Skate Canada Replaces "Mohawk" and "Choctaw" In Its Terminology

[syzygy]

I actually like "C turn" and "S turn," as they are a more correct description of the actual turns.

I agree. Just like how 3-turn makes a "3" shape on the ice and a bracket makes a "}" shape on the ice. It sounds stupid at first but you get used to it (unlike getting used to euler).

 

[Vash01]

I agree. Just like how 3-turn makes a "3" shape on the ice and a bracket makes a "}" shape on the ice. It sounds stupid at first but you get used to it (unlike getting used to euler).

Euler makes me think of Math. I love Math but I don’t want it in figure skating.

 

[syzygy]

Euler makes me think of Math. I love Math but I don’t want it in figure skating.

There's a mathematician whose last name is Euler lol. If you think about it, figure skating is math. Small things such as the angle of the blade on a boot or the amount acceleration going into a jump can make huge differences. Not to mention IJS scoring.

I don't like it because it sounds like a potty word and doesn't even describe the jump in any way, shape, or form. At least C-step and S-step actually describe the move which might make it a bit easier to coach.

 

[skateboy]

It sounds stupid at first but you get used to it (unlike getting used to euler).

Lol! I competed as a roller skater and we always called it an Euler. (Half loop always sounded so wrong to me... especially because it's a full revolution jump.)

 

[Sylvia]

"In Europe, the Euler is also called the Thorén jump, after its inventor, Swedish figure skater Per Thorén, who won a bronze medal at the 1908 Olympics in London." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euler_jump

 

[tony]

Euler makes me think of Math. I love Math but I don’t want it in figure skating.

I mean- you do realize there is an extremely complex scoring system involved in figure skating, correct?

 

[MacMadame]

Small things such as the angle of the blade on a boot or the amount acceleration going into a jump can make huge differences.

That's physics though.

 

[syzygy]

That's physics though.

Part of it is trigonometry and vectors, putting it together is physics.

 

[Vash01]

Part of it is trigonometry and vectors, putting it together is physics.

Trigonometry and vectors are both parts of Math. Physics uses Math too.

euler theorem (Wikipedia) is a part of Number theory, which is a part of Mathematics.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euler's_theorem

sorry for going totally OT.

 

[Hanna]

"In Europe, the Euler is also called the Thorén jump, after its inventor, Swedish figure skater Per Thorén, who won a bronze medal at the 1908 Olympics in London." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euler_jump

Well you always learn something new! I thought it was named after some German or Austrian whose name was Euler. Thanks Sylvia!

 

[thvu]

Euler is everywhere, not just in pure maths. He has traumatized students of many fields.

 

[VarBar]

Per an email to Skate Canada members today (I can't find it linked online). This is part of "work[ing] toward the decolonizing of our terminology and align[ing] with our commitment to anti-racism."

If Canadians want to decolonize, perhaps they should begin with the beginning, that is escape from the hold of the British monarchy. So long as Canada is under the rule of the Queen of England, the country is a colony, isn't it? Just a thought.

 

[mackiecat]

If Canadians want to decolonize, perhaps they should begin with the beginning, that is escape from the hold of the British monarchy. So long as Canada is under the rule of the Queen of England, the country is a colony, isn't it? Just a thought.

It took five decades after the Statute of Westminster for Canada to make its final step toward full sovereignty. In 1982, it adopted its own constitution and became a completely independent country. Although it’s still part of the British Commonwealth—a constitutional monarchy that accepts the British monarch as its own. Elizabeth II is Queen of Canada. However, her role is essentially ceremonial, and she does not interfere in Canadian self-governance.

 

[skatingguy]

If Canadians want to decolonize, perhaps they should begin with the beginning, that is escape from the hold of the British monarchy. So long as Canada is under the rule of the Queen of England, the country is a colony, isn't it? Just a thought.

It's not an unreasonable thought, but many of the agreements that First Nations would like to see enforced & abided by were made with 'The Grandmother' and not with Canada. Also, given the current state of our nearest Republican neighbours it seems unlikely that the idea of becoming a Republic is likely to have much sway with many Canadians at this time.

 

[Aerobicidal]

If Canadians want to decolonize, perhaps they should begin with the beginning, that is escape from the hold of the British monarchy. So long as Canada is under the rule of the Queen of England, the country is a colony, isn't it? Just a thought.

Yes, I'm sure that if Canada legally ruled itself out of the commonwealth, all impacts of colonialism would immediately be eliminated from Canadian government and society. Just like what happened in the United States seconds after the Declaration of Independence was signed!

 

[Brenda_Bottems]

I love Math but I don’t want it in figure skating.

From your lips to god's ears. The most expediated route for figure skating's salvation is a restoration of the 6.0 system.

-BB

 

[ЭPiKUilyam]

Oh good grief, the PC police and virtue signaling have hit figure skating. Now I always thought Choctaw and Mohawk were dumb names for basic turns, but stupid me thought they were named to honor and remember Native American tribes. Heck I even went through cultural sensitivity and civil rights training when I worked for the federal government and issues like Choctaw and Mohawk as a naming term involving Native American tribes weren't even on the radar. We dealt with preventing actual discrimination.

I agree with this. I have Mohawk ancestry and don't understand their reasoning. Does SC just want people to forget that Mohawks and Choctaws ever existed? I thought it was a nice thing to have their names still being used, and without any intentional disrespect.

 

[mjb52]

This is what I have been wondering about, but I was having a hard time figuring out how to express it. I've lived long enough to see measures that were considered enlightened by my generation that look pretty questionable now, sometimes I wonder if something like this might one day be seen as a form of historical erasure. Has anyone asked whether the Choctaw/Mohawk want to be removed from the history of skating in this way? I was shocked when I looked up how the names were generated so I can see why the impulse to change them exists but at the same time I wonder about it too.

 

[skatingguy]

I agree with this. I have Mohawk ancestry and don't understand their reasoning. Does SC just want people to forget that Mohawks and Choctaws ever existed? I thought it was a nice thing to have their names still being used, and without any intentional disrespect.

But there was intentional disrespect - the names were used to mock those respective Indigenous groups.

 

[overedge]

I agree with this. I have Mohawk ancestry and don't understand their reasoning. Does SC just want people to forget that Mohawks and Choctaws ever existed? I thought it was a nice thing to have their names still being used, and without any intentional disrespect.

It's more like disrespect by omission. As far as we know, those two groups were never asked for permission to use their names in this way. And as this article points out, the names may have come from a cultural fascination with so-called "American savages" which isn't respectful either.

How The Mohawk Got Its Name

Article about the racist origins and history of the mohawk step in figure skating, which was renamed by Skate Canada after this article's publication

skateguard1.blogspot.com

 

[kwanfan1818]

It's not an unreasonable thought, but many of the agreements that First Nations would like to see enforced & abided by were made with 'The Grandmother' and not with Canada. Also, given the current state of our nearest Republican neighbours it seems unlikely that the idea of becoming a Republic is likely to have much sway with many Canadians at this time.

Grandmother and Trump are only two degrees of separation from each other through Jeffrey Epstein.

 

[skatingguy]

Grandmother and Trump are only two degrees of separation from each other through Jeffrey Epstein.

The Grandmother's been dead since 1901.

 

[kwanfan1818]

I thought Grandmother was Queen Elizabeth II. I've heard that term used for her.

My big mistake.

 

[MacMadame]

The Monarchs: Queen Victoria (1837-1901) - The Grandmother of Europe - Anglotopia.net

Queen Victoria was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland for 63 years, overseeing six decades of huge change in the industry, economy - British Empire, British History, Featured, Long Reads, Royal History, The Monarchs, Victorian Era

www.anglotopia.net

 

[skatingguy]

I thought Grandmother was Queen Elizabeth II. I've heard that term used for her.

My big mistake.

Queen Elizabeth II is sometimes referred to this way now, and she is a Grandmother, & Great-Grandmother, but 'The Grandmother' refers to Queen Victoria as she was the relevant monarch when the agreements I was referring to were signed. They predate the existence of Canada, and were signed directly with the Crown, rather than with the governing bodies of the territories that existed at the time.