2018-19 Russian Ladies' figure skating

[flanker]

It would be interesting to hear what Alina actually said. If any Russian speaker could provide us with that information, I think it could help a lot. Sometimes translations are misleading or not entirely accurate.

I hope it’s just about the usual not drinking too much shortly before competition and not something else. Because that would be dangerous and totally unhealthy.

But anyway, Alina really needs to watch a bit more what she says. Such comments are doing no good to anyone. She knows her and her team are being closely scrutinized... so just... don‘t say things like that if you know they‘re going to be misquoted.

What Alina really needs is less comments about what she needs.

 

[Fluture]

What Alina really needs is less comments about what she needs.

She is a professional athlete, an Olympic Champion. Of course her every word is being judged. It‘s not fair and no one said it is, least of all I, but that‘s the way it is. And that’s also why it‘s really important to know what to answer to certain questions in interviews, and which topics to avoid completely. Alina is a nice and humble girl but she‘s still very young and a 16 year old teenager in the media spotlight yes, needs someone to teach them how to deal with all that stuff. This doesn‘t come naturally to anyone, you need to learn how to avoid certain questions and topics. She‘s made questionable comments about weight before. This is, while understandable for someone so young, a bit careless. She knows her and her team are being closely scrutinized, especially on the weight and health topic. So, comments like “you just have to train through the pain“ or “puberty doesn‘t exist“ really help no one. I really like Alina thus I wish someone would talk to her about that. Knowing how to deal with certain, persistent interviewers can raise confidence too. Weight, puberty, health, injuries... those topics will always come up. Better to know how to answer them without giving too much away.

 

[malya]

3A is confirmed by RusFed for jrWorlds

 

[andromache]

3A is confirmed by RusFed for jrWorlds

What a shocker!!!

I am so excited for their final showdown of the season. Alena won JGPF, Shcherbakova won Senior Nationals, Trusova won Junior Nationals - who will the gold at Junior Worlds?

The battle between Alena and Trusvoa last year was not nearly as interesting.

 

[Spirals for Miles]

3A is confirmed by RusFed for jrWorlds

Where? it's not on wikipedia yet

 

[j00mla]

Where? it's not on wikipedia yet

as usual at official site of RusFed https://www.fsrussia.ru/news/4216-sostav-rossijskoj-komandy-na-chempionat-mira-sredi-yuniorov.html

 

[VenusHalley]

She is a professional athlete, an Olympic Champion. Of course her every word is being judged. It‘s not fair and no one said it is, least of all I, but that‘s the way it is. And that’s also why it‘s really important to know what to answer to certain questions in interviews, and which topics to avoid completely. Alina is a nice and humble girl but she‘s still very young and a 16 year old teenager in the media spotlight yes, needs someone to teach them how to deal with all that stuff. This doesn‘t come naturally to anyone, you need to learn how to avoid certain questions and topics. She‘s made questionable comments about weight before. This is, while understandable for someone so young, a bit careless. She knows her and her team are being closely scrutinized, especially on the weight and health topic. So, comments like “you just have to train through the pain“ or “puberty doesn‘t exist“ really help no one. I really like Alina thus I wish someone would talk to her about that. Knowing how to deal with certain, persistent interviewers can raise confidence too. Weight, puberty, health, injuries... those topics will always come up. Better to know how to answer them without giving too much away.

I am not mad at Alina saying this in interviews... but I am mad at those who filled her head with nonsense about closing your mouth, training even harder when you experience pain and not drinking water. It makes one wonder. And it certainly gives bad example to young girls everywhere. "If Alina does not eat and overtrains and it's okay if I do it, right?"

 

[Fluture]

I am not mad at Alina saying this in interviews... but I am mad at those who filled her head with nonsense about closing your mouth, training even harder when you experience pain and not drinking water. It makes one wonder. And it certainly gives bad example to young girls everywhere. "If Alina does not eat and overtrains and it's okay if I do it, right?"

I am not mad at Alina! Nothing of this is her fault at all. Like I said in another thread: I wish Alina (and all Sambo girls for that matter) worked with a nutritionist to help them individually find out what‘s the best diet. I don‘t think coaches and parents are educated enough to do this on their own. And Sambo girls are hugely successful, surely the school could afford a professional for this matter.

About the media training: Those are young girls under the spotlight, they need to be taught how to deal with that and respond to certain questions. That‘s what I meant. Not toss them into this whole thing and expect them to always say the right thing. Alina is an Olympic Champion. Her team is doing a great job on packaging her (the judges like it). But on diet and media training... well, I‘ll just say that I wished somebody else would step in and help her with that. Especially since she has so much influence on younger girls as well. She herself is a great rolemodel and example - the young girl who managed to achieve her dreams by working hard. That‘s a wonderful message. Some of the things she says, however, aren‘t. That‘s not her fault but it still influences those who look up to her, presumably a lot of little kids. That‘s why she needs a) someone to help her get rid of those unhealthy thoughts and ideas (she‘s young herself after all and can be easily influenced) and b) someone to teach her what to say in certain situations. I don‘t want her to become someone else than she is, in fact, I like that about her, that she‘s herself and doesn‘t play a role. But in certain situations it might be better to opt for a neutral answer.

 

[Sugar Coated]

The thing with the carbohydrate drinks is interesting. How do they trick the brain? Honestly, I don't know. For me it sounds more as if they are just preventing acute hypoglycemia. It's similar as when you feel that your blood sugar is very low, and you are probably about to collapse and then take a spoon of sugar under your tongue.

From what I can tell from reading up on this, the idea being that they are getting a small amount of sugar directly into the blood stream from the mouth like they do during hypoglycemia. But it "tricks" the brain because the brain senses the sugar in the mouth and assumes that more carbohydrates are coming into the digestive track since normally thats what happens when the mouth gets a lot of sugar for several minutes. This "tricks" the brain to allowing the body to release more energy and dip into reserves that otherwise it might try to conserve not knowing if more energy would be available to release into the blood stream. It has the benefit of also not actively needing to spend energy digesting the carbohydrates in the digestive track, but rather using the body's reserve system for immediate energy.

Again, this is just my take from reading about it in the last day or so. I'm also not sure what science supports this and from what I can tell some of the data suggests it may be mostly placebo effect. But that's what I gather about the theory behind the practice. It has nothing to do with hydration or thirst as far as I can tell.

 

[flanker]

She is a professional athlete, an Olympic Champion. Of course her every word is being judged. It‘s not fair and no one said it is, least of all I, but that‘s the way it is. And that’s also why it‘s really important to know what to answer to certain questions in interviews, and which topics to avoid completely. Alina is a nice and humble girl but she‘s still very young and a 16 year old teenager in the media spotlight yes, needs someone to teach them how to deal with all that stuff. This doesn‘t come naturally to anyone, you need to learn how to avoid certain questions and topics. She‘s made questionable comments about weight before. This is, while understandable for someone so young, a bit careless. She knows her and her team are being closely scrutinized, especially on the weight and health topic. So, comments like “you just have to train through the pain“ or “puberty doesn‘t exist“ really help no one. I really like Alina thus I wish someone would talk to her about that. Knowing how to deal with certain, persistent interviewers can raise confidence too. Weight, puberty, health, injuries... those topics will always come up. Better to know how to answer them without giving too much away.

The simple truth is that a line or even a word that can't be and won't be twisted doesn't exist. So why bother.

 

[flanker]

3A is confirmed by RusFed for jrWorlds

All resistance is useless :agree:

 

[Fool]

3A is confirmed by RusFed for jrWorlds

Means GS user Fool is also confirmed for Jr World's! :hap93:

 

[My FS]

I actually think Carmina Burana would be an excellent choice of music for one of Sasha's programs. Goes really well with her dynamic skating.

Thank you for liking my choice of music.

 

[My FS]

Ooh I second this I really hope she uses it next year. It would be a perfect SP for her

Thank You.

 

[malya]

And some news from RusFed general director Kogan about the final of the Russian Cup:

- Zhenya will take part 100%
- Stasya and Liza are invited, but it's not sure yet of they will compete

I expect Liza won't be there if she goes completely clean at Dragon Trophy this weekend... Mishin will not like her competing again if it's not nessesary.
It's only fair that Stasya is also invited, imo. I hope she goes and gains confidence + good scores at home (like always) for the rest of the season.
No words about Alina and Sofia so I very much doubt they will be there.

 

[PekkaRink]

Does anyone have a schedule for junior worlds? I couldn’t find a detailed one on the isu page

 

[Finley]

It would help to stop putting words in Alina's mouth and twisting the context to suit an agenda. She talked about training through the pain she experienced due to Osgood Schlatters. NOT injuries. She is not the first and will not be the last athlete to train through that particular pain from that particular problem. (See Nathan Chen)

Multiple athletes have talked about training through injuries, coming back too soon, ignoring concussion symptoms, etc. Almost all of them have said it was a bad idea. I'm thinking in particular about Gaby D. deciding not to tell anyone about hitting her head at a competition. Also, Ashley Wagner training through so many concussions her memory has been affected. Alina has spoken about training while in pain. (Caused by Osgood Schlatters) You are not going to find any athletes who do not experience pain in the process of training for the highest level of an elite sport.

When the media specifically asked her about injuring her leg prior to competition, she said it was a sprain, the team doctor treated it, and mentioned Yuzu had competed with a much more severe injury at another competition. Skaters compete injured all the time. Everyone who watches skating knows this.

She did not say that you should compete injured or train through injuries. Maybe if she had been asked that is what she would have said but she didn't. When she talked about ignoring pain it was specifically related to OG because there is nothing that can be done about it other than to stop skating.

Alina did not say 'puberty isn't real'. She is not an idiot. She said something close to this - gaining weight during puberty doesn't have to happen you just need to close your mouth and not eat. (If anyone can find the exact FULL quote, translated and presented in context with the question, go for it.) Let's give her credit and assume she meant not over eat (which leads to weight gain) instead not eating altogether (which leads to death).

Alina said the quality she values most is honesty. It stands to reason that she is going to answer honestly when asked a question. If the RusFed decides they don't like her honesty in the media they can do whatever it is they do in those situations. I'm sure at some point Alina will learn the game and starting crafting her answers to please everyone. It's inevitable. I hope she doesn't lose her candor. It is one of her best qualities.

What she and other skaters and gymnasts are doing with their bodies is superhuman. Weight matters. In order to perform these high level skills weight has to be controlled. Artur Dmitriev spoke about his son not being able to safely execute a quad axle if he weighed even 1.5kg more than his optimal weight.

It kills me that so many athletes participating in the sport that I love have experienced eating disorders - Yulia, Gracie, Gaby, Lyubov, Tanith, Jenny, Jamie Silverstein, Nancy, Adam Rippon.... I could probably keep typing all day.

I have to hope that Alina's parents, grandparents, coaches, trainers, team doctors are doing whatever they can to keep her body and mind healthy and safe.

I have to accept the fact that my definitions of 'healthy' and 'safe' for a 16 year old's body and mind are probably not the same as their definitions for the needs of a competitive Olympic athlete.

It annoys me that Alina is continually singled out (as well as Eteri) like she somehow invented disordered eating habits and training through pain. And now she is somehow responsible for the well-being of other children so she either needs to consume an acceptable caloric intake (according to whatever standards apply) or lie about doing so?

 

[el henry]

No one is saying that Eteri or Alina “invented” disordered eating.

Certain statements from Eteri and Alina give pause. It is valid to question and even criticize those statements.

A defensive rush to talk about every skater who has ever had an eating disorder or every coach who has ever said anything silly or wrong about eating does not change any valid criticism of evidence of disordered eating or encouragement of disordered eating. Simply makes no difference

I do not follow enough to know if the translations are correct or what context they were made in, so I can’t comment on that. My agenda is healthy skaters, and a healthy approach to eating. I can’t speak for anyone else.

 

[Edwin]

What skaters and gymnasts have 'to endure' in pain and discomfort is nothing compared to ballet dancers.
No pain - no gain holds true for every athlete competing at the highest level. Many an athlete is sort of addicted to the feeling and lives by the valour of overcoming the threshold/besting yourself at every competition.
Athletes have a duty cycle governed by their competition schedule, some have few competitions, others can sign on to competitions every weekend to gain ranking points.
Ballet dancers need to perform at their best every performance in front of the paying audience for weeks on end.

Figure skaters are like swans, gliding elegantly over the surface, while below the surface there is frantic pedaling going on.

 

[Finley]

No one is saying that Eteri or Alina “invented” disordered eating.

Certain statements from Eteri and Alina give pause. It is valid to question and even criticize those statements.

A defensive rush to talk about every skater who has ever had an eating disorder or every coach who has ever said anything silly or wrong about eating does not change any valid criticism of evidence of disordered eating or encouragement of disordered eating. Simply makes no difference

I do not follow enough to know if the translations are correct or what context they were made in, so I can’t comment on that. My agenda is healthy skaters, and a healthy approach to eating. I can’t speak for anyone else.

I never take it on myself to speak for everyone, but don't we all want that?

Doesn't mean any of us going to get what we want. Some skaters and coaches are more honest and transparent in the media about what they are doing and what they believe is necessary for them to achieve their goals. Some are not. Some aren't even honest with themselves.

It is valid to question whatever you want to question. I'm questioning why one set of standards for Eteri, Alina etc., and another set of standards for everyone else.