2019-20 Russian Ladies' Figure Skating

[JazzUp]

Social media is not her friend!

Tact, class, sensibility, etc, etc have also left the building...

 

[Lunalovesskating]

According to Business-Online:

1. Alina would lose money from contracts if she announced retirement.

2. Eteri and other coaches had bad relationship with Alina since offseason. Reason- motivation and work ethic.

3. After GPF Eteri gave her a choice: either work as you worked before or leave the group.

4.After Nationals last year Alina wasn't answering Eteri's calls for several days and wanted to retire. Coaches told her to leave after Winning Euros.

5. In Summer Alina told Eteri that she wouldn't continue competing if she couldn't fight with 3A for medals.

6. Alina may have decided to take a break to find a new coach, Negotiations with unnamed coach started before GPF and both sides want to work together.

7.Alina was studying Quads in Summer this year.

https://sport.business-gazeta.ru/news/249072

Take it with grain of Salt.

Sounds gossipy to me

 

[Edwin]

Still, it's her life and her reasoning whatever she chooses to do.

And she has made the right decision in my mind. Retreating for the season by making a public declaration, but leaving a door open. Only evil people will hate her for this.

Russian FS can do without Alina for a season, while she makes up her mind Nothing is guaranteed with Aleksandra, Anna or Alyona and there is no 2005 born girl in Khrustalniy at the moment to force Alina out by numbers alone, next season. Not forgetting competition for top 3 with the other older skaters also isn't guaranteed. I think she still has enough standing with FFKKR after a season off to get back in consideration, proving of course physical and mental readiness.

Press continues to tumble over itself in the meantime.

 

[pearly]

Not entirely true. There are younger skaters with those qualities and there are older skaters who never have them.

There are skaters who never have them and there are young skaters whose quality of movement is better than of some of the older skaters. But I am yet to see a young skater who moves better in her teens than the skaters who are (to me) ideal examples move(d) in their twenties.

 

[KOBOT37]

And she has made the right decision in my mind. Retreating for the season by making a public declaration, but leaving a door open. Only evil people will hate her for this.

Russian FS can do without Alina for a season, while she makes up her mind Nothing is guaranteed with Aleksandra, Anna or Alyona and there is no 2005 born girl in Khrustalniy at the moment to force Alina out by numbers alone, next season. Not forgetting competition for top 3 with the other older skaters also isn't guaranteed. I think she still has enough standing with FFKKR after a season off to get back in consideration, proving of course physical and mental readiness.

Press continues to tumble over itself in the meantime.

Nobody but the most dedicated haters hate Alina for this decision(but they are gonna hate whatever she does), Hate is mostly directed to Eteri and to lesser extant Daniil.

In Russia most people (including these who work in FS) received this decision as a retirement, but outside of few zealots there is no hate directed towards her.

 

[KOBOT37]

If Alina did leave Eteri...oh boy, that would fuel the "Eteri can only train/make successful the younger skaters theory.

Eteri will have at least, 2 of her 3 skaters less than satisfied with season at offseason so I doubt we are going to see any drama even if Alina goes to Raf (that is probably the worst thing she can from Eteri's POV )


P.S Alina will skate at Show before CSKA vs SKA match (Hockey),also she is going to be at Ivan Urgant's show with Navka.

Also, if anybody is interested, she is going to have a show in Switzerland February next year (Zurich,Lausanne,Basel, Davos) also in China(Taiwan) in April.

 

[Lechat]

The only good coach that could take up Alina is probably Arutunian. He speaks Russian, his students have shown results and besides Bell he doesn't have another top lady AFAIK. But I doubt she's going to change coaches, Evgenia did because she had a clear goal (Beijing and OGM), while Alina has won everything. So unless she decides that she wants to become multiple champion, I don't think we'll see her make a drastic change.

Alina will train with Maria, both girls are good friends. It would be less draining mentally and physically to train with older skaters. I know Alina is loyal to her present coaches but maybe she needs a change in the way of training like zhenia if she wants to still compete. Zhenia said that after the Olympics, she has to quit or to move to another coach.

 

[Edwin]

In Russia most people (including these who work in FS) received this decision as a retirement, but outside of few zealots there is no hate directed towards her.

To me it sounded and looked like retirement too, Alina's body language, the almost palpable emotion. But she I think felt very relieved over sitting through this interview without breaking down. She will remain quiet for a while, not disturbing the training for Nationals of the other girls in her group, i.e. finding her own ice time with the younger groups or something like that so as to avoid any confrontation, also with her own emotions?

When will the Navka show rehearsals begin on their own ice in Moscow, so Alina can work out there in quiet and solitude?

Leaving the door open means she won't be rejected but then perhaps a return is expected and she will have to face the same scrutiny again?

 

[KOBOT37]

To me it sounded and looked like retirement too, Alina's body language, the almost palpable emotion. But she I think felt very relieved over sitting through this interview without breaking down. She will remain quiet for a while, not disturbing the training for Nationals, i.e. finding her own ice time with the younger groups or something like that so as to avoid any confrontation, also with her own emotions?

When will the Navka show rehearsals begin on their own ice in Moscow, so Alina can work out there in quiet and solitude?

Leaving the door open means she won't be rejected but then perhaps a return is expected and she will have to face the same scrutiny again?

Last rehearsal for Show was held at one of the HC CSKA ice rinks, some hockey player posted a pic with Alina from there.

Today's footage isn't from rehearsal but sort of preview or something like that.

If she ever returns to training at Sambo (she said she continues to train there, but I doubt it) she will probably get the most comfortable work conditions they can get her, Eteri needs Alina much more than vice versa so I don't think she will go full Irina Viner on her.

 

[Edwin]

If she ever returns to training at Sambo (she said she continues to train there, but I doubt it) she will probably get the most comfortable work conditions they can get her, Eteri needs Alina much more than vice versa so I don't think she will go full Irina Viner on her.

How so? 'Out of sight, out of heart', as a saying goes. Eteri Georgiyevna and her staff will move on, must move on. It seems there are no hard feelings either way (at least publicly expressed), and if #TeamTutberidzeForProgress only knows one operating modus with any and all of its athletes, it is Alina who has to prove herself worthy of inclusion in the top group again. Don't know where Tursynbayeva trains now, or even is present, and what special arrangements are in place with Kvitelashvili?

Does #TeamTutberidzeForProgress want to prove the Tutberidze Effect is real and suitable for application to athletes in all age categories with the desired results? Or applicable only on children and young adolescents? Not so much the actual training regimen, but the psychological adaptation to the wants and needs of older adolescent and even young adult skaters, i.e. persons capable of reasoning/argumentating and making their own decisions? For this reason of validation alone I want Alina to stay and train to remain competitive, but of course my wishes are of no significance ;-)

 

[Finley]

I'm sure there have been conflicts between Alina and her coaches multiple times throughout the course of their training together. I'd be shocked if anyone thought there wasn't. It's inevitable.

My family can get on my last nerve on a 3 day camping trip. If we ever tried something like getting ready for a sporting event I can guarantee that lives would be lost.

Taking a break removes the pressure. That will help.

Letting Alina make her own choice will help too.

 

[P44]

I think Alina herself isn't sure about what she will do in the years to come. I think she just wants to stop competitions but it would probably be complicated to announce a definitive retirement. Because ultimately she leaves herself the right to come back if she wants to.
But I find it hard to imagine that she could return to competition. She will probably have more free time and more fun. I do not see what could lead her to regret the competitions. It's not like she "needs" this. A lot of doors are open to her now.

 

[KOBOT37]

How so?

Alina is great figure skater, with huge popularity and can generate enough money even outside of FS. Unless she wins another Olympics, it's unlikely that her place in FS history changes that much... so from pragmatic point of view, she doesn't need Eteri(or Figure Skating) at all.

Meanwhile if Eteri wants to prove that she is capable of working with seniors and kill that 'she can only train pre puberty girls' argument and once and for good, Alina is her best (and for at least, another ~2 years) bet. Sure Eteri isn't going to get kicked out of Sambo but her legacy depends on Alina significantly while Alina's Legacy... doesn't depends on Eteri anymore. Also, while Lipnitskaya Leaving Eteri, Med Leaving Eteri and possible Alina Leaving Eteri are vastly different, it is still her best student leaving her team after turning 16-17 years old, Once Is Chance, Twice is Coincidence, Third Time Is A Pattern, as they say. None of them are going to go broke without each other but if Any of them needs the other, it's Eteri who needs Alina.

Moris is the most puzzling case in Khrustalny, in fact he is role model for 'skating for pleasure'-concept which Alina repeated many times this year, how he manages to take it easy at a place which isn't exactly known for high tolerance to taking it easy is question probably no one outside of Sambo can answer

 

[Lunalovesskating]

Not a day without drama....

 

[nussnacker]

Daaaamn, team Tutberidze responds!

 

[Edwin]

....

Good posting, thanks. Perhaps explains why in my eyes, Eteri Georgiyevna looked dejected and sort of disappointed in her short interview after Alina's.

Perhaps only after a successful World Championships she will open up and give a good and exhaustive interview again, having lived through yet another tumultuous season. Before announcing there will be a Show of Champions again, of course.

 

[Fluture]

Not a day without drama....

What?? I still haven’t processed what happened yesterday. What is it this time?

 

[nussnacker]

What?? I still haven’t processed what happened yesterday. What is it this time?

Team Tutberidze account commented on whole thing, and Tarasova and Plushenko’s comments in particular.
Gotta love that for once they stood up for Alina against Tarasova.

 

[Lunalovesskating]

What?? I still haven’t processed what happened yesterday. What is it this time?

Go to instagram. Team Tutberidzes account

 

[Fluture]

Go to instagram. Team Tutberidzes account

Oh. Wow. Don‘t even know what to say about this.