Allons-y! French skating news & updates

[kirkbiggestfan]

The French Fed did a great job by obtaining 2 Senior GP for Lena. They believe in her. Marroco and Meite are the best jumping beans they have had in years. They desperatly need to get better results from their ladies. Marrocco has all the triples and displayed them in international competitions last season. Fixing pairs is a priority but getting a stronger ladies filed seems to be even more important. I can't wait to see her at NHK.

[Nmsis]

Besseghir is the guy with the great jumps, isn't he?

Yes, that's him.
He lacks a bit of control but I wouldn't be surprised if he does a quintuple during training once in his life. I think he has already tried and done a 4-4 once (during a training session before a competition this last season, can't remember if it was Nats or a TDF).

Any chance Lena might eventully try out pairs? Coia is available by the sounds of it and I always thought she had the basics for it.

What kirkbiggestfan said.
Plus she is in Annecy. The skaters of Annecy usually stay in Annecy (for the place and for the family ambiance which is very different from any other center, dixit Valentina Marchei). Several girls of Annecy made tries in the past with Bonheur or Coia, but none of them wished to move, either to Paris or abroad.

Also, any news on Sandra Sitbon? She had the best programs choreographed by Sandra Garde a few years ago, incuding a very cool D'Artagnan LP.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMo78CWAkfw

She was injured last summer and at the begining of the season. Her club went through a major mess, involving parents, coaches, leaving skaters, 2 clubs fighting, dismissals, banging doors, ... I'm not sure but I think they went to court. Then it settled during the season.
Plus she's in highschool, probably in première or terminale, trying to get her baccalauréat, which is the worse period for the french skaters and often leads the girls to call it quit.

Anyway, she has 0 support from the french fed. She got none after her surprising arrival 2 seasons ago. This year, she was 5th at Nats and she isn't even considered for a spot for a JGP (she has 2 more seasons ahead as a junior), even less for a GP.

That's even more of a shame with Garde's choreos. I so hope someone in Annecy will ask to work with her (that's where she begun) like Vanessa Gusmeroli did. When I see Marrocco's choreographies, I just pray for that to happen.



The fed has issued a communiqué about the skaters it'll review for JPG spots :

ice-dance (more independant from the head of the fed, they usually make broader choices, even if the head of the fed has the last word on the selection) :
- PAPADAKIS Gabriella / CIZERON Guillaume - Clermont
- BOTT Géraldine / BROWN Neil - Lyon Charlemagne
- GASSOUMI Sofia / PASZTORY Arnaud - Lyon Baraban
- ZAHORSKI Tiffany / MIART Alexis - Lyon Charlemagne
- LEININGER Magali / CAUREL Maxime - Lyon Baraban
- BARBOSA Julie / SCHEUER Brian - Viry Chatillon
- GASSOUMI Myriam / LE MOLAIRE Clément - Lyon Baraban
- CRAVINHHO Marine / CHANTELAUZE Mahil - Clermont
- ROBERT- SIFAOUI Sarah / MOLLNAR Christopher - ?
- BRANELLA Lisa / BERGER Nicolas - ?

ladies :
- GILERON GORY Lénaëlle,
- SILETE Yretha,
- TALEB Bahia,
- VENTARD Anaïs,
- CIRILLI Laurianne
- ZEROUROU Aline.
all from Annecy, except Yretha.
They seem to be targeting the 13-14 yo, 15 yo maximum.
That reflects the year Annecy had in the junior, novice and minime categories but that casts aside girls like Sitbon (she's 17).

boys
- PONSART Romain, Champigny
- SOSNIAK Thomas, Compiègne
- BERGOUGNOUX Jordan, Toulouse
- HOCQUAUX Simon, Nancy
- LAVOISIER Gaylord, Champigny
- LOURENCO Quentin, Villenave
- SIAO HIM FA Benjamin, Villenave
- TOUR Cédric, Nice

Given the date of the Masters, none out of those will make the JGPs.

[mia joy]

He lacks a bit of control but I wouldn't be surprised if he does a quintuple during training once in his life. I think he has already tried and done a 4-4 once (during a training session before a competition this last season, can't remember if it was Nats or a TDF).

seriously? wow, I have to check out this guy. I mean, a quad-quad combination is sth beyond my imagination. Does any vid of him doing it exist?

[musdancenow]

There are actually a few videos of Maximin and Vanessa! BEAUTIFUL lines and great jumps, I still have my fingers crossed for them. Who knows what the future could bring.

SBS Double axels:
http://www.facebook.com/video/?of=51...subj=513085973

SBS Triple toes:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/...subj=513085973

SBS Triple sals:
http://www.facebook.com/video/?of=51...subj=513085973

Stroking! (great extensions at the end):
http://www.facebook.com/video/?of=51...subj=513085973

[Coco]

Wow - it's hard not to get excited about their prospects. I know landing jumps in synch like that during a program is much harder, but still - what potential!

[casken]

Blanc / Bouquet will spend some time with Linichuk. Péchalat

Is it just to work on technique? I don't know if I want her creating programs for them.

OTOH, Vanessa James has been elected within the federal council (along with Zoé Blanc and Surya Bonaly) at the last general assembly.

Cool! Now what does that mean.

[Théo]

seriously?

Yes, quad toe-quad toe combo attempt, during the practice in last French Nationals. He is 20 years old, he skates since seven years only.

wow, I have to check out this guy. I mean, a quad-quad combination is sth beyond my imagination. Does any vid of him doing it exist ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtyvNpcyhQA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32qjzLs6v_c

[Nmsis]

Cool! Now what does that mean.

That Zoé was elected as the representative of the skaters under 26 yo at the federal council and the rapporteur of the council toward the athletes ?
(I mean, what else is it supposed to mean ? )
That's the kind of stuff miss Blanc could do perfectly, she has a very reasonable head on her shoulders and seems involved in community stuff. (AFAIK, beside skating, she's an aide éducatrice pour les handicapés, which I think means she helps handicapped children at school to allow them to have the most normal scholarship possible. She is 22 but she definitly isn't the air head type )

Does any vid of him doing it exist?

Somewhere, probably, but the most likely person to bring one out there is Théo and he didn't, so I wouldn't count on it.

BEAUTIFUL lines and great jumps, I still have my fingers crossed for them. Who knows what the future could bring.

Yes, *sigh*. Does it have a better chance if I cross my toes too ?
()

Is it just to work on technique? I don't know if I want her creating programs for them.

I have no fear about that.
Honestly, I can't imagine them choreographed by anyone else than their coach. Ever. And I think they can't either.
(plus french forum found them super musics for last season which Arribert listened to and chose *crossing fingers for this season*, so nobody has any right to choreograph for them but Arribert. She has a great musical taste and is the coolest choreographer ever - at least in ice-dance)

[deepedge]

Does anyone know why the two junior teams from Villards are not on the list The brother sister team and Benjamin Leze and his new partner.

[casken]

That Zoé was elected as the representative of the skaters under 26 yo at the federal council and the rapporteur of the council toward the athletes ?
(I mean, what else is it supposed to mean ? )
That's the kind of stuff miss Blanc could do perfectly, she has a very reasonable head on her shoulders and seems involved in community stuff. (AFAIK, beside skating, she's an aide éducatrice pour les handicapés, which I think means she helps handicapped children at school to allow them to have the most normal scholarship possible. She is 22 but she definitly isn't the air head type )

Thanks for the explanation. I honestly had no idea what they did once elected.

[Libertango]

ice-dance (more independant from the head of the fed, they usually make broader choices, even if the head of the fed has the last word on the selection) :
- PAPADAKIS Gabriella / CIZERON Guillaume - Clermont
- BOTT Géraldine / BROWN Neil - Lyon Charlemagne
- GASSOUMI Sofia / PASZTORY Arnaud - Lyon Baraban
- ZAHORSKI Tiffany / MIART Alexis - Lyon Charlemagne
- LEININGER Magali / CAUREL Maxime - Lyon Baraban
- BARBOSA Julie / SCHEUER Brian - Viry Chatillon
- GASSOUMI Myriam / LE MOLAIRE Clément - Lyon Baraban
- CRAVINHHO Marine / CHANTELAUZE Mahil - Clermont
- ROBERT- SIFAOUI Sarah / MOLLNAR Christopher - ?
- BRANELLA Lisa / BERGER Nicolas - ?

What about Chloé Ibanez & Marien de la Asuncion ? Are they even still together?

[Ziggy]

Besseghir is the guy with the great jumps, isn't he? He really lacked artistry last time I saw him but his jumps were wow. So great news that he is working with Carmelengo!!

Yeah, that is great to hear.

He has a consistent 4toe and if he can raised his PCS too, he will become quite a force.

Thanks a lot for the YouTube videos Théo.

I watched them and whilst his jumping is amazing, I would honestly give him around 1.50 on some of the PCS.

Terrible posture, no relation to the music whatsoever, he just strokes through the program without the slightest attention to detail.

His jumps are already amazing. He should totally focus on ballet/dance training, maybe work with Ice Dance coaches for a bit. And definitely work a lot on his programs. Hopefully he can see Camerlengo again during the season.

[ioana]

The French Fed did a great job by obtaining 2 Senior GP for Lena. They believe in her. Marroco and Meite are the best jumping beans they have had in years. They desperatly need to get better results from their ladies. Marrocco has all the triples and displayed them in international competitions last season. Fixing pairs is a priority but getting a stronger ladies filed seems to be even more important. I can't wait to see her at NHK.

I guess that was personal bias in favor of pairs coming thorugh. She should do well in singles and eventually be in the top 10 at least at Europeans, but with the right partner she could have be even more successful in pairs. I never understood treating pairs as a 'refurbishing' factory for former singles skaters, but I got the impression I'm the minority. Or at least on the other side of the fence from the French Fed.

That's even more of a shame with Garde's choreos. I so hope someone in Annecy will ask to work with her (that's where she begun) like Vanessa Gusmeroli did. When I see Marrocco's choreographies, I just pray for that to happen.

It would be nice if more skaters went to her. Some of the juniors could definitely use some choreographic direction -of any sort!- in their programs. She seems to do well with off-beat programs, so maybe even someone like Alban could go to her. Then again, Muriel Zazoui is not exactly a bad choice, either .

[letsskate]

There are actually a few videos of Maximin and Vanessa! BEAUTIFUL lines and great jumps, I still have my fingers crossed for them. Who knows what the future could bring.

SBS Double axels:
http://www.facebook.com/video/?of=51...subj=513085973

SBS Triple toes:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/...subj=513085973

SBS Triple sals:
http://www.facebook.com/video/?of=51...subj=513085973

Stroking! (great extensions at the end):
http://www.facebook.com/video/?of=51...subj=513085973

These videos do look good, but they all seem to be added a month ago, so are they still skating together?

[Ziggy]

These videos do look good, but they all seem to be added a month ago, so are they still skating together?

Nobody knows that.

And could Didier G. please send Marocco to some decent choreographer because she's been terribly bland so far.

[Nmsis]

What about Chloé Ibanez & Marien de la Asuncion ? Are they even still together?

Marien is 21. He's no longer eligible in junior.

Does anyone know why the two junior teams from Villards are not on the list The brother sister team and Benjamin Leze and his new partner.

I don't exactly know but last year, the selections were defined by the age of the dancers. The Flémin were still skating as novices on season 2008-2009. (that's why Neil Brown was pushed aside at first, before Lyon complained)
This year in dance, the fed has selected jr 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 (5 and 7 aged out, 8 Royer/Lézé split), then they jumped to jr 12 and a jr couple who didn't compete last season. And they have add novice 1, 3 and 5 (5 would have been 1st to 3rd if they hadn't messed up their FD big time to end 14th of that segment)

(for the boys they have taken jr 1 to 7 minus Ciprès who is aging out, plus novices 1 and 2, and for the girls, they have taken jr 2 Silété -Marrocco and Méité were 1 and 3- and novices 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5)

[taz'smum]

Marien is 21. He's no longer eligible in junior.


I don't exactly know but last year, the selections were defined by the age of the dancers. The Flémin were still skating as novices on season 2008-2009. (that's why Neil Brown was pushed aside at first, before Lyon complained)
This year in dance, the fed has selected jr 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 (5 and 7 aged out, 8 Royer/Lézé split), then they jumped to jr 12 and a jr couple who didn't compete last season. And they have add novice 1, 3 and 5 (5 would have been 1st to 3rd if they hadn't messed up their FD big time to end 14th of that segment)

Marien is skating with Clara Berger at Charlemagne in Seniors.

Neil was seen (subjectively) by the Fed as having changed partners too often, it was for that reason that he was penalised by not initially being given a JGP.

The reason the Jr 12 couple were selected over others, was because to come 12th after only having skated together for 8 weeks was no mean achievement. Nicolas has found a really strong partner in the American Liza Branelli, and they were looking very good indeed at the May Fed Stage in Paris.
(All the junior couples were invited to attend the May stage to have their programs validated in the light of all the rule changes this season, it could well have been used by the Fed as an opportunity to pre-select for selections, as there were couples at the May stage who aren't on the list for selections)

Chris and Sarah, were also present at the May stage and showed promise.

Since Sarah and Nicolas are already known to the Fed as being good skaters, that would have also influenced the Fed's decision for selecting them.

[Zemgirl]

James/Coia were assigned to TEB when the assignments were released last month, but the FFSG July newsletter lists two French TBA slots and no J/C. So my guess is that it didn't work, and Vanessa may have other plans in France.

[Tony Wheeler]

I don't think Maximin was ever that serious about competing with Vanessa, but it might have been a little wishful thinking of Vanessa's part (and Gailhaguet's!). Maximin has contracts with skating shows until the end of the 2010/2011 season-- something he is really looking forward to. He told Vanessa that if she absolutely cannot find a partner, then he might consider coming back in 2012. Not likely, though.

Anyways, I think it's funny that Didier Gailhaguet and/or the other Federation powers (if there are any) assigned these two to Bompard when they had only been practicing together for a few weeks AND they hadn't even started any programs yet. I know he's the one that tried to get the team together, but come on...

[Libertango]

Marien is skating with Clara Berger at Charlemagne in Seniors.

What a shame that Chloé & Marien are no longer skating together
I hope Chloé is looking for another partner, she's only 17...