Figure Skating in Cyprus

[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:

Post in thread '2023 Tallinn Trophy | Nov 21-23'

Nov 25, 2023

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...

• CaroLiza_fan

Here is what I wrote when she was being introduced:

Post in thread '2023 Tallinn Trophy | Nov 21-23'

Nov 25, 2023

Right, I'm back from the Formula 1 to to see how my youngest kid gets on in her second competition of the day.

ALL THE BEST OLIVIIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan

• CaroLiza_fan

Here is what I wrote about her programme:

Post in thread '2023 Tallinn Trophy | Nov 21-23'

Nov 25, 2023

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...

• CaroLiza_fan

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

Post in thread '2023 Tallinn Trophy | Nov 21-23'

Nov 25, 2023

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

• 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:

Post in thread '2023 Santa Claus Cup | Nov 29 - Dec 4'

Nov 29, 2023

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

• CaroLiza_fan

• 

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

Post in thread '2023 Santa Claus Cup | Nov 29 - Dec 4'

Nov 29, 2023

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

• CaroLiza_fan

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

Post in thread '2023 Santa Claus Cup | Nov 29 - Dec 4'

Nov 29, 2023

OK, I can re-post this now.

---

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

• 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

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

For those of you who have been following skating in Cyprus for a long time, you will probably remember Basque skater Janire IDIAKEZ.

Janire was based in Cyprus when her Dad was managing the AEK Larnaca football team. She had the same coach as Daniella Vanessa Ipsarides and Laura Farran, Pavel Chernousov, and he would frequently enter the three of them into the same events. And that included the 2017 and 2018 Cyprus Championships, where Janire competed as a guest skater in the Basic Novice A competition (which would nowadays just be called "Basic Novice").

• In 2017, her score would have put her 3rd position overall, 3.38 points behind her Skate Cyprus team-mate Laura Farran, who was in 2nd position.
• In 2018, her score would have put her in 4th position overall, just 1.66 points behind 3rd position (and 3.36 points behind Laura, who was again in 2nd position).

Well, I came across Janire for the first time in 5 years this week, competing in Junior Ladies at the Spanish Championships. On Friday, she finished 14th out of 19 in the SP, with a score of 31.97.

Janire will be doing her Free Skate today (Sunday). Unfortunately, it looks like the livestreams are not getting archived. So, if anybody wants to see what she is like now, you'll have to watch LIVE. Here are the details:

The Junior Ladies FS is due to start at 16:00:00 CET (15:00:00 GMT / 17:00:00 EET). So 7 hours from now.

Janire will be the 6th skater to start. So, second skater in Group 2.

The Group 2 Warm-Up is due to start at 16:26:40 CET (15:26:40 GMT / 17:26:40 EET). So 7h 26m from now.

Janire is due to start at 16:38:20 CET (15:38:20 GMT / 17:38:20 EET). So 7h 38m 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/97155

Hope this helps

ALL THE BEST JANIRE!!!

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.

...

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

My concerns are deepening.

The Provisional Entry Lists for the European Championships were released yesterday, and Cyprus does not appear in any category.

Admittedly, Cyprus couldn't have entered the Ice Dance because, even if Angelina wasn't recovering from injury, she and Ilia have not achieved the Minimum TES for Europeans in either segment. But, there is nothing obvious stopping Cyprus from entering the Ladies Singles.

Although she has not yet competed this season, Marilena does still have the TES Minimums for Europeans, and for Senior Worlds for that matter. So that is not an issue.

Incidentally, Stefania has also achieved the TES Minimums required for Europeans. But because Senior skaters now have to be 16 on 1st July 2023, she is too young to compete (she would have been age eligible this season under the old rules). So, she would not have been an option if Marilena was not available.

On 3rd December, Marilena posted a video of herself on the ice to mark World Skating Day:

https://www.instagram.com/lena.mariki/reel/C0ZL8BCxDyw/

So, assuming that it was a recent video and not something she had lying around, that shows that she is back on the ice. And, hence, available.

All this is leading me to believe even more that there are issues at a higher level which has led to all the skaters in the team not being able to compete at the moment.

And I really hope that whatever is going on can be resolved soon. Because, as I said in my previous post, this is a very good and promising line-up of skaters, and they deserve to be able to show the world just what they are capable of.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[skatingguy]

Incidentally, Stefania has also achieved the TES Minimums required for Europeans. But because Senior skaters now have to be 16 on 1st July 2023, she is too young to compete (she would have been age eligible this season under the old rules). So, she would not have been an option if Marilena was not available.

She doesn't have the minimums for Europeans if she hasn't competed in a senior event.

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

She doesn't have the minimums for Europeans if she hasn't competed in a senior event.

I know. I was purely talking about the numbers.

I actually originally wrote "Stefania has also achieved the Minimum TES score", but then changed it because I realised that I had efectively written "Technical Elements Score score". And I hate it when people make that mistake.

But, it is very difficult to re-word it in a way that makes it clear what I was saying without repeating the word "score". And that was the best I could come up with.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Apologies that I didn't get updating you sooner on how Basque skater Janire IDIAKEZ, who used to be based in Cyprus, got on in the Free Skate at the Spanish Championships. The Entries / Results page stopped working on Sunday morning (it would attempt to load for ages, and then time out), and only started working again yesterday.

Janire finished 12th out of 19 in the FS, with a score of 58.13. This meant that she climbed up to 13th position overall, with a score of 90.10.

She had a couple of falls, and when she was tiring towards the end she popped a jump. But, the rest of it was lovely.

Her Club de Hielo Txuri-Berri team-mate, Nahia OLAIZOLA, won the Junior Ladies title, and it was lovely seeing Janire and some other team members celebrating with her after the results were announced.

After not seeing her for so long, it was great to see Janire again. And I hope to see her again soon. Now that I know where she is skating, I will be keping an eye out for her in the future.

ALL THE BEST FOR THE REST OF THE SEASON, JANIRE!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Before the European Championships take over, I just wanted to do a post to bring you up to date with the latest news about the CYpriot skaters.

Firstly, last night I posted an update about Marilena in her own Fan Fest thread. You can read it here:

https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/posts/3230793

Secondly, Stefania was finally back in action last week at Skate Helena, and came back home with a Silver Medal!!!



Not a bad result to take in what is surely her last competition before the Youth Olympics.

And on that note, there was an interview with Stefania today on the Limassol based Action In Sports website. For more information, along with the link, see this post in her own Fan Fest thread:

https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/posts/3231304

Oliviia's good run this season has also attracted the attention of Action In Sports. Here is an article they did about her in December:

https://www.actioninsports.com/oliv...-antiprosopevei-tin-kypro-me-diethneis-nikes/

It's in Greek, but there is a button to translate the page into English (or Hebrew, or Russian, or Ukrainian).

And I found out some interesting things about her. She was born in Russia, but has been living in Cyprus since she was 2½. She started skating when she was 3½ at the rink at MyMall, so she has come up through the Cypriot system.

You know how at the start of the season I kept referring back to her having competed at the Cyprus Championships back in 2019. Well, I recently found out on her Instagram page that this was actually her very first competition, and it was just before she turned 6!

And now she is a really exciting prospect.

Finally, I want to end with something else I found out recently. It is well known that the girl that finished third at Advanced Novice level in the British Championships, Adriana Lagman, has Filipina heritage. But, I was recently told that she also has Cypriot heritage.

I watched her British Championships FS (thank you to our very own @La Rhumba for uploading the video), and she looks good.

So, there is another skater for us to keep our eye out for.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[La Rhumba]

Before the European Championships take over, I just wanted to do a post to bring you up to date with the latest news about the CYpriot skaters.

Firstly, last night I posted an update about Marilena in her own Fan Fest thread. You can read it here:

https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/posts/3230793

Secondly, Stefania was finally back in action last week at Skate Helena, and came back home with a Silver Medal!!!



Not a bad result to take in what is surely her last competition before the Youth Olympics.

And on that note, there was an interview with Stefania today on the Limassol based Action In Sports website. For more information, along with the link, see this post in her own Fan Fest thread:

https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/posts/3231304

Oliviia's good run this season has also attracted the attention of Action In Sports. Here is an article they did about her in December:

https://www.actioninsports.com/oliv...-antiprosopevei-tin-kypro-me-diethneis-nikes/

It's in Greek, but there is a button to translate the page into English (or Hebrew, or Russian, or Ukrainian).

And I found out some interesting things about her. She was born in Russia, but has been living in Cyprus since she was 2½. She started skating when she was 3½ at the rink at MyMall, so she has come up through the Cypriot system.

You know how at the start of the season I kept referring back to her having competed at the Cyprus Championships back in 2019. Well, I recently found out on her Instagram page that this was actually her very first competition, and it was just before she turned 6!

And now she is a really exciting prospect.

Finally, I want to end with something else I found out recently. It is well known that the girl that finished third at Advanced Novice level in the British Championships, Adriana Lagman, has Filipina heritage. But, I was recently told that she also has Cypriot heritage.

I watched her British Championships FS (thank you to our very own @La Rhumba for uploading the video), and she looks good.

So, there is another skater for us to keep our eye out for.

CaroLiza_fan

Thank you for the updates and links. Great news about Stefania!

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

This is a real bittersweet post to put up.

First, the bad news. I am afraid that Stefania withdrew from the Youth Olympic Games.

I'm really heartbroken for her. These Youth Olympics meant so much to her.

That said, this is not actually the end of Cyprus having a presence in the figure skating in Gangneung. Because one of the commentators we have been listening to, Scottish Alpine Skier Graham Bell, was actually born in Akrotiri when his Dad was stationed there.

Moving on, and the good news is that both Varvara (Advanced Novice) and Oliviia (Basic Novice III) are entered for the Sofia Trophy this coming week. Varvara will do her SP on Wednesday evening and her FS on Thursday evening; while Oliviia will do her FS first thing on Thursday morning.

It will be so good to have them in action again. Apart from anything else, it will help to ease the diappointment about Stefania.

Sending my best wishes to all three girls

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

After Varvara returned yesterday, it is Oliviia's turn to be back in action today at the Sofia Trophy in Bulgaria.

The Basic Novice Ladies FS is due to start this morning at 09:00:00 EET (07:00:00 GMT / 10:00:00 MSK). So 1 hour from now.

Oliviia will be the 25th skater to start. So, seventh and antepenultimate skater to go in Group 3 (and seventh skater after the resurfacing).

The Group 3 Warm-Up is due to start at 10:45:00 EET (08:45:00 GMT / 11:45:00 MSK). So 2h 45m from now.

Oliviia is due to start at 11:18:00 EET (09:18:00 GMT / 12:18:00 MSK). So 3h 18m 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/95824

Hope this helps

ALL THE BEST OLIVIIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

OLIVIIA WON THE GOLD MEDAL!!!



Sofia Trophy Basic Novice III Ladies FS: Results; Protocols
Sofia Trophy Basic Novice III Ladies: Results

Oliviia finished 1st out of 34 in the FS and overall, with a score of 47.94.

Unfortunately I was not able to watch the Sofia Trophy.

Looking at the protocols, there was only one negative number. And that was a -1 from Judge 2 for her second element. Yes, you guessed it, the second of her Double Axels. But, it went down better with the Judges this time. Judge 1 gave it +1; while Judge 3 gave it 0. It also got neutral GOE.

Her Double Salchow-Double Toe combination also got neutral GOE. In fact, everything about it was neutral.

Everything else got positive GOE. The Double Lutz-Double Loop combination that she did at the end of her programme got 0 from Judge 2; +1 from Judge 3; and +2 from Judge 1. It also got +0.21 in GOE and, because it had the highest Base Value, this made it the highest scoring element of the programme.

As for what went down best with the officials, there was not much between the fifth and sixth elements, the Step Sequence and the Change Foot Combination Spin. Both got exactly the same Judges marks of +1 from Judge 3; and +2 from the other two Judges. These were the best Judges marks of the programme. The Step Sequence got the highest GOE of the programme at+0.43, while the Change Foot Combination Spin got the second highest GOE of the programme at +0.42.

Interestingly, Oliviia's programme had the joint highest total Base Value of all the Basic Novice skaters, along with the Croatian girl that finished two places behind her in 3rd. But the Croatian skater had issues with both of her combination jumps.

Oliviia finished the Free Skate 2.26 points ahead of 2nd position, and 3.44 points ahead of 3rd position.

I had a look at the Instagram account for Oliviia's mother, and she had put up a photo of the podium. And I was a bit confused by the first sentence of the caption:

"Today my girl defeated 80 competitors"

My initial reaction was "Hang on, I know it was a big field, but it wasn't that big!" I started to wonder if Google had messed up the translation. Then a thought came into my head, and I opened the results tables of all three Basic Novice competitions. When you take them all together, there were 81 skaters, and Oliviia had the highest score of all of them.

Bearing in mind that Oliviia was in the youngest of the Basic Novice divisions, this is a remarkable achievement.

And what makes it even more remarkable is what her mother wrote at the end of the caption. They have been back in Cyprus for the past two months, so in that time Oliviia has only been training on the small rink at MyMall.

When Cyprus has home-grown skaters of this quality coming through, they really need to build a full size rink so that the skaters can get the type of training that they need without having to go overseas.

WELL DONE OLIVIIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Just to let you know that, ahead of her Junior level international debut at the Triglav Trophy in Jesenice, Slovenia, today, I have created a separate Fan Fest thread for Janire Idiakez, the Basque skater that used to be based in Cyprus.

https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/threads/98173

She is due to do her Short Programme at 12:15:00 CEST (10:15:00 GMT / 11:15:00 BST / 13:15:00 EEST). So 5 hours from now.

ALL THE BEST JANIRE!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

With the ISU International Adult Competition starting today, I have now posted full profiles for Liubov SAVINOVSKAYA and Natalia NOVOSELOVA STYLIANOU:

Liubov SAVINOVSKAYA
https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/posts/3284774

Natalia NOVOSELOVA STYLIANOU
https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/posts/3284775

Unfortunately, Natalia is not competing in Oberstdorf this year. But Liubov is.

According to the Provisional Time Schedule PDF that was published just over 4 weeks ago, Liubov will be doing her Artistic Free Skate today, and her Free Skate on Tuesday. However, I do not have a final time schedule. So, I cannot give you a definite start time for the Silver III Ladies Artistic FS, or a start time for Liubov. All I can say is:

The Provisional schedule estimated that the Silver III Ladies Artistic FS would start at approximately 17:40 CEST (15:40 GMT / 16:40 BST / 18:40 MSK). So 6h 30m from now.

Liubov will be the 19th skater to start. So, sixth and penultimate skater to go in Group 4 (and penultimate skater to go in the competition).

More information in the event thread:
https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/threads/95854

ALL THE BEST LIUBOV!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

I am so sorry. When checking her Rink Results bio for a post in another thread over the weekend, I discovered that since the Sofia Trophy in February, Oliviia has done four competitions across three events in the second half of April / first half of May!

And that included making her debut at Advanced Novice level.

Probably the best approach to take is to just have this post summarise all of them.


Juna Skate Open: 19–21 April 2024

Juna Skate Open Basic Novice Ladies FS: Results; Protocols
Juna Skate Open Basic Novice Ladies: Results

Oliviia finished 1st out of 14 in the FS and overall, with a score of 41.27.

Oliviia finished the Free Skate 3.06 points ahead of 2nd position, and 4.50 points ahead of 3rd position.

WELL DONE OLIVIIA!!!


Volvo Open Cup: 03–05 May 2024

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 9 in the FS and overall, with a score of 43.33.

Oliviia finished the Free Skate 2.46 points ahead of 2nd position, and 4.64 points ahead of 3rd position.

WELL DONE OLIVIIA!!!


Tallinn Trophy Kids: 10–12 May 2024

Tallinn Trophy Kids Basic Novice Ladies FS: Results; Protocols
Tallinn Trophy Kids Basic Novice Ladies: Results

Oliviia finished 1st out of 19 in the FS and overall, with a score of 45.63.

Oliviia finished the Free Skate 7.05 points ahead of 2nd position, and 7.74 points ahead of 3rd position.

WELL DONE OLIVIIA!!!


Tallinn Trophy Kids Advanced Novice 2011-2012 Ladies SP: Results; Protocols

Oliviia finished 2nd out of 19 in the SP, with a score of 35.29.

Oliviia finished the Free Skate 10.35 points behind 1st position, and 7.74 points ahead of 3rd position.

WELL DONE OLIVIIA!!!


Tallinn Trophy Kids Advanced Novice 2011-2012 Ladies FS: Results; Protocols
Tallinn Trophy Kids Basic Novice Ladies: Results

Oliviia finished 2nd out of 13 in the FS, with a score of 64.61. This meant that she remained in 2nd position overall, with a score of 99.90.

Oliviia finished the Free Skate 21.08 points behind 1st position, and 4.00 points ahead of 3rd position.

Overall, Oliviia finished 31.43 points behind 1st position, and 10.84 points ahead of 2nd position.

WELL DONE OLIVIIA!!!


I'm guessing that these competitions were to build up towards the Cyprus Championships. But, I have no idea when this year's Nationals are, because the CSF website hasn't been updated since before last year's Nationals.

Sorry again that I missed that these competitions were happening.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

The Announcement for the 2024 Junior GP Series has been released, and here are the slots that have been allocated to Cyprus:

Category​	Entry Criteria​	Rd. 1: LAT​	Rd. 2: CZE​	Rd. 3: THA​	Rd. 4: TUR​	Rd. 5: POL​	Rd. 6: SVN​	Rd. 7: CHN​
Ladies	1 entry in 2 events	​	CYP​	​	CYP​	​	​	​
Men	1 entry in 2 events	​	CYP​	​	CYP​	​	​	​
Pairs	1 entry in 3 events	​	CYP​	​	CYP​	CYP​	​	​
Dance	1 entry in 6 events	CYP​	​	CYP​	CYP​	CYP​	CYP​	CYP​

Source: https://www.isu.org/docman-document...-66/33979-general-announcement-2024-25-1/file

No word yet as to how many of them will be used, or by whom.

In Ice Dance, Angelina and Ilia have already said that they are going to move up to Seniors this coming season. But, given their lack of competitive action in the past year, it might be a good idea to do a mixed season rather than doing a full season in Seniors. Start off by doing a couple of the early Junior GP's in the summer, and then start doing Challengers and other Senior B's come the autumn.

As for Ladies Singles, due to the changes in minimum ages, Stefania is still too young to move into Seniors. So, fitness permitting, we will undoubtedly be seeing her on the Junior GP circuit. However, she may not be the only skater representing Cyprus at the Junior GP's this season. Varvara is now old enough for Juniors. But, as I said a few weeks ago, given that she has only one season under her belt of doing competitions outside of Moscow, I think it would be wiser for Varvara to do another season in Advanced Novices to help build up her experience. Even if it does mean that she will be up against Oliviia (who, I think it is safe to say, is definitely moving up to Advanced Novices).

We might have a better idea of Varvara's plans if we knew which level she was entered in at the 2024 Cyprus Championships. But, I still can't find any information as to dates, never mind entries.

I do know from looking at their Facebook page that the Amathusia Club had a Season Finale show on Saturday 15th June. So presumably Nationals was sometime before that. (I also saw that there was some kind of event held on Saturday 23rd March. But from looking at the design of the certificates given out at it, it seems to have been an Amathusia Club event rather than a Cyprus Skating Federation event).

Anyway, I can't wait to see the skaters in action!!!

ALL THE BEST!!!

CaroLiza_fan