Interview with Igor Shpilband by Russian Press post Skate Canada | Golden Skate

Interview with Igor Shpilband by Russian Press post Skate Canada

dorispulaski

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28.10.2012 15:16:01 | Figure skating | Figure Skating. Gran-pri-2012/13. The second stage
http://www.team-russia2014.ru/article/figur/5813.html

The following is a Google -translate assisted translation of the interview.

Today, October 28, at Windsor (Canada), the second stage of the Grand Prix of Figure Skating. Two dance duos - Russia's Ekaterina Ryazanov - Ilia Tkachenko and Italian Anna Cappellini - Luca Lanotte work with coach Igor Shpilband, & were among the winners. Afterward, Igor Shpilband told special correspondent portal TEAM RUSSIA-2014 Olga Yermolin about their programs.

- Igor, since this season, you have trained Russian duo Yekaterina Ryazanov - Ilia Tkachenko how-lasting is this project?

- Katya and Ilya: we started in the summer. I think that it was quite a fruitful cooperation. I am very familiar with the guy; knew them as athletes. Of course, we hope that it will be a long term project. It makes no sense to contrive something like this for a short time. Plans are serious enough: the promise and potential of the pair is very large, but, of course, takes time.

- At these competitions how did the Russians do?

- I think they were good and showed two strong programs. Katia and Ilya looked strong enough in the free dance, and in the short. Both programs skated clean, especially the free dance. I am very pleased with the performance, guys. But, of course, there are many things that can be improved.

Do not forget that this is the beginning of the season. This was the debut at this level of competition for the programs. Typically, at the box-office debut, competitive athletes have often clamped up. And we agree with Alexei Gorshkov & felt that in the short dance at this stage, children are not yet fully relaxed. In training, they looked much better and show more. We also know that you can improve their skating technical points. We lost a lot of key points in the compulsory dance, that should be worked on.

- Katia appeared with a bandaged leg, what happened?

- Two days before departure for Canada Katia accidentally fell on her knee during training. Well, that did not hurt too much. However, the athlete received a serious injury, and to reduce pain and swelling, the doctor put a bandage on her..

- Please comment on the performance of your other students: Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte? The Italians lost in the short dance to Olympic champions, Canadians Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir by a minuscule amount, and in all lost by about nine points.

- In the short dance the Canadian pair made a mistake that led to the disruption of a lift, and because of that, both pairs scored virtually the same points. However, the referee somehow failed to notice that Canadians lift was longer than the rules allow. Because of this, Virtue - Moir should have received a deduction, and this can be seen in YouTube, but ... The judges gave them just score.
If we talk about the short dance, Anna and Luca are very good this year. Guys skated the program perfectly. Italians generally had a successful performance in Canada and improved their skating compared to what was shown in Finland a few weeks ago.

- When you chose the music for the free dance Italian duo, you certainly did not know what version & cuts of "Carmen" Canadians Virtue - Moir would take. Do you now not want to change any program components to avoid direct comparisons between your students?

- The program will not change. The program are very different. They are made in a different way. As for the music of "Carmen," that it was used, and will be used, because the music is brilliant. These programs use different music cuts, themes and plots. After the review, I got the judges' comments, and I know that many in composition & formulation prefer the free dance drama of Anna and Luca..

- How do you evaluate the first start of the season of Tessa and Scott? The mistakes made by the skaters, do not cause you, as a former coach, some concerns?

- It is very difficult to comment on their performance, because I do not know how prepared the couple are for this season. I do not know at what stage is their form. But it is clear that Tessa and Scott are not in the best condition. For what reasons, I do not know, because I do not coach them.
 

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avatar credit: @miyan5605
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Joined
Feb 27, 2012
Thank you, Doris. :)

I hope that a fluent Russian speaker will clarify for us re the following two phrases:
(My Russian is too rusty to be sure whether Google Translate is completely reliable on these points.)

- "The judges gave them just score." (part of Shpilband's discussion of the length of Virtue/Moir's lift).
The original: "Судьи им просто подарили балл."
I do not think that "just" means "fair" or "equitable" here; "просто" usually means "simply."
My hunch is that he meant something like, "The judges simply gave them the score" (without the deduction that he believes was warranted).

- "But it is clear that Tessa and Scott are not in the best condition."
The original: "Но видно, что Тесса и Скотт не в лучших кондициях."
Is it possible that Shpilband was speaking metaphorically? In other words, could he have meant that V/M's programs are not in the best shape?
I do not think that a more literal translation -- that he was making an assessment of V/M's level of physical health/fitness -- necessarily applies here.​

ETA:
BTW, I do give Shpilband the benefit of the doubt that he was trying to speak objectively re V/M. I'm not making any judgment on the overall tone of his comments.​
 
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"The judges gave them just score." (part of Shpilband's discussion of the length of Virtue/Moir's lift).
The original: "Судьи им просто подарили балл."
Correct (in meaning) translation - "One point of score is simply a gift from judges".

- "But it is clear that Tessa and Scott are not in the best condition."
The original: "Но видно, что Тесса и Скотт не в лучших кондициях."
More correct "But it is clear that Tessa and Scott are not in the best state".
 

ice coverage

avatar credit: @miyan5605
Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
Correct (in meaning) translation - "One point of score is simply a gift from judges".


More correct "But it is clear that Tessa and Scott are not in the best state".

Yра, молодец! благодарю вас. Cейчас понимаю.
Hurrah, well done! Thank you. Now I understand.
 
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