Chinese Skating News, Pt. 3: A long & winding road to Beijing 2022

[clairecloutier]

Thanks @raruki for posting these links!!

 

[kittyjake5]

Sui/Han and Peng/Jing

 

[Karen-W]

That pairs spin for Sui/Han is exquisite!

 

[BittyBug]

Sui / Han

 

[Gris]

Sina Visitor System

Hongbo Zhao said Team China would go to Italy, Canada and France etc. for competitions next and there would be another 3 domestic competitions before the Olympics.

 

[Japanfan]

Excellent Olympic Free Skate choice for S/H. I would have like to see a new free program, but this is a good one to bring back and perform on home ice.

I think I'll be in tears the minute they get onto the ice.

ETA: Boyang doing Bolero. Struck me as odd at first. But I appreciate that he is really trying to stretch himself. Hope he gets more 'into' the program as it develops - better able to express it.

 

[Alexa]

Team China leaving for Torino to prepare for GP

https://twitter.com/boyang_fan/status/1449582478298021892?s=21

 

[raruki]

Team China has already arrived in Milan, and they have rent an ice rink and are going to train in Milan for a month.

中国国家花样滑冰队莅临意大利参加国际滑联大奖赛

中国国家花样滑冰队莅临意大利参加国际滑联大奖赛,花样滑冰,意大利,大奖赛,赵宏博

www.163.com

 

[Gris]

Team China has already arrived in Milan, and they have rent an ice rink and are going to train in Milan for a month.

中国国家花样滑冰队莅临意大利参加国际滑联大奖赛

中国国家花样滑冰队莅临意大利参加国际滑联大奖赛,花样滑冰,意大利,大奖赛,赵宏博

www.163.com

The report says they'll return to China on 22 November.

CFSA should have found an overseas training base long time ago, as I've posted here. But I'm glad to see they're finally doing it now.

 

[Karen-W]

Team China has already arrived in Milan, and they have rent an ice rink and are going to train in Milan for a month.

中国国家花样滑冰队莅临意大利参加国际滑联大奖赛

中国国家花样滑冰队莅临意大利参加国际滑联大奖赛,花样滑冰,意大利,大奖赛,赵宏博

www.163.com

Smart move on their part to ensure their skaters will be able to compete in their GPs. Glad to see China putting that sort of financial support behind their figure skaters.

 

[On My Own]

The report says they'll return to China on 22 November.

So I guess W/L couldn't go to NHK since they'd be in Milan. OK, I think we are definitely going to see the Chinese Pairs attending GPF!

Fingers crossed Jin gets invited to another European GP.

CFSA should have found an overseas training base long time ago, as I've posted here.

What are the conditions in which they left for foreign bases? If it was just to guarantee competition experience, then this is still fine. But if it was for additional/foreign coaching, then yeah, I wish they'd been sent to Canada a bit back - they'd also be able to tune their programs with Lori like that.

 

[Gris]

Well I guess I shouldn't have given CFSA so much benefit of doubt these few days.

Hongyi is out of GP Italy and P/J and W/H are out of IdF.

Sina Visitor System

Hongbo Zhao said Team China would go to Italy, Canada and France etc. for competitions next and there would be another 3 domestic competitions before the Olympics.

Now, what's your competition in France, Hongbo?

 

[On My Own]

 

[Karen-W]

Well I guess I shouldn't have given CFSA so much benefit of doubt these few days.

Hongyi is out of GP Italy and P/J and W/H are out of IdF.



Now, what's your competition in France, Hongbo?

Dang! Why would they keep P/J out of IdF? That straight up takes them out of the GPF. What's the point in even competing at just one GP? W/H I can understand since they have been underwhelming at both Nebelhorn and Asian Open, but P/J makes no sense!

 

[Vash01]

Dang! Why would they keep P/J out of IdF? That straight up takes them out of the GPF. What's the point in even competing at just one GP? W/H I can understand since they have been underwhelming at both Nebelhorn and Asian Open, but P/J makes no sense!

P/J are bronze medal contenders (among many pairs) at the Olympics. I am wondering if they may have an injury?

 

[clairecloutier]

P/J are bronze medal contenders (among many pairs) at the Olympics. I am wondering if they may have an injury?

If they had an injury, they'd be out of GP Italy too. But they're not.

I've given up trying to make sense of what goes on in Chinese skating.

 

[Jammers]

Japan and China both have had weird strategies for an Olympic year yeah lets just compete at home and not have our skaters compete in any international competitions until the GP and that seems to be a big maybe too with the withdrawals.

 

[On My Own]

Japan and China both have had weird strategies for an Olympic year yeah lets just compete at home and not have our skaters compete in any international competitions until the GP and that seems to be a big maybe too with the withdrawals.

China's is not out of the ordinary though. It used to never send skaters to CS events, I think it only began in 2017-18? This is more of a return to form, and I think we can blame the quarantine restrictions more than anything for the ice dance teams withdrawing from ACI. And I disagree about Japan, it's sent plenty skaters to CS events? M/K, Sakamoto, Mihara, Kagiyama, Sato... some went, others didn't (and Kihira apparently didn't go due to injury).

I hope we get news about why exactly there were withdrawals from IdF. I guess only S/H are getting two GPs, if we don't hear some unwelcome news in the coming days... Technically, they are the OGM contenders, one of China's very few with the Winter Games, unlike the summer ones.

 

[ostile17]

Since Sui/Han are here in Milan, will they withdraw from Skate Canada too?

 

[On My Own]

Since Sui/Han are here in Milan, will they withdraw from Skate Canada too?

The article doesn't state that Sui and Han are in Milan. But I suppose we'll find out soon.

 

[raruki]

China's is not out of the ordinary though. It used to never send skaters to CS events, I think it only began in 2017-18?

Actually, It began in 18-19. Well, why they started to compete in some CS events was that Shen and Zhao miscalculated the world ranking points for Sui/Han during the Olympic season, and they had to fix that afterwards. Some Chinese skating fans suggested that they should let Sui/Han compete in some senior international events to earn some points to be qualified into the last group in the Olympic game, but they refused and thought they were right. Sui and Han were also overtrained, injured，and lack of any mental support as well because Han has suffered from depression but no one started to step in to help him. It was their ignorance and incompetence that caused Sui/Han to lose in the 2018 Olympics.

 

[raruki]

At This moment,France seems that they don
't offer any green lanes for the international athletes who have to compete in some international competitions recognized by IOC unlike Italy, and they still don't accept the Chinese vaccines (and it could be a bit risky and not political correct to Chinese state-funded athletes to inject the extra dose of vaccines that the EMA accpeted but the Chinese authority doesn't recognize) and list China into the orange list. But, if I say something wrong please someone can correct me, according to policies of entering France, if you travel to France from a green-listed country, you don't need to be self-isolated but submitting a pcr test tested within 72 hours beforehand. It seems that the isolations are not the excuses for Team China to withdraw from the competitions.........

 

[Stephanie]

At This moment,France seems that they don
't offer any green lanes for the international athletes who have to compete in some international competitions recognized by IOC unlike Italy, and they still don't accept the Chinese vaccines (and it could be a bit risky and not political correct to Chinese state-funded athelets to inject the extra dose of vaccines that the EMA accpeted but the Chinese authority doesn't recognize) and list China into the orange list. But, if I say something wrong please someone can correct me, according to policies of entering France, if you travel to France from a green-listed country, you don't need to be self-isolated but submitting a pcr test tested within 72 hours beforehand. It seems that the isolations are not the excuses for Team China to withdraw from the competitions.........

Yes, you're right: https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/c...e-for-foreign-nationals-in-france/#sommaire_1

But, as you suggest, I don't get how this prohibits team China athletes from competing in France if the team would have been in Italy for at least 2 weeks (I believe this is the window most countries look at for C**** travel restrictions) prior to their entry into France as then they would be coming from a green country.

 

[Karen-W]

Yes, you're right: https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/c...e-for-foreign-nationals-in-france/#sommaire_1

But, as you suggest, I don't get how this prohibits team China athletes from competing in France if the team would have been in Italy for at least 2 weeks (I believe this is the window most countries look at for C**** travel restrictions) prior to their entry into France as then they would be coming from a green country.

Wouldn't the issue be that they don't have approved vaccinations, regardless of where they are traveling from?

 

[Gris]

Wouldn't the issue be that they don't have approved vaccinations, regardless of where they are traveling from?

Italy is on France's green list so only a negative test within 72 hours is needed for an unvaccinated person to enter.

(From the link @Stephanie posted above)

If you are not vaccinated and you arrive from a “green” country
Countries/territories on the “green” list: countries in the European space (European Union, Andorra, the Holy See, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, San Marino and Switzerland), and Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Comoros Islands, Hong Kong, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, New Zealand, Qatar, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay and Vanuatu.
Upon boarding, each traveller aged 12 and over must present a negative PCR or antigenic test taken less than 72 hours before the flight.

and it could be a bit risky and not political correct to Chinese state-funded athelets to inject the extra dose of vaccines that the EMA accpeted but the Chinese authority doesn't recognize

Also, I get what might be controversial about the "foreign" vaccine thing, but shouldn't they know that before leaving for Italy? And I thought one of the reasons why they went to Italy so early is precisely to avoid possible travel restrictions?

I saw "insiders" on Chinese forums taking vaccination as the reason for withdrawal and that sounds like CFSA trying to shift their responsibility again.

 

[Marco]

I would have guessed that all team members / potential Olympians would have been vaccinated over the summer?! I may have missed the technical discussions but aren't Chinese vaccines approved by WHO now?

 

[Gris]

I would have guessed that all team members / potential Olympians would have been vaccinated over the summer?! I may have missed the technical discussions but aren't Chinese vaccines approved by WHO now?

All the Chinese skaters who went to Worlds had been vaccinated with Chinese vaccine before leaving for Stockholm.

Chinese vaccines have been approved by WHO, yes, but that doesn't mean they have been approved by every other country and they haven't been approved by EMA. For example, France requires a booster shot of Pfizer/Moderna after two doses of Sinovac/Sinopharm to consider you as fully vaccinated.

(Emphasis mine)

It will only be valid if it proves that you are fully vaccinated, i.e.:

• Seven days after the second shot for two-shot vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca (Vaxevria and Covishield));
• Four weeks after the shot for one-shot vaccines (Johnson & Johnson);
• Seven days after the shot for vaccines administered to people who have already had COVID-19 (only one dose is necessary).
  Only vaccines authorized by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) (Pfizer (Comirnaty), Moderna, AstraZeneca (Vaxzevria), Johnson & Johnson (Janssen)), or AstraZeneca (Covishield) will be accepted.
• Seven days after a booster ARNm dose (Moderna or Pfizer) after two shots of a vaccine on the WHO’s health emergencies list (Sinovac/Coronavac or Sinopharm/BBIB-PVeroCells)

Nevertheless, as I've said above, this is hardly a legitimate reason for the collective withdrawal.

 

[Karen-W]

Nevertheless, as I've said above, this is hardly a legitimate reason for the collective withdrawal.

It also doesn't explain why Hongyi Chen is off the Gran Premio d'Italia list since getting into Italy isn't the problem.

 

[Vash01]

My head is spinning. I won't try to make any sense.

 

[Marco]

All the Chinese skaters who went to Worlds had been vaccinated with Chinese vaccine before leaving for Stockholm.

Chinese vaccines have been approved by WHO, yes, but that doesn't mean they have been approved by every other country and they haven't been approved by EMA. For example, France requires a booster shot of Pfizer/Moderna after two doses of Sinovac/Sinopharm to consider you as fully vaccinated.

Nevertheless, as I've said above, this is hardly a legitimate reason for the collective withdrawal.

Thanks @Gris I thought WHO recognition meant worldwide acceptance - I am clearly very outdated when it comes to travel restrictions these days .

Perhaps CHN Fed was waiting to see if regional policy would be relaxed before or during the season as situation eases for them to make assignment plans - and when it didn't happen they had no choice but to withdraw from them all?! I don't necessarily think it is anything political to not do the booster shots but more like "is it too risky to inject something relatively new to the entire Olympic figure skating team?". I don't think the federation-wide withdrawals from events is that problematic as various other federations have had to withdraw from events due to the same reason, and quite last minute too. It's the cancellation of the GP / 4CCs that I take issue with. There should be more heads up from the CHN Fed as the organizer. If / since the country's entry / quarantine restrictions are outside the Fed's control, the least they could do is to notify the ISU to make alternative plans WAY ahead of time.