From Reve at Fanforum, the VM thread:
Its distrust of, contempt for and superiority towards the public while unctuously pandering to its patriotism has reached the tipping point.
Why do they turn everything they do around on the public when the public has questions?
Why aren't their skaters handled so that common sense, simplicity and intelligence are applied in the management of the best interests of their personal lives, careers and health?
Skate Canada's athletes, from gold medalists to journeymen and women skaters, are ordinary people with an ordinary need for privacy; an understandable need for some control over the information shared with the public. Also a commonplace need to protect their interests as competitors as they prepare for each season while managing personal goals and whatever challenges and other life events enter their world.
The management of athletes is not rocket science. Many sports organizations ably meet the needs of both their athletes and the public.
But not at Skate Canada, whose public relations "go to" is subjecting athletes and public to sustained, ridiculous charades.
How come intelligent-seeming top athletes and their families go along instead of seeking less absurdist management of their circumstances? Skate Canada's expertise is figure skating; yet both Patrick Chan and Virtue/Moir train outside Canada with non-Skate Canadian team coaches. Both are currently the only international gold medal calibre skaters on SC's roster.
But in the management of VM's personal public relations, where Skate Canada is incompetent, Skate Canada runs the show. It's mortifying. A pompous, obnoxious, bungling, arrogant, transparent and over-reaching mess.
The transparency of the lead-up to 4CC's - the hugely overstated review of VM's "masterpiece" of a closed free dance practice seen by almost no one, the release of only VM's fully costumed practice photos but none of the rest of the team, William Thompson posting that he doesn't lie on twitter then immediately closing his twitter account (dude!), Mike Slipchuk reporting only on VirtueMoir and their emphatically TWO (count em - TWO!!) programs and TWO program practices while SC's other 4CC dancers, pairs and singles were consigned to "the rest of the Canadian skaters" was akin taking out a front page ad that another shoe was ready to drop.
(PJ Kwong's post-hoc remark that she could never have forseen Virtue and Moir's withdrawal, never even in a million years, not if she had a crystal ball, and Scott Russell chiming of course not, Taipei is such a long long way was a joke.)
Taipei's distance is a key reason they attended the competition. Ditto the closed practices. As many people know, and as Team VM knows many people know, Team VM has never been averse to traveling for one purpose - the overstatement of sham over actuality, aimed at a small audience. On these occasions we see them habitually cross the line of taste and self-respect, because for them, the ends justify the means. Why assume they'd operate differently for a professional purpose in a conveniently scheduled, conveniently remote, no harm-no-foul competition like the 4CCs where the benefits outweighed the risks?
I've read back through the thread and thought it interesting that initially everyone stated that there was no way it was an injury: 'she didn't look injured' - was the idea being thrown around. However, upon the statement released by various sources claiming that in fact Tessa was injured, we all believed that. When I watched the video (the first 100 times) each time I did not see a girl who was injured. Her expression to Scott after the Rotational Lift told me this was planned before they took to the ice. It was a pure smile - no grimace. Furthermore, the coaches did nothing (where dancers have previously been injured have had their whole team rush forward), and the expressions of Scott, Marina and Igor were passive. Debbi Wilkes also was there in the background, not looking phased in the least. There was nothing unexpected about the whole scenario. The team didn't actually do much talking, they all kind of stood at the boards before Scott skated over to announce the withdrawal. People going back now and looking at the section of video before they started their program thinking, she looks a bit injured there because she shook her leg, that's actually the way a lot of the ice dancers warm up.I agree it was pre-organized, and Skate Canada's idiot officials gave the game away in advance.
Its distrust of, contempt for and superiority towards the public while unctuously pandering to its patriotism has reached the tipping point.
Why do they turn everything they do around on the public when the public has questions?
Why aren't their skaters handled so that common sense, simplicity and intelligence are applied in the management of the best interests of their personal lives, careers and health?
Skate Canada's athletes, from gold medalists to journeymen and women skaters, are ordinary people with an ordinary need for privacy; an understandable need for some control over the information shared with the public. Also a commonplace need to protect their interests as competitors as they prepare for each season while managing personal goals and whatever challenges and other life events enter their world.
The management of athletes is not rocket science. Many sports organizations ably meet the needs of both their athletes and the public.
But not at Skate Canada, whose public relations "go to" is subjecting athletes and public to sustained, ridiculous charades.
How come intelligent-seeming top athletes and their families go along instead of seeking less absurdist management of their circumstances? Skate Canada's expertise is figure skating; yet both Patrick Chan and Virtue/Moir train outside Canada with non-Skate Canadian team coaches. Both are currently the only international gold medal calibre skaters on SC's roster.
But in the management of VM's personal public relations, where Skate Canada is incompetent, Skate Canada runs the show. It's mortifying. A pompous, obnoxious, bungling, arrogant, transparent and over-reaching mess.
The transparency of the lead-up to 4CC's - the hugely overstated review of VM's "masterpiece" of a closed free dance practice seen by almost no one, the release of only VM's fully costumed practice photos but none of the rest of the team, William Thompson posting that he doesn't lie on twitter then immediately closing his twitter account (dude!), Mike Slipchuk reporting only on VirtueMoir and their emphatically TWO (count em - TWO!!) programs and TWO program practices while SC's other 4CC dancers, pairs and singles were consigned to "the rest of the Canadian skaters" was akin taking out a front page ad that another shoe was ready to drop.
(PJ Kwong's post-hoc remark that she could never have forseen Virtue and Moir's withdrawal, never even in a million years, not if she had a crystal ball, and Scott Russell chiming of course not, Taipei is such a long long way was a joke.)
Taipei's distance is a key reason they attended the competition. Ditto the closed practices. As many people know, and as Team VM knows many people know, Team VM has never been averse to traveling for one purpose - the overstatement of sham over actuality, aimed at a small audience. On these occasions we see them habitually cross the line of taste and self-respect, because for them, the ends justify the means. Why assume they'd operate differently for a professional purpose in a conveniently scheduled, conveniently remote, no harm-no-foul competition like the 4CCs where the benefits outweighed the risks?
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