Caitlin Yankowskas on Ice Partner Search

Discussion in 'Great Skate Debate' started by jkl, Mar 19, 2013.

  1. LilJen

    LilJen Well-Known Member

    HE'S TOO SHORT, HE'S TOO SHORT, HE'S TOO SHORT (and slight). :deadhorse: Lather, rinse, repeat.
  2. DarrellH

    DarrellH New Member

    LOL! Not suggesting him, but was just asking if he was recently searching for someone.
  3. dots

    dots Well-Known Member

    It's Andrew Speroff isn't it???

    Gretchen!!!! :wuzrobbed
  4. Ziggy

    Ziggy Well-Known Member

    I think she's going to retire and skate on a cruise ship. :p

    Honestly, most people really need a reality check regarding Yankowskas. She's pretty and she was an elegant skater but she doesn't have the stick thin, tiny pre-pubescent girl body that is optimal for pairs and she was never a very strong or consistent jumper.
    Habs and (deleted member) like this.
  5. orbitz

    orbitz Well-Known Member

    ^ ITA. That's why I don't understand praises for Yankowskas such as she is "arguably the most talented American female pairs skater of the last 10 years." Seriously?
    Habs and (deleted member) like this.
  6. Sayana_mnk

    Sayana_mnk Member

    Well, I am sure it must be a mistake...but it is interesting that Yakowskas' IPS profile lists dance under the "wants to compete" section rather than pairs.
  7. figureit

    figureit Member


    Wow that is a little rough...yikes.

    On another forum discussing this some of the comments were:

    "Josh Regan has already found another partner". I heard it was Andrea Popst

    "This is the third time Caitlin has been replaced".

    "I'm really curious as to what caused this split....Seriously, what happened?
    From what I have heard, Reagan does not have the best work ethic and apparently he and Caitlin had many disagreements on the ice".

    Maybe there is some truth to this. In pairs I can imagine if the couple had different focuses and work ethics it could cause a lot of problems. I have heard that Popst had issues with that as well and often times would not show at the rink during training and it caused issues. That was on a forum so I guess it is hearsay but if it is true....maybe they are better matched together P/R. Not everyone has to skate every second. Everyone trains differently so maybe it is better for him and Caitlin needs a partner who really really wants it and is a good compliment for her in more than just looks. I can't help saying that Rockne would be good. He can obviously skate with someone her size as Keauna was the exact same. He is extremely focused and is tough I hear with training. He has a strong work ethic. I know he is short but he's done it before. I know he is with Davis but you never know so maybe?? I also think Mark Ludwig would be a great way to get back into skating right now too but truly Mark and Lindsey should have stayed together. With fourth at Nationals that gave them a boost. :hat1:

    The Merry-GO- Round is just starting with pairs too so who knows??? Anything is possible I guess.:D
  8. jdonavan

    jdonavan Member

    THIS THIS THIS! My guess, she will never touch the competitive ice again. And really folks, Andrew Speroff? lol
  9. stjeaskategym

    stjeaskategym Well-Known Member

    How are they the exact same? Caitlin is 5'3". Keauna was barely over 5'0". 5'3" girls don't tend to partner with 5'8" guys, especially when they aren't twigs. So many people have mentioned Rockne for Caitlin, it's unbelievable. I guess because she was partnered with the 6'2" John Coughlin so many people have a warped idea of her size?
    Last edited: Mar 22, 2013
  10. Skittl1321

    Skittl1321 Well-Known Member

    Maybe she has realized her time in pairs has passed and is just trying to find a way to stay on the ice?

    A height of 5'3" isn't a liability in dance at all, like it appears to be in pairs. However, the US has a pretty deep pairs field, so it will be tough to break into.

    However, you may be right it is a mistake, because she says she wants to compete senior dance, and lists no tests at all. I guess if we start hearing about her taking dance tests, we'll know if it is true. I'm surprised she doesn't have at least the first few dance tests. Pretty much every skater I know has dabbled in dance enough to take the preliminary test by the time they get to novice or junior free.
  11. kirkbiggestfan

    kirkbiggestfan Well-Known Member

    Tiffany Stiegler and Fedor Andreev switched to dance in their twenties under the supervison of Zoueva...I hope it is a typo too, but it may not be after all.
  12. antmanb

    antmanb Well-Known Member

    Oleg Protopopov?
  13. Sylvia

    Sylvia On to Nationals!

    If you copy comments from another board to this one, you really should include the link:!

    It must be a simple mistake since Yankowskas doesn't mention switching to dance in her profile comments.
    Last edited: Mar 22, 2013
  14. analia

    analia Active Member

    With all the expensive gifts Josh had bought Caitlin (and vice versa) I think these two don't need skating as much as those in direr financial situation.
  15. Mayra

    Mayra Well-Known Member

    Yeah, because Caitlin and Josh are taking away precious endorsements and financial opportunities that might otherwise have gone to other pair skaters?

    Pair skating in America being the lucrative business that it is now...
    :shuffle: :confused:
  16. kwanfan1818

    kwanfan1818 I <3 Kozuka

    That may have been before the exception provision, where the ISU (Council) could force a release between 2-3 seasons. An inner USFS group decided to keep Matthews for a full four years, which was protested in a general meeting, but the protest got nowhere.

    After that she medalled at 4C's in 2006, which was going to be the start timer the four seasons she'd be on hold. In typical hypocritical USFS fashion, USFS released the partner with whom she won JWC and the 4C's silver, and Zavozin was competing at Europeans a little less than two years after the break-up, not four seasons.
  17. julieann

    julieann Well-Known Member

    To Yankowska's credit her and John were only together for about 4 seasons and really didn't have a good season until 2010-11. 6th at Worlds, 4th at 4CC, 3rd and 4th on the Grand Prix and they won nationals. She's not yet 23 so there's no reason she can't hold out hope for another partner, she is a great skater. I hate to see skaters like her and Maria Mukhortova not be able to skate for lack of partners.
  18. Vash01


    IIRC Natalia Mishkutenok was bigger than Caitlyn (sp?)Yankowskas, yet she was a very successful pairs skater. Of course it helped that Artur Dmitriev was her partner. He could even lift a man- off ice! I don't think Yankowskas is too big for a pairs skater. She just needs the right partner but she may be running out of time at this point. It may really be time for her to consider partners outside of the USA.
  19. Skittl1321

    Skittl1321 Well-Known Member

    I think most pairs men can do this. At least, based on the facebook pictures I see- it appears to be the thing to do when they drink...
    I don't think many of them can throw each other in triple twists though- that seems to be where size is the biggest issue.
  20. stjeaskategym

    stjeaskategym Well-Known Member

    Of course she isn't. Volosozhar is 5'3". She just needs a solidly built 6 fter (preferably taller), and we all know how plentiful they are.
  21. MacMadame

    MacMadame Cat Lady-in-Training

    This thread bothers me a bit. I mean the very first suggestion of a partner for Yankowskas is someone who is teamed up with another skater? The very first! I think that's amazingly rude and worse to that skater's actual partner. It makes me mad enough for her that I want to hunt some of you down and kick you in the pants. These aren't trading cards but real people.
  22. Skittl1321

    Skittl1321 Well-Known Member

    Do American pairs men tend on the shorter side? Because 5'3" doesn't seem too tall, yet her height is often discussed as a liability.
  23. Ziggy

    Ziggy Well-Known Member

    Lack of partners was pretty low on the list of Mukhortova's isssues. :p

    It's not just the height. Yankowskas has a woman's body with curves. And sadly that's really not good in this sport which favours twigs because of how the biomechanics work.
  24. Jeschke

    Jeschke Well-Known Member

    aaaah, mukhortova....:wuzrobbed

    my wounded heart :(
  25. stjeaskategym

    stjeaskategym Well-Known Member

    I agree. I know some people like to suggest "dream pairings", but some of the scenarios that get mentioned on forums are so unrealistic or not really beneficial that all they really do is knock the partners the skaters currently have. One minute people are begging for teams (sometimes even teams they've never seen before) to stay together, and then the next minute they act like this is the NBA where you can swap players around a bunch of times to try to make instantaneously stronger teams. :lol: Creating pairs that truly work is really not simple.
  26. FSfan107

    FSfan107 Well-Known Member

    Yankowskas is trim and very fit. She seems to have lost weight recently from the picture I saw of her on Facebook. I don't think of her as "curvy" at all. IMO, we shouldn't be discussing her weight at all. Women pair skaters have it really tough, we don't need to be giving them eating disorders.
  27. acraven

    acraven Well-Known Member

    I think it's more that there just aren't many male pair skaters in the US, period, and some of those we do have are short enough that they probably need partners closer to 5' than to 5'3. Most males who go into pairs seem to make the switch in their mid-teens or later. By that time, there aren't that many boys left in the sport. Since it's mostly the more successful skaters who stick around to the age of 15 - 18 (or older), and jumping tends to be easier for the not-so-tall skaters, a lot of the mid-teen and older male skaters are of average height or less. And of course not every tallish male skater wants to go into--or stay in--pairs.
  28. Ziggy

    Ziggy Well-Known Member

    I didn't say she wasn't fit and I didn't say she needed to lose weight. I said she has a woman's body and not a girl's body (curvy doesn't mean overweight, unfit or fat last time I checked the dictionary).
  29. Coco

    Coco Well-Known Member

    Caitlin needs to go all "toe pick!" and find a minor league hockey player who probably isn't going to make it to the NHL for whatever reason.
    Vash01 and (deleted member) like this.
  30. Smiley0884

    Smiley0884 Well-Known Member

    Thank you! People tend to misuse the word "curvy" since the media has decided to re-invent the word as a PC replacement for overweight, thick, large build, ect.

    Caitlin does have curves, but she also looks small's a shame there aren't more U.S. pairs men available for her to skate with. I wonder if she could possibly find a singles skater to convert to pairs?

    I'm not in the group that thinks Caitlin is the savior to U.S. Pairs skating, but I do think she is super talented, and it's a shame that she can't seem to find an ideal partner.