From Russia With Love (No 32): Spring to Summer 2019

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Perky Shae Lynn said:
Seriously. How does he do it? I guess some women find him attractive. He's probably charming. But his reputation....:scream:
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Maybe the sex is good. Who would care about his reputation is he delivers in bedroom? Who cares what other people think?
 
DobrinFan said:
And Sokolovskaya will? It's good that she wants to continue but I think her time has passed. Now Buyanova has more time to focus on Gubanova and her junior boys. Good luck to them all. Maria and her new coach.
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I do agree, but I like her skating a lot and would love to see her pull off a miracle. They said that about Tuktamysheva too.
 
Mad for Skating said:
True, but stranger things have happened in ladies’ skating. I do think it unlikely though 😢
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Maria never had anything in her skating that I particularly enjoyed but I think she’s had a very respectable career — making it to the Olympics and multiple Worlds in the deepest field in skating is a huge accomplishment. But if she does continue I’ll be cheering for her because I have a weak spot for the ones who linger 😂
 
Ardarys said:
Maria never had anything in her skating that I particularly enjoyed but I think she’s had a very respectable career — making it to the Olympics and multiple Worlds in the deepest field in skating is a huge accomplishment. But if she does continue I’ll be cheering for her because I have a weak spot for the ones who linger 😂
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Agree! She has done a lot in her career to be proud of, and I’d love to see her hang in there. Her skating isn’t overpoweringly memorable, but it’s elegant in its own way to me. I don’t mind her.
 
miffy said:
I would like to see Maria try ice dance but I guess it would still be near impossible to make the World team in Russia!
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Too late. It didn’t work out that great for Stavitsakaya to switch from singles to ice dance, and she was younger than Sotskova. I guess, maybe, if Sotskova married Morozov, she would have a chance. Davankova wasn’t doing that badly, but she is the only one I know that could come so close.
 
Mad for Skating said:
Don’t even put that idea out into the universe! But does that mean Stolbova would be single and willing to date me? 😂
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My point wasn’t that Morozov needs another victim. What I meant was that the only time when I saw skater of that age (slightly younger but not that much younger) change to ice dance and be relatively successful was when the skater was married to a coach and I am assuming that Morozov put a lot of time and energy to make Davankova into an ice dancer. Switching to ice dance isn’t same as switching to pairs, where as long as you have the elements, you get the marks. In ice dance, it would take several years before the judges would start taking Sotskova seriously, no matter how good she might be. Obviously, there were skaters who switched to ice dance quite late. Spanish Diaz comes to my mind. But they wouldn’t have any competition within Spain so matter how bad they would have been, they would be sent to Europeans and worlds as long as they managed to get the qualifying scores. Whereas for Sotskova and partner to get to Europeans or worlds in ice dance, they would have to be much better than that.
 
hanca said:
My point wasn’t that Morozov needs another victim. What I meant was that the only time when I saw skater of that age (slightly younger but not that much younger) change to ice dance and be relatively successful was when the skater was married to a coach and I am assuming that Morozov put a lot of time and energy to make Davankova into an ice dancer. Switching to ice dance isn’t same as switching to pairs, where as long as you have the elements, you get the marks. In ice dance, it would take several years before the judges would start taking Sotskova seriously, no matter how good she might be. Obviously, there were skaters who switched to ice dance quite late. Spanish Diaz comes to my mind. But they wouldn’t have any competition within Spain so matter how bad they would have been, they would be sent to Europeans and worlds as long as they managed to get the qualifying scores. Whereas for Sotskova and partner to get to Europeans or worlds in ice dance, they would have to be much better than that.
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Okay, I get it 😀 I agree that switching to ice dance is a huge change - have we even heard from Pitkeev? It’s not as easy as it looks. Even partnership changes like Yanovskaya/Mozgov don’t always go well.
 
I don't think there is a simple single reason why Sotskova will be training with Sokolovskaya this season, instead of Buianova. Following the work of CSKA rink, Sotskova and Buianova, from what i understand this parting is not "Sotskova left Buianova" or "Buianova lost interest in her". I believe it is a mutual decision, given circumstances on both sides, but yes... both women were at a disagreement towards the end.

Buianova is (probably) going through some personal situation which makes her leave training sessions abruptly, not return that day, and overall is said to spend less time at the rink this year. The younger girls at the rink post about it in their IGs. One girl posted a "live feed" that she and her friend are going home in the middle of the day because Buianova just turned around and walked out of the building in the middle of the session, without a word, and just left the girls in the middle of the ice; that Radionova was there practicing and ended up having to look after the girls, because there were no adults left; when the little girls asked the assistant coach "what about the afternoon practice", the assistant coach frowned and said "call Buianova, i have no idea what's happening", so the little girls had to go home. (there is a video, if any one is interested, in russian). Some say that Buianova is going through some changes in life, some say it is health issues, or just slightly burnt out (like Mozer)..

Sotskova is a full time student at Uni, and taking classes that require on-campus presence, and less time for skating. Looks like both ladies expected more from each other than each can provide at this time.

Sotskova has to stay at CSKA if she wants to keep all the benefits this club has to offer and Sokolovskaya is right there, so Maria does not have to readjust her schedule and habitat. Given the scope of ladies skaters that Sokolovskaya has now, Maria will be her top, or one of the top, ladies, so it's good for all.
 
Mad for Skating said:
Okay, I get it 😀 I agree that switching to ice dance is a huge change - have we even heard from Pitkeev? It’s not as easy as it looks. Even partnership changes like Yanovskaya/Mozgov don’t always go well.
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I don’t think Pitkeev is a good example of how hard it is to change from singles to ice dance, because he was injured. He had no chance to start with. I think he was kidding himself when he decided to try, because he just wasn’t ready to accept the reality that because of his injury he is done with elite competitive sport. But Stavitskaya is a better example because she was healthy and I do believe she gave her best to it, and yet it didn’t happen.

Regarding Yanovskaya/Mozgov and their current careers with their current partners, it seems to me that Yanovskaya is quite tall, so that would limit the choice of her partners. She found a partner (Lukacs) who was far below her skills and I don’t think he is particularly talented, but they don’t have any competition within Hungary so at least Yanovskaya got out of this her trips to Europeans and worlds, so I don’t think she has any reason to complain. She might even feel lucky that Mozgov dumped her.
And Mozgov’s career, well, even though Popova/Mozgov are in theory the better ice dancers than Yanovskaya/Lukacs, because there are at least three much stronger ice dance couple within Russia, it may take a while to get to Europeans and worlds (if they ever get there at all).
 
Tinami Amori said:
The younger girls at the rink post about it in their IGs. One girl posted a "live feed" that she and her friend are going home in the middle of the day because Buianova just turned around and walked out of the building in the middle of the session,
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Do coaches get mad about this kind of thing, or is it now just so deeply ingrained in the younger generation that they don’t even try to do anything about it? After that younger skater (sorry can’t remember her name right now) made that doping comment I was wondering if coaches started trying to monitor this at all. Maybe I’m just old and hate the idea of broadcasting everything online but if I was Buianova I’d be pissed off at this (but I like it got gossip’s sake)
 
hanca said:
I don’t think Pitkeev is a good example of how hard it is to change from singles to ice dance, because he was injured. He had no chance to start with. I think he was kidding himself when he decided to try, because he just wasn’t ready to accept the reality that because of his injury he is done with elite competitive sport. But Stavitskaya is a better example because she was healthy and I do believe she gave her best to it, and yet it didn’t happen.

Regarding Yanovskaya/Mozgov and their current careers with their current partners, it seems to me that Yanovskaya is quite tall, so that would limit the choice of her partners. She found a partner (Lukacs) who was far below her skills and I don’t think he is particularly talented, but they don’t have any competition within Hungary so at least Yanovskaya got out of this her trips to Europeans and worlds, so I don’t think she has any reason to complain. She might even feel lucky that Mozgov dumped her.
And Mozgov’s career, well, even though Popova/Mozgov are in theory the better ice dancers than Yanovskaya/Lukacs, because there are at least three much stronger ice dance couple within Russia, it may take a while to get to Europeans and worlds (if they ever get there at all).
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Ah you’re right about Pitkeev’s injuries. A shame, because I really enjoyed his skating.
When I first saw Yanovskaya/Mozgov together, I thought they were destined for greatness - the next dominant couple in Russia. However, I think both had their own kind of success, like you said. It probably wasn’t as they planned, but it’s not the worst outcome at all.
 
hanca said:
My point wasn’t that Morozov needs another victim. What I meant was that the only time when I saw skater of that age (slightly younger but not that much younger) change to ice dance and be relatively successful was when the skater was married to a coach and I am assuming that Morozov put a lot of time and energy to make Davankova into an ice dancer.
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I believe Kana Muramoto finished 15th at Worlds her 2nd year in dance. Perhaps she was younger? But she is the most successful athlete I can think of that switched disciplines into dance and succeeded rapidly. (And, of course, she had a very experienced partner). If I remember correctly, Davankova & Shibnev lost to the #3 Germans at Universiade, which as far as I can recall was D&S's only international. They finished @7th at Nationals, but several of the competitive junior teams hadn't moved up yet. Therefore I would say that Kana & Polizoakis (possibly Yura Min) were more successful. That said, I fully agree that it is a HUGE endeavor to switch disciplines to ice dance at a later stage in one's life.

Mad for Skating said:
Okay, I get it 😀 I agree that switching to ice dance is a huge change . . .
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There are many athletes that make dance their specialty. That put years and years of work into it from a very young age. To ignore the significance of all of this work and assume that a successful athlete in another discipline can just switch fields and somehow be more competitive than they are in the discipline in which they have specialized for years and years . . . it's rather disrespectful to the athletes who excel in dance, don't you think? (Mishin's claim that strong singles skaters were the answer when Pitkeev initially teamed up didn't exactly pan out the way he claimed, did it?)

Having said this, yes, we do see a handful of athletes switch into dance after exiting juniors. You can't ignore the depth of the national field when it comes to doing so, however. Changing disciplines can be done, but IMO, not at the level which would get you to Worlds in the powerhouse dance countries: Russia, the U.S., Canada. And why would an athlete from a non-powerhouse dance country elect to dance with a singles skater from one of those countries when that athlete could select an experienced dancer from one of them?

These kind of partnerships . . . generally you have to have something to offer. 1. Citizenship that will help a more experienced athlete get to the Olympics, 2. Height--tall guys or short girls, 3. Money--helping to fund the partner's career. Those are the ones that come to mind off the top of my head. Maybe a connection that could get you into a rink with a top ice dance coach? Something along those lines.
 
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