Skate Canada Changes Definition of Pairs/Ice Dance "Team" for Domestic Events to "Two Skaters"

[marbri]

Why do you say that? There wasn't anything in the article about that.

Plus, it's Rosie DiManno so take it with a grain of salt.

Probably this part, the part in quotes is Scott:


But will audiences accept same-sex teams? It’s a largely conservative fan base that has stayed loyal to the sport, which has otherwise plunged in popularity since the 1980s. Even Moir concedes that young girls who would benefit from skating with other young girls feel awkward about it.

“Right now, the females are shy. They’re worried about how the world of figure skating is going to look at them. That’s a big obstacle. The tough thing for me is pitching the idea, which I have many times, and it falling flat because they’re worried that they’re going to be judged and embarrassed and not taken seriously.”

But that doesn't surprise me. It's new and you will always need someone brave enough to be the first to break the stereotype. Hubbell doing something with Papadakis as she mentioned once in an article might help girls look at and visualise because right now their vision of ice dance is probably the romantic standard so they aren't seeing how it would work.

 

[sap5]

Probably this part, the part in quotes is Scott:


But will audiences accept same-sex teams? It’s a largely conservative fan base that has stayed loyal to the sport, which has otherwise plunged in popularity since the 1980s. Even Moir concedes that young girls who would benefit from skating with other young girls feel awkward about it.

“Right now, the females are shy. They’re worried about how the world of figure skating is going to look at them. That’s a big obstacle. The tough thing for me is pitching the idea, which I have many times, and it falling flat because they’re worried that they’re going to be judged and embarrassed and not taken seriously.”

But that doesn't surprise me. It's new and you will always need someone brave enough to be the first to break the stereotype. Hubbell doing something with Papadakis as she mentioned once in an article might help girls look at and visualise because right now their vision of ice dance is probably the romantic standard so they aren't seeing how it would work.

Yes. I was hoping that stereotypes were already somewhat broken at the domestic level; that embarrassment and fear of not being taken seriously wouldn’t have been real issues, just because of how fast the world is changing. Agree that if Hubbell and Papadakis could do something together that would be tremendous!

 

[marbri]

i mean it's a very fresh rule change. It just takes one team to do it first. Then, as with most things in life, others will follow

 

[Former Lurve Goddess]

Why do you say that? There wasn't anything in the article about that.

Plus, it's Rosie DiManno so take it with a grain of salt.

Take everything that DiManno says with an entire salt shaker!

 

[Pink Cats]

Probably this part, the part in quotes is Scott:


But will audiences accept same-sex teams? It’s a largely conservative fan base that has stayed loyal to the sport, which has otherwise plunged in popularity since the 1980s. Even Moir concedes that young girls who would benefit from skating with other young girls feel awkward about it.

“Right now, the females are shy. They’re worried about how the world of figure skating is going to look at them. That’s a big obstacle. The tough thing for me is pitching the idea, which I have many times, and it falling flat because they’re worried that they’re going to be judged and embarrassed and not taken seriously.”

But that doesn't surprise me. It's new and you will always need someone brave enough to be the first to break the stereotype. Hubbell doing something with Papadakis as she mentioned once in an article might help girls look at and visualise because right now their vision of ice dance is probably the romantic standard so they aren't seeing how it would work.

I think it's all about the program and the story it tells, I can see two women/girls doing a really good black swan/white swan program. I would think it best to stay away from romantic themes but people forget that a lot of folk dance is done in groups of people of the same sex.

 

[MacMadame]

Probably this part, the part in quotes is Scott:


But will audiences accept same-sex teams? It’s a largely conservative fan base that has stayed loyal to the sport, which has otherwise plunged in popularity since the 1980s. Even Moir concedes that young girls who would benefit from skating with other young girls feel awkward about it.

“Right now, the females are shy. They’re worried about how the world of figure skating is going to look at them. That’s a big obstacle. The tough thing for me is pitching the idea, which I have many times, and it falling flat because they’re worried that they’re going to be judged and embarrassed and not taken seriously.”

But that doesn't surprise me. It's new and you will always need someone brave enough to be the first to break the stereotype. Hubbell doing something with Papadakis as she mentioned once in an article might help girls look at and visualise because right now their vision of ice dance is probably the romantic standard so they aren't seeing how it would work.

I missed that part. Part of the article was cut off for me (everything after some links to other articles) but it's there now.

I wonder how many "young girls" were talked to, tbh. There seems to be a lot of speculation on DiManno's part, too. And the headline doesn't really match the story but is rather inflammatory.

Maybe older kids on the elite track are hesitating but the younger kids and recreational skaters are already doing stuff like this where they put together a routine for a competition and it's not always a female-male pairing. The event they enter may not be labeled "pairs" or "dance" but lots of local comps have all sorts of events that you don't see at Nationals or international competitions. And in the US, men and women often compete against each other in dance events because there are so few entrants. I've competed against little kids, grown men, and someone who made it to Nationals in Dance once they got a partner. (Back when I was skating.)

I see this starting at local comps with kids who just want to do fun routines with their friends and then, as people get used to the idea, it will move up the ranks.

 

[Former Lurve Goddess]

I wonder how many "young girls" were talked to, tbh. There seems to be a lot of speculation on DiManno's part, too. And the headline doesn't really match the story but is rather inflammatory.

DiManno makes up and inflammatory is her M.O. for everything. How she still has a job when talented young journalists in Canada can't get steady work is incomprehensible to me.

 

[sap5]

I missed that part. Part of the article was cut off for me (everything after some links to other articles) but it's there now.

I wonder how many "young girls" were talked to, tbh. There seems to be a lot of speculation on DiManno's part, too. And the headline doesn't really match the story but is rather inflammatory.

Maybe older kids on the elite track are hesitating but the younger kids and recreational skaters are already doing stuff like this where they put together a routine for a competition and it's not always a female-male pairing. The event they enter may not be labeled "pairs" or "dance" but lots of local comps have all sorts of events that you don't see at Nationals or international competitions. And in the US, men and women often compete against each other in dance events because there are so few entrants. I've competed against little kids, grown men, and someone who made it to Nationals in Dance once they got a partner. (Back when I was skating.)

I see this starting at local comps with kids who just want to do fun routines with their friends and then, as people get used to the idea, it will move up the ranks.

I figured this was the case.

As for DiManno, why does she still have a job? I've never seen a good article from her on any subject.

 

[MacMadame]

DiManno makes up and inflammatory is her M.O. for everything.

This is true, but to be fair, editors create the headlines.

 

[Former Lurve Goddess]

This is true, but to be fair, editors create the headlines.

Very true but I'm not going to miss a chance to slag Rosie

 

[Sylvia]

Kaitlyn Weaver: Why Skate Canada's gender rule change for pairs and ice dance teams matters (March 15): https://olympics.com/en/news/kaitly...-gender-rule-change-pairs-dance-teams-matters

"Hopefully we'll be seeing skaters feel safer on the ice and be able to present in however they feel most authentic," she shares. "There were people that were critical of it, and are critical. And that happens with change of any kind. So that's okay.
"The goal is to allow everyone to be able to do what they love to do and not be restricted by gender. That can be for people who don't identify as man or woman, but also who just want to skate with their friend – it doesn't have to be (about a queer person), it can be any story under the sun.
"I think that's really important to point out, because I think some people are afraid of the stories that we might see. That's okay, but I think that there's so much room at the table for everyone to be able to tell their own stories no matter what they are."

"I know Scott Moir is supportive of this rule change as well," Weaver confirms. "He has many solo dance women and these women can skate and they're not able to fully realise their potential because there's not as many young boys that want to skate ice dance right now.
"So I know that he and his partner in coaching, Madison Hubbell, are really looking at partnering between women and the stories that women can tell and really diving headfirst into the work. So definitely in Canada, I think we'll see something hopefully soon."

 

[Aussie Willy]

Thanks for posting the article.

It bodes well for the future of skating when you open up competitive divisions to more participants. Still waiting for the ISU Solo Dance rules to come out. And I think it will be interesting to see what divisions with people of the same gender look like. I am excited.

 

[Sylvia]

Clip of Karina Manta & Gabriella Papadakis spinning together at NYC's Wollman rink in Central Park, filmed by Joe Johnson:

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[Sylvia]

Collaboration during the French team tour: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6BUC3-o3ny/

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ETA:

Just realized that I meant to post/embed the last 2 videos in this other GSD thread and I have just done so:

Slate | The Once Unthinkable Revolution Coming to Figure Skating

Oh, that’s beautiful! 😍 Isn't it, though? This is amazing.

www.fsuniverse.net

 

[skatingguy]

Collaboration during the French team tour:

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The contrast in sizes makes Geoffrey look like a giant, but he's 5'10" which is average height.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

The contrast in sizes makes Geoffrey look like a giant, but he's 5'10" which is average height.

Awwwww I absolutely love this. I also love the straight man will do this with a gay man and It is totally fine. Wish everything was like that. What is this for anything special? Sorry just catching up. Took a quick getaway to Florida.

 

[skatingguy]

Awwwww I absolutely love this. I also love the straight man will do this with a gay man and It is totally fine. Wish everything was like that. What is this for anything special? Sorry just catching up. Took a quick getaway to Florida.

I think it was during the tour of France by the French national team, but I don't think they did this in the show. I think it was just more for fun.

 

[Sylvia]

BTW, I've since re-posted both reel videos ^^^ (Manta/Papadakis and Aymoz/Brissaud) in the thread I meant to post in originally : https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...-to-figure-skating.110667/page-7#post-6589046

December 12, 2022 (first post in this thread):

Per press release today:

Definition of ‘Team’ updated to reflect gender diversity across the Podium Pathway

OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada is pleased to be advancing its [...]

skatecanada.ca

I searched on FSU but didn’t see this news posted this season (Nov. 12, 2023):

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Mia Sugino / Olivia Marr placed 7th of 15 Pre-Novice teams in the 2024 Skate Canada Challenge (final qualifying comp. for this level):

https://twitter.com/x/status/1753270506181079330

https://twitter.com/x/status/1753612756844999041