2019-20 Russian Ladies' Figure Skating

[flanker]

I was hoping so many things were 'a thing of the past', but alas!

Based on some of your posts, notably last season, you have been displeased by the expression on Alina's face before and after she skates when she doesn't reflect a confident, secure, radiantly happy skater enjoying herself. It makes me sad to see her sad too. I don't like seeing her be hard on herself or disappointed with herself, but she is a 17 year old girl before she is anything else and I would rather her be true to herself than not.

Let her be who she is and feel what she feels. Even if that doesn't always live up to the expectations of how a happy skater is 'supposed' to look. Is there any highly competitive athlete who is less than devastated when they feel like they haven't performed at the level they believe they are capable of? Some are more stoic than others but it's not a character flaw to show your feelings on your face. It just means Alina probably shouldn't play poker!

Some athletes get nervous before a competition and it shows on their face. It is what it is. Her beautifully expressive face is one of her best assets and her ability to be in touch with emotions, positive and negative, is something that will help her grow as an artist. If you take that away, you take away an essential part of who she is. I would also like to see her in the K&C laughing off her mistakes and taking it all lightly, but that's not her. If one thing is different, everything is different.

Not everyone has to like her, her skating, her ability, her artistry, her personality or even the expression on her face. No skater has ever universally appealed to everyone and no skater ever will.

Alina will find her own way through her life. No victory or defeat is ever final and it's a long road. Injuries happen and they heal with time. The only thing certain is change. Especially at 17.

To 100% clear - it broke my heart into a million pieces to see her that devastated. I don't think anyone on this forum thinks its 'okay' for her to be unhappy. (If they do, please don't tell me about it.) But it is an unavoidable part of any life with or without competitive sports. It is not the first or the last time she will be hurt in life. If this is the worst pain she ever feels then she is one of the most blessed of all human beings.

Wanna see radiating Alina?
https://twitter.com/teamzagitova/status/1204073469325062145

 

[Fluture]

You don’t get it. It’s what she wants. Her coaches will not let her try quints as of now, but it’s her future goal. For Sasha, making history is just as important as winning. She wants to be remembered forever as the one who forever changed figure skating and was the first to accomplish something. Never doubt her

She.is.a.child. Children are often fearless AND reckless, they don‘t know their own limits yet. And neither does Sasha. It‘s the coaches‘ job to keep her grounded and I hope they do.

I would not be stupid enough to doubt the will of that girl, I’m just stating that expecting quints of her when we don’t even know the damage quads may do to a still growing body, is sheer madness. She is remembered forever ALREADY because she’s got numerous records exclusively to her name and singlehandedly changed the landscape of ladies figure skating. If she wants to keep skating, there will have to come a time where she listens to her body. She is not a machine. She is not super human.

 

[Autumn Leaves]

Regarding Alina being sad and devastated, it broke my heart as well. But an old interview of Daniil gives me hope. He had to describe the skaters and was asked questions like is "who is the noisiest" or "who likes chocolate the most", etc. To the question "Who is the most emotional one?," he answered it was definitely Alina. He said she reacts very emotionally every time a training isn't going well, she could cry or get angry at the jump itself, etc. But she also laughs a lot and we have all heard it.

So, this devastation could be just a strong emotional reaction to a bad skate and I hope she could go back to her fighting mood quickly. Let's not forget she is a teenager and they can be very emotional and moody (I have one at home).

 

[SkatingFan9]

She.is.a.child. Children are often fearless AND reckless, they don‘t know their own limits yet. And neither does Sasha. It‘s the coaches‘ job to keep her grounded and I hope they do.

I would not be stupid enough to doubt the will of that girl, I’m just stating that expecting quints of her when we don’t even know the damage quads may do to a still growing body, is sheer madness. She is remembered forever ALREADY because she’s got numerous records exclusively to her name and singlehandedly changed the landscape of ladies figure skating. If she wants to keep skating, there will have to come a time where she listens to her body. She is not a machine. She is not super human.

She’s already doing 5 quads with her coaches approval. You don’t really believe that they don’t consider all of the factors that you mentioned, do you? Of course they care about her and her health and weigh the risks. If they thought that she couldn’t handle it, they wouldn’t let her do it. It’s as simple as that.

Sasha has no limits. She can accomplish whatever she wants. You’re just going to have to trust her and her coaches on this.

 

[lariko]

Tutberidze emphasizes that she wants her students to perform exactly what the coach wants them to perform, so no, Trusova is not going to come out there and throw herself headlong into something unsafe and completely unnecessary for her to lead, despite her obvious and delightful ardor.

She has enough quads to build incredible programs, so 3A is something that she may be able to add to her arsenal, if she wants to aim for the layouts and scores maximums that are available in the male division. I would love to see her 3A, despite the jump eluding her atm.

 

[macy]

as much as i admire Sasha for what she's doing and what she's accomplished, i do wonder why she is risking injury so early in her senior career when her ultimate goal is still over 2 years away. it's admirable she wants to see how far she can go with the jumps, but i also think it is a bit reckless to keep pushing the quads now and not later when she hopes to win in 2022. if she wants to win now, she can do it in another way that doesn't risk injury- improving PCS to match Anna/Aliona (which she should be doing anyway) and still having a layout with 2-3 quads. i am in no way doubting her physical strength, the girl is a BEAST, but she still has lots of puberty left, and we don't know how kind it will be to her. we also don't know the strain the quads are putting on her body, and how long it can withstand them. no one can deny she has the highest risk of serious injury out of any Russian lady right now. i hope she isn't doing too much too soon because i'd hate to see her not at her best when it matters, but i hope for the best.

 

[VenusHalley]

Well Sasha is a teenager. She likes the thrill of the risky elements and for sure she also loves the attention she gets from them. She enjoys being center of attention, to awe people, to be the best. Quadzilla performances give her that and she probably cares less about medals and more about pushing the limits.

 

[lariko]

as much as i admire Sasha for what she's doing and what she's accomplished, i do wonder why she is risking injury so early in her senior career when her ultimate goal is still over 2 years away. it's admirable she wants to see how far she can go with the jumps, but i also think it is a bit reckless to keep pushing the quads now and not later when she hopes to win in 2022. if she wants to win now, she can do it in another way that doesn't risk injury- improving PCS to match Anna/Aliona (which she should be doing anyway) and still having a layout with 2-3 quads. i am in no way doubting her physical strength, the girl is a BEAST, but she still has lots of puberty left, and we don't know how kind it will be to her. we also don't know the strain the quads are putting on her body, and how long it can withstand them. no one can deny she has the highest risk of serious injury out of any Russian lady right now. i hope she isn't doing too much too soon because i'd hate to see her not at her best when it matters, but i hope for the best.

I think not knowing is what drives her — there is no crystal ball that could predict longevity and stability— and she is taught to do what she does best. She is a superb jumper, while her personality on the ice is not what the judges score high in the PCS department atm, so the team trains her to jump and to do the best she can on the rest of the score, hoping the the technical part is going to pull up the artistic one, until adorable and engaging contributes to the higher interpretation and musicality — if it ever does. She is testing the water for a female version of Chen atm as far as I can see.

What’s the point of going against the grain vs working to her strength?

What I appreciate the most about the 4A is their distinctiveness from one another, and ability to show excellence and a different take on a female athlete

 

[Happy Skates]

Ksenia Sinitsyna posted on her instagram something about preparation for the Czech Republic. Does anyone know what that could be about? I can't think of any competitions there. And I would think her next competition would be Russian Nationals. I hope she gets to go to Youth Olympics though, along with Tarakanova. Pls Rusfed !

 

[Lunalovesskating]

Ksenia Sinitsyna posted on her instagram something about preparation for the Czech Republic. Does anyone know what that could be about? I can't think of any competitions there. And I would think her next competition would be Russian Nationals. I hope she gets to go to Youth Olympics though, along with Tarakanova. Pls Rusfed !

Czech Republic = Nationals. Google translator always translates Nationals as Czech Republic

 

[Sugar Coated]

Prepare to be disappointed, then.

I’m not sure it’s so out of the question that the judging is shifting away from rewarding Trusova type programs. Aliona and Kamila’s win to me suggests the judging is going to be much stricter on the quads and instead reward GOE and artistry in the future. At least that was where the tide is headed based on the judging by this competition. Maybe it will change in the future.

 

[flanker]

Ksenia Sinitsyna posted on her instagram something about preparation for the Czech Republic. Does anyone know what that could be about? I can't think of any competitions there. And I would think her next competition would be Russian Nationals. I hope she gets to go to Youth Olympics though, along with Tarakanova. Pls Rusfed !

As Luna has written. Ksenia wrote "ЧР", which means "chempionat rosiji", russian championship. But it is also abbreviation for Czech Republic. But there will be Four Countries Championship (Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary) from dec. 19 till 21 and if Ksenia would prefer this, I wouldn't object anything at all, at least skaters here would finally see how it should be done

 

[SkatingFan9]

I’m not sure it’s so out of the question that the judging is shifting away from rewarding Trusova type programs. Aliona and Kamila’s win to me suggests the judging is going to be much stricter on the quads and instead reward GOE and artistry in the future. At least that was where the tide is headed based on the judging by this competition. Maybe it will change in the future.

Sasha fell on 2 crucial jumps and popped another quad, all in all, while Alena was just about flawless. It’s not so much that Alena was rewarded. She simply got the score that she deserved and was expected from her.

Had Sasha performed her best, she likely would’ve scored over 265 - the score we all would have expected from her.

Figure skating will never reward artistry more than tech because artistry is subjective. There is no possible way to objectively measure artistry. Figure skating would not be a sport then and would be an art.

 

[DenissVFan]

Yeah, Instagram autotranslations are sometimes misleading. "ЧР" in this context is definitely RusNats, not Czech Republic. It like with "sheepskin"

 

[sweetice]

A few weeks ago, Zagitova answered one of my questions that she would like to follow the path of Costner. She has yet to work hard to reach Carolina's level. But Alina is closest to her in style, presentation and components, which we saw on Saturday evening.

:shock2:

 

[ruga]

Czech Republic = Nationals. Google translator always translates Nationals as Czech Republic

I get Chechen Republic usually useful guide for those using automatic translation (feel free to add more):
1. Sheepskin coat=toe loop
2. Wife=Zhenya
3. Coward=Trusova
4. Cockroach=Tarakanova
5. Communist Party=short program
6. Lame=Khromykh

 

[Edwin]

Sasha fell on 2 crucial jumps and popped another quad, all in all, while Alena was just about flawless. It’s not so much that Alena was rewarded. She simply got the score that she deserved and was expected from her.

Had Sasha performed her best, she likely would’ve scored over 265 - the score we all would have expected from her.

Figure skating will never reward artistry more than tech because artistry is subjective. There is no possible way to objectively measure artistry. Figure skating would not be a sport then and would be an art.

Exactly, ballet is an art, though its physical and mental (intellect, artistry) requirements equal the toughest of coordination and endurance sports combined together. Remember, dancers are considered 'Athletes of God'.

GOE, is still (ab)used for 'federation promotion', 'reputation bonus', 'longevity reward' and no matter the amount of words in the rules, CO, IN, PE are inherently unmeasurable.

 

[Edwin]

I get Chechen Republic usually useful guide for those using automatic translation (feel free to add more):
1. Sheepskin coat=toe loop
2. Wife=Zhenya
3. Coward=Trusova
4. Cockroach=Tarakanova
5. Communist Party=short program
6. Lame=Khromykh

Apart from the sheepskin coat I've never come across the others, LOL.

trusov=coward perhaps in the literal sense, but Trusova, Aleksandra Vyacheslavovna is anything but a coward ;-)

 

[Fluture]

5. Communist Party=short program

What?? I didn‘t know that one yet

 

[Fluture]

Apart from the sheepskin coat I've never seen the others, LOL.

I always come across “wife“ for Zhenya in articles and am confused for a moment.

Now.. imagine trying to translate a Russian article with all of these mentioned:

“The coward beat the wife and the cockroach because she jumped a sheepskin coat in the Communist Party.“

Love it.