Russian Nationals, Ladies Short Report

In reply to the question, they are supposed to be broadcasted on NTV+ plus, at least their whole team is here, including commentator, so I presume it would be live.

But anyway it is the weirdest event I ever attended. I thought they would fix the problem with results and ordinals after the CDs, but they did not. Considering that ladies marks were all over the place we could not even figure out who is third on our own and had to wait till the event is over to learn it.

Overall, Ladies event was total meltdown and was rather embarassing to watch.

On third into event I got tired of typing the same words so

b-t-h means blade-to-head (variation of layback)
CoE means change of edge
B. means Bielmann
(and R is loop, and L is lutz)


01
Viktoria Volchkova (Moscow)
Music: Tosca
Costume: red and black, skirt over tights
3L2T, ok
3F, no steps, 3turn, balance check
2A, no speed coming in
FCSp, camel, inside camel, bent, positions not held for 3 rev
SpSt: Change of edge, backward inside, leg to front
LSp, slow, poor positions
SlSt, slow, no relation to music
CCoSp, camel, sit, layback, back camel, back half-Bielmann, slow, poor positions

For someone who is still recovering from surgery it was not too bad. She was struggling with jumps during morning practice, so the focus of the skate has been to land the jumps. But the marks were way too high, the program has no in-betweens, no choreography and was skated without any expression
TM: 5.2-5.5
PR: 5.5-5.7
Current place: 1
Overall place: 1

02
Valeria Vorobieva (St.Petersburg)
Music: The Mask of Zorro
Costume: red
Popped lutz
3F2T, no flow out
FSSp, re-centering on landing, high sit
SpSt, CoE Bielmann, back half-Bielmann
2A, no speed in or out
LSp, to blade-to-head, to Bielmann
SlSt, to the music
CCoSp, camel, sit, Bielmann, back sit, back Y

The program has some choreography in the opening section and later on, but she does nit have Spanish character
TM: 4.3-4.8
PR: 4.7-5.2
Current place: 2
Overall place: 2

03
Lilia Biktagirova (Moscow)
Music: Sarabande, remix
Costume: black unitard with silver
Haven't seen the combo because some people were coming in and blocked the view
2A
3F
LSp, back, b-t-h, B.
SpSt, CoE Y, back B.
FSSp, low sit
SlSt, nice one foot section
CCoSp, back camel, back donut, layback, sit, B.

As usual for her it was athletic, but with little attention to lines or posture.
TM: 4.9-5.2
PR: 5.1-5.4
Current place:
Overall place:

04
Alexandra Ieveleva (Moscow)
Current place:
Music: Tango
Costume: red dress over red tights
3R2R, no flow out
3L
FSSp, nice low position
SpSt, normal CoE, Y, Bielmann, back Y, none of the positions was held long enough
2A, ok
CCoSp, camel, sit, B., back sit, back Y
SlSt, slow, no dramatic flair of the music

It was rather bland attempt on tango

TM: 4.8-5.1
PR: 5.0-5.3
Current place:
Overall place:

05
Olga Naidenova (Moscow)
Music: Schindler List
Costume: white lace
3R, good
3F2T, no flow out
FCSp, to donut
1A
LSp, back, side, b-t-h
SpSt, CoE B., back B.
CCoSp, camel, sit, b-t-h, back to sit, back B.

She looked bored throughout.

TM: 4.6-5.0
PR: 5.1-5.3
Current place:
Overall place:

06
Katarina Gerboldt (St.Petersburg)
Music: Eastern theme
Costume: red with golden trimming
2A, tight landing
3R2T
3L
FCSp, to turnout to donut
SpSt, CoE B., back B.
LSp, sideways to b-t-h
CiSt, lots of hand gestures
CCoSp, camel, sit, back donut, back B.

She is very nice and accurate skater, I would have placed her higher, perhaps even ahead of Volchkova, since she has better material

TM: 4.8-5.1
PR: 4.9-5.2
Current place:
Overall place:

07
Alima Gershkovich (Moscow)
Music: some ballet (Giselle?)
Costume: blue, cyan, silver, typical Tchaikovskaya
3L2T, good
3F, underrotated by half a turn, two footed
FCSp, to donut, good
2A, stepout
SpSt, CoE B., back B.
LSp, to b-t-h, to B.
CiSt, not to the music, weird pattern, long section on one feet, out of control
CCoSp, camel, sit (excellent), B., back donut, back B.

Excellent choreography in the opening secret and some nice touches later. Too bad about mistakes on jumps

TM: 4.2-4.8
PR: 4.9-5.3
Current place:
Overall place:

08
Tatiana Basova (St.Petersburg)
Music: ?
Costume: good old pink dress, she must have had it for at least 3 years
3L2T
3F
2A, turnout
FCSp, to inside edge
CiSt, neither interesting nor to the music
SpSt, CoE B., Y and another Y
CCoSp, camel, layback, back half-B., kind of fellout

TM: 4.8-5.1
PR: 5.3-5.4
Current place:
Overall place:

09
Arina Martynova (Moscow)
Music: Moonlight Sonata
Costume: blue with silver
3F popped
3L fall
2A
SpSt, change of edge, excellent depth, not much of ice coverage, backward outside B., foot front to back
FCSp, to donut
SlSt
CCoSp, camel, sit, B., back donut, back Y
LSp, sideways to blade-to-head to bielman

Excellent positions in spins and spirals. Good lines, good posture. Good centering on spins

TM: 4.2-4.6
PR: 5.1-5.3
Current place:
Overall place:

10
Ekaterina Lobanova (Moscow)
Music: ?
Costume: red and gold
3L2T, fall
3F
FCSp, to turnout to donut
2A
CCoSp, camel, sit, layback, back camel
SlSt, stumble
SpSt, CoE B., back B., no speed
LSp, sideways, back, b-t-h

Rather bland
TM: 4.4-4.7
PR: 4.9-5.2
Current place:
Overall place:

11
Ksenia Doronina (St.Petersburg)
Music: Vocalise
Costume: light cyan unitard
1L
3F2T
2A out of B. spiral, stepout
FSSp, excellent low position
CCoSp, camel, sit, layback, back sit, back B.
LSp, sideways, back, b-t-h
SpSt, backward CoE B., forward outside

Best choreography so far, but the style does not really suit her, last year she had more athletic program and it looked better

TM: 4.2-4.8
PR: 4.8-5.2
Current place:
Overall place:

12
Angelina Turenko (St.Petersburg)
Music: ?
Costume: light cyan dress
3F, fall
3R, fall
FCSp, turnout, donut
2A, tight landing
LSp, sideways, b-t-h, B.
SpSt, CoE B., backward B., backward normal
SlSt

Best character and interpretation.

TM: 3.7-4.3
PR: 4.7-5.2
Current place:
Overall place:

13
Elena Sokolova (Moscow)
Music: Tosca
Costume: pink and gold
3L3T, underrotated
3R
FCSp, turnout, inside edge, donut
SpSt, CoE half-B., back hand-on-the-knee, back normal
2A
CiSt, fast
CCoSp, camel, layback, back sit, back ?

Clearly the class of the field here, but all her problems are still there

TM: 5.6-5.8
PR: 5.7-5.9
Current place: 1
Overall place: 1

14
Elena Zhidkova (Moscow)
Music:
Costume: blue with gold
3F2T
3R, tight
2A, fellout
Deathdrop to high sit
CiSt
LSp, sideways to back
SpSt, back CoE Y, forward half-B., leg forward
CCoSp, canel, sit, twisted sit, layback, back sit, back twisted

She is one of those long limbed skaters who looked like they do not know what to do with them

TM: 4.0-4.6
PR: 4.7-5.2
Current place:
Overall place:

15
Nina Petuskova (Moscow)
Current place:
Music:
Costume: light cyan dress
3L, good
3R, fall
FCSp, to inside edge to donut, slow
1A
SpSt, CoE B., back B., slow
CCoSp, camel, sit, layback, B., back donut, back B.
SlSt
LSp, to b-t-h, to B.

She was outclassed, her basic skating skills are not up to the level of other competititors.

TM: 3.9-4.2
PR: 4.6-5.0
Current place:
Overall place:


Results
1. Sokolova
2. Volchkova
3. Biktagirova
4. Basova
5. Ivelieva
6. Gerboldt
7. Naidenova
8. Lobanova
9. Vorobieva
10. Gershkovich
11. Martynova
12. Doronina
13. Zhidkova
14. Turenko
15. Petushkova



I will post Men SP review tomorrow, it is getting late here and I am very hungry and we still have 6 more skaters to go. Plushenko is in the lead with tripled quad, Klimkin, I think, is second, it is hard to tell who is next. Dobrin, I suppose.

Well, since Sokolova and Volchkova are the only ladies who are well known outside Russia, the results are as expected. If those two and Slutskaya retire after this season, it will be a rebuilding year for Russian ladies.

Thanks so much for the reports, Anna.

Mathman

Thanks so much for the reports!

What surgery did Victoria have?

Thanks,

deetles

Thanks for the detailed reports Anna! I've always enjoyed watching Volchkova, so she's got my Audience Vote even though I haven't seen it yet.

DG

ok, dumb question, didn't Irina skate in her national championships?

Irina withdrew from Nationals on Sunday morning. She is ill.

Why are they using the old scoring system at Russian Nationals?

new_europe2006 said:

Why are they using the old scoring system at Russian Nationals?

Click to expand...

I have heard two theories....one that Russian national judges are not familiar enough with the new system to use it appropriately. The other that the software is not available in Cyrillic, and thus can't yet be used in Russia. Since other Russian competitions, like Russia cup, are done on the 6.0 scale, that sounds reasonable. But then, how do they do Cup of Russia with the CoP system?

Pick your poison, not sure if either is the true answer.

Cup of Russia is ISU event and its official language is English.

Another point is what the software is expensive. The one used at GP events "belongs" to ISU and for Nationals they had to buy one for themselves and according to Piseev they cannot afford it. They placed the order with some Russian company to develop it, but it would take time.

Anna said:

Cup of Russia is ISU event and its official language is English.

Another point is what the software is expensive. The one used at GP events "belongs" to ISU and for Nationals they had to buy one for themselves and according to Piseev they cannot afford it. They placed the order with some Russian company to develop it, but it would take time.

Click to expand...

Ahhh, that makes sense. I hadn't even thought about the fact that the "official" language of Cup of Russia is English! Thanks for the info.

Yes, the full software costs a fortune. Skate Canada Nova Scotia is pretty much broke, so we split the cost with PEI and held sectionals together.

wvgal57 said:

Irina withdrew from Nationals on Sunday morning. She is ill.

Click to expand...

I have a question about Russian skating fans. In the U.S., if a skater is injured or falls ill, there is always a big storm about whether she is faking it to play some kind of mind game or devious strategy on her oponents. For instance, if Michelle Kwan withdrew from U.S nationals claiming illness or injury, but was still appointed to the U.S. Olympic team, this would cause all kind of controversy pro and con.

Do Russian fans carry on like this, too, or are they all solidly behind their Champion, "in sickness and in health?"

MM

Oh Larry!

Russian's and Illness

Russian skaters have the reputation of showing up and competing at every possible event, rather than looking for any excuse to miss.

I'm not Russian, but as a fan I tend to believe there is a real truth behind "illness" or "injury" when they do to withdraw from an event.

wvgal57 said:

Russian skaters have the reputation of showing up and competing at every possible event, rather than looking for any excuse to miss.

I'm not Russian, but as a fan I tend to believe there is a real truth behind "illness" or "injury" when they do to withdraw from an event.

Click to expand...

ALL Russian skaters? That's quite a bit of a generalization to make. JMO.

wvgal57 said:

Russian skaters have the reputation of showing up and competing at every possible event, rather than looking for any excuse to miss.

I'm not Russian, but as a fan I tend to believe there is a real truth behind "illness" or "injury" when they do to withdraw from an event.

Click to expand...

Any numbers to back up the first statement? :frown2: As to the second I hardly think that the Russian athletes are more truthful than those from other countries. Could it be they get more help hiding their deception from the rest of the world than athletes from other countries?

They have no reason to deceive. They show up. Look at T&M, back on the ice in very short time. Irina same thing, only 6 hospital stays varying in length kept her away from the ice, Plushenko did everything under the sun to try to stay in the game, Yagudin same thing - only retirement took him off eligible ice.

They want to compete, they just don't mouth the words.

Examples cited above are ony the top atheletes but the work ethic and commitment seems to be one of their traits and is on display in many of the athletes there. I suppose a lot of it is about country pride vs glory for themselves.

wvgal57 said:

They want to compete, they just don't mouth the words.
Examples cited above are ony the top atheletes but the work ethic and commitment seems to be one of their traits and is on display in many of the athletes there. I suppose a lot of it is about country pride vs glory for themselves.

Click to expand...

I'm sure the athletes from Russia really do want to compete, as compared to skaters from other countries, who are not dedicated and try at every turn to get out of it.
And I'm likewise sure that only the Russians are competing for their country ... those other athletes are only in it for their own glory.

just one question - what, no flu vaccine in Russia, especially for a patient with a history of vasculitis requiring steroids? I'd love to have a chat with Irina's doctor