I don´t know, I read today that Visa and Mastercard have been blocked from Russian cards/banks and Apple Pay doesn´t work. But maybe it´s possible to get get them another card.
They meant that, for example, the Georgian federation would get their skaters Georgian issued credit cards in their local currency (or euro).
No. But makes me understanding why I cannot watch them.
Totally agree. This is bigger than figure skating and it was necessary to happen.
I'm sorry, I sense your sincere and mixed feelings, some of which I'm sure we all share. BUT, that whole "participate under neutral flags with no anthems, etc." has been going on with Russia for years now. Nothing about how they conduct themselves ever changes due to these "restrictions", they just go on like all is normal. No, I believe the ISU had to take this stance, and really should have already decided to do more due to the doping mess. Of course there are brave Russians who publicly object to their government's actions, and I also applaud them. But the ISU could hardly say athlete "A" can participate because they've objected to the invasion, but athlete "B" can't because they haven't done so, so it must be all or nothing. (BTW, I'd be interested to learn exactly what Evgenia had to say; she has always been 1 of my favorites, and I also respect her past thoughtful comments on various topics; do you have text?)
What about the potential Ukrainian atheltes being bombed? Things aren't too fair for them either....
From what I gather off Twitter chat, it was small, but people used it to kinda recognize one another, however so did the police. I don’t know, I just have a lot of chat filtering to my Twitter through figure skating fans who are trying to join protests or amplify the message.
The most obvious gesture was by Vetlugin as far as I know.
I remember her on the JGP, and I believe she picked Imagine as her music back then. My eyes are suddenly tingling.
I have to ask: how long have you been watching?? Is 8 years too long? Have you heard of Plushenko, Yagudin, Kulik, Urmanov????? And that's just a few from men's singles. There have been a whole host of Russian medalists in pairs and dance----Russia has kind of owned those disciplines until rather recently!
Here are some comments (sorry if the English translation is not accurate - feel free to correct)
Statement from the Russian Figure Skating Federation
The Russian Figure Skating Federation, like the entire Russian figure skating family, is extremely disappointed with the decision of the Council of the International Skating Union (ISU) to remove Russian athletes from all competitions and events held under the auspices of the ISU.
We believe that this decision is discriminatory and grossly contradicts the basic principles of the international Olympic movement.
Unfortunately, we have to state that this decision is evidence that sport has fully become an instrument of politics and once again demonstrates double standards, inflicting the main blow on athletes.
In this situation, we will consider all possible options for action and take the necessary measures to preserve and protect the interests of our athletes and coaches.
Piseev reacted to the ISU decision not to allow Russian skaters to compete
“I am outraged. They have done worse to themselves, there will be no interest in figure skating without Russian athletes. Ugly decision. This will not contribute to the development of world figure skating and the holding of the championship at the level at which it should be, the interest in competitions will clearly disappear. The championship will no longer be the same as it always was when our Russian athletes participated,” Piseev told Metaratings.ru .
Alexander Zhulin reacted to the ISU decision to suspend Russian skaters
Two-time Olympic medalist in ice dancing Alexander Zhulin reacted to the news about the removal of Russian figure skaters from competitions held under the auspices of the International Skating Union (ISU).
“A big blow to all of us. So far, the situation is dire. I read about football, hockey, figure skating. There seems to be no end in sight to this.
Everyone should understand one thing: there is, for example, a pair of Sinitsin and Katsalapov. If the judges agree to remove them, no matter how they skate, they will remove them. Exactly the same thing is happening now. They just agreed, they don’t see the main thing, they consume the information they want. How long can this go on?
We will tighten our belts, we will go on vacation to Sosnovy Bor, we will train for the championship in Syzran, we will make it much stronger. We will strive to bring the Russian championship to the level of world teams. It will be more interesting to look at Trusova, Valieva and Shcherbakov than at all figure skating without Russian skaters, ”Zhulin said in an interview with the Championship correspondent Arina Lavrova.
Averbukh: “We can only hope that the passions subside and the world will become the world again”
Choreographer and producer Ilya Averbukh commented on the decision of the International Skating Union (ISU) to remove Russian and Belarusian athletes from competitions under its auspices.
“Of course, very sad. We want to support our guys. This generation has had a hard time. And so many competitions had to be missed, and now there is a ban. Now more than ever they need words of support.
I wish them all the strength and resilience to get through this. We can only hope that the passions subside and the world will become the world again, ”said Averbukh in an interview with Sport24 correspondent Anastasia Dragomir.
Navka commented on the decision of the International Skating Union to remove Russia
The 2006 Olympic champion in ice dancing Tatiana Navka reacted to the news that Russian figure skaters were suspended from competitions held under the auspices of the International Skating Union (ISU).
“We all watched what happened at the Olympics. Now, I think, everyone will be happy that there will be no Russian skaters at the World Championships. I am very sorry that all this is happening: I feel sorry for the athletes, the children who are innocent in all politics, have nothing to do with this. Now our athletes are banned from participating in the Paralympic Games. It's just over the edge. I can’t even believe what is happening in the world now, ”Navka said in an interview with the Championship correspondent Arina Lavrova.
I can't keep silent. As an athlete and any sane person, I share the position that sport is out of politics. But in reality we do not see this: on Monday, FIFA and UEFA excluded our teams from all competitions after the IOC called to suspend our athletes in all sports! Today, the International Skating Union (ISU) banned Russians from participating in competitions under its auspices. This is a big mistake!
You can't mix sports with politics, you can't punish athletes and deprive them of the right to perform and compete, as they do now. This is discrimination and a direct gross violation of the rights of athletes. Our skaters have proven that they are the strongest in the world. Interest in figure skating will not be the same without our athletes. The sanctions that are applied to the representatives of Russia in sports are inadequate and politicized.
If our athletes do not participate in international competitions, victories will be depreciated, because the strongest in many sports will stay at home. Most recently, the IOC changed the Olympic motto "Faster, Higher, Stronger", approved back in 1894. Now it sounds: "Faster, higher, stronger, together." Is it just words? Now they want to isolate Russia from world sports, which means that the Olympic values are a thing of the past.
EVERYONE WANTS PEACE AND I WANT IT! I really hope that everything will be over as soon as possible, and the negotiations will bear fruit. I believe in our President! I am not a politician, I am an athlete and my goal is to unite people through the love of sport, overcoming political differences. I'm sure we'll all make it!!!!!
I'm just curious---do you think the competitive worth is generally reduced in post-Olympics' World Championships (other than this year)? Many times, top Olympic medalists and other participants choose to skip that year's Worlds. Do you really think the medalists at those Worlds are less worthy?
I meant singles. I started watching after 2018 Olympics when Uno and Zagitova jointly impressed me. So figure-skating for me exists from 2019 onward sort of. I started with juniors mostly, so Mozalev is my guy, but Aliev was also my fav going into 2020. Yeah, I know there was Plyushenko, but his name causes more negative emotions for me, not for anything he has done, but for annoying search for new Plyushenko that is really detrimental to Team Russian Men. And I despise Yagudin as a person and commentator. Love Russian men in pairs.
Here are some comments (sorry if the English translation is not accurate - feel free to correct)
I can't keep silent. As an athlete and any sane person, I share the position that sport is out of politics. But in reality we do not see this: on Monday, FIFA and UEFA excluded our teams from all competitions after the IOC called to suspend our athletes in all sports! Today, the International Skating Union (ISU) banned Russians from participating in competitions under its auspices. This is a big mistake!
You can't mix sports with politics, you can't punish athletes and deprive them of the right to perform and compete, as they do now. This is discrimination and a direct gross violation of the rights of athletes. Our skaters have proven that they are the strongest in the world. Interest in figure skating will not be the same without our athletes. The sanctions that are applied to the representatives of Russia in sports are inadequate and politicized.
If our athletes do not participate in international competitions, victories will be depreciated, because the strongest in many sports will stay at home. Most recently, the IOC changed the Olympic motto "Faster, Higher, Stronger", approved back in 1894. Now it sounds: "Faster, higher, stronger, together." Is it just words? Now they want to isolate Russia from world sports, which means that the Olympic values are a thing of the past.
EVERYONE WANTS PEACE AND I WANT IT! I really hope that everything will be over as soon as possible, and the negotiations will bear fruit. I believe in our President! I am not a politician, I am an athlete and my goal is to unite people through the love of sport, overcoming political differences. I'm sure we'll all make it!!!!!
Ok, fair is fair if you are that new to skating fandom
Don't really understand what you're saying about Plushenko (who is NOT a favorite of mine, btw), and don't really appreciate what you're saying about Yagudin (see my name . . . ), but I will simply encourage you to do a little research on Russian male skaters, say from 1960 or so onward; I think you'll find plenty champions to appreciate!
I don’t need old champions, I want to cheer for the guys who skate right now, while at the stadium. I have a list of skaters I want to see live and slowly going through it, despite the pandemic. I saw Trusova win gold twice, in SkCan 2019 and in SkAm this year. I saw Sakomoto. I saw Uno, Chen, Zhou and Grassl. I missed Aliev, whom I was going to see in 2020 in Montreal. I was hoping to see Popov or Kutovoy in 2023 here, in Calgary, in JGP, which is not going to happen now, I guess.Ok, fair is fair if you are that new to skating fandom
