Bruno Massot released from French Federation

[NorthernDancers]

Lmao. I wonder why all these 'good news' stories are flowing from around M. Gailhaguet? Hmm... What could the reason be...?!

Congrats to Bruno though! All the best to him and Aliona.

So relieved for Bruno/Aliona and Tiffany/John!! It's about time!!!

But it should not take money and extortion and a political campaign to make this happen. Both teams have paid a heavy price in waiting to compete. It should be illegal to hold athletes for longer than a season and make them pay in order to pursue an amateur sport. These are not NBA athletes with mega dollars. In most cases, athletes are heavily invested in time and money far in excess of what federations provide. Even in the case where a federation has paid some money, and sometimes a lot of money through the years, that federation is benefiting from the profile the athletes bring to the federation, and the mentorship activities with other skaters. Especially at the higher levels, and sometimes lower down as well, it is really difficult to find the right match in a pairs and dance partnership - skill match, body match, personality match, goal match, that extra bit of undefinable "it" factor. Time is of the essence, and policies around country switching should be about building and producing more quality teams, which is good for the sport, and looking out for the interests of the athletes.

 

[QuadThrow]

I am so happy. And i cannot wait to the them in competition.

But there is no doubt the dider will be the next ISU president. I would like to know some details about the release... Hope to get more information next days

 

[cl2]

Thank you, I'll check it out. :agree:

I just read them. Wow....Ransom is a strong word but, I bet that's how the skater's feel in this situation. Of course, I understand both sides. My next question would be. "What's a skater to do if there's no viable partner in their country?" You train all you life in hopes of having a successful career. If you find a good partner you should do whatever it takes to make things work. I realize the skater's have to choose a country to represent however, it doesn't make Bruno any less French no matter who he skates with.

Ransom or not, I wonder if the terms of release or "transferring from one country to another" are contractual and negotiated in advance?

To give an example of what I mean, Singapore government scholarships fund a student's education at an overseas university (often the US), in exchange for the requirement that the student return to work in Singapore for X years after graduation (usually X=6). Scholars who wish to not return to Singapore upon graduation have to repay the government the amount paid for their college tuition (and you know how expensive that can get). This is all written in a contract, signed by both parties, and involves a guarantor. No one would describe scholars who wish to renege on the obligation as "being held to ransom".

In the world of figure skating, do federations and skaters enter into contracts like that? E.g., Skater A agrees to represent Country X in exchange for receiving funding and support for N number of years, and must repay the money in order to be released to Country Y or else either sit out for M number of years, but with an exception if Country X fails to deliver adequate support?

In the case of Skater A=Bruno and Country X=France, is there no agreement of this sort? I too would like to know the details of the release.

--

P.S. Regardless of what route Bruno had to go through to obtain his release, I say, congratulations!

 

[lauravvv]

Great news. I so want to see them at competition. Hope they can get the technical minimums soon enough and go also to Europeans not just Worlds.

 

[bramweld]

Great News....YEEEESSSSSS!!! Now is their any recent video of them? So want to check out their form

 

[4everchan]

best comment ever

I can't wait for her self-designed costumes! no list of oh my god costume should be completed without her!

 

[4everchan]

loving your sarcasm

Lmao. I wonder why all these 'good news' stories are flowing from around M. Gailhaguet? Hmm... What could the reason be...?!

Congrats to Bruno though! All the best to him and Aliona.

 

[Meoima]

Their performance in August: https://youtu.be/zTqzxvBbNbo

 

[shiroKJ]

Their performance in August: https://youtu.be/zTqzxvBbNbo

That twist!

Congratulations! (Finally:hopelessness All the best to them

 

[iluvtodd]

Finally, the news we've been waiting to hear!

 

[tulosai]

Their performance in August: https://youtu.be/zTqzxvBbNbo

They look great!

 

[Meoima]

Not very good news.
German federation has just published a press release. They say the reports of Didier and Bruno was too premature. Didier only promised to release Bruno when the DEU pays. And DEU is trying to negotiate the ransom. They say they are not able to raise 30.000 Euros. In short the DEU wants to pay less money so the negotiation isn't over yet.

Here it is:

Fortschritte im Fall Bruno Massot
Die Deutsche Eislauf-Union (DEU) freut sich, im Falle des Paarläufers Bruno Massot, erste Fortschritte verkünden zu können. In den vergangenen Wochen hatte es intensive Verhandlungen mit dem französischen Eissport-Verband (FFSG) und der Internationalen Eislauf-Union (ISU) über eine Freigabe des 26-jährigen Franzosen gegeben. Nun wurde Massot vom Präsidenten der FFSG, Didier Gailhaguet, zu einem persönlichen Gespräch nach Paris eingeladen. Im Rahmen dieses Gesprächs hat Gailhaguet, der im kommenden Jahr auch für das Amt des ISU-Präsidenten kandidieren wird, einmal mehr dargestellt, dass für ihn der Sport an oberster Stelle steht.
Didier Gailhaguet ließ nach dem Gespräch öffentlich verlauten, dass „er Brunos weiteren Weg mit Aljona Savchenko für die DEU mit Freude verfolgen wird, sofern die Vorschriften der FFSG sowie der ISU erfüllt werden“. Dem Wortlaut folgend ist er gewillt, die Freigabe zu erteilen, sofern die DEU die postulierte Aufwandsentschädigung an die FFSG entrichtet.
Von den frühzeitig in diversen Medien veröffentlichten Mitteilungen, dass Bruno Massot bereits seine Freigabe durch die FFSG erhalten hat, muss sich die DEU zum jetzigen Zeitpunkt allerdings noch distanzieren. Der Vizepräsident der Deutschen Eislauf-Union, Uwe Harnos, erklärt: „Aktuell führt die DEU noch finale Abstimmungsgespräche mit der FFSG. Dass Didier Gailhaguet gegenüber Bruno Massot seine Bereitschaft erklärt hat, ihn bei Zahlung einer entsprechenden Summe freizugeben, werten wir als erstes positives Zeichen.“
Nachdem vorherige Gespräche gescheitert waren, versucht die DEU nun den von der FFSG erhobenen Betrag zu reduzieren. Der Verband und die Sportler können die geforderten 30.000€ nicht vollständig aus Eigenmitteln aufbringen. Entsprechend sind sie auf Hilfe von privaten Spendern und Sponsoren angewiesen, um das Ziel der Olympiamedaille 2018 in PyeongChang verwirklichen zu können.

 

[QuadThrow]

http://www.augsburger-allgemeine.de...ot-peilen-nach-EM-Medaille-an-id35915097.html

short translation:

Didier called Bruno this week and Bruno decided to drive to Paris (together with Aljona´s fiance Liam Cross). Bruno and his father had a conversation with Didier and the results was his release. The German Assocciation still have to pay 30000Euro but the Bruno is able to skate for now.

The pair starts at Tallin and Warsaw and wants to medal at Euros. Aljona said that they were ready to compete internationally now.

 

[NorthernDancers]

Ransom or not, I wonder if the terms of release or "transferring from one country to another" are contractual and negotiated in advance?

To give an example of what I mean, Singapore government scholarships fund a student's education at an overseas university (often the US), in exchange for the requirement that the student return to work in Singapore for X years after graduation (usually X=6). Scholars who wish to not return to Singapore upon graduation have to repay the government the amount paid for their college tuition (and you know how expensive that can get). This is all written in a contract, signed by both parties, and involves a guarantor. No one would describe scholars who wish to renege on the obligation as "being held to ransom".

In the world of figure skating, do federations and skaters enter into contracts like that? E.g., Skater A agrees to represent Country X in exchange for receiving funding and support for N number of years, and must repay the money in order to be released to Country Y or else either sit out for M number of years, but with an exception if Country X fails to deliver adequate support?

In the case of Skater A=Bruno and Country X=France, is there no agreement of this sort? I too would like to know the details of the release.

--

P.S. Regardless of what route Bruno had to go through to obtain his release, I say, congratulations!

That's the problem, cl2, there generally are not these contracts in place. It's also very rare that a federation these days will entirely cover the costs of a skater to train and live. In Canada, for example, there is some good funding by the time a skater is in the top ranks of Senior (ie. top 3 to 5). There is less, but at least some funding for top Junior teams. But except for maybe the top couple of teams in the country, the vast majority of living and training and travel expenses are covered privately. And this is true for the MANY years it takes for a skater to become one of the top 3 to 5 in country. Canada has a deep and rich field of talent, so there are many very able and talented skaters who take a long time to get to that spot. So when one considers the hundreds of thousands of dollars that may be invested in a skater from the beginning to Senior ranks over maybe 10 to 15 years, if a federation has paid some money for only a few years, and not nearly the whole sum, why should the federation get to "own" the amateur skater? Is it fair for the federation to now exact a price to release a skater to a different country? In my opinion, that's extortion. While the skater or team is representing the country, that country is benefiting from the press and exposure, the mentorship opportunities, often there are fund-raising events for the federation or sport in which these top skaters would participate. And when the team or skater is a top international competitor, they are earning additional spots for the country for other up and coming teams. The value for the money is provided back at the time it is being given (as opposed to the education example where a student gets the benefit and provides the return on investment later). And we need to keep in mind these are amateur athletes, not NBA or FIFA athletes. There needs to be a constant, consistent ISU-wide policy around country transfers - 1 year, or maybe 2 years for a world top 10 athlete, and then the transfer is automatic. The federation should not "own" the athlete, giving them the effective right of destroying the athlete's career. This nonsense with Massot and Zahorski is politics, power and control, with a healthy dose of extortion, in my opinion.

 

[humbaba]

So when one considers the hundreds of thousands of dollars that may be invested in a skater from the beginning to Senior ranks over maybe 10 to 15 years, if a federation has paid some money for only a few years, and not nearly the whole sum, why should the federation get to "own" the amateur skater?

This. Very few countries pay for the training of skaters from alpha to omega. Most skaters and their families invest a great deal of money during the years when the skater is developing and the return on all that investment is uncertain. When a skater becomes sufficiently accomplished to represent the Fed in international competition, the Fed reaps the benefits of those years of training that the skater/family financed themselves. I'm guessing that, in many cases, this is far more than the amount of money the fed contributes.

 

[NorthernDancers]

This. Very few countries pay for the training of skaters from alpha to omega. Most skaters and their families invest a great deal of money during the years when the skater is developing and the return on all that investment is uncertain. When a skater becomes sufficiently accomplished to represent the Fed in international competition, the Fed reaps the benefits of those years of training that the skater/family financed themselves. I'm guessing that, in many cases, this is far more than the amount of money the fed contributes.

Exactly. And let's be honest. There are maybe a handful of skaters in the world over the last 20 years who have ever achieved a financial ROI on their skating (ie. Yuna Kim, Kurt Browning) - in terms of money invested to train and compete vs money earned during and after their peak years. That's why this whole thing about holding these amateur athletes for ransom is so incredibly ridiculous and misguided. This is not FIFA or NFL. It's a huge over-reach.

 

[Skater Boy]

I am not sure I am all that thrilled. I mean some other team is going to get pushed off the podium or lose a chance to represent their country most likely. It is no longer skate for your nation it is skate for gold.

 

[andromache]

I am not sure I am all that thrilled. I mean some other team is going to get pushed off the podium or lose a chance to represent their country most likely. It is no longer skate for your nation it is skate for gold.

It's pretty insulting that you think Aliona isn't "really" German when she has lived and trained in Germany for over ten years and has been a German citizen for ten years. After leaving Robin (and later their coach), she could have made the choice to go back to the Ukraine, but she didn't. Obviously she feels that Germany is her home. Somebody who is not a natural-born citizen is not necessarily any less dedicated to their country than others.

 

[Blades of Passion]

I am not sure I am all that thrilled. I mean some other team is going to get pushed off the podium or lose a chance to represent their country most likely. It is no longer skate for your nation it is skate for gold.

"Representing your country" is an outdated, pointless mode of thinking. For the Olympics, okay sure whatever, because that event is about "World Peace". But the point of athletics and performing is not to represent your country. There is only this world we live in, filled with people who do what they do regardless of where they live. It doesn't matter if the top 100 are all from Italy. They are the best 100.

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

"Representing your country" is an outdated, pointless mode of thinking. For the Olympics, okay sure whatever, because that event is about "World Peace". But the point of athletics and performing is not to represent your country. There is only this world we live in, filled with people who do what they do regardless of where they live. It doesn't matter if the top 100 are all from Italy. They are the best 100.

Totally agree! I wish more people felt the same.

It may never happen but I'd so much rather see skaters representing sponsors with people from multiple countries skating on the same team. I'm not sure given the current state of figure skating how many sponsors would see the benefit in sponsoring a team though.