Gala Competition "Russian Challenge" 2023

[lariko]

This sounds like it’s going to be Ice Age: WTF. I am buying popcorn. At least Mozalev won’t have to jump. He can just spread eagle for the full duration with a profound stare into the distance on his visage.

 

[Amei]

Gala Competition "Russian Challenge" 2023

Date: 18 March 2023
Time: 17.00 - 21.00
Venue: Megasport arena, Moscow, Russia

Current local time in Moscow, Russia (UTC+3)
https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/russia/moscow​

Regulations (translated)

1. Organisers
The Figure Skating Federation of Russia and JSC Channel One (hereinafter - organisers)
2. Schedule
Date of arrival: 16 March 2023.
Drawing of starting order: 16 March 2023 at 18.00 (Megasport Sports Palace)
Rehearsals: 17 March 2023 (as scheduled)
Dress rehearsal: 18 March 2023, 10.00-13.00
3. Eligibility rules
Any current or former figure skaters born in 2007 (any month) or older, competing in any of the figure skating disciplines (singles, pairs skating, ice dance), who have submitted a written application to participate in the competition, are invited to participate in the competition.
Olympic champions (individual / team event) and world champions are allowed participate in the competition without pre-selection.
Pre-selection was done by The Figure Skating Federation of Russia and Channel One on the basis of a participant's written application based on the originality of the proposed idea of the perfomance.
Based on the results of the pre-selection of applications, 24 participants (singles / teams, hereinafter - participants) were invited to take part. The list of participants was published on 01.03.2023.
4. The list of participants
Following the submission and consideration of a large number of applications, the organisers decided to allow 24 participants to participate in the competition according to the following list:
Olympic and/or World champions (in alphabetical order):
1. Kamila Valieva
2. Ekaterina Bobrova/Dmitri Soloviov
3. Tatiana Volosozhar/Maksim Trankov
4. Alina Zagitova
5. Mark Kondratiuk
6. Evgenia Medvedeva
7. Anastasia Mishina/Alexander Galliamov
8. Viktoria Sinitsina/Nikita Katsalapov
9. Tatiana Totmianina/Maksim Marinin
10. Elizaveta Tuktamysheva
11. Anna Shcherbakova
12. Alexei Yagudin
Athletes selected by application (in alphabetical order):
13. Sofia Akatieva
14. Dmitri Aliev
15. Matvei Vetluign
16. Petr Gumennik
17. Makar Ignatov
18. Vasilisa Kaganovskaya/Valeri Angelopol
19. Mikhail Kolyada
20. Andrei Mozalev
21. Elena Radionova
22. Evgeni Semenenko
23. Evgenia Tarasova/Vladimir Morozov
24. Elizaveta Khudaiberdieva/Egor Bazin
The organisers reserve the right to make changes to the list, including replacing a participant or reducing the number of participants, in the following cases:
1. Discrepancy of a participant's actual program with the submitted application;
2. Failure to comply with the rules for participation, including violations of requirements for confidentiality;
3. Breach of the contract that is concluded with each participant;
4. For medical reasons.
The replacement of a participant can be made from any figure skating discipline (women's singles, men's singles, pairs / ice dance couples).
5. Requirements for participants' programs
Each of the participants will have to perform an original exhibiton created especially for this competition and not performed/announced in any way earlier:
1. Duration of the exhibition: from 2,5 to 3 minutes (additional time is to be agreed with the organisers)
2. Obligatory technical elements: none
3. Restrictions for the use of props/costumes: none (must be provided by the competitor)
4. Artistic light will be provided by the organiser
5. Special effects / projections etc.: in agreement with the organisers
6. Draw
Participants perform in the following order: men's singles, a pair or an ice dance couple, women's singles.
First part
1. Men
2. Pair / ice dance couple
3. Women
4. Men
5. Pair / ice dance couple
6. Women
7. Men
8. Pair / ice dance couple
9. Women
10. Men
11. Pair / ice dance couple
12. Women
Second part
13. Men
14. Pair / ice dance couple
15. Women
16. Men
17. Pair / ice dance couple
18. Women
19. Men
20. Pair / ice dance couple
21. Women
22. Men
23. Pair / ice dance couple
24. Women
Drawing of the starting number of each participant's performance is done inside each discipline (men's singles, a pair or an ice dance couple, women's singles). At the same time, Olympic champions and world champions have priority of drawing lots in later numbers.
In case of a change in the number of participants, the starting numbers are updated accordingly using a similar algorithm.
7. Summing up
Prizes for participants of the competition (1st-3rd place) will be awarded on the basis of scores given by professional jury members, based on their own impressions of participants' performances.
Each jury member gives points for two figure skating components* according to the ISU judging system rules for the current season on a ten-point scale using 0.25 steps according to the following scale:

10	Outstanding
9.00-9.75	Excellent
8.00-8.75	Very good
7.00-7.75	Good
6.00-6.75	Above average
5.00-5.75	Average
4.00-4.75	Fair
3.00-3.75	Weak
2.00-2.75	Poor
1.00-1.75	Very poor
0.00-0.75	Extremely poor

* Components that the organisers considered to reflect the objectives of the competition and the requirements for participants as much as possible:
Composition: the intentional, developed and/or original arrangement of the repertoire of all types of movements into a meaningful whole according to the principles of proportion, unity, space, pattern, and musical structure. In evaluating the Composition, the following must be considered:

• Unity;
• Connections between and within elements;
• Pattern and ice coverage;
• Multidimensional movements and use of space;
• Choreography reflecting musical phrase and form.

Presentation: the demonstration of engagement, commitment and involvement based on an understanding of the music and composition. In evaluating the Presentation, the following must be considered:

• Expressiveness and projection;
• Variety and contrast of energy and of movements;
• Musical sensitivity and timing;
• Unison, oneness and awareness of space (Pair Skating, Ice Dance).

For each component, the highest and lowest values are discarded from all scores of all judges. Based on the remaining points, an average value is calculated for each component. After that, scores for both components are summed up which gives the final score of each participant.
The participants with the highest score for the two components wins.
In the case of a tie between first two participants, both participants are declared winners of the competition. The prize money (the sum of the 1st and 2nd place prize money) is split equally between these participants (i.e. 4 million rubles each). Participant with next highest score takes third place and receives prize money for third place. The same principle applies when points are tied between participants for 2nd and/or 3rd place, or when more than two participants have equal points.
Places from 4 to 24 will not be awarded.
In case a participant is unable to finish their performance (e.g. broken equipment or injury) the performance is not scored.
Jury
1. The jury consists of respected and recognisable professionals from various fields of art (choreography/ballet, music, film, theatre, etc.) as well as media and sports representatives with experience of judging profile contests. When selecting jury members, preference will be given to professionalism over popularity. The jury will not include figure skating judges, as well as athletes, coaches, choreographers and/or other professionals associated with figure skating.
2. The names of the jury members will be disclosed at the start of the competition.
3. Discussion of participants' programs by jury members before or after the performance is not planned.
Audience Award
Additionally, the organisers provide Audience Award based on the results of fan voting.
The voting will take place on VK (Vkontakte) on March 18, 2023 from 17.00 (the start of the competition) until the actual time of awarding points to the last participant in the following three categories:
Women's Singles;
Men's Singles;
Pairs / Ice Dance Couples.
The voting results will be announced immediately after summing up the results of the main part of the competition (1-2-3 places).
Special prize from jury
Each of the jury members, justifying their choice, will be able to award a special prize in their name to a participant who has shown on ice the maximum qualities related to the professional activity of the jury member. However, the special prize cannot be awarded to participants who took 1st, 2nd or 3rd place in the competition.
Prize pool
Main competition
1 - 5 000 000 RUB
2 - 3 000 000 RUB
3 - 1 000 000 RUB
Audience Award
1 000 000 rubles for all three categories (women's singles, men's singles, pairs / ice dance couples). The prize pool is distributed equally among the winners.
Special prize from jury
500 000 rubles for each special prize
8. Other
Each invited participant will be paid a fee of 250 000 rubles which can be used for choreographing, costumes and/or props, as well as covering other expenses related to participation in the event.
Travel to the venue of the competition (if necessary) – at the expense of the sending organisation.
Accommodation (if necessary), meals and transportation from the place of residence to the venue of the competition (if necessary) are provided by the organisers.

Participants

1. Kamila Valieva
2. Ekaterina Bobrova/Dmitri Soloviov
3. Tatiana Volosozhar/Maksim Trankov
4. Alina Zagitova
5. Mark Kondratiuk
6. Evgenia Medvedeva
7. Anastasia Mishina/Alexander Galliamov
8. Viktoria Sinitsina/Nikita Katsalapov
9. Tatiana Totmianina/Maksim Marinin
10. Elizaveta Tuktamysheva
11. Anna Shcherbakova
12. Alexei Yagudin

13. Sofia Akatieva
14. Dmitri Aliev
15. Matvei Vetluign
16. Petr Gumennik
17. Makar Ignatov
18. Vasilisa Kaganovskaya/Valeri Angelopol
19. Mikhail Kolyada
20. Andrei Mozalev
21. Elena Radionova
22. Evgeni Semenenko
23. Evgenia Tarasova/Vladimir Morozov
24. Elizaveta Khudaiberdieva/Egor Bazin

Live Streams: youtube.com (geoblocked in Russia), 1tv, okko (geoblocked outside of Russia)

Here's the direct link to the Youtube livestream, 10am EST in the US

 

[Amei]

Promo video

 

[alexocfp]

Promo video

Holy lord. I am even more hyped up now.
“The past meets the present on equal footing”

Credit to @DoubleBass for calling that they will be doing a past v present angle here.

“This is not fantasy, this is reality”

And there is so much star power, all the had to do was just flash the names that will be competing on the screen. You don’t need anything more to sell it.

 

[alexocfp]

And my mischievous side is thinking of all sorts of scenarios: accusations of judging favoritism, and especially accusations of fan voting improprieties. Fans trying to manipulate the vote, people voting through multiple platforms, vote purchasing, etc.

I’m envisioning Eurovision on ice. Haha

Taking a cue from that show where it’s supposed to be fun and the results don’t matter, but it ends up mattering more than it should to a lot of people, and countries.

I can barely contain my laugher to type this all out.

I’m not going to pretend otherwise, of course seeing some of my favorite lady skaters competing together for the first time ever is the main draw for me, but the underlying issues and potential for off ice fireworks is a subplot that enhances the event tremendously.

You are bringing all these champions who didn’t get where they are by settling for second place, and all these egos and their rabid fan bases in an officially scored event. At the same place at the same time.

There is a lot of gunpowder in the barrel.

And it won’t take much to ignite it. Just a subtle head shake or eye roll, just an innocent word added to a press conference or interview, just a like minded mischievous reporter asking a loaded question, just a slight change in body language.

I’m sure they will keep the cameras and microphones on at all times in the arena.

And I can get even more specific. You are giving Zagitova’s and Medvedeva’s fans voting privileges in a high profile event. What are the odds of that going off smoothly?

Yes. I admit it. I’m bad. But I am not the only one thinking it. I’m sure of that.

 

[AlexBreeze]

Starting Order

1. Makar Ignatov
2. Evgenia Tarasova/Vladimir Morozov
3. Matvei Vetlugin
4. Elena Radionova
5. Andrei Mozalev
6. Vasilisa Kaganovskaia/Valeri Angelopol
7. Elizaveta Tuktamysheva
8. Dmitri Aliev
9. Elizaveta Khudaiberdieva/Egor Bazin
10. Sofia Akatieva
11. Petr Gumennik
(Intermission)
12. Tatiana Volosozhar/Maksim Trankov
13. Mikhail Kolyada
14. Ekaterina Bobrova/Dmitri Soloviov
15. Evgenia Medvedeva
16. Evgeni Semenenko
17. Anastasia Mishina/Alexander Galliamov
18. Anna Shcherbakova
19. Alexei Yagudin
20. Tatiana Totmianina/Maksim Marinin
21. Kamila Valieva
22. Mark Kondratiuk
23. Viktoria Sinitsina/Nikita Katsalapov
24. Alina Zagitova

 

[alexocfp]

Over 400 comments on channel 1’s Telegram post just announcing the draw.

There is definitely increased interest.

And yes, a few did allege that the draw was rigged. Off and running and it’s only Thursday. Haha

 

[icewhite]

Over 400 comments on channel 1’s Telegram post just announcing the draw.

There is definitely increased interest.

And yes, a few did allege that the draw was rigged. Off and running and it’s only Thursday. Haha

The result definitely looks rigged. Not that it matters much, I think, in the end everyone has to do their program no matter when. But the groups don't look totally equal...

 

[AlexBreeze]

The result definitely looks rigged. Not that it matters much, I think, in the end everyone has to do their program no matter when. But the groups don't look totally equal...

The regulations say that Olympic and world champions perform later.

 

[alexocfp]

The result definitely looks rigged. Not that it matters much, I think, in the end everyone has to do their program no matter when. But the groups don't look totally equal...

The regulations say that Olympic and world champions perform later.

Channel 1 released a vignette of the draw so apparently the draw was the real McCoy.

Фигурное катание на Первом ⛸

🥁 Первые кадры из «Мегаспорта», где прошла жеребьевка турнира шоу-программ самых ярких фигуристов России! Уже завтра наши любимые фигуристы проведут тренировки, а в субботу — представят свои новые программы специально для вас! 18 марта, 17:00, «Мегаспорт» • Порядок выхода спортсменов на лед...

t.me

 

[Amei]

The result definitely looks rigged. Not that it matters much, I think, in the end everyone has to do their program no matter when. But the groups don't look totally equal...

With the exception of 3 competitors (not gonna name them) i want to see all the performances, does the order they go in really matter?

 

[icewhite]

With the exception of 3 competitors (not gonna name them) i want to see all the performances, does the order they go in really matter?

No. I just didn't know about the champions rule and thought it was funny how the likely biggest names are almost entirely in the second group.

 

[thatdarncat]

Really looking forward to this, especially excited to see one particular skater. I will make sure my Saturday afternoon is cleared so I can watch.

 

[alexocfp]

Really looking forward to this, especially excited to see one particular skater. I will make sure my Saturday afternoon is cleared so I can watch.

You may have to clear out your Sunday too since it’s a 4 hour broadcast window.

But joking aside, there is something for everyone at this event. And we may never again see an official, sanctioned and scored event with such an accomplished field.

I mean, the ladies event is a parade of national champions, legends and legends in the making. I will lose count trying to sum up the gold, silver, and bronze among them.

This can very well be the greatest field ever assembled for a ladies figure skating competition.

 

[JimR]

I haven't been so excited to see two icons of seperate generations go into battle since Hogan vs The Rock 21 years ago today.

The forced smiles between Kamila and Zagitova will be epic!

 

[LadyB]

I really can't see it as a serious competition, but who cares? To me it's formidable entertainment and I wish I was there in person.So many of my faves past and present and I'm totally excited to see a show with all of them in it. If those with the programme I liked best win - even better!
It's exactly what I need to nurse a Paddy's Day hangover!

 

[lariko]

With the exception of 3 competitors (not gonna name them) i want to see all the performances, does the order they go in really matter?

I am with you. I have never really seen some of the old timers, but who cares about the order? I am really looking forward to tomorrow!

 

[AlexBreeze]

I've seen spoilers of some programs in the news. GOD. This show is something.

 

[icybear]

I dont have high hopes for fair judging. Its kinda funny they put rules on ice coverage, multi directional skating etc knowing full well they wont follow it. Since currently the scores would say Elizaveta has better skating skills than Sofia Akatieva. Also what would skaters like Anna P and Elena R do for elements. I dont believe they can jump anymore. Also who will decide if Evgenia or Alina has better artistry. Personally I think Evgenia is better but Alina seems to be more popular. I think this will just come down to a popularity contest currently.

 

[Amei]

I dont have high hopes for fair judging. Its kinda funny they put rules on ice coverage, multi directional skating etc knowing full well they wont follow it. Since currently the scores would say Elizaveta has better skating skills than Sofia Akatieva. Also what would skaters like Anna P and Elena R do for elements. I dont believe they can jump anymore. Also who will decide if Evgenia or Alina has better artistry. Personally I think Evgenia is better but Alina seems to be more popular. I think this will just come down to a popularity contest currently.

Pogorilaya was replaced by Dmitry Aliev, but she can still jump she posts videos on her social media.

Agree scoring looks like it's going to be a source of drama, hopefully no one goes after the skaters (they aren't the ones judging) and everyone just has a good time. Its an incredible line up of skaters

Here's a video from Pogorilaya of her jumping in the last week