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

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Cherub721

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Don't they also need minimum TES to get a GP, unless it's their host country? That would mean they could get the SA spot and if they compete and get a good SB score they could be invited somewhere else off the alternate list? France doesn't have a pair in the medal hunt so that's a possibility.
 

kwanfan1818

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They haven't posted the GP Announcment, so this into is from the last two.

TES minimums are different than GP minimums. TES minimums can be earned at any international where there are two skaters from different members. GP minimums have to be earned from those qualifying for the SB list (last and current season) plus any early current season non-CS event they designate. Host country picks, split coupkes, and returnimg skaters don't need to earn the GP minimums.

Winners of CS plus any early season non-CS international listed in the announcement get added fo the alternates list, and skaters can earn the GP minimums there or at a host GP. It's never been clear whether skaters' current season scores get intermingled on the SB list from the prior season to determine order of eligibility to be selected as an alternate.
 

RoseRed

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Once per partner with as many partners as they qualify; eligibility is based on the last partnership.

To qualify as a returning couple, it would have to have been with Massot, based on 2018 results; 1-6 placement can be in the last 10 years, at least through the last GP Announcement. What she might have been eligible for is as a split couple, but the ISU Announcement has omitted the paragraph for split couple skaters who placed 1-6 with a previous partner since, IIRC, the very first year they introduced it, when the rules were changed and stabilized in year two. So whether qualifying results for those split coup!e would have had to be accomplished in the last two seasons or ten or something different is something the ISU hasn't published, and only that number would shed light on whether she was eligible.
It seems like the James/Radford partnership was eligible, seeing as how they got two spots. So I can't really see why she wouldn't be.
Don't they also need minimum TES to get a GP, unless it's their host country? That would mean they could get the SA spot and if they compete and get a good SB score they could be invited somewhere else off the alternate list? France doesn't have a pair in the medal hunt so that's a possibility.
I don't think that's relevant to them not getting GP assignments. James/Radford haven't competed together, and got them.
 

kwanfan1818

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It seems like the James/Radford partnership was eligible, seeing as how they got two spots. So I can't really see why she wouldn't be.
Thank you for pointing this out: I missed their second assignment to France.

Although not in the document, there probably is a rule, but, then again the ISU allowed three Pairs from China to compete in Jr. Worlds once, when they were only entitled to two spots, so, who knows.
 

allezfred

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Although not in the document, there probably is a rule, but, then again the ISU allowed three Pairs from China to compete in Jr. Worlds once, when they were only entitled to two spots, so, who knows.
And the results of the third team were annulled when the error was belatedly realised so am not sure that is the best example.
 

MacMadame

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It seems like the James/Radford partnership was eligible, seeing as how they got two spots. So I can't really see why she wouldn't be.
She and Radford both haven't competed since 2018, which is the same. But James last competed in 2019 while Nyman has never competed as a Senior. I don't know if that makes a difference but I wouldn't be surprised if it's Nyman who is keeping them from being a Split Couple or whatever the heck it's called.
 

Debbie S

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I believe the split couple rule applies if one partner finished in the top 6 (or is it top 10?) at Worlds the past 2 seasons. It's possible 2019 Worlds counts, since there was no 2020 Worlds, so if that's the case, then it would be Vanessa that got her and Eric 2 spots. Since Aliona last competed in 2018 (and TJ never), they wouldn't be eligible as a split couple.
 

kwanfan1818

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I believe the split couple rule applies if one partner finished in the top 6 (or is it top 10?) at Worlds the past 2 seasons. It's possible 2019 Worlds counts, since there was no 2020 Worlds, so if that's the case, then it would be Vanessa that got her and Eric 2 spots. Since Aliona last competed in 2018 (and TJ never), they wouldn't be eligible as a split couple.
That appears to be what happened: J/R got two spots based on J/C's last Worlds results.

The only split couple rules in the Announcements have been for those who placed 7-12 at the last two Worlds. The Announcement has no paragraph about those who placed 1-6 at the last X Worlds. The "X" has never been defined. It may very well be that the same two-season rules apply to those placing 1-6 as those placing 7-12. It's hard to imagine Savchenko wanting to turn down GP spots, regardless of how they'd place.

That would make Split Couple rules different from return skaters, where those placing 1-6 in the last 10 years could take the one-time option to return.
 

tony

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Honestly not surprising. She's been part of the training camps for a while now, and she originally wasn't scheduled to take part in them. Nyman and Sappenfield both getting rid of/deactivating social media at the same time she left made me pretty sure it was done, mixed with the looming cases on both of them-- it was just likely to be more of a dead end for Aljona. Someone with pretty extensive knowledge of the situation told me a few months ago that they'd be 'very surprised' if Dalilah and/or T.J. actually made it to January (Nationals) without a suspension or ban.
 
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Since she was released, does that mean she has to skate for the US now? Or because she never competed, can she still compete for Germany? Assuming she can find a partner of course.
 

hanca

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To be fair, she clearly is a great skater and could manage to make from an average pair skater a pretty decent pair skater, but the experiment with TJ was pushing that a bit too far. Thinking that she can make a decent skater from a pair skater who has never competed internationally in seniors, who has never been to Europeans or senior worlds, and all that within nine months to be ready for Olympics … I think she was either extremely arrogant, or deluded. If she really plans to get on the team for this coming Olympics, she needs someone more experienced, and if possible, more than just an average skater.
 

hanca

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Since she was released, does that mean she has to skate for the US now? Or because she never competed, can she still compete for Germany? Assuming she can find a partner of course.
I don’t know the answer to your question, but my guess would be that there is a bigger chance of finding a partner in the USA, rather than in Germany. But Russia may have someone still unattached.
 

skatingguy

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To be fair, she clearly is a great skater and could manage to make from an average pair skater a pretty decent pair skater, but the experiment with TJ was pushing that a bit too far. Thinking that she can make a decent skater from a pair skater who has never competed internationally in seniors, who has never been to Europeans or senior worlds, and all that within nine months to be ready for Olympics … I think she was either extremely arrogant, or deluded. If she really plans to get on the team for this coming Olympics, she needs someone more experienced, and if possible, more than just an average skater.
It was also strange because she never had a chance to compete in the next Olympics for the US.
 

skylark

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It was also strange because she never had a chance to compete in the next Olympics for the US.
I'm 99.9% confident that Aljona always realized this. I think she wanted and wants to compete now for the experience of competing, and to skate because she loves skating. And she might possibly make it to 2026 Olympics -- I wouldn't put it past her, at all -- and vie for the honor of being the oldest female figure skater competing there.

This is tangential, but ... Some skaters just don't get the experience they want out of show skating. I read a long interview of Denis Petrov where he said this was true of his wife, Chen Lu. That surprised me! He said she got bored with show skating. Whereas he, and his longtime partner Elena Bechke, thrived with show skating, loved it, and reached new heights there (and also, of course, with professional competitions).
 

skatingguy

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I'm 99.9% confident that Aljona always realized this. I think she wanted and wants to compete now for the experience of competing, and to skate because she loves skating. And she might possibly make it to 2026 Olympics -- I wouldn't put it past her, at all -- and vie for the honor of being the oldest female figure skater competing there.

This is tangential, but ... Some skaters just don't get the experience they want out of show skating. I read a long interview of Denis Petrov where he said this was true of his wife, Chen Lu. That surprised me! He said she got bored with show skating. Whereas he, and his longtime partner Elena Bechke, thrived with show skating, loved it, and reached new heights there (and also, of course, with professional competitions).
She wouldn't have a chance at 2026 either though. From what's been posted here, and what I've read about the process of becoming a US citizen, she would not be eligible to compete until the 2030 Olympics. If she just wanted to skate, and compete I would wonder why she wouldn't be able to get another athlete to move to Germany.
 

seabm7

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According to Benoit Richaud, Aljona is looking for a new partner. However, this is a google translate. I hope someone who speaks Russian check this translation. It is possible that Richaud talked in the past tense and his statement got mis-understood.

ETD: Well, IFS magazine quoted this interview as
 
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