Russian National Team for 2015-16

Sandpiper · Jun 1, 2015

http://fsrussia.ru/news/1080-sostav-sbornoj-rossii-po-figurnomu-kataniyu-na-sezon-2015-2016.html

Pairs: Astakhova/Rogonov, Bazarova/Deputat, Volosozhar/Trankov, Vygalova/Zakroev, Davankova/Enbert, Zabiyako/Larionov, Kavaguti/Smirnov, Solovyova/Kudryavtsev, Stolbova/Klimov, Tarasova/Morozov, Fedorova/Miroshkin

Men: Voronov, Gachinski, Gorshkov, Kvitelashvili, Kovtun, Kurbanov, Lazukin, Menshov, Pitkeev, Plushenko, Shulepov

Women: Artemieva, Leonova, Lipnitskaya, Medvedeva, Pogorilaya, Radionova, Sotnikova, Tuktamysheva

Ice Dance: Bobrova/Soloviev, Ilinykh/Zhiganshin, Kosygin/Moroshkin, Monko/Khaliavin, Sinitsina/Katsalapov, Sosnitskaia/Golovishnikov, Stepanova/Bukin, Yanovskaya/Mozgov

--
There has been scattered discussion about this, so I thought I'd bring it together. This is (likely) not anything final, considering some of the listed pairs teams are no longer together. However, some of the choices still look odd (no Sakhanovich, no Petrov, but including a bunch of lackluster men).

Krunchii · Jun 1, 2015

Hmm maybe Serafima and Sasha are staying back in juniors? Everyone on the lists seem to be seniors. If that's true I feel bad for Serafima, I felt like she wanted to go senior. If I remember last year the rosters had less names and seemed much more exclusive but this year they've included a lot of names. In Canada it's only the top 5 from Nationals, not sure what the Russian criteria is.

Pairs are absolutely stacked; V/T, K/S, S/K and so many budding pairs. Not sure how B/S will do next season but I feel like them and I/Z will probably be the ones to go Worlds.

silverfoxes · Jun 1, 2015

At the link it says "The Executive Committee of Federation of figure skating in Russia in accordance with the recommendations of the Board of coaching FFKKR approved the composition of candidates for the Russian team for the season 2015-2016, approved by the Ministry of Sports of Russia." So I think these are just the candidates and not the final list, no? And doesn't it have to do mostly with funding (somewhat like the team envelopes in the US)?

Here is the team from last season. Liza wasn't even on the national team - she was in the reserve team. And I'm sure a few of those guys like Shulepov, Kurbanov, etc. will be in the reserve as well.

http://fsrussia.ru/sbornaya.html#2014-2015

Amei · Jun 1, 2015

Krunchii said:
Hmm maybe Serafima and Sasha are staying back in juniors? Everyone on the lists seem to be seniors. If that's true I feel bad for Serafima, I felt like she wanted to go senior. If I remember last year the rosters had less names and seemed much more exclusive but this year they've included a lot of names. In Canada it's only the top 5 from Nationals, not sure what the Russian criteria is.

Pairs are absolutely stacked; V/T, K/S, S/K and so many budding pairs. Not sure how B/S will do next season but I feel like them and I/Z will probably be the ones to go Worlds.

Well weren't some people posting on here that the Fed wanted Serafima to stay in Jrs, maybe they did not put her on the team to force her hand to stay in Jrs

Mony · Jun 1, 2015

gallavich said:
At the link it says "The Executive Committee of Federation of figure skating in Russia in accordance with the recommendations of the Board of coaching FFKKR approved the composition of candidates for the Russian team for the season 2015-2016, approved by the Ministry of Sports of Russia." So I think these are just the candidates and not the final list, no? And doesn't it have to do mostly with funding (somewhat like the team envelopes in the US)?

Here is the team from last season. Liza wasn't even on the national team - she was in the reserve team. And I'm sure a few of those guys like Shulepov, Kurbanov, etc. will be in the reserve as well.

http://fsrussia.ru/sbornaya.html#2014-2015

I agree I think it is just the candidates, not the final list. I think it just has to do with the funding. Senior team gets more funding than juniors etc. I do think that Serafima could benefit from staying in juniors one last year.

Sandpiper · Jun 1, 2015

gallavich said:
At the link it says "The Executive Committee of Federation of figure skating in Russia in accordance with the recommendations of the Board of coaching FFKKR approved the composition of candidates for the Russian team for the season 2015-2016, approved by the Ministry of Sports of Russia." So I think these are just the candidates and not the final list, no? And doesn't it have to do mostly with funding (somewhat like the team envelopes in the US)?

Here is the team from last season. Liza wasn't even on the national team - she was in the reserve team. And I'm sure a few of those guys like Shulepov, Kurbanov, etc. will be in the reserve as well.

http://fsrussia.ru/sbornaya.html#2014-2015

I know it's not final (I noted this at the bottom of the post). But going by the list from last year... who gets more funding, reserve team or juniors team? Because something is seriously messed up if Lazukin, Kurbanov, ect. receive more funding than Petrov, or if Artemieva receives more funding than Sakhanovich.

The Finn · Jun 1, 2015

Sandpiper said:
Pairs:Vygalova/Zakroev, Davankova/Enbert, Zabiyako/Larionov

These pairs have split up. Next season Zabijako will skate with Enbert.

silverfoxes · Jun 2, 2015

Sandpiper said:
I know it's not final (I noted this at the bottom of the post). But going by the list from last year... who gets more funding, reserve team or juniors team? Because something is seriously messed up if Lazukin, Kurbanov, ect. receive more funding than Petrov, or if Artemieva receives more funding than Sakhanovich.

AFAIK the funding doesn't go directly to the individual skaters anyway. It goes to their training group or school (not 100% sure how it works, hopefully one of our Russian posters can clarify). I've no idea how much funding goes to each category, but I certainly hope Rukavitsin's group does get a decent amount. Lack of funding = skaters leaving for greener pastures. Then you have a smaller pool of talent which means less funding...seems like a vicious circle.

Mishin has more successful skaters already with Liza & Plushy, so I would imagine his group might receive more funding in any case.

uhh · Jun 2, 2015

The rule I've heard for full national team funding status is top seniors 5 at nationals, plus the top junior in each discipline. Below that, it's discretionary about who gets reserve team funding - new teams like I/Z last year, or promising juniors turning senior & skaters who had poor seasons previously like Liza. So from this list, S/K, A/R & T/M will be on the full team, and someone like Solovyova/Kudryavtsev will be being considered for reserve team funding.

Obviously there is some room for change/discretion - so this year B/S will still be on the national team based on previous results even though they weren't at nationals last year, and they are probably helped by the fact that the 5th place finishers at Nationals (Zahorski/Guerriero) are not eligible to represent Russia, so there's no point in giving them funding.

It will be interesting to see what band they put Lipnitskaya in - based on precedent & what they did for Liza, she'd only be on the reserve team, but she's also one of the biggest names.

tulosai · Jun 2, 2015

uhh said:
It will be interesting to see what band they put Lipnitskaya in - based on precedent & what they did for Liza, she'd only be on the reserve team, but she's also one of the biggest names.

It will probably depend on how she's skating. The Russian fed actually does watch and monitor skaters closely, unlike some countries. Additionally comparing her last season to Liza's is not a perfect comparison- even 'melting down' she had 2 GP medals and made the GP final.

samkrut@mail.ru · Jun 2, 2015

Amei said:
Well weren't some people posting on here that the Fed wanted Serafima to stay in Jrs, maybe they did not put her on the team to force her hand to stay in Jrs

Even without Serafima the line-up in ladies looks gorgeous and scary for competitors (well, beside Mao who will still have hardly an easy walk next season).

Krunchii · Jun 2, 2015

Amei said:
Well weren't some people posting on here that the Fed wanted Serafima to stay in Jrs, maybe they did not put her on the team to force her hand to stay in Jrs

I don't think they should force her to stay in juniors if she doesn't want to... she's had a couple of hiccups but she's done well the past 2 years on the Junior circuit, they've got competitive Junior girls in Sotskova, Proklova, Tsurkaya and maybe I'm even missing some names.

uhh said:
The rule I've heard for full national team funding status is top seniors 5 at nationals, plus the top junior in each discipline. Below that, it's discretionary about who gets reserve team funding - new teams like I/Z last year, or promising juniors turning senior & skaters who had poor seasons previously like Liza. So from this list, S/K, A/R & T/M will be on the full team, and someone like Solovyova/Kudryavtsev will be being considered for reserve team funding.

Obviously there is some room for change/discretion - so this year B/S will still be on the national team based on previous results even though they weren't at nationals last year, and they are probably helped by the fact that the 5th place finishers at Nationals (Zahorski/Guerriero) are not eligible to represent Russia, so there's no point in giving them funding.

It will be interesting to see what band they put Lipnitskaya in - based on precedent & what they did for Liza, she'd only be on the reserve team, but she's also one of the biggest names.

I'm guessing if B/S get National team status then V/T would get it too as a comeback couple

And I was a bit relieved to see that Yulia is on the list but since it's not final and I guess there will be a lot of moving around, she did make the GPF and consistently skate clean SPs every time but there are several names on there who did better than her last season so the Fed might put her in the reserve team

CanadianSkaterGuy · Jun 2, 2015

I don't think there's any question about Lip having made the list. She had an awful Russian nationals, but did enough for 2 GP silvers and an appearance at the GPF (even with bad skates). Pairs is indeed very stacked. With V/T, S/K, T/M, A/R and K/S, it'll be interesting to see who gets to go to Worlds/Euros -- those are all top 10 Worlds teams.

Sandpiper · Jun 2, 2015

gallavich said:
AFAIK the funding doesn't go directly to the individual skaters anyway. It goes to their training group or school (not 100% sure how it works, hopefully one of our Russian posters can clarify). I've no idea how much funding goes to each category, but I certainly hope Rukavitsin's group does get a decent amount. Lack of funding = skaters leaving for greener pastures. Then you have a smaller pool of talent which means less funding...seems like a vicious circle.

Mishin has more successful skaters already with Liza & Plushy, so I would imagine his group might receive more funding in any case.

If you're right, I'm feeling better for Sasha, since Mishin's group is probably fine. However, I'm a little worried for Sima. She left Eteri's group (which probably has good funding) for her old coach... who she left last year because of the lack of funding. She was top 5 at senior nationals, and still isn't included in this group.

The list as a whole seems a disservice for the girls. :think: They have so many wonderful girls, yet so few are included. While on the guys' side, a seemingly random bunch of people are there. Well, let it never be said that Russia doesn't care about men's figure skating.

samkrut@mail.ru · Jun 2, 2015

Krunchii said:
I don't think they should force her to stay in juniors if she doesn't want to... she's had a couple of hiccups but she's done well the past 2 years on the Junior circuit, they've got competitive Junior girls in Sotskova, Proklova, Tsurkaya and maybe I'm even missing some names.

But it is hard to argue that the senior list is more crowded. If everyone shows up Sima will be behind 5 stronger girls fighting with Anna for the 6th spot (I presume that Leonova is done). If the Fed wants to give Pogo another chance they will try to push her to 2 GP events. Then there are 6 Russians with 2 events and Sima may be out of GP competition let alone Europe and World's teams. Why would she need such an entry to the senior world? It makes much more sense to stay junior where she can win both JGP and World. It's even more true that the next season she might have puberty issues.

Without Sima the junior line-up does not look that formidable vs. Wakaba. Sima is the only one who beat her now and then. I doubt that the Russian FED is willing to risk to not get the World gold in junior ladies.

anyanka · Jun 2, 2015

Sounds about right. Even for those who were MIA last season (Plushy, Adel, Katya & Dima), they were gold medalists from Sochi and would naturally be included. My question though is that I thought Plushy formally retired already?

As for who actually makes the team, that's another story. I can see Plushy making the squad again, even if it takes a closed-door test skate to do it. (Personally, despite the controversy, I really enjoy seeing him compete.) If Adel is still injured or is told not to attempt the difficult elements she wants, she may become the Russian answer to Evan Lysacek. Both hadn't competed after becoming Olympic champion, placed second on DWTS, but haven't formally retired yet.

RemyRose · Jun 2, 2015

Sandpiper said:
If you're right, I'm feeling better for Sasha, since Mishin's group is probably fine. However, I'm a little worried for Sima. She left Eteri's group (which probably has good funding) for her old coach... who she left last year because of the lack of funding. She was top 5 at senior nationals, and still isn't included in this group.

The list as a whole seems a disservice for the girls. :think: They have so many wonderful girls, yet so few are included. While on the guys' side, a seemingly random bunch of people are there. Well, let it never be said that Russia doesn't care about men's figure skating.

Sima is not in this group because she will apparently remain in juniors. So it makes since to not include her on this list. Same with Proklova, Sotskova, and Petrov. This is the senior list for full funding or reserve. A list for the junior team with full funding/reserve will come out later. So what's the disservice? Sima will get her support as a member of the junior team.

Krunchii · Jun 2, 2015

[email protected] said:
But it is hard to argue that the senior list is more crowded. If everyone shows up Sima will be behind 5 stronger girls fighting with Anna for the 6th spot (I presume that Leonova is done). If the Fed wants to give Pogo another chance they will try to push her to 2 GP events. Then there are 6 Russians with 2 events and Sima may be out of GP competition let alone Europe and World's teams. Why would she need such an entry to the senior world? It makes much more sense to stay junior where she can win both JGP and World. It's even more true that the next season she might have puberty issues.

Without Sima the junior line-up does not look that formidable vs. Wakaba. Sima is the only one who beat her now and then. I doubt that the Russian FED is willing to risk to not get the World gold in junior ladies.

Alena is coming back but she's very unlikely to beat Sima at anything, I guessed that Sima would go to the senior GP at least like Elena did in 2013-2014 and then would be probably be the Fed's first pick for the Junior World team since there would be no space for her on the Senior team. If she is the Junior World Champion would that increase her chance of getting 2 GP spots next year as it gets more crowded? Someone like Sotskova would probably move up too.

silverlake22 · Jun 2, 2015

Sima might be competing on the senior GP still. The National Team determines funding, not necessarily the level you compete at. For example, Liza and Adelina were on the senior team before they were even old enough to compete in juniors internationally, meanwhile in the 2013-2014 season, Anna P was only named to the junior national team, yet she competed on the senior GP (and Worlds) that season. It might be that Sima will compete on the senior GP, but was not named onto the senior national team because you need to medal at senior nationals and/or win any of the big junior competitions (JGPF, JW) in order to qualify. I think there is space in seniors for her to compete. Technically speaking, only Liza, Elena, and Adelina (as a comeback skater) have 2 GP invites secured - the others: Evgenia, Anna, Julia, Alena have only secured themselves 1 GP invite with certainty. Of course, it is quite likely all these ladies will get 2 GP invites each, but with Sotskova's staying junior confirmed and the number of retirements among the international field this season, I do think there is room for Sima on the senior GP.

silverfoxes · Jun 2, 2015

Sandpiper said:
The list as a whole seems a disservice for the girls. :think: They have so many wonderful girls, yet so few are included. While on the guys' side, a seemingly random bunch of people are there. Well, let it never be said that Russia doesn't care about men's figure skating.

It could be that they are trying to strengthen their reserve of men after neglecting them somewhat in favor of the ladies for the past several years. Now they have a surplus of competitive ladies, some "old" men who we know the Fed doesn't particularly like (and may not have many years left in them), and a bunch of younger guys who are for the most part, unstable.

Russian National Team for 2015-16

Sandpiper

Krunchii

silverfoxes

Amei

Mony

Sandpiper

The Finn

silverfoxes

uhh

tulosai

[email protected]

Medalist

Krunchii

CanadianSkaterGuy

Sandpiper

[email protected]

Medalist

anyanka

RemyRose

YOLO

Krunchii

silverlake22

silverfoxes

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