Sinitsina/Katsalapov future prospects | Page 5 | Golden Skate

Sinitsina/Katsalapov future prospects

Alba

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 26, 2014
I'd say Ilinykh is more than ready for this next four year cycle all things being well that is.

Absolutely. And we have a saying here: il buon giorno si vede dal mattino
It means: "You can tell it's going to be a good day from the morning", or "well begun is half done". ;)

Let's see. It's a long way.
 
Joined
Feb 13, 2014
It is also true that early success of a new team doesn't necessarily translate to long term success and cntinuous improvement. In the US, Hubbell & Donohue came together much faster than Chock and Bates, going to Worlds before C&B. The team that has a goal and keeps working toward it may do very well indeed, even if the early days are difficult.

This! :clap: One bad competition is one bad competition. It could happen to any team, especially a new one. It doesn't make it the end of the world. I've seen a lot of lifts this season from multiple teams that have left me biting my lip worried it may not go smoothly. These are very early days yet, so I hope they don't split.

To the people upset about the on-ice and K&C reactions: People express and handle situations differently. Maybe she doesn't want comforting words? Maybe she/they don't want to express their upset, worry, or discomfort publicly. I think too much emphasis is being placed on this. They said they didn't feel supported at CoR by viewers - maybe they don't in general, so why would they want to bare it all in front of cameras? Frankly, I don't blame them. At this point they get criticized for everything they say or do (including all of the eye-rolling worthy statements Marina makes).

I wish S/K luck and I wish I/Z luck. I'm not sure why every thread about them gets :hijacked: and turned into a generally less than kind free for all. They're all people and they had their reasons for splitting, of which we're not fully privy to.
 
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bramweld

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2012
There is a saying that I know well: A gentle answer turns away wrath. Harsh words stir up anger. All the harsh words S/K have received are due to their own silliness. Did they really think that I/Z would just quit the sport? What will happen at Russian Nationals?:disapp::rolleye: They come across as arrogant jocks not intelligent athletes. They are practically the same age as the Shibs and am sure they would have to witness their classy behaviour almost everyday right? I honestly think people would like to see them grow up. That's my understanding of things.
 

elif

Medalist
Joined
Jan 28, 2010
Katsalapov remind me Caroline Zhang after reading posts in forum. :popcorn: Of course the way he and Zhang's short program/dance scores (+60) turned into free program/dance scores are similiar too. You can't see something like this everyday.:popcorn:
 

Kittosuni

Medalist
Joined
Nov 2, 2012
There's no way now that these two is going to break up. It will only hurt their reputations more. i think the results are very humbling to them. They were set up to dominate but they failed. Hopefully this will only motivate them to do better. Atleast now they know where they stand and work on their weaknesses. It wont be easy so they have to be patient especially for Nikita. I think its good if they compete to smaller competitions to get more experience and also next year's theme suits more to their style so hopefully they will do better. And more importantly, they have to stop comparing results/themselves to I/Z since the latter seems to have moved on. This will also going to test Zueva's PR capabilities. Let see how she will comback from the disappointments.
 

bramweld

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2012
Katsalapov remind me Caroline Zhang after reading posts in forum. :popcorn: Of course the way he and Zhang's short program/dance scores (+60) turned into free program/dance scores are similiar too. You can't see something like this everyday.:popcorn:

;)
 

Snow63

Pray one day we'll open our eyes.
Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 26, 2014
There's no way now that these two is going to break up. It will only hurt their reputations more. i think the results are very humbling to them. They were set up to dominate but they failed. Hopefully this will only motivate them to do better. Atleast now they know where they stand and work on their weaknesses. It wont be easy so they have to be patient especially for Nikita. I think its good if they compete to smaller competitions to get more experience and also next year's theme suits more to their style so hopefully they will do better. And more importantly, they have to stop comparing results/themselves to I/Z since the latter seems to have moved on. This will also going to test Zueva's PR capabilities. Let see how she will comback from the disappointments.

Zoueva used her PR capabilities a lot last summer. I think they're not working anymore. And I think her reputation is close to hit the low too, after V/M and D/W reitred, and C/L and S/K bombed their GPs.
 

bramweld

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2012
S/K have two very good programs its the performance and technical savvy/readiness that they lack. They will not break up, the Fed has invested heavily in them. Read between the lines from what has been said and the silence of certain experts. Osaka was simply a small setback. S/K are being set up for gold in Korea, what happened in Osaka will be quickly forgotten. Certain factions within the Russian ID community will do all in its power diplomatically of course to ensure that Ilinykh does not repeat the success of Anissina. If I/Z make one mistake however they will be buried and Ilinykh and Zhiganshin know this deeply. This is a large part of the reason why I/Z have outpaced S/K, I/Z know where they stand. This disaster will only help S/K. Next time they should do much better.
 
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bsfan

On the Ice
Joined
Feb 10, 2011
S/K have two very good programs its the performance and technical savvy/readiness that they lack. They will not break up, the Fed has invested heavily in them. Read between the lines from what has been said and the silence of certain experts. Osaka was simply a small setback. S/K are being set up for gold in Korea, what happened in Osaka will be quickly forgotten. Certain factions within the Russian ID community will do all in its power diplomatically of course to ensure that Ilinykh does not repeat the success of Anissina. If I/Z make one mistake however they will be buried and Ilinykh and Zhiganshin know this deeply. This is a large part of the reason why I/Z have outpaced S/K, I/Z know where they stand. This disaster will only help S/K. Next time they should do much better.

Does this mean that S/K has more room to make mistakes because Fed thinks they have more potential and physically better matched/ better looking compared to I/Z? Do they recognize how talent 'I' is and it's better not waste it? Does S/K have more political backing?
 

chameleon

On the Ice
Joined
May 29, 2014
...Why would the Fed not want Elena to repeat the success of Anissina? It's not like she's skating for another country.
 

anyanka

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 8, 2011
Hypothetically, if they were to break up, a bad outing at NHK likely wouldn't be the reason. Usually the decisive factor is at something more decisive like nationals or a major ISU championship. The question is if they will make it out of their own nationals. I had mentioned before in anoyther thread that the following teams could all contend for the three spots at Euros and Worlds in Russia: B/S, I/Z, S/B and M/K. Throw in S/K and it's a five-way battle for three slots. B/S are likely to be on top of the pile, and more than likely on the podium, unless Dima's injury is so bad that they can't compete. That still means there are three other teams, all of whom won medals on the GP series - I/Z are even in the finals - while S/K have been nowhere near as competitive.

The question about a potential breakup is a bit premature, but it does cast the whole partnership into doubt if they can't make it beyond nationals. Let's wait until after Christmas and see how they place. Even then, a bad showing there doesn't mean it would end a career. A year ago Liza Tuk was 10th at her own nationals, missed Sochi entirely, and a year later she won 5/6 events she entered in the fall and sailed into the GPF as the second-highest internationally ranked skater in the series (GP qualification only, not world ranking). Consider that.

Another question is funding: would the Russian feds put their money behind S/K if there are other teams that are doing quite well? The extra expense here compared to the others is that S/K are training overseas in the US under Zoueva, and that isn't exactly something you can get with a Groupon. The other four teams I mentioned all live and train in Russia. If the Russian economy is forecasting a recession for 2015, then it would have a trickle-down effect. If the sporting feds aren't getting all the funds they usually get, especially since a lot of people would be tapped out after the enormous expenditure that was Sochi, then they may decide to call them home or just cut them off entirely. It's a bit far-fetched to think that something like that could affect a figure skating team, but tough economic times means that everyone tightens their belts, right?
 

sses1

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 5, 2014
S/K have two very good programs its the performance and technical savvy/readiness that they lack. They will not break up, the Fed has invested heavily in them. Read between the lines from what has been said and the silence of certain experts. Osaka was simply a small setback. S/K are being set up for gold in Korea, what happened in Osaka will be quickly forgotten. Certain factions within the Russian ID community will do all in its power diplomatically of course to ensure that Ilinykh does not repeat the success of Anissina. If I/Z make one mistake however they will be buried and Ilinykh and Zhiganshin know this deeply. This is a large part of the reason why I/Z have outpaced S/K, I/Z know where they stand. This disaster will only help S/K. Next time they should do much better.

There is no way S/K will win gold in Korea, that's definitely going to a North American team. Elena is training in Russia so your comment about Anissina is confusing. Elena anyhow is the one with the real star power, its pretty rude that just because her partner isn't as tall or good looking as her old partner people immediately write them off. They might not look like a winning couple but they will work twice as hard and that is admirable. I also don't see marina winning OG yet again.
 
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bramweld

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2012
There is no way S/K will win gold in Korea, that's definitely going to a North American team. Elena is training in Russia so your comment about Anissina is confusing. Elena anyhow is the one with the real star power, its pretty rude that just because her partner isn't as tall or good looking as her old partner people immediately write them off. They might not look like a winning couple but they will work twice as hard and that is admirable.

Oh no we misunderstand each other. I just sense from the words and actions of the Russian experts a chauvinistic leaning towards Nikita. That is everyone is walking around on eggshells with regards to his ego. So no-one is willing to say anything good about Lena and Ruslan. That is what I meant regarding the Anissina comment. It seems to me that the Russian Fed is willing to do anything to stroke Nikita's ego, just a feeling, but I could be wrong.
 

uhh

Medalist
Joined
Nov 19, 2013
S/K are still only on the reserve team for funding, same as I/Z. That stands for the whole season, and then gets re-assessed based on results this season & what the federation considers their potential to be & they could get full national team status (don't have to be on the World/European team for this, M/K have it), stay on the reserve team or be dropped altogether (This is why P/G split & she quit). So I'd guess both new teams are still having to cover some of their training costs. For them to do this shows a commitment to the new partnerships, but if the results don't come and they don't get full funding, maybe it would be another factor in any doubts they might have. Perhaps not making it out of nationals would be good for S/K to be able to go away and work on the basics that they haven't nailed down yet, but it wouldn't do them any favours financially.

As for S/K being favoured, why did they get signifcantly lower PCS than I/Z at CoR if the federation was pushing them? 2 points in the SD and 4 points in the FD, when they had no visible or jarring errors, and higher PCS scores to prop them up wouldn't have been too scandalous. We've seen worse to protect a favourite, like Lipnitskaya's FS score at CoR last year.

To make things even more interesting - Zahorski/Guerrerio scored 62 in their SD at the Russian Cup event today. Scores are usually slightly inflated & she still doesn't have a release from France, but it's still a very strong debut and adds another couple into the competition.
 

anyanka

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 8, 2011
S/K are still only on the reserve team for funding, same as I/Z. That stands for the whole season, and then gets re-assessed based on results this season & what the federation considers their potential to be & they could get full national team status (don't have to be on the World/European team for this, M/K have it), stay on the reserve team or be dropped altogether (This is why P/G split & she quit). So I'd guess both new teams are still having to cover some of their training costs. For them to do this shows a commitment to the new partnerships, but if the results don't come and they don't get full funding, maybe it would be another factor in any doubts they might have. Perhaps not making it out of nationals would be good for S/K to be able to go away and work on the basics that they haven't nailed down yet, but it wouldn't do them any favours financially.

Good information on the funding. Thanks for sharing that!
 

Alba

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 26, 2014
...Why would the Fed not want Elena to repeat the success of Anissina? It's not like she's skating for another country.

I don't think that Russian Fed have chosen the couple no.1 for Korea.
They will support all the couples and see who will manage to get on top, thanks to their skating.
They are not stupid and will back the team who'll do better and has the potential to become a champion.
 

Mrs. P

Uno, Dos, twizzle!
Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 27, 2009
I wish S/K luck and I wish I/Z luck. I'm not sure why every thread about them gets :hijacked: and turned into a generally less than kind free for all. They're all people and they had their reasons for splitting, of which we're not fully privy to.

Thank you for this. I really have no skin in the game for either team, but I feel while Nikita was an idiot for ending the partnership the way he did, that he does not deserve the consternation and hate that he seems to get by the majority of posters. There is probably more to the story than, as snowflakebeautiful and others point out, we'll ever know and that probably it's for the best they are not partners anymore.


There is a saying that I know well: A gentle answer turns away wrath. Harsh words stir up anger. All the harsh words S/K have received are due to their own silliness. Did they really think that I/Z would just quit the sport? What will happen at Russian Nationals?:disapp::rolleye: They come across as arrogant jocks not intelligent athletes. They are practically the same age as the Shibs and am sure they would have to witness their classy behaviour almost everyday right? I honestly think people would like to see them grow up. That's my understanding of things.

When did they ever indicate that they felt that their former partners should quit? And I don't get the vibe of "arrogant jocks." And I think Maia and Alex gets along with them fine, judging by their interactions on social media.

I'm clearly in the minority here. While I feel that Nikita may not be the brightest bulb in the box and perhaps was a little too overconfident about his prospects, again, I don't think he's the bad guy some insists he is. Again I don't really care about the prospects of either team, but I also think that if one takes a step back, people would see this incident for what it simply is : A bad skate.
 
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bramweld

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2012
S/K are still only on the reserve team for funding, same as I/Z. That stands for the whole season, and then gets re-assessed based on results this season & what the federation considers their potential to be & they could get full national team status (don't have to be on the World/European team for this, M/K have it), stay on the reserve team or be dropped altogether (This is why P/G split & she quit). So I'd guess both new teams are still having to cover some of their training costs. For them to do this shows a commitment to the new partnerships, but if the results don't come and they don't get full funding, maybe it would be another factor in any doubts they might have. Perhaps not making it out of nationals would be good for S/K to be able to go away and work on the basics that they haven't nailed down yet, but it wouldn't do them any favours financially.

As for S/K being favoured, why did they get signifcantly lower PCS than I/Z at CoR if the federation was pushing them? 2 points in the SD and 4 points in the FD, when they had no visible or jarring errors, and higher PCS scores to prop them up wouldn't have been too scandalous. We've seen worse to protect a favourite, like Lipnitskaya's FS score at CoR last year.

To make things even more interesting - Zahorski/Guerrerio scored 62 in their SD at the Russian Cup event today. Scores are usually slightly inflated & she still doesn't have a release from France, but it's still a very strong debut and adds another couple into the competition.

These two could be really good. Hopefully video will surface soon.
 

chameleon

On the Ice
Joined
May 29, 2014
From what I've seen, the officials are cautiously backing I/Z at the moment, but are waiting for further results before putting all their eggs in one basket. Just my general impression. Similarly, they aren't going to write off S/K due to one bad competition. It just seems to me that the Fed is mostly waiting to see what happens next and who is likely to win the most medals. If they so favor S/K over I/Z, why weren't their scores at CoR closer? They could have easily thrown in some extra PCS there.
 
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