2019 Russian Ladies World Team Selection

[Yuazz]

4 minutes ago, Fay said:

It has its own moments when it goes beyond the unfairness - and those moments are magical. 

And I find it in Yuzuru. It was amazing. But I'm not a sport lover. I'm still glad I found the man named Yuzuru though. 

 

Sorry for OT I'll stop right here. 

[Yume]

If unfairness can still in Russia and not go in Japan it would be great. I don't want to see infuriating things happen.

[wpisces]

6 minutes ago, Yuazz said:

Tbh I've never been interested in sport before. After I find out about yuzuru in 2016 I started to follow this sport. And while I learning about this sport I find this called unfairness and questionable judging was there. So sad that this beautiful sport has became like this in my eyes. Ofc this sport will survived even with questionable judging.. I just feeling sad and it kills my interest in following the sport in the future. I guess I will stay as long as yuzu competing. 😔

Do you know what is sadder ? Many people turn blind to unfairness, even justify it, support it, some just accept it without complaint because they think they can't change anything. I have so much respect in you for calling out unfairness and still fighting for the justice in life in general and and sport in particular. 

[Paskud]

18 minutes ago, Yume said:

If unfairness can still in Russia and not go in Japan it would be great. I don't want to see infuriating things happen.

I wouldn't be so optimistic, sadly.

[hopeandlegacy2018]

36 minutes ago, Fay said:

Will we get a Russian skater with great jumping technique and good skating skills like Rika’s?

 

OT but for me, Rika doesn’t have the “it” factor. Satoko doesn’t have that either. It’s a bit harder for them to become huge stars like Yuna or Mao. We’ll see.

[rockstaryuzu]

3 hours ago, hopeandlegacy2018 said:

I hope Alina (and Masaru) can stay safe and away from this drama. I hope Alina can try her best at worlds without regrets. 

I just hope she has a better Worlds than last year. Now that was a meltdown. 

[yuzuangel]

2 minutes ago, hopeandlegacy2018 said:

 

OT but for me, Rika doesn’t have the “it” factor. Satoko doesn’t have that either. It’s a bit harder for them to become huge stars like Yuna or Mao. We’ll see.

I think Rika can have the "it" factor. Beautiful storm has the potential to have the "it" factor for me, but only in the first half so far because the choreography gets a bit sparse towards the end.

[rockstaryuzu]

9 hours ago, hoodie axel said:

He certainly is. People will do well to remember that he's a top coach -- and like any other top coach, [admin edit: bashing]. They got where they are through skill, but also backroom deals, politics, and PR. (Unless you're Gambill/Z/Krall: then it's entirely through backroom deals, politics, and PR).

That's seriously not how it works here. In any sport. 

 

Well, maybe in hockey,  but in any sport not played by teenage millionaires, no. There isn't enough money or prestige in Canadian amateur sport for that to be worthwhile

[rockstaryuzu]

2 hours ago, Fay said:

Excuse me? Who do you think it was to keep up a straight face and brightly say Yuzu was in no pain before the Olympics last year and was sure aiming at the gold? There was a very cunning PR campaign there - and Brian won it. 

Any coach will uphold and defend their charge. Mishin, Eteri, Brian - all of them will. That’s the part of the game. 

Not just part of the game - it's an important part of keeping your athlete feeling focused and confident. Imagine going into Worlds with a coach who was saying to the media "Well, you know she's not that great a skater, but thank God the federation saw the light of day and decided to support her out of politics so at least she has a shot" - what kind of performance would you produce as an athlete? 

 

All of you trashing Brian for saying the process by which Med got selected was 'fair', give your heads a shake. For one thing, he may not be fully aware of all the politics going on in the Russian federation; and for another, he knows full well that the federation has control over Zhenya's career as a skater, in terms of providing funding, etc. For him to criticize them at this juncture would be the height of stupidity and would sink Zhenya dead in the water at once. Who knows what he really thinks. But in public, he has to say nice things or his skater will suffer. And that would truly be unfair. 

 

And another thing: if you really think Brian's doing 'PR' for his skaters when he talks about them in interviews, you really don't understand journalism and interviews. All Brian is ever doing, in any of them, is answering questions that the interviewers ask. He coaches many different people, in all the same sport. If he talks about one, then it's only natural that others will come up on conversation because they're all at the rink together. That's not PR and saying that it is, is like saying that Brian does PR for Boitano, every time he talks about the Calgary Olympics and his own silver medal. 

 

I sometimes wonder if folks are watching the same interviews and reading the same articles that I'm reading, or if the meanings of them just get really, really lost in translation, or what. Because the wild misinterpretations there are of some the things Brian has said simply astound me. 

 

 

[liv]

Wow. I went to work this morning with another winter storm starting, forecast to last all day...and I came home thinking that our 15-20cm of snow was the big storm of the day... This news here and the discussion far eclipses that!!

 

So Med gets the vote of confidence. Wow, but i"m not surprised. I had a feeling she would after the huge numbers she put up this weekend, despite her fall and despite Liza landing her 3A. Is it fair? I see the arguments for both sides.

 

But, the decision is made even if I think the decision making process really makes it harder on everyone. Im really not sure how either Alina or Med will perform... while Med seems to be improving, we have no idea how Alina is doing, despite the release of a nice combo on instagram.  Neither girl has been stellar/consistent this season and both have major flaws.  A part of me is wishing that Sofia continues to go like the energizer bunny and finishes ahead of both of them... after all, she is the one who kind of threw the wrench in the grand plan this season by doing so well that she could not be dismissed (without her it would have been Alina/Med/Liza, pretty straightforward).

 

Personally I could definitely see both Rika and Kaori on the podium.... I would love that.

 

Edit: from everything I've heard Brian is a very caring and lovely person in real life (Javi sees him as a 2nd dad, and I think most people would agree that JAvi is a nice guy)

 

 

 

 

[Katt]

2 hours ago, rockstaryuzu said:

All of you trashing Brian for saying the process by which Med got selected was 'fair', give your heads a shake. For one thing, he may not be fully aware of all the politics going on in the Russian federation; and for another, he knows full well that the federation has control over Zhenya's career as a skater, in terms of providing funding, etc. For him to criticize them at this juncture would be the height of stupidity and would sink Zhenya dead in the water at once. Who knows what he really thinks. But in public, he has to say nice things or his skater will suffer. And that would truly be unfair. 

 

 

Wow for sure i could never know what Brian think. All i feel in this situation is far from fair and i disagree with his choice of word. Am i not allow to disagree with him ? I never question him to support his student in public, thats his job, no one expect him to shade rusfed either but to throw that word fair in the heat of moment, it did rub some people in a wrong way. 

I like Brian and his team but I am fully aware he has some questionable statements over the years. Sometime i can give him benefit of doubt sometime i can't. Thats doesnt mean i hate him or him become a bad guy. Things are not black and white. 

[hoodie axel]

3 hours ago, rockstaryuzu said:

That's seriously not how it works here. In any sport.

Why do you say so? I'm strictly talking about fs, and it would somewhat snarky, but yes, from what I've heard, top coaches at least in the US do indeed have bad politics that help them.

 

I'm not sure what you're saying in the rest of your post either.

[SparkleSalad]

OT but I’m getting so tired of the nastiness that’s crept into this forum lately. It’s always the same 2-3 people very obviously trying to spread hate and stir up arguments. I’m sure everyone else has noticed, too, and bless the mods and admins for keeping their cool.

 

This used to be a really fun and friendly forum and I’m really sad to see a handful of people come along to poison it and do so successfully by stopping just shy of violating any rules. 

[WinForPooh]

1 hour ago, Katt said:

Wow for sure i could never know what Brian think. All i feel in this situation is far from fair and i disagree with his choice of word. Am i not allow to disagree with him ? I never question him to support his student in public, thats his job, no one expect him to shade rusfed either but to throw that word fair in the heat of moment, it did rub some people in a wrong way. 

I like Brian and his team but I am fully aware he has some questionable statements over the years. Sometime i can give him benefit of doubt sometime i can't. Thats doesnt mean i hate him or him become a bad guy. Things are not black and white. 

 

I know this situation is entirely unfair, but from another perspective... Well, from Zhenya's perspective, this is reward for everything she has been through and she has done, too. In a just world, if a skater leaves a bad situation risking everything, puts in all their effort to fix flaws they'd been called out for, suffers the natural consequences of different training and new techniques only to be trashed and dismissed by so many people as if she was a has-been, finally begins to show some of the positive effects of all the changes in competition, she should also get some reward for all that effort. It's also fair to be rewarded for taking risks to do the right thing. From Brian's perspective, he was trashed and his training methods were trashed because there were no immediate results even if expecting any was ludicrous, and now her improvement is getting tangible recognition from the federation. 

 

I'm not saying I necessarily agree with that perspective, just that from another direction, taking only Zhenya's choices into account, I can see how this could be seen as a chance for vindication, which would be fair to her and her team considering everything they have had to deal with. Without a shot at Worlds and good skates there, would she even get two GP assignments next season? What's fair about doing everything she's supposed to and then being punished for it? And the process - well, people voted and Zhenya got more votes. That's supposed to be the fairest process. The politics behind it, completely unfair.

 

It becomes very unfair because it's not just about her. Liza has been treated very unfairly.  

 

[WinForPooh]

6 minutes ago, SparkleSalad said:

OT but I’m getting so tired of the nastiness that’s crept into this forum lately. It’s always the same 2-3 people very obviously trying to spread hate and stir up arguments. I’m sure everyone else has noticed, too, and bless the mods and admins for keeping their cool.

 

This used to be a really fun and friendly forum and I’m really sad to see a handful of people come along to poison it and do so successfully by stopping just shy of violating any rules. 

 

Words of wisdom from banoctopoohs must be valued for they are rare and precious.