2020-21 Canadian Pairs News & Updates

[oleada]

Who is available?

Bardei?

 

[Erin]

Levesque and Hudon split, so he is also available. (Although I was hoping he would snap up Brasseur.)

 

[Brenda_Bottems]

A rather flaccid response from Mr. Bilodeau.

However,I find it difficult to become significantly invested in these "rent-a-Russian" teams one way or another. Que será que será.

-BB

 

[coppertop1]

A rather flaccid response from Mr. Bilodeau.

However,I find it difficult to become significantly invested in these "rent-a-Russian" teams one way or another. Que será que será.

-BB

Do you seriously have nothing positive to say? Do you only watch to denigrate skaters?


And how about putting get ourselves in Charlie's skates before judging? It's easy to judge for behind your screen.

 

[AxelAnnie]

Well it sounds like he has no stomach for facing those most affected by his decisions until he has already "gone public". Perhaps he feels somehow cushioned from the backlash that way or is somehow afraid he might cave in to them? Maybe he just wants to make sure he is first to the media so he get to present his spin on the situation before the others have time to digest and make their own statements? No idea really but I think this is called getting out in front of the situation. Good media strategy but bad relationship strategy?

It is a chicken $hit way of handling things. Totally self absorbed and self centered.

 

[Barbara Manatee]

It's easy to judge for behind your screen.

Yes, it really is easy to judge when the guy announces exactly what he did and why. Twice.

 

[Aerobicidal]

A rather flaccid response from Mr. Bilodeau.

However,I find it difficult to become significantly invested in these "rent-a-Russian" teams one way or another. Que será que será.

-BB

I also would have preferred a more turgid--if not actually erect--response.

I believe that Luba will team up with either Mervin Tran or Evgeni Krasnopolski and find at least as much success as either of those men have with their current partners.

 

[Orm Irian]

Who is available?

Harley Windsor, but I doubt she'd be able to get Australian citizenship in time for the Olympics.

 

[Brenda_Bottems]

Do you seriously have nothing positive to say? Do you only watch to denigrate skaters?

Absolutely. I'd be more than happy to chat about school figures,Janet Lynn,or Todd Eldredge at your convenience.

Might I earnestly suggest backing 3 metres away from that ever-present Canadian flag of yours?

It is a chicken $hit way of handling things. Totally self absorbed and self centered.

Amen.

-BB

 

[tony]

I don't know Bilodeau personally so I can only comment on what we've been presented-- and I think several people have already basically said as much.

The way he tried to get everything around him to be so media-worthy and 'big news coming soon' even with the start of his partnership with Iliusechkina was very off-putting to me for some reason. You'd think he was the top skater in all of Canada with the way that was drawn out, but he really doesn't even have that big of a following on social media. Since he's dealing with depression, it's great that he's decided to retire and focus on himself and whatever makes him happy outside the rink. But there's still just this disconnect for me with the whole thing..

 

[VGThuy]

It’s interesting, in Duhamel/Radford’s book, Eric is very open saying that he had the try out with Meagan behind his existing partner’s back. He felt the opportunity with Meagan was too high to pass up, but worried because of their size that it wouldn’t work at all and would be scrapped after one try out. His reasoning was, no need to upset the existing partner if this doesn’t work out with Meagan. And if I can’t skate with Meagan, then at least I’ll still have a partner. I don’t see anyone going around saying his a monster the way they do with Charlie.

That would require us most of us responding to have been interested enough to actually read his book.

Now that you shed the light on that; that’s pretty despicable of him. I mean glad it worked out for him and all, but it’s still underhanded and cowardly. It was the smart thing to do for his benefit, but it’s far from admirable.

 

[hoptoad]

I thought it was odd that he made sure to say, essentially, 'I never really liked skating in the first place.' Ok. Good luck, Charlie.

 

[VGThuy]

I thought it was odd that he made sure to say, essentially, 'I never really liked skating in the first place.' Ok. Good luck, Charlie.

He likes “sliding” though.

 

[antmanb]

Same with business relationships. Do you tell your boss you're not into your job and are thinking about other options or do you let them know only when you have decided to leave? There are a number of psychological and human nature explanations why we often organically follow this sort of path.

The only way that analogy works though is if he had actually told his partner or his coaches his decision before we went public with the information. If we put it in a work context, it would be like simply not giving notice and just not turning up at your job and then maybe changing your status on facebook to "unemployed".

 

[skatingguy]

It does seem like the decision was made, and his first thought was to write the press release rather than have a conversation with the people his decision affected. Maybe writing it helped him process his thoughts.

 

[Brenda_Bottems]

I'm perplexed as to why many feel compelled to bend over backward and make excuses for Bilodeau.

He had ample opportunity to discuss this with his coaching team and partner. He instead chose to share his diary entries with a Canadian newspaper.

-BB

 

[fsfann]

I'm really not getting the outrage here. It seems some think that this article was how everyone on his team found out. It isn't. It was written prior to him informing Lubov & Richard, but it wasn't published until after.

It sounds like the guy has been questioning his desire to compete for a long time...thought a change in partner would make a difference, and it turned out that it didn't. I guess it is a blessing that they didn't make the World's team, because if they had had that "success" he may not have "seen the light".

I feel horrible for Julianne (always did), and also bad for Lubov... but I'm not getting the rage being directed at Charlie for making the difficult decision of walking away from the sport. He told his team, then told the country. Of course it's hugely upsetting/disappointing for Lubov, who moved to train with him, started learning french etc. I definitely "get" that... Hoping she rebounds and finds another partner, and also finds a way to consistently land her triples.

 

[barbarafan]

Harley Windsor, but I doubt she'd be able to get Australian citizenship in time for the Olympics.

She has mentioned a few times that she wants to continue to skate for Canada and there is no way Harley would be able to get Cdn citizenship in time for the Olympics. I do agree he is very good though.

 

[Orm Irian]

She has mentioned a few times that she wants to continue to skate for Canada and there is no way Harley would be able to get Cdn citizenship in time for the Olympics. I do agree he is very good though.

It's highly unlikely that Harley, being an Indigenous Australian man, would apply for Canadian citizenship in the first place, so if Lubov wouldn't be willing to apply for Australian citizenship she couldn't be an option for him after all.

 

[barbarafan]

It's highly unlikely that Harley, being an Indigenous Australian man, would apply for Canadian citizenship in the first place, so if Lubov wouldn't be willing to apply for Australian citizenship she couldn't be an option for him after all.

ITA

 

[mattiecat13]

I really enjoy Lubov's skating but the reality is she rarely lands her jumps. Honestly, I think she would be better off going back to Cirque.

 

[ChiquitaBanana]

I'm really not getting the outrage here. It seems some think that this article was how everyone on his team found out. It isn't. It was written prior to him informing Lubov & Richard, but it wasn't published until after.

This is how I read it in the original article. He wrote the article before he went to announce it to his team but that doesn't mean it was published before they knew.

 

[nimi]

Honestly, I think she would be better off going back to Cirque.

Um... Except Cirque isn't doing so great at the moment. I sure hope the company will make it through the current crisis, but currently it is "working with restructuring advisers to address a cash crunch and its roughly $900 million in debt" and "Cirque du Soleil’s layoffs affected more than 4,600 employees, or about 95% of its workforce", etc.

Exclusive: Cirque du Soleil explores options including bankruptcy - sources

Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group is exploring debt restructuring options that include a potential bankruptcy filing, after it was forced to cancel shows because of the coronavirus outbreak, people familiar with the matter said.

www.reuters.com

 

[victorskid]

I really enjoy Lubov's skating but the reality is she rarely lands her jumps. Honestly, I think she would be better off going back to Cirque.

You presume there will be a Cirque to go back to....

 

[RoseRed]

The only way that analogy works though is if he had actually told his partner or his coaches his decision before we went public with the information. If we put it in a work context, it would be like simply not giving notice and just not turning up at your job and then maybe changing your status on facebook to "unemployed".

He did though, as others have said. He said that he started writing the statement before telling them, but he's clear that he had told them before it was published. From the translation posted earlier:

Lubov and Richard have now been advised. It's not ideal to make this kind of announcement by video conference, but with the confinement, I had no choice.

 

[MR-FAN]

That would require us most of us responding to have been interested enough to actually read his book.

Now that you shed the light on that; that’s pretty despicable of him. I mean glad it worked out for him and all, but it’s still underhanded and cowardly. It was the smart thing to do for his benefit, but it’s far from admirable.

Sure. He should’ve refused a chance to be a top-tier competitor and champion and be “more admirable”

I swear, sometimes you people are mind-boggling

 

[VGThuy]

Sure. He should’ve refused a chance to be a top-tier competitor and champion and be “more admirable”

I swear, sometimes you people are mind-boggling

And it's "mind-boggling" the way "you people" can't seem to read what is written when responding. It's not him trying out that's the problem. It's the sneaky way he did it behind his partner's back and used her as a safety partner in case it didn't work out with Duhamel. Listen, people do all kinds of things for ambition and success. Bravo to them, but some times people do less-than-admirable things to get it and let's not pretend the ends justify the means for their behavior. It's a one of those things where you weigh your options and sometimes you do things that aren't very nice to get what you want. It's the price you pay, but if you're going to write a book and talk about it, then it's fair to comment on the behavior you're telling the world. I didn't say he made the wrong decision, but do you think doing it the way he did was the only option? It may have been the best option for him for his own self-interest, but it wasn't the only way he could have went about it.

 

[chantilly]

I don’t think Eric did anything remotely wrong. Why in heck would he tell his current partner until he was sure it would work out with Meghan.

All it would do is hurt and confuse his partner(before Meghan) and raise issues that would naturally be addressed once a decision was actually made.


This is an elite sport and to get to the top you have to make difficult choices.

It’s not really right IMO to compare this kind of process and decision making with the normal every day things people go through in their lives, like changing jobs( that is going on job interviews before you tell your current boss, you quit), or even leaving a relationship.

Partners in skating are a relationship but not in the same way as a marriage or romantic partnership. A part of it is business.

Really what good would it do telling her beforehand. It would hurt either way.

Best to make sure you have a clear decision to make a clean break rather then make her feel like sloppy seconds.


As for Charlie, as long as he told her and the coach before hand, I’m not sure what he did was all that reproachable either.

Lubov chose to leave Cirque. She
wanted another kick at the can and she got it. And unfortunately they failed to achieve the results they were looking for as a team. And quite frankly her jump issues were a big problem from before and continued.

It’s very clear from Charlie’s statement that he was in a massive state of confusion and uncertainty for a few years.

You can’t expect someone who was going through that to make clear choices.

 

[chantilly]

And it's "mind-boggling" the way "you people" can't seem to read what is written when responding. It's not him trying out that's the problem. It's the sneaky way he did it behind his partner's back and used her as a safety partner in case it didn't work out with Duhamel. Listen, people do all kinds of things for ambition and success. Bravo to them, but some times people do less-than-admirable things to get it and let's not pretend the ends justify the means for their behavior. It's a one of those things where you weigh your options and sometimes you do things that aren't very nice to get what you want. It's the price you pay, but if you're going to write a book and talk about it, then it's fair to comment on the behavior you're telling the world. I didn't say he made the wrong decision, but do you think doing it the way he did was the only option? It may have been the best option for him for his own self-interest, but it wasn't the only way he could have went about it.

Maybe not but I think calling it “despicable “ and “cowardly” is pretty harsh and over reaching.

I’ll give you “underhanded “ but I also think it makes sense in this sport.

 

[barbarafan]

He did though, as others have said. He said that he started writing the statement before telling them, but he's clear that he had told them before it was published. From the translation posted earlier:

True..He said Lubov had been asking for them to have a virtual meeting with Richard Gauthier about planning the new season and he could not put it off any longer so he had the meeting with them and told them he was finished..That was in the afternoon and the next morning the media showed it.