Go Spain!! My motherland
I root for a Spain in soccer and tennis as this is the country where my parents are from.
So, of course I will also root for anyone from Spain, that is skating. I root for smaller federations, which is why I like and appreciate you as a poster in this forum. You make me automatically root for certain athletes I would normally not notice and I love your analysis of these athletes
Awwww!!! Thank you for your kind words!!! I'm blushing now.
With the way the sport is dominated by skaters from the big Feds, I always like to help raise the profile of lesser known skaters from smaller Feds.
So glad that I was able to put you onto a skater from your ancestral homeland.
I first came across Janire about 7 years ago, when she was a guest skater at the Cyprus Championships. Her Dad is a former footballer, and he was managing a team in Cyprus. And while they were living there, Janire had the same coaching setup as two of the Cypriot skaters that I met and interviewed.
But, after moving back home to the Basque Country, I never heard anything of her again until this season's Spanish Championships. And it was just so good to see her again. She's a lot older now (she's 19), but she has barely changed. Even after all this time, I still managed to recognise her as soon as I saw her.
Believe it or not, this will be her first time competing at Junior level on the international stage. The last time she competed internationally, it was back in 2018, when she was at Basic Novice A level. And the irony is that this will probably be her only international competition at Junior level, because she ages out of Juniors in a few weeks time.
So, it's frustrating that this event is behind the paywall. But, I really hope some kind soul out there uploads Janire's programme somewhere that we can watch it for free.
CaroLiza_fan