OES News 2023/24

[Sylvia]

Starting the 2023/2024 "Obscure" European Skaters news thread with the Grand Prix assignments (as of June 28, 2023) of the skaters/teams that don't have their own regularly updated news threads by country:

Georgia (6): Nika EGADZE, Anastasiia GUBANOVA, Maria KAZAKOVA / Giorgi REVIA
Estonia (5): Niina PETROKINA, Mihhail SELEVEKO, Arlet LEVANDI (1)
Switzerland (4): Kimmy REPOND (GP debut), Lukas BRITSCHGI
Netherlands (4): Nika OSIPOVA / Dmitry EPSTEIN, Daria DANILOVA / Michel TSIBA (1), Lindsay VAN ZUNDERT (1)
Czech Republic (4): Katerina MRAZKOVA / Daniel MRAZEK (GP debut), Natalie TASCHLEROVA / Filip TASCHLER
Belgium (4): Loena HENDRICKX, Nina PINZARRONE
Hungary (3): Maria PAVLOVA / Alexei SVIATCHENKO, Mariia IGNATEVA / Danijil Leonyidovics SZEMKO (GP debut)
Lithuania (2): Allison REED / Saulius AMBRULEVICIUS
Azerbaijan (2): Vladimir LITVINTSEV
Latvia (2): Deniss VASILJEVS
Sweden (2): Andreas NORDEBACK (GP debut)
Poland (1): Ekaterina KURAKOVA
Spain (1): Olivia SMART / Tim DIECK (GP debut as a team)
Israel (1): Mark GORODNITSKY (GP debut)

 

[Vagabond]

Anastasia Gubanova, Loena Hendrickx, Dennis Vasiljevs, Lukas Britschgi, and Kimmy Repond are ISU Championship medalists. They are not obskur!

 

[Karen-W]

Anastasia Gubanova, Loena Hendrickx, Dennis Vasiljevs, Lukas Britschgi, and Kimmy Repond are ISU Championship medalists. They are not obskur!

Kazakova/Revia and the Mrazeks are also ISU Championship medalists.

 

[Vagabond]

Kazakova/Revia and the Mrazeks are also ISU Championship medalists.

In Juniors. Parthena Sarafidis is a former Junior ISU Championship medalist, and you can't get much more obskur than that!

 

[Karen-W]

Bjorkli/Koszuta (Norwegian ice dancers) have ended their partnership due to Maria's health.

Maria Bjørkli & James Koszuta on Instagram: "Hi everyone, it is with a heavy heart that we are unfortunately announcing the end of our partnership. Due to very serious complications with Maria’s health and her pacemaker, she was informed by her doct

281 likes, 86 comments - bjorkli_koszuta_icedancersJuly 15, 2023 on : "Hi everyone, it is with a heavy heart that we are unfortunately announcing the end of our partnership. Due to very serious complications..."

www.instagram.com

 

[Sylvia]

Thanks to Kunstløp til folket on Twitter for sharing the link to this Norwegian article with more details re. Maria Bjørkli's forced retirement:

Maria (23) skapte norsk idrettshistorie – nå har legene bedt henne om å legge opp

Maria Bjørkli (23) har rukket å oppleve mer enn de aller fleste, både på godt og vondt.

www.nrk.no

Machine translated excerpts:

- I have had heart problems all my life, so I was aware that I was taking a chance when I bet on sports, she tells NRK on Sunday morning.
The ice dancer was born with a heart defect and she was just three days old when she had her first open heart surgery.
At the age of 17, she had to be on the operating table again, and in 2020 she had a pacemaker inserted. It made her much better, but after the EC earlier this year, the decline started.
-After the EC, the doctors discovered that there was something wrong with one of the wires, she says.
-I was just supposed to go to Oslo and pull out the old wires and get new ones in place, but then they discovered that a wire had grown stuck in the heart valve. The operation was cancelled, and I returned to Stavanger, explains Bjørkli further.

But eventually the doctors pulled the brakes. They concluded that it was too high a risk to carry out the planned operation.
- That's why I have to quit, explains Bjørkli.
The damaged cord is left in the heart valve, and the ice dancer has to give up the top sports venture.
- I can continue to train, but not at this level. I can't be a top athlete. [...]
Now she dreams of continuing with a life in sports, but perhaps rather as a coach.
- I have to see this as an opportunity to experience new things, says the 23-year-old bravely.

 

[Karen-W]

The Crafoords have relocated to Bruno Massot's group in Caen -

Centre Haut Niveau Pairs ACSEL CAEN on Instagram: "Nous avons le plaisir de vous présenter un couple qui rejoint le centre cette saison : Greta et John Crafoord. Ils sont jumeaux et ont 22 ans. Ils sont nées à Göteborg Ils patinent ensemble depuis 9

174 likes, 3 comments - chn_acsel_caenJuly 17, 2023 on : "Nous avons le plaisir de vous présenter un couple qui rejoint le centre cette saison : Greta et John Crafoord. Ils sont jumeaux et ont 2..."

www.instagram.com

 

[Sylvia]

"My name is Daniels Kockers and I am from Riga, Latvia. I’m former Latvian skater, but from this season 2023/2024 I will skate for Lithuania, which is my second motherland." His fundraising website:

Click here to support Daniels Kockers

MAKEACHAMP is the global leader in crowdfunding for sports. Athletes, teams and clubs leverage the power of crowdfunding with MAKEACHAMP to raise funds quickly and efficiently; share their story and grow their fanbase.

makeachamp.com

He is 17 now and last competed for Latvia at 2022 Euros and the European Youth Olympic Festival as a junior (March 24, 2022) - link to his ISU bio: http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00109082.htm
He announced his country switch last month: https://www.instagram.com/p/CtgFrlRtVUr/

 

[Colonel Green]

Near-fatal illness strengthens Estonia's Niina Petrokina

Niina Petrokina When seeing the exuberant joy that Estonia’s Niina Petrokina displays on the ice, as well as the landings of her effortless triple jumps, one would never have guessed […]

www.goldenskate.com

If you recall Petrokina completely vanishing for a year a few seasons ago, here's the more detailed explanation as to why. Amazing that she was able to keep at it after that.

 

[Sylvia]

Mozes Jozsef "Pepe" Berei (HUN, used to skate for AUT) announced today that he will skate pairs with Nora (a young Swiss skater who I assume is ISU junior age-eligible?) for Hungary - his photo shows them on the ice in Salzburg: https://www.instagram.com/p/CvISF6Iowcx/
Berei is 19: http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00107857.htm

 

[Karen-W]

Mozes Jozsef "Pepe" Berei (HUN, used to skate for AUT) announced today that he will skate pairs with Nora (a young Swiss skater who I assume is ISU junior age-eligible?) for Hungary - his photo shows them on the ice in Salzburg: https://www.instagram.com/p/CvISF6Iowcx/
Berei is 19: http://www.isuresults.com/bios/isufs00107857.htm

I think there is a new Swiss junior pairs team that has formed, training with Aljona & Robin's group - Chiara Pazienza and Maxim Knorr (Italian???) - here is their IG profile - https://www.instagram.com/chiara_and_maxim_pairsk8ing/

 

[Sylvia]

Yes, Chiara Michaela Pazienza also is on the Swiss National Novice A team in singles (https://www.swissiceskating.ch/_default_upload_bucket/cadre-national-2023_4.pdf) and Maxim Knorr is German (ETA that an online search turned up his DOB as 22.12.02).

 

[Samurina]

Yes, Chiara Michaela Pazienza also is on the Swiss National Novice A team in singles (https://www.swissiceskating.ch/_default_upload_bucket/cadre-national-2023_4.pdf) and Maxim Knorr is German (ETA that an online search turned up his DOB as 22.12.02).

so presumably they have a year left in juniors

 

[sandra_persch]

I think there is a new Swiss junior pairs team that has formed, training with Aljona & Robin's group - Chiara Pazienza and Maxim Knorr (Italian???) - here is their IG profile - https://www.instagram.com/chiara_and_maxim_pairsk8ing/

Maxim Knorr was a german singles skater.

Maxim KNORR | RinkResults

Figure skating results for Maxim KNORR, Wintersportverein Aschaffenburg (WSVA)Germany (GER)

rinkresults.com

His last competions where in the 2019/2020 season.

 

[Nmsis]

From their club's Facebook page, jujior ice dancers Maelle Ledermann and Antonin Emo will go to JGP Linz and JGP Budapest to represent Switzerland.

 

[fan]

has it been posted that daniil parkman is skating with katie mcbeath?

 

[Karen-W]

has it been posted that daniil parkman is skating with katie mcbeath?

Yes, in both the US pairs and the general pairs discussion threads.

 

[Karen-W]

Slovakia held a Previews competition for their skaters this weekend - results here -

Previerky SKrZ 2023

Event results for Previerky SKrZ 2023

www.kraso.sk

The battle for their Euros ice dance entry could be intense this season! Pucherova/Lysak beat Simova/Aksenov in the RD yesterday by less than .5, but SimAks pulled ahead by just under 1.25 in the FD, to win overall!

 

[Marta24]

Slovakia held a Previews competition for their skaters this weekend - results here -

Previerky SKrZ 2023

Event results for Previerky SKrZ 2023

www.kraso.sk

The battle for their Euros ice dance entry could be intense this season! Pucherova/Lysak beat Simova/Aksenov in the RD yesterday by less than .5, but SimAks pulled ahead by just under 1.25 in the FD, to win overall!

It's already done and Simova/Aksenov won, but it certainly remains interesting. I'm curious to see how much Pucherova/Lysak improved since their coaching change to Luca Lanotte. Hopefully, both teams will be at Lombardia Trophy next month.

 

[shah]

Wow, Poland has got a new pairs team: Ioulia Chtchetinina (formerly skating for SUI/HUN) and Michał Woźniak (until 2019 skating single, then switching to pairs with Anna Hernik). They will be coached by Nolan Seegert in Berlin and by Iwona Mydlarz-Chruścińska in Katowice. Goal: Olympics 2026 . I'm getting excited!
[source: FB post of the Polish Figure Skating Association]
ETA [found an alternative source]: https://pzlf.pl/news/nowa-para-spor...MIZ6S2shb193UXLu7VSByhKagKhxWuS9KSb-lA5AGJ--U

 

[Karen-W]

FS-gossips translation of a sports-express.ru interview with Davis/Smolkin.

Diana Davis and Gleb Smolkin: We mentioned that we didn’t rule out changing citizenship, but neither the USA nor Israel were mentioned. All this was blown up by “journalists”

Interview with Diana Davis and Gleb Smolkin. About switching to Georgian team, new programs and debut competition.

fs-gossips.com

 

[Marta24]

Livestream for Junior Czech test skates:

ProvÄrky výkonnosti 2023

m.youtube.com

Results page: https://www.czechskating.org/files/...2WR8KHdYAVSlCb1y27W3XJXhh97bHKEetFeJw1avY0djQ

 

[Karen-W]

Looks like Lukas Vochozka has a new partner - Debora Anna Cohen.

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[Karen-W]

Also - live stream for the Czech test skates happening this weekend (junior in all disciplines and senior pairs) -

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Results link - https://www.czechskating.org/files/...EODSv-QawKVOfFXUpGx0vP1ZuP_WXyb4lIoRrUqutnEI8

 

[Dobre]

Putting my response to this post about Davis & Smolkin's current scenario here since it doesn't really belong in the Russian News thread.

I'm not sure winning an early CS is all that likely... GuiFab have already announced they're starting their season at Lombardia and surely at least one or two of GilPoir, FBSoer or LajLag will debut at Autumn Classic. Chances are good that a couple more top 5-6 teams will choose Nebelhorn for their debut and we can expect TurkVer (and probably at least a couple top IAM teams) at Finlandia. Nepela Trophy might be the best shot for DavSmo to win an early CS. I think the chances of winning somewhere like Warsaw Cup again are much higher and any of the pre-GP CS events.

A late-season GS won't get you on the GP.

I don't think a win at a well-chosen CS is impossible. (Nepela is where most Eastern European teams would go so it wouldn't be a surprise to see Georgia send one or even both Georgian teams there). There are always teams that pull out. There are always teams that aren't ready. You go in to the early season events ready, and that's all a team can control.

But even if D&S pull off a win on the CS, I dunno that a win at an early-season CS would necessarily get a team onto the GP in dance. There are usually at least a couple openings, but teams that win CS events go to the bottom of the replacement list now, no?

ETA: I wasn't aware there was a Georgian News thread now. Feel free to move the conversation again if you wish.

 

[Karen-W]

But even if D&S pull off a win on the CS, I dunno that a win at an early-season CS would necessarily get a team onto the GP in dance. There are usually at least a couple openings, but teams that win CS events go to the bottom of the replacement list now, no?

Yes, they go to the bottom of the alternates list and there are 31 teams already on the list, so I don't see how they would snag a GP invitation even with a CS win. Apart from Wang/Liu and one each of the US, Canadian and French teams on the alternates list who are likely to snag the host TBDs at SkAm, SCI, GPdF and CoC, there are a lot of teams needing a second assignment to move them off the alternates list and move other teams up.

 

[Dobre]

Well, I suppose it would be a bit of a test for the new rules since we haven't had a non-ranked dance team win a CS since the Brits in 2018. (Before the rules changed).

But, yeah, if that is how the rules are now, it doesn't seem like a GP selection would happen.

 

[Karen-W]

Hungarian test skates are also happening this weekend -

FS+ID Tesztverseny2023

Event results for FS+ID Tesztverseny2023

hunskate.hu

 

[kwanfan1818]

Partway through this Instagram video, Kurakova does a throw with a bearded guy:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cv4lq2EIPi5/

 

[Karen-W]

Olga Mikutina is off to college... at Montclair State University in New Jersey!

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