German Skating News 2019/2020

[Sabine-Yuna]

I am confused. Only Hase/Seegert and Pavlova/Blommaert are listed for Challenge Cup.
I can see the event is maybe too close to junior worlds for H/K but how wants fed to make a fair decision then? If P/B mess up, it's easy, but if they skate great,...

H/ K have set a big statement at Nationals and at Euros. I don't think P/ B will be able to top that (if they will do so good for them). I would expect high scores in The Hague (higher than at Euros), because it's the last possibility for the Worlds minimums (and the Dutch pair needs it), but I guess the Fed will take that into account.
H/ K seem to be safe, so they prepare for JW which is close to Challenge Cup. P/ B need to skate outstanding at Bav. Open and Ch. Cup to top the great results of H/ K at the last two competitions and they still have Bav. Open.

 

[cs.berlin]

Like the last song on a record you never wanted to hear, and suddenly
it's the coolest of all.

 

[text_skate]

Spiegel has in this week's edition a detailed report about DEU and her handling of causa Droysen/F.
paid content: https://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/index-2020-5.html

If you're member of a public library or uni (D / CH), you may acces Der Spiegel via Munzinger Archiv with your library credentials (no payment) – provided your library is listed

Don't have time to translate, and anyway, paid content is tricky.

What was mentionned and came to mind: Daniel Wende and his wife held up a poster in Sotchi with F.'s portait, because they wanted to show their support for him and express their dissent, that DOSB didn't allow F. to represent Germany. Daniel Wende will be running the national training center in Oberstdorf.

Shoutouts to Michael Huth and his wife for supporting Droysen

Some witnesses are afraid, that when they go on record, they're gonna get punished by judges in the next competition.

Task for judges: Draw up a statement and act by it, that you will support skaters, who go public about any kind of abuse as witnesses or otherwise

 

[Jeschke]

Some witnesses are afraid, that when they go on record, they're gonna get punished by judges in the next competition.
Task for judges: Draw up a statement and act by it, that you will support skaters, who go public about any kind of abuse as witnesses or otherwise

I hope you mean 'fair' judging!
'Support' could be misinterpreted.

 

[text_skate]

I hope you mean 'fair' judging!
'Support' could be misinterpreted.

You're right. Of course, fair.

 

[text_skate]

Fun piece in taz (today's print edtion, online version still a bit print-like), not strictly German skating related, more into history of the beginnings of figure skating: "World champion like, almost, thanks to loophole in rules"

Elke Wittich Erste Frauen : Nahezu weltmeisterlichdank Lücke im Regelwerk

taz.de

Enjoy

I just say Madge Syers v. Ulrich Salchow

 

[kittyjake5]

Aliona back on the ice. That twist is fabulous.

#skate hashtag on Twitter

See Tweets about #skate on Twitter. See what people are saying and join the conversation.

twitter.com

 

[cs.berlin]

Aliona back on the ice. That twist is fabulous.

Training in Switzerland, for:
"They will show their celebrated, highly emotional Olympic freestyle for the last time on Sunday, February 9th at 1:00 pm in the Barclaycard Arena (Hamburg) and run their performance, which was especially created for HOLIDAY ON ICE."

Added by @aljonasavchenko Instagram post First triple Twist since February 2019! and 4 months after giving birth to my beautiful baby girl 👧🏼♥️ _ #supermami #olympics #superpartner #johnwilsonblades #edea #figureskating #proud #workhard #dowhatyoulov

Instagram post added by aljonasavchenko First triple Twist since February 2019! and 4 months after giving birth to my beautiful baby girl 👧🏼♥️ _ #supermami #olympics #superpartner #johnwilsonblades #edea #figureskating #proud #workhard #dowhatyoulove - Picuki.com

www.picuki.com

In less than 10 days they want to show that already, crazy...

 

[cs.berlin]

The biggest German tabloid (Germans know what is meant by that) gives a somewhat deeper (and more realistic) insight into what could - or rather not - become of Aljona and Bruno's "comeback plans". If one is honest with oneself (and not just since today), these (at least) two and hardly surmountable reasons against a return to competitive ice are becoming more and more apparent. If not another "miracle" happens ... (as always, it is primarily about money). But read for yourself.


»Alyona Savchenko and Bruno Massot "Without sponsors we could not afford the Olympics"

Training for Holiday on Ice. Bruno Massot and Alyona Savchenko met again for the first time on the ice

SHE says, "I miss everything. The ice. The competition. The fans. I really miss the atmosphere." HE says, "Right here, right now, I don't really miss anything."

It's late afternoon in the ice sports centre in Oberstdorf, Hall 2, when the two 2018 Olympic champions will be going out on the ice together for the first time in almost a year's break.

A lot has happened in the lives of figure skater Alyona Savchenko (36) and her partner Bruno Massot (30). SHE became the mother of a daughter in September, HE is now working as a coach and will become a father for the second time in May.

Two years ago they won the most emotional gold medal at the Olympic Games in South Korea, moved the fans to tears with their 'freestyle routine'. Weeks later they also won World Championship gold. After that it became quieter around the two stars of the Winter Games in Pyeongchang.

Now they stand on the ice in Oberstdorf, shivering slightly, with teenagers training around them. Massot gets a cramp in his thigh after 20 minutes, he gasps.

They have started training here for their - so far - only appearance this year. On February 9th they will skate together at "Holiday on Ice" in Hamburg, a show gala to the music of "Shades of Grey". SHE is looking forward to one of the rare performances: "This will be a real highlight after the long break." HE says: "It is a wonderful way to experience the fans.

The big question is what they will do afterwards: End their careers, or do we still want to do Beijing 2022?

Whoever listens to the two of them like this gets the impression: SHE want the comeback more than HE does.

Massot says: "I hurt my head and my body a lot to reach our goal. I still have the feeling that I have to recover from it. I love my new life in Switzerland, my small family, the work as a coach there. The family is now the priority. But we are thinking about coming back. We'll decide together."

Aljona, a lance corporal in the sports promotion group of the German Armed Forces, is currently mainly looking after daughter Amilia (five months). She says: "We are right at the beginning of the decision. We really don't know yet how and if it will continue.

One thing is certain: If they want a chance at a medal at the Beijing Games, they need one or more patrons. After all, winning the Olympic Games has not been worthwhile financially.

Savchenko says: "When we come back, we have to be financially secure. We need sponsors. Our income alone is not enough."

Hall, coaches, travel - all that costs: "But if nobody is really interested, then we have to earn money in another way. Then, unfortunately, we have to go in another direction."

Would it ever reach the top of the world again?

She nods: "In any case I could get back into shape. If we started training again, it would all come back." She watches the current EC in Graz on television. "There I sit with my daughter on the arm and enjoy watching."

She smiles, looks dreamy. Then she must go on - breastfeeding the baby.«

 

[Jeschke]

After all, winning the Olympic Games has not been worthwhile financially.

Seriously? 20k alone for the win (which is not much compared to gold medal winners from other countries I agree), the Holiday on Ice Deal, lots of shows, TV appearances/shows.

Savchenko says: "When we come back, we have to be financially secure. We need sponsors. Our income alone is not enough."

As mentioned Aliona is still member of german army afaik (around 1500€), there is Deutsche Sporthilfe (around 300€) and fed has more money than before too.
Is it that bad that this won't be enough for a living? I totally get it, that they think twice, both with families they have to take care of now. We already know it's tough for skaters (Fentz fot example) but I did not imagine it being that 'tough' for olympic champions.
I guess we'll never get the real numbers.

Side note: As much as I would like to see Aliona/Bruno coming back (just because), Olympic gold (and world's gold after) is such a perfect ending to a career.

 

[Eisfee]

I think Aljona should just let it go and enjoy her life with husband and daughter. Aljona and Bruno had a perfect career ending. Why ruin that, I wonder?! I can't understand her. And Bruno seems not ready to return anyway.
Reminds me of someone like Bjoerndalen...never found the right time to retire.

 

[Jeschke]

Pavlova/Blommaert off Bavarian Open roster.
So no head-to-head here with Hocke/Kunkel either.

 

[marie1616]

In my opinion Hocke/Kunkel deserve to go to worlds no matter how the next competition goes. They showed good results and improvements the whole season.

 

[cs.berlin]

I had to convince myself of the date several times, but it seems to be true - Alyona and Bruno actually showed this to the audience today:

Holiday on Ice in Mannheim: Kür Savchenko & Massot

Ein Höhepunkt der Eisrevue Holiday on Ice in Mannheim war die Kür der beiden Eiskunstlauf-Olympiasieger Aljona Savchenko und Bruno Massot.

www.morgenweb.de

The announcer was literally drowned in screams from the stage before they even started to skate.
I thought she could do the twist very well, after what we could see the last days, but the jumps that landed just as safely, just unbelievable ...
(afterwards she probably breastfed her daughter)

 

[Quadjump]

I had to convince myself of the date several times, but it seems to be true - Alyona and Bruno actually showed this to the audience today:

Holiday on Ice in Mannheim: Kür Savchenko & Massot

Ein Höhepunkt der Eisrevue Holiday on Ice in Mannheim war die Kür der beiden Eiskunstlauf-Olympiasieger Aljona Savchenko und Bruno Massot.

www.morgenweb.de

The announcer was literally drowned in screams from the stage before they even started to skate.
I thought she could do the twist very well, after what we could see the last days, but the jumps that landed just as safely, just unbelievable ...
(afterwards she probably breastfed her daughter)

This looks incredible. The flow is already back and Bruno looks better in shape than I have ever expected!

(Dave Lease) :Against who they would compete against in 2022? Honestly it is just Sui/Han. Tarasova/Morozov garantee for two mistakes in every freeskate and Boikova/Kozlovskii`s skating is sloppy and immature. So Ajona´s will to come back is just not a crazy imagination like 2014. There is a real chance for Gold.

 

[marie1616]

I think this is a video of their performance in Mannheim last year. They will be back with Holiday on ice for the first time next sunday in Hamburg.

 

[cs.berlin]

02. Februar 2020
Holiday on Ice in Mannheim: Kür Savchenko & Massot
Ein Höhepunkt der Eisrevue Holiday on Ice in Mannheim war die Kür der beiden Eiskunstlauf-Olympiasieger Aljona Savchenko und Bruno Massot.

The same message appears with the date of today, February 3, and is found by search engines as an actuality. So the alleged skate of yesterday was/is a lousy duck from a provincial cheese leaf begging for attention

 

[Jeschke]

02. Februar 2020
Holiday on Ice in Mannheim: Kür Savchenko & Massot
Ein Höhepunkt der Eisrevue Holiday on Ice in Mannheim war die Kür der beiden Eiskunstlauf-Olympiasieger Aljona Savchenko und Bruno Massot.

The same message appears with the date of today, February 3, and is found by search engines as an actuality. So the alleged skate of yesterday was/is a lousy duck from a provincial cheese leaf begging for attention

It's not.
It's an archived video of one of the HoI Shows in Mannheim of Feb 2019.
The website alway lists current date - thus the video (if you search it) appears under the current date. For some videos the real date of upload is listed in the caption, not so for the S/M video. Which seems, kinda, stupid, I agree.

So I have no clue how you found this clip; unless it was posted in recent news it's not the attention seeking newspaper but just the result of some not very clever written software.

 

[Jeschke]

So, important weekend for #TeamD
Junior Worlds team will be decided after this weekend (not that I expect here any surprises) and M/D vs JvR/S at Egna Dance Trophy for the world's spot.

 

[cs.berlin]

For some videos the real date of upload is listed in the caption, not so for the S/M video. Which seems, kinda, stupid, I agree.

Well, let's not accuse them of any intention, why this video sloppily and anything but serious does not contain any indication of the date of origin (it doesn't seem to be a coincidence though).

 

[cs.berlin]

Bavarian Open 2020

This is "Bavarian Open 2020" by Deutsche Eislauf-Union e.V. on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

vimeo.com

According to the registration lists, this will be a powerful event as far as the presentation of the development of the young talents is concerned ...

 

[cs.berlin]

This afternoon then the two or three perhaps greatest German up-and-coming talents of the Junior Ladies together in one group ... - the biggest newspaper in the region has already jumped on it and speaks of their local heroine exuberantly of the "poetess of pirouettes" (about which one can certainly have different opinions).

Die Poetin der Pirouetten

Die Oberstdorferin Aya Hatakawa ist erfolgreich in ihre erste Saison als Juniorin gestartet. Bei den Bavarian Open will sie sich weiter steigern. Ein Plan B im Leben? Nicht einmal ihrer Mutter fällt etwas ein.

www.sueddeutsche.de

The most interesting and perhaps also most pleasing is certainly, that the "strict" Alyona Savchenko will probably concentrate on her talented skater again after the baby break. Perhaps there will be a development that will advance the career of the two generations together, just as one had hoped for before ...

 

[Jeschke]

the biggest newspaper in the region has already jumped on it and speaks of their local heroine exuberantly of the "poetess of pirouettes" (about which one can certainly have different opinions).

Yeah a little bit too much prayer for her imho for her competitve record so far

Nontheless, I liked her by far most of the german upcoming juniors and thinks she has lots of potential.
More interesting facts are the 4t- and 3a-tryouts and this.

Plan B for life? Not even her mother can think of something right now.

I am not quite sure if I like or dislike this comment; but yeah, not too many 15yr old have a detailed plan already made up. So....

 

[Jeschke]

Vlasecenko's son Alexander is cometing too at Bavarian Open.
For those without access to KnC-section in here:

Bavarian Open 2020

This is "Bavarian Open 2020" by Deutsche Eislauf-Union e.V. on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

vimeo.com

His skate is around 08:42:00; his dad is with him in knc.

 

[cs.berlin]

Yeah a little bit too much prayer for her imho for her competitve record so far

Well, the headline was about pirouettes and not about points, but logically, there has to be some catchy headline, that encourages the uninformed to read, no matter how silly (for those involved). Better push a little bit and exaggerate, where there was nothing great to report before ...

My impression: after Alyona took care of Aya two years ago (I can't judge if it was a strict training), it went forward one after the other, interestingly enough especially with the difficult jumps Aya was about to learn. A short time later Alyona concentrated on herself (baby, exhibition, book project etc.), and this imo seemed to have a direct effect on Aya's performance. There were and still are a lot of uncertainties, especially after her mentor could not be there for her anymore. Should this change for the better with continuous training, a new drive, a competitive situation for the practically only women skater could finally arise - including at least two other juniors. And, it doesn't have to be said, a chance for German figure skating, which at the moment (objectively speaking) only has a certain perspective in pair skating. Now that suddenly and unexpectedly funds and a halfway effective organizational structure are available, I hope that the scope will be wider.

 

[Colonel Green]

Suleymanova in third after the short program in Group I of the Bavarian Open's junior ladies.

Nargiz Suleymanova - 2020 Bavarian Open SP

February 4, 2020 Bavarian Open - Junior Ladies Group I. Music: "Pictures of an Exhibition" by Modest Mussorgski, "Hymn to the Rising Sun" by Patrik Almkvisth...

www.youtube.com

 

[Jeschke]

Suleymanova in third after the short program in Group I of the Bavarian Open's junior ladies.

Nargiz Suleymanova - 2020 Bavarian Open SP

February 4, 2020 Bavarian Open - Junior Ladies Group I. Music: "Pictures of an Exhibition" by Modest Mussorgski, "Hymn to the Rising Sun" by Patrik Almkvisth...

www.youtube.com

She has been kinda rock solid most of this season, so deserves the JW spot. My cup of tea? No.
I doubt she can manage to come close to Top10 in Tallinn too.

I just hope for her and the other juniors that they will be given time by fed /coaches and not rushed into seniors.

 

[Sunny231]

She has been kinda rock solid most of this season, so deserves the JW spot. My cup of tea? No.
I doubt she can manage to come close to Top10 in Tallinn too.

Suleymanova finished up on 6th place. Lots of underrotations again but I like that she goes for the difficult elements.
I agree that she is lacking PCS, but at least she is able to jump herself into the TOP15 at WJC I would say if she doesn't totally mess up.

 

[Felicitas]

I liked it. No interruptions by falls, Not afraid of jumps. Just keep on working at the presentation, Nargiz.

 

[cs.berlin]

I liked it. No interruptions by falls, Not afraid of jumps. Just keep on working at the presentation, Nargiz.

To the point.
---
Had I been there, I would have taken Aya off the ice after the second fall to prevent worse. I hope she can handle this one, bad day well.
And, as always, there were the one or other performance that convinced me much more, contrary to what the rules consider to be remarkable ...