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Songster01

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Everything posted by Songster01

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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):
  5. 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.
  6. 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:
  7. 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.
  8. 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:
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. 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).
  14. 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.
  15. 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!
  16. I wonder if ACI, which is also "postponed", may have a similar fate, as it only has a bit of room to move before SCI, before it's too close to be super useful as a "first pancake now spend a few weeks working out the kinks" competition, unless a) the fed has no choice to hold it a couple weeks before SCI, or b) it has that role, but is moved to after SCI, maybe as a preamble to CNats. Though maybe SCC in November might complicate that. Of course w/o Yuzu, and w/o more than 50 allowed indoors, ACI is not a source of money this year, so I think it being held would be for program mileage more than anything else. The above is just my rank speculation, not based on any insider info or even rumors.
  17. Hello! I know I missed the SPs last night, but do we want to open up a Cup of Colorado event thread? Tomoki, Camden, Vincent, and Karen Chen among skaters...
  18. I am more cautious than Roman, not least because I am less trusting of SC and other institutions, which often seem to value money over people's lives. Of course skaters want to skate and compete, so it's no surprise if many of them argue for it. Yes, Canada has done better than some nations, but also not nearly as well as others, like South Korea, Taiwan, and New Zealand. If we get complacent, we will see more cases, though hopefully the masking rules will stay in place and the province will be open to shutting down bars and indoor dining (or more), when that happens. Surely we've seen enough examples of how easily the virus can return if people act foolishly, or a government doesn't show leadership, to know that Canada could easily the next place with a significant spike. There is a lot of suspicion and opposition with the current plan in Ontario for schools re-opening, which have the potential to have outbreaks, as Israel and the US have been showing us. Multiple unions are also not pleased by UofT's plan either. With the flu season starting during the skating season, that means more testing capacity has to be able to handle both at the same time. Certainly kudos to our labs at upping capacity to the point where in Ontario we are in better shape than this spring! But if cases spike enough, we may be back to rationing tests again. I've no idea if Roman has been following the growing body of research on the long-term medical ramifications of getting COVID-19, but I'd rather keep the risk of complications to an absolute minimum. Even young and fit athletes' hearts and lungs are getting affected. Ask American college football coaches about the number of players suffering from this and their season had not yet started. Thankfully they are cancelling their season. We must be the wise and unselfish ones who values athletes' long-term health over $$ and PR. It's clear that Roman doesn't really know much about what's going on elsewhere COVD-wise, or is considering how small-fed skaters are going to be at great disadvantage, in this model. Which is not a surprise, as elite athletes often have tunnel vision. I don't mean that maliciously, as tunnel vision is often what makes them be successful athletes. If the ISU just let nations do domestic events and "open to domestic and international skaters" invitational events without adding in the unneeded nonsense of a GP series and a Final, I think I'd be far more confident about countries with good track records hosting these limited and fanless events (which still could be broadcast or streamed), based on their local situations. It's the Final that has me worried the most. I hope Canada stays firm in its resolution to not waive quarantines for people entering Canada, and I hope they don't send athletes abroad to any place that does not have a 2-week quarantine in place as well. Too many countries have or continue to fudge or be unable to properly count their case and death numbers to just blindly send our athletic teams abroad to places that won't or can't be truthful about statistics. Such places' safety measures would also likely not be sufficient, no matter how much their PR might say otherwise. Again, the ISU has frequently shown it clearly is more interested in money and PR than in the physical and mental well-being of their athletes. It does sound like they are trying to pressure China to not cancel CoC despite what the Chinese government announced. I'm not saying the Chinese government will bow to the ISU, more like the ISU shouldn't be pressuring them regardless.
  19. Ah, Las Vegas, sounds like a wonderful place to drag skaters and their teams (and volunteers etc): https://twitter.com/aslavitt/status/1289756365506797568?s=21 To clarify, that health person being interviewed sounds like a poor excuse of a STEM worker, beholden to the economic interests of Vegas. Don't expect the local authorities to shut SkAm down, because they clearly don't care if visitors bring COVID-19 or or take it back home. No way should USFS hold something there; but I doubt they'd move it
  20. Sorry for quoting my own post here, but you might like to consult the article linked to in the epidemiologist's tweet in the quote on aerosolization of the virus in a cold German meat packing plant. It's one of the more recent articles showing up on aerosolization of the virus that show that lack of good ventilation indoors makes a cold building a happy playground for COVID-19. GPs would apparently appear later than normal, possibly after the start of the flu season, which further complicates matters. Even if the flu season is mild, it still means that many more people will need testing as they try to figure out what infection they have. More people may need to isolate while awaiting results/end of symptoms. Moreover, schools and childcare likely will be be open and provide fresh sources of infection. Bars may also be open and provide more of the same. How much so depends partly on luck, but mostly on plans that actually work to keep infections very low. So keeping numbers down to the bare minimum necessary to staff a competition and obsessively clean and monitor a space would be crucial. Fans anywhere, even in places that seem to have successfully controlled the virus, would be an unnecessary risk, so at any competition I'd hope they'd keep fans out. Here in Ontario for now we are only allowed 50 people indoors and only if masked, so I wouldn't be shocked if they had to stagger different disciplines at an event to fit that number. It's possible they might decide to loosen things like Québec did and up the numbers somewhat, but I rather hope they do not. I think we are already pushing things here with bars and indoor dining. I hate the geographically close rule, especially if skaters are required to do 2 events (hopefully the rumours suggesting they won't have to do two are correct). I would feel sick if any skaters training here in Canada had to decide whether going to the US was worth the risk if it was left to them to decide. A chart showing current positivity rates in the US by state: https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1291251411007803395/photo/1 Note that Nevada remains firmly in the red zone for positivity of tests, at over 18% atm. Not some place they should be hosting an event at. Yes, I know the numbers will change over time, one way or another, but multiple peaks can happen in any place that isn't vigilant. If it much happen pick a state that is most likely to handle the disease well in the long term, with a proactive governor and more mature and community-minded populace.
  21. The federal government recently renewed the closing of the border to all foreigners (apart from exceptions mentioned by me on other threads) at least until the end of August. Considering that schools open in September, keeping things shut especially to short-term visitors (if Rika was only coming originally for a few weeks) makes a lot of sense, Shorter stays wouldn't play well with our 14-day quarantine for all visitors. I def agree with the quarantine, so if that nixes short-term visits, so be it. The provinces will have their hands full with school starting in September and prepping for the coming flu season with COVID-19 bonus. Worrying about numerous international travellers might put too much strain on public health. Now, second-year-and-up international uni students are being let into Canada if they agree to quarantine, and their situation is more like Yuzu, Jun, Evgenia, and Katja's, that is, they expect to be spending much of the year in Canada. However, I won't be surprised if the door is closed for these skaters, if it's felt that amateur foreign athletes who aren't American are not worth opening the border for. It's not like they are pro players in a popular sport with lucrative contracts and broadcasting rights.
  22. The federal travel restrictions and guidelines are are not aimed just at people coming from the US, but every nation. Apart from people meeting certain narrow conditions and a few loopholes (for ex, people driving to Alaska have to go through part of Canada) no one is allowed into Canada. And almost everyone who comes here must quarantine. I heard yesterday that European airlines are trying to get the feds to loosen up towards European tourists, but as numbers seem to be trending upwards in more than one European country (Spain apparently is the most worrisome case?), I think it's safer to keep the status quo for now. We should only consider opening up when both Canada is clearly under control, in other words has an extremely low trending of cases for a long time (and we really need several months at Stage 3 levels to see how lax people get) _and_ there are certain individual countries that meet rigorous guidelines. I'd rather it be decided by public health concerns most of all. That would seem fairer. Welp, American parents of first-year students complained and the feds here listened to them: https://www.cicnews.com/2020/07/canada-exempts-u-s-students-from-travel-restrictions-but-theres-a-catch-0715161.html#gs.c2p4qi I have to say I'm against them giving preferential treatment to American students, I get that they are geographically close and we have ties of friendship, but the situation is too dire there and it sends a bad message to people in countries doing far better than the US who also send far more students here. I say this as a US citizen who was in these kids' shoes a few decades ago; I am sure the kids are disappointed. Nevertheless, I'd rather they reward countries that consistently have handled their outbreaks well, like Taiwan or New Zealand. South Korea sends more students here than the US does and has done far better than the US (and us!) in handling COVID-19, so why weren't they made the exceptions instead? That is if they want to come, but I totally understand if South Koreans are looking at Canada's record as not being good enough to risk sending there kids here during the pandemic. Or if Canada being too close to the US is a concern, given we are giving Americans preferential treatment. I begin to wonder if any of Team Japan who left will be able to come here before the end of this fs season...
  23. Recent article on long-hauling vs. re-infection question that seems nuanced, for anyone interested on what may be going on: https://elemental.medium.com/the-mystery-of-why-some-people-keep-testing-positive-for-covid-19-3c0c11a6bd10 Hopefully, survivors like Anastasia will be recognized as potentially having a range of long-term physical and mental consequences so that they get prompt and thorough help. I really hope athletes and the people around them are extremely careful, because even following best practices like A did does not mean 100% safety alas. Many younger people fare pretty well, but even minor lung/heart/vascular damage could powerfully impact an elite athlete and potentially curtail or end a career.
  24. Unless this move was planned well before and Rika got a study or study-type permit, or even a letter telling her she would be getting one before late March 2020, she may be in a predicament similar to first-year international students coming to Canada, that is, they are being told not to try to cross the border until restrictions are lifted at some point. Second-years on up can come through as long as their permit is ok or maybe would have been renewed anyway? It's been so long since I had to do it I forget when I had to renew. Anyway, I've heard especially American parents are mad about this and are trying to get that to change. In related news the US-Canada land border restrictions have been extended until late August and likely will be renewed again. Jason was allowed in as a special exception with letters from both his fed and SC (it sounds like a letter from TCC and host family with a quarantine plan was not enough for border security to allow him to cross, so he came back later with letters from both feds and then was allowed in). Obviously speculating here, but Rika (and probably any other Team Japan members wanting to enter from Japan) would likely need similar letters from home and host feds, even if she has a permit from before late March. One would hope that would be enough for at least long-term training like Jason's--if R's stay was just a few weeks it might be considered impractical to come, since the 2-week quarantine rule happily remains in place for all people arriving, with the exception of the most essential workers like truck drivers bringing in essential supplies. So it's quite possible she is training instead in a TCC-friendly place like Champèry (Ghislain is usually a summer teacher there, Stephane has visited and maybe taught as TCC as well). Rika may not try to enter Canada until circumstances change for her or Canadian rules change. Again, speculation. What I would _not_ want to see is non-American skaters who have lived and trained in Canada in past years (Yuzu, Jun, Utashin, among others) and had the same letters from the two relevant feds not getting the same exception as Jason (and C/B?) did. Although Canada is multicultural and in some ways more progressive than other countries, it still has a long and ugly history of systemic and other forms of racism. Border officials, who are often white, are not exempt from these attitudes. Please note though, there is _no evidence_ I'm aware of at this time of this happening to athletes from Asian countries. Just me being cautious, based on history and seeing more nastiness aimed at East Asian Canadians in southern Ontario this year.
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