Weaver and Poje step away from competition

[victoriajh]

i was REALLY hoping it was going to be like last year- no GP, nationals and then worlds.... I wanted them on the team event in the Olympics!!!
but after that post, i see that its not a step away its a stop
I adore these two and even though the past few seasons the programs were not my faves- i always appreciated the skating skills and joy they possessed....

 

[ryanj07]

Oh no, they have been one of my favorite teams since their first season together! I don’t want to see them retire but can certainly understand the need to move on and wanting to accomplish other goals. I’ll always remember the first time I watched their “Malade” program at the 2011 GPF and the emotion I felt! ❤

 

[Dobre]

There's some beautiful passages in there but the general vibe of it is really weird to me -

I think it's really nice. Thank you for posting it.

 

[Vash01]

This is sad. I thought they were just taking a break, like a year off, then return for the Olympic season.

 

[aftershocks]

Weav/Po always gave it their all, leaving us with some beautiful memories.

It's great to know they will still be skating, which can not be said for some athletes who move on with few to no opportunities to skate professionally. W/P are such a beautiful couple, on and off-the-ice. They may still be leaving open an option to return, but it does look like this is goodbye to eligible competition for them. After all, the sport has such an outdated eligible competitive structure. Every fs athlete has such difficult decisions to make every off-season.

Thanks for the memories Kaitlyn & Andrew. I hope you both are at peace with and joyful about all you have achieved and overcome. You saved some of your best programs for last. Every performance you competed this past season was a joy to behold. The best of your life is yet to come!

 

[4rkidz]

Loved this team and great memories. So glad I watched them compete live at two worlds and the Grand Prix final in Barcelona. I wish them good fortune in their respective futures. A class team all the way, I will miss them.

 

[kwanfan1818]

I will wuzrobbed them to the end about the 2014 World title. Maria de Buenos Aires was a masterwork and the difficulty of doing those precise moves so closely together was off the charts.

 

[pat c]

All the best to them, whatever they decide to do in the future. It's been a pleasure watching them.

 

[Katta]

I was so sorry to read Kaitlyn's message on IG this morning.
I was hoping/dreaming of them getting back to the podium in Montreal for a perfect good by!

This makes me really, really sad:

I also imagine WP being systematically targeted by online trolls this last season has taken the fun out of things a lot too. Very regrettable that people think they can act like that online. The sheer level of mindless meanness has been quite something and it must be disappointing for K&A to see, particularly as its coming from their own country. It’s also embarrassing to see figure skating fans acting like that. It reflects really badly on the sport.

I had not heard/read anything related to the above; is it really true??

 

[The Observer]

I haven't seen many nasty comments about W&P, so I don't think that played much of a role. It's true there are some skating fans that felt that G&P should have won the National title this year and posted that they are glad that W&P are retiring, but I haven't seen anything other than that.

There are always some skating fans of each team that go overboard. I remember the behaviour from some of the Paul & Islam fans in 2013-2014. Some of them used to post nasty comments about Piper Gilles saying that her parents were buying off the Canadian Government so that Piper could get her Canadian citizenship. It can't have been easy for Piper to read those lies, but these things unfortunately happen.

 

[Emilia12]

I haven't seen many nasty comments about W&P, so I don't think that played much of a role. It's true there are some skating fans that felt that G&P should have won the National title this year and posted that they are glad that W&P are retiring, but I haven't seen anything other than that.

There are always some skating fans of each team that go overboard. I remember the behaviour from some of the Paul & Islam fans in 2013-2014. Some of them used to post nasty comments about Piper Gilles saying that her parents were buying off the Canadian Government so that Piper could get her Canadian citizenship. It can't have been easy for Piper to read those lies, but these things unfortunately happen.

There’s a lot of really disgusting comments on social media, specifically from one certain fandom. it’s been going for a while, and now just got to new levels. Very unfortunate

 

[starrynight]

There’s a lot of really disgusting comments on social media, specifically from one certain fandom. it’s been going for a while, and now just got to new levels. Very unfortunate

Yep. It’s been like a tsunami. Sort of came out of nowhere this past year and Kaitlyn and Andrew have been deleting comments off their instagrams, Kaitlyn has told some of them to be quiet and they both have basically been forced to stop using twitter. So they have definitely seen it. And as a fan it’s been difficult for me as well to have to encounter that every time I try to look for information about them online.

It’s all just really immature stuff from idiots online. But it’s coming from trolls within WPs own country and I always hope that they realise they do have a big fan base that appreciates them, both inside and outside of Canada - it’s just that groups of trolls online can make more negative noise than the positive energy of regular folk who might pop in occasionally to leave a nice comment.

It just does make me a bit sad because WP always valued their fan base a lot and meant a lot to them. And now it sort of seems to have been steamrolled by trolls who are actively running a ‘we hate weapo’ campaign.

 

[starrynight]

There are always some skating fans of each team that go overboard. I remember the behaviour from some of the Paul & Islam fans in 2013-2014. Some of them used to post nasty comments about Piper Gilles saying that her parents were buying off the Canadian Government so that Piper could get her Canadian citizenship. It can't have been easy for Piper to read those lies, but these things unfortunately happen.

For what it's worth, those were never actual Paul/Islam fans who said that. They were V/M orientated trolls who had sucked Paul/Islam and Gilles/Poirier into their uber matrix. This was part of an overall effort to promote V/M style skating as against an over-arching plan to take down Davis/White. So the idea was to promote Paul/Islam who shared a similar skating style against their competitors. However, fair weather friends and all of that... as soon as it became apparent that P/I might have been prompted to retire due to the V/M comeback they were dropped like a hot rock never to be mentioned again. That's why such intense and bitter comments were generated as against G/P out of nowhere. Around this time, W/P were lucky enough to be totally flying under the radar. (Really, a plan to pay off the Canadian government comes straight from a sekret baby blog, not a few actual Paul/Islam fans LOL - so many people were getting paid off in the lead up to Sochi it was hilarious).

But now, it's actually a very similar dynamic going on now as to where all of the weird hatred against W/P is coming from. They've found themselves sucked into an uber matrix. It really is unfortunate for the teams that this happens to. In a highly ironic development, the very team (G/P) that this same uber matrix attacked so harshly one quad ago is now being supported in part as ammunition against W/P. What a world we live in. As the world turns, hey?

lol It actually helps to write this out because it demonstrates how utterly silly all of it is. And how it all generally doesn't have much to do with the teams being involved. None of that stuff against G/P was ever about them (demonstrated by how quickly it's all been forgotten now). Same that I know none of the stuff against W/P is actually about them either.

 

[angi]

Cyberbullying is done by individuals, not by fandoms, and they are the ones that should be held accountable. Every fandom has rotten apples in them, the bigger ones just naturally have more.
Going back to the actual subject of the thread, W/P had a long and impressive career and I wish them the best. I think the most interesting question now is if they are planning to continue touring or not so it will be interesting to see what they will do next.

 

[puglover]

I am truly going to really miss them. They are amazing performers now and I absolutely was blown away by them at SOI this year. Time marches on for all of us and I can understand the time comes when the sacrifice of other goals for the demands of competitive skating needs to be questioned. I hope they do the Tessa and Scott show.

 

[starrynight]

Nice post from Kaitlyn today - happy faces from Kaitlyn and Andrew at Andrew’s sister’s wedding.

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[4rkidz]

I’m glad I missed all the negative stuff about them in social media, that’s awful. They have very supportive families though so I’m sure that helped them.

 

[The Observer]

For what it's worth, those were never actual Paul/Islam fans who said that. They were V/M orientated trolls who had sucked Paul/Islam and Gilles/Poirier into their uber matrix. This was part of an overall effort to promote V/M style skating as against an over-arching plan to take down Davis/White. So the idea was to promote Paul/Islam who shared a similar skating style against their competitors. However, fair weather friends and all of that... as soon as it became apparent that P/I might have been prompted to retire due to the V/M comeback they were dropped like a hot rock never to be mentioned again. That's why such intense and bitter comments were generated as against G/P out of nowhere. Around this time, W/P were lucky enough to be totally flying under the radar. (Really, a plan to pay off the Canadian government comes straight from a sekret baby blog, not a few actual Paul/Islam fans LOL - so many people were getting paid off in the lead up to Sochi it was hilarious).

But now, it's actually a very similar dynamic going on now as to where all of the weird hatred against W/P is coming from. They've found themselves sucked into an uber matrix. It really is unfortunate for the teams that this happens to. In a highly ironic development, the very team (G/P) that this same uber matrix attacked so harshly one quad ago is now being supported in part as ammunition against W/P. What a world we live in. As the world turns, hey?

lol It actually helps to write this out because it demonstrates how utterly silly all of it is. And how it all generally doesn't have much to do with the teams being involved. None of that stuff against G/P was ever about them (demonstrated by how quickly it's all been forgotten now). Same that I know none of the stuff against W/P is actually about them either.

Hmm. Well, thanks for the additional insight into what was going on. When I read those nasty comments in the months leading up to the 2014 Olympics, I wasn't aware that it was the work of V/M trolls. All I know is that it was beginning to make Paul/Islam look bad because it looked like people were trashing Piper on P/I's apparent behalf.

But yes, I remember now that there were some ice dance commentators such as Tracy Wilson who observed that P/I had similarities to the style of V/M. It's unfortunate if some of the V/M trolls then decided to use P/I to bash Gilles/Poirier and Davis/White. Very odd.

And I've heard about that website where they claim that Tessa & Scott secretly have a baby together. Very odd. I would have thought it was a joke, but those people seem to take it seriously.

 

[Japanfan]

I'm confused. I don't understand what Kaitlyn was trying to achieve with this post. She obviously doesn't need Instagram to communicate with Andrew and it's a strange way of communicating with the fans, especially when they are supposedly still reflecting on their future and aren't officially retired.

Maybe she just wanted to share her appreciation of Andrew with friends and fans, while not focusing on what the future holds.

 

[arakwafan2006]

Good

 

[Ohyes]

Should have retired after worlds last year. Andrews twizzles aren't getting any better.

 

[her grace]

Weaver/Poje were such a classy team. Never made a fuss when marks didn't go their way or when V/M returned, effectively derailing their hopes. They had wonderful intricate emotional programs. They'll be missed!

Some of my favorite performances of theirs:

2012 world championships, 4th je sui malade This one is such a masterpiece
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFWEIZPDOOI

2014 world championships, silver
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL1Lbxk66TM

2015 GP Final, gold
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zrhko9PJGm4

 

[starrynight]

For me, their 2013 Worlds performances after that impressive comeback from Kaitlyn’s broken ankle will always be my favourite. The Sound of Music SD and the Statue FD were perfect programs for them.

 

[Josh78]

So many signature programs that are probably overlooked by many but that i'll always remember (2014-15 and 2015-16 FD's to be specific -- those were two beautiful and forward-thinking programs that gave them so much momentum throughout those seasons, it's just unfortunate that both years they poured out SO MUCH winning the GPF and CAN Nationals both years, they just didn't quite have enough in their tank to take it through all the way to Worlds) -- if they are indeed moving on for good, they will be missed!

 

[Finnice]

Oh no, I will miss them! I had a pleasure to interview them once in Finlandia Trophy, and they were so nice and down-to-earth. (And I got hugs, too!)

 

[Bigbird]

I also think the fact that their coach Morozov is all over the world at the moment and may be spending a lot mor e time in Russia with Stolbova and new partner might have been a factor too.

I also imagine WP being systematically targeted by online trolls this last season has taken the fun out of things a lot too. Very regrettable that people think they can act like that online. The sheer level of mindless meanness has been quite something and it must be disappointing for K&A to see, particularly as its coming from their own country. It’s also embarrassing to see figure skating fans acting like that. It reflects really badly on the sport.

Also trying to transform morozova and partner into the next V/M will take every other waking moment of his day. They will be missed.

 

[puglover]

Wow - I am taking this one harder than I expected. I wasn't too in favor of their decision to not do the Grand Prix last year - but as the season played out I came to realize it very likely would not have made a bit of difference in the final result anyway. I really have my fingers crossed that they have a lot of opportunities to do shows as they really excel at those.

 

[Rock2]

There's some beautiful passages in there but the general vibe of it is really weird to me - maybe it's just me.

Not just you.
A friend shared her post in a FB group with me and some other friends and we were all like 'what the heck was that?' Agree, strange energy to it.

I think her intent was express gratitude and post a benign heartfelt message but to most of us in my circle the message was riddled with subtext. Nothing like the traditional 'hey we're retiring, now let me/us give thanks'.

No criticism here by any means but it seems there's more she wants to share, so she signalled some things without going into details.

 

[starrynight]

I think with Kaitlyn and Andrew because they are close friends and housemates off ice that any retirement decision was always going to be complicated and full of emotions. Probably more so than in teams where it’s just strictly professional and there’s no friendship outside of training. Particularly in circumstances where Kaitlyn probably wanted to keep competing forever. Kaitlyn is also quite an emotional person who feels lots of things very deeply.

I think that Andrew reached the point where he knew he couldn’t compete anymore and then had to do the very difficult thing of breaking that news to Kaitlyn. Don’t imagine that was easy at all. Kaitlyn is now probably sad that her career is over. But it’s far better for Andrew to do it this way than try to keep going without his heart in it and then slump in training.

In a perfect world they might have had more time to process the decision before it went public, but the Grand Prix assignments sort of forced an announcement.

But there are happy snaps of the two of them together at Andrew’s sister’s wedding over the weekend, so I would say things are just fine and they are still friends as they have always been. They aren’t robots. They’ve always been a quite emotional (and at times heartbreaking) team and that’s one of the reasons I like them.

 

[VGThuy]

For some reason, I thought W/P were going to try to get an Olympic medal via the team event so long as there isn't a Canadian team with an V/M-like rise who will do both phases of the team event in 2022. Of course, a lot of things can happen between now and then and if Andrew doesn't feel like the daily grind is worth it considering it's sort of an unknown whether they would get to compete in the Olympic team event and win a medal there (assuming Canada takes home a medal) by 2022.