2017-2018 Canadian Road to the Olympics

Osmond4gold · Sep 8, 2017

A tough skate for Alison today, however overall she finished a respectable 9th. There is no denying her qualities and skating skills. At 14 to be in a final flight at her first ever GP competition, is AMAZING!!! Joey Russell, that old sod from Labrador City, designed 2 excellent programs. We will def. be seeing much more from this young lady both in singles and pairs with partner, Zack Daleman.

Skater Boy · Sep 11, 2017

I wonder how Kaetlyn Osmond's training is going. Her rink is apparently closed until December I believe so she has to train somewhere else. It can be unsettling especially in an olympic y ear though she did skate elsewhere before besides the mall.

4everchan · Sep 11, 2017

Skater Boy said:
I wonder how Kaetlyn Osmond's training is going. Her rink is apparently closed until December I believe so she has to train somewhere else. It can be unsettling especially in an olympic y ear though she did skate elsewhere before besides the mall.

well... she was just at HPC and people there mentioned at one point that she and Alaine skated clean SPs... I didn't hear much else.

but you will find out very soon because she will be skating in 10 days at ACI... I am 100% that training at a different rink is NO BIG DEAL... like seriously

hohoho · Sep 11, 2017

I believe Ice Palace FSC is based in West Edmonton Mall but they use other rinks in Edmonton. They are currently using Terwilliger Rec Center which they use about 50% of the time. Should not be a big deal other than not a lot of observers

mrrice · Sep 11, 2017

Skater Boy said:
I wonder how Kaetlyn Osmond's training is going. Her rink is apparently closed until December I believe so she has to train somewhere else. It can be unsettling especially in an olympic y ear though she did skate elsewhere before besides the mall.

Can't Kaetlyn go back the W.E. Mall and skate there if she needs a place to train?

hohoho · Sep 11, 2017

West Edmonton Mall rink is being refurbished. Won't be available until sometime in December

mrrice · Sep 11, 2017

hohoho said:
West Edmonton Mall rink is being refurbished. Won't be available until sometime in December

Ohhhhh...... :drama:

Well, Kaetlyn is such a big Star in Canada, I would imagine that ANY rink in Canada would open their doors just for her. Can't she go to Calgary and train there? It's not that far is it?

hohoho · Sep 11, 2017

Terwilliger Rec Center is a good training ground. Skate Canada Challenge event was held there a few years ago. Calgary is about a 3 hour drive from Edmonton

mrrice · Sep 11, 2017

hohoho said:
Terwilliger Rec Center is a good training ground. Skate Canada Challenge event was held there a few years ago. Calgary is about a 3 hour drive from Edmonton

That's what I thought.....We made the drive when I was touring and the drive wasn't too bad. Especially when we stopped in Banff.....

Mango · Sep 12, 2017

Canadian entries for JGP Egna Neumarkt 2017
Alison Schumacher
Eric Liu
Natalie D'Alessandro / Bruce Waddell
Ellie Fisher / Simon-Pierre Malette-Paquette

So with these final assignments a few things are confirmed.
Only the 3 ladies on the junior podium last season will be on the JGP this season.
Eric Liu bumps out Iliya Kovler for a JGP spot.
Fabbri/Pietrantonio are not getting a second assignment
McCue/Clemente are not getting any assignments
Neither are Gingrich/Brown

Got to be rough for M/C as they were novice silver medallists and get nothing but the novice champions are getting 2. I will admit D/W are something special and deserve 2. There need to be some other assignments for ice dancers who don't end up going to the JGP. M/C and Kasatkin/Circelli knew they weren't getting spots and are signed up for Octoberfest. We'll have to see how well those results from CQE hold up for F/M-P.

Osmond4gold · Sep 12, 2017

Time travel as recorded in Google Map between Sherwood Park and West Edmonton Mall, 30 minutes. Time travel from Sherwood Park to the TRC, 27 mins, or ...a none issue.

SnowWhite · Sep 12, 2017

SnowWhite said:
For the Junior Men, of the Next Gen men (not including Stephen), three have at least one JGP assignment. There are also three junior men listed for Autumn Classic, including one who is not on the Next Gen list:

- Joseph Phan (JGP Brisbane, Croatia)
- Conrad Orzel (JGP Austria, Poland)
- Corey Circelli (JGP Latvia)
- Ilia Kovler (Sub, Autumn Classic Jr.)
- Eric Liu (Sub, Autumn Classic Jr.)
- Beresford Louise Clements (Autumn Classic Jr.) *
- Samuel Turcotte (Sub)

With Conrad and Joseph getting two JGP spots and Corey getting one, that leaves one more spot. I'd guess that would go to one of the guys who've been on the substitute lists (Eric, Ilia, Samuel). Since Ilia and Eric have Autumn Classic, but Samuel doesn't have anything yet, I wonder if that indicates they're planning on giving him the last JGP spot. On the other hand, I just looked up the NSS rankings for junior men, and Samuel is only 9th, so maybe not. The order is Joseph, Eric, Conrad, Corey, Ilia, Beresford Clements, Gabriel St-Jean, Matthew Markell, then Samuel. Based on that, I'd say Eric Liu would be the most likely for the final JGP spot, but if Ilia looks better at Autumn Classic it could be him.

And that's what happened. I think it's a good decision. He had a strong summer.

SnowWhite said:
For junior dance, the strategy seems to be to get as many teams as possible out there. All the Next Gen teams have at least one (Lajoie/Lagha and Stairs/Royer have two), and three other teams also have an assignment, with two JGP spots left:

- Marjorie Lajoie / Zachary Lagha (JGP Brisbane, Croatia)
- Ashlynne Stairs/Lee Royer (JGP Austria, Belarus)
- Natalie D’Alessandro / Bruce Waddell (JGP Brisbane)
- Irina Galiyanova/Tommy Tang (JGP Austria)
- Alicia Fabbri / Claudio Pietrantonio (JGP Latvia)
- Valerie Taillefer / Jason Chan (JGP Latvia) *
- Nina Mizuki / Veniamins Volskis (JGP Belarus)
- Ellie Fisher / Simon-Pierre Malette-Paque (JGP Croatia) *
- Seungyun (Olivia) Han / Grayson Lochhead (JGP Poland)
- Olivia McIsaac / Elliott Graham (JGP Poland) *

The three non Next Gen teams all did well on the summer series. I'm not sure if the last two spots will go to other teams, or the two who perform the best out of the teams with one currently. I wouldn't mind seeing Natalie and Bruce again. Keelee Gingrich / Parker Brown and Jade McCue / Gabriel Clemente are the higher teams on the NSS ranking without an assignment.

I'm happy that they're giving Natalie and Bruce another assignment. As Mango said, they should have two spots. And Skate Canada did give a lot of different teams JGP experience this season. I'm a bit surprised by Ellie and Simon-Pierre getting a second spot. Perhaps it's a placeholder atm.

I also agree with giving Alison a second assignment.

4everchan · Sep 12, 2017

I am disappointed that Fabbri and Pietrantonio are not getting a second spot... I felt they were very good but just lacked experience competing.... and well, that way, they are not getting what they need. I love D'Allessandro et Waddell though but yeah... they have more time on their hands.

SnowWhite · Sep 12, 2017

4everchan said:
I am disappointed that Fabbri and Pietrantonio are not getting a second spot... I felt they were very good but just lacked experience competing.... and well, that way, they are not getting what they need. I love D'Allessandro et Waddell though but yeah... they have more time on their hands.

Maybe they could switch them out for F/M-P's second spot depending on how Ellie and Simon-Pierre's first event goes

blue eyed birds · Sep 12, 2017

Odds are these entries had to be submitted at least awhile ago, and since it's seemed like they had a set pool of teams they chose to draw from, #7 is the first one where both teams would be getting second assignments -- I don't understand the logic behind Ellie and Simon-Pierre getting one of the placeholder spots (based on their summer series average, I guess), but since they're not yet published on the Skate Canada website, probably nothing is official yet. Hopefully Fabbri/Pietrantonio can go; they've got the best JGP scores behind Lajoie/Lagha and Stairs/Royer. (The other possibility is that because this is their last year of junior eligibility, they're not going to be prioritized over those who will be on the stage longer -- I hope that's not it.)

Mango · Sep 13, 2017

An update: Fabbri/Pietrantonio posted that they've been assigned to the JGP in Italy. I am assuming they will take the spot that F/M-P held.

A counter to the point about skaters with more time to develop = shouldn't be prioritized for an assignment: If you don't assign younger skaters then you're left with inexperienced teams and skaters who have to build their rep while gaining experience and trying to swim as all the seasoned skaters age out and either retire, split up, or struggle to break through against vets at the senior level. That results in fewer spots on the JGP and at Junior Worlds. It becomes a tough cycle to break. We're already going through it in junior ladies.

4everchan · Sep 13, 2017

Mango said:
An update: Fabbri/Pietrantonio posted that they've been assigned to the JGP in Italy. I am assuming they will take the spot that F/M-P held.

A counter to the point about skaters with more time to develop = shouldn't be prioritized for an assignment: If you don't assign younger skaters then you're left with inexperienced teams and skaters who have to build their rep while gaining experience and trying to swim as all the seasoned skaters age out and either retire, split up, or struggle to break through against vets at the senior level. That results in fewer spots on the JGP and at Junior Worlds. It becomes a tough cycle to break. We're already going through it in junior ladies.

F/P needed that spot... they do need experience... they are talented. I think they can transition well to seniors... So, I agree here... it's nice to give very young couples a lot of experience in the JGP but it should remain merit based.... F/P have higher scores than other younger teams and they shouldn't be denied their last chances of competing as juniors....

Mango · Sep 13, 2017

4everchan said:
F/P needed that spot... they do need experience... they are talented. I think they can transition well to seniors... So, I agree here... it's nice to give very young couples a lot of experience in the JGP but it should remain merit based.... F/P have higher scores than other younger teams and they shouldn't be denied their last chances of competing as juniors....

I'm all for a 2nd assignment for F/P. Which is why I was initially surprised they weren't named. The point I raised was in general, especially for other disciplines. F/P have no choice but to go senior or split next season so one more competition can't hurt. Especially since Stairs/Royer can't seem to do well internationally despite being junior team #2 domestically.

If anyone missed it: The Canadian troops stationed in Latvia came out to cheer for our skaters in Riga. According to a post on another site Trennt's sister was there. https://www.instagram.com/p/BYzEOSZBI8T/
Very nice of them to cheer for the Canadian skaters.

Osmond4gold · Sep 13, 2017

Thanks Mango. I was wondering why there were sooo many cheers for Canadian skaters at this competition. Well done Canadian Troops!

blue eyed birds · Sep 13, 2017

Mango said:
An update: Fabbri/Pietrantonio posted that they've been assigned to the JGP in Italy. I am assuming they will take the spot that F/M-P held.

A counter to the point about skaters with more time to develop = shouldn't be prioritized for an assignment: If you don't assign younger skaters then you're left with inexperienced teams and skaters who have to build their rep while gaining experience and trying to swim as all the seasoned skaters age out and either retire, split up, or struggle to break through against vets at the senior level. That results in fewer spots on the JGP and at Junior Worlds. It becomes a tough cycle to break. We're already going through it in junior ladies.

I think I phrased the above poorly -- I didn't mean "older skaters should be prioritized" but that it could be unfair to deliberately bypass an older, successful team solely to support one with more junior eligibility even when the latter has yet to post results. Skate Canada ran into a difficult logjam just a few years ago when the top two junior medalists in dance -- Delmaestro/Lum and Collins/Firus, both of whom were about to age out -- were skipped for Junior Worlds because the top two junior couples overall -- Edwards/Pang and Bent/Mackeen -- had skated senior nationally. Those two teams then achieved the goal of temporarily regaining a third spot for Jr Worlds, but neither couple competed together again after that (Edwards' injury and the team's later split/retirement; Bent/Mackeen's split and his retirement). So Delmaestro/Lum and Collins/Firus were now the top young seniors, and were fortunate enough to pick up some Challenger assignments -- but both teams, despite a lot of raw talent, unfortunately had somewhat limited international experience and exposure, having paired up late in junior eligibility. You can understand SC's reasoning for sending to Jr Worlds the teams they did, and it paid off for the 2016 Jr Worlds team, but it's an example of the delicate nature of things for late bloomers; you miss out on the early years that build you up within the system and that can lead to early JGP assignments, and then you're thrust into senior without much of a reputation.

Anyway, since F/P were rewarded after all (and aren't entirely an example of the above phenomenon, anyway, given her youth), it's a moot point in this particular case!

2017-2018 Canadian Road to the Olympics

Osmond4gold

Skater Boy

4everchan

hohoho

mrrice

hohoho

mrrice

hohoho

mrrice

Mango

Royal Chinet 👑🍽️

Osmond4gold

SnowWhite

4everchan

SnowWhite

blue eyed birds

Mango

Royal Chinet 👑🍽️

4everchan

Mango

Royal Chinet 👑🍽️

Osmond4gold

blue eyed birds

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