Team Japan

[SitTwizzle]

  On 7/25/2020 at 11:17 AM, Paskud said:

 In Japan, focused on his gaming career.

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Do you think Stéphane Lambiel may motivate him by advising him a program where he's a game hero, and the right choreographer to make it an entertaining and valuable program at the same time (as Stéphane Lambiel may not be that knowledgeable on video games)? Much as I like Turandot, I prefer watching a skater in what he likes rather than in what I like.

[Paskud]

  On 7/25/2020 at 11:42 AM, SitTwizzle said:

Do you think Stéphane Lambiel may motivate him by advising him a program where he's a game hero, and the right choreographer to make it an entertaining and valuable program at the same time (as Stéphane Lambiel may not be that knowledgeable on video games)? Much as I like Turandot, I prefer watching a skater in what he likes rather than in what I like.

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He is almost 23 yo young man. Not a kid.

[Lunna]

  On 7/25/2020 at 12:57 PM, Paskud said:

He is almost 23 yo young man. Not a kid.

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I would say most 23 yo young men still behave like kids (not all but still). And some games have good OST, but I wonder when and where Shoma will get choreo. He might as well stick to old once, though I'd prefer new FS.

[Paskud]

 

[Marie-E]

Where is it ? A beach in Japan ? It's so peaceful and resourcing ! 

[Songster01]

  On 7/25/2020 at 6:15 AM, barbara said:

I think she was planning on TCC at the end of July, so she's probably just waiting (and training there) until she can fly to Canada. Where is Shoma?

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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. 

[barbara]

  On 7/25/2020 at 10:13 PM, Songster01 said:

 

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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Neither Jun or Yuzu would be traveling via the United States.  I totally understand the US/Canadian border closures but won't people (perhaps with letters from their federation) be allowed to arrive in Canadian cities on direct flights from countries that have the virus totally under control (like Japan and So Korea)? Of course, they would have to quarantine, but I think I'm unclear if Canada is closed to ALL international travelers, regardless of origin.  What if, for instance, someone from New Zealand needed to travel to Toronto?  Landing at a major international airport, an Asian citizen wouldn't, I would hope, face the same sort of prejudice one might find at a US border.  And, wow, that's sad - this is what happens when misinformation is rampant and prejudices come out, as if any one nationality is somehow responsible for this virus.  In the states, we can thank our bigoted president who still calls it the Chinese Flu.

[rockstaryuzu]

  On 7/25/2020 at 10:13 PM, Songster01 said:

 

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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The reality of CCRA border agents is that they have discretion over who they let in to Canada, even in normal times. In theory, you could have all your papers correct and be a white farm boy born and raised in Cochrane, Ont, or what have you, and the border agents don't have to let you in if they think there's reason to keep you out. In practice, that's not how it works, but that 'having discretion' thing is a wide net. One hopes its not being used to discriminate in a racist fashion, but the possibility is always there. 

[Paskud]

Rika herself said that she can't go to Canada because of travel restrictions.

She is training in Switzerland every summer.

[sweetwater]

  On 7/25/2020 at 6:42 PM, Marie-E said:

Where is it ? A beach in Japan ? It's so peaceful and resourcing ! 

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Probably somewhere in Toronto.

 

As for Rika, isn't she training in Champery simply because it is in a highland? Training there would increase her stamina and help her get a feeling of quads since one can jump higher in such a place.

[SitTwizzle]

  On 7/26/2020 at 12:34 AM, barbara said:

Neither Jun or Yuzu would be traveling via the United States.  I totally understand the US/Canadian border closures but won't people (perhaps with letters from their federation) be allowed to arrive in Canadian cities on direct flights from countries that have the virus totally under control (like Japan and So Korea)? Of course, they would have to quarantine, but I think I'm unclear if Canada is closed to ALL international travelers, regardless of origin.  What if, for instance, someone from New Zealand needed to travel to Toronto?  Landing at a major international airport, an Asian citizen wouldn't, I would hope, face the same sort of prejudice one might find at a US border.  And, wow, that's sad - this is what happens when misinformation is rampant and prejudices come out, as if any one nationality is somehow responsible for this virus.  In the states, we can thank our bigoted president who still calls it the Chinese Flu.

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If this can "reassure" you, in France too ministers and media show rampant racism and it appeared in this corona-crisis. I am quite shocked because I hadn't suspected it at all to this date, but not that much as this was not the first time (in 2011 I had "discovered" the extent of antisemitism, and along the time, of other forms of racism).

 

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I hope I don't get political. I have a condition which make me consider new acquaintances less automatically than others, so I feel I have a bit more distance with how we consider skin colours, and I have this "theory". We tend to feel more at ease with people of the same colour as those who bred us when we were infants, and to acquire this ease too with our own skin colour with mirrors, and with the colour of classmates at preschool if parents and teachers don't interfere (with racist considerations) and if we don't have contrary experience.

If we have not been used to a given skin colour (or, more, to given facial muscular implantation and movements) very early, then we are likely to feel a bit uneasy when we meet people with different ones, simply because we don't "feel their feelings" with their facial expressions (or their health with their colour). We should know it and face it and learn to overcome it, I think it must not be difficult, otherwise we will have some racial prejudice, even those who are rationally non-racist, who may develop strange prejudices if they remain in denial of their uneasiness. In general, anything tending to make us more or less racist have to be addressed, not buried/denied, but I am in general in favour of addressing problems instead of hiding them, and this is one of the reasons of my admiration to Yuzuru Hanyu, who keeps his wounds open and clean.

And one of the reasons of my love of him, as a non-Asian person, is how his wealth of so open expressions debunks any uneasiness I could have had towards Eastern Asian facial expressions in general. If you don't have an Eastern Asian type and seek an "excuse" for watching him all the time, I think this is a good one. 

 

[Veveco]

I'm a white European girl with a work permit and I've been told that, if I left Canada right now to go back home for a while, I probably wouldn't be allowed to return. So even without going into the racist issues (which I don't doubt are real) it would be difficult even with the backing of JSF to go to TCC. If Rika and Yuzu have access to ice where they are, it's probably for the best to stay put (or in Rika's case I guess go where she knows she'll be accepted easily. I admit Champery was a surprise).

[Paskud]

report about Yuma and Shun wilding at training camp

poor their coaches

https://sportiva.shueisha.co.jp/clm/othersports/figure/2020/07/26/post_23/index.php

[SitTwizzle]

  On 7/26/2020 at 2:13 PM, Paskud said:

report about Yuma and Shun wilding at training camp

poor their coaches

https://sportiva.shueisha.co.jp/clm/othersports/figure/2020/07/26/post_23/index.php

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Lucky coaches, you mean? So Shun Sato has a quad lutz?

And Yuma Kagiyama's FS will be on Princess Mononoke? We had discussed it for Yuzuru Hanyu and I must say I loved this soundtrack.

[Paskud]

  On 7/26/2020 at 4:17 PM, SitTwizzle said:

Lucky coaches, you mean? So Shun Sato has a quad lutz?

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He landed it already few times at competitions.