lotusland
03-30-2005, 01:38 PM
Hope this is okay to post an article from another skating website. If not the Admins can remove it. Interesting article in Russian:
http://www.mk.ru/numbers/1568/article50969.htm
Translation thanks to a poster at FSUniverse.
Elena Chaikovskaia: I can’t keep quiet anymore
Recent Worlds in Moscow not only brought Russia the three gold medals but also uncovered many problems. That’s why we weren’t surprised when famous coach Elena Chaikovskaia asked MK to publish her “open statement
I will never say anything bad about any skater. I always respected them and each of them was dear to me. Today, I worry about them and the work their coaches do. I’m happy that we managed to win three golds at the long-awaited championships at home. I believe we should go thru the winter Olympics well, but what makes the situation is dramatic is that in Turin, Russian figure skating may come to the end because all the resources, that were created with the hard labor of several generations of coaches and skaters, are exhausted. Their current absence is the result of the Figure Skating Federation work.
I always thought that the first person on the ice is the skater. I always said and still say that it’s who have to skate, not us. We, the coaches, did everything we could. We can’t help them anymore when they are on ice. What we have to do is to nurture a master who can represent the country well. Is that possible today without the Federation help? Why should we do it without the Federation help?
If only we could get help! I hope I deserved the right to say “we”. If only we would be heard! There is no criticism towards the RSSF officials. If you express dissatisfaction, you’ll get on train of the undesirables. Everything is decided by one person, president V. Piseev. There is no opposition – it gets destroyed immediately. Even the Federation’s Regulation is put the way that assumes the process when the same person is endlessly elected the president.
There was always a chain of succession in Russian skating. When the genius skaters left, their highest results were caught up by other leaders – number two and three. Now, with the excellent results at Worlds and Europeans, not only we have the deficit of the bronze, there is also a deficit of top five finishes. A new phase of development is coming to the figure skating – the new judging system, the new generation of young skaters and the new technique. I went to the Jr. Worlds on purpose and I can honestly say that we are not oriented for the specifics of the future generation and we are being late. A new wave of skaters is coming from Japan, America, and even Korea.
I saying it now, and not before the Worlds or after the Olympics, so one more year won’t be just lost, so it would be remembered that nothing ends after the Olympics - it only begins and continues. Unfortunately, we will have nothing to continue with. It takes us, the coaches, 10 years to make a champion. Maybe we can shorten it to 8 years, but you can’t do it faster. Lately, there was no work done for the future or even for the present.
Unfortunately, RFSF turned to be more important than the skaters and the coaches today. It can’t be that executive, judicial, and legislative powers in one sport end up with the Federation president. It can’t be that one person who took all the power to decide everything for everybody!
How can it be when the team is formed, the judges get the orders who should be on who and how should be placed on the team? How can it be that competitive solution is the illusions and there is a public argument because the placement set up wasn’t done as ordered (that happened at Russian Nationals). In this situation, a lot of things could be done by the team’s head coach, but unfortunately, today, his rule is minimal and just a formality. This position should be occupied by an experienced and mature expert, but would agree to be a pawn in Piseev’s hands?
Where is the Federation’s money? Where do they go? All those years, together with my skaters, I gave 10% of the prize money and exhibition fees. I don’t see the schools being supported or the selection work being done or anyone supported financially at all. I was bringing up Masha Butyrskaya, our first World champion, with the Moscow’s and the sponsors’ money. We didn’t get a penny from the Federation. What can we say when the best skaters on the team are making their own costumes. How are the huge amounts of money spent if trips all over the World, hotels, and transportation for the skaters are paid by the hosts and the coaches are paid for by the Physical Education and Sport Agency? I would like to have some independent organization to make the Federation’s financial activity crystal clear. Today, nobody except the president and some people close to him, knows how we spent money, right or wrong. That’s why I think Shamil Tarpischev’s idea of creating the united financial fund of the federations is very timely.
The most painful subject is our coaches working abroad. Mr. Piseev likes to say that people go there for the money. Yes, money is paid there, that’s true, but the Soviet/Russian coaches always worked not for the money only. If I left today, I would get paid $120 - $150 an hour for each student. Number of students there defines the level of life, and then, I wouldn’t care whether they become champions or not. If I get someone talented – great. Work diligently – become champion. And you can make $25,000 - $30,000 a month and not notice many things. With us, it was always the other way around. We were always looking for the talent and now, these talented people filled the ranks of coaches abroad. That’s how it was. And then, for ten long years we weren’t looking for anyone.
Coaches are leaving because while Mr. Piseev is here, they won’t work here and they can’t work here. How can you work with a person who is phenomenally rude? I won’t give any specifics about anyone, even though there are plenty of example. There are enough of my own examples – I wasn’t accredited for the Worlds that were held in Russia for the first time! You should’ve seen the faces of the people who looked at the lists, turned red, then turned pale, and pushed the words out – you are not on it. I made it to the championships anyway – I was accredited as an official for the Belarus, not as a coach, but as who knows what. For the first time in my life, I could only walk in the one half of the Sports Palace.
Coaches are leaving and not coming back because at any moment, they can end up at the same situation that I got into with my skaters before the Worlds. Andrei Lezin, who earned the spot on the team at the Russian Nationals was kicked out of the team after the Europeans. Yes, he didn’t perform well in the short program. Yes, he was overwhelmed by the event’s size, but that was his first experience competing at that level. When was that the third skater on the team was required to make top ten? A person gains experience step by step. Last year, Lezin was 12th at the Nationals, this year – third. He won Vienna Cup, a Russian Cup event, didn’t do badly at Oberstdorf and Cup of Russia. Isn’t that a progress? Why do you have to break a promising skater and send a skater who was only fifth at the Nationals? I wanted to discuss it with president Piseev before the Worlds – he didn’t meet with me. I sent the fax. He didn’t answer…
I saw several generation of the champions to grow up. Now I see the artificial upbringing of fake leaders. You shouldn’t make up the leaders and keep the safe, you have to make them strong by fighting. They shouldn’t now that their placement is fake. In the situation when Plushenko is sick, you can’t just be adventurous and put a junior on the team. He one who didn’t do too well at his own Worlds – I saw it myself..
I realize that the Federation’s organizational work varies – tournaments, championships, connections, etc. I’m not judging that work. My job is to grow skaters. I have to prepare a base where young coaches who work next to me would grow up and be confident that their work not only be in demand but be valued. I am not going to work another 80 years, even though I very much want to continue. I still want to be confident that if you won and trained a Master – you get noticed, you are valued, and you are helped. If the time of change came to skating, then the time for changes in our federation came as well. That’s why I can’t be silent anymore!
http://www.mk.ru/numbers/1568/article50969.htm
Translation thanks to a poster at FSUniverse.
Elena Chaikovskaia: I can’t keep quiet anymore
Recent Worlds in Moscow not only brought Russia the three gold medals but also uncovered many problems. That’s why we weren’t surprised when famous coach Elena Chaikovskaia asked MK to publish her “open statement
I will never say anything bad about any skater. I always respected them and each of them was dear to me. Today, I worry about them and the work their coaches do. I’m happy that we managed to win three golds at the long-awaited championships at home. I believe we should go thru the winter Olympics well, but what makes the situation is dramatic is that in Turin, Russian figure skating may come to the end because all the resources, that were created with the hard labor of several generations of coaches and skaters, are exhausted. Their current absence is the result of the Figure Skating Federation work.
I always thought that the first person on the ice is the skater. I always said and still say that it’s who have to skate, not us. We, the coaches, did everything we could. We can’t help them anymore when they are on ice. What we have to do is to nurture a master who can represent the country well. Is that possible today without the Federation help? Why should we do it without the Federation help?
If only we could get help! I hope I deserved the right to say “we”. If only we would be heard! There is no criticism towards the RSSF officials. If you express dissatisfaction, you’ll get on train of the undesirables. Everything is decided by one person, president V. Piseev. There is no opposition – it gets destroyed immediately. Even the Federation’s Regulation is put the way that assumes the process when the same person is endlessly elected the president.
There was always a chain of succession in Russian skating. When the genius skaters left, their highest results were caught up by other leaders – number two and three. Now, with the excellent results at Worlds and Europeans, not only we have the deficit of the bronze, there is also a deficit of top five finishes. A new phase of development is coming to the figure skating – the new judging system, the new generation of young skaters and the new technique. I went to the Jr. Worlds on purpose and I can honestly say that we are not oriented for the specifics of the future generation and we are being late. A new wave of skaters is coming from Japan, America, and even Korea.
I saying it now, and not before the Worlds or after the Olympics, so one more year won’t be just lost, so it would be remembered that nothing ends after the Olympics - it only begins and continues. Unfortunately, we will have nothing to continue with. It takes us, the coaches, 10 years to make a champion. Maybe we can shorten it to 8 years, but you can’t do it faster. Lately, there was no work done for the future or even for the present.
Unfortunately, RFSF turned to be more important than the skaters and the coaches today. It can’t be that executive, judicial, and legislative powers in one sport end up with the Federation president. It can’t be that one person who took all the power to decide everything for everybody!
How can it be when the team is formed, the judges get the orders who should be on who and how should be placed on the team? How can it be that competitive solution is the illusions and there is a public argument because the placement set up wasn’t done as ordered (that happened at Russian Nationals). In this situation, a lot of things could be done by the team’s head coach, but unfortunately, today, his rule is minimal and just a formality. This position should be occupied by an experienced and mature expert, but would agree to be a pawn in Piseev’s hands?
Where is the Federation’s money? Where do they go? All those years, together with my skaters, I gave 10% of the prize money and exhibition fees. I don’t see the schools being supported or the selection work being done or anyone supported financially at all. I was bringing up Masha Butyrskaya, our first World champion, with the Moscow’s and the sponsors’ money. We didn’t get a penny from the Federation. What can we say when the best skaters on the team are making their own costumes. How are the huge amounts of money spent if trips all over the World, hotels, and transportation for the skaters are paid by the hosts and the coaches are paid for by the Physical Education and Sport Agency? I would like to have some independent organization to make the Federation’s financial activity crystal clear. Today, nobody except the president and some people close to him, knows how we spent money, right or wrong. That’s why I think Shamil Tarpischev’s idea of creating the united financial fund of the federations is very timely.
The most painful subject is our coaches working abroad. Mr. Piseev likes to say that people go there for the money. Yes, money is paid there, that’s true, but the Soviet/Russian coaches always worked not for the money only. If I left today, I would get paid $120 - $150 an hour for each student. Number of students there defines the level of life, and then, I wouldn’t care whether they become champions or not. If I get someone talented – great. Work diligently – become champion. And you can make $25,000 - $30,000 a month and not notice many things. With us, it was always the other way around. We were always looking for the talent and now, these talented people filled the ranks of coaches abroad. That’s how it was. And then, for ten long years we weren’t looking for anyone.
Coaches are leaving because while Mr. Piseev is here, they won’t work here and they can’t work here. How can you work with a person who is phenomenally rude? I won’t give any specifics about anyone, even though there are plenty of example. There are enough of my own examples – I wasn’t accredited for the Worlds that were held in Russia for the first time! You should’ve seen the faces of the people who looked at the lists, turned red, then turned pale, and pushed the words out – you are not on it. I made it to the championships anyway – I was accredited as an official for the Belarus, not as a coach, but as who knows what. For the first time in my life, I could only walk in the one half of the Sports Palace.
Coaches are leaving and not coming back because at any moment, they can end up at the same situation that I got into with my skaters before the Worlds. Andrei Lezin, who earned the spot on the team at the Russian Nationals was kicked out of the team after the Europeans. Yes, he didn’t perform well in the short program. Yes, he was overwhelmed by the event’s size, but that was his first experience competing at that level. When was that the third skater on the team was required to make top ten? A person gains experience step by step. Last year, Lezin was 12th at the Nationals, this year – third. He won Vienna Cup, a Russian Cup event, didn’t do badly at Oberstdorf and Cup of Russia. Isn’t that a progress? Why do you have to break a promising skater and send a skater who was only fifth at the Nationals? I wanted to discuss it with president Piseev before the Worlds – he didn’t meet with me. I sent the fax. He didn’t answer…
I saw several generation of the champions to grow up. Now I see the artificial upbringing of fake leaders. You shouldn’t make up the leaders and keep the safe, you have to make them strong by fighting. They shouldn’t now that their placement is fake. In the situation when Plushenko is sick, you can’t just be adventurous and put a junior on the team. He one who didn’t do too well at his own Worlds – I saw it myself..
I realize that the Federation’s organizational work varies – tournaments, championships, connections, etc. I’m not judging that work. My job is to grow skaters. I have to prepare a base where young coaches who work next to me would grow up and be confident that their work not only be in demand but be valued. I am not going to work another 80 years, even though I very much want to continue. I still want to be confident that if you won and trained a Master – you get noticed, you are valued, and you are helped. If the time of change came to skating, then the time for changes in our federation came as well. That’s why I can’t be silent anymore!