Between sports and show: Yubileiny will host the last two major competitions of the season

The season for Russian figure skaters is coming to an end. In February, skating masters performed at the Spartakiad of the Strongest, which replaced the Grand Prix final, in Magnitogorsk.

St. Petersburg residents won two gold medals in the Urals: Evgeny Semenenko and the sports couple Anastasia Mishina – Alexander Gallyamov. The two remaining awards of the highest standard were taken to Moscow by Adelia Petrosyan and the dance duet of Alexander Stepanov – Ivan Bukin. In addition, the sports selection stage for the Channel One Cup was completed in Magnitogorsk.

Difficulty of choice

These competitions appeared on the Russian calendar three years ago, when the European Championship was canceled due to the pandemic. To fill the competitive pause, they came up with a tournament in a rather unusual format. Two teams, whose captains were the 2018 Olympic winners Alina Zagitova and Evgenia Medvedeva, received the name of popular films and staged a “get-together.” For the organizers, perhaps the most important moment was the comments of the captains.

In the next two seasons, the Channel One Cup was kept on the calendar to fill the competitive pause caused by sanctions. In 2022 in Saransk, the captains were Mark Kondratyuk and Anna Shcherbakova, who won the Olympic tournament in Beijing, and in 2023 in Moscow – Alina Zagitova and Kamila Valieva. This year at the tournament, which will be held for the first time in St. Petersburg, there are several innovations.

There will be not two, but three teams. The organizers are keeping the names of the captains secret, as well as the size of the prize fund. The selection of competition participants in Yubileiny took place according to a rather complex system. Some were selected based on sports results shown at the Russian Championship in Chelyabinsk and the Spartakiad of the Strongest. In addition to adult singles skaters, winners of the national junior championship, which took place in February in Saransk, were also invited. But that’s not all.

For the first time, athletes were allocated one ticket to the team for men, women and dance duets by voting. The winners of three wild cards were determined by the Russian Figure Skating Federation (FFKKR). They were the dancers – the couple Sofya Leontyeva and Daniil Gorelkin, the winner of the last two championships in St. Petersburg, Ksenia Gushchina and Alexander Samarin. The piquancy of the situation lies in the fact that the silver medalist of the 2019 European Championship Samarin, who performed unsuccessfully at the Russian Championship and the Spartakiad of the Strongest, announced his retirement in Magnitogorsk.

Three more invitations were distributed by journalists. A narrow circle of worthy people, which included representatives of only eight publications and Channel One, was determined by the press service of the FFKKR.

Three more tickets were distributed by fans. The popularity and enthusiasm were simply off the charts: more than 530 thousand fans voted. They chose Peter Gumennik, Sofia Muravyova and the St. Petersburg dance duo Ekaterina Mironova – Evgeniy Ustenko.

Of course, Gumennik should be pleased. Due to illness, he missed the Spartakiad of the Strongest and did not qualify for the Channel One Cup due to sporting reasons, but in three days 94 thousand people voted for him.

There is something to work on

However, no matter how the composition of the Channel One Cup participants was formed, it turned out to be brilliant. World Championships can be the envy of. The organizers also took into account the mistakes of previous years, when the regulations did not spell out the situation related to potential injuries to participants. Now everything is said clearly. Replacement in case of injury is possible, but all entered athletes are required to perform either a short program or a free program. Dancers, respectively, in rhythmic and free dance.

In addition, several innovations await viewers in Yubileiny. In addition to the results of performances in two programs, the team will also count points for the battle of elements, the captain’s competition and the fans’ challenge. What it is is still kept secret. Will they really call you onto the ice at the place indicated on the ticket, give you skates and pair them with Alexander Gallyamov or Dmitry Kozlovsky?

It is very difficult to actually find the optimal balance at such tournaments between sport and show. With the Russian Challenge program tournament, which will be held at Yubileiny next weekend, everything is very clear. It will show athletes, including past champions, the artistic side of figure skating without worrying about quadruple jump scores or twizzles. By the way, the rules of these competitions already clearly indicate the prize fund: the champion will replenish his bank account by 5 million rubles, the silver medalist by 3 million, and the bronze medalist by one million. There are also special prizes of 500 thousand in 10 categories.

It’s more difficult with the Channel One Cup. It is difficult to motivate skaters at the end of the season to skate their competitive programs with full dedication for the fifth time without qualifying for international tournaments. Shifting the focus with the help of event hosts is also not the best solution. And it’s definitely difficult to root for the “red”, “blue”, “white”, even if they are led by famous champions who have a huge army of fans on the Internet.

For some reason, the leaders of the FFKKR are not trying to organize a real team tournament together with Channel One. Now it is quite possible to do this by entering the teams of Moscow, St. Petersburg and the team of other regions of Russia. It may even be allowed to declare “legionnaires” where there are not enough strong participants in some type of program. The St. Petersburg team includes Moscow dancers, and the regional team includes St. Petersburg singles skaters. In a similar format, clubs and schools will receive an incentive for development not only from the two capitals, but also from Yekaterinburg, Perm, and Sochi.

Perhaps the organizers of the Channel One Cup will come to this idea. This tournament is live, and every year they want to make it more interesting for spectators.