2020–21 Canadian Figure Skating | Page 47 | Golden Skate

2020–21 Canadian Figure Skating

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What if Vanessa and Eric want to skate together and compete again just because they love skating and competing and this is an opportunity to explore their figure skating lives and venture into a different direction, artistically? And want this experience again while they can? For love and joy.

Maybe they're not even taking this step in order to compete for an Olympic spot. We don't know.

I've always admired skaters like Sergei Voronov, who didn't make a Worlds or Europeans team for his last 5 years of skating. I loved watching him skate and compete at Grand Prix events and finals and Challengers. He added joy to every event.

I feel for Meagan, but I've always thought Eric was the more lyrical and musical skater, so I think it'll be really interesting to see how he and Vanessa skate together. Already in my imagination, they could be beautiful.
 
withwings said:
Agree. I think that Eric's potential has not yet been realized in its completeness. Athletic side maybe but not his artistic potential. IMHO he has ability to express deep feelings, to bring his skating to the next level. Also, it is very disheartening that for Eric and Vanessa to annouce their decision IF they had the one, is taken away. Appereantly they both were not ready yet to announce their intentions and then, ahead of time, TCL.... and Meagan got traped in TSL "annoucement", too. What a mess!
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I don’t think you can blame TSL for this. A number of people have posted that it has been common knowledge in the skating community for several weeks.
 
metconahay said:
I agree that it should be the more talented pair that gets to go to the Olympics, no matter who that pair may be.

I think the Alexa/Brandon team-up was a different situation though and was perceived by the other American pairs as less of a problem. They basically consolidated two strong pairs that would have been fighting for Olympic spots into one. It's less of a situation where you had a solid #1 (KMT/Marinaro) and a clear #2 (Walsh/Michaud) that everybody assumed was going to go to the Olympics barring a surprise (i.e., Eric and Vanessa coming back).
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as mentioned before, W/M were not a clear #2 for many people... for me, they are place holders. They are a number 2 due to very extenuating circumstances... and who knows... from seeing them at worlds, if they had skated at Challenge, they may have not managed to surpass Matte and Ferland who skated lights out then... i am not a fan of what ifs... so i won't put too much weight on that...and Matte-Ferland didn't do as well at WTT... BUT... to me, they are pretty much even, and actually, Matte-Ferland have higher BV and better lifts and throws. So it will depends on who would land the most elements if they were face to face at the same event... and none of these two teams have shown exceptional consistency in SBS jumps and twist.
 
All this information is making me really hope there is competitions coming. Start fresh and we can see what we all think. I agree if Canada had a few more older teams we’d maybe not be thinking the same of MTM and WM
 
I received the April Issue of a German Figure Skating Magazine (Pirouette) today, and there it was: a small piece about Eric and Vanessa training together. However, they also noted it was as yet unknown whether this was for competitions or just for shows. So speculation can of course continue. They did mention that Vanessa has Canadian citizenship, so they can represent Canada at an OG if that's their goal (and of course have to skate well in the upcoming season).

Why am I mentioning this? I heard this rumour for the first time on TSL just two days ago, but it's definitely been around a lot longer if it's on paper in a magazine (with a lot of asides about rumours and speculation) that was published last Thursday.
 
This definitely shakes things up. I like it.

And, really, you have to earn your spot to go to the Olympics, no matter who you are. The partnership might look threatening to others on paper, but you never know how it will go until they actually skate and compete together... if indeed this is what is confirmed to be happening.
 
mrrice said:
A bit off topic but, I just wanted to say that I was pleasantly surprised with Gabby's WTT LP. She wasn't up to her WBM standards but she is still in great shape and gorgeous as ever.
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yup.. what is encouraging
1) her power is back... she is no longer afraid to jump... so she went for the jumps with perhaps a bit too much adrenaline and power even... had to step out or had a hard time to control the exits of them, but they are there and definitely around.
2) she worked a lot on everything else. she is as refined as she has ever been as a skater...
 
Colonel Green said:
Madeline and Piper & Paul both started choreographing their short/rhythm programs today (the former working with Asher again, the latter with Jeff Dimitrou).
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Do you know what music Maddie picked for her short? I hope they gave her some better music this time.
 
4everchan said:
ermmm he is a musician fair enough.... but not to a very high level, at least, in my opinion. A lot of people write music as insipid as his.. but do not have the platform to share it. As a pianist, he hasn't even finished a BMUS... which is below a basic level. I find it very nice that he is able to combine his passions by writing music for skaters (including himself) but he is no Mozart
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I definitely would not refer to Eric's piano skills as "below a basic level." According to Wikipedia, he studied music at York University for two years, and he has completed his Grade 9 RCM exam, which is the second-highest grade level (other than ARCT). Lots of pianists only get as far as Grade 8 - or far below it!
 
Dr. Jenn said:
I definitely would not refer to Eric's piano skills as "below a basic level." According to Wikipedia, he studied music at York University for two years, and he has completed his Grade 9 RCM exam, which is the second-highest grade level (other than ARCT). Lots of pianists only get as far as Grade 8 - or far below it!
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I think 4everchan is assessing Eric’s skills through a professional lens. Most professional musicians, especially instrumentalists, undergo the same type of rigorous training that world class skaters do. Not super familiar with the Canadian music ed system, but it looks to me like the exams you cite are taken at the secondary school level and aren’t indicative of high level training. So in skating terms, maybe Eric as musician is like someone who can do double jumps - certainly talented and accomplished, but not at the level of a national team member.
 
I can say through contacts it was said Eric and Vanessa will be skating/competing together for Canada. I trust these contacts and think as long as training goes well, they’ll team up.
But we’ll just have to wait and see.
 
Dr. Jenn said:
I definitely would not refer to Eric's piano skills as "below a basic level." According to Wikipedia, he studied music at York University for two years, and he has completed his Grade 9 RCM exam, which is the second-highest grade level (other than ARCT). Lots of pianists only get as far as Grade 8 - or far below it!
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well i have 11-12 years old students who are in grade 9 and 10 RCM... seriously, RCM is a marketing coup. ARCT is of pre-university level. Most people who do not even practice very much (60 minutes per day) can get to grade 10 at the end of high school. He has not even finished the RCM program, nor did he finish his BMUS from a lower ranked (for music) University... Grade 9 means that he has never even reached the level to play a Beethoven sonata, a Bach prelude and fugue nor a Chopin Etude. This really is even below basic level. For an "amateur" musician, maybe it sounds impressive, but it's like if I were to say that I am a figure skater because I have managed to do a couple spins and half my single jumps... and not only that, present myself professionally as such, to make money out of it. Maybe this sounds harsh, but if you compare to someone like Zach Lagha who has played Tchaikowsky concerto (and still I thought he should stick to figure skating) he is really not that advanced. Another pointer, a piece that so many people played, including Patrick Chan is Beethoven's Fur Elise, which is a grade 7. Seriously, I command him for his passion, but his knowledge and skills are limited.
 
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Tavi... said:
I think 4everchan is assessing Eric’s skills through a professional lens. Most professional musicians, especially instrumentalists, undergo the same type of rigorous training that world class skaters do. Not super familiar with the Canadian music ed system, but it looks to me like the exams you cite are taken at the secondary school level and aren’t indicative of high level training. So in skating terms, maybe Eric as musician is like someone who can do double jumps - certainly talented and accomplished, but not at the level of a national team member.
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probably even singles ;) But thank you ... i saw your answer after I had crafted mine, and you say much better what I am trying to say...
 
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