Canadian Pairs 2018/2019 Season News and Updates

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The IG post cites 6 years of laughs, 2 years of love, so they may have been great friends before they became a couple, like Bates describes with Chock.

I have nothing invested in whether she was in a relationship with Marinaro: I'm only giving an example that was discussed here, back when it happened, which was soon after Sochi. Given that she was with the Wirtzes at the time, my assumption was that they were enablers, if not the catalysts.
 
Not that it is important either way, but I seem to remember some gossip about her and Marinaro’s relationship too. Either it was something written here, or a commentator could have said something in TV. But it doesn’t really matter. It could have been just a gossip.
 
starrynight said:
Everyone's memories are probably a bit clouded by the bad short program at Worlds, but when you look at Seguin/Bilodeau's free skate from 2018 Nationals, it was just perfection: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5932DJRh1c

A really special kind of performance. I remember when Sequin/Bilodeau exploded onto the scene in 2014/2015, they were obviously quite special.
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I was in Vancouver for Canadians, and my two main reasons for going were because I couldn't live with the idea of never seeing V&M compete live again, and to see S&B (hopefully at the time) make the Olympic team. The people sitting around me must have thought I was crazy during their free skate because I was sitting on the edge of my seat and talking out loud to myself every time they landed something, and I was pretty much jumping up and down and crying at the end of the program. Such a special moment. I'm so glad I was there, especially since at the time I thought I had at least four more years to watch them skate. :wuzrobbed

starrynight said:
Did any of Bilodeau's coaches encourage the split with Julianne?
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If they did, they were stupid. Just IMO. :mad: My guess is that they didn't have anything to do with it, though, especially since I've heard that Josee Picard is(/was?) very close with Julianne.
 
Neither team will be competing for medals this year, but they both should be proud of themselves for skating as well as they can at this point. This was a really valuable experience! They have solid foundations to build on for the future; and both teams are quite young.

I was particularly impressed by Patricia Andrew. I thought she skated with a lot of spark.
 
oleada said:
I was particularly impressed by Patricia Andrew. I thought she skated with a lot of spark.
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I agree, they all skated well but she's the one who really stood out to me.
It will be interesting to see how she develops in the coming years - and whether her partnership with Paxton will survive him aging out of juniors.
 
anna2940$$ said:
I heard the other day that Bilodeau has asked Walsh to do a tryout. Makes complete sense to me since she is being held back with Michaud with her jumping abilities as she has a 3loop and 3flip and has won all her singles events this season. I don't know her personally but know she is well liked by several skaters and judges and the only one of those girls that have won a National title and is the strongest jumper, therefore, would be my first choice too. Hopefully that tryout works out cause I would love to see them together as Canada's top team
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I wasn't really attuned to the fact that Evelyn Walsh skates singles too. If she's that good, she could probably do well in Canadian senior ladies singles, especially since it's such a weak field.

What's the protocol I wonder for asking for a tryout with someone who is already in a lower level, but high profile partnership? It is true that Walsh is a tad tall for Michaud, but they also seem to work well together. I didn't realize that about Walsh' more advanced jumping abilities. If a tryout does happen and feels right with someone as accomplished as Charlie B, then I guess it's a no-brainer to make the switch. But again, how does this work?
 
I like Andrew, too, but I'm also quite impressed with M/T.

Ages 13/15 are not the typical profile that we tend to see even on JGP in pairs. Often times the man is a bit older and physically more mature. On the surface, they seem like a Novice team.

But then you see this little stick-girl land those throws. There's a decent amount of thrust behind them and I haven't seen her hesitate even a little. Then when you look at their sbs jump profile it's clear they have a good base to work from. If they can maintain a size difference as they mature, they could be right up there in juniors in a few years.

Looking forward to see where this team goes.
 
Rock2 said:
I like Andrew, too, but I'm also quite impressed with M/T.

Ages 13/15 are not the typical profile that we tend to see even on JGP in pairs. Often times the man is a bit older and physically more mature. On the surface, they seem like a Novice team.

But then you see this little stick-girl land those throws. There's a decent amount of thrust behind them and I haven't seen her hesitate even a little. Then when you look at their sbs jump profile it's clear they have a good base to work from. If they can maintain a size difference as they mature, they could be right up there in juniors in a few years.

Looking forward to see where this team goes.
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Beverley Smith wrote a piece on them back in January, when they became novice champions, if you haven’t seen it.
 
I was looking back at 2018 Canadian Nationals pairs performances recently. Seguin/Bilodeau skated last and they had a rousing performance, probably one of their best ever. They rose to the occasion. Watching this, there is no inkling of problems to come. I guess they were simply focused on making the Olympic team, and all of the ups-and-downs they'd experienced over the past few seasons were put to the side:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5932DJRh1c

I don't recall how S/B fared exactly at the Olympics, performance-wise. Statistically, they placed 12th in Pyeongchang out of a 16-team FP field. They probably needed a break after the Olympics. Julianne looked stressed and out of shape at this year's Worlds, where they uncharacteristically failed to advance to fp. Maybe Charlie initially began to have misgivings after the injuries Julianne suffered kept them out of 2016 Worlds. They placed 8th at 2015 Worlds, and 11th at 2017 Worlds. So they were backing up, and possibly Julianne's ongoing concussion-related difficulties affected their training time.

The video of their 2018 Canadian nationals fp attests that their performance, in hindsight, was a triumphant swan song. Meagan Duhamel stated during a recent interview that her efforts to assist Julianne & Charlie post-Worlds, during spring and early summer, amounted to a last chance attempt to get things working and on the right track for them. But something must not have been working well, and Charlie decided to end the partnership. Meagan said that Julianne has opted to take some time off to regroup and recover physically and emotionally. Hopefully, she will be able to get into better shape and come back with a suitable partner. If Deschamps is still available, such a pairing might work.

I wonder if its true that Charlie asked Evelyn Walsh for a tryout.
 
There was also an interview with KMT and Michael. More details on Kirsten's injury, which they didn't fully understand the seriousness of until after Worlds.

The Pink Floyd medley (which the say is "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", "The Great Gig in the Sky", and "Another Brick in the Wall") sounds like the kind of thing that will either be epic or a mess.
 
Colonel Green said:
There was also an interview with KMT and Michael. More details on Kirsten's injury, which they didn't fully understand the seriousness of until after Worlds.

The Pink Floyd medley (which the say is "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", "The Great Gig in the Sky", and "Another Brick in the Wall") sounds like the kind of thing that will either be epic or a mess.
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Well K&M sound focused, realistic and confident. They are honest about the slow off-season start and setbacks related to Kirsten's overuse injury and then an ankle injury. I hope they do well as the season progresses. They have a lot of fight and determination.

Using three Pink Floyd selections for their fp is interesting; the editing is important. They spoke of the choreo as challenging and something they are still adjusting to. But they sound as if they feel they are on the right track.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWGE9Gi0bB0 Crazy Diamond
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVBCE3gaNxc Great Gig in the Sky
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IpYOF4Hi6Q Another Brick

I like the first and third, but not so much the second selection. They looked good at this point in their "First Time..." sp at Autumn Classic. That program needs a bit of work, but I can see it building.


Zazy said:
I agree, they all skated well but she's the one who really stood out to me.
It will be interesting to see how she develops in the coming years - and whether her partnership with Paxton will survive him aging out of juniors.
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MacIntosh and Toste are young and gangly, but to me they appear to be physically well-matched and to have the most long-term potential as young skaters who can grow together. Regarding PAndrew and PFletcher, I think Paxton resembles a young Liam Firus. I agree that Andrew has spark and flair, even at her young age. I don't think Andrew/Fletcher are as physically well-matched though, and they have a greater age difference than MacIntosh/Toste. But who knows, perhaps both teams will stay together.

Hmm, but after watching Patricia Andrew, I got to thinking, what about Andrew pairing with Michaud, and Walsh with Bilodeau? I suppose not though since Michaud is 22 and Andrew only 13. Still, they might pair pretty well physically. Of course, Walsh/Michaud do seem fairly committed to their partnership.

BTW, why has Paxton's last name changed from Knott to Fletcher?
 
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"MacIntosh and Toste are young and gangly, but to me they appear to be physically well-matched and to have the most long-term potential as young skaters who can grow together."

I enjoy this team for what they are right now, which is a hard working pair of skaters who are clean and consistent and fun to watch. They are doing great, but I cringe about the pressure of "potential" and "future." Brooke is a little rock star but her legs and arms are now a mile long and she's just 13. She hasn't started to develop physically....this could be her pairs moment right now, who knows what the future will bring. I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, but I just worry about the hearts of these prepubescent pairs girls when long term expectations are discussed.
 
aftershocks said:
MacIntosh and Toste are young and gangly, but to me they appear to be physically well-matched and to have the most long-term potential as young skaters who can grow together.
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cdn skate fan said:
I enjoy this team for what they are right now, which is a hard working pair of skaters who are clean and consistent and fun to watch. They are doing great, but I cringe about the pressure of "potential" and "future." Brooke is a little rock star but her legs and arms are now a mile long and she's just 13. She hasn't started to develop physically....this could be her pairs moment right now, who knows what the future will bring. I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, but I just worry about the hearts of these prepubescent pairs girls when long term expectations are discussed.
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Of course, right. I wasn't talking in terms of heaping a huge load of 'future expectations' potential onto McIntosh/Toste. They are not that unique as a young pair. They should be having fun doing what they are doing now and enjoying every moment. At such a young age, anything can happen in the future. Obviously, their ambitions could change. My remarks were voiced only in the context of the conversation others were having re comparing two young teams, which again is a discussion that was started as part of the larger context of Canadian pairs discipline's unknown future competitive prospects, post-Olympic season transitions (after retirements and splits).

None of us know what's going to happen to any young talented juniors. That's why we watch figure skating: the unknown element of suspense. The ongoing human drama of mundane & challenging real life vs rising to the occasion in the larger-than-life athletic arena. No young skater should continue in the sport unless they are super-motivated and love what they do. Especially in the tough, complicated, opportunity-limited, and often ridiculous world of figure skating.
 
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Winnipeg said:
Still do not get the split of Seguin and Bilodeau
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Yeah, I wouldn't have suspected it either, not after their Canadian Nationals' performances and making the Olympic team. They were so magical together just a few seasons ago. But once again, it appears as if they got up for 2018 Cdn Nationals as part of going for their long held dream of making the Olympic Team. And they were triumphant. But clearly, there had to have been ongoing problems they had been working through for some time. I think the difficulties must have been related to Julianne's injuries, which must have impacted their training time. And then that leads to the slowing of competitive momentum, which did happen to them over the past few seasons.

The larger question is, what happened to S/B between Olympics and Worlds? Julianne looked very much out of shape and under-trained at Worlds. It was certainly a long season for everyone. But as poor as her form was, did they consider not going to Worlds? Was she still suffering the effects of concussion injury? Maybe they didn't want to not go because of the problems that had kept them out of 2016 Worlds, which allowed rival Canadian teams to grab momentum. Who knows though. Most likely Charlie became frustrated with the continued setbacks. And it must have been demoralizing for them both to not make the fp cut at Worlds.
 
wickedwitch said:
I'm still completely in denial. The day it was announced was the same day Denis Ten die (plus, I had other stuff going on), so I basically decided I couldn't process it at the time. But it hasn't suck in during the six weeks since either.
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Apparently, it hasn't sunk in for either of them neither. Or at least not for Julianne. And Charlie will be having hella time in trying to find another partner that's right for him, and that he can go next level distance with...
 
aftershocks said:
I don't recall how S/B fared exactly at the Olympics, performance-wise. Statistically, they placed 12th in Pyeongchang out of a 16-team FP field.
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No, they placed 9th overall. They were 12th in the SP and 8th in the FS, which was maybe even better than their FS at Canadians. They both looked completely thrilled at the end of the skate. Their result at Worlds was shocking to me because it seemed that after a lot of setbacks, they were back on an upward swing after the results of Canadians and the Olympics.

Winnipeg said:
Still do not get the split of Seguin and Bilodeau
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Like another poster said above, I'm still in denial. Never going to get over it. :wuzrobbed (I still have a pipe dream in the back of my mind that Charlie will try to find a better partner, fail, realize he was being stupid and reunite with Julianne. :fragile: )
 
dramagrrl said:
No, they placed 9th overall. They were 12th in the SP and 8th in the FS, which was maybe even better than their FS at Canadians. They both looked completely thrilled at the end of the skate.
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Oh thanks, I was looking up placements, but I must have been looking at the wrong event, or else I only saw Pyeongchang sp results and not final results. I just didn't recall how they performed at the Olympics. Now that you mention it, I guess they did fairly well considering the field depth, and were satisfied.

Therefore the question I posed is still outstanding: "What happened to S/B between Olympics and Worlds?" Did Julianne suffer some kind of setback related to her concussion and they weren't able to keep up their training? Julianne seriously looked out-of-shape at Milan Worlds and stressed. She wasn't in training shape to land her jumps.
 
Was deep down a youtube rabbit hole this evening and stumbled across this little video with Annabelle Langlois and Cody Hay from Radio-Canada. It was only posted a few months ago, but I suspect it might be several years old given how young their daughter is in it. However old it is, it was nice to see a little update from them. Their daughter is painfully adorable (as is Cody's french). Very cute to hear that she still asks to do lifts sometimes :lol:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEk-Zd_HsU8
 
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