Now I see that things worked out the way they were meant to be no matter how much time I spent agonizing and stuck on what I thought I wanted for myself.
TRANSLATION: Patrick Chan Appreciates His New Life
By: Pascal Milano
Canadian Patrick Chan took home the gold meal in the team event at the Pyeongchang Olympic Games
This is a translation of an article originally posted by La Presse
Poppy is a 9 month old golden retriever. Cheerful and affectionate, she is always ready to follow her owners in the search of a new adventure. She is especially the symbol of Patrick Chan’s new life, retired from figure skating for almost a year.
“My schedule was too busy and I wasn’t at home enough. I didn’t even have a real home. Now I live in Vancouver and I am lucky enough to have a life that is a little more normal, with a dog as my companion,” he recounted over a telephone interview.
Olympic Champion in the team event at the Pyeongchang Olympic Games and three time world champion, Chan retired from competition April 16th, 2018. At 27 years old, he felt that the time had come to move on to other things. With the new generation of skaters, the difficulty level was rising rapidly.
It’s common to see athletes land multiple quads in one program nowadays. “It is a different sport from when I started,” revealed Chan, who will take part in the Stars on Ice show tomorrow at the Place Bell in Laval. “The decision wasn’t hard to make because my body and my heart were telling me that I accomplished everything that I could accomplish.”
“I was ready to try something new and look at other opportunities.“
First big decision: chose where to settle down. With his girlfriend Elisabeth Putnam, also a former figure skater, the Toronto native headed for Vancouver. Over there, he can satisfy his passion for outdoor sports without the restrictions from his career. [n.b. possible injury]
“In December, it had been four years since I had last skied,” he mentioned. “I was free, happy and enthusiastic, but maybe a little too much. I had an accident and I damaged ligaments in my right knee. That has slowed down my adventures, but in Vancouver I always want to do outdoor activities.”
Another year or two
On the West coast, Chan the created a list of interests and opportunities he could explore. In a city known for an overpriced market, one area that emerged in particular: real estate.
“I am very interested in becoming a real estate agent, but that would involve a major change. As an agent, I would need to put all my energy into that and I couldn’t skate at the same time. I am not ready yet because I can still give a lot to Canadian skating. I would like to continue skating for another year or two.”
In fact, since his retirement Chan has continued touring the country. Last fall after a very successful Olympic Games, he participated in the “Thank You Canada Tour.” He is one of the skaters on the Stars on Ice show from April 26th to May 16th. He particularly enjoys these opportunities because they allow him to skate more freely and to concentrate on the artistic side of skating rather than focus so much on the technical skills.
Therefore it’s hard to cut ties, especially as he shares his experiences with young Canadian skaters. He dreams of opening up a skating school with his partner. While waiting for that to happen, the couple has gone to China frequently to give seminars and teach young skaters.
“With the coming Olympics in 2022, China is trying to grow figure skating. We work with one of the seven private companies that manage young skaters. They asked us to guide them in the right direction and to help them plan a developmental strategy. At the same time, they will send their skaters to Vancouver for a two week long camp in August.”
“Later on, we will try to create good relationships with the six other companies and possibly do other camps. This is a new opportunity and we hope that it will grow from here,” concluded Chan.
A tour with two legends
The Laval stop on the Stars on Ice tour will let people see different generations of skaters. Kurt Browning will make his comeback after retiring from shows in 2017. “He is still young at heart. It inspires him to skate with other younger skaters, but he inspires me too,” indicated Chan. “I’ve known him since I was 12-13 years old and he’s is one of my heroes. It’s special to see him every day and to share these moments together. Sometimes I forget, then I think ‘I’m touring with Kurt Browning and Elvis Stojko, two legends.” Ice dance world champions Gabrielle Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron who train in Montreal will also take part in the show tomorrow.
TRANSLATION: Majorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha, two gifted skaters who have no time to lose
By Michel Marois
This is a translation of an article originally posted by La Presse
Three time canadian junior ice dance champions, Majorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha will be in Zagreb, Croatia next week for the World Junior Championships. Though the team went their separate ways a few years ago, Lajoie and Lagha reunited and now train in Saint-Henri with renowned coaches Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon
“We were with a different coach at a club on the South Shore [of Montreal] and we decided to take a break,” recalled Marjorie Lajoie last week in an interview. “It was when we arrived here [at the Montreal International Skating School] that we started to skate together again…”
Patrice Lauzon, who admits to having contributed to their reunion as a team, explained: “In dance, it’s always an advantage to have been together for a long time and they [Marjorie and Zachary] had been skating together for years. We were convinced that they had the potential to improve a lot more and that is what they are currently doing.”
Zachary Lagha remembers it: “It was a big leap when we started training here. We quickly learned new, more complex footwork and our programs evolved a lot.”
Lajoie is studying to become an actress, while Lagha is already a talented classical pianist. These artistic gifts are evident on the ice. “We are always telling a story on the ice, and what I have learned from my teachers about interpreting emotions and intentions has helped me to create these characters,” explained the skater.
“For me, the piano certainly helps me to better understand music, to be able to capture the emotion, especially this year with the program we have [to music from Richard Addinsell’s Warsaw Concerto],” underlined her partner. “I recently played a Tchaikovsky concerto in competition, a difficult piece, very philosophical, which includes a little bit of Russian history- Tchaikovsky’s as well. The beginning is joyful, but then we see a lot of vulnerability. It’s the same sensibility that helps me on the ice.”
Even if Lagha thinks that the team could make a great deal more progress in terms of interpretation, the skaters are also working tirelessly on the technical side of their skating.
“The steps are complex. The sequences difficult, but the goal is to make it all look easy,” explained Lajoie.
Lauzon underlined that Lajoie and Lagha are among the most hardworking teams on the ice: “They always want to be there and work a lot. They do countless repetitions in order to look after every detail in their programs and it really shows.”
“When you are passionate, you don’t count the hours,” assures Lagha,
who is also pursuing his studies in university. “It’s when you don’t have a goal that it is difficult to be motivated. We have very clear goals and we know what to do to reach them, there is only one way: work.”
With The Best
Canadian figure skating is currently in a state of change with the retirement of many champions and the arrival of a new generation of aspiring stars. Lajoie and Lagha are among them.
“The goal is to go all the way,” assured Lajoie. “We want to go to the Olympics, to the major competitions, but at the same time that is a long ways away and we prefer to focus on the short term with specific goals that allow us to concentrate on what we need to do without losing our heads.”
At 18 and 19 years old respectively, Lajoie and Lagha could continue to compete at the junior level next season. But after three national titles, victories on the Junior Grand Prix and appearances at Junior Worlds, they feel ready to make the transition up to seniors.
It’s not the high level of ice dance in Canada and elsewhere that scares them. Every day at Dubreuil and Lauzon’s international skating school they train alongside many of the best teams in the world at the Gadbois center.
“Sometimes it’s necessary to set very high goals, almost unrealistic, to breakthrough to the next level, even if you don’t reach them,” explained Lagha. “We don’t want to be left behind in the junior ‘trap’. Many skaters have had wonderful careers at the junior level, but they never had the same success afterward.”
“We are already seen a little bit like seniors and that is the effect that we want to give on the ice. We are young, but at the same time, we don’t have time to lose.” - Majorie Lajoie
Junior worlds in Zagreb could therefore be the last junior competition for Lajoie and Lagha. They will face the three teams of Russian skaters that beat them in December at the Junior Grand Prix Final in Vancouver. The Canadians missed the podium by three hundredths of a point…
“At the moment, we aren’t thinking to much about the results because there are still so many things to incorporate at technical level,” underlined Lagha. “When we are on the ice, it’s true that we are going there to win, it’s the goal for the competition, but we especially want to have a good performance, to get our technical levels and to please our coaches.”
“Honestly, if our coaches are happy, I think that we will have reached our goal.”
This is a translation of an article Julianne Séguin wrote for Radio-Canada’s Podium
Figure skater Julianne Séguin took the separation from her partner Charlie Bilodeau five months after the Olympics hard. “A shock. A hit from a shovel to the head.”
Written by Julianne Séguin, figure skater, finished in 9th place in pairs at the Pyeongchang Olympic Games with Charlie Bilodeau.
“I won’t beat around the bush. You and me, we’re done”
I dropped my coffee. I froze, A shock. A hit from a shovel to the head. I would like to find a nicer way to explain it, but that is exactly how I feel.
It was July 14th, 2018. I felt that things had been brewing for several days. We have had our share of difficult moments, but I would have never thought that he would want to separate. Especially after all of the hardships that we have overcome. Especially after the results that we have gotten.
In the year leading up to the Pyeongchang Olympic Games, Charlie had a knee operation in June and I suffered three concussions. I had symptoms up until December. The Olympics were in February.
For almost a year, our training was shortened and I skated without being completely in control of my skills. Despite all of these pitfalls, we took second place at the Canadian National Championships, behind Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford. That was already a feat.
Against all odds, we finished in the top 10 at our first Olympic Games. I was only 22 years old.
The media and the fans started talking about the Games in Beijing already. And worse, we too had started to as well. We started to talk about the next Olympic cycle, to think about our next programs. There were lots of changes to make, but I never realized that he wanted it to end. Maybe I should have known.
So, do I understand Charlie’s decision? The answer is no.
Our programs were done and he would have had many chances to tell me earlier. I understand the timing he chose even less.
Am I mad at Charlie? Not at all. Just disappointed. I am not saying it would have been easy. We would have had to work extremely hard. Would we have gotten there? I don’t know; I don’t think that it was impossible.
Since then people have asked me what was the real reason for our split. The truth is that I actually have no idea. It was totally unexpected for me. I can give you a list of things that were wrong but in my eyes none of them were insurmountable.
I don’t think we had hit the bottom of the barrel. On the contrary. I thought that it was just a difficult period. The Olympics are extremely demanding. And our pre-Olympic year was even more so.
I saw him again at the end of the summer, but his answers did not convince me.
When it came out in the media, I felt the need to hide. I would be lying to you if I said that it was easy. It hurt me. And at the time, I didn’t want to share that with the world. I needed to take a step back, to come to terms with what had happened. I needed a break.
For three months, I did not skate. I did not want to anymore. Then, all of a sudden, I felt the need to put on my skates. For only a couple of weeks now, I’ve felt good. At peace even.
I am now ready to turn the page. Slowly but surely.
Although I started skating at the age of 5, it was only around 12 or 13 years old where I understood that I had real potential. At 16 years old, I met Charlie. We started to skate pairs together. But to be honest, my ambitions were not very big. In our second year together we quickly started to have success.
In 2014, we took silver at both the Canadian Junior Championships and the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final. I understood that I had to make a choice and I stopped skating as an individual.
There are tons of young skaters with potential. But a rise as swift as Charlie and I had, I think that is more rare.
All our hopes were coming true, until the pre-Olympic year.
In January 2017, I sustained my first concussion. A blow to the head. I had to stop skating for a month. A few months later, during a show, we did a easy move, but in the spotlights I lost my bearings. I hit my head on the ice.
Finally, I fell during a lift. I knew immediately that something was wrong. I immediately felt like I had left my body. It is difficult to explain the feeling.
I had never had a concussion before even though it is fairly common in my sport. And then, I had three in a couple months. Unlucky you say?
It was hard. It’s not like a twisted ankles. It’s blue, it’s swollen, you are able to play with your limitations. A concussion is treacherous. It is a thin line between being ready and playing with fire.
It is totally unpredictable. I would wake up one morning and because of fatigue or overtraining, I would be horribly nauseated. The next day, I would feel fine.
I knew that the goal was to skate in the Olympic games. As the months went by the situation became more difficult to manage. In August, I thought that it would not work out. I could not do it. Honestly, I didn’t believe any longer.
I never had the impression that Charlie let me down. I more had the impression that I was the one who let him down, more than once. I wanted to heal. I wanted to skate, but I couldn’t. During that time, Charlie waited. That was what ate at me. I never wanted to ruin his dream, mine and that of our team. I was being patient, telling myself that it would be better, at a moment you panic.
And Charlie was there. Always. He was a golden partner. He supported me from start to finish and reassured me when I needed it.
Then something clicked into place in my head. It can’t be that we worked this hard and had so many good results and in the end it amount to nothing. I decided to go all in. What happens, happens.
I took risks that I never would have taken if it had not been a pre-Olympic year. I remember a competition in Moscow in November 2017. My vision was blurry. I had a hard time reading the dose on my medicine bottle. When we were on the ice with all the lights and the white ice, I was dizzy and nauseous. I don’t know how I managed to skate, but I did.
I had my first concussion in January and my last symptoms in December. Eleven months of doubts, fears, questioning. We arrived in Pyeongchang in good health but I will not hide the fact that I was not at the top of my game.
So, were we expecting to finish in 9th place at the Olympics? Yes and no.
Before the short program, we just wanted to do our best. The pressure was enormous to give a performance that lived up to our expectations. We had never been in this situation before, but we are both competitors at heart. Before the free skate, we set ourselves a goal of getting in the top 10. And we achieved it, at our first Olympic Games, even if we had a difficult year.
In all truth, the Olympics were not easy, despite the unexpected result. Training did not go as well as we would have liked. We arrived early, we skated every day and we had to maintain our physical condition for two weeks to wait to peak the day of the competition.
The reality was that we were exhausted and winded when our D-Day arrived. Our way of handling the situation might have been a trigger [for the split]. What happened? Should we still stay together? Do we want to continue with the same team? It was a lot of questioning…
We had a lot to discuss after the Olympics. Our game plan was was clear. I think that he would have liked the changes to have happened instantaneously. The sport evolves very fast and there is not a second to lose. But at the same time, it is impossible to take shortcuts.
I sensed that the pressure was rising and the situation was not optimal in training. That was what was difficult. I know that I was not in the best shape of my life. I thought about it a lot. And Charlie too. He told me so.
Figure skating can be a difficult sport, especially for women. There is not much room to maneuver. You must be fit. You must watch your weight. You must always be well dressed, well made up. You must always be at your best.
When you are injured, when you can’t train, you cannot make miracles!
The relationship with the body is not always easy. But as you get older, you learn to take and to leave. It is a journey that you make with yourself. At the beginning you are intimidated by the silhouettes of certain skaters, but when you learn about the history hiding behind it, you put things into perspective pretty quickly.
I am proud to have reached this level while keeping a healthy lifestyle. Which, we can say, is not the norm in this sport…
I know that Charlie said that he had the impression that we had peaked. I did not view it like that. I was very injured and the situation did not allow me to improve. We managed to maintain a certain quality of skating but we never reached the necessary level to join Meagan and Eric.
I do not feel like we did everything we could to see if this could work before throwing in the towel.
Despite this end that cuts, we have had extraordinary moments together. I am an Olympian. And no one can take that away from me.
In fact, that is the hardest part.
I must succeed in turning the page, but without erasing the past.
I asked myself if I am even made for that anymore. Why do I skate? What does it bring me? I questioned myself at length. I didn’t want to skate anymore. And then, I decided to give myself a chance. I decided to get back in shape, to finally be the best that I can be. Only then can I make an informed decision.
I started training again a couple weeks ago, mostly at Les 4 Glaces in Bronssard. It is a neutral location and I feel good there. There are not really any international level skaters there, but to see the young skaters helps me keep the fire.
I have had contact with certain skaters, but I told them that I am not ready. My goal is to start to have tryouts in January, but I am giving myself until March to be the best version of myself. Then I will be able to make decisions.
Even if I am in excellent shape, even if I am an Olympic athlete, there are no guarantees. Skaters at the caliber of Charlie are not a dime a dozen. I see a few potential candidates in the country at the moment. Nothing more.
I know that I have not reached my full potential. As I am a very competitive girl, I want to prove that I am capable of being the best. That is my principal source of motivation.
The goal remains the same. I am ready to go further, to qualify for the Beijing Olympic Games.
This is a translation of an interview originally posted by S’Kate Info Glace
Skate Info Glace: Could you talk to us about your knee? It has given you lots of trouble.
Maé-Bérénice Meité: Touch wood that after four years of pain, it’s finally better! I had a tear in my right patellar tendon and every time I took off or landed a jump I was in pain. To solve the issue, I did a lot of research compared to what the doctors told me. During those four years, followed a plan of physiotherapy but actually what I needed was strengthening exercises for the muscles.
SIG: To compensate?
MBM: Not even. I am already very athletic, but they told me that it wasn’t sufficient. I had to strengthen the quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, everything around the knee. I did that to keep the pain at a tolerable level. Since I did not go to the World Championships last years, my season ended early, I was able to take advantage of the free time between the Olympics and French Team’s skating show tour to really heal and start fresh. It was not question of going for another season in the state I was in, psychologically it took so much energy out of me.
SIG: Here you are going for another olympic cycle?
MBM: Exactly!
SIG: What is a typical training day like for you in Florida?
MBM: Wake up, breakfast… (laughs) I start at the rink around 8:40 am and warm up for about twenty minutes. Then I skate for an hour and twenty minutes to work on stroking, a little bit on the program(s), clean up the transitions, technique. I do a full program, either the short or the free. We study it and work on the details. I have a short break for lunch, stretch. New warm up and take the ice again for a second session for at least an hour and ten minutes.
SIG: A long session…
MBM: Oh yes! But I prefer the long session. In the second part of the day, I continue to work on my program, go over certain parts, the spins, etc…
SIG: How and why did you move from Chicago to Florida?
MBM: After the Olympic Games, I chose to take stock of the situation, to see what was working and what was not, to analyze was I wanted to do. I have perspective and experience, I know what suits me and what doesn’t suit me. I was very happy to work with Shanetta [Folle], she worked on my basics, which I really needed. She totally rebuilt them actually. If we see the progress I have made now, it is really thanks to what she did for me during those two years. Perhaps the two years spent with her did not turn out how we hoped, but today I can say a huge thank you to her. It is clear that I would not be where I am without her. And why Florida… I saw the work they did with Vanessa and Morgan the past three seasons and what they did with Kevin in very little time. There was an enormous evolution, not only for pairs teams. We are surrounded by a whole team, it’s not just a single person with occasional help from others. We benefit from several opinions, different perspectives. And all in the same place. It is something that I really needed and it makes everything easier. I decided to give myself a chance, to try…
SIG: Is life in the US ok?
MBM: Yes, France will always be home and I miss it, but Florida is really nice.
SIG: Outside of skating, you are pursuing your studies?
MBM: I am doing a degree in management, specializing in marketing and sales, that I hope to finish this year. It is always a little bit complicated to balance a sports career and study but I make it work and in addition, it allows to me to free myself. to think about other things!
SIG: That means that you want to becoming something outside of skating?
MBM: Not necessarily. I already have a little idea of what I want to do. But until I graduate, it will remain a secret! (winks and laughs)
Laurence Fournier-Beaudry had to give up on the Pyeongchang Olympics after being denied Danish citizenship
By Alain Bergeron
A promise for a Canadian passport in 2020 for her partner Nikolaj Sorensen could allow Laurence Fournier-Beaudry to finally compete in the 2022 Olympic Games.
This is a translation of an article originally posted by Le Journal de Québec
Uncompromising, Denmark refused Laurence Fournier-Beaudry’s citizenship application, depriving her and her partner the opportunity to compete in the last Olympic Games. With one path blocked, their only solution now is to go the opposite way: her partner Nikolaj Sorensen has been promised a passport in 2020 which gives them hope to finally compete at the Olympics in Beijing.
Canadian figure skating, full of dramatic stories, now gives us a tale that two lovers have been telling (weaving) for six years between Copenhagen and Longeuil. After a mandatory year long break from all international competition, their necessary sacrifice will end the day after the Canadian championships in New Brunswick on January 21.
From this day forward, the ice dancers who qualified for the Pyeongchang Olympics but could not participate, will permanently leave behind the Danish flag for the Canadian one. A top three finish at the national championships would lead them to the world championships in Japan in March and would mark their official entry into the Canadian team.
“When we are announced on the ice for the first time, it is going to be bizarre to hear ‘Competing for Canada’. But fundamentally, I have become almost as much Canadian as Danish,” admitted the 29 year old man with almost impeccable French.
A reflection
January 21st, 2019 will be a exactly one year to the day since the end of the European Figure Skating Championships in Moscow where the duo finished 9th. At that time, the imminence of the Pyeongchang Olympics provoked a reaction in the two.
Should they cut their ties with Denmark and opt for Canada, where Nikolaj’s assured citizenship would not compromise a possible Olympic qualification?? If yes, it would be necessary to accept the “penalty” of a year away from international competition, a rule dictated by the International Skating Union (ISU) to skaters wanting to compete for another country.
“We asked ourselves these questions. Do we want to continue skating for a long time? Do we stop? We talked with the Danish federation who has always supported us and who always wanted the best for us. They told us: we understand your problem and we will never get in your way,” recounts Nikolaj.
“It was a big decision to make,” added Laurence originally from the Greenfield Park neighborhood.
No compromise in Denmark
According to the ISU regulations, a couple is allowed to compete for a country even if only one of the two members have citizenship. The rule applies to any international competition except the Olympic Games, where two passports from the same nation are required.
That is how Laurence, who accepted an offer to skate with a Danish skater who moved to Montreal two years earlier, was able to build an international career. In the shadow of Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir who have skated in and won all of the worlds biggest competitions, Denmark served as a refuge to make the most of their talent in the field of ice dance.
In their fourth World Championship appearance in 2017, their 13th place finish made Denmark the seventh best country in the competition. As a result they had qualified a spot to the Pyeongchang Olympics.
Their happiness however turned into frustration. Despite many appearances before government officials, it was a wasted effort. This Northern European country does not give out citizenship like a coffee ordered at a drive through. There are no exceptions- not even for two Olympic level skaters who live and train in Montreal at the world renowned school of Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon.
“Even if you are married, but you don’t live and train Denmark for at least seven years, there are no exceptions. It is up to 10 years if you are not married,” explained the Copenhagen native, who knows every comma of the law.
Canada, a natural choice
So the 2018 Olympic Games were off the table, likewise for 2022. So naturally, Canada became the solution for their hope to compete at the Olympics, even if Laurence’s attachment to the Scandinavian country of her boyfriend would have justified representing them under the five rings.
“I would have liked that. But between competing at the Olympics for Canada or for Denmark, lets say that’s I am happy with the decision that we made. I realized that it’s fun to represent my own country. The Canadian federation welcomed us with open arms. It was a natural transition,” she reckoned.
The images of a Bell Center cheering them on at the World Championships in March 2020 could reinforce that sense of belonging.
Charmed by the Quebecois Identity
Nikolaj Sorensen remembers the reality that he presented Laurence Fournier-Beaudry with when he asked her to start a career with him in 2012 . “I know that would cannot participate in the Olympic Games together because it will be impossible for you to obtain Danish citizenship. Do you want to become a team anyways?” Six years later, their dreams are reborn as Canadians.
Nikolaj Sorensen moved to Montreal in December 2010 at the age of 21 to pursue a career in figure skating. Canada will not have to worry about if he belongs when he is granted his citizenship in August 2020.
Quebec even less
“When I first arrived, it was for the selfish reason of skating. But I found it beautiful that little by little, I discover that Quebec is a little society in North America, an island, a unit where people speak french,” observed the Dane who now has the status of a permanent resident in Canada.
“It is sad to see the immigrants arriving here and not only don’t want to learn French, but seem to be resistant to it. I know that this provokes a debate but we speak french here. It’s not more complicated than that. When I arrived, I appreciated that there was only one language here. I find that cool, a little like in Denmark we speak Danish.”
We do hygge?
After six years of time spent with Danish people, both with her boyfriend’s family and with members of the national skating federation, Laurence Fournier-Beaudry can now follow a conversation in the unique language. She notably learned a word that does not translate into any other language: hygge. Having hygge (pronounced “ugge”) is a very Danish value, where an indoors or outdoors activity becomes a reason to remember the joy of being together. Whether it is a family evening in the lounge or a simple trip to the park, hygge provides a sense of wellbeing to the inhabitants of a country subjected to the harshness of their climate.
“It’s comforting. To understand that time passes so quickly that we must say that we are happy to have what we do. It’s nothing formal. It’s just an activity to take time to appreciate life,” summarized the quebecois who has already assimilated the tradition.
Internal Rivalry
Adding this new world-class teen into the Canadian landscape raises the debate among the ice dance teams on the canadian national team. Despite the retirement of two-time Olympic champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, a new generation is here with Ontarians Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje and Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier, who were respectively 7th and 8th at the Pyeongchang Olympics.
Closer to home, there are also the quebecois Carolane Soucisse and her partner Shane Firus, who they see daily in training with Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon at the Gadbois Complex in Montreal.
“Carolane and Shane have known about our change for a long time and our relationship with them is still good. That will not change. Anyways, we have not come here to say that we are better. Nikolaj and I, we aren’t those kind of people,” affirmed Fournier-Beaudry.
Back to the Source
They are forbidden from international competition until next January, but nothing is stopping the neo-Canadian team from Quebecois and Canadian competitions to find their bearings. If Skate Canada Challenge in Edmonton, from November 28 to December 2nd, will be a necessary step to qualify for the Canadian Championships, their presence at the Quebec Championships in Gatineau last week served to get rid of the rust and remaster the stress of competition.
TRANSLATION: Papadakis and Cizeron - Operation Breath of Fresh Air
By Agence France Presse
At the dawn of a new Olympiad, the ice dancers Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron will start their season more slowly after taking time to rest and get a breath of fresh air once the Olympic year was over.
This is a translation of an article originally posted on France 24
Friday, on the ice at Villard-de-Lans in Isère, who are hosting the Masters, usually the start of the season, Papadakis and Cizeron (23 years old) will skate their 2018-2019 short dance for the first time - now called the rhythm dance - to the required beat of the tango. The two pieces they have chosen are played on the violin.
But they will not unveil their free dance the following day, because it’s “not yet 100% mastered,” said their coach Romain Haguenauer.
Because after four years with almost no break, marked by their lightning ascension to the top of their discipline, four European titles, three World titles and an Olympic silver medal despite an unfortunate costume malfunction, the two skaters agreed on a “long break” and did not get back on their skates until around August 10th. It was not a luxury but a necessity.
“They needed it after four seasons where everything happened very quickly from one season to the next. They were tired,” confirmed Haguenauer to AFP.
“Since they are going on for at least another four years, they need to recharge their batteries, take a step back” to maintain the desire, he continued.
Done With Piano
At one point, Papadakis and Cizeron had even considered skipping the first half of the season. They finally discarded that option, without compromising their wishes - and the necessity - to refresh themselves on the brink of a new olympiad.
By the end of last season they were already thinking things over but had no concrete plans.
Since then, they have pushed several boundaries.
First of all, music. For the free program, goodbye piano, hello guitar. During one of their brief summer trips to Montreal, where they have been living since mid-2014, Papadakis and Cizeron set their sights on two “lyric folk” songs by the American artist Rachael Yamagata for their free dance.
“We had five days to choose music. We eliminated everything that was piano-based, we have virtually always used that as a base whether it was classical or contemporary music. We wanted to change instruments to explore other things”, recounts Haguenauer.
While the two once again entrusted their short dance to British Christopher Dean, a major figure in their discipline in the 1980s with Jayne Torvill, the young Clermontois turned to Switzerland’s Stéphane Lambiel, two time world champion figure skater, to “avoid ice dance specific choreography” for their free dance. [t/n: so that they are not limiting themselves]
Papadakis and Cizeron have, finally, begun a long term project on their lifts.
More Acrobatic Lifts
Generally in ice dance, once you have found a nice, unusual lifts that you can master, the year after you reuse parts of them, it’s more or less a transformation of what you can already do”, explained Haguenauer.
“The idea was to start from new bases for all of the lifts. That is what we have done, keeping the fluidity that is their strength but trying to add things that are less gliding, to show that they are capable of doing things that are surprising, fast and a little more acrobatic,” he elaborated.
To see them through this challenging evolution, Papadakis and Cizeron started a collaboration with the reputed quebecois circus company “Les sept doigts de la main” [The Seven Fingers of the Hand], designed to last through the full olympiad.
It is not without risk. A week ago in training, Cizeron had a serious fall on his head. There was more fear than harm done - a sore jaw - but that is the main reason why it will take another six weeks, until the Grand Prix in Japan (November 9-11), to see their free dance.
“They are still in the process of learning certain lift techniques. I didn’t want to give up on the new elements to be ready,” said Hagnenauer. “Nor do they take the risk of injuring themselves by skating a program in competition that they have not 100% mastered. We must not forget that they are on the ice and on two blades.”
TRANSLATION: A dress rehearsal for Carolane Soucisse and her partner
by Benoît Rioux
Even in the middle of August, figure skating fans have something to sink their teeth into for a couple of days here at the Pierrefonds Sportplexe with the Quebec Summer Championships.
This is a translation of an article originally posted in Le Journal de Montréal
Among the athletes present, the Quebecois Carolane Soucisse and her partner Shane Firus, who are ice dancers, are using it as a dress rehearsal before attacking the upcoming season.
“It’s really more to get back into competitions,” said Soucisse on Saturday. “We are becoming more and more established on the international scene. This is not a competition to qualify us for anything.”
After the short dance Saturday, they finish the weekend by competing their free dance to a compilation of songs by the singer The Weeknd on Sunday.
In the coming months, Soucisse and Firus are giving extra importance to another event planned in Quebec, Skate Canada International. The event will take place at the Place Bell in Laval from October 25 through 28.
“Our goal will be to get on the podium,” indicated Soucisse.
The Future of Ice Dance
Following the recent Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, many teams have chosen to take a break while others have already announced their retirement from competition. Olympic champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir will take part in a tour of 30 Canadian cities this fall.
Through all of this, the opportunity seems good for Soucisse, 23, and Firus, 24, to establish themselves among the best in the world. They are part of the future for ice dance in Canada.
“We have made steady progress since the beginning of our partnership,” explained Soucisse, who is optimistic about the next few years.
In their second season together, the two finished 14th at the World Championships last March in Italy. The best seems yet to come.
Final destination: the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. In the meantime, there is Pierrefonds.
A first look at Kaitin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker executing new choreography (unknown program or exhibition), and bonus points redeemable for a shoutout to anyone who can successfully identify the music herein.
Seventeen years ago, ice rinks in Kazakhstan were only opened in the winter, because they were all outdoors. And let me tell you, it gets pretty cold in Kazakhstan in the winter. That’s one reason why we have lots and lots of real snow. Eventually, the first shopping mall in Kazakhstan was built, and included an indoor skating rink. For the first time, we didn’t have to wear snowsuits to practice ice skating. In those first years, I didn’t even have competition ice skates. I had a pair of old side skates with no support at all for jumps. To make them better, my Dad cut plastic water bottles in half, and attached them to each side so I could actually do jumps. Then, at age 8, I attended my first international competition in Omsk, Russia. It took us 3 days to get there by train. I was still wearing my plastic water bottle skates, I trained in a shopping mall, and I had little to no professional coaching. Yet, there I was competing in the qualifying round. I remember being amazed to even be there. But I also remember being ashamed of my skates, commpared to the Russian kids’ skates. And guess what? I won the competition, and the rest as they say is history. This is a long way to explain why Almaty 2022 is important to me and for Kazakhstan. Today is not seventeen years ago, but we still need better resources to develop our young athletes. So, why am I telling you all of this? Why is my story important? It is important because it is a real example of what our country can achieve in winter sports and what the whole region is capable of if we have the right resources and opportunities. That is the reason I agreed to participate in this campaign. I am not here for myself. I’m already living my Olympic dream. I am here for thousands of young Kazakh athletes dreaming their own Olympic dreams. And I am also here for that little kid out there, alone, skating around somewhere on a frozen lake, with skates supported by plastic water bottles.
TRANSLATION: “I felt it was the right moment” - Charlie Bilodeau
This is a translation of an article originally posted in Radio-Canada
After five years of collaboration and a 9th place finish at the Pyeongchang Olympic Games, the quebecois figure skaters Julianne Séguin and Charlie Bilodeau will take different paths. Bilodeau made the decision to end the partnership to pursue his goals with a new partner.
By Alexandra Piché
Several months of reflection lead him to tell Séguin the news last Saturday.
“It is never easy to announce this type of news,” explained Bilodeau. “Even if it was me who made the decision, it’s hard. We have had some great moments together. Even so, I'm still ending this period of my life. I will always carry Julianne in my heart. What we achieved together, I never could have done without her-- and vice versa. For me, it is time to move on to other things and aim for other goals.”
The skater from Longeuil admitted she was not expecting such an announcement, especially at this time of year. The duo had already choreographed their programs in preparation for the Grand Prix, which they were signed up to take part in this fall.
“I didn’t see it coming. We train together every day,” pointed out Séguin. “I know Charlie well and I saw that he was feeling down but after the Olympics, I thought that it was part of the normal post-Olympic crash. It is very intense. There is so much pressure. I wasn’t surprised that things weren’t going quite as well, but I was not expecting a split now, especially after we finished our choreography. We were looking at costumes. The year had gotten started already.”
She didn’t hide that she needs a moment to digest the change. She hadn’t imagined the next few months without her partner.
“I am finding it very difficult, but I respect his decision. We can’t forget that we did everything together. We had a wonderful journey together and we achieved our big goals. We’ve stood side-by-side every day for five years. It’s like a friend, a partner, almost a brother that I’m losing. We can say it like that. Charlie, I liked him a lot, we got along well.”
Bigger Ambitions
Upon returning from Pyeongchang, Charlie Bilodeau realized that he wanted more. He wanted to participate in other Olympic Games and raise his goals.
“I want to go back, but to aim higher. The podium, if it’s possible. I am aware that there is a risk in the choice I’m making to stop skating with Julianne, but it’s a risk that I’m ready to take to have the opportunity to achieve other goals.”
It’s certain that Bilodeau will not be able to participate in the Grand Prix this year, but he is hoping to return to competition as soon as possible. He will be looking for a new partner, the rare pearl with whom he can pursue his Olympic dream.
“I believe deeply that I have not gone as far as I can in skating. It’s the end with Julianne, but I intend to go farther, to find a partner to aim for the 2022 Olympics,” he said.
The ideal partner isn’t easy to find, but he thinks that it is a good time to do it, four years from the Beijing Games Defending Olympic Champions, the Germans Aliona Savchenko and Bruno Massot, only became a team in 2014.
A Moment of Respite
Julianne Séguin is still aiming for the 2022 Games, but is still not clear what caused the end of her partnership with Bilodeau.
“It all happened very fast, but I respect his decision. It’s still fresh. It is difficult to say. It happened a couple days ago, so I am still trying to understand many things while I’m talking about it.”
She will need some time to bounce back. “The 2022 Olympic Games are still in my head. It remains to be seen how the next several months will unfold. I thought… well I need time to know what it is that I want, to regain my composure, to understand what has happened, how it happened.”
However, she too will be looking for a new partner as she does not plan to compete as a singles skater.
The pair Séguin/Bilodeau
Séguin et Bilodeau have been a team since November 2012 and they rapidly rose through the ranks on the national and international scene.
They were silver medalists at the 2014 Canadian Junior Championships, won the Junior Grand Prix Final in 2014 and were silver medalists at the 2015 World Junior Championships.
The pair also won three medals at the Canadian Championships, two on the ISU Challenger Series, plus three medals on the ISU Grand Prix circuit.
They participated in the World Championships three times, with their best result an 8th place finish in 2015.
This is a translation of an article originally posted in Radio-Canada
While the majority of people are in “vacation mode”, the quebecois figure skaters are hard at work in their preparations for their upcoming international competitions.
by Michel Chabot
For a few years now, Patinage Québec has brought together the best athletes in the sport to show their programs to international caliber judges.
Julianne Séguin and Charlie Bilodeau are among the 40 or so skaters present at the Place Bell in Laval. The pair, 9th at the Pyeongchang Olympic Games, are working on their new programs.
“We wanted to get feedback to know if we need to make any major changes,” confirms Bilodeau. “It’s a good time. It’s very useful.”
“This type of camp allows you to be sure you are going in the right direction”, says dance coach Patrice Lauzon. “If you lose your summer, it’s very hard to have a good season.”
Séguin and Bilodeau have kindly revealed the pieces of music that they have chosen to begin this new olympic cycle with.
“For the short program, it’s Groove Is In The Heart by Deee-Lite, so it’s a little bit more of a funky ambience,” revealed Bilodeau.
“For the long, it will be Wicked Game, the version by Theory of a Dead Man,” added on Séguin. “It’s a little more in our comfort zone but all the same a bit of an upgrade.”
Those who are curious can possibly see their new choreography at the Championnate d’été, at Pierrefond, if the two athletes feel that they’re are sufficiently ready. Otherwise they will debut them at the national camp at the beginning of September.
Their goals for the next season are high even though they couldn’t qualify for the free skate at the World Championships following the Olympics.
“We want a big change to happen, that is certain. We want to really wow people.”
- Julianne Séguin
“We won’t hide it, Duhamel/Radford have retired,” says Bilodeau. “We were second in Canada, the first [place finishers] are gone. There is an open spot. We will try and take it.”
The Era Post Virtue/Moir
In ice dance, Carolanne Soucisse and Shane Firus also have ambitious goals, even if they have only been together for two years. With the retirement of Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, gold medalists in Pyeongchang, they want to becomes the best dancers in Canada.
“Yes, we believe that we are the next ones,” responded Soucisse. “After the national championships, we received a lot comments, especially from the public, that we’re going in that direction. So that was very flattering.”
Soucisse, 23, and Firus, who is a year older, just learned that they will compete at two Grand Prix events this autumn. After Skate Canada in October, they will travel to Japan for the NHK Trophy. They will unveil their new programs on the Grand Prix.
“Everyone is doing the tango this year,” said Firus. “And in the Free Dance, we are doing an number inspired by 50 Shades of Grey,” he added with a wink.
It reminds to be seen whether they will be able to dominate the competition.
The Grand Ambitions of Alicia Pineault
On the women’s side, world champion Kaetlyn Osmond continues her career, as does Gabrielle Daleman.
The quebecois Alicia Pineault hopes to get closer to their level as the season progresses.
She received good comments from the judges present at Laval, especially in terms of the emotion she showed during her programs. But she also has elements that need improvement.
“In a nutshell, they told me I needed to improve my speed if I wanted to compete with my international competitors. But I think that I am on the right path.”
- Alicia Pineault
Though she failed to qualify for the last Winter Olympics Games, she has new aspirations.
“I hope to score over 60 points in my short program,” affirmed Alicia Pineault. “This is what makes you different and this is what you must do to reach international podiums. I would also like to be on the national team next year.”
For that to happen, the skater from Varennes would need to be among the top 5 in the country.
She will start her season in Minto, Ontario at the end of July. There, she will debut her new long program, to the song Woman by Shawn Phillips.
TRANSLATION: Ice Dance - Papadakis and Cizeron want to “continue to move people”
After well deserved separate vacations, Guillaume Cizeron and Gabriella Papadakis will return to the rink the first few days of July
by David Opoczynski and Aurélien Philippe-Gérard
Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron have processed the unbelievable incident from the last Olympic Games that cost them the gold medal in ice dance. They tell us about their new ambitions.
They are on vacation until the beginning of the month of July. “It’s very rare, it’s been 5 or 6 years that we haven’t taken more than two weeks off,” explained Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron, 23 years old, already three time world champions and Olympic silver medalists in ice dance.
After having done the draw for the French Open, May 24th, each returned to their family, in Clermont-Ferrand (Puy-de-Dôme), to pass their driving tests. “We are going to live a little more normally for a few weeks,” reports Guillaume. “Then we’ll return [to skating] when we miss it. I hope that we will miss it!”
They will need to, because the European Championships in Belarus (January 21-27, 2019) and Worlds in Japan (March 18-24) are looming. It’s where the road to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics begins, where moving forward they will need to forget the wardrobe malfunction that cost them the gold medal in Pyeongchang.
Looking back, do you think it was your mental strength that allowed you to continue to skate at the Games despite the broken strap on your dress?
GABRIELLA PAPADAKIS: Yes. When you are a high level athlete, you can do great things from time to time if you are talented. But if you don’t have the mental strength, it will only happen a couple times and you will never become consistent. At our level, the mental is as important as the physical preparation. For the Games, we prepared a lot, as much physically as mentally, and yes, without all of this work… (note: she pauses) When I was younger, it would have happened very differently!
So, are you proud of having held on despite the incident?
GP: Uh, yes all the same! It was not easy. After all, this is a sport, these types of things happen. There is not much that is unexpected in skating. We had more than the usual but that’s sport.
GUILLAUME CIZERON: We are trying to bounce back from it too. We are trying to build on our experiences. These little mistakes, we correct them and, after a while, we get to a point where there are barely any left. That is the goal: to keep moving forward, to learn. After, yes, we are always looking for medals, but it’s the process of learning, of enrichment that makes us continue today.
Did the incident change how people see you?
GP: I have the impression that, since we have talked a lot in the media, that it has lead people to know us better (laughs). But after, it’s difficult for us to realize that. We expected to have more popularity because of the Games. But after… It’s difficult to know exactly who is interested in us and why.
In four years, at the 2022 Olympics, will you absolutely need to win gold?
GC: We can’t be looking four years in the future, otherwise we would go crazy. And also, we don’t want this pressure to come at the Games and say: “My God, I have prepared for four years just for now!” We are going year by year. So, we try to have a vision of what we want to bring to our career, to skating, and to the people who watch us. That is what we are passionate about. Our goal is to continue to touch people and to make them feel something, beyond just winning medals and breaking records. Clearly, we are going to try to do both! (laughs)
Do you always keep an eye on your opponents?
GC: We currently train in the biggest skating school in the world in Montreal. It’s more the opposite: it’s the other couples that watch what we do. So we are trying to protect our little bubble and our work. But we live with our competitors every day.
GP: I think that it is also beneficial for us to have the best teams in the world with us. It doesn’t let us rest on our laurels. Generally it works and we like it.
What does it mean to be successful as a pair? [as two]
GC: Our sport only exists in pairs. I think that there are a lot of moral and human values that go along with that. It’s one of the reasons why we like ice dance, and that the discipline needs to be known. We are equal on the ice. We trying to make beautiful things and project human values of helping each other, love, loyalty… We aren’t a couple in real life, some are, but you can’t find the complexity and the richness of these relationships elsewhere. In any case, it’s more rare.
Have you ever thought of having an individual career?
GP: It’s hard to say because, since I started ice dance at the age of 4, the goal was always to find a partner. I don’t regret it at all and I am very happy that destiny has put me on this route.
GC: On my path…
GP: That’s it! (laughs)
This is a translation of an article originally posted in Le Parisien
