2018 Canadian Nationals Junior Men - FS | Page 3 | Golden Skate

2018 Canadian Nationals Junior Men - FS

siberia82

Addicted to Canadian men's singles skating
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 18, 2008
Country
Canada
Matt Markell significantly improved from last season when he was dealing with injury.

I couldn't believe how much he had improved in the past month. With the exception of the Lake Placid Figure Skating Championships, he never scored over 100 for the FS, and he only placed 9th at the Challenge, so it was shocking for me (in a good way) to suddenly see him earn almost 127 points. :jaw:

Matt's PCS for that skate was higher than Stephen's winning FS last year :biggrin:

Oh, I didn't notice that! :thumbsup:

Apart from the 2 falls that was not bad from Corey! He will be on the podium.

I'm so happy that he won the silver! :yes2: Relatively speaking, he's a little bit more consistent than the other guys (silver at the Challenge plus a 2nd place finish in the SP, silver here and 2nd place again in the SP).

Though both Corey and Bruce looked gassed from competing on their 4th day. I don't like to say this but I think they will have to chose one discipline sooner rather than later.

Their situation reminds me somewhat of Paul Poirier, whom I met once when he was competing as a singles skater, and he told me that Skate Canada was pressuring him heavily to quit singles and focus on ice dance. At the time, he didn't want to give up singles, but juggling two disciplines eventually became too difficult, and he ended up dropping it in the 2009-2010 season.

I still don't know how Zoe gets 61+ PCS for that FS while Corey gets only 58.92.

4everchan et al. were concerned about Stephen's PCS last year vs. Conrad's but this is even more of a problematic issue because that PCS meant Iliya lost the bronze by less than 1 point.

I wholly agree that Zoé was overscored on PCS, and that Iliya deserved the bronze. :disapp:

That is so sweet. I remember one time being at a competition and I was going no where and this coach gave me a lucky pen. I so much wanted to go to the provincials and when they announced my score I was just over the moon, shocked.

Thanks for sharing your story, that must have been such an incredible moment. :) I was only expecting a polite "thank you" from Matt after I handed over my gift, but he decided to also give me a hug. Awww!

Canada's top junior men are actually skating in senior at this competition. So I wouldn't get my knickers in knots over the future of Canadian junior men based on this podium. Best to congratulate these guys and look forward to their continued improvement.

:agree:

That is said, I was mesmerized by Matt's LP. What a gorgeous skate even though is technical content was not the highest planned. Candy skating!

I've been in love with his free skate since the beginning of the season, and it's even more magnificent and moving in person! :love: I've learned that "To Build a Home" was initially an exhibition number that Matt had skated to as a tribute to his friend and fellow skater Teslin Russell, who had died of an opioid overdose (her death was reported by CTV News Ottawa https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOeKuoyRs3s). Knowing this makes the program a bit more meaningful and emotional.
 

Mango

Royal Chinet 👑🍽️
Record Breaker
Joined
Apr 5, 2016
The one we need here to celebrate Matt's win is TGee. If she watched this she is probably very proud. No one here loves Matt more than her. Certainly none of us believed in him as much as she did...she never gave up on him even when some of us believed he'd be more suited for ice dance. I'd also love to pick her brain about dual discipline junior athletes and their results. Too bad she's missing in action.

Junior men podium photo
 

siberia82

Addicted to Canadian men's singles skating
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 18, 2008
Country
Canada
I've already made this request on the Team Canada thread, but no one there has accepted it, so just in case there might be someone here who doesn't normally read that thread, is anyone willing to create a Fan Fest for Matt and be his adopted parent? I enjoy contributing to the Fan Fests of several Canadian guys, but I'd do a terrible job maintaining it, which is why I'm hoping there might be a volunteer. :bow:


The one we need here to celebrate Matt's win is TGee. If she watched this she is probably very proud. No one here loves Matt more than her. Certainly none of us believed in him as much as she did...she never gave up on him even when some of us believed he'd be more suited for ice dance. I'd also love to pick her brain about dual discipline junior athletes and their results. Too bad she's missing in action.

Do you know why TGee hasn't been active on GS lately? She had sent to me very detailed PMs about Matt's competitive career, his struggles with injuries and a growth spurt last season, his coaches and his training, etc. a few months ago, and she has been quiet ever since.

Since she's unquestionably Matt's #1 fan, do I get to say that I'm #2? ;) I know that I'm only a recent addition to his bandwagon, but like her, I refused to give up on him as a singles skater despite his many jump troubles (and I'm pretty sure that's part of the reason why she reached out to me). Some people have also said the same thing about Roman Sadovsky, but as you know, I continued to keep his Fan Fest alive even when it went through long periods with no one else posting. Perhaps it's foolish to always cling on to the tiniest shred of hope when the situation is more or less hopeless, but I guess I prefer to being a devoted fool. :p
 

blue_ice

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 14, 2013
Just watched junior men. The podium is a disgrace. Corrupt judging. The only skater who did clean performance was Ilia Kovler and he was robbed.
:(
 

siberia82

Addicted to Canadian men's singles skating
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 18, 2008
Country
Canada
Just watched junior men. The podium is a disgrace. Corrupt judging. The only skater who did clean performance was Ilia Kovler and he was robbed.
:(

Remember that he was 11th after the SP, so that did hurt him a little, although Mango and I do agree that Iliya deserved the bronze as Zoé was overscored on PCS. I had attended the SC Challenge, and while Iliya was the junior male skater who impressed me the most at that particular competition (he was the winner, after all), Matt has, IMHO, a more mature presence on the ice, better expression, deeper edges, more beautiful lines, a bit more speed and power, etc. Even with a disappointing 9th place finish at that event, I considered Matt to be the most polished among the junior men in terms of his non-jump elements, and since his LP at Nationals was by far the best he has done this season, I don't believe the judges were corrupt for awarding him the highest PCS in that segment.

Moreover, Matt's LP TES is higher than Iliya's (64.02 vs. 60.92); the latter had two under-rotated jumps while the former had none. Matt also received Level 4s on all of his spins and step sequence, while Iliya got only one Level 4.

Do I think Iliya was robbed of the bronze medal? Absolutely yes. Do I think he was robbed of the gold medal? Absolutely not.
 
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