Thank you. That is good news.
Canadian National Championships 2021 Canceled
- Thread starter el henry
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We have a vaccine now and as it gets out into the general public things will improve . I don’t know a single person who is happy anything has been canceled. We want to watch skating. Why would we be glad things were canceled?It’s so amazing the amount of people that are just willing to put the world on pause! Cancel everything .... live under a rock until the problem goes away? Well the world DOES NOT stop turning! We have to adjust and adapt. It’s so unfortunate to these hard working athletes and at this point, it is unacceptable for any country or federation to not find a way to do so. Test them, Quarantine them for the 14 days before! This is crazy. We are more than one year into this and people have not come up with anything new but just to CANCEL! Don’t go out! Hope it goes away. News flash: THE VIRUS HAS NOT GONE AWAY REGARDLESS OF ANY COUNTRY SHUTDOWN! SMH! Once this is all over and the people that fought, I hope the people that are so happy that things are getting canceled and stopping the world will stay in their hovels!!!. Thanks and blessings to all the other countries that are finding ways to adapt to this. Russia, Japan, USA and all others that are not powerhouses. Stay safe everyone but please remember to LIVE!
I have serious health conditions. I cannot just “adjust and adapt.” If I get Covid I could die. I have not gotten a haircut in over a year (sorry world). You think I take joy in this?
If there is a way to skate safely awesome. If not yes they need to cancel. This is a virus that kills people and gives even the young and healthy heart damage. I’d rather never see Gracie skate again than have her with permanent heart damage or on a ventilator (or Alexa or Kaitlyn or Jean Luc or any other skater).
The impression I have gotten is that Russia is less concerned with safety than I would like. I hoot this is a mistaken impression.
These are good points and I was letting my annoyance get the better of me. My other sports are going forward. I watched the NCAA football championships last night and honestly didn’t realize the sacrifice of the athletes. They basically had to stay in a bubble (as a team) the entire season. No traveling home to see family or going to movies or really anything. My gymnastics is going forward. A 10 week season with 8 meets and 2 built in byes in case of health problems. I don’t follow baseball or basketball or hockey. Was hockey ever safe to begin with?
I do think things will return to normal or very close to it. The vaccine is so effective. It’s like a miracle. I can see the venues requiring proof of vaccine to enter which wouldn’t be normal but..
Do you see gymnastics as a niche sport? The Olympic Trials here were sold out more than 6 months ahead.
I’ve heard that if the summer games are cancelled again they may push the winter games back a year. That might not be a bad thing.I'm so sorry to hear this news.
I feel so bad for all the skaters. I wonder how much the problems across Canada with the virus has to do with the cold weather climate in which the virus can flourish.
Logistically, why wouldn't they have attempted at least to mount a limited participant virtual event? I guess the cancellation decision was in part due to some athletes being unable to train properly in certain areas of the vast country, largely as a result of rink closures and/or training access restrictions. But for those skaters who are able to compete, and who wish to submit videos for a limited virtual Nationals, why not? The results would not have to be set in stone regarding future international assignments.
So, we don't get to see Walsh/Micheau at all this season?
The rest of the Challenge events will still go forward as planned since performance videos were already submitted? (ETA: Yes, per Roman Sadovsky, the men's event for Challenge will be streamed on Friday. Roman says he feels weird about not remembering how well he skated, since the performance happened so long ago. Roman explains how the logistics of submitting videos is complicated, due to the availability of rink time which varies for skaters across regions).
About Worlds, there's no telling what is going to happen. But by March, I doubt things will be back to normal globally. If they delay Worlds till May, perhaps there's an outside chance, determined by the speed of vaccinations and status of COVID cases. Still, I wish the ISU would consider and prepare for the possibility of mounting some kind of virtual competition that would not be treated or considered as a normal Worlds in terms of overall standings. The effort to have some kind of competition would be to help skaters stay motivated and active, and to engage with fans.
The skating community as a whole need to find a way to adapt and adjust under volatile conditions, instead of thinking the world will turn on a dime magically back to what we've been accustomed to. At this point, the thinking surrounding the 2022 Olympics also needs to be under serious review for mounting contingency plans. I'm not sure how an Olympics in 2022 for figure skaters is going to look if there are two aborted Worlds beforehand, not to mention truncated GP series and no GPF.
How is Canada even going to pick a worlds team? Has anyone but Keegan even competed internationally?
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Challenge results plus past history, presumably, if it happens.
Dance and the first pairs spot are easy to pick. Men, a bit harder to weigh. Ladies, uh, just pick whoever’s top two at Challenge (unless one of those is Ruiter).
I didn’t think Keegan did the Challenge but is the only Canadian to medal in an International event. Which is kind of unfair since he’s the only one who has been able to compete Internationally.
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- Nov 14, 2012
I think your last sentence is the only correct message in your post. This is a very dangerous virus and those who choose to downplay that, are putting others at risk of not being able to "stay safe and live". I have sufficient education in infectious diseases and biosecurity to know that this virus can't be wished away because its inconvenient. Yes, it won't go away with a country shutdown but if people adhere to public health guidelines and regulations, the number of cases will decline or at least flatten - but only with dedication and hard work until at least 70% of the population is fully vaccinated, i.e. sometime in the autumn of 2021 if we are lucky. Personally I dont wish to be responsible for somebody being triaged to die in an overcapacity hospital setting - including myself. This isn't scare mongering - happening right now in the world and could happen here in Canada, particularly southern Ontario and Quebec where many of our skaters, parents and coaches live. Hospitalizations are soaring and ICU beds are almost full or full in many centres.It’s so amazing the amount of people that are just willing to put the world on pause! Cancel everything .... live under a rock until the problem goes away? Well the world DOES NOT stop turning! We have to adjust and adapt. It’s so unfortunate to these hard working athletes and at this point, it is unacceptable for any country or federation to not find a way to do so. Test them, Quarantine them for the 14 days before! This is crazy. We are more than one year into this and people have not come up with anything new but just to CANCEL! Don’t go out! Hope it goes away. News flash: THE VIRUS HAS NOT GONE AWAY REGARDLESS OF ANY COUNTRY SHUTDOWN! SMH! Once this is all over and the people that fought, I hope the people that are so happy that things are getting canceled and stopping the world will stay in their hovels!!!
So yeah, really disappointed that our skaters can't compete or even in many cases, get ice time to practice, but really happy that our governments and Skate Canada has the guts to realize that this virus needs continued strong measures to beat it down - rather than filling up hospitals and morgues with unnecessary victims. So, as you posted "stay safe and live".
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- Feb 24, 2018
I also have a heart condition... I have arrhythmia... I take medication to control everything ... I’m not ashamed. EVER! .. and I refuse to allow anything to stop me from living. And enjoying life. Everyone has a right to live as they choose.... if you feel you don’t want or can’t go out and do what is necessary: step aside! But don’t block other people who are willing to do so! I’m tired of this! We watch a sport! It’s a SPORT! Which means we challenge ourselves! Which is part of life! Regardless if you like it or not. !
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Sure! Of course! I never said that. I was perfectly clear !!!
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Which means that Skate Canada has the perfect right to take any measures that they feel are necessary to protect the skaters and to be commended for it. ETA: which does not stop me from feeling bad for the skaters impacted, even as I understand the precautions.
No one is going to stop me from living my life. For me, living my life in full means taking all precautions necessary, being careful and respectful of others, and making sure that others are careful and respectful around me, so that they and I can live our full lives.
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- Feb 24, 2018
That’s great! But if you are in support of stopping the world in order to do so, then you have the right. But dont stop the people who want to fight to give us normalcy! We have stopped so many things and canceled ... it’s disgusting. Time to stop!Which means that Skate Canada has the perfect right to take any measures that they feel are necessary to protect the skaters and to be commended for it. ETA: which does not stop me from feeling bad for the skaters impacted, even as I understand the precautions.
No one is going to stop me from living my life. For me, living my life in full means taking all precautions necessary, being careful and respectful of others, and making sure that others are careful and respectful around me, so that they and I can live our full lives.
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Normalcy is when there is an effective vaccine, taken by everyone, against the virus. Normalcy is *not* acting as if there were no virus, and as if hundreds of thousands of people weren't dead.
If fighting for "normalcy" means allowing activities that spread the virus, darn straight I will fight against it.
But I don't think we will convince each other, so I will retire from the conversation
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Fair enough... just like the virus ... I will not stop you. That’s your right
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I do enjoy the conversation though .... just for the recordNormalcy is when there is an effective vaccine, taken by everyone, against the virus. Normalcy is *not* acting as if there were no virus, and as if hundreds of thousands of people weren't dead.
If fighting for "normalcy" means allowing activities that spread the virus, darn straight I will fight against it.
But I don't think we will convince each other, so I will retire from the conversation
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- Jan 25, 2013
If you are going outside and risking yourself, you are also risking the health of others. That is how a virus gets spread. If you want to be negligent to yourself and put yourself at harm, that's your prerogative - but putting others at risk is absolutely selfish and dangerous.
I get going outside to get groceries or go to the doctor but for figure skating? That is NOT essential. I know for many skaters it is their livelihood, but if they're all terribly sick or dead, or were responsible for friends/family members sick or dead due to their negligence and wanting to "live my life", that doesn't exactly make for a fun Championships does it?
I don't want to get into it, but I'm assuming nobody you are acquainted with or close with has been affected by the virus, because otherwise you wouldn't be so dismissive.
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I think high emotions and a kind of fear of never getting back to the world we've been used to are causing arguments that take away from the fact we are all after the same things. It's just how to achieve what we want. Reasonable posters are pointing out that it's important to be safe, and then to understand the issues involved behind the decisions that have to be made. After listening to Roman's video, I'm sure that SC officials did what they could. Plus, they've done an excellent job with the current Virtual competition. Those efforts are praiseworthy and a high standard for other feds to learn from moving forward. So the competition SC was able to put together has done them proud.
Roman told us that SC officials explained everything fully. Of course, it's not ideal, and the skaters are very disappointed and disoriented most likely. But I personally can't blame the fed when I take a step back and understand that the sport of figure skating doesn't have the money that other sports do in Canada, and around the world. It's easy to say they had time to think of contingencies and back-up plans, and that was my first thought too. But when the reasons for the cancellation were explained, I realized that there are numerous logistics involved even with putting on a virtual competition that made attempting that for Nationals not feasible for Canada.
If the sport of fs in Canada and worldwide had more money, and if certain regions where competitors live in Canada hadn't been so hard hit, then more might have been done to be able to create a safe bubble at the competition venue. Of key difficulty is the logistics involved in BC not wanting athletes from hard hit areas to travel to their province. It's about safety. Skate Canada was surely looking at everything early on, but there's only so much they could plan for when everything changes on a dime and it's difficult to predict from one day to the next, much less several months down the road.
The U.S. is a different country, and they had different options available to them. U.S. officials were lucky that they were able to work with the Las Vegas venue (used in 2019) to create a bubble, and there were numerous safety protocols in place. Las Vegas also is not in a cold climate. People might laugh at the cardboard figures in the audience at Skate America, but that's safer than the lax mask-wearing and audience-filled arenas we've been seeing at Russian competitions. I would have like to see the coaches in the kiss 'n cry with the skaters at Skate America, but again, safety first.
We could ask, why can't the Colorado skaters still compete if they have been checked out and are healthy? Obviously, they now have to be quarantined for the requisite time and tested again before it would be safe for them to compete, so it's too late. Obviously, the disappointment is major, but we all at this time must count our blessings, and try to look at glass half-full.
Each of us has experienced stuff in the past year that has been earth-shattering and life-changing personally, of a familial nature, and globally. I'm just trying to keep it together and to find ways to use my time more productively, because I have a lot of time at home, and they're tons of things for me to do. I'm never bored, but the decision-making isn't easy. I've been so busy that I haven't even watched much of the limited competitions that have taken place. Plus, everything is rather distracting right now because we are all going through an unprecedented time. It's only when historians look back at this time years from now that more can be seen and understood on different levels. I think of WWI and WWII causing the rather new sport of figure skating to shut down competitions, and it is very revealing about how that impacted the course of the sport historically. After what happened in Europe during WWII, the balance of power in the sport shifted for the first time to North America.
The loss of the entire U.S. figure skating team (with coaches, officials and family members) in the 1961 Sabena air crash in Belgium was a tragic and devastating incident that still reverberates down through the years. Worlds was cancelled, and there were debates at the time about whether it should be cancelled. The impact on the course of the sport in U.S. figure skating history is still not fully understood. What we can see from today's vantage point is that the aftermath of that tragedy led to the beginnings of the globalization of the sport. A number of European coaches came to the U.S. (including John Nicks and Carlo Fassi) to help, and a new era was born.
On a personal level, I'm worried about my town being hard-hit economically, but I'm glad for being able to keep in touch with family and friends, and also still engage in school and library group gatherings via Zoom.
Right now, none of us know what the future holds. But let's appreciate what we have in this moment. Despite all the problems, we've gotten to see some skating this year. And we've seen the resilience of skaters. It's been hard for everyone, but let's hope and pray for the best, and use the down time to do something productive that will benefit us going forward. I believe that's the approach many of the skaters are taking.
Roman told us that SC officials explained everything fully. Of course, it's not ideal, and the skaters are very disappointed and disoriented most likely. But I personally can't blame the fed when I take a step back and understand that the sport of figure skating doesn't have the money that other sports do in Canada, and around the world. It's easy to say they had time to think of contingencies and back-up plans, and that was my first thought too. But when the reasons for the cancellation were explained, I realized that there are numerous logistics involved even with putting on a virtual competition that made attempting that for Nationals not feasible for Canada.
If the sport of fs in Canada and worldwide had more money, and if certain regions where competitors live in Canada hadn't been so hard hit, then more might have been done to be able to create a safe bubble at the competition venue. Of key difficulty is the logistics involved in BC not wanting athletes from hard hit areas to travel to their province. It's about safety. Skate Canada was surely looking at everything early on, but there's only so much they could plan for when everything changes on a dime and it's difficult to predict from one day to the next, much less several months down the road.
The U.S. is a different country, and they had different options available to them. U.S. officials were lucky that they were able to work with the Las Vegas venue (used in 2019) to create a bubble, and there were numerous safety protocols in place. Las Vegas also is not in a cold climate. People might laugh at the cardboard figures in the audience at Skate America, but that's safer than the lax mask-wearing and audience-filled arenas we've been seeing at Russian competitions. I would have like to see the coaches in the kiss 'n cry with the skaters at Skate America, but again, safety first.
We could ask, why can't the Colorado skaters still compete if they have been checked out and are healthy? Obviously, they now have to be quarantined for the requisite time and tested again before it would be safe for them to compete, so it's too late. Obviously, the disappointment is major, but we all at this time must count our blessings, and try to look at glass half-full.
Each of us has experienced stuff in the past year that has been earth-shattering and life-changing personally, of a familial nature, and globally. I'm just trying to keep it together and to find ways to use my time more productively, because I have a lot of time at home, and they're tons of things for me to do. I'm never bored, but the decision-making isn't easy. I've been so busy that I haven't even watched much of the limited competitions that have taken place. Plus, everything is rather distracting right now because we are all going through an unprecedented time. It's only when historians look back at this time years from now that more can be seen and understood on different levels. I think of WWI and WWII causing the rather new sport of figure skating to shut down competitions, and it is very revealing about how that impacted the course of the sport historically. After what happened in Europe during WWII, the balance of power in the sport shifted for the first time to North America.
The loss of the entire U.S. figure skating team (with coaches, officials and family members) in the 1961 Sabena air crash in Belgium was a tragic and devastating incident that still reverberates down through the years. Worlds was cancelled, and there were debates at the time about whether it should be cancelled. The impact on the course of the sport in U.S. figure skating history is still not fully understood. What we can see from today's vantage point is that the aftermath of that tragedy led to the beginnings of the globalization of the sport. A number of European coaches came to the U.S. (including John Nicks and Carlo Fassi) to help, and a new era was born.
On a personal level, I'm worried about my town being hard-hit economically, but I'm glad for being able to keep in touch with family and friends, and also still engage in school and library group gatherings via Zoom.
Right now, none of us know what the future holds. But let's appreciate what we have in this moment. Despite all the problems, we've gotten to see some skating this year. And we've seen the resilience of skaters. It's been hard for everyone, but let's hope and pray for the best, and use the down time to do something productive that will benefit us going forward. I believe that's the approach many of the skaters are taking.
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No, not in the way that figure skating is a niche sport. Gymnastics enjoys more widespread popularity, I think. Figure skating only seems to have wider interest and popularity during the Olympics. I blame the people running the sport for that, in part.
Russians had parties though. Let's not blame competitions by using Russia as an example to prove a point! Skate America was ok with their strategy, so it's not the competitions guilty for spreading any disease. In Russia they're very relaxed, but countries that took precautions like USA did not spread anything by NOT shutting down figure skating. Just saying.
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