Russian figure skating news & updates in 2022

[Vagabond]

These extremes in elite Russian coaches watching every gram/ounce of their female students is hardly limited to the likes of Tutberidze and Tarasova. Check out this recent quote from Tatiana Navka comparing Natalia Dubova to Stalin from gazeta.ru (couldn't get link to load)!

I feel for Navka and at the same time dislike her even more.

 

[Trillian]

Not this season.

Really?

That was last season. The new season starts on 7/1. And if your favorite example from last season is the one where the champion will probably be stripped of her title eventually and there was pretty widespread consensus that the other two Russians were way overmarked in (at least) the short program, then … LOL. Keep drinking that grandpa water, I guess.

 

[BittyBug]

I feel for Navka and at the same time dislike her even more.

I can't say I disagree, but for context, Dubova herself was not only a tyrant but she also allowed her male skaters to treat their female partners very poorly - I've witnessed it myself. So Navka developed in an environment where this was considered normal.

 

[On My Own]

I do wonder if the Eteri girls would have had some stricter judging this season with the new GOE guidelines for jumps. Now they have a season or two to push the narrative that their jumps are flawless in the Russian local competitions, and get +5s for when they eventually return. But anyway, the ban is all for the good.

 

[Vagabond]

I can't say I disagree, but for context, Dubova herself was not only a tyrant but she also allowed her male skaters to treat their female partners very poorly - I've witnessed it myself. So Navka developed in an environment where this was considered normal.

One of the tests any victim of abuse faces is how to respond to it. Does one reject it, or does one come to accept it? Does one even go on to abuse other people? These are thorny questions for the victim, but, in the end, no one is bound to accept being mistreated.

 

[TAHbKA]

Pavluchenko/Khodykin switched from Dobroskokov to Rosliakov.
Am curious whether Popova will keep working with them taking she and Khodykin separated/divorced. Their skating is rather meh but some of their programmes were

 

[TAHbKA]

I do wonder if the Eteri girls would have had some stricter judging this season with the new GOE guidelines for jumps. Now they have a season or two to push the narrative that their jumps are flawless in the Russian local competitions, and get +5s for when they eventually return. But anyway, the ban is all for the good.

Tutberidze is not known for dismissing the rules. All her skaters milk the most out of the current rules and what they are currently capable of doing. Zhulin, Mishin and the Russian media is a different matter - they tend to dismiss the rules, leave plenty of points on the table and then shout `we were robed! the evil west is against us!'.

However, taking they are not going to compete this year anyway and I believe the inner competitions will be more of a show than a competition I expect some marks that Nathan Chen and Hanuy combined can only dream of.
I don't believe Tutberidze's girls will have a problem having a reality check, however, Zhulin will be SHOCKED when his skaters (assuming he has some by the time Russia is back to the real competitions) start receiving the real marks....

 

[On My Own]

Tutberidze is not known for dismissing the rules. All her skaters milk the most out of the current rules and what they are currently capable of doing.

Eteri skaters do milk the points for all they're worth, it's true, but there's no fixing technique quickly, which is what the "full blade take off and prerotation" penalties are set up to do. For example, Maiia Kromykh's jumps technically should be dinged under the new rules, and Tutberidze would have no option but to let her jump the way she does, unless she lets Kromykh retire. What will happen then? This we will only know when we see Kvitelashvili internationally this season, who has equally dreadful jumps.

I don't know what will happen to Eteri skaters nationally. Maybe they'll get these penalties, maybe not. Kromykh should get little to no credit for her Lutz and Flip.

 

[tony]

Eteri skaters do milk the points for all they're worth, it's true, but there's no fixing technique quickly, which is what the "full blade take off and prerotation" penalties are set up to do. For example, Maiia Kromykh's jumps technically should be dinged under the new rules, and Tutberidze would have no option but to let her jump the way she does, unless she lets Kromykh retire. What will happen then? This we will only know when we see Kvitelashvili internationally this season, who has equally dreadful jumps.

I don't know what will happen to Eteri skaters nationally. Maybe they'll get these penalties, maybe not. Kromykh should get little to no credit for her Lutz and Flip.

Don't hold your breath. There have been plenty of skaters who have used terrible technique throughout the years (some never getting past 2.5 rotations on the majority of their triples, wrong take-offs, etc) and they hardly got called on anything. Leaving it up to the judging panel to take away as little as -1 if they notice it isn't going to change much. I think I have receipts of complaining about cheated takeoffs and flat assists and underrotations for at least 20 years now

 

[Ananas Astra]

Pavluchenko/Khodykin switched from Dobroskokov to Rosliakov.
Am curious whether Popova will keep working with them taking she and Khodykin separated/divorced. Their skating is rather meh but some of their programmes were

Wasn't Rosliakov in their coaching team anyway? Maybe he has now become their main coach?

 

[rfisher]

Don't hold your breath. There have been plenty of skaters who have used terrible technique throughout the years (some never getting past 2.5 rotations on the majority of their triples, wrong take-offs, etc) and they hardly got called on anything. Leaving it up to the judging panel to take away as little as -1 if they notice it isn't going to change much. I think I have receipts of complaining about cheated takeoffs and flat assists and underrotations for at least 20 years now

No, No, Tony. It's only the Russians who do such things.

 

[On My Own]

Don't hold your breath. There have been plenty of skaters who have used terrible technique throughout the years (some never getting past 2.5 rotations on the majority of their triples, wrong take-offs, etc) and they hardly got called on anything. Leaving it up to the judging panel to take away as little as -1 if they notice it isn't going to change much. I think I have receipts of complaining about cheated takeoffs and flat assists and underrotations for at least 20 years now

The wording of "full blade take off" and "prerotation" in the guidelines is very much new. There's no more ambiguity in interpretation with "poor take off" and "cheated take off". What Kromykh and Kvitelashvili and Grassl do is also markedly different from the "full blade take offs and prerotation" of skaters like Shoma Uno, Satoko Miyahara, Alysa Liu, Ashley Wagner, Evgenia Medvedeva, so on. Kvitelashvili has also been called out by some major names on his jumps.

That being said, the rules don't yet define what any of those things mean.

No, No, Tony. It's only the Russians who do such things.

Seeing that my posts on this forum have called out Grassl and Kvitelashvili, neither of whom is Russian - yes. I'm aware. I hope you're aware how their technique differs from the former offenders with bad technique, including the Russians who were criticized for it?

Drama queen emoji is very fitting for your post, I agree!

 

[Bigbird]

Does Trusova even want to remain with Eteri? Her actions have me like wondering what's going on here?

 

[Bouffantrex]

Don't hold your breath. There have been plenty of skaters who have used terrible technique throughout the years (some never getting past 2.5 rotations on the majority of their triples, wrong take-offs, etc) and they hardly got called on anything. Leaving it up to the judging panel to take away as little as -1 if they notice it isn't going to change much. I think I have receipts of complaining about cheated takeoffs and flat assists and underrotations for at least 20 years now

Poor Amber Corwin.

 

[Wyliefan]

Does Trusova even want to remain with Eteri? Her actions have me like wondering what's going on here?

What actions?

 

[Bouffantrex]

No, No, Tony. It's only the Russians who do such things.

Not Russians--Tutberidze skaters. Anyone who thinks these skaters will be penalized for incorrect takeoffs if/when they return to competition is dreaming. Not going to happen.

 

[rfisher]

Not Russians--Tutberidze skaters. Anyone who thinks these skaters will be penalized for incorrect takeoffs if/when they return to competition is dreaming. Not going to happen.

I'm pretty sure the skaters Tony was referring to were not Tutberidze skaters.

 

[starrynight]

What judges are prepared to ignore depends on which way the fashions are trending and who is ‘hot right now’.

As an ice dance fan, I can say that it’s amazing how quickly things change when the judges decide so.

For the next few seasons, we will probably see the Japanese ladies dominate. Ted Barton has already dropped Eteri like a hot rock and has moved to cosy in with the Japan Fed.

The question will be whether the judges decide in a few years - probably after the doping scandal has been worked through if they suddenly want to drop the established stars in favour of a new Russian girl coached by a doping tainted team.

My feeling is that the international scene might be a different landscape in a few years and I don’t think the current status quo is going to magically restore itself.

 

[TAHbKA]

Frankly am fine with the judges going with the Japanese skaters. I can't see anything wrong with Sakamoto's or Uno's or Kagyama's jumps and my beloved Miyahara retired.

As for Tutberidze's non Russian non girls - have a feeling Kvitelashvili will be judged super harsh this year especially compared to 2020.

 

[Evgeniafan]

The wording of "full blade take off" and "prerotation" in the guidelines is very much new. There's no more ambiguity in interpretation with "poor take off" and "cheated take off". What Kromykh and Kvitelashvili and Grassl do is also markedly different from the "full blade take offs and prerotation" of skaters like Shoma Uno, Satoko Miyahara, Alysa Liu, Ashley Wagner, Evgenia Medvedeva, so on. Kvitelashvili has also been called out by some major names on his jumps.

That being said, the rules don't yet define what any of those things mean.



Seeing that my posts on this forum have called out Grassl and Kvitelashvili, neither of whom is Russian - yes. I'm aware. I hope you're aware how their technique differs from the former offenders with bad technique, including the Russians who were criticized for it?

Drama queen emoji is very fitting for your post, I agree!

I'm confused. Are you saying that Daniel and Morisi will get judged more harshly for their technique? Will that help my favorites Aymoz and Vasiljevs?

 

[Karen-W]

Frankly am fine with the judges going with the Japanese skaters. I can't see anything wrong with Sakamoto's or Uno's or Kagyama's jumps and my beloved Miyahara retired.

As for Tutberidze's non Russian non girls - have a feeling Kvitelashvili will be judged super harsh this year especially compared to 2020.

It will be interesting. Will Eteri be allowed to be at the boards with him for competitions?

 

[starrynight]

I caveat everything I say by being honest that in a few years time we will still all be whingeing about the judges ignoring or propping up someone…. But it will just likely be someone other than an Eteri girl and perhaps for different reasons than pre-rotated quads. Lol. It’s always going to be the same story - just different players.

 

[Bigbird]

What actions?

It seems to me she has really grown, that is put on weight and she's trying so many different sports long jump, curling etc. Worse yet knowing Eteti's attitude. Is it that traininf time has been significantly cut due to the sanctions? Just how will they get into shape.

 

[starrynight]

Valieva might be making the most of her lucrative window to make money. And remember Eteri gets a big cut of 30% or 40% so this is a good thing for Eteri too.

It was a good idea for Zagitova to start making money soon because she has already been taken over by Valieva in the publicity stakes it seems.

Makes more sense for Valieva to focus on sponsorships and shows. What’s the point of smashing herself for some domestic competitions when she could be making money?

Or are we talking about Trusova? Same probably applies for her too.

 

[On My Own]

Are you saying that Daniel and Morisi will get judged more harshly for their technique?

I'm saying their technique is much worse than the ones who were criticized for the same flaws before. And I'm saying there's actual language in the rulebook now, instead of just saying "poor take off". However, I'm also saying that the rulebook still doesn't properly define what a full blade take off is, and I'm also saying I don't know what they'll do with it.

 

[TAHbKA]

It will be interesting. Will Eteri be allowed to be at the boards with him for competitions?

Why not? She is not an athlete and she is not banned. As long as she has a visa to enter the country....

Speaking of which - was it Roslyakov with Safina/Berulava in Montpellier? Could Pavluchenko/Khodykin coaching switch mean a potential country switch?

 

[On My Own]

Yeah Eteri will be allowed, I agree.

 

[MsZem]

I'm confused. Are you saying that Daniel and Morisi will get judged more harshly for their technique? Will that help my favorites Aymoz and Vasiljevs?

Only Aymoz can help Aymoz...

 

[Ananas Astra]

Speaking of which - was it Roslyakov with Safina/Berulava in Montpellier? Could Pavluchenko/Khodykin coaching switch mean a potential country switch?

I think it was Trankov's old buddy Pavel Sliusarenko from Perm.

 

[ChelleC]

I think it was Trankov's old buddy Pavel Sliusarenko from Perm.

It was.