U.S. Pairs 2021-22 season - News & Updates, Part X

[StitchMonkey]

Dying to know the pair girl who wouldn’t skate with him ….

... well maybe we should look at who was looking for a partner between 2014-2016

 

[olympic]

... well maybe we should look at who was looking for a partner between 2014-2016

My first thought was Caitlin Yankowskas but I think she was searching for a partner in 2011

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Attached is a very interesting article about Timothy Le Duc, whose fundamentalist parents tried to have him exorcised because he is homosexual.

MSN

www.msn.com

OMG. I can’t even click on this…. it’s going to make me go full throttle in rage. I was fortunate enough to have a mom that not only encouraged me to come out but I swear she was going to become the grand marshal of gay pride parades herself. So movies like boy erased and stories like this makes me want to go full on Cray Cray

 

[Allskate]

OMG. I can’t even click on this…. it’s going to make me go full throttle in rage. I was fortunate enough to have a mom that not only encouraged me to come out but I swear she was going to become the grand marshal of gay pride parades herself. So movies like boy erased and stories like this makes me want to go full on Cray Cray

The article says that their parents are now supportive, including when they came out as non-binary. But it's very sad what they had to go through earlier.

 

[Theatregirl1122]

First out winter olympian? What's Eric Radford? Chopped liver? And there was another out athlete at the last games, American I think, who Eric connected with.

It specifically says "out non-binary winter Olympian."

Attached is a very interesting article about Timothy Le Duc, whose fundamentalist parents tried to have him exorcised because he is homosexual.

MSN

www.msn.com

Just a reminder, Tim uses they/them pronouns

 

[_Lola_]

It specifically says "out non-binary winter Olympian."



Just a reminder, Tim uses they/them pronouns

I think they also ask to call them Timothy, not Tim.

 

[overedge]

The article says that their parents are now supportive, including when they came out as non-binary. But it's very sad what they had to go through earlier.

I totally love the part where Timothy and Ashley talk about how the gendered stereotypes of pair skating didn't work for them as a team, and how both of them want to do something different with pairs skating. More power to both of them!!

 

[Allskate]

I totally love the part where Timothy and Ashley talk about how the gendered stereotypes of pair skating didn't work for them as a team, and how both of them want to do something different with pairs skating.

I like that attitude, too. But, I was thinking about it while watching their short program, and I didn't see that attitude reflected in that program. That's not a criticism of their program. It was beautiful.

 

[overedge]

I like that attitude, too. But, I was thinking about it while watching their short program, and I didn't see that attitude reflected in that program. That's not a criticism of their program. It was beautiful.

It may not be something they want to build on for every single program.

 

[BittyBug]

wrong thread

 

[olympic]

Wow. Watched Pairs on USA network.

CG/L we’re in the zone and skated a perfect performance. Ash’s rotation on the throw jump was completely revamped. She seemed to rotate tighter and faster. Did anyone notice?

C/J are my faves but they are appropriately in 2nd. I cannot stand the music. They are powerful while CG/L are ethereal.

No major mistakes from L/M but it was a little more workmanlike than at Golden Spin and they had a couple of hiccups; hand down on the throw and tiny bobble on a twizzle.

C/H skate big and love to perform. I cannot wait to see them again in the future.

Sad that we did not get to see K/F and L/O we’re sidelined to recover. It would have made it all more interesting

 

[BittyBug]

... well maybe we should look at who was looking for a partner between 2014-2016

Marissa Castelli was one, and she did try out with LeDuc, but I have no idea if that's who Tim was referring to.

 

[Theatregirl1122]

Marissa Castelli was one, and she did try out with LeDuc, but I have no idea if that's who Tim was referring to.

If so, they dodged a bullet.

 

[BittyBug]

I think Ashley and Tim are a fantastic fit for each other and can't imagine either with a different partner. I love their lines and some of their gender bending moves like the SBS split falling leafs. They're a very striking pair.

 

[stjeaskategym]

It was a less competitive Pairs SP than usual and we'll never know how everyone would have skated had Knierim/Frazier been there to make it a more intense competition. With how high the event was scored, K/F would have had a good chance to break 80 points with a strong skate. I feel badly that the luck of whether or not one tests positive is playing a part in this competition.

It was Cain/LeDuc's best SP; they were really dialed in. They didn't skate anything like that throughout the season. And they have a history of struggling in the SP at Nationals. But not today. Ashley actually rotated the SBS 3Lo. They often lose the level on their twist for the catch because there isn't much of one, but it looked lighter today.

Calalang/Johnson's 3S was eked out and looked like a q. It received mostly 0s whereas in an international competition I think it would have been more like -2. Still, it was far better than their warmup, which looked highly tense. It was an enjoyable performance. Their throw is not as strong as their other pair elements.

Lu/Mitrofanov are a clear 4th in the US based on their skating and how they do elements. A fluke win gave them some hype, but consistent jumps aside, you can really nitpick their skating and find reasons to give them lower GOE than the others. I know every Nationals has inflation, but they scored these pairs extra high today. L/M got +4s on their low twist, +GOE for a flawed & low throw, etc.

A Knierim/Frazier and Cain/LeDuc Olympic team just makes the most sense.

Ash’s rotation on the throw jump was completely revamped. She seemed to rotate tighter and faster. Did anyone notice?

Yeah Cain/LeDuc's throw looks different. They aren't doing a transition into it, it looks like they've simplified the setup. And yes, her elbows looked closer to her body as she was rotating. She also no longer holds her right arm up in a strange way before she is thrown (which used to almost look as if she was trying to throw herself into a solo jump instead of a throw). It hasn't made the throw any bigger, but it looks more normal now. Often her chest is down on the landing, but this was definitely one of her better ones.

Dying to know the pair girl who wouldn’t skate with him ….

I know Marissa Castelli turned LeDuc down, but I don't recall hearing anything about sexual orientation. There were question marks about LeDuc's lifting. Timothy eventually bulked up to skate with Ashley who is much taller. C/L's lifts aren't a real strength, but I think LeDuc would have been fine lifting Marissa. But she choose Mervin Tran instead.

Also in that Cain/LeDuc article, I was amused by Ashley's rather negative description of the traditional pair partnership where the man is strong and masculine and the female is the flower. The idea isn't for the flower to come across as "weak and wilted and needing rescuing by the man". The idea is for the man to be a strong base aka "stem", so that the girl can blossom and shine as a strong "flower". The man should be presenting the woman in the partnership more than outshining her, because she is the one doing all the flying in the air. I agree with Ashley though that you no longer have to look in love with your partner on the ice (there's not even time to do this anymore under IJS), it can be a different type of relationship.

 

[Frau Muller]

Irrespective of how well C-G/L skate…

Doesn’t Nina Mozer’s well-publicized presence in Nationals this week also help a tad with lobbying USFS? Not that it will be needed if C-G/L skate the free program as magnificently as the SP.

 

[olympic]

It was a less competitive Pairs SP than usual and we'll never know how everyone would have skated had Knierim/Frazier been there to make it a more intense competition. With how high the event was scored, K/F would have had a good chance to break 80 points with a strong skate. I feel badly that the luck of whether or not one tests positive is playing a part in this competition.

It was Cain/LeDuc's best SP; they were really dialed in. They didn't skate anything like that throughout the season. And they have a history of struggling in the SP at Nationals. But not today. Ashley actually rotated the SBS 3Lo. They often lose the level on their twist for the catch because there isn't much of one, but it looked lighter today.

Calalang/Johnson's 3S was eked out and looked like a q. It received mostly 0s whereas in an international competition I think it would have been more like -2. Still, it was far better than their warmup, which looked highly tense. It was an enjoyable performance. Their throw is not as strong as their other pair elements.

Lu/Mitrofanov are a clear 4th in the US based on their skating and how they do elements. A fluke win gave them some hype, but consistent jumps aside, you can really nitpick their skating and find reasons to give them lower GOE than the others. I know every Nationals has inflation, but they scored these pairs extra high today. L/M got +4s on their low twist, +GOE for a flawed & low throw, etc.

A Knierim/Frazier and Cain/LeDuc Olympic team just makes the most sense.




Yeah Cain/LeDuc's throw looks different. They aren't doing a transition into it, it looks like they've simplified the setup. And yes, her elbows looked closer to her body as she was rotating. She also no longer holds her right arm up in a strange way before she is thrown (which used to almost look as if she was trying to throw herself into a solo jump instead of a throw). It hasn't made the throw any bigger, but it looks more normal now. Often her chest is down on the landing, but this was definitely one of her better ones.




I know Marissa Castelli turned LeDuc down, but I don't recall hearing anything about sexual orientation. There were question marks about LeDuc's lifting. Timothy eventually bulked up to skate with Ashley who is much taller. C/L's lifts aren't a real strength, but I think LeDuc would have been fine lifting Marissa. But she choose Mervin Tran instead.

Also in that Cain/LeDuc article, I was amused by Ashley's rather negative description of the traditional pair partnership where the man is strong and masculine and the female is the flower. The idea isn't for the flower to come across as "weak and wilted and needing rescuing by the man". The idea is for the man to be a strong base aka "stem", so that the girl can blossom and shine as a strong "flower". The man should be presenting the woman in the partnership more than outshining her, because she is the one doing all the flying in the air. I agree with Ashley though that you no longer have to look in love with your partner on the ice (there's not even time to do this anymore under IJS), it can be a different type of relationship.

Agreed about the Olympic team, even if it breaks my heart because I'm a C/J fan.

Is Russia doing test skates after Euros, or will Euros decide the Russian team. Part of me would like to see a test skate from K/F post-YKW to determine if they are indeed OK for Beijing. Kwan had to submit to a test skate for Torino in 2006. YKW makes the whole situation strange because will Brandon be negative in time to fly to Beijing? At any rate, it's a really strange time for all Olympic athletes.

If there is an Olympics where the subs matter a whole lot (IOW, much higher chance of competing), it is this one. So, C/J stand a chance of competing whether they are selected or not this weekend.

 

[Karen-W]

Irrespective of how well C-G/L skate…

Doesn’t Nina Mozer’s well-publicized presence in Nationals this week also help a tad with lobbying USFS? Not that it will be needed if C-G/L skate the free program as magnificently as the SP.

Mozer has worked with both C-G/L and the TeamTodd&Jenni pairs teams. Alexa has posted some pics/thank yous to Mozer during the last month or two when she's been in Irvine.

 

[PRlady]

I totally love the part where Timothy and Ashley talk about how the gendered stereotypes of pair skating didn't work for them as a team, and how both of them want to do something different with pairs skating. More power to both of them!!

Honestly, it puts a finger on what I love about them, their choreo emphasizes unison and two PEOPLE, not boy'n girl. And because she is so tall for a pairs skater, their matching lines are lovely.

 

[PRlady]

Marissa Castelli was one, and she did try out with LeDuc, but I have no idea if that's who Tim was referring to.

Maybe Gretchen Donlan?

 

[pairskatingfan]

I don’t think it’s good to speculate about “who might have been homophobic/transphobic” without any evidence of who it could be.

 

[sk9tingfan]

Alexa and Brandon will be on CNN with Don Lemon at 11:45 PM EST

 

[Karen-W]

Alexa and Brandon will be on CNN with Don Lemon at 11:45 PM EST

Meh for it being Don Lemon, but I'll definitely tune in to hear what they have to say.

 

[stjeaskategym]

It's great that Brandon is feeling a lot better after just 2 or 3 days. It sounds like he's already turned the corner and is on the upward swing.

I'm assuming they'd have to get monitored to show readiness, but things look very encouraging for them to be healthy and ready to go by the Olympics. It's still so early, plenty of time to rest and ramp back up. Now I just need the selection committee to acknowledge all they have done to solidify themselves as top US pair and accept their petition.

 

[olympic]

It's great that Brandon is feeling a lot better after just 2 or 3 days. It sounds like he's already turned the corner and is on the upward swing.

I'm assuming they'd have to get monitored to show readiness, but things look very encouraging for them to be healthy and ready to go by the Olympics. It's still so early, plenty of time to rest and ramp back up. Now I just need the selection committee to acknowledge all they have done to solidify themselves as top US pair and accept their petition.

Thanks for the info. Omicron seems more transmissible but maybe milder according to news sources. A recent NY Times article noted that the virus seemed to attack nasal passages, throat and wind pipe leaving the lungs alone. As you recall, the lungs were damaged during infection from earlier strains. Also, in SA where the virus was 1st detected, cases were receding last time I checked, so I hope that it also seems to be over quickly

 

[Jammers]

I got sick in late August but never got tested for the virus though i had to stay home for the 10 day isolation period but the one thing i never got was the lung congestion which i hear is what causes the big problems. Not sure if it helped but i took the rest of the Mucinex i had. Whatever it was just came out of nowhere and when i went to bed i didn't wake up for over 15 hours. My sense of taste disappeared and i feel like i can't taste certain things as well as before though my taste did come back.

 

[Willin]

Thanks for the info. Omicron seems more transmissible but maybe milder according to news sources. A recent NY Times article noted that the ***** seemed to attack nasal passages, throat and wind pipe leaving the lungs alone. As you recall, the lungs were damaged during infection from earlier strains. Also, in SA where the ***** was 1st detected, cases were receding last time I checked, so I hope that it also seems to be over quickly

Honestly it's hard to tell if it's milder or if it's just that a lot of people getting Omicron are vaccinated and therefore have excellent protection against severe illness. Because there are still a LOT of unvaccinated people overwhelming ICUs across the country, while the vaccinated people in the ERs generally get their test and get sent home.

 

[Carolla5501]

I don’t think it’s good to speculate about “who might have been homophobic/transphobic” without any evidence of who it could be.

Of course it’s not, but that’s never stopped anyone on this message board from speculating or gossiping. Why would you think this would be any different

 

[olympic]

Honestly it's hard to tell if it's milder or if it's just that a lot of people getting Omicron are vaccinated and therefore have excellent protection against severe illness. Because there are still a LOT of unvaccinated people overwhelming ICUs across the country, while the vaccinated people in the ERs generally get their test and get sent home.

Yes. That is true

 

[Rukia]

Of course it’s not, but that’s never stopped anyone on this message board from speculating or gossiping. Why would you think this would be any different

This needs to be pinned to the top of every thread hahaha it's true though