[GDT] February 17 General Thread

[GirlySports]

Can we cheer for falls in ice dance?

[FFR]

Davis and White are about to skate. Virtue and Moir are currently first. David and White are the last skaters to go.

[Machiavelli]

LOL at that second Russian pair. The look on the guy's face with their starting pose...

[Alberta_Beef]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

Can we cheer for falls in ice dance?

I was sheering for crashes in Luge hoping it would help us get a medal, so cheering for a fall in figure skating is more than acceptable by my standards.


When I say I cheered for crashes I mean crashes without injury, I hate seeing people get hurt.

[MRCboicgy]

That just wasn't as enjoyable to watch.

[Methanolic]

That American girls makeup is atrocious. Cross between a china doll and some character from avatar,

[formulate]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

Can we cheer for falls in ice dance?

I'm cheering for a world record free skate to hold up. Maybe just a little stumble

[FFR]

Well that was pretty spectacular as well.

Strange comment from the commentator about skating in Virtue/Moir's shadow. Considering they are unbeaten in international competition since 2012 (which they just mentioned).

[Alberta_Beef]

Laura Benz of the Swiss hockey team has been on the ice for a while. She took a shoulder to the top head and at least to me it looked like he neck really compacted.

edit: she got up and skated off with help

[Machiavelli]

Originally Posted by MRCboicgy

That just wasn't as enjoyable to watch.

It seemed more calculated.

[Yamer]

I'm thinking silver Virtue/Moir....

EDIT: Yep. Not disappointed. Both teams skated lights out.

[FFR]

And that is expected. Their skate was flawless.

[Kelekin]

Btw FFR, I do agree with you in regards to any competitors where being an athlete repesenting Canada is their job. The one thing I think that we sometimes forget is that this isn't the case for everybody. My ex-roommate had to work a full time job, and then spent his nights training, and he competed for Canada at multiple World Championships in Canoe/Kayak racing. He never got any economic supplementation to do so, even when they placed well. Other countries (i.e. Russia) give their athletes the ability to be full time athletes.

[MissTeeks]

His hair is still stupid.

[MRCboicgy]

Originally Posted by Machiavelli

It seemed more calculated.

It seemed more like a pairs event with a lot of lifts and spins, just not the jumps

[Kelekin]

Deserving gold for White/Davis, they've just been incredible the past two years. Virtue/Moir with silver, still a solid way to end their career as Canada's best ever ice dance team.

[Senator Clay Davis]

It was basically a choice between the technically better performance and the more emotionally powerful performance. Was always going to be difficult for Virtue and Moir.

[FFR]

Originally Posted by Kelekin

Btw FFR, I do agree with you in regards to any competitors where being an athlete repesenting Canada is their job. The one thing I think that we sometimes forget is that this isn't the case for everybody. My ex-roommate had to work a full time job, and then spent his nights training, and he competed for Canada at multiple World Championships in Canoe/Kayak racing. He never got any economic supplementation to do so, even when they placed well. Other countries (i.e. Russia) give their athletes the ability to be full time athletes.

Totally agree. I was an elite level athlete for a number of years and had to work a full time job to support my morning and evening training.

That's why I want to see a culture shift in Canada towards expecting winning. If we, as a nation, expect winning - it will demand more from our government and sport programs in terms of funding. Athletes in Canada are woefully underfunded and it impacts their ability to train to be the best in the world. I think that lack of funding stems from the general opinion that just getting to the Olympics and having a personal best is satisfactory. Why put more money and effort into sport (as a government) when we are happy with Canadian records and personal bests? It's a really attainable goal that will continue to be achieved. We need higher goals to effect change in Canada's amateur sport scene.

[GirlySports]

Flames should sign this Swiss goalie

[Kelekin]

Originally Posted by FFR

Totally agree. I was an elite level athlete for a number of years and had to work a full time job to support my morning and evening training.

That's why I want to see a culture shift in Canada towards expecting winning. If we, as a nation, expect winning - it will demand more from our government and sport programs in terms of funding. Athletes in Canada are woefully underfunded and it impacts their ability to train to be the best in the world. I think that lack of funding stems from the general opinion that just getting to the Olympics and having a personal best is satisfactory. Why put more money and effort into sport (as a government) when we are happy with Canadian records and personal bests? It's a really attainable goal that will continue to be achieved. We need higher goals to effect change in Canada's amateur sport scene.

I think we need more venues too. Recreational venues serve a greater purpose than people think. If there was a moguls hill 30 minutes from me, it would be a lot easier for me to have interest in the sport than half way across the country. More speed-skating ovals (or ice-rinks that can double as speed-skating ovals on weekends, etc), a couple ski jumps. It is true though, we underfund athletes and we need greater overall exposure of these sports. Everyone likes to play hockey, but hockey is a much more expensive game to get your kids into than having them try out some of these sports.