- Joined
- Mar 7, 2015
Canadian Nationals may be your best bet.I am sooooo excited...my Keegan!Now if there were a way to watch him compete in person....
Keegan Messing returns to competitive skating
- Thread starter Jumping_Bean
- Start date
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2015
Ok... quick chiming in
Competition path. Souvenir G-É near Québec city is out of the question as the deadline is past. As it was mentioned, he will probably be at the Alberta competition. It would make sense with the deadline for entries being tomorrow and the timing of his announcement. The entry list will come out very soon so he would have wanted to make a strong announcement rather than @saine or I finding out from the entry lists LOL (or it may have been @Jumping_Bean LOL)
From there, if he gets the domestic benchmark of 219 he could receive a Challenger assignment.
He needs to compete internationally to have the required scores for the Olympics//Worlds (if he ever intended to do both but I doubt he would want to do worlds)
If he doesn't compete in the small domestic non qualifying events, he would still have a chance to achieve the domestic benchmark at the sectional event that leads to Challenge which is the qualification to Nationals. However, it will get tight for him as with an Olympic year, he does need those international scores for the CES minimums earlier than those who do try to get them for worlds
I doubt, personally, that he will make it to GP this year and that, perhaps was never his intentions as he could have announced his return when everyone else did to get spots as returning skater.
To those worried about spots for Roman or Gogolev or anyone else... thinking that Keegan may take someone else's spot... in all fairness, Covid took his Olympic team event spot... and it also took away most of his experience as he was super anxious, not knowing if he would get there in time and once arrived, pretty much had to get from the plane to the SP. So if there is anyone (and I personally believe that the best skaters should earn their spots and if someone else is better, then that's it) who should be getting some slack about this, it's Keegan. Also, Keegan was for a while the Canadian man placing the highest and getting that second spot for worlds and Olympics.. .Without Keegan, Roman wouldn't have had a spot in 2022... So he did his share to get spots for others...
I think i will stop here for now
i am happy . I cannot wait to hear you know who say " throw the cat among the pigeons 
"
Competition path. Souvenir G-É near Québec city is out of the question as the deadline is past. As it was mentioned, he will probably be at the Alberta competition. It would make sense with the deadline for entries being tomorrow and the timing of his announcement. The entry list will come out very soon so he would have wanted to make a strong announcement rather than @saine or I finding out from the entry lists LOL (or it may have been @Jumping_Bean LOL)
From there, if he gets the domestic benchmark of 219 he could receive a Challenger assignment.
He needs to compete internationally to have the required scores for the Olympics//Worlds (if he ever intended to do both but I doubt he would want to do worlds)
If he doesn't compete in the small domestic non qualifying events, he would still have a chance to achieve the domestic benchmark at the sectional event that leads to Challenge which is the qualification to Nationals. However, it will get tight for him as with an Olympic year, he does need those international scores for the CES minimums earlier than those who do try to get them for worlds
I doubt, personally, that he will make it to GP this year and that, perhaps was never his intentions as he could have announced his return when everyone else did to get spots as returning skater.
To those worried about spots for Roman or Gogolev or anyone else... thinking that Keegan may take someone else's spot... in all fairness, Covid took his Olympic team event spot... and it also took away most of his experience as he was super anxious, not knowing if he would get there in time and once arrived, pretty much had to get from the plane to the SP. So if there is anyone (and I personally believe that the best skaters should earn their spots and if someone else is better, then that's it) who should be getting some slack about this, it's Keegan. Also, Keegan was for a while the Canadian man placing the highest and getting that second spot for worlds and Olympics.. .Without Keegan, Roman wouldn't have had a spot in 2022... So he did his share to get spots for others...
I think i will stop here for now
i am happy . I cannot wait to hear you know who say " throw the cat among the pigeons "
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When I read about his return on Twitter I first went here and CBC to confirm it, then told my husband that "this will throw the cat among the pigeons". I then had to explain about the commentator with all the old-fashioned cliches.I think i will stop here for now
I'm sure he is doing this for the Team spot. It probably bugs him to this day that he was unable to compete in the TeamEvent last time and that Roman now has an Olympic medal and not him. (I think that's true. Wasn't it resolved and the Canadian team got the bronze? It was in legal flux for so long I've forgotten the final result.). I can't say I'm much excited about the other Canadian men, they have had three years to build a resume and reputation and failed to do so, and Keegan has a lot of charisma. I wish him well in his comeback. Good luck.
He'll be at High Performance Camp next week, so it would have come out then if they didn't announce it before hand. It would be hard to keep a secret if he showed up there.
This is what was in the release (emphasis mine) :
I don't think making Nationals would be a problem (even with a possible cut-off this year at Challenge), but they want to have some idea of how he'll do before he competes. And that they want to see him in domestic events first based on the phrasing.
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- Joined
- Apr 17, 2021
Sadly the Canadian team ultimately didn't get the bronze medal, the Russians got it instead.
"throwing the cat among the pigeons" isn't old fashioned? It's an everyday saying.
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2025
There is no point for him to come back. If his score can stand on podium. That's fine. But he is not. He already attended 2 times Olympic why not give this choice to others. If he really plan for it, he should back last year and like Alysa Liu and won world champ. No one will doubt to give her a spot to Olympic. Keegan doesn't attend any ISU in past 2 years and don't know which event he can go for this season. If skate Canada give him a spot while he did nothing, it really unfair.
- Joined
- Jun 11, 2012
This is like the people complaining about the Shibs returning and displacing other teams. I believe that the best man, woman or team should be put forward to represent their country! Having said that.....if Keegan beats out any or all of the other Canadian men.....so be it!!!
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2013
I'm pretty sure that this announcement did not catch the Canadian Fed flatfooted. In fact, I think it was they, not him, who made the announcement. And they wouldn't have done that if there wasn't some plausible path laid out for him.
Now, whether he cashes in on the opportunities provided, that's a different question. We'll see. But they aren't going to announce his return and then not assign him to something or other.
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2015
It is indeed Skate Canada who made the announcement
I don't think the Shibutanis made a big to-do about retiring like he did. I do not care for his return after that, retirement is losing meaning if it's turning into a short break.
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2022
People aren't allowed to change their minds? When they find retirement -- from any career -- isn't as satisfying or as much fun as they thought it would be, and they miss their former work more than they'd thought they would?
I think skaters, whether officially retired or just on an extended break, used to come back the season BEFORE the Olympics. That seems fair, especially if they can contribute to earning Olympic spots. Coming back (or coming back with a new partner) in the Olympic year seems to be a fairly recent trend. I don't think it's one I like, though it seems less offensive when the skater's federation has three Olympic spots available.
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2015
I don't think I care whether or not Federations have 1-2 or 3 spots... If the Fed has 3 spots, and the freshly unretired skaters takes one of them, and of course, these spots were earned by skaters who don't actually now end up going to the games... how is this better than if there is only one spot and may the best skater goes ?
I understand that still that 1 spot was earned for the Olympics but for worlds, every country who has a skater eligible (age + CES minimums) gets a spot.. so nobody really earns a spot for their federation.
May the best skater win is and will probably always be my take on this. It is a competitive sport and not a charity dance. Don't we want the best athletes to participate ?
I understand that still that 1 spot was earned for the Olympics but for worlds, every country who has a skater eligible (age + CES minimums) gets a spot.. so nobody really earns a spot for their federation.
May the best skater win is and will probably always be my take on this. It is a competitive sport and not a charity dance. Don't we want the best athletes to participate ?
I guess you're right. I was thinking of the "bad old days" when one skater could earn 2 spots (or in extreme cases 3 spots) or two skaters earn 3 spots. Now, each spot has to be earned by a distinct skater/team who qualified for the LP at the previous Worlds. The only exception is spots earned at "Chinese Nebelhorn", and a returning skater can try to earn that, if an entry from their country is allowed.
They can change their mind. But if there's a big fuss over making a season the last one before retiring and then returning two years later, retirement loses meaning for me.
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2022
I'm curious about all the athletes that have returned after retirement. Do they just reregister with WADA and their local anti-doping agency, or have they stayed in the testing pool the whole time? How does that work?
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2007
My Parents un retired several times. They thought retirement was boring. They’d still be working but are physically unable to do so. I unexpectedly retired in my 40s due to complete and permanent disability. Other than the disability aspects and the lack of money I love retirement and wouldn’t go back. But no one is at home crying because I retired either.
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2013
My sense among the online X fs community (and that's a treasure chest and a cesspool all in one) is that "It's Roman's turn!" Hogwash. If it's his turn (or Gogo or Keegan or anyone else) then go out and prove it on the ice.
And, for the record, I maintain a healthy skepticism until proven that I shouldn't. About everybody.
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