2021 Sofia Trophy

[CaroLiza_fan]

OMG! Prime vest content coming right up!

Sorry for the lack of names I closed the live scoring page...I need to re-open it.

I was not actually sure who that was. There was a long wait before he started, so I assumed that Yoanis APOSTOLU was a no-show and that the guy in the waistcoat was Rosen PEEV. But, according to the livescoring page, we have our full quota.

And now another skater has come out, so that just confirms that nobody was missing. If there was somebody missing, the previous skater would have been the last.

So, it must have been Yoanis APOSTOLU in the waistcoat. And the break before him must have been for technical reasons.

Yoanis fell while doing his extended warm up before getting called, so I wonder if that unscheduled break unsettled him.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

@anonymoose_au - I just put the Ladies back on to watch the ones from Group 2 that I missed, and I immediately heard Plushenko music!!!

(For the uninitiated that are reading this, I mean "Tango Amore" by Edvin Marton).

CaroLiza_fan

 

[anonymoose_au]

@anonymoose_au - I just put the Ladies back on to watch the ones from Group 2 that I missed, and I immediately heard Plushenko music!!!

Really! I better go back and watch...although the sound quality might make it hard to properly appreciate

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Now that the Advanced Novices are over, it's time for the Junior Ladies to do their SP. And there is no shortage of them!

Here is the link for the livestream (starts at 3h 7m 37s):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOuIalva9oE&t=11257

Here is the Time Schedule:
http://sofia-trophy.clubdenkovastaviski.com/2021/ISU/pages/ST2021_JUNIORLADIES_SP_TimeSchedule.pdf

And here is the live scoring:
http://sofia-trophy.clubdenkovastaviski.com/2021/ISU/index.html?page=SEG007.HTM

Hope this helps

ALL THE BEST EVERYBODY!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[anonymoose_au]

I'm not sure how to find the second group of Advanced Novice Ladies, so I'm randomly looking through and... Big Spender alert!

Say what you will, but this song is catchy!

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Sorry, I was away from the computer during that first group of Junior Ladies.

A few quick comments.

Maria MANOVA (BUL) started the competition with a great performance. She still leads.

Although she tried to disguise it by using the French version, Elisavet VOULGARI (GRE) was tempting fate by skating to "The Winner Takes It All". But, the skating gods were not fooled, and she is still in last place. (Am I losing track of time, or has she been using that SP for quite a few years now?)

Loved the music used by Michaela VRASTAKOVA (CZE). The dress was very, erm, heavily reliant on illusion mesh! She is currently in 3rd position.

Loved the dress being worn by Danica DJORDJEVIC (SRB). She is currently in 4th position.

And I can't remember if there was anything else I wanted to say.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Fatma Yade KARLIKLI (TUR).

First thing I thought when she came out was "what a beautiful dress!" And then the music started, and it was "Bring Me To Life"!!!

Oh, how I want her to score highly!

The skating wasn't bad. She did seem to be running out of steam during the step sequence. But, she had no bother for the spin that followed.

Into 4th position.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Ana CMER (SLO)

Beautiful dress. Not a colour you see being worn very often at competitions. A deep purple.

No, she wasn't skating to the band Deep Purple. She was skating to "Nothing Else Matters" (not sure whose version, though).

Goes into 5th, 4 points above KARLIKLI.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

We finished off Group 2 with Jade HOVINE (BEL). And I don't know if it was because of the problems I am currently having with my right ear, or the sound problems discussed earlier, but "Toxic" sounded like it was being played underwater!

Beautiful blue dress. (No, it wasn't like Britney's or Liza's Air Hostess costumes. It was a normal dress).

She goes into 4th position.

So we have Kimmy Vivienne REPOND (CHE) leading by about 9 points from Maria MANOVA (BUL), who is about 8 points ahead of a group headed by Dora HUS (DEU).

Now a quick dash to make dinner during the interval.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

This is what I love about watching smaller competitions like this. You see skaters from countries that you don't normally see.

Although she isn't at the same level as the top skaters, Zara HUSEDZINOVIC from Bosnia did a performance that was very enjoyable.

She seemed a bit lost towards the end, because she could tell that she was on course to finish early. And, if I am totally honest, I don't think the music was edited to the required length. Which meant that the music went on and on way after she was finished.

Thankfully, she only had the 1 point deduction.

Into last place, but she should be proud of what she did.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

After Zara was another of the home country skaters, Elena DIMITROVA. And, I have to say, she looked very stylish in what was a very different to what we are used to costume. A black skirt with an off-white jumper which only covered the front, being tied together at the back. And a pair of braces which went over the jumper at the front, and under it at the back. (Sorry, it's hard to describe! You'd need to see it).

She skated to Michael Jackson. And went into 10th place.

And then a skater from another country we don't see too often, Macedonia. Jana KUKOVSKA skated to an "Aladdin" programme, and she wore a costume that you could just see Princess Jasmine wearing! (Although, I don't think Jasmine would be showing anywhere near as much cleavage as Jana was!)

Another enjoyable programme.

She slips into penultimate place, 3 points ahead of HUSEDZINOVIC.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

She may be small, but local girl Marina NIKOLOVA is a real bundle of energy!

And what makes this more remarkable is that she had both knees strapped! But, it didn't hold her back.

Very enjoyable programme to "This Is Me" from "The Greatest Showman".

The dress was a beautiful colour, but I wasn't keen on the design,

Into 8th.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Group 3 finished off with Nina PINZARONNE from Belgium. And we finally have a new leader! Not by much, mind you. Only 0.82 ahead of Repond of Switzerland.

In this upcoming group, Hana CVIJANOVIC is the only one I am familiar with. So, the voyage of discovery continues!

My goodness, that is some costume from the opening skater, Yagmur Derin KEVINC!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Over the years, I have frequently commented about how impressed I am with the Turkish skaters we have been seeing. But, this event is making me realise just how many good quality skaters they have coming through.

The programme we just saw from Yagmur Derin KEVINC is without doubt one of my favourites from this segment. It was skated to an instrumental version of the epic version of "Survivor" by Destiny's Child.

She went into 7th place.

Since I have already alluded to it, the costume was black leggings with a black dress. Except, the front of the dress was covered with mirrors!

I trust it wasn't real glass...

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Wow! Can't get over how tall Hana CVIJANOVIC has got. And the costume (a black unitard) really emphasises it.

A really enjoyable skate from Hana. Not only did I enjoy watching it, but Hana looked to be enjoying doing it!

She takes over 7th place from Kevinc.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Are my eyes deceiving me?! Do we actually have a group with no local skaters?!

We have skaters from a real variety of countries that are not really known for figure skating in this final group. Really looking forward to seeing what they are like!

Well, OK, so I am already familiar with Katya Luneva. And, after how well her team-mates did at the Challenge Cup the past couple of days (Emilea Zingas winning the Bronze Medal in Senior Ladies) and here this morning (Stefania Yakovleva being third in the Advanced Novice Ladies SP), I will be cheering her on to continue the trend!

ALL THE BEST!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Playing during the warm-up:

Aqua - "Barbie Girl"

Takes me back...

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Our final Turkish skater of the day, Ceren KARAS, demonstrated perfectly why it is not wise to have an awkward stance as your starting position. Because she got into position, and waited for the music to start... And waited... And waited... By this stage, her legs were getting sore, and she had to come out of position. And then the music started.

Despite this, she didn't do so badly. Into 14th, the highest position for anybody who has skated since Hana CVIJANOVIC.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Ever since Lilah and Lewis skated to it a couple of seasons ago, "Vogue" has become really popular. The Slovenian girl Manca KRMELJ did it today (in a very sugary pink dress), and went 13th. Still nobody has broken into the top dozen since CVIJANOVIC.

Katya next!

Oh no it's not. She's withdrawn.

Katya was called, and the Serbian girl that was to follow, Darja MIJATOVIC, came out and got into position. The music started and she was just starting to move, when somebody must have signalled to her "not yet!", and the music stopped. Then she did some more warming up, and then it was announced that Katya had withdrawn. Then Darja was called and went into position, and everything continued as normal.

It was a fun programme, but 2 falls are never helpful for your scores. She went into 20th position.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Whoa, only realised we had reached the end when the camera's card got wiped.

They are very slow with announcing the scores for Mariya GRECHANAYA. But, it was worth the wait. She goes into 4th.

Right, I think that me for the day. There is a film I taped yesterday that I would like to get out of the way before tea-time, and then after tea I will be watching another.

I'll still do the reminder posts, though (if I remember!)

CaroLiza_fan