Swedish anyone?
- Thread starter c_e_ahlen
- Start date
c_e_ahlen said:Is anyone here Swedish? Just wanting to know....
I am, and it would be cool to come in contact with other Swedish skaters through Golden Skate, because face it, skatesweden.se is a joke. No forum, no anything.
So please, anyone?
Sorry, I'm not from Sweden, but my horse is!
- Joined
- Jul 28, 2003
Swedes
I'm not a Swede or even of Scandanavian ancestry(German/English/Scot).
Can you tell me why there aren't more prominent Scandanavian figure skaters?
Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark do great in the other Winter Olympic sports. Norway was even able to outdo the state funded East Germans and Soviets pre-1992. So what's happened with figure skating? A champion like Sonja Henie would be an eternal motivator for most countries. The US still looks up to Peggy Fleming and Dorothy Hamill.
I'm not accusing anyone. I'm just curious.
I'm not a Swede or even of Scandanavian ancestry(German/English/Scot).Can you tell me why there aren't more prominent Scandanavian figure skaters?
Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark do great in the other Winter Olympic sports. Norway was even able to outdo the state funded East Germans and Soviets pre-1992. So what's happened with figure skating? A champion like Sonja Henie would be an eternal motivator for most countries. The US still looks up to Peggy Fleming and Dorothy Hamill.
I'm not accusing anyone. I'm just curious.
I seriously have no clue. I mean there is interest and all, but maybe there's not enough interest from the public or the state itself. And besides, it's really hard to get ice time, like everywhere. We constantly have to battle the hockey, who is seen as far more important than us skaters. And I think the money is lacking too. But otherwise, don't know. Anyone else got any idea?
However...
We are not totally crappy here though. We do have pretty good people in at least some of the different catagories.
Men; Here we have Kristoffer Berntsson. 2005 he came 10th at the Euros and 14th at the Worlds. This year he didn't do that great with a 14th at the Euros, 23 at the Worlds as well as the Olympics. However, thanks to his preformance last season, Sweden were allowed to have one more male skater at the Euros this year and we brought in Adrian Schultheiss who actually won the Nationals instead of Kristoffer. While he didn't do too well at the Euros, only 20th thanks to nerves, he has been landing massive jumps, and has done well at other international competitions.
Team; This year we came 2nd and 12th in the Worlds. Last year we won, as well as in 2003. So this is a diciplin we actually dominate! Yay!
Pairs; Angelica Pylkina and Niklas Hogner has not been seen that much on the international scene on account of Angelica being too young. But this next season they will compete in the Senior Euros for the first time. So far, they've been 5th at Junior Worlds two years in a row. And if you look at their ISU bio;
http://www.isufs.org/bios/isufs00007177.htm they've been doing pertty well. Angelica is a very sweet, and shy girl. I skated with her for a year, when she and her mother had just arrived to Sweden. If you're interested, here's an article; http://www.skatetoday.com/articles0405/052205.htm It's a bit old, but good.
Ladies; This is facts. The girl who won the nationals, wasn't allowed to skate Euros. Why? They didn't think she was good enough. Nor did they send the girl who finished second. Or third for that matter. They sent Lina Johansson. The former Swedish "champion" who had been injured almost the entire season. And she did really bad, and ended up 24th. No big surprises there. We didn't send any ladies to the Olympics, but we did to the Worlds. The little redhead Amanda Nylander went in and did better than any Swede have done for a really long time. She finished 17th. She is the girl who won the Junior nationals. She also have a twin, Isabelle, who took the silver in the Junior nationals.
We have a weird system, that to be a member of the "elite troup" you have to have four tripples to be allowed to compete internationally. And the girl who won the nationals, Malin Hållberg-Leuf, "only" have three. Maybe that's why you don't see any Swedes at the big competitions, Sweden won't let them compete. I mean look at Fleur Maxwell! She placed 14 at 2005's Euros and she has what? One tripple? Two? When will people realise that it's not only the jumps that counts?
We do have skaters on the way up, we're just a bit slow.
We are not totally crappy here though. We do have pretty good people in at least some of the different catagories.
Men; Here we have Kristoffer Berntsson. 2005 he came 10th at the Euros and 14th at the Worlds. This year he didn't do that great with a 14th at the Euros, 23 at the Worlds as well as the Olympics. However, thanks to his preformance last season, Sweden were allowed to have one more male skater at the Euros this year and we brought in Adrian Schultheiss who actually won the Nationals instead of Kristoffer. While he didn't do too well at the Euros, only 20th thanks to nerves, he has been landing massive jumps, and has done well at other international competitions.
Team; This year we came 2nd and 12th in the Worlds. Last year we won, as well as in 2003. So this is a diciplin we actually dominate! Yay!
Pairs; Angelica Pylkina and Niklas Hogner has not been seen that much on the international scene on account of Angelica being too young. But this next season they will compete in the Senior Euros for the first time. So far, they've been 5th at Junior Worlds two years in a row. And if you look at their ISU bio;
http://www.isufs.org/bios/isufs00007177.htm they've been doing pertty well. Angelica is a very sweet, and shy girl. I skated with her for a year, when she and her mother had just arrived to Sweden. If you're interested, here's an article; http://www.skatetoday.com/articles0405/052205.htm It's a bit old, but good.
Ladies; This is facts. The girl who won the nationals, wasn't allowed to skate Euros. Why? They didn't think she was good enough. Nor did they send the girl who finished second. Or third for that matter. They sent Lina Johansson. The former Swedish "champion" who had been injured almost the entire season. And she did really bad, and ended up 24th. No big surprises there. We didn't send any ladies to the Olympics, but we did to the Worlds. The little redhead Amanda Nylander went in and did better than any Swede have done for a really long time. She finished 17th. She is the girl who won the Junior nationals. She also have a twin, Isabelle, who took the silver in the Junior nationals.
We have a weird system, that to be a member of the "elite troup" you have to have four tripples to be allowed to compete internationally. And the girl who won the nationals, Malin Hållberg-Leuf, "only" have three. Maybe that's why you don't see any Swedes at the big competitions, Sweden won't let them compete. I mean look at Fleur Maxwell! She placed 14 at 2005's Euros and she has what? One tripple? Two? When will people realise that it's not only the jumps that counts?
We do have skaters on the way up, we're just a bit slow.
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2006
Hei!
Jeg er amerikansk men kjaeresten min er norsk og jeg snakker litt norsk - does that kindasortamaybe count? ;-)
On the question of why there are not more Scandinavian figure skaters, I can only offer speculation. It is a phenomenon that I have wondered about for a while too, especially since the Norwegians have produced great speedskaters.
My b/f says that Norwegians generally like to be close to the land and that they are straight-talking (i.e. don't like charades), two reasons that he uses to "explain" why figure skating is a bit too "civilized" for them. (Think of the "pretty girls in little boxes" idea.) He adds that there are very few ice rinks in Norway, this is another part of his speculation as to why there are no famous Norwegian figure skaters or hockey players - not enough ice. (Natural ice doesn't count in this estimation.) Also, with the exception of Oslo, the population is pretty rural so ice rinks are probably few and far between, whereas anyone can go cross-country skiing in the countryside. I don't think that this logic would necessarily hold true for Sweden or Finland, though. I'm not sure how the costs of skiing and skating would compare, although it was my knee-jerk reaction to assume that skating costs more.
As for Sonja Henie - there is a bit written here about the ambivalent reception that her countrymates gave her because of her supposed Nazi sympathies. Although the article goes on to state that the stigma of this supposed connection faded after the war, I do wonder if this attitude is still a bit present. The occupation is not remembered fondly in Norway. On the other hand she is apparently famous and well-liked enough that there is a statue of her near one of the large parks in Oslo.
Anyway, that is my two cents. I hope I haven't offended any Norwegians or anyone else from the Nordic countries!
Best,
Fredegunda
Jeg er amerikansk men kjaeresten min er norsk og jeg snakker litt norsk - does that kindasortamaybe count? ;-)
On the question of why there are not more Scandinavian figure skaters, I can only offer speculation. It is a phenomenon that I have wondered about for a while too, especially since the Norwegians have produced great speedskaters.
My b/f says that Norwegians generally like to be close to the land and that they are straight-talking (i.e. don't like charades), two reasons that he uses to "explain" why figure skating is a bit too "civilized" for them. (Think of the "pretty girls in little boxes" idea.) He adds that there are very few ice rinks in Norway, this is another part of his speculation as to why there are no famous Norwegian figure skaters or hockey players - not enough ice. (Natural ice doesn't count in this estimation.) Also, with the exception of Oslo, the population is pretty rural so ice rinks are probably few and far between, whereas anyone can go cross-country skiing in the countryside. I don't think that this logic would necessarily hold true for Sweden or Finland, though. I'm not sure how the costs of skiing and skating would compare, although it was my knee-jerk reaction to assume that skating costs more.
As for Sonja Henie - there is a bit written here about the ambivalent reception that her countrymates gave her because of her supposed Nazi sympathies. Although the article goes on to state that the stigma of this supposed connection faded after the war, I do wonder if this attitude is still a bit present. The occupation is not remembered fondly in Norway. On the other hand she is apparently famous and well-liked enough that there is a statue of her near one of the large parks in Oslo.
Anyway, that is my two cents. I hope I haven't offended any Norwegians or anyone else from the Nordic countries!
Best,
Fredegunda
- Joined
- Dec 27, 2005
Jag ar svensk! Bor dock i Belgien for tillfallet, darav saknas vara tre sista bokstaver i alfabetet pa tangentbordet =( Jag aker dock itne konstakning sjalv, bara skridskor for skojs skull pa vintern, sa det blir inga komplicerade saker. men trots det ar jag nast intill helt besatt av konstakning. Tycker det ar en av de underbaraste sakerna i varlden och forstar inte varfor det inte ar fler som gillar det. Om jag nan gang far chansen sa vill jag borja ta nagra lektioner, lite i senaste laget, men det vore kul att kunna lite mer avancerade saker. Tyvarr sa ar intresset for konstakning i Belgien ungefar lika stort som i Sverige.. =(
And to the rest of u, who doesnt speak swedish, I think the reason Sweden dont have that many great skaters has to do with ice time. People in Sweden like icehockey a bit too much..A friend of mine skated when she was younger, but she quit coz she couldnt advance to a more diffiult group since there was icetime. Of course theres no fun in skating if ur not learning anything new, so she continued on to another sport instead..
Also, the interest for figure skating isnt that great in sweden, the worlds was mentioned one time during the sports this year.. and its only eurosport that sends all major competitions (euros, worlds, olympics) live. The public channels show maybe the 7 best in all disciplines..if youre lucky they'll show the ladys free skate live.. Its not the best sport to be interested in if u live in sweden..
And to the rest of u, who doesnt speak swedish, I think the reason Sweden dont have that many great skaters has to do with ice time. People in Sweden like icehockey a bit too much..A friend of mine skated when she was younger, but she quit coz she couldnt advance to a more diffiult group since there was icetime. Of course theres no fun in skating if ur not learning anything new, so she continued on to another sport instead..
Also, the interest for figure skating isnt that great in sweden, the worlds was mentioned one time during the sports this year.. and its only eurosport that sends all major competitions (euros, worlds, olympics) live. The public channels show maybe the 7 best in all disciplines..if youre lucky they'll show the ladys free skate live.. Its not the best sport to be interested in if u live in sweden..
- Joined
- Dec 27, 2005
I know, u can get the letters someway, but Ive just gotten so used to writing without them and my friends and family understand so, y not.. 
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2006
Jag e ju svensk. Äkta svensk! Åker dock inte själv...
Har glömt hur man gör...
Har glömt hur man gör...
I am from Sweden too .I have to say when we hade Euros 2003 in Malmö I was affraid the arena would be somewhat empty due to the almost non exsisting addvertisement on tv but dear was I wrong !It was sold out most of the event .A huge succes and I think Worlds in Gothenburg will be too actually .
I totally agree that there is still a problem getting ice time from icehockey which is a big sport in Sweden.
Just to add a little as for the future in swedish fs there are a couple of promising skaters spec in the mens junior field .And I am glad to know that Lina johansson is back" in shape" again.She looks great and I really hope this will be a good season for her .She deserves it after 2 injuries ....
I totally agree that there is still a problem getting ice time from icehockey which is a big sport in Sweden.
Just to add a little as for the future in swedish fs there are a couple of promising skaters spec in the mens junior field .And I am glad to know that Lina johansson is back" in shape" again.She looks great and I really hope this will be a good season for her .She deserves it after 2 injuries ....
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2006
Angelica is really very sweet! I met her here at JGP and she is great girl!
