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Patrick Chan at High Performance Camp, August 30-September 1, 2017

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Patrick Chan at Skate Canada High Performance Camp, 8-30-2017
Last updated: Sunday, September 10, 2017

Here are Patrick’s activities at High Performance Camp this week!

 

Day 3: Skate Canada High Performance Camp
On the Set

Photos of the Day

Working with the man, #patrickchan, today for TSN and Skate Canada 🇨🇦

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Piroutte Magazine Cover

So nice to see him on the German skating magazine cover! Although… he looks a bit distressed there.

Day 2: Skate Canada High Performance Camp
Day 2: Practice Video Clip

Back Flip Outtakes

Don’t try this at home, folks…

Helping @pchan31 learn a backflip!! #tbt #blooper #figureskater #badgymnastics #lol

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Interview with the Canadian Press

Patrick reiterated a lot of similar things in this interview today. (Direct Video Link)

Patrick: The short program is “Dust in the Wind” by Kansas, which I think many people in the audience know this song. The song means… to me, it’s “Dust in the Wind”, so it’s like, we’re all… flesh and bone. It’s, it’s… no matter what kind of success you have in your life, what kind of disasters or horrible things happen in your life, we all… kind of have a full circle, and we all turn into dust in the wind. It’s kind of my motto for this year, and til the end of the season. It’s just… doing this year the way I want to, and no matter… not thinking so much about the results of this year, as much as everyone’s going crazy about it, it’s… I’m really working hard to not put so much emphasis, just for my own well-being and my own mental health.

The long program is “Hallelujah” by Jeff Buckley… It’s a bit of a tip of the hat to Leonard Cohen, Canadian artist, and just thought it’d be great to come back to Canadian roots. And, even though it’s sung by an American, Jeff Buckley, it’s… I think, the meaning of the song, and the fact that it was composed by, and thought of by a Canadian is… very cool to have that in my back pocket… I think, at an Olympic games, just to feel… even more of that support from Canada, and… feeling proud to be Canadian and representing my country at the greatest stage in the world.

Interview with Skating Beverley Smith

Patrick discussed his technical plans for the season, as well as his philosophy and views of life.

Based on what Patrick said, “Dust in the Wind” must have been chosen in 2015, around the time he had decided to make his comeback. I like how he is working hard to keep his peace of mind and sanity amidst the pressure-filled season. The last two Olympics were not enjoyable for him because he was too focused on the results and not the process or experience. This time I hope he is able to absorb the experience, learn from it, and enjoy it!

“I’m still a human being and normal person,” he said. “Why put emphasis on something that makes such little difference in your life?”

I agree and disagree, Patrick. Yes, stay down-to-earth and approach this Olympics by focusing on the process and not the results. Yet, at the same time, be thankful for the opportunity to go to Pyeongchang; because opportunities like these build upon one another and lead to more opportunities that can change your life!

Interview Video with Skating PJ

 

Skating PJ: What do you need to do to differentiate yourself from the pack heading to the Olympic games in Korea?

Patrick: Honestly? Not much. I think I… honestly need to remember that I have all the tools to perform and skate the way I do because, when I just let go of things, and let them… let myself skate, and not let my mind get in the way, it… I skate the way I’ve always wanted to, and I skate really well, and I think people can see the ease in my skating when that happens. But when I start thinking too much, that’s when things don’t go great.

Skating PJ: And I want to know, you talk about your model being, doing this year the way you want to. What does that actually mean?

Patrick: I think it means this year I’m going about training with… at my own pace, and I’m keeping my expectations realistic, for me. But it’s hard… it’s easy to get away from it when you have the top five men in the world doing all the quads that they are, and people are really putting a lot of interest in the technical side. So that’s more of a reason for me to remember my strengths and what I am good at, and tapping into that, and realizing that that’s what makes me who I am, and makes me the skater that I am, and that’s made me successful. And I’m going to continue doing that. I’m not going to try to do something that other people are doing because it works for them, but it may not work for me.

Skating PJ: Last, really last question this time, because you just brought it up. Top three things that you think you’re good at.

Patrick: Losing myself in the music, and really becoming as one with the music, and transitions into intertwining everything. As a kid, I always remember… when I was skating with Mr. Colson, people would know when my footwork would start, because my whole program was a footwork sequence… with jumps, so… I think those things, those elements are really my go-tos, and then… make me stand out from the rest.

Skating PJ: They sure do. Patrick Chan, good luck this year. Thank you very much for talking to me.

Patrick: Thanks!

CBC Article by Skating PJ
Here’s the in-depth article with PJ Kwong at CBC.ca. Some highlights:

His choices include skating to Dust in the Wind by Kansas for his short program, a choice that coach Marina Zoueva had to think about.

“I am now a big fan of the song,” Zoueva says. “How [Patrick] delivers the feeling of the music, with every nuance, I love this song… I 100 per cent trust Patrick. If he loves the music, he knows what he is doing.”

And he wants to win the team gold:

Finding the motivation to continue working towards a third Olympic Games appearance for Chan includes wanting to win gold in the team event, a step up from the silver that Canada took at the inaugural event in Sochi.

 

Day 1: Skate Canada High Performance Camp
Practice Footage of “Dust in the Wind”

Kansas Dust in the Wind – we're all just small pieces in this world – from @pchiddy

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Interview Clip 1 with Patrick

It seems that Patrick took a nice break on my coast during the summer! Aside from that, he described his approach to his third Olympics season and why the lyrics of “Dust in the Wind” are meaningful to him. See the interview transcript below.

Patrick: Just spent… took my time training… I went to… took a holiday to California for two weeks… and then got slowly back into training… really took my time. I didn’t do any shows in Japan in the summer like I typically do. So I had more time to really focus on the programs and not feel rushed on the day to day work, and the day to day training. And actually it did help. I didn’t think it would actually make a difference, but it really did… because it allowed me to not put so much emphasis on being… striving for perfection on every single day of training, and that… the mistakes is just a part of it… and yeah, it was a good summer taking my time, going at my own pace.

Yeah it’s, I mean, it’s an Olympic season, but it’s my third, so… I really wanted to try to do something different, not approach it the same as I did the last two… because looking back at it, stepping away from it and looking at it now… those two games were not, I could not… I didn’t really enjoy them, I went… it went by so fast that I didn’t have any memorable moments because I think I was just so caught up in micromanaging myself… to skate well and putting too much emphasis on things that really wouldn’t affect my skating. So, I think now, with being older and a little more experienced, I know what works and what really doesn’t work, or doesn’t do anything, so… it’s allowed me to relax a little more and put… enjoy the experience a little more, as opposed to being so focused on the result.

So the short program is “Dust in the Wind” by Kansas. Long program is “Hallelujah” by Jeff Buckley. Both pieces are very unique and different than what I’ve skated. Both have lyrics, which isn’t typical. But… my favorite is “Dust in the Wind” because it’s… it’s got a lot of meaning to it. It’s got… I think, the song itself has… relates a lot to everybody’s life, and… to my life and my approach to this season.

Interview Clip 2 with Patrick

Patrick was very pleased with his pre-season skate at the Onyx Figure Skating Challenge!

Patrick: “Skated at Onyx a week and a half ago, which was way ahead of schedule than I normally am, and… was really happy with how I skated, and how the programs turned out. First ones are always really scary…”

Photos from High Performance Camp Day 1

Breaking the Ice October 12

Donors of $100 or more will be able to meet Patrick and the Canadian national team on October 12 at the Cricket Club!

 

August 30: Patrick’s New Sparkling Wine

Anticipated after his visit to Flat Rock Cellars last month, Patrick announced the release of his sparkling wine!

Rachael Flatt’s hilarious response:

Patrick would need to personally deliver the wine to Miss Flatt’s parents himself, since Flat Rock Cellars cannot ship to the U.S….

And here’s the sparkling wine in the lineup:

 

August 29: Patrick Talks About CANSkate

Patrick talked about the origins of his skating career, and why he started lessons. See the transcript and French version below!

 

Patrick: Well, CANSkate was important for me because my goal wasn’t to be a figure skater when I started CANSkate. My goal was just to learn how to skate. Just like it is important to learn how to swim…

I got into CANSkate because I wanted to play hockey, actually. So it had nothing to do with figure skating. But CANSkate was recommended by again, a hockey… a really famous Russian hockey coach in the Toronto area to get me to learn how to skate, and learn how to stop, learn how to skate backwards; just the basic skills.

So imagine, even a high-level hockey coach recommended to go and take CANSkate lessons so that I would later on have the best skills in order to play hockey really well, or I guess, figure skating (laughs) really well.

CANSkate Video French version

Much thanks to 4everchan for the translation below!

Patinage plus était la première étape à apprendre à patiner.

(CanSkate was the first step to learn skating.)

 

Je voulais jouer le hockey donc pour bien commencer à apprendre les habiletés de base.

(I wanted to play hockey to get started with learning properly the basic skills.)

 

J’ai commencé à Patinage plus car c’est là que j’ai appris toutes les habiletés que je devais avoir pour jouer le hockey.

(I started CanSkate because that’s where I learned all the skills I needed to play hockey.)

 

Pour quelqu’un qui a aucune habileté à patiner.

(For someone who has no skating expérience…)

 

Patinage plus est un endroit où tu peux apprendre un sport qui appartient au Canada. Le patinage ça appartient au Canada, c’est un sport qui est dans notre sang, est dans notre âme alors, pour moi, Patinage plus était l’endroit où j’ai commencé ma passion pour le patinage.

(CanSkate is a place where you can learn a sport that belongs to Canada. Skating does belong to Canada, it’s a sport that is in our blood, in our soul, so for me, CanSkate was where I started my passion for skating.)

 

Related Posts:

Patrick Chan Summer News Update, August 22, 2017

Patrick Chan News, September 2, 2016

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