I've said before that I doubt Virtue and Moir are actually being coached by Marie France Dubreuil and Patrick Lauzon. I don't think they ever have been. Even last year's programs, I bet used a mere veneer of Dubreuil-esque flourishes while Virtue and Moir got their real coaching somewhere else. They're beyond Dubreuil Lauzon, technically and in every other respect. They've worked with and trained with the best in the world, and while there are excellent coaches who never became World or Olympic champions themselves, Dubreuil Lauzon are not among them. DL's signature team is Papadakis Cizeron. We can see how resourceful that choreography is, not to mention technically pristine.* Virtue and Moir are out of Dubreuil Lauzon's league, and if Papadakis Cizeron skated exactly as they skate now but didn't move to Gadbois, they'd have stayed in thirteenth place. Gadbois results aren't due to superior skating. It's just payola.
Here's a whole article out about Brian Orser kind of sub-coaching for Virtue Moir for three hours while D/L were delayed. Virtue and Moir don't need Brian Freaking Orser watching over their warm-up jackets and skate guards at this stage of their career and abilities. Not for a single practice session at Skate Freaking Canada. There are a million stand-ins who could do board duty.
OrserCoachesVM
I'd love to know how the money for this charade is structured. Dubreuil Lauzon and Virtue Moir could be a straight quid pro quo - they enhance Gadbois's reputation by giving Gadbois the credit for fixing their nonexistent flaws, and in exchange for that fake news, Virtue and Moir are allowed to win.
Virtue and Moir are absolutely stunning in the Skate Canada practice videos.
They're thrilling to watch, but it also makes me a little sick to my stomach. A bit later I'll do Virtue Moir's free dance rotational versus Gabriella sitting on Guillaume like a he's teacup in an Ages 3-7 amusement park ride, while we all know that the judges are going to treat both elements as if they're equal in quality and oh so close in execution. I know this, and yet it's hard to keep down.
Also, Weaver & Poje go back to a 2012 free dance.
Je suis triste de Je Suis Malade
Blech. Bunched fists of drama from Kaitlyn, lots of face skating. Hated that program.
Beverly Smith has dumbed down her writing incredibly. Je suis malade à ce sujet aussi.
*Sarcasm.
how do you think this compares to carmen?
ReplyDeletewho is coaching them?
i wonder if they will coach after this.
all i know is that they are so much better than everyone. i started re-watching vm programs from TEN years ago. NOONE not even the shibs. are at VMs 2008 level.
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Agreed, their skates years ago should still easily beat anybody in ice dance today. It's heart breaking to me how good they are, and how so much of what they put out there is lost on people watching, including, I suspect, many of the judges, no matter how VM are scored. I could make endless gifs of different segments of each of their programs, each gif showing an instance of virtuouso skating skills. There's also Tessa's level of detail - she holds her hands completely differently in Moulin Rouge than in the SD.
ReplyDeleteyeah it's amazing. tho i still think that parts of carmen are more complicated than moulin. esp a couple of the lifts. the carmen straight line lift is rivaled by only the seasons straight line. in any even they should be outscoring everyone by 20+ points.
ReplyDeleteCarmen was shat on, but at least this year's free dance isn't as craven as last season's. Of course they should be outscoring everyone - and it's not subtle. You could show anyone on earth their skating compared to other ice dance teams and that person would immediately know VM were far and away the best team on the planet.
DeleteAre you joking? There are better teams, and Ed Sheeran rhumba is SUBLIME and ELEGANT, and ya know, you can't compare skating and danSing. Those acrobatic lifts suck too, this is no circus!
DeleteHave a good day,
Margot
This is true, there is only one team in this game that truly danSes.
Delete"margot" sounds like a P/C fan who is suprise suprise "french" get out of here troll
DeleteHoney, why so serious? I'm not French, I'm not P/C fan and I like sarcasm. My previous post was utterly sarcastic.
DeleteRelax and have a good day,
Margot
Definitely, 3:13pm, Margot has posted here before and was being sarcastic. The hint is in the "s" in "danse.":)
DeleteI agree. So much debate as Carmen being too technical, too abstract. No one talking about the skating. They actually IMPROVED everything about their skating skills (edge, SS, twizzles, lifts in difficulty) after their OGM win. ISU just gave them the shaft. Makes me sick! And don't get me started on Sochi ...
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaL5bPGJNmg
ReplyDeletethey got 82.68. idk enough about scoring but why do i think it's low for this amazing performance
That link led me to H/D ..this one to VM
Deletehttps://youtu.be/Dp4-s28FF68
it's a new world record, so it's not THAT low
DeleteIt's a new world record in combination with their short, but their free wasn't a WR. It's such a Davis White versus VM thing. VM did deserve a level 3 on steps - Tessa hit a toepick which broke her rhythm and kicked up some snow (I think it was steps). However, Papadakis fucking TRIPPED at the end of her steps in the short at Finlandia, and it was ignored by the judges. THAT's the problem, as it was with Davis White. Virtue and Moir are judged as if they are competing in a real sport, so they must be clean, they must be legal, they must be rulebook perfect. Then they can win - at least THIS Olympic cycle they can win. Their biggest, fakest rivals, Papadakis and Cizeron, can trip, two foot, be out of sync and sloppy as hell, and still post WR scores. That is what grates.
DeleteFor some reason, performance centric critiques are getting under my skin this year. I like Ben Agosto, but he was all about impact in his critique of the fd. FUCK THAT. This is not a play, it's not Broadway, it's not an "impact" contest. You're not a fan of the subdued ending - PLEASE, enlighten us all how, per the rulebook, that matters. It's all performance with the comments. You can't tell me that's not how they're told to critique. I bet most of the fans that watch gymnastics don't know what they're looking at either, but that doesn't prevent the people in the broadcast booth from observing what is done technically on the apparatus or floor, and telling us where something diverged from the ideal. It hasn't hurt gymnastics ratings a bit. Figure skating commentary, even when full of praise for a program that deserve praise, is praising the wrong fucking things.
You can tell they were disappointed with the score. Comments idiotic but I do agree that lift at end is barely a lift and falls flat. Are there only four lifts required in free dance now ? Performance amazing however and perfect except for that little glitch which I didn’t even notice. Level 3 just for that ?
DeleteIf you hit a toe pick at the end of an element there should be a deduction, and they got one. My objection is Papadakis and Cizeron make errors all the way through their programs, including actually stumbling, but it is ignored by the judges and their GOE is stratosphereic. Very typical.
DeletePapadakis/Cizeron didn't get any L4 step sequences at Finlandia -- L3 in the short and L3 and L2 in the free might still be too much, I haven't rewatched either, but they did get dinged by the tech panel for some things at that event, at least.
DeleteGood, so I guess GOE made up for it, which is almost as absurd.
DeleteI've read on a couple of forums that VM's SC fd twizzles were iffy. I thought they were strong.
P.S. I rewatched the Skate Canada Moulin Rouge and Tessa has learned one thing, and one thing only, from Gabriella Papadakis. Make an error, ignore it. It's what you meant to do. Nothing happened. It's just as good either way. Tessa did that. I compare that to her 2009 Skate Canada OD where she lost her footing a couple of times between elements, and you could see it all over her face, in her body, and Scott had to re-center her. All of this happened more or less micro-expressively, but you could see her go almost OT and want to compensate. Now, no matter how she may feel about it in private, she skated it like - that's art! It's as good as doing it correctly! :)
DeleteBut also, not to mention, Cizeron FELL at Finlandia and the FD got a WR score while VM did not. Overcompensating to the max to keep the story line going.
DeletePC's FD at Finlandia was scored 110.16. It was many, many, many points higher than what it actually should have been, but it was not a WR score. The FD world record is from the world championships.
DeleteIt will be very interesting to see their next competition. Unless they make some very drastic changes, nobody can justify massive increases in PCS. I don't want to rewatch that sorry excuse for an FD but if memory serves me right, it was skated cleanly and they would have already maxed out on the PCS.
DeleteThanks 10:29 PM.
DeleteI saw another article which I can't find right now with VM talking about the huge team around them. It felt like "we know we can't take all the credit ourselves but don't give DL all the credit either" Also got me thinking - who's paying for all these experts? SC?VM themselves?
ReplyDeleteThey are referring to B2Ten, a private and benevolent organization that costs them nothing. Handles all of their off ice needs.
Deletehttp://b2ten.com/
They hyped B2Ten last year too. This year, at HPC they spoke as if they'd assembled an entirely new support team for the Olympic year. I don't believe it. I think "Patch" and "Marie" have always been faux, and they've always been intent on acquiring a support team that had actual ability and could make a genuine contribution towards their success. VM are SO much more sophisticated about their skating than they pretend. Technically, choreographically, musically, every way. There are very few international coaches who could teach them anything. They need a team. They need an aggregate of talent. DL don't figure into that at all.
DeleteWhy would they dump Spartacus? I thought it was beautiful, had potential...
ReplyDeleteMaybe they were worried about their vaguely antiquitish costume style getting them lumped in with the Turkish team...
I thought it was a nicely constructed program but probably required stronger skaters than Weaver & Poje have become for it to be "effective." My favorite Weaver & Poje programs, and by that I mean my favorite skates from them, were the season she hurt herself and they came back and competed their Sound of Music short and The Statue fd. Both programs were skated more fluidly and fluently than anything I've seen from them before or since. With them, I always feel the key is to give them something that syncs up with their natural internal rhythms, the way they move on the ice naturally. Not something that they respond to emotionally, because I haven't seen their emotions inform their skating. Music helps a skater when it helps the skater relax, feel comfortable. Many fans think music is important judging wise, or as a theatre piece. I think it's only important to the extent it works upon the skater so that the skater feels free and comfortable on the ice and can skate his/her/their best. It doesn't matter what the music is as long as it is the appropriate rhythm for the sd or fits the dance style/rhythm of the fd.
DeleteIn any case, I always thought Je Suis Malade was a lot of effortful emoting from Weaver & Poje and not a whole lot of effortless skating. They kind of remind me of actors or acting students who are straining up there with a monologue or scene, and because they're working so hard they think it must be good. But if it's working, it will feel natural. I never thought Je Suis Malade felt natural to them as skaters, and they're a team that needs that IMO.
And with Weaver & Poje, "moving naturally" on the ice should also include ease of transitions.
DeleteI thought the statue FD was excellent. je suis malade is overscored but w/some nice moments. ultimately, a show piece.
DeleteI do covet her red dress tho.
DeleteI wish they'd done a different costume instead of basically the same costume from the first go-round with the same limp strap. It was a very cautious skate, but they were emotionally engaged. Why that matters unless the emotions free the skating and improve the skating beats me.
Deleteoc
I don't blame them since it's Olympic season. Spartacus needed a lot of mileage to be honest. Maybe W/P didn't feel confident enough that it will bring them close to podium on time. Even if they don't make it to the podium with Je suit malade, at least they can be satisfied that they skated great with a program they (and audience) love there. I'm actually Ok with it...
DeleteI'm not against it, but for me "Je Suis Malade" is almost a W/P parody program. It's Halloween, so if I and a friend were dressing as them, I'd come out in Je Suis Malade with my face full of angst and my fist clenched even if they'd continued with Spartacus. Beverly Smith went on and on about how everyone thought "Je Suis Malade" had to be their Olympic program, but if the feeling were that passionate, they'd have decided that and updated the program over the summer. They went with Je Suis Malade not because it's so awesome but because Spartacus didn't work (for THEM, not early in the season) and at least people seem to have memories of Je Suis Malade that are positive, so they're not losing standing by skating it in the Grand Prix, though again, this is all perception bullshit which shouldn't be a factor in sport. The skating in Je Suis Malade is not markedly better than the skating in Spartacus.
DeleteAny naysayers to V/M's FD had a rude awakening this weekend. Still can't believe it didn't beat The French's WR score. And with that level of skating skills. God! Well, I'm patient. I liked how this program is coming along since their outing at ACI. Very big improvement. Guess someone has been lurking in forums and of course, listening to posts about costume changes. Really alleviated the programs. Especially the FD. Regardless of what V/M wore (like or hate it) this weekend, their skating skills was truly exquisite. Just above and beyond ...
ReplyDeleteThe y received 117+ for the FD with a tech error by Tessa in one of the step sequences (she missed/jumped a double twizzle) which they were dinged for, so when they skate this without an error, I believe it will be enough to beat that WR score in the FD. They should have beaten it anyway, but we all know that V/M have to be perfect for some bizarro reason.
DeleteAlways.
DeleteP.S., also agree about the costumes. I usually dislike too much emphasis on the non-skating aesthetics of a program, but Tessa's skating and movement in this program is stunning, and highlighted much more effectively with the Skate Canada fd costume.
DeleteLOL OC -love the new header. You nailed it!!! That's exactly the level of ridiculousness we are witnessing
ReplyDeleteditto utterly on point and hilarious new header
DeleteYup. Even more sad that one would point out the obvious and STILL those would counter those who point out the ridiculousness so viciously and utter nonsense. Can't even be patient that skills DO take time to grow. Canadians didn't get to where they are by flaunting their mediocre skating skills. So sick of this ...
DeleteThanks. Long overdue but I couldn't picture what the Olympic season header should look like, and then I asked myself, well, what has been bugging you for two years? And went with that.
DeleteTbh by giving in to the French (at any point past few years) isn't going to do them any favors in the long run. In term of growing into their discipline. Others are seriously better. And It's not enough that they practically screwed with scores during v/m absence. WR for a glaring mistake. They/Fed practically tried to shove down our throats of their (French) impeccable "skating".
Deleteeh once you've sold your soul that much I don't think you're giving to much thought to being "the best ice dancer you can be". And if you are, your sports psychologist can probably step in and zap those destructive thoughts right out of your noggin.
Deletehttp://saucylittlesmile.tumblr.com/post/167030741349/so-you-can-credit-or-blame-sk8tingrocks-for-this
ReplyDeleteThis piece is exactly what we know of V/M even if others choose to discredit it.
Hi OC--
ReplyDeleteI was wondering if you think that this person does a good breakdown of scoring "Breaking Down the Elements" Virtue Moir 2017 Skate CANADA
https://youtu.be/Ld87DP3Lfak
Thanks for sharing that. I think its Ben Agosto's assessment. But it makes no difference. V/M has always had their skates at this level since forever. Ppl argue lots when it came to them (i.e. overscoring, etc) but when it comes down to their own favs (i.e. P/C, D/W, H/D, H/B, etc... anyone other than V.M.), they're given a pass. Every. Single. Time.
DeleteAt cup of China p/c crap short got 81. They really are making virtue moir sweat for it.
ReplyDeleteNot surprised with this fuckery. It's always with V/M. I don't know what hey have against these Canadians
DeleteI know this is a generalization but it seems that the Russians, Americans and the French have it out for V/M and other Canadian skaters
DeleteThe American judge actually gave P/C higher PCS than the French judge (who's actually been openly friendly with Gadbois) did, and tied with the Czech judge for giving them highest PCS. So that's a fun development.
DeleteStill with that bullshit lift? They're not even trying.
DeleteAlso, their rhumba pattern is bothering me. Not as sharp as V/M's. And their free legs at one point were not synchronized, I don't know if you guys noticed.
I actually gasp (with horror) at that "difficult" lift. Modified from Finlandia apparently from what I read... & nope, still not good. I was watching their footwork & holds throughout and still, yeah just no, I don't get the overblown rave reviews on their "exceptional" skating here.
DeleteThis blog's a work in progress and will definitely cover more officials than it does right now, but thought it might be of interest: https://judgingprivilege.wordpress.com/
ReplyDeleteJust some friendly constructive criticism: It would help if you defined who each of these parties were in every post and also re-typed the comments because we can't make the picture larger. Reading the top post at the blog I was incredibly confused at who was who and what it was supposed to mean (still not getting why Lauren Senft was tagged in the first post). Reading through it started to make sense, but I had to go back a couple of times and piece it all together. I think most people will only look at the top post and without the context would navigate away from the page.
DeleteI'm only saying this because I think this is really worthwhile information and most people wouldn't take the time to comb through social media like that, so it would really help to have it more user friendly.
Thanks -- I get what you mean about the layout and I'll check for a blog template that allows more flexible chronological arrangement.
DeleteI also have to be careful about making any claims without sure factual backing, but some of the info in there can probably be elaborated on without a problem.
The ISU really wants to sell us the narrative that what P/C puts out on the ice deserves those scores. The narrative that they are worthy rivals to V/M. *roll eyes*
ReplyDeleteThey got a little over 200 just now. Jesus . I can see them beating vm. This is bull.
ReplyDeleteI can't with MarieM of FSU. "Both skaters are as good as the other", "Speaking as a fan of both these teams [v/M and p/C]", "V/M's SD is borderline vulgar".
ReplyDeleteLike, girl, stop lying you're a fan of P/C. When push comes to shove, you pick P/C. MarieM is simply a subversive V/M "fan".
Yup. Truth. *BIG EYEROLLS* Makes me sick frankly ...
DeleteI actually wonder if MarieM on FSU is Marie Moigneau on Youtube. Both are ardent P/C fans and both frequent the domains that are all about V/M, forums for the first and youtube videos for the second.
DeleteYes! I've been wondering the same thing! I see Marie Moigneau on YouTube comments all the time, along with two other P/C nutjobs - Dharma MS and Christian Margeric. All three together have been referred to by other YouTube commenters as the Three Stooges. They often write in (bad) French, and I just dont get what the point is. Are they trolls? True PC fans? Relatives of Didier Gailhaguet? Wha???
DeleteI'm saying it now: if they skate clean at NHK and they don't beat P/C's scores, it's going to be Sochi all over again.
ReplyDeleteI'm reading the forums and am in utter disbelief of the delusion. P/C fans remarking at how beautiful their hands are but seem to ignore the blatantly junior level skating. I don't have a good feeling about the Olympics.
Also find it interesting that M-F/P are nowhere to be seen in the Kiss n Cry with P/C. If I remember correctly, at least one would show up on the Grand Prix in he previous season.
Well this was VM's home GP scores vs. PC's away scores. We can expect VM's score at NHK to go down and PC's to go up. Not good.
DeleteAfter reading what's what on the forum boards and watching these past competitions, I have to say I'm done with ice dance...for good..,especially when they/Fed/judges decided to push (or screw over) these Canadians once again. D.O.N.E. Done
ReplyDeleteJust watched the totally atrocious SD ...and surprise, surprise (NOT!) over 80+. Skating be damned! Gah! They judges don't even hide it anymore. Frankly i even though Spain's Smart/Diaz gave a much convincing SD dance at SCI than these overblown French ... Seriously, it's vomit inducing ...
ReplyDeleteI've noticed that even the die hard P/C fans cannot find any negatives to say about V/M's skating skills. Let's be honest, there is very little to critique in that area. They can say what they want about not liking their style but even they know that they can't be touched technically.
DeleteTherefore the overblown scores in PCS and yes, inflated GOEs for anything the French do that is remotely considered as "difficult" (yeah, right *eye roll*). Oh another beauty is ding V/M for the slightest mistakes. Yup, they're all set...Those complicit to these shenanigans must so proud. *vomit*
DeleteI think to get the message across even more is starting a youtube channel exposing D/W and P/C mediocre skating, that would help. there's already one but its exposing how overscored evgenia is and points out her flutz's. https://www.youtube.com/user/nlks100
ReplyDeleteI think if that path is taken, it would be best not to give unsavory comparisons for D/W. Right now they're already out of the game. And you might be able to win over some D/W fans who dislike the direction P/C has taken skating. Just until this season is over
DeleteGood thinking anon. I know alot of D/W fans that have either jumped ship to V/M or like D/W more than V/M but V/M more than P/C. Plus alot more people see through P/C's bullshit and View them as inferior to V/M then D/W. So correcting. Maybe just exposing P/C for now then when V/M retire expand to other overscored overrated ice dancers.
DeleteI think this is a great idea, please make it happen!!
DeleteInteresting Marina interview about VM vs DW, the Shibs, and a bit about trying to outscore PC http://fs-gossips.com/marina-zueva-mood-shouldnt-be-a-criterion-for-the-attitude-to-work/
ReplyDelete"not so long ago, there was some information in media, that Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon had to separate Virtue / Moir and Papadakis / Cizeron at different skating rinks because the competitions between them became to strong." so I guess VM really aren't working as much with DL?
DeleteAren't DL more like coaches in name only to V/M? As for different skating rinks, I think this is a bit healthier. V/M and D/W training situation was so toxic last quad. V/M and P/C are still at the same training center, anyway. So the 'coaches' can just move from one rink to the other, no biggie.
DeleteAs far as I know MF and Pat are listened as coach of PC but no longer work with PC, PC actually only worked with Romain and eventually with MF, MF and Pat working a full with VM and H/D it was requeriment of the corruptor Didier. Also I'm afraid it seems like 2014 again, the overscored french team and their arrogance makes me sick. Didier has done his job and I can't stand with another robbed gold.
DeleteSome of these comments here are pure assumption. Even if they are separated, it's not due to tension. French wants to be in France to practice and Canadians to do so on their home country. So be it. For all we know they both are still skating in Canada but just at different times. Reports from last season have always been that MF-P are dividing their time and efforts as best they could between their students. (They have quite a long list under their wings right now). And to have additional assistance in terms of choreography and such on the side isn't unusual either. The focus is should be more on the politicking aspect of the sport, rather than the so-called rivalry between such&such couples.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteI just watched the British commentators gushing over pc. Have they lost it? I couldn’t see a single non junior level lift. I refuse to watch the olympics. Vm and these clowns will not meet up until Grand Prix. If vm loses Grand Prix then the fix will be in again for olympics . I can’t watch that crap again.
ReplyDeleteFrench Molina will be TC in NHK, so we can forget to get high scores. The corruption is working.
ReplyDeletewow seriously? were did u read this?
DeleteDavid tweeted himself.
DeleteHe's all about "supporting" the younger generation + he's actually friends with Gabby (all taken from his twitter)= You know it's going to be bad.
DeleteHe's also going to be the TC for 4cc. Although I'm not sure V/M will go
I can´t believe it Canada will be robbed again. I really don´t understand the lack of promotion of Canadian Fed it is kinda disheartening, it is like Canadian Fed left the gold medal to lose. I don´t want watch again VM destroyed in the KC robbed by a team joke. what the hell is canada playing?
ReplyDeletePS: I have read too Molina will be the TC in NHK. So we are screwed up.
V/M will get gold in pyeonchang but probably not by much.
DeleteThe signs to look out for is if V/M skate clean and don't win at GPF, then Didier has sealed the deal. And if the ice dance team event is split between V/M and WeaPo or P/G, then I think the CanFed is complicit.
DeleteCanadian Fed is not doing anything for VM, for the first they should put out of gadbois french team this season and put french ass out of Canada. Second there isn´t any promotion of their one spot for gold. Third the overscored SD must be a sign of the way the things are now write, fourth Molina TC of NHK is going to low everysingle thing of VM programs. So sorry I think canadian fed is complicit and wants to be destroyed VM again for a joke team who the lady can´t barely skate. If people can´t watch the corruption is their problem but the corruption is more than evident every week.
DeleteI sincerely hope that the Canadian Fed have not thrown V/M under the bus this Olympics for the sake of propping up Osmond or Radford/Duhamel.
DeleteI fear they're sacrificing VM for Osmond's silver.
DeleteAnd...just for fun: "I think Gabby is probably the strongest lift partner on the circuit and seeing other couples attempt the same style of lift just goes to highlight how effortless they manage to make them look. She has amazing core strength to hold almost impossible balance positions. There's a visible difference in the absence of jerkyness with the lifting, lowering end of the lift; I think the most telling are the facial expressions. Gabby and Guillaume, even in slomo, don't ever seem to break a sweat with their lifts and continue expressing the choreography in their faces and hands. And in slomo, the crazy balancing acts come to light as well." from fsu. they don't even care how ridiculous they sound.
Anon @ 7:07-
DeleteI sort of think so too. But for what? It will forever be questioned, and hang over her like a cloud. It will kill her career, just like Sotni's gold did hers.
What a big pile of bs. What impossible positions is she holding? Certainly nothing a junior team hasn't done before or is capable of doing WITHOUT prior practice.
Effortless? Puh-lease their SD lift is the visual representation of effort even though it's easy. The other should most definitely look somewhat effortless since they are so simple- her plastered to his chest, her sitting down for a picnic on his lap. But even with the simplicity, it's still not smooth.
Goodness, these FSU peeps are so delusional. Of course, they don't break a sweat, the lifts are easy. And the whole thing about facial expressions, if I didn't have to put in 100% of my concentration doing a difficult lift that could maim my partner or myself if things went wrong, of course I would have the freedom to do as I pleased.
No wonder they think P/C are so great. All they care about is the FEELS. The ones expressed through your face and hands specifically. Like who the hell cares about skating skills? These two made me feel, therefore they should be at the top.
On a side note, I do think that the popularity of P/C might have a little to do with the increasing acceptance of mediocrity and the parring down of excellence. No one wants to acknowledge that some will always be better no matter how hard you train (granted the other trains just as hard). It's a very unpopular thought. So P/C gives them hope that yes, you can be mediocre, have poor holds, broken lines, simple lifts, chronically out-of-sync twizzles (I remember some people consider/ed it their trademark) and sub-standard edge quality and still stand at the top of the podium.
Request: Can someone post the quote anon lifted on YT (maybe on their TEB vid when it comes out)? Because that's like heresy to wholly D/W fans and D/W cum P/C fans since V/M came back.
"Canadian Fed is not doing anything for VM, for the first they should put out of gadbois french team this season and put french ass out of Canada."
DeleteDidier must be pissing himself laughing at how stupid SC is. Russia kicked PB out of the country because they didn't want Zhulin training his country's direct rivals before Sochi. Harsh, but in the end, IK did beat PB by one place to the podium. Would they have won bronze if they had been with Zhulin, I don't know, probably not but the Russians didn't want to take the risk of leaving anything on the table.
PC training with Hagaeneur and Zazoui would still have the hype in Europe but the perception of them would weaken internationally, I think.
"I fear they're sacrificing VM for Osmond's silver. "
That's a horrifying thought especially how she splatted at SC. I like her skating but she shouldn't be relied on.
SC also better not be considering trading dance for team gold because #1 Who cares and #2 With Chan going off the rails and no strong second Canadian man while Kolyada has started winning stuff, Russia is looking in a much better position to repeat.
Hmmm, I can almost speculate that Canada will never, NEVER, sacrifice V/M for Osmond. I adore Osmond but there are far too many variables (i.e.: she will have to stick two very clean programs) in order for this to work. This is too risky. Keep in mind the gold is all but assured for Russia and SC would have to out politik Japan. I think SC would rather sit back and watch the chips fall where they will for the ladies event.
DeleteThe comments about how Gabby makes the lifts look effortless is utter delusional. I saw the lift that they modified for the SD and despite it not being on the same level as other senior ID teams, it looks sloppy and they look like it's causing her a bit of effort.
I can look past some of the P/C ubers when they make claims about being 'moved' by the music because art is very subjective. Unfortunately, this is sport and one cannot overlook at the technical abilities that V/M display better than every other team out there. My only wish is that I could be rinkside whenever P/C and V/M skate against one another and you can compare their speed and SS, especially during the rhumba pattern where there should be no room for subjectiveness.
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DeleteSo if they're not sacrificing VM for Osmond or the team gold...WTF are they doing? why PC are outscoring VM, breking the 200 wall first? why molina is TC at NHK and why they're not helping VM to become more popular? they're letting PC have all the attention and all thepoints as well. this situation is driving me crazy I swear. When I read FSU I want to kill everybody...and btw...why is the ice dance thread so pro PC?! is everybody blind or what??!!!!!
DeleteThere would be no World Record Breaking P/C without Gadbois. Didier had a very public feud with the Zazoui/Lyon camp in the seasons before 2014, and some speculated that this was why P/C in 2013-14, though world junior medalists at that point, were ranked behind Carron/Jones and C/J were sent to the Olympics -- though nobody then was claiming P/C should be world champs or anything.
DeleteDidier of course also feuded with Pasquale Camerlengo, forcing P/B's move to Igor and we saw how well that worked for them in 2013-14.
Haguenauer and P/C's move to Gadbois was essentially them giving Didier what he wanted (Zazoui left almost empty-handed) and it also gave SC what IT wanted -- an ice dance camp at home. P/C suddenly skyrocket and the story is "Dubreuil/Lauzon are magic teachers and choreographers -- look what they've brought out in these 13th-ranked seniors!" The story is that Canada now has international credibility in ice dance as it already did in singles and pairs with Cricket Club and Gauthier's school. P/C's status now, and the concurrent threat to V/M, were not accidents for Skate Canada, and they only happened BECAUSE of that move.
I do see Didier's ham-fisted politicking blowing up in his face in time for the Olympics - he's not as slick as the American fed when they were politicking for D/W, and surely somewhere along the line he's going to piss off someone important. At least that's what I hope.
DeleteI wouldn't waste time commentating on YouTube. We need to get journalists to pick this up- it's a shame most journos as ignorant when it comes to figure skating, especially ice dance.
The amount of corruption happening is on par with FIFA, except that we don't know if dirty money is being exchanged. Somebody needs to get to the root of that.
Tbqh, even journalists who might want to pick it up need whistleblowers, and skating is very, very short on those. It's the mafia: even those who leave the sport often still have deep connections to it. They have friends. They may have career plans. People may like to spread around gossipy crap intended to hurt an opponent (like the coach who leaks trash to Dave Lease), but what's happening in ice dance is far more insidious and systemic and far less simple than something like money changing hands. That's why the story before Sochi went nowhere -- we all know because of the trends before that that it wasn't about some deal to help D/W for one season, one competition. But who's going to go off-record or on background to tell an investigative journalist that, hey, I've been told in seminars that D/W are superior to V/M but that seems suspish to me! It's so much more screwed up than simple, conventional corruption and it's going to be bigger than a paper trail.
DeleteAnd journalists have their own backs to worry about: exposing the system would hurt EVERY fed, because not a single country is clean. But journalism in this field is often a question of access. It's a question of getting the trust of the trustworthy people, knowing who IS trustworthy, knowing that you can vet the info in some objective way (remember Bev Smith also valiantly questioning D/W's results before Sochi? Problem is, it read as subjective sour grapes to many. You can't premise this on skating ability, sadly).
There are just a lot of ways that it's sketchier and less tangible than doping scandals or dirty money and political favors, unfortunately. And skating's reputation as a sport of gossip queens and made-up scores precedes it.
2:49 here -- also going to add that one of the very challenging things about skating is how fragmented the sport is. We're talking about politics that start in rinks before they get anywhere near the fed, let alone international, level.
DeleteHow do certain skaters get earmarked as favorites before they've even done anything? Why do the students of some coaches seem to garner more consideration even at a novice or junior level than others do, regardless of what's put on the ice? How about the backbiting crap on message boards about so-and-so developmental rink is lazy/abusive/in bed with this powerful regional lobbyist/etc.? How many future judges, by pure chance, are deeply close with current athletes whose students they may someday evaluate? Which rinks take precedent for site visits from ISU officials over others? It's a MESS. If it's going to happen, it could take story after story after story to root out the rot.
Canada never deserve a team like VM, it is proving everyday.
ReplyDeleteEuropa on ice promoting all day PC´s videos, and skate canada doing nothing when they have to put every day VM videos. It is annoying
ReplyDeleteEurope on Ice is not affiliated with any federation or the ISU, it's run by a particular P/C-loving FSU moderator and his husband.
DeleteHe's a horrible biased moderator his name is allezfred. Literally the last person that desreves to be one. Would a mature moderator paint call V/M's fans "mentally ill" he's suppose to not play favorites yet he does. Joke of a moderator. He's also a coward he boasts about how P/C will crush V/M but then crawls back into his cave when they lose to V/M.
Delete1) how happened that PC's fd went so viral and VM's from SC has 35k views still? this is crazy
ReplyDelete2) Apparently South Korean forums are very sided with VM. People were saying they're gonna throw dolls at the judges in case things go wrong for them. I hope there will be no reason to do so.
I didn't go "viral" the views were bought. V/M still have more overall views anyways for there freedance.
DeleteI honestly doubt if someone really had to buy it. You know, there are plenty of people who want to see it - regular fans who don't really care about ice dance, people who watch figure skating every four years and they heard about 2 times world champions, PC ubers, even VM fans who'd like to see once more how horrid is the "competition" that VM have. No, I think YT views are pretty understandable, especially given how many people care about the sigh-with-the-feeling programs and not about technique or simply quality.
DeleteAs I wrote before, I have no idea why all the YT SC FD videos are blocked though. Any idea?
Regards, this time with no sarcasm
Margot
For me is like bought because a public tv of other country is promoting their video why? and a public tv? Is any treat between the federations? The answer is yes.
DeleteWell, I can answer the 1st question - there are some problems with displaying VM SC FS on mobile phones. At least I think so, cause I can't do it either on my phone or my tablet.
ReplyDeleteOr maybe it's a country thing? Anyway, that's strange. Is it YT blocking those videos?
Regards,
Margot
they're blocked on mobile for me as well. I'm from italy, don't think is a country thing.
DeleteVM videos are blocked for mobile, the only video not blocked is SD from ACI 120k views.
ReplyDeleteAlso PC FD is being promoted in some newspaper webs of spain and also in spanish public television web.
All VM videos are blocked for mobile. And I really don´t understand why.
ReplyDeleteNot all of them. FD videos from SC. I have no problems with SD, both SC and ACI. And ACI FD works as well.
DeleteIt is weird. I mean, if it's all about copyrights, why didn't they block ACI as well? And why for mobile only?
Regards,
Margot
Try searching on Vimeo.com. Usually videos posted there works.
DeleteYes we can watching in vimeo. But is the fact the program is blocked for a lot of people and the promotion because of that is less. I hope this weekend we haven´t the same problem.
DeleteAnd definitely I think Canadian Fed needs to wake up.
Thank you for the information about Vimeo.
DeleteRegards,
Margot
I bet Didier or one of his allies gave the article materials and paid Phil Hersh to publish that article the day before they were to skate their SD. The corruption is beyond blatant at this point
ReplyDeleteyeah but wtf had skate canada's people in their minds?! they should have thought about the risks of that move. they're the dumbest, I don't know how we can trust them to help VM
ReplyDeleteMaybe they might be in on it again? At this point I just feel like SC uses VM as a bargaining chip to further their own ends at the detriment of VM. E.g. We'll make sure VM get bad press and other bits and bobs to ensure your xyz gets xyz. And since they're incompetent fools too, they always get short-changed.
DeleteWhy can't VM have someone like Shawn R or Didier G on their side? Neither would have allowed the other Feds to walk all over the greatest skaters to come into their hands, especially not Shawn.
The shit was to PH for Shawn R. she fuc.ed up VM in SCI. But the corruption is evident is all planned for Didier. SC doesn´t care VM Canada have never deserved VM.
ReplyDeleteThey even are using they are going to host two event in the next years. And if they though about team event P. Chan is done with skate so ehh Canadian Fed wake up becuase all the medals are done now.
ANYOne watch nhk? Pressure of French being overscored for junio performance must have gotten to them but they made a few changes that I think makes the sd technically even more difficult . Loved it.
ReplyDeleteI think they had an stronger performance without the bobble they would be scored nearly 83, and also think is better that happens here and no in others competition. yesterday was a really hard day with the shit press, with a difficult panel and without the help of their federation to stop the bullshit. Also this could be for train difficult situations and also gives them fuel for the FD.
ReplyDeleteDid you notice the Canadian judge lowballing them? Do you think it was to prevent the press to say "hey you see SC is favouring them so they're overscored"? or there's something else?
ReplyDeleteLike protecting her own position? This is the president of Skate Canada for god's sake. Either incompetent or politicking for own position in the ISU... or even more likely, both.
DeleteOn the fd the French American and Chinese judges lowballed them with 9.25 on transition crazy.
ReplyDeleteI´m so mad in what world those pc´s they had a superstrong performance. French and american judge and of course Molina I can´t seriously.. And canadian fed sleeping or doing silly things.
ReplyDeleteIt’s so bad that vm are finally talking about their technical proficiency instead of their “connection” you know they’re rattled when they start defending their technique.this is crazy. Whatver happens at Grand Prix will happen at olympics
DeleteThey were happy about their performance for me the best of the season so far, but they must to be correct, their federation don´t have to is federation work. It is the first time this season I cried with their performance, and the standing O of the public says all.
DeleteOC- I'm noticing again that commentators are again speaking this "if this is their last Olympics" etc etc. Was it you who said Ice Dancers peak in their early 30s? I don't know VM personally but it seems like they're willing to go as long as possible and they're still AMAZING. In 2014 I felt like they were pushed out-everyone spoke about them retiring before they did.'it seems they're trying to do it again.
ReplyDeleteThe prospect of seeing P/C being thrown around as amazing makes me nauseous. Why can't they be the team commentators are mentioning retirement for ?!
They said yesterday this was their last NHK. So I think this time is their decision and if they are watching the lack of support of their federation if they had doubts are crearly dissapear.
Delete:( aw too bad
DeleteTbh, I think they've made the best decision to leave while they're still riding high (no injuries, expended their skating repertoire ... and audience still wanting more). They're truly phenomenal. As to what's going on with this (again tiring and manufactured) rivalry, we have no control over it. For me, if they are once again pegged down especially at Olympics, I know with certainty I'm done with ice dance discipline for good.
Deleteit would be great if you did a post or gif with P/C trying to do the moves of Le Parc , basically Gabriella grabbed his neck kissing him https://youtu.be/d5eCJWdsW_A?t=263 https://youtu.be/foWCSYY5l6E?t=28, while Tessa and Scott really doing something relevant from a ballet move https://tessaandscotttrash.tumblr.com/post/167294093368/balletfever89-so-we-were-able-to-find-some
ReplyDeleteevery commentator out there is losing his shit. Look I was a figure skater and I understand what I see, everytime I hear people commenting ice dance (PC) I'm always: "WTF seriously?!"
ReplyDeleteAnd here we are with another world record, that writing on the wall is becoming real. Do we have a japan fandom here?? can u please throw vegetables at the judges during gpf? and can you also stay all silent at the end of PC's perf? thank u
Canadian Fed again losing the well deserved gold medal for VM. I´m so worried for them I think they were cheated for their federation again. And then we are going to see again two good people destroyed.
ReplyDeleteI am sooooooo sick of the hyperbolic adulation of P/C. It has reached epic levels of absurdity. I just came here to cleanse my palate. Thanks for letting me rant.
ReplyDeleteReading Golden Shit was a mistake. Ugh, please let this not be a repeat of 2014!
ReplyDeleteHe's Mark Hanratty, a former ice dancer who competed for Great Britain, and he's usually very good. I was pretty shocked at his comments about the twizzles and lift being better than VM's.
ReplyDeleteJournalist of Canada fangirling PC, Duhamel too, VM without any support of their federation. They have their enemies in their own country. It is bullshit and I´m sick of overscored french team.
ReplyDeleteDuhamel will want Skate Canada’s push politically. She knows if SC gives it to VM, she won’t get it. Duhamel wants Olympic gold too.
DeleteMakes no sense. It's a sport where skaters should be awarded, regardless if it's just one country dominating a winter sport or discipline. It's the whole idea that you train hard, work hard and be awarded for that, that should be the fundamental motto of the Olympics in the first place. Not trade for medals. This is just stupid.
DeleteWhat it is VM fault? Winning a Young age? still being the best? why are they screwed again? Why Canadian fed allow this again?
ReplyDeleteBlatant politics at work, guys! Why else would they try to pass of their lifts to be better than V/M, or even other Seniors and Juniors ID actually. Why else there is the crazyass scores in their own French competitions?Why else would the super uber P/C fans would suddenly sprout nonsense about why all these acrobatic moves (Meaning, of course, V/M specifically and not to mention other ID other than P/C) are laying on the ice that are actually much harder and cleaner in execution than her precious couple do? (Btw, there were only 3 lift moves that I consider in V/M's FD and yes, so far, executed very smoothly). Why else would the P/C fans would say how difficult all those moves and lifts made in both their programs, but when V/M do it's like nope, that's nothing? So nauseating just listening to how they put them at par with their skating SKILLS (how long were they in ID in years in comparison to V/M's 20 years)??? Stupid, that's what!
ReplyDeleteI'm disgusted too and it only leaves me to wonder if the skating community just really hates VM as people because of the sham. The sham seems mild in comparison to various scandals that have happened in skating, but maybe they're really obnoxious liars. I just can't see the justification for this to happen AGAIN, especially when they were being allowed to win last season! It seemed like the politics were going ok, what the hell happened?
ReplyDeleteFeels like it's a setup. Just to get ppl interested in watching skating, especially in Ice Dance. Maybe the Feds think it's good that V/M decided comeback and let them win all of their competitions last season as a gesture of goodwill and yes, perhaps to make them think they have a chance at Olympics. That's why in v/m's present interviews they constantly stress on their technical ability, years of experience and artistic "newness" under Gadbois' coaching. So it makes them look at par (artistically in this case) with the reigning French. Though much of this French team's technical skills still need improvements. They (the Feds) are the ones generating the narrative of how the French is bringing back Ice Dance to its roots. When before it's also them who pushed other Ice Dance for brining ice dance out of its roots. In the end, I do think ice dancers in particular are at the mercy of these ppl who ultimately decide whether you are deemed worthy of the title/prestige. The hypocrisy is that at the same time they try to hide this by try to constantly media mouthpiece about athletic abilities and artistic (choreography) are used for judging. When we can see it doesn't....
Deletehe's a PC stan
ReplyDeleteSeriously I think someone need to come up with a plan. this is infuriating. I hope scott will lose his shit and break the arena after gpf if they will be screwed. I don't know if there are any skaters commentating here, but I was a skater and I can't take this anymore my eyes are bleeding all the time when I watch PC. I know a bunch of people who are ice dancers (I used to do singles and pairs) and everybody says there should be no competition between those two teams. And they also put SS and HD in 2nd and 3rd. WTF
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. What sucks is the more deserving team (in terms of technical skating abilities) are shoved off to the side or marked low just to push ones they want up on the podium. Oh, you bet your ass they tried to do with V/M but it can't be justified so they know to play around on the PCS side. I'm certain that many do know that V/M have both technical & artistic capabilities to win in spades. Sick!
DeleteSkate Canada is the dumbest federation, they are politiking for everybody unless the only team who has really posibilities for the gold. Meanwhile Didier is doing his job.
ReplyDeleteif vm are denied in Grand Prix and it looks like they will given all the ridiculous 10s given to P/C, they should NOT go to olympics. this is a disgrace and much worse than D/W. D/W -somehow- are better than P/C.
ReplyDeleteThis whole situation has left a bad taste in my mouth. Though I'm still waiting until p/c goes head to head with v/m. If they start dinging on every tiny mistakes on. Canadians and give a pass to the French, you p'll know the narrative coming into Olympics. That being said, yes, as much as I hate to agree with you. D/w at least attempted some decent lifts and different genre of dance throughout their career.
DeleteD/W had lifts. P/C do not. D/W had different music themes, P/C do not. D/W was faster. I can't believe I'm defending D/W! it's madness. P/C pose on ice. that's it.
DeleteNo, he's not. Listen to his commentary of VM at last year's GPF (where they soundly beat PC) as evidence to start with.
ReplyDeleteWhere's the author?? Did the Fed finally get to them? Are they being held captive in a dank rink change room somewhere in western ontario?
ReplyDeleteThat's what I'm wondering too. They are up against people who have invested a lot of time, money and effort to get the results they want at Pyeongchang
DeleteWhat about this whole "One of the 2 top id teams is wd from the gpf"? Apparentely KB wasn't the First to say it, it was written during idf in the secret sources of FSU. Did anybody read that there? Is there a chance PC won't go to gpf? For what reason?
ReplyDeleteIt seems PC is going to wd in order to strategic reasons (Didier).
DeleteAre you supposing this or you know something I don't know?
DeleteThe rumor began in a french forum of FSU. VM have never wd of gpf even known they were to lose also is this last international competition until Olys, so it is likely more a Didier strategy probably he wants PC finish the fall with overscored results (they have French nationals in December too) and then they have in January Europeans (international competition).
DeleteyeAH I AGree with your assessment and I also think that if Didier is looking for a way to psych VM out not giving them a head to head is a good one. I just don't know how much believeable is this rumor.
DeleteWell, it might be an injury of either team. All we have now is the gossip. Let's wait and see.
DeleteBtw, I can't believe how stupid is Didier. PC were talented junior team. In their first senior season, they came out with creative programs to a modern music, basically everyone liked them, everyone acknowledged that they have huge prospects. What happened then? Didier happened. Didier, whose politicking, well, was effective, as it was he who created world champions, new style, perfect couple, blah blah blah... It was him who persuaded the talented team to stop progressing and instead focus on "art" and danSing. It was him (not alone, I guess) who manipulated public opinion the way that masses believe now that what PC do is equal or even better than what VM do. Art, danSing! And their technique is gorgeous, it is, IT IS! Who would dare to say no? /sarcasm alert/. Oh, the choreography is too complicated for them to execute? Doesn't matter, because easier choreography = more art. Lifts with good mechanics are too difficult to even try? Doesn't matter, easier lifts = more art. It's an Olympic sport? Who cares!
He's stupid beyond imagination. He destroyed a good team, and tries to convince people that - I wanted to write "that black is white" but I guess more proper would be "that rainbow is black which is actually white with some reddish".
No regards, sorry
Margot
http://www.globetrottingbyphiliphersh.com/home/2017/11/29/figure-skating-ethics-canada-violation-ice-dance I cant believe this happened. Do you think this is going to influence the games somehow?
ReplyDeleteCan't help but laugh of the sheer hypocrisy. They (Feds) all do it at some point. Politicking in ID is still an open secret. The narrative is always set. Though with V/M, I felt that they've always earned it. (Though yes, yes some will say otherwise) Anyhow, This is just another tactic (by Didier, no doubt) to get the French couple be pushed into winning OG. Thus fulfilling their narrative they've set in motion since post Sochi. Meanwhile, shame in all this, is that once again the Canadians will be made the "lesser skilled" athletes, going into the Olympics.
DeleteGilles wondering why their programs are not being well received this year. Comments? I certainly have my own
ReplyDeleteThe Olys was written even before TS comeback Didier has done his job for years in fact he wrote more than a year ago in twitter French will be olys champions. Canadian Fed are the most silly people I have ever seen. By the way Gilles Pourier´s FD this year is so dissapointed and quite boring I like their last year FD but not this year.
ReplyDeletewho is this didier guy and why does he have so much power? The fact that all the judges gave P/C a million tens means this nonsense has been in works. how could skate canada not know? how could V/M come back? it's insane. if V/M doesnt win Grand Prix they should not show up to the olympics. they owe the sport nothing .
ReplyDeleteDidier is president of FFG. He screwed up 2002 olys and he was suspended for 2/3 years than he came back again as the FFG president, which is absolutely ridiculous. But I'm so mad at SC can they WAKE THE FUCK UP??!! seeing the scores during GPs I would say Didier has Russia USA Israel and I think China with him.
ReplyDeleteyes those were the judges giving 10s to P/C. i mean it's ludicrous. they are a top ten team but not top 5. it's insane.
DeleteMarina said during an interview at SC tha PChiddy is in Vancouver not training with her at the moment (and from what she said I understood he's not training at all). Good job SC, great idea politicking for that team event instead of VM. you deserve this!
ReplyDeleteI meant an interview during SKAM not SC
DeleteWhy Canadian Fed is not defending VM of all the shitty and lies French fed is feeding to the media? Is canadian fed knowing of all the shitty and doesn´t care of them? Is some kind of deal to put VM under the bus again?
ReplyDeleteHas the site owner disappeared because s/he can no longer hold up the constant message on this blog that VM returned with some sort of guarantee that they would win the the Olympics and would not face another Sochi-type situation?
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's a wait-and-see situation right now. Until V/M and P/C go head to head in a week's time (though we think the narrative is set) it's still better to watch how it goes down first.
DeleteAs much as I love VM, I'm having a difficult time believing the ISU would allow a North American team to win gold again. And since most of the (actually) talented teams are from NA, the French are being held up as the next best thing when they actually suck. In the real world, the podium should be VM/SS/HD
ReplyDeleteDidier has paid a lot of money is all tied up, all the feds know this and the journalist if they don´t want to share the corruption is because they have something to earn too. The fact that VM are going to be throw again under the bus for and inferior team and going to be in pain again because their coward federation makes me want to vomit.
ReplyDeleteThe corruption is not subtle and is too evident, I really don´t understand why others federations are not reporting this? This week we are going to see VM robbed again in the gpf and the narratives of fake momentum based in lies.
ReplyDeleteWhy would the other Feds report this when they have something to gain from allying themselves with the French? Like the US, for example, they've thrown their own pretty much out of gold/silver contention. The people at the top of the USFSA right now are pretty much the same as it was 4 years ago. They have an axe to grind when it comes to V/M. Just look at Sharon cosying up to individuals that are very big fans of P/C.
DeleteHe's bought off everyone that matters with favors and whatnot. He's a man that is heavily indebted to other Feds come Pyeongchang, and even more so after it. And once you've bought off the Feds, then you also have control over their respective media, be it big news stations or commentators (esp. those whose livelihood is based on "reporting" on skating through youtube, blog or other means). With all that media might, then setting the narrative you want becomes so simple. So you can get an American journalist who is rather prominent during the Olympics (even has his work published on the Team USA Olympics website) to write up and publish the day before V/M are to skate, a storm in a teacup piece. Also bear in mind, this story was given to him by an American on the judging/technical panel for SCI this year. He's followed that up with more pieces that trashes the Canadians. And what is so hilarious about all this is that the guy has admitted that he "doesn't care about it [ice dance]". Then you've got the one with the arguably biggest YTube presence, where one party is half and half and the other is a full-on P/C shill. They set the narrative there for those that only want to watch YTube videos. Then you've got one of the biggest networks in the USA, NBC doing pieces on P/C, which is so very strange since it's so early and it's promoting foreign skaters and not their own. That is especially weird when you know that the US have got their own great skaters.
So the narrative has been created and set with basically all bases covered, this early in the season. That is why D is a genius and can confidently say that "this time next year, P/C will be atop the podium at Pyeongchang".
tech panel for gpf: Technical Controller
ReplyDeleteMs. Halina GORDON POLTORAK (POL)
Technical Specialist
Ms. Ayako HIGASHINO (JPN)
Assistant Technical Specialist
Mr. Sergei BARANOV (UKR)
seems good to me countries wise. I would have prefered stricter TS and ATS though. thoughts?
These are the very same TC and TS as during 2013/2014 gpf. And ats is Ukrainian as well.
DeleteThoughts now?
Regards,
Margot
Here there is nothing to thougts is all tied up by didier for french team. It is disheartening but is the truth.
ReplyDeleteMy god it happened
ReplyDeletePc in first place by a point ahead of vm
The Fix is in again it’s unreal
DAMN IT! I hate ISU. Once VM retire im done.
DeleteWell, looking on a bright side, Shibs AT LAST are getting the points they should have gotten few seasons ago. It's still lower than PC but it's getting closer and closer and - seriously - today they skated the worst sp of the season.
ReplyDeleteI can't with PC score, too. I only hope that Didier's politicking won't reach the Olympics. Judges please. I can live with PC winning the Worlds, the Euros and the GPF but don't let them win the Olys. They didn't deserve it. Like, at all.
I was just about to tear up today. I can't.
Joke with the tech panel... It's so obvious. So clear. How can they be so stupid?
Oycanada, we miss you!
Very sad regards,
Margot
"Welcome to ISU Senior Ice Dance, the show everything's made up and the points don't matter!"
ReplyDeleteThis comment made me laugh out loud :D Whose Line Is It Anyway? :D
DeleteMeanwhile, Phil Hersh is tweeting about the SC president judging and how that's a conflict of interest (which it is, but that's not the fucking problem; the corrupt scoring of P/C is the fucking problem).
ReplyDeleteOh, and Bev Smith has taken to blocking people she disagrees with.
My head is going to explode.
canadian media is complicit Bev is such a PC stan. Canada doesn´t deserve VM.
ReplyDeleteOyCanada, where are you?
ReplyDeleteOMG this is so hilarious: "I do get that many feel V&M should be ahead due to difficulty. I guess it’s a bit like a piano competition where one contestant plays Mozart and another plays Rachmaninov. Is Mozart easier than Rachmaninov? Sure. Children can often play Mozart sonatas. But the Mozart playing contestants can win over the Rachmaninov playing ones. Purety and ethereal perfection are very rare, and rare because hard. The vast majority of pianists are less scared performing Rachmaninov than they are Mozart, because Mozart is so exposed.
ReplyDeleteThat approach does put a greater pressure to perform the program flawlessly on the skaters: a mistake will break the spell." from fsu of course
I find it interesting how silent the FSU or Goldenskate peps are on what had transpired at French Nationals recently. As though it's acceptable that the fix is in. Even V/M fans aren't even allowed to debate or call out on the blatant corruption. What a travesty!
ReplyDeleteOC-I'm curious to know your thoughts on VM winning the OGM after the P/C win @GPF.
ReplyDeleteMost figure skating fans couldn't care less about it. But for those who have been watching decades of this happening, it's the same tiresome blip in skating/Olympics history. Ice dance will forever be known as a subjective sport. And screw talent or athleticism, it's all about what Feds think which dance style that's most innovation or better yet, in-style/best-for-the-palate to whomever they deem worthy of the title season/year. The End.
DeleteAfter GPF and the joke scores V/M received, I really think there is some fix done with the judges and I start to lose faith that V/M will win gold at Olympics. I think that after their retirement, the judges and all the people doing the politics let them win all the competitions in 2016/17 and the Worlds in 2017, but the next gold Olympic medal is already decided to go to P/C. I think they won't let an American pair (2010 V/M, 2014 D/W) win three times in a row, the fix is made so in 2018 it will be an European pair (P/C). I started to watch figure skating in 2012 when I saw V/M's SD at 2012 Worlds and I think I will stop watching it after 2018 Olys and after V/M retire, I'm disgusted by the judging.
ReplyDeleteThe header on this blog is very funny and made me think about what I don't like about Papadakis/Cizeron style of danSing.
ReplyDelete1. Their FD's from 2014/15 to this day is all the same shit over and over again, no innovation, the stay in their comfort bubble of contemporary/ballet and classical music. There is no story and no feeling in the programs, I don't know what they're trying to say or portray, all I see is fake drama and face grimacing. I'm usually bored to tears watching them. The last FD I kind of liked was 2013/2014 Iron/Run Boy Run.
2. The costumes. Ok, it's very subjective and not important for the scores, but if they skate to the same style in FD, you would think they change at least the costumes, but no. Always dark blue/white. I hate that Guillaume has always shirts that show his chest or arms or both. I get it, he's good looking, but I'm tired of this. He is sexualized and I think that many young fans/girls like this pair only because they think he's handsome.
3. Gabriella and Guillaume are not on the same level of skating, I think he is a better skater/dancer than her. I read some comments that she made an big improvement, but I think she looks stiff sometimes (hands, upper body), especially in the latin SD.
4. Their ridiculously easy lifts. He throws her around like a sack of potatoes or she sits on him. I see no or very small effort from Gabriella, Guillaume does all the hard work. It shouldn't be like this, they are partners, not individuals.
5. The scores they get for what they do on the ice are inflated. They have unsynchronized twizzles sometimes, they are not always unison in the movement and I think sometimes they skate too far from each other when they are in hold.
It's only my opinion, I'm a figure skating fan, not a professional judge. (English is not my first language, sorry for mistakes).
Actually, in their case, the costumes are extremely important. If you've noticed, a lot of their programs center around him and also his arms. They do this to yes, sexualise him, it's their best attempt at doing it subtly.
DeleteNow the dress, since it's Olympic season, it's the season to mask all your flaws the best you can. So in her case, since she can't ever straighten her knees, she gets an extra long dress that hides it.
I think you have a point about some people liking them for their looks. I personally feel like they would not get away with what they did if they didn't look like people out of a Pre-Raphaelite painting (especially Gabriella).
Agree with everything you said btw.
It's true that many of their programs center around him, sometimes she just skates around him and hold his waist and he is the center of attention. This is other reason why I don't like them. Ice dance and other types of pair daincing, ballroom dancing in particular, is about the relationship between the man and the woman - the woman is projected, displayed by the man, the man provides the frame for her (man is the frame, woman is the painting). P/C i think sometimes flip the roles in their dancing, some people may seem it as innovative, but I don't.
Delete@6:43am I think you voice what many are saying. The push that the French are more innovative actually came from p/c über fans. Conveniently forgetting that V/M brought back a difference version of Carmen and if read some comments from back then, you know how *that* turned out. Innovation, nope. Even a person who has watched Carmen skating versions over the decades could see how innovative that was. Never mind all the other programs they've come out with since OGM. But it's V/M, right? They are only allowed one OG. Screw the Feds and ice dance if they can't even grant them their hard work. And who says if given OG, they arent merited? They've always been the best ice dance had. And they're retiring. So what's stopping the Feds for not screwing with them? Everyone can see it. Blatant corruption.
DeleteThe people that dragged VM for skating to music in the same style as Mahler for their Olympic FD, are the very same people that are all for PC danSing in the same style 4 seasons running. But ya know, VM are the non-innovative ones apparently
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