Canadian Pairs 2018/2019 Season News and Updates

[aftershocks]

Brasseur/Bardei did not hit a rough patch. Their respective parents did. They have now resolved the issues and things are back on track.

Oh, well it's good to hear that things were worked out. They need refinements and mileage as a team, but they look to have potential to be an exciting pair in the mix for Skate Canada.

 

[Mad for Skating]

^^ Yes @Janef, I posted my comments before noticing that you weren't particularly trying to dis Mervin. He deserves our respect.



D/R found what worked for them, that's the key. They were not really physically well-matched. I didn't like them as a team when I first saw them. They succeeded together because they shared the same heart, spirit, gumption, determination, hard work ethic, and amazing dreams. They weren't perfect, but they made me a believer. I saw their performances at the 2012 Canadian National championships. They skated well in the sp, but had a bit of a problem during the performance in which Eric got his nose bloodied. But that didn't stop them from laying down this beauty of a fp: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b0ontqowZc

Watching this performance, and especially how it ended and how they reacted, I definitely became a believer. The hair stood up on the back of my neck throughout and I experienced chills of delight. I still do when I watch, because to me this performance epitomizes what figure skating is all about. Oh and yes, btw, this was the first of their 7 Canadian National pairs championships. But it was not their winning that thrilled me. It was their grit and their self-belief and their desire made manifest in a superbly uplifting performance.

If any pairs team in the world can truly learn anything from their example, Hallelujah! I believe D/R learned from Canadian teams who came before them, like Sale/Pelletier, and Underhill/Martini, and from international teams such as Shen/Zhao and Savchenko/Szolkowy. So hopefully the legacy of grit and self-belief will continue, not just for Canadian pairs, but for U.S. pairs, and for every team with a dream.

Agree! I think the amazing part about them was not that they were perfectly paired, but that they worked together despite it. Leo Tolstoy always said “What counts in making a happy marriage is not so much how compatible you are but how you deal with incompatibility.” I think that was their secret - many teams would’ve have been able to manage, but they worked their butts off and became world champions. Hats off to them.

 

[aftershocks]

Agree! I think the amazing part about them was not that they were perfectly paired, but that they worked together despite it. Leo Tolstoy always said “What counts in making a happy marriage is not so much how compatible you are but how you deal with incompatibility.” I think that was their secret - many teams would’ve have been able to manage, but they worked their butts off and became world champions. Hats off to them.

Yes, ITA. I've heard Meagan and Eric speak about the challenges of their partnership in interviews. They kept working at it, and they didn't give up or give in, nor succumb to their critics. They believed in each other and in themselves as a team. They didn't match physically and Meagan's jump technique could be distracting, but she determinedly got the job done. A lot of the criticism didn't hold water regarding Meagan's lift positions, which she honed to perfection. She practiced ballet and found a way to match the grace of Eric's moves in her own way. In fact, their unison became one of their strengths. They had a synchronicity of heart. When I found out they come from the same province in Canada, it kinda all made sense.

D/R's evocative 2012 fp music selections from Coldplay worked for them so beautifully.

 

[Erin]

Brasseur/Bardei did not hit a rough patch. Their respective parents did. They have now resolved the issues and things are back on track.

Well, whatever the reason, clearly it impacted the two of them enough that they didn’t compete at an event that Skate Canada spent money on to send them to.

 

[Mad for Skating]

Yes, ITA. I've heard Meagan and Eric speak about the challenges of their partnership in interviews. They kept working at it, and they didn't give up or give in, nor succumb to their critics. They believed in each other and in themselves as a team. They didn't match physically and Meagan's jump technique could be distracting, but she determinedly got the job done. A lot of the criticism didn't hold water regarding Meagan's lift positions, which she honed to perfection. She practiced ballet and found a way to match the grace of Eric's moves in her own way. In fact, their unison became one of their strengths. They had a synchronicity of heart. When I found out they come from the same province in Canada, it kinda all made sense.

D/R's evocative 2012 fp music selections from Coldplay worked for them so beautifully.

Truly props all around to them! I miss their passion for skating so much.
I loved that Coldplay program! One of their most underrated programs imo. It really played to their strengths.

 

[Andora]

. Canada lost a good pairs guy. That’s too bad

Canada lost another too-short pairs guy, so I'm not sweating it. As good as he was, we don't have a huge cache of small/short-enough pair girls in general. C'est la vie.

 

[screech]

I'm pretty sure all pairs teams are trying to do that. That's not a special strategy, it's the fundamental prerequisite to succeed at pairs skating.

The difference with D/R is that neither of them set out to be pairs skaters - they were both junior national singles champions. IIRC, Meagan just started doing throws for fun with one of her friends (Ryan Arnold) who did both pairs and singles, and they decided to compete just for fun at first.

They didn't match physically and Meagan's jump technique could be distracting, but she determinedly got the job done. A lot of the criticism didn't hold water regarding Meagan's lift positions, which she honed to perfection. She practiced ballet and found a way to match the grace of Eric's moves in her own way. In fact, their unison became one of their strengths.

A few people have said this, and to me, I don't want to see someone who just gets the job done. I agree that they really worked hard, and their side by side spins possibly had the best unison in the world, but while Eric worked to connect with her, IMO when Meagan just skated like a singles skater who happened to have someone else on the ice with her.
Though they definitely weren't my cup of tea, huge props to them for all they accomplished, and how their singles skills pushed the technical side of pairs forward.

 

[blue_idealist]

Brasseur/Bardei did not hit a rough patch. Their respective parents did. They have now resolved the issues and things are back on track.

Well, that stinks if they had to pay for their parents' mistakes.

 

[Japanfan]

D/R found what worked for them, that's the key. They were not really physically well-matched. I didn't like them as a team when I first saw them. They succeeded together because they shared the same heart, spirit, gumption, determination, hard work ethic, and amazing dreams. They weren't perfect, but they made me a believer.

I didn't care for them much at first, and hadn't cared particularly for Megan as a singles skater, either.

But yes, they did make me a believer. Much of that was because there was so much joy in their skating - they clearly loved it! And I don't know how competitive Eric is by nature, but Megan sure was a competitive little spitfire!

I'll never forget the time he broke his nose and they just kept on going.

And I loved it when you could see Megan nattering away at Eric whilst way up high in a lift.

I remember a Canadian commentator saying once that Megan was that precocious 13 year old in braces insisting "I'm going to be a World Champion one day", whilst those who listened rolled their eyeballs and though "Who? You?".

And yet here she is, two time World Champion and Olympic bronze medalist in the individual event.

The child or children she has with Bruno will be blessed to have her as a mother and role model.

But it was not their winning that thrilled me. It was their grit and their self-belief and their desire made manifest in a superbly uplifting performance.

If I had to sum D/R up in a word, 'uplifting' would do.

 

[aftershocks]

I don't know how competitive Eric is by nature...

Meagan didn't win seven Canadian National championships, two World championships, a team Olympic gold medal, an Olympic bronze medal in pairs, a GPF championship, two Four Continents championships, three NHK gold medals, four Skate Canada gold medals, and a host of other gold, silver and bronze medals, all by herself as a pairs figure skater!

... while Eric worked to connect with her, IMO ... Meagan just skated like a singles skater who happened to have someone else on the ice with her.

Uh, I'd like to see you tell Meagan that to her face. Meagan's jump technique could be distracting, but I think she worked very hard to develop a graceful carriage that ultimately did match Eric fairly well, whether some people believe so or not. As a team, they both made it work, because they believed in each other, and in themselves and in the dreams they jointly held to make it together! If they hadn't, they would never have achieved as much as they did. Eric has commented about Meagan's spirit having uplifted him on more than one occasion.

With all the overdone and often biased critiques that Meagan receives, you'd think she'd recognize some of the unfair comments directed toward James/Cipres. At least Meagan eventually caught herself on a past podcast, and stopped joining in on the J/C criticism, and found nicer things to actually acknowledge about James/Cipres' talent, a team she and Eric chose to train with for a short time, for a reason. And yes, I would say that directly to Meagan if I had the opportunity and the circumstances were suited to us having that kind of conversation.

 

[CassAgain]

Meagan has said and there have been training videos to prove that Eric knows as much if not more about the code of points as she does, it just doesn’t pour out off him in the kiss and cry.

 

[aftershocks]

I don't want to see someone who just gets the job done.

Well, 'getting the job done,' is more than half the battle in figure skating, especially when it comes to landing sbs jumps in pairs figure skating.

 

[aftershocks]

Canada lost another too-short pairs guy, so I'm not sweating it. As good as he was, we don't have a huge cache of small/short-enough pair girls in general. C'est la vie.

If you are speaking of Mervin Tran, he hasn't actually competed for his home country of Canada that often anyway. So obviously, he was expendable. Although, I think the fact he had to wait a requisite time before being released by Canada to skate with Marissa Castelli, was not very helpful in their partnership getting a good start out-of-the-gate. It was a bit problematic too, in my estimation, that Marissa & Mervin were often slated to compete, early in their career, in Canada against a closely matched Canadian team such as Kirsten/Michael (who were also newly paired at the time). In close battles, the edge always seemed to go to the Canadian team.

But Mervin is comfortable with his coaches and he apparently prefers to stay with them. Marissa had been a solid U.S. competitor with Simon Shnapir. And Mervin has a World bronze medal in pairs with Narumi Takahashi. No matter good intentions and M&M's talent together, it seems to me that they had a bit of a hard go all the way around politically. Of course, if they'd been able to overcome their technical jumping issues, maybe they could have gotten over the political drawbacks. I say that because I think their situation was a bit awkward from the start in trying initially to spend time training in both Boston and Montreal. They were extremely talented together, but I think they needed a dedicated coach working with them and focusing on their special needs and challenges. IMO, Bruno and Richard had too many other teams as they became more and more popular as go-to pairs coaches, thus they seemingly weren't able to focus dedicatedly on the problems Merv & Marissa faced. If in fact Bruno/Richard did focus dedicatedly, apparently a successful solution was never found to help M&M garner better results. C'est la vie.

Now with Mervin & Serafini, it's simply at this point a work-in-progress, as Serafini is so new to pairs figure skating. I hope they are able to make significant progress.

 

[Andora]

Meagan has said and there have been training videos to prove that Eric knows as much if not more about the code of points as she does, it just doesn’t pour out off him in the kiss and cry.

I believe that. Just because they aren't the same TYPE of competitor, doesn't mean one is less competitive/driven than the other. Though it would be hard for anyone to match the kind of drive Ms. Duhamel has.

 

[Rock2]

Well, that stinks if they had to pay for their parents' mistakes.

It's more than just the parents. A number of different interconnecting issues between them and their inner circles that got complicated and messy. Glad they seemed to have sorted it out. Crossing my fingers it all holds.

 

[Wyliefan]

I don't know how Meagan ever survived in singles without someone else out there on the ice to talk to. It's a good thing she went into pairs.

 

[Alvyne]

Lubov and Charlie on TSL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyAME--WSMA

 

[dramagrrl]

Anyone who willingly gives Dave Lease an interview gets another strike from me.

 

[aftershocks]

Luba's face is cut off. TSL's technical and visual snafus are as annoying as the hosts. Why doesn't ego-driven DL cut off his entire face instead? No one is that interested in looking at him!

 

[barbarafan]

Anyone who willingly gives Dave Lease an interview gets another strike from me.

Especially after the way Dave trashed her and Dylan along with their choreographer. They seemed pretty much in control of where the interview went....(maybe Meghan arranged it) of course Dave was pushing for some dirt and Charlie was very good about not going there. Dave wanted the nitty gritty of why he didn't continue with Julieann and Charlie let him know the subject was off limits in a very nice way. I did like that Luba let him know she has all kinds of ideas both new stuff from the cirque as well of lots of stuff from way before that she can do but has never put in a competition.

 

[skatingguy]

Luba's face is cut off. TSL's technical and visual snafus are as annoying as the hosts. Why doesn't ego-driven DL cut off his entire face instead? No one is that interested in looking at him!

Dave didn't cut off half of her face. Charlie & Luba are clearly using a phone to either facetime or skype with him, and so the screen is small and the view is limited. You can see that they are sharing one set of ear buds as well.

 

[dramagrrl]

I do appreciate that Charlie firmly shut down the gossipy and tactless questions Dave was asking about his split from Julianne and that Luba neatly avoided any dirt he was trying to dig about the end of her partnership with Dylan (and whether she blamed SC politics for their ending/not going to the Olympics, etc.). I personally just don't think that any skaters or people in the skating community should continue to legitimize TSL's garbage by granting them access of any kind.

 

[Mad for Skating]

I find Meagan and Eric’s skating very pleasing. They had their own off-the-wall style that worked for them, and they knew how to maximize their strengths and minimize their weaknesses. I didn’t find their skating jarring at all; they didn’t have the “two as one” look like Sui/Han, but IMO they had a “two that go together” look like James/Cipres. Some people will like it and some won’t, and that’s okay.

I don’t like how Meagan works with TSL, but it’s her choice, and I think overall they’re good people and amazing athletes.

I believe that. Just because they aren't the same TYPE of competitor, doesn't mean one is less competitive/driven than the other. Though it would be hard for anyone to match the kind of drive Ms. Duhamel has.

Exactly! I think Savchenko/Szolkowy were the same way - she was outwardly fiercely competitive and he seemed more quiet and steady, but they were both great competitors.

I don't know how Meagan ever survived in singles without someone else out there on the ice to talk to. It's a good thing she went into pairs.

OMG RIGHT? If I could skate, I would definitely go into pairs because I would need someone to talk to!

Lubov and Charlie on TSL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyAME--WSMA

Thank you! I will watch ASAP.

 

[Alilou]

The thing I liked most about I&B's TSL interview was Luba saying that she learned with Cirque to not be so emotionally invested in performing perfectly every time because of 5 programs/appearances in every performance, 2 shows a day, for months on end. It sounded like she learned to relax about it all more and that she hopes to carry that into the competitive arena. Of course I'm thinking about her jumps! If she's more relaxed she'll probably land those suckers!

 

[dramagrrl]

Did anyone notice Dave obviously trying to "hint"/throw shade at Lubov's jumping abilities (or both of theirs, actually, with his snarky "You weren't that consistent in competition" comments to Charlie as well) by asking them about their planned elements and then adding (paraphrased, not his exact words), "The Chinese have done quite well this season by just doing SBS doubles and concentrating on [high GOE] on other elements"? (Not even sure which Chinese team he meant unless he was referring to S/H doing SBS doubles when she was still coming back from her injury.) Ugh. He's such a tool.

 

[RoseRed]

Did anyone notice Dave obviously trying to "hint"/throw shade at Lubov's jumping abilities (or both of theirs, actually, with his snarky "You weren't that consistent in competition" comments to Charlie as well) by asking them about their planned elements and then adding (paraphrased, not his exact words), "The Chinese have done quite well this season by just doing SBS doubles and concentrating on [high GOE] on other elements"? (Not even sure which Chinese team he meant unless he was referring to S/H doing SBS doubles when she was still coming back from her injury.) Ugh. He's such a tool.

P/J did sbs 2S when they won silver at the GPF.

And to be fair, he didn't say it like you put it. He said they'd been doing well focusing on quality and GOE, and then added the bit about double jumps. It wasn't emphasized like it is how you put it. The point was the same, but still, it wasn't the focus as much.

 

[Japanfan]

Meagan didn't win seven Canadian National championships, two World championships, a team Olympic gold medal, an Olympic bronze medal in pairs, a GPF championship, two Four Continents championships, three NHK gold medals, four Skate Canada gold medals, and a host of other gold, silver and bronze medals, all by herself as a pairs figure skater!

Very often one partner in a pair or dance team is more competitive than the other. The less competitive - not 'non-competitive' partner - may be concerned about things other than winning (i.e. choreography, finesse of position). Or just might not be as competitively driven. In the case of Meagan and Eric, I think Meagan may been been the more competitive. And that his relative calm and balance balanced her fire. As you say, her spirit was often uplifting to him.

Uh, I'd like to see you tell Meagan that to her face. Meagan's jump technique could be distracting, but I think she worked very hard to develop a graceful carriage that ultimately did match Eric fairly well, whether some people believe so or not. As a team, they both made it work, because they believed in each other, and in themselves and in the dreams they jointly held to make it together!

Yes. They built up their strengths to the point where their weaknesses didn't matter all that much. In so doing, they provide an excellent role model to up-and-coming skaters (not to mention, they are excellent role models as people).

 

[Sk8mom123]

Very often one partner in a pair or dance team is more competitive than the other. The less competitive - not 'non-competitive' partner - may be concerned about things other than winning (i.e. choreography, finesse of position). Or just might not be as competitively driven. In the case of Meagan and Eric, I think Meagan may been been the more competitive. And that his relative calm and balance balanced her fire. As you say, her spirit was often uplifting to him.



Yes. They built up their strengths to the point where their weaknesses didn't matter all that much. In so doing, they provide an excellent role model to up-and-coming skaters (not to mention, they are excellent role models as people).

I agree. We seem to have some pairs that are not the perfect match physically. We see it in many of the comments where lack of height difference comes up. Maybe if these teams have the same work ethic, same goals and build their strengths they to will surprise us!

 

[barbarafan]

I do appreciate that Charlie firmly shut down the gossipy and tactless questions Dave was asking about his split from Julianne and that Luba neatly avoided any dirt he was trying to dig about the end of her partnership with Dylan (and whether she blamed SC politics for their ending/not going to the Olympics, etc.). I personally just don't think that any skaters or people in the skating community should continue to legitimize TSL's garbage by granting them access of any kind.

He was ok with Julianne and Charlie and I think Luba and Charlie know his game plane and graciously skirted no no topics. Ie they patted him on the head and handfed him a piece of apple when he was hoping for pizza and ice cream. He brought up their competition by name and they were not taking any bait. Thanks for offering but we just ate and are full. It is possible that he 1)is not a nice enemy to have and 2) they need to be known internationally if they have to relie on invites from other countries for GP spots. 3) do not look for extra help from SC or CBC. They have their favourites and that is who they promote.....(CBC - even though W/P are national champions it is G/P picture on any vids/livestreaming for dance.)

 

[barbarafan]

Did anyone notice Dave obviously trying to "hint"/throw shade at Lubov's jumping abilities (or both of theirs, actually, with his snarky "You weren't that consistent in competition" comments to Charlie as well) by asking them about their planned elements and then adding (paraphrased, not his exact words), "The Chinese have done quite well this season by just doing SBS doubles and concentrating on [high GOE] on other elements"? (Not even sure which Chinese team he meant unless he was referring to S/H doing SBS doubles when she was still coming back from her injury.) Ugh. He's such a tool.

He most certainly is but he paid a bit for his most atrocious dis on I/M as besides them he attacked untouchable people around them. He deleted a fair amount of the show so he must have grovelled big time to Sandra Bezic and Julie Marcotte or Meghan in her place as the 2 of them in return went on his show.