Figure Skating in Austria

[Jumping_Bean]

So, it started with "how many (not many) spots for JGP can Austria fill and who could that be?" and lead to some additional topics.

National team for 23/24

Nationalteam - Skate Austria

Bundeskader Der Skate Austria Bundeskader besteht aus den Kadern der Einzelläufer*innen, Paarläufer*innen, Eistänzer*innen und Synchronized Skating Teams. Die Kaderkriterien 24-25 gelten für die Erreichung des Kaders der Saison 25/26 bzw. […]

skateaustria.at

Criteria there could also be the reason why Maierhofer/Ghedini are not listed. Maybe it's the mandatory competitions they don't have? Did they compete at Nationals? Not sure. ETA: Looked it up, they did.
Without that, only the Challenge Cup there is. -> So 2 comps, 1 int. and 1 Nationals. Hm..

And a point about that the main coach needs an Austrian license or there's special treatment if that's not the case blah blah. Maybe that's the reason.
In case they don't primarily train under Severin/in Salzburg, then it's the YGA and Daniel Aggiano which would make this part of the criteria more complicated.
BUT maybe they did not make the move to Milano and could not stay in Egna either and are currently in limbo??!

Could not find recent YGA posts with them or one of them in it. Last one is from start of March where Luc does sbs jump with Tomas G S.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CpUk3GCvUOx/

Giorgia's account is private, Luc is not posting much.
Gah!

They visited WASA in early May, with the caption stating "See you soon ".
The video only shows Luc, but Giorgia is tagged.



Edit: Just looked at the criteria and I think they might not have gotten the minimum score for Elite A (It's 130 in Juniors for 2024-25, so I'm guessing it was similar for the 2023-24 national team), and the national team was finalised before the ISU even made it an option for older pairs men to possibly stay in Juniors for one more season, so they couldn't really put them on the Junior A team at the time.

 

[yesterday]

I just could compare photos and they did the Austrian Skating special training days in June together too



So not too bad, but not nominated so I guess they won't compete in JGP. If in Juniors in general,

 

[Jumping_Bean]

So not too bad, but not nominated so I guess they won't compete in JGP. If in Juniors in general,

I'll just stay delusional until we have all JGP pairs entry lists

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

I'll add my thoughts on the National Team later, but I quickly wanted to share this update on our Austrian coaches: Eva Martinek seems to have moved overseas and is now coaching at Iceworks in Philly and apparently Viktor Pfeifer is also there.

 

[yesterday]

I'll add my thoughts on the National Team later, but I quickly wanted to share this update on our Austrian coaches: Eva Martinek seems to have moved overseas and is now coaching at Iceworks in Philly and apparently Viktor Pfeifer is also there.

Wow, so another "not going to Milano"-case
Wonder where Tobia will go to?

Yeah Victor had been in Colorado Springs for a while, interesting..

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

After what feels like a hundred weeks, I finally find the time to write down my thoughts on the National Team selection, or more precisely, the men and by extension the pairs. Some of it might be completely obsolete by now, because it turns out selection actually makes sense (minimum scores, etc...). But hear me out, maybe it will turn into an interesting discussion nonetheless.

Taking into account the past two seasons, it feels like Maurizio hit a peak sometime around Worlds last year. And honestly, I do not see much room for any technical improvement. It was a great feat that he got a consistent 3A in his late twenties, but now he is 30 years old and I do not think there will be a quad. His PCS are also pretty maxed out as he is usually judged quite favourably (imo). So where to go from here? A big motivation are probably the "home" Olympics in 2026. I am keeping my fingers crossed for him, it would be an amazing end to a career. But he will be 33 by then...
So what is Austria's plan B when it comes to men? Apart from Maurizio, Luc is still the uncontested leader of the field with room to spare. He does not have a 3A, but I saw him almost land a 4T once (and he reminded me so much of another skater I used to really like with the same problem - great posture, close to a 4T but never learned a 3A - it gave me such a strong sense of deja-vu). Anyway, with clean skates and honest PCS judging Luc already comes close to Maurizio despite his lower tech base value and he might still get the quad. The potential is there.
Luc and Giorgia also have competition now in pairs form Schaller/Mayr who so far are a bit ahead of them. It is not clear at all that Luc/Giorgia will be selected for the big international senior events. So what if Luc decides to focus on men's singles after all and go for Milano 2026? (Obviously we now know he is still training pairs, but at the time I thought it was possible that he had decided to stick with singles).

What do you think will the future hold for the Austrian men? Maurizio or Luc for the Olympics? Or will it be a surprise newcomer like Tobi? Maybe another country-hopper?

 

[yesterday]

After what feels like a hundred weeks, I finally find the time to write down my thoughts on the National Team selection, or more precisely, the men and by extension the pairs. Some of it might be completely obsolete by now, because it turns out selection actually makes sense (minimum scores, etc...). But hear me out, maybe it will turn into an interesting discussion nonetheless.

Taking into account the past two seasons, it feels like Maurizio hit a peak sometime around Worlds last year. And honestly, I do not see much room for any technical improvement. It was a great feat that he got a consistent 3A in his late twenties, but now he is 30 years old and I do not think there will be a quad. His PCS are also pretty maxed out as he is usually judged quite favourably (imo). So where to go from here? A big motivation are probably the "home" Olympics in 2026. I am keeping my fingers crossed for him, it would be an amazing end to a career. But he will be 33 by then...
So what is Austria's plan B when it comes to men? Apart from Maurizio, Luc is still the uncontested leader of the field with room to spare. He does not have a 3A, but I saw him almost land a 4T once (and he reminded me so much of another skater I used to really like with the same problem - great posture, close to a 4T but never learned a 3A - it gave me such a strong sense of deja-vu). Anyway, with clean skates and honest PCS judging Luc already comes close to Maurizio despite his lower tech base value and he might still get the quad. The potential is there.
Luc and Giorgia also have competition now in pairs form Schaller/Mayr who so far are a bit ahead of them. It is not clear at all that Luc/Giorgia will be selected for the big international senior events. So what if Luc decides to focus on men's singles after all and go for Milano 2026? (Obviously we now know he is still training pairs, but at the time I thought it was possible that he had decided to stick with singles).

What do you think will the future hold for the Austrian men? Maurizio or Luc for the Olympics? Or will it be a surprise newcomer like Tobi? Maybe another country-hopper?

Yeah, the pairs+singles skaters situation is a bit weird and difficult, but for small feds very likely
Not only Luc is a ? here I think. Also Sophia in the other pair.

Maybe a crazy idea, but could we pair Giorgia and Livio?
Giorgia herself might absolutely want to go to 2026. Livio does not think about singles as far as I know. Competition between the 2 pairs could ofc be very beneficial, but as each pair has a skater doing "double duties", there's a slight unsureness factor (because of little competition in singles as well).

I also thought about Tobia and perhaps Daniel (if he goes 100% singles). But I think Daniel won't be age eligible for 2026. But 2030 could be for him.

Idk if there's a "Skate Austria masterplan" having a men coming "here" like Emily did. Austria is not Israel, but who knows?

The really really little competition (esp for men) should be a motivating factor for an "easy Olympics", but guys just don't start FS here / stay long enough to get minimum scores. Difficult.

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

Not only Luc is a ? here I think. Also Sophia in the other pair.

Sophia said that she will commit to pairs, iirc.

 

[yesterday]

Sophia said that she will commit to pairs, iirc.

I also recall something like this. Yet, didn't she skate singles somewhere at the end of last season
My mind is a dry sponge these days, so not sure. But there was something that made me go "huh" about her recently.

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

JGP assignments are out. No Giorgia/Luc in Junior Pairs...

JGP Linz
Women: Hannah Frank, Flora Schaller, Sara Höfer
Men: Daniel Ruis, Tobia Oellerer
Ice Dance: Havers/Havers

JGP Budapest
Women: Hannah Frank
Men: Daniel Ruis
Ice Dance: Havers/Havers

JGP Gdansk
Men: Tobia Oellerer
Ice Dance: Straub/Straub

JGP Yerevan
Women: Flora Schaller
Ice Dance: Straub/Straub

 

[happycamper2554]

JGP assignments are out. No Giorgia/Luc in Junior Pairs...

JGP Linz
Women: Hannah Frank, Flora Schaller, Sara Höfer
Men: Daniel Ruis, Tobia Oellerer
Ice Dance: Havers/Havers

JGP Budapest
Women: Hannah Frank
Men: Daniel Ruis
Ice Dance: Havers/Havers

JGP Gdansk
Men: Tobia Oellerer
Ice Dance: Straub/Straub

JGP Yerevan
Women: Flora Schaller
Ice Dance: Straub/Straub

Luc is too old

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

Luc is too old

I know, but there was some discussion whether the new exception regarding junior pairs (when the guy is too old but the girl is still junior eligible) could apply to them.

 

[yesterday]

I know, but there was some discussion whether the new exception regarding junior pairs (when the guy is too old but the girl is still junior eligible) could apply to them.

mhh I think it will be beneficial for them to go to seniors (as soon as possible) if they also want to invest "it all" towards 2026.
Just because building up reputation, get known and seen by judges etc.. is a factor too

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

News from our Austrian pairs:

Sophia and Livio are on the entry list for CS Autumn Classic.

And Luc and Giorgia are now officially part of Severin Kiefer's group at EisTeam Salzburg. I wonder if Luc will continue his singles career without his former coach Magri at all.

 

[yesterday]

Oh nice!
Second point had been hinted for a bit, right I mean he could still skate singles if he absolutely wants to, there are other coaches there as well. But it might also be a financial factor (and easier to manage "at home").

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

I mean he could still skate singles if he absolutely wants to,

I hope he does. Despite Giorgia and Luc's promise as a new pair, I'm still very much attached to the idea of Luc as a singles skater. I think he hasn't shown everything he's capable of in this discipline yet. And, as elaborated above, I worry about the near future of Austrian men's skating.

Anyway, I actually came here to say that I finally managed to update the OP with the main National Teams for this season. The banner was also a bit outdated, so until I find something better, I just put the Skate Austria logo there. Hopefully they don't mind the extra publicity.

 

[yesterday]

I hope he does. Despite Giorgia and Luc's promise as a new pair, I'm still very much attached to the idea of Luc as a singles skater. I think he hasn't shown everything he's capable of in this discipline yet. And, as elaborated above, I worry about the near future of Austrian men's skating.

Anyway, I actually came here to say that I finally managed to update the OP with the main National Teams for this season. The banner was also a bit outdated, so until I find something better, I just put the Skate Austria logo there. Hopefully they don't mind the extra publicity.

Haha!
We could also do "our" banner, if you have some ideas? I can figure things out.

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

Haha!
We could also do "our" banner, if you have some ideas? I can figure things out.

That would be awesome. I liked the old banner with the flag and the skaters, but it would need to be updated with our new pairs and maybe Olga in a more recent costume (the Nocturnal Serenade one was my personal fave). Maybe even more skaters can be added, like our dance teams and Steffie? Lol, this already sounds like a lot of work, but you asked.

Also, turns out I'm an idiot, because I can't even find the old banner for reference anymore. I deleted it from the OP yesterday and now it looks like the insta account I sourced it from has been deactivated and I didn't save the picture to my hard drive. Luckily, GoldenSkate is archived on the wayback machine, so here is what we had before:

 

[yesterday]

That would be awesome. I liked the old banner with the flag and the skaters, but it would need to be updated with our new pairs and maybe Olga in a more recent costume (the Nocturnal Serenade one was my personal fave). Maybe even more skaters can be added, like our dance teams and Steffie? Lol, this already sounds like a lot of work, but you asked.

Also, turns out I'm an idiot, because I can't even find the old banner for reference anymore. I deleted it from the OP yesterday and now it looks like the insta account I sourced it from has been deactivated and I didn't save the picture to my hard drive. Luckily, GoldenSkate is archived on the wayback machine, so here is what we had before:

View attachment 6766

okay I can't draw like this
but I could use pics and but them out, current skaters in newer costumes?

 

[CrazyKittenLady]

okay I can't draw like this
but I could use pics and but them out, current skaters in newer costumes?

A collage of pics sounds fantastic as well!