WEAVER AND POJE: The Future is Golden

[~tapdancer~]

Wow, just wow. That SD! The speed, the unison, the dancing! Perfection. Again the twizzles and that midline step were superb. They have been working their butts off since ACI, that much is clear! Thrilled with their score, they deserved it.

 

[aftershocks]

Wow, I love Kaitlyn's dress. It was very pretty and unusual with the flower motif, matched by the flowers in her hair. WeavPo were wonderful, but that was extremely close between W/P and Hub/Don. I really like both of these teams and the Shibs as well, so I'd have a very difficult time with the scoring. But all things considered, I'd probably have the Shibs come in slightly higher than WeavPo with how they performed at Rostelecom Cup. And I'd have H/D in a close third of those three teams. (In fact, Shibs were scored 77.30 in SD in Russia and W/P were scored 77.47 in SD at Skate Canada; however, it's never a good idea to try and strictly compare scores from event to event due to differing venue, judging panel, and politics involved in individual settings).

There are so many wonderful teams in ice dance. It's too bad that politics is definitely going to be at play, especially when everyone performs well. It is so nice to see W/P stepping it up though. ITA that W/P have been putting in the hard work. They seem to be energized by having gone back to Je Suis Malade. Good for them.

It's a done deal that V/M have come back and are most likely going to be anointed with another OGM. Still it's never over till it's over. But it's almost as if V/M coming back is what jump-started W/P into realizing that they had to own their skating and to go beyond what they ever thought they could in order to be highly competitive and to win better respect and rewards.

 

[Marta24]

I absolutely loved their Short Dance last night. I`ve to admit that I didn`t like their choices first, but now I can see that this is working really well for them. For me this performance felt like a little come back for Kaitlyn and Andrew. The last two season they seemed a little lost and when they were done with their Short Dance last night, I thought this is the Kaitlyn and Andrew I fell in love with. Now, I`m impatiently waiting for their Je suis malade.

 

[nuge]

It's a done deal that V/M have come back and are most likely going to be anointed with another OGM. Still it's never over till it's over.

A lot can happen perhaps V/M will win but a done deal I hope not

 

[aftershocks]

A lot can happen perhaps V/M will win but a done deal I hope not

^^ Hmmm, V/M are most certainly favored, but of course they well know that anything can happen. They are definitely working their butts off to try and ensure that the deal gets done the way they desire. P/C and other teams will have something to say about how the deal turns out. And M-F Dubreuil/P Lauzon/Haguenauer are an incredible team.

ETA:
And anyway, I only said that it's a done deal that V/M have come back... Then I said they most likely (not definitely) will win another OGM.

 

[Marta24]

FD practice https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mxq1tHXjoqc&t=

Still love this Free Dance after all those years

 

[DFJ]

That was beautiful.

 

[~tapdancer~]

So glad they went back to JeSuisMalade, you could tell how much this program speaks to them. It was so beautifully skated and their connection never fails to move me. Was exciting to see for a moment their tech score so high...but this program will just get better, I know, hard to believe they have only been training it 3 weeks and it's this good already. I love both their programs this year and will be rooting for them all the way!

 

[~tapdancer~]

I just freaking love WeaPo's SD. Seeing other SD's, their's is just so fun and Latin. And I will readily admit that V/M has amazing skating skills but that SD they are doing just doesn't feel latin at all to me. I thought WeaPo's Rhumba was excellent as well, such clean edges. So many great ice dance teams right now, I'm glad to see WeaPo in the top mix, I think their SD score at SC is right up there near the top. I will be rooting for them all the way, I dream big for them.

 

[~tapdancer~]

Very excited to see WeaPo again at France GP this weekend. I've fallen into this ubering thing again, lol. But yeah, they are such beautiful skaters and I love their engaging interaction on social media, they are very friendly to fans. Listened to a podcast that PJKwong did with them at Skate Canada...the comments they made about each other was amazing, rock-solid partnership there, the love just shines out.

 

[puglover]

Does anybody know what WeaPo plan for after the Olympics? I assume they will do World's but have they spoken of retirement?

 

[Emilia12]

Does anybody know what WeaPo plan for after the Olympics? I assume they will do World's but have they spoken of retirement?

They never said anything directly, but in their interviews earlier in a season, especially the ones after High performance camp, they pretty much suggested that this is their last season. At least that's what I got from it

 

[~tapdancer~]

Not a great SD at GP France, Andrew crashed into boards on warm up and fell. Think it shook him up. I am confident FD will be better! Can't beat Je Suis Malade. I am still rooting for them!!

 

[arakwafan2006]

Comment removed because I’d be a complete asshole to leave it given Andrew’s injury.

Speedy recovery!!

 

[~tapdancer~]

You never know what's going on with these tough skaters! Per twitter...they almost withdrew because Kaitlyn has a displaced rib. Then Andrew takes that hard fall into the boards during warm up. Saw a pic on twitter, his right knee is iced, looked like. Kaitlyn's dress caught his skate and tore. They still scored a 68+, despite big twizzle mishap. I'm so proud of them and I don't even care what the score is anyway because they are so strong and committed all the time. I know they will get through this. And even if they are done with GP (not sure if they are skating tomorrow yet), they will train hard for the rest of season, I'm sure. And I also had a flashback to D/W being 8th at CoR with a disasterous OD that comp and coming back to take bronze medal. Whatever happens I am still with WeaPo all the way!

 

[starrynight]

I'm kind of torn between hoping they will make a big comeback in the free dance to wondering if they should withdraw and take time to heal these injuries. Particularly if Andrew's back and knee are hurt, there might be more to gain from resting the injuries and not aggravating them further. Also it must hurt like hell for Kaitlyn to have slipped a rib!! That has probably caused them to lose training time.

What really matters is how they skate in the important second half of the season. No point in making injuries worse now. It would be terrible to push injuries in the GP series only to have that impact on their fitness for the Olympics.

What is it about the quad cycle that by the time everyone turns up at the Olympics they are all just taped together just about ready to break with joints etc just hanging on?

 

[skatfan]

You never know what's going on with these tough skaters! Per twitter...they almost withdrew because Kaitlyn has a displaced rib. Then Andrew takes that hard fall into the boards during warm up. Saw a pic on twitter, his right knee is iced, looked like. Kaitlyn's dress caught his skate and tore. They still scored a 68+, despite big twizzle mishap. I'm so proud of them and I don't even care what the score is anyway because they are so strong and committed all the time. I know they will get through this. And even if they are done with GP (not sure if they are skating tomorrow yet), they will train hard for the rest of season, I'm sure. And I also had a flashback to D/W being 8th at CoR with a disasterous OD that comp and coming back to take bronze medal. Whatever happens I am still with WeaPo all the way!

Wow, you couldn't tell from the performance today that they had all that going on. These skaters are tough.

 

[Anyasnake]

Wow, you couldn't tell from the performance today that they had all that going on. These skaters are tough.

No you couldn't. They start with the Pst, and I felt like I hadn't seen them do that kind of edgework in some time. It was SO good, I was so impressed.
I really am sad for them but they are definitely in the run for that 3rd place. But health first because Olympic season !

 

[cocotaffy]

I was gutted for them yesterday. I have never been very receptive to their skating, but their SD is one of the best this year. Love the music, the costumes, the atmosphere. First time I enjoy them so much. I wish them a speedy recovery.

 

[~tapdancer~]

Saw a practice vid this morning for their FD, they look okay! Hoping for a great skate from them today, still doable for a medal. They are just awesome. Fighters!!

 

[DFJ]

Awww...that was so nice -- people crying in the audience along with Kaitlyn.

 

[Rafter]

Wow major props to Kaitlyn skating with a rib injury. I had cracked ribs in university after getting whooping cough and it was so painful. Anything rib related is almost unbearable.

Andrew looked like he was limping off the ice. Wonder how his knees are?

 

[skatefan]

sorry, wrong thread

 

[~tapdancer~]

It's always the short dance that matters...still so proud of the way they skated! They are indeed fighters. I know they will continue to fight, they have so much to be proud of, beautiful skaters and so good to their fans! Stay strong, Kaitlyn and Andrew!

 

[firstflight]

Aside from the step sequences, they had a couple of more "random" lower levels in the FD-- on the combination spin and the straight-line lift. I'm suspect these can be attributed to them being delicate because of her rib injury. So, hopefully, they can have a strong performance at Canadians and head into the Olympics with confidence.

 

[Rafter]

I wish Kaitlyn could clean up some of her positions. There are quite a few moments in the FD where she doesn't have a pointed toe or enough stretch.

 

[~tapdancer~]

Aside from the step sequences, they had a couple of more "random" lower levels in the FD-- on the combination spin and the straight-line lift. I'm suspect these can be attributed to them being delicate because of her rib injury. So, hopefully, they can have a strong performance at Canadians and head into the Olympics with confidence.

The spin was a litttle off but the straight-line lift? That was beautiful. Hmm. Good GOE's (could be better) on that but was called level 3, I don't know why. I also thought their diagonal step was L4, those were some really clean edges. But what do I know? I have no doubt they will bounce back. They will be ready for Olympics. No matter what happens there, they will represent Canada beautifully.

 

[beebee]

I’m sure they lost a level on the SL lift because of the exit. At SC, Andrew set Kaitlyn down in sort of a spread eagle and here he just put her straight down. Therefore, the required difficult exit feature was not met. Too bad, because I thought the rest of the lift was superior here.

 

[~tapdancer~]

You know, I'm feeling happy that WeaPo are able to rest right now and heal. Hope they have a Merry Christmas and spend some time just enjoying themselves. The way things are right now with the scores in ice dance, it seems like a crazy mad free-for-all and it's just insane. Except for the Shibs, Skate America had some pretty low scores. Then there's P/C with their insanely high scores. I'm not even sure what the judges (and more importantly the caller) is looking for this season. Olympic seasons are always so stressful!

So rest up, Kaitlyn and Andrew, and I know you two will be working incredibly hard for the rest of the season. Love both the programs this season and no matter what they will show us their hearts like they always do.

 

[DreamsofBliss]

At one point they were slated to do the Christmas on Ice show in Japan, did they withdraw from that?