U.S. Ladies [#26]: Bell, Boots, and Camel

[nathanfan]

I have heard of both good and bad experiences there - which would be the case at pretty much every school.

Actually this school year would have been a good time to start her college education, but guess she had not applied yet.

 

[AxelAnnie]

UM.....Cornell does not have a pre-med program.

 

[Sylvia]

UM.....Cornell does not have a pre-med program.

Refer to the first excerpt I posted from the Cornell Daily Sun article on the previous page of this thread: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...ll-boots-and-camel.105458/page-7#post-5580264

 

[Theoreticalgirl]

The article said she's majoring in Human Biology, Health, and Society. You can major in anything you'd like as long as you take the prerequisite courses needed for most medical programs.

 

[skatfan]

UM.....Cornell does not have a pre-med program.

Very few top colleges and universities do. Usually folks major in biology or other science major and take the classes that medical schools require. Which is how I ended up in Chemistry 1a at Pomona College with all the "pre-meds."

 

[AxelAnnie]

Very few top colleges and universities do. Usually folks major in biology or other science major and take the classes that medical schools require. Which is how I ended up in Chemistry 1a at Pomona College with all the "pre-meds."

LOL!
That was my thought. Her article said she was going to be pre-med.

 

[Sylvia]

Her press release said she was going to be pre-med.

Article, not press release.

 

[Carolla5501]

The article said she's majoring in Human Biology, Health, and Society. You can major in anything you'd like as long as you take the prerequisite courses needed for most medical programs.

I know someone who majored in Dance.


I wish her every success and assume her team will her deal with everything and our "advice" probably isn't needed

 

[Theoreticalgirl]

@Carolla5501 Both of my friends with MDs earned their degrees in Poetics and Fine Art, respectively. Some of those classes they did as undergrads, others taken post-bacc. I'm sure she'll figure it out.

 

[VGThuy]

Some articles and write-ups also said Nathan Chen was going for "pre-med". Usually when they say that, it just means the student will be majoring in Biology or something similar with the intention of preparing for and applying to medical school, rather than designating an official major or something called "Pre-Med". Usually, if there's some sort of office at the University for "Pre-Med" or something, it's more for counseling to make sure you take the prerequisite undergrad courses to get into medical school, but you can major in anything.

 

[meggonzo]

I wonder what her plans for coaching are? Facetime with Tammy?

 

[aml78]

I get why this set up works for Nathan but I’m not sure Karen will be successful with remote coaching. I wish her so much luck and I hope it all works out for the best. Exciting times for her.

 

[Maximillian]

I think the term 'pre-med' is used by the media to communicate that the athlete intends to go on to medical school after completion of their undergrad, rather than speaking to an actual declared major.

 

[Japanfan]

Oh man. I wish her well.....but I see a train wreck coming.

Sure their goals may differ, but from the article, she is eyeing Beijing 2022. Both of them want to make the next Olympic team.

I'm wishing Karen the best. I get people have their doubts, but honestly, the most probable bad case scenario isn't really that bad. It's not as if we hadn't seen Karen having bad seasons/comps already, so not much will change there.

Other figure skaters have competed and studies at the same time. What's more unusual is for a skater to do so and be a 2 time World Champion.

 

[VGThuy]

Other figure skaters have competed and studies at the same time. What's more unusual is for a skater to do so and be a 2 time World Champion.

What’s also unusual is she’s moving across the country far from her training base and adopting that two-time world champ’s set up of being coached through video outside of times where they will be back the rink during breaks. Otherwise, you are right that skaters have attended university and still managed to juggle skating before, even if them winning Worlds with the above set up is quite unusual.

 

[Debbie S]

The challenge for Nathan and Karen is that Yale and Cornell, and schools of similar caliber, have strict requirements for how many classes/credits students need to take each semester and year to remain in good academic standing. They expect students to graduate in 4 years and those who take longer are the exception, not the norm. At public universities, which cater to a diverse population in terms of age and life experience, there is more flexibility in the time to complete one's degree. And with a large number of non-traditional age students who may also be working part-time, raising a family, etc, while attending school, there are often classes offered in the evenings. At Yale, Cornell, and other schools with a mostly traditional college-age population that mostly lives on campus, classes are usually offered between 9 AM and 3 PM, making it a challenge to fit in training based on rink schedules.

Nathan was able to do it this year, sounds like he had a lot of cooperation from the university...hopefully, Karen will get that too.

 

[MrMystery]

Wishing Karen all the best. She's a smart girl and no doubt will thrive at Cornell. That said, can't help but think this isn't the best situation for her when it comes to skating, which of course is fine, as long as she has realistic goals. Yes, skaters have successfully gone to school and skated at a high level at the same time, but they are typically training in-person with a coach. I know Nathan isn't, but I think we all have to realistically understand that Nathan is a bit of an exception not the rule. It'll be interesting to see how Karen looks next year.

 

[natsulian]

Polina posted a video of her landing her first 3Lz in 19 months.

She’s landed 3T, 2A-3T, 3F, 3Lo, and 3Lz thus far. It seems like she began training again only a few months ago.

 

[Marco]

All the best to Karen. I don't know what her skating plans are, but given all the nagging boot problems and injuries she has had in the past few seasons, and that she has accomplished very much in the skating world (Olympic, US Champ, 4th at Worlds) - focusing on school in the future seems reasonable.

 

[Sylvia]

Karen Chen on her break from skating, challenges of balancing classes at Cornell and elite skating: https://olympics.nbcsports.com/2019/05/02/karen-chen-figure-skating-cornell/

I have my short done already. And my long is not done yet but, music decided and started. I think the long should be done by the end of next week.

What are you skating to?

My short is to “You Say” by Lauren Daigle. And my long is “Illumination” from The Secret Garden.

"Illumination" from Secret Garden (the group) was her FS music selection last season that she never competed.

ETA:

I assume Karen plans to return to the Grand Prix as a "Come-Back" Skater (based on her 4th place at 2017 Worlds) since she withdrew from her GP assignments last season due to injury.

 

[Debbie S]

I assume Karen plans to return to the Grand Prix as a "Come-Back" Skater (based on her 4th place at 2017 Worlds) since she withdrew from her GP assignments last season due to injury.

Would a comeback assignment be in addition to or in lieu of a host spot at SA? In other words, could Karen potentially get 2 spots, a comeback spot and a host spot?

 

[Sylvia]

From the 2018-19 GP Announcement:

c) “Come-Back” Skaters/Couples: Skaters/Couples who were previously seeded (placed 1 to 6 within the
past 10 years at a ISU World Figure Skating Championships) and subsequently did not participate in one
or more competitive seasons will be given priority consideration to re-enter the ISU Grand Prix of Figure
Skating for selection of up to 2 assignments if they commit in writing to participating in two ISU Grand Prix
of Figure Skating events and if such return is announced and confirmed by the date of the annual Selection
Meeting. Such so called “Come Back Skaters/Couples” will not substitute any of the Seeded
Skaters/Couples, mentioned under a). “Come Back Skaters/Couples” must not fulfil the requirements of
the minimum Grand Prix score and would be considered for selection as an Organizing ISU Member
Choice. A come back under this clause is allowed only once in their competitive career for any
Skater/Couple.
d) If a Seeded or “Come-Back” Skater/Couple withdraws from an assigned event, even for medical reasons,
that Skater/couple will not be assigned to another event.

 

[natsulian]

Vincent posted quite an interesting Instagram post concerning Gracie. Is she leaving Vincent’s academy?

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw95-DzFwN1/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=19hbz2z1m66ag

 

[Sylvia]

Vincent Restencourt's IG post today also includes "Thank you for your trust in us..."

He shared a clip of Gracie doing off-ice work yesterday: https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw7rL25FWnD/

Gracie will be receiving an award (Will Sears Award) tonight after the Ice Theatre of New York's "Unplugged" show... I'm sure there will be an article or two about her by tomorrow (maybe even tweets later tonight).

 

[RoseRed]

From the 2018-19 GP Announcement:

c) “Come-Back” Skaters/Couples: Skaters/Couples who were previously seeded (placed 1 to 6 within the
past 10 years at a ISU World Figure Skating Championships) and subsequently did not participate in one
or more competitive seasons will be given priority consideration to re-enter the ISU Grand Prix of Figure
Skating for selection of up to 2 assignments if they commit in writing to participating in two ISU Grand Prix
of Figure Skating events and if such return is announced and confirmed by the date of the annual Selection
Meeting. Such so called “Come Back Skaters/Couples” will not substitute any of the Seeded
Skaters/Couples, mentioned under a). “Come Back Skaters/Couples” must not fulfil the requirements of
the minimum Grand Prix score and would be considered for selection as an Organizing ISU Member
Choice. A come back under this clause is allowed only once in their competitive career for any
Skater/Couple.
d) If a Seeded or “Come-Back” Skater/Couple withdraws from an assigned event, even for medical reasons,
that Skater/couple will not be assigned to another event.

Karen did participate in the 2018-19 season though. She skated a SP at CS Tallinn. So will she actually qualify as a comeback skater? She didn't complete that competition, so maybe it will be fine, but with a strict reading of the rule, I don't think she would. But the ISU seems to be pretty flexible with the GP rules.

 

[Theoreticalgirl]

Vincent posted quite an interesting Instagram post concerning Gracie. Is she leaving Vincent’s academy?

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw95-DzFwN1/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=19hbz2z1m66ag

He replied to a comment confirming she is still with his group. I suppose it's just a positive word of encouragement before she heads off to NYC for the ITNY gala?

 

[AxelAnnie]

Thank you for the link to the article interviewing Karen. I hope she achieves what she is setting out to do.

I had to laugh because they pointed out that it had been "lightly edited" for length and clarity.

Question 1: What did you learn about yourself during this break from competitive skating?
Answer: It was a while.

HUH?


I talked to Nathan Chen and he said that you spoke a little bit about how to balance school and skating.
Yeah. We’re really good friends and we are doing a seminar together in Portland, Oregon [in a few weeks]. I can really rack his brains and try to see what his experiences are and what he found was helpful and any tips he had to give me.

Note: you can not rack someone else's brains out. You can only rack your own.

They need a new editor.

 

[PDilemma]

The challenge for Nathan and Karen is that Yale and Cornell, and schools of similar caliber, have strict requirements for how many classes/credits students need to take each semester and year to remain in good academic standing. They expect students to graduate in 4 years and those who take longer are the exception, not the norm. At public universities, which cater to a diverse population in terms of age and life experience, there is more flexibility in the time to complete one's degree. And with a large number of non-traditional age students who may also be working part-time, raising a family, etc, while attending school, there are often classes offered in the evenings. At Yale, Cornell, and other schools with a mostly traditional college-age population that mostly lives on campus, classes are usually offered between 9 AM and 3 PM, making it a challenge to fit in training based on rink schedules.

Nathan was able to do it this year, sounds like he had a lot of cooperation from the university...hopefully, Karen will get that too.

See that's odd, because I was curious that any major university would offer such limited class times, especially with a large student population to accommodate. So I did a quick google search and found literally 71 courses offered at Yale this semester that meet between 6 p.m and 10 p.m. Many others start as late as 3:30 and 4 p.m, too.

 

[nathanfan]

I believe Nathan said that his music course this semester meets in the evening.

It is not clear yet how much support and cooperation that Karen will be getting from Cornell. It would have been more difficult for Nathan without this.

How many Grand Prix is she likely to get this season?

 

[Lacey]

Part of me thinks there's no point worrying over things we can't control. I'm not sure how to word this without being wrong or seeming stupid, but the tricky part for me for any skater trying to attend college and skate and do both full time would also be fitting in whatever is/are considered required summer/fall competitions, to say nothing of US Nats and Worlds, and 4Cs for some.

This thread is about Ladies and/or Karen Chen, but I get my examples from the US men who came just before her, primarily because Nathan Chen did the college thing this past season. Nathan seemed to do a great job with balancing everything. First of all, I think he had a tremendous grasp of Yale's calendar before he ever signed on the the dotted line to matriculate there. He may very well have applied to only one college or to schools that only had workable breaks for him. He knew from the way Yale fashioned its annual schedule that he would have a few days off here and there, specifically. I wonder if Yale has what some colleges have that is called a Reading Period (that would be considered a week or two off before exams to catch up and reread textbooks and papers?) and other specific time off that he was able to use for intense prep before GPs and GPF, US Nats or Worlds. All of the natural breaks seemed to work seamlessly for Nathan except I think there was one week right before US Nats or Worlds where he got sick and couldn't train or train as hard or even make it out to Cal because he was ill. He also had some time off at Fall, Christmas and Spring Breaks, which most college students would have. While one can miss a day here and there, it's not like college kids can take a stream of vacation days. But would all students have the same breaks, I don't think so. And we don't know a thing about Karen's Cornell schedule.

I can see where being the pick for US Skate America would work for Nathan, Vincent Zhou and Jason Brown, because it is our country and we get our picks. The calendar flipped SA last year, but they announced that in the spring. But this planning would not necessarily work out, for instance, if one had lousy summer comps and team camps because your own country wouldn't pick you. Also, how does one line up oneself for other country's GPs or is the draw from other countries to their competitions their choice or just plain luck? Because Nathan might go to, say, Russia, would Vincent then go to the next easiest for a foreigner to win competition or could he push for the one that works with his schedule, I don't think either. Some kids like to compete back to back weeks, perhaps to save air hours. Others want to space out their comps to spread out their energy if they have any say at all. But does any of what one wants count? Would Karen fall into the same perfect women's slots that Nathan seemed to get in men's last year? It seems she has less history on which to fall back.

Whatever happens to Karen and all US Men I exampled, I tremendously respect any skater who also can handle college at the same time as high level competition. And all of these skater students are going to have fabulous resumes for grad school or job applications afterwards, no matter their skating results. My own kid walked on to a Varsity Sport, survived 4 years and improved her game tremendously. Being on a rigid schedule kept her more focused on her academics--she did it all well. And I think outside of the effort required for student skaters there is also a lot of luck needed.