Article: Ice skating slipping through cracks in Israel

[Sylvia]

Editorial by Allon Sinai published in The Jerusalem Post (inspired, I assume, by Daniel Samohin's historic gold medal at the World Junior Championships last week and Alexei Bychenko's silver at 2016 Europeans): http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Sp...0Mzc3Q0NCRDNDQUY0NTY3NEM1QUE5QTcyMkJDOEI5NUY=

Excerpts:

Israel’s figure skaters are registering historic accomplishments in international competitions and the sport is blossoming at the youth level following the opening of the “Ice Peaks” ice rink in Holon three years ago. But the growth has been impeded by lack of funding and insufficient facilities in the country, with [Boris] Chait personally paying for many of the expenses of Israel’s ice skaters.

Chait said he always gets asked why Israel’s figure skaters practice overseas, but on the other hand the Ice Skating Federation receives little to no help in building facilities.
“On the one hand it is great people win and get results but on the other hand we are creating a monster,” he noted. “A good monster, but it needs to be fed. We have done it in a partisan way until now but this is not professional.
“The biggest problem is that they say ‘you come with the results and then we will try to support you somehow’,” he added. “But you need to build the pyramid from the bottom not the top. They aren’t interested in building facilities and there is no more room in the rink. We have run out of ice time.”

Chait said the federation has gone from 20 kids training regularly to over 350 since the opening of the rink in Holon, but that it could do so much more if it were given the funds.
“The ministers of sport are changing and the office holders are changing but the idea of sport and developing sport has not changed,” he said.
“Sport is more than politics. Our athletes are ambassadors. Samohin with the Israeli flag showed them that we are here to stay but nobody understands it.”
Chait has helped to take Israeli figure skating to a new level, but continued growth depends on increased funding from the establishment, which is not forthcoming.

 

[MsZem]

Did someone ask Chait why he'd rather have Americans and Russians represent Israel, even in lower levels, rather than give Israeli skaters a chance? I'm not talking about Samohin - of course you snap up someone that talented. But there are a lot of newly Israeli skaters who are not the next Samohin. Meanwhile, the only active Israeli skater who actually came up in Israel is Krasnopolski. I'm also curious why the IISF doesn't update its website or publish championship results, and why is money being wasted on trying to block Anya Davidovich from getting her release.

I have no doubt that the Chaits are passionate about Israeli skating, but the truth is that it's not even a niche sport in Israel, and there just isn't enough funding for sports - even ones in which local athletes have had considerably more success. There are Olympic size rinks in Metula and Eilat, but the coaching just isn't available for kids to get beyond a certain level, and even if they are sent abroad, Galit Chait is not the right coach for every skater out there. This is not Miri Regev's fault, and I am no fan of hers. It's great to have skaters like Bychenko and Samohin succeed, but at some point there has to be a plan to bring at least some Israeli-raised skaters to the elite level.

Work to find funding for a full-sized rink in Holon (why they built a small one to begin with is beyond me). Support the sport at the grassroots level and provide opportunities for local kids to compete. Give them something to aspire to. Get some coaches to do clinics here in the summer. Bring Samohin and Bychenko over for more than two days at a time. Bring back Skate Israel. When Plushenko brings his show to Israel, advertise it somewhere other than the Russian media. There's so much that can be done even with limited government/public funding.

 

[Tinami Amori]

Did someone ask Chait why he'd rather have Americans and Russians represent Israel, even in lower levels, rather than give Israeli skaters a chance?

Probably because Tsabras did not grow up with "culture of Winter Sport such as Figure Skating", like Russian and American jews........???

Maybe we should also ask USA Table Tennis/Ping-Pong Federation why most of its national team members are Asians.......
http://www.joola.us/wp-content/uploads/2014-joola-teams-winners.jpg

There is also no curling in Trinidad...... , and if there is ever, it will probably be practiced by an immigrant from places where there is ice...

 

[Tinami Amori]

dbl.

 

[Seerek]

There is also no curling in Trinidad...... , and if there is ever, it will probably be practiced by an immigrant from places where there is ice...

Trindadian-Canadian Rudy Ramcharan won a Canadian national title in 1997 (playing second stones for Kevin Martin).

 

[Tinami Amori]

Trindadian-Canadian Rudy Ramcharan won a Canadian national title in 1997 (playing second stones for Kevin Martin).

proves my point...

 

[fan]

I don't really know where to put this, but krasnopolski has kept up his record - dumping another teenager. Tankova is on IPS

 

[MsZem]

Probably because Tsabras did not grow up with "culture of Winter Sport such as Figure Skating", like Russian and American jews........???

Are American/Russian/French skaters who can't land their jumps a huge improvement? Because other than Samohin, that's pretty much what bringing in teenagers who grew up in the "culture of Winter Sport such as Figure Skating" has been getting us. And unlike Asian-Americans, their connection to the country the represent seems limited to coming over for Nationals.

Anyway, I specifically mentioned lower level skaters, because there are Israeli-born kids skating in Metula, Eilat and Holon. They need better coaching, and a chance to show what they can do. If we're going to have someone finish at the bottom of the standings, I'd rather it be Karin Mamos than some import du jour.

Oh, and it would be nice if the IISF could finally update their website and actually publish the results of Nationals.

I don't really know where to put this, but krasnopolski has kept up his record - dumping another teenager. Tankova is on IPS

Someone who looks a lot like Krasnopolski appears in the linked pics from Eilat. Scouting for a replacement? Good thing Ivetta Berkovich is too young

Dumping Davidovich was so stupid.

 

[Sylvia]

Elizaveta Iushenko, 16, recently was cleared by Moscow federation to represent Israel but she still needs to be released officially by the Russian fed.: https://www.instagram.com/p/BGFPBS5J2-z/?taken-by=liza_yuschenko
I remember liking her musicality/expressiveness on the JGP a few seasons ago - link to her ISU bio: http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00014291.htm

The other 2 Russian skaters on the Moscow list released to Israel are Ирина Чернявская = Arina Cherniavskaia ( http://www.fskate.ru/skaters/2088.html & her ISU bio with Antonino Souza-Kordyeru http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00034316.htm ) - will they continue together?

Александр Прачанов = Alexander Prachanov ( http://www.fskate.ru/skaters/2358.html & who qualified(?) for Russian Nationals with his ice dance partner, Anna Kublikova, but they did not compete there - will they continue together?

 

[BrightSkates]

I don't really know where to put this, but krasnopolski has kept up his record - dumping another teenager. Tankova is on IPS

He is already skating with some new brown-head. Poor Adele, she worked so hard on her jumps this year and actually started to improve a lot. But she is still in Ice House. Maybe they promised her to find new partner. Hope so.

 

[TAHbKA]

I hope Tankov gets a partner her age. Between Cheryavskaya and Tankov age and level wise Chernyavskaya is more.suitable for Krasnapolski.