Songster01

Honestly SC should make the event virtual or postpone/cancel it. When public health is advising people to only go out for necessities, to only socialize with your own household, and to limit even in-provincial travel to essential reasons they should not be permitting an indoor event mixing together people from outside the province and different parts of the province to take place. Show us that you actually value the health and safety of skaters and their teams above points and medals. I fear our laggard of a premier has shut the barn door after the horses ran away. Our testing and tracing system is borked so we don’t have a grasp of the specifics, just a rough idea that cases are surging and that percentages of older people getting COVID-19 and hospitalizations are going up now too. We had time to fix past mistakes but Ford’s refusal to fund the testing and tracing system until the end of September and ignoring of many public health and infectious disease specialists is bearing the expected poor fruit.

Glad she is not risking travel for an uncertain welcome here, especially as cases are surging here in Ontario (you can thank poor handling of things by the provincial government, undoing all the hard work of the long lockdown this past winter-spring)! Unfortunately, I'm also relieved she's not going to GPs tied to lax countries like Russia and France. Again, her health is more important than any need to see her compete in unsafe circumstances.

Yes, I hope it's tied to being safety-minded and choosing not to go out-of-state (a move I would heartily applaud, considering the potential risks tied to travel and the chance that he could get heart damage or another long-term reaction to COVID-19), or having to return to Canada for some reason, and not because he is injured or ill (or in a longer recovery from same). Patience would seem to favour fostering long-term health over rushing to compete as a new senior, while many parts of the world are seeing new surges.

A correction by Emma on Twitter re: the circumstances of her leaving Broadmoor: And if you want to feel further sickened, see what happened with Nyman's most recent pairs partner (read both tweets as the second has a correction):

The US fed stinks to high heaven; the way they handled the RC and JC cases was appalling. Not a shock that it took a brave young woman, a true supporter of the victims, for this to come out. Enraging that by merely voicing support privately, she was hounded out of skating and had to wait until she left before she could go public.

Second Addendum: Tweeted out by Ottawa's Public Health Unit Addendum: Toronto's top public health doctor is asking the province to institute much stronger restrictions including suspending indoor sporting activities (not sure yet if only for gyms or team sports as listed in the screenshot, or if rinks and individual sports would also be included. No idea if our "Do as I say, not as I do" premier will institute these measures and if so, if they would only be for Toronto, only for the GTA, or would also include the Ottawa area. We reached over 700 cases today, which once again is worse than the numbers we got last spring. Positivity, ages of those infected, hospitalizations going up since the middle of last month, so I hope we act before those numbers rival spring statistics. If SCI is a casualty it would be disappointing, but it is better to prevent the surge from getting worse:

FYI for Canadian events: https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/restrictions-on-non-u-s-international-travel-extended-to-oct-31-1.5127130 No one (apart from the US citizens, which considering the US's track record and once-again rising cases in certain states) will be allowed in unless they fit into certain exceptions. Unless Jun is accepted as some kind of international student I can't see him being let in. Could Katja even be considered an international student at her age? Idk. Even if J and K are allowed in, they will have to quarantine for 2 weeks. No level playing field for them in that case. If the ISU permits virtual entries then that of course is a different matter, though again it doesn't seem quite fair to the skaters, though better than the quarantine option. Anyway, as cases are rising here in Ontario, I don't feel comfortable with skaters risking themselves to fly within Canada, let alone internationally. Let's not forget the steady trickle of COVID-positive airline-related cases that have been arriving here all through the summer and now fall. Honestly, I'd 1000% support the cancelling of SCI as part of restrictions to move case numbers back down sharply. Disappointing? Yes, but better than anyone present falling ill and potentially spreading it to others. I can't even watch any Russian events now, too sickened and disgusted by the lax to near complete lack of safety protocols being followed. You'd think they'd want to protect the talent, knowledge, and skill their skaters and coaching teams represent, but I expect to feel similarly about IdF, considering the laxness of French authorities and resulting spike in cases. Audiences anywhere, even by countries with somewhat better recent track records (China, Japan), seem like a wholly unnecessary risk. We are not talking here about the potential for the illness alone, but also long-term consequences.

Naa posted this. She has posted consistently on sexual abuse and is not someone I would expect to go after someone, especially a fellow WOC, lightly:

I can't see Canada's border opening soon or the quarantine rule ending, for several reasons. Numbers in several provinces are rising again here (ON, QU, BC, for example) and almost no one is expecting much from the US until it gets a better President in office. Most Canadians support the border closures. It's deeply unfortunate that we don't reward countries that consistently do well, though seeing even the best countries deal with subsequent surges and outbreaks, it may be that our government does not want to have to have to open and then close the borders for many countries as situations change. Moreover, we already got 20-some passengers with positive tests landing in Canada in September alone, and that's with very little screening of passengers. Much easier to continue to say "mostly nope to everyone" to keep things simple and drastically limit the amount of sick people coming here to fuel things further. I've even heard speculation that Canada is avoiding singling out the US to prevent Trump from having a tantrum and undermining the closure agreement. If that is actually a central concern, then maybe we might see things open a bit more if Trump loses and leaves office, but that too would still take us into 2021. At any rate, don't be surprised if we keep the status quo here into 2021 (I've heard mid or even late 2021 as potential re-opening dates). TCC may not see Yuzu or other non-North American skaters before spring or summer. And, much as I'd love to see Yuzu and the others back here, I support our government keeping things shut, as it would be easy for outbreaks from travelers to cause serious problems here, unless certain things drastically change (most Canadians and many foreigners take a safe & effective vaccine/Trump is out of office and most US states crush the curve/screening etc at airports here is seriously ramped up). No idea about when Japan would change its quarantine rules etc.; maybe someone who lives there might know. Regardless, I've no idea if Ghislain would feel comfortable traveling outside Canada, given his age (no idea if he or anyone in his family has any co-morbidities or immune problems that would make travel even riskier). So if things eased on that end, I hope no one will blame TCC coaches if none of them go to Japan, even if they only faced one or no quarantine period. Note: I'm definitely not thinking you would do so.

Honestly, I'd feel better if skaters outside AB would be just permitted to compete remotely in the SCC, if they don't get a bye. AB shouldn't want people from other provinces for non-essential visits, especially as numbers are going up in BC, ON, and QU (the primary skating centres of Canada), and schools have recently opened/will be opening soon and will be adding to cases. But then, Jason Kenney is the premier of Alberta, so I have low expectations.

Yes, there are some precautions but I think permitting an audience for this indoor event is ridiculous. I feel sorry for the skaters taking part, forced to travel for JO and facing an audience from all over Japan, when even domestic travel during the pandemic should be very limited. I'm glad Yuzuru isn't normally part of this and so likely didn't face pressure at least for this event. And glad that Satoko and others are abroad and therefore not participating. Hopefully the provinces and Skate Canada won't be permitting audiences at their events this season, so Satoko and the other skaters here should at least be safe from the additional potential infection sources an audience represents. I'll happily pay for streams, but I won't potentially endanger others, most especially my immune-compromised partner, by attending a non-essential crowded indoor event, even with masks being worn.

Reading this article makes me wonder why any of us (definitely including myself here) should be hoping for skating competitions at all this season. If we truly value people's lives, why can't we pause until after a safe and effective vaccine is rolled out for most people? The GPF in particular and even international championships (without a strict bubble, competent and universal masking, and 2-weeks quarantining on both ends) seem ridiculous. Virtual events/people doing demos at their respective clubs (if they are open) seem far safer. We know now that aerosols are a serious mode of transmission, so sending teams into others' rinks for many hours at a time is risky even if there are no fans permitted. And those feds allowing fans in is beyond ridiculous. I certainly hope Ontario retains its strict limiting of numbers in indoor spaces and make fans an impossibility.

In these cases I find the lawyers who volunteer for the Organization of Transformative Works, who have been asked to testify before Congressional committees and are consulted for articles on the legality of fanworks, very helpful: https://io9.gizmodo.com/are-fan-fiction-and-fan-art-legal-5933976 In short, I'd ask questions like: is the work actively and substantially harming the market? For example, is there some official company selling dolls of Yuzuru in North America (or is accessible to NA consumers) for profit that fan-made Yuzuru dolls would seriously harm? If you go to a skating event do you typically find official images or art of skaters for sale? How about dolls or banners? At most, I've seen trade cards or sheets handed out for free by Edea, etc. I've only seen fed/event merch which features the artistic design of the event, but not the skaters in the fed. At least that is the case at events in Canada I've been to. In addition, is the artist is just recouping their costs, or trying to make a substantial profit? Most fanartists I personally know charge for labour/materials (if applicable) and shipping (if applicable), but don't make a profit. And many artists tend to undercharge if anything when it comes to rates. I do know of shady people who steal commercial and fanart and then pretend it's theirs and charge for it, which is reprehensible. In that case one would alert the creator, who could initiate a takedown order (if possible, not all companies will pay attention to foreign requests). Personally, I have had banners made for various skaters, for which I was charged for labour and shipping. I also commissioned a fanartist friend make a pic of Masquerade!Yuzuru and got her permission to make it into a badge to gift to other Yuzuru fans, which I gave out at ACI as gifts. This friend just charges flat rates for art based on b/w vs. color and labour (a quick black and white sketch does not require the same effort as an elaborate full-colour portrait). I would be frankly surprised if a) those banners or badges (or those dolls) were harming the market or making their creators even comfortably well off, so unless the doll maker is making substantial profits/is clearly stealing official merchandise/other's work, I don't see that Yuzuru or the people running ice shows/fs competitions are being harmed. Commissioning banners and that piece of fanart didn't stop me from getting tickets to events near me that included Yuzuru, nor did it stop me from buying official fs magazines from Japan on Amazon/CD Japan. If I was ever lucky enough to go to a show with Yuzuru, I would definitely shell out for official merch if it was sold. If competitions here started selling official Yuzu merch I'd go for that (and other skaters' merch too).

I see Gabby is not mentioned at all. No idea if that means she's taking the season off to heal more, retiring, or something else. She was doing that beauty contest recently, but I've no idea if that panned out or not, given restrictions here affecting many events. She's been through so much; I wish her all the best whatever she's decided. Conrad, Joseph P, Aurora Cotop are among those not mentioned in the senior team either. Conrad was on the senior national team last year, so was Aurora iirc. I forget if Joseph was to move up this year, but he's not listed in juniors either. Stephen G no longer given senior funding, as he was last year iirc, but at least he's got junior funding. Overall, it looks like SC funding is much more conservative for seniors this year, given we don't know what events will actually happen, planned or not. I think TCC has had Alison under their care for multiple years, even though she was listed under another club and was connected strongly with Lee until last season. In fact I suspect the change from Lee B. may have happened last season, as Alison was with TCC coaches (I think the same team as listed on the SC website) at CNats last year. I had been wondering if they were "sharing" with Lee, or if the change just hadn't been announced. Amelia was def with TCC also last year and went with Conrad, Jason, and Corey to China if memory serves. Of course Amelia and Alison were juniors (and Amelia still in Next Gen this season), so if you meant a senior Canadian woman, then you are absolutely right.

Nice interview! Thank you for sharing! He had a rough season last year, but the story of his fight is quite inspiring. I hope he can stay on until the post-Olys season as he hopes. I also hope he can to shows outside NA, as he clearly loves to perform and is a crowd-pleaser. I sympathize with his desire to compete. Still, I rather doubt 4CC will happen in Australia. Especially after what's been going on in Victoria, I doubt they will want to open themselves to additional sources of infection. IIRC the fed gov't wasn't interested in allowing international flights, even before that surge? Hopefully ISU will give AUS a new event to host before Keegan retires and he can get a new hat!