Skate Canada 2022 Olympics selection criteria

[pointbleu]

Summer Homick has some IT factor and potential but not sure about her SBS jumps. How old is she? 14? I searched Marty Haubrich’s name to see if he used to skate singles and what jumps he had. I didn’t realize he used to be a hockey player and has also done ice dance.

The top team in Novice at Challenge seem quite strong and the girl who placed second - Annika Behnke - she looks to me to have huge potential.
See here at 1:50:30. She’s in a pink dress. https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x861jaw

I really enjoy Behnke’s skating. Gorgeous line and posture, nice solid jumps!

 

[karmena]

Pairs is struggling everywhere outside of Russia right now. Part of which is that ice dance has thoroughly eaten pairs’ lunch in most places.

There’s only a much that federations can do when they aren’t the ones paying for everything.

Absolutely.
It is unfortunate that ice dance is included as figure skating discipline. Ice dance is not even a sport. Just MHO.

 

[overedge]

Absolutely.
It is unfortunate that ice dance is included as figure skating discipline. Ice dance is not even a sport. Just MHO.

Have you ever done ice dance? It's incredibly difficult to do well, even the compulsory dances/pattern dances at the lower levels. It's definitely a sport.

 

[Judy]

Have you ever done ice dance? It's incredibly difficult to do well, even the compulsory dances/pattern dances at the lower levels. It's definitely a sport.

No kidding. Twizzles.

 

[aka_gerbil]

Ice dance is the most blade-centric and skating skills driven of all of the disciplines. It’s sort of the embodiment of skating at its blade-meets-ice purest.

Those skills take years to master.

 

[danafan]

Does anybody know what happened to Fredette/St. Louie? They competed at JGP Kosic in September. Injured? Broken up? I thought they had real potential.

Someone posted in another thread that she was on icepartnersearch so she is looking for a new partner. Don't know about him.

 

[barbarafan]

I do believe that they deserved to have been spoken to though out of basic respect. I am sure that has happened now.

Really ? too little too late.

 

[barbarafan]

There's absolutely no possible way that Cipres knew about the situation at the rink, the coaches knew and actively tried to cover it up, and others at the rink were hearing strong rumors about it and Vanessa simply knew nothing until after it became public. It's just not a plausible story in any way, shape, or form. By all accounts, she became aware of it prior to the 2018 Olympics when it blew up at the rink and still kept a seemingly close partnership with him for a full season after. It's clear now that the time off they took in 2019/20 was due to the Safe Sport investigation on the matter and Cipres not being able to risk flying internationally due to legal issues that might arise (he now can't even enter the US or he will be arrested). And even after the allegations came out she kept touring with him and kept contact with him for a long time. She never once commented on the situation or showed any kind of support for those who were abused and only commented about it after the Canadian media asked to comment on it months after she teamed up with Eric and even then all she did was deny knowing anything about it which of course most didn't believe.
Still, this is only relevant to why she is criticized on the Cipres issues and has nothing to do with the criticism of Skate Canada's selection of J/R.

We she certainly made a killing at getting hired for battle of the blades...Canada was trying to deny racism strongly at the time plus other minorities. I was very suprised that Lubov was not hired for that gig. So let's see. Vanessa was black.....Eric was gay. Asher was black and had come forward with the racisim of Skate Canada. Interesting isn't it.

 

[Judy]

Someone posted in another thread that she was on icepartnersearch so she is looking for a new partner. Don't know about him.

I don’t disagree at all. Just basic respect.

 

[overedge]

Canada was trying to deny racism strongly at the time plus other minorities. I was very suprised that Lubov was not hired for that gig. So let's see. Vanessa was black.....Eric was gay. Asher was black and had come forward with the racisim of Skate Canada. Interesting isn't it.

Other possibilities: Lubov wasn't available, Lubov couldn't commit to the time needed to be in the show, Lubov wasn't a good fit with the non-skaters that were cast in the show. Or the same being true of other female pairs/dance skaters who were considered.

It's pretty offensive to suggest that Vanessa was cast in the show just because she's black.

 

[barbarafan]

Other possibilities: Lubov wasn't available, Lubov couldn't commit to the time needed to be in the show, Lubov wasn't a good fit with the non-skaters that were cast in the show. Or the same being true of other female pairs/dance skaters who were considered.

It's pretty offensive to suggest that Vanessa was cast in the show just because she's black.

Others as well as myself asked the question and it was said she was not invited. An amazing pair girl is an amazing pair girl. I am sure it was partially a pity gift to Vanessa as at the time she was written off by the U.s. for opportunities re: her partner's nonsense as ppl did not believe for a minute that she was not aware of what was going on before the Olympics and her partner and coaches. I read it seems like a million posts about this at the time as I found the whole thing very confusing. As well Canada was getting a lot of racist flack at the time in the skating communities although I did not see any names in print and I don't know why. They should have been called out. The same way you do not see any news of what went on with renowned pairs coach Richard Gauthier and who knew about what was going on at the time. It is like everyone disappeared who was coached by him.

 

[overedge]

"She was not invited" could mean many things that are not the same as "we had to cast someone who is black". Unless someone explicitly comes forward with evidence that Vanessa was specifically chosen because she is black - and please don't link that whiny essay by the former CBC freelancer about CBC being too woke - I'm going to assume that Vanessa was cast because she had the skills and was available.

 

[Lemonade20]

"She was not invited" could mean many things that are not the same as "we had to cast someone who is black". Unless someone explicitly comes forward with evidence that Vanessa was specifically chosen because she is black - and please don't link that whiny essay by the former CBC freelancer about CBC being too woke - I'm going to assume that Vanessa was cast because she had the skills and was available.

Completely agree. I'm glad they included Elladj as he was a great fit as a judge for BOTB, but every season just seems to get more cringe for me. The host couldn't even skate and was just plain awful last season.

 

[Japanfan]

Unless someone explicitly comes forward with evidence that Vanessa was specifically chosen because she is black - and please don't link that whiny essay by the former CBC freelancer about CBC being too woke - I'm going to assume that Vanessa was cast because she had the skills and was available.

Lots of good reasons to invite Vanessa other than her race. She's beautiful, always beautifully costumed, and a show-stopper.

 

[dramagrrl]

Also, re: BotB, Vanessa has international medals, including a European title, a GPF title, and a World medal, and competed at the Olympics three times. Lubov never competed in an Olympic Games, did not even have a national title, and the highest international medals she had were a long-ago World Junior title and a bronze at 4CC. I would not usually support Vanessa, but the claim that CBC hired her for BotB just because she was black and "Canada was trying to deny racism strongly at the time" is nonsense.

 

[cholla]

I'd be even more surprised if J/R attend Worlds. We all know this partnership has been about one thing and one thing only - Beijing.

I interviewed J/R in November and their plan seemed to be going to Worlds too as they're held in France and it's the last competition James had planned to do in her career way before she paired up with Radford. They also mentioned the possibility to skate one more season if their bodies allow them.

 

[barbarafan]

Also, re: BotB, Vanessa has international medals, including a European title, a GPF title, and a World medal, and competed at the Olympics three times. Lubov never competed in an Olympic Games, did not even have a national title, and the highest international medals she had were a long-ago World Junior title and a bronze at 4CC. I would not usually support Vanessa, but the claim that CBC hired her for BotB just because she was black and "Canada was trying to deny racism strongly at the time" is nonsense.

That is exactly the kind of sh*it Canada pulls when they are caught with their pants down. Spoken as a true loving Canadian who does not wear blinders.

 

[Mont]

Last year there were articles and people posting here about Skate Canada’s President. This year there is a new one. Give her a chance .. things never change overnight.

Problem is that its not really about the President. They can make a bad situation worse but the CEO and management drive the ship and they have proven completely ineffectual for many years.

 

[MacMadame]

Have you ever done ice dance? It's incredibly difficult to do well, even the compulsory dances/pattern dances at the lower levels. It's definitely a sport.

All sports are hard. Not everything hard is a sport. (Just pointing out the logical fallacy, not making a comment on whether or not ice dance is a sport.)

Others as well as myself asked the question and it was said she was not invited. An amazing pair girl is an amazing pair girl. I am sure it was partially a pity gift to Vanessa as at the time she was written off by the U.s. for opportunities re: her partner's nonsense as ppl did not believe for a minute that she was not aware of what was going on before the Olympics and her partner and coaches. I read it seems like a million posts about this at the time as I found the whole thing very confusing. As well Canada was getting a lot of racist flack at the time in the skating communities although I did not see any names in print and I don't know why. They should have been called out. The same way you do not see any news of what went on with renowned pairs coach Richard Gauthier and who knew about what was going on at the time. It is like everyone disappeared who was coached by him.

Skate Canada was getting flack. They don't put on BotB though. So why would CBC and the producers of BotB care one way or another?

 

[skategal]

All sports are hard. Not everything hard is a sport. (Just pointing out the logical fallacy, not making a comment on whether or not ice dance is a sport.)

Skate Canada was getting flack. They don't put on BotB though. So why would CBC and the producers of BotB care one way or another?

CBC is Federally government funded and the Federal government have many policies about diversity, inclusion and the importance of minority voices and representation.

That being said, Vanessa wouldn’t have been asked to participate if she didn’t have the skills and medals and World ranking in figure skating.

It was a no brainer to take her on the show.

And as is true with many things is life, I’m sure Vanessa as a minority had to be that much better than many others to even be considered and given an option to participate.

 

[Judy]

Problem is that its not really about the President. They can make a bad situation worse but the CEO and management drive the ship and they have proven completely ineffectual for many years.

Well .. last year it was ALL about the president. I’m pretty sure 2018 was not ineffectual.

 

[barbarafan]

CBC is Federally government funded and the Federal government have many policies about diversity, inclusion and the importance of minority voices and representation.

That being said, Vanessa wouldn’t have been asked to participate if she didn’t have the skills and medals and World ranking in figure skating.

It was a no brainer to take her on the show.

And as is true with many things is life, I’m sure Vanessa as a minority had to be that much better than many others to even be considered and given an option to participate.

BOTB is a Canadian show is it not. Lubov skated for Canada for over 4 yrs while Vanessa did not. As well Lubov's fantastic inovative lifts are such crowd pleasers it seemed automatic to have her on the show. Her only problem was freezing on triple jumps which would not come into consideration as whatever partner she was given (not being a figure skater) would not be doing triple jumps in their routines.

 

[skategal]

BOTB is a Canadian show is it not. Lubov skated for Canada for over 4 yrs while Vanessa did not. As well Lubov's fantastic inovative lifts are such crowd pleasers it seemed automatic to have her on the show. Her only problem was freezing on triple jumps which would not come into consideration as whatever partner she was given (not being a figure skater) would not be doing triple jumps in their routines.

The issue isn’t Vanessa vs Lubov.

Vanessa is Canadian too and with a much bigger and more impressive skating pedigree than Lubov.

Maybe the question should be why Lubov didn’t get invited vs some of the others.

 

[Mont]

Well .. last year it was ALL about the president. I’m pretty sure 2018 was not ineffectual.

2018 - living at the tail end of a very talented group developed between around 2004 and 2012. Absolutely zero credit to management (other than Slipchuk to some extent) and president at the time. Completely ineffectual development from about 2012 on as is evidenced by the results.

 

[Judy]

2018 - living at the tail end of a very talented group developed between around 2004 and 2012. Absolutely zero credit to management (other than Slipchuk to some extent) and president at the time. Completely ineffectual development from about 2012 on as is evidenced by the results.

I’m happy you work there lol.

 

[barbarafan]

The issue isn’t Vanessa vs Lubov.

Vanessa is Canadian too and with a much bigger and more impressive skating pedigree than Lubov.

Maybe the question should be why Lubov didn’t get invited vs some of the others.

apples and oranges. They needed a pair girl....they could have had 2. true. The issue I brought up was skating for Canada and we could add on getting Olympic spots for Canada...not being Canadian.

 

[Colonel Green]

apples and oranges. They needed a pair girl....they could have had 2. true. The issue I brought up was skating for Canada and we could add on getting Olympic spots for Canada...not being Canadian.

There's no real reason that BOTB would care about that. The show isn't about rewarding people who were helpful to the Canadian skating federation, it's about assembling a cast of characters they think would make for an entertaining program. And Liubov could also certainly have done that, but it's not hard to see why they were interested in Vanessa.

 

[Mont]

I’m happy you work there lol.

Would be embarrassed to work for such an underperforming organization. Especially in light of the huge base of skaters and amazing coaches and choreographers in the country...

 

[skategal]

apples and oranges. They needed a pair girl....they could have had 2. true. The issue I brought up was skating for Canada and we could add on getting Olympic spots for Canada...not being Canadian.

They hired Violeta and Carlotta who never once competed for Canada.

Why aren’t you asking questions about them?

 

[overedge]

Would be embarrassed to work for such an underperforming organization. Especially in light of the huge base of skaters and amazing coaches and choreographers in the country...

And a country with a lot of ice rinks and an interest in and history of skating.