Ilinykh & Katsalapov switch coaches | Page 6 | Golden Skate

Ilinykh & Katsalapov switch coaches

KKonas

Medalist
Joined
Oct 31, 2009
In many ways, B&A as a team were caught between two different sports: Ice Dancing pre COP and Ice Dancing post COP.

B&A were put together as a team in the pre-COP age, when Tanith's height and long legs were a huge advantage, but also when posture, toe point, extension, and diva attitude were (IMO excessively) rewarded. Tanith was criticized in that era's esthetic for a limited range of expression (She had two: O face, and Let's Get Loud I'm having fun face) and posture and toe point issues, and what the Z&S skaters were always criticized for: having worse CD's than OD's or FD's.

Post COP, and especially after the extra lifts, and more/tougher criteria for +3 GOE and level 4, were added to the rules, B&A suffered. Tanith's height and leg length were harder on Ben's back, perhaps, too. Certainly, he developed back problems. They were unable to do the range of lifts that D&W and V&M were able to do. And although their CD's improved under Linichuk, their OD and FD dropped.

What Linichuk did for them was work on their preCOP problems, but those pluses were not significantly rewarded post COP, accounting mostly for some tenths in the PCS department.

Oddly, they probably should have stayed in this year, because the precision they acquired in the Golden Waltz would have been rewarded in the SD, I suspect. And they made a lovely waltz couple. And Linichuk gave P&G a really nice waltz-this is something she definitely knows how to do.

It is funny that it took abolishing the CD's to get Z&S teams to learn how to do at least 8 points of the Golden Waltz exactly as described :laugh:

Your analysis on B&A pretty much spot on. I interviewed them prior to OWG and Belbin said the most difficult aspect of the new IJS dance rules was the emphasis on complicated lifts. This was something they really never developed during their earlier career - working instead on interesting footwork. Ben developed back problems as a result of working on new lifts so it seemed clear that 2010 would likely be their last competitive season.
 
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let`s talk

Match Penalty
Joined
Sep 10, 2009
let's talk, what is it that bugs you about Cara's point. You bolded defection, but that's been widely reported: Shpilband did defect from the Soviet Union. I don't see how that's "politics flavored with chauvinism."
Oh, please... who cares who immigrated where. No, it was her comment that pro-Russia means nationalistic and closed-minded. Lovely to hear it from someone who is "broad-minded" enough that still doesn't know that the Soviet Union and Russia are not synonyms, and in fact never were, unless in some poorly-educated texbooks.
let's talk, would CARA's statement bother you as much, if it were made more clear that Shpilband defected from the USSR, and that the attributes CARA assigned to the USSR apply to that long gone country, not to the Russia of today?
Unlikely. The whole rant about the USSR being nationalistic and close-minded and the US being the opposite at the time of Cold War or right after is funny enough to bother to comment. Only a truly ignorant nationalist wouldn't know that both countries were full of propagandistic ****
 
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let`s talk

Match Penalty
Joined
Sep 10, 2009
Elena is currently exercising her creating writing on formspring.me. There she claims that the decision to switch coaches was only her and Nikita's, and neither the Federation nor Tarasova had anything to do with that.
On a sidenote, her replies to people there is a textbook of a flame war sauced with teen rudeness. I will research her masterpieces later for my future online applications. :laugh:
 

Ptichka

Forum translator
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
The famous journalist Elena Vaitsekhovskaya published a bit on this in her blog. Essentially, she said she wouldn't be publishing an interview with Zhulin and Katsalapov because it's mainly just dirt that's already been rehashed. She then, however, has this piece which I though it worthwhile to translate:

"I don't really blame Lena and Nikita. Throughout our whole phone interview three days ago where he voiced all things that have since been published in several places, I was bothered by something else. I was bothered by Nikita's last sentence. As I was wrapping up, I told him that it seems to be inherently wrong when the coach finds out about his student's training changes not from the athletes but from journalists or the newspaper. I though Nikita was a bit embarrassed. He then said, "You see, I agree it's not really proper. But the federation told us not to worry about it. They said we should just train and not think about anything else. They said the federation would inform Zhulin of everything."

Cool, right? Adults have magnanimously taken the heavy decision of the little ones' shoulders. Almost... Now, though, it's the latter who're getting all the dirt thrown at them. And what? They do deserve it, right?"
 

KKonas

Medalist
Joined
Oct 31, 2009
Expectations for I&K were very high, perhaps unjustly so high that even I&K believed in their PR - always a costly error. I don't think anyone outside of the training situation can attribute blame for their somewhat unexciting senior debut. But airing discontent in the media is not the best way to improve anyone's image. So my advice to I&K is to take stock of their strengths and work on their weaknesses - and be better prepared for next season.
 

kensal

Rinkside
Joined
Apr 28, 2011
One can't compare the US training conditions to those in Russia. Most Russian skaters depend on Federation support in EVERYTHING. Hence, Russian athletes has very little choice but abide to what they are being told. Especially elite athletes. While I don't particularly like that, I also don't think the Federation would like the athletes to fail. And while athletes may not like it, it may be the best option for them to follow the lead, especially when you are young 16 y.o kid.
 

silverlake22

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2009
One can't compare the US training conditions to those in Russia. Most Russian skaters depend on Federation support in EVERYTHING. Hence, Russian athletes has very little choice but abide to what they are being told. Especially elite athletes. While I don't particularly like that, I also don't think the Federation would like the athletes to fail. And while athletes may not like it, it may be the best option for them to follow the lead, especially when you are young 16 y.o kid.

Elena is 17 and Nikita will be 20 in a few weeks, so they aren't THAT young, really. And it seems like they have some issues with the training situation in Russia.
 

dorispulaski

Wicked Yankee Girl
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Country
United-States
Didn't Elena spend some time with S&Z before she went back to Russia & teamed up with Nikita? If so, perhaps she has expectations of her Russian coaches & support team based on what Team S&Z were doing that are not realistic?
 

colleen o'neill

Medalist
Joined
Nov 3, 2006
Oh me nerves..i'm here between periods. My hockey team is going into overtime:eek:

Doris - That's an interesting thought. She was in Canton. Somewhere, I read it was for 2 yrs...but I don't know if that can possibly be right.
 

ImaginaryPogue

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 3, 2009
Somewhere, colleen? Why, it was on Golden Skate itself.

But before the 2014 Olympic Games, a lot of other competitions will come. The dancers both love competing and traveling to competitions all over the world and they can't wait to meet Olympic Champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir and Olympic silver medalists Meryl Davis and Charlie White. Elena Ilinykh actually knows these two teams quite well as she has trained in Marina Zueva's and Igor Shpilband's group for about two years. "I adore them. They are great - as athletes as well as as people," she pointed out. Ilinykh spent her time in Shpilband's camp alone without Katsalapov as the two had separated at this time.

..also, I really hope your hockey team isn't the San Jose Sharks :D
 

colleen o'neill

Medalist
Joined
Nov 3, 2006
:biggrin:If my team had been the Sharks, it wouldn't have been safe to step outdoors in my neighbourhood ! That was a nail biter ,but WOO HOO ! Go, 'Nucks, go ! :biggrin:

So my I/K information came from an impeccable source , after all.;)
 
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