, to try to twist those tweets into a negative. It wasn't the best timed tweet in the world for the overly sensitive folk, but it was harmless.

twirlingaround said:

However, although Knierim put a ring on his partners finger doesn't mean anything nor a guarantee they will be together for the long haul. From what I hear the Coach encourages the relationships to assist with getting chemistry between the teams and then promotes her athletes to tweet all about there relationships.

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That sounds like nonsense. Coaches don't even want their teams to start dating because if they break up off the ice, it could affect the skating partnership. Denney & Coughlin are another one of her teams, and they supposedly dated throughout their partnership, yet they hardly ever mentioned they were a couple. So your story is far-fetched.

aftertherain said:

Considering that they won the bronze medal at the Olympics (even if it was "only" the team event), it would have been a massive burn had they not been invited to join SOI.

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I agree. I thought C&S should have been invited to do the entire SOI tour (or maybe they were and turned certain shows down). It was odd to have the only pair team in the show only appear in certain cities.

gold12345 said:

The 70 people who favorited Knierim's tweet, several of whom are skaters including Meagan Duhamel and training partners of Castelli & Shnapir, might say your rather tacky post is an overreaction. And as for Lindsay Davis's post, don't you think she might have a chip on her shoulder at the moment over her own partnership not working out? Every pair skater has been through breakups before, including Knierim. He was poking fun at himself by saying he still has a partner because he's marrying her, and Scimeca replied to acknowledge that it was funny and to say she loved him. That was it. You'd have to be a little bitter, IMO, to try to twist those tweets into a negative. It wasn't the best timed tweet in the world for the overly sensitive folk, but it was harmless.

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Megan Duhamel favorited the tweet? Is it because so many pairs have split in Canada that she and Eric no longer have any competition?

I’d suggest for Simon to team up with Andrea Davidovich (who was dropped by her partner). She can compete for USA, can’t she ?
Or to see if Ksenia Makarova is interested to try pairs…He can afford a taller partner

@Gold12345, I just made my comment about Massot based on his previous results. He and Aliona might make a very good team over time.
I just hope Schnapir and Castelli can find partners in the US, switching countries sounds like a tremendous amount of distracting red tape.

I feel as if Marissa & Simon peaked and maxed out all they did and could have accomplished. While I enjoyed their SOI performance this year the height differential was distracting to me in competitions. I wish them both well in the future.

Also, lets cut Chris Knierim some slack over his tweet, he was probably trying to insert some humor with the fact that they just bumped up the ladder as a team. I just hope they train real hard and prove they are a top US team, if they can do that I think they can begin to do well internationally also.