Nordic skating (FIN, SWE, NOR, DEN, ISL)

[TT_Fin]

I am happy Nella won the Nordics. She has came through injuries, missed nats last season because of she got sick - this season she got silver. Whole team in seniors was very young, only Ksenija is some months older than Nella in women's team, so the all of them have still opportunities. She says she is not sure if she competes any more this season because she started so early and body gives signs to give up now. So it means she will not "hunt" for SP TES for worlds which she just misses by 0.04 points. The worlds team will be announced later, because there are still competitions which will be count and opportunity for skaters to get the minimums if they are still missing.

 

[norwegianfairytale]

Yes it´s the same in Norway, senior results don´t count towards JWC selection. You need at least two junior competition to be in the selection because it´s the average of the two best competition that counts. So that is the reason why Mia Caroline is not in the selection for Norway now, she only did one JGP and it doesn´t seem like she is doing more junior competitions this season. Since she is most likely going to WC instead, I think it make sense. However, I do wonder if she would have done one more junior competition if she didn´t have the minimums for WC. Mia is still listed as a junior skater by the Fed, so if she hadn´t had such a good start as senior I think she would have been in the mix for JWC.

I also think Norway will do the selection right after Nordics, because basically now the spot is between Oda Havgar and Pernille With and they are almost tied in two best scores. They are both going to Nordics so it will almost be like a skate off.

Pernille two best scores now are 274
Oda two best scores are 267

Kaia Kleven who is also going to Nordics, could theoretical also fight for the spot. She scored 130 at Nationals, but that means she has to score at least 145 points at Nordics to beat them, and it will also require that Oda and Pernille doesn´t beat their best scores. It´s not impossible. but not very likely. She really has a nice triple sal and a beautiful double axel but she doesn´t have more triples so I don´t think a score higher then 130 is even possible for her now.

So the JWC entries list is out, and it was actually Oda who got the spot, and Pernille is sub. Apparently I do not understand the rules There wasn´t any change after Nordics, they scored the same. But as I said before, their two best scores are really close. Maybe it´s not based one season, but two. It could also be from the fact that Oda is the National Champion and has the highest totalt score.

 

[TT_Fin]

In Finland Janna was leading just a few points, but because skaters had to announce will they choose WC or JWC. Obviously and as expected Janna has chosen WC and Iida got the JWC spot. In juniors Makar Suntsev had a clear lead after he had some good comps at the first part of the season and in Nordics - they still count the senior scores - he had a good competition, so he got the spot. He has not been close to get the TES for worlds so for him it has been easy decision, I suppose. Subs in order are Nella Pelkonen, Petra Lahti, Lotta Artimo in women and in men Matias Lindfors and Arttu Juusola. Well, it was not many years ago when there was nobody to send in men and now there are even substitutes.

To Tallinn next weekend is announced six Finnish men so far. I think never ever in any international competition has been so many Finnish men at the same time. I hope the competition between men gives a kick to raise the level, when there is competition at national level and we can get men to worlds and Olympics in the future.

 

[TT_Fin]

Josefin Taljegård will also be in Tallinn next weekend. Best luck for her to get the TES for worlds! From Sweden is also Emelie Ling and new name to me Loviisa Aav, I think I have never heard about her before. Usually there has been free stream with good quality. I have quite busy weekend again but I hope I can find some time to watch something between duties and 4cc also happens. Lot of skaters, in junior women also many of the top skaters from Finland, in junior men Matias L. Matias H. is announced to seniors, I think he has not competed in seniors before. Also three junior women from Norway, unknown names for me.

Edit: not next weekend but weekend after. Better for me.

 

[norwegianfairytale]

Josefin Taljegård will also be in Tallinn next weekend. Best luck for her to get the TES for worlds! From Sweden is also Emelie Ling and new name to me Loviisa Aav, I think I have never heard about her before. Usually there has been free stream with good quality. I have quite busy weekend again but I hope I can find some time to watch something between duties and 4cc also happens. Lot of skaters, in junior women also many of the top skaters from Finland, in junior men Matias L. Matias H. is announced to seniors, I think he has not competed in seniors before. Also three junior women from Norway, unknown names for me.

Fingers crossed for Josefin, looks like she is trying to do as many competition as possible before the deadline. If she goes to Tallinn it´s also time enough to go to Challenge Cup I think? From Sweden Tallinn is not far with plane so good choice having a competition that is closer to home.

As for the Norwegian girls, I think they all competed in Reykjavik International Games last season at lower levels, but they havn´t been competing much internationally. I was surprised to see their name on the entries, but really nice for them to get international experience. They are not among the top skaters in Norway.

I think Celina is the skater with the most difficult layout, she has a triple sal and a 2A. Hannah has attempted 3S but don´t seem to rotate them well yet. She skated to Kill Bill last season. I´m most surprised to see Alissa going to a junior competition. She did debs last season and has only competed in novice at domestic competition this season. She placed 6th at Norwegian Nationals in novice category. It´s very rare to send skaters to compete in a new category for the first time at international level. From her current competitions she only jumps doubles. Most likely they are not sent on behalf of The Skating Union, but the clubs themselves wanting their skaters to have more international experience. All 3 girls skates for Oslo skøiteklubb (OSK) and there are no skaters entered for any other category. I have seen it earlier this season, the club Mia skates for (SKK - Stavanger kunstøpklubb) had skaters going to international competitions where there isn´t skaters from other clubs,. One of the skaters from SKK is still competing in debs category in domestic competitions, but competed in advanced novice at both her international competitions this season.

I think the skaters have to pass som level tests to be able to move up in category like from debs to novice in domestic competitions, but i´m not sure it´s the same requirements for international competitions, except of course you will have to have certain program layout. So maybe the skaters trying new categories internationally havn´t passed the test at home but wants to move up the categories faster. I don´t think I have seen it earlier that Norwegian skaters go back and forth between categories in domestic and international competition, in fact - I would have thought it would be the other way around, that they rather competed in a lower category in international competitions. Elea Rustgaard did that in Nordics now, she has mostly competed in junior category this season, but she was given the spot in Advanced Novice instead, because she wasn´t among the top 3 junior skaters that got the junior spots in Nordics, but would be among the top advanced novice ladies, Nordics spots was of course given and covered by the skating union.

Edit: Could also be that they skate at a higher category because the competition doesn´t have lower. It looks like Tallinn Cup doesn´t have competition below junior category for international competition.

 

[TT_Fin]

Emmi's name is removed from every competition this season . A week ago her name was still in some. Finland's fed has a list where are mentioned who will go to which competition during the season. The names change quite often, but because removed from every comp it means Emmi will not compete anywhere. She has not announced retirement either.

Some other changes to Tallinn trophy in Finnish team. Both Matias will compete in juniors and now there are four men in seniors, but even four is not very common.

 

[norwegianfairytale]

The names change quite often, but because removed from every comp it means Emmi will not compete anywhere. She has not announced retirement either.

That is sad, but I hope she hasn´t retired or is thinking about it. I follow her on TikTok and she has been posting videos recently where she is at the ice rink, that is mainly what she post on TikTok. My feeling is that she is still motivated, but she doesn´t have the result to be at in the mix for world team this season, so maybe it´s wise to not do more competition this season and work towards next season. I have read rumours that Finland might replace Russia again at next GP season, in that case Emmi has a good chance to be picked as host spot for GP in Finland if she is in shape. So I would think that could motivate her, particular since she had to WD a few days before this season. Maybe she is even thinking about pulling a Jenni, wanting to do GP Finland as her last competition (well I certainly hope she doesn´t want to retire, but just to point out that Jenni was ready to retire this season, but she decided to at least stay until GP).

On another more positive note. The entries list for Challenge Cup is filled with nordic skaters. In senior ladies I think there was at least 4 women from Finland, Nella Pelkonen. Janna Jyrkinen, Oona and I don´t remember the last one, maybe Olivia Lisko? Norway is sending Mia Caroline, Linnea and Frida, Sweden is sending Josefin and Emelie Ling, which means that Josefin will have another shot at making world mins if she doesn´t do it her next competition in Tallinn.

Also we should not count on Emelie Ling for World mins, she has nice jumps when it works. I see her best TES is 28,71 in the SP and 49.57 in FS. She isn´t really very far behind, but as Josefin her SP layout is a bit weak. I see at Skatingscores she only attempted 3F and 3Lz like one or two times and not with success. She only got +GOE on her 3T-3T twice. Even her 3S and 3Lo she only got +GOE once or twice. However her 2A is consistent, and she has all level 4 spins with good GOE, and she even got step sequence 4 at Jrworlds. If she could pull off a clean SP with 3T-3T, 3S and 2A she might just make it. Mia did it with almost the same layout, except her solo jump was 3F. The difference in value between 3S and 3F with +GOE is only around 1 point, and Mia had almost 2 points margin (33.67). So I think in theory Emelie Ling has a good chance, maybe even more than Josefin because she doesn´t have triple triple and she often get her jumps called. But theory is one thing, and consistency another, and facts is that Josefin has been the closest this season. It´s also far more difficult when you have to get mins for both the SP and FS in the same weekend.

 

[ladyjane]

I just found a nice article about Valtter on our Dutch website:
https://www.schaatsen.nl/nieuws/202...r-zitten-valtter-virtanen-nog-niet-in-de-weg/

As I don't expect you to read Dutch, the gist of the article in summary is:
Stopping with Figure Skating? It's not on the agenda yet. 'I seem to get fitter through the years' , says Valtter. He likes skating at Challenge Cup. He might not get high in the rankings but he is popular and he enjoys that the competition is at a high level. Saturday will be important, because it's the last chance to qualify for Worlds (FS minimum TES). He is satisfied with his score on the SP. He is hopeful. He looks back on a great Euros (14th, the highest placement ever for him). Great because it was in Finland too! He did lots of other sports but he is entangled with Figure Skating and thinks it is good to keep up the stamina, it helps his work as a Doctor as well.

 

[norwegianfairytale]

I just found a nice article about Valtter on our Dutch website:
https://www.schaatsen.nl/nieuws/202...r-zitten-valtter-virtanen-nog-niet-in-de-weg/

As I don't expect you to read Dutch, the gist of the article in summary is:
Stopping with Figure Skating? It's not on the agenda yet. 'I seem to get fitter through the years' , says Valtter. He like skating at Challenge Cup. He might not get high in the rankings but he is popular and he enjoys it to be at a high level. Saturday will be important, becuase it's the last chance to qualify for Worlds (FS minimum TES). He is statisfied with his score on the SP. He is hopeful. He looks back on a great Euros (14th, the highest placement ever for him). Great because it was in Finland too! He did lots of other sports but he is entangled with Figure Skating and thinks it is good to keep up the stamina, it helps his work as a Doctor as well.

Well this makes me happy reading, seems like he will not retire after this season. Thanks a lot for the translation ladyjane!

 

[norwegianfairytale]

Not very surprising, but Mia officially got the ticket for Worlds in Japan

I guess Finland will announce the ladies spot very soon as well? Janna didn´t have the best skate today and actually finished just behind Olivia Lisko, but she still has better score from previous competitions, so I guess it´s pretty locked?

 

[norwegianfairytale]

Sorry if this is a bit off topic for the thread, but today is the 130 years anniversary of the Norwegian Skating Union and they posted a picture of Axel Paulsen which I thought might be a bit amusing for those who try to picture the ghost of Axel

 

[Tingeling]

In contrast to frequent reports of abusive coaches (which are all valid and important!), Anita Östlund has spoken up about the rink being a safe haven from the mental and physical abuse she suffered at home.

It also sheds some light on why her career never really picked up again after her [unsuccessful] Olympic debut in 2018, which is when she started to acknowledge and eventually process her difficult family situation. She had just turned 17 at the time, and while she started seeing a sports psychologist, she says it took her a long time to be forthcoming enough to receive the help she needed.

Last Summer, her mother was convicted of several counts of domestic abuse.

Incredibly sad, but Anita seems to be in a much better place now. She's studying psychology in Stockholm and has more or less retired from competitive skating (officially: taking a break). She still loves skating, trains a few times a week, and also started coaching.

Radio Interview in Swedish: https://sverigesradio.se/avsnitt/konstakaren-anita-ostlund-har-levt-i-radsla

 

[snowflake]

In contrast to frequent reports of abusive coaches (which are all valid and important!), Anita Östlund has spoken up about the rink being a safe haven from the mental and physical abuse she suffered at home.

It also sheds some light on why her career never really picked up again after her [unsuccessful] Olympic debut in 2018, which is when she started to acknowledge and eventually process her difficult family situation. She had just turned 17 at the time, and while she started seeing a sports psychologist, she says it took her a long time to be forthcoming enough to receive the help she needed.

This past Summer, her mother was convicted of several counts of domestic abuse.

Incredibly sad, but Anita seems to be in a much better place now. She's studying psychology in Stockholm and has more or less retired from competitive skating (officially: taking a break). She still loves skating, trains a few times a week, and also started coaching.

Radio Interview in Swedish: https://sverigesradio.se/avsnitt/konstakaren-anita-ostlund-har-levt-i-radsla

I'm so sad for Anita. Reminds me again how little we know about the athletes we love to watch and comment on. Happy to hear that the rink was a safe place for her. She's good at expressing herself and seems insightful. She still loves the sport and love kids, so training 10-15 years old gives her a lot of pleasure. Would be great to see her back competing, but I understand if that's too tough. I'm glad she has good relations with her father and siblings.

Her mother didn't want to comment on the report from Swedish Radio.

 

[norwegianfairytale]

In contrast to frequent reports of abusive coaches (which are all valid and important!), Anita Östlund has spoken up about the rink being a safe haven from the mental and physical abuse she suffered at home.

It also sheds some light on why her career never really picked up again after her [unsuccessful] Olympic debut in 2018, which is when she started to acknowledge and eventually process her difficult family situation. She had just turned 17 at the time, and while she started seeing a sports psychologist, she says it took her a long time to be forthcoming enough to receive the help she needed.

Last Summer, her mother was convicted of several counts of domestic abuse.

Incredibly sad, but Anita seems to be in a much better place now. She's studying psychology in Stockholm and has more or less retired from competitive skating (officially: taking a break). She still loves skating, trains a few times a week, and also started coaching.

Radio Interview in Swedish: https://sverigesradio.se/avsnitt/konstakaren-anita-ostlund-har-levt-i-radsla

Wow, so sad for Anita, but glad she is in a much better place now and started a new life and can speak about her experience. It´s good to hear skating is still an important part of her life and that she finds joy at the rink. Coaching seems like a good idea.

 

[norwegianfairytale]

Pernille With doing 3Lz-3T in training. I didn´t even know she worked on 3Lz, let alone a 3Lz-3T.

Mia Risa Gomez has jumped 3Lz-3T in training for a while, but not tried it in competition yet. She has stated that she wants to try it in competition this season in her FS.

Here is a video of Mias 3Lz-3T:



Until now there hasn´t been a Norwegian female skater who landed it competition yet, so it will be really interesting to see if any of them will be able to do so this season.

Pernille will skate at Coupe de Printemps next weekend, so maybe she will attempt it already then.

 

[norwegianfairytale]

Mostly the international season is complete but there is Skate Copenhagen this weekend. There is a lot of Nordics skaters going, from Sweden Norway, Denmark and Finland, and then there is a few skaters here and there from other countries, like Switzerland, Belgium, Germany etc.

There is no big names, but there are some skaters with a little bit of international experience. For instance Oda Havgar for Norway who competed at JWC is going.

I think it might be streamed as well.

In junior ladies there is 42 entries but only one Danish skater, despite the competition being held in Denmark. No Anna-Flora or Babeth. It makes me worry a bit about the figure skating situation in Denmark. There are more Danish skaters entered at younger categories though, so I hope it´s a sign that they are working on developing more talents.

 

[ladyjane]

Interestingly, there's even a Japanese girl in the intermediate novice, albeit with a not so Japanese sounding name!

 

[Tingeling]

Mostly the international season is complete but there is Skate Copenhagen this weekend. There is a lot of Nordics skaters going, from Sweden Norway, Denmark and Finland, and then there is a few skaters here and there from other countries, like Switzerland, Belgium, Germany etc.

There is no big names, but there are some skaters with a little bit of international experience. For instance Oda Havgar for Norway who competed at JWC is going.

I think it might be streamed as well.

In junior ladies there is 42 entries but only one Danish skater, despite the competition being held in Denmark. No Anna-Flora or Babeth. It makes me worry a bit about the figure skating situation in Denmark. There are more Danish skaters entered at younger categories though, so I hope it´s a sign that they are working on developing more talents.

Last weekend was Skate Malmö with similar international attendance, but no Danish juniors there either.

Alexandra Ödman (Nordics novice silver medalist) won junior women by almost 20 points ahead of Miranda Lundgren (who had a JGP assignment this season...). Alexandra skated a clean free with four triples and all level 4 spins. Not the most difficult jumps and of course judging tends to be generous, but anyway. I look forward to seeing more of her next season.

 

[norwegianfairytale]

Last weekend was Skate Malmö with similar international attendance, but no Danish juniors there either.

Alexandra Ödman (Nordics novice silver medalist) won junior women by almost 20 points ahead of Miranda Lundgren (who had a JGP assignment this season...). Alexandra skated a clean free with four triples and all level 4 spins. Not the most difficult jumps and of course judging tends to be generous, but anyway. I look forward to seeing more of her next season.

Thanks a lot! There was a lot of skaters from different countries there as well.

And surprisingly enough, not a single Norwegian skater, or not so surprising at all. It did collide with the final of the domestic competitions.

 

[norwegianfairytale]

Interesting, from the recent stories from Lorenzo Magri, i´m pretty sure he is in Norway now. From the views he posted this morning, it looked a bit like Stavanger, and he posted from a training studio just above a rink which could be one of the ice rinks in Stavanger. The music in the background is Norwegian, so that is when I got sure he is in Norway.

Since he just left the Young Goose Academy and says he is looking into new projects, it´s really exciting to see he is in Norway now. I´m guessing he probably just there for a short period/like a easter camp, at the same time - I did not see any of the clubs announce they will be having camp with Lorenzo - he is kind of a big name so I would think normally the clubs would have done some marketing on it, unless they wanted to keep it a secret since Lorenzo just left YGA

Stavanger is the place where Mia trains, and she did work a bit with Lorenzo when she was at training camp in France last summer. My guess is he is partly there to work with Mia, maybe they will work on a new program. I´m excited to see what he will do there. Good job getting him there anyway, Norway has really worked hard to bring in external expertise the recent seasons.

A bit funny, I just saw a story that Daniil Valanov is at YGA at a easter camp. Good to see Norwegian skaters working so close together with Italians!