Neat and to the point from Igor. Glad to hear they are targeting their obvious weaknesses.
Elena Ilinykh & Ruslan Zhiganshin
- Thread starter OrdinaryDreamer
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Neat and to the point from Igor. Glad to hear they are targeting their obvious weaknesses.
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2010
I think they are supposed to work with the lift specialist that helped them last summer and also did the lifts for I/K`s Swan Lake. It sounds like he wants them in Novi longer than those 3 months. Hopefully, this is going to work out for them. From all the pictures and vids Elena is posting, it seems like they are settling in well in that group.
Yeah, that's what I understood too. In a previous interview he said he'd be talking to the federation officials at Worlds, so they must have decided that it's working so far. Good news.
http://www.sports.ru/others/figure-skating/1038692431.html
A bit more here, about I/Z
"Technical elements are of course important. But it's also necessary for the partners to look harmonious together. IMO, for any couple to be successful in ice dance you need a strong partner who is capable of presenting the best side of their partner. I am working on this connection with Lena & Ruslan. We have mapped out a path and are trying to follow it now. They are both very talented partners and I think everything will turn out well."
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Far ahead?
After watching Worlds I think that IZ are better than SK and SB at least their programs and presence on the ice are better. IZ were better than SB at Nationals and Fed should allowed them to go to EC at least. And who knows what results IZ showed there... After all GP managed to get 70 points in SD with their non-classical waltz and they were weaker than SK in the beginning of the season. And of course IZ's Frida wasn't generic and boring and they could fight with it not be happy with 9th place.
But we never know...
I hope that everything will turn out for the best and IZ will be successful with Shpilband next season.
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- Feb 17, 2010
Didn`t you know that the Russian Fed is happy with a 9th and 11th place? IZ`s 7th place from last year was considered a disaster and they were called a failed experiment,but a 9th place for the Russian # 1 is just fine.
Anyway, I`m already looking forward to next season and can`t wait to see our Ruslena back in competitions.
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- Feb 8, 2015
This is just what I thought while watching the dances of SK and SB.Their placements just cemented my opinion about the wrong choices in Russia for the ID. I really thought that my opinion is not objective but It looks like that judges shared it as well.
I really missed Ruslena (and BS also) at worlds . I believe that both Frida and We will rock you would have been far like fresh air for the public , for the Russian Fed and these really more objective judges. Clean IZ would have made a better impression in terms of difficulty and difference. It was expected that with the time and polishing Frida would get better not wear out like others. And was it true that Marina complained about the scoring in SD, while IZ were happy they did not received lower level at China for their steps and not protested against wrong deduction. Nikita ego seems pretty healthy as well.
Please Ruslena be really good next year.
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2010
Both Zueva and Karponosov complained about the levels and Karponosov stated that S/K could have been 5th.
I hope that now the Russian Fed is more inclined to let I/Z move to Shpilband.
The Karsponosov article cracked me up. "By my scoring standards which do nothing but demonstrate that I still don't understand how IJS works, I have decided that S/K magically should have gained 4 places over teams that have better skating skills, better choreography and delivered stronger performances on the night." This guy is supposed to oversee the whole program, no wonder Russian ice dance is in such a mess.
If he couldn't or didn't want to see that S/K were fairly placed, this obviously explains the scoring at Russian Nationals. I wonder how this will bode for Ruslena if he continues to be the head coach of the team? If they never use foreign judges again how will the kids get out of Russia? Kids need to bring it, hard.
IJS really changed the World of Ice Dance. Some don't want to get it. It's not all about politicking anymore. But they still give it a try.
Don't worry, if they're allowed to stay with Shpilband they have the right coach. He will tell the Fed that he knows about IJS better than Zueva and that he's going to bring the results. He's sly, I believe in that.
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2010
Well, I don`t think that his objective is to sabotage I/Z. He wants Russian Ice Dance to become what it once was, but this will take time. Russia has several teams on a similar level and I wonder if it`s really wise to only push for one of them. The US managed to get two teams on the podium, but if we look at the PCS of both teams, they were rather close, which kind of shows that C/B still have the chance to overtake the Shibs again.
IMO, the mindset has to change. The ice dance field moves much faster than compared to when Karponosov/Linichuk dominated the ice dance scene with their teams and the Russian teams have to move with it, otherwise they will be left behind.
That's my point. It might not be intentional, but the strategy he has employed would sure lead one to believe that the only team worth supporting was S/K. On the night I honestly believed that S/B handled the pressure a lot better. Thought S/K were lucky to score higher than them in the FD to be frank. Russia needs to learn to support all its pairs and simply let the skating on the ice do the talking. So far I think the Russian experts are doing their athletes more harm than good.
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2013
Agreed. I hope at least IZ and SK get equal treatment and push each other to great results in the upcoming seasons.
I really think they will. We shouldn't forget that the Russian Fed has very likely spent more money on S/K this season than they spent on any other team. Now it seems that they're willing to spend money on I/Z as well.
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2010
So, since the season is done (thank god no more Waltz :noshake
we can now start with discussing next season 
I hope that I/Z will do more than one Senior B, if they stay in Detroit, the US Challenger and Autumn Classic in Canada could be some options. Re their Grand Prix assignments I hope for COR and COC or NHK. NHK is the last GP and they tend to give out GOE and PCS like free candy there, besides it`s three weeks after COR. I hope that they won`t get SC, because with Weaver/Poje, Virtue/Moir + one of the World medallists, that`s going to be a brutal line-up.
After watching the last FD group, I`m all for I/Z to do something passionate and powerful next season. All these P/C copycats are so boring.
we can now start with discussing next season I hope that I/Z will do more than one Senior B, if they stay in Detroit, the US Challenger and Autumn Classic in Canada could be some options. Re their Grand Prix assignments I hope for COR and COC or NHK. NHK is the last GP and they tend to give out GOE and PCS like free candy there, besides it`s three weeks after COR. I hope that they won`t get SC, because with Weaver/Poje, Virtue/Moir + one of the World medallists, that`s going to be a brutal line-up.
After watching the last FD group, I`m all for I/Z to do something passionate and powerful next season. All these P/C copycats are so boring.
GP assignments will be interesting, because only S/B & S/K are guaranteed 2 I think? I/Z are guaranteed 1 from the SB list, but should easily get 2 anyway. Then B/S are guaranteed one if they aren't suspended still (if her case isn't heard by the time assignments come out I guess they are out even if it's resolved later?), plus Popova/Vlasenko, Yanovskaya/Mozgov & Monko/Khaliavin (if her injuries are resolved). Do we know if Loboda/Drozd are going senior, because the fed would want to get them something as well. So thats a lot of teams with 1 spot, and the fed needs to be clever about its host spots to make sure as many as possible can have 2. Normally the highest finishing team/national champion would get CoR - maybe S/K would want it, but maybe the fed would rather use all the host spots to get as many of their teams out as possible, plus it would be more convenient for the teams actually based in Russia to have it.
If I/Z are staying with Igor, I hope they have something like SA & TEB so they aren't travelling all the time. NHK would also be good. And yes, I want them to do senior Bs! if they're already working on the FD, they should be ready to go for SLC, and then hopefully something else in Europe too. Mordavian Ornament would be helpful in terms of getting a good SB score - they still have the highest of any Russian team this year thanks to Saransk! - but Nebelhorn or Finlandia would probably allow them to get more realistic feedback.
If I/Z are staying with Igor, I hope they have something like SA & TEB so they aren't travelling all the time. NHK would also be good. And yes, I want them to do senior Bs! if they're already working on the FD, they should be ready to go for SLC, and then hopefully something else in Europe too. Mordavian Ornament would be helpful in terms of getting a good SB score - they still have the highest of any Russian team this year thanks to Saransk!
- but Nebelhorn or Finlandia would probably allow them to get more realistic feedback.
