2024–25 Canadian Women: News and Updates

[Skate Talker]

Meant to say too that for me at any rate it is less heartbreaking that 10th place was over 3 points ahead of Madeline's score and not just a whisker, like the LTU dance team missing the Free Dance and an Olympic berth by .01.
Though likely Madeline feels differently.

 

[honey]

Kind of interesting conversation on this podcast with Kaetlyn Osmond.

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-one-with-kaetlyn-osmond/id1654245018?i=1000697649085

I don’t think I’d ever heard the extend of her back injury during the Olympic year. She said it happened at SCI that season. She said they really had to cut back on her hours and numbers of jumps because of it. And some of her spins she only did in competition because of it.

And I find it somewhat shocking that they left the decision to her as to whether to skate both pieces of the team event. Let’s say she had decided to do both, I would have been absolutely livid if I were Daleman and national champion and world bronze medalist the year before and wasn’t given the opportunity by the federation to skate in the team event . I know she’d had a bit of a tough fall season, but her results probably should have been enough for her to be given that spot out right. I also would have said that the talk at the time was that Daleman was always going to be the one to do the free skate.

Also coming through very clearly is how much Kaetlyn never believed she was good enough to be one of the best. Which is too bad because, girl! You were one of the best ever. Going back and watching 2018, her skating holds up extremely well and the quality is so clear.

I think she’s had a bit of tough road since retiring, and still seems a bit at odds with her relationship with skating. But she seems happy now going to school and I wish her the best.

 

[Wyliefan]

I read a blog post by Kaetlyn about her experience at Worlds right after the Olympics that left me reeling. She really did have a tough time. As I remember it, she was so exhausted already, Worlds pushed her almost to breaking point. (I don't think the post is up anymore; she seems to have taken the blog down at some point.) I've always loved her skating, but I feel so much for what she went through. Glad she's in a better place mentally and emotionally.

And I will never again look askance at any skater who opts not to go to a post-Olympic Worlds.

 

[manhn]

I just listened to the podcast during my run today. Good interview, but I thought who skated in the short and in the long (if the team made it to the long) was submitted prior to the competition. And only something like injury would a substitution be allowed. I suspect Gabby has her own version of the truth.

 

[kwanfan1818]

For the TE, they have to provide a list of potential skaters for both programs. There's a deadline before the RD/SP's by which they have to declare the skaters for those programs. If they don't declare a substitute a certain amount of time after the RD/SP's, it's assumed, if they make the final, that the same skaters will do the FD/FS's.

I don't know if they can put a sub for each discipline in the initial pool and then decide which to sub in for the frees, or if they have to limit themselves to a max of two potential substitutes in the initial list. And, if they use a skater or team from the additional allotment pool, that skater or team can't be subbed.

 

[Alilou]

Kind of interesting conversation on this podcast with Kaetlyn Osmond.

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-one-with-kaetlyn-osmond/id1654245018?i=1000697649085

I don’t think I’d ever heard the extend of her back injury during the Olympic year. She said it happened at SCI that season. She said they really had to cut back on her hours and numbers of jumps because of it. And some of her spins she only did in competition because of it.

And I find it somewhat shocking that they left the decision to her as to whether to skate both pieces of the team event. Let’s say she had decided to do both, I would have been absolutely livid if I were Daleman and national champion and world bronze medalist the year before and wasn’t given the opportunity by the federation to skate in the team event . I know she’d had a bit of a tough fall season, but her results probably should have been enough for her to be given that spot out right. I also would have said that the talk at the time was that Daleman was always going to be the one to do the free skate.

Also coming through very clearly is how much Kaetlyn never believed she was good enough to be one of the best. Which is too bad because, girl! You were one of the best ever. Going back and watching 2018, her skating holds up extremely well and the quality is so clear.

I think she’s had a bit of tough road since retiring, and still seems a bit at odds with her relationship with skating. But she seems happy now going to school and I wish her the best.

Which podcast is it on? This link just takes me to the Apple podcasts home page. Thanks.

 

[manhn]

The podcast is called Speakeasy with Kendra Fisher. An hour and 10 minutes long. Well worth the listen. Osmond always seems sad to me, but good for her ok working on herself.

 

[Karen-W]

I just listened to the podcast during my run today. Good interview, but I thought who skated in the short and in the long (if the team made it to the long) was submitted prior to the competition. And only something like injury would a substitution be allowed. I suspect Gabby has her own version of the truth.

No, the feds don't have to decide who skates until after all of the SP/RDs are completed for the TE.

They have to submit the names of any skaters they might want to use before the TE starts - basically, everyone on the Olympic team in any disciple is included. They then decide prior to the SP/RD draw who is doing the first round, which doesn't eliminate anyone from the initial list for use in the FS/FD.

Once the SP/RDs are done, the feds then determine whether or not there will be any substitutions & in which disciplines - two max. Those have to be submitted within 15 min of the conclusion of the SP/RD segment and the first FS/FD happens the same day, so the feds generally know who will be substituted (if anyone), but there is a window there where they could, in theory, change their plan.

ETA - actually, the timeline is even looser than what I stated above.

For 2018 -
TE Day 1 - 10am local - names of the skaters/teams for the TE Men's SP & TE Pairs SP
TE Day 2 - 10am local - names of the skater/team for the TE Ice Dance SD & TE Ladies SP
TE Day 2 - 10 min following conclusion of the TE D2 SD/SP during the Team Leader meeting - names of the skaters/teams for the TE Pairs FS
TE Day 2 - during the Team Leader meeting following the conclusion of the TE Pairs FS - names of the skaters/teams for the TE Men's FS, TE Ladies FS & TE Ice Dance FD

I suppose it's possible that Kaetlyn was given the option of doing both, but I distinctly recall Scott Moir, Duhamel/Radford & Skate Canada (Slipchuk, maybe?) making it clear that their goal was to win that TE gold, which was why they did not split most of the disciplines. I always thought it made sense, given that Gabby had won World bronze the year before, that the Ladies were split, and it definitely made sense to not split Men or Pairs, but it seemed greedy to me to not have used Weaver/Poje in one of the dance segments - especially once Canada had an 8-pt lead over Russia after the TE Pairs FS.

 

[Alilou]

The podcast is called Speakeasy with Kendra Fisher. An hour and 10 minutes long. Well worth the listen. Osmond always seems sad to me, but good for her ok working on herself.

Thanks

 

[Sonata]

Unable to see Sara-Maude Dupuis’s SP as the ISU video cuts off after a few notes. Is it a copyright issue? Can this woman get a break on these broadcasts - first her name (“Dupois”), now her program. (J/k)

 

[honey]

Unable to see Sara-Maude Dupuis’s SP as the ISU video cuts off after a few notes. Is it a copyright issue? Can this woman get a break on these broadcasts - first her name (“Dupois”), now her program. (J/k)

https://youtu.be/JQ-WJM3WwAw?si=IKeY59og1YQOiF1M

 

[Sonata]

https://youtu.be/JQ-WJM3WwAw?si=IKeY59og1YQOiF1M

Thanks! Wonder why it’s cut from the live stream playback.

 

[victorskid]

Thanks! Wonder why it’s cut from the live stream playback.

There were technical problems when the live stream was happening - for both Sara-Maude & Lea.

 

[withwings]

Unable to see Sara-Maude Dupuis’s SP as the ISU video cuts off after a few notes. Is it a copyright issue? Can this woman get a break on these broadcasts - first her name (“Dupois”), now her program. (J/k)

With my unprofessional eyes this Canadian girl has developed her own distinctive style- she skated so powerfully, convincingly. imho she was underscored; deserved little bit more in PCS

 

[Sonata]

There were technical problems when the live stream was happening - for both Sara-Maude & Lea.

Thanks!

With my unprofessional eyes this Canadian girl has developed her own distinctive style- she skated so powerfully, convincingly. imho she was underscored; deserved little bit more in PCS

I thought the same. I had thought maybe she had missed something, but she didn’t. She seems to have a bit of cult following (in a good way) - skating style makes me think of late 80-early 90s.

 

[Skate Talker]

Sara-Maude's power reminds me of Kaori. Definitely deserves more PCS.

 

[honey]

I thought Madeline showed a lot of gumption in the free at WTT. Throwing in the 3T off the flip after the lutz was shaky and also going for the second 3Z later.

Also, this gala skate is a pretty substantial step forward in demonstration of skating skills for her. She couldn’t have done this a couple of years ago. Still work to do, but it’s nice to see improvement.

https://youtu.be/eXJdMVgkEFk?si=ssL0-ksQQ4uiC4OP

 

[bladesofgorey]

I thought Madeline showed a lot of gumption in the free at WTT. Throwing in the 3T off the flip after the lutz was shaky and also going for the second 3Z later.

Also, this gala skate is a pretty substantial step forward in demonstration of skating skills for her. She couldn’t have done this a couple of years ago. Still work to do, but it’s nice to see improvement.

https://youtu.be/eXJdMVgkEFk?si=ssL0-ksQQ4uiC4OP

I thought this was the best I've ever seen her look in terms of posture, body flow, and movement. Especially through her arms to her fingertips. Really good. Complete absence of claw hands even.

 

[withwings]

Totally agree re her Gala skate. Also, Madeline's white dress is really elegant.
I do not like her LP, nor her dress choice in LP. If she is intended to keep this program for the next season....hmmm, I doubt it is a wise decision but I would be happy to be wrong.

 

[Aceon6]

Despite wanting to like any Canadian female who is even mildly competitive, I still find Schizas forgettable and often propped up in comparison to others of similar skill and skating quality. Sorry, Maddie.

 

[Coco]

Harsh! When she's on, she really brings an intensity that is quite memorable. I wonder how she would fare with a Peter T. choreographed program, but we'll never know.

 

[Former Lurve Goddess]

I agree about the intensity when's she on. Plus I love Schizas' resting bitch face. She's never going to be a podium contender but she has improved over the years.

 

[honey]

I tend to find her quite engaging in a short program, but the longs are often more forgettable. I’m not sure if this is entirely choreography related, or she is just more tense in a long or what it is.

But she’s had a couple short programs that have solid choreography that she has performed well. I don’t think they have cracked the code yet in any of her free skates. I also agree that this current free skate is just ok. Firmly in the “it’s fine” category for me. Maybe they will add to it over the summer, but I kind of expect more of the same next season.

And agree as well that the dress isn’t right. She is so tiny that I find all the appliqués are too much on such a small frame. Simple would be better. But I expect there will be a new dress for next season, so here’s hoping for better.

 

[Aceon6]

Firmly in the “it’s fine” category for me

That’s why I don’t find her all that memorable. If she had a match between face, choreo, and costume, I might find her more watchable. Maybe something based on animé?

 

[withwings]

Who choreographed Maddie's Gala program? in Gala skate she really was a "full package"

 

[fan]

I tend to find her quite engaging in a short program, but the longs are often more forgettable. I’m not sure if this is entirely choreography related, or she is just more tense in a long or what it is.

But she’s had a couple short programs that have solid choreography that she has performed well. I don’t think they have cracked the code yet in any of her free skates. I also agree that this current free skate is just ok. Firmly in the “it’s fine” category for me. Maybe they will add to it over the summer, but I kind of expect more of the same next season.

And agree as well that the dress isn’t right. She is so tiny that I find all the appliqués are too much on such a small frame. Simple would be better. But I expect there will be a new dress for next season, so here’s hoping for better.

i agree on all of these points

 

[Sonata]

Who choreographed Maddie's Gala program? in Gala skate she really was a "full package"

They picked an incredible looking photo of her for the thumbnail so I clicked to watch. I was disappointed to see her posture and arm carriage problems were still present.

I have to agree the long program dress needs to be changed as it screams wallpaper to me. I like the music but it begs comparison to Lu Chen and Karen Chen, who had a lot of artistic flair. I actually thought Danse Macabre was a good pick for music as she seems to need music that is intense to carry her skating, but it seems she didn’t connect to it.

 

[withwings]

They picked an incredible looking photo of her for the thumbnail so I clicked to watch. I was disappointed to see her posture and arm carriage problems were still present.

I have to agree the long program dress needs to be changed as it screams wallpaper to me. I like the music but it begs comparison to Lu Chen and Karen Chen, who had a lot of artistic flair. I actually thought Danse Macabre was a good pick for music as she seems to need music that is intense to carry her skating, but it seems she didn’t connect to it.

IMHO Dance Macabre was perfect for her! And she was able to skate it with a flair. It seems to me that her nerves stands on her way for LP's in general, it might be too much of thinking and analyzing before long programs. she has to learn to relax her mind from Alysa Liu!