I think if one thinks it’s not unreasonable to choose Samarin and Aliev even if you disagree with choosing them over Voronov and think Voronov’s GP results should have been taken into consideration more heavily then a petition is unreasonable. A petition like this is usually done for blatant or outrageous robberies IMO. I do think those who wrote and signed the petition really do think Voronov did so much better to warrant a spot at Euros over Samarin or Aliev. That is what making me
. I get he has fans here and a story, but I don’t think the actual results or performances really warrant such an outcry. And I do think it’s pretty disrespectful to Samarin and Aliev no matter how you feel about their skating.
It
is an outrageous robbery. Look how their PCS was inflated at RN relative to their international marks, compared to Sergei's which was not inflated at ALL. He should have beaten Dima here if they had applied the same kind of inflation equally.
And I like Dima, he's the best of the younger generation IMO. But he has been injured all season and is
still injured, and Sergei's SB is 25 points higher than his internationally. And 20 points higher than Samarin's. That means nothing? It's not even a close contest.
FFS, we know the petition won't accomplish anything other than showing support to a very well liked skater. If you don't like it, then ignore it and move on. God forbid anyone stand up for a skater who deserves to be treated better by his federation. I remember the outcry when Menshov wasn't sent to Euros. Where is everyone standing up for Sergei, who is a far more accomplished and consistent skater than Menshov was?
It's not about youth vs. experience to me.
It's about who came out ahead at Russian Nationals.
Aliev, Samarin, & Voronov all had enough of a track record to be in the mix. They were all in the same boat competitive-wise. Aliev & Samarin had the junior world medals & multiple JGP medals heading into the season. Voronov had the solid GP. If Voronov had rotated & landed his jumps like he's been doing on the GP, he would be headed for Europeans. If Samarin & Aliev had hit everything in their toolboxes, they would likely have outstripped him. It's a shame the FPs at Nationals were such a hot mess all around, but that has been the name of the game in the men's event often enough. (Mura really skated about as well as he could at Japanese Nationals, yet no real argument there ironically).
On the negative side, the petition is your classic underestimating of the young guys who haven't had time to build up a senior fan base yet. On the positive side--and to Voronov's credit--it's about people who value a skater who has been in the sport a long time & appreciate how well he has done throughout a season.
I'm very happy for Voronov, actually. Two years ago, he was a disaster. Couldn't seem to get through a program to save his life. But he came back last year with a clean skate at Skate America and had a great GP this season. Will Samarin & Aliev have careers that are more or equally successful? Impossible to know at this point. Are they good enough to make the Russian men's European team this time around? Yep.
No, Sergei was not a "disaster" two years ago. His lowest placement was 6th at Rostelecom Cup which was less than 5 points from bronze - 244.60. That's a disaster to you? It wasn't his best season for sure, but he was also quite underscored on the GP (and I would argue last season as well). Let's not exaggerate or rewrite history, please. A disaster is someone like Brezina, Samohin or Kovtun who are a hot mess in 90% of their competitions.
Do you all really want Aliev to be going for 4Lz when he still isn't recovered from the injuries he's been fighting all season? People dislike Sergei that much that they would rather see another young skater go the same route as Pitkeev, Petrov, Kovtun. Where are all those young healthy skaters that were supposed to have so much more potential? Not to mention all those "next big things" who never were that came before...Mikhailov, Griazev, Borodulin, Bush, Uspenski, Dobrin, Lutai, etc.
I wish Kovtun well whatever he decides to do.
