2019-20 Russian Ladies' Figure Skating

Summary of last year's Russian Cup - Qualifiers to RusNat in bold

Stage One
1. Gulyakova 210
2. Vasilieva 203
3. Gubanova 194
4. Gracheva 191
5. Sakhanovich 185

Stage Two
1. Shcherbakova 227
2. Nugumanova 201
3. Talalaykina 199
4. Shilenko 187
5. Solovieva 186

Stage Three
1. Gulyakova 210
2. Tarusina 204
3. Shilenko 193
4. Sakhanovich 191
5. Tsibinova 189

Stage Four
1. Trusova 232
2. Kostornaia 227
3. Gubanova 211
4. Talalaykina 202
5. Nugumanova 196
6. Vasilieva 193

Stage Five
1. Tarakanova 212
2. Tarusina 209
3. Sinitsyna 199
4. Gracheva 183
5. Lipovskaya 179

Even though Stage Four was fierce with Trusova and Kostornaia, place 3-6 managed to qualify. Looks like Stage Five was the easiest one?

Jontor said:

Summary of last year's Russian Cup - Qualifiers to RusNat in bold

Stage One
1. Gulyakova 210
2. Vasilieva 203
3. Gubanova 194
4. Gracheva 191
5. Sakhanovich 185

Stage Two
1. Shcherbakova 227
2. Nugumanova 201
3. Talalaykina 199
4. Shilenko 187
5. Solovieva 186

Stage Three
1. Gulyakova 210
2. Tarusina 204
3. Shilenko 193
4. Sakhanovich 191
5. Tsibinova 189

Stage Four
1. Trusova 232
2. Kostornaia 227
3. Gubanova 211
4. Talalaykina 202
5. Nugumanova 196
6. Vasilieva 193

Stage Five
1. Tarakanova 212
2. Tarusina 209
3. Sinitsyna 199
4. Gracheva 183
5. Lipovskaya 179

Even though Stage Four was fierce with Trusova and Kostornaia, place 3-6 managed to qualify. Looks like Stage Five was the easiest one?

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Nugumanova was able to get in once Radionova withdrew, and Vasilieva got in last minute after Tuktik withdrew. That said, there are more spots up for grabs this season with only Sinitsina and likely just 1 of Tarakanova/Vasilieva/Frolova qualifying via JGPF. Whoever doesn’t make it will have to fight with all the other strong girls at the later cup events. If my calculations are correct there are 6 spots up for grabs (12 spots are already taken from 10 GP, 2 JGPF qualifiers)

If Kanysheva is hoping to recover in time for Jr Nationals, perhaps she is being granted a spot via the coaching council and she won’t need to do the Cup Events at the KMS level? Doesn’t seem like Tarusina will recover in time to qualify for nationals via Cup Events based on that Instagram story

I remember being very impressed with Gracheva. Is she in the mix this year? Who is her coach?

LiamForeman said:

I remember being very impressed with Gracheva. Is she in the mix this year? Who is her coach?

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Gracheva will compete this week!! Don't know much about her except for that 3F3L at RC Final last year She's from Moscow I think...

SkateSkates said:

Nugumanova was able to get in once Radionova withdrew, and Vasilieva got in last minute after Tuktik withdrew. That said, there are more spots up for grabs this season with only Sinitsina and likely just 1 of Tarakanova/Vasilieva/Frolova qualifying via JGPF. Whoever doesn’t make it will have to fight with all the other strong girls at the later cup events. If my calculations are correct there are 6 spots up for grabs (12 spots are already taken from 10 GP, 2 JGPF qualifiers)

If Kanysheva is hoping to recover in time for Jr Nationals, perhaps she is being granted a spot via the coaching council and she won’t need to do the Cup Events at the KMS level? Doesn’t seem like Tarusina will recover in time to qualify for nationals via Cup Events based on that Instagram story ��

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Worst case scenario there will only be Sinitsyna who qualifies from JGPF. Then there is 7 spots up for grabs at the Russian Cup Stages. I don't think Frolova is one of them though, isn't she too young still? (Edit: I was wrong, she can compete at senior RusNats)
Statistically there might be someone from the GPs that will WD (I hope not!!), so there might be 8 or even more from the Russian Cup.

Kanysheva and Tarusina are the BIG questionmarks. I feel for both of them. Damn those injuries.:dev2:

Alena Kostornaia, Elizaveta T. and Sofia S. are going to Finlandia Trophy

Lunalovesskating said:

Alena Kostornaia, Elizaveta T. and Sofia S. are going to Finlandia Trophy

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YAY ALENA. I was so worried she wouldn't get a senior B! So this basically confirms Alina isn't doing one, right? Which is totally fine - she has more than enough senior experience, WR points, etc., and I generally think that as skaters get a little older, they have a harder time being in peak condition all the time. Better for her to save herself for her GP events.

Will be interesting to see how Alena does in PCS versus Liza compared to how Anna fared.....

Inna Goncharenko: Does Medvyedeva skate her old content? What does this mean?

Anatoliy Samokhvalov The figure skating season is gaining momentum, the 2018 Olympic champion Alina Zagitova is impressive, but hasn't started yet, the two-time world champion Yevgeniya Medvyedeva gets criticism, but already posted some results. Inna Goncharenko, Merited Coach of Russia, discusses the latest news with Anatoliy Samokhvalov, and the conversation began with the results of the recent junior Grand Prix in Chelyabinsk.

Danielyan is stronger than Gumennik

“The Grand Prix in Chelyabinsk went great when it comes to women's single skating,” Goncharenko said. "Well done everybody! Usually, we are talking in enthusiastic terms about the same skaters, but the Chelyabinsk stage showed that others also exist and they are also good. Kseniya Sinitsyna showed a completely new direction. Yes, she is without quads so far, but has very chic programs, especially her short one, which I have already praised for very successful staging for this specific athlete.

Sinitsyna’s free program was also successful, I’ll note the very accurate match with the dress. I remember when Mariya Sotskova skated, she also had interesting programs, beautiful dresses and various other finds, which were clearly chosen for her. A similar process is observed in the development of Sinitsyna. In these programs, the skater has become even better in sliding and jumping.
I also really want to talk about Arthur Danielyan.

Q: Arthur was in the lead with a good margin after his short program at the Grand Prix in Chelyabinsk, but lost the first place in the fight against Peter Gumennik. Danielyan replaced the quad Salchow with a triple and made mistakes in his program.
A: Nevertheless, I was very surprised by his mature skating, particularly in his short program, which was very well developed. In my opinion, Gumennik won only due to the fact that Danielyan made a mistake in his free. In skating, in his delivery, in the staged programs, he is stronger. For me, he was the undisputed leader of this stage. I remember Gumennik in children's competitions, I know him as a very artistic boy. When he skated with (Alexei) Mishin, he had very interesting finds in the rotations, he himself was a very 'dancing' skater, hearing music, but now I haven't seen anytfrom this. Where did it all go?
Now here is Danielyan, who was not particularly emotionally involved last season, beginning to smile in his routines. Ear to ear in his short, which is amazing. I understand a strong team exists in CSKA and there is someone to work with, the result is obvious. Respect for the coaches and respect for the boy himself. I am absolutely not a fan of Danielyan, but this season he is a completely different skater.

Q: His free program, to the powerful sounds of "Gladiator."
A: After (Alexey) Yagudin, this topic is not interesting to me regarding the performance of others. I am very critical of the boys, because it is time for them to star in the good sense, it's not only for the girls to shine. Therefore, when I see talented boys, I want them to progress, rather than stagnate or even worse, regress. Here Danielyan fired off in the short, and most importantly, so that later we would not talk about his routines in the spirit of "well, yes, well, nothing like that." Because this "well, yes, well, nothing" happens to us in men's single skating every year.

On Medvyedeva's Axel, I flinched

Q: How did you like Yevgeniya Medvyedeva at the Autumn Classics in Canada, where she only lost to Rika Kihira's triple Axels?
A: I am very glad Zhenya is fighting, performing and showing interesting new programs. I really like the staging of her short program, this is my favourite staging by Ilya Averbukh due to sophisticated choreography. Lightness, ease, unobtrusiveness.
I would like to wish Zhenya to achieve more speedy and airy skating, because with such light music I want her to fly.
I would like to add speed and complexity to her rotations, continue to work on her Lutz' edge to make the edge more confident and clear.
She made me shudder on her Axel in the long program, because I had a feeling that Axel was on the verge (of failure). I want a confident execution of that jump.

Q: Let's say Medvyedeva adds lightness, speeds up. Will she be competitive with Aleksandra Trusova, Anna Shcherbakova, Kihira?
A: I think so, because there is no need to be afraid of Kihira or any other competitor. Clearly she already has different skating and from the outside, our perception of her is also different. Zhenya needs to look forward.

Q: Different skating, what about this? Someone notices it, and someone say she performs her old content anyway.
A: Well, everyone is skating their old content, how to put it, their stock of knowledge?

Q: What did Brian Orser add to the skating of this two-time world champion?
A: More balanced skating. Because she doesn't have her previous power and sharpness, her skating at this stage is not always embraced. At the same time her skating has become more balanced and feminine. If there are fewer jumps, faster rotations and more diverse positions, everything will be fine.

Q: How did you like Yelizaveta Tuktamysheva at the tournament in Lombardy?
A: In my opinion, she skated worse than even in the Open Test Skates. But her triple Axel is light and good. What can I say, well done, she fights, just best forget this “troika” of hers, which she often does after the Axel. Because she can exit cleanly from the jump.

Q: The champion of Russia Shcherbakova beat her in Bergamo.
A: It was one thing when Shcherbakova competed amongst the young girls, and now amongst seniors, each time the question arises: "How will the judges perceive her?" And this issue will be relevant in the near future.
In the short program, for obvious reasons, she does not have quads, and the judges, in fact, did not react to her skating. In her free program, "ultra-si" appeared, and the judges were affected, they awarded "higher" and "better". She jumped, did everything, and won. Anna may wish to fight with what she can - jumping. She cannot compete for extreme skating and femininity yet, because she is still a little girl with elastic arms, but underneath all this footwork, she works and works.

Q: In general, at season's start, Zagitova, still untried, looks better than everybody?
A: She looks more experienced and professional.

Q: Even against the background of Medvyedeva and Tuktamysheva?
A: Against the background of everyone - more professional and more confident. Zhenya is looking less confident in her skating due to loss of speed and “prowess”.
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https://rsport.ria.ru/20190919/1558830212.html

andromache said:

Will be interesting to see how Alena does in PCS versus Liza compared to how Anna fared.....

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Judging by the logic of the panel at Lombardia, Alyona shouldn't get her hopes up really.

JazzUp said:

Judging by the logic of the panel at Lombardia, Alyona shouldn't get her hopes up really.

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If it is all the same logic, I think there will be a riot.:dev2:

Lunalovesskating said:

Alena Kostornaia, Elizaveta T. and Sofia S. are going to Finlandia Trophy

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Isn't this right around when skate America is? Why is Liza going then?

Happy Skates said:

Isn't this right around when skate America is? Why is Liza going then?

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I was thinking the same thing. Skate America is less than a week after Finlandia - the ladies LP is on Sunday. I wouldn’t be surprised if Liza withdrew shortly before the event. It would make more sense for her to do Nebelhorn next weekend....she’s not a teenager any more and competing within a week of each other is an odd choice.

Happy Skates said:

Isn't this right around when skate America is? Why is Liza going then?

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Yes, it ends about 4 days before the start of SkAm. Not sure why they'd do this. Maybe Liza wants to do two Challengers? But wouldn't Nebelhorn be a better option then.

ruga said:

Yes, it ends about 4 days before the start of SkAm. Not sure why they'd do this. Maybe Liza wants to do two Challengers? But wouldn't Nebelhorn be a better option then.

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That's very close ... why risk the GP?

JazzUp said:

Judging by the logic of the panel at Lombardia, Alyona shouldn't get her hopes up really.

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Judging panels differ from event to event and Alena is a different skater than Anna, and vastly superior in terms of skating skills. I think we should just wait and see without setting expectations, and Alena do the same and just skate her best.

andromache said:

Alena is a different skater than Anna, and vastly superior in terms of skating skills.

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"vastly superior"?!? To Anya or to Liza? or both?

JazzUp said:

"vastly superior"?!? To Anya or to Liza? or both?

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I was referring to Anna specifically, but since you mentioned it, both. The judges agreed last season on the Anna v. Alena comparison looking at the scores for the various international junior events and Russian Nationals. (There's no Alena v. Liza comparison, since the only senior comp that Alena did last season, Russian Nationals, Liza did not compete in, but one can assume.)

andromache said:

I was referring to Anna specifically, but since you mentioned it, both. The judges agreed last season on the Anna v. Alena comparison looking at the scores for the various international junior events and Russian Nationals. (There's no Alena v. Liza comparison, since the only senior comp that Alena did last season, Russian Nationals, Liza did not compete in, but one can assume.)

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The last time (and only time I think...) Aliona and Liza competed against each other was the 2017-18 Nationals and they basically tied in PCS, with Liza coming out slightly ahead. https://www.fsrussia.ru/results/1718/rusnat1718_RUS/SEG004.HTM

Aliona was a first year junior at that point.

Not directly against each other, but at the GPF/JGPF Aliona outscored Liza in PCS by about a point.

Although I think Aliona should win PCS head to head (by a mile, across all categories), I’m not counting on it as the judges seem to rate new seniors a bit lower than they were rated as juniors. That being said, Aliona looks very senior, not only in her skating, but also in her musculature. Not to talk about young girls bodies, I think Anna is at a disadvantage vs. Sasha and Aliona who are more muscular and look physically more mature. It shouldn’t be like this and I hate even bringing this up, but I think this plays a role subconsciously in the judges minds.

This will probably get deleted.

andromache said:

The judges agreed last season on the Anna v. Alena comparison looking at the scores for the various international junior events and Russian Nationals.

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Their mean component scores are exactly the same now - 7.85 (after including Anya's extremely low score at Lombardia; and there's no guarantee the judges won't do the same with Alyona); so don't know where the "vastly" part comes from.

JazzUp said:

Their mean component scores are exactly the same now - 7.85 (after including Anya's extremely low score at Lombardia; and there's no guarantee the judges won't do the same with Alyona); so don't know where the "vastly" part comes from.

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You are comparing Aliona’s average from 18/19 with Anna’s average from 19/20. Anna’s average last season was 7.61. Not vastly different overall. We can compare their 19/20 scores after Finlandia.

They were, however, marked vastly differently head to head:
JGPF LP: Aliona 67 / Anna 60 - Anna bombed so this isn’t a great comparison
Rus Nats LP: Aliona 71 / Anna 66
Jr Nats LP: Aliona 74 / Anna 69

They haven’t gone head to head enough times in international competition to fully evaluate this.