Yuzuru Hanyu and other figure skating talk part 29

Link to previous thread

What do fs fans do in the off season? I see twitter rehashing Yuzu vs. Nathan jumps a lot - is this basically what happens all summer? Complaining about judging? Not that I'm criticizing, just curious as to what fs discourse looks like when there isn't any new material. Draw fanart?

Well, there's keeping up with Alina's dog's wardrobe - the Russian girls' quads and what's going on in the training camps (and where people are going - do something, Kolyada!) - and all the ice shows. I suppose some will be revealing their music for next year and we'll find out who the choreographers are (I think two Japanese girls have dropped David Wilson, praise the skating gods). Permanent coach changes?

Will Nathan announce his decision about Yale next year (what could be more important?) Was it Alina who unfollowed Zhenya first or vice versa? Did Nathan really get involved in the teen girls' Insta-drama? Will Shoma rest his ankles? Is Med jumping at all this summer or is she still recuperating... I could go on :)

Oh Misha Ge is performing with Gracie Gold at some mall or something? Poor guy - did we ever find out what he was upset about - that post about someone being ungrateful? (because he was dropped from an ice show - or from being a coach/choreographer for somebody?) Last summer, he was choreographing the Korean ice show (I think) but not this time??

And I guess the challengers start up in August - or do we have to wait till September?

[What do fs fans do in the off season? ]

We anxiously wait for the new calendar to see when the Cup of Tyrol is scheduled. And if the Cup of Nice is back

We speculate on GP assignments

Then we complain about the random ice dance couple Rostelecom Cup manages to invite to be sure they will be ranked below their host pick

We count how many warhorses have been chosen for next season's programs.

And we hope for all the possible bitchery coming from split pair and dance teams

R3 Challengers start in mid September (Autumn Classic and Lombardia Trophy on 12-15th). They got rid of the Asian August event they held last year and moved it to October.

Junior GP starts on 21 August.

GP assignments in June? I wish I knew how they decide who gets two and who gets one. Top 24 get 2? That sounds like too many... Oh so many details. This sport can be like baseball, if you're into minutiae.

R6 top 12 at Worlds (10 for Pairs and Ice Dance) are guaranteed 2. Top 3 at Worlds are top seeds and can't face each other. Seeds 4-6 can't face each other either.

Top 24 in Season Best list are guaranteed 1. Top 24 in World Standings (who are not in top 24 SB) are guaranteed 1. Rest is guaranteed 0

Then hosts decide who to invite. However they usually follow the SB list (but with some omissions in and there). So the SB top 24 get 2 anyway

r7 What about the junior world podium? Isn't the junior champion guaranteed 2 as well?

Btw, who's the junior champ in Men this year? I even watched that shit but I don't remember.

To the poster in the previous thread asking about Boyang - he was in Korea for Ice Fantasia, along with Orser and Bourne. It ended on the Sunday, and it looks like he's back home getting his foot checked out. He wasn't present at the first Orser/Team China collab last summer.

Nathan is doing East Coast shows of Stars on Ice during his reading period and then coming back to the tour after his exams are over.

R8 Tomoki Hiwatashi

Thanks R9. I need to make a spreadsheet to keep up with all the ice shows and who's in them.

R8 If it stays like in previous 3-4 seasons, they are not guaranteed of a GP anymore. But usually the reigning Junior Champions have a SB high enough to be in top 24 SB and therefore being assured of 2 and likely getting 2. However in Pairs, when the Aussie couple won Junior Worlds, they didn't get any GP when moved Senior in the following season.

Hiwatashi is #23 in SB list. So he is guaranteed of 1 and will likely get 2

2 per Worlds

Seeds 1-3

Chen

Hanyu

Zhou

Seeds 4-6

Uno

Boyang

Kolyada

---

Rizzo

Brezina

Brown

Lazukin

Aymoz

Samarin

top 24 SB (1 guaranteed)

Fernandez (but won't use it and they won't go down the list with 25th etc)

Messing

Cha

Tanaka

Voronov

Nguyen

Aliev

Kvitalashvili

Kavtun (retired)

Tomono

Hiwatashi

Grassl (may stay Junior for GP)

All these will likely get second assignment anyway

Host picks are done first. 3 per organizers.

Someone explain to me again why Zhou is bronze medalist

HeShib touched a girl who was not his sister. EWWW

Are the incest shippers freaking out

Sorry, even incest bearding can't top the very dramtique P/C interview everyone's talking about. Haven't had a chance to read, but my TL is going nuts, so must be dishy.

R14 zhou happens to the best of us

R17 They talk on how their coaches broke to them the news Virtue/Moir were coming back

They struggle at first to have V/M in the same group

She shades a bit Leanna Caron

Cizeron is still sad for the Olympic Silver. Not happy at all with that medal

R17 They are being delightfully honest but respectful. I still feel sorry about what happened to them in Pyeongchang and still believe that without that snip snip incident they would have won.

God that was painful to read. They conveyed the Olympics nightmare very well and were honest about the awkwardness of the coaching situation/training environment. No wonder v/m fans are having a fit.

Snippets from the interview - google translated.

On their training environment and sharing coaches:

Papadakis: What was difficult was that prior to their arrival there was no stress at the arena. It was a bit like a family. We were all friends and teammates. Then, Tessa and Scott arrived and everything changed. It's normal, they came here to train, win, do their job. They were in their third Olympic cycle and had already experienced a similar situation, where they trained at the same rink as their big rivals, Americans Davis and White.

Cizeron: We did not really know how to handle this new dynamic. It's neither their fault nor ours. It was just a reality. From that moment, we came here and we competed every day. It was a big emotional charge.

Papadakis: The mood has never been the same again. It's impossible to rub shoulders with rivals every day, without it upsetting your routine. We now had to share our coaches. We used to trust them, without thinking too much. While in the North American mentality, it's different. We had to show some initiative by engaging our physical trainer and surrounding ourselves with a team we were 100% confident of. Although today we value this, we were not prepared at the time.

Cizeron: But we were ready to fight. We were not going to confess defeated so easily. There were also periods of doubt. Because there was necessarily a sort of triangle with the coaches that at times, we questioned the confidence that could be in them. Whether justified or not, there were fears.

Papadakis: We were trying to protect ourselves from all sides. We came to understand that the only thing we could fully trust was our couple.

Watching V/M's FD

Papadakis: I remember that I looked at their items one by one. And each element, we wanted them to plant, and they never planted themselves. It was: "Shit, they did not get stuck on that one, shit. Shit. Shit. They never planted themselves, eventually. It was good war to hope. We did not want them wrong, but we thought about us.

Getting Oly Silver

Cizeron: It's still hard to accept our 2nd place. We are proud of our performance and our resilience. But the color of our medal? No. People who ask, "A silver medal! But it's great! Why are not you happy? Because it is associated with trauma. That's why

R21 I‘m shocked they still skate their Eduardo Sherrán OD as an ex, complete with the green dress. If I were Gaby, I would have burned that costume immediately after the Olympics.

Here you go. I knew it was Kovtun who said homophobic shit. That was back in 2012 though so maybe he doesn't think/talk like this anymore. Hopefully.

His waist is really insane. I doubt he can find trousers for which he doesn't need a belt.

Eh, am I the only one that thinks Cizeron is overestimating himself? I thought V/M deserved that gold even if that dress thing didn't happen. Their innovation and technique was unmatched.

Maybe Yuzu's androgynous powers made Kovtun see the light and he isn't a raging homophobe anymore.

R24 What a doll

r24 Somebody tell me it's photoshopped. That's just unnatural.

R24 Well, judging from the Sendai tourism booklet, I don't think belts help either.

R26 is that Shoma

R25 The only reason people love V/M is because most people are conservative deep down and it's easier for them to understand a cheap Moulin Rouge romance with non subtle interpretation and almost sex positions than something a bit more conceptual and ethereal like what P/C went for. Same reason people here and elsewhere shit on the Shibutani siblings because to most people ice dance can only be romantic and sexually charged, so gays and siblings should stay away. I find it sad personally. V/M are like some cheap Hollywood entertainment and I never could get into them because of that. Them playing coy about their relationship to keep the illusion alive even off ice makes the whole thing even more tasteless and fake.

Speaking of Shoma, apparently he does not know what "cilantro" is. Lol.

R24 Since we're sharing photos, might as well join in.

R25 the judges were going to give the gold to P/C if it was not for the dress. Just. The level 3 P/C got in Step Sequence in the RD costed 1.5 points in base value. Enough to push them marginally ahead.

Tragic. He should just wear leggings 24/7.

was meant for R29

[quote] Same reason people here and elsewhere shit on the Shibutani siblings

don't we shit on the ShibShibs because their supposed tacky attitude?

R31 People here make fun of the Shibs because of their famewhoring and the lacquer-saccharine PR.

I think it's odd people are all over the P/C interview. They were devastated and disappointed; training with your rival is hard. I'm not sure how saying that honestly makes them bad sports, whichever side you're on. Sometimes I think the fandom consists of a bunch of delusional preteen Disney princesses.

R38 I never found their famewhoring that bad tbh compared to people like Misha Ge or Medvedeva tbh (at least they know where to draw the line). And what else do you expect siblings to PR about apart from cutsy, fluffy things. The constant incest jokes made about them are exactly what I mean when I say that ID audiences are conservative and cannot get that you may want to dance with a partner and not want to fuck them/portray a sexual relationship.

Nathan's a cutie!

R40 you’re joking, right??! Lol

R40 I agree. Nate's hot.

R40 But answer me this, Nathan-senshu...does your ass look as good as mine whilst doing crossovers? I think not.

Short video with English subs on Satomi Ito, costume designer for Yuzu, Shoma, etc.

R25 pathetic canadian whore...." I prefer VM so i am GLAD THEY WON , NEVERMIND THAT SOME PEOPLE HAD PASSED THROUGH NIGHTMARE WHILE SKATING WHICH COST THEM COLD AND THATS WHY THEY LOST."..YOU ARE SCUM R25 VM WON thanks to that dress malfunction. PERIOD... Anyone remeber GRAND PRIX FINAL???? Who won?Canadian fraus dont want remember that event. They pretend it didnt happen!

GOLD, not cold ;p;

R46 c'mon daitroll... It's the off-season, give us a break.

R47 fuck off. I will be repeat that every time I want to.

Leanna Caron robbed the Cold medal with her vote.

Canadian fraus manipulated draw to have her twice instead of Christine Hurt who is nice woman and still crying for 2002 Ice Dance injustice

Canadian whore put PC as low as she could. That was for purpose.. Thats cheating. Even W/P should be higher then PC according to her. lol

Love the misogyny in these threads "whore" really?

Judges are predominantly female. There are occasions of all women panels. It is rare to get a male majority in a judging panel.

Yes, she IS a whore.

Is Didier still pissed for the Silver?

The only good thing about V/M winning was getting Didier pissed.

Didier didnt care. If he did, he should take care of it...but canadian federation is biger then french one.

R55 France obviously did a deal with China. But the Chinese judge was drawn only for FS where she gave a 5+ point lead to P/C

In exchange French judge tried his best for Sui/Han. He allegedly got a letter of warning for his score

chinese judge got a warning, not french. And most funnny thing is that canadian one had ZERO warnings

R57 Chinese judge was suspended

The alleged letters of warning, according to a poster on FSU last year, in Pairs were for French and Italian judge.

In Ice Dance for Caron and Turkish judge

in Men for Bulge judge

and the suspended Chinese judge managed to take the exam for Technical Controller and pass it during his suspension. In a truly ISU fashion. Lol!

R31 And people like you that call a sexually charged program "cheap" and "vulgar" or otherwise dismissive term are the best judges of technique because... your pearls work as great mirrors or something I guess?

R32 I didn't know what cilantro was either until I left east Asia. People do not eat it, so it's not weird for them to not know what it is.

P/C should have gone to Sochi and get some Olympic experience. But they were kept behind Carron/Jones in 2014...but it was during Didier vs Lyon camp

French Fed is so rotten inside. And not as clever as they think they are

R60 It is cheap and vulgar not because it is sexual, moron. IT is THE way

R60 interesting. I wondered about that too but those are Japanese people asking Shoma about cilantro so it must not be that exotic.

R51 please, save the Frau outrage for Goldenskat. Even Zag's dog gets called a slut here.

R63 probably not so "exotic" anymore for people that eat foreign foods, but Shoma does not eat foreign foods. Unless they're like KBBQ or something, probably.

I just saw pictures of Shoma doing some kind of ceremony and signing. Is this going to spark another outcry of JSF pushing Shoma ahead of Yuzu despite Yuzu's many superior qualities and Shoma's splatting at Worlds?

I think there was some kind of compromise with FaOI again because Ando is only appearing in half of the shows this year. Hanyu is not in the P&G campaign for next year, so there's a good chance he won't be doing FaOI 2020, possibility due to conflicting 2020 Olympic promo obligations.

R64 Hanyu already won the Chunichi Taiiku Award before and I don't think they give it out twice. Even Kozuka was awarded in the past. Chunichi is an Aichi paper anyway.

V/M fans might be upset at P/C for pointing out their FD score for the individual event was much higher than what they got in the team event.

You guys entertaining the daitroll again? It got its ass blocked in the otherthread for being a bit too trolly over P/C, so it's trying again here?

As for the great injustice of the Pyeongchang dance, I'd have given the gold to the Shibcest, at least I enjoyed their programs, unlike P/C who bored me, and V/M whom I had to watch on mute.

r65 Hanyu's going to be doing 2020 Olympic promo? How is a winter sports athlete going to promote summer Olympics?

R66 Where I am blocked, you fuckin liar???Nowhere.Stop being obssesive about me

R66 Bullshit. Agafonova/Ucar deserved the Gold!

R66 And dont lecture me, frau, Stick to your childish hanyu tweets ,ok?

R68 A travesty. And all because the Turkish Fed spent all their money promoting Basar Oktar.

Liu was robbed of the FD by Agafonova/Ucar

(actually no, because Wang-Liu finished 22 and not 21...but who cares about accuracy!)

R63 r64 Forgot about cilantro. It's associated with SE Asian food in Japan, but everyone knows it. Uno probably does, too, but either doesn't know the name or can't remember. He doesn't pay much attention to vegetables.

His brother recently said he's allergic to the sun, and now his fans are talking about how white his skin is. It's weird. If anything, he's tan and one of the (slightly) darker skinned Japanese skaters. There's nothing wrong with that, so why pretend he's pale.

he said he's allergic in a funny ha-ha way, yes?

It's no joke R73, the sun is simply not forgiving on fair-skinned blonds.

R73 No joke. Itsuki says UV rays makes his brother's skin red and swollen, and causes him to develop a fever and eczema that lasts for several weeks. He can't go to the beach during the summer. Now people are pointing out all of the outdoor events Uno has attended (including on the beach in the summer), and that golf is one of his hobbies. I do think he has sensitive skin, but the brother might have exaggerated the severity.

r75 Sounds like trying to get poor baby brownie points for Shomita.

R75 God. It seems like Itsuki can't stop talking.

JDC, what does this say about Hanyu's commercial prospects? Is he marriage material or will he have to sell that fine ass for rent when the lucrative figure skating prize money runs dry?

Shoma is definitely on the spectrum.

Itsuki keeps trying so hard. It's cringe.

Also, I thought Uno was said to have had asthma as a child. But I guess that wouldn't fly as a pity story now once Hanyu revealed his on national television, as well as years ago supposedly having some type of alcohol allergy or something. I guess now Uno has a sun allergy.

Does anybody know the reason why Yuzu’s (spiritual) chiropractor was fired?

R81 You sound like El Pais, the Spanish paper that called Kikuchi a warlock or a spiritualist who makes skaters fall during competitions. The dude is just a physical therapist. Where did you hear that he was fired. I've never heard this - only that he retired.

A spiritual chiropractor sounds like a badass job, tbh.

R81 Akira Kikuchi? Yeah, the old dude's retired. Saw the kid he started treating at 9 through two Olympics and is now back home working on a book or something. He's probably highly revered and seen as a legend in the chiropractic circle now. And beyond chiropractic, the guy has got so much of grand stuff he can tell, just sharing it with the grandkids, if he has any, is probably not enough. If he ever releases a book about his journey, I for one, would be interested in buying it to read.

R84 He seemed keenly aware of the crazy hate and criticism that came his/Hanyu's way too, so I'm sure he was glad to be done with all of that shit. Someone translated his remarks at the physical therapy conference last summer.

Weekly sincho maybe

Savchenko's knocked up. Whore!

Why do I already know she was pregnant? Or am I confusing her with someone else? And not with Bobrova (who is also pregnant and we knew it months before she officially announced it even she attempted not to show the belly in pics for weeks)

Tomono has a new sponsor: SEV Sports.

R78 How are Darvish and especially Tanaka still 4 and 5?! And how is Matsuyama above Hanyu? Hanyu made 1 million USD per ad/company and 1,750,000 yen (over 15,000 USD) per TV appearance.

R81 If you’re referring to the Daily Shincho article, the full article is in the Shukan Shincho May 2/9 edition and they only shared a preview online. They’re claiming Kikuchi (“occultist chiropractor”) had a falling out with Hanyu’s mom over his book on Hanyu’s training (that was supposed to come out last December) and was fired from the team. Kikuchi’s publisher, Kobunsha, claims the publication has been delayed for editing purposes. When asked by Shincho, Kikuchi said he didn’t know why publication was put on hold and doesn’t care. He also said he retired from Hanyu’s team in April of last year and hasn’t spoken to Hanyu since.

When Kikuchi’s book was announced, many people were surprised to find out the publisher was Kobunsha, because they’re also Josei Jishin’s publisher. Josei Jishin hasn’t been kind to Kikuchi, either, and published an article last month about the pendant he gave Hanyu.

I think Shincho is printing the article now because Hanyu is back in town and on TV again. By the way, an article in the May 2/9 edition of Josei Jishin claims a top coach (Nobuo Sato) is saying Uno is the leader of this next era of figure skating, not Hanyu. However, Sato only said Uno might be able to do a quintuple when asked, and he was likely paying lip service. (Uno himself wasn’t being completely serious about the jump, but the media ran with it.)

r89 Thanks jdc! Regardless of what the truth is, these spins are always entertaining. I mean, I probably shouldn't be feeling entertained since these are people's lives being talked about like so much gossip but I can't help it...my only salvation is that I keep my curiosity within this board and don't actually go out buying gossip rags, or go searching elsewhere on the interwebs for them. There's no need to when it's all summarized so neatly and non-dramatically here by good Samaritans like yourself. So, thank you again. Please don't ever think you're not appreciated.

Btw, I can't for the life if me recall what the J in JDC stand for. Was it "Juicy"?

R78 *whistle* That's a veeeery tidy sum for someone whose commercial ties are seemingly kept to a very modest amount.

R89 Forgot to mention, Tomono with that haircut always reminds me of this character I'm having a hard time putting a finger on but seem to recall being a Takeshi Obata design (though I could be wrong).

Papadakis is sorry if Canadian fraus haven't understood anything

and frankly if you have not studied French, stick with your houseworks

R90 it's Japanese Dirt Czar. R89 would Uno really be doing quints when he pre-rotates to hell?

Yuzu's constant limp wrist is one of my favourite things.

Meanwhile Kovtun.

I guess Kovtun would have been 16 when he posted that? I'm sure he has matured a bit, but it was clear even then that he wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer. I remember Alexander Majorov and Gracie posting some pretty cringey stuff on SM too.

Nice to see someone finally blatantly cashing in on The Anatomy.

(It's apparently Japanese citrus-inspired)

100 posts in under a day. Impressive!

It's gonna be a long off-season...

R97 yes, I remember Majorov's racist facebook post when he got angry because Swidish Fed didn't select him for Euros 2010:

"fucking Swedish pussies idiots niggers. they didn't took me out to Europeans. I am best this season. fucking idiots" was his post

R102 He sounds delightful.

R102 I'm more intrigued by the existence of these powerful yet mentally challenged "Swedish n----s" who held him back. Is he referring to actual people or did he just get mad and use his reserve of playground insults?

Why wouldn't they make a monument like this..?

sorry, I forgot his last line:

FUCK EVERYONE. I QUIT SKATING NOW!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!

Someone here is on FSuniverse? I am shocked that people there openly says that they re glad that PC lost, because it pissed them off that they were dominating whole season and they VM had better programs, anyway what rude people. How can you wish people bad so much . Girl lhad to lost dignity to let VM won. And they dont even have decency to say that...They pretend it didnt happen. And of course lost free skate by VM was a pure coincidence who nobody doesnt want to remember...

R106 lmao what a child

looking healthy

Oh Misha, I'm still heartbroken by the refusal of my music suggestion but the sight of your flushed cheeks makes my heart throb.

[110] i know, love his red cheeks and wild cat eyes

Who the hell is Kelly Morgan?

*oops...Moran...but anyway.

R89 Thanks for answering my question. 1 million/ad does sound like a lot, but I've seen this number floating around for Hanyu for a few years now, so I guess his asking price has remained somewhat steady.

If Shoma wants to lead the era, he should get to that quint stat b/c the Russians are already on it.

R92 I wish Gabi didn't go the "it was a mistranslation" route. I can read French and I have no issues with what she said, but I think she should own the fact that her comments are going to piss some people off, even if they understand her/French perfectly fine. If you're going to talk about a rival team ruining the training environment, judging conspiracy theories, overscoring, wanting your rival to splat, I mean that's going to set off a few people. LOL.

She didnt mean nothing personal. SHe didnt mean that she would love tessa and scott fail so much, only that she didnt want to LOSE LIKE THAT,in SUCH WaY! Thats worst thing, because judges gave free to them. They must feel awful, knowing that you lost gold due to stupid fucking dress

the majority of skaters are probably secretly hoping for their rivals to splat. Not counting those trying to hit their rivals

R116 Yep, that's why I have no problems with her comments. I'm just not outraged or surprised by people who are upset. This is ID after all, where people have been crucified for far less

It hurts so much , very much when you worked for it, very hard for that level of competing whole season,. They were much better then season before...And it is taken away from you just like that...Scott sais that he wants to bear PC at their best, well he didnt. Or he think he did.

sorry they were much worse then season before..

Image what Majrov thinks when his rivals skate....image what Majorov thinks when Virtanen skates...

R120 Err, I am I Finn. We haven't been Swedes for over 200 years now.

But but you surely remember the intense fights at the Nordics...you, Majorov and Sondre...and that's the whole line up

R122 and I came in third

This isn’t figure skating news, but too juicy not to share. Last night, Bunshun reported that one of the copy editors at Shukan Shincho is married to the “Black Widow” serial killer, Kanae Kijima, who’s on death row for killing three of her lovers. Kijima and the Shincho man (who’s supposedly second to the editor in chief) married in January of last year, and it’s Kijima’s third marriage while in prison! She's not allowed conjugal visits, as far as I know. And she’s not a looker. Raf would die of disgust.

The latest issue of Numero has interviews with Fernandez and Chan on their rivalry with Hanyu. I don’t know if I like the new enlightened Chan. https://number.bunshun. jp /articles/-/839063

During a talk event, Tanaka said Hanyu was the first to approach and speak to him at the Nobeyama summer camp.

Tamura (AKA Hot Coach) gave a long interview about the world’s medalists and Japanese skaters with JSports. He was complimentary to everyone. On the Japanese women, he said they felt too much pressure. On Hanyu, Tamura said he could tell the skater as not completely back to form during practice, but didn’t let it show before, during, and after the competition. He said Chen was able to perform so well because of Hanyu. Hanyu’s presence in the figure skating world has pushed his rivals, junior and novice skaters. Tamura also said he "greatly helped" Zhou by pressing the replay on the CD player for him during practices. There’s photos.

"enlightened Chan" lol. Why is he so hated by Hanyu ubers? He always came across as a perfectly normal nice-ish guy to me, if a little lacking in tact sometimes.

This one may be biggest challenge yet, but I like very much her passion and determination. Maybe she skating to cell block tango for SP.

Wt... girl has to work on her dancing skills

R124 So you're saying Shukan Shincho may not be run by most stable, clear-thinking journalists in Japan, or...?

Seriously, I don't care what comes out of Hot Tomato's mouth. He's hot and has gotten hotter with age.

R125 Are you new to FS? Chan was one of the cuntiest cunts that ever cunted in the 2010-2014 quad, made worse by his 2 gifted world titles. He's chilled out a little now, but the internet remembers.

Adam Rippon has a new YouTube channel: "You guys will now have VIP access to my life, on and off the ice, Mondays and Fridays."

R128 I must admit I was not around to see the glory days of Chan. The only cunty things I see these days are P/C saying they wanted their rivals to splat and were mad about them joining their rink and describing themselves as gold medalists... The Knerims being defending a sexual predator while claiming to be god's chosen ones who need other people to fund their training... or Zhou being transphobic.... or Mariah Bell describing herself as the heroic victim after slashing her rinkmate and not apologizing until forced to. Does Chan measure up?

Camden left Tom Z

Forgot the link - his new coaching team

Adam and his current bf met on Grindr, didn’t they?

R129 I'm shaking from excitement.

Averbukh just confirmed he's doing a program for Med.

Tamura has the most fuckable mouth in all of figure skating. #sorryyuzu

R133 Dude is a self-described "Finnish real estate hero and a small business owner" and looks like this. You sure don't meet boys like that at Grandma's 90th in Scranton.

R133 he’s hot. Adam is very lucky.

Oops R137

R134 I can feel your enthusiasm through the screen.

R136 Is okay. I agree. Also I have most fuckable something else.

VIP access to Adam's life? I've seen enough of his life on Instagram to know that he's not that interesting. Who cares?

R130 Chiddy wasn't serial killer awful or anything - think more along the lines of someone who constantly splatted in every competition but won anyway b/c of overscoring, which in turn fueled his already out-sized sense of entitlement and condescension towards other skaters. He was a coddled, spoiled brat who thought he was better than everyone else, including all of his coaches and competitors, and whined and moaned when he didn't get his way.

The old DL figure skating threads absolutely despised Chiddy, long before Hanyu came along. The Hanyu threads mostly ignore Chan and bring him out once in a while for amusement. So I don't think the Chan haters are just Hanyu ubers. A poster in the first Hanyu thread collected some good vintage Chiddy quotes, so you should go there for reference. Off the top of my head, I can remember:

- once lamented that he wasn't appreciated enough in Canada and that he wished he could skate for China, which actually supports and respects its athletes. Caused a whole PR brouhaha in Canada.

- Said he was the last and only skater who could be both artistically and technically sound. Once when he was feeling a little more generous, he said thought he and Javi were the last breed of skaters who could be complete skaters, Denigrated quadsters like Hanyu, Boyang and Shoma. But of course, now he has changed his tune and claimed Chen as his heir apparent.

- Claimed to be the best figure skater in the world after he lost Sochi and that his two silvers were better than Hanyu's gold.

- When asked about the gay controversy at Sochi, he basically said, I don't have time to occupy myself with that shit.

- Once blamed a camera for his bad skate.

Here are some quotes from an article about his journey to Sochi that I thought were amusing.

- On his dominance: “Even when I’m winning; hands-down the best, it’s a struggle,”

- On why he switched training locations from Colorado to Detroit: "Dig a little deeper, however, and it becomes clear that, for Chan, the real problem was with the environment at the rink. It was an on-ice confrontation with a younger skater that pushed him over the edge, he says. After the world champion chided her for getting in his way while he practised, she returned fire and the other athletes took her side in the argument. “I felt so lonely. People that I had trained with for a year-and-a-half, they became my worst enemies. They turned their backs on me,” says Chan, still smarting at the memory. “If I ever got in the way of Kurt Browning or Elvis Stojko and they got mad and yelled at me, I’d be, ‘Oh my God! I’m so sorry!’ ”

[quote] Once blamed a camera for his bad skate.

This was one of my favourites! I remember even the British Eurosport commentators made fun of Chan after they heard him say the overhead camera caused him to perform most of his program on his ass.

Speaking of asses... our secondary thread pet Misha Ge has done a "co-interview" or whatever you call it when two people are interviewed at the same time, with Kazuki Tomono.

The story is that Tomono made a "unilateral" decision to ask Misha to choreograph for him when Tomoko "went over to him and struck up a conversation with him at WC [2018]... He responded very nicely to me then and helped me make great memories...." There's only one vague mention of Tomono's "coaches" - here's another excerpt, but at the link (at GS) is the rest (of Part 1) but you have to scroll down to nearly the end of the page.

Misha: "...In particular to work on Kazuki's program, I first talked with Yoshiko-san (Yoshiko Kobayashi of JSF, FS manager). I talked with Kazuki himself too, and I listened to all the coaches of the team and we all put our heads together. What we want to show in the next season. The suggestions from JSF, and in what direction they're expecting and wanting Kazuki to develop. Upon due consideration of all those laid on the table for the decision, I picked up some numbers. Among them, it was "New Cinema Paradise" that rang a bell with him. To tell you the truth, I also felt that it was the best one.

Kazuki: I wanted to pick the best one for me out of all the suggested numbers. When we narrowed down to just two, I just knew it'd be "New Cinema Paradise" at once."

r144 Chan certainly earned his title as skating cunt all on his own, but I think at least some of the residual hate was fueled by the fan wars. The cuntiest cunts on Goldenskate are also Chan ubers, and I think not coincidentally, have moved on to stanning Chen.

R146 Totally agree. Remember when some poster turned up here to say something like, "4everchan is amazingly brilliant and not at all a hypocrite." I've never seen the thread so united in its hate and mockery of that loathsome cunt. I actually thought the poster was being sarcastic, but I was wrong. I wonder whether it was 4everchan himself who came here to post that.

I can see how an overhead camera whizzing around could distract a skater, just like show lighting. And I'd be pissed too if some random lower level skater kept getting in my way and then yelled at me.

What's Adam doing, if anything, on the ice? He's not even in Stars on Ice right? I'd rather see him skate than running his mouth and famewhoring.

Shit. M. GE is creepy af...

But this artist does some great stuff too. 'Hanyu with handcuffs' fantasy is realized pretty well, for example.

R148 The fact that she was just a "random lower level skater," and yet the entire rink still took her side shows who was being the asshole in that situation.

JSF just came out with its funding levels for next season. Tomono was replaced by Takahashi. Honda was also dropped. Men getting special funding: Takahashi, Uno, Tanaka, Hanyu. Women: Sakamoto, Kihira, Miyahara, Mihara and Higuchi.

Why does it have Japanese porn movie vibes... P.S. I'd definitely watch.

Saying this as a big fan of Dai, but it sucks that his vanity unretirement is taking away both attention and funding from younger skaters.

To be clear, Tomono was demoted to the A team, while Honda was dropped altogether. She gets no financial aid, but they might still consider sending her to international comps. I guess of all the skaters, she is one of the few with independent money.

[quote] When asked about the gay controversy at Sochi, he basically said, I don't have time to occupy myself with that shit.

which is possibly better than what some other skaters said at the time. Some idiocies came out from people's mouth at the time. I mean, should we remember what Jeremy Abbott said? Yes, I know, he is not particularly bright, but come on

“Russia is hosting us,” “I’m not going to go into somebody’s house and be like, ‘Um, the way you decorate is hideous, and you need to completely redo this or I’m never coming back.’ It’s a little rude, so I don’t want to say bad things about a country that’s hosting the world, essentially" “Maybe I don’t agree with their policies, and maybe I don’t agree with some things, but that’s for them to sort out. My speaking out just makes me look like an ass.”

how much do Japanese skaters get from Feds? is it known?

One thing that is often overlooked, is that Plushenko is the only medal contender that actually spoke out against the law. He signed some sort of protest or bill and said "do not prohibit them" when talking about gays in Russia.

r152 who's the one on the bottom supposed to be? Doesn't look like Mikhail or Vincent.

R158 Are you suggesting I wasn't a medal contender?

So Japanese team allocations seem to be

SPECIAL

Hanyu

Uno

Takahashi

Tanaka

Sakamoto

Kihira

Miyahara

Mihara

Higuchi

TEAM A

Tomono, Shimada, Kagiyama, Tsuboi, Kishina, Sato S,

Yamashita, Yokoi, Hosoda, Araki, Kawabata, Shiraiwa, Miura/Ichihashi

Komatsubara/Koleto

TEAM B

Yamamoto, Yamakuma, Nakamura, Miyake, Sumoto

Miura, Matsubara, Watanabe, Aoki, Naganawa, Iwano, Matsuike

R145 It's interesting Tomono is now saying he requested Ge himself. In every interview before that Quadruple Axel issue and maybe after, too, Ge claimed it was the JSF who approached him and wanted him to choreograph for Tomono, as well as for some junior and novice skaters as a packaged deal. No surprise Hiraike isn’t mentioned. Too bad the original interview isn’t available for free.

r157 Special: 200,000 yen (about 1800 USD) a month. Level A & B: 100,000 yen (about 900USD) a month.

R159 It’s Chan.

Kihira has photos from Ice Fantasia on her IG. Osmond’s makeup is frightening:

[quote] Special: 200,000 yen (about 1800 USD) a month. Level A & B: 100,000 yen (about 900USD) a month.

thanks

[quote] Kihira has photos from Ice Fantasia on her IG. Osmond’s makeup is frightening:

Agreed, but toned down when compared to her fellow countrywoman Gabby. Speaking of which, I'm still freaked out about her pretty obvious photoshopped bruising - or at least exaggeration of it, along with showing off her cane. Though maybe she just wants an excuse to exit the stage.

BTW, Rika's legs look skinnier to me. Hope she's been maintaining her nutrition! These girls are under such pressure!! - and who was it? Johnny Weir I think, recently complaining that when skating, he can't gain a single pound without it affecting his skating. I think it was in his strange shirtless woe-is-me I'm quitting in 2022 video. If you have any tendencies towards mental health issues at all, sheesh, skating seems to bring them out of you. Or is that every sport? Except maybe golf?

Some tidbits from GS for those who don't hit the skaters' individual threads:

Someone posted on FSU that there is an unconfirmed rumor that Tom Z is moving to California. In any event, he wished Camden Pulkinen well and said it was great working with him for 3 years.

Rika changed from Riport boots to Edea Piano. Her choreo: Bourne for SP, Dickson for the FS. The FS will be choreographed in May, when she will go to Colorado. She will also be training both 4S and 4T there.

Nathan on choreographing the group number at The Ice: "I am nervous because I have never done it, but I feel it will be a very fun challenge," Nathan will be performing at Sun Valley on Aug 10; Jason Brown will be performing at Sun Valley July 27; Keegan Messing and the Kneirems appearing at Cleveland Ohio ice show May 10 and 11.

Shoma sp and fs will be choreographed by Mihoko. He’ll go to some “secret training camps” for longer periods of time and wants to try new things. He’s started practicing 4Lz.

Jason and Boyang went shopping together (so I guess Boyang showed up at Orser's Chinese camp?), link below. (posted on Weibo)

Maybe Shoma is going to Sambo to work with that boy who was doing a quintuple jump on a harness? And Zhou can ditch Tom Z for good and just work with Mie Hamada, since they're a mutual admiration society now?

r125 r130 Chan vs Joubert/Weir/Plushenko/Takahashi/Ten was a lot more heated than Chan vs Hanyu ever was. See the DL threads from 2013 and earlier, such as the 2010 Olympics threads, “Figure skater Patrick Chan complains that he is not appreciated enough,” and “Homophobia and Figure Skating.”

To add to R143, some older gems from Chan:

On Joubert after Joubert said he was disappointed Buttle didn’t attempt a quad when he won 2009 WC:

[quote]“I think Joubert is constantly complaining about that, because he's never got anything else to say,” said Chan. “He just says that because he wants to have an excuse… Obviously, he needs to be focused on other things than just the jumps." “Now I sort of know his personality. He’s kind of a sore loser, I guess. If he doesn’t win, he always has an excuse for not winning and not skating well. Unfortunately, that’s his personality, and I don’t really like it. I’m still not going to trash talk about him all the time or say anything bad – other than this time, I guess.”

On the quad at the 2010 Olympics:

[quote]Chan said that anyone can do the quad, insisting the jump gets too much attention and distracts from the true artistry of the sport.

On Takahashi’s 2010 NHK Trophy win:

[quote]Now, Chan thinks it's "kind of weird" when a skater doesn't put a quad in his short program even though he's known for doing them. He said he was shocked that world champion Daisuke Takahashi won the NHK Trophy event last week without a quad, and he's been doing quads longer than Chan has been doing triple Axels.

On Plushenko at the 2010 Olympics (where Chan placed 5th with Chanflation help) :

[quote]Chan suggested that the pressure may be actually getting to one of his biggest rivals, defending Olympic men's singles champion Evgeni Plushenko, who watched Chan's practice from the stands. "It showed that he's really scared of what I do,” said the 19-year-old skater.

Convinced Weir committed a crime by wearing a fan-made flower crown in the K&C:

[quote]"If you were watching yesterday, Johnny Weir put the flowers on (his) head," Chan said. “That's like a big no-no. You don't do that. You have to have some kind of professionalism and that's just kind of- you're making fun and you know, giving it a bad image, I think, in my mind.” "It's something that you don't do. You're supposed to be proper."

On winning the Lou Marsh Award in 2011 after complaining about Canada not appreciating him enough:

[quote]“I hope the award wasn’t given to me just to make me realize that I should appreciate what I have. No matter if I had won the award or not, my idea of Canada would never change.”

When a reporter pointed out China’s human rights record:

[quote]“I had no idea until you said it right now that there are accusations of human rights violations against China. I didn't know. My thoughts and ideas have come from a cultural place.”

But I was being serious about preferring cunty Chan to enlightened Chan. Cunty Chan was funny and interesting, and the current men are in need of some strong personalities. Daniil Samsonov and Plushenko’s kid might burn out before they reach seniors.

R166 That boy isn't a Sambo skater.

[quote]Convinced Weir committed a crime by wearing a fan-made flower crown in the K&C

then years later Chan was overcome with Poohs.

R167 And to complete Chiddy's bildungsroman from master cunt to a less-cunty-but-still-masterful-at-making-things-all-about-himself skating uncle, here is his translated bit from the Number magazine article

Chiddy was burning with jealousy about no having a flower crown. How dare other skaters to have crowns of any kind? he's the only one who deserves them!

R170 "PaRt of THis mAgnifIcent stOrY"

Adam Rippon has 21k subscriptors now. Someone YouTube savvy say whether this is great or meh

R173 it is nothing. But has he just launched right, right?

Yeah just a day ago, I think.

Haven't had time to check out Adam's youtube. At least Chiddy's remarks were funny and enlightening. I hate interviews where the skaters say nothing new or interesting. Yeah yeah, everyone's working hard and trying to do their best.

Thank you all for the delightful Chan tidbits. How interesting.

I gotta politely disagree with whoever thinks Dai is taking away funding from younger skaters due to a vanity unretirement. Why is his love of skating more vanity and less valid than younger skaters? Pretty sure no one here would be mad at Yuzu for skating as long as he wants either. It's a sport, if you can't keep up with an older person maybe you just aren't as deserving of special funding until you can surpass them. I think it's pretty neat that Dai is coming out of retirement and still beating the youn'guns, showing them how it's done. Seems pretty inspiring to me.

I loved Dai's skating and was happy to see him come back, but his skates last season weren't really that great. He was overscored at Nats and it was obvious he wasn't ready to compete at WC. He said he's not skating in int'l comps this season, so what's the point? Maybe he'll change his mind and maybe he'll get better this season. I'm just thinking of the glut of team jpn boys with quads, all the ladies, even Sota who is older and coming back from injury but is looking better. These skaters all have long-term potential and deserve support and attention. Russia has a factory of 12-13 year olds ready to rise as soon as the 15 year olds cripple themselves and Japan is spending money on a 33 year old? If JSF had limitless resources, then no big deal, but it obviously does not.

If Hanyu chooses to continue skating and taking JSF after he is no longer competitive, there would no doubt be an uproar. Heck, he's being criticized NOW for continuing to skate even though he is still competitive.

I don't think the "point" of skating is to go to international competitions. He wants to compete and while people can see this as a country thing I see it as an individual thing. You shouldn't be forced to quit your career because your country decided to give you bonus money and not another boy. It's individuals' careers we're talking about, not public service. If JSF wants to spend that money on him, Dai shouldn't be punished for it.

What do you guys think of Marin getting dropped altogether? She's had a rough few seasons and I don't know how other ladies have been dealt with in the past, but that seems harsh. Maybe I'm just biased.

And the younger skaters shouldn’t be punished because Dai wants to “come back” but only skating domestically. Some fans have pointed out the key point of JSF funding, especially at the top tier, is to support Japanese skaters to compete internationally. Ideally these are the seeded skaters that can help Japan to defend maximum World spots.

Sorry, but the "point" of competitive skating is to go to and win international competitions. Also, I'm questioning JSF's strategy more than Dai's desire to continue skating. He can obviously do whatever he wants, but the skate fed's responsibility should be to invest its resources in developing skaters with potential to win internationally, both now and in the future.

Maybe the reason they want to keep Dai around is that he does bring attention - viewing numbers, publicity etc - and that in turn brings money to JSF. I don't know, is Dai more popular than the ladies?

Skate Canada really trying it with these ticket prices.

R183 what assholes.

I wonder how they'd set the prices if they couldn't hawk Yuzuru on that price list. Notice they didn't clutter it up with anybody else except whoever that couple is (sorry I don't watch pairs or ID so I don't mean that as a slam)

Are the funding levels based entirely on JNAT results (sorry, I don't even care enough to google)? Maybe that explains the funding allocation. Maybe there will be adjustments when they hand out GP assignments.

Since we're on the nostalgia tour, here's a funny Yagudin video.

Aww, look at Vincent, trying to get into one of the lower Ivies. *chuckles*

r184 r185 Golden circle tickets seem about the same price as in Milan but the other ones are more expensive. I paid €960 for a 14 row ticket in Milan and it looks like a comparable one here is about €1115. In Helsinki you could buy a golden circle ticket for €1000.

Those prices have escalated in recent years, I think they're shooting themselves in the foot. Hardcore fans, mostly of the Hanyu persuasion, will pay, but the prices are prohibitive for non hardcore fans. So who will be left after Hanyu retires. Even if they drop prices afterwards, their fanbase will have dwindled and it'll be like American SoI.

R187 Yagudin seems like the life of the party.

r185 These are Weaver/Poje, Canadian ice-dancers. Canada basically only has ice dancers as medal contenders now that Duhamel/Radford and Osmond retired, Gabby turned into a mess and men can only hope for top 10. My preference are another Canadian pair though, Gilles/Poirer, much more innovative and Poirer's ass serves the same function in the other thread as Yuzu's in ours.

Btw, I feel like Gabby's bronze was one of the flukiest medals in recent years. She didn't count before she won it, and she went back to not counting afterwards. As surprising as Tursy's silver was, at least I can imagine her remaining a podium contender.

r186 Special: Top 3 at nationals, selected for 2 GPs, or has the same SB as another skater in the category*.

A: Top 4-8 at nationals, top 3 at junior nationals, invited to one GP, or has the same SB as another skater in the category*.

B: Top 9-12 at nationals, top 4-8 at junior nationals, top novice A*, invited to a JGP, named at the Nobeyama Camp, or has the same SB as another skater in the category*.

*JSF can still choose not to add the skater

The list can change as skaters receive new assignments.

r179 I’ve provided a link to the JSF code of conduct. The main purpose of Special and Level A/B is to support skaters who compete internationally. Takahashi could continue competing domestically and refuse funding, or change his mind about competing internationally, which he might do. His standing is also controversial because he’s only in the Special category due to placing second at nationals, where the judges were unusually generous to him. (In his disaster FS, he was 12th in TES, but given 25 more points for PCS for a performance riddled with falls, steps, URs, pops, and weak spins.) Tomono could’ve bested his SB total by less than a point if it weren’t for inflation and the JSF could have both on the Special list if they wanted.

It also doesn’t help that Uno was just awarded the JOC Cup over Kihira just for winning nationals again when Kihira had a more successful international season.

R180 She may be added later. JSF said she can still get her GPs and other international competitions, but will have to do test or qualifying competitions. She still makes more than all of the other ladies and one of the highest paid female athletes in Japan, in addition to coming from a very wealthy family and possibly having all skating expenses covered by JAL. She just needs to perform well.

R182 The ladies still beat the men in ratings when Hanyu isn’t around.

R192 Thank you for bringing clarity to all of this.

[quote]Uno was just awarded the JOC Cup over Kihira just for winning nationals again when Kihira had a more successful international season.

This pisses me off, especially since, imo, Kihira was robbed of a bronze at WC. I hope JSF gets its act together soon. I'm already annoyed by the Russian quadsters and they're not even out of juniors yet.

I hope Takahashi does better this season. Frankly, the whole charade of this superstar "crushing" the younger skaters who had little to no international experience b/c of JSF incompetence, were stymied by regional politics, were/are underfunded, don't have proper rinks to skate in etc., was a little unseemly to me.

It's baby team jpn. Tanaka with a mullet! The other "Y" in yyskater! Murakami before she got fat!

Lmao what a bunch of ugly children

I disagree, Hino looked decent.

R194 I would like to read a then/now of all them.

[quote] It's baby team jpn. Tanaka with a mullet! The other "Y" in yyskater! Murakami before she got fat!

Wow, Keiji is the same age as Yuzuru - if those photos were taken around the same time, then Yuzu was 162.8 cm tall while Keiji was only 154 cm. So Yuzu grew up fast (if the pix are from the same year).

And now they're both 172 cm, if I'm not mistaken. I can't tell how old they are (or why Yuzuru was #2 - who was #1?)

Sorry for all the questions - thanks for posting that. It's fun to see them as kids.

Daleman is also starting her own YouTube channel. I would tell you what it's about, but I got bored watching the trailer and couldn't finish. Maybe something about makeup and/or shenanigans.

Daleman seems so screwed up. I think her good skating days are over, but there's no one better than her in Canada unless Osmond returns, and that's not happening. At least she's still invited to skate in shows.

Those Worlds ticket prices are nuts. I guess I will never go to a Worlds unless they hold it in my backyard, and maybe not even then. They're really trying to put the last nails in the coffin of this sport, aren't they?

How much are tickets? I'm thinking of going to worlds in Montreal. Sounds like there are lots of hotels near the Bell Ctr at ok prices.

R202

All-event ticket packages will include all competitions, as well as competition practices (excluding gala practice). Fans will be able to choose from six levels of all-event ticket packages located in the 100L and 200L that are priced at:

Gold Circle, 100L rows 1-3 = $2,410 ($2,300 ticket + $110 venue fee)

P1, 100L rows 4-6 & 100L centre lower bowl = $2,100 ($2,000 ticket + $100 venue fee)

P2, 100L centre sections = $1,675 ($1,600 ticket + $75 venue fee)

P3, 100L lower end & 200L centre sections = $1,365 ($1,300 ticket + $65 venue fee)

P4, 100L upper end & 200L side sections = $1,080 ($1,025 ticket + $55 venue fee)

P5, 200L end sections = $845 ($800 ticket + $45 venue fee).

I guess if I were to be ok with sitting on an usher's shoulders I could afford to go at the low price of $845.

Those prices are in CAD BTW, so if your country's currency is strong against the CAD, you may be paying less.

I hadn't thought of that. As of today, CAD is $0.74 USD.

Bringing this conjecture over from GS (poster "Imov" on page 674 of Shoma's thread):

"[Shoma going to a] secret camp? and there is an article that Yuzu is also going to a camp. My team Japan biased self is dreaming both of them will be there planning to regain their podium standing in both worlds and gpf." [end of slightly-edited quote]

Does anyone know about this article about Yuzuru going to a camp? It does seem a bit unusual that he couldn't be there for the actual monument unveiling because he had something more pressing that week - if I understood correctly. Hey, maybe someday soon Yuzuru will start coaching Shoma? (ok that is probably too far fetched but these quiet days with so many unknowns can play tricks on your mind.)

r207 Wtf is a secret camp.

and i am sure vm after olympic then when thought abouti th they helped god for what happened to papadakis, because that let them won. Thats it. But they are too full of themself to admit it. They benefited the most and they know it. I am sure they were glad after that situaation.They are not s Papadakis felt what she felt, she had right to do so co s she is THE victim , not tess or scott. She felt that it is UNFAIR to them what happened to them and because VM benefited from their terrible accident FOR FREE. This is not VM fault or PC( i add that was dressmaker faultanuyway) BUT I bet VM didnt

sorry , not the right thread, it should be in that"secret" one:)

is the secret thread related to shame's secret camp?

R207 Yuzu will start coaching Shoma? LOL

Meagan Duhamel is preagnant

I'd rather Hanyu secretly coach a junior to perhaps go head to head with Gogo in the future than waste time on Shoma who gets candies anyway so it doesn't matter if his technique or rotations are sound.

Japan doesn't know what they're doing when it comes to pushing for the ladies, along with trying to reignite an old star in Takahashi. It's just so stupid. And yes I do think Kihira was robbed of bronze at Worlds and funny Med fans can't see it.

It does seem to be a waste of money to be throwing money at Takahashi. I was underwhelmed by his performances last season. He was not competitive at all, what a mess. Plus, can't he make plenty of money skating in shows and doing TV things, if only he cared enough to do that work?

So, Meagan and Aljona are both pregnant now. good to hear that they are still fertile after putting their lives on hold for the sport. None of the offspring of top skaters have turned out to be talented skaters themselves though. Is Isabelle Brasseur's daughter still doing pairs? Has Artur D's son finally thrown in the towel? How's Kristi's daughter skating?

Weren't Artur D's attempted 4As last season just divine? I've never seen anybody wildly hurl themselves into jumps like that. It was like those Jackass movies with Steve O doing stupid daredevil stunts.

Maybe there's been a misunderstanding and someone was just commenting on Yuzuru being camp - and Shoma being secretly camp. He does a mean drag act, does our Shoma.

Well I do hope Shoma is in some camp working on fixing his atrocious jumps, maybe next season he will deserve the medals he wins.

R207 Hanyu's reason for missing the recent JSF festivities was that he is at "training camp." Is that what you're referring to?

I was just quoting a post at Golden Skate, R218 - someone said there was an article that said Yuzuru is also going to a camp. Didn't really make sense to me, but I guess back in the day, he went to training camps in Japan? Somehow it seems beneath him now lol. Like Picasso going to a summer art camp. Well, I'm sure they do other stuff - bonding or whatever.

I thought this was going to be a link to Med jumping again (which apparently she is). I saw the video earlier and her hammer toe pick was quite a sight.

Anyway, instead it was this piss poor can can at the Kurt Browning ice show. Maybe it's just the slouchy clothes but I think they could manage to kick a bit higher even with the sweats. And I found it odd the way Nam was playing with Med's collar. A new power couple?

AHAH! Now we've got the culprit of Med's enlarged uterus.

r215 I agree. Takahashi TES at JNats was 63!!! Just watching his jumps and spins were painful.

I hadn't heard about this quadsterific show, Dreams on Ice, June 28-30 (and maybe over dates?) Anyway the lineup:

Chen, Trusova, Shcherbakova, Zhou, Kostornaia, Zagitova, and James/Cipres. Wonder if they'll have a quad-off like they did at that Russian show where Danny G and Masaru skated as a pair.

R219 I believe they got the "secret training camp" stuff from the Google translation of this article about Hanyu not attending the JSF awards ceremony where Shoma won the JOC Cup. It's translated as "overseas training camp" which led to speculation about where Hanyu actually was (some say he's back in Toronto, others say he's in China, others says he's in Russia, basically no one knows where the fuck he is).

Well he's holed up with somebody somewhere! Shae Lynn, to tweak Origin? Or create something new?

Or maybe with a physiotherapist or having some kind of medical treatment. Where's that French stalker? Or the Japanese one following him through airports across the globe? I can't believe he's slipped everyone's clutches.

R224 French stalker is too busy stalking Aymoz. It's the one in the white coat you should be asking. She even knows which flights he takes

Satoko is currently at Richaud (she was absent at JSF event too like Hanyu) and he works with plenty of Japanese skaters. What if Hanyu is in there too in a 'super secret mode' to choreograph a program because he has decided to ditch SLB for good... #crazytheoriestime

R223 He is in Russia. Training quads at Sambo together with Trusova, Scherbakoba, Tursynbaeva and get new programs done by Danill.

Shoma is at a special camp for special kids: Camp Spectrum

R227 you just gave me PTSD

R229 Like my boy cow after psychological warfare.

Maybe Hanyu is actually getting hocus pocus stuff done for his ankle and needed to go underground for that. His witch doctor has retired so he needed to go elsewhere for that.

Being done by Danlil - sounds good to me :)

Being part of her coaching team must be quite an experience.

Found the video of Med's jumps. Don't know what the first one is - Lutz, flutz, salchow? But nobody could miss the toe pick on the second one.

Shoot how could I forget the link...

R233 This would be funny if it weren't so sad - there is something deeply wrong with her. She needs to step away from skating and get help.

What kind of drugs is Gabby on? Jesus...

Is it just me thinking Gabby looks really fake.... This is actually concerning how she seems to put on a show for social medias. I do hope she's different in real or she might be really an exhausting person. This whole thing won't help her mental health

R234 is it somehow ironic?

it's all confusing. She retweeted someone else who posted picture of her injuries, which makes the ones we saw here look photo shopped. She healed all her bruises in 2 weeks???

R240 And she's since removed that photo of her bruises from IG. Not sure what's going on with her, but she should take a break from social media (easier said than done, I know). It doesn't seem to be doing her any favours.

R238 i'm concerned that the "show" also includes a public show of recognition for her various mental health issues without seeking real help for any of them.

[quote] Is Isabelle Brasseur's daughter still doing pairs?

yes. She did Nationals wit Bardei. They were supposed to do a spring competition (Challenge Cup, I think. Or Bavarian Open). Anyway, they withdrew at last moment. There were rumors they split. But apparently they got together in the following weeks.

In terms of current offspring of former top skaters , I guess the most successful ones are in Dance. Bukin. And also Ponomrenko looks promising.

Here is part 2 of the Tomono/Ge interview from GS. If I were Tomono's coach I'd be concerned or pissed. But surprisingly, it's Tomono who's gushing about their relationship and eager for Ge to have a bigger role. (Scroll to the bottom of the GS thread for the translation)

K: He's already teaching me technical aspects, but in future too I would like him to continue working as a coach, not only as a choreographer, and I would like to have his support. M: I'm very glad to hear that phrase from him. We've learned a lot in the first half of the season. Now, we'll have to talk about the next season, and as for the future plan for him, I would like to consider a path that he can steadily advance, step by step, instead of seeking for a hasty improvement.

Is it possible that Ge is actually a good coach-like influence? Genuine question.

Well, the other skaters seem to like him and he cares passionately about the sport.

Why is Zagitova in Toronto?

Japanese news is reporting Michelle Kwan has joined Joe Biden's campaign?

R244 That’s sad. The Quadruple Axel interview was during Worlds, where his coach seemed upset with him, and his last competition was Rostelecom where he medaled, so that might’ve been why he was being extra positive about his relationship with Ge and didn’t want to mention Hiraike at the time. I’d really like to see the original text.

R245 Tomono was 14th in last season’s world ranking. He’s 36th this season. His best results this season (third at Rostelecom, fourth at Nationals) were thanks to his FS which Ge had no part in. He only won one regional competition (Kinki) and even lost the intercollegiate competition.

Ge was supposed to improve Tomono’s spins, but they’re the same as last season. I do think Tomono’s skating skills have improved and that could be due to Ge. But Tomono’s greatest weaknesses are his quads and Ge cannot help with jumps.

When Tomono did well at Rostelecom, Ge took credit while never acknowledging Tomono’s coaches nor his FS choreographer. (Meanwhile, he’s continually expressed gratitude to Medvedeva’s team.) But when Tomono did poorly at 4CC, Ge publicly criticized him on twitter. I don’t see how such a choreographer, particularly one with a lack of respect for his client and his client’s coaches, could be a positive influence mentally. (And that doesn’t even include his behavior toward other skaters particularly this and last season.)

Ge on Tomono’s 4CC performance:

R247 She is shooting Shiseido CM in Canada.

R247 Michelle Kwan is a "surrogates director" - something of a "relationship" ambassador who helps with outreach and arranging media events with politicians and celebrities. Mostly ceremonial. She did something similar for Clinton. Of course she would pick the most old school, entrenched candidate. At least he's a Democrat.

R248 She's really rubbing it in!

Hanyu's P&G talk show is June 12. I wonder what this means, if anything, for FaOI appearances.

FaOI Sendai now has its own special website.

Ghislain is in Champery with Lambiel’s group and Yuna Aoki (and Tomoe Kawabata maybe).

New Ex’s:

Higuchi: “And I am Telling You I’m not Going” Jennifer Hudson, from Dream Girls (Buttle choreo)

Tanaka: “Pump It” The Blacked Eyed Peas

Sota Yamamoto: “You’re Beautiful” James Blunt

Miyu Honda: “HandClap” Fitz and the Tantrums

r248 r249 Thank you! Why are they filming the Shiseido CM in Toronto of all places?

FaOI Sendai website:

Shun Sato (14 year old) seems like the only JPN men’s junior who has the potential to compete internationally. He’s the only one landing quads but it seems like he gets no love from JSF.

R250 Is there a chance Yuzu is also there with Ghislain? This whole 'overseas training camp' thing is strange. Why would they say that if he merely went back to Toronto. And if I'm not mistaken, none of the main coaches are at TCC at the moment. Although actually Yuzu should still be in the rehab period and not train intensively. So maybe he is really back in Toronto and getting treatment and doing slow exercises on ice.

R252 I think it’s highly unlikely Hanyu is anywhere except Toronto. He's probably quietly doing image training and getting physiotherapy, playing video game and ordering more earphones...waiting to get an OK so he can participate in FaOI...even if he will only do delayed single axels

Hasn't he been training on ice right after Worlds 1 month ago ? I bet he already worked on quads and new programs.

r250 James fucking Blunt? Did they literally sit down and brain storm for the most boring, whiny shit in the history of pop music? Jesus Christ, I'd actually prefer a Carmen.

R250 Hats off to Keiji Tanaka for discovering his true niche at this late stage in his career.

R251 Kagiyama and Miura have quads. Not sure they've landed them in competition but they look like they may soon be able to. Miura is only 13 and has a 4s and 4t.

R255 my thoughts exactly.

R257 Thank you JDC for reminding everyone that Ge is in fact a famewhore clown. Let us continue, please. R253 I agree. I like to imagine he's reading this thread while whispering "fools".

r31

as a massive shibutani aesthetic fan i love you. :')

Wakaba's new programs SP: Birds Set Free by SIA; FS: Poeta

Marin is keeping her SP.

Photos of the Hyoen cast in their costumes have been released, including Lipnitskaya.

R247 Sorry, I meant to say the Quadruple Axel interview was back in December during Nationals, not Worlds.

R252 The "overseas training camp" can just mean he was absent from the award ceremony due to training overseas in Toronto.

Hyoen:

Meanwhile, Shcherbakova jumped 4F

R262 I like her but I can't see her making it to 2022 in one piece. She looks like she might snap in half at any second and they are really forcing the quads on her.

R263 well, we'll see. Quads aren't health improving for anyone, men included.

but men dont look like trusova or shcherbakova

imo these girls should be focusing on mastering their triples. A good triple is better than a ugly, pre-rotated quad.

R266 It's all relative now, so much better to take your chances with a pre- under- rotated quad.

R266 I disagree!

R266 I disagree too! There is beauty in an uncalled under-rotated quad especially when done with a Rippon!!

Yeah, I'm being idealistic. If gremlins like Shoma and Vincent can win world medals and Med can win everything with a flutz and weird jumps, then these juniors can win too with ugly quads.

And Alina too, with unders and shallow edges.

R270 How dare you put Shoma and Vincent on the same level lol.

R247 Thanks for the link, I was about to ask for one as soon as I read about the criticism at 4cc. It's a wonder that he didn't take it down yet. No one criticized him for publicly criticizing his skater like that? How is this in any manner professional? Wouldn't it be common sense to reserve criticism for private chats, not for the world to see? I don't understand how his mind works.

TSL 4/27 – “Skater Honesty 2019” - Part 1 - J says 2 women told him they loved Dave, and D says, “Middle aged women & 30-year-old bitchy queens are my sweet spot.” 4 They address PAPADAKIS’ “shocking” interview, saying they sat there watching S/M “wanting them to fall.” Lots of talk about these being very “typical” competitors’ feelings about their rivals. 15 D: “To compete, you have to be an egomaniac with an insecurity complex – they’re all like that,” Tessa especially, while fakely smiling. 17 “You know all those Eteri girls hate one another...” More talk about bitchiness between skaters, esp as lower level ones overtake those above – typically the former winners will then leave, if they’d trained together. Tessa/Scott vs Meryl/Charlie etc. 27 D “Skating fans all need medication” (ridiculously defensive about their faves, etc.) Fans will just never ever stop talking about Gordeeva’s husband dropping dead every time her name comes up… 29 TONYA on “Worst Cooks in America”: D thinks Tonya is doing good, will prob win, throwing herself into working on her Fettucine Alfredo. J hates reality tv & cooking, but reminds everyone his House Hunters episode is coming out this fall on HDTV. 32 D talks about his group therapy & snobby musical-purist opera singers in his group. 36 D doesn’t like RuPaul much “but I do like skating – you wanna talk about drag queens? Let me tell ya, have you seen ice dance lately?” Then “Have you seen Madonna lately, with the grill and all? Eww-tragic! This is what happens when narcissists don’t die young.” Like when a skater doesn’t know when it’s time to retire gracefully.

TSL 4/27 – Part 2 - 39 ETERI: They’re talking about the video w/the woman coach yelling at & physically throwing the boy around. Main takeaway: everybody there acted like they were used to it and didn’t notice. 41 D: Eteri skaters all exhibit signs of trauma. Eteri uses fear as the motivator. Like a military boot camp where they break you down in order to rebuild you (but yrs later, vets have ptsd) 43 Shcherbakova’s 4F: D: it’s good but she’s hunching; she may grow too tall & technique may not last. Then young Kamila’s 4T-3T: D her muscled jumps also prob won’t last. There’s the 11-yr-old Eteri girl w/both the quad & 3A. The quad ice show was on a channel owned by gov’t – Eteri’s now a symbol of Russian nationalism. Tptb ignore Mishin, who D compares to Tom Z: no clue about artistry whatsoever. 46 some ex-Olympic diver (Elena?) is writing tell-alls about Eteri’s sinister camp – she doesn’t think Trusova/Shcherb/Kost will even make Beijing; their replacements are being pushed already. 52 Few differences btw Eteri skaters: Med has strong watchable personality & verve, but bad jumps, no skating skills, lousy spins. Zag has a pretty face, a lutz/loop combo, a dog, and that’s it, otherwise unmemorable. Kostornaia only has “soul” because she was raised outside the Eteri camp but that’s changing: the vampire thing was so empty. Shcherb very flexible/has musicality. Trusova’s trained like a man/a fighter. The whole show was schlock; the girls are a dime a dozen. 55 That whole Eteri culture is abusive.

TSL 4/27 – Part 3 - 56 MAO had a show & there was a home video of it – watching her old programs and her skating precision melded into group numbers – so heartwarming and therapeutic to watch. 58 MED skating to Ariana Grande w/Ariana’s ponytail wtf? And why is her costuming always so “off”? 1:01 Camden leaving Tom Z but staying w/Tammy: so T&T not unified anymore. J: Like we said earlier, when the lower-ranked person starts rising, there’s always friction. 1.03 D: Zhou on crutches; meh, he’ll be fine; Level 4 for drama queening. Btw, Stars on Ice looked like it was slopped together in 2 or 3 days. 1.05 Kwan/Hillary/Biden – like when she kept the same tech content throughout her career, her politics will be boringly “nice and predictable” – none of those wilding newbies for her, just take the conventional route to a solid political job. 1.08 Say anything unexpected, and fans squawk. As skating gets smaller, the fans get more extreme. Then lots about gymnastics & some dancer was making a success as a coach, knowing nothing of the sport but because she knows psychology - which a Tom Z is so ignorant of, but it’s such a key factor in success. Like Russian coaches so brutal until it’s comp-time, then they finally encourage skater before sending them out - “You can do it!!” 1.22 J: Seeing Med skating in the ice show made him finally realize, “She really CANNOT skate. The Danny-G clutter of her programs always hid that fact.” D thinks, in a similar vein, Eteri’s daughter, a pedestrian ice dancer, will climb the ranks just due to spin, her back story + politics. Meanwhile the US fed is so inept “when they try to urinate, they’re lucky to get it in the bowl.” 1.26 Something about Papadakis/Cizeron’s and Hubbell/Donahue’s coach (Patrice?) being empathetic but having BDF – J saw him in a bar in Detroit and was so enthralled he wanted to go sit by him so bad. END

[quote] thinks, in a similar vein, Eteri’s daughter, a pedestrian ice dancer, will climb the ranks just due to spin, her back story + politics.

A battle of politicking between Diana Davis and Annabelle Morozov/Andrei Bagin for the Rostelecom host pick would be delicious

r273 Well, Mishin knows very little about artistry but at least he teaches good tech.

R275 So seeing Med in an ice show FINALLY made Jonathan realize what a truly mediocre skater she is? How nice he finally got a clue.

Uhmm... His fans said he was mistaken for a girl when he was little.

R279 He had a very tiny head and big eyes as a child and was ridiculously small so I can see him being mistaken for a girl. Nowadays he has a bit head, potato nose and square jaw so unfortunately for him the trap act isn't convincing anymore.

Action shot of full princess mode from Worlds. Sometimes PH unearths these gems which during the off-season are all we're gonna get.

281 I know he's probably heavy but that looks smooth af.

R274 I sure hope that's not the case for Kostornaia (about getting replaced) because I really like her. Solid technique, aesthetically pleasing jumps, great SS, pretty spins and she makes everything look good. She's a junior, but she doesn't skate like one and I definitely want to seem more of her. It would be a shame if she gets buried.

[quote] I know he's probably heavy but that looks smooth af.

That guy lifting Yuzu, I forgot his name - anyway, he said Yuzuru was heavier than he was the last time he picked him up lol.

And Yuzu jumped into his arms instead of letting him lift him off the ground. Maybe he learned that from the guy who lifted him overhead at Pyeongchang - Yuzuru really leaped up for that one.

Well, why not. We know Yuzu's a pretty good jumper.

R283 You can tell Kosto isn't a priority for that team. Look how they reacted when she won jgpf. She's also starting to get injured even without the emphasis on training quads or a 3A. I hope she leaves.

r285 Who has ever left Eteri and benefited?

R286 you're right. However most of them left when they were already injured or past their prime. Tarakanova is an example of a younger student but she went to a show coach instead of a real one, I guess.

R286 I'm going to own next season with my new lutz and improved skating skills, you just wait.

[quote] I'm going to own next season with my new lutz and improved skating skills, you just wait.

And quad sal !!

R275 Thank you as always; you're a doll. I was curious about this episode but not curious enough to watch. It's always amazing to me that people like Michelle Kwan, Doug Haw or Meagan Duhamel go on TSL knowing that they will later trash them/their students/their friends. Maybe skating is full of back stabbing assholes so it's par for the course.

R290 don’t forget that they also support bullies and grooming...

R291 Interesting - when have they supported grooming?

Oh, I just realized you might mean figure skating in general and not TSL.

Than you, TSL Troll. The must've broken ties with Haw and TCC.

Brown is going to continue with Rohene Ward for his SP, Wilson for his FS.

Uno is going to his secret camp in June for “a long time.” He and his brother have moved back in with their parents. Itsuki has started preparing for his university entrance exams.

Hanyu monument unveiling ceremony today. Weibo is livestreaming the event (1:30PM-2PM): weibo. com /u/2647382523 New interview in the morning paper in honor of the monument. Hanyu said he was he was so focused on beating Chen during worlds that he made himself nervous and made mistakes, whereas he was confident he’d win in Pyeongchang if he beat himself. He’s not thinking about retirement right now and wants to go as far as possible. twitter. com /s_sweetpea_y/status/1122602547955453953

Messages to the imperial family have been publicly released and you can read what Hanyu, Takahashi, Uno, and Kihira wrote to the emperor and empress. I’m not sure why Mao isn’t in there.

After reading a translation, someone in the last thread thought Hanyu was being insincere in his message about continuing to compete for the sake of Sendai instead of himself. The relevant part was: “They have given me the chance to make up my mind: my resolution to dedicate my life to Sendai and other disastered areas.”

In the original text, Hanyu said the emperor and empress’s visit [italic]further strengthened his resolve to continue[/italic] supporting his hometown of Sendai and the disaster-stricken areas. The translator took some artistic license to make it sound more dramatic, and missed the “further” and “continue” part. Hanyu also didn’t say anything about continuing his competitive skating career for the sake of Tohoku.

Uno said he hopes to improve his performances to reach the hearts and minds of the people. Takahashi said he still remembers how he felt encouraged by their warm words when he met the imperial family after the Vancouver Olympics. Kihira says she hopes to work harder to move and inspire people through her skating.

There was a hilarious article in Nikkan Taishu yesterday about how it will be difficult for Hanyu to become a champion again because he no longer has his occultist chiropractor for mental support (citing the Shukan Sincho and Josei Jishin articles) and skaters will be jumping quintuples now.

Messages to the emperor and empress from Hanyu羽生　結弦, Uno宇野　昌磨, Kihira紀平　梨花, Takahashi髙橋　大輔:

[quote] Brown is going to continue with Rohene Ward for his SP, Wilson for his FS.

UGHHH to this. Loved loved Brown's SP. Wilson's FS sucked hard. I wonder how they got Brown to agree to another suckfest.

I feel bad for Hanyu - he picks his words so carefully, seems articulate and intelligent and yet is misunderstood by most of his fandom because of the language barrier/faulty translations. Mind you, I appreciate translations (including google lol) because they give me at least some sense of what is going on with him, but I hate that the one skater I want to hear from is the one I will never understand.

R294 That is odd that Mao is not there. Not saying this was a slight, but she's another one who, along with Hanyu, has been subjected to the most vicious shit. And she seems to be doing okay, so maybe there's hope for Hanyu too.

They are taking Uno away to a madhouse and he gotta stay there until he starts beheaving like a proper human being.

R294 When Hanyu doesn't do well, he often attributes it to some sort of psychological issue, but when I saw him at WC, I knew he hadnt physically recovered - he looked drawn, manic and exhausted.

R297 I think Uno is total fine - on the spectrum likely, but a perfectly proper human being. It's the family that's questionable.

R296 Arakawa isn't in there, either. Maybe they're in the actual book of messages. It doesn't make sense that Takahashi, Uno, and Kihira would be in, it but not Mao and Arakawa. Mao was at the emperor's tea party just two months ago and received more attention than everyone else (partly due to her Mary Poppins-inspired dress).

R299 LOL I always forget about Arakawa. I actually like the Mary Poppins dress quite a bit. Mao and Kaori are two odd-looking birds who photograph beautifully when they wear couture.

I really don't get how Yuzu can find anything positive in the current situation and the will to keep going: an ankle injury that is never going to heal, judges and feds (including his own) playing against him and propping up artificially his rivals pushing him to try dangerous jumps that might injure him further and media and antis ready to tear him down at the slightest display of weakness. I don't think he is naive in the face of it all but I wonder if he maybe believes that if he wills his body to cooperate, it will follow no matter how far and that if he skates his best, judges will have to recognize it with their scores. It might not be naivety but it's an optimism which I'd love to share.

R301 Agreed. He has grit and a fighting spirit which I admire greatly, but gives me heartburn. I selfishly want him to stop so I can go back to not giving a shit.

R255 Missed this. Thankfully it's just an ex. Suzuki did the choreography. When asked how he chose the piece, he said he and his coach discussed it a lot, whatever that means.

R298 That's what Tamura said. It looked like Hanyu hadn't fully recovered yet. I wonder if we'll ever find out why he arrived a day late and missed the first two practices. Asthma? Strategy? I think arriving in Japan early and going to all of the Saitama practices really helped Chen as he struggled at the beginning of that week.

Forgot to mention that Tamura also praised Rizzo and Aymoz in that JSports interview.

R300 Agree about the couture.

R303 Tamura doesn't have a bad word for anyone. Even when he's critical it's couched in the nicest way. Too bad, I'd sure like some bitchy gossip about Arakawa's whorish ways or the creepy emo poems Zhou leaves in Miyahara's locker.

Gotta feed that YuzuVier fire.

R305 isn't that photoshopped? I think Javi is with Yuna in the original picture

R306 Yup, the original is with Yuna. She doesn't seem to be enjoying it as much as photoshopped Hanyu though.

Does Yuna have a boyfriend? She gives me lesbian vibes.

R308 Yuna had a hockey player bf who cheated on her repeatedly. She took him back a few times too. Seems like a nice girl with shit taste in men. Maybe pussy is the way forward for her.

[quote] I'd sure like some bitchy gossip about Arakawa's whorish ways or the creepy emo poems Zhou leaves in Miyahara's locker.

You can read all my creepy emo poems right on IG. I do not believe in hiding any of my thoughts, feelings, cringy-ness, or creepiness in any locker.

Thanks for the dirt as always, JDC. I could swear I've seen an old youtube video where Yamato Tamura half jokingly said something in an interview about telling Satoko that she sucked. I think there were English subtitles. That doesn't sound so nice. Maybe he's gotten more tactful over the years.

R311 I remember that interview, with Arakawa. Tamura said something like, he often tells Miyahra she sucks, and after she medaled at worlds, he thought he'd have to stop saying that, but it took just a few days for him to go back to his old ways. He also said she's super slow in picking up things, but she works hard and eventually gets it. He's a bit mischievous, but I wouldn't call anything he said in that interview "not nice" or even lacking in tact. He's obviously very fond of Miyahara and they seem to have a jokey dynamic.

WTF is this boy doing?

Adjusting an antenna to communicate with the native species on his home planet obviously.

Maybe to keep his back straight and his posture erect, he was told to imagine that he was being held by a string and to act like he was hanging straight down from that string attached to the middle of his head?

He's mentioned in interviews that his back is curved, like a cat's.

Some quotes from recent Nathan Chen interviews (links on his thread at GS):

[about Yuzuru] “He’s been one that’s been pushing me, motivating me to be a better skater,” Chen said, “not only him, the top six guys. The last 20 or 30 years there have been guys revolutionizing the sport, and those are the ones I’m trying to live up to.”

Where will you spend your summer? I will be mostly in California; however, I am gonna spend some time traveling into Japan, into some other places for shows, for choreography, for other things.

Who are you going to for your choreography? I think the same as this year. I already talked to them. So, I’m most likely working with them again as long as they’re OK scheduling-wise. But I think Shae [Lynn Bourne] and Marie [-France Dubreuil] have definitely helped my skating develop a lot. I really enjoy working with them so I’m definitely going to try to do that.

Is it your plan to compete on the Grand Prix series again in the fall? Absolutely. Yeah. As of right now, I’m still trying to figure out schooling. But I am planning on continuing school and skating, basically the same as this year.

...I’m happy with my season. I mean, there’s definitely a lot of things I think I could have done better. But in terms of results, there’s nothing more that I could’ve wanted from the season. I’m really, really happy with it. But thinking into the future, I know there’s a lot of things that I wanna clean up in terms of scheduling. Of course, I had to do that because I didn’t know how to manage the two. The first semester was just kinda chaos. The second semester has been a lot more structured. As long as I can continue developing on the structure that I’ve learned from second semester, I think I’ll be pretty good.

Yuzuru sighting at TCC! At least the IG poster seems to be saying this is from today.

R317 Well today 2 years ago. And you better ignore Team Orser IG for your own sake.

Oh gee. Thanks R318. Good advice!

R316 Nathan forgot to thank the judges.

R320 he said he is happy with chenflation, no need to go into details

Chan is affiliated with TCC?

I don't recognize anybody apart from the coaches, Hanyu and Chan. Are all others doing shows/having holidays?

The Pooh forest is on fire?

r311 r312 It was on Kenji’s Room during Miyahara’s interview. He was pretending to be an offensive airhead who invited himself onto the show again and Miyamoto pretended to be disgusted with him.

First, Tamura said he thought Miyahara was “slow” when they started out because she took four times as long as the other kids to learn something. Then after Miyamoto congratulated Miyahara on her worlds silver medal, Tamura said that was when he decided not to tell her she sucked anymore, but went back to his old ways a week after returning to Japan. Miyamoto told Miyahara he’d punch Tamura in the face for her and Tamura pretended not to understand what the problem was. It was all a joke.

In the same interview, Miyahara said Tamura always cheers her up whenever she isn’t skating well or feeling down. He consistently praises her in interviews and his blog, too. He’s also very protective of her and would probably fuck up Zhou if he tried something.

Speaking of Zhou

So he's probably a tsundere or a big brother type - I can make fun of my younger siblings but you can't - thing.

Everytime I see Chen's scores I seethe but it comes down a bit when he talks (even though I find him and his skating boring). Chan is probably the last top skater who honestly believed he was that much better and deserved the propping up. The next top gen seems to know what's up with the judges.

R322 No, he's not. As someone said, this is an old photo from 2017 when Chiddy visited TCC. Brian and Tracy teach other skating classes besides training Yuzu and the gang, so this is probably one of those classes.

I was going to listen to the podcast, but 24 min of Zhou? I ain't strong enough.

Chan and Hanyu became BFF during that time. This is the ship we all been sleeping on.

R326 It's not 24 mins of Zhou that is going to be the problem. Have you ever listened to Jack Gallagher? Have you ever read Jack Gallagher's articles? I don't know how that hack still has a job that involves writing or speaking. His writing is absolutely atrocious, even worse than your average sports writer. He's also a sycophantic buffoon who tries to get creepy close to skaters, sucks up to American media, and doesn't know a lot about skating, but relies on human interest stories that manage to be both condescending and ignorant. Twitter has made him even more insufferable because he tweets a lot! I'm not really a fan.

R323 Thanks! Yes, that's right - it was the Kenji's Room interview where he said that. I don't know why I got it mixed up with the one he did with Arakawa. But I just rewatched the one with Arakawa and aww damn, he's so sweet. He talks about how he thinks times will be tough for Miyahara leading up to the 2018 Olympics, now that she's medalled at Worlds, and that his job as a coach is to support her and protect her from heartbreak when other people criticize or nitpick her skating. I hope Arakawa was boiling with jealousy.

In other news, T/M will be coached by Zueva AND Mozer. I don't know how it's all going to work out.

More on T/M: They will move to Florida to train with Zueva. Nina Mozer will come from time to time, when she's able to save enough rubles to buy the row of seats needed to accommodate her.

R275 Thanks, this is interesting and for once I agree with a few points. Zhou being a drama queen, or fs fans being crazy defensive and needing to chill.

R292 I totally thought it was pointed at Duhamel, with her snarking about a bullied teenager on sns.

R324 I think Zhou would like a word with you.

R309 This is probably common in all young people who spend their lives in stardom or cloistered in training. No normal dating experience or any practice in distinguishing the jerks from non-jerks. Plenty of superstar actresses who could have anyone they wanted but end up choosing shitty wife beaters as husbands and end up abused or killed. I wonder if Yuna will ever date normally - she seems like a really quiet, lonely type and when she opens her mouth she's pretty cynical.

R331 many skaters have normal relationships...It depends on personality., not on being professional skater or not

So I don't know what possessed me, but I listened to the podcast with Zhou that JDC posted (R323). A summary for those who care: He says he felt really good to end the season so well at WTT and that he did his cleanest and highest scoring program there. He is really grateful for Hamada's help both on and off the ice (she helped him with transportation, food, making appointments at Worlds) and he feels he has improved a lot under her guidance. He waxes poetic about her doing this for the love of skating and teaching, and not for the fame or money. He also specifically mentions she helped him with the toe and sal, which he says were clean at WTT. He talks about Rika and Japanese ladies a bit when asked, and says they have good skating skills. He says other stuff, but it's just the same hemming and hawing about Hamada being really good with body alignment and not separating hard jumps from good skating.

When asked about Yuzu and Shoma, he says he grew up watching them competing and doing "crazy stuff", and dreamed of one day competing with them. With improvement and hard work, he was able to "close the gap" (between when he was a novice/junior to now). He says they are incredible, are better skaters than him and wouldn't place himself above them (ahem, say that louder for the judges, Vincent) and that he is motivated to improve until he can "truly be on top one day".

Zhou Podcast cont'd:

Goals for next season are to continue integrating quads and improving artistry which is nowhere near what he thinks he can do. He jokes about getting over 300 in scores because he got 299 or whatever this season (again please don't give any ideas to the judges, Vincent). He is asked about whether he and Nathan can lead a resurgence of interest in skating in the US given how well they did this year, and he said it would be rewarding to motivate the younger generation to start skating, just as he was inspired to skate after watching Evan Lysacek.

Finally, he is asked about Daisuke Takahashi's comeback and Zhou says that he is a force to be reckoned with, and that it's impressive Dai could be out of competition for so long but still be considered a threat upon his return. Says something about him having good skating skills and seeing him skate while at Kansai U before Worlds. Also says he is incredible and that he grew up watching him. The rest of the podcast is Mao Asada answering questions about the John Curry movie, "Ice King".

Did Xinyu really need to first grab him by his inner thigh to throw him up (not complaining though and neither was Yuzu it seems). I hadn't noticed it at first and thought he had simply grabbed both thighs bridal style.

Wtf Yuzu!!!! Why the suspense, ya doin FaOI or what!!! You gonna keep us dry till the next season!!!

Actually bet he's not doing Faoi and that's why they wanna keep it under wraps since the ticket resales and disatisfied fans will be crazy.

R335 That is how skaters lift their partner in pair and ice dance.

Trusova's FS music.

R338 that was fast

I missed everything. So is it okay to say that I hope she-Hubbell brings Tessa’s trusty scissors to Beijing and P/C will splat?

340 Is it you, Alexandra Stepanova?

Have some bitchy queen Yuzu for your day.

R342 I wonder what he was reacting to?

R343 This was ACI 2017 so I wouldn't be surprised if he was giving his mom the look.

R343 He was talking to Noriko Shirota and was just super hyper.

[308] haha i always think yuna stares a lot at mao during competitions. it's either she's somewhat insecure with her old rival or has a crush

I think Yuzu and Yuna will look good together. Not to make super babies as some fans would love to see, but only to be each other's beards. How romantic.

Kolyada will do a Charlie Chaplin FS for next season

[348] oh f**k no

After Elvis and Carmen, I mean what else? I suppose he'll do Frank Sinatra for his short - My Way or some other "modern" 1960s number, compared to Chaplin anyway.

R350 he said he wants smth upbeat for his short

Well *someone's* gotta continue ol' Javi's legacy. And since we can't expect someone *else* to pick up the slack...

Oh, puke. I fucking hate Chaplin programs. After being tortured with Keegan's for the past 2 seasons, now we have to put up with another?

A Beatles medley would compliment Chaplin - or maybe David Wilson could recommend an old Simon and Garfunkel number?

NO WONDER figure skating is dying.

Kolyada chose Chaplin after all the suggestions he received from his fans? That's harsh.

At least Chaplin sort of suits Keegan - with his bouncy eccentric tinyness. But Kolyada's elegance with that claptrap? It's a worse match than it was for Javi (and that's sayin' something)

Meanwhile in Rhythm Dance: Grease, Mamma Mia, Hello, Dolly, Cabaret, Chicago.

Is there an age limit on judges? Like you have to be 60+?

Please tell us you're joking! Ugh, Chaplin???!!

R357 First appointment as International : older than 24 and younger than 50

First appointment as ISU judge: less than 70

Annual re-appointment for both International and ISU: less than 70 year old

Anyone using Charlie Chaplin, Carmen, Moulin Rouge, David Wilson, etc should automatically get a deduction.

Sofia Evdokimova/Egor Bazin Free Dance: Schindler’s list

Yamamoto is getting both programs choreographed overseas.

Josei Jishin had paparazzi on Hanyu the entire time he was in Sendai (four days). They were also trying to track his mom. The one good thing from their articles/photos is that he does seem to be able to go out unnoticed with his mask on, although he still wears his signature bracelets and necklaces so you'd think a fan could recognise him.

R382 you left out the news that DL is most interested in: was Mama H getting some?

DLers would recognize him with just a look at his backside

R364 Well, I think if he was doing this, but with a mask on, a few fans might still recognize the front side too.

R362 I think I've seen those pictures on my tl. Dude is just wandering around town in his usual all black track pants and jacket, sleeves pushed up. Fans would be able to spot him from a mile away, even without the bracelets. It's nice he can still do this in Sendai. Hopefully the paps will just get bored and leave him alone.

Uno said he’d like to become a professional gamer when retires.

Komatsubara/Koleto are now sponsored by Tsukuba Memorial Hospital.

It’s well known that that the imperial family are figure skating fans and fanyus (Princess Aiko especially), and Princess Kako used to skate. But the former emperor and empress also took skating lessons from Kumiko Sato, who’s still invited to Empress Michiko’s birthday every year. Sato said they asked her about the rule changes last year.

R333 Thank you. Did he mention Miyahara by name at all? You know, Hamada often wears a white jacket. If the sparrow and “sparkly white dress” isn’t Miyahara…

r343 r345 It looks like he was imitating someone. Right before the pose, I think he said “kou (like this).” Orser?

r366 The non-airport photos were taken at a popular Saitama PA (service/rest stop) on the way to Tokyo, which also happens to be called the “Hanyu Parking Area.” (It’s not named after him. It’s named after Hanyu City where it’s located.) The paparazzi even managed to get a shot of him and a lantern with “Hanyu” on it. It’s a very busy stop, even during the week, and a tourist attraction on its own. A few years ago, they expanded the PA and added a new section based on a popular Edo period novel and TV series, hence the historical-looking buildings behind him.

Hanyu PA:

Alexei Bychenko posted today that his girlfriend said "yes"...but I'm confused because her last name was already Bychenko, at least on social media. I thought maybe they eloped last summer or something.

Skating is Uno's favorite hobby

R366 This Japanese friend of mine who's an Asada fan told me, when I revealed to her who my favorite skater was, that whenever Hanyu's back home in Sendai, the whole place goes into a hush-hush. It's apparently a collective effort through unspoken understanding, all to let the guy feel enough of a modicum of privacy so that he's able to feel at peace when he's at home. She said it's pretty impressive how they're able to somehow manage it.

R367 Oh hey, I've been there a couple of years ago. Or at least I think this is the place cos it was a stopover on the way back to Tokyo one of the friends I was with wanted badly to visit. It looked a lot like the place in the picture though all I remember of it, besides the fact that it was ancient looking, was a bunch of people walking around with some kinda cotton candy and me spending most of the time desperately holding it in until I managed to find a public restroom sequestered in one of its many parking lots.

R370 Nice to hear this (Sendai helping Hanyu out, not your bathroom adventure LOL). I've seen this referenced on twitter too, but it was google translated so I wasn't too sure - basically someone from Sendai saying that when he's at home, he goes out and about pretty freely and is comfortable being himself.

I've always got the impression that Sendai was smallish, but in pictures, it actually looks like a big city.

[quote]You know, Hamada often wears a white jacket. If the sparrow and “sparkly white dress” isn’t Miyahara

JESUS, JDC. I don't know what's more disturbing - Hamada in a sparkly white dress or Zhou being into cougars.

R371 It's a pretty big city, but as far as I can remember, it's more a sprawling laidback one than a metropolis filled with skyscrapers. It didn't leave an especially deep impression on me when I last visited back in 2013 which coincidentally coincided with the tanabata festivities, other than it having a healthy music scene. I wanted to visit further north Tohoku and it functioned as a stopover between destinations for me.

I'm more a country/Kyushu sort of person anyway but it seemed like a nice place to settle down if you have to do it in a city, which is a lot more than what I can say about Tokyo.

Forgot to add, I seem to recall reading somewhere that it's actually the 5th biggest city in Japan.

r373 R374 Thanks for answering my question.

I don't know where Gabby posted this, but apparently she wrote this? Glad she's taking a break, because that is not the product of a lucid mind.

[R376] Gabby posted that on insta but I don't remember if it was a Story or a regular post that she deleted. It was right after she posted picture of herself with a lot of exposed skin. It was an odd pic so not surprised it drew unkind comments. It's obvious she needs help.

Lots of people getting antsy over whether or not the de facto headliner of the last few years will grace the world with his presence in this year's FaOI. I think the show traveling to Sendai and having its own website like it's a separate show all on its own (a lá CiONTU) as well as the guy confirmed being in Japan in June, is answer enough that there would be at least one stop where people can quench their thirst.

That and I think he has already given his reply and it's just the showrunners sitting on the announcement to either, like some have said, not let it overlap with the change in eras out of respect, or to milk the anticipation for all it's worth. Or both.

R377 Do people really go on her IG to say mean things to her? What weirdos. I feel like an asshole just discussing her problems on an online forum. I can't believe people think it's okay to say this directly to her. Social media is not good for mental health. I hope this time it sticks and she logs off for good.

R378 Someone did a compilation of the announcements dates in previous years and it doesn't seem that late. Seems like they usually make the announcement around this time or later.

Don't from r378: The latter reason could also be strategic because, as someone else has pointed out, there could be more skaters to be announced and unleashing Hanyu's name should be best saved for last so as to not eclipse those other names as well as to create a nice fanfare to the last bout of announcements. The lineup already seems very impressive, with or without him, but it seems a bit lacking in the pairs department...I mean T/V are impressive names but they're the only pairs in the entire show so far...

R380 Excuse you, but they've already announced my name. The wait is over, darlings.

R367 [quote] Did he mention Miyahara by name at all? You know, Hamada often wears a white jacket. If the sparrow and “sparkly white dress” isn’t Miyahara…

I don't recall Zhou mentioning anything about Miyahara even though he was specifically asked about her and Rika. My overall impression of that part of the interview was that regardless of what was asked, he somehow ended up gushing about how grateful he was to Hamada and how amazing she is to the point where even HE noticed he was talking too much about her. So brace yourselves for more Zhou poetry on IG that may or may not hint at some great sensei dressed in white garb.

Maybe Zhou has caught onto how much the internet hates him and is trying desperately to appeal to the Japanophile fanbase. I'm getting strong Misha vibes from his exaggerated humility.

So, despite all the antis and occasional smear campaigns, Yuzu remains an unequivocally heroic figure in the public consciousness. Or at least the public consciousness that tends to take part in polls.

TV Asahi had a pretty big (180 000 people) live poll during one of their programs about "heroes of the Heisei era". Yuzu took the #1 spot in the "sports heroes" category and #2 overall behind SMAP (a boysband/entertainmant juggernaut of the 90s and 00s that disbanded a couple years ago) and ahead of Hayao Miyazaki (an anime creator).

It makes me nervous seeing Meagan Duhamel in lifts like this, knowing she's pregnant. Wonder if it has Eric a bit rattled?

Meagan is such a man's man.

Osmond just announced her retirement.

....more pressure on Gabby I guess...

My time is now!

National Champion soon

[quote] ....more pressure on Gabby I guess...

Yeah right. Canada is fucked. Keegan and Nam arent setting the world on fire either - and is Keegan about to retire?

I guess there's Yuzu's fanboi Sadovsky. Or that Adonis Conrad Orzel (who apparently sucks more than Gabby)

Maybe they do need Patrick to un-retire?

Pressure's going to be on Gogo, even though he will be pretty young in 2022. At JGPF, the Canadian fraus around me couldn't stop talking about him.

Gogo will be 15 in December 2019.

So he can move up to seniors in the 2020-2021 season - is that right?

Who cares about Gogo when we already have Basar Oktar.

R394 Sorry, next year Skate Victoria is mine.

I had forgotten Gogo existed.

There is also me

Dear dataloungers, does this outfit prove or disprove that Yuzu is gay? Is a cardigan tunic which looks straight out of his mother's closet something a straight man wouldn't get caught in, or something a gay man wouldn't get caught in?

R398 Frankly, it doesn't prove or disprove anything, as a stylist likely put that together for him. The way Hanyu dresses off ice is one of the least gay things about him.

Not at all surprised Osmond retired. As for Daleman, Skate Canada may secretly be wishing that she would retire as well. She seems far more interested in becoming a media personality of some sort than she does in perfecting her skating.

R398 It proves that Hanyu has shit fashion sense because any people with the smallest sense of fashion would refuse to put on that outfit at the first sight.

R399 He always dresses in sports clothes which are neither straight or gay unless you want to argue that black is only for hets. As for the P&G ads I seem to remember some article last year where they said he was the one who chose the outfits. He is also the one who chooses and supervises his fs costumes and iirc he himself has said the ice is the place he can show parts of himself he can’t off ice. Anyway better ‘proof’ than his clothes are his poses and gestures.

R402 Don't judge a book by its glitter-pink-dildo-shaped cover. He just needs to find the right girl.

His fashion sense it's atrocious but I like that black and white cardigan with stripped sleeves he wore that one time

That blue thing looks like a bathrobe to me. Kind of silly but doesn't strike me as gay - it looks like a boy's bathrobe. A girly girl's would be pink with flowers or something.

The wardrobe "proof" for me is the frilly pink EX -- the fluffy collar on the Otonal outfit. Yeah I know cherry blossoms or something but to go that far? I think I'd find it over-the-top on Kostornaia... I'm surprised he doesn't get more flak about them. But then I'm just an old grump. Mince away Yuzu - I love you no matter what.

The Origin is really butch though. God I love that thing. It's the main reason I hope he keeps his FS another year.

I don't think anything he puts on makes him look "butch" - it seems to range from flaming to androgynous at most.

I'm a new fan - but there was a light blue top with loads of flowers on it. It reminds me of an old lady over-doing it for Easter services. But those are the only 3 I hate - the pink EX frilly, the blue fluffy-collar Otonal, and the Easter lady with 12 corsages pinned on.

Even Johnny Weir's R&J2 looks sleek and minimalist compared to those three. I do love Yuzu but I don't really like him dolled up to that extent. And I think it fuels the male disdainers, not that I'm sure why I should care. Have het men ever liked figure skating?

I think the costume for origin really highlights how wide his shoulders are when compared to his waist so I think this makes him look more masculine.

I agree. The first time I noticed how broad his shoulders were is that sneaky video where he's taken off his top, and I think he realizes he's being filmed and tries to bend down and cover himself or something? Oh I can't remember but I practically gasped. (maybe it's because of the difference between his shoulder width and that small waist). But Yuzu actually has what I'd call a "rangy" body type. Even his hands. They're a bit bony but they're broad and his fingers are long. His skeleton is broad - even his hips are a bit broad - and his limbs are long. If you compare him to Shoma or Keegan or even Kolyada, you can really see it. And their hands are smaller too. I don't pay much attention to Nathan, but in one photo I remember how narrow and sloped his shoulders were. But all those guys are shorter than Yuzu, so maybe that's part of it.

[quote] I don't think anything he puts on makes him look "butch" - it seems to range from flaming to androgynous at most.

Oh I think he looks butch sometimes. When he gets that death glare. When he has that swagger thing going on in the practices, in the all-black Under Armor tight practice clothes. And the Origin. Oh, and in the Seimei, but more of that is the fierce attitude he skates with. Also, when he gets in that teasing mode, especially with Nobu - he acts like a jock or a bit of a bully sometimes, especially with him. But he said once, if he couldn't pick on Nobu, he'd explode - oh something like that, that he just had to do it. A bit odd, considering the senpai-kohai thing, yet Yuzu acts dominant with Nobu, who ever said as much. Maybe it's because he's so much more successful? Or just his brash personality. (it's that brashness I think is one of his butch sides - along with the swagger (like after his short at Pyeongchang) or the death glare)

He's more than just a prancing twink (though there's that side too, for sure)

I am a fan of the pink haru yo koi costume. It would look ridiculous on anyone else, but when he skates that program, he looks next level ethereal in it. It just goes perfectly with the program and is gorgeous in motion. I hope he keeps that EX. I think it's amazing.

The Russians are already pushing the next bot on the assembly line.

I know you guys like to rag on Mischa Ge. But what do you think is his sexuality? Homo? Straight bro? Asexual?

R412, yep perfect age, everyone else including trusova will age out

Autosexual?

Seriously, severe narcissists can't have real relationships with other people - not even sexual flings - that matter anyway. Maybe transactional ones? He really strikes me as NPD - an extreme form of narcissism. Remember when they were taking pictures of the medallists and he started skating right behind the ones being photographed, like it was eating him alive to be left out, even in those few minutes. And his social media oh my god. I wish Tomono would get away from him. I worry about the boy.

[quote] yep perfect age, everyone else including trusova will age out

I can't read Russian. Is she the 10 year old? I think Dave Lease mentioned a 10 year old doing 3As and maybe quads - not Kamila, who's 12, but another one. Sambo is a helluva factory for little girl jumping beans.

R413 I don't know what he is, but I don't know who - man, woman or whatever - would want to swap fluids with that sexless looking self-promoter. He would probably talk the whole time, in the third person - "Coach/choreographer Misha Ge is here to support, but can't do everything. Love recipient must do its part; mental, but also physical to show appreciation for coach/choreographer's genius. Remember when coach/choreographer said you can do it, that if you work hard, you can give coach/choreographer the pleasure he deserves? That's right. Is the way forward, yes, TAKE IT TO LIMIT. FINISH OFF OUR JOURNEEEEYYYY." Or something like that.

417, that's hilarious! Captures the essence of Ge.

Part 1.

R416 The article, courtesy of Google translate (tl/dr - they're selling her as a complete skater), who was born at just the right time for 2022; already pointing out that the big three will be over the hill by 2022):

Kamila Valiyeva is Tutberidze's secret weapon. She jumps quad and is inspired by Picasso She is called the favorite of the Olympics-2022.

Next season, Eteri Tutberidze will go into the adult three juniors , who have been talked about during the last two years by all sports media, - Alexandra Trusova , Anna Scherbakova and Alena Kostornaya . To replace them to conquer the junior stages of the Grand Prix, another figure skater from Sambo-70, Kamila Valiyeva, who was born and started to play sports in Kazan, just turned 13 years old will come out . But they already speak about her as a potential Olympic champion of the Games in Beijing .

BUSINESS Online talked to people who worked with Valieva or watched her skating from the side, and figured out why, despite such a pool of talents in our figure skating, it was Valieva who conquered everyone.

Camila learned everything very quickly, overtaking girls three to four years older than her, and quickly became the leader of the group. But the coach was particularly struck by the ability to perform all the basic jumps at the age of five, such incredible plasticity, musicality and choreography. If it were not for figure skating, Valieva should go to the ballet.

On the Internet, there is still a video of one of the very first speeches of Valieva at official competitions. In a tutu she shows an amazing artistry and grace. Then she was not even eight years old.

Part 2.

Ivanova Valieva trained for up to seven years. Then she had to move to Moscow, because her parents changed their place of work.

TRAINED IN THE SCHOOL OF SLUKA, NAVKI AND AVERBUKHA

To throw figure skating in connection with the move Valiev, of course, did not. Even then they knew about it among specialists all over the country and with pleasure they took to one of the best schools in the capital - the school “Moskvich”.

The Moskvich skating rink is an old palace of sports of the late Soviet era, which hardly ever had any serious repairs. In terms of infrastructure, conditions there are an order of magnitude worse than those in Kazan. But in "Moskvich" do not go for the chic dressing rooms. Go there for the sake of coaches. And the results.

In different years, Victoria Volchkova , Irina Slutskaya , Elena Sokolova , Ilya Averbukh and Irina Lobacheva , Tatyana Navka and Roman Kostomarov , Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov , Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitry Soloviev left the walls of the Moskvich .

In the 90s and zero years it was the strongest figure skating school that fought on equal terms with the schools of St. Petersburg. The main feature of the students of “Moskvich” is a high-quality slip and possession of the ridge.

Soloists in the "Moskvich" engaged Victor Kudryavtsev - the founder of solo skating in our country. In Soviet times, the emphasis was on the development of sports couples and ice dancing. In these types of Soviet figure skaters were the most successful, constantly taking first place in the world championships and the Olympic Games. Kudryavtsev prepared the first Soviet world champion in the skating of Sergei Volkov , then began to develop women's skating. Pupils Kudryavtseva was the first medalist from the USSR Cyrus Ivanova , and the first Russian world champion Maria Butyrskaya .

Due to their age, Kudryavtsev is now not working closely with athletes, engaging in administrative activities at school. But he gave certain advice for Valieva in six years at Moskvich. In particular, different trainers worked with Camila at different times. The first two years in Moscow the figure skater trained with Marina Kudryavtseva , a year with Igor Lyutikov , then three with Natalia Dubinsky and Stanislav Kovalev . These are experienced specialists who put on high-quality equipment and work very hard on choreography.

Dubinskaya told BUSINESS Online that working with Valiyeva was a very special experience for her, which she had never had before in her career. According to her, Camila - like fertile clay, from which you can make almost anything . “I implemented with her all the ideas that I had long wanted, but could not with other students due to various circumstances,” said Natalia.

Work went well on the technique. At the age of ten, Valiyeva had learned all the basic triple jumps. At a good height, she jumped and double axel; there were thoughts even to learn triple. The most important quality in the Valieva technique is that the technique on the lutz and flip is correctly set . These are two very similar to each other jumps that jump from a tooth of a skate. The difference is that the lutz jumps from the outer edge, the flip jumps from the inner edge.

A typical mistake for skaters is to jump Lutz from the inside. Such a jump is called “flutz”, that is, an unintentional flip, and the judges take 25% of the element cost for it. Figure skating coaches believe that jumping Lutz correctly is like learning to write or walk. Either you immediately learn to jump Lutz from the right rib, or you constantly get minuses from the judges. Relearn in adulthood is extremely difficult.

Part 3

HAS TUTBERIDZE ONE RENTAL

Excellent choreography, sense of music, good gliding and skating, correctly set technique. With such a set, Valiyeva was supposed to win at each of the competitions she played at.

Kamila lacked one thing - stability . She could skate all programs clean and win with a large margin, and after a week fill up both rentals and end up at the end of the standings. As Dubinsky recalls, it became difficult to work with her. Camila was very upset after the defeats and was upset. I lost my motivation to work further. Difficulties added trauma.

Before the start of last season, Valiyeva and her parents decided that it was impossible to change this way anymore and that something needed to be changed. And they decided that only one school in Moscow could be a worthy alternative to "Moskvich".

These are Sambo-70 and the Tutberidze group - the most successful coach in women's single skating in the world.

Valieva about the successes of the girls Tutberidze, of course, heard. Zagitova and Kostornaya and her idols in figure skating. The figure skater was lucky that last summer Tutberidze decided to expand her group and held an additional set to the team, as the new coach, Sergey Rozanov, entered the headquarters .

In an interview with Sport24, Valiyeva said that when she went to the eminent coach, she didn’t really believe in success: “I came to the shows, we decided to try. It will turn out - well, no - nothing terrible. ” Kamila understood that such people like her come to Tutberidze by the dozens and she cannot take all of them just physically.

But the concerns were in vain. Only one rolled was enough Tutberidze to understand: Kamila is the future star . The trainer did not show a dazed appearance, but told the skater that if she was ready to work, she would be in the group.

Of course, about Valieva Tutberidze knew before the reviews in her group. This is a completely normal practice in figure skating. At children's competitions, coaches work as scouts and carefully look for talents in other schools. If they decide to change the coach - they are immediately called to another school. The best ones have been noticed since the age of five.

Camila struck Tutberidze with her plasticity and artistry. Figure-skaters Tutberidze are usually remembered for their incredible technique, but Eteri herself pays more attention to the images they show on the ice.

Tutberidze commissioned Rozianova to closely supervise Valiyeva together with other skaters of her age. According to the coach, there are no problems with Valieva at work. She is very obedient and attentive, and in competitions - focused. This indicates a high level of professionalism at such a young age, because many of Kamila’s peers are simply tired of monotonous workouts; they bother them.

Part 4

RETAILS THE PICASSO MOTIVES PROGRAM

For the program Valieva, the image was coined almost immediately. The coach was surprised at how much she looks like the one that is depicted in the painting “The Girl on the Ball” by the famous Spanish artist Pablo Picasso .

The theme of the picture is the life of stray acrobat artists. A fragile gymnast rehearses a circus number, balancing on a ball. Around her sun-scorched hilly plain and the atmosphere of oppressive poverty of a medieval village.

Images are built on contrasts. Cheerful entertainers in the midst of total despondency; a little girl on a dangerous adult journey; Finally, the balance of the body and the static on the ball.

As the music they chose a very suitable composition from the movie “The Crimson Peak”.

As planned by the choreographer of the Tutberidze group, Daniil Gleykhengauz , the girl at the beginning of the rental should come to life and get into the real world. And then return to the world of Picasso. “In the second half of the program, I understand that our world is really very good. However, in the end, I still return to the picture and remain motionless, ”says Valiyeva.

The inclination of the head at the end and the beginning of the program is also not accidental. So Camila once again reminds everyone that she is an unearthly creature that descended from the picture. Her body does not even have the usual mass of all. It is airy and light. Tension is a sign of fear, but of curiosity, with which the envoy Picasso to the real world studies the Earth. The planet did not accept it - events are moving rapidly, the music is getting faster and faster, louder and brighter, movements are more energetic.

A large number of spins and jumps in the second half in this case are necessary not only for the increased cost of the element, but also serve as part of the artistic intent. Suddenly, the music breaks off - the girl on the ball, having learned about our world, all that is needed is returning home to the world of the artist's colors.

Even the costume has become special. Instead of the usual dress for girls - sweaters and shorts. To best fit the image of Picasso. Designer Olga Ryabenko , who works with the Tutberidze group, wrote in the instagram that it was Valieva’s costume that turned out to be the most difficult to manufacture.

The performance was so successful that Tutberidze called it “The Girl on the Ball” Valieva, the favorite program of the season .

Another proof of the special role of Kamila in the Tutberidze group is that she was given the opportunity to perform at demonstration performances of the Russian Grand Prix. By tradition, at home competitions, the organizers invite, in addition to the participants, young local figure skaters. In November 2018, in Moscow, Valiyeva came out on the ice of “Megasport” and showed her “Girl on the ball” to 14 thousand spectators and hundreds of thousands of viewers.

After the Moscow stage of the Grand Prix, the whole world learned about Valieva. Now she has fans even in Iran. “I adore Camila! She is so beautiful! And she speaks Tatar very nicely on video, ”the Guys from Tehran girl told BUSINESS BUSINESS Online. In Valieva, although she did not even perform at the junior world championships, there are already several fan groups in social networks.

Part 5

The “message” of Tutberidze, Gleichengauz and Valiyeva reached Picasso himself. Or rather, before his granddaughter, Pablo was long gone. “Camila is radiant and very graceful at such a young age. Her performances are awesome! Seeing her skating is just a blessing, ”she wrote in an instagram for a video of Camila Dian Picasso's performance .

Cases in which figure skating programs from the sporting plane pass into the category of art are very rare. The latter is a letter from the director of Schindler's List, Steven Spielberg Lipnitskaya and Tutberidze, for a chic number from the Olympic program to the soundtrack of the film. Then Spielberg said that many tried to repeat the image of "girls in a red coat." But it turned out only a little Julia from Yekaterinburg.

So the young Camila from Kazan was the first to reliably convey the idea of ​​Picasso, “animating” the creation of the great master.

ROLLS AS A KOSTORNAYA ROTS AS A LIPNITSKY

Lipnitskaya and Valieva have a lot in common. For example, Julia is noted as a figure skater with reference rotations. Kamila can even beat the Olympic champion of the Games in Sochi. Gleichengauz, who worked with both figure skaters, highlights the rotation and position of Valieva. If Julia used the second arm as a support for good spins, Camila lifts her leg in the splits with one. This is possible thanks to the incredible stretching.

Valieva's plasticity allows her to take risks and try new elements as ligaments between jumps, interesting jumps and bright choreographic tracks. Critics of technically equipped figure skaters say that programs, for example, world and European champions Elizaveta Tuktamysheva , or Trusovoy or Zagitova, are running across the ice from one jump element to another. No one will say exactly about such Valiev. She just “rolls” her program, laying out to the maximum in each element.

In this case, without prejudice to the hopping part. Valiyeva has long been jumping all 3 + 3 cascades, owning, at least in training, the triple Lutz + triple retitberger cascade and Zagit cascade, jumping with a rippon (two hands on top). Recently, Camille submitted and quadruple . On her birthday, the figure skater herself presented a chic gift - successfully performed a quad sheepskin coat in a triple cascade. “Queen of sheepskin coats” is called double world champion among juniors Trusova. But here, Camila can get around her odnogruppnitsu. The coward seldom succeeds in such high-quality attempts at the 4T + 3T cascades, where the second jump was also completed with his hands up.

Figure skating is like all-around, where the mark for the elements is added to the mark for skating and artistry. According to the elements - choreography, rotations, jumps - there are no questions for Valiyeva. What is the quality of riding?

“When Valiev is rolling, it’s impossible to break away from the screen,” says world champion Alyona Leonova about a young figure skater . Kamila reminds of Leonova in skating style another skater Tutberidze, winner of the junior finals of the Grand Prix Kostornaya. She has a very soft, gentle skating, every movement is adjusted and elegant. Estimates for the components Valieva already at the junior level put almost maximum. There is no doubt that every year, with each new big victory, Camila’s second assessment will only grow.

After all, the example of “The Girl on the Ball” shows that there can be no questions for a figure skater from the point of view of artistry. It will be even steeper next. Now one of the best dance choreographers in the country, Alexey Zheleznyakov, works with Valieva . Zheleznyakov with the team of his studio often helps with the training of figure skaters Tutberidze. Working with Valieva was an outlet for Zheleznyakov. For almost a month Zheleznyakov set a number for Valiyeva, which, according to some information, will become her free program next season.

Assess yourself the level of movement of the athlete. Ballet connoisseurs say that not many in Mariinsky and Bolshoi can move in the same way.

Part 6

TO THE OLYMPIAD IN PEKIN WILL COME TO THE BEST TIME

Valiyev - the main favorite of the Olympics-2022. If you are not convinced by all past arguments (in short, other skaters are strong in one thing, Valiyeva is in everything), then the main one is Kamila, now 13 years old. The Olympics in China will be in three years, more precisely, in two years and nine months.

Valieva has a birthday in late April, which means she will enter the Olympic season 2021/22 when she is only 15 years old. According to the rules of the ISU, to go to adults, it is necessary that 15 years be fulfilled before July 1 of the current year. This restriction did not allow to go to the Olympics in Pyeongchang, for example, Kostornaya, although it did not make it to the top three at the 2018 Russian Championship and could easily win a medal in Korea.

The history of women's single skating says that the best results skater show in his first year after the transition to adults . Lipnitskaya became the Olympic champion at 15, in her first Olympic year. Zagitova - likewise. Medvedeva held her debut adult season in 2015 incredibly, winning absolutely all starts and setting several world records at once.

Next to the skaters come the difficult problems associated with hormones, active growth and body change. Examples of such difficulties are the complex post-Olympic seasons of Lipnitskaya and Zagitova.

Go to adults in 15 years, in the Olympic year - a great success. At 15, puberty notorious and so hated figure skaters are not worried yet. Therefore, this is the ideal time to show the maximum of its capabilities. Valiyeva herself understands her luck and says that it is the Olympiad-2022 that is her main goal.

Trusov and Shcherbakov, for example, by that time will be adult 19-year-old girls. And not the fact that they will keep their quad. Valiyeva should keep her quadruple toup to the Olympics. Moreover, there are two more seasons before OI-22. During this time, you can learn and other jumps, for example, more expensive quadruple Lutz, triple Axel, which is necessary in the short program, where you can not do quadruple. Or just bring the current cascade to perfection.

Of course, talking about Valiyeva as an Olympic champion right now, given the huge competition in figure skating in recent years, is impossible. But the probability of her victory is really very high.

For the next two years, Camila will perform at the junior grand prix stages, as well as at the Russian Cup in adults. We suggest you start to monitor it now.

JFC, sorry for all the posts. I didn't realize that article was THAT long. I guess they're working really hard to promote her.

Wow thanks for the translation. The massive big push is on. Wonder how TruShcherKost, the triple-threats to the ZagMed are feeling about this new girl.

I hope there's an exception and one or more of the girls keeps their quads. Trusova looks well-muscled, like a gymnast. I'd like to see her break the "rule". We don't know yet that it's impossible. Some girls have narrow hips and a relatively straight body, just genetically, so why not?

Well, I meant to say some women have narrow hips and don't have the hourglass figure. Speaking of which, Yuzuru has an hourglass figure lol. But more muscles than women, I realize, but that's not the whole story.

R427 Agreed. That fat ass of two cows should not be lifting off ground. Many confusions for me.

r412 This is Daniil G piece, isn't it? It must be some of the worst crap he's ever produced. Diazepam music and choreo that is a'propos absolutely nothing. Averbukh's miming war children are fucking masterpieces - hell, even David Wilson's staple suddenly looks digestible.

This probably belongs on the other thread, but Friend/Badaoui are also doing a Game of Thrones program (FD). Cotton Club Stomp for Gillies/Tarry.

r372 Hey, the heart wants what it wants! R382 Thank you. I wonder how Tom Z feels.

R375 Sendai only has a population of about one million, so it doesn’t quite make top ten, but it is the largest city in Tohoku. The rule about leaving Hanyu alone is known as the “Sendai Rule,” which, ironically, Josei Seven or Josei Jishin reported about last year… as they were stalking Hanyu in Sendai.

r402 It depends on the costume. According to Ito and the P&G/Yuzu Days interview, Hanyu came up with the Seimei costume and Ito was more like an assistant, and somehow people took this to mean that Hanyu designs and chooses everything. (Hanyu also said he was particular about the functionality of his show costumes, but didn’t mention the design.) In the past, Ito has said Hanyu will tell her what colors and fabric to use, and provide images or cut-outs from magazines for the concept or inspiration. From the Seven Rules interview, it sounded like she came up with the designs for this season, but was told what color and fabric to use. But for Notte Stella, Ito recently said Hanyu just gave her the music and was told to come up with something. I don’t think Hanyu’s team outside TCC gets enough credit for their work. Even Ajinomoto has contributed to Hanyu’s butt, but no one ever thanks them.

Tuk doing Averbukh choreography:

"Even Ajinomoto has contributed to Hanyu’s butt" Please elaborate.

R431 Well, I imagine that a well-balanced diet contributes somewhat to a well-formed ass, but I want to hear JDC talking about Hanyu's ass, so yes, please elaborate.

R430 Oops. Guess I must have misremembered that tidbit. Geographically, I do find it rather sizeable, even if the population isn't dense. Or maybe it is big geographically but then felt even more so to me precisely because of that fact.

I dunno who called the shots for the first POTO design but the second one was all Ito. Other than choreo, it's a well known fact that SEIMEI as a whole was largely produced by himself. Ballade was originally done by someone else who has retired (though I have very little doubt he basically thrust a picture of Weir in his 2003 FS getup at the old guy) and Ito only did minor modifications to the subsequent incarnations of it. Dunno about the costumes from the 2016/17 season and the ones from the last season but the guy mentioned in one of his interviews during the last WC that he doesn't give Ito a lot of directives when it comes to costume design cos he's more concerned about functionality above all else so maybe other than SEIMEI, he doesn't really contribute all that much to the design?

Also dunno who usually calls the shots for his photoshoot getups but I'm guessing the stylists at least asks him what he thinks. Maybe he's just amiable with anything. Cos, really, what does he know about street fashion anyway? Lol. Though the one time he admitted putting a lot of effort into his outfit choice, it came out great (re: Asaichi appearance back in 2015).

Although I like to think that he had absolutely no say in that white and champagne LOTTE monstrosity a few years back...

I don't think there's a single senior competition and EX outfit that's an outright miss to me. I even give Zeig a pass for its earnest homemade vibes. The only one that came awfully close was Requiem.

Not getting into show-only outfits.

R407 Plenty of het men like figure skating, they just don't like to admit it because it's seen as feminine. Not liking frilly stuff is just personal taste, but I don't think it's fair to say someone shouldn't wear it because homophobes get their panties in a twist to see a man in corsages and frills. Not his problem.

R413 I recall someone on an older thread saying they were involved with Misha Ge at one point and he broke it off saying he needed to make some personal changes. And then he came back looking more butched up, which they guessed was under the advice of whatever skating mentors he has in order not to lose points with homophobic judges and fans.

R415 Narcissists love to be in relationships. They don't have sincere, true, reciprocal relationships, sure, but they love the feeling of being wanted, validated, and being important. Plenty of heterosexual narcissists out there in the world that make their partners' lives miserable for fun.

So the question becomes... if Ge is crushing on Yuzu in his butch UnderArmour outfit does this make Yuzu a top?

Misha "dated" Natalia Zabiako for a hot minute...she is engaged now, but she pings a little bit to me. Anyway, that was the only time I remember him putting any kind of relationship on social media, even though he has made cryptic references to others. Which could mean they were on the DL or just completely fabricated or one-sided.

[quote] I do love Yuzu but I don't really like him dolled up to that extent.

And here I am wanting to put Hanyu in full drag. To each his own, I guess.

Yuzu doesn't have large shoulders by any means. It's just that his waist is so narrow it makes his shoulders look wide in comparison. When he is wearing a more or less fitting suit (like at the party at the imperial palace last year) and his waist is a bit hidden, they look pretty average. He also has small hands to the extent it's become a fandom joke. Only Japanese women have smaller hands and not even all of them (there is a place where he left his handprint and a lot of fans were placing their hands to compare). Pretty sure Shoma's hands are not much smaller and he is a midget.

R435 I remember that, but only b/c we talked about it on DL. I forget - how did it come out? Did he post pictures on IG or did he say something about her?

R434 I didn't remember Misha Ge's supposed bf at all, but found the post on search: "I was involved with Misha Ge casually for just over a year before he broke it off, saying he was making some personal changes. I thought I had done or said something, but it actually does appear like he's been advised to butch it up. He's a sweet kid, but the people around him are delusional if they think anyone anywhere will buy him as straight." Sadly, no one gave enough of a shit to ask all the important questions: top or bottom? Cut or uncut? Sizemeat verificata etc. What a shame!!

Canada better fucking remember this come WC 2020

So Misha Ge pings to everyone as gay? I would never have known to be honest.

Osmond is retiring. Who's surprised? I'm even more surprised by the rumors that Karen Chen is returning next season. Brave girl, with all the Japan-Russia wars. At least she'll be more interesting to watch than Bradie's wooden arms and won't try to slash her rinkmates. A small win for the US, I suppose.

R440 I thought Karen Chen was going to university. Are we going to hear about another Chen doing school and skating?

r438 I don’t think it was a matter of no one giving a shit. No one wanted to know!

I doubt Ge was ever interested in Hanyu as a person or cared for Hanyu’s skating, but his love for Takahashi seems genuine and I think the main reason why he went to Japanese nationals. Aside from Medvedeva (who hasn’t been around that long) and Boyang (maybe), who are his actual friends? Was Ge ever invited to Denis Ten and Friends?

R431 Ajinomoto started working more closely with Hanyu from 2016-2017 to help him increase his stamina and put on weight and muscle in time for the Olympics. That’s why his butt got bigger and rounder, and his purple pants were eating into his ass. There was a detailed article about the science and nutrition behind it last year, along with recipes from some of his meals. (Ajinomoto's official site also has photos of his meals, but unlike the article, doesn't address how their nutrition plan affected his ass.) That’s also when he started to regularly weigh himself, which isn’t something he did until Ajinomoto came along, so it’s likely they asked him to start doing it.

Page 2 begins with Hanyu complaining about his pants getting too tight from the muscle and glycogen gained on Ajinomoto's plan:

Aaaand since we're on the subject of gluts...here's an eyeful of ol'maximus.

Every time he bends down to worship the ice, be gives us all the opportunity to worship something far greater. And he does it so often, someone oughta convey to him how thankful we are for it. Oh yeah, and for his skating, too.

R437 Agreed. Can't believe that they said Yuzuru has broad shoulders. When he wears casual outfits which don't show how small his waist is, his shoulders look average, even smaller than average.

I'm with the consensus that finds his shoulders average. Their straightness (major reason why he looks good in jackets) and the contrast with his tapered waist do create a broader illusion when he's in his training gear or in costume and a narrower one when he's in ill-fitting clothes but generally I don't find them particularly broad or narrow.

[quote]The only one that came awfully close was Requiem.

r433 Heh, Requiem is my absolute favorite out of any he has ever had. It's kinda heartening to know that even if you dislike some of those cpstumes, thhey'll be a hit for someone else. I bet even Dory has fans.

r436 Lol, me too.

r438 Misha doesn't particularly ping to me, but in that video from the Oly gala with Yuzu and Eric, he could give Yuzu a run for his money in terms of a model walk.

r441 Well, according to some people Yuzu is very easy to like and people have tendency to care for him, so maybe Misha did too. I know we've armchaired diagnosed him already, but well, it's not like we actually know him.

[quote]begins with Hanyu complaining about his pants getting too tight

He *complains* about it? I thought his fans are very important to him?

Lol, don't worry that's just JDC-speak, which, you gotta admit, is a whole lot more entertaining than simply saying he commented/revealed when asked...which is his usual modus operandi and, while it helps keep his legions of fans and antis both at arm's length, is incredibly boring. Good thing there's DL to turn to, whom I can always depend on to spice things up, even in the absence of actual spice.

I mean, he did say his costumes have gotten tighter at the rear so "complain" isn't a far-fetched verb for it, I don't think. But the way JDC phrased it is a lot more...relatable...than the G-rated way the guy himself said it.

That was for r445, btw.

Also, if we're venturing into show territory, the Dory-suit was actually pretty boring by his standards. I think I heard chatter through the grapevine that that was an organizer-design, though.

Well thank you very much Ajinomoto. We certainly appreciate all your effort.

r447 I was just joking!

I had no idea that Ajinomoto cooperated with him on getting him stronger. When that "blog entry" about weighing himself daily came out, I was wondering whether it was to monitor his weight in order to keep it up or down. I guess it's up. It was mentioned here, in some article, that Yuzu has started to put more emphasis on training his back muscles in order to help him control jump axis better. Sounds like he's trying to make himself stronger again. Maybe the ass will get the benefits too. I'm hoping for some really skintight costume that will show off his abs and back muscles. Origin costume could stay.

R449 I think he needs to be careful not to put on more weight now because it will affect his jumps. When he started doing it back in 2017 I remember thinking that he needed to be careful or it could impact his quads. It's way too late for him to learn a more 'muscled' technique ala Plushenko and he doesn't need it. He was doing all the crazy stuff like 4t 3a and his 4l back when he was thinner so tbh I disagree with whomever told him to build his body up more. I don't think the added value in terms of stamina is worth it (he was doing crazy fs layouts before he bulked up and when you look at Nathan his stamina doesn't come from extra muscles). Anything that makes a skater significantly heavier is counterproductive but that's just my opinion and Eteri's probably.

R441 Yes, Karen is going the Nathan route. American media is already on it! Her programs for next season: SP: You Say by Lauren Daigle; FS: Illumination from The Secret Garden (2018-2019 FS). Not sure how she's going to manage it - Cornell is in east buttfuck, NY with one major rink where the hockey team trains, so not sure about ice time.

R441 Thank you for the article. I especially enjoyed this google translated bit: "'The costume's buttocks are getting tight,' said Hanyu." Yes, Yuzu, yes they are.

Lee Barkell is leaving TCC. No word yet on who's going with him.

OMG. I don't know why that shocks me, but it does. Is it because of Orser bring on Med and spending too much time and energy on her? Isn't that why Gogo switched to Lee?

If so, good work Brian. You lose Canada's hope to get a washed-up Russki with sorry skating skills and awful jumps, when you knew about the Russian onslaught on the horizon. Even while also courting Boyang and the whole of China.

It makes me wonder what kind of drama went down last season.

[quote] Her programs for next season: SP: You Say by Lauren Daigle; FS: Illumination from The Secret Garden (2018-2019 FS)

her programs for next month, you mean. It is Karen Chen we are talking about. She will change these programs 100 times before Christmas

R450 hmm I think leg muscles are super important to have good quality jumps. Take Med or Tennell, their chicken legs prevent them from jumping too high, so they have tiny, sorry looking jumps.

R450 but Yuzuru does need more muscles to rotate 4.5 in the air

r450 Nathan gets his stamina from almost a full life time of near ideal training conditions and conserving his energy with simple programs and tiny jumps that rely on rotational speed rather than power. Yuzuru isn't going to get the same results by doing the same as Nathan. I thought I read somewhere that Hanyu's flexibility + ultra thin form actually makes him more injury prone as well.

r454 Didn't Gogolev go back to Brian? My guess is that Barkell is probably sick of getting overshadowed and getting stuck with the chaff that Brian doesn't want to deal with (but Brian still gets the credit when those students do well). I'd get annoyed at doing all the work while having someone else constantly glory hounding anything good.

R450 Leg and butt muscles yes but Yuzu's program was/is mostly focused on increasing his upper body muscles which was counterproductive as he became a bit less flexible which negatively affected his spins and the added weight was not good for his ankle. He admitted himself the balance is hard to find.

R459 Gogo didn't go back to Orser. Barkell is still listed as his only coach. I kind of feel bad for Gogo - I think he was a little neglected in the run-up to Olys and thought he would get more attention afterwards, but then Orser took on more students. I'm sure Orser expected a Russian bot he could just hand off to Briand and Wilson, but instead got someone who needed more handholding and emotional support than he bargained for. Eteri was probably laughing her head off watching Orser scramble doing what she's had to do for years.

And I always thought there was a chance Gogo would go back to Orser when he got a little older, as Orser seemed to leave the door open for him to return, but if he's leaving with Barkell and there's ill-will, maybe that's not possible.

Except some skaters who are natually super thin like Elizabet, most of skaters have to get their weight under control not to gain weight. Especially when puberty ends and you already can skate and jump fine at a certain weight, a certain body fat level, every aspects of your skating like jumps, spins,... will get impacted if you put on weight. I don't know how reliable his " I eat a lot of snacks but I still don't gain any weight" is ( because I know there are people who have slime body by having strict diet or exercise but like to say they're thin natually, lose weight without trying or something like that, not like they're too obsessed with weight but well maybe just one of things they like to say...) but I won't say he has the same body type like Elizabet. I don't see him as someone who loses weight ( different from losing muscles) easily and unconsciously either. So I'm not convinced that he manages his weight carefully not to lose weight. He might want to gain more weight to train quads tho. Who knows.

Isn't Gabby also mainly trained by Lee Barkell? Wonder if she'll stay at TCC then. If I were Barkell, I'd probably want to strike out on my own, too. It seems like there was no room for him there.

I hate to blame everything on Med, but she really did seem to fuck things up at TCC when she arrived. I have no idea what Orser was thinking when he decided to take her on. And then they bring Misha Ge on board (just temporarily for Med I suppose but still, the fact they contacted him is all kinds of fuckery).

Barkell was also listed as a coach for Brown.

None of you know what goes on at the rink. You're just making up fanfiction. Lee couldn't possibly have any faults and it's all because of the evil Russian girl...good grief, could you reach any more?

Don't tell me they gonna replace Barkell with Ge, ewww

R465 This place isn't good for your health. You should leave.

So who gets stuck with Gabby and Gogo?

If Orser is retiring from coaching after the next games, why no wait three years to inherit TCC?

R457 This is interesting. Does this mean Shoma also has stick thin legs? People complain about his jumps being small all the time and I thought it was a small height thing, like Miyahara. But then, last time I checked his triple axel was a little over half a meter high, which seemed to be the average among most of the men doing them....or am I wrong here?

R462 Maybe not shrivel up to nothingness, but some people do have metablolism that just burns faster than others and keeps the body at a minimal weight level. Yuzu once said that if he's not on the ice for three days he loses his jumps because his leg muscles disappear. Now as for whether that metabolism actually stays for life is another story. A lot of people that are like that in youth end up skinny fat and just plain fat later on in life if they don't watch it.

Is Gabby still going to skate? If you put her up against Karen Chen who would win? Dun dun dun. Will the USFSA still try to push their pretty white princess Bradie Tennel? Looked like they had pretty much crowned her as their next big star with their ridiculous overscoring. I'm just looking forward to Chen pushing Mariah Bell back into irrelevance.

[quote] I'm just looking forward to Chen pushing Mariah Bell back into irrelevance.

Oh yes please! I developed quite a revulsion for that witch. I wish Eunsoo could move to another coach. And I'll be anxiously waiting to see if Gogo goes with Lee.

I honestly now feel that Orser has bad judgment (re Med). He did say that he thought she had talked to his darling Javi, who encouraged the whole move - actually I think Brian said he 'thought' she talked to Javi AND Yuzu but I don't believe that for a minute. But Javi, probably. Not the brightest bulb in the pack (IMHO). I don't think I've heard Tracy waxing poetic about taking on Med (like she apparently did about Jason). Maybe she could see the writing on the wall, but dopey Brian who thinks David Wilson is a good choreographer - he probably thinks Javi is a good advisor when it comes to students.

At least Yuzu had the intelligence to leave Wilson, when it comes to his SP/LPs.

Well, imo Shoma's bad jumping technique is what makes his jumps small. He probably just rotates twice on the air with all his PR and UR

R469 Pretty and Tennell is in the same sentence is a never heard thing

>If I were Barkell, I'd probably want to strike out on my own, too. It seems like there was no room for him there.

Why wouldn't there be room for him there? Maybe he just wants to leave the city of Toronto and live elsewhere.

R472 No need to be mean. I think her forelock and mane are very pretty and healthy looking. I'd check her teeth before buying though.

R465 There are other places on the internet that might better suit your needs. You're taking this way too seriously.

R474 LMAO

R473 Who knows what Barkell's reasons are for leaving. But it was clear this season that Orser had some difficulties trying to juggle a lot of skaters as he admitted in that interview with Jackie Wong at the GPF in December, and therefore the coaching situation at TCC might have also been in a state of flux as he tried to sort things out.

[quote] Don't tell me they gonna replace Barkell with Ge, ewww

Oh dear lord, please no. I don't even want to joke about that.

talking about serious things...the most exciting news since Virtanen's decision to carry on...

Sondre Boe's new SP

I Found You (by James Bay). Choreo: Sondre Boe

R470 Wherever Eunsoo ends up, I hope it’s not with Morozov. Yes, it may be tempting for her because there’s a huge Korean community near Hackensack, but she’s a pretty teenage girl and Morozov preys on pretty teenage girls. And the aftermath will be worse than whatever Princess Sweetface Mariah did to her.

Oh now I see where y'all got the "Barkell is leaving TCC" news...it's from that Team Orser Russian IG fan page. How reliable are they though? How would they have gotten this news? Because as far as I could tell, no other forums are discussing this.

It's from TSL

R482 Ah, okay. I don't bother with TSL so thanks for clearing that up.

r467 r465 I think you guys are mistaking r465 for me. I was about to write something about loony psychos inventing shit but r465 stole my thunder.

r482 A month ago wasn't it Ghislain Briand who was leaving TCC according to TSL? Because he was jealous of Orser and unhappy because he couldn't work with Med? They really should get those ~internal sources~ under control.

R484 I think they implied that there was tension between Orser and Briand but never outright said he was leaving.

R479 Oh dear, the grindr jokes just write themselves with Sondre.

r485 Lol, I remember a heavy implication, of the "hmm I wonder how long he'll stick there" variety. Their internal source was looking the wrong way, it seems.

R481 Had you known Team Orser Russian fanpage is runned by Med ubers who secretly ship her with Hanyu, public private videos and photos taken by paparazzi and repost photos/ fanarts without permission, you would have known how reliable it was.

Flat face aside, Marin Honda looks stunning. Puberty ruined her career can't ruin her pretty face.

@juronom 18h18 hours ago

Rika's quads are loading at 85% for 4S and 15% for 4T. She wants FS layout with 1 quad and 2 3As (1 in 1st 1 in 2nd half) next season She will train her lower body to prepare. Her ideal quad image is Yuzuru's effortless ones. Ghislain showed her his jump footages.

r445 Ge has been attaching himself to various Japanese skaters for years. (Mao didn’t even know his name when he was trying to convince everyone they were friends.) Hanyu was the third or fourth one. Before he amped up the friendship selfies, Ge made a salty comment after one of Hanyu’s ACI wins about figure skating losing its beauty and wanting to go back to the days of Takahashi and others.

r451 They've already started? That was fast. Weren't Chen and Chen dating?

r462 His mom and sister are similarly lanky. Injury-prevention, especially from the impact of landing quads, is one of the reasons why they’ve been trying to increase his muscle mass and also why they believe he was able to recover enough in time for Pyeongchang.

R469 Hamada and Ghislain are also trying to remedy Miyahara’s jumps through weight training and muscle development in addition to some technique changes. Midori Ito is 7cm shorter than Miyahara but had huge jumps, bigger than most men, and boot technology back then wasn’t what it is today. Miyahara does have to jump against her natural direction.

R485 Ghislain was overheard by fans (not French stalker) at ACI saying he’s only sticking around because of Hanyu. He’s been working with Hamada and Lambiel more and more. He might still be in Champery right now and was just working with two skaters (Aoki and Kawabata) from Hanyu’s old coach’s team (Tsuzuki).

@FigureSkatingMisc has footage of the annual fitness checkup for Japanese skaters:

And Tomono's new ex is "Freaks."

Some PIW footage from yesterday, with a glimpse of Marin and Sara Honda's new programs (Sara is doing Beauty and the Beast for her SP) and Tomono's ex. Sara was working on the 3A and 4S in Colorado with a harness.

JDC keeping DLers alive through the off-season a post at a time. Thank you!!!

[R490] Ghislain is unlikely to be in Champery now, IIRC there's no ice there during spring. But yes, THANK YOU JDC!!!!!

I wonder if Lee Barkell is going back to the Mariposa in Barrie. He was there for almost 24 years before he left for TCC.

R490 thanks for the footage. I saw footage of the boys too, including Kao Miura. He has such beautiful quads, with nice flow and the gorgeous Jpn knee bend, but fucks up his triples and 2As. Lol. I hope he gets it together.

R491 thanks JDC. Do you know who is choreographing Tomono's programs this season (sorry if I missed it)? I liked his Daft Punk ex. It was fun and light, and wish he'd go in that direction for his competitive programs.

R494 Thank you. He just finished with the Tsuzuki girls last week and will be back in July when I think Hamada's team will be there.

R495 Miura is also part of the Tsuzuki team. Maybe he will also work with Ghislain if he hasn't already.

R496 Ge is doing Moulin Rouge for Tomono's FS. But it's not clear who will be choreographing the SP or who did "Freaks." Misao Sato did his Riverdance FS and Daft Punk ex, so maybe Tomono is using her again.

Urgh. As if we won't have enough Moulin Rouge from RD next season already. I liked Tomono's Riverdance, too bad it was never skated clean to its potential

The only person who I’ve heard was having issues with Med getting preferential treatment at TC is Gabby. She was also apparently very mad at not getting invited to SOI. OTOH, there was plenty of talk of Gogo being the bone of contention between Orser and Barkell.

[R499] You mean Gabby was never invited to SOI? I haven't been following Canadian SOI at all but just assumed she wasn't doing it because if her recent concussion from WTT.

R472 sorry, I forgot to put quotation marks around the word 'pretty'.

R470 I agree with you on all fronts. Orser didn't show great judgment with Yuna either back in the day, despite what some fans that glorify him as the ultimate papa saint versus Eteri the evil witch would like to believe. You'd think he'd learn and grow but I guess he just isn't necessarily the brightest when it comes to some things.

Javi might have "encouraged" Med to come to Canada but I can't imagine it being a serious conversation.

Med: Hey Javi, is TCC good? People are nice, right? I wanna go.

Javi: Yeah it's great, if you wanna come you should look into it, why not.

Med: JAVI TOLD ME TO COME TO TCC!!!

I mean how is Javi supposed to tell her NOT to come if she frames the conversation as wanting to come to his rink?

If Med said she was considering coming to TCC to train and asked for his advice, Javi could have told her anything. He could have said ‘¡everything is so great there, you should definitely come!!!’ or ‘yeah, it all worked out in the end, but at first I really struggled’ or ‘well you know, I was training with Morozov before, so anything would have been an improvement’ or ‘it would be a perfect training environment if not for that queen Yuzuru who always hogs all the coaches’ attention’ or whatever, really.

R499 I also heard about Gogo (his parents) and Hanyu having the same issues.

R502 You're right, he could have said anything...if they're close enough for him to say those kinds of things. I imagine that she asked in a generic way if it's nice and whether she should go and he was being a typical nice Javi and gave her generic encouragement about following her dreams especially if her mind was half made up. But what do I know.

R503 Hanyu talks a lot about how much Tracey has helped him but I feel like a lot of public talk of TCC coaching is centered around Orser. I wonder if Hanyu is consciously combating this by talking more about the "side" coaches to bring them to light. I imagine each coach brings their own strengths to the training... is Orser really so much better than the other coaches that Hanyu needs so much attention from him? Maybe Orser doesn't have time for Hanyu but maybe the stuff he teaches isn't stuff Hanyu needs so much anymore. But again, all conjecture on my end.

Aside from being supportive and hot, is Stephane a good coach? I've heard great things about Deniss's performance quality, aside from his terrible jumps. Is this a Uno situation where he's good at other things but not the jumps? I also heard that Oda is a coach and I just... can't imagine that happening for some reason. I wonder why Todd Eldredge on the Hall of Fame isn't coaching anyone? I thought most famous people are able to continue as star coaches after retiring, like Plushenko. On that note, I heard that Misha is a good skater other than in the jump front. If not for his sad ego, would he actually make a decent coach that can produce a star, I wonder?

Stephane seems to be doing ok with Koshiro. He takes a lot of students who were mediocre small fed skaters to begin with...I mean, I don't expect great things from Luke Digby or Matilda or Diana whatshername from Latvia, no matter who their coach is.

Coaching is 100% different from being an athlete. It can't be all about you and your ego. Therefore I don't believe Plushy is going to be a top coach for anyone high level, long term, except maybe his mini-me. I think Misha is decent as a choreographer, but I wouldn't trust him as a coach. Way too narcissistic and immature.

Maybe I would expect to beat Anita.

But the Fed send Anite anyway

R503 where did you hear this (re Hanyu)? The last time there were rumors about Hanyu not getting enough attention from Orser was after WC 2016. And that was mostly fan freak out and speculation. Seems he works a lot with Ghislain. I don't know that Hanyu relies on Orser that much.

R507 No, that wasn't mostly fan freak out and speculation. Hanyu was highly favored to win Worlds 2016 after his mind-blowing skates in the 2015 GP. And then when he didn't win and Javi did--and Orser stupidly went on and on and on about how Javi's performance may have been the best men's of all time--people started getting pissed at him. Then later that year, in an interview with Nick McCarvel, Orser spoke about how he and Tracy formally met in a conference room to discuss issues Hanyu and his team were having with them.

Since then I haven't heard anything negative about Brian's coaching of Hanyu. But just based on what Brian said in that interview, I do think it's reasonable to assume that things were quite tense between them back in 2016.

R508 I'm talking specifically about rumors that Hanyu wanted more attention from Orser. I think the big talk Orser referenced in the interview with Nick was about Hanyu's obsession with landing the 4lo, their strategy for his programs and why he was ignoring his coaches and doing as he wished. In his book, Brian elaborated on what they talked about during that meeting.

And to be clear, Hanyu started practicing the 4lo seriously after WC2016 because his left foot hadn't fully healed. He wanted to add both the 4lo and a 4th quad in his free and Orser disagreed with that. So the conversation wasn't about the 2015-2016 season, but moving forward after that.

R509 I didn't read Orser's book but that was not what was discussed during that IceNetwork podcast. But I wouldn't be surprised if Brian was rewriting history to make himself look less like a jerk.

I like Orser but he can be quite clueless at times.

R511 there is a link to that portion of Orser's book (translated by someone on pH) in r509.

Someone on GS also provided excerpts of Nick's interview with Orser (that appeared in japantimes). I've linked it, but here is the relevant part:

The discussion became even more compelling when Orser was questioned about the communication issue between he and Hanyu that was brought up at the NHK Trophy last month.

“I went through a little bit of that before Skate Canada with Yuzuru,” Orser noted. “We had a little bit of a disconnect and we had to sort it out and we did. We got together and we had our meeting. We sat across the table from each other in a board room and just said, ‘OK. This is what I’m seeing.’ And then he would say, ‘Well this is what I’m feeling.’

“So I said, ‘OK. Good. This is helpful,’ and we just got through it like adults.”

It sounds like the meeting was a fairly serious get together.

“It was with some of his people that advise him, and it was important for him to be there,” Orser recalled. “We just kind of hashed out a few things that we thought that we needed to. Tracy was there. And he wanted to talk, so it wasn’t with a translator, so it took a little extra time. But we have to hear from his heart what he’s feeling.”

Orser said that despite the gravity of the conference, there was no finger pointing.

“There wasn’t anything nasty or mean,” Orser told McCarvel. “It was just communicating. We kind of all got through it and we all hugged and OK let’s move forward, and all of a sudden the skating got better.”

Orser then explained how his philosophy with Hanyu is different now from what it was last season.

“He (Hanyu) of course always wants to skate perfect. There are times of the season where it’s going to be a bit of a challenge because nobody is ready in October,” Orser said. “. . . I’m actually quite satisfied that we are actually building this season and not kind of unloading everything in December, like we did last year. And then all of a sudden everybody is expecting it. . . . So now we are going to just keep building. There are little mistakes along the way, but nothing too major, that you try to build on for the next one.”

Orser was queried about whether Hanyu may soon attempt a quadruple axel.

“Quad axel — you never know,” Hanyu replied. “He has probably the best triple axel on the planet, and technically as well. Could it happen? Probably.”

Orser then praised Hanyu for his fortitude in always trying to raise the bar with bigger challenges and his foresight.

“He keeps upping the ante, which I’m so proud of him for,” Orser said. “We had this discussion this season about the quad loop and I said to him after Skate Canada, ‘You really don’t need to do a quad loop in the short program.’

“No. I need to do the quad loop, and I need to do it now, and I need to make the mistakes now, so that next year I’m not going through this,” Orser said Hanyu told him.

“Which was like Wow. You know what, you’re right!” Orser acknowledged to McCarvel.

“It’s not that important to win Skate Canada, it’s more important to get one more chance at figuring out the quad loop when you’re under pressure and you’re in front of judges, and in front of a crowd. It’s a completely different situation than when you are in a practice session.”

Orser then concluded by saying that a quad lutz could also be in the cards for Hanyu.

“He’s very competitive,” Orser stated. “He has landed some quad lutzes. I’m sure it’s something that’s on the horizon.”

This thread is going back to Saint Hanyu and Evil Everyone Else Mainly Orser, I see. Don't mind me, I'll just be sitting here in the corner watching the fauna.

R513 We'll make sure to be extra entertaining just for you <3 <3

R513 I'm not the poster calling Orser a jerk, but in R511's defense, after the McCarvel interview, and especially after what happened at WC2016, people did speculate that it was Hanyu and his team that wanted the sit-down because of issues of favoritism or some other personal tension/drama. Orser was quite vague in the McCarvel interview, and it's only after I read the translation of his book that I understood what the conference was about (well, at least from Orser's perspective).

R513 in the same interview where Orser talked about how difficult it was for Hanyu to deal with his celebrity notoriety, he made vague comments that hinted to possible drama and discontent behind the scenes, causing further speculation and gossip about Hanyu. Orser is not evil, but he's certainly clueless. Look at how he dealt with Med and Eteri last summer. He hasn't learned to keep his mouth shut yet. Compare this to Zagitova/Eteri. Zag hinted that she went through some kind of personal hell before WC2019. Other than from Zag's herself, did we hear a peep about this before or after WC from Eteri or anyone in her camp?

Hanyu with the other American sensation

R517 She's adorable, but does she go to Yale full-time?

Over at Reddit people mentioned again poor attendance at Stars on Ice and said that while the skating was good, the show was outdated and had a cornball feel which one could tell even the skaters felt, that the formula hasn't changed since forever and dosn't suit modern audiences.

What does it mean, "outdated formula"? In person, I only saw Plushenko's show a few years ago which consisted of your regular exhibition numbers, a comedy duo, an acrobatic pair, and some tricks with a car. I also watched one of the Fantasy on Ice shows with Yuzu and that was just exhibition numbers with live singing (half of which was atrocious). What does SoI do that makes it different from FaoI?

Maybe American audiences have just given up on figure skating. Japanese and maybe European audiences are not as disinterested? (all that is just conjecture - I'm sure Chen and Liu will revive the sport to Tonya/Nancy levels - lord knows, Mariah tried to do her part.

R519 TSL also made a comment about SOI looking like it was put together in only two or three days. I know the ticket sales were abysmal in the US, but I wonder how it's doing in Canada?

I'm probably behind on the scheduling, but I thought Ghislain was in Switzerland working with Lambiel's crew - so who was working with Liu on quads? Surely not Barkell. Yuzu himself?!? oh I know that's ridiculous...

Speaking of... During Worlds, Stephane asked Yuzuru to watch Deniss and give them some advice on what was going wrong with his jumps - and Yuzu squatted down, with his back against the boards, and intently watch Deniss practicing. I wish there was video of him talking to Stephane and/or Deniss afterwards, maybe with hand gestures or something. Surely he would have tried to help, after being asked and concentrating so hard on watching him. I thought it was cool that Stephane asked for his advice.

R517 is that recent?

Hanyu says he doesn't have the patience to coach but he could be a jump coach.

Speaking of coaching, or post-skating careers in general, I wonder if something about being a bit of an asshole is directly correlated to being an artistic creative type. Mr. "We wanted V/M to fail every element and our medal is the wrong color" Cizeron and Mr. "I helped Hanyu at his darkest hour and he's so ungrateful" Ge seem to have no problem getting gigs as choreographers. Stephane seems to choreograph quite a few things too and he seems nice so maybe it's statistically a gay thing? I'm just waiting for Machida to choreograph for anyone who dares to ask him.

Alexa Knerim is now teaching toddler classes at her rink. Wonder if the GoFundMe didn't produce enough God-ordained money?

FaOI moments

R523 Yes, it was just posted on IG by Geoff Dionisio, the harness guy at TCC.

R524 other than the usual uppity French vibe, I don't think Cizeron should be lumped with Ge. The most controversial comments in that interview were made by Gabi. He said he had a hard time accepting silver because it was "associated with trauma," which speaks to his own experience, and not shady, I thought. On the other hand, there are plenty of examples of Ge being an opportunistic, whiney, self-important and self-aggrandizing hanger-on.

That said, I didn't really like what Cizeron did for James/Cipres last season.

Cizeron is doing Liuba Whatshesurname/ Bilodeau's programs along with Marie France.

R519 Sorry to be an old grouch, but it's all corny, outdated shit. The shows with Hanyu are worth watching because he's weird, embarrassing, game and mesmerizing. I think even the ice shows in Japan aren't all sell-outs. I'm curious about Javi's ROI. His show was very successful in some cities and just so-so in others. Hopefully, he can sustain the interest a few more years.

R524 Canadian cunt . I love how psycho fans ignore the fact thet even that GOAT couple was not able to win FS lol

Hanyu ice shows are sell outs and the ladies love to watch him for the same reason the dL posts pics of his better parts

Do we remember when Moir lost in Sochi to Davis/White and get it so well that went to the media to say that their then coach (Zueva, who was also D/W's coach) was favoring D/W?

Oh well, it is Zueva, so maybe it was even true.

Does someone remember here what Tessa said on Meryl on some reality show after Olympic in Sochi?

R531 Sincere question - is Hanyu's ass a thing among the fraus? I get that there are gentle-fraus among us on DL, but what about the rest of the fandom? Never realized ass was something the ladies cared about. Sorry!

R532 I remember that and Moir got a lot of criticism for it. As someone who thought the P/C interview was just honest and no big deal, I think they took it one step further than Moir by criticizing their opponents directly, questioning the scoring and openly wishing they would splat.

TSL 5/4 - Part 1: “A Lot Going On” Tarasova/Morozov going to Naples Florida to train w/Zueva J: “Marina wd never let some of this Nina Moser nonsense fly with the music.” D: “Marina charges $76 for a half hour… her partner Johnny Johns is $60/half hr.” 9 J thinks someone shd skate to a Joan Rivers routine. D thinks maybe Weir has a Faberge egg (which they were discussing), “He seems like he’s not fiscally intelligent.” D: Lesley Stahl told Sasha that she sold out (?). 10 D mimics Sandra Bezic again – she’s going to work on Yuna Kim’s ice show in Korea, so far starring P&Cizeron Eunsoo Javi Chen Sui/Han. 17 Adam’s Youtube channel: D: “Nice… He didn’t say anything super interesting.” but a good strategy – he can afford not to do SOI. Etc about Adam. 20 How Sarah Hughes’ family bought her into the Olys/NY is savvy for its skaters. New gymnastics scandals… 25 Gabby acting out on IG again: THAT day is when Lee Barkell put in his resignation at TCC. D says TCC is afraid of what Gabby will do if they cut ties w/her. “He got an offer at the Granite club, we know that; unclear if he accepted. We know Meagan & Bruno are going to “old Phil”(?) to start their own school – they had an offer from Jim Peterson in Florida – the Toyota Center is trying to recruit a high-level coach to come in, they talk to Tom Z off and on – he & Tammy not getting along & Tom’s being pushed out of the Zhou & Camden situations; “We’re hearing that Gabby will be going with Barkell wherever he goes” so… this might be TCC’s way of dealing with the touchy Gabby situation. 28 We also heard Gogolev is already with Rafael (J thinks: smart move by parents). They think he’ll get better choreo & packaging w/Raf.

R535 Meagan and Bruno are going to Oakville to start a pairs program.

R535 Wow, Gogolev to Raf? (Better packaging and choreo with Raf...?)

This is the third time I've tried to post, so sorry if it triple posts.

Paul Poirier watches Terrace House and wants to talk about it. His Japanese is excellent according to fans who met him yesterday.

One of the prizes for Medvedeva’s latest P&G Pantene campaign includes tickets to the NHK Trophy in Sapporo. Are they expecting her to be there?

Tomono told fans at PIW that Misao Sato did choreograph his ex, although he chose the music and props (trumpet).

In a Number article with Mao and Ito interviewing each other, Ito said she studied videos of Boitano and Orser’s 3A to master her own, and watched them closely when they toured together. She admitted she was salty that Witt was winning with just two different triples when she was jumping all five. When Mao came along, Coach Yamada told her Mao was cute and could do anything unlike her. (Ito couldn’t dance, so she was told to focus on speed when she was competing.) Mao said she wasn’t able to enjoy herself after she turned 16/17 due to pressure and feeling like she had to push the technical limits of skating instead of trying to express something through her performances. She’s having fun again in her shows. https://number.bunshun. jp /articles/-/839203

I took Orser’s awkward questioning about whether or not he’s part of Hanyu’s team during interviews this last season as a sign that Hanyu hadn’t been demanding his attention much. I think he was referring to other younger skaters (besides Gogolev) when he said he’d stop whoever he was coaching to help Medvedeva figure out what to do when her own session had ended.

R521 @fsigstories twitter and @oniceperspectives IG has some clips of SOI Canada. This was taken at SOI Canada yesterday about ten minutes before it started:

LOL Imagine one day when Hanyu retires, Galeman goes with Lee, Gogolev to Raf, Med losing to talented juniors goes back to her motherland living her PR and SNS life.

TSL 5/4 - Part 2 – 30 Sui/Han in Cali working on stroking and power with David Potier(sp?) until June. Alexa/Chris are there (Frank’s been working with them). More top skaters will come. D thinks Toyota Center shd get Aljona. 33 Why is Alysa Liu a main speaker to the governing council of US fed? 35 Much more on how Karen won’t succeed with skating plus Cornell. 44 Ting has been off the ice – ankle injury: D: “Her physical trainer actually took her skates from her but she wore he old ones to get choreo anyway.” Some Russian’s doing her choreo: Natalia Kosova(sp?) 45 Hubbell/Donohue – why doing Star Is Born? It’s old news. Why do skaters think recent movies have a shelf life? When Yuna did Les Miz it was current. 50 Ashley made fun of washed-up Sasha “rolling around on the ice” - well now, Ashley is doing exactly that on SOI - “the world comes full circle”. 51 RIKA Kihira “is gunning for it.” Has seen Tursy & is raising her. Gonna do 3As in 2nd half as well. 52 Trusova’s GOT fits her as she has 0 feminity; the gays will go for it. J:”My poor Kolyada doing Chaplin” (D’s eyes roll) D: Him not going to Raf opened the door for Gogo. They’re horrified. J: “I’m pulling for Aliev!” D: “I can’t take the Chaplin program again, Jonathan” J: No. You try to follow him – just ugh. 53 Zag in Toronto – will she work w/Buttle? Shae? 56 D:”At Worlds they had to force Zag to rink” She’s on borrowed time. No real head-coach at Plush rink (Tarankova leaving) His “angels of Plushenko” a publicity stunt. Meagan/ Bruno move to Oakville. D thinks Barkell wd be good there. More about pairs. So much flux. 1.04 On Patreon they’re judging ‘92 Oly ladies/’94 pairs, etc.

All ice shows are inherently cheesy, but SOI always felt bottom of the barrel to me. Cheap, dated, conservative, corny af. Then there's the fact that SOI in the US has no foreign skaters at all (at least not in recent years). You'd have to pay me to sit through that shit. I would love to see a show like Hyoen someday, or Art on Ice. But it'll never happen here.

Thanks R536. I had such trouble understanding what Dave was saying - he knows all these people/rinks like the back of his hand and often mumbles the names which I can't decipher! Later he said Meagan/Bruno to Oakville - but in the first part, it sounded like "Old Phil" lol - who knows what he really said.

And I've been having a hell of a time posting - had to go to a new browser and do stuff as I was getting weird messages about being cut off because of trying to post too much - oh I don't understand. Hope it settles down. I tried to post Kolyada interview 3 times and gave up -- talks about his psychological problems, the Chaplin choice, he's putting 4Lz back because taking it out didn't help him, that he has his diploma and could get a job teaching now, but 'hopefully' that won't be too soon. Anyway, it's on Instagram - I'll try to link:

R534 From what I could pick up on PH and from the young women of Skating Twitter, they love Yuzu’s ass and how he looks in his Under Armour gear. They are as obsessed with The Waist as DL is, and they love posting photos and videos of Javi touching it. But they also love Yuzu’s flawless skin (the Kosé ad campaign is a no-brainer).

It’s often hard to tell if they want to fuck him, or if they want to keep him as an ethereal pet.

They love Javi’s ass too (and his biceps), but they seem to *really* love his long thick lashes. It’s interesting that the physical attributes female fans gravitate toward most are what they were conditioned to focus on themselves when they were introduced to makeup.

[quote] Wow, Gogolev to Raf? (Better packaging and choreo with Raf...?)

They seemed to be saying that Gogo was now with Barkell, and that Raf could arrange Buttle/Shae for Gogo (as though Lee couldn't?) It didn't make sense to me, but they also went into Raf having Chen, so it was a "natural" choice to put their similar prodigy with Raf... Oh something like that. They said Canadians were gonna be shocked.

BTW, love your posts! That makes sense - Orser nervously saying "if I'm still part of Yuzuru's team, and I hope I am!" and them not being as close as they were. Also in the K&C, Ghislain (or Tracy) is always there too. How many skaters can Orser run off? Yuna, Gogo, Yuzu? But he'll always have his favorite son Javi, I guess.

R541 Kolyada has a baby blush.

All coaches, without exception, have skaters that leave for all kinds of reasons. When you are at the level of Brian or Eteri it doesn't really matter because there is a long queue of skaters who would be happy to take an empty spot.

[quote] Kolyada has a baby blush.

I first read that as bush instead of blush - and I was thinking, OMG I've gotta see that picture!

He's a cutie. I used to think Lazukin was good looking too but I'm annoyed that he screamed at Boyang and got in his way during practice. I know I don't know what Boyang did but it's hard for me to imagine that it was deserved. So he and Mariah are on my shit list (where Ge permanently resides)

R546 That's exactly what I thought too. When I look at Kolyada now, I can only think of his Magic Grow Dinosaur cock. See Simpsons episode for reference (the one that Bart imagines, not what actually happens).

Wow I feel terrible for Orser. He seemed really disappointed when Gogo left for Barkell, but at least then there was hope Gogo might return. The Raf bit is surprising, but makes some sense - Raf has experience handling a young, quad-centric athlete, he speaks Russian...I don't know, just trying to rationalize it, but it kinda sucks people think Raf has the winning approach to skating nowadays.

Take this for what it's worth, but this skater who often claims he has inside info on other American skaters thinks the Raf rumor is untrue for now.

R517 just when I thought he can't exude more Kpop vibes...and wow, I knew Liu was tiny but Hanyu being a shrimp himself and still looking like he could crush her really puts it into perspective for me. Well maybe not crush since their heads not seeming to be a lot different in sizes kind of ruins that illusion but she definitely makes Hanyu look a lot bigger than he really is.

R543 Orser was never really Hanyu's reason for uprooting himself anyway. In fact, I don't recall a time he specifically mentioned Orser on his own volition. Even when the question was phrased in a way that asked him if his decision to move was due to Orser. Unless he's persistently prompted. Then he'd give the whole oh-yeah-and-he-guided-Yuna-Kim-to-gold spiel" everyone probably expected him to. Not that I'm trying to undermine Orser but from the way Hanyu put it, he honest-to-goodness didn't seem anywhere near the main reason for the change. His already impressive credentials then were certainly a bonus (and definitely a big reason JSF supported the move) but to Hanyu, when asked, he usually specifically states the facilities at TCC (including the Habi-600X) as his biggest motivation.

Yeah you can take that last bit however you want.

R542 I think the fixation on eyelashes is just aesthetic attraction, nothing to do with sexuality. Kenji's Room has an episode where Kenji compliments SHoma on his eyelashes as soon as they start the talk show. Maybe women notice pretty facial features in detail more than men do. Seems that the waist obsession is mainly about projecting their idea of top/bottom in their fanfics with Habi. Can't have another hussy get him! Better give him away to a man. Like Habi, who loves him the way he deserves.

Speaking of his blush, does Kolyada have the whole asthma/dermatitis combo too? His blush looks a lot of Uno's flareups and and what with him only recently revealing chronic rhinitis, I wonder if he also has other issues he doesn't talk about. Did he get that permanently fixed btw through surgery? Is it even fixable? I'm with R546 I think he looks like a sweet kid and hope he has good mentor figures around him to help him out - boy skates so beautifully, but seems to have major blockers.

I still can't believe that Southern California is such a hubbub of ice skating now. It's such a depressing wasteland.

"It's such a depressing wasteland."

Which do you mean? SoCal or ice skating?

(Also, how do you quote on DL?)

r543 Likewise, thank you for the recaps. Yeah, that part about Buttle and Bourne doesn’t make any sense. They already have a close relationship with TCC and both are based in Toronto. With Chen at Yale, it does make sense that Raf would accept Gogolev, especially if he thought it would motivate Chen and get him to spend more time in California.

R549 How old is this Jacob? He sounds like he’s 10. I don’t think TSL meant that Raf is training Gogolev at this very moment. Gogolev is busy performing in SOI Canada right now. He looks taller and a little more confident than before:

Does anyone think that Gogo's move to Raf is because of Hanyu and not Med?

r554 It doesn't make much sense either. Hanyu's on the way out. 3 years max, more likely 1 or 2, whereas Chen is just starting out. And allegedly, Hanyu's not a particularly absorbing student. I think that whole Raf thing sounds a bit unlikely. Gogo's 14, he's got school and family in Canada. The coach he's been with for years is moving just across the street. Just fuck, I like Gogo, I like his programs. I've never expected him to be next Patrick Chan or Hanyu but the thought of him going the empty Chen way is depressing.

R554 No, no reason for that.

r552 you just put [*quote] before what you want to quote, without the star. Don't close the quotation, it'll close on its own when you start the next paragraph. If you want to quote several paragraphs, you need to put [*quote] before each.

Daleman leaving TCC would surely be a positive for that club. Gabby appears to have very serious problems. Maybe it's related to having one or more concussions; maybe it's because of other issues. But it must be very unsettling for Brian and Tracy to have to deal with her on a regular basis.

[quote]I still can't believe that Southern California is such a hubbub of ice skating now. It's such a depressing wasteland.

Southern California is a depressing wasteland??? Compared to where...Detroit? Toronto? Some frozen Russian provincial city? LOL. Yes, it's so depressing to have the beach, mountains, sun and everything else in the world right at your fingertips. It's just very expensive, but you can say that about a lot of other places that have far worse weather and more miserable people.

The next thread was created last time, by mistake - here's a link to part 30

Plushenko says he was offered "a lot of money" to coach the young Hanyu (before TCC). If that's true, what a bullet we dodged! But there are interviews with Yuzuru praising the "Russian style" of skating - something about precision, oh I can't remember, but he was already working with Igor and somebody. I think Yuzuru's first choice was Russia - though thank the skating gods it didn't end up being Plushy! Who said "How can I coach my rival as I will continue to repeat?"

* repeat should be "compete"

I find it hard to believe that anyone would have thought Plushenko would be a good coach for Yuzuru, given that he had no coaching experience back then. And we can see how he's managed it with his school so far - a joke. Maybe Mishin...but Plushenko? No way.

Gogo flouncing away after one hectic season at tcc is ridiculous. He won’t get the hype if he moves.

If Gogo did in fact switch coaches, I would guess it's due to his parents and not because the 14-year-old decided on his own to "flounce." I think he's completely overrated anyway. Funny how everyone bitches about Eteri "jumping beans" or bots when he's got nothing going on at all besides the jumps. Boring kid (who didn't even medal at Junior Worlds).

Dave Lease said that Lee Barkell was Meagan Duhamel's coach when she was in singles. He thinks Lee might (or should?) go there, though he also reported that Lee already had an offer from something I didn't quite make out: it sounded like the "Granite" club. Can anybody help me out? I'm obviously out of my depth reporting this stuff since I don't know up from down - it was only this morning that I realized that of course "Old Phil" was "Oakville" lol.

R566 Granite is another tony/exclusive sports club in Toronto. Chiddy once trained there. Don't worry, you get a lot of the key terms so it's easy to figure out! Thanks for the recaps.

R561 Some footage of Yuzu working with Igor Bobrin and Natalia Bestemyanova in Russia.

R563 yeah it sounded fishy to me too.

R553 Yeah, the skater is definitely a big tween drama queen, even though I think he's over 18. I was more struck by what he said about the news leaking now when it seems so many things have to be worked out before Gogo actually moves (like visas, jobs (for parents?) etc) and you'd think Gogo would at least hang out in Lakewood a little before deciding to make a big move like that, especially with The Slasher Queen running amok there. Lol.

[Quote]you just put [*quote] before what you want to quote, without the star. Don't close the quotation, it'll close on its own when you start the next paragraph. If you want to quote several paragraphs, you need to put [*quote] before each.

<3<3<3

Here's my token of appreciation (sorry if it's been shared before):

R570 The Slasher Queen? Love it!

R537 Thanks so much for the little tidbit about Midori Ito. I loved her - so much raw, athletic talent and so plucky. I'm convinced her career would have been far more distinguished had they known how to package her and had JSF been more powerful in those days.

R537 What Mao said about not enjoying herself after she turned 16/17 is sad. She spent so many years of her career trying to fix her jumps. If you look at skaters nowadays - both men and women - they don't give a shit. They just try to change the narrative on what good jumping technique or even rotated jumps should look like. I'll admit - I'm annoyed, having just come from twitter and seeing someone say that Hanyu's beautiful knee bend on his landings shows that he has weak legs and that Chen's stiff landings show he is elegant and strong. I know should just laugh, so okay, LOL.

Anyway, back to Mao - didn't she say she wants to retire to a farm and grow her own food? Love it, hope she finds that peace.

Also, Poirier speaks Japanese? I'm impressed he's learned and is actually good at such a difficult language. So many skaters make a show of learning but never seem to make it past "arigatou gozaimasu, please put me in your ice shows."

Sincere question: What do people find wachable/ amusing in Shun Sato ?

Skating: he has neither remarkable SS nor spectacular spins, jumps ... having problematic edge on both Flip and Lutz and has been skating programs that are boring to death.

Shoma-esque body, doesn't have favoured boyish look

Actually, I find Kao Miura, Yuma Kagiyama watchable than him.

R552 I meant SoCal. But as for ice skating it feels that way at least for the USA.

R559 I guess I'm one of the rare people who find heat, smog, perfectly manicured manufactured suburbs, cookie-cut shopping center replicas among endless highways, sterile highrises, and angry drivers unpleasant. Sorry that you take it so personally, I'm sure many others share your love. It's just not everyone's cup of tea.

R575 Gotta agree. I don't get the hype either. Their body types might be similar (I didn't actually look closely so I don't know) but Shoma was always way more cute and high level than his peers growing up. Maybe it's another JSF push thing?

R574 That reminds me of Mao's goal of "finding love" after retirement. I wouldn't be surprised if she also had bad taste in men though, she seems pretty naive when it comes to that stuff. Didn't someone say that she used to have a raging crush on Dai?

[quote]Maybe it's another JSF push thing?

LOL, that is not a thing with Shun Sato. I think people are complaining because he got no support and no assignments last season, despite being the only skater other than Shoma to land a quad at nats. I think he's getting funding this coming season so things might change for him. Sure, he looks rough, but it's not like he's been given the resources or the opportunities to improve despite his jumping potential.

[quote]That reminds me of Mao's goal of "finding love" after retirement. I wouldn't be surprised if she also had bad taste in men though, she seems pretty naive when it comes to that stuff.

Is she wealthier than that Thai chick Evan just got engaged to? It's not too late for him to call it off...

Never heard of this Shun Sato...ok, maybe I heard of him. Is it the one who got atrocious PCS at Japanese Nats and some people were complaining? Or is that another one?

Anyway, I hope to see him next season at Skate Sofia with Basar Oktar and San.

Shun sato is getting attention from viewers because he is doing successful quads and he’s only 15 years old so room to grow in other areas. He’s also getting limited JSF support. He is open about Hanyu being his idol and both are from Sendai. So just like JSF doesn’t seem to support hanyu like he deserves, shun seems to be ignored by them as well- at least up to now.

R578 Mao has had to deal with whores and hangers-on all her life. I think she'll know to steer clear of this one.

Ah, ok. I obviously know nothing about this Shu guy, my apologies to anyone I might have offended. I'm shallow and only care about pretty faces.

So basically the hype is from being Japanese, having Hanyu as role model and getting no support from JSF. Because I don't see anything in his skating more watchable than Gogolev or Russian juniors who have been jumping quads and 3As so far.

Out of all Japanese juniors, shun has a working quad. Yes all the juniors and Chen are boring as hell, but is you want to win, you need quads. Who cares about boring , Chen showed if you have quads, you’ll get the PCS score to win.

R583 Why are you comparing him to well-supported skaters from other countries who have access to top coaches, choreographers and training facilities? Did you see a man on the podium at jnats (other than Shoma) with a stable quad? The point is, the things he's missing can be developed with the right packaging, teachers and opportunities to skate internationally. Also, to repeat, he's only 15. I like Miura more myself because of the way his jumps look, but JSF needs to give Sato some attention.

I found his free skate from Nationals this past December. I think he looks ok - better than Takeshi Honda anyway. Oda was no stunner either.

Shun is so fast! And a bit wild. His 4T-2T looked good to me. Hope he does well. I poked around and couldn't find how old he is ?? He was 12th at Nationals but I believe 2nd at Junior Nationals (Japan's, not Worlds)

From some lady's blog - I'll try to link it in my next post - she covers three up-and-comers in Japan:

fun fact: Yuzuru gave Shun a necklace with a bow and an arrow; Shun considers it a good luck charm.

Blog w/videos about Sato, Miura and Kagiyama (from October 2018)

Sorry I didn't remember - R580 said he was 15.

R586 ISU bio says his dob is 6/2/2004

Thanks R89 (and those above who stated his age.) So he just turned 15 in February. He's definitely got time - already has the 4T.

He looks sturdy - maybe he'll stay healthy. Japan needs to be developing the next gen. Yuzu's and Shoma's ankles are already faltering yikes.

This all quads-and-nothing-else strategy only works for skaters from the big three feds, the Chen the zhou the gogolev and whoever manages to stay on his feet from Rus would get the generous pcs, but everyone else would have to work their butts off to build up their PCS just like the old days.

Hanyu should open a jewelry boutique once he retires. Instant cash right there.

Miyahara is in Toronto with Yuka Sato. Could be just a coincidence.

Today is the last day of Golden Week, so we might get an update for FaOI tomorrow. FaOI packaged deals for all locations except for Toyama (I think) were sold in China, so it could be a problem if Hanyu doesn't show.

Shun Sato is from the same rink as Hanyu. He moved to Saitama last year to train at Saitama Ice Arena which replaced the Kawagoe Skate Center where he trained while his home and Ice Rink Sendai were being repaired after the earthquake.

It was covered in the threads during nationals and junior worlds, but while most men received PCS boosts at nationals even with disaster skates, Sato’s PCS mysteriously went down 8+ despite posting the highest TES for the FS after Uno. At junior nationals, he placed second, but was only 0.49 below Tsuboi (who trains in Toyota/Nagoya), which seemed like a choice. Since he placed first, Tsuboi, who had no quad and hadn’t competed internationally all season except for the Asian Open, was sent to junior worlds where he bombed and finished 14th. Sato also didn’t receive any JGP assignments, so he’s an example of regional politics and favoritism in the JSF.

But I wouldn’t say he’s that hyped in Japan. I think some people just discovered him because he won the Sainichi Cup the other day and performed his new FS to Romeo and Juliet that has a 4S, two 4T, and two 3A.

R574 He studied Japanese for his linguistics degree, but he graduated a while ago, so maybe all of that Terrace House watching is helping him maintain his skills.

Orser looks skinnier and tipsy. Stress?

Someone stab me in the eyeballs, but has Miyahara outgrown her teenage awkwardness and become kind of cute?

R593 wtf Orser. Where did the weight go

R591 you're right. Boyang is a good example. Getting lower skating skill scores than Zhou, JFC.

R594 I don't think I will ever consider her pretty. Something about the angle and bushiness of her eyebrows. But she's not ugly or anything. Certain has more memorable features than Marin for me personally.

R595 maybe Zhenya sold him on some of her diet drinks!!

Repeating the link to the next thread:

R593 Given that the harness guy implied Hanyu was practicing quads, I think he's gonna show up for Faoi. I still hope he doesn't jump.

We should close this thread with some ass 🍑

R599 ok