Skate Canada 2022 Olympics selection criteria

[Aaron MB Fan]

But it was pretty bold move of Walsh to announce to the papers that Skate Canada possibly had a hand in this situation. They are where her funding comes from, and it’s amazing Michaud hasn’t spoke up.

Trennt and Evelyn also shared this London Free Press article on their Facebook page:

Evelyn Walsh and Trennt Michaud

https://lfpress.com/sports/local-sports/pyette-evelyn-walsh-trennt-michaud-deserve-answers-from-skate-canada

www.facebook.com

Link directly to the LFP article:

Pyette: Evelyn Walsh, Trennt Michaud deserve answers from Skate Canada

The Olympic snub of figure skating pair Evelyn Walsh and Trennt Michaud should have been handled much better.

lfpress.com

 

[overedge]

And yes a difference in a way that this is the Olympics, an athletes biggest goal. But the kiss and cry has shown teams divided or scoring favouritism to crush the hopes of athletes.

You're missing the point. This isn't a situation of "suck it up, princess" when someone has a great competitive season and then has a bad skate at an important competition like Nationals. Everyone competing at the international/elite level has probably had that happen more than once, and if they haven't learned to deal with that kind of disappointment, they're probably not competing any more.

It's not a matter of W/M not being able to handle their disappointment at a sub-par performance. It's a matter of whether Skate Canada had made promises, or indications, to another team before Nationals that they were going to the Olympics. Regardless of how well other teams did or didn't do at Nationals.

 

[overedge]

Quotes from the article that @Aaron MB Fan linked to, from Alison Purkiss, W/M's coach.

“There are a bunch of steps [in the selection criteria] that don’t apply to (James and Radford) because they only teamed up 10 months ago. They have their results for this season, which they didn’t podium at any of them, and nationals, which they didn’t complete,” she said.


“It seemed there was going to be more of a discussion about Evelyn and Trennt and then when it was announced, we didn’t find or get any feedback. That seems to suggest we should have already known why and I don’t think it was that clear, especially if we were running the nationals as we did.


“Holding nationals suggested there was a reason (to hold them),” she said.

 

[SkateGuard]

Who was that? I need a refresher.

Heather Kemkaran in the 80's. The skater who was sent to Worlds that year was Tracey Wainman.

 

[Judy]

Heather Kemkaran in the 80's. The skater who was sent to Worlds that year was Tracey Wainman.

Yes .. I was actually going to post that earlier. It was kind of a big scandal at the time and eventually Skate Canada was accused of ruining an upcoming champion. Whether that would have worked out if they had waited is unknown. She was just very young especially back then. Also not fair to Heather obviously.

 

[SkateGuard]

Yes .. I was actually going to post that earlier. It was kind of a big scandal at the time and eventually Skate Canada was accused of ruining an upcoming champion. Whether that would have worked out if they had waited is unknown. She was just very young especially back then. Also not fair to Heather obviously.

It was a huge deal at the time and not fair for Janet Morrissey (the silver medallist at Canadians that year) either. It's all water under the bridge now, but it's an interesting comparison - even if the reasoning behind the decision was quite different.

 

[Dave of the North]

Heather Kemkaran in the 80's. The skater who was sent to Worlds that year was Tracey Wainman.

Heather Kemkaren went to the Olympics in 1980, and finished 15th. Tracey Wainman was sent to Worlds that year, and finished 14th. Janet Morrissey had been to Worlds in 1979, where she finished 19th. (Heather had been 12th in 1978)

I guess they had high hopes for Wainman, and it wasn't like Heather or Janet had a great track record...

 

[overedge]

Heather Kemkaren went to the Olympics in 1980, and finished 15th. Tracey Wainman was sent to Worlds that year, and finished 14th. Janet Morrissey had been to Worlds in 1979, where she finished 19th. (Heather had been 12th in 1978)

I guess they had high hopes for Wainman, and it wasn't like Heather or Janet had a great track record...

IIRC David Dore (SC head honcho at the time) explicitly said something to the effect that Tracey had a lot of potential and this was an investment in her future.

 

[Janef]

Trennt and Evelyn also shared this London Free Press article on their Facebook page:

Evelyn Walsh and Trennt Michaud

https://lfpress.com/sports/local-sports/pyette-evelyn-walsh-trennt-michaud-deserve-answers-from-skate-canada

www.facebook.com

Link directly to the LFP article:

Pyette: Evelyn Walsh, Trennt Michaud deserve answers from Skate Canada

The Olympic snub of figure skating pair Evelyn Walsh and Trennt Michaud should have been handled much better.

lfpress.com

It is bold but skate Canada wasn’t very professional either. We can only speculate. It is a really strange situation. J/r are not likely to continue on after Olympics so why not send W/m. There must be more to this. Is the team event so important for a slim chance in a medal. Under different circumstances it would be great to have j/r as a new team.

 

[Bournekraatzfan]

I have my own ranting about Skate Canada doing poorly at identifying talents, educating the coaches about off-ice training while they are focussing more on changing step names and minorities inclusion / diversity in skating. It looks like a ship without a captain.

Because taking a more ethical approach is such a giant waste of time?! I skate under Skate Canada (I’m forced to be a member if I want to take figure skating lessons here) and I’ve had an esteemed coach (in Kingston and apparently in other parts of Ontario) make racist remarks to me about another skater, openly and unapologetically. When I tried discussing it with her, she became defensive and dismissive, and the skater I went to for advice assured me that this coach had “a good heart“, etc. (and this coach is often described in glowing terms by other members of the local skating community). This was prior to Asher calling SC out on their hypocrisy so there was absolutely nothing communicated to skaters on steps to take if an issue like this were to arise.

A genuine commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion means creating safe spaces for skaters from marginalized backgrounds (addressing structural barriers, clarifying policy and procedures and encouraging skaters and SC community members to report, providing appropriate supports when they do, ensuring there is accountability) and I still see little being done in this regard. The survey I received through email is honestly the only thing I’ve seen SC do in terms of EDI work, and it’s really not much. The changing of the names of those particular steps was long overdue, and was hardly burdensome to SC. I am honestly curious as to why you think this has been (too) much of a focus for SC?

 

[Janef]

Quotes from the article that @Aaron MB Fan linked to, from Alison Purkiss, W/M's coach.

I wonder if the truth will come out. I was kinda thinking that if they went to the Olympics it would be on coat tails in a way because they didn’t hold up internationally over the past 4 years. They look the same. They are still young but could potentially be leaders for the new group coming up. I wonder if they would have quit otherwise. Skate Canada needs new leaders because essentially there won’t be for awhile in pairs

 

[saturdaysun]

It seems to me like Vanessa's locker room comment is the lynchpin of this entire scandal. If she didn't announce in public their spot had already been secured, no one probably would have known; Evelyn and Kirsten definitely wouldn't have known, it sounds like. Based on accounts of posters here who know Evelyn's character, it sounds like she would not have made a big stink about getting snubbed if the decision was truly based on the guidelines SC set out (whether it was a longshot or not for her and Trennt, Nationals was supposed to be at least one factor in the decision). But since Vanessa said out loud that they were promised a spot before spots should have been determined, there are now questions being asked, and rightfully so, and I'm glad prominent figures in the sport are also asking them.

 

[crazy2skate]

Very interesting and entertaining discussion on the The Skating Lesson
, This and That yesterday. Lots of discussion on the drama in Canadian figure Skating. They had some additional info regarding my the locker room incident. They said thy have spoken to a witness in the locker and it was not their recollection of what happened …agreeable they find this story ridiculous!!!

A new point of interest that has not been discussed that was brought up was the impact this will have on Evelyn and trennts relationship with Skate Canada. They basically said she has shot herself in the foot. You do not get to talk badly about fellow skaters and Skate Canada in the press and then expect them to do you any favours. It is just not how it works. E/M obviously have lots of people in their corner… she should have let them leak the story… if it was true,and let their supporters fight the battle. That would have been a much smarter move!! Maybe Trennt is the smarter one here and knows to keep his mouth shut instead of going down the rabbit hole.

They also went through all the selection criteria, the listed all the international scores, which makes the decision even more clear and obvious. There is no way Skate Canada could send W/M based on any of the criteria. You simply can not perform like that during an Olympic year!!

Anyways it is a good listen with some good points!!

 

[screech]

Just to sort of play devil's advocate for Vanessa, but since the locker room comment seemingly wasn't directed at anyone, isn't there a chance she was reassuring herself, telling herself that their spot was secure? Timing/location would be unfortunate, if that's the case, but it's a scenario that can't be completely ruled out...

 

[VGThuy]

Just to sort of play devil's advocate for Vanessa, but since the locker room comment seemingly wasn't directed at anyone, isn't there a chance she was reassuring herself, telling herself that their spot was secure? Timing/location would be unfortunate, if that's the case, but it's a scenario that can't be completely ruled out...

I think this situation deserves at least an investigation where Vanessa can clear up what she meant with that comment with her own testimony in her own words.

 

[marbri]

Very interesting and entertaining discussion on the The Skating Lesson
, This and That yesterday. Lots of discussion on the drama in Canadian figure Skating. They had some additional info regarding my the locker room incident. They said thy have spoken to a witness in the locker and it was not their recollection of what happened …agreeable they find this story ridiculous!!!

A new point of interest that has not been discussed that was brought up was the impact this will have on Evelyn and trennts relationship with Skate Canada. They basically said she has shot herself in the foot. You do not get to talk badly about fellow skaters and Skate Canada in the press and then expect them to do you any favours. It is just not how it works. E/M obviously have lots of people in their corner… she should have let them leak the story… if it was true,and let their supporters fight the battle. That would have been a much smarter move!! Maybe Trennt is the smarter one here and knows to keep his mouth shut instead of going down the rabbit hole.

They also went through all the selection criteria, the listed all the international scores, which makes the decision even more clear and obvious. There is no way Skate Canada could send W/M based on any of the criteria. You simply can not perform like that during an Olympic year!!

Anyways it is a good listen with some good points!!

Well not a lot of people were allowed in the building so I guess it should be easy enough to figure out who their source in the locker room was

 

[Judy]

Very interesting and entertaining discussion on the The Skating Lesson
, This and That yesterday. Lots of discussion on the drama in Canadian figure Skating. They had some additional info regarding my the locker room incident. They said thy have spoken to a witness in the locker and it was not their recollection of what happened …agreeable they find this story ridiculous!!!

A new point of interest that has not been discussed that was brought up was the impact this will have on Evelyn and trennts relationship with Skate Canada. They basically said she has shot herself in the foot. You do not get to talk badly about fellow skaters and Skate Canada in the press and then expect them to do you any favours. It is just not how it works. E/M obviously have lots of people in their corner… she should have let them leak the story… if it was true,and let their supporters fight the battle. That would have been a much smarter move!! Maybe Trennt is the smarter one here and knows to keep his mouth shut instead of going down the rabbit hole.

They also went through all the selection criteria, the listed all the international scores, which makes the decision even more clear and obvious. There is no way Skate Canada could send W/M based on any of the criteria. You simply can not perform like that during an Olympic year!!

Anyways it is a good listen with some good points!!

I do believe that they deserved to have been spoken to though out of basic respect. I am sure that has happened now.

 

[overedge]

Maybe Trennt is the smarter one here and knows to keep his mouth shut instead of going down the rabbit hole.

Um, they're partners. Whatever she says is going to affect his career, and vice versa. Unless he's planning to switch to singles.

IMO if the London Free Press story was posted on their joint Facebook page, he doesn't have a problem with what she's saying in public.

 

[sap5]

Well not a lot of people were allowed in the building so I guess it should be easy enough to figure out who their source in the locker room was

This story just gets worse and worse. Prominent skaters suggest that Skate Canada has done something hugely unfair, Duhamel points to an article where Vanessa supposedly says something that suggests that SC picked J/R before the selection window was closed...and now it's possible that Vanessa never said such a thing? Is there any actual proof that SC made their selection in violation of the rules? If not, among the many things that have gone wrong here, it looks like a group of SC members tried to make more of the public turn against J/R, and that looks gross.

 

[Rafter]

Very interesting and entertaining discussion on the The Skating Lesson
, This and That yesterday. Lots of discussion on the drama in Canadian figure Skating. They had some additional info regarding my the locker room incident. They said thy have spoken to a witness in the locker and it was not their recollection of what happened …agreeable they find this story ridiculous!!!

A new point of interest that has not been discussed that was brought up was the impact this will have on Evelyn and trennts relationship with Skate Canada. They basically said she has shot herself in the foot. You do not get to talk badly about fellow skaters and Skate Canada in the press and then expect them to do you any favours. It is just not how it works. E/M obviously have lots of people in their corner… she should have let them leak the story… if it was true,and let their supporters fight the battle. That would have been a much smarter move!! Maybe Trennt is the smarter one here and knows to keep his mouth shut instead of going down the rabbit hole.

They also went through all the selection criteria, the listed all the international scores, which makes the decision even more clear and obvious. There is no way Skate Canada could send W/M based on any of the criteria. You simply can not perform like that during an Olympic year!!

Anyways it is a good listen with some good points!!

Very interesting. I will have to go watch TSL to hear this.

Evelyn is going against her mother’s advice. On Instagram under one of EW’s nationals posts, her mother wrote “Always go high”. I assumed it was a Michelle Obama reference….”when they go low we go high”. Evelyn going to the media is not going high.

 

[overedge]

Evelyn is going against her mother’s advice. On Instagram under one of EW’s nationals posts, her mother wrote “Always go high”. I assumed it was a Michelle Obama reference….”when they go low we go high”. Evelyn going to the media is not going high.

I disagree. Skate Canada's behaviour is going low. Raising questions about that behaviour is going high.

 

[angi]

I don't understand why anyone would give TSL even a shred of credibility on this matter. Both Evelyn and Allison went on record with their comments, and Meagan was the one to share the article with "worth a read". Since Meagan is seemingly supporting this description of events, and since she is close enough to TSL that he could easily ask her about it and get a confirmation from her, it seems like he just wanted to insert himself into the situation by trying to create more drama, which is his favorite way of acting.

 

[kwanfan1818]

Did she go to the media, or did the media go to her?

 

[VGThuy]

This story just gets worse and worse. Prominent skaters suggest that Skate Canada has done something hugely unfair, Duhamel points to an article where Vanessa supposedly says something that suggests that SC picked J/R before the selection window was closed...and now it's possible that Vanessa never said such a thing? Is there any actual proof that SC made their selection in violation of the rules? If not, among the many things that have gone wrong here, it looks like a group of SC members tried to make more of the public turn against J/R, and that looks gross.

What proof though? A witness saying it didn’t happen? That one witness would weigh against other witnesses who also said they were there, including Evelyn Walsh herself who was the one who quoted James.

 

[mackiecat]

This story just gets worse and worse. Prominent skaters suggest that Skate Canada has done something hugely unfair, Duhamel points to an article where Vanessa supposedly says something that suggests that SC picked J/R before the selection window was closed...and now it's possible that Vanessa never said such a thing? Is there any actual proof that SC made their selection in violation of the rules? If not, among the many things that have gone wrong here, it looks like a group of SC members tried to make more of the public turn against J/R, and that looks gross.

The criteria to be named to the Olympic team has been posted publicly on skate Canada site since July. It was emailed to all members. Anyone who can read would know that J/R would be named. W/T only outside chance would be to beat KMT at Nationals. W/M by the way, had only the 5th best score of the Canadians on the Grand Prix. Well below the scores posted of J/R. Their “ amazing nationals skate” didn’t even score higher than what J/R scored international.

 

[chantilly]

I disagree. Skate Canada's behaviour is going low. Raising questions about that behaviour is going high.

Only if it’s warranted.

Which I don’t think has been proven as yet. To the positive or negative.

So far it’s just conjecture, assumption and gossip.

I’m not saying things were handled particularly well.

But I also don’t think EW is being honest or realistic about the entire situation,i.e., that SC stated from the beginning that the international season was going to be weighed in the choice for the team.

Something went awry with communication for sure although who knows. I have yet to look at TSL( ugh Dave Lease and his gossip mongering) but I will.

Anyway I hope it all comes out in the wash and I hope Meagan starts to keep her mouth shut.

She’s clearly biased and while I think she makes some points and can be fair, she’s clearly still emotionally invested and it’s impeding her judgement IMO.

 

[Lara]

And I wouldn’t say Evelyn has much to lose at this point. If SC had any genuine intention of supporting them in the future they’d have been named to Worlds.

 

[mackiecat]

What proof though? A witness saying it didn’t happen? That one witness would weigh against other witnesses who also said they were there, including Evelyn Walsh herself who was the one who quoted James.

A witness “ with no skin in the game“ would be a much more unbiased witnes. BTW have you all not seen Megan’s Insta story where she backtracked and acknowledged that Skate Canada did follow their criteria in choosing J/R

 

[Winnipeg]

It seems to me that if J/R were picked, it was based on better performances during the seasons than W/T. I really like both teams and I was quite disappointed with W/T during the season as I felt they could do much better. They showed that to be true at Canadians!

SC probably decided before the event that unless W/T won the national title, they would go with J/R based on past seasons. If W/T had won the title, this would then have been a decision between MT/M and J/R. Right?

Regardless, I suggest that if true that the pair found out by Twitter, that was clearly insensitive and in some ways disrespectful.

 

[VGThuy]

A witness “ with no skin in the game“ would be a much more unbiased witnes. BTW have you all not seen Megan’s Insta story where she backtracked and acknowledged that Skate Canada did follow their criteria in choosing J/R

It depends. Who is this witness, what are their ties to Skate Canada and Vanessa James, do they have their own motivations? All of this can be parsed out with a good direct and cross examination. And to believe one we have to believe that Evelyn lied about hearing what she heard. The other stuff about Skate Canada not following protocols are related but separate issues from whether Evelyn (and others who said they heard it) lied about hearing James say what she said.

I just have a hard time believing Evelyn would put herself out there just to lie about something that could be easily disprovable if she did lie about it. I’m not saying she heard it in the right context. I’m also making no further judgment about Skate Canada’s actions or whether J/R deserve their placement. Those are all related but separate issues. Right now, I’m interested in whether Evelyn lied or is telling her truth and believes or knows she heard what she heard.