Articles confirming new Chinese pairs Yu/Zhang and Peng/Jin

[FunnyBut]

What will they skate to? Beauty and the Beast? Theme from Silence of the Lambs?

 

[SmallFairy]

I don't think I will be able to watch this team without thinking "If only Yu had been allowed to stay with Jin..." It doesn't help that I have never enjoyed Zhang's skating.

Me neither I've never managed to find him interesting, with either partner. This is all just sad. I definitely see why this pairing is even more cringeworthy than Zhang skating with Peng. I see Zhang and Yu being really mismatched. Someone mentioned the ethereal quality of Yu and Jin (being there already or waiting to develop), I agree and don't see anything like it at all in Zhang. Why does China keeps pushing him as their hope? He's not the future. Poor Yu.... If she doesn't want this, it will show in their programs. It doesn't appear to me as a formula of success....

 

[liv]

I hate the thought of him even touching her, knowing how opposed she is to this... ugh.

 

[kwanoverrated]

Why does China keeps pushing him as their hope? He's not the future.

I know, it is truly baffling at this point.

 

[Nomad]

...Why does China keeps pushing him as their hope? He's not the future...

That's exactly what I was thinking. I could see it if he had charisma/personality/the "it" factor, but as far as I'm concerned, he doesn't. He goes out there and gets the job done and that's it. There's nothing memorable or engaging or exciting about his performances IMO.

 

[Cachoo]

Me neither I've never managed to find him interesting, with either partner. This is all just sad. I definitely see why this pairing is even more cringeworthy than Zhang skating with Peng. I see Zhang and Yu being really mismatched. Someone mentioned the ethereal quality of Yu and Jin (being there already or waiting to develop), I agree and don't see anything like it at all in Zhang. Why does China keeps pushing him as their hope? He's not the future. Poor Yu.... If she doesn't want this, it will show in their programs. It doesn't appear to me as a formula of success....

This may be one skater appealing successfully to one man in charge. How many lives has this disrupted?
His time has come and gone. I hate it when federations f*** it up for skaters which seems to happen with some regularity. Boo to the Chinese federation.

 

[kwanoverrated]

If you read the China thread, you'll get the whole story but basically Yao Bin/Chinese Fed/Zhang think Zhang is super duper great and can be an Olympic champion if only he didn't have such a dud as Peng as a partner. What Yu wants or the potential the team showed did not matter

Bin Yao has always been crazy in love with He Zhang, and thinks he is so much better than what he really is. I say that as one of the few who actually liked the Zhang/Zhang pairing. He Zhang is well into his 30s now, and clearly gotten stale. He needs to just retire already, and not interfere with their young promising skaters.

 

[Vash01]

Three phrases come to my mind:

1.Don't put all your eggs in one basket (Sui-Han)
2.They may have shot themselves in the foot
3.If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

[Sylvia]

He Zhang is well into his 30s now,

He Zhang's ISU bio says he is 19: http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00012835.htm


ETA from the Chinese news thread:

Both articles have a poll (it appears to be the same poll) at the bottom. Do you agree this re-pairing is a good idea?
- disagree
- agree
- hard to say
Currently, the poll is showing 81.8% for disagree, 12.8 for agree, 5.4% for hard to say.

As of now:

87.3% disagree
8.5% agree
4.2% hard to say

 

[barbarafan]

What will they skate to? Beauty and the Beast? Theme from Silence of the Lambs?

can't think of anything apt but if anyone knows Lori can they ask her to put the throws in the centre of the rink so Yu does not get splattered against
the boards. maybe skate to "blue on blue".

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Starting a new thread now that the split of Xiaoyu YU / Yang JIN has been confirmed officially and the new pairs of YU / Hao ZHANG and Cheng PENG / JIN have been formed.
Re-posting from the Chinese skating news thread today:

http://sports.sina.cn/others/winter/2016-04-27/detail-ifxrpvcy4559538.d.html
(ETA: Google translation: Understanding Why split pairs of two main)

http://sports.sina.cn/others/winter/2016-04-27/detail-ifxrpvea1287348.d.html
(ETA: Google translation: Yu Xiaoyu / Zhang Hao in front of a lot of difficulties)

ETA @feraina's post with translation yesterday (and subsequent discussion): http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/ind...ad-to-beijing-2022.97764/page-15#post-4784312


(Note: Mr. Hongguo Ren is the current president of the Chinese Skating Association.)

LOL.. WAIT? WHAT? WHO? WHERE?

These teams split up? And did musical partners?

When? How do you hear of this lol? This is for real? These teams split up and swapped partners?

 

[Spun Silver]

^ Lots of background and discussion over the past week in the general Chinese skating thread.

 

[Simone411]

Well. That's all I can think of.

 

[3T3T]

I think this is a really bizarre pairing, even more so when you hear of Yu's opposition to it. If she doesn't want to be in the pair, how will this affect their performances? It doesn't sound like a very positive/happy atmosphere.

I was never a fan of Zhang but I feel he has improved as a performer with Peng, I have really enjoyed some of their choreography in their programmes. I would have had Y/J marked as potential worlds medalists, granted this year wasn't the best for them (I think they pushed the quad to much) but they had a great style, quite distinctive.

 

[overedge]

That's exactly what I was thinking. I could see it if he had charisma/personality/the "it" factor, but as far as I'm concerned, he doesn't. He goes out there and gets the job done and that's it. There's nothing memorable or engaging or exciting about his performances IMO.

I quite liked him when he first competed internationally with She-Zhang. He had a nice smile and seemed really happy to get to do what he was doing. But that spark has definitely disappeared.

 

[kwanoverrated]

I used to like He Zhang, but I have been bored with him for awhile now, and if he really is the one who is forcing this pairing behind the scenes then screw him. I agree he is starting to resemble a big ogre. He needs to find a new pastime, his skating glory days are behind him, especialy leaving Peng (who he atleast had some promise with and a 4th at worlds last year) to skate with a girl who doesn't even want to skate with him, and is a horrible mismatch. Peng is probably relieved to get away from the giant old ogre who is morphing from the sweet friendly guy he once was to a bully and borderline delusional narcisstist by the sounds of it.

 

[barbarafan]

^ Friendly amendment: Wikipedia says he is either 31 or 34 (there has been controversy). He sure looks 34 to me.

Well the age of 34 cropped up on the Chinese Federation website where there was a list of birthdates of their figure skaters which the Associated Press put in an article feb 14 2011 listing 8 figure skaters who were younger or older than what was handed in to the ISU. So if this list was correct several teams were ineligible when they first started international competition..amongst those were Sui/Han..Zhang Dan Yu and Jin. 2 days later the list was pulled from the website- Feb 17 2011 and all was rosy. So on the list Yu's birthdate is Jan 2 1998 so that means (correct me if I am wrong) that Yu just turned 18 in January 2016. And yet......they have been awarded Olympic games...just saying.
So again if my math is correct Peng turned 15 on april 23 2012 and started to skate with the 30yr old Zhang mid May 2012.

Right ... Considering a lot of people found Peng/Zhang cringeworthy, how much worse will this be?!

Yes most of us feel Peng should be relieved but apparently Zhang loved skated with her...pls see attached...he is grinning from ear to ear..gp final freeskate in December http://www.gettyimages.nl/detail/ni...hina-perform-during-the-nieuwsfotos/500988522

 

[BittyBug]

I wish the new teams could be banned from international competition because of the forced nature of this repairing. It is a human rights violation.

I liked Yu/ Jin as a team and am sorry that they were forced to split, but I hardly think that not being allowed to choose your own skating partner when someone else is funding all of your training is a human rights violation. The decision might be foolish because it seems unlikely to lead to the competitive results the Chinese Fed is seeking, but like it or not, when someone else is paying all of your bills, you don't always get to decide what you're going to do. The Chinese Fed is the employer and the skaters are their employees.

 

[kwanfan1818]

So again if my math is correct Peng turned 15 on april 23 2012 and started to skate with the 30yr old Zhang mid May 2012.

If she was 15 before July 1, 2012, she was senior-eligible to skate in the 2012-13 season with any otherwise-eligible male who was at least 15 by July 1, 2012.

 

[Spun Silver]

I liked Yu/ Jin as a team and am sorry that they were forced to split, but I hardly think that not being allowed to choose your own skating partner when someone else is funding all of your training is a human rights violation. The decision might be foolish because it seems unlikely to lead to the competitive results the Chinese Fed is seeking, but like it or not, when someone else is paying all of your bills, you don't always get to decide what you're going to do. The Chinese Fed is the employer and the skaters are their employees.

I guess I am not used to looking at skaters as employees of the state. Is there any other country of which this is true?

Regardless, I would argue that the relationship of pair skaters is so unique, long-term and intimate, and the ability to communicate that "two as one" quality so necessary for professional success (at the level of international medals), as to constitute a marital-like bond. And as such, to force or break that bond against the will of the skater(s) involved is comparable to forcing a marriage or divorce, which exceeds the right of any employer and violates the human rights of the employee. Employees are not slaves.

Not that I am a lawyer.

 

[BittyBug]

I think you're reading way too much into the situation. There are plenty of successful pairs skaters who do not have a marital-like bond. For many, pairs skating is a business relationship, nothing more.

 

[Katha]

I liked Yu/ Jin as a team and am sorry that they were forced to split, but I hardly think that not being allowed to choose your own skating partner when someone else is funding all of your training is a human rights violation. The decision might be foolish because it seems unlikely to lead to the competitive results the Chinese Fed is seeking, but like it or not, when someone else is paying all of your bills, you don't always get to decide what you're going to do. The Chinese Fed is the employer and the skaters are their employees.

Yeah, skating is a job and a career. What has been reported about this switch sounds really unpleasant and I'm not sure if a partner who wants out of that whole arrangement would be allowed to do that, so on that front it sounds super sketchy. I guess my stance is, if they're not allowed to quit and are being forced to keep on skating against their will, that's beyond the pale. The partner switching itself is IMO murkier ground, since they are state employees and all their expenses are payed by the Chinese fed. Though I agree that this all seems foolhardy, unkind to the skaters and driven by the interest of one party at the expense of everyone else. But I disagree that skating partnerships are like romantic relationships and I'm always a bit wary when they're being judged on these criteria by fans. They're first and foremost business partnerships, often enough friendship and sometimes romance comes in to complicate things. And of course you're working closely together with your partner in a way that's not common in many other jobs, but that doesn't make it necessarily like a marriage.

 

[Yehudi]

I guess I am not used to looking at skaters as employees of the state. Is there any other country of which this is true?

Russia

 

[barbarafan]

If she was 15 before July 1, 2012, she was senior-eligible to skate in the 2012-13 season with any otherwise-eligible male who was at least 15 by July 1, 2012.

Yes...that is correct...Peng was not one of the 8 listed on the site..The year the list was discovered was 2011...Peng was not in the picture at this time
I was just pointing out that even by the age we see in the ISU Zhang was twice her age. And after this problem in 2011 I am sure that the CSA learned their lesson in getting caught and before any skater is entered in an international competition they decide the age they need the athlete to be give them an official birthday and all records match.

But the other skaters mentioned who were part of the 8 competed and some medaled while their real ages were ineligible.

 

[barbarafan]

^ Friendly amendment: Wikipedia says he is either 31 or 34 (there has been controversy). He sure looks 34 to me.

before all mention goes poof from wikipedia..here is the link (I hope cause I am not very good at this sort of thing) of the article in Associated Press in 2011 about the ages of the current figure skating pairs from China who apparently all gave fake birth dates to the CSA although they gave good dates to the ISU..bad pair skaters. http://espn.go.com/olympics/figureskating/news/story?id=6120559

 

[Xela M]

Russia

But I bet China could have kept I&K together

 

[barbarafan]

But I bet China could have kept I&K together

good point

 

[Sylvia]

before all mention goes poof from wikipedia..here is the link (I hope cause I am not very good at this sort of thing) of the article in Associated Press in 2011 about the ages of the current figure skating pairs from China who apparently all gave fake birth dates to the CSA although they gave good dates to the ISU..bad pair skaters.
http://espn.go.com/olympics/figureskating/news/story?id=6120559

@barbarafan, that AP article by Nancy Armour was written based on information that was brought to light here on FSU back in February 2011 - here is the link to the "famous" (infamous?) GSD thread in question: http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/index.php?threads/age-discrepancies-for-chinese-skaters.77519/
(post #154 includes the link to the same AP article: http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/ind...for-chinese-skaters.77519/page-6#post-3073956 and scroll down to post #180 to see FSU credited by Hersh)

ETA that Ren Hongguo was the deputy director of CSA five years ago and was quoted in the Chinese media coverage of this age controversy story here: http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/ind...or-chinese-skaters.77519/page-20#post-3084072

 

[Jun Y]

Regarding the argument that Chinese skaters are state employees ---

Indeed, it is true that they are, and as a result Chinese skaters are more obligated to prioritize state interest over their own interest. That being said, employees should be afforded respect by employers and their interests matter at least to some extend. An employer does not have full right to trample all over employees' wishes and personal interest.

In addition, let's not forget that the persons who decided to break up Yu/Jin and team up Yu/Zhang are also state EMPLOYEES. They are not paying for anybody's salary or training expenses out of their own pockets. They are merely managers in this business relationship and they theoretically have a responsibility to serve the best interest of the state rather than their own. The CSA leadership's bureaucratic promotions and cash bonuses are dependent on the international medals and prize money won by the athletes.

 

[clairecloutier]

Do skaters even have the OPTION of NOT being state employees in China? Are they even allowed to train on their own, without the state running it and paying for it? And if they chose to do so, would they even be allowed to qualify to the national team?