2018-19 Russian Ladies' figure skating

[Scott512]

crazy idea...would any Russian ladies (moreso ones who have a lesser chance of being top 3) ever consider representing the US? or another country way less competitive than Russia? Do you think we may see anyone think in this direction?

Yes! Unless the international skating using changes their format and allows the rankings to determine who goes to what event instead of maximim 3 I think you we'll see some of the Russian girls and ladies get dual citizenships just in case they don't have any room to represent Russia because of too much competition. I think a good person for a dual citizenship would be someone like Anastasia Gubanova. On a normal career Arc for a 15 year old girl but she's buried in the Russian Federation and they don't think much of her in my opinion so what is someone like her to do? I would think another year or two of being pushed to the back of the line by the rusfed and she and others like her would want to get a dual citizenship with Belarus or Latvia or Lithuania just to be able to compete in a world championship and perhaps an Olympics.

In 2 or 3 years Russia could have like six of the top 10 in ladies figure skating and maybe 8 or 9 of the top 20 and if they're just going with a maximum of 3 for Russia then that leaves a handful of girls out in the cold so to speak.

 

[katymay]

crazy idea...would any Russian ladies (moreso ones who have a lesser chance of being top 3) ever consider representing the US? or another country way less competitive than Russia? Do you think we may see anyone think in this direction?

I was thinking the same watching Viktoria. We already have many Russian Americans competing for the USA, I sure wish someone like Viktoria would consider immigrating. To the US. I don't think she will ever be top 3 in Russia, but she would stand a great chance of being top 3 in the US

 

[katymay]

Do we know what Alina's goals are? Does she have any long-term goals? Since she has already won OGM, I would not be surprised if she would be content to compete (and win) until she is no longer in the Russian top 3, and then retire, or to win Worlds this year and retire before she is no longer on top. If the World title is her primary goal, it makes sense to go full steam ahead this whole season to dominate and win.

(I admit that it is hard to imagine Alina staying with Eteri and continuing to compete after this season, since she will be vying with 2-3 other seniors on Eteri's team.

I hope she does win Worlds this year, because, I also think it will be her last chance to do so. She seems to have a cult following in Japan, so I wouldn't be surprised if she gets some huge endorsements, in Japan and in Russia. She is very beautiful, and when she is not wearing dowdy matronly dresses, she looks very beautiful on the ice, and off. This shouldn't matter, except it does, especially with endorsements, post competitive opportunities. etc. (like dancing with the stars and so on). People seem to assume that figure skaters want to compete into their 20's, not all of them do. Many wish to move on and cash in.

 

[macy]

Yes! Unless the international skating using changes their format and allows the rankings to determine who goes to what event instead of maximim 3 I think you we'll see some of the Russian girls and ladies get dual citizenships just in case they don't have any room to represent Russia because of too much competition. I think a good person for a dual citizenship would be someone like Anastasia Gubanova. On a normal career Arc for a 15 year old girl but she's buried in the Russian Federation and they don't think much of her in my opinion so what is someone like her to do? I would think another year or two of being pushed to the back of the line by the rusfed and she and others like her would want to get a dual citizenship with Belarus or Latvia or Lithuania just to be able to compete in a world championship and perhaps an Olympics.

In 2 or 3 years Russia could have like six of the top 10 in ladies figure skating and maybe 8 or 9 of the top 20 and if they're just going with a maximum of 3 for Russia then that leaves a handful of girls out in the cold so to speak.

if they have dual citizenship, would they still get any funding from RusFed? or would it all come from the 2nd country since they wouldn't be representing Russia? It would be very interesting to see if any of them go this route; if any opted to go with the US how exciting would that be :luv17: i think you would see the US ladies start fighting a little more since one of the top spots would pretty much already belong to a Russian lady...a move like that could be good for USFS.

 

[moriel]

crazy idea...would any Russian ladies (moreso ones who have a lesser chance of being top 3) ever consider representing the US? or another country way less competitive than Russia? Do you think we may see anyone think in this direction?

There are several issues with this.
1. You need to get residence and then citizenship. This is usually a lot of work and hassle, and not always even possible. Usually, this is only doable when the skater has some prior relations with the country, such as skater's parents having a specific citizenship, or the skater having a double citizenship already.
2. You got to sit out at least a season (or more, if rusfed learns from french fed).
3. In russia, FS is fairly cheap and partially state funded. More for the girls who are in the team, but a bit for everybody else too. One of the reason there are so many girls figure skating is that, even on top level, it is fairly affordable. If you switch countries, you got to pay. Considering the usual residence/citizenship requirements, the girl also hardly can switch countries and continue training in Russia.
4. Average income per capita in Russia is around USD 300. Unless you are an onlympic medalist, you will have major troubles being able to afford training abroad or living abroad, just saying.

And this is why we will not see many russian ladies switching countries.

 

[moriel]

if they have dual citizenship, would they still get any funding from RusFed? or would it all come from the 2nd country since they wouldn't be representing Russia? It would be very interesting to see if any of them go this route; if any opted to go with the US how exciting would that be :luv17: i think you would see the US ladies start fighting a little more since one of the top spots would pretty much already belong to a Russian lady...a move like that could be good for USFS.

Rusfed will only fund skaters who compete for russia.
Rusfed $$$ goes like this - they fund russian rink and coaches (so skaters who train in russia get indirect funding), and also fund the team (a set of top skaters competing for russia).
Skaters competing for a different country are not eligible to be in russian team (obviously), and only skaters training in russia will receive indirect funding (which is unlikely in case of a country switch, since you usually have residence and citizenship related stuff that state that, in order to be eligible, you got to live in the country for a certain period of time. Also, as we have seen in Sochi, Russia is fine with cutting those skaters from the state funded rinks any time - see how they cut Bet Tursynbayeva).

 

[Shayuki]

• I adore Anna, she is absolutely angelic and arguably the most graceful of all four girls, but she is the one I'd worry about the most with regards to consistency and injury, and unlike Alena and Alexandra, she seems to lack a singular strength that you can bank on going forward. That's not to say she won't achieve greatness or doesn't have a shot at coming out on top, it's just that I don't think she's as safe a bet as the rest of the group. I'm a big fan of hers, though, and I'd love to see her pull off a WC or Olympic medal

Note, comparison:
Alena Kostornaya got injured at slightly older than 12 years of age. She was without competing for around 10 months. It took her a year since returning to competition to gain any kind of consistency.

Anna Shcherbakova got injured at slightly older than 13 years of age. She was without competing for around 9 months. It's been less than 9 months since she returned to competition. This is just an example. But remember to keep things in perspective.


Well, as for singular strengths, the most important one is rotation speed, I'd say. But for PCS categories: dancing, musicality. I doubt she would lose these. The body type is also a very big strength, perhaps the greatest strength of them all depending on how she ends up.

 

[macy]

There are several issues with this.
1. You need to get residence and then citizenship. This is usually a lot of work and hassle, and not always even possible. Usually, this is only doable when the skater has some prior relations with the country, such as skater's parents having a specific citizenship, or the skater having a double citizenship already.
2. You got to sit out at least a season (or more, if rusfed learns from french fed).
3. In russia, FS is fairly cheap and partially state funded. More for the girls who are in the team, but a bit for everybody else too. One of the reason there are so many girls figure skating is that, even on top level, it is fairly affordable. If you switch countries, you got to pay. Considering the usual residence/citizenship requirements, the girl also hardly can switch countries and continue training in Russia.
4. Average income per capita in Russia is around USD 300. Unless you are an onlympic medalist, you will have major troubles being able to afford training abroad or living abroad, just saying.

And this is why we will not see many russian ladies switching countries.

do we know the reasoning for this? it's kind of a strange rule.

and yes, somewhere like the US is crazy money for skating. someone wanting to switch would most likely have to be financially well off.

 

[typeyournamehere]

crazy idea...would any Russian ladies (moreso ones who have a lesser chance of being top 3) ever consider representing the US? or another country way less competitive than Russia? Do you think we may see anyone think in this direction?

actually, it's already happening..
Anna Kuzmenko already represents France at JGP.
Ekaterina Kurakova will represent Poland.
Also both already have won some domestic competitions in their new countries.

 

[moriel]

do we know the reasoning for this? it's kind of a strange rule.

and yes, somewhere like the US is crazy money for skating. someone wanting to switch would most likely have to be financially well off.

There is an IS rule, which is 12 months.
Also, i think the original country got to release the skater.

I don't see russia releasing any lady who can get GPs easily.

 

[Spirals for Miles]

The competition hasn't started so I will share it here before it does:

Notable senior entries at the 2nd Russian Cup: Shcherbakova, Tsurskaya, Panenkova, Nugumanova, Radionova, Yakovleva, Mostenets, Solovieva, Talalakina
Notable junior entries at the 2nd Russian Cup: Valieva, Usacheva, Safonova, Sultanmagomedova, Chistyakova, Dmitrieva

 

[*~RussianBleux~*]

The competition hasn't started so I will share it here before it does:

Notable senior entries at the 2nd Russian Cup: Shcherbakova, Tsurskaya, Panenkova, Nugumanova, Radionova, Yakovleva, Mostenets, Solovieva, Talalakina
Notable junior entries at the 2nd Russian Cup: Valieva, Usacheva, Safonova, Sultanmagomedova, Chistyakova, Dmitrieva

Is this today? Can you tell me what time the events start?

 

[Mawwerg]

Is this today? Can you tell me what time the events start?

Ladies will compete on Friday and Saturday.

 

[j00mla]

The competition hasn't started so I will share it here before it does:

Notable senior entries at the 2nd Russian Cup: Shcherbakova, Tsurskaya, Panenkova, Nugumanova, Radionova, Yakovleva, Mostenets, Solovieva, Talalakina
Notable junior entries at the 2nd Russian Cup: Valieva, Usacheva, Safonova, Sultanmagomedova, Chistyakova, Dmitrieva

I'm sure some of seniors will skip it

 

[vesperalvioletta]

crazy idea...would any Russian ladies (moreso ones who have a lesser chance of being top 3) ever consider representing the US? or another country way less competitive than Russia? Do you think we may see anyone think in this direction?

Before the season started there were some rumors flying around that Samodurova would represent Israel. If it's something that she truly has the option of doing, it could be a wise move for her once the uber juniors ascend.

 

[DougDorsey]

Your message deserves a special prize as one of the most positive in this topic. Thank you

I appreciate the kind words! Yes, there will always be things about which to quibble and debate, but I find it tough not to be positive when you take a step back and consider the wealth of talent and artistry we're enjoying right now, and will likely enjoy for years to come.

 

[Azikin]

I'm sure some of seniors will skip it

It's a list that has been posted today, updated from the preliminary entries.. should be pretty accurate IMO..

 

[macy]

actually, it's already happening..
Anna Kuzmenko already represents France at JGP.
Ekaterina Kurakova will represent Poland.
Also both already have won some domestic competitions in their new countries.

didn't know this, thank you!

 

[Shayuki]

The competition hasn't started so I will share it here before it does:

Notable senior entries at the 2nd Russian Cup: Shcherbakova, Tsurskaya, Panenkova, Nugumanova, Radionova, Yakovleva, Mostenets, Solovieva, Talalakina
Notable junior entries at the 2nd Russian Cup: Valieva, Usacheva, Safonova, Sultanmagomedova, Chistyakova, Dmitrieva

The bolded, by the way, is 10 years old.

 

[typeyournamehere]

didn't know this, thank you!

The thing is, US will definitely be far from the first country in the list for the girls who would want to switch countries. By various reasons. The most convenient options for them, I think, would be either european countries, or, what's even more likely, ex-soviet ones. Just because it's way more easier to find some relatives there.