From Russia With Love (#36) Spring into Summer 2020

[starrynight]

To me it makes sense that a Japanese elite skating training environment would be created. For a country with such talent and enthusiasm for the sport, it seems logical.

As for Hanyu, he’s a private person and I always thought he might appreciate the anonymity of training in Canada rather than being in a goldfish bowl in Japan.

 

[greenapple]

As far as I know, Commonwealth countries of which Canada is one, have stringent rules. No one can run to Immigration after they just arrived and apply for a PR card. You have to live in that country for a certain period of time to be eligible.

The link to the Japanese article states Briand and Lambiel are "guest coaches" not full-time coaches. Where is it noted that Zhou will be training in Japan most of the year?

 

[Mad for Skating]

The Mamun sisters (R. Gymns.)

Don’t you mean the Averina sisters? As far as I know, Margarita Mamun never had a sister in elite rhythmic gymnastics.

 

[Tinami Amori]

As far as I know, Commonwealth countries of which Canada is one, have stringent rules. No one can run to Immigration after they just arrived and apply for a PR card. You have to live in that country for a certain period of time to be eligible.

You are right, and i never been able to sort through many PR programmes on the Canadian immigration site. Somewhere it shows one has to be in the country for 5 years, another shows 12 months, business/property buying related stuff - several time periods, students - also very confusing.

What i said about Meda and mother running to immigration on the 2nd day is mostly meant figuratively. I am quite sure however, they did go to immigration soon after the first arrival and did enquire about options and requirements... just to see if there are some easy options they can benefit from.

The link to the Japanese article states Briand and Lambiel are "guest coaches" not full-time coaches.

I found the Japanese link to Academy site after i posted an english translation of the russian post. In russian the word was "invited" and so i translated.

for the record, Japanese site is not an article but a link for the Kinoshita's Academy. There is less info there, then in a press release which i can't find.

Where is it noted that Zhou will be training in Japan most of the year?

It says all skaters accepted to the academy will be fully financed (I think the club will have dormitories, dining, all types of training free, maybe even pocket money or a stipend given). Zhou took time off from Uni to get ready for the Olympics. One of his coach is listed is Hamada. Hamada lives and works in Japan. His other two coaches are Lee Barkell who lives in Canada and Lori Nichol who is pretty much a choreographer. It seems unlikely that the Academy will pay Zhou's training fees abroad. If he wants to be fully financed his option only is to train with Hamada and stay in Japan.

But! my comment about Zhou was not a statement, but a question and it had a word "seems"......
"Also - seems like Vincent Zhou will have to spend most of the year in Japan, how will that affect his University plans?"

 

[Tinami Amori]

Don’t you mean the Averina sisters? As far as I know, Margarita Mamun never had a sister in elite rhythmic gymnastics.

Yes! Averinas sisters....... Dina and Arina (reminding myself never to read Skating and Gymnastic sites at the same time).

 

[Mad for Skating]

Yes! Averinas sisters....... Dina and Arina (reminding myself never to read Skating and Gymnastic sites at the same time).

Haha, it’s okay! There’s a lot to keep track of

 

[barbarafan]

Medvedeva initiated that trip, contacted the show organizers, asked them to help her with accommodations and to meed her at the airport, used her set of arguments. The show organizers did not expect any foreign skaters to arrive so early, two months in advance, but wanted to be hospitable to Medvedeva and cooperated with her.

Meda was using the preparation for this show as an excuse to gain access to ice in order to practice, while her competition is stuck at home.

She is just full of tricks: rumors about her doing a quad in practice to keep the news on herself, the boot issue story at RN which based on chats and forums (russian) ~80% of fans do not believe, and now going to Japan under pretense of "obligations to the show"..... And again she miscalculated her move...

Your fixation on Med is far from normal. You have some sort of weird obsession. You have absolutely no idea what happened and the steps leading to various decisions. You have no idea as well the things that the cdn government were talking about doing at the time decision made. It is like you invited Med to a tryst and she turned you down.

 

[Bigbird]

Why even bother to go down this road with Medvedeva? It's just very unfortunate for whatever the reason. Let's hope she gets home safely and she doesn't contract the virus. But if this happens again....in her lifetime....Sigh.

 

[kwanfan1818]

As far as I know, Commonwealth countries of which Canada is one, have stringent rules. No one can run to Immigration after they just arrived and apply for a PR card. You have to live in that country for a certain period of time to be eligible

No you don't. I applied for and received a Canadian PR visa as a U.S. resident. You need status to live in the country in the first place. For me, PR status was my first status. For others, it can be on student or other work status visas. (I'm not talking about refugees or family status.)

One you have PR status, there are residency requirements to keep that status. To become a citizen without being granted an exception, you have to be a PR for a certain period with stricter residency requirements before being eligible to apply.

Typically world class athletes only qualify for the economic self-employed class. Every country of origin is assigned to a visa office, and the visa office to which Russia is assigned is not the fastest when it comes to processing without a push. It's likely that this was Ilyushechkina's path and it may be Medvedeva's, if they chose to apply.

I don't know what the complications would be if Medvedeva had applied for PR status before coming to train in Canada, while needing a different visa to train while a PR application was being processed. But this wouldn't be the Cricket Club's first experience with international athletes.

And whether people are coming for great love of Canada or purely self-interest isn't part of the equation, it's always what's best for Canada, and if Canada wins net/net based on their calculus, within the constraints of the immigration laws, the person gets status. The only feelings in the citizenship oath are "true allegiance" to the reigning Queen/King and successors, and the official interpretation is that this means Canadian institutions and the constitution that she represents. For PR and the rest of the citizenship oath, it's all about behavior.

 

[lala]

She is just full of tricks: rumors about her doing a quad in practice to keep the news on herself, the boot issue story at RN which based on chats and forums (russian) ~80% of fans do not believe, and now going to Japan under pretense of "obligations to the show"..... And again she miscalculated her move...

I don't take the Russian fs fans seriously. When I was in masochistic mood I read them..

 

[Wyliefan]

Careful now, you're insulting Tinami's favorite reading material.

 

[greenapple]

According to this site, you do have to live in Canada for a specified time if you are applying from within the country. A person who has U.S. residency applying for a PR card is a very different situation than someone from Russia or elsewhere because of the bilateral agreements between the U.S. and Canada.

 

[soogar]

Medvedeva initiated that trip, contacted the show organizers, asked them to help her with accommodations and to meed her at the airport, used her set of arguments. The show organizers did not expect any foreign skaters to arrive so early, two months in advance, but wanted to be hospitable to Medvedeva and cooperated with her.

Meda was using the preparation for this show as an excuse to gain access to ice in order to practice, while her competition is stuck at home.

She is just full of tricks: rumors about her doing a quad in practice to keep the news on herself, the boot issue story at RN which based on chats and forums (russian) ~80% of fans do not believe, and now going to Japan under pretense of "obligations to the show"..... And again she miscalculated her move...

So how do you feel about Vincent Zhou practicing triple axels on a small sheet of ice that appears to have been set up by his coach Tom Z? I'm surprised more elite athletes are not allowed to practice at rinks in private sessions.

 

[annie720]

So how do you feel about Vincent Zhou practicing triple axels on a small sheet of ice that appears to have been set up by his coach Tom Z? I'm surprised more elite athletes are not allowed to practice at rinks in private sessions.

Isn't it possible that a few of the elite skaters have this capability, but just aren't broadcasting it?

 

[soogar]

Isn't it possible that a few of the elite skaters have this capability, but just aren't broadcasting it?

I'm surprised more elite skaters are not able to get access to ice. I think it's kind of weird. Even with the gymnasts, some have access to a gym and others seem not to. Though I don't understand why more don't travel to states that do not have the same restrictions. I'm not keeping up coronavirus in Russia (btw, how come this is abbreviated *******19 on this forum?) , but is every part of Russia under lockdown? I thought Belarus was open. They must have some ice there. I'm just confused that Eteri's girls don't have a place to train and it seems that the rink is dedicated to that group.

 

[zebraswan]

Wait...all this thread has been about for over 2 weeks has been how terrible it was for Evgenia to go to Japan, now people are encouraging skaters to travel to other states and countries and disregard all the rules about non-essential travel and work...really? You can't have it both ways. Amateur sport is not essential and athletes don't deserve special privileges when everyone else is being told to stay at home. If a rink is open, even just for private lessons, then you need maintenance people and others who are absolutely not essential employees. There are potential liability issues. If a skater is practicing regularly, they may need medical attention or physical therapy, etc. Yes, there are different levels of restrictions in different places...we don't have a very strict lockdown where I live, for example. But if you think it's wrong for people to be traveling now for anything but the most critical of reasons, then those rules have to apply to everyone. Also, nobody is going to be competing for months now, so what is the point?

 

[starrynight]

I know we think skating is the centre of the universe, but if every sport from football, to table tennis, to swimming, to athletics to martial arts etc took that approach, there’d be no lockdown at all.

Figure skating doesn’t even make a profit. It’s just a sport that governments fund for a bit of once every four years national glory.

It would be more profitable for countries to get big money spinning sports like football back on.

 

[kwanfan1818]

According to this site, you do have to live in Canada for a specified time if you are applying from within the country. A person who has U.S. residency applying for a PR card is a very different situation than someone from Russia or elsewhere because of the bilateral agreements between the U.S. and Canada.

That's because a PR card is a travel document for entry back into Canada for landed immigrants, ETA: not an application for PR status, and it expires after five years, while PR status is based on a rolling five years and never expires, as long as you meet the requirements (or give it up or change status, like becoming a citizen). Your proof of PR status document is the landing form that they give you with stamps and signature, not your PR Card, and you are considered having met the residency requirements for the first five years after you start the clock on PR status, unless you make it mathematically impossible to meet the requirements within those first five years, at which point you are no longer in status, card or no card. Just like you can be in status after your PR card expires.

There are two different application processes to get a PR card. The first is when you "land" at the border to activate your PR visa, they process your first PR card, and then if you leave Canada, you can travel back into Canada without getting a one-time visa from the embassy or consulate ($$$). As a Canadian PR, you are required to have one or the other to re-enter Canada, although this isn't always enforced, for a variety of reasons.

The second is a PR card renewal, and that's what the page you linked to is describing. Because at least five years have lapsed since you were issued your last PR card, that site is describing the residency requirements you need to be in status and still qualify for the card. Otherwise you're out of status and don't qualify for the card.

You don't need a PR card at all if you don't leave Canada.

 

[Tinami Amori]

Alena Kostornaya gave an interview, the original source is "too cluttered to read".

https://fsrussia.ru/files/mfk_magazine/wfk_21_2020.pdf

sports.ru has a snippit of the dialogue, the part about the horses and future plans.

Ðлена ÐоÑÑоÑнаÑ: «ТоÑно кÑÐ¿Ð»Ñ Ð»Ð¾ÑÐ°Ð´Ñ â ÑоÑÑ Ð¿ÑинимаÑÑ ÑÑаÑÑие в ÑоÑевнованиÑÑ Ð¿Ð¾ конкÑÑÑ»

Российская фигуристка Алена Косторная сообщила, что в ближайшем будущем хочет купить лошадь.

www.sports.ru

summary:
Alena practicing horse-riding parallel to figure skating. Her eyes light up when she talks about horse riding (journalist's note). She is currently using her aunt's horse and several other horses in the stables. Aunt's horse is not very agreeable. Alena has to start kicking her after then 3rd circle, and not with just a foot but with spores. Alena says she has to have her own horse, horses are like skates - you have to personalize them.

She is going to buy a horse (in her own words she said "i am certainly buying a horse") and it will probably be Welsh Pony. She plans to enter Show jumping/obstacle course/concorso competitions and to compete on high level.

 

[Dobre]

Wait...all this thread has been about for over 2 weeks has been how terrible it was for Evgenia to go to Japan, now people are encouraging skaters to travel to other states and countries and disregard all the rules about non-essential travel and work...really?

Technically, I believe only one poster suggested this? And probably not a poster that was arguing that Evgenia shouldn't have gone to Japan.

From what little I have seen of various skaters, most athletes are home with family, either home with parents or with their significant other. If the athletes train in a location where the virus is or was less developed than it was at home during the time period when people were being called home right before government shut downs, then I can certainly see family members telling those athletes to stay put (providing they can afford to do so). I've seen footage of one athlete skating on an itty bitty rink in a barn and one athlete skating on scratchy natural ice (because he lives in Alaska). Otherwise, it seems a lot of athletes are just trying to stay in good physical condition off ice. I don't care if athletes are anywhere near ice at this point in time. A lot of them typically train in places that are coronavirus hot spots around the world right now (Detroit, L.A., Moscow, etc). I just hope all those athletes are healthy & able to return to skating when it is safe.

 

[Bellanca]

So how do you feel about Vincent Zhou practicing triple axels on a small sheet of ice that appears to have been set up by his coach Tom Z?

Former coach Z’s frozen pond?

Eta: this isn’t very “From Russia With Love” stuff - is it?

 

[Tinami Amori]

Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim have a frozen decorative pond in the back of the house and are skating on it, regardless of it's size.

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They also have on their territory a ping-pong table and a full size trampoline.

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Their house is very nice, with large territory outside.

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[greenapple]

So how do you feel about Vincent Zhou practicing triple axels on a small sheet of ice that appears to have been set up by his coach Tom Z? I'm surprised more elite athletes are not allowed to practice at rinks in private sessions.

Tom Z is not Vincent Zhou's coach. Lee Barkell and Mie Hamada are now his full-time coaches.

 

[TAHbKA]

Safonova who represents Belarus was asked why didn't she go there and keep teainung on the ice. She just well... stayed home. AFAIK the medical system in Belarus is nothing to write home about, there is no social distancing/quarantine, so the odds to get infected might be higher than the odds anything good will come out from an access to the ice and online coaching (not everyone is Chen...)

As for Tutberidze girls - is Tutberidze even in Russia to make any decisions regarding her skaters? Last I read she was in the USA, assume with her daughter.

 

[starrynight]

I think Korstonaia said in her interview they were initially told the rink closure would just be a week and then I think from there things like border closures, shut downs etc escalated quickly. So I don't think there was even the time or perceived necessity of hatching any elaborate plans to move skaters elsewhere - the logistics of which would have been crazy given they are all children who need parents to travel with them.

As long as skaters can be ready for the 2022 Olympics, not much else really matters. As for Sambo 70 I'm sure they know there'll be a girl in their stable somewhere who they can get to podium at the Olympics.

 

[Rina RUS]

Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim have a frozen decorative pond in the back of the house and are skating on it, regardless of it's size.

Oh, Tinami...
1. Indeed. This pond is large enough for practicing spins. Maybe not for doing it together... anyway, Max can do it after Tanya, right?
2. You could wait a bit and post this in June, why not? Yes, it snowed more than once in April in Moscow and near Moscow, but I don't think they still have ice on that pond. I see they have dandelions.
Happy spring!

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[Rina RUS]

is every part of Russia under lockdown?

Do you mean traveling from one part of Russia to another part? The situation keeps changing, but as far as we know even Moscow isn't going to lock down (though Moscow still has much more infected people than any other region). Other regions have a right to make their own decisions. So any person coming to Crimea now has to be in 14-day quarantine. Maybe it is done for those who think: "If we are supposed to isolate ourselves, let's do it in warm Crimea!"
In Moscow people have to get QR-codes indeed now, if they are going somewhere by car or by any other transport. So the subway still works (as they promised), but everyone has to have a QR-code to get there. If one gets a QR-code to visit a doctor, he can do it as often as he needs. If one gets a QR-code for another important reason, he can do it no more than twice in a week (to the place of destination - and back). Those who go by transport to work, get QR-codes too (to the place of destination - and back).
As for foodshops or taking a dog for a walk - everyone can go without any QR-code. (besides those who are infected or those who still follow quarantine rules after coming from another country, of course)

Цифровые пропуска. Основные правила и этапы введения

Сегодня я подписал указ, согласно которому для поездок по Москве и Московской области на личном и общественном транспорте вводятся специальные цифровые пропуска. Подробнее в новом посте

www.sobyanin.ru

It is said Moscow is going to pay for taxi and hotels for doctors fighting against this virus now.

Новая газета

Журналистские расследования о коррупции в бизнесе и во власти, специальные репортажи с событий политической и культурной жизни, главные новости, галереи, онлайн-кинотеатр, мнения и рецензии ведущих журналистов и экспертов страны

novayagazeta.ru

As for going to another country... you know, in Russia Russian citizens get medical care for free. Of course, in modern Russia it doesn't mean that one can get any medicine for free, but anyway for many ordinary people the situation isn't as difficult/dangerous as it would be, if they tried to live in another country now.
As for government support or sponsors... nobody knows what's going to happen to economics. The state doesn't know what opportunities will the state have, sponsors don't know what opportunities will sponsors have. I guess it is not like everyone just dreams of Olympics.

 

[million$momma]

So how do you feel about Vincent Zhou practicing triple axels on a small sheet of ice that appears to have been set up by his coach Tom Z? I'm surprised more elite athletes are not allowed to practice at rinks in private sessions.

All public recreational spaces are closed by order of the government. We are serious about stopping the spread in my country (Canada).
In public places (like a skating rink or gym) people all touch the same things. They all sneeze and cough in the same air. With *** you do not need to be there at the same time to contract the virus. It sits and waits...that's why it is so contagious.

 

[Tinami Amori]

Patinage Magazine article (english) -
SASHA TRUSOVA PREFERS TO “DO MORE THAN LESS” – CAN SHE?

Sasha Trusova prefers to “do more than less” – can she? | Patinage Magazine

Magazine du patinage artistique, danse sur glace, ballet sur glace et patinage synchronisé

www.patinagemagazine.com

 

[Tinami Amori]

Olga Sevastianova, a young woman who fell 5 meters down from the trapeze during the last Youth Olympics Opening Ceremony rehearsal, gave an interview and released some of the documents relevant to her injury.

Video of her fall..

Момент падения Ольги Севостьяновой на репетиции церемонии открытия юношеской Олимпиады

www.youtube.com

Photo from her promotional package (before fall)..

https://i.imgur.com/ukyQmrB.jpg

Photo of her improving condition..

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She is also an artist in various forms - painting, photography, poetry (in russian) and other forms of visual arts. Some of the works are on her IG account, which she shared.

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Here is the article about her situation and injury, it is in Russian, but google-translates ok.
The editorial comments start like this: "This article covers the following moments:

• Falling from the trapeze in front of the eyes of your daughter and waking up from coma.
• Who are the involved and the guilty parties in this tragedy, directly and indirectly.
• Who came to the rescue to help this athlete.
• How to manage to return home (Russia) one day before they close the borders.
• How to go on living after this injury.

Then some info about her skating career, how she became an aerial acrobat on skates, her family, etc. Worth reading even in google-translate.

СÑÑаÑнÑе ÑÑавмÑ, ÑпаÑение и неизвеÑÑноÑÑÑ Ð½Ð° каÑанÑине. ÐÑÑоÑÐ¸Ñ ÑигÑÑиÑÑки, ÑÑдом вÑживÑей на Ðлимпиаде в Ðозанне

Вспоминают все участники тех событий и сама Ольга Севастьянова.

matchtv.ru