Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club

4everchan said:

you need to read better than that Tracy got Yuzu to sign the card.. her daughter (does she have any children, i have no clue) is not at hospital...

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Tracy has children (three of them), and her daughter was in the hospital. She's an awesome mom so got Zu to sign that.
Her daughter rides horses and competes so a wild guess by the head stitches is that she probably fell. Knock on wood, good to see she's ok.

fair enough ; my mistake

so some fan is reporting that Tracy's daughter bla bla.. i should have clicked on the picture while using my phone... didn't see the full post

MEA CULPA

ETA this is the comments...

18 minutes ago
Replying to @Leelona

Ilona, with all due respect, can you please delete this tweet? This screenshot comes from a private account and shouldn't have been shared. Do it out of respect for all parties involved. Thank you for understanding.

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I think this is an important thing that was raised before in this thread...privacy

Danibellerika said:

That's a what, not a who But yes, dogs and cats...totally not their jam.


In other news, does anyone know what happened to Tracy's daughter? She was in the hospital and got 7 stitches in her head.

https://twitter.com/Leelona/status/1024660084989648896?s=19 - That was kind of Yuzu.

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This is so adorable omg :sad4:

4everchan said:

you are misunderstanding my post :

I have no issue with Yuzu focusing on his skating and studying, and not taking time to visit and goof around. It is working for him = look at his results.

I was saying that mr rice, the user before me, was using Yuzuru as an example of an athlete going to Canada and not speaking any of its languages nor visiting etc... and always mentioning his home country in interviews.

Well, Yuzuru is a bad example because he doesn't represent the majority of athletes training abroad... he is unique in his identity...

I gave Javier as an example because it's very contrasting and is more in line with what athletes do in other countries, the same as Patrick developing friendships with skaters in Detroit when he was training in Canton and so on...

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And when he trained for long before that at DSC in Bloomfield Hills.

ETA: removing the link as I see there's been information that the pic was private.

Anyway, though I am quite sure Mango was not meaning to offend, I find it's best to not label someone as a hikikomori (or casually diagnose someone with a PD) without knowing precisely what the term means, and even then being cautious in its application, like a good psychological professional would be. Yuzuru is not skipping school and staying home, refusing social interactions for 6 months+. He wouldn't be skating successfully if he was suffering from this disorder; he'd be home in Sendai, withdrawn from even his family.

As I said on this thread some time ago, plenty of Torontonians stick to their own neighbourhoods where they live and work and lord knows I haven't visited tourist sites until relatives want to go out and see something. I'm also not someone who goes out and socializes much and when I do I am very happy to return to my own hermitage. And I don't have to worry about paparazzi and fans following me to reinforce in my head why work and home are happier spaces. Note, I know Toronto is far less of a problem when it comes to paparazzi and aggressive* fans, but you can't discount how having that be a problem in one place can then shape his habits elsewhere. No one should be surprised that Yuzuru has decided to keep his life mostly private and quiet outside of his skating and charitable work in Japan. Apart from that, solitary pursuits like reading, gaming, and listening to music are fun, just like sociable ones like going out to games, parties, concerts, shows, and clubs are. All are valid forms of recreation; some will prefer one thing over another and that's ok! Javi, Jason, and Evgenia are not shallow flakes because they love to hang out with people; Yuzuru is not an aloof and arrogant loner because he is focused on quieter and more solitary forms of leisure. They all work incredibly hard and deserve to unwind in any way they see fit, provided they are not harming someone.

* = any fandom has unpleasant fans, believe me, and the larger the fandom, the more of that negative minority there will be. This is not aimed at any one group because I've seen bad behaviour from fans in pretty much every fandom of more than a few people. If I haven't seen bad behaviour, it's because I don't spend much time in that fandom. Sad, but true.

On a lighter note, to demonstrate my sadness as a Torontonian, I spent time wondering whether Echo Beach was in some US city. Even though I was once or twice at Ontario Place *mumble* years ago.

Glad Jason and his friend had a blast!

I think it’s improtant to know when or when not to share. I agree if it’s a private account, you shouldn’t reshare unless you have permission from that person.

But at the same time, most things posted here are from public accounts. I don’t think anyone here is being disrespectful with skater privacy.

Everyone is different. Not everyone decompresses the same way. For some socializing is a way to unwind, for others (like myself) more solitary activities are how they relax. I am an introvert and have a very social job- at the end of the day I need alone time to really relax. Neither is right or wrong. I imagine training at that level is taxing both physically and mentally, everyone is different in what they require to manage that.

As for Yuzuru not speaking English in public, I'm not sure why it's brought up so often. He obviously speaks and understands enough English to work with English speaking coaches. Speaking in public is stressful enough- why wouldn't you want to use the language you are proficient and comfortable in? We live in a global world- it's a non issue.

I appreciate social individuals like Jason and Med as they give us a small glimpse into the life of such a high level athlete. But I get just as much from watching the performances of a master like Yuzuru.

Haleth said:

On a lighter note, to demonstrate my sadness as a Torontonian, I spent time wondering whether Echo Beach was in some US city. Even though I was once or twice at Ontario Place *mumble* years ago.

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In researching this post I found out that the flip side to Echo Beach is Teddy the Dink.

Mathman said:

In researching this post I found out that the flip side to Echo Beach is Teddy the Dink.

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And now you've made me think of Martha and the Muffins.

I also want muffins. Sigh.

Yatagarasu said:

And now you've made me think of Martha and the Muffins.

I also want muffins. Sigh.

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Ditto that...

And I'm wondering if, now that vocals are in, whether anyone will skate to something with the 80s Queen Street Sound...

Or, is that what's on Brian or Lee's coaches' music?

....that Gabby gets the right to switch for her own ONLY when she's delivered a clean run through.

(She grumbles, and apparently attempts to sneak her own music on.)

4everchan said:

Yuzu is a very bad example... he keeps to himself, people joke that he hasn't visited even GTA and that Zhenya has seen much more already...

Take Javier : he pretty much says Canada is like home... and he feels like the honorary Canadian skater everywhere he goes and as a matter of fact, Canadians loved having Javi on SOI...

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No, I don't think Javi is really any better an example in this debate than Yuzu actually, since - while the Canadians may think of him as honorary (and I shouldn't be surprised if Japan would be happy to too given the FIO and other shows - as does, well, pretty much everywhere) - when all is said and done, he's still clearly and utterly and deliberately a Spanish skater to his soul: even his Chaplin and Guys and Dolls have a very European feel and his prelediction for gorgeous ultra-Spanish-even-to-listen-to programs - like Yuzu's push for more Japanese music - make it even clearer where his heart and identity lies (look at prometo :luv17

So no one in their right mind would question his national identity as they (utterly unfairly imo of course) do Zhenya's, he could have gone to Alpha Centauri to train and people would still look at him and go "oh yes, Spanish".

But then plenty of other skaters go to other countries, and plenty stay home, and plenty of both don't have that 'my-country-tis-of-thee' feel about them and their skating, but their pride in and love of their homeland isn't questioned.

Yatagarasu said:

Perhaps the question can be who is stereotypically more Russian/American/etc? Skates more in line with the Russian school, or Americans who like apple pie and fireworks etc

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Jason was to me the most American-in-every-good-way skater even when I knew nothing about the sport, even when doing the very Irish Riverdance (I would LOVE to see him pick either of Morricone's Once Upon a Time soundtracks...) and I doubt that would change if he joined Javi on Alpha Centauri But other skaters (from all countries so far mentioned yes including Russian homebodies!) 'feel' more cosmopolitan and there's nothing wrong or worth casting doubt on their love of their country for that.

I have sometimes suspected through this whole drama that some of Zhenya's critics have decided Eteri is the soul of Russia and it's not so much going overseas as being the first to leave her that is unpatriotic...


Err sorry - tl;dr - one of these TCC skaters is not like the others, and it ain't Javi and it ain't fair either

nobody said Javier was no longer Spanish for enjoying his time in Canada

anyways... Toronto is a cosmopolitan city, Canada in itself a welcoming country built on immigration. All I was asking is that grammatically speaking, someone cannot be less or more Russian... just like a woman cannot be less or more pregnant...

el henry, well, her spouse, seems to agree with that...

the yuzu mention had to do with a user not understanding the topic.. and quoting him as someone who lives secluded... which has nothing to do with my post

sorry for explaining it again but all I am saying is that nobody needs to worry about Zhenya or Jason, we won't make them Canadians... unless they are willing to pay some pretty heavy taxes. (this is humour, just in case you didn't get that)

Here is a suggestion : this thread is open to get very wide topics of all sorts... there are many skaters at TCC... there are many different events going on. I could see why it was first open as a welcome to Zhenya and Jason thread. However, right now, it becomes difficult to read because some of us thought it would be good to talk about Minto, then others are debating whether or not they should go to a concert because Jason just did...

Zhenya and Jason seem to be training... Boyang is most likely not coming. Can we agree that this thread has seen its full evolution : the rest, if we want to talk about TCC skaters, there are fan fests, there are competition threads for those at Minto and other events... there is also a very active Canadian skating threads for those interested in the Canadians training at TCC...

but right now, maybe it's just me, but I feel that we are going in several directions at once and it makes it difficult for some of us to follow, especially if visiting after a few days...

anyways, just my two cents... i feel that some important information about TCC skaters is diluted and since it's the name of the thread.. well... it's confusing.

Mango said:

As for Javier his performance to John McDermott's cover of "Danny Boy" was enough said to those who understand.

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Or to those who love fanfics.

I have only one TCC story.
My relatives used to live very close to the club, and I visited them a few years back.
I had mentioned my favorite skater trains at the Toronto Cricket Club as we were driving close and the driver got interested and wanted to visit and I went into a total panic. "NO, DON'T DO IT!" "THEY ARE A PRIVATE CLUB, Keep driving, keep driving." They all looked at me like I was a little weird. -But they are used to that.
I never even saw the outside of the building while I visited Toronto though it was only 10 minutes drive away.
I did all the normal tourist things. I looked at the squirrels. (Japan has squirrels, but they are very shy, you just don't see them out on the side walks like you do in Toronto) The rabbits and the birds.
I visited the falls, the Aquarium, and the bird sanctuary and did some light hiking and went to a farmers market and a county fair. I did not eat poutine.

Interspectator said:

I have only one TCC story.
My relatives used to live very close to the club, and I visited them a few years back.
I had mentioned my favorite skater trains at the Toronto Cricket Club as we were driving close and the driver got interested and wanted to visit and I went into a total panic. "NO, DON'T DO IT!" "THEY ARE A PRIVATE CLUB, Keep driving, keep driving." They all looked at me like I was a little weird. -But they are used to that.
I never even saw the outside of the building while I visited Toronto though it was only 10 minutes drive away.
I did all the normal tourist things. I looked at the squirrels. (Japan has squirrels, but they are very shy, you just don't see them out on the side walks like you do in Toronto) The rabbits and the birds.
I visited the falls, the Aquarium, and the bird sanctuary and did some light hiking and went to a farmers market and a county fair. I did not eat poutine.

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Poutine sucks in Toronto anyways....

Interspectator said:

I have only one TCC story.
My relatives used to live very close to the club, and I visited them a few years back.
I had mentioned my favorite skater trains at the Toronto Cricket Club as we were driving close and the driver got interested and wanted to visit and I went into a total panic. "NO, DON'T DO IT!" "THEY ARE A PRIVATE CLUB, Keep driving, keep driving." They all looked at me like I was a little weird. -But they are used to that.
I never even saw the outside of the building while I visited Toronto though it was only 10 minutes drive away.
I did all the normal tourist things. I looked at the squirrels. (Japan has squirrels, but they are very shy, you just don't see them out on the side walks like you do in Toronto) The rabbits and the birds.
I visited the falls, the Aquarium, and the bird sanctuary and did some light hiking and went to a farmers market and a county fair. I did not eat poutine.

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This is a fun story. Thank you for sharing.

Everyone loves looking at squirrels in Toronto! Zhenya included. City wildlife is fun.

Mrs. P said:

This is a fun story. Thank you for sharing.

Everyone loves looking at squirrels in Toronto! Zhenya included. [emoji3] City wildlife is fun.

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I don't know...some of those black/grey squirrels are huge...

When I first had a work trip to Toronto in my 20s, I actually asked what they were...seemed more groundhogs in trees...

...the correlation with the small red ones, that are more fluffy tail than squirrel, in Western Canada just wasn't there.

TGee said:

I don't know...some of those black/grey squirrels are huge...

When I first had a work trip to Toronto in my 20s, I actually asked what they were...seemed more groundhogs in trees...

...the correlation with the small red ones, that are more fluffy tail than squirrel, in Western Canada just wasn't there.

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we call them rats with fur coats...

Mrs. P said:

This is a fun story. Thank you for sharing.

Everyone loves looking at squirrels in Toronto! Zhenya included. City wildlife is fun.

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Completely OT, but my favourite experiences of city wildlife were both in Australia. A few years ago, a potoroo (looks like a cross between a rat and a kangaroo) in the petting zoo section of Adelaide Zoo attached itself to me and kept nudging me gently. I soon worked out the critter was trying to use me to escape the enclosure! And there is a park in central Brisbane where many kinds of lizards run around freely. If it's sunny, they will often lie around on the footpath and pose for tourist photos! (Wasn't a JGP held in Brisbane recently?)