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- Nov 29, 2019
He is 24 and she is 16? I know that large age differences don't always mean bad things, but after that whole TJ situation I just hope someone is looking out for poor Nadia. She's a good skater.
2020-21 Russian Pairs' figure skating
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The thing is that Labazina/Nyman were announced as a partnership. It was more than a tryout for sure, and even after the rumors swirled that they had split, you could see her in the back of Dalilah's videos on instagram. I have my own opinions on TSL but they had an interview with TJ and he apparently said that "she wasn't on the same maturity level as him." Personally, when was the last time we saw a team with 8 years age difference work out? I'm not saying it's impossible, but Nadia should stay in Europe. I wonder if she can still jump.
Well, Aleksandrovskaya / Windsor took away some junior medals, but senior level is a bit different thing. And Mozer team girls have some priviliges to get releases to other feds. The only exception I can recollect is Akopova for Australia, but in that case RusFed thought it was too much for one country and could have released her somewhere else.
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I don't mean to hold random social media comments against someone or to stir up any controversy, but has anyone seen the comments Windsor left on Nyman's instasgram posts? And also I think RusFed would have been threatened by Labazina/Nyman, he was a pretty skilled skater.
To some extent it worked out for Xiaoiu Yu / Hao Zhang and Laura Barquero / Aritz Maestu until the male partners were done because of injuries, for Lola Esbrat / Andrei Novoselov until he switched to Ksenia Stolbova.
It's easy to say Nadia should stay in Europe, but are there any partners with pairs experience available for her now or someone who are eager to switch for pairs?
Astakhova/Rogonov did have a 9 year difference, born in 1997 and 1988 respectively, and their carrier was not unsuccesful. But it is not the norm indeed.
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- Nov 29, 2019
In the end, after that TJ nightmare, I just hope that Nadia can be safe and happy with whoever she gets to skate with.
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The team competition is happening soon. Not sure how exactly it will work, but the 4 pair teams that are invited are Boikova/Kozlovskii, Tarasova/Morozov, Pavliuchenko/Khodykin, and Mishina/Galliamov. There are 6 for the other disciplines so I'm a little disappointed to not see Panfilova/Rylov and Kadyrova/Balchenko here
Quite honestly, I am quite pleased that Panfilova/Rylov don’t have any other obligations in this season. They need the time to work hard on their triples, and when one is preparing for a competition, it is not a good time to be working hard on one or two elements because they would be concentrating on their run throughs. I want them to do well next season, and sometimes it pays off to take the time, work on the problematic elements and make sure they are ready the next season.
Kadyrova/Balchenko don’t have problems with their jumping, but they could also find it useful to spend the time with each element separately, and try to figure out how to achieve the highest possible levels and as high GOE as possible. There is no reason why they couldn’t work towards having the rest of elements as good as Panfilova/Rylov.
There is no doubt that at this moment, Panfilova/Rylov and Kadyrova/Balchenko are weaker than the top four pairs at the nationals, so if I were them, I would try to close this gap (at least on the technical mark) and get ourselves to the mix for top spots. Why not to use the fact that this season has been a bit different because of the pandemics and use the lack of competitions to improve their elements? The season has been awful, but at the same time, it may be possible to turn it into opportunities.
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- Nov 29, 2019
I agree that it could be a good thing that they are not competing anymore. Thought they may also go to Rusisan Cup Final. I just said that from a fan perspective, I would have really hoped to see my two favorite teams back to back (Panfilova/Rylov and I guess you can tell who the other favorite is 
) I almost wonder if Panfilova/Rylov should get the 3S, give up on the other triple, and work on quads. If she can't do a 2A+2T+2T (and he is not a great jumper either) then I suspect that trying the 3T or 3Lo would be sort of hopeless.
Panfilova will turn 18 soon, so she has passed through the puberty hurdle. I think the coaches need to keep and eye on how Kadyrova grows, and if the partnership may need to be broken up. I know you all will mention the teams that can make things work with a small height difference, and I agree that Kadyrova/Balchenko are amazing skaters. They are also very strong, which is why they can make their 20cm height difference work when many others cannot. Not every girl is Savchenko or Wenjing, and not every boy is Han or Szolkowy. There are certainly benefits to having a shorter partner, since Balchenko can spin and jump better than most 180+ guys. But the pairs elements will suffer.
) I almost wonder if Panfilova/Rylov should get the 3S, give up on the other triple, and work on quads. If she can't do a 2A+2T+2T (and he is not a great jumper either) then I suspect that trying the 3T or 3Lo would be sort of hopeless. Panfilova will turn 18 soon, so she has passed through the puberty hurdle. I think the coaches need to keep and eye on how Kadyrova grows, and if the partnership may need to be broken up. I know you all will mention the teams that can make things work with a small height difference, and I agree that Kadyrova/Balchenko are amazing skaters. They are also very strong, which is why they can make their 20cm height difference work when many others cannot. Not every girl is Savchenko or Wenjing, and not every boy is Han or Szolkowy. There are certainly benefits to having a shorter partner, since Balchenko can spin and jump better than most 180+ guys. But the pairs elements will suffer.
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Tatyana Volosozhar is pregnant one more time 
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Releasing a 16 year old to Australia to skate with a 24 year old sounds a bit concerning but that is just on first blush. Why is Mr. Windsor focussing on Russian ladies? I forgot? If released would they be eligible or Beijing? Can he win a spot on the Aus team with someone from Australia - I don't remember what other pairs they have.
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Skaters of either gender are hard to come by in Australia, we have a grand total of 20 ice rinks in the entire country and I think only 2 or 3 are Olympic sized.
On the other hand Russia is full of talented ladies hoping to get into pairs.
The age difference is a bit of a worry though. Katia A (RIP) was also 16, but Harley was younger then as well. I hope the Australian Institute of Sport provided better support if a Russian lady decides to pair up with Harley.
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Maybe because those girls are from Mozer Team, which does have a certain reputation in pair skating.
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I just think it would be strange overall. I'm not saying that all judgement should be made from the surface, because that clearly doesn't really work. But not only would it be a strange relationship, the chemistry on the ice would be difficult too. Not impossible, but very difficult. You're telling me there isn't a suitable slightly older girl, at least an adult, who is willing to get released to skate for Australia? Are Nadia's parents really letting this happen after the whole TJ mess? And if you say there are not great facilities in Australia, is there something preventing him from training in Europe?
Junior nationals are rather soon and I'm excited. To see Artemeva/Nazarychev and Kostiukovich/Briukhanov battle it out, and to see how M/M and A/K do. I hope both teams will stay together after this season though I'm not entirely sure.
Junior nationals are rather soon and I'm excited. To see Artemeva/Nazarychev and Kostiukovich/Briukhanov battle it out, and to see how M/M and A/K do. I hope both teams will stay together after this season though I'm not entirely sure.
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- Jan 15, 2018
I believe M/M are not on the entries. Someone correct me if im wrong
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- Apr 17, 2018
You're correct, they aren't in the entries. I wonder why?
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- Feb 22, 2014
Well Harley would be training mostly in Europe I believe. He's been there for most of the past 6 or so months (although some of that might have to do with the pandemic making it hard to get back in).
I do hope the Australian Institute of Sport can help more in any new partnership, perhaps by providing funds for Nadia's parents to visit her often if they did end up training down under for long stretches. With Katia her mother wasn't able to afford to visit so she ended up isolated (although she did make friends down here).
Although Harley hasn't announced anything yet. Imagine if he ended up pairing with Ksenia S!
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- Nov 29, 2019
Stolbova or Sinitsyna the singles skater? I do think Sinitsyna could be a good pairs girl but I think Stolbova is retired
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- Nov 29, 2019
I hope that I am wrong, but I see the end of the road for Diana and Ilya. It's been a really rough season....
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