2023-24 Canadian Men: News and Updates

[Desperado]

Being tall is a permanent hindrance.

And heartbreak. Moving away shouldn’t be seen as a defeat,

 

[Winnipeg]

I don't quite get the "heart break and moving" issues noted above?

Injury is definitely a problem though. The level of training required to get quads consistently must place a huge strain on the body.

Maybe more emphasis needs to be placed on off ice training to strengthen the body and prevent injury? I recall Megan Duhamel was very good at taking a holistic approach to her skating and training and it certainly worked for her.

I wonder if she is coaching? She'd be good. Tough but good

 

[skategal]

What happened to the pool of “way too short for hockey” guys that used to populate the field?

There are so many hockey leagues now that “way too short for hockey” doesn’t really exist anymore.

Plus other sports such as soccer and tennis (that’s just the first two to come to mind) have come on strong as well for Canadians.

Other sports organizations have done great jobs with the marketing to increase participation in those sports.

 

[Winnipeg]

Cost is a factor for sure; soccer is far less costly than FS but tennis not so sure.

 

[Alilou]

I don't quite get the "heart break and moving" issues noted above?

Injury is definitely a problem though. The level of training required to get quads consistently must place a huge strain on the body.

Maybe more emphasis needs to be placed on off ice training to strengthen the body and prevent injury? I recall Megan Duhamel was very good at taking a holistic approach to her skating and training and it certainly worked for her.

I wonder if she is coaching? She'd be good. Tough but good

Megan's coaching is focused entirely on off-ice training. She found her niche, and loves it.

 

[Winnipeg]

Wow, I did not know that and good for her! More skaters should pursue this as a part of their overall training.

 

[Desperado]

I don't quite get the "heart break and moving" issues noted above?

You haven’t quoted me but I assume you wanted me to answer this if not, my apologies.

I find that there’s only so much time, money, effort and health a person should devote to something where they can’t seem to succeed to a level they are content with obtaining. There’s a big world out there and many professional options. Skating is a small world and it may lead athletes to assume it’s the only path when it’s not.

 

[skategal]

Cost is a factor for sure; soccer is far less costly than FS but tennis not so sure.

Tennis is a lot cheaper here. At least at the recreation levels.

We pay about $20 per group lesson with max of 6 students.

Even at the competitive level here it would only be about 5K per year for 5 times a week instruction.

 

[Rafter]

Megan's coaching is focused entirely on off-ice training. She found her niche, and loves it.

Does Megan’s off ice training include ballet, Pilates or pointing toes? That is one thing that is missing with most Canadian skaters out side the ice dance event. One example is Ava Kemp.

Now Martina Ariano-Kent is another story.

 

[Former Lurve Goddess]

Does Megan’s off ice training include ballet, Pilates or pointing toes? That is one thing that is missing with most Canadian skaters out side the ice dance event. One example is Ava Kemp.

Now Martina Ariano-Kent is another story.

I can’t quite envision pointed toes and Duhamel in the same sentence.

 

[Alilou]

Does Megan’s off ice training include ballet, Pilates or pointing toes? That is one thing that is missing with most Canadian skaters out side the ice dance event. One example is Ava Kemp.

Now Martina Ariano-Kent is another story.

No, it's about developing the right kind of strength, agility, balance, jumps and spins, etc. She has all these different exercises and simple equipment.

ETA: I'm pretty sure she includes pilates

 

[Rafter]

I can’t quite envision pointed toes and Duhamel in the same sentence.

True however in later years she did point her toes in lifts and transition moves.

 

[Former Lurve Goddess]

True however in later years she did point her toes in lifts and transition moves.

I like to snark on Meagan but it’s obvious she worked very hard on her weaknesses during the later part of her career. Someone like that often makes for a better coach than an athlete for whom everything comes naturally.

 

[victorskid]

Well, Roman's travel woes weren't over - he posted an Instagram story from the Calgary airport that his midnight flight back to Toronto had been delayed to 4 a.m. and some other skaters had made the "rookie mistake" of being on the same flight as he was.

 

[kwanfan1818]

Yay for having a sense of humor despite it all. He must feel snake-bitten at this point.

 

[HaNguyen]

You know, if I had an athletic child I would put him/her/them in soccer as playing that sport can lead to a real career.

 

[Alilou]

No, it's about developing the right kind of strength, agility, balance, jumps and spins, etc. She has all these different exercises and simple equipment.

ETA: I'm pretty sure she includes pilates

Quoting myself to share a short insta vid of one of Meagan's classes

Meagan Duhamel on Instagram: "Super proud of the off ice program I’ve built! Over 20 years of personal experience has helped me develop a program to help the skaters of today reach their potential in figure skating! Today’s focus was strengthening

348 likes, 12 comments - meaganduhamel on January 15, 2024: "Super proud of the off ice program I’ve built! Over 20 years of personal experience has helped ..."

www.instagram.com

 

[screech]

Kudos to Wesley for a clean skate and new PB in the short at 4 Continents. He's in the final warm up for the FS.

Also, though not perfect, good job to Roman too. He intentionally did a double axel and only got a triple lutz/double toe for the combo, but did the quad salchow. A SP win for him.

I haven't seen video of Conrad's skate, but based on the protocol it seems he was the token Canadian man of the group. Looks like he had falls on his quad toe and triple axel, but landed a quad salchow/double toe combo.

Scores are Wesley in 6th with 83.50, Roman 11th with 72.44, and Conrad 17th with 65.07. It should be interesting if SC is planning to use 4CC to determine the worlds team, since Roman doesn't have an insurmountable advantage over Conrad going into the FP.

 

[4rkidz]

Assuming two for worlds I would guess Wesley and Roman? I would be good with that.

 

[screech]

Assuming two for worlds I would guess Wesley and Roman? I would be good with that.

I'm assuming that will be the case. Wesley is a no brainer., and though not perfect, Roman definitely outshone Conrad in the results here. Roman is always a wild card, but I think Skate Canada will be giving him a bit of leeway this year, since the first half of his season was one big ordeal, and he's shown improvement between Canadians and Four Continents.

 

[puglover]

I am happy for Wesley. He seems to me to be slightly an under the radar skater who has been making a name for himself these last few years.

 

[coppertop1]

I'm assuming that will be the case. Wesley is a no brainer., and though not perfect, Roman definitely outshone Conrad in the results here. Roman is always a wild card, but I think Skate Canada will be giving him a bit of leeway this year, since the first half of his season was one big ordeal, and he's shown improvement between Canadians and Four Continents.

Who among our men isn't a wildcard?

 

[ice coverage]

David Li and his YOG experience were featured on IOC Young Reporters channel on YouTube:

David Li's Journey: Chasing Dreams at Gangwon 2024

Join us on an inspiring journey with young Canadian figure skater David Li at the 2024 Gangwon Winter Youth Olympic Games. Produced by IOC Young Reporters Ha...

www.youtube.com

(9:12, posted on Jan 31)​

[I have no idea whether it was posted earlier in Kiss and Cry.]

 

[Sylvia]

Junior Worlds results:

8th Aleksa RAKIC CAN 211.74 4 9 (2 ISU PB/SB scores of 77.74 SP, 211.74 total)

15th Anthony PARADIS CAN 193.61 21 10 (all ISU PB/SB scores of 63.19 SP, 130.42 FS, 193.61 total)

Aleksa Rakic (post by his coach; includes a pic of him with Martina & Charly): https://www.instagram.com/p/C4EPkntSl_u/

Anthony Paradis’ post with photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/C4LJCJsL87O/

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

 

[Sylvia]

Wesley Chiu's appearance on CTV's Morning Live in Vancouver earlier today:

Figure Skater Prepares for World Championship

Canadian Figure Skater, Wesley Chiu stops by CTV Morning Live to share his exciting preparations for the World Figure Skating Championship!

bc.ctvnews.ca

Jordan Cowan filmed the final section of Roman Sadovsky's SP last week: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4dRPEure81/

 

[Sylvia]

Excerpts from Wesley's media call today (7 tweets total): https://twitter.com/ClaireCloutier/status/1768015979932455272

Chiu spoke of his progress this season. "I remember meeting with Keegan [Murphy, his coach], and he told me that my goals should be to go to Worlds & to win Nationals. And I sort of laughed, because at that time, it seemed a little bit unattainable. But here we are now." [...]
He's working on quad Salchow and quad Lutz, but will stick with just quad toe loop for Worlds.

 

[Sylvia]

Roman uploaded a 10-minute vlog today (March 14, 2024) that recaps Nationals, 4CC & includes practice footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhvvBei2-2Q

 

[Sylvia]

Judith D. interviewed Anthony Paradis in Taipei for Golden Skate (uploaded March 17, 2024):

Anthony Paradis: A peek behind the glam

Anthony Paradis Anthony Paradis burst onto the scene at the 2024 Canadian National Championships where he unexpectedly came in third with two exquisite performances. Unlike many skaters his age, Paradis […]

www.goldenskate.com

Link to watch (18 mins.): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGPhs9rDI_w

 

[screech]

ROMSKY!!!! Fantastic SP - no pops and no falls. Marked a little lower than I expected (84.28) especially considering it was a stunning program, but I'm guessing he got a q or UR on the second half of his combo.

 

[Former Lurve Goddess]

It was amazing to see live!

ROMSKY!!!! Fantastic SP - no pops and no falls. Marked a little lower than I expected (84.28) especially considering it was a stunning program, but I'm guessing he got a q or UR on the second half of his combo.