Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2021 i International Figure Skating

Around the same time this issue arrives in your mailbox, another exciting Olympic season will be on the doorstep. With most of the world rebounding from the pandemic, things are looking so much brighter for figure skating on many levels. One of the most positive signs is that fans will be able to attend some competitions in person this season. U.S. Figure Skating is already selling tickets for the first Grand Prix event of 2021, Skate America, which will take place in Las Vegas in late October. In many ways, it was fortuitous that the World Team Trophy took place this year. The event gave skaters a reason to celebrate and, for some, the first opportunity to compete. Though some nations sent members of their 2021 Worlds teams to Japan,…

When Tamara Moskvina’s father brought a pair of second-hand skates for his then 10-year-old daughter, little did he, or anyone else know that this gift would steer the course of her life for the next 70 years. Born in Leningrad (St. Petersburg) in 1941 as Tamara Bratus, she first learned to skate on an ice surface that sat on top of a tennis court. Years later, she moved to train at a rink that was housed in an abandoned church. By the time she was 21, Moskvina had won five successive Soviet Union titles (1962-1966). Looking back on everything she has achieved in her life, Moskvina still regards winning her first national title as one of her most cherished memories. “At the time there was the strong singles skating school…

IFS SPECIAL OFFER! IFS has partnered with Brilliance & Melrose to offer our readers a 15 percent discount on all items the company carries, which includes jewellery, stationary, clothing and accessories. Marie-Pier Chouinard, a former show skater from Québec, was looking for a new career when her career performing on the “Disney on Ice” tours came to an end. Her entrepeneurial spirit led her to Malaysia where Chouinard connected with a small bead and jewel company with whom she formed a collaboration. To view the collection go to brilliance-melrose.com. NEW RELEASES! Meryl Davis can now add author to her glowing resume with a recently published book aimed at building strong bonds between mothers and their children. Recommended for ages 3-8. Available on Amazon. Following the success of their first children’s book…

Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier sat and watched the rest of the world go by in the first half of the 2020-2021 season. With no opportunities to compete domestically or internationally, the duo used the time to hone their skills and work on new programs for the Olympic season. But the lack of competition experience proved to be no issue for the Canadian ice dancers at the World Championships in Sweden in late March where Gilles and Poirier, in their season debut, danced into second place in the free and finished third overall, capturing their first global medal in eight appearances. Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier were absolutely certain they had produced an extraordinary moment in a setting that was anything but ordinary. They knew it as the last note…

THE TOP SIX HIGHEST-SCORING NATIONS from the past three seasons were invited to contest the 2021 World Team Trophy in Osaka, Japan. In normal times, qualification for this competition would be based on the scores from the current season, but with a number of events canceled due to the pandemic and many skaters unable to travel, the International Skating Union extended the time frame of the World Standings to equalize the playing field. Russia ranked first in the Standings with 9,847 points, followed by the U.S. (8,001), Japan (6,441), Canada (5,580), China (4,537) and Italy (4,021). However, after a disappointing showing at the 2021 World Championships with only one medal to its credit, China declined the invitation and France was invited in its place. Skaters, coaches and officials were secured in…

Radka Kovaříková and René Novotný Emerging from behind the Iron Curtain, pairs skaters Radka Kovaříková and René Novotný wrote a historical skating chapter for their native Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic). Kovaříková, a junior ladies champion, had only been skating pairs for six months when, in 1989 at age 13, she was teamed up with 25-year-old Novotný. Three years later, the duo finished fourth at the 1992 Olympic Winter Games in Albertville, France. A few weeks later, they captured the silver medal at the World Championships in Oakland, California, becoming the first team from their nation to claim a global medal in 34 years (Věra Suchánková-Hamplová and Zdeněk Doležal mined silver at the 1958 Worlds in Paris). That would be the only global podium finish for Kovaříková and Novotný until…

RINK HONORS The Skating Club of Boston has dedicated its main rink at its new facility in Norwood, Massachusetts, in honor of the 1956 Olympic champion, Dr. Tenley Albright. The Tenley E. Albright Performance Center was officially opened on March 26 with a tea party held in the club’s dining room. Albright trained at The Skating Club of Boston her entire career. A new arena and community centre in Prescott, Ontario will be named The Alaine Chartrand Arena in honor of the two-time Canadian champion after her grandparents paid $500,000 for the naming rights. Chartrand began her skating career in the town at age 3. NEXT GEN! Anna Cappellini and her husband Ondřej Hotárek are expecting their first child, a boy, in July. Cappellini, the 2014 World and European ice…

Despite the uncertainty of whether or not a skating season would take place in any form, Ashley Cain-Gribble and Timothy LeDuc continued to train and stay in shape as if it was business as usual. With only a short closure of their training facility in Euless, Texas, they were in a more fortunate position than many others in that they were able to continue working without interruption throughout 2020. The American duo kicked off their season with a fourth-place finish at Skate America in late October, missing the podium by just 0.42 of a point. Three months later they captured bronze at the U.S. Championships — their first national medal in two seasons since winning the title in 2019 — but both felt the performance was a personal victory in…

LEAVING ON A HIGH NOTE A little more than three years after capturing the 2018 Olympic pairs title, Aljona Savchenko, 37, and Bruno Massot, 32, announced their retirement from competitive skating on March 30, signalling the end of a very successful career. “Bruno and I have decided not to return to competition. This was an extremely difficult decision and I am still fighting myself,” Savchenko said. “I really love the adrenaline of competitions, pushing myself over the limit and the daily practice. I personally was hoping to continue our career, but unfortunately some parts of the team are missing. “To add to that, the current pandemic has made everything a little bit harder. Every day is a new challenge, but there are also new opportunities and new chances. “A big…

To be here in Osaka and to perform for the Japanese fans — my heart is so full. I am so grateful to be here.—Jason Brown It felt a little weird to be back out in public. I was not used to the crowd and the judges, but I am very grateful and honored that I got to come to Japan after such a year.—Gabrielle Daleman The quarantine made me do it. I started forgetting to shave, and I liked the way I looked. When I have a clean shave I look like a 14-year-old.—Jean-Luc Baker on growing a beard Finding the motivation was not very difficult because I knew what I wanted, and when I was back on the ice I was right back to work. Finally, eventually I…