2022-23 Pairs General Discussion - You Get a GP! You Get a GP! All of You Get a GP!

[Karen-W]

From the German news thread -

Ruben Blommaert has announced his retirement on Instagram :

Ruben Blommaert OLY on Instagram

957 likes, 232 comments - rubenblommaert on March 29, 2023

www.instagram.com

He cites lack of financial support from the German fed for next season, and differences in approach with Efimova, as the main reasons.

I had kind of suspected from their quotes after Worlds that their partnership might not last much longer. It's too bad, they're both so talented, and I had high hopes when they first teamed up.

But, best wishes to both of them for the future.

 

[Belsornia]

I'm always sad when we loose a pairs team, and I thought Efimova/Blommaert had potential though they never really lived up to their Nebelhorn debut this season. But reading his post it sounds like he's making the right choice for himself, and he has had a long career - he first competed at Euros in 2008!

Efimova sounds really driven so I hope she is able to find a new partner (and a SBS jump strategy that works for her).


Efimova/Parkman anyone?

 

[Sylvia]

Re-posting here from the German news thread:

Efimova is disappointed, because they had big goals for next season. She wants to find a new partner and continue to represent Germany.

Finland will have a pairs team debuting next season - Milania Vaananen & Filippo Clerici (last skated for Italy at Jr Worlds 2022, so they've sat out this season internationally).

"Bergamo CoE [Center of Excellence] is going to host the first ISU CoE Pair Skating Try-out Day in April 29-30, 2023 in their well-equipped Ice Lab ice rink located in Bergamo, Italy. They welcome young Skaters and Coaches at beginner’s level, who will be guided and assisted from well-known coaches to safely experience Pair Skating." (March 13): https://isu.org/isu-news/news/152-d...ating-tryout-camp-in-bergamo?templateParam=15
Stéphanie Valois, who coaches Laurin/Ethier (CAN), will be one of the coaches: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp8YsLDsxPL/

Published today (March 29): https://isu.org/isu-news/news/152-d...ter-of-excellence-oberstdorf?templateParam=15

An ISU CoE Pair Skating Seminar, supported by the ISU Development Program, will be held at the Oberstdorf ISU Center of Excellence (CoE) from August 6-11, 2023.
The 6-day Seminar is dedicated to the technical development of Advanced Novice, Junior and Senior Pairs Skaters preparing for the upcoming Skating season.
International Judges and ISU technical specialists with head Coaches Bruno Massot, Robin Szolkowy, Miriam Ziegler and Rico Rex together with an international coaching team will help prepare the Pairs with various on and off-ice training programs.

 

[miffy]

Efimova I know I wasn’t too keen on him but I was just starting to really appreciate him. He’s so solid with the lifts

Efimova and Korovin skating for Germany maybe?

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Efimova

and Mishaaaaaaaa

 

[Karen-W]

Efimova I know I wasn’t too keen on him but I was just starting to really appreciate him. He’s so solid with the lifts

Efimova and Korovin skating for Germany maybe?

I'd rather see Nolan Seegert come out of retirement to skate with her.

 

[guignardfabbri]

I'd rather see Nolan Seegert come out of retirement to skate with her.

I love Seegert. Would love to see that.

 

[miffy]

I'd rather see Nolan Seegert come out of retirement to skate with her.

That could work!

 

[Sylvia]

Switzerland's new Senior pair of Pauline Irman and Ben Jalovick, who train in Colorado Springs, are officially on the national team after passing their Swiss Senior Gold Test last weekend: https://www.instagram.com/p/CqRAytDLzHP/

Posted in the OES News thread on Sept. 22, 2022:

Switzerland has a new pair - Pauline Irman and Ben Jalovick (U.S. senior singles competitor who's new to pairs) - clip of their 2022-23 SP to "Seven Nation Army’" by Gaullin and Julian Perretta: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CitEtmCD7oR/

WASA Pairs' August 23rd post: https://www.instagram.com/p/ChnIIQJrZ9w/

 

[Sylvia]

Sport24.ru interview before Worlds (March 21) with Deanna Stellato-Dudek:

Deanna Stellato-Dudek: “Pair skating is not for the weak. It’s for very strong and brave girls.”

Interview with Deanna Stellato-Dudek for Russian media.

fs-gossips.com

Excerpts:

If the partner falls on a throw – whose fault is it? The guy who threw poorly or the girl who couldn’t hold on the landing?
Deanna Stellato-Dudek: You know, it’s a funny question. The answer is both. Because the guy is a part of the takeoff on the throw. The most important part of the throw is the pattern you create on the ice executing it. And then, the takeoff itself. If the separation goes well but there’s a mistake, then it’s the girl’s fault. But if the takeoff is bad because the pattern on the ice was wrong or the separation was wrong and the girl falls, it’s the guy’s fault because he threw her incorrectly. The funny part of this answer is that at Skate America, we did a triple Lutz, and it was very, very wonky, but I still landed it. So, I give myself credit because it was wrong, but I still held on (laughs). In that case, the girl should be praised because she still succeeded despite it being bad.

What improvements or additions would you like to see in pairs skating in the future?
Deanna Stellato-Dudek: I would love to see an increase in the base value of quads. Personally, I enjoy watching single skaters perform quads, and I think it would be a draw for audiences to see quads in pairs skating as well. Not every pair will be able to attempt a quad twist because they may not have the necessary height for four rotations, but some pairs have good high triple twist, so if they can add a quad, I hope the base value will be high enough to make it worth the effort. However, this is not up to me to decide. The ISU needs to determine what is best for all athletes, what is safe, and what will be better for the sport and discipline of pairs skating in the future. Max and I have talked about wanting to try a quad someday, but it has to be worth it.

In addition, I would possibly like to increase the length of the free program to have more time for artistry and artistic integrity. When they reduced the free skate from 4:30 to 4 minutes, they only removed the parallel spin, which obviously doesn’t take up 30 seconds. This greatly reduced the potential choreography in the program. I love watching pairs with great programs, and I would like to have a little more time to develop this creatively. But you know, that’s just me (laughs). As for elements, as I mentioned, we have talked about attempting a quad twist, and I have some ideas for some cool things for next year. Of course, we are doing something unique in our forward-outside death spiral, and we’ll work on it to add complexity in the next season.

 

[Sylvia]

From the German news thread -

Alisa Efimova posted yesterday about her split from Ruben B.: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cqi7KJ6IVTT/

 

[Belsornia]

I'm happy to see Efimova acknowledge working with a sports psychologist in her post.

 

[Sylvia]

Karina Safina has posted about end of her partnership with Luka Berulava and coach Pavel Sliusarenko (said it was their decision but she is the first to announce it and will look for a new partner): https://www.instagram.com/p/Cqu0gglo4iT/

Their ISU bio: http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00111153.htm

 

[Sylvia]

Luka Berulava's post an hour ago (English version copied out below): https://www.instagram.com/p/CqvxKaromeO/

Dear friends! I want to announce the termination of the existence of our couple. I want to express my deep gratitude to Karina. We have done a good job with our team. I want to say thank you for every minute spent in our pair. I want us to achieve our goals. Now everyone has their own path, but this does not make anyone good or bad. Very often in sports you have to make difficult and risky decisions.
Behind every cloud there is a silver lining!
p.s. Today I woke up from burned ears. Haters, I love and hug, I don’t forget about you either.

 

[Sylvia]

I just saw this German article (published on Jan. 24, 2023 before Euros) link tweeted with a translated excerpt in English: https://taz.de/Eiskunstlauf-EM-verpasst/!5907736/ (machine translates well enough)

https://twitter.com/x/status/1644296938752208896

 

[Sylvia]

Skate Austria's photo today: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cqx6FgvIGFz/

ISU Pair Skating Development Training Seminar 2023 in Berlin!
Alongside skaters and coaches from 11 european nations our up-and-coming pair Raphaela Aschl & Jonathan Aschl got to gather experience this week!
Former skater Miriam Ziegler joined them to learn from the moderators: Ms. Dorota and Mr. Mariusz Siudek. Mr. Peter Grütter, Mr. Igor Tchiniaev, Mr. Alexander Koenig and Mr. Knut Schubert

Raphaela & Jonathan ASCHL competed in Basic Novice Pairs at Austrian Nationals in Dec. 2022: http://skateaustria.vs91-250-98-130.cloud-he.de/img/competition/8.2022_23/060/CAT010RS.htm

Alina Mayer Virtanen's photos frrom the ISU Development Seminar in Berlin 2023 for Pair Skating: https://www.instagram.com/p/CqxxDw_I2DK/
With her young Finnish pair, Lilja Laakko and Lauri Linnakorpi at the beginning of the camp: https://www.instagram.com/p/CqlCQXjoJ5c/
Photo on their club's website: https://pesal.fi/ryhmat-ja-toiminta/kilparyhmat/pariluistelu/

 

[ice coverage]

Israel's national team has a new junior pair: Nikita Kovalenko and Sophia Enkina.

Pair skating

iisf.org.il

I have enjoyed Nikita's singles skating for Israel. My guess would be that he is new to pairs??
Nikita's training for singles has been at Team Israel's base in New Jersey.
He appears to be continuing there with his new partnership. On-ice clips of the new pair have been on social media for at least a few months.
(She was competing in pairs in Russia in 2021.)

ETA:​

At least for now, the national team listings still include Nikita as a junior man too.

Men`s single skating

iisf.org.il

 

[skateblessing]

"Bergamo CoE [Center of Excellence] is going to host the first ISU CoE Pair Skating Try-out Day in April 29-30, 2023 in their well-equipped Ice Lab ice rink located in Bergamo, Italy. They welcome young Skaters and Coaches at beginner’s level, who will be guided and assisted from well-known coaches to safely experience Pair Skating." (March 13): https://isu.org/isu-news/news/152-d...ating-tryout-camp-in-bergamo?templateParam=15
Stéphanie Valois, who coaches Laurin/Ethier (CAN), will be one of the coaches: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp8YsLDsxPL/

A Norwegian skater participated, she seems to have been training pairs for a while with Mark Magyar, there is post with him going back all the way to November, and then this a month ago:

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

Nothing is confirmed yet, but this seems very promising from the seminar this weekend. Sofie tried both a single twist (off ice) and a double throw on the ice. There is more stories from the weekend from the Instagram account above.

Since they have been doing try out since November, i´m guessing it´s very likely they might be a new pair?! All though there is a huge age difference (I´m not sure about her age but Sofie is currently still a single skater at debs level). It seems they have been training in Norway and i´m guessing they would represent Norway if they are going to team up.

This is really exciting as it would mean that Norway will have skaters in every discipline if they officially become a team.

 

[Karen-W]

A Norwegian skater participated, she seems to have been training training pairs for a while with Mark Magyar, there is post with him going back all the way to November, and then this a month ago:

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

Nothing is confirmed yet, but this seems very promising from the seminar this weekend. Sofie tried both a single twist (off ice) and a double throw on the ice. There is more stories from the weekend from the Instagram account above.

Since they have been doing try out since November, i´m guessing it´s very likely they might be a new pair?! All though there is a huge age difference (I´m not sure about her age but Sofie is currently still a single skater at debs level). It seems they have been training in Norway and i´m guessing they would represent Norway if they are going to team up.

This is really exciting as it would mean that Norway will have skaters in every discipline if they officially become a team.

Or he could be just bringing her up to snuff on pairs elements ahead of the pairs tryout. Debs level is equivalent to novice, right? That would put her at 13-14 max, I'd guess.

There are other women that Magyar would be better off pairing up with - Efimova for starters.

 

[skateblessing]

Or he could be just bringing her up to snuff on pairs elements ahead of the pairs tryout. Debs level is equivalent to novice, right? That would put her at 13-14 max, I'd guess.

There are other women that Magyar would be better off pairing up with - Efimova for starters.

It´s possible. At the seminar she seems to have been trying elements with other skaters at well, but i´m guess that is part of the seminar? I just thought the post from the club made it seem they were going there as a pair...

It´s possible he is just coaching - but is training with her since there isn´t many other options. I actually thought he might have retired, so I was a bit thrown off that he would skate with a young Norwegian girl.

I´m not sure she is as young as 13-14 though. Debs is actually below Novice level in Norway, but there are different age categories, she could possible have started with figure skating late and be one of the oldest in the debs category. She seems quite tall for a 13 year old.

 

[Sylvia]

It’s more likely that Mark Magyar (didn’t he announce his retirement after the Olympic season?) was accepted into the Bergamo seminar as Sofie’s coach - her post beforehand: https://www.instagram.com/p/CrdtbyBIty8/

Re-posting here from the German news thread:


"Bergamo CoE [Center of Excellence] is going to host the first ISU CoE Pair Skating Try-out Day in April 29-30, 2023 in their well-equipped Ice Lab ice rink located in Bergamo, Italy. They welcome young Skaters and Coaches at beginner’s level, who will be guided and assisted from well-known coaches to safely experience Pair Skating." (March 13): https://isu.org/isu-news/news/152-d...ating-tryout-camp-in-bergamo?templateParam=15
Stéphanie Valois, who coaches Laurin/Ethier (CAN), will be one of the coaches: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp8YsLDsxPL/

Published today (March 29): https://isu.org/isu-news/news/152-d...ter-of-excellence-oberstdorf?templateParam=15

 

[Karen-W]

The Norwegian skating fed has some additional pics/vids on their IG story -

Login • Instagram

Welcome back to Instagram. Sign in to check out what your friends, family & interests have been capturing & sharing around the world.

www.instagram.com

Seems very clear that Sofie is looking for a partner, which is great for Norway!

 

[Andrea82]

It’s more likely that Mark Magyar (didn’t he announce his retirement after the Olympic season?) was accepted into the Bergamo seminar as Sofie’s coach - her post beforehand: https://www.instagram.com/p/CrdtbyBIty8/

Magyar is indeed listed as a coach on the Follo Kunstløpklubb website.

 

[skateblessing]

Well, maybe Mark will stay as coach then. I think you both Karen-We and Sylvia are right the age difference is a bit big, going for a younger partner would seem more logical if she wants to have a career in pairs.

I´m really hoping she will have success finding a partner soon, and that they will represent Norway! Is she listed on the Ice Search page maybe? I´m not sure about her last name...

Edit: I think this is the skaters full name: https://www.rinkresults.com/skater?skater_id=41610

Indeed it seems she only have been skating for a short time, first competition in 2021 as a single skater

 

[Sylvia]

Ice Lab - Center of Excellence in Bergamo's photos: https://www.instagram.com/p/CrsaAe-qTK9/

Last weekend ( April 29 - 30, 2023) IceLab hosted the first ISU Center of Excellence Pair Skating Tryout!
Huge congratulations to all the athletes that took part at the tryout! We hope you all enjoyed this new experience and had fun trying new elements!
A special thank you to all the coaches that helped athletes experiencing Pairs for the first time @coach_svalois [Stéphanie Valois] @luca_dema7 [Luca Demattè] @ondrejhotarek @deathdrop70barbara_luoni @mark_magyar0428

Day 1 highlights: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CrvDgVko5pu/
Day 2 highlights: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CrxiPF_oCBD/

 

[Sylvia]

Coach Andrew Evans just posted this video (confirming the end of Cho/Steven Adcock's partnership after WTT): https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cr6BzZBrUzJ/

Hi everyone! My skater Hye-Jin Cho is looking for a new partner to represent Korea with. She is very talented and even more hard working. Please DM me if there’s any interest. Thank you so much!

 

[Marta24]

Barbora Kuciánová / Martin Bidar teamed up

https://twitter.com/AnythingGOE/status/1654911197404078080?t=t0LnsHraBO-sBdRzhYZl_w&s=19

 

[Sylvia]

Czech skating federation's article:

ČKS, Česky krasobruslařský svaz

ČKS, Česky krasobruslařský svaz czechskating

www.czechskating.org

Machine translated excerpt:

"Skating with a much more experienced partner, and on top of that with a junior world champion, is a big challenge for me. The partnership with Martin has another dimension for me. We're both Czech, we're both from Buděžice, we grew up in the same winter, with the same coaches," Kuciánová praises the budding collaboration. "I feel very motivated because we both have the same desire to keep improving. We've already mastered most of the elements," adds Bidař, adding that they've mastered jumps and thrown elements best so far.
The couple has been skating together for less than two months, but they have already set their goals. "We would like to attack the domestic title and take part in one of the big international events. If the first season is successful, we want to aim everything towards a successful qualification for the Olympic Games in Milan," Barbora Kuciánová [age 16] does not hide her ambition.
Experienced figure skater Martin Bidař [24] was also interested abroad. "The Americans and Canadians also called, but we are happy that we managed to find a Czech partner," comments the chairman of the Czech Figure Skating Association, Stanislav Židek, on the search for a new partner. "We think this is a good solution, it works for them on the ice, they understand each other."
The pair will be coached by Petr Bidař and Bruno Marcotte ...
Barbora Kuciánová skated among the juniors with Lukáš Vochozka, who is now looking for a new partner. "It has not been decided yet, but we already have some options."

Kucianova/Vochozka's ISU bio: http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00110340.htm

 

[Sylvia]

Coach Andrew Evans just posted this video (confirming the end of Cho/Steven Adcock's partnership after WTT): https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cr6BzZBrUzJ/

Adcock just shared his reason for retiring : https://www.instagram.com/p/Cr6_AVWrYpa/

As many of you may have heard, I have made the difficult decision to retire from competitive skating. Over the course of this season, I was dealing with a difficult back injury. Given the injury, I am unable to continue training at the intensity needed to continue to compete. I am extremely grateful for the support that I received this year from the Korean Skating Union, and also the Korean fans. I want to thank my partner Hye Jin, and I wish her continued success in pairs skating for Korea. I also want to thank my coaches, Andrew and Alex, as well as my support team for everything they did for me this past year.

ETA the link to Hye Jin Cho's post about looking for a new partner: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cr6EdDOgc3f/

 

[Wyliefan]

Poor guy, what a shame.