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- Oct 25, 2012
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I wonder if this thread might be a bit more interesting with a slight turn of phrase. Rather than implying 'your country' (which assumes the country you have citizenship in, as well as the existing skaters already there), maybe opening it up might yield more fascinating analysis, such as:
"If you were to start your own new country on an island in the Pacific, which current ladies skaters would you choose to represent this new country?"Just a thought, and a way of wiping the slate clean and forming your own fantasy team from scratch.
I really like sabinfire’s Pacific Island Fantasy Dream Team idea. So, I decided to turn it into a thread!
Here is the remit:
This is a pure fantasy exercise, so we may as well go the full hog and assume that we have the full three international slots in each category!
At the same time, though, we have to be realistic and acknowledge that injuries, illness, and other things outside of the rink happen. So, the same people will not be able to compete at EVERY competition.
Consequently, to make a three-slot team viable, I feel that the island needs to have FIVE competitors.
Also, while the original idea was just for the Ladies category, I thought it would be fun if we selected skaters for all four categories.
So, having thought about it for a few days, here is the team representing Novyy Ulster. (It’ll soon become obvious why I’m using this mixture of languages…
)Ladies
Liza Tuktamysheva: Of course I want Liza on my island!
Alena Leonova: She may be getting a bit long in the tooth in figure skating terms, but she’s still good enough to trouble the top international skaters. Unfortunately, Russia has too many good younger skaters to keep a space for Alena.
Anna Pogorilaya: Great skater, very beautiful, but too much competition for her to have a long-term future as a regular member of the Russian team. As is the case for all Russian Ladies skaters.
Julia Lipnitskaya: I just want her on the island so that I would be able to give her a big hug any time she gets upset! I don’t like seeing her so upset.
Wakaba Higuchi: Thinking ahead for the future!
This kid is going to be big!I would love to take Mao Asada to my island as well, but she is pretty much guaranteed international slots. I felt I would be better claiming as many Russian skaters as possible, as it is so difficult for them to get into the international team, and it will only get harder in the years to come as more Juniors switch to Seniors.
I have to admit, I was also very tempted to say Allie Rout. Apart from the fact that I like her, there is another, more appropriate reason – she is from the original New Ulster!
Men
Evgeni Plushenko: All bow for The King!
Konstantin Menshov: Undoubtedly one of the top skaters, but just took too long to get to that position. Unfortunately, Russia does not have enough slots, and given his age, Kostya will probably be the one to miss out. But we want him! (Just so long as he brings his girlfriend along too…
)Michal Březina: Consistently one of the best Man’s skaters in Europe. But it has been a long time since he last won an international competition. So, people don’t see him as a potential winner. But, I do. He is bound to be due another win soon.
Javier Fernandez: Not only is he a brilliant skater, he also has a great personality. Everybody loves him! And he’ll win lots!
Florent Amodio: He probably won’t win anything, but he’ll sure entertain the fans with his gala routines!
I started off using the same tactic for the Men, but then thought “No. I don’t want to take all the top Russian skaters. They need at least one if they are ever going to get the extra international slots back”. So, I let them hold onto Voronov, and just claimed the older guys! Instead, I picked some of my favourite skaters.
I left Yuzuru Hanyu out for 2 reasons. Firstly, I didn’t think it would be fair to claim him and Fernandez. And, after what happened at the Cup of China, I am not sure I would want to take the risk of having somebody on the team who doesn’t put his own health first.
Pairs
Tatiana Volosozhar / Maxim Trankov: They may be rusty to start with, but they will quickly be back to full strength!
Yuko Kavaguti / Alexander Smirnov: The last of the old guard. We need to keep them on the circuit so that we don’t lose completely that beautiful style of skating.
Peng Cheng / Zhang Hao: They may have a limited future, due to the big age difference. But this is a partnership full of talent. A worthy successor to the Zhang Dan / Zhang Hao partnership. (Hope Dan is keeping well, by the way!)
Valentina Marchei / Ondřej Hotárek: The most improved couple of the season. For them to go from a complete shambles in the Warsaw Cup to 4[SUP]th[/SUP] in Europeans in the space of 2 months is remarkable. And they can only get better! Given how things ended between Ondřej and Stefania Berton, I do have my concerns about taking him on. But, anything to get the lovely Miss Marchei onto my island!
Lubov Iliushechkina / Dylan Moscovitch: Like Vale and Ondřej, this was another promising new partnership, made up of two very experienced skaters, that really took the world by storm last season. Dylan may be getting on a bit, but he is still at the top of his game. And Lubov is doing a great job at reminding us of just why she is a former Junior World Champion.
With Pairs, I just decided to just keep it simple, and picked some of my favourites.
Dance
Anna Cappellini / Luca Lanotte: This season may have seemed disappointing for them, seeing as they didn’t win any international gold medals. But they were still in the top 4 of every competition they competed in! And it is this consistency that we need. Oh, and Anna is hot!
Gabriella Papadakis / Guillaume Cizeron: I would have taken them even if they hadn’t had the season they have just had! So much talent! And so much potential to get even better! Oh, and Gabriella is hot!
Sara Hurtado / Adria Diaz: Rapidly becoming one of the top Dance couples in Europe, yet still under the radar for most people! Oh, and Sara is hot!
Elena Ilinykh / Ruslan Zhiganshin: They may only have been together one season, but this couple have already established themselves as real podium contenders for international honours. Oh, and Elena is hot!
Natalia Kaliszek / Maksim Spodirev: Definitely a couple to watch for the future. So I want to get in there early and get them on the island now! Oh, and Natalia is hot!
With Dance, rather than going for couples that are currently regular podium contenders, I decided to go for couples that have a lot of potential for the future. And, strange as it may seem, I have included the European and World Champions in that category!
However, I made one exception to that rule with Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte. Well, apart from everything else, I didn’t think it would be fair for Ondřej Hotárek to move to an island without his wife so soon after they got married!
So, there you have it. My fantasy dream team. I have taken different approaches in each category, but overall, I feel that the skaters I have selected would make Novyy Ulster a very strong force in the figure skating world.
What skaters would you select to make up your figure skating team if you had your own Pacific Island nation?
CaroLiza_fan
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