2020-21 Russian Ladies' Figure Skating

[lurkerghost1]

In 2019-20 they put Samodurova on the national team in addition to Medvedeva, Zagitova, Tuktamysheva, Trusova, Kostornaia, Shcherbakova as a full member since she won Euros. Couldn't they do 7 again next year?

I remember someone in the Fed said Kostornaia has earned her spot on the national team which would make six, but I could see them giving Khromykh a full seventh spot. She did beat Tuktamysheva at Rusnats and RCF after all.

Or Medvedeva could get the 7th spot, but I think she will be bumped to reserve like Kolyada was after the missed last season.

I think the ninth reserve spot is between Nugumanova, Frolova, and Sinitsyna, I'd be very happy for whoever got it but I hope it's Sinitsyna so she can get a Challenger and get on the GP sub list.

I think because Kostornaia has an international reputation and was the alt for worlds she’s more likely to be on the main team than Daria, also. I’d say that the competition for the last spot would be between Maia and Daria, not Maia and Aliona, especially because Daria and Aliona, as far we’re aware, have the same technical cap. I guess the question is, can the RusFed take all seven? Is there a reason that the national team needs to be six?

I would be shocked if Daria did not make the team, she was 4th at nationals after all. Yes as I explained above in the 19-20 season there were 7.

I love how much Eteri likes Maya! #tallgirlquad

 

[chasingneverland]

Anastasia G - 4T - URed but..She's also tried a 3A.

 

[chasingneverland]

In 2019-20 they put Samodurova on the national team in addition to Medvedeva, Zagitova, Tuktamysheva, Trusova, Kostornaia, Shcherbakova as a full member since she won Euros. Couldn't they do 7 again next year?

I remember someone in the Fed said Kostornaia has earned her spot on the national team which would make six, but I could see them giving Khromykh a full seventh spot. She did beat Tuktamysheva at Rusnats and RCF after all.

Or Medvedeva could get the 7th spot, but I think she will be bumped to reserve like Kolyada was after the missed last season.

I think the ninth reserve spot is between Nugumanova, Frolova, and Sinitsyna, I'd be very happy for whoever got it but I hope it's Sinitsyna so she can get a Challenger and get on the GP sub list.


I would be shocked if Daria did not make the team, she was 4th at nationals after all. Yes as I explained above in the 19-20 season there were 7.


I love how much Eteri likes Maya! #tallgirlquad

They could. That year they only had five men though, which they might do again - I wonder if that's why they did it. They might have funding for 24 National team spots. I also don't know if they'll do that. It's an Olympic year and they'll hope to have 3 spots in all 4 disciplines and for sure 3 spots for Worlds. (The Russian men already have 3 spots for World's next year it's only the Olympics where they need to get that last spot at Nebelhorn.) They also NEED the men ready early. One of them needs to go to Nebelhorn.

There's also the juniors to consider too..

I guess it depends if they think Maiia/Evgenia is better than the sixth man.

I do think Evgenia will be reserve. But I also think 100% Aliona is on that team.

Daria also makes it - she's above Maiia in everything BUT the Cup Final and has outscore her in the SP all year. She was also only 6 points behind Maiia at the Cup Final and Maiia landed two quads while Daria didn't have a single "ultra-c" element. Daria has also challenged Sasha on numerous occasions. The FED LOVES her.

 

[Jontor]

How many skaters from a country can go to Senior B's? 3? It seems unfair that Mishin gets all his skaters into these B comps when other (better) skaters are left at home and never compete internationally. Guliakova and Samodurova should be behind Usacheva, Khromykh, Liza N, Tsibinova, Talalakina, Sinitsina, and even Frolova for B spots.

I also think that the skaters who in the off season learn ultraC should be first priority to get them out there and attempting them in competition. So, Valieva, Usacheva, Khromykh, Tukt, Sinitsina should definitely get B's before anyone else.

I totally agree. In Mishin's case I think he is smart. It could be that he prioritize Challengers for his skaters, he doesn't "waste" money on choreography and stuff... He knows those Challengers gets you WS points and that is partly the reason why Sofia is ranked so high besides her European win.
Last year Liza and Sofia went to three Challengers (and Sofia withdrew from a fourth!). Since Challengers began in 2015, Liza has won all Challenger Cup Standings except for one. But that is just because most ladies do one...or two. Liza always does two or three.

It could also be that Mishin is powerful in RusFed and gets more funding?

But it's crazy that girls like Tsibinova and Talalaikina have never been to a senior Challenger! Nugumanova went once last season.

 

[Minz]

I remember someone in the Fed said Kostornaia has earned her spot on the national team which would make six

I remember Tatiana Tarasova saying Kostornaia deserves a spot on the national team after the RCF, but I don’t know how much influence Tarasova has over the national team selection.

 

[Jontor]

OK, so we'll find out the Russian Team soon. It looks like 6 plus 3 on Reserve. So, in order the top 6 should be Shcherbakova, Valieva, Trusova, Tuktamysheva, Usacheva, and who? Kostornaia over Khromykh? One of those two will have to be on reserve. I guess the other two on Reserve would be Medvedeva and Sinitsina?

I'm sorry I'm asking so many questions, but is funding really THAT much of a problem in Russia? You'd think any Russian parent would pay their kid's way just to finally get them to an international competition. Consider it a vacation expense for the child once a year, right? I mean, if your kid is that talented but Russia won't pay, maybe the parents should offer straight up that they are willing to cover all expenses for a competition? That's what I would do. If flying them to Finland or Germany or Italy for a week is the only chance to get their kid an international, who wouldn't do that?

Well, I am prepared for that both Zagitova and Medvedeva will still be on the National Team and get funding. Which is not what I would want at this point. But I understand if that happens. They are stars after all and RusFed needs to take care of their stars...

 

[Jontor]

Sofia S is much more plausible than Anastasia G I think, one because of WS and two because Sofia is generally consistent-ish, while Guliakova can be inconsistent. Also to note, in the 19/20 season, Maria Sotskova was given a GP due to WS even though there were clearly some better options on the SB list (Gubanova, Sakhanovich were the first to pop into mind). I feel like the chances of getting a GP due to WS is higher than due to SB but I'm not sure if I'm just remembering incorrectly or something.

In 19/20 Sakhanovich and Sotskova got one each. It was Tarusina and Gubanova who was way higher on the SB list (20th and 21st) while Sotskova was only 43rd!! Also, Konstantinova got two (SB 23rd, so behind Tarusina and Gubanova). Tarusina got injured later, but the RusFed didn't know that when they announced the GPs in June. I still think that if Tarusina had got one GP assignment that season, she wouldn't have given up and resigned.

So yes, they are looking at the WS list first, and SB second I think...

 

[icybear]

Well its not a cheap sport and probably difficult for skaters with very little international success to get sponsors when sponsors have household names they can attach their brand to. When Nugumanova was announced about getting a sponsorship with I think Mercedes, someone brought up that it probably had more to do with her becoming a social media star in Russia during the pandemic than her skating career.

Nugumanova is a social media star? But she only has 42k followers on instagram and she would be practically unheard of to the general public compared to Alina or Evgenia. Is she a tiktok star or something like that? Honestly sponsorships is such a weird thing. For instance Elizabet just got an adidas sponsorship yet she hasnt competed for 2 years and we're not sure if she will compete again. And there's Alena who's selling Plushenko toothpastes and some niche sportwear.

 

[LiamV426]

https://www.instagram.com/p/CN0AHBJpp2k/

Sorry but all I can think of is that scene in Ghost (1990):

Husband: "Daaamn baby what you do to your hair??"
Wife: "Orlando, you like it? It's Autumn Sunrise! ^_^"

 

[Amei]

I totally agree. In Mishin's case I think he is smart. It could be that he prioritize Challengers for his skaters, he doesn't "waste" money on choreography and stuff... He knows those Challengers gets you WS points and that is partly the reason why Sofia is ranked so high besides her European win.
Last year Liza and Sofia went to three Challengers (and Sofia withdrew from a fourth!). Since Challengers began in 2015, Liza has won all Challenger Cup Standings except for one. But that is just because most ladies do one...or two. Liza always does two or three.

It could also be that Mishin is powerful in RusFed and gets more funding?

But it's crazy that girls like Tsibinova and Talalaikina have never been to a senior Challenger! Nugumanova went once last season.

Have you seen some of the names that have choreographed for his students? Averbukh, Shae-Lynn Bourne, David Wilson, Lambiel, Jeffrey Buttle, to name a few. Not exactly cheap sounding names

 

[Amei]

Nugumanova is a social media star? But she only has 42k followers on instagram and she would be practically unheard of to the general public compared to Alina or Evgenia. Is she a tiktok star or something like that? Honestly sponsorships is such a weird thing. For instance Elizabet just got an adidas sponsorship yet she hasnt competed for 2 years and we're not sure if she will compete again. And there's Alena who's selling Plushenko toothpastes and some niche sportwear.

I'm not Russian and can't speak to her 'celebrity', I found the post that mentioned it:

Well, it seems that she got a good discount but not the car itself.
Also in her case it is not a merit of figure skating, during lockdown she became a TikTok super star in Russia

 

[Amei]

I remember Tatiana Tarasova saying Kostornaia deserves a spot on the national team after the RCF, but I don’t know how much influence Tarasova has over the national team selection.

Even given her coaching drama/flip-flopping and lackluster skates (okay the lackluster is my opinion) she was still scored very well this year, and she did well at the GP event and her Cup event and the final. So I don't think there necessarily any 'influence' over National team selection needed to put her on the team.

 

[chasingneverland]

Nugumanova is a social media star? But she only has 42k followers on instagram and she would be practically unheard of to the general public compared to Alina or Evgenia. Is she a tiktok star or something like that?

Yeah she's a tiktok star. She has over 360k followers. For comparison Evgenia has about 275k.

 

[Jontor]

Have you seen some of the names that have choreographed for his students? Averbukh, Shae-Lynn Bourne, David Wilson, Lambiel, Jeffrey Buttle, to name a few. Not exactly cheap sounding names

Yes I know. Lol! That's why I added - could be that Mishin gets more funding...

Anyway, it's interesting that Mishin's students seem to go to more Challengers than others, regardless if they are on the national team or not.

 

[chasingneverland]

Yes I know. Lol! That's why I added - could be that Mishin gets more funding...

Anyway, it's interesting that Mishin's students seem to go to more Challengers than others, regardless if they are on the national team or not.

Could also be because he's consistently had students on the national team, his school can afford more for them as a whole?

I mean he'll have three on the national team for next year too.

It'll be interesting to see what they do with WS for next year given the weird year but even still Sofia S's standing has helped them secure GP spots in the past as well.

 

[Jontor]

Could also be because he's consistently had students on the national team, his school can afford more for them as a whole?

I mean he'll have three on the national team for next year too.

It'll be interesting to see what they do with WS for next year given the weird year but even still Sofia S's standing has helped them secure GP spots in the past as well.

I think they will merge the two past seasons lists. That means that for the WS list, Worlds 2021 counts, but they won't erase 2018-2019 so Sofia's European win still stands.

For the SB list, there is no other way they can do it. They need to merge it with last year's list. Anything else would be crazy.

 

[chasingneverland]

I think they will merge the two past seasons lists. That means that for the WS list, Worlds 2021 counts, but they won't erase 2018-2019 so Sofia's European win still stands.

For the SB list, there is no other way they can do it. They need to merge it with last year's list. Anything else would be crazy.

That's kinda what I think so too. Seeing as there were so few events this year and the juniors didn't get any...

 

[lurkerghost1]

I think they will merge the two past seasons lists. That means that for the WS list, Worlds 2021 counts, but they won't erase 2018-2019 so Sofia's European win still stands.

For the SB list, there is no other way they can do it. They need to merge it with last year's list. Anything else would be crazy.

I really really hope the SB list will be merged. That would give us:
1. Kostornaia
2. Shcherbakova
3. Trusova
6. Valieva
7. Tuktamysheva
8. Medvedeva (?)
11. Zagitova
12. Sinitsyna
18. Usacheva
24. Vasilieva
26. Khromykh
27. Tarakanova

I don't think Tarakanova would get any but maybe Nugumanova instead. The main thing is Sinitsyna would be guaranteed a spot and Khromykh very likely too

 

[chasingneverland]

I really really hope the SB list will be merged. That would give us:
1. Kostornaia
2. Shcherbakova
3. Trusova
6. Valieva
7. Tuktamysheva
8. Medvedeva (?)
11. Zagitova
12. Sinitsyna
18. Usacheva
24. Vasilieva
26. Khromykh
27. Tarakanova

I don't think Tarakanova would get any but maybe Nugumanova instead. The main thing is Sinitsyna would be guaranteed a spot and Khromykh very likely too

World Ranking is usually taken into account before SB but yeah. And the World Junior medalists are essentially guaranteed spots. With no World Juniors this year, it's still a given that Kamila and Daria are guaranteed spots. (It's not officially guaranteed but it's pretty much an agreement all the time.)

 

[Minz]

Remember - there are always host spots