#skate canada 2021

[figureskatingcostumes]

Madeline Schizas's short program costume at the 2022 Olympics and 2022 Worlds.

(Sources: Danielle Earl Photography and Ester Ayerdi Photography)

[amatsuki]

thinking about going to skate canada but i can’t really justify the cost to myself

[kaleidodreams]

Updated 100 Memorable Skating Programs

Back in 2018, I created the original version of this list. (You can find the master post here.) Since 2024 marks my 30th year as an official fan of figure skating and there have been some more great programs created since the last time, I thought it was about time to update the list in honor of World Ice Skating Day. Same rules apply as last time:

Only senior competitive programs starting from the 1993-1994 season are eligible, since that's the first season I really started watching figure skating.

Each skater may only be listed once, unless a partner/discipline switch is involved.

Choice of music may also not be repeated. (Yes, there are two James Bond programs on the list, but Yuna and Wakaba use different music for the most part, so I'm letting it slide.)

I debated long and hard about whether or not I should still include programs from skaters who have proven themselves to be not so great people. I'm someone who has little difficulty separating the art from the artist, so in the end, I decided to keep them listed (although most of them got knocked down a few pegs). This list is more about the choreography than the skater anyway, although there are certainly some problematic choreographers out there, too. (Looking at you especially, Morozov!) So, just because a skater is listed doesn't mean that I'm a fan of them or that I condone their actions! I just think certain programs are still great regardless of the skaters' terrible behavior off the ice.

Choreographers are noted if known. If you know who choreographed the programs without a choreographer named, please let me know!

I've also created a handy playlist on YouTube if you don't want to click on all these links.

Ashley Wagner - Moulin Rouge (Shae-Lynn Bourne) 2016 Worlds

Jason Brown - Melancholy (Rohene Ward) 2023 Nationals

Patrick Chan - Phantom of the Opera (Lori Nichol) 2011 Canadian Nationals

Kaitlyn Weaver/Andrew Poje -Je suis malade (Pasquale Camerlengo) 2012 Worlds

Meryl Davis/Charlie White - Kajra Re/Silsila Ye Chahat Ka/Dola Re Dola (Marina Zueva, Igor Shpilband, and Anuja Rajendra) 2010 Olympics

Mao Asada - Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 (Tatiana Tarasova) 2014 Olympics

Sui/Han - Rain, In Your Black Eyes (Lori Nichol) 2019 Worlds

Marina Anissina/Gwendal Peizerat - Romeo & Juliet 1998 Olympics

Cain/LeDuc - W.E. (Pasquale Camerlengo) 2022 US Nationals

Daisuke Takahashi - Blues for Klook (Pasquale Camerlengo) 2012 Worlds

Kurt Browning - Casablanca (Sandra Bezic) 1994 Olympics

Michelle Kwan - Salome (Lori Nichol) 1996 Worlds

Alexei Yagudin - Winter (Tatiana Tarasova and Nikolai Morosov) 2002 Olympics

Jamie Sale/David Pelletier - Love Story (Lori Nichol) 2002 Olympics

Jeremy Abbott - Exogenesis (Jeremy Abbott and Yuka Sato) Nationals 2012

Oksana Grishuk/Evgeni Platov - The Feeling Begins 1997 Worlds

Yuzuru Hanyu - Seimei (Shae-Lynn Bourne) 2015 Grand Prix Final

Chock/Bates - Egyptian Snake Dance (Marie-France Dubreuil, Ginette Cournoyer, and Sam Chouinard) 2019 Grand Prix Final

Javier Fernandez - Guys and Dolls (David Wilson) 2016 Worlds

Vanessa James/Morgan Cipres - Sound of Silence (John Kerr and Silvia Fontana) 2017 Euros

Evgenia Medvedeva - Anna Karenina (Daniil Gleichengauz) 2018 Olympics

Nathan Chen - Philip Glass medley (Shae-Lynn Bourne) 2021 Worlds

Gabriella Papadakis/Guilliame Cizeron - Elegie (Saxon Fraser and Marie-France Dubreuil) 2022 Olympics

Aljona Savchenko/Bruno Massot - La terre vue du ciel (Christopher Dean) 2018 Olympics

Kevin Aymoz - Bolero (Brice Mousset and Kevin Aymoz) 2023 Skate America

Julia Lipnitskaya - Schindler’s List (Ilia Averbukh) 2014 Olympics

Elena Berezhnaya/Anton Sikharulidze - Lady Caliph 2002 Olympics

Yu-na Kim - James Bond medley (David Wilson) 2010 Olympics

Shoma Uno - Buenos Aires Hora Cero (Mihoko Higuchi) 2016 Grand Prix Final

Michal Brezina - The Way You Look Tonight (Jeffrey Buttle) 2016 Skate Canada

Shae-Lynn Bourne/Victor Kraatz - Riverdance 1998 Olympics

Adam Rippon - O/Fly On (Benji Schwimmer) 2016 Trophee de France

Jeffrey Buttle - Bells of Moscow (David Wilson) 2005 Worlds

Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier - Vincent (Carol Lane and Juris Razgulajevs) 2019 Canadian Nationals

Rudy Galindo - Swan Lake (Sharlene Franke) 1996 US Nationals

Sasha Cohen - Malaguena (Tatiana Tarasova) 2004 Worlds

Aljona Savchenko/Robin Szolkowy - Pina (Ingo Steur) 2011 Grand Prix Final

Samantha Cesario - Carmen (Inese Budevica) 2013 Trophee Eric Bompard

Tatsuki Machida - East of Eden (Phillip Mills) 2014 Worlds

Xue Shen/Hongbo Zhao - Turandot (Lea Ann Miller, Renee Roca, and Gorsha Sur) 2003 Worlds

Kaitlin Hawayek/Jean-Luc Baker - Liebestraume (Pasquale Camerlengo) 2018 Nationals

Olga Mikutina - My Nocturnal Serenade (Rostislav Sinicyn) 2023 Europeans

Lu Chen - The Last Emperor (Toller Cranston) 1995 Worlds

Giada Russo - Red Violin (Edoardo de Bernardis) 2016 Europeans

Junhwan Cha - Fate of the Clockmaker/Cloak and Dagger (Shae-Lynn Bourne) 2022 Olympics

Han Yan - La La Land (Yuka Sato and Kurt Browning) 2019 Chinese Interclub League

Wakaba Higuchi - Skyfall (Shae-Lynn Bourne) 2018 Worlds

Kazuki Tomono - Die Fledermaus (Misha Ge) 2022 Japanese Nationals

Yuma Kagiyama - Believer (Shae-Lynn Bourne) 2024 Worlds

Karen Chen - On Golden Pond (Karen Chen) 2017 Nationals

Maia Shibutani/Alex Shibutani - Coppelia (Marina Zueva and Cheryl Yeager) 2016 Nationals

Yuko Kavaguti/Alexander Smirov - Manfred Symphony (Peter Tchernyshev) 2014 Skate America

Philippe Candeloro - The Three Musketeers (Natacha Dabadie) 1998 Olympics

Alexander Abt - Songs from the Victorious City 1998 Nations Cup

Tessa Virtue/Scott Moir - Prince medley 2017 Worlds

Ekaterina Gordeeva/Sergei Grinkov - Moonlight Sonata (Marina Zueva) 1994 Olympics

Satoko Miyahara - Madama Butterfly (Tom Dickson) 2017 Japanese Nationals

Marjorie Lajoie/Zachary Lagha - The White Crow (Romain Haguenauer and Ginette Cournoyer) 2023 Four Continents

Anjelika Krylova/Oleg Ovsiannikov - Masquerade Waltz 1997 Worlds

Alena Kostornaia - The Departure, November (Daniil Gleikhengauz) 2019 Grand Prix Final

Nelli Zhiganshina/Alexander Gazsi - Two from the Grave (Ilia Averbukh) 2013 Worlds

Ksenia Stolbova/Fedor Klimov - The Man and The Shadow (Nikolai Morozov) 2015 Grand Prix Final

Stephanie Rosenthal - Rockit (Stewart and Christi Sturgeon) 2006 Nationals

Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue - Across the Sky, Caught Out In The Rain (Marie-France Dubreuil) 2018 Nationals

Mikhail Kolyada - The Nutcracker (Ilia Averbukh) 2021 Gran Premio d'Italia

Sinead Kerr/John Kerr - The Landing/Turn Around/Gravity of Love (Evgeni Platov) 2008 Worlds

Kaetlyn Osmond - Sous le ciel de Paris, Milord (Lance Vipond) 2016 Grand Prix Final

Carolina Kostner - Ave Maria (Lori Nichol) 2014 Olympics

Karina Manta/Joe Johnson - Sweet Dreams (Christopher Dean) 2019 Nationals

Gracie Gold - Firebird (Lori Nichol) 2016 Nationals

Charlene Guignard/Marco Fabbri - Atonement/Song For A Little Sparrow (Barbara Fusar-Poli and Corrado Giordani) 2022 Europeans

Keegan Messing - Singing in the Rain (Lance Vipond) 2018 Worlds

Elizabeth Punsalan/Jerod Swallow - Astor Piazolla medley (Igor Shpilband) 1998 Olympics

Rika Kihira - A Beautiful Storm (Tom Dickson) 2018 NHK Trophy

Mariah Bell - Chicago (Rohene Ward) 2016 Skate America

Brian Joubert - Rise (Evgeni Platov) 2009 Europeans

Stephane Lambiel - Poeta (Antonio Najarro) 2007 Worlds

Kaori Sakamoto - The Matrix (Benoit Richaud) 2020 NHK Trophy

Akiko Suzuki - O (Pasquale Camerlengo) 2012 NHK Trophy

Qing Pang/Jian Tong - The Impossible Dream (Shae-Lynn Bourne and David Wilson) 2010 Olympics

Takahito Kozuka - Io ci saro (Lori Nichol) 2014 Japanese National

Smart/Diaz - Mask of Zorro 2022 Europeans

Matt Savoie - Ennio Morricone medley (Tom Dickson) 2006 Nationals

Deniss Vasiljevs - Puttin’ On The Ritz (Benoit Richaud) 2016 Worlds

Caroline Green/Michael Parsons - Violin Concerto No.1 Eso Concerto, Clouds, The Mind on the Wind (Elena Novak and Alexei Kiliakov) 2022 Four Continents

Tara Lipinski - The Rainbow (Sandra Bezic) 1998 Olympics

Denis Ten - SOS d'un terrien en détresse (David Wilson) 2017 Shanghai Trophy

Valentina Marchei/Ondrej Hotarek - Tu Vuo Fa L'Americano (Massimo Scali) 2018 Europeans

Krisztina Czako - The Addams Family (Igor Bobrin) 1997 Europeans

Cheng Peng/Yang Jin - My Drag (Lori Nichol) 2016 GPF

Bradie Tennell - Mechanisms, Chronos (Benoit Richaud) 2020 4CC

Evgeny Plushenko - Tribute to Nijinsky 2004 Russian Nationals

Vanessa Gusmeroli - Rats D'Hotel 1999 Worlds

Julianne Seguin/Charlie Bilodeau - Monde Inverse (Shae-Lynn Bourne and Shae Zukiwsky) 2015 Skate America

Isabeau Levito - Dulcea Și Tandra Mea Fiară (Yulia Kuznetsova) 2022 MK John Wilson Trophy

Elizaveta Tuktamysheva - Batwannis Beek/Sandstorm (Tatiana Prokofieva) 2015 Europeans

Kana Muramoto/Daisuke Takahashi - Soran Bushi (Marina Zoueva, Ilia Tkachenko, and Koyo Yanai) 2021 NHK Trophy

Amber Glenn - This Time (Kaitlyn Weaver and Randi Strong) 2024 Lombardia Trophy

Ivan Righini - You Raise Me Up (Ivan Righini) 2016 Europeans

Anna Cappellini/Luca Lanotte - Life is Beautiful (Liudmila Vlasova) 2017 NHK Trophy

[thunder-point]

phumpeem sport au where they’re both professional figure skaters. and they both compete against each other, one represents usa while the other represents Canada as they both grew up in both countries respectively. and they’re often being compared to each other because of their ethnicity and their similarities in skills and performances.

so really, maybe the hate started there. but for a long as peem can remember, he can’t fucking stand the guy. phum always seems entirely egotistic and far up his own ass all the time. he wears smug like it’s his resting face. and peem truly can’t get away from this guy because aside from the facts that they would see each other in almost every international competitions. everyone around him always can’t seem to fucking shut up about phum, practically worships the ground he walks on when he as a matter of fact supposed to be THEIR competition. his manger would show him videos of phum’s performances just so he can fucking fan girl about how great phum to PEEM’S FUCKING FACE. and in every interview, he’s always asked about phum, what he thinks of phums skill and would he ever consider a collaboration. because phum, the fucker, said with his own mouth in an interview that he would love to collab with peem if given a chance rather than always competing against him. did he ask peem if he wants to be anywhere with 6 feet of perimeter with him ?

it also doesn’t help that everyone seems to be shipping them together. really it all started in the 2021 worlds where the camera panned to phum during one of peem’s final performance. “completely starstrucked and in an absolute awe” in the title of the video. peem calls bullshit, he thinks it’s actually a look a jealously because peem did win medals that year and phum didn’t. and ever since then, there are countless of fancam of their reactions during each other’s performances. peem isn’t gonna lie, he has watched probably all of them. no not to look at phum’s face because phum is undeniably handsome, face hand sculpted personally by god himself. no of course he’s not watching because of that. he’s watching because he wants to see phum admiring him and turning green with envy because peem is a better skater. only because of that.

then there are times when phum shows up while peem is practicing and when peem calls him out for it, he would say that he’s just waiting for his turn to use the ring and peem shouldn’t mind him. and peem is kind of dealing with a bad ankle for almost a year now and everytime he lands too hard, there’s a sharp pain but olympic is in a few days and peem just has to push through. what peem should have known is phum can see it. because if there is anyone who knows figure skating it’s phum. so he makes a comment, “if you let your body thinks before your head anytime you skate, you’re going to fuck up your body, peem.” and peem hates it. he hates that phum of all people is giving him fucking skating advices. it makes him feel inferior to phum like he’s no good compared to someone as experienced at phum. and peem never likes to admit it but phum is undeniably better than peem. even if you speak from an unbiased standpoint. he’s been skating longer than peem, practically his whole life. he’s simply far more experienced compared to peem. peem mutters for phum to shut the fuck up and stay out of his business. then phum gets on the fucking ring too and he starts skating. and suddenly, they’re not even practicing. they just skating around the ring and peem doesn’t know why but he’s smiling and he’s watching phum. and phum is watching him too. phum is always watching him. and peem doesn’t remember the last time he laughs this much on the ring. when they lay flat on the freezing ice in exhaustion, phum keeps laughing and peem can’t fucking stop looking. then out of nowhere phum says, “i can’t remember the last time i had this much fun skating. like im not just doing it because i have to. when did skating stop being this fun ?”

and it’s not meant to be deep, maybe phum is just saying it as a passing thoughts but peem thinks he gets it. because he feels it too, the way skating has always been more fun with phum. that ever competition he turns up to, he’s excited to watch phum skates, to see what he has to showcase. and none of it has ever truly fumed from jealousy if peem is being honest, it’s genuinely because peem truly thinks phum is so fucking good at what he does. phum makes peem wants to be a better skater and when phum lays there, all breathless and blissfully contented, peem thinks about telling phum so.

now i don’t know shit about figure skating and im hoping you do Cole 👉🏻👈🏻

Star *inhales exhales inhales again* jesus Star wdym you don't know about skating??? I KNOW SHIT ABOUT IT BUT YOU???/ how much do I have to pay you to write this? Sincerely? I had this ask for a while because I couldn't respond to longer asks these past two weeks. But I also hold such dear thoughts for this one because even though I really don't know almost anything about sports outside some knowledge about volley and basketball-

let's just say that i absolutely adore sport aus in every fandom I'm in. and ice skaters phumpeem????? That would be absolutely magical, Star.

First of all, correct me if I'm wrong but from your gorgeous ideas I retain that Phum is absolutely 'i admire this pretty skater so much, he's so cool, so elegant, so talented.' and maybe he even has a teeny tiny crush on him.

But Peem is in such denial that he thinks Phum is rather envious, smug and self-centered and AND i would love that. I would love to have a fic where Phum is smitten and softened with admiration and maybe just slightly shy when in Peem's presence often enough, but Peem sees it as something else, something more brash because he's in denial of things. and because of that constant comparison that made him obvious to phum's real feelings, his real way of being.

I just think soft, frost-covered vibes. snow, and silver breathes and Peem discovering Phum like he discovered his love for skating. And them becoming a team worthy of history books. And soft skating scenes and them holding each other and doing twirls in each other's arms AND MITTENS AND HOT CACAO AND-

star 🥺🥺🥺 please

[workingforitallthetime]

hi! i'm going to see michigan hockey at the outdoor game they're playing this friday, and i haven't really been tuned into them since the 2021-22 season (checked the roster and was like, well thank god jacob truscott is still here) - do you have any narratives/players that you would recommend looking out for? happy new year!

welcome back, friend! team 103 is suffering from a terminally low level of main character energy, but there are still pleasures to be found for those with eyes to see them.

the most exciting aspect of this game (for ME) is the debut of our new big boy will horcoff (#44)! we stole him from the ntdp! like literally. like, last week. our forward group is way too short so naur said "wouldn't you like to play college hockey right now instead of biding your time on the extremely mid U18 team all spring?" and horc said "yes please" and broke up with his tiny perfect boyfriend little john mooney and started college a semester early. here is a video of the two of them in happier times.

speaking of big boys, mark estapa (#94) has really come into his own this season. he'll never be a scorer, but he's a face-off king and he's gotten much better at being a giant physical pain in the ass without taking crippling penalties. he was easily the umich player all the ASU fans around me were talking about the most at the mullett arena games.

michael hage (#19), our latest first round pick from the chicago steel, is carrying this team on his back. he has settled in nicely now that naur always pairs him with his emotional support donkey, evan werner (#91). he may be a little short on main character energy, but the levels of That Dawg in him are charting extremely well.

will felicio (#4) is the new team flirt.

tommy daskas (#10) is our new off-brand nolan moyle. he usually rocks an outstanding mustache. he likes to climb trees

possibly related: we have a player nicknamed tree. he is hunter hady (#3). he's stupid tall but now we have another 6'4 player in horc. they should fight and/or kiss about it.

expect OSU transfer tyler duke (#5) to scrap it out with his old teammates.

this season is really about biding our time until a new infusion of ntdp boys (and maybe some superstar canadians) arrives for team 104. but it was a great year to have a winter classic affiliated outdoor game because none of the boys are missing for world juniors! team canada could desperately use hage but fortunately their troglodyte brass can't stop shooting themselves in their own skates so we got to keep him for the month.

[turkicculture]

⭐️Kamila Valieva

◾️Valieva was born on 26 April 2006 in Kazan, Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. She is of Volga Tatar ethnicity.

She is the;

📍2022 European champion

📍2021 Rostelecom Cup champion

📍2021 Skate Canada champion

And a three-time Russian national medalist

Cr@/nomadaesthetic on tw

[exyrpf]

ok sure zellweger is cute but is he any good?

IS HE ANY GOOD! oh you are definitely going to regret asking that question anon.

sit down i have to educate you and this WILL be lengthy and WILL include way too much information because i can't like something normally. many sources will be sited. so buckle up, buttercup.

(disclaimer, i realise this is all junior hockey stats and "that's not the nhl!" i don't care, we can have this conversation again in a couple years.) ANYWAY

olen zellweger! olen freaking zellweger!

start with the basics: 5'9", 180 pound left shooting defenseman currently playing for the kamloops blazers in the WHL. he was chosen 34th overall by the anaheim ducks in 2021 and he compares his game to samuel girard.

another one of those "hm if he was bigger he would have been drafted higher" defensemen.

"okay but why do you keep calling him the saviour of the anaheim ducks?"

1) it's a joke

2) is it really?

3) click below and find out!

hello to everyone that clicked, this is going to be lengthy!

real quick, his card from last year, for those who like stats:

he's no longer playing for everett and this is last year's, as stated, but i am ALWAYS ready to talk about zelly's playing.

first:

not necessary but this answer is nothing if it's not self indulgent.

also, when reading these, remember he missed a month for world juniors.

fun WHL stats to note for the stats folks:

zelly has the second highest shots on goal total this year, out of any player regardless of position. oh, you may ask, who is he second to? well, happy to answer! he's second only to connor bedard.

he has the most shots on goal on the power play out of all players in the whl, though, regardless of position.

he has the highest points per game % of any dman in the WHL (last time i checked...it's about 1.5?) and among all players with 15+ games he's still top ten.

in 13 games with the blazers he has 23 points.

"that's just the WHL" well, he also just won back to back gold at world juniors, so there's that! while getting named a top dman and player and being one of the top scoring dmen in world juniors history.

but say you aren't a stats folk. say you want analysis of his skating and shooting and various other aspects of his actual play. i can give you that! oh, also, some video, just for the heck of it.

he is literally always in motion. if he's on the ice, he's skating and making plays. i've never watched a kamloops game and been unable to tell if olen was on the ice, because if he is, you'll know.

his zone entries are as good as any forwards - he's often called a 'one man zone entry machine', which is well earned. his ability to transition through the zones with ease is insane. (i'm nothing if not a provider of video links few will click on)(this goal is good though, so i would rec clicking this)

his compete level is insane as well and he just - never stops. he's always involved, in every zone. he's extremely talented defensively and he's so solid and strong.

his passing is fantastic (with video proof, of course)(one in team canada colours, sure, why not) and his stick handling is disgusting. like his hands? filthy. (as always, video proof ) he has a great shot (here) (here) (here) and, like i mentioned, he has a lot of those.

and his skating oh my god. do you want poetry, anon? his crossovers and edgework...well here's a video or two if you want to truly appreciate his skating. maybe another for fun.

some fun videos to really hammer home my point.

so, anon, yes he is cute, but most definitely he is good at hockey.

also his body looks like this

so that's fun. not the point and if u want my feelings about him as a person you'll have to ask that separately.

[1634archive]

TORONTO, ON - FEBRUARY 18: Auston Matthews #34 and Mitchell Marner #16 of the Toronto Maple Leafs skate against the Ottawa Senators during the first period at the Scotiabank Arena on February 18, 2021 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Photo by Mark Blinch

[virtchandmoir]

Canadian Olympians push for opposition to Russians in Paris

March 8, 2023 

A group of 42 retired Canadian Olympians urged the Canadian Olympic Committee to reject the idea of allowing Russians to participate in next year’s Paris Games unless Russia withdraws from Ukraine.

“We condemn recent public statements issued by the COC supporting the ‘exploration of a pathway’ for Russians and Belarusians to compete as ‘neutrals’ in the 2024 Paris Olympics,” the Canadians wrote in a statement released Wednesday.

Opening that door, the athletes said, “sends a message that the COC is no longer concerned with Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine.”

Signing the statement was a who’s-who of Canadian Olympic greats and gold medalists, including Hayley Wickenheiser (hockey), Jenn Heil and Alex Bilodeau (freestyle skiing), Tessa Virtue (skating) and Beckie Scott (cross-country skiing).

Russian and Belarusian athletes have been largely excluded from international competition since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last February. The International Olympic Committee seeks a pathway back for those athletes to compete without officially representing their countries, citing human-rights experts who argue the athletes should not be discriminated against solely because of their passports.

“Refusing their participation in international sport is not simply a matter of denying athletes a choice to compete because of their passport, it is a rejection of an unlawful and inhumane war and a recognition of the role international sports plays in geopolitics,” the Canadians wrote.

The COC has walked a fine line in staking out a position. Last month, secretary general David Shoemaker suggested athletes from the banned countries should be made to publicly speak out against the war to gain the neutral status they would need to participate.

Canada’s was also among a group of 35 governments that released a statement last month saying that, without clarity on a workable neutrality model, “we do not agree that Russian and Belarusian athletes should be allowed back into competition.”

Both the COC and the governments have stopped short of stating that Russians should not be allowed.

In their statement, the Canadian Olympians said a requirement for Russians to declare opposition to the war is “unfounded and out of touch.”

“For example, it is illegal in Russia to publicly denounce military actions abroad, and virtually impossible for high-profile athletes to oppose the war,” the statement said.

It also used instances in 2018 and 2021 when Russians could compete not under their country’s flag — but instead under the titles of “Olympic Athletes from Russia” and “Russian Olympic Committee” due to doping sanctions — as examples of how “separation of athlete from state is an impossible task.”

The letter also points out that the war began shortly after last year’s Winter Games in Beijing, which was highlighted by a high-profile meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping before the opening ceremony.

“The Beijing 2022 Games helped set the stage for and dictated the timing of the initial invasion, sports facilities in Ukraine have been targeted by the Russian attacks, and Russian athletes have been elevated to high-ranking military positions and used in war propaganda,” the letter said.

It concluded that “no pathway should be considered” for Russians or Belarusians to compete in Paris until Russia “fully withdraws from Ukraine.”

—AP News

[figureskatingcostumes]

Wenjing Sui and Cong Han's free program costumes at the 2021 Gran Premio d'Italia, 2022 Olympics and 2021 Skate Canada. They skated to Bridge Over Troubled Water.

(Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5)

[cum-villain]

it’s me. a hate anon. i’m being incredibly annoying about my take on fictional characters.

anyways who is a*am or whatever i want all the tea

lol oh buddy you have no idea. its been so many years of bullshit and, granted, its been a while since ive been in the trenches, but i have ALL the tea to spill. okay, so,

Sk8 the Infinity was a shounen sports anime that aired in early 2021, January to April. It followed the protagonist Reki Kyan, a 3rd-year in high school who was a skater. But this isn't just an anime about skateboarding. The grand majority of the skating took place at "S", an illegal skating course in an abandoned mine. The important races are "beefs", and there are no rules to beefs; you can injure your opponent in any way, and there's no consequences.

Some other relevant characters are: Langa Hasegawa, nicknamed SNOW, the deuteragonist; Ainosuke Shindo, ADAM, the antagonist; Tadashi Kikuchi, supporting character. Not sure whether to place him as an antagonist or protag, he kinda straddles the line.

The thing about ADAM is that he's the subversion of an all-too well known anime trope: Pedophile villain. See, while he does not in fact have those feelings towards minors in the show, he. Is very complicated. He has a whole thing where he thinks love is a good thing but also pain, because his aunts beat him and said it was because they love him and he believed them. He's also still grappling with the trauma of being "betrayed" by his childhood friend, Tadashi.

He's trying to find the EVE to his ADAM, because he hurts from being betrayed by the person he cares for most, but in reality, what he really wants is Tadashi back. But he's confused, and thinks that wanting to hurt someone means loving them. So he doesn't know what love feels like. If he thinks he "loves" himself, he hates himself and wants to hurt himself. Which. He kinda does try to kill himself sort of in the finale. It's a whole thing.

(Notice how I put "betrayed" in quotes. If you read scum villain, its a similar situation as with QiJiu. One party wanted to protect the other and failed, so they stay silent and do all they can for that person out of guilt. The other thinks the other really did betray them, and is hurt that that person is so much colder now, that the other person doesnt love them anymore.)

So, anyways. Adam is confused about what love is, and his arc in the first season was learning to not "love" people the way he does, and to accept care, even if he doesn't know it's love. When he reconciled with Tadashi in the final episode, he said "You'll be my dog for the rest of our lives", and I and everyone else in the Tadaai fandom understood he said that because 1. kinky fuckers lol 2. more relevantly, saying he loves Tadashi would be a red flag, because his definition of love is completely warped. Regardless of how he said it, the "be mine forever" was the important part. And Tadashi understood.

But most of what I'm referencing happened in the later episodes. Like I said, he was a subversion, which means that first he had to be slotted into the role before undoing it. Now I bring up The Langa Thing.

Langa was half-Canadian, and grew up in Canada. But when his father died, his mother took him back to Japan so she would have family around her in her grief. He ended up in Reki's class, and the two quickly became friends.

Reki taught Langa how to skate, but because Langa snowboarded since he was 2, he picked it up rather quickly, and even showed extreme talent. This extreme talent caught the eye of most of the skaters at S, and he earned the moniker "Snow". It also made the founder of S notice him. And that founder is Ainosuke Shindo, Adam.

Remember how I said he's trying to find his EVE? He thinks he wants an equal in skating, his only escape from his suffocating life, but he really wants Tadashi back. But he sees this genius in skating, and really is excited to skate with someone new. But he doesn't recognize it for just that, he thinks he found his "Eve". There's plenty of things he does, calling Langa "Langa-kun", being very excited to skate with Langa, giving him a bouquet of roses at one point (though one would argue that it's perfectly in line with his dramatics, hes essentially a drag king whose show is skateboarding).

All in all, there's a lot of suggestions he's attracted to Langa, but later episodes disprove that. There were other sketchy things (him saying to a middle schooler "I'll love you when you're older", but this was in reference to skateboarding, and by his definition of love, he means "yea you're too young for me to beat the crap out of you kid". Which is a perfectly normal sentiment, he just has an extremely weird way of saying it.) But... here's the thing.

There were weekly episodes.

Meaning: People pegged him as a "pedophile anime villain" type for months before his true nature was revealed. And when that evidence showed, people weren't inclined to believe it. People also thought he was Tadashi's abuser before the true nature of their relationship was revealed.

So, Adam isn't a pedophile. His relationship with Tadashi is rough, but Tadashi has full autonomy and chooses to be a part of it, and they're getting better. Adam is weird, sure, but he has reason to be that way. But the fandom lacks reading comprehension and hates to be proven wrong. So, people still think of him as a pedophilic abuser.

And like. I harken from ye olden days of Black Butler, okay. I'm not exactly put off by edenshippers (adam x langa). But for gods sake the show disproved it. Why are y'all acting like this.

So. Being known as an Adam fan is a one-way ticket to getting a bunch of harassment. Was back then, apparently still is now. I can't wait for season 2 to prove these assholes wrong.

sorry for the essay sprung on you bestie

[sunskate]

I’m guessing Skate Canada lost a ton of money in the 2020-2022 period. They didn’t have any skating events with ticketed crowds in person starting from 2020 worlds through 2022 nationals if I recall correctly (except for a very limited crowd at 2021 Skate Canada). And this kind of went down the line, including synchro and some of the local competition so they would have been in some pretty dire financial straits.

That’s said, they’ve also had some bad luck and skaters not quite panning out, especially in men’s singles. I think, unfortunately, the prevalence of the Eteri/doping machine has decimated a lot of women’s skating, because so many high-quality skaters left the sport because they knew they couldn’t get anywhere. Like maybe Katelyn or Gabby would have had a different mental state if the playing field had been fair.

Pairs has been a rough go for many countries. The discipline itself has not been able to attract top skaters. But obviously the choice to support Eric and Vanessa in their stunt of trying to make the 2022 Olympics likely didn’t inspire confidence in the teams just below.

Sadly, I don’t think they’re inspiring anyone with the way they’re going about trying to promote younger dance teams. This year will be telling to see whether or not LaLa are rewarded if they skate better than Piper and Paul.

i thought they made a good amount of money from the lower level access programs last season (CAN skate? i forget). but that makes sense that they might have still have been financial issues left from the lockdown seasons

i stopped watching women's skating altogether from around 2019 til Beijing because it was so depressing and toxic feeling. i just couldn't get into it. i'm sure it was incredibly discouraging to a lot of clean skaters

ugh Evelyn Walsh seems happy at college, but the way the Olympic selection for Eric and Vanessa went down after Nationals also sucked. the unfairness of Russia still getting team bronze is upsetting, but did Skate Canada say a word to advocate for their team to get bronze at all in the past two years?

i don't know if this relates, but Meagan Duhamel is one of the very few people in Canadian figure skating who's outspoken, but she's now unwelcome with Skate Canada - it gives the impression that speaking up is discouraged. there are more important things than being nice, if nice is at the expense of what's true or right

Canada is one of the biggest skating nations, but they're sending fewer skaters out to compete internationally than some smaller ones. are they really that strapped for cash? maybe it's easier for European feds to send skaters out because so many of the B and C competitions are relatively nearby? we've had North American Worlds for the last 2 seasons, but there hasn't been a JGP here since 2019, and we get zero or one Challengers in ice dance on this continent per season - this year it's zero

[tutuandscoot]

Do you know where I could find the footage of Tessa commentating Skate Canada international in 2021?

No sorry, I haven’t heard any of it

[jackhughesily]

illicit affairs au

character introductions + moodboards

concept: loosely based on illicit affairs by taylor swift

couple: sadie mercer x jack hughes

warnings: mention of covid-19

summary: sadie's life growing up with her 3 siblings and how she ended up at rutgers university :)

lowercase intended

background

hockey flowed through the entire mercer family as sadie's dad, craig mercer, coached hockey. dawson, the eldest child, of course loves hockey and would play in the qmjhl and then the nhl. sadie's younger brother riley, also loves hockey and plays in the qmjhl. jessica, the youngest mercer child, followed in her brothers footsteps of playing hockey, but she also enjoyed playing volleyball at school. so it was a shocker to everyone that the second mercer kid wouldn't play hockey.

sadie mercer liked to skate and play around with her siblings growing up on frozen ponds throughout their small town of carbonear, newfoundland. but she never felt the same connection as they did to the sport of hockey. all throughout elementary school, sadie went around trying to find the sport she would love as much as her siblings loved hockey. she tried soccer, softball, volleyball, and all of the other sports canada had to offer, but nothing clicked for her. sadie would try out for a team, make it, play about 3 weeks and then have the same conversation with her mom,

"it's just boring, i don't want to play anymore"

her family was supportive of her decisions to find the sport she loved, but she eventually was reaching the end of her possible sports list. somehow, sadie was able to drag her dawson with her to a swim team tryout over the summer.

"i don't see why i have to go with you, you're only going to swim for 2 weeks and then you'll be on your way to tryout for some other sport"

"i swear this is the last one, i feel it in my bones"

dawson only swam for a season with her, but ever since that tryout in the summer of 2011, sadie mercer was hooked on the pool.

when dawson was drafted in the 2020 draft first round by the new jersey devils, the whole family had never been so excited. honestly, the whole town of carbonear, newfoundland had never been so excited, and sadie was over the moon that her brother would be going to new jersey. dawson had already left newfoundland back in 2017 to play in the qmjhl, while sadie stayed in newfoundland throughout highschool with her other two siblings, riley and jessica. after sadie graduated, riley went to play in the q as well for the 2020-21 season. and as much as sadie loved her little sister and her parents, she wanted to branch out from newfoundland like her brothers and go somewhere else for university.

when sadie had the opportunity to talk to universities in the united states to be recruited to swim in college, she took it straight away. sadie was so excited that she was noticed by a university for swimming and her dreams were coming true. as much as she loved canada and newfoundland, the united states was the dream and swimming division 1 was it for her. when rutgers university reached out to sadie during fall of her senior year, she was on cloud 9. until covid-19 hit the world. of course, the whole world was affected but as an athlete, the pandemic hit hard. with all the new rules in place, if sadie went to rutgers, it would be almost impossible for her to come home periodically and constantly quarentine. so, sadie decided she would take the 2020-21 fall and spring semesters online from the safety of her family home in canada, but in doing this, she wouldn't be able to swim until her sophomore year at rutgers.

this leads to sadie and dawson taking on new jersey together in 2021, and where sadie mercer and jack hughes' story begins..

moving to jersey

a/n: hiiii! send in requests !!

masterlist

join my taglist!

tags: @andrewgarfield2022

[gogogogolev]

Skate Canada's press release for the final day of 2023 Autumn Classic International.

Pierrefonds, Quebec (September 16, 2023) – The 2023 Autumn Classic International skating competition wrapped up on Saturday in Pierrefonds, Que., and was headlined by Canadian Stephen Gogolev of Toronto bringing home a bronze medal in the men’s event. Gogolev, who was sitting in second following his short program, struggled a bit with his free skate but held on to finish third overall with a total score of 233.26. Fellow Canadian Wesley Chiu of Vancouver also struggled a little bit with his free skate and dropped from third to finish seventh overall with a total score of 208.82. “The beginning started a bit shaky, and I think that was part of the competition nerves kicking in, but overall I’m pretty satisfied with the second half of the program and I was able to pull everything together,” said Gogolev who was the Skate Canada Challenge champion in 2022.

Just to clarify - Stephen won Challenge in 2021 (Matthew Newnham was the winner in 2022) but the event was called 2022 Challenge.

[omgkalyppso]

taking advantage of @sevarix-blogs open tag -- oh but while i was answering, i was actually tagged by @recurringdragon . Thanks, friends!

1. were you named after anyone? each of my middle names is the irish version of my grandmothers' names.

2. when was the last time you cried? today (that other post about your sign and when did you cry last? taurus and it's always like within the past hour).

3. do you have kids? no.

4. do you use sarcasm a lot? i try not too.

5. whats the first thing you notice about people? i'm wary of this question. whether someone looks like they think they're above me or their fellow men.

6. what color eyes do you have? blue.

7. scary movies or happy endings? depends on my mood. usually a happy ending, but i will watch a scary movie alone (last time i did this was His House).

8. any special talents? depends on who you ask. my answer is no, i just have hobbies.

9. where were you born? south-east canada. in a hospital.

10. what are your hobbies? writing, drawing, gaming, reading, watching shows, movies, etc. i haven't picked up an instrument in my current living space or the apartment i had before this. miss them, and singing.

11. do you have any pets? my last pet was my late cat, Casper. he passed away in may 2021 and i haven't had it in me to get a new friend yet.

12. what sports do you play/have played? when i was a child i did ballet and irish dancing. when i was teen i did dancing as an extra or background character in our stage productions (little shop of horrors (i was a customer and part of the chorus), grease (i was the principal and a background student), etc.). but i've always been weak and uncoordinated, so sports weren't hobbies i ever picked up or maintained. used to swim too, at least seasonally, and skate. haven't been for a few years.

13. how tall are you? 5'3"

14. favorite school subject? music. each year of high school band counted as a half-credit towards graduating. i wouldn't have graduated (when i did) without the credits i got from being in band.

15. dream job? i do not dream of labour. dream achievement is writing something that gets published in some way, maybe.

if you see this and want to share, consider yourself tagged!