The final of the Cup of the country, a new tournament or a coaching decision: how the selection to the Russian national figure skating team can be made

The Russian Figure Skating Championship has always been not just the main national tournament of the season, but also performed an important function - it served as a qualifying start for prestigious international competitions in the second half of the season.

According to its results, the team was formed within the quotas allocated to the country for the World and European Championships, as well as the Olympic Games.

However, the importance of the upcoming championship in Chelyabinsk for the selection for international competitions can be questioned.

In 2021, the European Championship in Zagreb will definitely not take place.

It was supposed to take place from January 25 to January 31, but was canceled due to the worsening epidemiological situation in the world.

The main intrigue around the Russian championship was usually associated with who would become the owner of the coveted quotas and go with the national team to the continental championship, where Russian athletes always have high chances for medals.

However, on December 10, the International Skating Union made the final decision not to hold the European Championship.

But the world championship is still on the calendar of international competitions.

It is planned to be held from 22 to 28 March in Stockholm.

In previous years, the composition of the Russian national team for this start was also determined according to the results of the national championship, with minor amendments that could be made following the results of the European championship.

Now that the tournament in Zagreb has been canceled, a team can only be formed based on the results of the competition in Chelyabinsk.

However, this option has significant disadvantages.

The World Championship will only take place in three months.

For figure skating, this is quite a long time, during which an athlete can both achieve serious progress and lose his shape and skills.

The first option is impossible without competitive practice at a high level.

She will be missed by the Russian skaters after the New Year.

If earlier the European Championship was supposed to keep in good shape, now the athletes will not have such an opportunity.

This season clearly showed what the cancellation of international competitions leads to, and even in a pandemic - the level of skaters is falling, and some do not want to go on the ice at all, as they understand that they are not in those conditions.

The Russian Figure Skating Federation (FFKKR) has already announced that they are ready to hold their own competitions instead of the European Championship precisely so that the athletes have the motivation to prepare for the World Championship.

But without the participation of strong foreign athletes, without spectators in the stands, without high-profile titles and prizes, this replacement will not be equivalent.

Although this hypothetical tournament will be some consolation for the fans, it will not at all guarantee that the winners and prize-winners of the Russian championship will be helped to perform in Stockholm as successfully as in Chelyabinsk.

The line-up for the World Championship must be formed anew also because the national championship has already lost several stars.

The current European champions Dmitry Aliev and the dance duet Victoria Sinitsina - Nikita Katsalapov will not perform at it.

There will be no two-time world champion Evgenia Medvedeva.

The FFKKR does not have a clear position on skipping the selection due to illness - if Medvedeva was given the opportunity to get into the national team in 2018, then Elizaveta Tuktamysheva was denied such a chance.

Sinitsina and Katsalapov, Aliyev, and Medvedev, in their potential, are quite worthy of getting into the World Championship and, at least for this reason, should participate in the selection on equal terms with everyone, but not in Chelyabinsk.

The final of the Russian Cup, which will take place at the end of February in Veliky Novgorod, could be suitable for the formation of the national team.

It will just take place a month before the World Cup and will give a good idea of ​​the readiness of the skaters.

In 2019, at this tournament, a duel has already taken place between Medvedeva and Tuktamysheva for the right to speak at the World Championship.

Especially for this, the figure skaters were included in the composition of the participants, although they did not perform at the usual stages of the Russian Cup.

This can be done even now, especially since almost all candidates for the national team took part in internal competitions, and those who missed them can be included in the final list.

However, the same precedent from 2019 shows what will happen if only one quota is played in the national team in the Russian Cup final.

Then the modest arena in Veliky Novgorod could not accommodate not only all interested spectators, but also the journalists who arrived.

These competitions, which were usually the main competitions of the season for second-tier skaters, are not at all suitable in terms of their status as qualifiers.

In this regard, it would be more convenient for fans, athletes, and the FFKKR itself to organize a full-fledged qualifying tournament in Moscow or St. Petersburg on the big arena in February.

Even if spectators are not allowed to see it, they will at least be able to please with a high-quality TV picture, as it was at the previous competitions in the capital.

Such a tournament does not need to have a large number of participants - the top eight in each discipline at the end of the Russian championship will be enough, as well as those who will not perform in Chelyabinsk for health reasons.

These competitions will already be the last chance to get into the national team and will give good motivation to athletes to perform at full strength.

True, if it is worth holding a separate selection for the World Championship, then it must be announced as early as possible.

Those skaters who will be left without medals of the Russian championship may soon think about the end of the season, since they simply will have nowhere to play.

Such uncertainty can greatly affect the level of national figure skating.

If you cannot organize a new tournament in a pandemic, then you can consider other options.

One of them could be the distribution of quotas in the national team according to the average points scored during the season, or absolutely the best results, taking into account the starts in 2021.

Or the coaches could intervene in the matter and name the squad, based on their opinion, immediately before the World Cup.

Even such revolutionary selection criteria will give a more objective picture than the current Russian championship in Chelyabinsk, which, unfortunately, is losing its prestigious status under current conditions.

He will only answer the question of who was the best at the end of the difficult half of the first season, but he is unlikely to help form a truly strong team by next March.

Caution in the selection process will also be dictated by the special role of the Stockholm World Cup.

It will be used to distribute national quotas for the Olympic Games in Beijing.

It will be quite risky to trust the fight for them to the skaters, who three months before were the best at the not very strong Russian championship and then did not reconfirm their form again.