The Ted Barton Appreciation Society

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

Heh, Ted Barton exclaiming "woah!" in real-time just after Alexandra Trusova's 3 flip - 3 loop in the Junior Grand Prix final. Nice "hot microphone" moment.

Haha. I thought I heard that, too. Given that Ted never speaks during the skater's performance, her jump combination must have really impressed him.

 

[lyneyuki]

He is a very smart and interesting guy. He is married to Valerie Jones Bartlett who was Canadian champion and 4th in the world in the 1960s.

Where did you get that? He is so not married to that woman. His wife's name is Diane.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

I am really enjoying Ted and guest commentator, Cathy Reed, at the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final this week. They have such good interaction with each other, as well as interviewing the skaters backstage after the athletes have performed.

 

[nimi]

I don't regularly follow novice/jr skating, but I've been checking some of the lower level Nats events this week. I was just watching some of the novice pairs SPs from yesterday (McIntosh/Toste were pretty impressive!) and at one point Ted & Debbi Wilkes talked about how they've been in the rather cold rink commentating from 7 in the morning and would be there until 11 in the evening...

I mean, to sit through that many hours of skating in one go, while staying alert and unwaveringly positive & constructive... I tip my hat to you!

Here's an interview with Ted about streaming the Can Nats: https://www.ifsmagazine.com/canada-invites-global-audience-nationals/

“I would love people to send questions and be engaged with what is happening in Vancouver and I encourage fans to ask questions online.

“To me, this is important and it is in parallel with what we are doing with the ISU. We are trying to grow the sport and reach out to people and engage them through technology; to tell the stories with a sense of humour — and that can’t happen without these types of broadcasts.

 

[DFO]

I don't regularly follow novice/jr skating, but I've been checking some of the lower level Nats events this week. I was just watching some of the novice pairs SPs from yesterday (McIntosh/Toste were pretty impressive!)

Yes, McIntosh/Toste did great. In fact,their SP score was the highest ever novice pairs SP score in recent (and probably all) history of canadians championships!

 

[DFO]

With a SP of 44,86, McIntosh/Toste are clearly besting all previous results:

Last year Novice champs, Chloé Panetta / Steven Lapointe QC got a 41.91 SP.
Before that at the Nationals: 2016 Jamie Knoblauch / Cody Wong WO 40.90
2015 Justine Brasseur / Mathieu Ostiguy QC 36.91
2014 1 Keelee Gingrich / Davin Portz AB/NT/NU 38.62
2 Allison Eby / Brett Varley WO 40.25
2013 1 Rachael Dobson / Alexander Sheldrick WO 34.00
2 Judith Murtha-Anderson / Trennt Michaud EO 34.98
2012 Hayleigh Bell / Alistair Sylvester CO 39.76

And nobody reached the 40's in 2011 and 2010.

The best overall score in Novice pairs was done by
1 Jamie Knoblauch / Cody Wong WO 40.90 79.00 119.90
in 2016.

I guess McIntosh/Toste could beat that today...

 

[Sylvia]

I wish @nimi and @DFO could share their thoughts in the 2018 Canadians forum in the Kiss & Cry section (I will re-post some of your comments in the thread I started for the Novice events). I've been enjoying texting occasional trivia to Ted B./Debbi W. and hearing some of it read aloud during the live stream!

 

[DFO]

Thanks Sylvia! But you are opening another subject,which is Why should I pay to get private forums access with limited members, when I could post in public forums with more audience. This is a serious question. I'm willing to pay when I could feel an advantage...

BTW, I also pasted my post in the Canadian pairs thread.

 

[mag]

Thanks Sylvia! But you are opening another subject,which is Why should I pay to get private forums access with limited members, when I could post in public forums with more audience. This is a serious question. I'm willing to pay when I could feel an advantage...

BTW, I also pasted my post in the Canadian pairs thread.

You didn’t ask me, but I will give my 2 cents. The paying is to help support the board. It costs a lot of money to run this board so people who are willing to pay a nominal fee (and it is a small amount considering what you get) get the extra access. We all like to think the internet is free ... but it really isn’t.

 

[Seerek]

The fact that TSL is not much of a fan of Ted...is just so predictable...

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

For those of you who watched last weekend's Autumn Classic with Ted, we loved his shout outs to Australian skating.

It was good having Debbie Wilkes back as well.

They make a great team, with their supportive, considered, and constructive commentary.

 

[barbarafan]

For those of you who watched last weekend's Autumn Classic with Ted, we loved his shout outs to Australian skating.

It was good having Debbie Wilkes back as well.

They make a great team, with their supportive, considered, and constructive commentary.

Ted is fantastic and he has the timing of what/and how much to say down pat.

Debbie needs a bit more practice...nowadays you barely have 2 mins to say something. She is nice but it goes something like this.
Ted: Well...that was light and airy but with good speed.I see a good future for her."Debbie" what is your take?
Debbie: Well you know Ted...have you ever walked through a meadow on a warm spring day when the leaves are blowing softly in the gentle breeze and somewhere in the background you can barely hear a brook trickling softly over the rocks and somewhere..
Ted: Sorry Debbie here comes the triple loop..as you can see she is tight and the checkout is great...now here is...

As a team it works.

 

[Cayuse]

I wish all major networks would adopt Ted's commentary style: Say absolutely nothing during the performance, comment only after the replays and always find something positive to say about every skater or team. Ted has single handedly brought the Junior Grand Prix to the world via the internet and he is probably the reason Skate Canada let the world view the Autumn Classic live (39,000 viewers at one time!) Yes, I know many of them were Hanyu fans- hooray for any skating fans! If you haven't been watching the juniors, try tuning into the ISU Junior Grand Prix channel on youtube this weekend. If nothing else, just watch the top tiers during their free skates. Ted knows a lot about jumps and very little about ice dance, but he does report the levels as he receives them and that is more information than we get from most commentary on seniors.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

Ted is fantastic and he has the timing of what/and how much to say down pat.

Debbie needs a bit more practice...nowadays you barely have 2 mins to say something. She is nice but it goes something like this.
Ted: Well...that was light and airy but with good speed.I see a good future for her."Debbie" what is your take?
Debbie: Well you know Ted...have you ever walked through a meadow on a warm spring day when the leaves are blowing softly in the gentle breeze and somewhere in the background you can barely hear a brook trickling softly over the rocks and somewhere..
Ted: Sorry Debbie here comes the triple loop..as you can see she is tight and the checkout is great...now here is...

As a team it works.

Brilliant! Now all I can imagine is Amy Poehler and Will Ferrell doing an SNL tribute.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

Ted is fantastic and he has the timing of what/and how much to say down pat.

Debbie needs a bit more practice...nowadays you barely have 2 mins to say something. She is nice but it goes something like this.
Ted: Well...that was light and airy but with good speed.I see a good future for her."Debbie" what is your take?
Debbie: Well you know Ted...have you ever walked through a meadow on a warm spring day when the leaves are blowing softly in the gentle breeze and somewhere in the background you can barely hear a brook trickling softly over the rocks and somewhere..
Ted: Sorry Debbie here comes the triple loop..as you can see she is tight and the checkout is great...now here is...

As a team it works.

That's what happens when long programs have been reduced to four minutes in length!

 

[Sylvia]

I prefer Ted commentating by himself on the JGP. Back at it this week, yay!

 

[VGThuy]

I can listen to Ted say "Life's a Bitch" over and over again. The way he said it with his calm, mature tone of voice was hilarious.

 

[Barbara Manatee]

I appreciate Ted's enthusiasm and knowledge after a skate, but I do want to hear some live technical commentary too, especially in dance. I want someone to explain "here is the first key point and he's going to get a no because he wasn't on an outside edge" as it happens, so I can see and understand it. Short of a fall or obvious flub, so much of what determines the score isn't shown on the replay.

 

[quartz]

I'm not a skater, so I would like just a smidgen of tech talk during the program too - but no other comments, which can be saved for the afterskate as there is generally a good 2 minutes to talk then.
I love Ted - good thing he and Debbi are friends so his down-to-earthiness can offset her up-in-the clouds and balance each other out.

 

[barbarafan]

I appreciate Ted's enthusiasm and knowledge after a skate, but I do want to hear some live technical commentary too, especially in dance. I want someone to explain "here is the first key point and he's going to get a no because he wasn't on an outside edge" as it happens, so I can see and understand it. Short of a fall or obvious flub, so much of what determines the score isn't shown on the replay.

Usually Ted does give more explanation but with the new sys...on some things he is actually not sure how they figured out the mark like on the pattern so I think he is holding back a bit while he thinks....where did that NO come from....

 

[Tinami Amori]

Ted is not bad at all, always tries to say something positive; he is certainly much better than Dick Button, that's for sure. and yet... Ted does have his bias, and preferences, and not completely impartial in what he praises and HOW he praises this or that skater, and why...

 

[VGThuy]

I think all skating experts who become commentators have a bias towards a certain skating philosophy. I find Ted really appreciates it when skaters know how to use the blade and has that glide with that textbook knee action. Peggy Fleming can be accused of having a lot of biases that may or may not be skating related, but one bias she let out that I appreciated was during her commentary at the 2001 4CC where she was commenting on the Japanese ladies and you could tell how much she respected Nobou Sato and what he taught his skaters in terms of that knee action and the deep edges.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

I can listen to Ted say "Life's a Bitch" over and over again. The way he said it with his calm, mature tone of voice was hilarious.

Now I want to hear Ted ordering a cocktail with a racy name!

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

Ted is not bad at all, always tries to say something positive; he is certainly much better than Dick Button, that's for sure. and yet... Ted does have his bias, and preferences, and not completely impartial in what he praises and HOW he praises this or that skater, and why...

Oooooh. Is the challenge to read between the lines? I love it.

 

[screech]

I enjoy Ted's calm positivity, but I too miss hearing *some* commentary during the skates. I also find it kind of jarring for the background sound to completely cut out so we only hear the music during the skate. I enjoy hearing cheers for a brilliantly executed element, or the cut of a deep edge on the ice. I'm glad we don't get that kind of audio during the *big* events.

 

[Tinami Amori]

Oooooh. Is the challenge to read between the lines? I love it.

in his case, it is not much of a challenge..

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

The fact that TSL is not much of a fan of Ted...is just so predictable...

God, TSL likes being bitchy for the sake of it. It's not easy being green, I guess.

 

[Seerek]

God, TSL likes being bitchy for the sake of it. It's not easy being green, I guess.

To be fair, Jackie Wong isn't much of a fan of Ted either (at best he's neutral, as he respects Ted's knowledge), and he really dislikes Debbi Wilkes.

 

[Sylvia]

Ted Barton is tweeting from Ostrava (JGP #5): https://twitter.com/TedBarton7

 

[alchemy void]

I enjoy Ted's calm positivity, but I too miss hearing *some* commentary during the skates. I also find it kind of jarring for the background sound to completely cut out so we only hear the music during the skate. I enjoy hearing cheers for a brilliantly executed element, or the cut of a deep edge on the ice. I'm glad we don't get that kind of audio during the *big* events.

I agree with you, but I think sometimes a little perspective is in order: it’s crazy to compare the quantity and the quality of live video streaming we get now compared to just 5 years ago. I do think the ISU deserves credit for making the effort to expand coverage of skating.

The lack of ambient sounds does bothers me a bit, but it’s really low on the list of my priorities.

As for commentary, I think it would be impossible for anyone to better the work he does with the junior events. He’s perfect there. Senior level events...definitely a different story. I’m good with Debbi for like Canadian events, she literally had me laughing out loud half a dozen times last week.