2023-24 US Men’s Figure Skating

[saine]

I think the saving figure skating headline is coming from this paragraph:

Malinin is also eager to take on an even greater challenge: helping to restore figure skating’s popularity in the US, which has declined precipitously since the 1990s when Nancy Kerrigan, Tonya Harding, Michelle Kwan and Kristi Yamaguchi were household names and Stars on Ice touring shows packed arenas nationwide. It won’t be easy. Malinin says the biggest obstacles include the timing of events, which often take place overnight in US time zones. An even more obvious barrier for the casual fan is the complicated scoring system. Having replaced the old 6.0 system in 2004, the more complex ISU judging system involves a three-person technical panel and a nine-person judging panel, plus various programme component factors.

So saving figure skating comes from wanting to make it more popular in his home country. He does have a good point about the timing of events, especially with the issues of Peacock not keeping the events up to watch at later times.

I liked the profile on him here, it was interesting to read about the times where it wasn't easy for him and he wanted to quit.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

I have to say the headline "mission to save figure skating" sounds incredibly arrogant.

And yet, when I read the article, Ilia Malinin says nothing of the sort. He says he'd like to push the technical boundaries - and that is certainly not the same thing.

Some say any publicity is good publicity, but this is not a responsible headline from The Guardian. I wonder how many will be turned off by the headline and pass it up.

Yes, for sure. These mainstream publications do not really cover the sport of figure skating on a regular basis, only tangentially. They don't know much about figure skating, past or present. They have only learned that Ilia performs an unheard of jump called 'quad axel.' And it has crossed into the mainstream that Ilia did something amazing at the recent World figure skating championships. So, The Guardian, apparently approached Ilia to do a feature on him and his skating. Maybe they did some background research, but clearly not enough to get the headline and other interpretations fully accurate. Headlines are generally not written by the person who writes the article, in any case.

Of course, even in the writing of the article, there is hype and exaggeration, not coming from Ilia, necessarily. I just see Ilia as young, ambitious, and sincere about his desire to break through technical limitations of the sport, while also working on improving personal artistry. His ambitions are admirable.

Sadly, the sport itself is run in a way that does not incorporate helping audiences learn more about the sport's history in order to gain a broader understanding of and connection to the sport's present. We as fans, mostly have to rely on other knowledgeable fans to cover the sport with greater understanding and authenticity.

This reminds me of a fun teen skating romance book I have heard others raving about. I picked it up to read for fun. In the first chapter, I found myself rolling my eyes, shaking my head, and laughing at the inaccuracies and misinterpretations, including the baffling casual reference to two pairs skaters including sbs quads as a normal tech element in their free program. The writer also suggests that it's the pairs skaters' choreographer (not their coach) who included quads in the program, when obviously the choreographer is more concerned with music, concept, moves, transitions, storytelling, and overall program layout, not specifically with the jump elements that will be included. I am sure the misinterpretations will get worse as the book continues.

 

[BlissfulSynergy]

What caught my attention in The Guardian article at first read is how Ilia mentions that his parents did not push him to skate. The writer points out that Ilia's parents hesitated about him pursuing the same path that they had both charted in the sport. It's interesting how his parents, Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov, were able to balance and ground Ilia's trajectory in the sport by allowing their son to advance at his own pace and interest. As evidence of his talent became more and more apparent, and as Ilia became more serious about his skating, Tatiana and Roman began setting more serious goals with his training and competition schedules. I think his parents' relaxed guidance and full support based on Ilia's own individual aspirations has been most helpful to Ilia's steady growth and success in the sport.

It's wonderful that it has worked for them all as a family unit in how they have been able to separate and balance parenting from coaching, and Ilia being a regular kid growing up from being a high level competitive athlete. Even sitting in the kiss 'n cry with his son, Roman gives off the vibe of incredulous gratitude, love, and joy for his son, without any sense of desiring to live through his son's outsized success. He just seems grateful to be able to guide him, and to experience these moments with him. Well, at least, that's my impression, as a distant observer.

Ilia Malinin takes next step toward elite level with World Junior win - Figure Skaters Online

By Scott Mammoser, Team FSO contributing writer TALLINN, Estonia - Ilia Malinin's breakthrough performance to win the Junior World Championships on Saturday could perhaps be the dawn of a new era in U.S. men's skating. It was an interesting winter for the 17-year-old from Vienna, Va. Malinin's...

figureskatersonline.com

Roman Skorniakov And Tatiana Malinina: The Parents of Ilia Malinin - NewsNow Nigeria

Ilia Malinin’s upbringing was immersed in the world of ice skating, as both of his parents had competed in the Olympics as former figure skaters. Starting his skating journey at the age of six in Reston, Virginia, under the guidance of his skating champion parents, Malinin initially favored...

newsnownigeria.ng

The second article is from a Nigerian publication. Wow, Ilia's fame is traveling far and wide. That particular article was published in December 2023, but it details Ilia's early career, with a lovely photo of Ilia with his parents when he was younger and not towering over his parents in height. LOL! The first linked article was published even earlier. It's from April 2022, right after Ilia won Junior Worlds. There's a nice picture of Ilia with his two main coaches, Roman and Raf.