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The confession literally snatched from Elizaveta Tuktamysheva about the suspension of her sports career for the current season was commented on by everyone interested and not interested people. At the Grand Prix stage in Omsk, where, as in Ufa, the 2015 world and European champion spoke at the opening ceremony, fans greeted her with the slogan: “Liza, don’t leave!”
At the same time, everyone somehow glosses over one important point. Tuktamysheva is part of the main team of the Russian national team this season. She won this right based on the results of last season and even performed competitive programs at test skates. Accordingly, Elizaveta not only receives a salary from the Ministry of Sports, but she is also paid for productions, costumes, and training with one of the best coaches in the world. And all this happens so that Tuktamysheva pleases the audience of the shows in which she takes part. jpg» />
Of course, an athlete of such a level and with such services to our figure skating has every right to independently control her own destiny. Although such a statement can be applied to any athlete. In September, I had a chance to talk with Elizabeth at the Iceberg Sports Palace in Sochi, where she performed in Ilya Averbukh’s show.
Even then, the mood of the Empress was felt, who said that at the stages of the Russian Grand Prix the prize money is lower than at the stages of the ISU Grand Prix, and the competition is noticeably higher, and that in the absence of international starts it is very difficult to find motivation to maintain triple Axel and working on quadruple jumps. But in shows in any Russian city, Tuktamysheva is greeted with applause. Even if she performs not seven jumps and cascades, but one double.
Also in Sochi, I had a chance to see “The Sleeping Beauty” performed by Tatiana Navka’s troupe. During the holiday season, there were almost a hundred performances of this ice show, and almost all of them were sold out. The parts of Olympic champions Alina Zagitova and the dance duet Victoria Sinitsina/Nikita Katsalapov could well have been performed by figure skaters of the level of candidates for master of sports. Only the public went to see the stars, who, after the performance was over, also gave an autograph session and the opportunity to take a selfie.
Under the conditions of the ban on Russian figure skaters, the organizers of ice shows have noticeably increased their activity. The main players in this field — Tatyana Navka, Ilya Averbukh and Evgeni Plushenko — engage stars, not only those who have completed or suspended their careers, but also full-fledged members of the national team. They quite often perform in commercial shows with sports programs.
The winner of the Omsk stage of the Grand Prix, Matvey Vetlugin, came out in Sochi not only with a number specially choreographed by Averbukh to a song performed by Elizaveta Arzamasova, but also with his own short program. I did a good job of it, judging by my performance in Omsk. But the free program had to be practiced independently without interruption from the performances in the show, without supervision from Alexei Nikolaevich Mishin. It’s good that the former St. Petersburg figure skater and now Sochi coach Fedor Klimov allowed his fellow countryman to train with his hotbeds.
Russian figure skating is now in a difficult situation, and the FFKKR is doing everything possible to keep leading athletes from ending their careers or changing citizenship. The question just arises: is it necessary to competently build relationships with the organizers of the show? After all, the spectators who come to the competitions organized by the federation also want to see the strongest skaters with new programs.
The practice in which our famous champions announced not the end, but the suspension of their careers, began with Evgeni Plushenko. He actually returned twice, but after Sochi he was on the national team for three seasons and even claimed that he was practicing competitive programs on the show. Yuri Nagornykh, who was then in charge of figure skating at the Ministry of Sports, tried to convince journalists that Evgeniy had not left anywhere and was continuing to train, setting high goals for himself. The two-time Olympic champion announced his retirement only in March 2017.
Having accepted Sochi Olympic champion Adelina Sotnikova into his academy, young coach Evgeni Plushenko “milked” the federation in the same way and fed it with promises. The last time Adeline competed was in the 2015/2016 season. Only the next time she was listed in the main team of the national team, and a year later — in the reserve team.
Is it any wonder that Alina Zagitova, who announced live the suspension of her competitive career in December 2019, came to Novogorsk in the summer of the following year, ostensibly to prepare for the new season — and was included in the national team. Only in 2021 did sports leaders realize that Zagitova had not suspended, but rather completed, her sports career and was successfully realizing herself in other areas.
Perhaps only in relation to Evgenia Medvedeva FFKKR showed integrity. In the summer of 2021, the 2018 Olympic silver medalist announced she was skipping the Olympic season — and was not included in the national team. This summer, Beijing triumphants Anna Shcherbakova and Alexandra Trusova were included in the reserve squad.
True, no one is trying to convince the fans that our well-deserved figure skaters will perform at sports competitions this season. Only they themselves are in no hurry to give up all the preferences that are given to members of even the reserve team of the national team. Although the show is willing to pay them increased fees even without this. After all, these are the stars who attract the public to the stands.
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And unlike the FFKKR, the show organizers pay great attention to ensuring that the stands are filled. In Ufa, we were not able to see a single poster for the Kurai Cup that took place there. No, there was one, after all, at the sports palace itself, and of the three banners, the most attractive one invited to the opening ceremony with the participation of Zagitova, Tuktamysheva and Shcherbakova. In the palace itself, the only table with souvenirs was organized by … Tutberidze Team. The stars of «Khrustalny» will come to Ufa with their show in April, but have already taken care of advertising.
In Sochi last year, during the Grand Prix stage, posters of the troupes of Averbukh and Navka that had already completed shows were everywhere. . And not a single mention of the competition taking place with the participation of the strongest Russian figure skaters. For local residents who watched the competition on TV, it was a revelation that they were not taking place in Moscow, but in the Olympic Iceberg.
There are no questions for the organizers of the show. Even when receiving serious government grants, they attract stars with ready-made numbers and costumes paid for by the FFKKR. But there are still questions for the federation. Is it necessary to somehow regulate the provisions related to the involvement of current athletes in the show, and should the athletes themselves work out the preferences assigned to the collections by performing at domestic competitions? Agree, this formulation of the question has the right to life.
The author’s opinion may not coincide with the position of the editors.