Replay Lounge 2025 Skate Canada

[frompolandwithlove]

May I please get the phone number of Kevin's psychologist? He/she did an amazing job with Kevin and I would also like to have my mental struggles fixed like that. I mean, it's such an upgrade from what? just last year? when he was giving up in the middle of the program, and now look at him, failing but laughing about it. Wish he'll keep that mindset for the season.

I have absolutely no idea why both Selevko brothers are not big ice show stars invited left and right to every possible event. They are both so entertaining to watch, with such a great presentation and commitment to the theme. Aleksandr did an amazing job, I loved both of his programs.

Kao also showed improvement from his last event, which is very very good for him. I wish to see him skate to his full potential, with that blinding speed and fearlessness we saw from him on his first senior season.

As for Ilia, well, him not getting that Olympic Gold would be the greatest plot twist of the last four years.

Women did well, although I don't remember much, many of them went for similiar vibes (ephemeral beauty of an ice princess) and sadly blurred a little bit in my mind into one. I'm happy for Mone and Ami, Sarah had an interesting free and so did Lara Naki Gutman. Yuna Aoki was brilliant in short and I don't understand her PCS.

That's about it, I don't feel like I want to re-watch anything in particular, It was an okay event and I'm ready for the next stop.
But I have to say, It is not a good look if your own commentator is pointing out so many missed calls on rotation or edge and calls certain skaters lucky for their placements. Don't get me wrong, it is his job and I'm glad he was not holding back, but it makes you question reliability of the judges, like - do they even know what they are doing? What do you mean they are not looking at this element??? Can we even trust their judgement?
We need more cameras for judging purposes asap. Or access to judges' camera to see what they are seeing. Otherwise disputes abour q/ur/e/! will be endless.

 

[TontoK]

I'm sorry, but those pinning their hopes on Kevin and letting the outcome have any impact deserve what they get. Don't act like this is your first rodeo and you are completely unaware of the toll Kevin fandom takes on a person.

Your best bet is to adopt my strategy of "neutral observer." If he skates great, you can say, "Oh good for him" and you go on with your day. If he bombs, you say, "Oh, that's too bad." And you go on with your day.

But honestly, the emotional turmoil of living or dying every time he takes the ice - along with the seven minor emotional crises that come with the jumping passes.... there's simply no reason to do that to yourself.

 

[peepsquick]

If you are only into athletes assured of a metronomic success, it's fine, but I think figure skating athletes deserve respect, successful or not. Some, like Kevin, have bigger ups and downs than most. The ups are so glorious that some of us learn to get over the downs.

 

[noskates]

Just wanted to say that I LOVED Piper and Paul's free dance. Don't know the technicalities of ice dance but thought this was the most entertaining of the season, so far. Her dress was gorgeous, for starters, and Paul didn't have something hanging in his face all the time. (Maddie really needs to ditch that horrible long skirt IMO.) Ilia was just phenomenol - don't know what else to say. Anthony Pom and his partner skated well but the music (Notre Dame) was used before quite successfully by Charlie White and Meryl Davis and I couldn't get them out of my mind when I was watching it. I think if I was an ice dancer I would stay the heck away from anything White and Davis skated to. The other bothersome music choice was the pairs team that skated to Riverdance. REALLY? And the shallow me has to comment on some of the dresses - Bradie (just awful IMO) and Sarah (I get that it's from a movie but those mutton sleeves or whatever they're called were SO distracting.) Overall with a few exceptions, some of these programs in all 4 disciplines don't strike me as Olympic year endeavors,

 

[viennaskater]

There are too many Riverdances this season.

 

[Skating91]

That's not where the jump landed. A landing is where weight is pressing into the ice. And yes this is one of the few jumps where she deserves good GOE. There's a decent amount of suspension in the air and good extension on the landing.

No, it's when the blades touches the ice. There is nothing in the rules about it being when there is weight pressing into the ice. Given everything happens in milliseconds, in the next one-hundredth of a second the weight will be pressing into the ice some more.

 

[Skating91]

Does anyone know what Ilia's training regimen is like, and diet? I'd love to know what he's doing differently. He has the stamina, fitness, explosive power to do a somersault after jumping 6 quads (he was a little gassed at the end but skaters jumping triples get tired as well). It's extraordinary. He seems to avoid any kind of serious injury as well so very durable. What an athlete!

 

[frompolandwithlove]

I'm sorry, but those pinning their hopes on Kevin and letting the outcome have any impact deserve what they get. Don't act like this is your first rodeo and you are completely unaware of the toll Kevin fandom takes on a person.

Your best bet is to adopt my strategy of "neutral observer." If he skates great, you can say, "Oh good for him" and you go on with your day. If he bombs, you say, "Oh, that's too bad." And you go on with your day.

But honestly, the emotional turmoil of living or dying every time he takes the ice - along with the seven minor emotional crises that come with the jumping passes.... there's simply no reason to do that to yourself.

I'm not sure if you are referring to my post, but I just wanted to clarify that me wanting to use Kevin's psychologist was a joke, obviously (although me saying that said psychologist did their job very well was not a joke), and also my mental struggles are not related to Kevin's skating.
And that being said - if I were Kevin's fan, I would be sad after a bad skate or happy after a good skate, probably. I don't see anything wrong with that, normal fan behavior. Sure, with him it's a lottery, but on good days he surely is one of the best skaters out there, so I get why people love him and are willing to be emotionally invested.

 

[noskates]

Ilia wasn't the only skater gassed at the end of their program. I think the elevation at Saskatoon is only about 1500 ft or so which isn't necessarily high altitude. It's still early in the season. But when you think of the effort Ilia has to put forth for all those quads, it's no wonder he's a little out of breath.

My two cents on Kevin....I think over the last couple of years he's become more content with himself which has led to better skates and a more calm outlook. I have no clue whether he's seeing a sports psychologist or if it's just a level of maturity. I think his passion for the sport comes through in his choreography and his vulnerability but for me he's a good skater - not necessarily a great skater. He's still too inconsistent for me to relax and enjoy his skates. The good thing is that when he does mess up he's able to continue and put it behind him, This is new! And he is incredibly entertaining,

 

[DancingCactus]

I only just now managed to watch Piper and Paul. I love them so much, what a beautiful program.

 

[Mathematician]

Does anyone know what Ilia's training regimen is like, and diet? I'd love to know what he's doing differently.

With all respect it's ridiculous to suggest Ilia and his team have discovered any method regarding diet, training, technique or anything else so banal which could come anywhere close to accounting for the outrageous gap he has left behind himself. Such factors are established in sports over decades of theory, experiment and possibly up to billions in dollars worth of effort. Ilia at this point is not as rich, dedicated, or experienced, neither has access to knowledge/resources equivalent even just to other skaters we've seen before. Ilia Malinin is a product of genetics. His genetics are better than everyone else's. That is it.

 

[dorispulaski]

What Ilia also has is a mother who is one of his coaches who had excellent jump technique in an era when that was very rare.

 

[Mathematician]

What Ilia also has is a mother who is one of his coaches who had excellent jump technique in an era when that was very rare.

It's true. Though, collective skating powerhouses such as Japanese, Russian, or even Korean schools surely cannot lack significant technical prowess compared to Malinina alone. Once in a while, sport produces a statistically incomprehensible outlier just from nowhere. I think it's mostly genetics, but circumstance plays its purpose. It requires a perfect storm. Malinin is truly golden. I very much understand why he is criticized however I would like to see him win OGM just on principle. We already had one outlier mega-talent surprise us in the wrong way at Olympics.

What interests me most about Malinin though is Russia can produce bewildering female talent but none of their men are anywhere close to Malinin or even other international skaters, despite Malinin being genetically fully Russian also... something very special about him.

Athletics is truly a mystery, TBH. I think it's mostly genetics because we have a large set of easily distinguishable evidence containing prima facie unequivocally genetic-based miracles as opposed to literal one-in-eight-billion diet plans, technical methods or training periodization.

E.g. NBA players who are 6'11 and fully proportionate & athletic. Look up Olivier Richters, 7'2 perfectly proportionate bodybuilder. Zero health or hormonal issues. If we are randomly gifted a perfect genetic miracle in such a way, it seems most intuitive to me that the same could be true where a boy is born with perfect CNS, musculature, skeletal anatomy and even proprioception specifically optimized to jump and rotate as high and fast as possible. Certainly selection plays its role in having two parents—one world champion—who must surely have great skating genetics to begin with. Nothing anyone else can do about it the same way they can't grow to a proportional 7'2 regardless of a perfect adolescence for maximizing genetic potential or even HGH cycles.

 

[rabidline]

Once in a while, sport produces a statistically incomprehensible outlier just from nowhere. I think it's mostly genetics, but circumstance plays its purpose. It requires a perfect storm. Malinin is truly golden. I very much understand why he is criticized however I would like to see him win OGM just on principle. We already had one outlier mega-talent surprise us in the wrong way at Olympics.

I was wondering whether fans are too traumatized by what happened in the last Olympics to Kamila that Ilia isn't considered as just... one of those freaks of nature who is just genetically gifted to execute certain moves (jumps, acrobatics) in this sport. Look. Sports attract these people, like Michael Phelps, Simone Biles. I mean, the kid figured out how to do a quad axel and did it not just once, but consistently, under comp lights, under show lights. He was able to do it in a Short Program, ffs.

I get doubting him but with the Russian girls, we know the pattern. They get older to a certain age (or they move to another coaching camp) and then the difficult jumps started failing and poof, a younger, better girl (or girls) with difficult jumps replaced the previous ones. Rinse and repeat. With Ilia, as he gets older, I think he started to pace himself better (which makes sense, he's older and has injuries). But the ease of how jumps come to him is there consistently, regardless of what he chooses to do.

 

[moonvine]

I'm sorry, but those pinning their hopes on Kevin and letting the outcome have any impact deserve what they get. Don't act like this is your first rodeo and you are completely unaware of the toll Kevin fandom takes on a person.

Your best bet is to adopt my strategy of "neutral observer." If he skates great, you can say, "Oh good for him" and you go on with your day. If he bombs, you say, "Oh, that's too bad." And you go on with your day.

But honestly, the emotional turmoil of living or dying every time he takes the ice - along with the seven minor emotional crises that come with the jumping passes.... there's simply no reason to do that to yourself.

Lol…..so many skaters I do this with. But if I don’t care…it’s boring.

 

[moonvine]

Where are the rewatches? Do they get posted elsewhere?

 

[sisinka]

Alexander Selevko won silver medal. But he doesn't have the second spot, which eliminates him from the battle for Grand Prix Final.

There are still 3 Grand Prix competitions to go.

I would wish ISU or Estonian Federation to make a request to US, Japan and Finish Federatioms to give Alexander the possibility to compete at second Grand Prix.

It is not happening daily that man having one spot only grabs the medal, but Alexander really showed his skating and jumping qualities. He would deserve the second spot.

 

[4everchan]

Alexander Selevko won silver medal. But he doesn't have the second spot, which eliminates him from the battle for Grand Prix Final.

There are still 3 Grand Prix competitions to go.

I would wish ISU or Estonian Federation to make a request to US, Japan and Finish Federatioms to give Alexander the possibility to compete at second Grand Prix.

It is not happening daily that man having one spot only grabs the medal, but Alexander really showed his skating and jumping qualities. He would deserve the second spot.

Unfortunately, that's not how it works : there is a replacement list in order of rank and GP hosts will follow it to award GP to substitutes in case of a withdrawal. So the ISU and Estonian Fed have no power here.

However, the good news for Sasha is that now that Tomo and Gogo have been awarded their second spots, Sasha is next in line. So, if indeed someone w/d from one of the last two events (it's definitely too late for NHK) he would get the call. But then, are we really wishing someone will be too injured to compete ?

Silver lining, a couple years ago, GP hosts just invited whomever they wanted from the replacement list ...and it did happen that winning a medal was actually making sure you wouldn't get invited by other hosts, to prevent that athlete from qualifying... Kaetlyn Osmond won Skate Canada and never got a second event.

 

[rain]

Just wanted to say that I LOVED Piper and Paul's free dance. Don't know the technicalities of ice dance but thought this was the most entertaining of the season, so far. Her dress was gorgeous, for starters, and Paul didn't have something hanging in his face all the time. I only just now managed to watch Piper and Paul. I love them so much, what a beautiful program.

I only just now managed to watch Piper and Paul. I love them so much, what a beautiful program.

I wanted to wait to comment on the actual program, rather than this specific performance, until l'd had a chance to watch it again without the unwelcome surprise of the miss on the lift (and kudos to them to be able to salvage that at all, by the way).

And I concur with the above. I was not sure about them returning to Vincent, but they have completely redone the program and it's new and fresh. There's lots of great choreography, all timed beautifully with the music.

Best costumes of the season, hands down, especially her gorgeous dress. I hope she does not change it out for the Olympics.

It is my favourite choreography of the top teams and I think it will really create a moment. Of course there's some things to work on, even aside from the lift. In particular, I think they could do more with their choreo step sequence....they scored OK on it, but not fantastic and I think they can do better. Their final double-barrelled lift was polarizing with the panel, one judge gave them a 5, another a 0, lol. Talk about mixed messages. I think I'd maybe look at changing her position in the rotational part of the lift; I love the stationary position, but he needs to look at trying to up the speed of his rotation in it. So I hope they continue to refine.

They managed to weave a spell even with the error.

 

[Magill]

I know what I am going to say is very unpopular here and Ilia fans are going to hate it but, yes, like it or not, after what happened with Kamila in the last Olympics, many people got burnt and learnt to stay away from any new extra jumper fan wagon, genetics or not.
Personally I see Ilia Malinin as a male equivalent to Eteri girls in many ways, with the difference that they were much much better overall skaters and much more pleasant to watch. But the philosophy is just the same. Longevity? Well, this is an obvious gender benefit as being male makes it easier to keep the jumps longer. Skating skills, presentation, interpretation? Who cares. Yes, I can see he's better than he used to be but he's still very mediocre in all these aspects, no matter how much we would like to watch with rose-tinted glasses, and his being just 2 PCS points away from guys like Yuma or Jason makes it a joke. And, no, a randomly packed together bunch of quotes does not make him more "artistic".
Plus one thing that is rarely being mentioned is the big fed politics. With all his jumps, I am pretty sure that if he came from a small federation he would get much lower PCSs, which would be much more appropriate to what he shows on ice, and much more scrutiny even on his jumps (look at Shaidorov and the way he is treated by the judges). In the end of the day, he would mostly win anyway but would never get the scores he gets, which would be more fair both to him and to all the other skaters, and better for the sport as such. And it would probably be seen as way less problematic and controversial even by non-fans, leaving him better accepted and, in the end of the day. better liked. But he would not be unbeatable. Because what makes him currently unbeatable is not just his TES but his TES combined with the undeserved PCS shower and the "look at the artistic heights" PR coming not from his camp (which would be understandable) but from the ISU itself which makes it, well, laughable.

When Stephane Lambiel said ironically in an interview published just a few hours ago that the problem with music copyrights in FS will soon get solved as figure skating will not require music any more, I think it is obvious what - and who - he had in mind. You do not really need music for jumping contests, other than elevator music. Just the same as when he kept repeating that we should bring back beauty and musicality to the sport, as this is an aesthetic sport and it cannot stay interesting for the audiences without beauty. He also admitted that if he was introduced to figure skating the way it is now, he would never get interested or involved. Maybe someone should start listening as it is not just a random fan speaking but a 2xWC and 1xOSM and honestly, I would rather see more Lambiels than more Malinins in the sport while the path it is on leads exactly in the opposite direction.