The figure skating Russian Championships were held on December 19-23, 2018. In an exciting turn of events, Anna Shcherbakova won first, Alexandra Trusova won second, and Alena Kostornaia won third. These three Russian skaters are at the Junior level, but competed at the senior level for this competition, amazingly beating out all of the competitors who regularly compete at this high level.
Shcherbakova, Trusova, and Kostornaia are all skaters under Eteri Tutberidze, the renowned coach who is known for teaching some of the most talented students in the business, including Olympic gold medalist Alina Zagitova. For the first time in history, this entire podium was composed of athletes all part of the same group, “Team Tutberidze.” Even a few months after this competition, the questions still remain: How will the results of Russian Nationals affect the Senior skaters, how will other Juniors change, and what does the competition mean for Tutberidze’s team?
It is no secret that Tutberidze’s team practices quads after quads. Shcherbakova and Trusova both successfully completed a quad lutz during their long programs, securing major points for the first and second places. The full “Team Tutberidze” of Junior skaters, and the top two with their quads, means the quad method could be an effective strategy to win at competitions.
This is worrisome for the Senior skaters. At the Senior level, the skaters are refined, they have solidified a consistent technique, and their body is used to certain things. Basically, it is very hard to teach an old dog new tricks. Therefore, it would be harder for them to try to learn quads now to compete with these upcoming Juniors like Tutberidze’s. Sofia Samodurova recently competed in the Grand Prix Circuit, in her debut season as a Senior. The commentators discussed how important it was for her to make her mark this year. Next year, the Juniors will be age-eligible to compete against her, making Samodurova’s chances of winning or being selected for other competitions very low. Seniors like Samodurova are in danger of falling behind, as when they were learning all their jumps, the “quad revolution” had not happened yet. The Senior skaters have only done triples most of their careers, and are already experienced and used to only that.
What happened at Russian Nationals and Tutberidze’s team could also change other Junior skaters. Perhaps some of them will try to rush into the Senior level, so they can get their necessary Senior competition experience before the jumping-bean Juniors of Tutberidze start. This could prove to be reckless and make the transition to Senior for the Juniors who might choose to do so very difficult and hasty, and could produce bad competition results. Samodurova was ready for the transition to Senior, and thus had consistently good competitions, but many Juniors may not be.
The Russian Nationals are further proof that Tutberidze’s team is excelling on all levels. It also shows what is happening within her team: The Juniors are overtaking the Seniors. It seems the success of the Juniors is overshadowing Tutberidze’s few Seniors. In reality, the only well-known female Senior skater of Tutberidze’s is Zagitova, and most the rest of the team are up-and-coming Juniors, like the three who owned the podium. Personally, I hope the attention she gives to the Juniors to fine-tune their quads doesn’t take her attention away from her Seniors.
Furthermore, one wonders if the Juniors on Tutberidze’s team are pressuring her Seniors like Zagitova to try new things. For instance, Zagitova was recently seen trying a quad flip which we had never seen before, despite speculations about her knee injury, although she had the support of a harness. Inside a rink, competing with skaters who try new things can encourage you be better yourself and also try new things. The Russian Nationals are proof Tutberidze’s Juniors are in the spotlight of that group, and this could encourage the Seniors on her team to try different things. The Juniors within Tutberidze’s team have both good and bad effects on the group as a whole, as the attention could be taken away from the Seniors and the Senior’s successes could be overshadowed, but a competitive atmosphere is a necessity for improvement.
Even a while after the Russian Nationals, the questions this competition sparked still remain important. The Juniors’ success could mean worry for the Senior skaters who have been training one way their whole careers, and change could happen to the other Juniors who don’t jump quads, as they might try to jump to the Senior level and rush the process. Tutberidze’s team is dominated by the Juniors, and we see the good and bad effects of this. Right in the middle of the skating competitive season, it’s an exciting time for fans to watch records be broken by Tutberidze’s team.