Aljona Savchenko has been released to the USA to continue her pairs career

[Wyliefan]

I wonder if IFS removed the post of the pairing announcement . I no longer so it on the page, or I wonder if I’m blocked from that post lol

Looks like they did take it down! That's interesting.

 

[canbelto]

Well they 86'ed thw entire post.

 

[VALuvsMKwan]

So, time to cancel IFS, right?

(This is sarcasm, but I'm sure there are posters here with that attitude)

 

[Wyliefan]

For all we know, there was some young social media intern over there who didn't know how to handle things and freaked out. But it would be nice if they offered an explanation and/or apology. To just start deleting every comment that pointed out the sexual assault allegations is a very bad look.

 

[LeafOnTheWind]

We need skating to promote same sex couples in skating for a million good reasons. I just think it opens up a lot of options in a lot of areas.

 

[Vagabond]

So, time to cancel IFS, right?

(This is sarcasm, but I'm sure there are posters here with that attitude)

We need skating to promote same sex couples in skating for a million good reasons. I just think it opens up a lot of options in a lot of areas.

Maybe it's time to cancel the Pairs discipline, at least as in its current, mixed-sex format.

 

[MsZem]

Maybe it's time to cancel the Pairs discipline, at least as in its current, mixed-sex format.

Well synchronized swimming works just fine without the boys, so why not?

 

[wickedwitch]

We need skating to promote same sex couples in skating for a million good reasons. I just think it opens up a lot of options in a lot of areas.

Sexual harassment seems to be a ubiquitous issue and certainly not limited to sports with male/female pairings.

 

[Vagabond]

Well synchronized swimming works just fine without the boys, so why not?

Jutta Seyfert (latter known as Jutta Müller) and Irene Saltzmann were the only team in the Pairs Event at the 1948-49 East German Figure Skating Championships.

I think there could be some good all-male teams along the lines of Jeffrey Buttle and Eric Radford, for example.

 

[LeafOnTheWind]

Sexual harassment seems to be a ubiquitous issue and certainly not limited to sports with male/female pairings.

Obviously but it opens up a lot more partners and opportunities to dump bad ones.

 

[VarBar]

figure skating will never be a safe sport if survivors are consistently ignored and the most influential and well-known skaters prop the accused up in a bid to win medals. Solidarity to all survivors out there, especially in the skating community for who I'm sure today's news will be incredibly difficult. This sport needs a culture change now, not tomorrow.

Not so sure a culture change is possible whether today or tomorrow so long as quite a few people who work in figure skating seem to have no moral compass at all. I'm really afraid this sport might be doomed.

 

[bladesofgorey]

https://twitter.com/Harley_d22/status/1403371798796849154

And Harley Windsor is now calling a fan (who is rightfully upset now) "a joke of a human" who should "step aside and stop shitting on people for facts that you don’t know about."



ETA: Windsor has deleted that tweet.

He's still telling people to shut up and get a life, which is kind of odd since he "liked" a "we will not stand for abuse and rape in FS" tweet from this past November that contained screenshots of TJ Nyman's allegations and a message of support for his victim.

 

[sap5]

Not so sure a culture change is possible whether today or tomorrow so long as quite a few people who work in figure skating seem to have no moral compass at all. I'm really afraid this sport might be doomed.

Change won't happen with this attitude. We need people to come into the sport with a desire to make it better. It will take a long time to undo a lot of the mess, but every step counts. Look at Gadbois creating a healthier environment for ice dancers, the Diversity Alliance for creating a safe space for more diverse skaters, etc. Bottom line, there is much to love about the sport, and no reason to just throw it into the trash altogether. I applaud all the people who are making this effort every day.

 

[overedge]

Change won't happen with this attitude. We need people to come into the sport with a desire to make it better. It will take a long time to undo a lot of the mess, but every step counts. Look at Gadbois creating a healthier environment for ice dancers, the Diversity Alliance for creating a safe space for more diverse skaters, etc. Bottom line, there is much to love about the sport, and no reason to just throw it into the trash altogether. I applaud all the people who are making this effort every day.

I don't disagree that there are people trying to make change, but they're trying to make change from the bottom up, in a structure that seems to be controlled by people who don't want things to change. People who are happy to pay lip service to diversity and inclusion but who don't want to change the systems that aren't inclusive or equitable.

Focusing on, and supporting, the initiatives for change is really important, but let's be realistic about what they're up against.

 

[VGThuy]

Same thing society is up against. Societal change will trickle down to every facet so we all must do our part as well.

 

[love_skate2011]

bruno was a great catch, will the next be ? hmmm
and time is counting, 2022 or 2026

 

[Nune]

Weil guys/ladies , to me this discussion is way too harsh. I don know this guy at all. So I can express myself concerning the harassment.

For sure Aljona is known as a very ambitious skater, I wouldn’t primarily consider her as selfish. She loves our sport.
Bruno Massot has not been a famous skater, nor a very good one before pairing with Aljona,

I think, that her love for figure skating paired with her ambition she’s know for and a good stuff led them to the success they’ve had.

So I think, that she could develop another guy towards new heights!

Lets just give them a chance please. This season and the next one will stay very interesting with those comebacks.

I am crossing my fingers for Aljona!

 

[overedge]

Weil guys/ladies , to me this discussion is way too harsh. I don know this guy at all. So I can express myself concerning the harassment.

For sure Aljona is known as a very ambitious skater, I wouldn’t primarily consider her as selfish. She loves our sport.
Bruno Massot has not been a famous skater, nor a very good one before pairing with Aljona,

I think, that her love for figure skating paired with her ambition she’s know for and a good stuff led them to the success they’ve had.

So I think, that she could develop another guy towards new heights!

Lets just give them a chance please. This season and the next one will stay very interesting with those comebacks.

I am crossing my fingers for Aljona!

Sorry, but I don't think a skater with multiple allegations of harassment against them should be given a chance to skate with anyone. Overlooking that to say "let's support them" is an example of the attitudes in this sport that need to change.

 

[Brenda_Bottems]

Your research department is really slipping, just like your writer. Savchenko was born in Ukraine.

My god you are tiresome. I presume you need a new hobby now that coronavirus is over.

The point is Savchenko won her Olympic medals representing Germany,not Ukraine. Germany cleared her to skate for a different country,not Ukraine.

-BB

 

[marbri]

Sometimes, in life, you learn that someone you admired maybe isn't really that great a character. It happens.

If Robyn was upset how things ended and Bruno seems upset with this news you can't ignore the pattern.
All Aljona wants is someone who can throw her high and far. I am guessing if she picked TJ he must fit the bill.
If she doesn't care about his character then it probably says something about her character.

As for why she is doing this, I suspect ego. She watched the current crop of skaters and must think them no competition. She has nothing to prove, she won it all and had the perfect final chapter in 2018 but it isn't enough. She knows she can't go to the Olympics for the US in eight months so her goal has to be worlds (and maybe a future career coaching $$$ in the US) to show she is better than the rest.

 

[manleywoman]

Aljona spent some time here in Chicago after the last Olympics coaching the Kneirams. She told me herself she doesn't love show skating, and she really enjoys and thrives on competing. So if she loves to compete and still can, I don't fault her for wanting to continue to do it. I don't agree it "tarnishes" her previous accomplishments. JMO.

That is not my endorsement of some of the choices made here, mind you. Just passing along that she genuinely enjoys competing.

 

[Theatregirl1122]

https://twitter.com/Harley_d22/status/1403371798796849154

And Harley Windsor is now calling a fan (who is rightfully upset now) "a joke of a human" who should "step aside and stop shitting on people for facts that you don’t know about."



ETA: Windsor has deleted that tweet.

I feel like this isn’t the first indication that Harley is trash.

As for Aliona, I can’t imagine what she’s trying to achieve or what she can achieve with him that she couldn’t achieve with someone who isn’t an abuser, but anything you can’t achieve without stepping in victims as you climb over them doesn’t need achieving.

Perhaps Bruno doesn’t like abusers either.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

I would like to watch the Knierim-cam right now.

LOL, Im just coming to FSU for the first time today and saw the news... and THIS WAS ALSO my first thought too....

 

[rfisher]

Aljona spent some time here in Chicago after the last Olympics coaching the Kneirams. She told me herself she doesn't love show skating, and she really enjoys and thrives on competing. So if she loves to compete and still can, I don't fault her for wanting to continue to do it.

That is not my endorsement of some of the choices made here, mind you. Just passing along that she genuinely enjoys competing.

I think this is her motivation. As to her choice of partner, I agree with @marbri that he fit a requirement. At the moment. But, since Germany has released her, a whole lot of pair guys in the US may be taking a sudden interest, especially if they'd like World medals which they all do. Let's face it, she is better than any US female pair skater even at age 37. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to hear that someone else is her partner by the time the season starts. I doubt any of them thought she could get a release, but after today, it's a whole different ball game if they want a chance at world medals. She not only likes to compete, she likes to win. What would the conversation be if LeDuc or Fraser or Johnson or any of the other possible male partners suddenly take notice? I'd bet a lot that more than one of them is thinking, hmmmm.....

 

[MacMadame]

I feel like this isn’t the first indication that Harley is trash.

There were some incidents with social media concerning Cipres, IIRC

 

[Brenda_Bottems]

Perhaps Alexa could lend Chris to Aljona, like she offered Meagan? We could them circumvent this TJ Nyman unpleasantness and usher in an imperial phase for team USA pairs.

-BB

 

[rfisher]

Perhaps Alexa could lend Chris to Aljona, like she offered Meagan? We could them circumvent this TJ Nyman unpleasantness and usher in an imperial phase for team USA pairs.

-BB

Because she doesn't want someone who falls down. Win. Not lose.

There are some nervous pair women today. A great white shark just swam into the pool of little seals.

 

[screech]

If she'd just gotten in there a few months earlier, she could have paired with Eric - to me they make more sense.

I'm actually a bit surprised she didn't try to go for singles, instead of moving to the US for pairs. Her clips on instagram of her working on the 3a and 4t were impressive.

 

[Lizziebeth]

If she'd just gotten in there a few months earlier, she could have paired with Eric - to me they make more sense.

I'm actually a bit surprised she didn't try to go for singles, instead of moving to the US for pairs. Her clips on instagram of her working on the 3a and 4t were impressive.

I think she prefers pair skating with lifts and throws!

 

[meggonzo]

I think this is her motivation. As to her choice of partner, I agree with @marbri that he fit a requirement. At the moment. But, since Germany has released her, a whole lot of pair guys in the US may be taking a sudden interest, especially if they'd like World medals which they all do. Let's face it, she is better than any US female pair skater even at age 37. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to hear that someone else is her partner by the time the season starts. I doubt any of them thought she could get a release, but after today, it's a whole different ball game if they want a chance at world medals. She not only likes to compete, she likes to win. What would the conversation be if LeDuc or Fraser or Johnson or any of the other possible male partners suddenly take notice? I'd bet a lot that more than one of them is thinking, hmmmm.....

None of those guys are going to dump their partner in an Olympic season for someone that doesn't have US citizenship.