The Queen Returneth

Many bloggers and journalists have mourned the absense of the reigning olympic champion Yu-Na Kim during the recent grand prix series. A lack of charisma and performance particularly in the ladies event have left many of us hoping for her to return and inject some star quality back into figure skating again.

But the olympic champ has not been idle. Her long time choreographer, David Wilson has travelled to Yu-Na's new training base in LA and together they have created new programmes for her return. The short programme is to Giselle and the long is a 'Homage to Korea' including the famous folk tune Arirang. A tribute to her home country for the support they have shown her.

Yu-Na explained her music choices - "David Wilson had often recommended Arirang (one of the most famous Korean folk music) for program music. However, I had my reservations because I thought it was never the right time. After the success at the Olympics, I thought now is the right time to give back to the people of Korea and to thank them for their enthusiastic support."

 Her new coach Peter Oppegard says "It's a new level of sophistication in her movement. When we first met, the first thing she mentioned was about further enhancing her artistry. This program allows Yuna to expand her already well-known artistic abilities to new horizons." (Universal Sports)

Yu-Na will debut her new programmes at the World Championships in Tokyo in March. Her competitors may be dreading the queen's return. The audience cannot wait!

The Plot Thickens

Like several bloggers I'm actually starting to enjoy this scandal in skating paradise!

Alongside her english twitter message the other day where she accused Brian Orser of lying. Yu-Na Kim also posted a full statement in korea on her website. A translated version is available here.

Part of her statement reads :

Do you really think that my mother would decide to split with the coach on her own?

I am no longer a child. (Brian Orser) was my coach and it is my final decision whether I decide to continue with him or to part ways. After consulting with my mother and upon careful consideration, this is the decision we made.

Of course, there was the problem regarding the offer to coach another skater , but do you really think that is the only reason? Just reading Brian Orser's interviews, it seems as though we were thoughtless and disrespectful and all of this is our, no, my mother's fault. Are you going to believe what he says at face value?''

This Other Skater refers to her long time rival Mao Asada as the Japan Skating Federation approached Brian to take over Mao's coaching after the games thinking that Yu-Na would retire.

Brian has seemed to make an effort to dispel some of the rumours going around about who said what to who by showing the media a copy of the email he sent to Yu-Na whilst she was in Korea

Subject: rumours
Date: Sun, 25 Apr 2010 20:46:04 -0400

Hi Yuna, hope you are well and getting some rest. i am sure you have heard some of the rumours that have been going around about Mao. I just want you to know that I am loyal to you and am always here for you. Her agency did inquire about me ( and team ) working with her, I told them that you are my first priority. I have to say that I was flattered she has an interest, but your skating comes first.

Let me know if you have any concerns or thoughts. I wanted to contact you and tell you how this all happened.

When are you arriving? and do you have any idea what you are feeling for next year? maybe we should talk about this.

All the kids are missing you here at the club.

Please be in touch. B

This all seems well and good and we would probably all be back on Brian's side of the fence were it not for the fact that he announced Yu-Na's free skate music to the media as well. She is due to skate to a collection of Korean music including the song Arirang (read about it here)

"It's a fantastic program, by far the best one I've seen," Orser said. "It is well beyond even her Concerto in F. It's a complete departure."

Kind words- but he has ruffled more feathers.

Choreographer David Wilson- the only member of the cricket club still on neutral ground has broken his silence to say that he was shocked by Brian announcing this.

Yu-Na's agency said "This can only be construed as a move intended to hurt the skater."

"This started as a simple issue of a skater and coach going their separate ways. We do not want this standoff and accusations to go on any further. We strongly urge Mr. Orser to put an end to the unfounded claims and refrain from disclosing confidential information about Yu-Na Kim's future competition plans."

This is getting juicy now! Brian still insists that he will not coach Mao Asada but he does have some of the top american skaters still under his wing.

Min-Jeong Kwak, Korea's number 2 skater who moved to Toronto around the time of the games has also left Orser. Hardly surprising since she is also a member of Yu-Na's agency and basically shares a slice of Yu-Na's fame. A shame though as she was beginning to blossom under the care of the cricket club.

So that was round 3- bring on round 4

The questions remain- if Yu-Na leaves the cricket club (which I'm guessing she will) Where will she go and who will coach her?

Will she do what Mao did in '08 and go it alone?

Will she come back to competition at all?

Time will tell...............

More Yu-Na news.

This interview with Brian Orser seems to shed some more (though not much) light on the Yu-Na Kim coaching shenanigans. Both parties seem to be acting for some reason as if this seemed to come as a surprise which I don't get. I must say I'm not so sure about Yu-Na's mother's 'agent powers'. But ho hum, what can be done?

Article from the star

First, Olympic champion Kim Yu-na’s camp gave Brian Orser the cold shoulder. Then, they showed the coach who took her to figure skating’s pinnacle the door.

Orser and fellow coach Tracy Wilson got the word earlier this month from Kim’s mother Park Mi-hee that their services were no longer required to guide the 19-year-old national hero from South Korea.

“It was very much a surprise,” said Orser. “There was really no valid reason. I still don’t understand why they did this. I don’t know. It came out of the blue. They sat down with me and Tracy and said we’re not coaching her anymore. And that was that.”

Kim blossomed under the tutelage of Orser and Wilson, who trained her out of the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club, winning the world title in a landslide in 2009 and then overwhelming the field at the Vancouver Olympics to win the gold. Orser was a popular figure in South Korea, and was even featured in a commercial.

Orser and Wilson got the news from Kim’s mother at a meeting on Aug. 2 — the skater wasn’t present. He said he waited three weeks before issuing a release Tuesday because he thought there might be a change of heart and things could be worked out.

Orser, a former world champion and two-time Olympic silver medalist, found the reasons for their dismissal given by Park Mi-hee rather lame.

“They just felt that we had not given much attention to Yu-na, but at the same time she was kind of talking out of both sides of her mouth.,” he said, “She had told us to move forward with other students.

“We were just waiting to get our orders from the mother because that’s what we always did. She always told us when they were ready to move in a certain direction and we had a meeting and we got pen and paper out and we did a plan. We never got to that point.”

Kim’s management company AT Sports later released a statement saying relations between the skater and coach have been “uncomfortable” since May.

Orser said that’s not the case.

“I spoke with her the other day … She seems confused about what’s going on. Because of all this turmoil with her mother, she doesn’t know what’s going on. Nor do I. That’s what I said to her, ‘I’m a little confused, but it’s been a great four years,’” said Orser.

“We just needed to have a little chat with her before I did this (went public), that the last four years were really magical and we had such a great thing and we support her in whatever direction she wants to go. She wasn’t part of any of these decisions about letting us go.”

Orser made it clear money was not an issue at all.

“None of this was over any kind of finances at all. No contract issues. I never had a contract with them from the beginning. I don’t now. There was no issue about bonuses or anything like that. This had nothing to do with money at all.”

Both Orser and Wilson had consciously decided to give Kim some space after the Olympics to figure things out because it had been such an emotional season and decisions had to be made.

“It’s one of those things you can’t force,” he said. “You have to make your choices and your decisions for the right reasons.”

Orser said he got the blessing from Kim’s mother to work with other skaters during the summer. Orser said she told him not to make any time for her daughter because they were unsure of their plans for the off-season.

Orser was left out of the loop all summer, including when Kim went off to Korea in July to do some shows. He read on the internet that she was pulling out of the Grand Prix events for this coming season but planned to compete at the world championships.

“I thought it was a little unfair that I had to read it on the internet, that they never consulted with me at all,” he said. “I kind of figured there was something up there.”

He further suspected something when he got a telephone call from former world ice dancing champion Shae-Lynn Bourne telling him that she would be choreographing Kim’s short program this season.

“It’s fine, but I wasn’t consulted on that, either,” said Orser. “I sent numerous emails to both her agents and to Yu-na when they were in Korea in July and I didn’t get one single response back from them.

“I was asking them what’s going on and saying I’m getting some media interest so I need to know what to say. There was literally not a single response, not one ‘Here’s what to say,’ or ‘We’ll talk to you when we get back.’ I even emailed at the end of it: ‘When are you coming back to Toronto?’ There was not even a response there. It was really kind of pathetic.”

Orser is philosophical moving forward. He’s working with a pair of fast-rising Americans Adam Rippon and Christina Gao, among others.

“I’ve got some great kids. I love my job, I love my work and I’ll continue to. I’ll probably lose more kids along the way.”

Also - contemplate Yu-Na's twitter message posted today (Before that she hadn't tweeted a thing in weeks) - Would you please stop to tell a lie, B? (Brian??) I know exactly what's going on now and this is what I've DECIDED.

There's something more behind this than has been leaked to Joe Public.........Yet.

Shocker!

I woke up and checked my twitter this morning to read some news no-one expected

Olympic Champion Yu-Na Kim has split with her coach, Brian Orser!


Figure Skaters Online reports:
Meehee Park, Yu-Na Kim’s mother and a representative with AT Sports (Kim’s agency), met with Brian Orser and Tracy Wilson on August 2 in Toronto, Canada. They both informed the two-time Olympic Medalist that he would no longer be retained to coach Kim. No reason was given for the sudden and unexpected decision. At the present time Kim continues to train at the Cricket Club in Toronto, Canada.

Under Orser’s four year successful tutelage Kim captured the World Championships, the 2010 Olympic Gold Medal in Vancouver and countless other titles. In addition to Kim, Orser coaches many future hopefuls including U.S. skaters Adam Rippon and Christina Gao.

“I am honored to have worked with such a talented and gifted skater,” said Orser. “I wish her all the best as she moves forward in her skating career.”

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I cannot uncerstand the reasons for this at all. Yu-Na has been very lucky at the Cricket Club to have a full coaching team including her choreographer there all the time. Not to mention the protection she has had from the media hoard!

I read that David Wilson coached Yu-Na through her shows in Korea. The only reason I can see is that there was some dispute with Brian after the games that we don't know. This is sad news all the same.