2020-21 Russian Ladies' Figure Skating

[chasingneverland]

Someone mentioned Daria, she could've gained some experience by being here and Kamila would've lost nothing by just skating one program in the gala instead of two.

Maybe they did ask her to and she didn't want to? Maybe even due to potential exposure to COVID, etc. I mean Evgenia and Anna are already sick. Also, maybe Daria wants to focus on senior nationals - it would be her first one. (Same with Kamila but she might have wanted to.) Or maybe they originally planned on sending Anna, Evgenia, Alina, and Kamila. So Anna and Evgenia also would have done two exhibitions. With them both withdrawing, and Alina and Kamila already going, and two empty spots, they just had them do another one each - they would have already made travel plans for Alina and Kamila.

 

[Magill]

Maybe they did ask her to and she didn't want to? Maybe even due to potential exposure to COVID, etc. I mean Evgenia and Anna are already sick. Also, maybe Daria wants to focus on senior nationals - it would be her first one. (Same with Kamila but she might have wanted to.) Or maybe they originally planned on sending Anna, Evgenia, Alina, and Kamila. So Anna and Evgenia also would have done two exhibitions. With them both withdrawing, and Alina and Kamila already going, and two empty spots, they just had them do another one each - they would have already made travel plans for Alina and Kamila.

If Anna and Evgenia were able to come, they would have competed, unlike Alina and Kamila, so their spots would count among the winners/participants.
As for Daria having been invited and not wanting to come, pardon me, but that is a completely unlikely scenario in the Russian ladies realities.

 

[Novalis]

I would say at least two years is awhile. Alena was also a junior at was at Euros that year too - before placing second at the JGPF.

Right, I thought you were only talking about Kamila. Yes, of course it's common that some junior or novices (like the two Eteri boys here) perform at these events

 

[Bluediamonds09]

Is Alina portraying the gypsy woman Esmerelda from Hunchback of Notre Dame? I hear the music at the beginning is "Notre Dame de Paris" done operatic style; then its a slow medley; then there's this quick piece of music for 10 seconds that sounds vaguely middle eastern; then it switches to.... Ave Maria?

 

[Scott512]

Yes, she is. At this point, it’s obvious she’s their number one Olympic hope - even in front of Anna - and not only theirs but of the entire RusFed. And quite frankly, the way they’re showing it, is driving me mad.

All this “she‘s too good for juniors so we have her at senior test skates“ - No. Just no. We saw how this kind of insane hype went with Lipnitskaya. We saw what it did to Gracie Gold, in fact, she spoke openly about its disastrous effects. We see US figure skating not having learned anything at all as they‘re currently doing the same to Alysa Liu. (i wonder, frankly, if we might be seeing something similar in Sasha? She was the one expected to win after all, the Russian Rocket, the quad queen, the one who would “tear her competition into pieces“. That‘s a lot of pressure on a 15/16 year old) Sure, Kamila is not Yulia, she‘s not Gracie and not Alysa either. She might make it. But why on earth would you even risk it? There’s enough pressure on Russian ladies as it is. Why single her out and alienate from all her peers by making it seem as if she‘s too good for them? She is brilliant, no one doubts that. But she‘s also still a child. And I‘m sorry to say this but I‘m reminded of that very fact every time I see her skate. She looks terrified. All.the.time. Even when she‘s doing well, I‘m afraid she‘ll start crying any minute. Is that good? Is that worth it for an OGM? Maybe.

And don‘t get me wrong - she has everything I‘d love in a skater. The lines, the extensions, fluidity, softness, beautiful skating. Her SP is the best program of the season for me so far. But I just cannot get over the treatment of the media, RusFed and her own team and every time I watch her, this impression gets worse. I can‘t help it, it makes me uncomfortable. Because in the end, all I see is a very talented, very brilliant but ultimately scared child. And for me, that‘s not something I enjoy watching.

End of rant. I‘m sure I‘ll get the usual “you‘re just an Eteri hater!“ comments. That‘s fine. I‘d just like to say that I wish Kamila all the best and sincerely hope she will be one of those young hyped prodigies who do make it without being overwhelmed by the pressure. She did nothing wrong and she deserves to be happy.

Kamila needs to skate. She is super talented that's why she's getting a push. But she hardly skates in any events. I mean two Russian Cup events and Nationals is not much. The pandemic has caused her to be pushed up to the senior level on a temporary basis only.. if they were skating Junior events as normal she would be doing some of those. This is the best option for her development as well as that of Darya and Maya.

KV is not ahead of Anna at this point. She may be ahead of Anna year from now but that remains to be seen. I consider Kamila Anna Sasha and aliona if she gets her triple axel back on the same level. Any of the four are capable of winning any event. It will be that way next month at Nationals.

As for pressure and expectations that's part of the game. That's part of the deal.

As for the Federation they have a very dubious reputation amongst us here at Golden Skate.

 

[chasingneverland]

If Anna and Evgenia were able to come, they would have competed, unlike Alina and Kamila, so their spots would count among the winners/participants.
As for Daria having been invited and not wanting to come, pardon me, but that is a completely unlikely scenario in the Russian ladies realities.

I meant regarding travel plans. I mean Anna literally withdrew right before it. And it's not like they necessarily had a designated 6 exhibition spots for guests - it's actually much more likely that they had total spots because that affects the time.

 

[Magill]

I meant regarding travel plans. I mean Anna literally withdrew right before it. And it's not like they necessarily had a designated 6 exhibition spots for guests - it's actually much more likely that they had total spots because that affects the time.

Still, Anna and Evgenia would have competed and would have been rewarded some placements and then perfom during the spots reserved in the general gala schedule for these placements. When they were not there, these places were taken by someone else who performed at these gala spots instead of them. That's why I find this course of events highly unlikely. But anyway .... have a nice Sunday night, wherever you are!

 

[nussnacker]

I'm guessing it was never even Eteri's decision. More likely the organizers looked at who's popular: "Alina obviously, and Kamila gets ridiculous amount of hits on Youtube. Okay, we want those two. Ask Eteri for two programs each".

that's also what I think. I love Daria, and she's gaining popularity, she's also a very beautiful skater, but Kamila at this point is way more famous and loved not just among juniors, but overall in Russia. The organizers needed a good show, which will sell out all tickets, so inviting Alina, probably the most popular skater in Russia now, and Kamila a young fenom, who's popularity is growing by day, was probably a no-brainer.

Special shout-out to her easy effortless 4T. I have no idea what happened between her last stage and now, but what is this new jump, on first glance it looked like a triple. Bravo to Kami, the GOE for that one would be monstrous.

 

[Zora]

The issue with getting zero points for a quad attempt (or for that matter any attempt because there are still plenty of falls on triples and double axels) is that it's actually worse than if you just ignored the element at all and skated through it. That's ridiculous. Would you make it the same if you fall on your step sequence or fall out of your spin? And then how would falling on a jump that be worth less (because of negative GOE) than if you just tripped randomly while not attempting any element (spin/jump/etc)? That's absurd.

It wouldn't be worse, because I wrote I would give no deduction, just zero points, I also included step sequences and spins. I would only give a deduction if you fall somewhere in between. There are plenty of other sports where you get nothing at all if you fail.
I remember Yuzuru Hanyu falling down 5 times and he still got silver.

 

[chasingneverland]

Still, Anna and Evgenia would have competed and would have been rewarded some placements and then perfom during the spots reserved in the general gala schedule for these placements. When they were not there, these places were taken by someone else who performed at these gala spots instead of them. That's why I find this course of events highly unlikely. But anyway .... have a nice Sunday night, wherever you are!

You might be right. I mean it was in Moscow. But the organizers might just have asked people they already intended to perform. I mean after all, it isn't a competitive skate - it's just for fun haha. It's not like it gives Kamila much more practice than if she were to practice her quads in her own rink haha. And a for fun environment is much different than a competitive environment.

Thanks You too! (It's actually 1pm where I am haha.)

 

[chasingneverland]

It wouldn't be worse, because I wrote I would give no deduction, just zero points, I also included step sequences and spins. I would only give a deduction if you fall somewhere in between. There are plenty of other sports where you get nothing at all if you fail.
I remember Yuzuru Hanyu falling down 5 times and he still got silver.

Or sorry, I misunderstood. However, the issue is that getting nothing at all is worse than if you attempt anything. What sports get nothing at all if you fail. Because rotating the jump and then falling isn't technically failing - it's just failing at landing.

 

[Magill]

You might be right. I mean it was in Moscow. But the organizers might just have asked people they already intended to perform. I mean after all, it isn't a competitive skate - it's just for fun haha. It's not like it gives Kamila much more practice than if she were to practice her quads in her own rink haha. And a for fun environment is much different than a competitive environment.

Thanks You too! (It's actually 1pm where I am haha.)

Ha ha! So have a nice Sunday night in a couple of hours

 

[bubblecherry]

Didn’t have much time to comment on Rostelecom this weekend. I’m pretty sad for Sasha. I still like her SP for her and if she’s not injured, that 3A will be landed soon, I’m sure of it. Her FS was pretty bad. 67 TES with only 3 landed jumping passes (AND mistakes on those as well) is just crazy. PCS obviously a joke. Regardless, just not a good competition for her and I hope she’s not injured and can get these jumps landed.

Aliona was nice to watch. I don’t know, something about her spins are really bothering me. They’re pretty centered but they are slow and she has problems with extending her legs and arms in most of them. The SP is just bad and the FS was a bit better to me this week. All of the smalls issues we saw last week are still there and even though she’s skating visibly clean, it’s just not as remarkable as it once was. Jumps, spins, skating, etc. The good thing is that Aliona has good skating skills and powerful legs to help her work through all these issues. I think she can solve all of these problems but she does need time.

I like Liza’s FS for her. I don’t enjoy her skating or jumps very much but good for her for winning here. I like her mentality and I’m happy to see her still competing and doing well.

Anna was really missed here. I hope she recovers soon. She has a sophistication and class to her performances and programs that we didn’t really see here this weekend. I hope she’s back to top form by RusNats.

Also deeply missing Zhenya I hope her recovery from injury and potentially Covid are going well. Fun fact: Evgenia’s scores at last year’s Rostelecom (with an international judging panel nonetheless) would have won this year. I would love to see a healthy Zhenya back with Eteri’s training in competition this season. Competition really is missing her world class, top star status, too, IMO. I think it could’ve been a great season for her. But could’ve/should’ve/would’ve, I guess I’ll just go watch her magical performances from a year ago and just be sad to myself

 

[sclloyd]

I cannot be the only one upset that Sasha’s ex is more interesting than her FS.

Aliona’s ex made me relieved, she seemed to be much more comfortable, and “Aliona like”, especially the second half. Which tells me she really does just need some more time with the new FS. HOWEVER. Just like with Sasha, the ex has more intrigue, somehow.

Kamila is gorgeous and I ADORE her but why do her and Alina get two ex spots over the actual competitors?

 

[NadezhdaNadya]

I wonder If Tuktamysheva is going to use Arabic music again for her future programs? She won Worlds 2015 with Arabic song for her FS (actually just a sample from the original song). I just read that this song was everywhere in Damascus in 1992:

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

youtu.be

 

[Thrashergurl]

I didn’t realize any of what you posted below. I don’t typically watch the Cup of Russia galas, because it’s never televised in my area. I had no idea that these girls all performed in the galas before being age eligible. Based on what you posted , it does make sense to have Kamila perform here. I appreciate that you provided facts without any derogatory insults. I don’t know that some posters understand that many of us don’t follow these girls as you do and we don’t know all of the history. (I know they beat all the senior ladies at Nationals and were a huge sensation, but I didn’t know they were at the gala.)

Sasha and Alena have had plenty of special treatment. It's crazy how easy and fast it is to forget that the narrative when they were juniors was all the pushing of the 3A, especially the quad queen, to the detriment of Alina. And before that it was Alina who was crowned and before that Evgenia and so on. Hell, Liza used to be the junior phenomenon who was winning and beating girls much older. Also the idea that they left because of special treatment for Kamila. As juniors they used to skate exhibitions at senior grand prixs too, as have others before them and since. All three of them beat all eligible seniors at Nationals in 2019. In fact, even skating as seniors in the Russian Cup (while still juniors internationally) isn't new. Alena actually won the fourth and fifth stage in 2017, two years before she was senior internationally. Were there complaints then? She deserved to be there and no rules were broken. The ONLY difference this year is that Kamila was allowed to compete in senior test skates - everything else has been the same as usual regarding age eligibility. And that happened after Sasha and Alena left.

 

[colormyworld240]

Many junior skaters do the gala at their home GP/Worlds/Olympics, it’s a great way to get experience and skaters are invited to galas by the organizers. In Russia, many have including Elena, Alena, Kamila, etc. Alysa did in the states. And Eunsoo was in the gala at the Olympics as a junior. The gala is treated like a show so I don’t see it as overhype, it’s normal.

Senior test skates for Kamila was abnormal and I think that was putting too much pressure on her. That gala wasn’t as it’s not a competition. As for why they didn’t have Daria, I’m sure the organizers pick who can draw the most attention. Normally they pick one skater (as they did when Alena skated and Sasha didn’t and Elena skates when Maria and others didn’t).

 

[McBibus]

The only thing that was weird to me was that Kamila (and Alina, but I guess it's because she's OGM?) skated twice in the gala. (Thrice if you include her little piece during Moris's gala, but I don't).

Personally I disagree on the double skate for guests on principle.
that way you make them the star of the gala in front of the actual competitors and that is not right

 

[TripleAxelQueens3]

Honestly, I've never felt like Sasha was an especially "unmusical" skater. For example, in both her Big Spender and Kill Bill SP, I actually feel like she is performing really well. Especially in the Big Spender SP, where she's just so charming! Yeah, she hasn't always had the best flow in her skating, but she's never been a horrible performer or far far behind her peers in terms of performing ability. Her EX from this year, and last year, show that too.

 

[Amei]

I think too many people are looking too in depth at the Valieva performing at the exhibition as it being some kind of blatant favoritism, it's not the first time that "promising" junior talent get invited to perform at the exhibitions. Last year Akatieva performed at GP Russia and that's when they were able to actually have an international event with more top name skaters. Alysa Liu performed at the Skate America gala a few weeks ago. And as lovely as Usacheva and Khromykh are, they don't have the quads or triple axels yet to really threaten the current top Russian seniors like Valieva is, so I can understand why she was picked to perform (and if you know my comment history I'm nowhere close to being a die-hard fan of Valieva's skating).