Figure Skating in Cyprus

[CaroLiza_fan]

ISU International Adult Competition Silver Ladies II FS: Results; Protocols

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Natalia finished 5th out of 24 in the FS, with a score of 33.05.

Looking at the Protocols, there is not actually much variation. Apart from the Choreographic Sequence, which got by far the highest GOE, all her elements got GOE of between 0.00 and 0.10. Indeed, four of her elements got neutral GOE. And apart from a single -2 for her Combination, all the Judges marks were either 0 or +1.

Her first element (Single Lutz), fourth element (Single Toe) and final element (Single Loop), got 0's all round, both in terms of GOE and Judges marks. And were it not for that aforementioned -2 from Judge 2, her sixth element (the Single Flip-Half Loop-Single Salchow combination) would have made it four completely neutral elements.

Her second element was a Change Foot Combination Spin, and it got the second highest GOE of the programme, at +0.10. As it also had the second highest Base Value of the programme, at 1.50 points, it was also the second highest scoring element. It also got the second highest set of Judges marks, with 0's from Judges 1 and 2; and 1's from the remaining three Judges.

The Single Flip that followed got +0.05 in GOE. But, it did do one better in terms of Judges marks, receiving 0 from Judge 1; and 1's from the four remaining Judges.

Jumping forward to her fifth element, the Choreographic Sequence, this earned by far the highest GOE, at +0.33. As this also was also the element with the highest Base Value, at 3.00 points, it was the highest scoring element. As for the Judges, they gave it two 0's; and three +1's.

Her seventh element, the Sit Spin, actually got exactly the same Judges marks as the Choreographic sequence. For GOE, it got the third highest, at +0.07.

Natalia finished 0.66 points behind 4th position, Lindsey WISEMAN (GBR), and 0.71 points ahead of 6th position, Barbara STELE (ITA). All three were part of a larger group where 17 skaters were covered by 6.99 points, stretching from Tatiana RHODE (DEU) in 3rd position, 1.06 points ahead of Natalia, to Julia WIES (DEU) in 19th position, 5.93 points behind Natalia.

In a group this large and this tight, a few minuses on the Protocols could easily have led to Natalia finishing well down the order. So, I am very happy that things went so well for her, and that she finished in the Top 5 instead.

WELL DONE NATALIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

No, unfortunately, this is not an announcement that the results from Nationals have finally been posted. Because they haven't.

But, there are a couple of announcements.

As I have already mentioned in the country changes thread, a skater who has been representing Estonia for the past 2 seasons is returning to the Cypriot team. (She last competed at the Cyprus Championships in 2019, but I don't know how she got on because the scores for the Beginner level competitions were not published). I am not naming her because of her age (I think she is only 9 or 10 years old), but she has been training with Anna Levandi.

I am very excited, because she has turned into a very promising prospect. Rink Results has 9 competitions listed on her page, all of which had big fields. And she was on the podium in SIX of them (2 Bronze Medals; 3 Silver Medals; 1 Gold Medal), including her last four competitions.

After one competition at Chicks level (where she won the Silver Medal), most of her competitions for Estonia have been at Cubs level. She has also competed at Basic Novice level twice, winning the Gold Medal in the most recent of them (January 2023).

I don't know what level she plans to compete at when she returns to Cyprus. But, given that she has already won a Basic Novice competition, I would guess that she will be competing at one of the Novice levels.

WELCOME BACK, AND ALL THE BEST!!!

---

The second announcement is a personal one.

Apart from a few months in 2017, I have been using photos that feature Daniella Vanessa Ipsarides and / or Giorgia Isabella Sechi as my avatar for the past seven seasons.

The first, which I used from September 2016 to March 2017, was a photo of Daniella with Liza Tuktamysheva. It was taken backstage at the 2016 Sarajevo Open, which they both competed in:



From October 2017 to June 2019, I used a photo of Giorgia with me, which was taken when I met her at her family's restaurant in Paphos:



Exactly four years today, in June 2019, I started using as my avatar a picture of Daniella Vanessa Ipsarides and Giorgia Isabella Sechi that was taken at the 2019 Cyprus Championships:



In case you are wondering what the trophies are for, Daniella's was an achievement award (she had retired from competing the previous summer, and this was to recognise her career). Giorgia's was for finishing 3rd in the Junior Ladies competition.

What I did not realise at the time was that this event would be Giorgia's swansong. And, as a result, both skaters in my avatar had already completed their skating careers when I started using it.

Cyprus now has a new generation of skaters competing, and they are bringing a lot of success to the island. Although I feel sorry to leave Daniella and Giorgia behind, I feel that now is the right time to recognise this new generation.

Here is my new avatar, featuring Stefania Yakovleva, Marilena Kitromilis, Angelina Kudryavtseva, and Ilia Karankevich, which was taken at the 2023 Cyprus Championships:



I wish them all the best for the seasons to come.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

It's 16th August again, the anniversary of when Cyprus gained it's independence from the UK in 1960. And, traditionally, I would wait until this date to make changes to the Team Cyprus Fan Fest. Things like adding profiles for new members of the team, or splitting skaters off into their own threads. However, there are no major changes to make this year. So, instead, I put up a post in Stefania's thread, and another post in Angelina / Ilia's thread.

All day, I have felt uncomfortable that I didn't post in this thread. It is now coming towards the end of the day, so I am here now to put that right.

First of all, there is still no sign of any results from Nationals in May.

Secondly, we now know both of the Junior Grand Prix events that Angelina and Ilia are due to compete at, and the first of the Junior Grand Prix events that Stefania is due to compete at:

Date​	Competition​	Location​	Skaters​
30th August – 2nd September 2023	JGP2: Cup Of Austria	Linz, AUT	Angelina Kudryavtseva / Ilia Karankevich
6th – 9th September 2023	JGP3: Istanbul	Istanbul, TUR	Angelina Kudryavtseva / Ilia Karankevich
13th – 16th September 2023	JGP4: Osaka	Osaka, JPN	Stefania Yakoveva
27th – 30th September 2023	JGP6: Solidarity Cup	Gdańsk, POL	Stefania Yakoveva

EDIT (29th August 2023): Added in Stefania's second Junior GP assignment.​

We also now know what music they will be skating to.

Ice Dance​	Short Dance​	Free Dance​
Angelina Kudryavtseva / Ilia Karankevich	“Like A Prayer” by Madonna “Pray For Spanish Eyes” by Madonna “Material Girl” by Madonna	“Le Notti Di Cabiria” by Nino Rota

Ladies​	Short Programme​	Free Skate​
Stefania Yakoveva	“Schindler’s List” by John Williams	“Cirque Du Soleil Selection”

For my thoughts on all these pieces of news, and also links to some recent Instagram posts, see the following posts in their own threads:

Angelina Kudryavtseva / Ilia Karankevich - https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/posts/3144142

Stefania Yakoveva - https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/posts/3146074

As it stands, I don't know if there will be anybody else representing Cyprus internationally this season. Hopefully there will be. And if and when they compete, I will post about them in this thread.

Incidentally, I am in the process of rolling out a new format for the "Programmes" section of my Fan Fest threads. And I am pleased to announce that all the profiles for the Cypriot skaters, be they in this thread or in their own thread, have now been changed to the new format. I hope you like it.

So, here's to another season for the Cypriot skaters!

ALL THE BEST EVERYBODY!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[Keachri]

It's 16th August again, the anniversary of when Cyprus gained it's independence from the UK in 1960. And, traditionally, I would wait until this date to make changes to the Team Cyprus Fan Fest. Things like adding profiles for new members of the team, or splitting skaters off into their own threads. However, there are no major changes to make this year. So, instead, I put up a post in Stefania's thread, and another post in Angelina / Ilia's thread.

All day, I have felt uncomfortable that I didn't post in this thread. It is now coming towards the end of the day, so I am here now to put that right.

First of all, there is still no sign of any results from Nationals in May.

Secondly, we now know both of the Junior Grand Prix events that Angelina and Ilia are due to compete at, and the first of the Junior Grand Prix events that Stefania is due to compete at:

Date​	Competition​	Location​	Skaters​
30th August – 2nd September 2023	JGP2: Cup Of Austria	Linz, AUT	Angelina Kudryavtseva / Ilia Karankevich
6th – 9th September 2023	JGP3: Istanbul	Istanbul, TUR	Angelina Kudryavtseva / Ilia Karankevich
13th – 16th September 2023	JGP4: Osaka	Osaka, JPN	Stefania Yakoveva
27th – 30th September 2023	JGP6: Solidarity Cup	Gdańsk, POL	Stefania Yakoveva

EDIT (29th August 2023): Added in Stefania's second Junior GP assignment.​

We also now know what music they will be skating to.

Ice Dance​	Short Dance​	Free Dance​
Angelina Kudryavtseva / Ilia Karankevich	“Like A Prayer” by Madonna “Pray For Spanish Eyes” by Madonna “Material Girl” by Madonna	“Le Notti Di Cabiria” by Nino Rota

Ladies​	Short Programme​	Free Skate​
Stefania Yakoveva	“Schindler’s List” by John Williams	“Cirque Du Soleil Selection”

For my thoughts on all these pieces of news, and also links to some recent Instagram posts, see the following posts in their own threads:

Angelina Kudryavtseva / Ilia Karankevich - https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/posts/3144142

Stefania Yakoveva - https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/posts/3146074

As it stands, I don't know if there will be anybody else representing Cyprus internationally this season. Hopefully there will be. And if and when they compete, I will post about them in this thread.

Incidentally, I am in the process of rolling out a new format for the "Programmes" section of my Fan Fest threads. And I am pleased to announce that all the profiles for the Cypriot skaters, be they in this thread or in their own thread, have now been changed to the new format. I hope you like it.

So, here's to another season for the Cypriot skaters!

ALL THE BEST EVERYBODY!!!

CaroLiza_fan

Marilena Kitromilis? Her Information?

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Marilena Kitromilis? Her Information?

Unfortunately, I haven't heard anything about Marilena's plans yet. And I was lamenting that when I posted a birthday greeting in her dedicated Fan Fest a few days ago.

That said, Oliviia Bazlova (who is returning to skating for Cyprus this season after representing Estonia last season) is only starting off her 2023-24 Season campaign on 5th November at the Volvo Open. So you never know, Marilena may appear at an event shortly after that.

Unfortunately, how far in advance the entry lists for Senior B's are released varies greatly. So, it can be quite late that we find out who is competing at them. But, there are plenty of Senior B's between now and Europeans. And Marilena already has all the minimum TES's for Europeans and Worlds. So, apart from getting a feel of where she is at compared to other skaters, there is no urgent need to rush back to competition just yet.

But, if we still haven't seen her in a month from now, I would be getting more concerned.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

That said, Oliviia Bazlova (who is returning to skating for Cyprus this season after representing Estonia last season) is only starting off her 2023-24 Season campaign on 5th November at the Volvo Open.

I apologise. it turns out that Olivia has already started her season, competing in domestic competitions in Estonia.


Olympic Autumn Cup: 30 September – 01 October 2023

Olympic Autumn Cup Cubs A 2013/14 Ladies FS: Results; Protocols
Olympic Autumn Cup Cubs A 2013/14 Ladies: Results

Oliviia finished 2nd out of 8 in the FS and overall, with a score of 31.58.

Oliviia finished the Free Skate 8.06 points behind 1st position, and 2.62 points ahead of 3rd position.

WELL DONE OLIVIIA!!!


Olympic Autumn Cup Basic Novice Ladies FS: Results; Protocols
Olympic Autumn Cup Basic Novice Ladies: Results

Oliviia finished 1st out of 19 in the FS and overall, with a score of 40.41.

Oliviia finished the Free Skate 4.05 points ahead of 2nd position, and 5.54 points ahead of 3rd position.

WELL DONE OLIVIIA!!!


Tartu Cup: 07–08 October 2023

Tartu Cup Cubs A Ladies FS: Results; Protocols
Tartu Cup Cubs A Ladies: Results

Oliviia finished 2nd out of 12 in the FS and overall, with a score of 37.53.

Oliviia finished the Free Skate 2.74 points behind 1st position, and 0.98 points ahead of 3rd position.

WELL DONE OLIVIIA!!!


Tartu Cup Basic Novice Ladies FS: Results; Protocols
Tartu Cup Basic Novice Ladies: Results

Oliviia finished 3rd out of 20 in the FS and overall, with a score of 37.88.

Oliviia finished the Free Skate 0.84 points behind 2nd position, and 0.37 points ahead of 3rd position.

WELL DONE OLIVIIA!!!


She will be competing again tomorrow at the Gliss Extra event in Tallinn. But it will just be at Cubs level this time.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Oliviia is back in action today at Gliss Extra in Tallinn, Estonia.

The Cubs A Ladies FS is due to start today at 13:40:01 EEST (10:40:01 GMT / 11:40:01 BST). So 4 hours from now.

Oliviia will be the 8th skater to start. So, fourth skater to go in Group 2 (and antepenultimate skater of the segment).

And that is as much as I can say at the moment, because the Entries /Results page has gone up the creek, with the links taking you to the wrong pages.

But, those times may change if somebody that is due on before her withdraws.

More information in the event thread:
https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/threads/96607/

Hope this helps

ALL THE BEST OLIVIIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

OLIVIIA WON THE GOLD MEDAL!!!



Gliss Extra Cubs A Ladies FS: Results; Protocols
Gliss Extra Cubs A Ladies: Results

Oliviia finished 1st out of 10 in the FS and overall, with a score of 44.57.

Here is what I wrote in the competition thread about the Warm-Up:

I think this is the first time I have done this type of post for a skater this young, but I've a kid coming on now.

During the Warm-Up, I was keeping an eye on Oliviia, and everything she was doing looked effortless. She was throwing out jumps like they were going out of fashion!

So, hopefully everything will be effortless now when it counts!

ALL THE BEST OLIVIIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan​

Here is what I wrote about her programme:

Ah, she's still using the "Bolero" programme she was using last season.

I said everything was effortless during the Warm-Up. Well, it still was during the programme.

Absolutely flawless.

She's got a cuddly something wearing a tigerprint hoodie!

Anna and another coach who is wearing a jacket with a Norwegian flag on it are sitting with her, and they all look happy.

She scores 44.57 and goes into a 4.91 point lead with 2 still to skate.

Oliviia can't believe it! The coaches look so proud of her!

WELL DONE OLIVIIA!!

CaroLiza_fan​

And here is what I wrote after the final skater got her scores:

Just a footnote before going onto the next competition (and before I go to have my dinner).

OLIVIIA WON!!!



WELL DONE OLIVIIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan​

I wasn't exaggerating either about how good it looked. There was only one minus number in the whole of the Protocols for her programme. And that was a -1 from Judge 3 for her penultiamte element, the Double Lutz-Double Toe combination. The other Judges gave it 0; and it also got 0.00 in GOE.

Oliviia finished the Free Skate 4.91 points ahead of 2nd position, and 8.86 points ahead of 3rd position.

The encouraging thing is that the girl who finished 2nd at Gliss Extra is the girl that beat Oliviia to the Gold Medal in the Cubs A competitions at both the Olympic Autumn Cup and the Tartu Cup. It shows Oliviia that this girl can make mistakes, and is beatable. And that will give Oliviia confidence going forwards.

The next time we see Oliviia will be her first international appearance since her return to the Cypriot team. She will be competing at Basic Novice level at the Volvo Open in Latvia.

WELL DONE OLIVIIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Oliviia will be making her first international appearance for Cyprus tomorrow at the 50th edition of the Volvo Open Cup in Riga, Latvia, where she will be competing in the older Basic Novice division. And this is a happy hunting ground for Oliviia, as she won the Gold Medal in the younger Basic Novice division at the 48th edition of this event back in January.

The Basic Novice 2010-2012 Ladies FS is due to start tomorrow at 09:45 EET (07:45 GMT). So 11 hours from now.

Oliviia will be the 9th skater to start. So, second skater to go in Group 2.

The Group 2 Warm-Up is due to start at 10:30 EET (08:30 GMT). So 11h 45m from now.

And that is as much as I can say, because the Time Schedule PDF's don't work.

But, those times may change if somebody that is due on before her withdraws.

More information in the event thread:
https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/threads/95812

Hope this helps

ALL THE BEST OLIVIIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

OLIVIIA WON THE GOLD MEDAL!!!



Volvo Open Cup Basic Novice 2010-2012 Ladies FS: Results; Protocols
Volvo Open Cup Basic Novice 2010-2012 Ladies: Results

Oliviia finished 1st out of 29 in the FS and overall, with a score of 46.41.

Here is what I wrote in the competition thread about the Warm-Up:

Not a great camera position for the Warm-Up. We saw Oliviia lining up lots of jumps, but every one of them was done outside of camera shot.

You can tell that she is new to this age division. Because she was tiny compared to the other girls on the ice with her!

But, now that the first skater in the group has finished, it is time for Oliviia to do her programme.

ALL THE BEST OLIVIIA!!

CaroLiza_fan​

Here is what I wrote about her programme:

Oh, different pogramme. "Bolero" must just be for Cubs competitions this season.

Don't know the music at all. But, she was definitely going for the spooky theme!

Just about landed the first jump.

Everything else was effortless!

Don't know who the two ladies with her are (Anna is in Astana with Arlet).

EDIT: The lady with the black hair in the black coat is 2006 Estonian Senior Ladies Champion Jelena Muhhina; and the lady with the blonde hair in the cream coat is Oliviia's Mum!​

Into the lead with a score of 46.41.

WELL DONE OLIVIIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan​

And here is what I wrote after the final skater got her scores:

Getting back to the older girls...

OLIVIIA WON THE GOLD MEDAL!!!



Not bad for what is not just her first international competition representing Cyprus, but is also her first competition in the older Basic Novice division.

WELL DONE OLIVIIA!!! ​

Looking at the Protocols, her first two elements were both Double Axels. But, whereas I thought they both looked great, they got different reactions from the people that mattered. The first one got GOE of +0.25; and 0's from two Judges; +1 from Judge 3; and +2 from Judge 1. The second one got GOE of -0.17; -1 from three Judges; and +1 from Judge 1.

I was so puzzled by this there now that I went back to the archived livestream to look at them, and thankfully the stream is still there. On the landing of the second Double Axel, her right heel momentarily went up so that only the front part of her blade was on the ice. I don't know if that was the reason, but it is the only thing I can think of.

Oliviia finished the Free Skate 3.51 points ahead of 2nd position, and 4.96 points ahead of 3rd position.

This wee girl is extremely promising. Skaters from Cyprus have traditionally not moved up to the next level until they age out of the level they are currently in. I really hope Anna does not take this approach with Oliviia. I hope Oliviia gets to move up levels as soon as she is old enough to. It would be a travesty if she didn't. She is that good!

I can't wait to see Oliviia in Advanced Novice level. And Junior level after that.

But, let's not get ahead of ourselves. Let's just enjoy this moment.

WELL DONE OLIVIIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Marilena Kitromilis? Her Information?

Just getting back to you again to let you know that Marilena is on the Provisional Entry List for the final round of the Challenger Series, the Golden Spin Of Zagreb in 2 weeks time. So, same weekend as the Grand Prix Final.

https://results.isu.org/events/cscro2023_Women.htm

Unfortunately, in recent years the Golden Spin has developed a reputation for being very hard to follow. It hasn't had livestreaming for years, and didn't even have livescoring last year either. We hadn't a clue what was going on!

I really hope somebody that is attending is able to film Marilena's programmes, and share them with us.

But, even if we don't get to see her, it will be good to know that she is back in action.

---

On a different note, Oliviia is back in action this week at the Tallinn Trophy. She will be competing in the Cubs A and the younger Basic Novice competitions, both of which are being held tomorrow. This will be the first time that I will be doing a full set of posts about her for an event where she is doing the double. And I haven't worked out yet what would be the best approach to take with the posts!

But, fair play to her doing two competitions in one day.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Oliviia will be back in action today not once but twice at the Tallinn Trophy. Yes, she's doing the double again, competing in both the Cubs A competition and the Basic Novice 2012-2014 competition.

I think the best approach would probably be to do two separate reminder posts. So, this one will be for the Cubs A competition.

The Cubs A Ladies FS is due to start this morning at 09:55:00 EET (07:55:00 GMT). So 2 hours from now.

Oliviia will be the 7th skater to start. So, seventh and penultimate skater to go in Group 1.

The Group 1 Warm-Up is due to start at 09:55:00 EET (07:55:00 GMT). So 2 hours from now.

Oliviia is due to start at 10:28:00 EET (08:28:00 GMT). So 2h 32m from now.

But, those times may change if somebody that is due on before her withdraws.

More information in the event thread:
https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/threads/95819

Hope this helps

ALL THE BEST OLIVIIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

And here is the second reminder post for Oliviia, this time for the Basic Novice 2012-2014 competition.

The Basic Novice 2012-2014 Ladies FS is due to start this afternoon at 17:20:00 EET (15:20:00 GMT). So 9 hours from now.

Oliviia will be the 6th skater to start. So, sixth and antepenultimate skater to go in Group 1.

The Group 1 Warm-Up is due to start at 17:20:00 EET (15:20:00 GMT). So 9 hours from now.

Oliviia is due to start at 17:48:15 EET (15:48:15 GMT). So 9h 28m from now.

But, those times may change if somebody that is due on before her withdraws.

More information in the event thread:
https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/threads/95819

Hope this helps

ALL THE BEST OLIVIIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

OLIVIIA WON THE CUBS A GOLD MEDAL!!!



Tallinn Trophy Cubs A Ladies FS: Results; Protocols
Tallinn Trophy Cubs A Ladies: Results

Oliviia finished 1st out of 15 in the FS and overall, with a score of 45.05.

Here is what I wrote in the competition thread about the Warm-Up:

My goodness, it was hard to find Oliviia during the Warm-Up because, apart from one girl who was wearing a black dress, every single skater was wearing a white jacket!

When I did find her, she promptly did a lovely combination jump!

She did another shortly afterwards, and the first part didn't go great. But, you could see when she was going into it that she was concerned about other skaters being in the vicinity, so I think she deliberately pulled out mid-jump.

Just after the announcer told them there was 1 minute left, Oliviia did another lovely combination jump. And, at the very end of the Warm-Up, she did two beautiful combination spins.

So, she's looking good. Let's hope that carries on for the rest of the day.

Right, I'm going back to the MotoGP. But, I'll pop back in when Oliviia does her programme.

CaroLiza_fan​

Here is what I wrote about her programme:

It's "Bolero" time!

Started off with a Triple Loop into a spin. The steps from the jump to the spin looked awkward.

Combination jump next, and a bit of footwork problems on landing first part.

Not sure whether the landing of the Double Axel was right. But the spin afterwards was lovely.

Hand down when sliding on ice - is that allowed?

Didn't spot anything after that.

Awww. She's got a couple of cuddly toys. Not sure what animal that is supposed to be wearing the hoodie, but the other is a very hairy sheep.

And as well as a young looking coach [EDIT: 2006 Estonian Senior Ladies Champion Jelena Muhhina], Oliviia has her Mum sitting with her!

That was some face Oliviia pulled when her score was announced! I don't think she was expecting it to be as high as that!

Into the lead with what is her highest ever Cubs FS score (and only about 1.5 lower than her highest Basic Novice score)



WELL DONE OLIVIIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan​

And here is what I wrote after the final skater got her scores:

OLIVIIA WINS THE GOLD MEDAL!!!



Hopefully this is a good omen for when she comes out again at Basic Novice level this afternoon.

WELL DONE OLIVIIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan​

Looking at the Protocols, I understand now why Oliviia was surprised at the score. Three of her seven elements didn't get any positive numbers next to them. And two of them were because of her Loop jumps.

The Triple Loop that she opened with was under-rotated. I kinda expected that would be the case, because of the awkward footwork coming out of it that I mentioned at the time. It got -2 from two Judges; and -1 from Judge 1. it also got the biggest GOE hit of the programme, at -0.65.

Later on, the Double Loop was landed on the quarter. It was done as part of her penultimate element, the Double Lutz-Double Loop. It got -2 from all three Judges. And it also got the second biggest GOE hit of the programme, at -0.42. However, it did hget credit for being in the second half of the programme.

The other element that got no positive numbers was her second element, the Double Axel-Double Toe. There isn't any indication in the Protocols as to the exact reason, but I did comment at the time about the footwork on landing the Axel. Anyway, it got -2 from Judge 2; -1 form Judge 3; and 0 from Judge 1. It also got GOE of -0.33.

I mentioned at the time about not being sure about the landing of the Double Axel that she did as her third element. Well, neither were the Judges, as they all gave neutral marks. And the GOE was neutral too, so the Technical Panel weren't sure either!

Everything else went down well.

Oliviia finished the Free Skate 2.52 points ahead of 2nd position, and 4.81 points ahead of 3rd position.

I'll not give away any spoilers in this post as to how she got on in the Basic Novice competition later in the day. You'll have to scroll down to the separate post about it to find out.

WELL DONE OLIVIIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

OLIVIIA WON THE BASIC NOVICE 2012-2014 GOLD MEDAL!!!



Tallinn Trophy Basic Novice 2012-2014 Ladies FS: Results; Protocols
Tallinn Trophy Basic Novice 2012-2014 Ladies: Results

Oliviia finished 1st out of 23 in the FS and overall, with a score of 45.95.

Here is what I wrote in the competition thread about the Warm-Up:

Oh boys but I was having the same problems as this morning during the Warm-Up. It should have been slightly easier to find Oliviia because there were two girls not wearing white jackets this time, whereas earlier there was only one not wearing a white jacket.

But it was actually harder, because this time all the girls that were wearing white jackets this time had black dresses sticking out from under them. At least earlier the dresses were different colours.

What also made it harder is that Oliviia went off in a different direction to the other girls at the start of the Warm-Up, out of camera shot. So, it took me a long time to work out whether she was one of the girls wearing tights or one of the ones that had bare legs.

In fact, Oliviia was spending a lot of time out of camera shot during that Warm-Up. And I don't think she did any elements within camera shot. So, I have no idea if she is still in the same form as she was this morning.

Hope she is, though!

CaroLiza_fan​

Here is what I wrote about her programme:

Ah, Anna's sending her off this time.

It looked to me like Oliviia may have lost her balance at one point during part of the elaborate choreography at the start. But, because the choreography is so eleaborate, it is hard to tell.

Lovely Double Axel to start.

Not great landing on second jump. This led to awkward stepping to get into the combination spin, which was lovely.

Nice combination jump.

Rest of the programme was great.

You know, I love this programme. It really shows off how great a performer Oliviia is.

During the programme, it suddenly dawned on me that it was Lady Gaga's voice that I was listening to. And after a bit of hunting around, I found out that it is a song called "Bloody Mary".

Mum and Anna sitting with her. Oliviia's got a cuddly donkey(?), while Anna is holding a large bouquet of flowers.

Into a massive lead of nearly 12 points, with a score that is 0.90 points higher than she achieved this morning.

WELL DONE OLIVIIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan​

And here is what I wrote after the final skater got her scores:

Just popped in from eating to do the reminder post for the Novice B competition, and I am delighted to see that my kid Oliviia won the Basic Novice 2012-2014 competition!!!



Two Gold Medals in one day. Not bad going, is it?

WELL DONE OLIVIIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan​

Looking at the Protocols, they are actually very similar to the Protocols from the Volvo Open Cup (albeit with one less Judge). She started with two Double Axels and, like in Riga, the first had no minus numbers beside it, while the second had all minus numbers beside it.

The first Double Axel got 0 from Judge 1; and +1 from the other two Judges. It also got GOE of +0.22, which made it the second highest scoring element of the programme.

The second Double Axel got -2 from Judge 2; and -1 from the other two Judges. It got the only minus GOE of the programme, at -0.44.

I said at the time that I thought the combination jump that she did as her fourth element looked nice. Well, the people that mattered were not sure about it. The Double Salchow-Double Toe got neutral marks from all three Judges. It also got neutral GOE from the Technical Panel.

The two elements that followed this combination were her best two elements, in terms of both Judges marks and GOE. Funnily enough, they got the exact same Judges marks: +2 from two Judges; and +3 from Judge 2. The Step Sequence got the highest GOE of the programme at +0.61, while the Change Foot Combination Spin got the second highest GOE of +0.58.

But neither of these were the highest scoring element of the programme. That honour fell to the final element, the Double Lutz-Double Toe. It got 0 from two Judges; and +1 from Judge 2. It actually got the smallest positive GOE of the programme at +0.07 but, because it had the highest Base Value, it remained as the highest scoring element.

Oliviia finished the Free Skate 5.58 points ahead of 2nd position, and 5.84 points ahead of 3rd position.

What can I say? It's not often that a skater gets to do two programmes in one day. But it is even rarer for a skater to win two competitions in a day. And in particular when the competitions have large fields.

This girl is a star in the making.

And it will not be long until we see her again, because not content with doing two competitions in a day, she is doing another just 3 days later! In fact, Wednesday will be a busy day for the Cypriot team, because Oliviia and Varvara will both be in action at the Santa Claus Cup in Budapest, Hungary; while Stefania will be in action at the Bosphorus Cup in Istanbul, Turkey.

So, before we get stuck into those events, let's revel in Oliviia's double gold!

WELL DONE OLIVIIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Wow! It only seems like yesterday that I was writing reports about Oliviia's last competitions a few days after they happened, and already she is back in action.

Oh wait. It was yesterday!

Oliviia will be back in action today at the Santa Claus Cup in Budapest. She will just be competing at Basic Novice level this time.

The Basic Novice Ladies FS is due to start this morning at 11:00:00 CET (10:00:00 GMT / 12:00:00 EET). So 4 hours from now.

Oliviia will be the 16th skater to start. So, second skater to go in Group 3.

The Group 3 Warm-Up is due to start at 12:20:20 CET (11:20:20 GMT / 13:20:20 EET). So 5h 20m from now.

Oliviia is due to start at 12:29:30 CET (11:29:30 GMT / 13:29:30 EET). So 5h 29m from now.

But, those times may change if somebody that is due on before her withdraws.

More information in the event thread:
https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/threads/95821

Hope this helps

ALL THE BEST OLIVIIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

OLIVIIA WON THE GOLD MEDAL!!!



Santa Claus Cup Basic Novice Ladies FS: Results; Protocols
Santa Claus Cup Basic Novice Ladies: Results

Oliviia finished 1st out of 41 in the FS and overall, with a score of 45.05.

Unfortunately I was not able to watch the Santa Claus Cup. However, I did post a few posts in the competition thread for Oliviia.

Here is what I wrote in the competition thread when she was due to start:

My youngest kid is due to be coming on now. (I'm currently watching the Juniors at the Bosphorus Cup, where another of my kids is competing).

ALL THE BEST OLIVIIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan​

Here is what I wrote after her scores came up on the livescoring page:

YESSSSS!!!!!!!!!

Oliviia goes into a 7.09 point lead!!!

And the score is only about 1.5 lower than her highest Basic Novice score, achieved at the Volvo Open Cup at the start of the month. (Funnily enough, her Basic Novice score today is the exact same as her Cubs score in Tallinn on Saturday, albeit for a different programme).

Clearly she isn't suffering from fatigue after doing two programmes in Tallinn on Saturday.

WELL DONE OLIVIIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan​

And here is what I wrote after the final skater got her scores:

After the disappointment of finding out that Stefania has withdrawn from the Bosphorus Cup, I come over here and see that Oliviia has won!!!



So, that is three Gold Medals she has won in the space of 5 days. Cubs and Basic Novice in Tallinn on Saturday, and Basic Novice in Budapest today.

WELL DONE OLIVIIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan​

Looking at the Protocols, it was the story that we are getting used to. The first Double Axel went well, with all positive numbers beside it. But the second Double Axel didn't go well, with all negative numbers beside it. But this was the biggest contrast between them yet.

The first Double Axel got 0 from Judge 5; +1 from three Judges; and +2 from Judge 3. It also got +0.33 in GOE.

The second Double Axel got -4 from four Judges; and -2 from Judge 1. It also got the boggest GOE hit of the programme, at a massive -1.32. This made it the joint lowest scoring element of the programme. (The other was the Double Flip, but it actually went well. It was just at the bottom because it had the lowest Base Value to start with).

We know Oliviia can do the Double Axel perfectly, because she never has any problems with the first one. It is that second one that always has problems. So, perhaps that bit of the programme needs to be re-worked in some way so that the first three elements are a bit more spaced out rather than being on top of each other. Or so that there is something in between the Axels.

Just to be clear - I absolutely love the programme. And we know the programme with it's current layout is good enough to win competitions on a regular basis. But, if the Judges and Technical Panel are going to keep calling up the same thing, it would probably be best to do something to address it. Because it is holding Oliviia back from progressing even further.

It looks like there might have been a small issue with the final element, the Double Lutz-Double Loop. It got -2 from Judge 3; -1 from Judge 4; and 0 from the other three Judges. It also got GOE of -0.07, but because it had the highest Base Value, it was actually the highest scoring element of the programme. So, clearly nothing major went wrong.

Everything else looks to have gone well. The best element was the Step Sequence, which got +1 from Judge 5; +2 from two Judges; +3 from Judge 2; and +4 from Judge 3. It also got the highest GOE of the programme, at +0.61.

Incidentally, the other element that was the joint lowest scoring element was the Double Flip that she did as her penultimate element. But it actually went well. It got Judges marks of 0 from Judge 5, +1 from three Judges; and +2 from Judge 3. it also got GOE of +0.18. It was only the joint lowest scoring element because it had the lowest Base Value.

Oliviia finished the Free Skate 3.63 points ahead of 2nd position, and 4.60 points ahead of 3rd position.

It may be barely a year since I first saw her in action, and just over a month since I started keeping track of how she is getting on in competitions, but this little girl never ceases to amaze me.

WELL DONE OLIVIIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

The Santa Claus Cup is actually still ongoing, and there is one more skater due to represent Cyprus in the penultimate competition of the event. I have to admit, I know absolutely nothing about Aleksandra SAMSONOVA. But she is due to skate at Mini Cubs level, which is for skaters born during the 2014-15 Season.

The Mini Cubs Ladies FS is due to start this afternoon at 15:14:00 CET (14:14:00 GMT / 16:14:00 EET). So 8 hours from now.

Aleksandra will be the 12th skater to start. So, sixth and last skater to go in Group 2.

The Group 2 Warm-Up is due to start at 15:49:30 CET (14:49:30 GMT / 16:49:30 EET). So 8h 34m from now.

Aleksandra is due to start at 16:19:50 CET (15:19:50 GMT / 17:19:50 EET). So 9h 05m from now.

But, those times may change if somebody that is due on before her withdraws.

More information in the event thread:
https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/threads/95821

Hope this helps

ALL THE BEST ALEKSANDRA!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

I'm afraid that Aleksandra was a withdrawal as well.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

I am starting to get worried that the number of withdrawals in recent weeks may be a sign that things are not well within the Cypriot team.

Here is a table listing all the competitions that I know of that the Cypriot skaters have been entered for this season, along with how they got on:

Skater​	Date​	Competition​	Level​	SP Pos​	SP Score​	FS Pos​	FS Score​	Total Pos​	Total Score​
		2023–24 Season​	​	​	​	​	​	​	​
Stefania YAKOVLEVA​	08–10 Dec. 2023	Latvia Trophy	Junior​	W/D​	–​	W/D​	–​	W/D​	–​
Marilena KITROMILIS​	06–09 Dec. 2023	Golden Spin Of Zagreb	Senior​	W/D​	–​	W/D​	–​	W/D​	–​
Aleksandra SAMSONOVA​	29 Nov. – 04 Dec. 2023	Santa Claus Cup	Mini Cubs​	–​	–​	W/D​	–​	W/D​	–​
Varvara ABRAMKINA​	29 Nov. – 04 Dec. 2023	Santa Claus Cup	Advanced Novice​	W/D​	–​	W/D​	–​	W/D​	–​
Oliviia BAZLOVA​	29 Nov. – 04 Dec. 2023	Santa Claus Cup	Basic Novice​	–​	–​	1​	45.05​	1​	45.05​
Stefania YAKOVLEVA​	27 Nov. – 03 Dec. 2023	Bosphorus Cup	Junior​	W/D​	–​	W/D​	–​	W/D​	–​
Oliviia BAZLOVA​	24–26 Nov. 2023	Tallinn Trophy	Basic Novice 2012–2014​	–​	–​	1​	45.95​	1​	45.95​
Oliviia BAZLOVA​	24–26 Nov. 2023	Tallinn Trophy	Cubs A​	–​	–​	1​	45.05​	1​	45.05​
Varvara ABRAMKINA​	16–19 Nov. 2023	Skate Celje	Advanced Novice​	24​	26.72​	22​	50.47​	22​	77.19​
Varvara ABRAMKINA​	07–12 Nov. 2023	Denkova-Staviski Cup	Advanced Novice​	2​	35.00​	9​	52.04​	5​	87.04​
Oliviia BAZLOVA​	02–05 Nov. 2023	Volvo Open Cup	Basic Novice 2010–2012​	–​	–​	1​	46.41​	1​	46.41​
Stefania YAKOVLEVA​	01–04 Nov. 2023	Denis Ten Memorial Challenge	Junior​	1​	55.88​	4​	92.64​	4​	148.52​
Oliviia BAZLOVA​	21–22 Oct. 2023	Gliss Extra	Cubs A​	–​	–​	1​	44.57​	1​	44.57​
Oliviia BAZLOVA​	07–08 Oct. 2023	Tartu Cup	Basic Novice​	–​	–​	3​	37.88​	3​	37.88​
Oliviia BAZLOVA​	07–08 Oct. 2023	Tartu Cup	Cubs A​	–​	–​	2​	37.53​	2​	37.53​
Oliviia BAZLOVA​	30 Sep. – 01 Oct. 2023	Olympic Autumn Cup	Basic Novice​	–​	–​	1​	40.41​	1​	40.41​
Oliviia BAZLOVA​	30 Sep. – 01 Oct. 2023	Olympic Autumn Cup	Cubs A 2013/14​	–​	–​	2​	31.58​	2​	31.58​
Stefania YAKOVLEVA​	27–30 Sep. 2023	ISU Junior Grand Prix Solidarity Cup	Junior​	W/D​	–​	W/D​	–​	W/D​	–​
Stefania YAKOVLEVA​	13–16 Sep. 2023	ISU Junior Grand Prix Osaka	Junior​	13​	51.47​	22​	71.84​	18​	123.31​

As you can see, in the past two weeks, there were supposed to be 5 skaters in action across 6 competitions (Stefania was entered in two competitions). But as it turned out, only Oliviia actually competed.

Having the whole team bar one skater withdraw from their competitions sent alarm bells off in my head. As we know, figure skating is a very small sport in Cyprus. Is the Fed maybe having funding issues, and now can't afford to send the skaters to the competitions they were initially entered for?

The cynical will point out that it seems very convenient that the skater that has not been off the podium all season was the one that did manage to compete. However, a couple of days ago a video was posted to Oliviia's Instagram page re-capping how her trip to the Santa Claus Cup went, and the very final thing shown just added to my concerns. Here is a screenshot:



All this does give the impression that there are things that are not quite as they should be.

In the past, what tended to happen was that you would see either one or two skaters in the Junior Grand Prix Series, and then you wouldn't see any skaters again until after the New Year. Their season was geared towards building up to Nationals, which, unlike in other countries, is held towards the end of the season in Cyprus.

But that changed when Emilea and Marilena arrived. This is because they were the first skaters to compete at Senior level, and the main part of the season for the Seniors is in Autumn, as a build up to Europeans and Senior Worlds in the first few months of the New Year. And the younger skaters that were competing internationally also started to follow this more conventional season format.

Now, I don't know how much funding the CSF is getting. And I don't know if they are getting less this season compared to the past few seasons. But, it is starting to look like the money they have for this season is not able to sustain a full season of international competitions.

I really hope this is not the case. I hope it is just a weird coincidence that the entire team bar one withdrew from their competitions in the past couple of weeks. Because Cyprus has a very good line-up of promising young skaters in their team. They have a very good skater in every level from Senior down to Cubs (I havn't been able to find out anything about Samsonova, so I don't yet know what she is like). And they deserve to be able to compete in a full season.

But if this is what is going on, it is really bad news for Marilena in particular, as she has not yet competed this season. And it would be the nightmare scenario to be going into Euros with no previous competitions this season under your belt. That is assuming that Euros and Worlds are still on the cards.

So, let's hope this is just the usual story of me reading too much into things.

CaroLiza_fan