Anna Duskova & Martin Bidar

Really happy with these news. They already have the JWG, deservedly, and they might as well make a name for themselves before the next cycle. They could reach as high as a top ten in Worlds at their best, although with their growth problems it's not likely. Hoping for a good second-half of the season!!

And do we have a video of their gala in Italy?

coldblueeyes said:

Really happy with these news. They already have the JWG, deservedly, and they might as well make a name for themselves before the next cycle. They could reach as high as a top ten in Worlds at their best, although with their growth problems it's not likely. Hoping for a good second-half of the season!!

And do we have a video of their gala in Italy?

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Top 10 at Worlds is a stretch, but they should have no porblem with qualifying for Free Program and getting Olympic qualification. If they do better, bless them!

You can watch whole Gala here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJ6xsD_BczY I didn't see individual video.

cathlen said:

ISU interview with Anna & Martin: http://www.isu.org/en/single-and-pair-skating-and-ice-dance/news/2017/01/feature-duskova-bidar They will not go to Junior Worlds, they want to focus on Senior Worlds, because of qualification to Olympics. I think it's a smart decision. It would be tough to do two ISU Championshimps that are so close to each other, and Pairs is very tough discipline itself. And I love Anna's sincerity about school. I also sometimes think the worst teachers can do is to make a student an example to follow'... All the best in Ostrava!

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Thank you for posting the interview. I fell in love w this pair after seeing their Mozart sym no. 40 SP early this season, and I normally don't follow junior pairs. Best of luck to them at Europeans and Worlds!

That SP was AMAZING!!!!!!

SO glad they decided to go for seniors!! And they were kinda lowballed a bit, but the score's still amazing, tbh.

7th Place at Euros!

Yay! Yay!

Now, on to Worlds. I dearly hope that they secure a spot for the Olympics there.

Guys, I'm still so emotional. They were AWESOME!! And the energy between those two is simply great. I think it all aligned perfectly for them to skate like that at home!

These two really are rising stars I can't wait to see them at Worlds!

Big congrats to Anna and Martin on their successful first senior outing! :clapper: What a performance, I sat and watched with bated breath. I admire how they never lost their nerves! But then, it seems at least Anna has a talent for detaching herself from unnecessary stress - she said in an interview after their FP that she'd stopped taking in the cheering the moment the program began.
I hope they rest properly, and I'm looking forward to seeing them at the gala, and at Worlds.

I was hoping they will be in top 10 and they are! Such a great competition for them, in front of their home crowd! Congrats Czech babies!

It will help them a lot in the future that judges saw them doing so good. They will have good reputation, so PCS will steadily rise along with them

Všechno nejlepší k narozeninám Martin!!!

Just wanted to take this opportunity to wish a Happy 18[SUP]th[/SUP] Birthday to Martin.

I hope you have had an enjoyable day, and that the next year is a good one for you, both on and off the ice!

All the best for Senior Worlds!

Sbohem

CaroLiza_fan

Sto lat! Happy Birthday Martin!

Today I read a nice article in the Czech newspapers supplement about Anna and Martin. There are some interesting informations but also a few things included that might be interesting for a person who doesn't really watch figure skating, however for someone who is a fan these are clear and not surprising. Would anyone be interested in reading the whole article? I can do the translation. Or if not I can translate just some interesting points, let me know and I can translate in the evening I don't have a problem with either way.

Sophie-Anna said:

Today I read a nice article in the Czech newspapers supplement about Anna and Martin. There are some interesting informations but also a few things included that might be interesting for a person who doesn't really watch figure skating, however for someone who is a fan these are clear and not surprising. Would anyone be interested in reading the whole article? I can do the translation. Or if not I can translate just some interesting points, let me know and I can translate in the evening I don't have a problem with either way.

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Me! I'd love to read it. Please do translation if you can I would probably understand some in Czech, but it's always better to have it translated

cathlen said:

Me! I'd love to read it. Please do translation if you can I would probably understand some in Czech, but it's always better to have it translated

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OK no problem As I said I will try to do it in the evening.

Here is the first part of the article I have promised to translate. Second part will be here in an hour, or two. Sorry for spelling or any other mistakes, my translation skills are not perfect but I hope the meaning is kept and the article will be understandable.

Life on ice with Mozart
They are teenagers but their life is scheduled to minutes. Anna Dušková and Martin Bidař: two talents, the Czech figure skating haven’t had for a long time. Leaders among juniors are now coming to the world of adults (competitors).
It’s just 7 minutes. All the hard-work from the practice will be shown during those 7 minutes at the European or World Championships. Two and half minutes of the short program, four and half minutes of the long.
Next week, in Helsinki, the moment will come. Even in the situation we wouldn’t like skating anymore, we’ve put so much effort, time and money, we could not give up, says 17-years-old Anna, the partner of 18-years-old Martin. But fortunately, they still like it. This sport is in their heart.
When they started skated together, as 12-years-old, their coach, Eva Horklová, sent them to doctors in Brno, to have their adult heights predicted. Martin was predicted to be 182 cm tall, while Anna 159 cm. „It’s good“ coach told herself. They could continue together. Appropriate height difference is important for pair skaters.
Five years later they are world junior champions and their season cost them 60 000 dollars (1,5 million Czech crowns). Choreography for each program costs 2000 dollars (50 000 Czech crowns), one costume 800 dollars (20 000 Czech crowns). And for a 2-week stay in Canada they spend 2000 dollars on practices. They spend 13 or even more hours together on the ice during one week. But it is not just about the ice. Their daily schedule is adjusted to sport. How is the life of elite figure skaters, who still attend school?
5.30 – Time to get up!
They get up at 5.30 every morning. Dušková’s mom, a dentist by the profession, wakes up even earlier, at 5 o’clock. In Lysá nad Labem, where, together with Dušková’s family, lives Martin as well (originally from České Budějovice), she (the mom) prepares a breakfast and a snack for both of them. “To Prague we go by car with my dad or my older brother” describes Anna. They wouldn’t make the train at 5.40. At 7 o’clock they have to be at the rink. They change their clothes, warm up and have a practice on ice. With knowing, it will be cold. Outside, the spring is coming and thermometer says it is +10°C, but inside the temperature is down to 0. “Over the night they try to keep the ice freezing, so it’s really cold here all the time” explains the coach. (I didn’t know how to translate this, they just try to keep the ice cold enough for skating so it won’t melt…) Don’t they have a heating on the rink? “You can hear its buzzing, but that’s all it does”. No it’s not a joke. “Injuries are more likely to happen in such a cold surrounding” reminds Martin. He has had an experience with it recently. In February he injured his leg tendons on 3T landing. He did not skate for three weeks, the start at World Championships was in danger. In January, their assistant coach, Richard Gauthier, the Canadian coach of the world champions Duhamel/Radford came to look at them and was a bit frightened by the conditions. Then he said to Horklová: “I admire you, for preparing here”.
Mozart and tango 600 times
After warm-up on the ice, the SP music starts playing. During the season they’ve already listened to it at least 600 times. “It is Mozart, verging to tango” describes the coach. Choosing the music, suitable for the couple is really difficult. “If I don’t have a clear idea, it can take me 2 months”. But her students have so far agreed with her opinions. SP choreographer is Italian expert Maurizio Margaglio, former elite skater. He saw Czech teenagers, skating to silver medal, at the last year’s Youth Olympics in Lillehammer. “We asked him to choreograph for us there and he agreed enthusiastically. The reactions like this was important for me. If you want to find a good choreographer, you have to feel his interest, not just politeness” says Horklová. Before the start of the season, Margaglio travelled to Prague, stayed in the hotel at the rink, and worked with Anna and Martin for two days before finishing the program. Talkative Anna liked him from the start: “He is really charismatic, he has Italian temperament and he explained everything in the details to us”.

Long distance school and ballet
They finish their morning practice before 9 o’clock and go to school. Both attend school, not far from the ice rink (on purpose), Dušková attends gymnasium (in the Czech Republic this is high school where students have all the subjects, it is universal school, not specialized in anything) and Bidař attends medical high school. They usually come to class during the second lesson. „We have individual studying plan, which allows us to attend just 50% of the classes“ says Bidař. The most complicated situation is when they are on the training camp abroad. „My classmate send me photos of homework and notes via Facebook or email and then I rewrite them“ describes Dušková. The most difficult to remember are all the events and dates from history lessons. She is however and excellent student, she had just only 2 on her school report (on the scale 1-5, 1 is perfect, 3 still OK but not so good, 4 bad, 5 means the student failed). Bidař says he also got some 3s. They leave school at 2 in the afternoon and go back to the rink, and they do the off-ice exercise for 45 minutes. At 3 they have another practice on the ice, usually lasting an hour. Every day they skate at least one full short and one free program, and they also practice their elements. Two times a week, they train with Kateřina Benešová, an elite ballet dancer, who teaches them expression. Dušková glowers after a bad element but that shouldn’t happen in the competition, everyone watch the expression carefully. Judges reward the smile and relaxed feeling of the program (once again I didn’t know how to translate this, it means the skaters should not look like they are in tense). After on-ice practice they have the off-ice practice. Two times a week they do bodybuilding, two times a week ballet. On Thursdays they skip the off-ice practice and have physiotherapy. „No figure skater likes practicing ballet. But it is necessary.“ Dušková says. „We stand, holding the ballet barre, our ballet master dictates all the French names and we do what he wants. Also the main coach, Eva Horklová, watches their posture. When it’s bad they have to do press-ups.
Training with the champions
They take the train back at half past seven. Anna’s mum, who prepared a dinner earlier, wait for them at the railway station and drives them home. „She (the mom) is our good soul“ says the coach. Mrs. Dušková also observes healthy food. Anna keeps 45 kg without bigger problems but Martin who has 78 kg needs to pay attention. „He just looks on the food and gain weight“ jokes Horklová. Bidař agrees: I struggle with that. I have to keep myself away from sweets.“ They have dinner at half past eight. Then they do homework and go to sleep at half past night. And hobbies? „Figure skating is the hobby“ smiles Anna.
They spent three weeks in Montreal in the summer, fascinated with the city of Montreal, which has 33 heated ice rinks. While training under Richard Gauthier, they were watching Meagan Duhamel doing exercises for the whole hour before practice. They had 25 minutes long lecture every day with Gauthier and with his assistant they’ve learned new lifts. Eva Horklová, who finds new lifts also on YouTube, recorded everything on the video. Then she was working with her students for the rest of 3 hours. And in their rented flat in Montreal, not far from the rink, she was cooking for all of them as well. The two teenagers were just watching Duhamel/Radford by the boards at first. „But now we have normal talks with them, although we respect them“ says Anna.
Before Gauthier became they coach, they had travelled to several training camps with Horklová. They were in Berlin, Val de Gardena, and Sochi. But the Canadian became their favorite. They want to learn from the best in the world. And one day even become the best. They’ve done it among juniors.
Olympic dream
They experienced euphoria in January, during their senior’s debut in Ostrava, when they got standing ovations from the audience. After the competition Anna came back to school and saw herself on a notice board. „But I don’t like when teachers says in front of others that I manage to skate and have the good marks as well.“ So far, they are the youngest among adults. It will be the same next week in Helsinki. The goal for the Czech „kids“ is: to place in the top 16. That would mean an air ticket to the Olympics in Korea.

Thank you Sophie-Anna! It's funny that Martin is the one in trouble keeping right wieght. Though I'm beliwdered they eat dinner so late... I always thought it's healthier and easier to burn when you eat bigger meal earlier, and only light snack in the evening... Eating dinner before sleep is not necessarily best to keep in shape.

cathlen said:

Thank you Sophie-Anna! It's funny that Martin is the one in trouble keeping right wieght. Though I'm beliwdered they eat dinner so late... I always thought it's healthier and easier to burn when you eat bigger meal earlier, and only light snack in the evening... Eating dinner before sleep is not necessarily best to keep in shape.

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I was surprised as well but maybe they eat just something small and healthy. I'm sure they do. In the Czech Republic we don't have dinner as the main meal of the day, that is lunch. In some families they cook dinner every day but for example me or my sister have just a yoghurt, slice of bread with cheese or butter or anything like that. Also apparently they don't have the time to eat before. They could eat on the train on the way home for sure but I think it is better for them to eat at home. And as it was said in the article they try to eat healthy. I'm not worried about this

Sophie-Anna said:

I was surprised as well but maybe they eat just something small and healthy. I'm sure they do. In the Czech Republic we don't have dinner as the main meal of the day, that is lunch. In some families they cook dinner every day but for example me or my sister have just a yoghurt, slice of bread with cheese or butter or anything like that. Also apparently they don't have the time to eat before. They could eat on the train on the way home for sure but I think it is better for them to eat at home. And as it was said in the article they try to eat healthy. I'm not worried about this

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Well, in Poland we call dinner a meal we have in the afternoon (traditionally consisted of two dishes, the first one being soup, but now people often eat only one dish for dinner) and then we have supper in the evening which is lighter meal. Lunches are not our things I kind of thought Czech Republic is similiar.. But I see that not neccesarily

Thank you so much for the translation, Sophie-Anna! So interesting!

I walked past these two today when they were training lifts off-ice, and they looked fa-bu-lous. I had to force myself to look where I was going because I was staring and kept almost bumping into people and things