It's Official: Alexei is Going Pro
- Thread starter SkateCynic
- Start date
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2003
That is very sad. I will miss Alexei and his skating, but wish him the best anyway. The link doesn't work though. 
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2003
Joesitz said:
he's inelligible from the Worlds, the Olympics, the Grand Prix... I'd say there's still an elligibility factor... Kristi Yamaguchi has a really good explanation of the difference in the "Figure Skating For Dummies" book
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2003
Toni - Another poster said only the Americans are ineligible if they skate SOI, and Yags can be eligible and pro in the same year. The Russian Federation doesn't have fast rules on this. So Yags going Pro would mean that he is giving up eligible competitions but he will continue to skate SOI, COI, teach, coach or whatever for money.
Could you quote what Kristi said on this? She might just be giving the view point from the USA Federation.
Joe
Could you quote what Kristi said on this? She might just be giving the view point from the USA Federation.
Joe
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2003
I'd have to quote about a chapter and a half LOL that's a little much for my fingers... especially since I can only be on for short spurts...
and I realize he can "be eligible" and still skate in SOI being as how he is Russian... however I think when he said he was going pro he probably plans on skating in an unsanctioned event
and I realize he can "be eligible" and still skate in SOI being as how he is Russian... however I think when he said he was going pro he probably plans on skating in an unsanctioned event
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2003
I think he's still planning to compete in World Team Challenge, and there's talk about it in the Russian press (regarding Yags and B&S); how "you lose your eligibility automatically if you compete in it" -- so I don't know if him being Russian will make any difference.Tonichelle said:
Whatever he decides I wish him all the best. There're a lot of things for him to explore and excel at in professional skating.
Anke, don't worry. http://www.members.lycos.co.uk/windspirit6/sm/console5.gif There're still professional shows, etc. This guy's not going to slip into oblivion anytime soon (my guess is: never).
Btw, check out the pics from the show in Japan (I'm going to post a link to in a seperate thread) -- if you haven't seen them already. They're really good.Thanks a lot for your comfort, Windspirit! (I desperately need a cheers- and hug icon here!!!) But I still feel unbelievable sad, you know, here in Germany we rarely see Northamerican pro skating shows (if at all) on TV, not even Grand Prix events, only German Nationals, Euros, Worlds and maybe some regional skating exhibitions here and there. To you guys in Northamerica it doesn't really matter if a skater is pro or eligible, I mean, after all he's just skating in a "different" league, you're still able to watch him on TV regulary. A pro skater here is like "dead and gone" forever, that's what makes it really so hard to "lose" Alexei ...windspirit said:Anke, don't worry. http://www.members.lycos.co.uk/windspirit6/sm/console5.gif There're still professional shows, etc. This guy's not going to slip into oblivion anytime soon (my guess is: never).
What a drama queen and sissy I am, huh? Why not saying right away how envious I am?
However, now I'll watch the pics you've posted in your thread, maybe it helps ...Anke
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What a rollercoaster life has been for that guy, and what a tough and smart decision to take .....
2002 has been a phantastic, record-breaking year for him, and then .... Skate America. The end of a wonderful, and still very promising career.
I hope that now, once he has taken this very sad but neccessary and important step towards pro life, he'll be able to look ahead and move on. Alexei has added so much to figure skating in general, and he has still very much to give, as pro skater, as coach .....
Alexei, here and now I wish to thank you for those wonderful and unforgettable moments on the ice we were allowed to share with you. God bless you!
Lisa
2002 has been a phantastic, record-breaking year for him, and then .... Skate America. The end of a wonderful, and still very promising career.
I hope that now, once he has taken this very sad but neccessary and important step towards pro life, he'll be able to look ahead and move on. Alexei has added so much to figure skating in general, and he has still very much to give, as pro skater, as coach .....
Alexei, here and now I wish to thank you for those wonderful and unforgettable moments on the ice we were allowed to share with you. God bless you!
Lisa
Germanice said:But I still feel unbelievable sad, you know, here in Germany we rarely see Northamerican pro skating shows (if at all) on TV, not even Grand Prix events, only German Nationals, Euros, Worlds and maybe some regional skating exhibitions here and there. To you guys in Northamerica it doesn't really matter if a skater is pro or eligible, I mean, after all he's just skating in a "different" league, you're still able to watch him on TV regulary. A pro skater here is like "dead and gone" forever, that's what makes it really so hard to "lose" Alexei ...
Anke, you are absolutely right. Like you, I would love to see Alexei - and other pro skaters, too - here in Germany. Back in the eighties, there used to be a European exhibition tour at the end of each season, with the medallists plus some other skaters. Then, everything moved to North America.
Now, if what I read these past months is correct, the tours don't seem to attract as many spectators there as before. OTOH, European countries seem to rediscover their interest in the sport. In Germany, there is an increasing number of newspaper articles, the coverage is improving, the newly lost German GP is replaced by a new kind of competition with a highly intersting format .... and there is Worlds, of course.
Maybe it's time for the pro skating world to rediscover good old Europe ..... and maybe skaters like Alexei, Elena and Anton (and others, too) would like engage themselves.
Hope dies last, eh?
Lisa said:
Well said Lisa. He certainly has been on one hell of a rollercoaster ride during his entire career in figure skating.
He will be missed definitly. I loved his strong will to compete and never gave up.
I certainly hope he will continue to skate with SOI. He is scheduled am I right?
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2003
http://canada.com/sports/story.html?id=C058B709-434C-4BA0-8D35-3886DA645DB3
Yagudin, who announced Thursday that he's quitting figure skating's top competitive level, will perform following the MasterCard Skate Canada International meet's exhibition gala Sunday afternoon. [...]
Yagudin will skate Sunday in the Hershey Centre, and a special ceremony will be held to honour his achievements.
[...]
In an announcement out of New York by Dmitri Goryachkin, his agent, Yagudin said he was leaving the Olympic-eligible ranks "to pursue new challenges in his skating career."
"I have climbed all the mountains in amateur figure skating and now I am looking to find new mountains in life to push me each day," stated Yagudin. "My love for this sport and my desire to do something new for it are unsurpassed.
"I have so many interesting ideas and projects that will be keeping me extremely busy and I am really looking forward to new challenges."
Yagudin, who announced Thursday that he's quitting figure skating's top competitive level, will perform following the MasterCard Skate Canada International meet's exhibition gala Sunday afternoon. [...]
Yagudin will skate Sunday in the Hershey Centre, and a special ceremony will be held to honour his achievements.
[...]
In an announcement out of New York by Dmitri Goryachkin, his agent, Yagudin said he was leaving the Olympic-eligible ranks "to pursue new challenges in his skating career."
"I have climbed all the mountains in amateur figure skating and now I am looking to find new mountains in life to push me each day," stated Yagudin. "My love for this sport and my desire to do something new for it are unsurpassed.
"I have so many interesting ideas and projects that will be keeping me extremely busy and I am really looking forward to new challenges."
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2003
I can imagine!
Btw, I've always thought that it'd be perfect if he skated to Sinatra's "My Way" at an occassion like this. Never in my dreams did I think it would come so soon, though.
I know that most people here know the words to this song very well, but for those who don't, and anyone else... They really fit the occassion so well:
My Way
And now, the end is here
And so I face the final curtain
My friend, I'll say it clear
I'll state my case, of which I'm certain
I've lived a life that's full
I traveled each and every highway
And more, much more than this, I did it my way
Regrets, I've had a few
But then again, too few to mention
I did what I had to do and saw it through without exemption
I planned each charted course, each careful step along the byway
And more, much more than this, I did it my way
Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew
But through it all, when there was doubt
I ate it up and spit it out
I faced it all and I stood tall and did it my way
I've loved, I've laughed and cried
I've had my fill, my share of losing
And now, as tears subside, I find it all so amusing
To think I did all that
And may I say, not in a shy way,
Oh, no, oh, no, not me
I did it my way
For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught
To say the things he truly feels and not the words of one who kneels
The record shows I took the blows and did it my way!
---
It's not the end, though, just another beginning. http://www.members.lycos.co.uk/windspirit6/sm/vanish.gif
Btw, I've always thought that it'd be perfect if he skated to Sinatra's "My Way" at an occassion like this. Never in my dreams did I think it would come so soon, though.
I know that most people here know the words to this song very well, but for those who don't, and anyone else... They really fit the occassion so well:
My Way
And now, the end is here
And so I face the final curtain
My friend, I'll say it clear
I'll state my case, of which I'm certain
I've lived a life that's full
I traveled each and every highway
And more, much more than this, I did it my way
Regrets, I've had a few
But then again, too few to mention
I did what I had to do and saw it through without exemption
I planned each charted course, each careful step along the byway
And more, much more than this, I did it my way
Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew
But through it all, when there was doubt
I ate it up and spit it out
I faced it all and I stood tall and did it my way
I've loved, I've laughed and cried
I've had my fill, my share of losing
And now, as tears subside, I find it all so amusing
To think I did all that
And may I say, not in a shy way,
Oh, no, oh, no, not me
I did it my way
For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught
To say the things he truly feels and not the words of one who kneels
The record shows I took the blows and did it my way!
---
It's not the end, though, just another beginning. http://www.members.lycos.co.uk/windspirit6/sm/vanish.gif
- Joined
- Aug 7, 2003
Alexei calls it quits
Goodbye, baby. Damn I wish things could be different.
Goodbye, baby. Damn I wish things could be different.
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2003
If anyone could revitalize the pro circuit, it would be Alexei. He could take up where Kurt and Scott left off.
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2003
I guess I knew it was coming ... but one always hopes for miracles 
I'm grateful to him for what he delivered in his amateur career, and especially in the 2001-2002 season, when he sent chills down my spine, and down the spines of many of my friends in ballets across the world.
He will be sadly missed from the eligible scene, and I will miss him, for as I am based mainly in England/Russia, I won't get to see coverage of the pro-ams, pro comps, nor of televised Stars On Ice ... unless Europsport gets generous, and tapes that show in Antwerp in November, with OB performing too ...
One lives in hope ...
Best, Lilia
I'm grateful to him for what he delivered in his amateur career, and especially in the 2001-2002 season, when he sent chills down my spine, and down the spines of many of my friends in ballets across the world.
He will be sadly missed from the eligible scene, and I will miss him, for as I am based mainly in England/Russia, I won't get to see coverage of the pro-ams, pro comps, nor of televised Stars On Ice ... unless Europsport gets generous, and tapes that show in Antwerp in November, with OB performing too ...
One lives in hope ...
Best, Lilia
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2003
I'm glad we cleared up the question of pro v. amateur.
Alexi is not going Pro. He always has been Pro. What he is saying is that he is not going to be in 'eligible' competions anymore. That is sad. I think he would have had a shot at winning two Olys in a row.
Bringing back Pro Skating (and on TV) will take a few sponsors who want the viewers to buy their products. Alexei will have the fans of skating forums watching but who else? I think Market Research is required here.
Joe
Alexi is not going Pro. He always has been Pro. What he is saying is that he is not going to be in 'eligible' competions anymore. That is sad. I think he would have had a shot at winning two Olys in a row.
Bringing back Pro Skating (and on TV) will take a few sponsors who want the viewers to buy their products. Alexei will have the fans of skating forums watching but who else? I think Market Research is required here.
Joe
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