Canadian Pairs 2013/2014 - News and updates

[The Accordion]

Totally called that! I hope it works out - I love both of them!

[euterpe]

I hope it works out. They seem well matched.

[Rock2]

I wanted Purich to partner with Marinaro. I doubt he and Purdy will stay together after the close of this cycle. I see them both as being pretty spunky with more similar body types. I really wanted Daleman and Tran to partner if KO didn't qualify 2 for Sochi. Need someone for Marinaro now. That may be Jones if Beharry and Moore-Towers team up for the next cycle...

[MysticHaze]

Any confirmation of the Bobak-Penasse pairing?

[yfbg722]

I wanted Purich to partner with Marinaro. I doubt he and Purdy will stay together after the close of this cycle. I see them both as being pretty spunky with more similar body types. I really wanted Daleman and Tran to partner if KO didn't qualify 2 for Sochi. Need someone for Marinaro now. That may be Jones if Beharry and Moore-Towers team up for the next cycle...

Marinaro is quoted in news articles as looking forward to competing against the American teams for years to come, with an eye toward the Olympics. Doesn't sound like they see a split in their future.

http://www.skatecanada.ca/AboutUs/NewsDetails/tabid/2157/sni[2797]/2478/language/en-US/Default.aspx

[HeatherC]

Any confirmation of the Bobak-Penasse pairing?

I can officially confirm that they are skating together again. Katie had an injury earlier this season that limited what they could do for a while but they have been practicing and working hard for the last few weeks (at least) and last I heard, things were going very well for them. I believe they're debuting a new program at a show in their club sometime next month. I really liked this pairing when I first saw them so I'm excited to see them together again. I hope they come to Indy again this summer!

[MysticHaze]

Yay! Thanks for the confirmation HeatherC! I really enjoy Katie's skating so I am glad to hear that she is back competing again.

[victoriajh]

Is there anything to th speculation about mt splitting? Just because she is dating a pairs skater does not mean she will skate with him. Dylan is a fabulous partner and they have been improving

[jkl]

I am thrilled to see that Bobak and Penasse are skating again

[shutterbug]

Not sure this definitively puts the rumours of a split to rest , but Paige just tweeted this picture of she and Rudi hanging out with some members/former members of Team Saskatchewan.

I have a confirmed report that Natasha Purich and Sebastian Arcieri have split and that she is trying out with Mervin Tran.

Inevitable. I guess we’ll see now how talented Natasha really is. Hopefully they also have a new partner in mind for Sebastien because he’s too young and has too much potential to just be discarded.

I am thrilled to see that Bobak and Penasse are skating again

I’m looking forward to seeing them too. The team at Preston has done some very creative programs for their pairs over the years, but until now none of the teams have been talented enough or appropriately sized to really do them justice.

[Cant Skate]

"Hopefully they also have a new partner in mind for Sebastien because he’s too young and has too much potential to just be discarded."

^This. I kind of feel bad for him actually. Who do you think would be a good fit for him? Is Shalena Rau still looking? What about the Novice girls Rachael Dobson or Kendra Digness who both are with older partners? I also heard a rumour that Mary Orr and Anthony Furiano split...

Thoughts?

[Erin]

I like the suggestion of Shalena Rau for Arcieri, with the one concern being that she is still young and could grow, but she doesn't have long legs or big feet, so she could still stay small. I guess the other question is whether she is willing to relocate because I think the coaching team in St. Leonard is better than KW. Either way, I hope Rau and Arcieri both find partners as both skaters have a lot of talent and potential.

Hope Purich and Tran works out too. I can see lots of ways that they would do well together - just hope that Natasha can bring up her basic skating to match Mervin's, as she could still use a bit more power and speed.

[euterpe]

Is there anything to th speculation about mt splitting? Just because she is dating a pairs skater does not mean she will skate with him. Dylan is a fabulous partner and they have been improving

Dylan is 28 and Kristen is 21. She'd be 26 in 2018 and Dylan would be 33. She might feel she'd have a better chance for an Olympic medal in 2018 than in 2014, and a younger partner might be the better choice for the long term.

[JasperBoy]

I could understand if Dylan wanted to retire after 2014. He's been in the biz for a long time and must be ready to take on other things. He teaches martial arts, doesn't he?

[Rock2]

He's also in some sort of pyramid selling sort of thing...supplements or something. Nothing illegal. Kind of like Amway-ish sort of stuff.

It's purely speculation that he and MT would split. They are in medal range now at worlds so as long as the body holds up they might want to continue until they stop progressing.

I feel so bad for Arcieri. He's a total cutie and is still developing. I walked by him about 30 mins after his nationals LP and he was just beaming. What surprised me though was how small he is. Can't be more than 5ft 9 but he's built very slight. There really wouldn't be many partners out there for him. I hope he finds someone.

[Sylvia]

Article with quotes by Duhamel, Radford and Moscovitch as they head into Worlds: http://web.icenetwork.com/news/artic...&vkey=ice_news
Excerpt from end (ETA that the article has since been edited to attribute the last quote to Meagan Duhamel):

They also know that having two strong teams with home-country backing can only help them, and the future of their sport, in Canada. Although Canada has produced two of the best pairs teams in the world, the discipline needs to grow in popularity: Only six teams competed at the senior level at the 2013 Canadian Championships.

"Having two teams right at the top is going to create more interest for younger skaters in novice and junior. And maybe for some singles skaters thinking of making the switch, this could spark a lot of interest and, hopefully, in the next few years, we will see a lot more pairs skaters in Canada."

[julieann]

Article with quotes by Duhamel, Radford and Moscovitch as they head into Worlds: http://web.icenetwork.com/news/artic...&vkey=ice_news
Excerpt from end (it's not clear who gave the last quote):

Megan said it:

Duhamel said, "Having two teams right at the top is going to create more interest for younger skaters in novice and junior. And maybe for some singles skaters thinking of making the switch, this could spark a lot of interest and, hopefully, in the next few years, we will see a lot more pairs skaters in Canada."

[Sylvia]

Glad to see it was edited to add her name.

[shutterbug]

Pj Kwong retweeted this video for the Hamilton Skating Club’s 75th anniversary show a few minutes ago. There’s a pair team practicing in the background footage while Bryce Davison and the host are talking. If you go to 5:07 you get a better look at team. Is the male half Rob Schultz? Does anyone recognize the girl?

Also, Phelan Simpson is no longer on icepartnerseach.

[geoskate]

That has to be Rob Schultz. No other male pair skater has such red hair. Sorry, I don't recognize the girl.

Right at the end of the video there's an out-of-focus shot of a poster for the event. It looks like Javier Fernandez and Moore-Towers/Moscovitch might be on the poster as guests for the event.