News and updates à la Française, part quatre

[Kateri]

Schild and Serna are close enough in scores that it's an odd choice to ignore Nationals results and deny Schild going to Worlds. (though I think Serna is more pleasant to watch skate.)

Kevin has far more in his favour to ignore one truly disastrous skate (he's had disasters, but never given up on a performance like this, that I recall.) I would have given him the benefit of the doubt for Euros, and then decided if he should be sent to Worlds based on that.

 

[Evgeniafan]

Schild and Serna are close enough in scores that it's an odd choice to ignore Nationals results and deny Schild going to Worlds. (though I think Serna is more pleasant to watch skate.)

Kevin has far more in his favour to ignore one truly disastrous skate (he's had disasters, but never given up on a performance like this, that I recall.) I would have given him the benefit of the doubt for Euros, and then decided if he should be sent to Worlds based on that.

Kevin just got new skates, so hopefully he is back on track.

 

[On My Own]

Aymoz needs to sit worlds out and work on his mentality. If he bombs that too, it isn't going to help him.

 

[wouldacoulda]

Aymoz needs to sit worlds out and work on his mentality. If he bombs that too, it isn't going to help him.

That was tough to watch.

 

[Karen-W]

Aymoz needs to sit worlds out and work on his mentality. If he bombs that too, it isn't going to help him.

He needs to show more respect to the sport and his competitors. That was inexcusable. Economides deserves the 2nd Worlds spot.

 

[Private Citizen]

He needs to show more respect to the sport and his competitors. That was inexcusable. Economides deserves the 2nd Worlds spot.

The right thing to do is withdraw from Worlds, sit out the rest of the season, and get himself into better shape.

Re: showing respect to the sport and his competitors, I'll cut him some slack here. I think he tried honestly, based on the practice reports, but is having some kind of mental breakdown or block. It can't continue, though - this was strike three. If he won't withdraw (ideally now), the Federation needs to step in and bench him. This isn't funny to watch; it's concerning and uncomfortable. He's having issues that are standard deviations outside of normal issues, and I hope he's able to get whatever help (big or small) he needs.

 

[On My Own]

Is it bad that I thought Aymoz's 39 PCS for that SP performance is in fact more deserved than Adam's 88 for that LP? At least Aymoz can hear the music, lol.

 

[Evgeniafan]

Kévin Aymoz on Instagram: "J’ai aujourd’hui à cœur, de remettre ma santé mentale au centre pour pouvoir briller en tant que sportif et vivre en tant qu’humain. Je tenais à remercier énormément de personnes après ce championnat, pour tout l’amour qu

8,445 likes, 602 comments - kevin_aymozJanuary 15, 2024 on : "J’ai aujourd’hui à cœur, de remettre ma santé mentale au centre pour pouvoir briller en tant que sportif et vivre en tant qu’hum...".

www.instagram.com

Kevin's post on Instagram is so sad.

 

[Vagabond]

"On va se revoir vite. Je vous le promets."

 

[skatingguy]

Kévin Aymoz on Instagram: "J’ai aujourd’hui à cœur, de remettre ma santé mentale au centre pour pouvoir briller en tant que sportif et vivre en tant qu’humain. Je tenais à remercier énormément de personnes après ce championnat, pour tout l’amour qu

8,445 likes, 602 comments - kevin_aymozJanuary 15, 2024 on : "J’ai aujourd’hui à cœur, de remettre ma santé mentale au centre pour pouvoir briller en tant que sportif et vivre en tant qu’hum...".

www.instagram.com

Kevin's post on Instagram is so sad.

Yes, and no. I thought it was hopeful. Maybe a turning point for his career, and his life. I think he also acknowledged the criticism from some that he was disrespectful to the sport with his lack of effort in the program, and I also think that is a positive.

 

[Vagabond]

Yes, and no. I thought it was hopeful. Maybe a turning point for his career, and his life. I think he also acknowledged the criticism from some that he was disrespectful to the sport with his lack of effort in the program, and I also think that is a positive.

He says (in French) that he wants to work on his mental health. I think that is far more important than what skating fans think about him.

 

[skatingguy]

He says (in French) that he wants to work on his mental health. I think that is far more important than what skating fans think about him.

I don't think that criticism was just coming from skating fans, and this is what he said in French about it.

Ps: Ces championnats ne sont pas le reflet de mon travail et des valeurs que je souhaiter véhiculer à travers mon patinage.

 

[kirkbiggestfan]

The French Fed just announced that Aymoz will stop competing this season. They say it is for his well-being in order to focus on the next 2 seasons.

FFSG

new akilia 1

www.ffsg.org

I hope he keeps that Bolero in his pocket for the Olympic season.

 

[victorskid]

A machine translation of the statement from FFSG:
"The Technical Directorate of the FFSG formalized the withdrawal of Kevin AYMOZ from the competitions for the rest of the current season, underlining the pre-eminence given to the well-being of the skaters of the French team. This decision is part of a desire to devote the necessary time to rebuilding solid foundations for the major deadlines of the next two seasons, including the Olympic qualification and the Olympic Games. This reflects the FFSG’s commitment to the overall development of athletes and the search for long-term success."

 

[Frau Muller]

The French Fed just announced that Aymoz will stop competing this season. They say it is for his well-being in order to focus on the next 2 seasons.

FFSG

new akilia 1

www.ffsg.org

I hope he keeps that Bolero in his pocket for the Olympic season.

Oh, Hallelujah! I seriously want him to feel better soon!

 

[Evgeniafan]

Oh, Hallelujah! I seriously want him to feel better soon!

I'm not sure if the post from the French Federation was in support of Kevin or not? Also, I'm so worried that his not competing will influence him getting the most entertaining program award.

 

[skatingguy]

I'm not sure if the post from the French Federation was in support of Kevin or not? Also, I'm so worried that his not competing will influence him getting the most entertaining program award.

The awards are next month, and he wouldn't have been competing between now, and then anyways, so I don't think it have an impact.

 

[cholla]

I'm not sure if the post from the French Federation was in support of Kevin or not?

It is a statement. It's factual. The fed acknowledges the necessity to give him time to heal. You can consider that this acknowledgment is some kind of support in itself. At least there is no blaming. But the fed also talks about future goals, meaning they didn't forget to think about themselves and their own interest.

Also, I'm so worried that his not competing will influence him getting the most entertaining program award

Whether he gets it or not is not that crucial compared to the fact he has to rebuild himself psychologically. It will be good if he gets it, it won't be that important if he doesn't.

 

[Nmsis]

The french selections for Jr Worlds are on several skaters/coaches' instagram.

Girl : Stefania Gladki
Boys : François Pitot
Pairs : Louise Ehrhard /Matthis Pellegris, Romane Telemaque / Lucas Coulon
Dance : Celina Fradji / Jean-Hans Fourneaux, Dania Mouaden / Théo Bigot

Congrats to them all, especially to Barbara Piton whose goal 2 years ago was to prepare Mouaden/Bigot so they would go to Jr World on their 1st junior season.

 

[Enchanted]

Mouaden / Bigot are talented children but every time I read about the mentality of their coaching team, the coach(es?) remind me of Tutberidze.

It shouldn’t matter at all whether they make the junior world team on their first junior season.

 

[Wyliefan]

That's a bit of a stretch. She hasn't been starving and drugging them, has she?

 

[her grace]

A little surprised that Perrier Gianesini/Blanc Kaperman weren't selected for Junior Worlds since they won French junior nationals, beating Mouaden/Bigot there and on the JGP in their head-to-head event. But they are doing the YOG, so maybe France wanted to spread the love with the assignments.

 

[Nmsis]

Mouaden / Bigot are talented children but every time I read about the mentality of their coaching team, the coach(es?) remind me of Tutberidze.

There is nothing in common between Eteri Tutberidze and Barbara Piton, except that they are people who are thinking of their sport and their coaching as to where to make a breaking point with their athletes
2002 Igor Shpilband, IAM would be a much more appropriate comparison.

In the case of Russia and Tudberidze, they just mimicked the 90s-early 2000s when youngsters (Baiul, Lipinski, Hughes) waltzed in the international senior level, made a blast in year 1, won their olympic gold medal at 15-16yo the next season, then vanished the year after.
And to eliminate the random factor, they mass produced those pre or barely into puberty girls so they would be so dominant that there was no way the olympic gold would escape them
And Tutberidze success validated their plan.
There is little room for individuality and care in that process.

Ice dance doesn't rely on the same premises as female figure skating. The plan can't be to have extremely young light girls for jumps' sake, and you can't waltz in ice dance and pretend to the olympic gold. Careers have to be long term.

Shpilband mastered the newly created CoP elements and trained his dancers especially for them, to the point his programs were looking like lego constructions where you already know all the pieces but they are so solid and so mastered that they win, while everyone else was still struggling with learning how to perform the elements. Be sure that when Virtue/ Moir entered his center, he had a pre-established plan for their career, for the olympics they were aiming at, for when exactly they would have to break through to be in the best position to achieve their goal. A world level coach has to think that way or he/she wouldn't be in the position he/she is otherwise.

IAM has broken his model with its scope. It has considered ice dance like a world market where they thought themselves as the most professionalised center, with the best facilities, a global approach to their athlets' needs. That's why they can brand themselves as "benevolent" as it is engraved in their top international athletes philosophy. And it works. At senior level.

Now various coaches are thinking about how to upset the apple cart. Zanni, Margaglio. I've long thought that Italy was the first country to try to emulate IAM with their own means. And it shows now.

Barbara Piton is someone who has honed her development skills for a looong time, keeping a low profile, never going above novice level, taking advantage of a french specificity : an ice dance branch that starts as kids learn to skate. And now that Lyon is not the mandatory place to be, that Gailhaguet is gone, she has a window of opportunity she wouldn't be allowed to have otherwise.
But in term of global approach and attention to her skaters' need, she's on the same line as IAM who remains the model to beat. This is no Russia.
She has just aimed at what IAM can't reach : kids. Because their parents won't send them to train on the other side of the world so that age is not "market oriented".

 

[Nmsis]

Other than Piton, Arribert is also thinking about her sport.
She thinks that ice dance is too expensive a sport, that it needs to be popularized and made more accessible.
A domain in which she stands at the opposite of IAM.
She says that a year in IAM costs 400 000 € a year (was it based on PapCiz olympic budget or the average IAM ice dance couple, I don't know) while skating in her center costs her dancers 200€ per month (old article behind paywall, picture of the complete article in french).
(she won't charge familes more, that's why Villard's permanent team is limited to 2 coaches "plus guests").

 

[Marta24]

Other than Piton, Arribert is also thinking about her sport.
She thinks that ice dance is too expensive a sport, that it needs to be popularized and made more accessible.
A domain in which she stands at the opposite of IAM.
She says that a year in IAM costs 400 000 € a year (was it based on PapCiz olympic budget or the average IAM ice dance couple, I don't know) while skating in her center costs her dancers 200€ per month.
(she won't charge familes more, that's why Villard's permanent team is limited to 2 coaches "plus guests").

That's amazing! I'm crossing my fingers for Demougeot/ Le Mercier. Not only because I've liked them since they were Juniors, but we really need more Ice Dance centers who are competitive on a Worlds stage. Thankfully, the judges are finally opening their eyes to them. It's going to be interesting to see if they can overtake L/B by next season.
Reading this I wonder how much YGA charges, since most of the dancers there come from OES Feds, that usually have difficulties with funding.

 

[kwanfan1818]

400K Euros is 586K CAD, and most of their expenses would be in CAD, not Euros. That is beyond crazy. Maybe for a full Olympic cycle that would make sense. The most they could make in a year through prize money by winning two GP’s (36), GPF (25), Euros (30), and Worlds (90) at current/ last-published values, or 163-181K USD, depending on the cut the French Fed takes, plus small amounts for some CS events, and WTT every other year, if France qualifies. Even if they netted 180-200K at best, that‘s 168K-183K Euros, or less than half of their budget. Are they getting so much subsidy from France (including any Olympic bonus) and/or making so much from shows that they aren’t accumulating hundreds of thousands of Euros in debt over two Olympic cycles, plus the years they weren’t earning that kind of prize money/ didn’t compete in everything every season?

Yowza.

One correction: Sarah Hughes did not win her Olympic medal and run. She returned in the 2002-3 season, finishing second to Kwan at US Nats, and 6th at Worlds. Had she been more successful, she might have deferred school and skated longer.

 

[Nmsis]

400K Euros is 586K CAD, and most of their expenses would be in CAD, not Euros.

The funders tend to think in their own currency.

That is beyond crazy. Maybe for a full Olympic cycle that would make sense.

I've no clue about that.
What I heard a long time ago was about an ambitious FD choreo in olympic year that costed 50 000€. That was in Delobel/Schoenfelder's time and not in IAM. If you factor everything, at the very top, in an olympic season, things could get quite high.
DL and Meagan Duhamel evoked how expensive IAM is in one of the most recent TSL videos.

Are they getting so much subsidy from France (including any Olympic bonus) and/or making so much from shows that they aren’t accumulating hundreds of thousands of Euros in debt over two Olympic cycles, plus the years they weren’t earning that kind of prize money/ didn’t compete in everything every season?

I suppose it was prize money, galas plus french fed's money.
Gailhaguet used to cut off many athletes' funding to concentrate on olympic hopes.
And the olympic bonus for a french athlete with a gold medal was 65 000€

 

[thvu]

That IAM training total may include rent for an apartment as well. I wouldn’t be surprised if that alone was at least €25k a year per skater. Then add the physios, dance teachers, acting teachers, physical trainers. All the extras of IAM add up quickly I’m sure.

 

[DreamSkates]

I wish Amyoz all the best. He was (and will be, should he continue) a skater I always looked forward to watching. I would guess that an elite athlete at some point “runs out of gas” be that physical, emotional or motivation to continue a grueling training and competing schedule. I do hope he can get R&R and then rebuild. His artistry is a contribution to the sport. If I could grant him a wish it would be to come back next season and continue to the next Olympics then have a wonderful and memorable Olympic experience. If not, he will still be remembered for his unique and compelling artistry.
And yes, his technical ability also.

 

[Evgeniafan]

I wish Amyoz all the best. He was (and will be, should he continue) a skater I always looked forward to watching. I would guess that an elite athlete at some point “runs out of gas” be that physical, emotional or motivation to continue a grueling training and competing schedule. I do hope he can get R&R and then rebuild. His artistry is a contribution to the sport. If I could grant him a wish it would be to come back next season and continue to the next Olympics then have a wonderful and memorable Olympic experience. If not, he will still be remembered for his unique and compelling artistry.
And yes, his technical ability also.

Great post. I agree with everything. Kevin has skated 12 seasons straight. And he was a baton twirling champion. Does anyone know how many years he competed in those competitions. I hope he just takes time to have fun and rejuvenate. He has been posting on Instagram so that's a good sign.