Archive of newspaper articles

[Walt FSHunter]

1986
MOSCOW NEWS PRIZE
CROSSROAD OF OPINIONS

TOUCHING THE STRINGS OF THE SOUL...

(the article published in russian 'Sovetskiy Sport' on December 6, 1986)​

The culmination of the international tournament of figure skaters—compositions by the leaders of the USSR men's singles team

The backstage areas of the Luzhniki Sports Palace erupted into a buzz as arguments flared and experts hunched over their clipboards, calculating dozens of judges' marks. Such a sporting excitement (passion in the best sense of the word) was triggered by the performances of the strongest men in the short program. Out of 18 figure skaters, at least six earned complimentary reviews that evening.​

Yu. ZIMMERMAN, international referee:

"Without exaggeration, I can say that the discovery of the Moscow ice ball is the 15-year-old Odesa athlete Vladidmir Petrenko, a student of coach Galina Zmievskaya. I happened to be at the very origins of the creation of the figure skating school in Odesa and participated in the admission of novices to this school. Yes, we noticed the Petrenko brothers, Viktor and Vladimir, when they were only 8–9 years old. But hardly any specialist could have predicted such a rapid growth. Both brothers are already on the USSR national team. As for the execution quality of the short program by Volodya Petrenko, the current World Junior Champion, it is a statement for a great future. After all, for the first time, he was awarded two scores of 5.7 and two scores of 5.9..."​

S. CHETVERUKHIN, Honored Master of Sports, Olympic medalist:

"It gave me great aesthetic pleasure to watch the performances of four athletes: Vladimir Kotin, Vitali Egorov, Vladimir Petrenko, and the American Paul Wylie. The artistry of Kotin, silver medalist of the European Championships is a unique phenomenon. His composition 'Spain' rightfully became the culmination of the entire evening. The figure skater was so emotionally charged that he gave in to his feelings, somewhat to the detriment of his excellent technique. Perhaps he was right: where else, if not at home, can one show complete freedom, a flight of the soul! However, a mistake on his double Axel prevented him from receiving the highest marks for technique. Yet, for his artistry, he received four scores of 5.9."
The stable Vitali Egorov has developed new features: absolute purity of lines and deeply meaningful gestures. This is exactly where his high second-place result stems from. I even got the impression that he can execute a powerful jump combination with a triple Lutz even more powerfully. His victory at the international tournament 'Skate Canada' was not accidental. Egorov's destiny makes one ponder over many things — after all, there are athletes who mature slowly. They need to be given time to, as they say, ripen."
I share the many compliments directed at the young Petrenko. The youth is talented, goal-oriented, and can achieve a great deal in sports. But he still needs to learn. In particular, it is worth looking more closely at the American school of singles skating, at the gliding style of the best representatives of this school. In Moscow, Paul Wylie shone with his footwork and rotation speed, and completely deserved his place among the top five..."​

Yu. OVCHINNIKOV, Master of Sports of International Class, European Championships medalist:

“We have witnessed once again that the modern masters of figure skating know how to speak directly to the hearts of the spectators, touching the strings of their souls while creating unique compositions within the strict technical constraints of the short program. The Spanish theme in Vladimir Kotin’s program completely captivated the entire arena. This premiere proves yet again that our singles skating leaders have taken another quality step upward on the ladder of mastery. I want to emphasize that the coaches of our singles skaters — Elena Tchaikovskaya, Aleksei Mishin, and Galina Zmievskaya — very keenly sense the general trend of modern sports."
In recent years, I have heard complaints of this kind: sometimes spectators seem to be disappearing from the stands. This is a troubling symptom. Spectators must be brought back to sports arenas. And how can this be accomplished? We need to boldly and resolutely restructure the choreography and creative training systems across our figure skating schools."
Currently, I am working with the 'All Stars' ice ensemble. This work is very interesting from a creative perspective. Recently at Luzhniki, we performed our new dance piece 'Bolero', and it was a joy to see that the spectators yearn for a world of beauty and deep emotions. There was a full house. I hope that full houses will become a regular occurrence for competitive sports tournaments as well..."​

The Moscow tournament is approaching its end, and another exciting premiere awaits us — the original dance routines of the ice dance duos. After the compulsory and original dances — the Viennese Waltz — the tournament is confidently led by three Soviet duos — Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko, Natalia Annenko and Genrikh Sretenski, and Maya Usova and Aleksandr Zhulin.

A. SHELUKHIN.​

TECHNICAL RESULTS​

International Figure Skating Tournament for the Prize of the "Moscow News" Newspaper. Moscow, Sports Palace, December 4.
Men's Singles. Combined Short and Compulsory Program Positions. 1. V. Kotin — 1.0; 2. V. Egorov — 2.0; 3. V. Petrenko — 3.0; 4. A. Torosian (all — USSR) — 4.6; 5. N. Köpp (GDR) — 5.2; 6. R. Burghart (Austria) — 6.0.

 

[Walt FSHunter]

1986
MOSCOW NEWS PRIZE

IT ALL STARTED WITH THE BLUES

(the article published in russian 'Sovetskiy Sport' on December 6, 1986)​

An acquaintance with the ice dance duo from Canada, Erika Davenport and Mark Mitchell, who arrived in our country for the traditional figure skating tournament for the prize of the newspaper "Moscow News", began with a funny incident. Erika and Mark had just skated their final compulsory dance—a lazy, slow, mesmerizing blues—and were looking at the electronic scoreboard in anticipation, where the judges' marks were about to appear. The board blinked a few times with yellow lights and displayed... solid zeros. A funny mistake by the computer, honestly, was quickly fixed and only amused the athletes and the spectators alike.
Erika Davenport and Mark Mitchell are performing successfully at the current tournament, even though they have been training together for only two years. As Mark told me, they had long dreamed of coming to the Soviet Union capital and performing at such a prestigious tournament as the "Moscow News".
"Bernard Ford, who works at the National Ice Center in Toronto where we train, told us a lot about your country, about Moscow and about Luzhniki," says Mark. "That's how he gradually 'infected' us with the idea of a trip to the Soviet Union. And now the dream has come true. The expectations with which we traveled to Moscow have been fully met."
Mark Mitchell is 23 years old. For twelve years now, he has been involved in figure skating.
"Ice dancing is probably the most popular sport in Canada after ice hockey," says Mark. "Almost every family has a child involved in music and ice dancing. In every city, there are many figure skating clubs where everyone who wants to can skate—completely small children and quite elderly people. In any newsstand in town, you can buy a booklet—a self-tutor on figure skating, and a vinyl record with music for compulsory dances. That's how my parents brought me to a figure skating club to get, so to speak, a well-rounded education. For several years, my brother and I trained together, but music turned out to be closer to his heart. Now he is studying at a music college and plays the clarinet from morning till night, which sometimes makes me quite mad. After all, after hours of training, you want to stay in silence, to read peacefully."
Our conversation is joined by the athletes' coach, John Briscoll:
"The attention of journalists is still somewhat unusual and flattering for my athletes. After all, in the last National Championship, they took only seventh place. However, the couple is progressing very quickly, as, by the way, the entire Canadian school of ice dancing is progressing now. For a long time, Canadian ice dancers experienced a very strong British influence. But now we are gradually finding our own style."
"Figure skating is currently developing into a clash of two directions—the dramatic, expressive style, and the technically complex style packed with intricate footwork. Which direction do you support?"
"I am for the synthesis of these two schools of figure skating. High artistry plus flawless technique is the future of ice dancing.
"What are your impressions of the "Moscow News" tournament?"
"We don't go to international competitions very often yet. And at a representative tournament like the "Moscow News", we are performing for the first time. Competing with athletes like Klimova—Ponomarenko, Usova—Zhulin, Annenko—Sretenski is, of course, an excellent school for young athletes. We hope to visit your country again, where we have gained not only necessary competitive skills but also many new good friends."​

The guests were interviewed by O. POLONSKAYA.​

 

[Walt FSHunter]

1986
MOSCOW NEWS PRIZE

FIGURE SKATING

(the article published in russian 'Sovetskiy Sport' on December 7, 1986)​

MOSCOW. At the international tournament for the prize of the "Moscow News" newspaper, the victory in ice dance was won by Soviet figure skaters Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko. They became the first recipients of the prize named after Olympic champion Lyudmila Pakhomova.
A great impression was made by the composition of the silver medalists, Muscovites Natalia Annenko and Genrikh Sretenski — "Romeo and Juliet" set to the music of Tchaikovsky.
The third step of the podium was taken by fellow Moscow figure skaters Maya Usova and Aleksandr Zhulin (coached by Dubova).​

(TASS).​

 

[Walt FSHunter]

1986
MOSCOW NEWS PRIZE

Not even the rustle of skates is heard

(the article published in russian 'Sovetskiy Sport' on December 7, 1986)​

In full swing — the international tournament for the prizes of the "Moskovskie Novosti" newspaper

The first... How does that sound for the figure skaters themselves? Probably, like music. By the way, the heads of Leningrad skaters Elena Kvitchenko and Rashid Kadyrkaev—winners in pair skating—did not spin after they stepped onto the podium.
In the struggle for prize-winning spots, two shifts occurred — European Championship '86 medalists E. Bechke and V. Kornienko managed to move into second place, ahead of L. Koblova and A. Kalitin. And finally, the Americans K. Keeley and J. Mero stood out, showing a decent result in the free program and taking fourth place. Small, but well-built and slender partner, like a butterfly, fluttered over the head of her partner. Katy and Joseph performed two original elements (with a momentary horizontal flip of the partner during the lift).
The performances of the ice dancers were filled with the charm of the Viennese Waltz. For the first time this season, the silver medalists of the World Championship, Muscovites Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko, were awarded the highest score — 6.0.
Here is what international category judge from Poland, Galina Gordon-Poltorak, says about the performance of Klimova and Ponomarenko's Viennese Waltz:
— Without hesitation, I gave this pair a score of 6.0 because Soviet ice dancers are creating a miracle before our eyes, a miracle of a grand, dazzling ball. Full merging with the music. They glide so smoothly that not even the rustle of skates is heard...​

A. SHELUKHIN.​

Technical Results​

International Figure Skating Tournament for the prizes of the "Moskovskie Novosti" newspaper. Moscow. Palace of Sports. December 5.
Pairs Skating. 1. E. Kvitchenko and R. Kadyrkaev — 1.4; 2. E. Bechke and V. Kornienko — 3.2; 3. L. Koblova and A. Kalitina (all — USSR) — 3.8; 4. K. Keeley and J. Mero (USA) — 6.0; 5. K. Kanitz and T. Schröter (GDR) — 7.0; 6. Yu. Bystrova and A. Tarasov (USSR) — 7.6.
Women's Single Skating. Total of compulsory and short program. 1. K. Ivanova — 1.0; 2. A. Kondrashova (both — USSR) — 2.4; 3. J. Conway (England) — 3.8; 4. J. Trenary (USA) — 4.0; 5. P. Neske (FRG) — 4.6; 6. T. Andreeva (USSR) — 6.2.
​