Figure Skating in Cyprus

[CaroLiza_fan]

Olympic Hopes: 16–19 February 2017

Well, I bet Polina Ustinova is delighted she got a late call up for the Olympic Hopes in Romania. She finished 5th in Junior Ladies: 3rd in the SP and 5th in the FS.

In her first season in Juniors, and in her ancestral homeland, Danae Hadjimitsi was 8th in both segments, as well as overall.

Having missed most of last season through injury, Giorgia Isabella Sechi was 9th in both segments, as well as overall.

Olympic Hopes Junior Ladies SP: Results; Protocols
Olympic Hopes Junior Ladies FS: Results; Protocols
Olympic Hopes Junior Ladies: Results

Meanwhile, Laura Farran finished 18th in the single segment Basic Novice A Girls competition.

Olympic Hopes Basic Novice A Girls FS: Results; Protocols
Olympic Hopes Basic Novice A Girls: Results

And Maria Eleni Loizides finished 4th in the single segment Basic Novice B Girls competition.

Olympic Hopes Basic Novice B Girls FS: Results; Protocols
Olympic Hopes Basic Novice B Girls: Results

And the Overall Results page for the Cubs Girls is now up, and it confirms that Andrea Loizides did indeed withdraw.

Overall, it was good to see so many of the team in action this week. Good preparation for Nationals next month.

WELL DONE GIRLS!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Wow! :shocked: The Cypriot skaters are being very busy in the run-up to Nationals!


Open Ice Mall Cup: 23–25 February 2017

Only a few days after their last competitions, the Cypriot girls were in action again, this time in Israel.

In Junior Ladies, Giorgia Isabella Secchi, Daniella Vanessa Ipsarides, and Danae Hadjimitsi finished in consecutive positions.

Daniella was 7th in both segments, as well as overall. All her scores were new International PB's.

Danae was 8th in both segments, as well as overall.

Giorgia was 9th in both segments, as well as overall.

Open Ice Mall Cup Junior Ladies SP: Results; Protocols
Open Ice Mall Cup Junior Ladies FS: Results; Protocols
Open Ice Mall Cup Junior Ladies: Results

Meanwhile, Andrea Loizides finished 5th in the single segment Cubs A Girls competition.

Open Ice Mall Cup Cubs A Girls FS: Results; Protocols
Open Ice Mall Cup Cubs A Girls: Results

WELL DONE GIRLS!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Just to let you know that I have started a thread for this weekend's Nationals:

http://www.goldenskate.com/forum/showthread.php?63302

ALL THE BEST EVERYBODY!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Well, Nationals are over now, and the Cypriot Champions have been crowned.

I have posted a short summary about the Junior competition and the three Novice competitions in the Event thread.

Here is the post:

http://www.goldenskate.com/forum/sh...h-19th-March&p=1671302&viewfull=1#post1671302

CONGRATULATIONS EVERYBODY!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Been a while since I posted an update. So, here is what has been happening.

Firstly, I have to apologise. I had written about the Cypriot participation in the Avas Cup in this thread a week or so after it happened, but only discovered there now that I hadn't actually posted it.

Sorry.

---

Avas Cup: 24–26 March 2017

A number of skaters travelled to Hungary at the end of March to compete in the Avas Cup.

Well, some didn’t. Zea Antoniou and Maria-Eleni Loizides both withdrew from Basic Novice B, while Andrea Loizides withdrew from Cubs 2006 girls.

Entries / Results Page:
http://havasszepe.hu/skating_club/images/stories/doksik/12avaskupa2017/Results/index.htm


Christiana Afxentiou finished 8th in the single segment Basic Novice A Girls II competition.

Avas Cup Basic Novice A Girls II FS: Results; Protocols


Veronika Levitskaya finished 3rd in the single segment Chicks 2010 Girls competition.

Avas Cup Chicks 2010 Girls FS: Results; Protocols


Maria-Nelly Afxentiou finished 9th and Uliana Gubareva finished 12th in the single segment Chicks 2008 Girls competition.

Avas Cup Chicks 2008 Girls FS: Results; Protocols


Lina Fatkhullina finished 5th, Varvara Chiplieva finished 9th and Elizaveta Chiplieva finished 10th in the single segment Recreational A Bronze competition.

Recreational A Bronze FS: Results; Protocols


WELL DONE GIRLS!!!

EDIT: Forgot to add that if you go to the Amathusia Club's Facebook page, you will find videos of the performances from club members at the Avas Cup.​

---

Now for some sad news. CyBC sports journalist Andreas Georgiades died last week at the age of 80.

http://cyprus-mail.com/2017/05/26/cybc-veteran-sports-journalist-dies/

He had roles in many sports in Cyprus, including being President of the Cyprus Skating Federation from it’s inception.

Here is the statement on the CSF website:

President Andreas Georgiades Has Passed Away

With deepest regret and sorrow Cyprus Skating Federation announces that the Council President, Mr. Andreas Georgiades, has passed away. He was sport enthusiast and promoted figure skating in Cyprus. His contribution to sport and especially to figure skating in Cyprus was of great value.

Source: http://www.csf.org.cy/news/​

My thoughts are with his family and friends.

---

While on the CSF website, I found some good news.

The CSF have created a YouTube channel, and uploaded videos from this season’s Nationals!!!!!!

Here is the address:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNw6PhzQWqLc1IXcYZs1W_g

Enjoy!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

I have already mentioned a few times elsewhere on the forum that I was in Cyprus for the first two weeks of September.

Well, what I didn’t tell you then is that I met three of the Cypriot skaters while I was on the island… and I filmed interviews with them!

Now, anybody that knows me well will know that although I love taking photos, I hate being in front of the camera. And they will also know that I also hate the sound of my voice (to the extent that I avoid talking on the phone like the plague).

So, this was a really big thing for me to do! But, I really want to help raise the profile of the girls internationally, so I put my insecurities to one side.

The three skaters that I met were all current or former national champions at various levels.

I had never interviewed anybody before. And, coupled with this, I had never even met any of the girls before.

The first interview I did was with Daniella Vanessa Ipsarides (2014 & 2015 Advanced Novice and 2016 & 2017 Junior Champion). I was so nervous. Even though I had been planning out everything I was going to say in meticulous detail for weeks, the nerves got to me and I forgot a lot of what I wanted to ask. Thankfully, Daniella is an old hand at getting interviewed, and was able to hold the whole thing together.

So, here it is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yJI16Rb58g

Enjoy!

And sorry that it has taken until now to upload the first of them. I have been really up to my eyes in trying to get caught up on things, and it doesn’t help that I am not very good at video editing. So, it is taking a bit longer to get the videos polished up than I had hoped.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Firstly, I have to apologise. Due to unforeseen circumstances, this has taken a LOT longer to get up than I would have liked (by about a month!) But, everything is sorted now. And, on the plus side, it’ll mean you won’t have to wait too long between this instalment and the next!

My second interview was with Laura Farran, who is the reigning silver medallist in the Cypriot Basic Novice A Championship. She was previously Champion at Chicks level in 2014 and 2015, and at Cubs level in 2016.

Laura is 11 years old, and she is simply adorable! But, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, because her mother is lovely too! (It was Laura’s Mum who acted as my director for the first two interviews).

Laura’s Mum is Cypriot, but was born and raised in South Australia. And because of this, the family spends the whole of the European summer in Australia. The result is that Laura gets to spend a good portion of her annual ice time on a full-size rink, where she trains alongside multiple Australian Champion James Min.

And it shows. Before the interviews, I was watching the girls doing an off-ice training session (the rink was open to the general public at the time, and was full of children), And I was particularly impressed with Laura.

Although she didn’t have the complication of being on a thin piece of metal and a slippery surface, you could still appreciate the quality of what she was doing.

She may be young, but she is very good. I see a LOT of promise in Laura. Definitely somebody to keep an eye on for the future.

This interview went better than the first. I was very nervous when interviewing Daniella Ipsarides, because it was my first time interviewing anybody, whereas she was an old-pro. But, this was Laura’s first time getting interviewed, and she was nervous too. So, we were at the same level. Which cancelled it out.

With hindsight, I should have interviewed Laura first, because it really gave me confidence in what I was doing. But, I didn’t know it was going to turn out like that.

Daniella’s loss was Giorgia’s gain…

Anyway, here it is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bT7aRYX-aPE

Enjoy!

CaroLiza_fan

P.S. Laura now has a Fan Fest Post, which can be viewed here:

https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/showthread.php?56054-Team-Cyprus&p=1876099&viewfull=1#post1876099

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Today, it is exactly 2 months until the start of the Pyeongchang Olympics. But, more importantly, it is exactly 3 months since I met the girl in my avatar for the first time.

The third and final interview I conducted during my holidays in Cyprus was with Giorgia Isabella Sechi.

Giorgia was the National Champion at Basic Novice A level in the inaugural Cypriot Championships back in 2013. She also visited the podium at Nationals the following two seasons, winning a silver medal at the same level in 2014, and a bronze medal at Advanced Novice level in 2015.

Unfortunately, she suffered a back injury during the 2015–16 season, her first season competing at Junior level. And so she is currently working her way back to where she was before she got injured.

But Giorgia is determined. After the interview, we were talking about the future. And she has big plans. And if everything works out, a few years down the line I can see her returning to the top.

The interview was conducted on 8th September 2017 at the “La Sardegna” da Gino restaurant in Kato Paphos, Cyprus.

Giorgia is an absolutely lovely girl, and we got on so well. We must have been talking for well over an hour in total. Yet it didn’t seem like very long at all. She put me so at ease that the time just flew. Which actually created a problem at one point, as you will see in the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIqvglWqc6I

Thank you Giorgia for being you, and for making this such an enjoyable experience.

Enjoy!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Haven’t posted in this thread so far in 2018. So, since Nationals were held at the weekend, now would be a good time to put that right. However, before we get to that, I should update you on how the Cypriot skaters prepared for them.


Jégvirág Cup: 16–18 February 2018

Two Cypriot skaters headed to Miskolc in Hungary in February for the Jégvirág Cup.

Entries / Results Page (ISU):
http://www.moksz.hu/external/mukorcsolya/2017_2018/Jegvirag Cup/ISU_result/

Entries / Results Page (non-ISU):
http://www.moksz.hu/external/mukorcsolya/2017_2018/Jegvirag Cup/NONISU_result/


Giorgia Isabella Sechi was the only Cypriot competitor in Junior Ladies, where she finished 13th. She was 14th in the SP and 13th in the FS.

Jégvirág Cup Junior Ladies SP: Results; Protocols
Jégvirág Cup Junior Ladies FS: Results; Protocols
Jégvirág Cup Junior Ladies: Results


Meanwhile, Laura Farran finished 24th in the single segment Basic Novice A Girls competition.

Jégvirág Cup Basic Novice A Girls FS: Results; Protocols
Jégvirág Cup Basic Novice A Girls: Results


Coupe du Printemps: 16–18 March 2018

A number of skaters from the Leader Club headed to Kockelscheuer in Luxembourg in the middle of March for the Coupe du Printemps.

Entries / Results Page:
http://www.skating.lu/cdp2018/


The important thing to take from Kockelscheuer is that Polina Ustinova made her debut in a Senior level competition here, finishing 15th. She was 16th in the SP and 15th in the FS.

Coupe du Printemps Senior Ladies SP: Results; Protocols
Coupe du Printemps Senior Ladies FS: Results; Protocols
Coupe du Printemps Senior Ladies: Results


In the Junior Ladies competition, team-mate Eliana Kalogirou finished 29th in each segment, and overall.

Coupe du Printemps Junior Ladies SP: Results; Protocols
Coupe du Printemps Junior Ladies FS: Results; Protocols
Coupe du Printemps Junior Ladies: Results


Like Polina, the third member of the contingent, Andrea Loizides, was also making her debut at a new level. She finished 15th in the single segment Basic Novice A Girls competition.

Coupe du Printemps Basic Novice A Girls FS: Results; Protocols
Coupe du Printemps Basic Novice A Girls: Results


Balkan Games: 29–30 February 2018

A large contingent of Cypriot skaters headed to Celje in Slovenia at the end of March for the Balkan Games.

Daniella Ipsarides was due to compete at the Balkan Games, but had to pull out due to her boot breaking shortly beforehand. Eliana Kalogirou was called up as her replacement.

Entries / Results Page:
http://dkc.simetric.si/dinamic/rezultati/109/


In her second Senior Ladies competition, Polina Ustinova finished 5th. She was 5th in the SP and 4th in the FS.

Balkan Games Senior Ladies SP: Results; Protocols
Balkan Games Senior Ladies FS: Results; Protocols
Balkan Games Senior Ladies: Results


Giorgia Isabella Sechi and Eliana Kalogirou were both competing in the Junior Ladies competition. Giorgia was 12th in each segment, and overall. Eliana was 13th in the SP, 14th in the FS, and 13th overall.

Balkan Games Junior Ladies SP: Results; Protocols
Balkan Games Junior Ladies FS: Results; Protocols
Balkan Games Junior Ladies: Results


Chryso Georgiou and Christiana Afxentiou were both competing in the Advanced Novice Girls competition. Chryso was 9th in each segment, and overall. Christiana was 10th in the SP, 11th in the FS, and 10th overall.

Balkan Games Advanced Novice Girls SP: Results; Protocols
Balkan Games Advanced Novice Girls FS: Results; Protocols
Balkan Games Advanced Novice Girls: Results


Greek National Championships

Like she did 2 years ago, Daniella Ipsarides headed to Thessaloniki to take part in the Greek Championships as her preparation for the Cypriot Championships. And, like the last time, she won the Gold Medal.

I should warn you that I don’t know all the details about the Greek Championships yet. I have just seen photos of Daniella on the podium getting presented with her Medal and Trophy. And a lovely trophy it is too!


CONGRATULATIONS EVERYBODY!!!

---

For information on how Nationals went, see the following thread in the Competition Forum:

https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/showthread.php?72527

There is something significant from Nationals that I feel should be highlighted here, though. The only person to have represented Cyprus internationally in Men’s skating, Nikita Vitranyuk, is now doing Ice Dance, where he is partnering Maria MILIYKOVA, a 12 year old from Moscow (fskate.ru Bio).

They were due to be guest competitors at the end of Nationals yesterday, but the Ice Dance page hasn't been updated. So I don't know if they did.

I hope they opt to represent Cyprus, as it would be great to see a new country competing in Ice Dance. And it would be nice to see Cyprus represented in another category, having only been represented in Singles up to now.

---

Last but not least, as this is St. George’s Day, I would also like to take this opportunity to wish a Happy 17th Birthday to Giorgia Isabella Sechi.



Having met her last year, I can say from personal experience that Giorgia is an absolutely lovely girl.

So, I want to send her all the best wishes from the bottom of my heart for this coming year.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Just an update to let you know that it is unlikely that the videos from Nationals will be uploaded en masse to YouTube like they were last season.

However, some of the routines have been uploaded to Facebook. So, here are the links to the videos of the Senior, Junior and Novice skaters whose routines I have found so far:


Senior Ladies SP

StN.​	Name​	Nation​	Video​
	Warm-Up Group 1
1	Polina USTINOVA	LEA	–​

Senior Ladies FS

StN.​	Name​	Nation​	Video​
	Warm-Up Group 1
1	Polina USTINOVA	LEA	Facebook​

Junior Ladies SP

StN.​	Name​	Nation​	Video​
	Warm-Up Group 1
1	Chryso GEORGIOU	LEA	–​
2	Daniella Vanessa IPSARIDOU	SKA	Facebook​
3	Eliana KALOGIROU	LEA	–​
4	Giorgia-Isabella SECHI	GLA	–​

Junior Ladies FS

StN.​	Name​	Nation​	Video​
	Warm-Up Group 1
1	Giorgia-Isabella SECHI	GLA	–​
2	Eliana KALOGIROU	LEA	Facebook​
3	Chryso GEORGIOU	Facebook​
4	Daniella Vanessa IPSARIDOU	SKA	Facebook​

Advanced Novice Ladies SP

StN.​	Name​	Nation​	Video​
	Warm-Up Group 1
1	Christiana AFXENTIOU	AMA	Facebook​

Advanced Novice Ladies FS

StN.​	Name​	Nation​	Video​
	Warm-Up Group 1
1	Christiana AFXENTIOU	AMA	–​

Basic Novice B Ladies FS

StN.​	Name​	Nation​	Video​
	Warm-Up Group 1
1	Zea Maria ANTONIOU	SKA	–​

Basic Novice A FS

StN.​	Name​	Nation​	Video​
	Warm-Up Group 1
1	Andrea LOIZIDOU	LEA	–​
2	Laura FARRAN	SKA	–​
3	Varvara CHIPLIEVA	AMA	Facebook​
4	Vanessa PAPAS TODORENKO	GLA	–​

StN.​	Name​	Nation​	Video​
	Warm-Up Group 1
1	Janire IDIAKEZ	SKA	–​

If I can find any of the missing videos, I’ll update the tables accordingly.

The Amathusia Club have also uploaded some videos of the younger skaters that belong to their club. And Samvel Hayrapetyan has done the same with the younger skaters he coaches. So here are the links to the relevant Facebook pages:

Amathusia Figure Skating Club
Samvel Hayrapetyan Skating Team

CONGRATULATIONS EVERYBODY!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

OK, so I have been a bit quiet lately, but it is now time to make a few announcements.

Firstly, the Fan Fest posts for all the skaters were brought fully up to date a few weeks ago. There have been a few significant changes to the line-up, though.

As he is now competing in Ice Dance rather than in Singles Skating, Nikita Vitryanyuk has been moved out of this thread. Don't worry, he is not being expelled from the Team Cyprus thread because he is now back to representing Russia. The reason he is being moved is purely because, when it comes to Pairs or Ice Dance partnerships, it is easier to organise the Original Posts if the partnership has it's own thread.

Here are the links to Nikita's new threads:

Anastasia BURKINA / Nikita VITRYANYUK
https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/threads/73907

Maria MILYUKOVA / Nikita VITRYANYUK
https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/threads/73908

Back in this thread, and two more skaters have had Fan Fest posts added to the first page:

Eliana KALOGIROU
https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/posts/3440012

Chryso GEORGIOU
https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/posts/1876092

You will already have worked out why Chryso now has a post – she is the reigning Junior Ladies Champion after all! :agree:

As for Eliana, she now has a post because it was officially confirmed yesterday that she will be making her Junior Grand Prix debut this season!!!



She will be competing at the Amber Cup in Kaunas, Lithuania in 4 weeks from now.

The second slot will be officially confirmed in a few weeks. Ironically, I will probably not be able to post about it straight away, because I will actually be in Cyprus at the time!

But, if you look at the official documentation for the remaining competitions with a bit of knowledge about the Cypriot skating scene in your head, it is actually pretty easy to work out who is pencilled in for that second slot...

ALL THE BEST TO ALL THE CYPRIOT SKATERS (as well as Nikita and Maria) THIS SEASON!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

I am going to be offline for a while so, since it is not a secret on the island any more, I am going to reveal the second Junior Grand Prix slot to you now.

I am delighted to announce that the second Junior GP slot for Cyprus this season has been allocated to Giorgia Isabella Sechi (i.e. the girl in my avatar) for Czech Skate in Ostrava.



I admit, I have known for a while which 2 skaters would be representing Cyprus in the Junior GP Series this season. But I didn't know which competitions they were pencilled in for. However, as soon as I saw the documentation for each Junior GP, it was obvious which one Giorgia would be at. It was just a case of waiting to make sure that it was Eliana's name that appeared on the Provisional Entry List for the Amber Cup. And it did.

In my previous post, I commented:

The second slot will be officially confirmed in a few weeks. Ironically, I will probably not be able to post about it straight away, because I will actually be in Cyprus at the time!

But, if you look at the official documentation for the remaining competitions with a bit of knowledge about the Cypriot skating scene in your head, it is actually pretty easy to work out who is pencilled in for that second slot...

Well, just to explain what I was referring to, Giorgia's coach is Peta Holbová Spyrou, a Czech woman who lives in Cyprus (her husband is Cypriot). So, if you knew this when looking at the table of countries represented at each Junior GP, it wouldn't have been a huge stretch of the imagination to work out that the Czech Skate slot was for Giorgia.

You may have noticed that neither of the girls who finished in the Top 2 at Junior Nationals are competing in the Junior GP Series this season. I have to be honest, I don't know why the champion, Chryso Georgiou, isn't competing. But, no doubt we will see her in the years to come.

As for silver medallist Daniella Vanessa Ipsarides, she has important school exams this year (just like Giorgia and Eliana did last year), and so is concentrating on her studies.

And I wish her all the best with her studies.

But, returning to the subject...

ALL THE BEST GIORGIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

OH. MY. GOODNESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Giorgia and Eliana were both featured in the Junior GP round-up video that was shown before the final group of the Ladies FS at the Armenia Cup yesterday!!!!!!



Here is the link to the start of the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6UOn21t8lc&t=12410

Giorgia appears about a minute into it, with Eliana straight afterwards. Here is the direct link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6UOn21t8lc&t=12467

See, the Cypriot girls made an impression with the important people! :agree:

WELL DONE, GIRLS!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

There is something significant from Nationals that I feel should be highlighted here, though. The only person to have represented Cyprus internationally in Men’s skating, Nikita Vitranyuk, is now doing Ice Dance, where he is partnering Maria MILIYKOVA, a 12 year old from Moscow (fskate.ru Bio).

They were due to be guest competitors at the end of Nationals yesterday, but the Ice Dance page hasn't been updated. So I don't know if they did.

I hope they opt to represent Cyprus, as it would be great to see a new country competing in Ice Dance. And it would be nice to see Cyprus represented in another category, having only been represented in Singles up to now.

OK, so I have been a bit quiet lately, but it is now time to make a few announcements.

Firstly, the Fan Fest posts for all the skaters were brought fully up to date a few weeks ago. There have been a few significant changes to the line-up, though.

As he is now competing in Ice Dance rather than in Singles Skating, Nikita Vitryanyuk has been moved out of this thread. Don't worry, he is not being expelled from the Team Cyprus thread because he is now back to representing Russia. The reason he is being moved is purely because, when it comes to Pairs or Ice Dance partnerships, it is easier to organise the Original Posts if the partnership has it's own thread.

Here are the links to Nikita's new threads:

Anastasia BURKINA / Nikita VITRYANYUK
https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/showthread.php?73907

Maria MILYUKOVA / Nikita VITRYANYUK
https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/showthread.php?73908

…

ALL THE BEST TO ALL THE CYPRIOT SKATERS (as well as Nikita and Maria) THIS SEASON!!!

CaroLiza_fan

OK, so I have some big news.

Firstly, Maria MILIUKOVA / Nikita VITRYANYUK are now representing Cyprus rather than Russia in Advanced Novice Ice Dance.

Good move, guys! :agree:

Secondly, there is also a second partnership representing Cyprus in Advanced Novice Ice Dance:

Angelina KUDRIAVTSEVA / Ilia KARANKEVICH

But here is the really big news... the results from the two partnerships!


Maria MILIUKOVA / Nikita VITRYANYUK

Date​	Competition​	Level​	PD1 Pos​	PD1 Score​	PD2 Pos​	PD2 Score​	FD Pos​	FD Score​	Total Pos​	Total Score​
06–11 Nov. 2018	Volvo Open Cup	Advanced Novice​	14​	21.50​	2​	31.01​	5​	46.61​	7​	99.12​
19–21 Oct. 2018	Halloween Cup	Advanced Novice​	3​	33.22​	7​	34.25​	1​	51.74​	1​	116.26​

Angelina KUDRIAVTSEVA / Ilia KARANKEVICH

Date​	Competition​	Level​	PD1 Pos​	PD1 Score​	PD2 Pos​	PD2 Score​	FD Pos​	FD Score​	Total Pos​	Total Score​
06–11 Nov. 2018	Volvo Open Cup	Advanced Novice​	5​	27.67​	3​	30.13​	2​	49.56​	2​	107.36​
19–21 Oct. 2018	Halloween Cup	Advanced Novice​	6​	29.56​	1​	31.30​	5​	47.49​	5​	111.30​

Maria and Nikita won the Gold Medal in Hungary, while Angelina and Ilia won the Silver Medal in Latvia!!!



This is big. This is the first season that Cyprus has been represented in Ice Dance. And even at this early stage of the season, they have 2 partnerships who are finishing regularly in the top echelons of international competitions! And in big fields at that.

Not only that, but both partnerships have finished on the podium.

In both of these competitions, there has been at least one partnership representing Cyprus in the Top 5 of EVERY SEGMENT. And if you take out the Argentine Tango from Riga, then that statement could be improved to refer to the Top 3 of every segment!!!

Things are getting very exciting for figure skating in Cyprus.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Firstly, here is an article about Giorgia that was published on the Páfos Net website (in Greek):

http://pafosnet.com/giorgia-isabell...Vw-ZRzSbx4EKyCGNp76IABXU4FLXwia24GtWXuj9TRM3s

Although it is dated yesterday, it has been around for a while, because the first link I have found to this article was posted back in September!

(I think it has a new date because there was a photo from Czech Skate added to it. But, the article itself is the same, as it still talks about the competition in the future tense).

---

Also, there will be Cypriot representation at this week's Tallinn Trophy in Estonia.

Maria and Nikita will again be in action in Advanced Novice Ice Dance, but this time without their team-mates. The Pattern Dances are this afternoon, while the Free Skate is tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Stefania YAKOVLEVA will be competing in Basic Novice Ladies on Sunday morning. She is having a busy time of it, as she was competing in Skate Celje in Slovenia on Friday morning!

More details in the following post in her own Fan Fest thread:

https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/posts/2996260

All the best to the Cypriot skaters competing in Estonia this week!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Páfos Net have today published another article about Giorgia. The Cyprus Olympic Committee held their annual Youth Awards ceremony last night (for the announcement, see this article on the Committee's website), and Giorgia won the award for best figure skater.



Here is the story (in Greek):

http://pafosnet.com/giorgia-sechi-i...-vraveia-tis-koe-gia-tous-kaluterous-athlites

There are a couple of really lovely photos of her and Petra included in the story.

And now that Páfos Net have mentioned it at the end of their story, I can reveal that Giorgia and Laura will be competing at the Cup Of Tyrol at the end of this month. Since Daniella is currently on a sabbatical, and since he has so many commitments with the ISU, Pavel Chernoushov is no longer coaching in Cyprus. So, Laura has moved to working with Petra.

Before that, we will see Angelina and Ilia in action in Advanced Novice Ice Dance next week at the Bavarian Open. And again at the Ice Mall Cup in Israel in 3 weeks time.

In terms of the Singles skaters, it is a smaller contingent of largely younger skaters going to the Ice Mall Cup this year. There will be 5 girls going, of which Christiana Afxentiou in Advanced Novice is the only one in the ISU part of the event (the others, including Christiana's sister, are in the Interclub part).

ALL THE BEST EVERYBODY!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Today is 10th March.

For fans of martial arts films, it is Chuck Norris’ birthday.
For fans of American Idol, it is Carrie Underwood’s birthday.
For fans of Ice Dance, it is Sergey Mozgov’s birthday.

But for us fans of Cypriot figure skating, today is the day that Laura Farran becomes a teenager!!!

HAPPY 13th BIRTHDAY LAURA!!!



I hope you are having an enjoyable day, and that the next year is a good one for you, both on and off the ice!

And if her results from a couple of weeks ago are anything to go by, it WILL be a good year on the ice! :agree:

[To be continued in a separate post, due to the limit in the number of emoticons per post…]

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

[…continued from previous post]

At the end of February, Laura Farran was part of a 3-strong delegation from FSC Glace that competed at the Cup Of Tyrol in Innsbruck.

Laura finished 23rd out of 29 in the Basic Novice Girls competition, with a score of 21.49.

Results: http://skateaustria.vs91-250-98-130.cloud-he.de/img/competition/4.2018_19/171/SEG005.HTM
Protocols: http://skateaustria.vs91-250-98-130...19/171/ICOTI19_BasicNoviceGirls_FS_Scores.pdf
Video (whole day): https://livestream.com/sportevents/events/7993040/videos/188031607 (Laura starts at 4h 22m 34s)

I know she will be annoyed that she had 2 falls, but when you look past them, that was a great skate from Laura!!!

It has been a couple of years since I last saw Laura in competition (2017 Nationals), and she has progressed so much in that time.

We actually had FSC Glace skaters topping and tailing Group 3. Laura was the last of the 8 skaters in the group to skate, but the first was a skater I hadn’t actually seen before, Vanessa Toderenko Papas.

Video (whole day): https://livestream.com/sportevents/events/7993040/videos/188031607 (Group 3 Warm-Up starts at 3h 40m 06s)

If you look carefully at the end of the warm-up, Laura is at the far end of the rink to the camera and carries on the move she is doing after the skaters are told to leave the ice, and then exits at a different opening to the others. And she did all so that she could wish Vanessa good luck as she was coming off the ice!

Vanessa finished 29th out of 29 in the Basic Novice Girls competition, with a score of 12.07.

Results: http://skateaustria.vs91-250-98-130.cloud-he.de/img/competition/4.2018_19/171/SEG005.HTM
Protocols: http://skateaustria.vs91-250-98-130...19/171/ICOTI19_BasicNoviceGirls_FS_Scores.pdf
Video (whole day): https://livestream.com/sportevents/events/7993040/videos/188031607 (Vanessa starts at 3h 46m 34s)

As I said, I am not familiar with Vanessa, so I hope we get to see more of her over the coming years.

The following day, Giorgia Isabella Sechi was in action in the Junior Ladies SP.

Giorgia finished 20th out of 20 in the Junior Ladies SP, with a score of 14.27.

Results: http://skateaustria.vs91-250-98-130.cloud-he.de/img/competition/4.2018_19/170/SEG015.HTM
Protocols: http://skateaustria.vs91-250-98-130...2018_19/170/COTI19_JuniorLadies_SP_Scores.pdf
Video (whole day): https://livestream.com/sportevents/events/7993040/videos/188086127 (Group 2 Warm-Up starts at 8h 23m 58s; Giorgia starts at 8h 44m 24s)

Here is what was written in the Competition Thread:

Awww. Petra's brought her son along! Love the way he was already sitting on the sofa waiting for Giorgia and his Mum!

Feel so sorry for Giorgia. The programme actually started off really well, and you could see things had improved a lot from the last time we saw it. But then she lost her confidence after the fall. Like, not long afterwards, she was setting up a jump, and she bailed out of it. Her heart just wasn't in it towards the end, to the extent that she finished a bit early and had to wait for the music to finish.

I just wanted to go and give her a big hug!

Then I think of Czech Skate, where she was disappointed with her SP (it was her JGP debut, and you could see she was nervous before she even started). But then she did a lot better in the FS. So, hopefully the same will happen here.

You can be sure I'll be cheering you on, Gio!

CaroLiza_fan

She has a really good program for the free skate too. Fingers crossed for her! And I won't be able to sit up to 3:30am and watch Laurine skate, so I'll just say chookas to her now too and check back in the morning for the scores (hoping for good news...)

Thanks, Harriet. I really enjoyed her FS when she performed it at Czech Skate, so I'm looking forward to seeing it again here.

Unfortunately, I am going to be away for most of today, so will not be watching the skating LIVE. I'm heartbroken that I'll miss Giorgia, but I should be home before the 4 hour catch-up limit reaches her FS.

Hey, at least with being the first to go in the FS, she won't be waiting around all day for her turn.

["cheer" emoticon removed from quote] ALL THE BEST, GIORGIA!!! ["cheer" emoticon removed from quote]

CaroLiza_fan

And she did go on to do better in the FS the next day!

Giorgia finished 20th out of 20 in the Junior Ladies FS, with a score of 28.33.

Results: http://skateaustria.vs91-250-98-130.cloud-he.de/img/competition/4.2018_19/170/SEG016.HTM
Protocols: http://skateaustria.vs91-250-98-130...2018_19/170/COTI19_JuniorLadies_FS_Scores.pdf
Video (whole day): https://livestream.com/sportevents/events/7993040/videos/188138962 (Group 1 Warm-Up starts at 1h 52m 38s; Giorgia starts at 1h 59m 00s)

Here is what was written in the Competition Thread:

Right, as soon as I arrived home, I wound back to watch Giorgia. And then I wrote this LONG message.

When she fell twice not long into the programme, I was worried that it was going to turn out like yesterday and it was going to dent her confidence. But, thankfully it didn't. I think the difference today is that in both cases she was so close to staying upright. The second fall was a bit of a weird one. She managed the first part of the combo no problem, but just after she finished the second part, one foot hit the other and that was what actually sent her down, rather than the element itself.

She managed alright through the rest of the programme. There was one moment where she hesitated as she thought she was too close to the boards (the irony to this, of course, is that she trains on a rink that is less than a quarter of the size of what she was on today!). But, she needn't have worried, there was just enough space.

Giorgia didn't seem as annoyed after the routine as she did yesterday, and I can understand why. Even with the 2 falls, on the whole it went a lot better than the SP.

On each occasion I've seen Giorgia competing this season, the FS has always gone better than the SP. It could just be nerves at the start of a competition, but there does seem to be something about the FS that works better for her.

So, if her and Petra can work out what it is about the FS that agrees with her, and do something similar for the SP next season, it could be a very fruitful exercise. :agree:

CaroLiza_fan

Well done to all three girls that went to Innsbruck, and all the best to them and the other Cypriot skaters at Nationals!



CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Statement on the CSF website:

"Due to the unforeseen circumstances, Cyprus National Skating Championships that was to be held on the 6th – 7th of April 2019 are cancelled.

More information for this event will be published in the near future.

Yours sincerely,

OC"

Source: http://www.csf.org.cy/​

I have no idea what is going on. But, I hope that they will get rescheduled.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

OK, so a couple of important updates.

Firstly, today is the 20th birthday of the reigning Senior Ladies Champion, Polina Ustinova!!!

С ДНЕМ РОЖДЕНИЯ ПОЛИНА!!!



I hope you are having an enjoyable day, and that the next year is a good one for you, both on and off the ice!

I also hope that your twenties will be even better for you than your teenage years were!

---

Secondly, we have had an update on this year’s Nationals.

Here what the statement on the CSF website says:

"Cyprus Skating Federation, after the Council Decision on the 03/04/2019, announces that Cyprus National Skating Championships will be held on the 18th – 19th of May 2019.

More information you can find in the announcement (link below) or contact your club representative in the Council.
Cyprus National Championships 2019 – Announcement (filetype: pdf)
Yours sincerely,
OC"

Source: http://www.csf.org.cy/​

Thank goodness for that!

All the best to everybody who is taking part!

CaroLiza_fan