Canadian Ice Dance 2018-19 season news & updates

[screech]

I have to say, I'm disappointed that Paul Poirier hasn't put any hobbies on his ISU bio this year. I always like seeing what funny things he and Piper come up with. This year, in addition to her dog, Piper's hobbies include "talking people out of buying orange sweaters."

 

[quartz]

I have to say, I'm disappointed that Paul Poirier hasn't put any hobbies on his ISU bio this year. I always like seeing what funny things he and Piper come up with. This year, in addition to her dog, Piper's hobbies include "talking people out of buying orange sweaters."

I would never buy an orange sweater.

 

[Sylvia]

Yuka Orihara can't compete internationally until after February 2, 2019 because she and her former JPN partner competed at Mentor Torun Cup earlier this year: http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00102355.htm

Confirmation that Orihara/Royer are competing in Canada this season - they are scheduled to skate at BC/YK Sectionals this week: http://www.skatinginbc.com/sites/default/files/sec19juniordancerd1so.pdf
(Japan's Senior/Junior Nationals qualifying competition for ice dance took place at the Western Section championships last weekend.)

 

[Colonel Green]

In what should surprise nobody, Fournier Beaudry and Sorensen won their sectionals event.

 

[mikeko]

Confirmation that Orihara/Royer are competing in Canada this season - they are scheduled to skate at BC/YK Sectionals this week: http://www.skatinginbc.com/sites/default/files/sec19juniordancerd1so.pdf
(Japan's Senior/Junior Nationals qualifying competition for ice dance took place at the Western Section championships last weekend.)

Orihara/Royer won BC/YK Sectionals with FD 90.90 and Total 152.32.
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6wxz1c

Does that mean they are proceeding to Junior Nats?

Meanwhile, Lee started his cloudfunding.
https://www.gofundme.com/6aaxpnc

 

[Sylvia]

Does that mean they are proceeding to Junior Nats?

All the Novice/Junior/Senior qualifiers from Sectionals plus the skaters/teams with byes through Sectionals will compete next in the final qualifier for 2019 Nationals -- Skate Canada Challenge in Edmonton, AB, November 28-December 2, 2018 (a note on the event website states that "Start Orders will be posted week of November 19, 2018").

 

[mikeko]

All the Novice/Junior/Senior qualifiers from Sectionals plus the skaters/teams with byes through Sectionals will compete next in the final qualifier for 2019 Nationals -- Skate Canada Challenge in Edmonton, AB, November 28-December 2, 2018 (a note on the event website states that "Start Orders will be posted week of November 19, 2018").

Thank you for clarifying . I am not familiar with the Canadian system.

 

[The Accordion]

I would never buy an orange sweater.

It worked!

 

[Colonel Green]

Golden Skate interview with Marjorie and Zach.

 

[Alvyne]

Article on Fournier-Beaudry Sorensen. He will have his Canadian citizenship in August 2020.

https://www.journaldequebec.com/2018/11/17/de-copenhague--a-longueuil

 

[puglover]

Loved Piper and Paul again!! I think they really stand out this year and it is a real shame they are not going to the Grand Prix Final.

 

[nimi]

^ Totally agree.

BTW, there's a thread about the FD press conference here: https://twitter.com/InTheLoPodcast/status/1066391793254715392

Paul said this:

#PaulPoirier: We had to fight through the program today, we didn’t make any errors which I’m happy about because in the past we might have done, but we had to take one element at a time. We felt very supported by the audience. (1/2)
We were disappointed not to qualify for GPF but the events we participated in had deep fields. We need to work on levels which were very low at this event (2/2)

Talking about audience support, I appreciate this moment: https://youtu.be/y2T1FvbBRK4?t=341

 

[Colonel Green]

Talking about audience support, I appreciate this moment: https://youtu.be/y2T1FvbBRK4?t=341

That woman is a poster over at GoldenSkate. She previewed the gift over there (it’s a specially made bouquet of paper sunflowers).

 

[victorskid]

Piper and Paul have been added to the entries for Golden Spin as of today. Carol Lane tweeted out her thanks to Skate Canada for making this happen.

 

[Colonel Green]

Another article on Laurence and Nikolaj.

I thought the discussion of how hard it was on them to qualify an Olympic spot when they hadn’t thought that would happen was revealing. I guess it’s one thing to think the Olympics were never an option anyway, another to watch the possibility open up then slip away.

 

[manhn]

Interesting article, although I am a bit confused why if one of their first goals was to make top 10 at Worlds, then why would have no inclination to make the Olympic team? Anyways, all the best. 4CC will be such an interesting commentary on the state of ice dance in Canada.

 

[skatingguy]

Interesting article, although I am a bit confused why if one of their first goals was to make top 10 at Worlds, then why would have no inclination to make the Olympic team? Anyways, all the best. 4CC will be such an interesting commentary on the state of ice dance in Canada.

They've got to make 4CC first - Canadian nationals will be where the interesting commentary happens. Who's the #1 team in Canada - Weaver/Poje or Gilles/Poirier? Who's the #3 team - Soucisse/Firus or Fournier Beaudry/Sorensen

 

[yurokis40]

Weaver and Poje is the number one team their international standing is superior to all the other teams, 3 time world medalists, 2 time 4cc champions, 2 time GPF champions, international judges clearly prefer them there is always like a 3 or 4 point gap internationally with them and G&P.

 

[barbarafan]

Weaver and Poje is the number one team their international standing is superior to all the other teams, 3 time world medalists, 2 time 4cc champions, 2 time GPF champions, international judges clearly prefer them there is always like a 3 or 4 point gap internationally with them and G&P.

International judges yes. But Cdn domestic judges...Monkey see Monkey do. Carol Lane has a lot of power in ID.GP's faults get glossed over (ie lack of chemistry plus Piper's skating skills)while the slightest error for W/P will get totally slammed by the judges. Fingers crossed

 

[yurokis40]

not this year I think Weaver and Poje still remain Canada's best hope for a world medal, the tango is definitely their strength and their fd is great this year, and yes Kaitlyn Weaver is an amazing skater far superior to Piper Gilles in fact I don't remember the last time Weaver had a mistake all the miscues seem to come from Poje Mainly on twizzles.

 

[Colonel Green]

International judges yes. But Cdn domestic judges...Monkey see Monkey do. Carol Lane has a lot of power in ID.GP's faults get glossed over (ie lack of chemistry plus Piper's skating skills)while the slightest error for W/P will get totally slammed by the judges. Fingers crossed

I’m not sure what you’re talking about, seeing as the only time W/P ever lost to them domestically was at 2018 Nationals when Andrew made a huge error that warranted them losing. And the judges then gave them a huge free dance score that almost put them back ahead.

 

[barbarafan]

I’m not sure what you’re talking about, seeing as the only time W/P ever lost to them domestically was at 2018 Nationals when Andrew made a huge error that warranted them losing. And the judges then gave them a huge free dance score that almost put them back ahead.

They were undermarked on PCS in the short and GP were overmarked. They should have won.

 

[Andora]

I get where people are coming from in thinking G&P could pull ahead - there has seemed to be an inordinate amount of Skate Canada support for Paul and his partners. I don't know that it's Carol Lane with THAT much power - her teams haven't exactly brought in a whack of medals. I also think Skate Canada isn't always bereft of logic when it comes to judging. W&P are better skaters - even with their own drawbacks. They skate bigger, faster, have more power, have better line & stretch -- these things matter to the judges. W&P are more in line with the teams & programs that are doing well internationally than G&P.

I would agree that W&P don't have the cushion they may have had in the past, and the judges will drop them if they're given reason to...

I am more excited to see how the Danadians do this year. I think the audience at Canadians is going to LOVE them. Poor S&F - they had an exceptional year last year, but I think they're spinning their wheels a bit this season. I'm sure they'll be better for it in the long run.

 

[Wyliefan]

I'm anxious for S/F. They're relatively young yet and have time to climb to the top. But it must be very frustrating, having come 4th at nationals two years in a row and seeing V/M step back, to suddenly face brand-new competition for 3rd at home. They have the advantage of having faced international judges several times this year, but they've struggled. Well, all we can do is wait and see. . . .

 

[Colonel Green]

They were undermarked on PCS in the short and GP were overmarked. They should have won.

When you fall on your twizzles, you can expect to be behind a team that is ranked a bit behind you when all things are even but does not fall on your twizzles. That has nothing to do with domestic versus international judges. Weaver and Poje are welcome to fall on their twizzles at 4CC to test your theory.

I'm anxious for S/F. They're relatively young yet and have time to climb to the top. But it must be very frustrating, having come 4th at nationals two years in a row and seeing V/M step back, to suddenly face brand-new competition for 3rd at home. They have the advantage of having faced international judges several times this year, but they've struggled. Well, all we can do is wait and see. . . .

Yeah, they're the ones I'm most disappointed for so far this season. I love their rhythm dance, in particular (in a sea of tango programs I mostly find forgettable, it's memorably distinctive), but it seems like it's become a point where the succession of problems in the early competitions just snowballs.

 

[Wyliefan]

My hope is that with two months (I think?) away from competition, they can take all that feedback they got, train hard, and reset.

 

[beebee]

My hope is that with two months (I think?) away from competition, they can take all that feedback they got, train hard, and reset.

Hopefully, they are getting the attention they deserve in terms of training. I don't understand the drop off in quality between this season and last. Also, I'd like to see more of a focus on Shane--he is a marvelous skater and imo, hasn't been given an opportunity to shine in their current programs.

 

[Wyliefan]

I have a few thoughts on that:

--There were reports that Carolane was injured in the summer and they lost some training time.
--The Tango Romantica pattern is just plain kicking their butts, like it's kicking the butts of a lot of other dancers. Hopefully more training time will help with that.
--The FD doesn't play to their strengths. I like the way they skate any program, because I'm a fan, but they simply are not a "50 Shades" kind of team, and MFD miscalculated when she thought this would be the program to make them look more "mature." They do well with lightness and buoyancy, not darkness and menace, and while it may not be a bad idea for them to try to work toward more dramatic programs, this was too much too soon. I hope next time they get some material that brings out their strengths instead of trying to make them be who they aren't.

 

[dramagrrl]

--The FD doesn't play to their strengths. I like the way they skate any program, because I'm a fan, but they simply are not a "50 Shades" kind of team, and MFD miscalculated when she thought this would be the program to make them look more "mature." They do well with lightness and buoyancy, not darkness and menace, and while it may not be a bad idea for them to try to work toward more dramatic programs, this was too much too soon. I hope next time they get some material that brings out their strengths instead of trying to make them be who they aren't.

If I were Gadbois, I would've swapped H/D and S/F's FDs. S/F could have pulled off a romantic Romeo and Juliet and as a lower-ranked team, they wouldn't have gotten nearly as much criticism for picking such a warhorse in a post-Olympic season. H/D can do sexy/sensual better than any other team currently competing and I think they could've handled the darker part of the program as well.

 

[Wyliefan]

If I were Gadbois, I would've swapped H/D and S/F's FDs. S/F could have pulled off a romantic Romeo and Juliet and as a lower-ranked team, they wouldn't have gotten nearly as much criticism for picking such a warhorse in a post-Olympic season. H/D can do sexy/sensual better than any other team currently competing and I think they could've handled the darker part of the program as well.

Ooh, excellent idea. Now I really wish they could do that!!