2018-19 Canadian figure skating

My top moments of the year:

1. Kaetlyn's free skate at the Olympics; bluntly, I didn't think she could do it, after Satoko skated so well and with the season she'd had up to that point, but she pulled it together at the last possible moment.
2. Tessa and Scott's free dance at the Olympics. Unlike the above, I didn't have any doubts that they could deliver, but I was resigned to them not winning. And then they didn't.
3. Stephen winning the Junior Grand Prix Final after being so crushed in Richmond.
4. Piper and Paul's free dance at Skate Canada International.
5. Keegan's short program at the World Championships and making the final flight.

Colonel Green said:

My top moments of the year:

1. Kaetlyn's free skate at the Olympics; bluntly, I didn't think she could do it, after Satoko skated so well and with the season she'd had up to that point, but she pulled it together at the last possible moment.
2. Tessa and Scott's free dance at the Olympics. Unlike the above, I didn't have any doubts that they could deliver, but I was resigned to them not winning. And then they didn't.
3. Stephen winning the Junior Grand Prix Final after being so crushed in Richmond.
4. Piper and Paul's free dance at Skate Canada International.
5. Keegan's short program at the World Championships and making the final flight.

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I agree, but would add Kaetlyn winning Worlds and Duhamel/Radford Olympic medal in pairs.

Wow, it's been a great year for Canadian figure skating!

believed said:

Cue Skater Boy coming back in three weeks to say the same thing...

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Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I sense some negativity here which is unfortunate. I really do hope Canada pulls it together but how can someone not notice objectively Canada is in trouble or translation in a rebuilding state and don't have a lot of consistent or solid contenders. Where as you say for sure France has a very solid ice dance gold medal threat and at least a medal in pairs.
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I’m not worried, we are still 4 years out. If you look back to 2014/2015 season.

I doubt many thought that Keatlyn/Gabby would be world medalist, that Patrick and V/M would be back. That D/R would continue gaining momentum.

If Charlie and Julianne each get new partners, M/M continue to improve and Evelyn started just focusing on pairs, it would be possible for Canada to have another 4 strong teams for 2022.

Although Keegan may not stay until 2022, Roman, Conrad, Jo, Ilya and Nam all likely will. Plus I think GoGo will be eligible also. They all have great quality skating and quads, they just need consistency.

W/P, P/P, the Canadanes, and S/F all have 3 more years to continue building.

Canadian ladies usually peak at older ages so let give the juniors some time. There are some girls that have all their triples and a 3-3 currently.

Skater Boy said:

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I sense some negativity here which is unfortunate. I really do hope Canada pulls it together but how can someone not notice objectively Canada is in trouble or translation in a rebuilding state and don't have a lot of consistent or solid contenders. Where as you say for sure France has a very solid ice dance gold medal threat and at least a medal in pairs.
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Of course you are entitled to it. You have said the same thing since the end of February. We all understand it. I’ve seen multiple times when people have understood that this is a rebuilding quad and I don’t think anyone is under the assumption that Canada is going to win every podium from now until Beijing.

Skater Boy said:

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I sense some negativity here which is unfortunate. I really do hope Canada pulls it together but how can someone not notice objectively Canada is in trouble or translation in a rebuilding state and don't have a lot of consistent or solid contenders. Where as you say for sure France has a very solid ice dance gold medal threat and at least a medal in pairs.
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Skater boy : we have discussed this before : you are very welcome to comment current events. You do so in your own style and I often agree with some of your descriptions and impressions of actual events. You have a great sense of fashion
The negativity you get here is simply when you keep harping on THE FUTURE.... when you speak about right now, you can back up with facts... when you speak about the future, you often see the glass half empty... actually you see it empty, which is what is exhausting for me (and perhaps others as you noticed that many replied to your posts).
For instance, right now, NO COUNTRY is able to talk about the Olympic team events. NOBODY is clearly set on that : for instance James and Cipres have said they are taking it one year at a time, so France could lose their pairs team in 4 years, just the way Canada could lose Keegan who is hoping to get to the games but not yet committed to that.

So let's agree here : there is no point to talk about the team event. Yes, if it were next week, Canada would be in troubles. But it is not next week, not even next year. And think about it this way : if it were next week, maybe some people who are "retired" or "skipping" may have included it in their planning. I will give you a clear example : Patrick had had enough in the early fall. He lost motivation, skipped Nebelhorn, had issues in Detroit with Marina, more issues at SCI and wanted to retire.... but oh wait... there was an Olympic team event coming up and it gave him the motivation he needed to train and compete, and earn points for his teams contributing to becoming Olympic Champion. If there hadn't been a team event, just singles, I am pretty sure Patrick would not have gone to the games ( i am speculating but when reading all his interviews, I am pretty sure that my between the lines reading is close to reality)

So this is my suggestion : give credit to the athletes, coaches and federations : NOBODY cares about this year... it's rebuilding for everyone... Some change partners, some retire, some change coaches... some try new jumps, new styles etc.... but the aim is NOT to perform at GPF or even worlds... the aim is further down the road. Let's wait and see how everyone gets organized...

Skater Boy said:

I really do hope Canada pulls it together but how can someone not notice objectively Canada is in trouble or translation in a rebuilding state and don't have a lot of consistent or solid contenders. -

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To me, "Canada is in trouble" is not the same thing as "Canada is in a rebuilding state and don't have a lot of consistent or solid contenders". The first is negative. The second is just a temporary reality, but still offers the opportunity for breakthrough and memorable performances. "Rebuilding" means you are in the early stages of a journey, where there isn't a realistic expectation of medals. "Trouble" is what Nathan Chen was in after his Olympic SP in the individual event.

Canada may not get any medals this worlds, but that's not a horrible or troubling thing. I would gladly go a worlds without medals every now and again to have Olympic years like 2018.

Scout said:

"Trouble" is what Nathan Chen was in after his Olympic SP in the individual event.

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SO much trouble that he went on to win the Olympic FS, and then the World Championship a month later.
We should all be in such trouble.....

i agree with you chuckie

there is always hope...

always hope that a girl like Kaetlyn falls 6-7 time at SCI and then, a couple years later is a 3 time olympic medallist and world champion. Too bad some people only remember the difficult times instead of focusing on the great times. Too bad some people do not BELIEVE.... I always did in Kaetlyn and I also believe in Canadian skaters who are developing right now.

Let's try, for once, to focus on the positive.

Why would someone always rememberi the rainy days instead of the sunny days.

chuckm said:

SO much trouble that he went on to win the Olympic FS,

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And didn’t get a medal because he bombed the short program.

The point the poster was making with the comparison (I believe) was that degree of immediacy matters. There’s a difference between doing poorly mid-competition and trying to project what things will be like three-and-a-half years from now. You have a lot of data for what’s possible in the former case (to use the example of Nathan, after the short he was facing an enormous deficit that would have been all but impossible to make up), and the further forward you move things, the more variables there are that make a situation unknowable. Nathan’s Olympic SP tanked his chances at the Olympics; it didn’t stop him from becoming World Champion a month later. It won’t stop him from going for the gold in 2022, either.

Everybody acknowledged going into this new cycle that developing new talent in various disciplines was a long-term project. On the whole, I wouldn’t say the results so far have been much better or worse than could have been expected.

But there are a ton of variables that we won’t have data on for a while yet. In pairs, for instance, you have the new team Brasseur/Bardei, whoever Bilodeau ends up skating with, and potentially a new partnership for Seguin depending on what she chooses to do. It will be years before we know if that potential will be fully realized or not.

There’s plenty of potential talent for the 2022 team (if asymmetrically distributed amongst the disciplines), and it’s far too early to say how it will go.

chuckm said:

SO much trouble that he went on to win the Olympic FS, and then the World Championship a month later.
We should all be in such trouble.....

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Not sure if this was meant to deliberately misinterpret my post in a humourous way, but it is completely missing the point.

I think it’s enough to say that Nathan did not go to the Olympics with the goal of winning the FS and that while Canada may lack serious medal contenders for this year’s worlds (but noting that two entries are likely to be former world medalists), I don’t think that Canadian figure skating is in trouble.

Sure, we're in a dry spell right now in most disciplines. But it doesn't mean we're done in for in Beijing in 2022. Personally, I think our dance field is still very strong with W/P G/P FB/S & S/F, our men have 4 very prominent juniors in Stephen,Conrad, Joseph & Iliya, and if Keegan could skate two clean programs he would fare very well. Ladies and pairs are more so question marks, with Gabby currently unknown and not knowing if Kaetlyn will come back, but we have Larkyn who with higher TES could follow the trend of late blooming Canadian ladies, and if Alaine could skate 2 clean programs she'd be in business. Pairs looks a lot weaker than usual, but it seems that pairs everywhere (except Russia) is looking weaker than usual, and we have MT/M and W/M who are improving fast in their first senior season. sure not everyone will reach their potential, and yeah this year is admittedly weak, but theres loads of potential

Larkyn Austman turns 20 next month. If she's going to "bloom" it had better happen rather quickly.

As for Keegan and Alaine skating two clean programs: that's every skater's challenge, and few skaters can achieve it. Hanyu is the best in the world, but how often has he skated two clean programs in one competition? Kaetlyn Osmond finally did it and won Worlds 2018. Medvedeva had a long string of wins, but not every program was clean.

chuckm said:

Larkyn Austman turns 20 next month. If she's going to "bloom" it had better happen rather quickly.

As for Keegan and Alaine skating two clean programs: that's every skater's challenge, and few skaters can achieve it. Hanyu is the best in the world, but how often has he skated two clean programs in one competition? Kaetlyn Osmond finally did it and won Worlds 2018. Medvedeva had a long string of wins, but not every program was clean.

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Kaetlyn wasn't clean in either program when she won Worlds.

But as you say, most wins in singles aren't entirely clean, especially in men's. Keegan got one of the best scores of the season at Skate Canada for a program where he fell on his second quad.

My photos from the Ice Dance Elite National Send Off Gala yesterday (Scarboro FSC). Unfortunately, I didn't really get any good shots of Gilles/Poirier, and there were a couple of teams that I didn't have good enough shots to post at all.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/janetliz/albums/72157675301352397

janetliz said:

My photos from the Ice Dance Elite National Send Off Gala yesterday (Scarboro FSC). Unfortunately, I didn't really get any good shots of Gilles/Poirier, and there were a couple of teams that I didn't have good enough shots to post at all.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/janetliz/albums/72157675301352397

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Really nice pictures. Lots of polka dots and checks among the costumes, but they're all cute and age-appropriate.

NanaPat said:

Really nice pictures. Lots of polka dots and checks among the costumes, but they're all cute and age-appropriate.

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Starry, starry nights and polka dots...whats not to LOVE here.

I don't get the whole sky is falling on Canadian figure skating. We just had our best Olympics ever with 4 out of 5 disciplines medaled in.

You can't expect to dominate every competition in every discipline in every year throughout the cycle, let alone the first year. There is lots of Canadian talent with potential but some of y'all are acting like anything short of a World championship gold this season is an utter failure.

Canada just had a junior man win the GPF. He has 3 different quads including a quad lutz. Like, how is that not something to be optimistic about?

We cannot say that if a Canadian lady doesn't medal at Worlds then the program is a bust - when a Canadian woman just won Worlds.

We cannot say that if no Canadian pair/ID team matches the success or difficulty of D/R or V/M it will be a bust. The pairs game is open at the moment and Canada still has strong ice dance contenders (not that anyone internationally can really challenge a clean P/C anyways).

It's so ironic that it's not even a year since the Olympics and instead of continuing to reminisce and enjoy, certain folks are taking that Olympic success as a negative indication of how "bad" Canadian skating is.

I mean, come on, the next Olympics are miles away and so many things can happen and so many teams can emerge. Zagitova, Savchenko/Massot, Papadakis/Cizeron were non factors and (save for Savchenko) were completely off the map at this point in Jan 2015. And it's not like Canada is the only country rebuilding at the moment.

My top 5:

1) Canada's Team Gold - while not totally unexpected, there were some stellar performances and glad to see a deserved gold for World Champs (Chan, V/M, D/R and eventually Osmond)

2) D/R's Olympic bronze - this was especially satisfying because of the tumultuous season they had the previous year and everyone counting them out. Along with a team gold, the OBM was that one big bird they got to flip at all their critics and an amazing way to end their career (and, as much as I like T/M, thank god it prevented Candyman from medaling lol). Their career was defined by difficulty and their quad throw at the Olympics sealed that legacy.

3) V/M's Olympic gold. I, like many others, had resolved that the French were bound to win no matter what. Which made V/M performance not just brilliant but a shocking win. And even with the crazy PCS, V/M came out on top and stamped themselves as arguably the greatest ever. And in a comeback no less.

4) Osmond's World title. Like D/R, Osmond's had some disparaging words thrown at her by some nasty folks, and her OBM was the precursor and then her World title shut. them. up. I call her victory bittersweet because those people could only be bitter which made her win that much sweeter. Not only did she come back from injuries for a World silver followed by her best season ever but her facing criticism and being written off made her achievements and success even more gratifying.

5) Gogolev's JGPF win was great of course - but it was that first win on the JGPF had a FS that had me, and everyone, shook. And I thought Russian ladies was the only instance with skaters who can execute harder jumps than any senior! Hoping he slays at Nationals, a la Nathan Chen when he did 4 quads at Nats, and puts everyone on watch even moreso.

So Canadian Nationals is this upcoming week and Skate Canada has been posting some spotlights/mini-interviews with the competitors:

Nam Nguyen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTflZJzNgb8
Walsh / Michaud: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjwCLRY6KhM
Fournier-Beaudry / Sorensen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufXRLH-Qm7U
Larkyn Austman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A11azGOj_es
Soucisse / Firus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXLgLSiLySU
Alaine Chartrand: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1p0NpHyjFU
Sales / Wamsteeker: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtLQy68eJFs

More to come hopefully

BillNeal said:

So Canadian Nationals is this upcoming week and Skate Canada has been posting some spotlights/mini-interviews with the competitors:

Nam Nguyen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTflZJzNgb8
Walsh / Michaud: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjwCLRY6KhM
Fournier-Beaudry / Sorensen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufXRLH-Qm7U
Larkyn Austman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A11azGOj_es
Soucisse / Firus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXLgLSiLySU
Alaine Chartrand: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1p0NpHyjFU
Sales / Wamsteeker: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtLQy68eJFs

More to come hopefully

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If you access the interviews from the SC website, there are also about 5 additional written questions & answers, some a bit sillier than others...things like which sports idol they'd like to have dinner with, celebrity crushes or what their favourite emoji is...

I'm not sure what rock I've been living under, but I didn't know that Nam had planned for the previous year to be his last one. I guess he was thinking school? Very glad he decided to continue, at least for another year.

Anyone know what happened to his sister with respect to her skating? It seems like I haven't seen her name on competition lists for a few years now, so I'm assuming she quit the sport...