Trifun Z news

[Trif Fan]

This was posted yesterday on the rec.sport...newsgroup by Trifun's mom:

[quote:f6a1fe1719]on july 20 02 trifun was cleared by the isu to skate for his
fathers country. Trifun is so happy, he will try to include yugoslavia in the
six top countries. It's quite an adventure living with his uncle in Belgrade.
The only down sides were the food and the fact that his mother is ill. he has
been training with Mishin and Illia kulik. So it's a whole new life. His best
skate is yet to come.
G ZIVANOVIC [/quote:f6a1fe1719]

:D This fan is looking forward to hearing more news and wishes Trifun good luck in the coming season!

[The Glider]

Thanks for the TZ update. It will be interesting to see if he can become more polished in presentation and consistent in his jumping. I don't blame him for changing countries as he was a bit buried in the strong US Men's field.

I didn't know that Kulik is coaching now!

[Meredith]

Mishin and Ilia! 8O There's a duo. I take it he trains with Mishin in Russia and Ilia in California. I'm not surprised to hear Ilia's coaching.

Good luck to Trifun and look forward to seeing him at Worlds!

[originalQA]

My question: Just what will changing countries get Trifun?
Moving to another country will not change the fact that he is not as good as 4 American Men, 3 Russians, a couple Chinese, at least one Japanese, maybe a couple Canadians, etc.
So he will have a National Title that he had to change Nationalities to win?
Whooooo-Hooooooo.
He is still about the 15th ranked Man in the World, and that is being generous.
I think if he had stayed in the U.S., with Todd retiring, and with his quad, I think Trifun could have made Worlds fairly easily.
I do not think that awful Dracula program is helping him, and moving to another country will not help that.
I personally would quit skating before I would move to another country just to get to Worlds.
There's no pride in that.....

[bbtano]

I think changing countries will provide him more opportunities for international experience, including Worlds. I wish him the best of luck! :)
He is showing pride in his heritage and there's nothing wrong with that.

[Arsenette]

First of all.. great news for Trifun! :D

Second.. I get a lot of "why did you change.. you wouldn't have won here anyway" lines - especially from our own Federation. Nobody knows why Trifun really did it.. maybe partially to get more international experience than he could have competing in the US field.. also the fact that he can really help the Yugoslavian Federation produce better skaters and ensure more exposure for the country internationally... and maybe because he wanted to honor his heritage. Lord knows what the full decision is - and guess what.. who cares? I'm glad more countries get to compete and if they LEGITIMATELY belong there we should not look down upon them because they changed countries. Lord knows what doors he may have opened for the future by his very presence! This is a world circuit.. I'm tired of seeing the same old same old countries.. at it's best, the best country(ies) can send no more than 3 to Worlds.. who's to say that by injecting talent (and he does have that - c'mon.. even if he is top 10-15 - c'mon that's EXCELLENT!!!) in countries that have not shown that before might actually spur more competition upon the younger generation of that country!?! This can only help.

As for those wondering why he had to wait.. try remembering the Soldatova Rule.. July 1st of following season.

[CherylS]

I would think he decided to change because in the US he was lost in the field a bit of high-ranked men and his chances of going to worlds and as many other international competitions. Now he should be able to go to worlds every year as the best in his adopted country. He has the opportunity to be fairly high in the world standings with that added chance to compete so it's a great opportunity for him I would think.
I think it was a good decision for him under the circumstances and wish him the best!

[mikey]

[quote:f5bf95037e="originalQA"]My question: Just what will changing countries get Trifun? ... So he will have a National Title that he had to change Nationalities to win? Whooooo-Hooooooo. He is still about the 15th ranked Man in the World, and that is being generous.[/quote:f5bf95037e]

What a nasty, spiteful post. Maybe it's not just about being a national champion. Maybe it's about experiencing new things- competing at Europeans, Worlds, perhaps on the Grand Prix series or the Olympics... Maybe it's about something deeper that none of us understands. And what's so wrong about being #15 in the world anyhow???

[quote:f5bf95037e="originalQA"]I personally would quit skating before I would move to another country just to get to Worlds. There's no pride in that...[/quote:f5bf95037e]

Words escape me.

[Spinner]

I'll have to agree with mikey here. How hard is it just to wish him well in his endeavors? No need to bring your funky attitude to a thread so obvoiusly started by someone excited to bring us some good news.

[b:772040f15f]*Moderator Hat On*[/b:772040f15f] And just to note, there will be a 'Skating News & Discussions' policy update coming with the new skating season dealing with this very issue--if you can't be supportive in a thread started to 'cheer' for a particular skater, then don't post....more to come soon. [b:772040f15f]*Moderator Hat Off*[/b:772040f15f]

Spinner

[jeffisjeff]

Well, I was lucky to see Trifun perform Dracula at Nationals in Boston. He was great and I think the program suits his different style. So I am happy for him.

But I would call this more of a "sharing news" thread than a cheering thread, so I am not sure why debate about his choices is not allowed.

[originalQA]

Actually, I honestly was not trying to be mean.
I am sorry if I came across as overly negative, that was not my intention.
I personally have no respect for someone who gives up on their country, moves to another, just to get "exposure" and accumulate medals.
I liked Trifun as an "American".
The fact that I have an opinion, or point of view, that differs from others does not entitle anyone to be nasty to me.
I will not Post on this Topic anymore.

[Spinner]

[quote:2a01c81413="jeffisjeff"]But I would call this more of a "sharing news" thread than a cheering thread, so I am not sure why debate about his choices is not allowed.[/quote:2a01c81413]

[i:2a01c81413]Debate is fine, but that's not what I saw. Debate involves validating the others views while offering your differing opinions and/or facts. Debating does [b:2a01c81413]not[/b:2a01c81413] use the "oh big deal...yeah right" approach to responding--that's called picking a fight. --Spinner[/i:2a01c81413]

[adrianchew]

[quote:6aae7f7b18="jeffisjeff"]But I would call this more of a "sharing news" thread than a cheering thread, so I am not sure why debate about his choices is not allowed.[/quote:6aae7f7b18]

[color=red:6aae7f7b18][b:6aae7f7b18][i:6aae7f7b18]One of the reasons I hesitate to make rules and guidelines at times is because people take them to the point. Perhaps the best way to explain this is that its clear some topics are started in good spirit to pass on progress - and others jump on only to add negativity.

If this topic was about a skater's weaknesses, this might be appropriate, but the post in response posting an opinion is off topic to the original intent of the topic - all off topic negative replies will be greeted by a warning and if that's not adhered too... there will be consequences.

And in the future, if you disagree or have a question about a moderator's note - please post that in the Feedback forum where it belongs. Thanks.

~adrianchew~[/i:6aae7f7b18][/b:6aae7f7b18][/color:6aae7f7b18]

[adrianchew]

[quote:0c2a90d6a1="originalQA"]Actually, I honestly was not trying to be mean.
I am sorry if I came across as overly negative, that was not my intention.
I personally have no respect for someone who gives up on their country, moves to another, just to get "exposure" and accumulate medals.
I liked Trifun as an "American".
The fact that I have an opinion, or point of view, that differs from others does not entitle anyone to be nasty to me.
I will not Post on this Topic anymore.[/quote:0c2a90d6a1]

:arrow: [i:0c2a90d6a1]I've seen enough - this user's account has been suspended.[/i:0c2a90d6a1]

Apologies to Trifun fans - that was uncalled for. Skaters can choose to represent other countries if they qualify - there's nothing wrong with this as long as they have followed proper procedure.

[Mariposa]

Back to the topic. I know it's probably posted somewhere, but does Trifun have any international assignments this year? I appreciate it.

[Trif Fan]

[quote:33cb44982f="Mariposa"]Back to the topic. I know it's probably posted somewhere, but does Trifun have any international assignments this year? I appreciate it.[/quote:33cb44982f]

I've heard that he's supposed to be doing Vienna Cup and Obertsdorf.

[Tigger]

First off...Thanks Adrian and Spinner for dealing w/the above in a very timely manner.

Second...This is great news. Since I'm Canadian, I only got to see Trifun skate a few times thanks to TV. I really liked what I saw though and I'm glad he's getting a second chance at International competition skating for Yugoslavia. Good luck to him this year!!