2019-20 Russian Ladies' Figure Skating

[DenissVFan]

The top 24sb which has been posted here before inculde
1. Kostornaia
2. Trusova
3. Sherbakova
5. Medvedeva
(6. Valieva)
7. Zagitova
10. Sinitsyna
11. Tuktamysheva
(18. Usacheva)
19. Vasilieva
21. Tarakanova

Tuktamysheva is 7th and Zagitova 8th now.

 

[LRK]

Just my two cents on this Eteri's sister-business.

I don't know Russian, and have never to my recollection even heard of Eteri's sister before, so I'm not qualified to comment on what she said.

But I think it's worth remembering this:

Eteri's sister is not Eteri. Nor does she speak for Team Eteri. Nor is there any reason to suppose that Eteri has any control over what her sister chooses to do or say. Nor is Eteri in any way obligated to run around making comments about her sister's comments.

(Seriously, I remember when there was a "NEWS! Plushenko's Wife Says --- "-thread in the Edge which caused a lot of ruckus. People. Skaters or coaches aren't responsible for what their family members may choose to say. Nor is it for them to tell said family members to shut up. If people blow these things out of proportion, it's on them.)

 

[Scott512]

Publicly yes. In private it will be hard to say. How many of her endorsements and shows are through Eteri? Does Alina have her own private agent? Does Sabina still want to join Eteri’s group someday? What does Eteri think is in her own best interests to do with the backup skaters on her own team?

Alina could still come out guns blazing at Russian nationals. So all this bellyaching may not matter in the end anyway.

If Eteri really did say Alina needs to think about whether she wants to retire or continue, she does have a point. Alina could retire on a relatively high note. She could continue and hope that puberty is cruel to the new seniors/upcoming juniors. She could continue and risk a slow fade away like Leonova. She could retire and then make a comeback. There are many options open to her, and retirement is one of those options, but not the only one. If she does retire it will be better for her to retire on her own terms in a planned way than to be forced to retire out of irrelevance.

Basically Alina is at a crossroads that comes to every skater, but her situation is uniquely complicated because of the sudden senior depth in her country, and that she is training in a camp that is constantly pushing the envelope as far as training methods, and trains skaters almost in bulk, but hasn’t figured out a graduation pipeline yet. Alina may turn out to
be the test case of successfully graduating (whatever that may look like).

amazing post with many possibilities for Alina. we just don't know what's going on. It is possible she is not the main concern of the coaches anymore because of 3A plus Kamila plus the boys she coaches. To me Alina if she wants to continue needs to be the top priority of a coach or one of the top priorities at the very least. It's not it's not the case anymore with Eteri then she needs to move on. If she's okay with being second fiddle she should stay.

 

[Vilord]

Tuktamysheva is 7th and Zagitova 8th now.

Sorry I missed that. But either way it makes no difference for the GP assignments since I expect them both to get two (assuming they dont retire or are injured of course)

 

[RobinA]

Prepare to be disappointed, then.

No, I take the time to make up opinions to post on forums. 51 years of skating fandom, you learn the cycles.

 

[lariko]

Alina went into the final... plenty of other didn’t, the debutantes, the veterans, Russians, non-Russians... if Alina wishes to keep skating, I am happy to keep watching. If she wants to kick off a different career path, I am wishing her success in her future endeavours. She gifted me with unforgettable moments including this season.

 

[Bentley]

Alina went into the final... plenty of other didn’t, the debutantes, the veterans, Russians, non-Russians... if Alina wishes to keep skating, I am happy to keep watching. If she wants to kick off a different career path, I am wishing her success in her future endeavours. She gifted me with unforgettable moments including this season.

I agree!!! I love her skating, no matter how many mistakes she makes. If she chooses to keep skating, I will keep cheering for her. But if she chooses to retire and pursue other opportunities I wish her all the best. She already has won every gold there is, she owes no one.

 

[drivingmissdaisy]

I do wonder to what extent her marketability is tied to her previous outstanding results, such that her reputation could be tarnished if she has many disappointing finishes and brands are more hesitant to use her as an ambassador. Today she is the reigning OGMist and WGMist and viewed as a great champion, possibly the most decorated Russian woman ever despite being only 17. If she loses event after event for the next few years to the trio, would that affect her legacy?

 

[Edwin]

I do wonder to what extent her marketability is tied to her previous outstanding results, such that her reputation could be tarnished if she has many disappointing finishes and brands are more hesitant to use her as an ambassador. Today she is the reigning OGMist and WGMist and viewed as a great champion, possibly the most decorated Russian woman ever despite being only 17. If she loses event after event for the next few years to the trio, would that affect her legacy?

Only in the eyes of those who want it to. Olympic Gold medals never tarnish, and the name Alina Zagitova will remain in the annals of figure skating and on the Wall of Accomplishments in Sambo-70 entrance hall.

Undoubtedly the commercial value of a person falls if he/she isn't in the pictures anymore. Does anybody still see Emma Watson in advertisements, now she has clearly moved away from her fame as Hermione Granger?

I doubt a humble and shy person like Alina desires a life in showbizz, wants to become a center spread, or a gossip columns regular.

At 17 she still dreams of her own Japanese restaurant, a pottery? Perhaps a small but extended exposure in sports and young adult fashion or makeup promotion? (I can imagine Anna and Alyona following her in this)

First things first, a good graduation from 11th grade, a drivers license and other such worldly things any person needs to get a good start in adult life.

And of course, perhaps finding love?

 

[Manitou]

Alina went into the final... plenty of other didn’t, the debutantes, the veterans, Russians, non-Russians... if Alina wishes to keep skating, I am happy to keep watching. If she wants to kick off a different career path, I am wishing her success in her future endeavours. She gifted me with unforgettable moments including this season.

I agree with it. My personal judgement is that in order to be truly competitive against the new army of teenagers she needs to do a major body adjustment. And that probably is not something really healthy, so I am OK with her not doing it. I am fine if she focuses entirely on shows, media appearances, business and other activities. But if she is OK with trying to compete and risking landing on lower positions then she is not going to lose reputation in my eyes. She earned it and it will stay.

 

[Baron Vladimir]

Then there is the SB top24 and WS top24. I cant find anywhere in the rules that one is supposed to trump the other one but last season WS seemed to count higher than SB (which I dont think it should) so therefor Im going to start with the WS list. I did the calculations on how many points they will carry over to next season based on what they have now. Of course a lot will change with the championchips and also seemingly irrelevant but verry useful WS wise international competitions like Metror Tourn cup (next up I think).

ISU World standings is taking into account performance of a skater in 3 years across the different competitions, and some other famous skater like Plushenko and Yuna didn't benefit of it for not competing regularly in the past. I think it's fair and skaters who compete more in ISU competitions (and who we as a public are able to see more times after all) should be rewarded somehow. Maybe it is not that fair for first time seniors and skaters with a year long injury, but overall, i found the ranking system fine, because the current season is still giving you the most points and regular competitors deserve a bonus for just being there 'for the public' more common.

 

[fabienne1996]

Only in the eyes of those who want it to. Olympic Gold medals never tarnish, and the name Alina Zagitova will remain in the annals of figure skating and on the Wall of Accomplishments in Sambo-70 entrance hall.

Undoubtedly the commercial value of a person falls if he/she isn't in the pictures anymore. Does anybody still see Emma Watson in advertisements, now she has clearly moved away from her fame as Hermione Granger?

I doubt a humble and shy person like Alina desires a life in showbizz, wants to become a center spread, or a gossip columns regular.

At 17 she still dreams of her own Japanese restaurant, a pottery? Perhaps a small but extended exposure in sports and young adult fashion or makeup?

First things first, a good graduation from 11th grade, a drivers license and other such worldly things any person needs to get a good start in adult life.

And of course, perhaps finding love?

Emma Watson still starred in movies after harry potter. The best knowm after harry potter should be the beauty &and the beast remake where she played belle , also is/was modeling, so yes Emma Watson ist still seen, right know the media was speculating not long ago if she has soemthing with her ex co star Tom Felton who played draco malfoy

 

[Vilord]

Only in the eyes of those who want it to. Olympic Gold medals never tarnish, and the name Alina Zagitova will remain in the annals of figure skating and on the Wall of Accomplishments in Sambo-70 entrance hall.

Undoubtedly the commercial value of a person falls if he/she isn't in the pictures anymore. Does anybody still see Emma Watson in advertisements, now she has clearly moved away from her fame as Hermione Granger?

I doubt a humble and shy person like Alina desires a life in showbizz, wants to become a center spread, or a gossip columns regular.

At 17 she still dreams of her own Japanese restaurant, a pottery? Perhaps a small but extended exposure in sports and young adult fashion or makeup?

First things first, a good graduation from 11th grade, a drivers license and other such worldly things any person needs to get a good start in adult life.

And of course, perhaps finding love?

Emma Watson was possibly the worst comparison you could have picked out of Harry Potter for diminished fame since I would argue she is still verry famous and has been in several movies since (high status one like Beauty and the beast) is an FN women ambasador and a model. What you said is true for basicaly everyone of the young stars of Harry Potter apart from her and possibly Daniel Radcliff.

 

[Autumn Leaves]

I do wonder to what extent her marketability is tied to her previous outstanding results, such that her reputation could be tarnished if she has many disappointing finishes and brands are more hesitant to use her as an ambassador. Today she is the reigning OGMist and WGMist and viewed as a great champion, possibly the most decorated Russian woman ever despite being only 17. If she loses event after event for the next few years to the trio, would that affect her legacy?

I think the problem with the sponsorships isn’t being out of the podium; that’s perfectly ok for someone with star quality. The problem would be not being able to qualify for major competitions. If you can’t show at Worlds, you can’t help with the brand awareness. That’s the big problem with the deep field in Russia. This year we are facing a situation, where three (!!!) World, Euro, National and GP champions, one of them Olympic champion, may have to skip Worlds despite being active, in great shape, strong, motivated and young. We live in extraordinary times...

 

[BabySloth]

I don't think missing Worlds (or even retiring, though I hope it's still far away for them) would strip Alina or Zhenya of their respective sponsorships. Yuna Kim is the ambassador and the face of New Balance brand in Korea despite having retired 5 years ago.
They have to keep their celebrity status, but that can be done without competing. Skating in shows, doing photoshoots, appearing on TV.

 

[icybear]

Isn't Adelina Sotnikova still sponsored by Nike even though her time in the spotlight was diminutive and 5 years ago. Alina popularity is well beyond hers so I dont think sponsors are going to drop her easily.

 

[Edwin]

Emma Watson was possibly the worst comparison you could have picked out of Harry Potter for diminished fame since I would argue she is still verry famous and has been in several movies since (high status one like Beauty and the beast) is an FN women ambasador and a model. What you said is true for basicaly everyone of the young stars of Harry Potter apart from her and possibly Daniel Radcliff.

My bad, I only by your answer remembered Emma's Burberry campaign and the later movies in which she appeared. Plus her Ivy League stint, Prius promotion and UN ambassadorship. And some scandal over fake or not nude photographs and several relationships, the price of fame and having paparazzi on your back. Must look her later career up.
Perhaps Alina Kabayeva would be another comparison, but not a better one per se.

Best leave it at this, Alina is still pure and unspoiled, and untainted by any scandal.

 

[hippomoomin]

I also agree it is reasonable to say that Alina needs to think about her future direction, especially whether herself wants to continue a competitive career or not.
She has already won all major titles so there should be no regret if she retires, unlike Evgenia, who is strongly motivated because she still wants to prove a lot of things (e.g., Olympic Gold, thrive under a different coach, better technique...). Alina's skills are still there, and she can probably improve in some aspects at the age of 17 (If Evgenia can do it at 19 or 20, why cannot Alina?). The whole issue is motivation. With strong teammates, it is hard to face them from day to day. She could move to a different coach while remains a good relationship with Eteri, but it will be relocation, adjusting to a new environment and so on, all for the sake of achieving what she has already achieved at best? She probably does not have the motivation to do that even though she could.

Publicly yes. In private it will be hard to say. How many of her endorsements and shows are through Eteri? Does Alina have her own private agent? Does Sabina still want to join Eteri’s group someday? What does Eteri think is in her own best interests to do with the backup skaters on her own team?

Alina could still come out guns blazing at Russian nationals. So all this bellyaching may not matter in the end anyway.

If Eteri really did say Alina needs to think about whether she wants to retire or continue, she does have a point. Alina could retire on a relatively high note. She could continue and hope that puberty is cruel to the new seniors/upcoming juniors. She could continue and risk a slow fade away like Leonova. She could retire and then make a comeback. There are many options open to her, and retirement is one of those options, but not the only one. If she does retire it will be better for her to retire on her own terms in a planned way than to be forced to retire out of irrelevance.

Basically Alina is at a crossroads that comes to every skater, but her situation is uniquely complicated because of the sudden senior depth in her country, and that she is training in a camp that is constantly pushing the envelope as far as training methods, and trains skaters almost in bulk, but hasn’t figured out a graduation pipeline yet. Alina may turn out to
be the test case of successfully graduating (whatever that may look like).

 

[Scott512]

Isn't Adelina Sotnikova still sponsored by Nike even though her time in the spotlight was diminutive and 5 years ago. Alina popularity is well beyond hers so I dont think sponsors are going to drop her easily.

True Icy. sponsors will not drop Alina right away even if and when she retires. They may scale her paid down a little bit year after year but they won't drop her.

 

[Jontor]

So less of a mess than for this season because I think everynoe who is "guaranteed a spot" (apart from maybe one) will actualy get one at least. Unless Vasilieva or Tarakanova is held back in juniors but since they are both senior eligeble this year i dont see the point of them continuing to skate in juniors for another season.

Great analysis!

Well, I've said it before, I think as it stands now, Vasilieva and Tarakanova will be kept juniors next season as well. As you said, they were senior eligible already this season, but that didn't help them.

Or, Vasilieva might get one spot, but they will ignore Tarakanova as they did with Gubanova this year.

I think a big factor we must consider here is that FS is also very dependent on their stars. Samodurova is still the EC, and Konstantinova has her followers in Russia. RusFed will want to show names that people know. And nobody knows who Vasilieva and Tarakanova is...and that is their problem.