Ted Barton interviews Eteri Tutberidze | Page 5 | Golden Skate

Ted Barton interviews Eteri Tutberidze

sx98423

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Oct 20, 2017
This was a cringy, horrendous interview with more platitudes than critical analysis. I get that Ted is not an independent journalist, and invariably any interview he does will veer towards this, but you can still be polite and have a darn thinking cap on.

For all the beauty in the skating of a lot of Eteri's skaters, I am not willing to overlook the fact that Trusova and Scherbakova look as though their pelvises will shatter the moment they fall from the many quad attempts that do not go well. Or the fact that Yulia sought urgent help for an eating disorder from being mired in a culture of unhealthy body image standards and therefore dangerous eating habits. Or the clear psychological abuse hurled at Alina Zagitova during a documentary, where the poor girl had tried her heart out but failed to impress her coaches.

We should not be so hungry for success so as to jeopardize the bodies and minds of these young girls. I am going to be attacked for this post, but the truth is the truth, no matter how successful one is perceived to be.

There's some valid complaints here but there's also a bunch of nonsense. Like it's pretty obvious alina has a great relationship with her coaches. Especially daniil who's always on her instagram, he's featured more frequently than her friends or family. If you watch the videos from practice you can see that her and eteri always joke around (like the video where she asks eteri for a kiss on the cheek before her fp at one of her GP events). Maybe you see it as emotional abuse, I personally don't but even if we say it is, the screaming or whatever obviously doesn't translate off ice when she's not training. And if alina thinks that sort of training works for her than it's none of our business. People have said multiple times that Sasha and Anna falling on quads is not something that is limited to them, this applies to junior and senior men as well. Continuing to harp on this while ignoring others is dumb. And you can see that the coaches are super worried about the fall on quads. There have been several instances where Daniil has asked them to do easier jumps but the girls don't want to do the easier ones. Just the other day at the gala daniil said he hoped sasha wouldn't go for a quad and she does it anyways. Eteri in this interview says she is worried about the falls on quads.

I agree that the yulia thing was pretty bad and there are other skaters that didn't leave Eteri in the best circumstances but you shouldn't let that colour how you see her relationships with her current skaters. If you care for the truth so much you should at least dig a little deeper past the little we are shown on broadcasts.
 

sx98423

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I would let my kids train with eteri, if you know what you're getting into there is no issue and it's clear that all her skaters know as well.

And the little snippets aren't just a little giggling and laughing. They show the actual relationship between the coach and skater that you refuse to see. When you train it's business. If alina finds eteri's methods effective and we have no reason to think that she doesn't, then it's how they will continue to train. Just because you can't handle shouting doesn't mean we all can't. Don't act like eteri's ball breaker approach is a new concept. It's like this everywhere at the top whether you want to be a figure skater or a finance manager. Off ice is another story then the relationship is more friendly. If you want to completely ignore the fact that alina adores daniil and she is definitely his favourite student as well then there really is no hope lol. People will see what they want to see. I just don't understand why people push the narrative that alina is miserable with her current coaches when she is clearly not.

My main point isn't about yulia and eteri. Sure maybe we could say it was a terrible situation, but my point is that that relationship doesn't show what the current relationship between the coaches and skaters are right now. The evidence shows that the relationship currently between the coaches and their skaters is a good one.
 

La Rhumba

Supporting All British Skaters!
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⬆⬆ Exactly, and it's not as though Yulia was the first skater to have an eating disorder or seek help for emotional problems. North America and Western Europe have also had instances of it.
 

zschultz1986

Final Flight
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Mar 18, 2013
Unlike Ted...TSL is focused on promoting their self interest. Ted is focused on bringing respect and honor to the sport and it’s athletes. Not himself. He respects the skaters and wants the focus to be on them and their performances. TSL is focused on using the athletes and their coaches to bring attention onto themselves by exploiting anything they can. I wish I could say I’m even a little surprised they would go after Ted of all people. :palmf:

I’m always surprised when people give them attention.

The interview was a powderpuff interview and Ted didn't even manage to get all the facts right! Eteri was not pushed AT ALL on anything and the "your kids don't seem to get injured" line was so laughably wrong that even Eteri was shook.

You can relax with your hyperbolic opinion, thanks. Coaches and athletes wouldn't keep going on there if they didn't think it was worth their time, and lots of what they say ends up being the case. Just because you don't like their take on things, doesn't give you the right to lie.
 

Casual

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Jan 26, 2018
What’s your point? Neither opera glorifies prostitution or sex or money; there’s no aria that’s the equivalent of Hey Big Spender; the whole “tragedy” for each character is that she is pure and noble but is forced to sell herself to survive.

Hey Big Spender has lyrics that paint a very specific picture rife with sexual connotation. If you’re going to use it, you can’t just make up an alternate story - say, that it’s about a little girl skipping rope - or say it’s okay bc most people won’t understand the English. The fact that Trusova - who at 13 looked like she was 10 - didn’t appear to have a clue what the song was about, almost makes it worse.

OMG, thank you! I was just kicked out of the Russian ladies thread for saying basically the same thing (not as eloquently). :laugh:

I wish Eteri were asked about it in the interview. The fans may not know English, but she does. She knew what's the song was about.
 

anonymoose_au

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Well, I may have spoken too hastily. I agree Ted's interview wasn't hard-hitting, but it seemed the TSL guys attacked him personally, like rather than saying "That interview was fluffy" they were like "That Ted Barton what a loser, he's too nice". If so that's just not on. If not, my mistake! Although I hear they can be very mean, plus they did say those things about Liza T, which were just plain over the line.

TBH I mostly don't listen to TSL because their shows are so long and I'm on limited internet! If it's a choice between watching actual skating and listening to some dudes talk about skating, the actual skating wins out :laugh:

Either way Ted wasn't in the position to ask about Zhenya and Alina as he was talking to Eteri about the Junior girls, so there's no point picking on him for that particular issue.
 

Sam-Skwantch

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The interview was a powderpuff interview and Ted didn't even manage to get all the facts right! Eteri was not pushed AT ALL on anything and the "your kids don't seem to get injured" line was so laughably wrong that even Eteri was shook.

You can relax with your hyperbolic opinion, thanks. Coaches and athletes wouldn't keep going on there if they didn't think it was worth their time, and lots of what they say ends up being the case. Just because you don't like their take on things, doesn't give you the right to lie.

Merry Christmas :)

The interview was never intended to be a shocker designed to stir up theatrics and drama. Ted does his interviews for the ISU JGP channel which has an interest in promoting the positive nature of the sport. His goal is to bring the sport into a positive light and help it grow. Obviously the focus was on current JGP skaters so the scope was limited.

I have professional and personal interests in figure skating so I admit my patience with TSL has run out. Please forgive me. There is just a certain cruelty in some of their remarks that I find to overshadow any of their quality work. It’s actually unfortunate IMO.

I thought it was a great interview and I think Ted did a great job of showing an emotional side to an otherwise stoic figure of our little sport. I think he did an excellent job promoting the JGP and showing us an interesting look at one of its most notable figures. It was certainly interesting to watch the connection they had and the respect that he holds for her. YMMV.
 

eaglehelang

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OMG, thank you! I was just kicked out of the Russian ladies thread for saying basically the same thing (not as eloquently). :laugh:

I wish Eteri were asked about it in the interview. The fans may not know English, but she does. She knew what's the song was about.
It was also discussed in this thread few pages back. We provided video links to the original Big Spender music video, the song with lyrics, etc.

I added that even my chinese educated co workers understood the meaning, lol. Just google translate "Let me show you a good time"will do the trick.

As for the hypocrisy accusation(at the Russian ladies thread) concerning EnSoo lim's skating to suggestive/sensual songs, the British Eurosport uncles very clearly disapprove of her skating to Chicago this season.

But well, I didnt want to spoil my Christmas mood by debating that with them during this time
 

Sam-Skwantch

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It was also discussed in this thread few pages back. We provided video links to the original Big Spender music video, the song with lyrics, etc.

I added that even my chinese educated co workers understood the meaning, lol. Just google translate "Let me show you a good time"will do the trick.

As for the hypocrisy accusation(at the Russian ladies thread) concerning EnSoo lim's skating to suggestive/sensual songs, the British Eurosport uncles very clearly disapprove of her skating to Chicago this season.

But well, I didnt want to spoil my Christmas mood by debating that with them during this time

I never really took Sasha’s interpretation as being suggestive in the least. Kids can flirt a little with each other and that’s alright. Even normal. Lord knows they all watch videos like Ariana Grande’s Side to Side but I wouldn’t even go as far as to call Sasha’s Program flirty. It seemed very innocent to my eyes even if it’s true they could have found a safer song choice. I don’t know... I can understand people having reservation and even objection for the choice of song but the interpretation and program itself seem to go in a much more tame direction than the musical. I found it rather harmless myself. YMMV
 

Casual

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I never really took Sasha’s interpretation as being suggestive in the least. Kids can flirt a little with each other and that’s alright. Even normal. Lord knows they all watch videos like Ariana Grande’s Side to Side but I wouldn’t even go as far as to call Sasha’s Program flirty. It seemed very innocent to my eyes even if it’s true they could have found a safer song choice. I don’t know... I can understand people having reservation and even objection for the choice of song but the interpretation and program itself seem to go in a much more tame direction than the musical. I found it rather harmless myself. YMMV

Sasha is not to blame and completely oblivious. Just a child, performing to a catchy tune and enjoying herself.

The somewhat obscene lyrics, accentuated by certain suggestive movements in choreography, are clearly the fault of adults. Bad judgment.

For sure, this number is much tamer than the original. If it weren't, it might have been illegal in Russia. LOL
 

Casual

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I would let my kids train with eteri, if you know what you're getting into there is no issue and it's clear that all her skaters know as well.

"All her skaters" are kids, and thus can't truly know what they're getting into, and how it will affect them long-term.

It's the kids' parents who make that choice for them.
 

WeakAnkles

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Aug 1, 2011
Unlike Ted...TSL is focused on promoting their self interest. Ted is focused on bringing respect and honor to the sport and it’s athletes. Not himself. He respects the skaters and wants the focus to be on them and their performances. TSL is focused on using the athletes and their coaches to bring attention onto themselves by exploiting anything they can. I wish I could say I’m even a little surprised they would go after Ted of all people. :palmf:

I’m always surprised when people give them attention.

:disagree:


I mean, I could say, the ISU is well aware that Eteri has, shall we say, a problematic reputation among a significant number of skating fans and wanted to present her in as sympathetic a light as possible.

In that light, the ISU is certainly promoting their own self interest.
 

sx98423

On the Ice
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Oct 20, 2017
:disagree:


I mean, I could say, the ISU is well aware that Eteri has, shall we say, a problematic reputation among a significant number of skating fans and wanted to present her in as sympathetic a light as possible.

In that light, the ISU is certainly promoting their own self interest.


I don't think the ISU care at all about what certain fans think of eteri. she has more than enough fans worldwide that far outweigh the few very vocal naysayers. most of them are north american anyways and we know thats not where the moneys at these days. Ted just wants to bring more recognition to the juniors
 

Sam-Skwantch

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:disagree:


I mean, I could say, the ISU is well aware that Eteri has, shall we say, a problematic reputation among a significant number of skating fans and wanted to present her in as sympathetic a light as possible.

In that light, the ISU is certainly promoting their own self interest.

I think on the whole Eteri is respected and seen as a positive figure from the perspective of the ISU. They will and always should promote their self interest in the same way TSL should. It is what it is. I just happen to find the ISU as a positive outlet that promotes the sport and helps facilitate growth of skating in general. We may disagree here but I wouldn’t say TSL is helping in that way. Maybe it’s just better to say that of the two I only think one offers a particularly appealing form of inspiration ;)

People are free to support TSL. People are free to think the ISU is equally as cruel. I just happen to think only one of the two statements hold much water. ymmv
 

Casual

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I think on the whole Eteri is respected and seen as a positive figure from the perspective of the ISU. They will and always should promote their self interest in the same way TSL should. It is what it is. I just happen to find the ISU as a positive outlet that promotes the sport and helps facilitate growth of skating in general. We may disagree here but I wouldn’t say TSL is helping in that way. Maybe it’s just better to say that of the two I only think one offers a particularly appealing form of inspiration ;)

People are free to support TSL. People are free to think the ISU is equally as cruel. I just happen to think only one of the two statements hold much water. ymmv

I would agree, except a corrupt outlet cannot be fully positive (long-term).

Letting "monied" federations get away with murder does not promote the sport, and neither does it "facilitate growth of skating in general". Rather the opposite.
 

plushyfan

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:disagree:


I mean, I could say, the ISU is well aware that Eteri has, shall we say, a problematic reputation among a significant number of skating fans and wanted to present her in as sympathetic a light as possible.

In that light, the ISU is certainly promoting their own self interest.

I'm suprised..do you really think it's important what figure skating fans are thinking? Those fs fans who are on Twitter or on any FS forums? From which country? What they know? Where do they get the informations? Have they all informations about the cases? Do they know and consider cultural differences? etc...

You are kidding me..There are FS fans who are biased their favorites can do anything but they hate the others.. many of them judge too early and they share the false informations and opinions so quickly especially on Twitter..
 

Arbitrary

Medalist
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Sep 5, 2018
I'm suprised..do you really think it's important what figure skating fans are thinking? Those fs fans who are on Twitter or on any FS forums? From which country? What they know? Where do they get the informations? Have they all informations about the cases? Do they know and consider cultural differences? etc...

You are kidding me..There are FS fans who are biased their favorites can do anything but they hate the others.. many of them judge too early and they share the false informations and opinions so quickly especially on Twitter..


Yes, fans are important. They buy f/s production. Skates, ice time, coach time, send their kids to skating school.
Regarding the Tutberidze school they are not empty, quite a lot of parents want their kids to be checked.
 

plushyfan

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Yes, fans are important. They buy f/s production. Skates, ice time, coach time, send their kids to skating school.
Regarding the Tutberidze school they are not empty, quite a lot of parents want their kids to be checked.

They will buy the tickets because they love the FS and their have favorites. And there are many ticket buyers who don't read FS forums, Twitter or articles never..
Many times their hatings show their personalities and not the personality of the hated person.
 

Casual

On the Ice
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I'm suprised..do you really think it's important what figure skating fans are thinking? Those fs fans who are on Twitter or on any FS forums? From which country? What they know? Where do they get the informations? Have they all informations about the cases? Do they know and consider cultural differences? etc...

You are kidding me..There are FS fans who are biased their favorites can do anything but they hate the others.. many of them judge too early and they share the false informations and opinions so quickly especially on Twitter..

Yes, absolutely. It's important what fans are truly thinking. If fans feel marginalized and disrespected, as if their reaction does not matter, or become disillusioned, or get consistently disappointed in a sport for whatever reason - they'll vote with their feet. They'd leave, and their kids would leave too.

Fans are more important to a sport, more so than even the most powerful monied interests. (Money is important too, of course. For example, it's possible - short term - to buy the judging, fix the games, bribe friendly commentators, and fill the social media with positive hype. However, all that would achieve - long term - would be that fans would become disillusioned and leave, and then the sport would die.)

The sport would die without fans - because of no spectators, and no fresh new blood to join the sport.
 
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