Heated discussions about the new age criteria in figure skating quietly overshadowed a much more interesting question, which was voiced by the dance duet coach Alexander Zhulin, commenting on the introduction of the rule: “Accepted and accepted.
Who cares?
Where can we perform?"
The position of most countries at the congress of the International Skating Union (ISU) indirectly made it clear: no easing of sanctions against Russian athletes should be expected in the near future.
The next season will almost completely pass without their participation, and it is possible that the return to the international level will be delayed even after.
What is the significance of the declared ISU qualification in this entourage?
Absolutely none.
We are free to hold competitions within the country according to any rules, and if the FFKKR decides to cut off 14-15-year-old juniors from participating in adult tournaments and thus reduce the degree of competition, this will be a huge mistake.
Contrary to popular belief that domestic women's single skating should suffer most from the increase in the age limit, everything can turn out completely differently.
There are enough starts in the internal calendar, and the winners, for sure, will be paid solid money.
And those who are just entering the level of the national team will have the opportunity not only to satisfy their sports ambition by competing in the best single league in the world, but also to earn decent money.
In the process of forced international quarantine, most skaters will not only grow up, but will do it in an extremely tough competition.
In this case, it does not matter at all what the names of those athletes who will represent the country in the post-sanctions period will be.
You can start betting now that in any case they will be no weaker than those who, in the absence of the Russians, played medals at the European and World Championships.
Will female ice stars suffer from isolation?
Also not particularly.
And Anna Shcherbakova, and Alexandra Trusova, and Kamila Valieva, and even Liza Tuktamysheva already have enough titles in their track records to maintain star status, receive advertising contracts and invitations to the show.
All four managed to grab their bird of sports happiness by the tail, and the current timelessness for them is a respite, an opportunity to end their career smoothly and not too painfully.
I would call the situation in pair skating a time of experimentation.
On the one hand, the competition of duets on Russian ice is quite serious and allows you to keep a high level.
Moreover, in the world pair skating is perhaps the least popular.
On the other hand, it makes sense to recall the words of the famous Canadian coach Richard Gauthier that the optimal period for which a highly qualified specialist is able to prepare a competitive duet is three years.
This is exactly what happened with Gauthier's wards - Salt Lake City Olympic champions Jamie Sale and David Pelletier.
Then this path was repeated by two-time world champions Megan Duhamel and Eric Radford.
In other words, Russia is capable of making a real revolution in pair skating in the next three years, if, of course, it sets itself such a goal.
Maybe it even makes sense to form joint coaching teams on a common ice for this.
But the other two types of figure skating were less fortunate: neither in dance nor in men's singles we are trendsetters, moreover, we are noticeably inferior to world leaders in many respects.
Yes, in these categories we have such personalities as world champions Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov or European champion Mark Kondratyuk.
But just because of their own "piecework" they desperately need worthy competition, the ability to compare themselves with the strongest rivals, and not in a one-time format, but constantly.
Otherwise, you start to boil in your own juice, losing excitement and a sense of reality, and only those who go in the second tier win, having a landmark in the form of a more dangerous opponent in front of their eyes.
One of the most experienced and wise ex-leaders of Russian sports, Valery Sysoev, who headed the International Cycling Federation for more than ten years, spoke very precisely about this.
“Now the question is: what to do with our large sports market of accumulated potential, with specific people who have reached a certain level of physical and sports development.
We will not save them by any internal competitions, this is a utopia.
Recommending them to end their careers would be simply a crime against athletes and domestic sports in general.
If we lose all our leaders, the connection between generations will be broken, and this is the worst thing.
The level of coaching skills will drop, as coaches have also become isolated.
Each of these people is an absolutely piece product.
And our duty is to competently employ them, ”he noted.
When asked if Sysoev had in mind a possible change of sports citizenship, the specialist replied that he did not exclude such an option.
Is it necessary to strive for such a radical measure?
The question is extremely painful and does not have a clear answer.
But if the transition of skaters under other banners nevertheless begins, oddly enough, Russia can also win from this.
As practice shows, many, having changed sports citizenship, continue to work under the guidance of their former mentors, which means that coaches have the opportunity to develop qualifications.
This is more important than it might seem at first glance, since any isolation and inability to fully communicate with colleagues is always more critical for a mentor than for a ward.
And, of course, it is worth finding an opportunity to hold as many joint training camps, seminars, master classes as possible within the country.
Is it possible to involve foreign partners in this process?
It is possible that yes.
By the way, a curious fact: ISU Vice President Alexander Lakernik, who suffered from the age limit no less than Russian single skaters (he was not allowed to be re-elected to a leadership position due to his advanced age), did not grieve about this for long, saying that despite the difficult circumstances, he began to work on a computer systems project with Canadian company Sportlogiq, led by former treadmill skater Craig Bantin.
Its goal is to develop new technologies for judging figure skating.
Who knows, maybe thanks to Lakernik, Russia can become a testing ground for refereeing know-how?
For those who are set for a serious sports future, the readiness for innovation will definitely not be superfluous.