Ms Cyatt

Very sad news to report Denis Ten the 2014 Olympic bronze medalist and the 2013 World silver medalist and 2015 World bronze medalist has died today. He was only 25 years old. He was stabbed while trying to stop two men from stealing his car mirrors. When I saw read this, this morning I was hoping it wasn't true. Many skaters have taken to social media to pay their respects.

canflam

Sad news. I don't follow this sport though & didn't get to see him perform. Wish his family well.

Melis

Yeah, I feel that Charlie and Merle really wanted to get gold after their silver, so they worked extra hard to achieve it. They earned it. Some need to get an attitude like Javi's.

Wow, that's a lot of information about Javi that I didn't know. That's an amazing story. They really transformed Javi.

That does sound complicated. I can see why they want Jin to win. The Chinese are very dedicated and I know they'll want their athletes to perform well on homeland. They'll have to work something out because Brian isn't going to China.

That's true about Adam and Ashley, but didn't they have a year of consistency and solid performances? We haven't seen that from Gracie, so unless she starts to shine, I doubt they'd put her on a team to go to Worlds or Olympics.

That is very sad news about the death. I don't remember much about his skating, but that is just awful.

Ms Cyatt

Yes they did. They worked really hard after getting silver and they definitely deserved to win gold. Yes they really do so few people at the Olympics will even get a medal so getting any medal is something to be proud of.

Yes there was a lot about Javi I didn't know. It definitely was a great story. Coming from Spain where figure skating isn't even close to being a big sport and becoming an Olympic medalist and a World Champion is a huge accomplishment. Yes they really did help transform him and help him reach his full potential. Javi recently gave an interview where he mentioned several things. He said he has no regrets about his career and how much winning bronze at the Olympics meant to him. He also said he plans on during a few competitions this season at least two one in Japan and Europeans and then retiring after that. He plans on becoming a coach after that. They also asked him about his relationship with Brian. He mentioned how other people when they came to Toronto they have their parents with them and that he didn't. And how Brian looked out for him, basically becoming a father to him, even bringing him medicine when he was sick. So if Javi becomes a coach he really learned from the best.

Yes the situation is a bit complicated the CSA pays all the bills for their figure skaters which includes ice time, coaches fees and travelling to name a few. I've heard skating fees can be in the mid five figures at least. So they could pull your funding if they wanted to. Surprisingly China has never had a male figure skater win an Olympic medal, Jin was the first male Chinese skater to win a medal at Worlds so there will be massive pressure on Jin to be on the podium at the next Olympics. Currently I would put Jin behind Yuzu, Nathan and Shoma so they will put even more pressure on Jin to go and train with Brian.

Yes both Ashley and Adam had consist performances leading into the Olympics. I know last year Adam won a silver medal at skate America and made it to the Grand Prix final. The US federation looks at your body of work when considering who makes the Olympic team. If Jason had performed better at nationals they probably would have put him on the team. With Gracie I'm sure if she performs well and finishes first or second at nationals they'll probably send her to Worlds. The US only has two ladies spots and while Bradie was consistent last season who knows how she'll perform this season and Karen is some what of a mess. Last time I heard she was looking for a coach.

When I saw someone say Denis was dead I thought it was a mistake, then when I found out it was true I thought he died in a car accident. When I heard how he died I was shocked and devastated. He was so young and it was such a senseless thing that happened to him. I heard that they caught the people who did it. The entire figure skating community is heartbroken over his death; many skaters, former skaters, coaches and commentators took to social media to pay their respects. I know that Denis had some injuries the last few years and he hasn't skated his past the past few seasons. Just a few years ago he had the highest combined score of the season. He was of Korean descent so being at the Olympics last season meant so much to him. After being injured last season he was planning on coming back next season and skating well. This whole thing is just so sad.

NikNak

Extremely sad news.

Ms Cyatt

It really was. It's been 2 weeks and I still can't believe it. I know his family was from South Korea so competing at the Olympics meant so much to him. I wasn't watching skating as much when he was at his best but lately I've been watching some of his old skates on youtube.

Melis

I agree. Winning any medal is achievement.

Aww. I hope that Javi will be able to coach skaters from his country and help them find success that he did. It sounds like Brian was very good to him. I'm sure that Javi will be a great mentor to other future skaters.

Wow, that's a lot! I sure hope Jin can do well. I can't imagine the pressure he'll feel. I would not want the weight of my whole country on me.

It makes sense to look at all their work and not just one performance. We'll see if Gracie can pull it off. I had hopes for Karen at one point, but she has been so inconsistent. I don't count on her to be a contender for anything.

What a terrible thing to happen to him. I am glad that the skating community is so supportive and kind.

Ms Cyatt

I totally agree. Winning any medal is a huge accomplishment. Many skaters don't even go to the Olympics thinking they can win a medal. Many of the skaters at the Olympics were just hoping to have that clean skate that could be their Olympic moment.

Also Sui and Han the Olympic silver medalists from China are sitting out the Grand Prix. This isn't totally a surprise seeing that Sui's ankle is injured. I wonder if we'll see them later in the season.

There is a longer version of Javi's interview that I need to watch where he talks about Yuzu. I thought it was strange because basicially any time Javi is interviewed they always ask him about Yuzu. I saw an interview Javi did in Japan in June where they talked about how excited Yuzu was to see him since he hadn't seen him since the Olympics. But yes I'm sure Javi will be a great mentor to young skaters. He has been having a camp for kids the past few years and he seemed to be good with the kids. Yes Brian was very good to Javi which is why I know Brian says he doesn't have a favorite amongst his students he'll always have a soft spot for Javi.

Yes that is a lot of pressure on Jin. Jin has great technical content but he really needs to improve his PCS. At the Olympics he was almost one point behind Javi in every category in PCS which leads to a 10 point swing in in PCS which was the difference between their final scores. With someone like Yuzu who has the technical content and extremely high PCS Jin will have a very tough time beating him unless he works on skating skills. So whether or not Jin comes to Toronto he still has a lot to work on to content for the top spot of the podium

Yes it definitely makes sense to take in a skater's body of work when deciding who should go to the Olympics. I mean no matter what Nathan did at Nationals he was going to the Olympics. Having a bad performance at Nationals shouldn't keep someone who has been performing consistently the past few seasons from going to the Olympics. Yes we'll see how Gracie does this season I hope she is pleased with how her comeback and doesn't put too much pressure on herself because that was her problem in the past. I had high hopes for Karen was well. She was great when she won US Nationals in 2017 and she had a great showing at Worlds finishing in 4th and helping the US get 3 spots for the Olympics after Ashley didn't do great. I've heard Karen has problems with her skater last season, also she had some seperation anxiety about her mom last season and she had several problems with chroegraphy last season. Last I heard she was looking for a coach and looking to attend college. Speaking of US ladies, Alysa Liu at 12 years old has become the youngest female skater to land a triple axel at a competion. Alysa is too young by about a month to compete on the Junior Grand Prix circuit this year but she is a young skater that I have a feeling we'll be hearing things about leading up to the next Olympics. With several young Russian junior skaters landing quads already it will be interesting to see how Alysa wil compete with them.

Yes Denis' death was just awful I still can't believe what happened to him. The figure skating community really isn't that big, everyone pretty much knows each other. They've all been competing against each other for years so they've known Denis for years. Every person associated when skating who has social media account paid tribute to Denis. After a poor season Denis was planning on competing this season. I wonder if they'll have a special tribute to him at the first big competion this season.

Ms Cyatt

Update: So Boyang Jin won't be coming to Canada to train with Brian.

Instead Brian and Tracy have signed a contract to people China get ready for the Olympics. They'll be helping coaches and looking for Chinese skaters to compete. That's on top of coaching and training the skaters at the TCC.

Also with the new scoring system all the previous records have been reset. It will be interesting what Yuzu's fans will do if Nathan or Shoma have a record before Yuzu.

Melis

I feel badly. I haven't kept up. I caught some of the Grand Prix. Sad that Nathan isn't doing well. I didn't see him skate, though.

Sounds like Brian has his plate full.

I wish Gracie some luck, but I've never been a fan of her skating. I like Karen, but I don't have much hope for USA skating.

Ms Cyatt

We're have way through the Grand Prix season. So far Skate America, Skate Canada and the Grand prix of Finland have taken place. NHK trophy is this weekend.

Skate America was the first Grand prix. Nathan won Skate America by a almost 40 points over Michal Brezina. Satoko Miyahara finished first in the ladies event while Bradie Tennell finished in 4th. Tarasova & Morozov won the pairs event while Hubbell and Donohue won the ice dancing event.

Skate Canada was the second Gran Prix. Shoma Uno won the men's event, Keegan Messing came in second. Elizaveta Tuktamysheva had a great showing and won the event, Evgenia had a disastrous short program with a fall making her miss her combo but after a prep talk from Brian she rebounded by winning the free skate and going form 7th to 3rd. Cipres and James had won of the best skates of their career and won the pairs event. While Hubbell and Donohue won the ice dancing event.

Grand Prix of Finland was last weekend. The men's event was a quite stacked field. Yuzuru Hanyu won the men's event by over 40 points beating Michel Brezina. Mikhali Kolyoda and Boyang Jin both had rough and finished 4th and 5th. Alina Zagitova won the women's event, she had a mistake in the short program. Zabbiaako & Enbert won the pairs event while Stepanova & Bukin won the ice dancing event.

With us being halfway through the Grand Prix some things are starting to shake out. On the men's side the Grand Prix final seems like it's shaping up to be a a showdown between Yuzu and Nathan maybe Shoma. Currently I would give give the edge to Yuzu, he has the higest short, long and total score for the season.

The new scores in figure skating has really effected the men. With the new GOE schedule some of the men have scaled back on the quads. Some of the men who last season would attempt quads like Kolyoda and Jin are being hurt by attempting quads and falling. Both of them will have a hard time competing if they don't start skating better.

Michel Brezina has been a huge surprise this season and now he has officially qualified for the Grand Prix final. Hubbell and Donohue have also qualified for the Final. I'd expect the women's final to be all Russian and Japanese.

Melis

That's great to hear.

Nice to hear about everyone else. Glad to hear some are doing better.

What is the new GOE schedule? Maybe you already explained, and I forgot.

NikNak

Ms Cyatt

GOE stands for grade of excution. Basicially it's a amount of points based on how well a skate performs each element. The previous system went from plus 3 to minus 3 but now it's plus 5 to minus 5. Now attempting a quad will cost you more points if you don't land it. Also the judges are calling under rotations and edge calls more.

Melis

It sounds like it's getting tougher.