2009 BMO Canadian Figure Skating Championships

[fumie_fumie]

Is it official? I thought Dylan just put up a partnership search ad just to see who is out there.

 

[Winnipeg]

They may be waiting to hear the extent of her injury - something to do with her back.

It would be great if he finds another partner as he is a strong pairs skater. I hope his sister's injury is not serious. If he finds a new partner, it will be tough to get a team to the point where they could contend in 2010.

 

[siberia82]

However I must say that Fedor is not a very good early season skater ( based on several years observation not just the late start this year) and might have lost to Ten at Nebelhorn who was in great form at the time. Hence Fedor still might not have received that Skate Canada spot.

I think the most we can say when you look at his previous results is that he's inconsistent, but I strongly suspect this stems from his lack of discipline. Fedor did have a very strong JGP season in 1999/2000 and he finished 6th at his very first SGP event in 2000, which is great compared to Martinez and Ten's first outing (though funnily enough, Andreev never placed higher than that in future GP competitions). Fedor won the bronze medal at Nebelhorn, so he's capable of pulling in good results in the late summer/early fall.

Even when he contemplated quitting skating again, he didn't resume his drift racing career (he's still officially listed as "retired" in the motor sport world). If Fedor continued with his training during the summer, I'm sure he would've worked hard (just as he is now), and it's likely that he would've placed higher than Ten at Nebelhorn.

Shawn was lucky to compete in the first 2 GP's where many top skaters are yet to hit any form. Strange results are more likely to happen early due to the fact that some top skaters never hit stride early in the season

I'll admit that Shawn's free skate win at SC was very fluke-ish (I like to joke that he had a higher chance of being struck by lightning! ). But even if Chan, Ponsero and Lysacek had skated their best in the LP, Shawn still would've finished in 5th over-all. Neither Voronov nor Mroz scored higher than Sawyer in their subsequent GP events even though they had more time between their assignments than Shawn did. If Rippon's results from CoR were carried over to SA, Shawn would place no lower than 6th (Schultheiss and Uspenski also failed to overtake Sawyer's marks in their 2nd competition). Even with these hypothetical scenarios, Shawn would still have a pretty good GP season.

Also one of Shawn's GP's is Skate Canada, where he would get the home country boost.

Possibly, but Shawn was undermarked on PCS. If you want to take away whatever brownie points he might have received at SC, you should also compensate him on PCS, so his over-all score would've been more or less the same.

Shawn may have had his back to back, but he did not have to change continents back to back ( unlike Jeremy Ten for example who did Canada and China). I grant you Shawn's change involved 3 time zones but it still pales in comparison to Canada and China.

I agree that Jeremy had a much tougher schedule, but I still say that Shawn's was more hectic than Kevin's. The field may have been better-trained at NHK than at SC, but Kevin also had a lot more breathing room to work on his skating (I believe Weir was the only other men's singles skater who had the same amount of time to prepare for his 2nd GP competition). The only other guy who shared Shawn's situation was Lysacek, and he admitted in interviews that it was very tough having to do 2 back-to-back events at the start of season. Weir, who is supposedly his biggest rival, agreed with this assessment and stated that he himself would never want to go through that.

I do agree that Skate Canada was convinced as you said in the national training camp by Shawn's programs which have been the best ones he has ever had but I am sure they still are concerned to a degree about the lack of a reliable triple axel or quad jump.

Shawn's ongoing struggles with the 3-Axel (and sometimes the 3-lutz) is still in their minds, of course, but he did prove during the GP circuit that he can score more or less the same as Kevin without any big ticket items. The federation may not be 100% confident about Shawn, but for now, he's in their good graces. I can imagine that they favour Kevin a little more because he's younger, he's a quad machine and he doesn't crack under pressure, but as long as Shawn continues with his progress, I don't think they'll freak out if he makes the podium at Nats.

 

[nadster]

I agree that Jeremy had a much tougher schedule, but I still say that Shawn's was more hectic than Kevin's. The field may have been better-trained at NHK than at SC, but Kevin also had a lot more breathing room to work on his skating (I believe Weir was the only other men's singles skater who had the same amount of time to prepare for his 2nd GP competition). The only other guy who shared Shawn's situation was Lysacek, and he admitted in interviews that it was very tough having to do 2 back-to-back events at the start of season. Weir, who is supposedly his biggest rival, agreed with this assessment and stated that he himself would never want to go through that.

Evan can't be put in the same category as Shawn. Evan has medalled at Worlds before which means that anything less than making the GPF would be a disappointment for him. Shawn, at the start of this season, had not established himself as a top flight senior competitor internationally.

For the top tier skaters, getting the first 2 assignments is the worst thing that can happen. It means lower level skaters are more likely to take you down as the top flight skaters are most vulnerable when their programs are still cold.

For Shawn , getting the first 2 assignments back to back was an opportunity to catch some of the higher ranked skaters cold.

The results did not bear out this way this year but such things have happened in the past ( Alissa C and Phaneuf in the years they made the GP final )

Personally I do think that Shawn can finish top 10 ( but not much higher) at Worlds if he skates both programs like he did his long at Skate Canada. The lutz is the FS at Skate Canada was a beaut and everything was perfect save the triple axel. Hopefully he can get the triple axel going and he would finish even higher.

It will be interesting what happens between Fedor , Kevin and Shawn at nationals. Personally I hope Fedor medals so that he gets 4CC and Worlds to establish his ISU ranking and get GP assignments ( other than Skate Canada).

 

[skatingfan04]

My Predictions

Senior

Men
1. Patrick Chan (Duh.)
2. Shawn Sawyer (He seems a little more consistant this year, and his programs are fantastic.)
3. Vaughn Chipeur ( Hopefully he'll be on, because when he is, no one can beat his jumps.)
4. Kevin Reynolds ( I wouldn't be surprised at all if he made it onto the podium. He's pretty consitstant, and has the best jump arsenal by far out of all the men. Again, his artistry may cost him.)

Ladies
1. Joannie Rochette (Again, Duh.)
2. Cynthia Phaneuf ( I know she's had a bad GP season, but her jumps are coming back, and she tends to do well at nationals.)
3. Mira Leung (After a bad season, she's fallen off the map, and my guess is that her confidence will be shot. She was already showing signs of inconsistency at this time last season.)
4. Myriane Sampson (Inconsistency will probably haunt her again. I like her style, so I really hope that I'm wrong.)

Pairs
1. Jessica Dube & Bryce Davison (After their dissapointment last year and at NHK, they'll be hungy. It worked for them at worlds. Besides, they are the class of the field on any given day.)
2. Meagan Duhamel & Craig Buntin (They've been on fire all year, and I don't expect this to be any different. If D/D really choke, they could win it.)
3. Anabelle Langlois & Cody Hay (I'm sure they'll be rusty, but they're still a great pairs team, so I expect to see them at worlds.)
4. Either Mylene Brodeur and John Matatall (who have had a great season) or Rachel Kirkland & Eric Radford

Dance
1. Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir (Even injured, they're the best ice dancers in the country by a mile. They can fall flat on their faces and still win.)
2. Vanessa Crone & Paul Poirier ( It'll probably be close, but I think they'll squeak by W/P. They've had a great year, and their programs are amazing. I love W/P as well, but I hope that these two go to worlds. I think they have the best chance to get Canada three spots for the Olympics.)
3. Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje ( They'll probably just fall short. They're scores have been a little on the low side, but they do tend to get slightly undermarked in international competition. Their marks are usually higher at nationals, so we'll see.)
4. Kharis Ralph & Asher Hill (This team in young and unknown, but they have good material and are really well trained. With Hann-McCurdey & Coreno looking a little weak this year, this team could sneak into fourth.)

 

[nadster]

My Predictions


Ladies

3. Mira Leung (After a bad season, she's fallen off the map, and my guess is that her confidence will be shot. She was already showing signs of inconsistency at this time last season.)
4. Myriane Sampson (Inconsistency will probably haunt her again. I like her style, so I really hope that I'm wrong.)

I certainly don't think that Samson will finish 4th. She has not had a decent skate all season. She has the potential to do well though but falls to nerves far too often. She did not even finish in the top 75 on the ISU season best list so far this year, which I am sure SC would consider an absolute minimum requirement for someone on their first GP assignment. Non-Canadian federations can't even consider her as a replacement skater for their GP's should injuries happen.

Mira is the favourite for third but if the caller dings her for multiple UR's she could find herself a little lower than that. She won't finish any higher than 3rd but the caller will determine how far down the ladder she goes as she usually at least goes for her jumps and stands up , even if they are short of rotation. To show you how far she could fall, her ISU season best this year is lower than our junior skater Najarro ( who only has triple toe and salchow). That gives an idea of the severe impact of the UR call.

Mira , BTW has decided to go for a new short program. Lori N. did the choreography. That should give her a boost in the PCS but I have a feeling she'll get enough downgrades to ensure that Phaneuf finishes second even if Phaneuf pops a few jumps.

Smziett could challenge Mira but given the history of Canadian lady JGPF finalists at nationals ( they usually bomb - see Duhamel and Phaneuf as prime examples), I have a bad feeling there too.

I would be rooting for Lacoste to finish 3rd at nationals this year. She finished 5th at nationals in 2006 but injuries have dogged her at every turn since. When on she has beautiful jumps unfortunately those injuries have stalled her progress.

Other than Rochette, Phaneuf and Leung, any other aged out of juniors Canadian lady would absolutely need 4CC to even get on the shortlist for GP assignments. Obviously if that skater finishes top 24 on the season best list , they will be guaranteed a GP assignment. ( like Phaneuf did last year)

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

Kevin Reynolds - One doesn't score that much on artistry. The CoP is conerned about the Whole Program in the Program Component Scores.

Besides, I think Kevin has come a long way in presentation which isn't scored except sublimely.

 

[CanSkate_Rules]

ok people....wat about the juniors....

 

[nadster]

Dance
1. Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir (Even injured, they're the best ice dancers in the country by a mile. They can fall flat on their faces and still win.)
2. Vanessa Crone & Paul Poirier ( It'll probably be close, but I think they'll squeak by W/P. They've had a great year, and their programs are amazing. I love W/P as well, but I hope that these two go to worlds. I think they have the best chance to get Canada three spots for the Olympics.)
3. Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje ( They'll probably just fall short. They're scores have been a little on the low side, but they do tend to get slightly undermarked in international competition. Their marks are usually higher at nationals, so we'll see.)
4. Kharis Ralph & Asher Hill (This team in young and unknown, but they have good material and are really well trained. With Hann-McCurdey & Coreno looking a little weak this year, this team could sneak into fourth.)

It won't be all that close between C/P and W/P. Skate Canada know that C/P at least have a chance of finishing top ten at worlds and Weaver/Poje don't.

There will be big gaps in marks from 1st to 2nd, 2nd to 3rd and 3rd to 4th.
Where it will be interesting is who will finish 4th and 5th and hence make the national team. There are about 5 couples who have a legitimate chance here.

I don't think that Ralph/Hill will finish 4th at nationals. They have always been weak with CD's ( more so than Crone/Poirier last year) Typically promising first time seniors at nationals struggle with the CD's ( as they have been competing the junior CD's all year) and move up later. I can see Ralph/Hill as low as 8th place after the CD and then moving up to 5th or 6th place. I personally think they will finish 5th so that they will get on the national team. In fact taking out the CD for the JGPF helped Ralph/Hill.

Last year, Crone/Poirier finished behind McCurdy/Coreno and Weaver/Poje at nationals solely due to C/P's low CD marks at nationals. C/P finished 2nd in the FD but was too far behind.

 

[siberia82]

Fedor Andreev's LP at a recent dress rehearsal : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09gSPkjKtok

 

[Hsuhs]

Fedor Andreev's LP at a recent dress rehearsal : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09gSPkjKtok

His jumps in that vid seem solid. But you say 'recent', and the vid is from Jan 2007? Isnt's it almost like 2 years ago.

 

[siberia82]

His jumps in that vid seem solid. But you say 'recent', and the vid is from Jan 2007? Isnt's it almost like 2 years ago.

The date is wrong (I have NO idea why the user titled it that way ). Fedor wasn't skating at the start of 2007 because he was still suffering from his back injury. The costume and music (which is the 1st movement of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto, as mentioned in this Globe & Mail article http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081208.wsptbuttle1208/GSStory/GlobeSportsOther/home) are from his LP this season. The choreography has "Jeff Buttle" written all over it.

 

[Hsuhs]

Fedor wasn't skating at the start of 2007 because he was still suffering from his back injury. The costume and music (which is the 1st movement of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto, as mentioned in this Globe & Mail article http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081208.wsptbuttle1208/GSStory/GlobeSportsOther/home) are from his LP this season.

OK. Thanks for clarifying that.

 

[champs]

Wow! Those are two gorgeous triple axels, especially the one as a 3A3T combo. I wish him best of luck at the nationals.

Is figureskating his first priority or it's rather racing that takes up most of his time? .

 

[siberia82]

Is figureskating his first priority or it's rather racing that takes up most of his time? .

Drift racing was his priority pre-injury (which mostly explains why his skating career never really took off), and then he focused almost exclusively on cars and modelling after he was forced to hang up his skates. When Fedor made the decision in the summer of 2007 to return to competitive skating, he officially retired from the motor sport world. Even when he had serious doubts about continuing this past summer, he didn't resume his drift racing career.

Now that he's back for good (at least until the Olympics, anyways), he's 100% focused on his skating. Thank you O sweet and merciful Skate Gods for giving Fedor a 2nd chance!!!

 

[champs]

Thanks, siberia82, for the detailed explanation. I guess it's sad for the fans of him as a drift racer but great for the fans of him as a beautiful figure skater I see he hasn't competed in the senior GP for quite a while according to his Wikipedia entry, so it'd be nice for him to be able to grab a spot for 4CC/Worlds to gain more international recognition and boost up his world ranking.

Chipeur also has huge jumps, especially 3A, and I hope he will do well at the nationals. It was quite heartbreaking to see him falter in the FS at CoC after such a wonderful SP he did. (Was it his first "small" medal in senior international comps?)
But then I also hope Chan, Reynolds, and Sawyer to do well there.
Also watched Jeremy Ten in his two senior GP this season and he looks promising too, despite the final standings. Enjoyed watching Elladje Balade's skating at Jr. GPF as well. Oh the men's event in Canadian nationals will surely be a very tough and exciting competition, even after Buttle, Sandhu and Maybee left.

 

[siberia82]

Wow! Those are two gorgeous triple axels, especially the one as a 3A3T combo.

Interestingly enough, Fedor was well-known for being a poor technician during most of his pre-injury senior career (especially the 3-Axel----I used to cringe every time he went for it! ). I suspect his height made it difficult for him to jump (he's 6'1", which is quite tall for a figure skater). His technique finally improved during the 2002/2003 season. Now his jumps are breathtaking, and I'm MADLY in love with Fedor's 3-Axel! ♥ ♥ ♥

When he started training again in August of 2007, Callaghan (his former coach) told him that he shouldn't bother with his comeback unless he could land the 3-Axel. Fedor gained it back in only 2 days!

If you're curious about his return to competition, this TV interview should help you catch up with the details: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnRTvBl-Mw4

I guess it's sad for the fans of him as a drift racer but great for the fans of him as a beautiful figure skater

As far as I'm concered, the motor sport world has enjoyed Fedor's company long enough. He actually has more racing trophies than skating medals (at least for the moment----I'm expecting that will change! :yes. I know many car enthusiasts want him back, but luckily he decided that his full attention should now be given to his loyal skating fans who miss him dearly.

I see he hasn't competed in the senior GP for quite a while according to his Wikipedia entry, so it'd be nice for him to be able to grab a spot for 4CC/Worlds to gain more international recognition and boost up his world ranking.

Fedor's last international competition was the 2003 Trophée Lalique, so yes, it's imperative that he gets sent to 4CC so that the world judges will notice him. He was slated to appear in at least 1 GP event and 4CC in the 2004/2005 season, but he broke his back in the spring of 2004.

Chipeur also has huge jumps, especially 3A, and I hope he will do well at the nationals. It was quite heartbreaking to see him falter in the FS at CoC after such a wonderful SP he did.

Vaughn is a great jumper, but he appears to have trouble holding his nerves together during competition. hwell: This is a great shame because his PCS isn't high, so he needs strong technical marks to hold him up. Sawyer doesn't have a 3-Axel (and most of the time he doesn't have a 3-lutz!), but the scores he received during the GP season were considerably higher than Vaughn's.

(Was it his first "small" medal in senior international comps?)

I don't think they give out small medals during fall competitions (Sawyer won the free skate at SC, but Kurt Browning had to create a home-made gold medal for him). Vaughn finished 3rd in the LP at the 2006 Nebelhorn, and he won the bronze medal despite placing 10th in the SP.

But then I also hope Chan, Reynolds, and Sawyer to do well there. Also watched Jeremy Ten in his two senior GP this season and he looks promising too, despite the final standings. Enjoyed watching Elladje Balade's skating at Jr. GPF as well. Oh the men's event in Canadian nationals will surely be a very tough and exciting competition, even after Buttle, Sandhu and Maybee left.

Ideally, everyone will be healthy and skate their best in Saskatoon! Just like with their American counterparts, the battle within the Canadian men's ranks should be a nail-biter!!! :thumbsup:

 

[bems]

I still believe Reynolds does not offer much in between the jumps.

If Figure Jumping is the sport, then he will do well.

If Figure Skating is the sport he still needs to improve.

Many skating fans are waiting for him to take them with him on the ice. This is what the fans want to see!

Let's hope he can do it!

 

[champs]

If you're curious about his return to competition, this TV interview should help you catch up with the details: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qj__0LOsSUk

Thanks for the link, this is quite an informative interview indeed. If you have time may I ask a you a favor to help me understand a part of this video that I couldn't understand. (English is not my native language.) It's from 1'55 to 2'20 or so, where the lady was asking what kinds of physiotherapy and training were invloved in overcoming his back injury to which Fedor was giving detailed answers I can't catch some words that sound technical due to my lack of vocab.

Jumping from the link you provided, I also watched an abc (or espn?) fluff piece from 2003 Lalique where they talk about citizenship issues with Belbin/Agosto and newly forming pair of Fedor with Jenny Kirk. It showed Fedor and Jenny's practice with Callaghan coaching them. But in the CBC interview above, the interviewer said that Fedor had back injury from practicing a quad that forced him to take a break from skating. So, I'm wondering,...do you know if he was planning to compete in both singles and pairs categories simultaneously all the way up to the time of injury in the spring of 2004, or was it the case that Jenny Kirk and he abandoned the idea of competing together in pairs before he got injured?

As far as I'm concered, the motor sport world has enjoyed Fedor's company long enough. He actually has more racing trophies than skating medals (at least for the moment----I'm expecting that will change! :yes. I know many car enthusiasts want him back, but luckily he decided that his full attention should now be given to his loyal skating fans who miss him dearly.

that's more or less what I expected to hear

I don't think they give out small medals during fall competitions (Sawyer won the free skate at SC, but Kurt Browning had to create a home-made gold medal for him). Vaughn finished 3rd in the LP at the 2006 Nebelhorn, and he won the bronze medal despite placing 10th in the SP.

An interesting story, that's really nice of Kurt to do that for Shawn. Also, thanks for the info about Vaughn winning the bronze in LP in 2006 Nebelhorn. I guess he didn't end up on the podium overall considering the placement in the SP but I'll check the results later.

 

[siberia82]

I still believe Reynolds does not offer much in between the jumps.
If Figure Jumping is the sport, then he will do well.
If Figure Skating is the sport he still needs to improve.
Many skating fans are waiting for him to take them with him on the ice. This is what the fans want to see!

Kevin still has a long way to go in terms of presentation, but he did make great strides in this area compared to last season. His non-jump elements used to put me to sleep in the past, but I find that they're watchable now (his costumes, on the other hand... ) His quads speak volumes, but his skating still comes off as junior-ish.

If you have time may I ask a you a favor to help me understand a part of this video that I couldn't understand. (English is not my native language.) It's from 1'55 to 2'20 or so, where the lady was asking what kinds of physiotherapy and training were invloved in overcoming his back injury to which Fedor was giving detailed answers I can't catch some words that sound technical due to my lack of vocab.

No problem; this is what he said:

Yeah, physiotherapy, a lot of core-strengthening. Once again at the Arctic Edge we have a program called "Velocity Sports and Performance" which focuses solely on the core-training and all sorts of other agility training to improve our, I guess, over-all athleticism.

Do you know if he was planning to compete in both singles and pairs categories simultaneously all the way up to the time of injury in the spring of 2004, or was it the case that Jenny Kirk and he abandoned the idea of competing together in pairs before he got injured?

I know Fedor originally planned to compete in both singles and pairs the 2004/2005 season, but somewhere along the way both he and Jenny agreed that it wouldn't work, as you can see in this article: http://web.icenetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081030&content_id=54552&vkey=ice_news

"It was actually a lot of fun, but it's so tough to go from singles, where all you have to do is focus on yourself, to pairs. Having a partner that you can't control can become difficult. But I really think skating pairs for that summer helped our singles skating because it brought life back into the sport for us. As a singles skater, you reach a point where you do the same exact jumps and spins over and over again each day ... doing pairs brought the fun back into the sport as we learned new tricks."

An interesting story, that's really nice of Kurt to do that for Shawn.

I wish I could share the clip on-line (it's really cute! ), but it contains Shawn's LP performance, so I don't want to risk being flagged by USFSA and have my YouTube account suspended. *sighs*

Kurt used a black permanent marker to write "SK8 CAN 1ST FREE" on a loonie (it's a gold-coloured $1 Canadian coin). He then drilled a hole into the loonie and inserted an official Skate Canada lanyard through it. Shawn's face lit up when he saw the home-made medal and the two of them shared a good laugh.

Also, thanks for the info about Vaughn winning the bronze in LP in 2006 Nebelhorn. I guess he didn't end up on the podium overall considering the placement in the SP but I'll check the results later.

Oh, you misunderstood my post; Vaughn finished 3rd in the LP and he won the bronze medal over-all : http://www.deu-event.de/results/Nebelhorn_2006/CAT001RS.HTM