Canadian Ladies 2017-18 season news & updates

[Rock2]

As mentioned, maybe the fans will (eventually) warm up to the idea of soft. Also, Gabby's team is taking the brunt of the criticism, but is it possible that it was Gabby's choice to skate a soft (or softer) program?

Valid question but my guess is no.
You are right in that athletes are often the barrier to new directions. Typically the younger skaters are open minded but they become more conservative as they go.

But I'll point to two things:
1. Gabby was still quite young and unproven when she moved to Orser camp. I have to think the discussion at that stage is 'put yourself in our hands and we'll train and package you to get the most out of your skating'. I don't think you're asserting yourself that hard at that stage of your career when you have just moved to one of, if not the top training center in Canada. You do what you're told. And the packaging in her first year was as nauseatingly down the middle as it could have been. I suspect she has been convinced this is the path and they are sticking with it, not straying too close to the margins. Winning a world medal with this direction makes it hard to argue against it, regardless of your personal feelings.
2. When you look at Lori's approach to elite singles females, there seems to be a recurring theme. Mostly down the middle, on-the-nose choreo and packaging.

Lori is a total goddess but not everyone can execute her choreo as imagined. Her magic is working with a stable of about 50 pieces of music, but finding just the right cuts and movements to make that music special and reinvented with each athlete or team she works with.
To be able to make the choreo sing, the athlete has to embrace that every single part of the body including tilt of the head, facial expression and tips of fingers and toes, has a role to play in every second of the music. And I mean...Every. Second. That needs a certain level of ability and commitment that not everyone has. And THEN...you have to make it look natural and authentic. Very tough.

Skaters like S/H and then P/J are totally getting it. Others like Hao Zhang and Gabby are not perfectly suited. And so her PCS is limited.
This is why I'm very ok with this year's strategy for the long to find a lesser-used piece of music for her to make her own....and why the short worries me because of all the Carmens done in the past that we can admire over this.

 

[kwanfan1818]

Gabby deserves so so so much better than programs suited for Amelie Lacoste, especially in an Olympic season.

Amelie Lacoste deserved so so so much better programs than Amelie Lacoste got.

 

[danafan]

I can't get the Patinage Quebec site to load, but it appears there was a competition this week and Veronik Mallet has finally returned.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZ_7Qeqg2pH/?taken-by=veronikmallet

And a podium shot with Emy Decelles and Alexis Dion.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZ_3OGoj31-/?taken-by=emydecelles

 

[fan]

I once asked Gabby about trying different choreographers and she was aghast and told me that nichol was HER choreographer. I suspect they have a close relationship and gabby insists on using her

 

[wickedwitch]

IMO, there's not a single skater out there who wouldn't benefit from working with different choreographers on occasion. I hope Gabby looks in other directions next season.

 

[danafan]

I think with her showing this weekend in Italy, Alison Schumacher is setting herself up as the favourite for the junior worlds spot. She twice skated fairly clean shorts on the JGP and today she was going so well in the free until two splats. Still she landed a lot of nice content and she has the highest overall score of the Canadian ladies who skated on the JGP this year.

 

[screech]

I once asked Gabby about trying different choreographers and she was aghast and told me that nichol was HER choreographer. I suspect they have a close relationship and gabby insists on using her

Makes me think of a few years ago when Kaetlyn and Lance Vipond were so closely tied together. But she turned to Jeff for an exhibition program, and now Jeff is giving her successful competitive programs.

Maybe Gabby would consider branching out at least for an exhibition program (which may lead to future change...?)

 

[nadioso]

I think with her showing this weekend in Italy, Alison Schumacher is setting herself up as the favourite for the junior worlds spot. She twice skated fairly clean shorts on the JGP and today she was going so well in the free until two splats. Still she landed a lot of nice content and she has the highest overall score of the Canadian ladies who skated on the JGP this year.

Yes and I noticed of those skaters that completed 2 JGP events, Alison had the 2nd highest total score of all skaters not from RUS, JPN, KOR and USA. Only the UKR Anastasiia ARKHIPOVA outscored her from outside the 4 "powerhouse" countries.


The reason I am thinking about the standings this way is that I am thinking about JGP spots next year.

If Alison has 2 good skates at JW, then it is reasonable to think that we can get 7 guaranteed JGP spots. And those countries that get 7 guaranteed are the ones that get cracks at any unused spots. So that 7 could easily become 9 or 10.

 

[barbarafan]

I can't get the Patinage Quebec site to load, but it appears there was a competition this week and Veronik Mallet has finally returned.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZ_7Qeqg2pH/?taken-by=veronikmallet

And a podium shot with Emy Decelles and Alexis Dion.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZ_3OGoj31-/?taken-by=emydecelles

I have been totally converted to Emy Decelles this year.

 

[barbarafan]

I can't get the Patinage Quebec site to load, but it appears there was a competition this week and Veronik Mallet has finally returned.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZ_7Qeqg2pH/?taken-by=veronikmallet

And a podium shot with Emy Decelles and Alexis Dion.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZ_3OGoj31-/?taken-by=emydecelles

It looks like there was an Invitational...Carole Gauthier from Oct 6 to Oct 9th in Levis

 

[danafan]

I can't get the Patinage Quebec site to load, but it appears there was a competition this week and Veronik Mallet has finally returned.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZ_7Qeqg2pH/?taken-by=veronikmallet

And a podium shot with Emy Decelles and Alexis Dion.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZ_3OGoj31-/?taken-by=emydecelles

Okay I did some research and it appears to be a competition in Lévis, Quebec Invitation Carole Gauthier

http://cpalevis.org/wp-content/uploads/Groupes-Compétition-Invitation-Carole-Gauthier-2017.pdf

Mallet was registered for the short program only. No results yet. I'm curious if she is still on Skate Canada's radar and if she will get an international so she can get an ISU minimum tech score.

 

[danafan]

It looks like there was an Invitational...Carole Gauthier from Oct 6 to Oct 9th in Levis

Yeah we posted at the same time

Hopefully the protocols will be posted. I would love to know what elements Mallet completed.

 

[Sylvia]

From this article in French (machine translated excerpt below): http://lenord-cotier.com/six-patineuses-de-region-performent-a-competition-carole-gauthier/

For Véronik Mallet, it was the return to competition after several months of inactivity at this level. The Septilienne was very happy to reconnect with the action. "It was great fun! It's been good to be able to do all the little routine of a day of competition. It had been a year and three months that it had not happened to me. Now the ice is broken and I am concentrating to be ready for the Sectional Championships (November 3 to 5 in Boucherville)," concluded the 23-year-old.

An article in French published before this competition: http://lenord-cotier.com/veronik-mallet-doit-attendre-un-peu/

However, the condition of the 23-year-old athlete's foot improves. The third injection of cortisone proved to be the right one. The place of pain is finally found! Other appointments are planned.
...
"It's been a year since I did not compete, I'm not 100% ready.I recover the shape and catch up my jumps," said the skater. Mallet hopes to be at the Carole Gauthier Invitation Competition on the Thanksgiving weekend. It would be limited to its short program. "It is less demanding and I would be happy just to participate."

Here's hoping Mallet can continue her training and competing without pain.

 

[Rock2]

If Alison has 2 good skates at JW, then it is reasonable to think that we can get 7 guaranteed JGP spots. And those countries that get 7 guaranteed are the ones that get cracks at any unused spots. So that 7 could easily become 9 or 10.

Excellent point. I guess we have our lead horse, then.

I didn't check the protocols but I assume she didn't try a 3/3. I wonder if she's working on one or if that will be a barrier for SC to send her to JW?

 

[mag]

Excellent point. I guess we have our lead horse, then.

I didn't check the protocols but I assume she didn't try a 3/3. I wonder if she's working on one or if that will be a barrier for SC to send her to JW?

I do wish SC would stop with the 3/3 crap. Yes, it is important to have, but they have sent other skaters out without it. It seems to me they insist on a 3/3 only when it is convenient for them because they have someone in mind. For JW I think someone who can consistently get through a clean short and a cleanish long with good PCS (important when having an off jumping day) would be more important.

 

[Seerek]

Aurora and Alison are pretty much even at this point, imo. I wonder if SC will use just the nationals result to determine who goes.

As for who has the best chance to make top 10 at Jr. Worlds, that skater would likely have to beat a skater at the level of Emmy Ma or Kaitlyn Nguyen. Tough ask, imo.

 

[mag]

So I assume Aurora will be skating Senior and Allison will be skating Junior. It will be interesting to see what SC does. It will also be very interesting to see if Aurora plays spoiler in the race for the 3rd Olympic spot. She is too young to qualify, but she could conceivably push an age eligible skater out of either or both the the last warm up group for the SP and or LP. Given that PCS marks seem to increase substantially for the last flight, it could make the difference.

 

[coppertop1]

Aurora is too young to compete in the senior GP events and to go to the Olympics. Her birthday is just short of the cutoff date.

 

[barbarafan]

Excellent point. I guess we have our lead horse, then.

I didn't check the protocols but I assume she didn't try a 3/3. I wonder if she's working on one or if that will be a barrier for SC to send her to JW?

She did a double axel triple toe combination well http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1718/jgpita2017/jgpita2017_JuniorLadies_FS_Scores.pdf she came 8th.
Here is her program https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iV61ZqAwCZQ.
I found her skating lovely and the jumps really good. The only problems I could see is her lack of expression and her arms. They are not flopping around but they need to firm up. I am not sure if I can explain it properly. It is like they are just there...not strong or shaped.

 

[mag]

Aurora is too young to compete in the senior GP events and to go to the Olympics. Her birthday is just short of the cutoff date.

Yes, I know. I mentioned she is too young in my post. My point was that if she gets into the final flight and pushes an age eligible skater out of the final flight, that might affect the outcome of the competition simply because PCS, especially at Canadian Nationals, tend to increase substantially in the final flight.

 

[ChiquitaBanana]

I do wish SC would stop with the 3/3 crap. Yes, it is important to have, but they have sent other skaters out without it. It seems to me they insist on a 3/3 only when it is convenient for them because they have someone in mind. For JW I think someone who can consistently get through a clean short and a cleanish long with good PCS (important when having an off jumping day) would be more important.

I don’t agree, since the 3-3 requirement the number of junior girls having it has substantially increased,(the starting point was not too high at the beginning...) We re in 2017, push the girls forward...

 

[Alilou]

New article about Alaine Chartrand by Beverley Smith. She sounds like she's in a good place.

https://bevsmithwrites.wordpress.com/2017/10/19/alaine-chartrand-a-new-outlook/

 

[Cant Skate]

Emy Decelles will be competing at Warsaw Cup in Poland in November.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Baj5aRgjFV4

 

[danafan]

Emy Decelles will be competing at Warsaw Cup in Poland in November.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Baj5aRgjFV4

Yay!! This is so well deserved after her last few summer competitions.

 

[barbarafan]

Emy Decelles will be competing at Warsaw Cup in Poland in November.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Baj5aRgjFV4

Yeah! her movement and flow over the ice is so beautiful and her jumps are high and fast. She is moving in the right direction.

 

[Rock2]

New article about Alaine Chartrand by Beverley Smith. She sounds like she's in a good place.

https://bevsmithwrites.wordpress.com/2017/10/19/alaine-chartrand-a-new-outlook/

This is a great read on Alaine. Sounds like her training is organized and she's getting better help. I'm a bit sad that this didn't come sooner, because while she has loads of talent there is a good list of things to fix all in an Olympic year.

I wonder though how hard it is to fix technique at this stage of her career. If it's a matter of little tweaks it may happen but I'm not sure pulling her feet closer together immediately can happen. That's like trying to fix a wrap or something. That has to be hard to fix in your 20s.

I find that while her jumps are indeed huge she lands with a thud and doesn't absorb the shock of her landings to maintain the speed the way KO does. So her second jump is a grind. I see Karen Chen also having this problem. Not sure how you fix that.

Something that's easier to fix is stretch. Her free leg is often bent or in poor position and she can do much more on her posture and arms/hands. I'm seeing some progress there but more to do. So far at SCI practices she looks mostly the same other than what looks to be better arms and head/eyes. I hope she has a good event.

 

[Rock2]

Watching some SC practices Larkyn does not look confident.
I want her to do well so badly to add some drama to the competition for the 3rd spot...and because she has a lot of talent and a star-quality look about her.

I have the over-under of clean triples at the whole event at around 3.5, meaning 4+ might be a decent event given how she seems to be practicing. I hope it's much better than that and she's able to step up.

 

[honey]

I find that while her jumps are indeed huge she lands with a thud and doesn't absorb the shock of her landings to maintain the speed the way KO does. So her second jump is a grind. I see Karen Chen also having this problem. Not sure how you fix that.

For me, Alaine's problem is that she's often slightly tilted forward in the air (especially on the lutz). This makes her land on the toe pick too much and kills her speed before the second jump. She also has terrible technique on the toe loop, in which she jumps only up, and doesn't really bring the free foot through to get some distance as well as height. Those two things combined can be a killer for getting the combo around. But of course we've seen her successfully complete 3/3s, but her life would be easier if she fixed at least one of those problems.

When Kaetlyn does her jumps well, she is landing on that absolutely perfect sweet spot where she almost doesn't hit the toe pick at all when she lands. And of course this leads to disaster if she's leaning too far back, but man oh man does it makes for spectacular jumps when it's working. That's what makes her look like she's flying out of the jumps.

I think it was Ryan Bradley who said at worlds last year that she lands triples in a way that other skaters land singles or doubles and I fully agree.

 

[Rock2]

For me, Alaine's problem is that she's often slightly tilted forward in the air (especially on the lutz). This makes her land on the toe pick too much and kills her speed before the second jump. She also has terrible technique on the toe loop, in which she jumps only up, and doesn't really bring the free foot through to get some distance as well as height.

Well said.

I *think* I'm supporting part of what you're saying when I have observed in the past that she picks really close to her left foot (not far enough behind) which is part of the cause of loss of speed and jumping straight up.
Net net the probs are landing position and the launch of second jump. Both.

And again I wonder aloud how tough that is to fix at this stage of her career.....?

 

[mag]

@Rock2 I agree about Larkyn. I watched her LP run though from the practice yesterday and I found it quite meh. It is better than her original LP which was, IMHO, juvenile. The problem with this Les Miz is it is really just Phantom 2.0 and Phantom was really just Sunset Blvd 2.0. Add that to the fact that her Cabaret short this year is basically the same program as her Be Italian last year I question what is going on in the planning department. Is this all she is capable of or is her team just being too cautious?

As for the jumps, she has a sal, toe, and flip. She has landed the lutz a couple of times in competition, I think. No triple triple. I can’t remember what the SC criteria is for Olympic selection, but it seems to me that Alaine is the run away favourite for the 3rd spot. I am torn, because I really enjoy Larkyn’s performance over Alaine, but “enjoyment” should not win over significantly higher tech content when we are talking about the Olympics. Also, Larkyn tends to get significantly higher PCS in Canada than internationally so that would make it even more unfair if she were to win over Alaine at Nationals based on PCS.

If we could merge the best about Alaine and Larkyn into one skater that would be fabulous!