2022-23 Russian Women's Figure Skating

[JimR]

Valieva with a perfectly executed 3A in her last performance, then at the end a perfect 4T and a 3A-2A-2A-2A-2A.

She let herself go a little at the end of last season, I don't think she'll make the same mistake for next season and will have these jumps recovered before the start of the season.

The jump she needs to focus on now is probably her lutz. It's becoming an issue for her.

 

[uwoawuwoa]

Amazing!

From what I've seen so far this season our ladies were on fire!!!

About 35 or so wonderful ladies have attempted ultra-c elements this season alone with 20 or so out of 35 having successful attempts in competition


Also for this list I only counted each skater once (to make it easier).
For example, if a skater has landed a clean ultra-c jump in comp at least once I will only count their successful jump attempts and move them up to the success section removing the failed attempts. For example let's say a skater attempted 4S, 3A, 4Lz, 4F, etc but only landed a single clean 4Lz the entire season. I will only list them for a successful 4Lz despite attempting the other amazing but failed jumps. However if they have never landed a single clean ultra-c jump this entire season then all the failed attempts will be listed in the unsuccessful section. Combos are also listed.

Unsuccessful = q's or jumps landed with negative GOE due to falls, step-outs, poor landings, etc. Even if the skater landed the jump a million times in practice on video it does not matter. If they never recieved positive GOE on a clean attempt of the ultra-c element this season in comp it will not count as successful in competition.

Successful = Landed with positive GOE in competition (short or free program)

This list is based on comps I personally saw this entire season (if I missed anyone's clean attempts from comps I did not see or if any names are missing let me know):



NOVICE ULTRA-C ATTEMPTS :

Successfully Landed ultra-c at Least once in comp with positive GOE:

Alena PRINEVA (NOVICE) - 4Lz + 2T, 4Lz

Elena KOSTYLEVA (NOVICE) - 4S + 2A, 4S, 4T

Arina KALUGINA (NOVICE) - 4S, 4T + 2A, 4T + 2T, 4T

Margarita BAZYLYUK (NOVICE) - 4S, 4T + 2A, 4T

Valeria LUKASHOVA (NOVICE) - 4S

Milana LEBEDEVA (NOVICE) - 4S


Attempted ultra-c but unsuccessful in comp:

Diana MILTO (NOVICE) - 4S

Anastasia UTKINA (NOVICE) - 4S

Varvara KRAVCHINA (NOVICE) - 4T

Alena KRIVONOSOVA (NOVICE) - 4T

Maria BUBENKO (NOVICE) - 3A

Yana ASTASHENKOVA (NOVICE) - 3A

Sofia SMAGINA (NOVICE) - 3A




JUNIOR LADIES ULTRA-C ATTEMPTS:

Successfully Landed ultra-c at Least once in comp with positive GOE:

Alisa DVOEGLAZOVA (JUNIOR) - 4Lz + 2A, 4Lz, 4T

Sofia TITOVA (JUNIOR) - 4S + 3T, 3A + 3T, 3A + 2A, 3A + 2T, 3A

Veronika ZHILINA (JUNIOR) - 4S, 4T + 2T, 4T, 3A + 3T

Daria SADKOVA (JUNIOR) - 4T + 2A, 4T

Maria MAZUR (JUNIOR) - 4T + 2T, 4T

Maria GORDEEVA (JUNIOR) - 4S

Eva ZUBKOVA (JUNIOR) - 3A


Attempted ultra-c but unsuccessful in comp:

Lyubov RUBTSOVA (JUNIOR) - 4Lo, 3A

Nadezhda PONTELEENKO (JUNIOR) - 4T, 3A

Maria ZAKHAROVA (JUNIOR) - 4T

Alisa YUROVA (JUNIOR) - 3A




SENIOR:

Successfully Landed ultra-c at Least once in competition with positive GOE:

Adeliia PETROSIAN (SENIOR) - 4F, 4T + 2A, 4T, 3A

Alina GORBACHEVA (SENIOR) - 4S + EU + 3S, 4S + 2A, 4S

Sofia AKATEVA (SENIOR) - 4T + 2A, 4T, 3A + 3T, 3A,

Kamilla VALIEVA (SENIOR) - 4T + 2A, 4T

Anastasia ZININA (SENIOR) - 4T + 2T

Sofia MURAVIEVA (SENIOR) - 3A + 3T, 3A + 2T, 3A

Elizaveta TUKTEMYSHEVA (SENIOR) - 3A + 2A, 3A + 2T, 3A


Attempted ultra-c but unsuccessful in comp:

Alexandra TRUSOVA (SENIOR) - 4Lz

Sofia SAMODELKINA (SENIOR) - 4S, 3A

Maria PARAMONOVA (SENIOR) - 4S

Lidia PLESKACHEVA (SENIOR) - 3A

 

[JimR]

Amazing!

From what I've seen so far this season our ladies were on fire!!!

About 35 or so wonderful ladies have attempted ultra-c elements this season alone with 20 or so out of 35 having successful attempts in competition


Also for this list I only counted each skater once (to make it easier).
For example, if a skater has landed a clean ultra-c jump in comp at least once I will only count their successful jump attempts and move them up to the success section removing the failed attempts. For example let's say a skater attempted 4S, 3A, 4Lz, 4F, etc but only landed a single clean 4Lz the entire season. I will only list them for a successful 4Lz despite attempting the other amazing but failed jumps. However if they have never landed a single clean ultra-c jump this entire season then all the failed attempts will be listed in the unsuccessful section. Combos are also listed.

Unsuccessful = q's or jumps landed with negative GOE due to falls, step-outs, poor landings, etc. Even if the skater landed the jump a million times in practice on video it does not matter. If they never recieved positive GOE on a clean attempt of the ultra-c element this season in comp it will not count as successful in competition.

Successful = Landed with positive GOE in competition (short or free program)

This list is based on comps I personally saw this entire season (if I missed anyone's clean attempts from comps I did not see or if any names are missing let me know):



NOVICE ULTRA-C ATTEMPTS :

Successfully Landed ultra-c at Least once in comp with positive GOE:

Alena PRINEVA (NOVICE) - 4Lz + 2T, 4Lz

Elena KOSTYLEVA (NOVICE) - 4S + 2A, 4S, 4T

Arina KALUGINA (NOVICE) - 4S, 4T + 2A, 4T + 2T, 4T

Margarita BAZYLYUK (NOVICE) - 4S, 4T + 2A, 4T

Valeria LUKASHOVA (NOVICE) - 4S

Milana LEBEDEVA (NOVICE) - 4S


Attempted ultra-c but unsuccessful in comp:

Diana MILTO (NOVICE) - 4S

Anastasia UTKINA (NOVICE) - 4S

Varvara KRAVCHINA (NOVICE) - 4T

Alena KRIVONOSOVA (NOVICE) - 4T

Maria BUBENKO (NOVICE) - 3A

Yana ASTASHENKOVA (NOVICE) - 3A

Sofia SMAGINA (NOVICE) - 3A




JUNIOR LADIES ULTRA-C ATTEMPTS:

Successfully Landed ultra-c at Least once in comp with positive GOE:

Alisa DVOEGLAZOVA (JUNIOR) - 4Lz + 2A, 4Lz, 4T

Sofia TITOVA (JUNIOR) - 4S + 3T, 3A + 3T, 3A + 2A, 3A + 2T, 3A

Veronika ZHILINA (JUNIOR) - 4S, 4T + 2T, 4T, 3A + 3T

Daria SADKOVA (JUNIOR) - 4T + 2A, 4T

Maria MAZUR (JUNIOR) - 4T + 2T, 4T

Maria GORDEEVA (JUNIOR) - 4S

Eva ZUBKOVA (JUNIOR) - 3A


Attempted ultra-c but unsuccessful in comp:

Lyubov RUBTSOVA (JUNIOR) - 4Lo, 3A

Nadezhda PONTELEENKO (JUNIOR) - 4T, 3A

Maria ZAKHAROVA (JUNIOR) - 4T

Alisa YUROVA (JUNIOR) - 3A




SENIOR:

Successfully Landed ultra-c at Least once in competition with positive GOE:

Adeliia PETROSIAN (SENIOR) - 4F, 4T + 2A, 4T, 3A

Alina GORBACHEVA (SENIOR) - 4S + EU + 3S, 4S + 2A, 4S

Sofia AKATEVA (SENIOR) - 4T + 2A, 4T, 3A + 3T, 3A,

Kamilla VALIEVA (SENIOR) - 4T + 2A, 4T

Anastasia ZININA (SENIOR) - 4T + 2T

Sofia MURAVIEVA (SENIOR) - 3A + 3T, 3A + 2T, 3A

Elizaveta TUKTEMYSHEVA (SENIOR) - 3A + 2A, 3A + 2T, 3A


Attempted ultra-c but unsuccessful in comp:

Alexandra TRUSOVA (SENIOR) - 4Lz

Sofia SAMODELKINA (SENIOR) - 4S, 3A

Maria PARAMONOVA (SENIOR) - 4S

Lidia PLESKACHEVA (SENIOR) - 3A

Impressive athletes. There were fears of degradation and regression this season, but it seems we've only had improvement and progression. There will be the same domestic events next season which is exciting. I think the competition will be even more intense next year.

It would be interesting to compare these results with all the other countries in the world.

 

[uwoawuwoa]

Impressive athletes. There were fears of degradation and regression this season, but it seems we've only had improvement and progression. There will be the same domestic events next season which is exciting. I think the competition will be even more intense next year.

It would be interesting to compare these results with all the other countries in the world.

I agree. I think it's only going to intensify and get better from here!

The domestic events only fueled the ladies to get better knowing they need to compete in back to back to back comps against the strongest skaters in the world for a podium spot (literally the strongest female skaters--no comparison internationally. Nowhere near). No more easy wins against international so the pressure cooker has started and everyone is throwing down their best quads and triple axels for the gold.

The Novice division is just as competitive as the Senior division with 9 - 11 year olds executing tougher elements than all of the best international senior women this season combined. It's incredible. I can't believe how far the Russian ladies have advanced even with the young novice babies.

With 35 skaters so far doing ultra-c elements in the next few years the entire crop of the top 25 senior ladies in Russia might just be ultra-c skaters when everyone is of age/eligible for seniors (if they make it). Triple axels and quads are here to stay permanently at this rate for the strongest womens figure skating division in the universe. Insane. It's going to be crazy the next few seasons in the domestic comps. I am wishing all these ladies the best. May the best of the best triumph at Nationals---it's going to be even tougher from now on.

There might be a day for these women where landing 5 clean quads is no longer enough to guarantee gold, because the top 10 can all jump 5 quads. We went from Anna and Trusova being the only main back to back quadsters during the "quad revolution" to more than 30+ Russian women doing quads/triple axels in less than 7 years! Our ladies adapt so fast. They are strong, and powerful! Maybe too powerful. I feel so proud. I was worried this season at first, but overall it turned out wonderfully. Let's keep the greatness rolling.This season truly was a blessing.

 

[JimR]

I agree. I think it's only going to intensify and get better from here!

The domestic events only fueled the ladies to get better knowing they need to compete in back to back to back comps against the strongest skaters in the world for a podium spot (literally the strongest female skaters--no comparison internationally. Nowhere near). No more easy wins against international so the pressure cooker has started and everyone is throwing down their best quads and triple axels for the gold.

It's a good point you make. The three best skaters would go to international events and even with an ordinary skate bronze was virtually guaranteed. Also, the three girls who would go to international starts were kind of decided in advance and judges would mushroom accordingly.

However, with no international starts there are no easy bronze medals. Akatieva still missed out on a medal at the GP final with 241. Gorbacheva down in 6th despite jumping a quad. Girls that would not go to international starts but good enough on their day to finish top 3, can now compete with the best in the world regularly, maybe they will win a medal. The prizemoney is similar to what the ISU offers for international medals, plus there are all kinds of bonuses. The girls have maximum motivation to get on the podium.

Next season I assume Zhilina will be in seniors. It's going to be an arms race next season. Zhilina is like Trusova but with stability. I think she will become a huge star and scare the Khrustalny girls a little because if Zhilina is clean she will win.

The Novice division is just as competitive as the Senior division with 9 - 11 year olds executing tougher elements than all of the best international senior women this season combined. It's incredible. I can't believe how far the Russian ladies have advanced even with the young novice babies.

With 35 skaters so far doing ultra-c elements in the next few years the entire crop of the top 25 senior ladies in Russia might just be ultra-c skaters when everyone is of age/eligible for seniors (if they make it). Triple axels and quads are here to stay permanently at this rate for the strongest womens figure skating division in the universe. Insane. It's going to be crazy the next few seasons in the domestic comps. I am wishing all these ladies the best. May the best of the best triumph at Nationals---it's going to be even tougher from now on.

There might be a day for these women where landing 5 clean quads is no longer enough to guarantee gold, because the top 10 can all jump 5 quads. We went from Anna and Trusova being the only main back to back quadsters during the "quad revolution" to more than 30+ Russian women doing quads/triple axels in less than 7 years! Our ladies adapt so fast. They are strong, and powerful! Maybe too powerful. I feel so proud. I was worried this season at first, but overall it turned out wonderfully. Let's keep the greatness rolling.This season truly was a blessing.

I think these domestic events will stay because there will be the depth to sustain them even if the best 2 or 3 are at international events. I think more money will come into the sport, even more prizemoney.

I think the domestic season needs one more major event. Maybe something like a championship under ISU age rules. A 17+ championship.

 

[Azikin]

It would be interesting to compare these results with all the other countries in the world.

 

[LiamForeman]

Obviously, the blather about "protecting little girls" from ultra-si by raising the age limit isn't quite panning out, eh? You see it in Japan and Korea too. Kind of a joke looking back listening to that argument for raising the age limit. These little girls seem to be handling the stress of competition pretty well, and they are getting even younger.

 

[AlexBreeze]

Elena Kostyleva has landed the 3A+3T in her short program.

 

[alexocfp]

Forget quads in competition, there are quads in the ice shows too.

 

[happycamper2554]

Elena Kostyleva has landed the 3A+3T in her short program.

The axel was called q

 

[katymay]

I agree. I think it's only going to intensify and get better from here!

The domestic events only fueled the ladies to get better knowing they need to compete in back to back to back comps against the strongest skaters in the world for a podium spot (literally the strongest female skaters--no comparison internationally. Nowhere near). No more easy wins against international so the pressure cooker has started and everyone is throwing down their best quads and triple axels for the gold.

The Novice division is just as competitive as the Senior division with 9 - 11 year olds executing tougher elements than all of the best international senior women this season combined. It's incredible. I can't believe how far the Russian ladies have advanced even with the young novice babies.

With 35 skaters so far doing ultra-c elements in the next few years the entire crop of the top 25 senior ladies in Russia might just be ultra-c skaters when everyone is of age/eligible for seniors (if they make it). Triple axels and quads are here to stay permanently at this rate for the strongest womens figure skating division in the universe. Insane. It's going to be crazy the next few seasons in the domestic comps. I am wishing all these ladies the best. May the best of the best triumph at Nationals---it's going to be even tougher from now on.

There might be a day for these women where landing 5 clean quads is no longer enough to guarantee gold, because the top 10 can all jump 5 quads. We went from Anna and Trusova being the only main back to back quadsters during the "quad revolution" to more than 30+ Russian women doing quads/triple axels in less than 7 years! Our ladies adapt so fast. They are strong, and powerful! Maybe too powerful. I feel so proud. I was worried this season at first, but overall it turned out wonderfully. Let's keep the greatness rolling.This season truly was a blessing.

It does seem to be one girl after another. I'm old enough to remember Trusova as the revolution, now I think it will be hard to win without one of these elements, not unlike the men. I understand all the anti-quad blather, but they really are cool to watch. I wonder often if it is more of a 'I-can't-do-it-so-I'm-going-to-bash' those who CAN do quads and 3A's.

 

[uwoawuwoa]

It does seem to be one girl after another. I'm old enough to remember Trusova as the revolution, now I think it will be hard to win without one of these elements, not unlike the men. I understand all the anti-quad blather, but they really are cool to watch. I wonder often if it is more of a 'I-can't-do-it-so-I'm-going-to-bash' those who CAN do quads and 3A's.

Yes Trusova was the ultimate beginning of this being the norm, and then Anna and Aliona (well Aliona never did quads...but I'll put her for that stable triplex she once had). It was really cool with this all being new to them, but now for the new generation it is the new norm. They are becoming more stable. It went from Aliona being the only of the trio with a triple axel while Trusova and Anna had the quads to now the new generation requiring both the triple axel and quads. It's no longer optional. Wow! Short program 3A advantage or no gold. Multiple quads in the free or no gold. Either you have it all or no gold. Spectacular and scary...

I wonder often if it is more of a 'I-can't-do-it-so-I'm-going-to-bash' those who CAN do quads and 3A's.

ooof...

From my understanding this is pretty much it. You'll see the double standards of some of these bashers shaming our girls for doing incredible jumps and saying it destroys young girls bodies (to some extent this is understandable) but pause, in the same breath they are praising a certain underage international baby finally landing a single heavily pre-rotated and under rotated quad toe on q. They will say yes! Finally! A real quad! Keep going! Does this make sense?

Their heads turn to the left praising that figure skating is advancing for themselves for a poor quad toe while in the same breath and very same second they turn their heads to the right and shame our babies for getting better when jumping 3 or more clean quads with a triplex. They scream in hate wishing for them to break at 18 or earlier. The weirdness of these types of people...

Not everyone is like this but often the bashers are the most active and the loudest. They stalk our girls in every video/event and pounce with their hatred. It's sad. One comment on socials after a comparison on youtube wishing tuk to break her legs due to an international skater of a similar age (Gracie) not being able to land proper triples.

Honestly if the seething jealousy and hatred wasn't so hypocritical I would visit international more or give support but every other comment is them bashing our girls on socials on youtube or twitter for getting stronger ultra-c while they champion their girls for falling on a simple double loop.

Again not all internationals are hateful or hypocritical like this. Some are very sweet and supportive which is awesome, but 7 out of 10 times specifically the bashers themselves, yes, the ones that go on a rampage about quads for ours but praise anyone else with mediocre quads are seething with hatred due to an inferiority complex. They post/comment on reddit bashing Sofia T for daring to do a triple axel triple toe poorly in juniors yet they are praising an junior in international who's falling on a single 3A in back to back to back comps. Hypocritical.

They can't do it yes, so they complain, complain, complain until someone other than the Russian ladies lands even a poorly executed quad or triplex and then they rejoice. It's quite laughable and strange but truly sad. This is why I stick only to the Russian skating events and our threads. I abandoned International comps completely. Whether the ratings die or rise internationally I cannot give 2 flying chickens. Good luck to them honestly, but they don't miss our girls (actually they wish us to fail/regress in every youtube comment or good news about ultra-c landed. Even bashing Trusova for being able to fake play a prop violin while doing a cantilever in a show on the beat...it was actually cool, but the jealousy wow) and I definitely without a doubt will never miss basic triple and double falls being the best that can be done at the elite level. I will champion our girls until the end (and the boys even though they break my heart). Very proud of them not letting this season's decisions destroy their advancement. They are strong. Very happy with these results this season.

 

[uwoawuwoa]

Elena Kostyleva has landed the 3A+3T in her short program.

Not the best landing, but the first triple axel of many! She went from not landing it in comp, to landing it now on q, and soon it will be as clean as practice. She's progressing so quickly. Hopefully she will have more flow on that 3A. Excited to see her growth!

 

[AlexBreeze]

Akatieva and Tuktamysheva SBS 3A

 

[uwoawuwoa]

Akatieva and Tuktamysheva SBS 3A

Beautiful!

 

[uwoawuwoa]

It's a good point you make. The three best skaters would go to international events and even with an ordinary skate bronze was virtually guaranteed. Also, the three girls who would go to international starts were kind of decided in advance and judges would mushroom accordingly.

However, with no international starts there are no easy bronze medals. Akatieva still missed out on a medal at the GP final with 241. Gorbacheva down in 6th despite jumping a quad. Girls that would not go to international starts but good enough on their day to finish top 3, can now compete with the best in the world regularly, maybe they will win a medal. The prizemoney is similar to what the ISU offers for international medals, plus there are all kinds of bonuses. The girls have maximum motivation to get on the podium.

Next season I assume Zhilina will be in seniors. It's going to be an arms race next season. Zhilina is like Trusova but with stability. I think she will become a huge star and scare the Khrustalny girls a little because if Zhilina is clean she will win.


I think these domestic events will stay because there will be the depth to sustain them even if the best 2 or 3 are at international events. I think more money will come into the sport, even more prizemoney.

I think the domestic season needs one more major event. Maybe something like a championship under ISU age rules. A 17+ championship.

oooh, if Zhilina qualifies for seniors next season domestically I am excited to see how that goes down. With Zhilina moving up I hope Titova fixes her rotation issues to claim a podium spot before the novices move to juniors.

Yes, that would be a good idea. I think a 17+ championship would motivate older athletes to continue skating knowing there's one major comp they could potentially win without facing all the new ultra champions at once. Most of the skaters 17 and up do not have quads or triple axels (Tuk, Trusova, and now Kami are the only three being 26, 18, and 17 with ultra-c still intact. I won't count Anna at the moment because she's still recovering with no sign of ultra-c returning yet. Aliona also does not count since she lost her 3A and left singles) so since we are down to 3 women max with ultra elements it would be a great motivator for older skaters who can still rock out 7 clean triple programs. It would also take the pressure off of older skaters having to compete with younger fresh talent who are at peak form and less injured than them.

 

[Skatelife]

Ladies are ending the season at very high note, Kamila, Sofía, Liza and Adelia look stronger than ever.

 

[JimR]

Yes Trusova was the ultimate beginning of this being the norm, and then Anna and Aliona (well Aliona never did quads...but I'll put her for that stable triplex she once had). It was really cool with this all being new to them, but now for the new generation it is the new norm. They are becoming more stable. It went from Aliona being the only of the trio with a triple axel while Trusova and Anna had the quads to now the new generation requiring both the triple axel and quads. It's no longer optional. Wow! Short program 3A advantage or no gold. Multiple quads in the free or no gold. Either you have it all or no gold. Spectacular and scary...



ooof...

From my understanding this is pretty much it. You'll see the double standards of some of these bashers shaming our girls for doing incredible jumps and saying it destroys young girls bodies (to some extent this is understandable) but pause, in the same breath they are praising a certain underage international baby finally landing a single heavily pre-rotated and under rotated quad toe on q. They will say yes! Finally! A real quad! Keep going! Does this make sense?

Their heads turn to the left praising that figure skating is advancing for themselves for a poor quad toe while in the same breath and very same second they turn their heads to the right and shame our babies for getting better when jumping 3 or more clean quads with a triplex. They scream in hate wishing for them to break at 18 or earlier. The weirdness of these types of people...

Not everyone is like this but often the bashers are the most active and the loudest. They stalk our girls in every video/event and pounce with their hatred. It's sad. One comment on socials after a comparison on youtube wishing tuk to break her legs due to an international skater of a similar age (Gracie) not being able to land proper triples.

Honestly if the seething jealousy and hatred wasn't so hypocritical I would visit international more or give support but every other comment is them bashing our girls on socials on youtube or twitter for getting stronger ultra-c while they champion their girls for falling on a simple double loop.

Again not all internationals are hateful or hypocritical like this. Some are very sweet and supportive which is awesome, but 7 out of 10 times specifically the bashers themselves, yes, the ones that go on a rampage about quads for ours but praise anyone else with mediocre quads are seething with hatred due to an inferiority complex. They post/comment on reddit bashing Sofia T for daring to do a triple axel triple toe poorly in juniors yet they are praising an junior in international who's falling on a single 3A in back to back to back comps. Hypocritical.

They can't do it yes, so they complain, complain, complain until someone other than the Russian ladies lands even a poorly executed quad or triplex and then they rejoice. It's quite laughable and strange but truly sad. This is why I stick only to the Russian skating events and our threads. I abandoned International comps completely. Whether the ratings die or rise internationally I cannot give 2 flying chickens. Good luck to them honestly, but they don't miss our girls (actually they wish us to fail/regress in every youtube comment or good news about ultra-c landed. Even bashing Trusova for being able to fake play a prop violin while doing a cantilever in a show on the beat...it was actually cool, but the jealousy wow) and I definitely without a doubt will never miss basic triple and double falls being the best that can be done at the elite level. I will champion our girls until the end (and the boys even though they break my heart). Very proud of them not letting this season's decisions destroy their advancement. They are strong. Very happy with these results this season.

These people you talk about are seriously disturbed. They are bigots. Unfortunately it's tolerated in figure skating. Russians compete in all kinds of other sports I follow without any of this constant bile, abuse, nasty allegations directed at them. This was going on in skating long before 2022.

I follow a lot of sport, and never seen the kind of discrimination I see in skating.

I do find it amusing, this skater you talk about with the underrotate quad toe, is given these absurdly high component scores despite take little strides around the rink with two arms hanging out to the side. International judging at this point makes no sense to me. At WTT someone got 10's despite two errors in their program, at world's someone with a total mess of a 4F received a GOE of 4 from two judges. These people think a program with mistakes deserves 10 for components, but complain about Valieva being somehow overscored in 2021-22 despite flawless programs at a technical level never seen before in the sport.

 

[JimR]

oooh, if Zhilina qualifies for seniors next season domestically I am excited to see how that goes down. With Zhilina moving up I hope Titova fixes her rotation issues to claim a podium spot before the novices move to juniors.

Yes, that would be a good idea. I think a 17+ championship would motivate older athletes to continue skating knowing there's one major comp they could potentially win without facing all the new ultra champions at once. Most of the skaters 17 and up do not have quads or triple axels (Tuk, Trusova, and now Kami are the only three being 26, 18, and 17 with ultra-c still intact. I won't count Anna at the moment because she's still recovering with no sign of ultra-c returning yet. Aliona also does not count since she lost her 3A and left singles) so since we are down to 3 women max with ultra elements it would be a great motivator for older skaters who can still rock out 7 clean triple programs. It would also take the pressure off of older skaters having to compete with younger fresh talent who are at peak form and less injured than them.

There is room for another major competition (or two) so why not. When you consider how often they train, why not give them another one or two opportunities to compete in a serious competition (assuming they can attract an audience). It's no more stress on their bodies.

They could also do something like a no ultra-c tournament for women, but I think 17+ would work better. Maybe do both.

 

[alexocfp]

The posts above mine are spot on. It’s a new world now, you have to have major weapons to compete.

Look, figure skating has a high percentage of sore losers in it, and that includes the skaters and the fans. So of course anything that makes the gap grow will be resented. Just look at the excuses and conspiracy theories that are spouted in this very forum when someone gets defeated.

This sport is one of the few sports where innovation is frowned upon. Tennis, football, ice hockey etc, are all faster than ever before, but figure skating fans still want it to be 1955.

I mean, there are people that want the figures competition to return.

This revolution we are currently in thanks to the Russian ladies is the reason I fell in love with the sport again.

As long as the skaters keep getting supported, we haven’t seen anything yet. These girls are athletic, mentally and physically tough, and teeming with ambition.

As for the split, everyone has the right to choose sides, or choose both sides. To each their own.

I choose my side, and haven’t looked back. Didn’t miss the international events in the slightest.

And as a bonus, my prediction of our knowledge of Russian skaters increasing this year definitely came true. I was even able to learn the skaters from places like Perm that would not have happened otherwise.

As a secondary and tertiary bonus, I learned a lot more Russian geography (and I love geography) and was introduced to a lot of new oblasts.

And with all these domestic events, my familiarity with the Cyrillic alphabet increased exponentially.

I am able to recognize a lot of the skaters and make out their names without using the translator now. Still not 100% but even the ones I miss, I get a few sounds right.

Even watching the KHL or Russian Prem (or even some Bulgarian or Serbian sports) I’m able to make out a lot of sponsors and names that I couldn’t before. It got me to start studying the alphabet a lot more. I even added the Cyrillic keyboard to my phone.

So in a way, the split helped me become a bit more knowledgeable about non sports things.

Who knows, maybe in a few years I will be be speaking it as my third language. Haha