Allons-y! French skating news & updates

[Eris]

Here's the interview witn Nathalie and Fabian after SD at Nationals http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xg6...ce-tours_sport

Could I ask anybody to translate? Thanks.

[katasardi]

As far as I know from FFSG documentation, one of the technical specialists were the very good hungarian specialist, Ms. Zsófia Kulcsár (attended at men SP, LP, ladies SP, LP).
But do you have any idea why they invited an outsider specialist to the French Nationals? I didn't hear any kind of scandal or sg what should have justified this action. (I mean the Hungarian Skating Federation - MOKSZ - invites an outsider specialist or controller if there is any kind of suspection about favouring someone or not favouring someone).

Any news?

[Sylvia]

French team named for Euros:

Ladies:
Maé Bérénice MEITE
‐ Substitutes : Yrétha SILETE / Léna MAROCCO
Men :
Brian JOUBERT / Florent AMODIO / Alban PREAUBERT
‐ Substitutes : Chafik BESSEGHIER / Romain PONSART
Dance :
Nathalie PECHALAT / Fabien BOURZAT
Pernelle CARRON / Lloyd JONES
‐ Substitutes : Zoé BLANC / Pierre Loup BOUQUET
Pairs :
Adeline CANAC / Yannick BONHEUR

French team for Winter Universiade (Erzurum, Turkey, Jan. 27-Feb. 5) that was posted today in the event thread in Kiss and Cry:

Candice Didier
Chafik Besseghier
Thomas Sosniak
Yannick Ponsero
Zoe Blanc - Pierre Loup Bouquet

if Ponsero competes here! So it's allowed for one country to send 3 entries in one discipline?

French team for Junior Worlds:

Ladies :
Yrétha SILETE

‐ Substitute : Léna MAROCCO
Men :
Romain PONSART

‐ Substitute : Thomas SOSNIAK
Dance :
Tiffany ZAHORSKI / Alexis MIART
Gabriella PAPADAKIS / Guillaume CIZERON

‐ Substitute n°1 : Geraldine BOTT / Neil BROWN

‐ Substitute n°2 : Sofia GASSOUMI / Arnaud PASZTORY

[poths]

I fricken HOPE this is true.It would mean Ponsero is planning on a 2012 comeback

[cholla]

Here's the interview witn Nathalie and Fabian after SD at Nationals http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xg6...ce-tours_sportCould I ask anybody to translate? Thanks.

- What do you have to say about this Short Dance ?
Nathalie : We skated without apprehension. We were maybe not as sharp technically as we were for the Grand Prix or the GP Finale. Our goal today wasn't to present something hyper-clean, but just to meet again with the French public, that was the most important thing. I think that this SD wasn't techincally perfect but it was skated relatively well, [well] danced and moving.

- You look a bit tired now that we've reached the end of the mid-season...
Fabian : True, these championships are our 7th competition this season, it's starting to be a bit wearing but we are delighted to be back on a 56 x 26 [meters] rink, which means Olympic size. All in all, I think that lately we proved we could perform in all the competitions we did so we are going to do it again, right ?
Nathalie : Of course. We are tired because we're just back from Beijing, we have had no time to rest, we have to cope with let lag again. Honestly, the legs are OK and the most positive thing these days is we have a very strong mind. So, although we are physically tired, we live through this [competition] without stress nor pressure.

- Do you think/feel that this first half of season is heavier, regarding competitions but also your performances and results ? Do you thinkl you've reached a new milestone ?
Fabian : I think that both [the competitions and performances + results]helped us but the most important thing is that the two programs we built this season are made to our measure and above all, that we really want to skate them every time [at every competition]. We have no apprehension while skating and I think that, for our mental [comfort], it's also a good thing to be able to say : we love our programs, we are going to give our all to it.
Nathalie : We added two international competitions [to our schedule] at the beginning of the season to validate our SD, it was essential.
Fabian : And it was not...
- You changed it.
Nathalie : Yes, we did, but see, it was a good thing, it means we had enough time to do it. True, our objectives were mainly Bompard Trophy and the GP Finale and now, we're a bit in the 'trough of the wave', but the performance is still there.

- Is the French title important to you ?
Nathalie : Yes, yes it's important because even if the [main] goal is to win the European title, we couldn't compete [at Nationals] last year due to an injury and it was impossible to give up on this title for two years [in a row].
Fabian : It's important because we are abroad all the time, we train in Moscow, most of our competitions are abroad except for Bompard Trophy. So it's important to say we think of you [the public], here we are and we are going to do good to please you.
Nathalie : There is the audience, the federation and also the judges. At Bompart Trophy, there was only one French judge. Here the best French judges are present.

[cholla]

A big, well, HUGE thank you to all the people who read my interview of Péchalat/Bourzat @ Annecy-Infosports last spring. It is, to this day, the page that has been visited the most during the entire year 2010 ! Figure skating fans are really THE BEST. Thank you again !! . The site is about many other sports and I would never have thought that an ITW of Fskaters would generate the 2010 greatest number of hits ! Thanks to Nathalie and Fabian too

[barbk]

A big, well, HUGE thank you to all the people who read my interview of Péchalat/Bourzat @ Annecy-Infosports last spring. It is, to this day, the page that has been visited the mostduring the entire year 2010 ! Figure skating fans are really THE BEST. Thank you again !!

That's awesome, Cholla. Thanks for bringing us such interesting interviews.

[cholla]

Interview Yannick Ponsero.

[sus2850]

Interview Yannick Ponsero.

Thanks for that interview!
I was a bit sad to hear that he apparently did some shows in Otober I hadn't known about. Not much publicity on that I guess. He could have put that on his website but it was never renewed after nationals in December 2009...

[Eris]

cholla, I've just noticed your translation, sorry! And thank you so much for that!
And for the interview too, I love it.

[briancoogaert]

Very interesting ! Thanks Cholla !

[ioana]

I'm not sure if this was already posted in another thread, but TF1 has a short video of Nathalie and Fabian after they won Euros.

The floppy ear hats around :47 and Oleg Volkov yelling "Sabotage!" during a training session in Moscow at 1:03 are brilliant.
Video

cholla, the Annecy website is 'undergoing maintenance.' Hopefully it gets back online soon. I'd love to read the interviews.

[cholla]

cholla, the Annecy website is 'undergoing maintenance.' Hopefully it gets back online soon. I'd love to read the interviews.

I know. We're having troubles but it should be solved within 24 hours. So much for all what was supposed to be published from and right after Bern. It must all be edited and pruned now

[ioana]

Interview Yannick Ponsero.

Site is back up-and-running, but now I feel like an idiot for getting all excited about Yannick's showing in Turkey and how well his comeback is going. When this was part of the plan all along and he has no plans to compete in 2012. I really hope he does miss skating and decides to eventually make a comeback. So much of ease of movement in all his skating....

Hopefully the re-pruned and re-edited news after Berne will show up soon, as well .

[Squibble]

Has the FFSG named its team for Worlds yet?

Candice Didier just won the Ladies' competition at the Winter Universiade with a Total Score of 144.08. (Her ISU Total Personal Best Score is 135.25.) That's significantly higher than the best scores Silete and Méité have earned.

[Nomad]

Wow. Congratulations, Candice!

[ioana]

Candice had an ugly fall on her 3toe in the program and landed in the splits. She finished the rest of the program (only about 1 minute left), but she was reclining/almost laying down in the KnC, looking much like she did at World a couple of years ago. They had to get about 3 coaches and someone who I assume was the team doctor in the KnC to help move her.

I would think she won't get named to any World teams or the like until it turns out she's ok first. Fingers crossed she is. Girl seems to have the worst possible timing when it comes to injuries.

[Nomad]

^ Damn. That poor girl sure has had more than her share of ugly falls. (((Candice)))

[annie_mg]

Candice had an ugly fall on her 3toe in the program and landed in the splits. She finished the rest of the program (only about 1 minute left), but she was reclining/almost laying down in the KnC, looking much like she did at World a couple of years ago. They had to get about 3 coaches and someone who I assume was the team doctor in the KnC to help move her.

I would think she won't get named to any World teams or the like until it turns out she's ok first. Fingers crossed she is. Girl seems to have the worst possible timing when it comes to injuries.

Poor her..aren t skaters supposed to know how to fall so they wont hurt themselves? Im not a skater but its not often you see a skater fall hard and go into the splits.

[ioana]

Candice actually rotated the jump to land on one foot, but from what I could see her free leg was low to the ice and she was late getting it out on the landing. And then her right edge caved in. So her right leg was going in one direction once she lost the edge and the left was still swinging out going in a different direction. I think she was pretty lucky to fall straight down because that's how you could do serious knee damage.

You're right about freak falls like hers not happening very often, though. Thankfully!