2021-22 Coaching Changes & Country/Category Switches

[LiamForeman]

Ngl I have a bad feeling about this, Sokolovskaya doesn't have any success with girls on any level.

I am still surprised by Samodelkina's move to her. Sokolovskaya did well with Mark this season, so maybe skaters want to try her out? I'm interested to see if Trusova switches to her too (or if Mark switches to Eteri)!!!!!

 

[surimi]

Solans Mazingue and Marko Gaidajenko the young Estonian ice dance team have moved to train in Montreal at IAM. I’m pleased for them as they were really good at worlds, so it will be great to see them develop under some elite level coaching.

Do you know who they were with previously?

 

[Mozartistique]

Do you know who they were with previously?

Solene's Wikipedia page hasn't been yet updated. The coaches listed are Alexei Sitnikov, Julia Zlobina, Peter Durnev, Alexander Zhulin; the training location was Moscow. Their ISU bio hasn't been changed yet either, it had " Coach Alexander Zhulin is the 1994 Olympic silver medalist" in the extra info section.

 

[moonvine]

Solans Mazingue and Marko Gaidajenko the young Estonian ice dance team have moved to train in Montreal at IAM. I’m pleased for them as they were really good at worlds, so it will be great to see them develop under some elite level coaching.

IAM is going to have to build a larger building.

 

[Weathergal]

I am still surprised by Samodelkina's move to her. Sokolovskaya did well with Mark this season, so maybe skaters want to try her out? I'm interested to see if Trusova switches to her too (or if Mark switches to Eteri)!!!!!

No offense intended, but why on earth would Mark switch to Eteri? It's clear from the interviews I've read from each of them that their partnership is working well for them.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

IAM is going to have to build a larger building.

Not they're not. They're losing teams as they're picking them up, and also, they have the school in Ontario as well.

 

[el henry]

Katarina Wolfkostin and Jeffrey Chen are switching from Igor Shpilband to the Michigan Ice Dance Academy

 

[Lamente Ariane]

Katarina Wolfkostin and Jeffrey Chen are switching from Igor Shpilband to the Michigan Ice Dance Academy

Smart decision. Whatever else you can say about Igor, it’s very clear by now that he only tends to prioritize one team at a time and W/C were never going to be his top priority. I hope MIDA will give them the time and attention they need, and programs that better show their strengths as a team.

 

[theblade]

Here's the thing: their RD was well-received with a good music edit, and fantastic choreography. The free dance was also a strong program. They were a priority team that were well-trained, and had every opportunity to win Worlds - but an unfortunate twizzle error in the RD had an impact on their competition. That is not the coaching team's fault, IMHO. Sometimes, things happen in competition.

Igor trained the previous Junior World Champions, again with solid programs and skating skills. So frankly, the coaching team is still doing something right. With MIDA just opening up, it will be interesting to see how their four senior US teams stack up at nationals. MIDA has a solid trio in Charlie, Tanith and Greg. So, two major ice dance training facilities within 30 minutes of each other in the suburbs outside of Detroit.

Also, there are fewer training issues in the US currently than in Canada, from what it appears. That has to be a plus for USFSA and competitive teams.

 

[ZeldaJo21]

Here's the thing: their RD was well-received with a good music edit, and fantastic choreography. The free dance was also a strong program. They were a priority team that were well-trained, and had every opportunity to win Worlds - but an unfortunate twizzle error in the RD had an impact on their competition. That is not the coaching team's fault, IMHO. Sometimes, things happen in competition.

Igor trained the previous Junior World Champions, again with solid programs and skating skills. So frankly, the coaching team is still doing something right. With MIDA just opening up, it will be interesting to see how their four senior US teams stack up at nationals. MIDA has a solid trio in Charlie, Tanith and Greg. So, two major ice dance training facilities within 30 minutes of each other in the suburbs outside of Detroit.

Also, there are fewer training issues in the US currently than in Canada, from what it appears. That has to be a plus for USFSA and competitive teams.

MIDA’s four Senior teams……..Bratti/Somerville, Cesanek/Yehorov, and now Wolfkostin/Chen. Who is the fourth team?

 

[removof]

Who are the coachs of MIDA?

 

[journalist101]

Who are the coachs of MIDA?

Charlie White, Tanith White, and Greg Zuerlein.

Greg Zuerlein was coaching Angela Ling and Caleb Wein who are based in NoVa but not sure if they moved when he moved to Canton.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Here's the thing: their RD was well-received with a good music edit, and fantastic choreography. The free dance was also a strong program. They were a priority team that were well-trained, and had every opportunity to win Worlds - but an unfortunate twizzle error in the RD had an impact on their competition. That is not the coaching team's fault, IMHO. Sometimes, things happen in competition.

Igor trained the previous Junior World Champions, again with solid programs and skating skills. So frankly, the coaching team is still doing something right. With MIDA just opening up, it will be interesting to see how their four senior US teams stack up at nationals. MIDA has a solid trio in Charlie, Tanith and Greg. So, two major ice dance training facilities within 30 minutes of each other in the suburbs outside of Detroit.

Also, there are fewer training issues in the US currently than in Canada, from what it appears. That has to be a plus for USFSA and competitive teams.

This isn't the first time and won't be the last that there are two major ice dance facilities so close to each other in Detroit area. There used to be the Krylova camp at DSC, and then Marina and Igor, then then the latter two split. Now we have MIDA. I'm more interested to see how MIDA does vs I.AM.

 

[theblade]

MIDA’s four Senior teams……..Bratti/Somerville, Cesanek/Yehorov, and now Wolfkostin/Chen. Who is the fourth team?

A newer team with no current senior track record, Deanna Arnold and Seiji Urano.

And yeah, the Detroit area has gone through a few ice dance school iterations in the past decade+. Obviously IAM and MIDA are more closely comparable due to the ages and competitive experiences of the coaching staff at both schools. Really a newer generation of schools, with coaches taught by the previous generation of powerhouse ice dance coaches.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

I wasn't sure where to post this news, and it may have already been posted in a fan fest or elsewhere. It's not specifically a country rep change, but two singles skaters from Ukraine (Ivan Shmuratko and Andrii Kokura) have been embraced by the French federation, so that they can continue their training. This is heartwarming news to hear:

Андрій Кокура on Instagram: "Thank to @club.olympique.courbevoie & @nathalie_laurent_depouilly for having us in such difficult time 🇺🇦 we re continuing our preparation for the next competitions"

962 likes, 16 comments - andriikokura on April 27, 2022: "Thank to @club.olympique.courbevoie & @nathalie_laurent_depouilly for having us in such difficult time 🇺🇦 we re continuing our prep..."

www.instagram.com

Andrii Kokura (UKR) Short Program 2021 Budapest Trophy

ALL OF MY VIDEOS FALL UNDER FAIR USE COPYRIGHT LAWS!!!!Most of my videos I DO NOT OWN THEY GO TO THE RESPECT OWNER OF THE MUSIC COMPANY, IOC, and FIGTHANKS F...

www.youtube.com

Anastasia Smirnova has also shared news about her and her pairs partner, Danil Siianytsia's, struggles this season as Ukrainian-born skaters (they currently compete for the U.S. internationally as juniors, domestically as seniors) -- Smirnova mentioned that two of her compatriots from Ukraine (Sonia & George ?) have come to the U.S. to train with her and Danil, in Minnesota. They are coached by Trudy Oltmanns (whose daughter, Olivia Oltmanns, used to compete in junior pairs with Josh Santillan).

 

[Rikku]

Alisa Efimova has been released for international competitions by RusFed. She and Ruben Blommaert will skate for Germany.
Eurosport article in German

 

[skylark]

Alisa Efimova has been released for international competitions by RusFed. She and Ruben Blommaert will skate for Germany.
Eurosport article in German

I'm really glad to hear this. I read an interview of Alisa when she said she was "let go" by either RusFed or specifically her training camp.

It'll be interesting to see how she and Ruben do. And skating for Germany, it seems like a good development of pairs there.

 

[GoneWithTheWind]

Cross posting from the Partner Changes thread:
Emilea Zingas, who previously skated singles for Cyprus, has switched to ice dance to partner Vadym Kolesnik for the US.

 

[LiamForeman]

No offense intended, but why on earth would Mark switch to Eteri? It's clear from the interviews I've read from each of them that their partnership is working well for them.

AT?

 

[cheerknithanson]

https://www.instagram.com/p/CdywMcLhOUp/ Looks like we have now have a Mexican ice dance team now! Harlow Stanley & Nikita Sosnenko.