Of all the Olympic team controversies, to me the biggest circus was the French team in 2006, where they had to choose between Samuel Contesti and Frederic Dambier.
Contesti got second (to Joubert) at French Nationals, while Dambier finished fourth. Somehow or other, Dambier was named to the Olympic team anyway. So Contesti went over the French Figure Skating Association’s head and appealed to the French Olympic Committee.
The French Olympic Committee decided to hold a test skate among Dambier, Contesti and Preubert for the open two spots. Contesti won with Preubert second, so Dambier was out.
Then Dambier appeal to the Council of Sports, but his appeal was rejected. However, his appeal in the local civil court system in his hometown was successful and the court instructed the French federation to put Dambier on the team. (He finished 19th.)
Contesti got so mad that he applied to skate for Monaco the next year. But the French federation withheld their permission. There were a lot a charges along the line that Dambier was part of the “in group” surrounding Didier Gailhaguet and his allies, while Contesti and his coach were on the outside of that ruling clique.
hwell:
Actually, the FFSG had voted selection rules for that season. Those selection rules were stating that the base of the selection would be the past 2 years with an accumulation of points. The biggest total would go. Contesti was better than Dambier in 2005-2006 but far behind in 2004-2005. Total : Dambier had more points and was selected. Then Contesti protested, went to the olympic committee who granted him a test. But Dambier still had the rule for him and brought his case to an administrative court (administrative courts are dealing with the Public Law and are a specificity of the french Law). The administrative court considered that what the FFSG's general assembly had voted was the rule, whatever the president or the technical director or the olympic committee had decided. Then Dambier went to Euros and to Turin.
Contesti can complain all he wants against the parisians, Gailhaguet was not at the head of the FFSG when all this happened. The rules had precisely been voted to avoid contestations. The same case happened in Japan where Ando was qualified for the Olympics as she wasn't on Nationals' podium. The rules were similar. But nobody complained, even if it raised some eyebrows.
OTOH, few took the side of Contesti as, the previous year, a similar case had happened to his benefit. Stanick Jeannette had been better at Nationals but the fed judged that only the artistic note had held Stanick up when he was far below on the first note. Contesti got the selection and he didn't complained.
That year, Gailhaguet was still at the head of the FFSG. Jeannette had left Annick to go and skate with Philippe Pélissier who, at the time, was at war with the fed.
It was to avoid this mess that the new president proposed clear rules for 2005-2006. Well, it didn't worked as well as he had wished.
But from what I have read, the Paris axis is now in firm control, to the particular disadvantage of the skaters that train at Annery with Didier Lucine (Ponsero, for instance). Here is an interesting article from Icenetwork about the selection process for the Gotenborg Worlds.
It has nothing to do with "Paris".
It has to do about the story of the FFSG.
Basically, the FFSG has come from a micro-federation to a middle sized one in 40 years, from a period with few rinks and very few experts to a situation where many big and middle size towns have rinks and where the proper skating technique is not taught by 3 knowledgeable coaches.
The people who are currently ruling the FFSG comes from the "initial" period, the 60s. At that time, there was only one coach able to bring the few french skaters to the international level. Her name was Jacqueline
Vaudecrane (the old lady in the middle, the picture was taken in Lyon at Euros). Before WWII, figure skating was a very elite thing in France. After WWII, the infrastructures were destroyed but she managed to create a school at Boulogne-Billancourt, near Paris. And from there, she managed to develop excellent skaters who began to won at the international level. You can credit her with 5 bronze medals at Europeans, 11 silver, 2 gold (+ 4 in ice-dance, 1 bronze, 2 silver and 1 gold) ; 7 bronze medal at Worlds (+ 1 in ice-dance), 4 silver medals (+ 1 in ice dance) and 3 gold ; 3 olympic bronze medal and 1 silver.
She is considered as the Mummy of french figure skating. Thanks to her, figure skating became hugely popular and expanded a lot after 1968 Olympics in Grenoble.
As they had a mummy, her students have seen themselvers as heirs. Their names are Alain Calmat (ex-Sport Minister), Alain Giletti, Patrick Péra, Robert Dureville (current National Director), Jean-Roland Racle (current assistant National Director, coached Abitbol/Bernadis), Gilles Beier (director of the national center of Bercy, member of the national selection committee, in charge of the high level, he coached Laetitia Hubert), Philippe Pélissier (he's the rebel, he comments on Eurosport and participate to development programs, coached many skaters but rarely kept them), Didier Gailhaguet (current president whose ex-wife is coaching in the other national pole in Champigny, coached Simond, Depouilly, Bonaly) and those skaters have heirs of their own heirs : Jean-Christophe Simond (who left Nice, south of France for Poitier to train Joubert), Laurent Depouilly (who is in Bordeaux) who have their own and so on, the more recent heir being of course Brian Joubert who has been counseled by Gailhaguet and Giletti (who sharpens his blades) and trained by Depouilly and Simond.
All those guys have worked all their life to develop figure skating in a country in which skating was absolutly not a tradition and to bring up champions the way Vaudecrane did. Not that they always get along with one another but they have known one another since they were kids at the rink / the summer camps and have a common goal. They've been the keepers of the skating technique when the skating population grew and there wasn't enough good coaches to teach everyone and they spread it through their students. With success. The counterpart is that they tend to consider french figure skating as their property/family. Lucine was not trained by Vaudecrane and is not part of the family. And while he is a great technician and teaches great skating skills (his skaters have probably the best spins or the best spirals in France), he doesn't grow solid competitors. André Brunet (Candeloro's coach) was not completly of the family either. Gwendoline Didier' coach the same.
The thing is the fed is changing and needs to change its policy. Gailhaguet knows that. The number of students those coaches have produced is paying off as they are now the coaches of the younger champions. There is less need to concentrate the good skaters in few centers. And those ex-students are less into "the family" thing / old quarrels. In the years to come, there will be a new generation rising and the FFSG will change, will become less centralized. Then it will let its old quarrels aside but may also lose the good things of the familial side.
For example, as much as Gailhaguet was angry with Brunet or Jeannette, he has named them teamleaders at Euros and Worlds. Gwendoline Didier is angry with the fed, with Candice Didier and Gilles Beyer but Beyer still invites her in the Stars sur Glace tour, along with Candice and with Gailhaguet's blessing.
It's a family. They may be angry, they may be unfair but they still are a family.
The French Ice Sports Federation and its president, the controversial Didier Gailhaguet, are known for Byzantine team selection processes that often appear to favour certain skaters, particularly those who train in Paris or are coached by Gailhaguet's former wife, Dumont....
In September, a group of coaches, skaters and officials -- including Joubert and Préaubert -- wrote a petition protesting results at the annual Paris Masters event. In response, technical specialists refused to officiate at the 2008 nationals, forcing Gailhaguet to fly in qualified officials from other European countries....
This article is stupid.
How was the french skating federation favoring Annick by refusing to reexamine the degradation of Alban's quad ?
And why link Gailhaguet to a decision of the french fed since he was not president then. He was trying to get the presidency back. Some bad press about Ancelet was involved.
I've actually watched that jump image by image and Alban's quad was definitly cheated.
The technical panel (Fernand Fédronic, Laetitia Hubert and Elisabeth Louesdon who are not exactly beginners nor Annick's ennemies) had it right, despite Annick's fury and Brian's support to his friend.
And the results have been rightfully maintained.
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