2016-17 State of Russian Ladies skating

atsumiri said:

i would put Anna over Kaetlyn. exapt of WC. She was way more stable.

Anna - CoR - 1st - 215.21
Kaetlyn - SC - 2nd - 206.45

Anna - NHK - 1st - 210.86
Kaetlyn - CoC - 2nd - 196.00

Anna - GPF - 3rd - 216.47
Kaetlyn - GPF - 4th - 212.45

Anna - EC - 2nd - 211.39
Kaetlyn - FCC - - 4th - 184.17

Kaetlyn - WC - 2nd - 218.13
Anna - WC - 13th - 183.37

Anna was way more stable. Even their 184 and 183 Anna's from WC, and Kaetlyn's from FCC are comparable... all other cases Anna won.

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Hmmm atsumiri, ...I don't remember Kaetlyn ever competing at CoR, EC or NHK, this season. Difficult to compare scores from comps. where both have not competed, esp. when one was the reigning World Bronze medalist, versus a skater who was not even ranked in the Top 10, this season. "The truth is", in head to head comps, Osmond wins this battle (by the way you forgot to include Finlandia in your stats, an obvious omission, a revisionist history or an inconvenient truth? :sarcasm. As others have already mentioned, Kaetlyn's spins are better, and IMO her jumping/performance abilities are both far superior to Anna's.

Osmond4gold said:

Hmmm atsumiri, ...I don't remember Kaetlyn ever competing at CoR, EC or NHK, this season. Difficult to compare scores from comps. where both have not competed, esp. when one was the reigning World Bronze medalist, versus a skater who was not even ranked in the Top 10, this season. "The truth" is in head to head comps, with Osmond winning this battle. As others have already mentioned, Kaetlyn's spins are better, and IMO her jumping/performance abilities are both superior to Anna's.

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you don't even need to compare 'the scores'... It's easy to see "how they performed". Kaetlyn bombed more jumps and programs than Anna. Anna had one really bad skate. JUST ONE FS!
When Kaetlyn .. hmm.... way more. just IMO. And observation.
I could agree about spins... But jumping or performance or SS abilities? no.... For me, Anna's performance and her SP/FS are superior Kaetlyn's.
Both of them, not my cup of tea btw.
just IMO

Objectively, Miss Osmond has better quality in skating than Miss Pogorilaya.
Miss Osmond has a flutz, but Miss Pogorilaya has a Lip.
Miss Osmond has better flow out of her jumps.
Miss Pogorilaya has better consistency overall.

what is it going to be??? ideas?
Alina's SP - https://www.instagram.com/p/BTb_ss0gaxB/?taken-by=azagitova

Osmond4gold said:

IMHO, yes, we can say that Kaetlyn is a better skater, given the two went head to head 3 times in comps this year, with Kaetlyn besting Anna, 2/3 times, (including winning 2/3 of the SP's and the LP's). For me the major difference is, even when they falter, Kaetlyn never lets an error define the program and completes her performances as if nothing happened, where Anna tends to collapse and gives up. The ability to compete irrespective of an error (Janet Lynn), is the mark of a true champion.

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To be honest I would say Anna was overall more solid this season.

Worlds was her only poor FS of the main season and it was pretty comparable to what Kaetlyn put out at 4CCs, it just seems like a bigger deal because it happened at Worlds at resulted in a much bigger placement drop. Her score at Worlds would have put her 6th at Euros and 5th at 4CCs, for example.

Kaetlyn peaked at Worlds whereas Anna seemed to peak early in the season, maybe around the time of GPF. So yes at Worlds, Kaetlyn was more impressive than Anna, but all season the FS had been shaky for Kaetlyn, whereas Anna had been very solid in the FS until Worlds.

I would agree that Kaetlyn was the better SP skater of the two all season.

Overall I think in a head to head Anna and Kaetlyn are a good match up, by the way. They have some similar qualities and weaknesses and are roughly comparable when it comes to quality. I think they are both great!

atsumiri said:

have no idea who she is.
Eva Novakova's 3A (with harness)

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its always like this in russian figure skating
at first you like - "i have no idea who she is"
but then - "how the f**k she wins everything"

puremagic said:

Even Alexei Yagudin is shocked! Because he did 4T-3T-2Lo. I saw he's comment with many dots in the end

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yep he wrote something like "its f**cking insane"

silverfoxes said:

Why does one have to be "better" than the other? Can't they both be appreciated equally?

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We appreciate equally but they give out medals after all so...

Reminds me of that awkward ending pose of her Don Quixote that she almost falls out of every time.
I'm a little mad that Zagi is getting cheap in-house choreography for the Olympic season. She always seems like someone's poor cousin who gets all the leftovers.

noidont said:

Reminds me of that awkward ending pose of her Don Quixote that she almost falls out of every time.
I'm a little mad that Zagi is getting cheap in-house choreography for the Olympic season. She always seems like someone's poor cousin who gets all the leftovers.

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What do you mean "always seems like"...she's only competed internationally for one season and in fact, her family is not wealthy, and she may not have sponsors yet.

Daniil is establishing himself as a choreographer and considering how much people moan about Evgenia using a big name like Averbukh, I would not assume he will produce something worse. Who cares if the choreographer is "in-house" - I think there are benefits to doing it that way. He knows her well & can fit the program to her personally rather than having an Averbukh with his grandiose themes that must be executed just to his specifications.

silverfoxes said:

What do you mean "always seems like"...she's only competed internationally for one season and in fact, her family is not wealthy, and she may not have sponsors yet.

Daniil is establishing himself as a choreographer and considering how much people moan about Evgenia using a big name like Averbukh, I would not assume he will produce something worse. Who cares if the choreographer is "in-house" - I think there are benefits to doing it that way. He knows her well & can fit the program to her personally rather than having an Averbukh with his grandiose themes that must be executed just to his specifications.

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agree. And about Evgenia, Eteri noted that not only Averbukh is working on choreography for her programs next season but they have a big team including Averbukh, Daniil and her.. And Averbukh is just one of the team.

attempting to translate this article

- Evgenia, maybe it's time for you to reveal to Maxim Kovtun, who failed at the team world championship, the secret of how not to worry about competitions?
- Medvedeva: I'm so immersed in myself before the performances that sometimes I do not even notice that people are talking to me, and I do not hear anything around me at all. Various factors help me in this. I feel the support of our team, our federation, our coaches. For me, this is certainly important, even though we have an individual sport. In the process of preparation I am supported by a lot of people, for which I am very grateful.

- Are the girls whipping you up, the ones who are training next to you on the ice and stamping the quadruple jumps? Like Anna Shcherbakova and Alexandra Trusova.
- Tutberidze: Let them first perform that at the competitions, and then we will discuss this.

- It seemed that Evgenia Medvedeva was the only one from the Russian participants of the World Team Championship who just couldn't miss.
- Tutberidze: As for the team tournament, it probably was hard for the guys to prepare for it as a serious tournament, but Zhenya and I approached it like this: I believe in the base, which is laid in training. If you approach the start as a serious, and not as a holiday, it will work out. And if you allow yourself to relax even for a week, it will immediately affect the outcome.

- Will Medvedeva's choreographers change next season?
- Tutberidze: We have not only Ilya (Averbuch) who develops programs. It would be wrong to say so. In fact, we have a large team. We are satisfied of how it goes now. Last year, a free program was set up, which Alexander Fyodorovich (Kogan), General Director of FFKKR, and Alexander Georgievich (Kogan), the president of FFKKR, reviewed. But then there was a decision to change it. And we, together with Ilya, changed the program. We can not say that we have only one choreographer. He is one of the team members who works on programs, on the image, with Zhenya. I'm not going to fire anyone from this team, including myself. If something does not work, we'll think about adding someone else. And if everything goes its own way, then ... We have eyes and ears after all.

- Is it worth waiting for the classics in the Olympic season?
- Tutberidze: Well, we will see. Something can work from this direction. The question is what the audience is waiting for. And spectators are also the judges.

- Readers of "R-Sport" twitter are asking: will Sergey Dudakov and Daniil Gleichenhaus stay in the coaching team?
- Tutberidze: What do you mean "stay"? It's like a table with three legs - me, Sergey Victorovich, Daniil Markovich. You can not remove any of the legs.
- Medvedeva: It's like a family.

- Why does Sergei Viktorovich so rarely talk to the press?
- Tutberidze: He's just shy. There is always someone shy.

- Parents with children ask in social networks: how they can see your training?
- Tutberidze: Just come to the rink. No one has ever been denied in this.

- Zhenya, you somehow said that you will reread the entire grandmother's library. At what stage is this process now?
- Medvedeva: It is now at the textbooks stage, because this year I have exams. Before the Worlds, I stopped my studies a bit and completely devoted myself to sports, and now I need to catch up with the school curriculum. Therefore, I'm reading textbooks now.
- Tutberidze: ... not departing from the sport.
- Medvedeva: Of course, without departing from the sport, because now it is the off-season, and i will have a lot to learn.

- Eteri Georgievna, what helped you, when you could not find a job after returning from America?
- Tutberidze: Love of figure skating. If you really want it, you will get it eventually.

- Evgenia said more than once that she plans to learn ultra-c elements.
- Tutberidze: We are training in this direction, but there is no point to talk about jumps that have not been performed yet at the official competitions. Little girls perform them in training - well, that's good. And we did it (posted a video with quads of Anna Shcherbakova and Alexandra Trusova) just to please them.

- Zhenya, we all know about your love for Japanese culture and cuisine. But the Olympics will be in Korea. Do you want to change the menu from Japanese to Korean? Maybe you started looking for some kind of Korean theme for the music in the program?
- Tutberidze: If you mean "Sailor Moon", then this is not our idea. I still haven't seen this cartoon. This is Zhenya's favorite cartoon, her idol, she has chosen the music. If she finds some Korean cartoon, well, no problem.
- Medvedeva: Korean menu is too spicy for me, so I'm gonna stick with the white rice. (she probably said it ambiguously )

- Eteri Georgievna, what do you think about backloading, and does it affect the composition of the program negatively?
- Tutberidze: First, everything depends on the music itself. Sometimes it helps to create a composition, and if the music amplifies and accents are made when the jumps come, why not? But if during the first two minutes of the program it becomes boring, and then skating begins and so on ... There must be a complex.

- Evgenia, would you like to perform together with Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu in one of the shows?
- Medvedeva: I am inspired by the skating of Yuzuru Hanyu. I would be glad to perform with him on the Fantasy on Ice show, if the organizers allow. But I can only go to the last show (from this series), because I have exams.

- Evgenia, we have a question from social networks about whether the discomfort is created because of the competition in the group between you and Alina Zagitova?
- Medvedeva: For me, competition is always good, to see how my rivals work, my future rivals. I understand what kind of bar you need to set for yourself. I know that I still have a lot to learn. Competition does not irritate me, but it spurs me.

- Eteri Georgievna, does Evgenia plan to perform in team competitions at the 2018 Olympic Games?
- Tutberidze: You should ask federation about this, not me.

- But your opinion will be asked.
- Tutberidze: First, you have to be in a good shape. It is important to come up in the good shape in order to qualify for the team tournament. I guess that schedule will be the same as at the last Olympics, and girls will have more than enough time to recover (between team competitions and tournament in women's single skating). This is a responsible tournament for the team and girls, but this is not up to us to decide. But we are ready.

- What would you say about the new duet "(coach Evgeniy) Plushenko - (skater Adelina) Sotnikova"? Is there a prospect?
- Tutberidze: They should prove themselves first, and then one can ask such questions. If the athlete wants to get a second, third breath, then we should wish good luck to them.

- What stages of the Grand Prix next season would you like to visit most?
- Tutberidze: We have not discussed this yet. I think that on May 3 we will write a plan, because, i guess, on May 5 we are passing plans (preparations for FFKKR). We should decide what will be more convenient for us, considering schedule.

- Evgenia, does Eteri Georgievna helps you with the choice of hairstyle and image?
- Medvedeva: Always. Because if something is wrong with my hair, then - "go, redo it." She always helps me with both make-up and style.

- Eteri Georgievna, how's your daughter Diana Davis doing?
- Tutberidze: She now trying ice dance, but the rules of this sport is kinda alien to me. I asked Aleksandr Zhulin to take a look at my daughter, he replied: "It's like to borrow money from a friend..."
- Tutberidze: This is different. The coach who will take my daughter will also take a responsibility. I will also try to follow the process.
- Hard?
- Well, we'll see how it goes. I haven't found a "victim" yet.
- Tatiana Anatolievna Tarasova.
- Tutberidze: Firstly, our ice rink is far from her house, and she does not have her own ice.

- Did foreign athletes ask you to join your group?
- Tutberidze: They ask. Lisa Tursynbayeva, who skated and grown here. And was jumping triple Axel, Zhenya will not let me lie. Then she changed the flag (from Russian to Kazakhstan). She still visits us sometimes. I can not say that I really wanted to work with her. But i felt like I will be glad if she would jump stable quad salchow. (Next sentence is hard to translate, so i'm gonna just skip it. She basically means that she's patriotic). Sometimes i'm asked to take athletes from serious federations. For example to take the second number of the Chinese team. But, in order to not be rude, I simply declare a price that is too big.

- Plushenko announced his price. 60 thousand rubles(1000$) per hour for personal training.
- Tutberidze: Who will agree on this price? And what if his coach would ask him to pay that price, would he have become an Olympic champion? When money is combined with opportunities - it's great. But this is one of a million. I have athletes with complex family situations, or moved from somewhere. We support them. For example Polina Tsurskaya, Alina Zagitova. These girls are breadwinners in the family. I haven't seen the ones who would have money, opportunities, talent and desire, all in the same time.

- Alexei Nikolaevich Mishin said more than once that he prefers to work with two average boys than with one talented girl. You are better at working with girls than with boys. Why?
- Tutberidze: I understand girls better, in my opinion they are more ready for work. The job is explained - the job is completed. It's more difficult with boys. They want to feel that they are loved. They want to be pitied. They begin to demonstratively "kill" with single and double jumps for this. But sorry - it's not about me.

russianfan said:

attempting to translate this article

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thank you so much for the translation!!
is there any video from this press-conference?

hmmm I saw a comment about this article. That there were more Q and some of the answers were not fully written here?
Is it true?

Osmond4gold said:

Well, you bought it up, as if it was a well accepted opinion on GS. Next time, perhaps you should reflect before you speak, on matters that are truly, not your cup of tea, as you say.

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haha
Well, It wasn't me who "brought it up". I just responded to your comment:

Osmond4gold said:

IMHO, yes, we can say that Kaetlyn is a better skater.........

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which I didn't agree with.
just my opinion who is more stable between both of them... or who is better.
and Really? if some skaters are "not my cup of the tea" I can't write my opinion about them? Really? :cool2:

russianfan said:

attempting to translate this article

- Evgenia, maybe it's time for you to reveal to Maxim Kovtun, who failed at the team world championship, the secret of how not to worry about competitions?
- Medvedeva: I'm so immersed in myself before the performances that sometimes I do not even notice that people are talking to me, and I do not hear anything around me at all. Various factors help me in this. I feel the support of our team, our federation, our coaches. For me, this is certainly important, even though we have an individual sport. In the process of preparation I am supported by a lot of people, for which I am very grateful.

- Are the girls whipping you up, the ones who are training next to you on the ice and stamping the quadruple jumps? Like Anna Shcherbakova and Alexandra Trusova.
- Tutberidze: Let them first perform that at the competitions, and then we will discuss this.

- It seemed that Evgenia Medvedeva was the only one from the Russian participants of the World Team Championship who just couldn't miss.
- Tutberidze: As for the team tournament, it probably was hard for the guys to prepare for it as a serious tournament, but Zhenya and I approached it like this: I believe in the base, which is laid in training. If you approach the start as a serious, and not as a holiday, it will work out. And if you allow yourself to relax even for a week, it will immediately affect the outcome.

- Will Medvedeva's choreographers change next season?
- Tutberidze: We have not only Ilya (Averbuch) who develops programs. It would be wrong to say so. In fact, we have a large team. We are satisfied of how it goes now. Last year, a free program was set up, which Alexander Fyodorovich (Kogan), General Director of FFKKR, and Alexander Georgievich (Kogan), the president of FFKKR, reviewed. But then there was a decision to change it. And we, together with Ilya, changed the program. We can not say that we have only one choreographer. He is one of the team members who works on programs, on the image, with Zhenya. I'm not going to fire anyone from this team, including myself. If something does not work, we'll think about adding someone else. And if everything goes its own way, then ... We have eyes and ears after all.

- Is it worth waiting for the classics in the Olympic season?
- Tutberidze: Well, we will see. Something can work from this direction. The question is what the audience is waiting for. And spectators are also the judges.

- Readers of "R-Sport" twitter are asking: will Sergey Dudakov and Daniil Gleichenhaus stay in the coaching team?
- Tutberidze: What do you mean "stay"? It's like a table with three legs - me, Sergey Victorovich, Daniil Markovich. You can not remove any of the legs.
- Medvedeva: It's like a family.

- Why does Sergei Viktorovich so rarely talk to the press?
- Tutberidze: He's just shy. There is always someone shy.

- Parents with children ask in social networks: how they can see your training?
- Tutberidze: Just come to the rink. No one has ever been denied in this.

- Zhenya, you somehow said that you will reread the entire grandmother's library. At what stage is this process now?
- Medvedeva: It is now at the textbooks stage, because this year I have exams. Before the Worlds, I stopped my studies a bit and completely devoted myself to sports, and now I need to catch up with the school curriculum. Therefore, I'm reading textbooks now.
- Tutberidze: ... not departing from the sport.
- Medvedeva: Of course, without departing from the sport, because now it is the off-season, and i will have a lot to learn.

- Eteri Georgievna, what helped you, when you could not find a job after returning from America?
- Tutberidze: Love of figure skating. If you really want it, you will get it eventually.

- Evgenia said more than once that she plans to learn ultra-c elements.
- Tutberidze: We are training in this direction, but there is no point to talk about jumps that have not been performed yet at the official competitions. Little girls perform them in training - well, that's good. And we did it (posted a video with quads of Anna Shcherbakova and Alexandra Trusova) just to please them.

- Zhenya, we all know about your love for Japanese culture and cuisine. But the Olympics will be in Korea. Do you want to change the menu from Japanese to Korean? Maybe you started looking for some kind of Korean theme for the music in the program?
- Tutberidze: If you mean "Sailor Moon", then this is not our idea. I still haven't seen this cartoon. This is Zhenya's favorite cartoon, her idol, she has chosen the music. If she finds some Korean cartoon, well, no problem.
- Medvedeva: Korean menu is too spicy for me, so I'm gonna stick with the white rice. (she probably said it ambiguously )

- Eteri Georgievna, what do you think about backloading, and does it affect the composition of the program negatively?
- Tutberidze: First, everything depends on the music itself. Sometimes it helps to create a composition, and if the music amplifies and accents are made when the jumps come, why not? But if during the first two minutes of the program it becomes boring, and then skating begins and so on ... There must be a complex.

- Evgenia, would you like to perform together with Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu in one of the shows?
- Medvedeva: I am inspired by the skating of Yuzuru Hanyu. I would be glad to perform with him on the Fantasy on Ice show, if the organizers allow. But I can only go to the last show (from this series), because I have exams.

- Evgenia, we have a question from social networks about whether the discomfort is created because of the competition in the group between you and Alina Zagitova?
- Medvedeva: For me, competition is always good, to see how my rivals work, my future rivals. I understand what kind of bar you need to set for yourself. I know that I still have a lot to learn. Competition does not irritate me, but it spurs me.

- Eteri Georgievna, does Evgenia plan to perform in team competitions at the 2018 Olympic Games?
- Tutberidze: You should ask federation about this, not me.

- But your opinion will be asked.
- Tutberidze: First, you have to be in a good shape. It is important to come up in the good shape in order to qualify for the team tournament. I guess that schedule will be the same as at the last Olympics, and girls will have more than enough time to recover (between team competitions and tournament in women's single skating). This is a responsible tournament for the team and girls, but this is not up to us to decide. But we are ready.

- What would you say about the new duet "(coach Evgeniy) Plushenko - (skater Adelina) Sotnikova"? Is there a prospect?
- Tutberidze: They should prove themselves first, and then one can ask such questions. If the athlete wants to get a second, third breath, then we should wish good luck to them.

- What stages of the Grand Prix next season would you like to visit most?
- Tutberidze: We have not discussed this yet. I think that on May 3 we will write a plan, because, i guess, on May 5 we are passing plans (preparations for FFKKR). We should decide what will be more convenient for us, considering schedule.

- Evgenia, does Eteri Georgievna helps you with the choice of hairstyle and image?
- Medvedeva: Always. Because if something is wrong with my hair, then - "go, redo it." She always helps me with both make-up and style.

- Eteri Georgievna, how's your daughter Diana Davis doing?
- Tutberidze: She now trying ice dance, but the rules of this sport is kinda alien to me. I asked Aleksandr Zhulin to see my daughter, he replied: "It's like to borrow money from a friend..."
- Tutberidze: This is different. The coach who will take my daughter will also take a responsibility. I will also try to follow the process.
- Hard?
- Well, we'll see how it goes. I haven't found a "victim" yet.
- Tatiana Anatolievna Tarasova.
- Tutberidze: Firstly, our ice rink is far from her house, and she does not have her own ice.

- Did foreign athletes ask you to join your group?
- Tutberidze: They ask. Lisa Tursynbayeva, who skated and grown here. And was jumping triple Axel, Zhenya will not let me lie. Then she changed the flag (from Russian to Kazakhstan). She still visits us sometimes. I can not say that I really wanted to work with her. But i felt like I will be glad if she would jump stable quad salchow. (Next sentence is hard to translate, so i'm gonna just skip it. She basically means that she's patriotic). Sometimes i'm asked to take athletes from serious federations. For example to take the second number of the Chinese team. But, in order to not be rude, I simply declare a price that is too big.

- Plushenko announced his price. 60 thousand rubles(1000$) per hour for personal training.
- Tutberidze: Who will agree on this price? And what if his coach would ask him to pay that price, would he have become an Olympic champion? When money is combined with opportunities - it's great. But this is one of a million. I have athletes with complex family situations, or moved from somewhere. We support them. For example Polina Tsurskaya, Alina Zagitova. These girls are breadwinners in the family. I haven't seen the ones who would have money, opportunities, talent and desire, all in the same time.

- Alexei Nikolaevich Mishin said more than once that he prefers to work with two average boys than with one talented girl. You are better at working with girls than with boys. Why?
- Tutberidze: I understand girls better, in my opinion they are more ready for work. The job is explained - the job is completed. It's more difficult with boys. They want to feel that they are loved. They want to be pitied. They begin to demonstratively "kill" with single and double jumps for this. But sorry - it's not about me.

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wow thank you for this! It was an interesting read (some of the Q's i'm side eyeing though) and I really respect Eteri for what she's done. Best of luck to her and her girls next season

Ehh, not super into the idea of patriotic coaching. It's one thing if it's the only thing that the fed will allow, but if every best coach in the world felt too patriotic to seriously coach students from abroad, the sport would seriously stagnate.

andromache said:

Ehh, not super into the idea of patriotic coaching. It's one thing if it's the only thing that the fed will allow, but if every best coach in the world felt too patriotic to seriously coach students from abroad, the sport would seriously stagnate.

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It's certainly not Brian Orser's approach. He said in some interview that the Olympics will be great because he'll get so many jackets from different countries TCC will have at least Japan, Spain, Canada, Kazakstan, S. Korea. Lots of countries. Same for the big dance coaches.

It's not my favorite way of thinking, but it's up to her what work she chooses to do. She has enough talent in Russia to keep her busy. I'm impressed by this interview. She's a smart woman.

SnowWhite said:

It's certainly not Brian Orser's approach. He said in some interview that the Olympics will be great because he'll get so many jackets from different countries TCC will have at least Japan, Spain, Canada, Kazakstan, S. Korea. Lots of countries. Same for the big dance coaches.

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It is just a shame. The more mixing among coaches and athletes and counties, the better. Chinese pairs is probably the most internal of all major, accomplished fields, but they get choreography from Lori Nichol, and they certainly have off years.

And as far as Eteri goes, it's so highly unlikely that a North American would even survive her tough-as-nails training methods - our girls just don't get that strong at 13-14 years old. Can't speak for Japan. But occasional camps / sessions/ whatever with coaches of other nationalities and methods should do everybody good and shouldn't make a coach less enthusiastic or happy to work with a student.