And here is the last, third part of the interview with the young and eager Malinin; flushed with success and well adjusted Naumov, & intractable and airy Torgashev, team USA at JWC.
Is It Expensive to Train in the States
Malinin: It depends on the results. On a certain level of achievement, they receive boots and blades. They pay for the ice time, but since he is coached by his parents, the price is lower. They also have flights and hotels paid for by the Federation
Torgashev: Yes, it is expensive. The Federation helps. The grants are not automatic if you made the team; it is the results that matter. One has to prove to the Federation that you are worth helping. That opens up money for choreography, costumes, skates, coaching. But overall, one has to pay their own way.
Question to Torgashev: What’s your current situation?
Torgashev: The Federation is helping him currently. The better his results, the more funding he could count on.
Naumov: Yes, they receive funding from the Federation for skates and costumes. If you make the national team, you receive a good level of support. He doesn’t think it differs that much from in Russia, though he does not know for sure.
Question to Naumov: Could you eyeball how pricey it is to just go and figure skate in the States? Can many people afford it there?
Naumov: This is a difficult question, he doesn’t even know how to respond to it (looks at his dad). Dad tells him to tell as is.
Naumov: It is expensive, before you make the team, as you are building up. Skates, ice time, coaching. Obviously, he counts himself lucky. It is probably not for everyone.
Figure Skating Doesn’t Seem Popular in the States?
Malinin: It’s too expensive. You need to pay for the ice time etc, when starting out. In Russia, there are many people who skate, so maybe that drives down the prices. Plus, there are a lot of other sports in America, so people are more drawn towards the other sports.
Torgashev: In US, the popular sports are basketball, football and baseball. All these team sports. Not many are aware of figure skating as a sport, had seen a competition or wanted to try it out. They give a ball to their kids, and that’s what they keep doing as sports.
Also the word figure skating does not really attract people. He thinks if more people saw figure skating, maybe they would have liked it. It’s like dancing, some people like watching it, others don’t.
Of course, he would have wanted more fans in the USA, like in Russia or Japan. But he appreciates his American fans who message him about watching his skating and liking it, even if it is just a couple. It’s all that he needs.
Question to Torgashev: Do you have audience during the competitions in the States?
Torgashev: Yes, there are people who come to watch. Sometimes the stadium is half-full.
Naumov: (sighs) Yes, compared to twenty years ago, the popularity of figure skating in America had declined. Back then, many people were watching it, and the TV broadcasted the competitions. They still do, but much less. Sometimes they cherry pick as little as possible. But some people are interested in checking out what Chen is up to, and he gets advertisement. But there is no comparison to Hanyu’s fandom in Japan. He’s like a god there. Back at the time of Kwan and Lipinsky, figure skating was a popular sport. That was the Golden Era of the figure skating, back in his parents’ times.
Question to Naumov: Did the other sports push figure skating to the curb?
Naumov’s dad: The Federation lost its support and a huge TV contract with ABC after the pair scandal. After that contract expired, the TV broadcasts slowly disappeared.
Even the big tours like Stars on Ice/Champions on ICe failed because people stopped attending without the big stars. No more hype, no more drama with Nancy and Tonya, no more interest.
Is the national competition among men steeper in USA or in Russia?
Malinin: He thinks it’s in Russia.
Question to Malinin: Is it because there are more figure skaters?
Malinin: Yes, because it is less expensive to start out.
Naumov (expels a breath): Yes, he thinks it’s hard in Russia. All the boys are on the super-high level, so it’s hard to make it. Like in Tutberidze’s group, she has plenty of students, all in one place, both boys and girls, and one is better than the other. So it is a continuous competition. He is used to the States, where it is more spread out throughout the regions, more of individual space (for each emerging skater?). But don’t imagine it’s easy either. He doesn’t think the difference is that big. But it exists. He thinks it is a bit easier in America.
Torgashev: He is unsure. There are a lot of good athlete approximately on the same level. He saw the results of the Russian Nationals and whoever was in the fifth position (Lariko: that would be Mozalev, sorry, couldn’t resist) could have been the first. So, the competition is who shows himself better on that given day. In USA, they fight it over for the second through the fourth placements. Because the top guy is Nathan, and it is impossible to beat him.
What do you think about the success of the Russian ladies in figure skating?
Torgashev: He sees them doing quads, makes him think he needs to do better than that. When ladies do quads, it motivates gentlemen to work on quads and perform them easily. He would not have wanted to compete against the Russian ladies at the moment. They are too very, very, very, very good in competition.
Naumov: He is impressed, and he agrees it’s a revolution. In the last three years the ladies moved from doing a triple-triple combo as the coolest thing to triple axels and quad, quad, quad… If someone said it would happen three years ago, nobody would have believed it. He thinks it’s excellent progress in the sport. They also have Alicia, who is tiny but super-strong, so the competition is coming their way from USA.
Malinin: He thinks it’s cute that the girls are already jumping quads. A couple of years ago he thought the girls would never jump quads. Now all of them do. Hell bells.
Who are your idols in figure skating?
Malinin: Nathan Chen and before he liked Michail Kolyada, his lutz was great
Torgashev: Patrick Chan, he is the one Torgashev watches to learn from, how he skates, how he won the WC, because of his excellent skating skills and stable jumps. Denis Ten, his skating skills were deluxe.
Naumov: When he was young he watched figure skating all the time. And still watches everyone and learns from everyone. He does not feel he had a single idol. For example, from Yagudin, he is crazy about Yagudin’s vertical take off on the jumps, particularly axel (lariko: I am trying to interpret him talking with his hands here) and Plushenko, he used to watch Plushenko skate non-stop. Jumps and consistency in each competition.
Daisuke Takahashi for his skating skills and blade control. So, yes he watches everyone, learns from everyone.
Chen, Hanyu, what’s his name (remains unnamed) he takes bits of their performances that he admires and studies them. But on the other hand...
Plushenko… yeah. Plushenko. He always rooted for him, 2010 was hard for him with divided loyalties. When the Americain won without a quad, his free was shaky, but he still went for everything and rotated everything, proving himself. But it was just after the change of the system, and that GoE…yeah. On his last jump, the triple lutz, he flew out of it like that (mimics horizontally with his hand) it was impossible to save it, but he did and added a double toeloop to it too. He was overawed.
(lariko: At this point I can safely say that Naumov’s idol is Plushenko, he is all bright-eyed and excited)
Question to Naumov: Do you feel that the result was unfair?
Naumov: It was right, but it wasn’t right. He understands how the scoring worked, but he wanted it to be different. It’s politics.
Question to Naumov: Had he ever met Evan L or Plushenko?
Naumov: No, never, but he wished he did.
Question to Naumov: Had he ever met anyone else he admired as a young skater?
Naumov: He met Chen, and he watched him raise through the ranks and met him at the Nationals, using the same locker room. He talked to him and introduced himself.
How much of you (%) is American, and how much--Russian?
Torgashev: Maybe 65% Americain, 35% Russian
Malinin: I never had been to Russia, so because of that 70% American, 30% Russian
Naumov: A difficult question. Fifty-fifty?
Question to Naumov: Well, I am going to reveal to you that you are the most Russian of the group, Ilya said he was 70/30 and Andrew said he was 65/35. So you win the title of the most Russian on the American team here.
His dad calls Naumov an American with Russian spare parts
Naumov: Russia will always be in my heart, and my family is all Russia. I can’t really say that I am more American than Russian because of my family, grandparents. So, yes, 50:50.
. As engrossing and as stirring as Bloodstream is and was, I think "I Cant Go on Without You" is an amazing piece of choreo as well (when Jason stutter steps across the ice, it reminds me of Toller in "Graduation Ball", and my heart is happy
When Jason skates well, he will earn the commensurate scores and probably medal.
covid-19
tiny ice sheet in a barn
oes he go to a regular school/did they consider home-schooling
I like this description of all our US skaters who are sons of Russian émigrés. 
