Stefania Yakovleva

[CaroLiza_fan]

After posting in January about how much she was looking forward to going to Canada, the time has now arrived. She will be getting her Junior World Championships campaign under way today in Calgary, Alberta.

The Junior Ladies SP is due to start today at 14:45:00 MST Wednesday (21:45:00 GMT Wednesday / 23:45:00 EET Wednesday / 00:45:00 MSK Thursday / 01:45:00 GST Thursday). So 7 hours from now.

Stefania will be the 17th skater to start. So, sixth and last skater to go in Group 3.

The Group 3 Warm-Up is due to start at 16:22:40 MST Wednesday (23:22:40 GMT Wednesday / 01:22:40 EET Thursday / 02:22:40 MSK Thursday / 03:22:40 GST Thursday). So 8h 37m from now.

Stefania is due to start at 17:00:50 MST Wednesday (00:00:50 GMT Thursday / 02:00:50 EET Thursday / 03:00:50 MSK Thursday / 04:00:50 GST Thursday). So 5h 39m from now.

But, those times may change if somebody that is due on before her withdraws.

Here is the link for the livestream:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLNkDbaAOrM

Here is the Time Schedule:
https://results.isu.org/results/sea...JUNIOR----QUAL000100--_StartListwithTimes.pdf

And here is the live scoring:
https://results.isu.org/results/season2223/wjc2023/SEG003.htm

Hope this helps

ALL THE BEST STEFANIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Junior World Championships Ladies SP: Results; Protocols

No video uploaded yet

Stefania finished 22nd out of 47 in the SP, with a score of 50.08.

I was fast asleep by the time the girls came out to play. But, I spent the whole of Thursday catching up on both of Wednesday night's segments.

Reading through the thread, the general concensus from the members watching was that they hated the music, but loved the skating. And you know what - I feel exactly the same.

I may be wearing rose-coloured glasses (actually, the lenses are clear!), but I couldn't find any fault in Stefania's skating.

The opening combination, the Triple Flip-Double Toe, looked good. Judge 2 gave it -1, but the other Judges liked it better, with three of them giving it 0, and four of them giving it +1. She got +0.30 in GOE which, with it having by far the highest Base Value of the programme, meant that it was her highest scoring element.

Unfortuantely, the following element, the Triple Loop, was landed on the quarter. This meant she got minuses all round. -3 from Judge 4; -2 from seven Judges; and -1 from Judge 5. it also got the biggest GOE hit of the night, at -0.98. However, due to the Base Value, this was actually the second highest scoring element of the programme!

After this, it was by and large plain sailing. The only issues were in the Step Sequence. Not long after she started it, there was a section where she looked very ragged. The best way I can describe it is by saying her legs were getting tangled up. However, towards the end of the sequence, there was a choreographic slide that went wrong, and which I would definitely class as a fall. Fortunately, she didn't get any deductions, so she was fortunate in that regard. Anyway, she got GOE of -0.09; and -3 from Judge 2; -1 from three Judges; 0 from three Judges; and +1 from Judge 1. If I'm honest, I thought she was very lucky not to get punished more.

When she was coming off the ice, Stefania was struggling to get her breath. I didn't realise this, but Calgary is at around 3,500 ft above sea level. Granted, it is not the 6,000 ft that Colorado Springs is, but it is still considerably higher than where she trains in Dubai, which is more or less at sea level. So, the altitude does appear to be an issue here.

Anyway, Ted was impressed. He called her an interesting skater, and described her transitions as being wonderful. He praised her aggressiveness of her performance, and her acceleration. I had to laugh, though, when he commented about her trying to use an illusion spin to cover up the over-rotation of the Triple Loop. Ted's been there, done that, and knows all the tricks!

Stefania is currently 0.03 points behind 21st position, Phattaratida KANESHIGE (THA), and 1.50 points ahead of 23rd position, Julia van DIJK (NED). She is at the back of a larger group where 3 skaters were covered by 0.33 points, up to Barbora TYKALOVÁ (CZE) in 20th position.

However, 1.61 points ahead of Tykalová is the back of a group where 12 skaters are covered by 6.40 points, stretching from Maria Eliise KALJUVERE (EST) in 8th position, 8.34 points ahead of Stefania; to Inga GURGENIDZE (GEO) in 19th position, 1.94 points ahead of Stefania.

If Stefania pits in a good Free Skate, she could not only catch this group, but she could move considerably up it! She may be currently be in 22nd position, but if the stars align, even a Top 10 position is not out of the question!

And we know just what she is capable of with this Free Skate programme. So, let's all hope she can do it in Calgary!

WELL DONE STEFANIA!!!

---

The Junior Ladies FS is due to start at 17:45:00 MST Friday (00:45:00 GMT Saturday / 02:45:00 EET Saturday / 03:45:00 MSK Saturday / 04:45:00 GST Saturday). So 15 hours from now.

Stefania will be the 3rd skater to start. So, third skater in Group 1.

The Group 4 Warm-Up is due to start at 17:45:00 MST Friday (00:45:00 GMT Saturday / 02:45:00 EET Saturday / 03:45:00 MSK Saturday / 04:45:00 GST Saturday). So 15 hours from now.

Stefania is due to start at 18:06:10 MST Friday (01:06:10 GMT Saturday / 03:06:10 EET Saturday / 04:06:10 MSK Saturday / 05:06:10 GST Saturday). So 15h 21m from now.

But, those times may change if somebody that is due on before her withdraws.

Here is the link for the World Feed coverage on the ISU YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbepHwUV_fY

Here is the Time Schedule:
https://results.isu.org/results/sea...JUNIOR----FNL-000100--_StartListwithTimes.pdf

And here is the live scoring:
https://results.isu.org/results/season2223/wjc2023/SEG004.htm

Hope this helps

ALL THE BEST STEFANIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Junior World Championships Ladies FS: Results; Protocols
Junior World Championships Ladies: Results

No video uploaded yet

Stefania finished 16th out of 24 in the FS, with a score of 94.15. This meant that she climbed to 17th place overall, with a score of 144.23.



Stefania finished the Free Skate 0.78 points behind 15th position, LEE Soho (USA), and 6.62 points ahead of 17th position, Polina DZSUMANYIJAZOVA (HUN). Ahead of Lee was a gap of 7.73 points to 14th position, Maria Eliise KALJUVERE (EST).

Overall, Stefania finished 0.65 points behind 16th position, Dzsumanyijazova, and 3.64 points ahead of 18th position, Noelle STREULI (POL).



WELL DONE!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

When I found out that the FBMA Trophy was being revived under the "Abu Dhabi Classic Trophy" name, I really hoped that Stefania would be competing. After all, she trains in Dubai, which is only 80 miles away. In the absence of events in Russia or Cyprus, this is the nearest she can get to a "home" event this season.

Well, I am pleased to say that I got confirmation last night that she is indeed competing at it. So, thank you so much to the person attending the event that tipped me off.

The Junior Ladies SP is due to start today at 19:30:00 GST (15:30:00 GMT / 17:30:00 EET / 18:30:00 MSK). So 10 hours from now.

Stefania will be the 2nd skater to start. So, second skater to go in Group 1.

The Group 1 Warm-Up is due to start at 19:30:00 GST (15:30:00 GMT / 17:30:00 EET / 18:30:00 MSK). So 10 hours from now.

Stefania is due to start at 19:41:55 GST (15:41:55 GMT / 17:41:55 EET / 18:41:55 MSK). So 10h 11m from now.

But, those times may change if somebody that is due on before her withdraws.

Here is the link for the livestream:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6mIo2BSk-k

Here is the Time Schedule:
https://live.fsresults.info/2022-20...JUNIOR----QUAL000100--_StartListwithTimes.pdf

And here is the live scoring:
https://live.fsresults.info/2022-2023/AbuDhabi/International/SEG007.htm

Hope this helps

ALL THE BEST STEFANIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Abu Dhabi Classic Trophy Junior Ladies SP: Results; Protocols

No video uploaded yet

Stefania finished 3rd out of 17 in the SP, with a score of 49.02.

Here is what I wrote in the competition thread at the time:

Unfortunately, they were having problems with the graphics when the first skater was getting her scores, and when Stefania was being introduced. But, thankfully, there were no problems with the TES Box when it appeared.

Fell on the second part (Triple Toe) of her opening combination. But after that, everything went well.

That spin into the choreographic slide at the end of the Step Sequence caught me out yet again! I thought it was another fall, and then I remembered.

No Sergei today, but she does have her other regular companion, SuperSimone the sloth

I take it that is somebody from the rink she trains at that is sitting with her. She's cute!

Stefania goes into 2nd position, 3.88 points behind the opening skater.

That's the problem with going so early. We won't know for a while where that puts her in the greater scheme of things.

But, ignoring the fall, I thought she did well!

WELL DONE STEFANIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan​

Stefania is currently 1.32 points behind 2nd position, Hannah FRANK (AUT), and 3.26 points ahead of 4th position, Rina TANIGUCHI (ITA). Taniguchi is at the head of a group where 3 skaters are covered by 0.61 points, stretching down to Anna BODRONE (ITA), who is 3.87 points behind Stefania.

The leader, Elizabet GERVITS (ISR) is 2.56 points ahead of Frank, and 3.88 points ahead of Stefania.

Honestly, none of the final group of skaters can be ruled out. When you have 6 skaters covered by 7.75 points, anything could happen.

Which is going to make for a very exciting conclusion to the Free Skate segment!

You all know how much I love Stefania's FS programme. So, let's hope that she puts in a great performance of it today. Because, if she does, it is possible that she could win this.

WELL DONE STEFANIA!!!

---

The Junior Ladies FS is due to start at 16:00:00 GST (12:00:00 GMT / 14:00:00 EET / 15:00:00 MSK). So 6 hours from now.

Stefania will be the 15th skater to start. So, fourth skater in Group 3 (and antepenultimate skater of the whole segment).

The Group 3 Warm-Up is due to start at 17:39:25 GST (13:39:25 GMT / 15:39:25 EET / 16:39:25 MSK). So 7h 39m from now.

Stefania is due to start at 18:05:40 GST (14:05:40 GMT / 16:05:40 EET / 17:05:40 MSK). So 8h 05m from now.

But, those times may change if somebody that is due on before her withdraws.

Here is the link for the livestream:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eE3A-WiJvj0

Here is the Time Schedule:
https://live.fsresults.info/2022-20...JUNIOR----FNL-000100--_StartListwithTimes.pdf

And here is the live scoring:
https://live.fsresults.info/2022-2023/AbuDhabi/International/SEG008.htm

Hope this helps

ALL THE BEST STEFANIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

STEFANIA WON THE FREE SKATE AND THE GOLD MEDAL!!!



Abu Dhabi Classic Trophy Junior Ladies FS: Results; Protocols
Abu Dhabi Classic Trophy Junior Ladies: Results

No video uploaded yet

Stefania finished 1st out of 17 in the FS, with a score of 97.48. This meant that she climbed to 1st place overall, with a score of 146.50.

This is a tricky report to write. Obviously, on the one hand, I am delighted that she won the Free Skate and the Gold Medal. But, in the other hand, Stefania did make some very big mistakes. All the skaters that were in the final group of the FS had major issues, but Stefania came out on top, largely because her programme had the highest Base Value.

Before I go any further, I have a confession to make. I nearly missed the start of Stefania's programme. You see, I was writing a comment about the girl that went before her, Rina TANIGUCHI (ITA). After she got her scores, the camera was out of focus while zooming back out to show the rink, and I only saw that the skater getting introduced was wearing a dark dress. So I assumed I had got mixed up and that there was a skater on in between her and Stefania, and I carried on writing the last wee bit of my comment and posted it. It was only when I heard the familiar opening note of "Nagada Sang Dhol" that I realised it was actually Stefania, so I paused the stream for a moment to do a rushed "best wishes" post with lots of typing errors and no fancy formatting, and then watched her. After she skated, I edited the post to get this:

Eh?! She's changed her dress.

ALL THE BEST STEFANIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan​

Now here is what I wrote in the competition thread after she skated:

OK, there have been major changes made to Stefania's FS since the last time I saw it. Now just the change from a red dress to a blue dress.

The TES box isn't working, so I can't identify the elements I'm talking about.

She had a very dodgy landing on one of her jumps early on.

Ach, she fell near the end. And then again on the very next element.

To be honest, I don't think the changes worked. It made the programme very rushed and frantic. Which it wasn't in it's original incarnation.

She was out of shot for a long time after coming off the ice. I hope she wasn't crying.

No, she wasn't. She's got a friend with her carrying her gifts.

Stefania was fortunate that she had a bit of a gap over the group of 3 skaters that were behind her after the SP.

She goes into the lead of the FS and overall. But, I think that has put paid to her chances of getting higher.

But, she is guaranteed a medal!!!

WELL DONE STEFANIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan​

And here is the end of the post that I wrote after the final skater, Elizabet GERVITS (ISR), did her Free Skate:

Liza drops to 4th in the FS and 3rd overall.

Oh my goodness. That means Stefania's won!!!



I really was not expecting that.

WELL DONE STEFANIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan​

The first thing I have to say now is that I was talking rubbish in the first sentence of my main comment about Stefania's programme. I just went through the Protocols for her previous competitions, and the layout is exactly the same as it has been all season. (Well, apart from the times when she fell on what was intended to be a combination, and so had to put the combination onto a different jump). It just seemed different this week for some reason. So, I apologise for my mistake.

Secondly, I have since had it on good authority from somebody that was at the rink that Stefania was actually very upset during that time when she was out of camera shot. And I don't blame her. You never want to end a programme on a down note. Stefania seems to be a perfectionist at the best of times, but she would have wanted to put on a particularly good performance here, as it is the nearest thing she has to a "home" event. She trains down the road in Dubai, and a lot of her friends that she trains with would have been in attendance.

Perhaps this was the problem - she was putting too much pressure on herself to perform. But, then again, everybody in the last group had problems, and Stefania was the only "local" skater amongst them.

With not being able to have any impact on the Senior Men's competition that followed due to there being only 1 entry, it seems the rink monster decided to come out a bit early.

Anyway, Stefania's first two elements went very well. The first, the Triple Flip, was beautiful! And the Judges agreed, with four of the Judges giving her +2; and Judge 2 giving her +3. it also got the highest GOE of the programme, at +1.06.

The second element was a Triple Lutz and two Double Axels done in Sequence. They all looked faultless to me! There were no minuses here either, with Judge 1 giving her 0; and the remaining four Judges giving her +1. Although the GOE was smaller, at +0.59, the Base Value meant that this was by far the highest scoring element of the whole programme, at a huge 13.09. Anna SHENIUK (ISR) was the only other skater to have an element score in double figures, scoring slightly higher for the exact same sequence of jumps.

The third element, the Triple Lutz, was the one I was talking about that had the dodgy landing. She landed, but then lost her balance and had a stumble. The jump got downgraded, and she got -4 from Judge 2; and -5 from the remaining four Judges. The GOE was -1.05.

The next five elements all went pretty smoothly, with all the Judges marks being in the -1 to +2 range; and all the GOE's being in the -0.16 (Triple Loop-Double Toe) to +0.67 (Choreographic Sequence). Indeed, although it got the lowest GOE of these five elements, the 3Lo2T combination got the second highest score of the programme at 6.66. And I can tell you something, although you could see that it wasn't perfect, it was no beast! It deserved the high score.

When the final piece of music came in, this was when it all started going wrong. Admittedly, the fact that the camera was looking at her from a strange angle may not have helped, but her Indian dance moves didn't look as convincing as they normally do. And they looked a bit rushed.

Just after this, she fell on her Triple Salchow. She seemed to land it, but then slipped. It got -5's from all the Judges, and -2.15 in GOE. Unfortunately, this wasn't the end of the drama.

Straight away, she did her next element, the Triple Loop, and fell on it too. I'm normally no good at spotting edges, but it was obvious even to me when I watched it back that she didn't get the edge correct, and that was why she went down. And when I looked at the protocols, sure enough, it was landed on the quarter. And then she tried to get up too quick and had another mini-stumble with a double hands-down. Unsurprisingly this was the costliest element of the programme, getting -5 from all the Judges; and GOE of -2.45.

Stefania finished her programme with a Change Foot Combination Spin. To me watching on the stream, it looked frantic. Like she was getting desperate trying to make up for the falls. But, the people that matter saw it differently. She actually got +0.30 in GOE; and four of the Judges gave her +1; with Judge 2 giving her +2.

Stefania finished the Free Skate 6.57 points ahead of 2nd position, Hannah FRANK (AUT), and 6.95 points ahead of 3rd position, Anna SHENIUK (ISR). A further 4.92 points back of Sheniuk was SP winner Elizabet GERVITS (ISR), who went from being 3.88 points ahead of Stefania in the SP to being 11.87 points behind her in the FS.

Overall, Stefania finished 5.25 points ahead of 2nd position, Frank, and 7.99 points ahead of 3rd position, E. Gervits.

OK, so the programme finished on a downer. But, at the end of the day, she won. And she is taking a shiny Gold Medal back home to Cyprus. You can't beat ending the season standing on the top step of the podium!

That's a sore point. The stream froze during the Junior Men's podium, and then the stream was ended after 10 minutes. So, we didn't get to see Stefania's moment of glory.

You know, I'm feeling a bit sad now, because I really love this programme, but I realise that this will probably be the last time we see it in competition unless she keeps it next season. I can tell you something, though: if she does get a new FS next season, I would love to see this FS turned into an Exhibition programme. It would look amazing under the spotlights!

And I can't wait until next season to see Stefania in action again.

WELL DONE!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

It's 16th August again, the anniversary of when Cyprus gained it's independence from the UK in 1960. And, traditionally, I would wait until this date to make changes to the Team Cyprus Fan Fest. Things like adding profiles for new members of the team, or splitting skaters off into their own threads. However, there are no major changes to make this year.

So, instead, I will take the opportunity to tell you about some updates related to Stefania that I have put into her OP recently.

Firstly, Stefania now has a website:

https://superstefa.com/

It has some lovely photos of her. But, most interesting is that she states that she has already been selected to go to the Youth Olympics in Gangwon (KOR) in Janaury 2024, and that her goal is the "Senior" Olympics in Milan (ITA) in February 2026.

I really hope Stefania and Marilena have a great couple of seasons leading up to 2026 and can earn Cyprus a second slot for Milan. Given that they are such close friends, I wouldn't want fighting over a single slot to result in things becoming awkward between them.

But, that is in a few years time. The more pressing concern is the Junior Grand Prix Series. And Stefania's first Junior GP of the season was announced on Monday:

Date​	Competition​	Location​
13th – 16th September 2023	JGP4: Osaka	Osaka, JPN
27th – 30th September 2023	JGP6: Solidarity Cup	Gdańsk, POL

EDIT (29th August 2023): Added in Stefania's second Junior GP assignment.​

Here is what I wrote in reaction in the "General Info" thread:

Yay!!!!!! Stefania's going to Japan!!! ​

​

After seeing how excited she was about going to Canada for Junior Worlds last season, I was really hoping Stefania would get the opportunity to go to Japan for one of her Junior GP's. Experience another new country. And now it's happening!!!​

​

And looking at the times, they're actually not bad for us in Europe.​

​

Unfortunately for me, there is both MotoGP and World Superbikes on that weekend, so I know I will not be able to watch the skating LIVE. ​

​

ALL THE BEST STEFANIA!!! ​

​

CaroLiza_fan​

We'll find out sometime before then where her second event will be.

But, we already know what she will be skating to. This morning, her ISU Bio was updated with her programmes for the coming season.

Short Programme:
“Schindler's List" by John Williams

Free Skate:
“Cirque Du Soleil Selection"

And, in case anybody is interested, here is what I wrote in the "2023-24 Programmes By Discipline" thread:

Apologies that I can't elaborate as to the exact pieces of music being used. Unfortunately, the ISU Bio doesn't tell us those details. But, I think we all know what we will be hearing for the SP anyway. ​

​

And to think, it was exactly a week ago that I wrote the following in the "Does a piece of music 'belong' to a favourite skater?" thread:​

​

I am a bit surprised that nobody has mentioned Julia Lipnitskaya and "Schindler's List". Yes, it had been done many times before, but Julia's is the version that had the biggest impact on me:

​

Julia Lipnitskaya - 2014 European Championships FS​

​

Will my kid take that honour away from Julia?​

​

We'll find out in a few weeks time in Osaka! ​

​

CaroLiza_fan​

The Original Post of this thread has now been updated to reflect all this. And I hope you like the new layout for "Programmes" section. I realise that there is currently nothing from before she made her Junior GP debut, but hopefully that will be rectified at some stage in the future.

Finally, some Instagram updates.

Stefania hasn't been posting a lot of on-ice training (for reasons that will be explained in the caption for the second video below), but exactly 3 weeks ago she posted this:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CvKdAqWIS6X/

Of course, we now know that she isn't actually skating a competition programme to that song. But, could it be a hint as to what her Exhibition programme may be?

Then, on Monday, she posted this clip of her doing part of her new FS, but to different music:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cv7YJSeI_1R/

Boys, but that song brings back memoriess from when I was a few years younger than Stefania is now!

Oh, I can't wait to see her back in action!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

After the unfortunate practice accident in Linz resulted in Angelina and Ilia having to withdraw from their Junior GP's, the season for Team Cyprus finally gets underway tomorrow morning with Stefania competing in this week's Junior GP in Osaka, JPN.

The Junior Ladies SP is due to start tomorrow at 14:15:00 JST (05:15:00 GMT / 06:15:00 BST / 08:15:00 EEST / 05:15:00 MSK). So 8 hours from now.

Stefania will be the 22nd skater to start. So, fifth skater and penultimate skater to go in Group 4 (and penultimate skater before the second resurfacing).

The Group 4 Warm-Up is due to start at 16:26:30 JST (07:26:30 GMT / 08:26:30 BST / 10:26:30 EEST / 10:26:30 MSK). So 10h 11m from now.

Stefania is due to start at 16:57:00 JST (07:57:00 GMT / 08:57:00 BST / 10:57:00 EEST / 10:57:00 MSK). So 10h 42m from now.

But, those times may change if somebody that is due on before her withdraws.

Here is the link for the livestream:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_CFQlJt4FE

Here is the Time Schedule:
https://results.isu.org/results/season2324/jgpjpn2023/time0203.pdf

And here is the live scoring:
https://results.isu.org/results/season2324/jgpjpn2023/data0203.htm

Hope this helps

ALL THE BEST STEFANIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

ISU Junior Grand Prix Osaka Ladies SP: Results; Protocols

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aq70TEgvngQ

Stefania finished 13th out of 35 in the SP, with a score of 51.47.

Before I get into the programme itself, I have to bring up the Warm-Up. When they zoomed in on Stefania, she did a combination. And this is what I commented in the competition thread:

My baby!!!!!!!!!!

My goodness, how many jumps were in that combination they showed her doing?! Five, was it?!

OK, so most of them were wee things where her feet barely left the ice. But, even so!

CaroLiza_fan​

The "wee things" looked like half-loops (sorry, Eulers) to me, but I wasn't confident enough in my identification to say an actual name in front of people who might actually know what they are talking about! And my counting was right - it was 2 big jumps with 3 of these half-loops in between. The landing on the final jump was wild, so thank goodness that happened in the Warm-Up and not during in the programme itself.

If you want to see it, this link to the archived livestream will take you directly to the point when they started concentrating on Stefania:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_CFQlJt4FE&t=8486

Anyway, back to the programme. Here is what I wrote in the competition thread at the time:

Never heard this music with vocals before. And, if I be totally honest, it spoiled the feeling of it.

Aww, Sergei looking on intensely during one of the elements, almost climbing over the boards to get a better view!

You know, that went really well. Especially considering that she was out of action due to injury and the fact that it is early in the season.

The first couple of elements got red squares, but I thought the Lutz in particular looked very impressive the way she did it. But, Mark said she was attempting to disguise an under-rotation.

She is such a perfectionist. She was not happy when she finished. But, she should be. That was a lot better than those programmes she did last year when she was crying afterwards.

Into 10th position, in the middle of a group of 3 skaters covered by just 0.53 points!

WELL DONE STEFANIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan​

This was the general concensus amongst the other participants of the thread too. They thought that Stefania had a good skate (one even said she "skated her heart out"!), and they thought the dress was beautiful (as did I). But they did not like the vocals. At all. In fact, some of the comments about the vocals were very scathing.

"Schindler's List" is a very moving film about a very difficult subject. And that music is not just moving, it is haunting as well. It makes you feel the story. There have been many skating programmes done to that music since the film came out. And when it is done the right way, it can be a very emotional watch. Anybody who has seen Julia Lipnitskaya's 2014 Free Skate can attest to that. Even thinking of it still has an effect on me. (I should add that at the time, Julia was the same age as Stefania is now).

But, when the vocals are added, it takes away all that emotion. It just doesn't feel right. The fact that most of us didn't even know that there was a version with lyrics says everything. It was kept quiet.

I really hope they reconsider using the version with vocals.

Right, music lecture over. Time to talk about the skating.

As I said, I thought the opening element, the Triple Lutz, looked amazing. But, when I watched it again, I saw what Mark was talking about. It didn't actually get called as being under-rotated, but the Judges and panel clearly didn't like it. It got Judges marks of two -2's; three -1's; three 0's; and +1 from Judge 7. It also got the biggest GOE hit of the programme, at -0.42. Fortunately, having the second highest Base Value of the programme meant that, despite everything, it was still the second highest scoring element.

Her second element was a Triple Loop-Double Toe combination, and it looked good to me. However, during the highlights, Mark pointed out that the Loop was a bit over-rotated. So it too got a lack of positive numbers. It got Judges marks of three -1's; five 0's; and +1 from Judge 6. This was the last element that got negative GOE, at -0.14. But, because it had the highest Base Value, it was the highest scoring element of the programme.

The next two elements were spins. The first, the Flying Sit Spin, was beautiful. And this was reflected in the Protocols. Well, apart from Judge 8, who inexplicably gave it -2! But the other Judges liked it, giving it two 0's; four +1's; and three +2's. It also got GOE of +0.26.

The next element was the Change Foot Combination Spin. Now this was the element that we saw Sergei watching in the background. On the whole, it went well, but there was one point when Stefania drifted off her spot while spinning and wobbled a bit when adjusting her position so as to maintain balance. As a result, it got lower Judges marks than the previous spin, with -2 from Judge 4; two -1's; two 0's; and four +1's. Nevertheless, The GOE was still positive, albeit at +0.04.

Between this and the next element, Stefania did some spins as part of her transition to the next element. And all I can say is thank goodness they were not being scored, because some of them looked dodgy enough. You could see she was starting to get tired by this stage.

The next element was the Step Sequence. And it was exquisite! And this was reflected in the Protocols, where there was not a minus sign in sight! Judge 4 gave it 0; while the other Judges gave it three +1's; and four +2's. It also got the highest GOE of the programme, at +0.52.

Although she was already tiring, the final jump, the Double Axel, looked very good to me. As for the Judges, they gave two -1's; five 0's; and two +1's. The GOE was neutral. But, it did get extra credit for being in the second half of the programme.

The Axel followed directly into the final element, the Layback Spin. And it was beautiful! And I was not the only one that thought so. Judge 4 gave it 0, but the others gave positive marks, with four +1's; and four +2's. It also got the second highest GOE of the programme, at +0.39.

On the whole, it was a beautiful programme. And I think it will serve her well this season. But, I still would prefer it to be to the instrumental music.

When she was taking her bows, the camera showed somebody in the audience holding up a Cypriot flag. That was so good to see. Unfortunately we didn't see the person because the flag was so big! So, I don't know if it was a local Japanese fan. But, whoever it was, thank you for actively showing your support for her.

She did look disappointed when she came off the ice. But when waiting for the scores, she gave us a wave and a flash of that lovely smile of her's. And she and Sergei did that heart thing with their arms. Although he looks so serious most of the time, it just shows that Sergei can do cute! She looked disappointed again when the scores did come through.

Stefania is currently 0.25 points behind 12th position, LI Ruotang (CHN), and 0.28 points ahead of 14th position, Gabriella GRINBERG (ISR). They are the first three skaters in a group of 4 skaters covered by 0.65 points, which is completed by HAN Heesue (KOR) in 15th position, 0.40 points behind Stefania.

They are also part of a larger group of 8 skaters covered by 3.39 points, stretching from Rose THEROUX (CAN) in 8th position, 2.99 points ahead of Stefania, down to Han.

If she puts in a good Free Skate, there is a chance that Stefania could move up into the Top 10.

One thing that could cause problems is that the ISU in their wisdom (!) have got rid of the sensible method of having the FS starting order being the reverse order of the SP results, and have instead brought back having random orders within each group. As a result, instead of being the last to go in her group, Stefania is actually the first skater to go. So when she skates, she will not have the benefit of knowing how the skaters that were behind her after the SP have done. And when you are in a large group, every little bit of knowledge helps.

In short, she is going in blind, and will have to just go all out.

So, let's hope that she does!

WELL DONE STEFANIA!!!

---

The Junior Ladies FS is due to start tomorrow at 15:00:00 JST (06:00:00 GMT / 07:00:00 BST / 09:00:00 EEST / 09:00:00 MSK). So 9 hours from now.

Stefania will be the 18th skater to start. So, first skater to go in Group 4.

The Group 4 Warm-Up is due to start at 17:36:20 JST (08:36:20 GMT / 09:36:20 BST / 11:36:20 EEST / 11:36:20 MSK). So 11h 36m from now.

Stefania is due to start at 17:42:50 JST (08:42:50 GMT / 09:42:50 BST / 11:42:50 EEST / 11:42:50 MSK). So 11h 42m from now.

But, those times may change if somebody that is due on before her withdraws.

Here is the link for the livestream:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mtb2jcayVig

Here is the Time Schedule:
https://results.isu.org/results/season2324/jgpjpn2023/time0205.pdf

And here is the live scoring:
https://results.isu.org/results/season2324/jgpjpn2023/data0205.htm

Hope this helps

ALL THE BEST STEFANIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

ISU Junior Grand Prix Osaka Ladies FS: Results; Protocols
ISU Junior Grand Prix Osaka Ladies: Results

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84WYBZSkzj4

Stefania finished 22nd out of 35 in the FS, with a score of 71.84. This meant that she dropped to 18th place overall, with a score of 123.31.

There is no getting around it: Stefania had an awful Free Skate. But, she was not the only one. The vast majority of the skaters did. In the competition thread, for most of the segment we were talking about the ice being cursed. And the fact that Ted and Mark ended up talking the same way in commentary is an indication of just how bad it was.

The irony is that Stefania actually had a good Warm-Up. Here is what I wrote in the competition thread shortly after it started:

Ooooh. Two lovely jumps from Stefania when the camera was zoomed in on her. But she had a stumble afterwards.

CaroLiza_fan​

And then just before Stefania did her programme:

Oh, by the way, Stefania had two more lovely jumps when the camera was focussed on her again later in the Warm-Up.

ALL THE BEST STEFANIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan​

Unfortunately, that was where the good feeling ended. Here is what I wrote after she did her programme:

Horrible fall on her first jump. I hope she hasn't hurt herself.

But the combination that she did second was beautiful!

Another big fall on her third jump. And her fourth.

Next jump was good, but the following one had an awkward landing.

All the spins were good, and the late combination. But, too much damage done early on.

I would love to know the music is actually about, because she was doing a great job at the storytelling.

When this programme is done clean, it is going to be magnificient! But, today wasn't, unfortunately.

Oh no. She's bleeding from around her eye! Sergei, give her a tissue!!!

Ah good, SuperSimone is there! I was worrying when we didn't see him yesterday.

Into 6th in the FS, and 3rd overall.



CaroLiza_fan​

Normally when I write out these reports, I watch the video again and pause it after each element and write about that element with the protocols. But, frankly, I don't particularly want to watch the programme again. It was too upsetting the first time around.

But, I want to make a few clarifications to what I initially worte. Firstly, the opening element that she had the horrible fall on was the Triple Lutz. And it got the biggest GOE hit of the programme, at -2.95. (I should add at this point that all the falls got -5 from all the Judges).

The combination that I thought was beautiful wasn't actually a combination! It was three jumps done in sequence. A Triple Lutz, followed by two Double Axels. The Judges weren't quite as enthusiastic as I was, giving it two -1's; five 0's; and two +1's. And it got neutral GOE. Nevertheless, because it had by miles the highest Base Value, it was the highest scoring element of the programme at 12.50 points.

The two jumps that followed that she fell on were the Triple Toe and the Triple Loop. The latter was under-rotated. The former was supposed to be a Triple Toe-Double Toe combination, but because she fell she didn't get attaching the second jump. And this was to come back to haunt her later on.

The jump that I said she had an awkward landing on was another Triple Toe. And because she was not able to put a combination onto the end of it either, it got called as a repeated element. It also got called for being under-rotated.

Anyway, although the skate didn't go well, there was still a lot of love for Stefania in the thread. One of the members said this:

Very big 3lz-2a-2a but sadly the rest of the jumps did not work for Stefania today

She has really fun program and I love her costume. Im looking forward to watch more of it later during the season when she is in better shape.​

My good friend from Sicily (who has claimed Stefania as her niece) said this:

loved Stefania choreo, it really looked like a clown rutine. too bad her tech didn't work at all​

An Austrian member (who very kindly did PBP's during the competition) said this:

Jumps were unfortunately not jumping today for the most part, but a very well-fleshed-out program from a choreographic standpoint. She seems to really enjoy performing this program ​

An American member that I like (and who likes pretty dresses!) said this:

Stefania. Pretty costume. Some rough elements but her 3lutz 2A 2A gets her 12 points.​

When Stefania was waiting for her scores, my Sicilian friend jokingly added this:

i think i need that sloth​

And my Australian friend added:

Oops I thought I posted this - but re: Stefania Eee Simon the Sloth! So cute!

And I liked how her costume looked like a circus tent ​

I haven't commented on the costume yet, but I liked it. Not sure about the circus tent comparison myself, although it would be appropriate given that the music was from Cirque du Soleil. I think my Sicilian friend's comparison is closer to what we saw:

how cute, Stefania, all ready for Christmas in her mama Noel costume​

And she certainly did look cute!

Just a pity that the performance wasn't cute as well.

Stefania finished the Free Skate 1.56 points behind 21st position, Michaela VRAŠŤÁKOVÁ (CZE), and 1.20 points ahead of 23rd position, Regina GARCIA DE LEON SAAB (MEX). The three of them were the bottom 3 skaters of a larger group of 6 skaters that were covered by 3.27 points, stretching up to Cecilia DONOHUE (ARG) in 18th position, 2.07 points ahead of Stefania.

Overall, Stefania finished as the middle skater of a three skater group, 1.49 points behind 17th position, Gabriella GRINBERG (ISR), and 1.90 points ahead of 19th position, Josefin BROVALL (SWE). There were large gaps on either side of the group.

The lack of training during the off-season due to injury undoubtedly had an influence on what happened. But, the fact that practically everybody was having disaster skates in the Free indicates that there was more to it than that, in that segment anyway. There was a more general problem. And Stefania should take heart in that. She should by no means think that this performance was something to do with her abilities.

And I am sure we will see a much better set of performances from Stefania in Gdańsk, when she will have had further time to recover and to train.

I will say one thing. From what we saw, I get the impression that when they are done clean, Stefania's programmes are going to be so impressive.

And that gives me a lot of optimism for the rest of the season.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Just a quick post to let you know that the Time Schedule for tomorrow morning's Ladies SP at the Solidarity Cup in Gdańsk, Poland, has been released. And I am afraid that Stefania is not on it.

I don't know the reason for her withdrawal.

But, I hope that when we do see her again, she will be back to full fitness, and stronger than ever.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

It is now exactly exactly 2 weeks since Marilena's birthday. Which can only mean one thing - it is her very good friend Stefania's birthday!!!

HAPPY 16TH BIRTHDAY STEFANIA!!!



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

16, eh? Boys but time is flying. My baby girl is growing up fast. It doesn't seem that long ago that she was this promising 11 year old that had just started competing for Cyprus. Now she is the longest serving member of the team. But she is still a promising pospect!

It has been a while since we have seen Stefania in action, after withdrawing from her second Junior GP assignment. But, we do not have much longer to wait, because she is entered for the Denis Ten Memorial Challenge, which starts on Thursday in Astana, Kazakhstan. Indeed, the Junior Ladies SP is the very first competition of the event.

I hope she is now fully recovered from her injury. And that she will be back stronger than ever.

Anyway, have a great Sweet 16, Stefania!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

After a prolonged break from competition, Stefania is back in action tomorrow at the Denis Ten Memorial Challenge

The Junior Ladies SP is due to start tomorrow at 12:00:00 ALMT (06:00:00 GMT / 08:00:00 EET / 09:00:00 MSK). So 9 hours from now.

Stefania will be the 16th skater to start. So, second skater to go in Group 4.

The Group 4 Warm-Up is due to start at 14:00:50 ALMT (08:00:00 GMT / 10:00:00 EET / 11:00:00 MSK). So 11 hours from now.

Stefania is due to start at 14:13:30 ALMT (08:13:30 GMT / 10:13:30 EET / 11:13:30 MSK). So 11h 13m from now.

But, those times may change if somebody that is due on before her withdraws.

More information in the event thread:
https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/threads/96668

Hope this helps

ALL THE BEST STEFANIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

STEFANIA WON THE SHORT PROGRAMME!!!



Denis Ten Memorial Challenge Junior Ladies SP: Results; Protocols

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Yulf-V8VyA

Stefania finished 1st out of 19 in the SP, with a score of 55.88.

Here is what I wrote in the competition thread before she did her programme:

Ach, why did they take away the countdown clock in the corner of the screen in the middle of the Warm-Up?! I like it being there, so that we know how long is left. And also so that I can do the following.

At around the 4 minutes to go mark, the camera was trying to find somebody to follow, and managed to find Stefania doing a lovely jump.

Later, they showed her doing a series of small barely-off-the-ice jumps followed by an impressive big jump. (This must be a regular thing she does in practice for her, because I've seen her do this sort of sequence before).

Towards the end of the Warm-Up, they showed her doing another jump, but she fell.

All being well, that will be her fall quota for the day filled up.

And here she is now.

ALL THE BEST STEFANIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan​

And here is what I wrote after she finished:

Oh, I forgot that it was the version with vocals.

Just about held onto the ending of the second part of the opening combination.

And the fact that this was the only thing I could pick out as possibly being an issue says eveything. The whole programme was beautiful!

Sergei talking for a long time to the camera rather than to Stefania! I wonder what he was saying and to who...

Awwww!!! She's was so happy when the scores were announced!!!

Into the lead with a score of 55.88.



WELL DONE STEFANIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan​

And finally, here is what I wrote during the resurfacing after the Junior Ladies SP finished:

Please fogive my indulgence, but I just have to say this before we move onto the boys:

STEFANIA WON THE SHORT PROGRAMME!!!



Normal service will now be resumed. And it is normal service, as we did not get quite as far behind as I was anticipating during Group 1.

CaroLiza_fan​

Looking at the Protocols confirms that my assessment of the programme was correct. The only issue she had was with the opening combination. However, there were actually problems with both parts of it. The first part, the Triple Flip, didn't have a clear edge. And teh second part, the Triple Toe, was downgraded. The Judges gave it two -5's; and three -4's. And she got the only minus GOE of the programme, at a rather hefty -2.30.

Thankfully, all the other elements had nice numbers beside them. Apart from a solitary 0 from Judge 1 for the Change Foot Combination Spin, all the other Judges marks were in the +1 to +3 range. And all the GOE's were in the +0.5 to +0.9 range.

Stefania is currently 1.34 points ahead of 2nd position, PARK Inkyong (KOR), and 1.66 points ahead of 3rd position, Inga GURGENIDZE (GEO). As well as forming a tight mini-group of their own, the three of them are also part of a larger group of 5 skaters covered by 4.5o points, stretching down to Anna IUSHCHENKOVA (ISR) in 5th position.

Anything can happen when you have a group this close. Stefania could win, or she could equally end up off the podium. And the same goes for every skater in the group.

To maximise her chances of winning, Stefania needs to just go out there and do the best that she can.

WELL DONE STEFANIA!!!

---

The Junior Ladies FS is due to start tomorrow at 10:50:00 ALMT (04:50:00 GMT / 06:50:00 EET / 07:50:00 MSK). So 8 hours from now.

Stefania will be the 19th skater to start. So, fifth and last skater to go in Group 4 (and last skater to go in the segment).

The Group 4 Warm-Up is due to start at 13:07:10 ALMT (07:07:10 GMT / 09:07:10 EET / 10:07:10 MSK). So 11h 7m from now.

Stefania is due to start at 13:43:00 ALMT (07:43:00 GMT / 09:43:00 EET / 10:43:00 MSK). So 11h 43m from now.

But, those times may change if somebody that is due on before her withdraws.

More information in the event thread:
https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/threads/96668

Hope this helps

ALL THE BEST STEFANIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Denis Ten Memorial Challenge Junior Ladies FS: Results; Protocols
Denis Ten Memorial Challenge Junior Ladies: Results

No video uploaded yet

Stefania finished 4th out of 19 in the FS, with a score of 92.64. This meant that she dropped to 4th place overall, with a score of 148.52.

Here is what my friend in Australia wrote:

That was interesting from Stefanie.

Her costume reminds me of a circus tent!​

Spot on, Moose!

Here is what our resident video archive compiler wrote:

Stefania YAKOVLEVA CYP in bright red with white trim skates to Cirque du Soleil Selection. Oh no opening fall. Back on track for 3LZ-2T and 3Lo. Music cuts are a bit abrupt. Oh dear more falls. Now the music picks up and she rallies to finish.

Ouch just off the podium.
Sorry for your girl @CaroLiza_fan - she is cute, today just wasn't her day.​

And here is what I wrote in the competition thread at the time:

Possible hand down on first jump. But next two in the sequence were good.

Fall on second jump.

She got into her stride after that.

Ooooh, very nearly fell on a jump right in front of the Judges. And she had to take avoiding action to not end up clattering into their computers.

And then she did fall on the next jump at the end of the rink.

Found the waving towards the end funny. Was she ahead of the music, and trying to fill in time?

Thankfully it was not the disaster that she had in Osaka. But, the falls are going to be costly.

She's not going to win. But, will she stay on the podium?

4th in the FS, and 4th overall.

Stefania seemed resigned to it, so there wasn't much reaction from her. Sergei looked more frustrated.

Well, it was still better than the last time we saw it. So for that:

WELL DONE STEFANIA!!!

Well, we have to look on the bright side.

CaroLiza_fan​

Looking at the Protocols, the numbers next to the opening Triple Flip-Double Axel-Double Axel sequence indicate that it was called as a hand down. It got -3 from Judge 4; -2 from Judge 3; and -1 from the remaining three Judges. It also got -0.71 in GOE.

The Triple Flips just weren't going her way because when she did one on it's own as her second element, she fell. Unsurprisingly, it got -5 from all the Judges. But, it also got the biggest GOE hit of the programme, at -2.12.

As I said, things started going smoothly after that. But then things started going going wrong. After a nice Triple Lutz done in combination earlier in the programme, the Triple Lutz that she did on it's own was downgraded. This was the element that I was saying she nearly fell on, and she very nearly got the usual Judges marks for a fall. Except that Judge 5 gave -4, it would have been -5 all round. It also got the third biggest GOE hit of the programme, at -1.05.

She did get -5 all round for the next element, the Triple Toe, because she did fall on. It got the second biggest GOE hit of the programme, at -2.10.

And to compound matters, there were issues with the next element which I did not spot at the time. In the Triple Salchow-Triple Toe combination, she didn't have a clear edge on the Salchow. Consequently, it got -3 from Judge 4; and -2 from the remaining four Judges. And GOE of -0.69.

The irony is, because these three elements were in the second half of the programme, they were given extra credit!

Stefania finished the Free Skate 10.60 points behind 3rd position, PARK Eunbi (KOR), and 4.56 points ahead of 5th position, PARK Inkyong (KOR).

Overall, Stefania finished 7.61 points behind 3rd position, Park Eunbi, and 5.90 points ahead of 5th position, Park Inkyong.

It may not have been the best skate I have seen from Stefania but, as I said in the competition thread at the time, at least it wasn't the disaster that she had in Osaka.

Indeed, it was over 20 points higher than in Osaka!

WELL DONE STEFANIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

In what is a very busy day for the Cypriot team (Oliviia and Varvara are skating in Budapest), Stefania will be back in action today at the Bosphorus Cup in Istanbul.

The Junior Ladies SP is due to start today at 13:30:00 TRT (10:30:00 GMT / 12:30:00 EET / 13:30:00 MSK). So 4 hours from now.

Stefania will be the 23rd skater to start. So, third and middle skater to go in Group 5 (and third skater to go after the resurfacing).

The Group 5 Warm-Up is due to start at 16:11:00 TRT (13:11:00 GMT / 15:11:00 EET / 16:11:00 MSK). So 6h 41m from now.

Stefania is due to start at 16:29:30 TRT (13:29:30 GMT / 15:29:30 EET / 16:29:30 MSK). So 6h 59m from now.

But, those times may change if somebody that is due on before her withdraws.

More information in the event thread:
https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/threads/95820

Hope this helps

ALL THE BEST STEFANIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Unfortunately, Stefania withdrew.

I hope there is nothing wrong, and that this was instead a strategic decision to concentrate on the Latvia Trophy next week, which she is also entered for.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

After withdrawing from the Bosphorus Cup last week, Stefania is due to compete at the Latvia Trophy in Riga today.

The Junior Ladies SP is due to start today at 15:45:00 EET (13:45:00 GMT / 16:45:00 MSK). So 7 hours from now.

Stefania will be the 14th skater to start. So, fifth and last skater to go in Group 3.

And that is as much as I can tell you, because the Time Schedule PDF's aren't working.

But, those times may change if somebody that is due on before her withdraws.

More information in the event thread:
https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/threads/95803

Hope this helps

ALL THE BEST STEFANIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Unfortunately, Stefania withdrew.

I hope Stefania's injury from earlier in the year isn't playing up, and that she is just taking the opportunity to rest, train and re-group before the second half of the season.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Stefania is due to be back in action for her first competition of 2024 at Skate Helena in Belgrade today.

The Junior Ladies SP is due to start today at 07:45:00 CET (06:45:00 GMT / 08:45:00 EET). So 1 hour from now.

Stefania will be the 10th skater to start. So, fifth and penultimate skater to go in Group 2.

And that is as much as I can tell you, because the Time Schedule PDF's don't work.

But, those times may change if somebody that is due on before her withdraws.

More information in the event thread:
https://www.goldenskate.com/forum/threads/95826

Hope this helps

ALL THE BEST STEFANIA!!!

CaroLiza_fan