2025 World Figure Skating Championships

[JDB]

Four year fan here but I did watch some of the men’s long. When did cartwheels become a thing in figure skating?

It's from a new rule. For a spin to receive level four, it must include a feature from a mandatory feature list. Creative spin exit is a mandatory feature. So skaters are doing jumps and cartwheels out of spins to get level four base value.

 

[Denn]

Yes, as neutral athletes (1 per discipline). However the rules are slightly different compared with gymnastics. Both the skater and their coaches must meet the criteria for neutral status.

I guess the highest-profile case would be Adeliia Petrosian, who has been pretty dominant in women's skating since 2022. She has said that she really wants to go, and frankly, as great as Sakamoto and now Alysa Liu have been, she does triple axels and all kinds of quads while still being strong in other areas. Her presence this week might have led to different results...

Her coach, Eteri Tutberidze, already is already allowed to coach at ISU events — she was with Nika Egadze this weekend, as usual — so I guess that's half the battle for Petrosian, yes? Given that the skater is still only 17, I imagine that the other half is a tricky as it might be for other athletes — she's young enough to have skated by restrictions set by IOC or ISU.

Yes, I know. it was a bad pun.

 

[MaryClare]

I guess the highest-profile case would be Adeliia Petrosian, who has been pretty dominant in women's skating since 2022. She has said that she really wants to go, and frankly, as great as Sakamoto and now Alysa Liu have been, she does triple axels and all kinds of quads while still being strong in other areas. Her presence this week might have led to different results...

Her coach, Eteri Tutberidze, already is already allowed to coach at ISU events — she was with Nika Egadze this weekend, as usual — so I guess that's half the battle for Petrosian, yes? Given that the skater is still only 17, I imagine that the other half is a tricky as it might be for other athletes — she's young enough to have skated by restrictions set by IOC or ISU.

Yes, I know. it was a bad pun.

I can’t think of anything Adeliya has said or done that would jeopardise her ability to be granted neutral athlete status. Like you say, Eteri has been coaching her non Russian athletes at international events.

I am slightly surprised that Eteri has been seemingly given the green light. She has always been a controversial figure, but more officially now in light of the Valieva situation. Also, she is getting big bucks from state television at the moment for her tv show “Eteri’s Big Girls” which is sort of like a fat camp thing. It has been renewed for a 2nd season.

 

[makam]

I don't love the Eteri machine of chewing up a young skater and then dropping them like a hot rock when the new hotness moseys along but without a doubt, the results would have been different with a couple of Russian ladies in the field.

I don't know what could be done to stop a coach or country from creating flash-in-the-pan athletes other than age limits. Eteri's skaters are usually about done for at 18ish, right? I love how gymnastics longevity has grown and been celebrated, I wish ladies figure skating would follow suit.

 

[MaryClare]

Hmmm. So I mentioned this to a skating friend of mine. She is Russian but coaching in another country. Apparently FSU are happy to give authorisation to Eteri (and potentially others) because she is a dual national. Because of the way that figure skating operates where citizenship is more a state of mind than a tangible link and coaches often coaches skaters from multiple countries.

Basically Eteri can be considered Georgian and therefore not be subject to any sort of criteria. So I am beginning to wonder if Eteri was in fact behind this rule!

 

[MaryClare]

I don't love the Eteri machine of chewing up a young skater and then dropping them like a hot rock when the new hotness moseys along but without a doubt, the results would have been different with a couple of Russian ladies in the field.

I don't know what could be done to stop a coach or country from creating flash-in-the-pan athletes other than age limits. Eteri's skaters are usually about done for at 18ish, right? I love how gymnastics longevity has grown and been celebrated, I wish ladies figure skating would follow suit.

Eteri’s methods were infamously described by a sports reporter here as going sour quicker than sheep’s milk in the kavkaz.

Now every time sambo 70 releases a video of some random 11 year old landing a quad, everyone replies with sheep and sunshine emojis.

 

[JDB]

Team Tutberidze's such a mess. Eteri being allowed to coach at ISU competitions is her reward for not supporting a World War III attempt. But allowing her at the Olympics would be inappropriate.

 

[KristyJ]

I can’t think of anything Adeliya has said or done that would jeopardise her ability to be granted neutral athlete status. Like you say, Eteri has been coaching her non Russian athletes at international events.

I am slightly surprised that Eteri has been seemingly given the green light. She has always been a controversial figure, but more officially now in light of the Valieva situation. Also, she is getting big bucks from state television at the moment for her tv show “Eteri’s Big Girls” which is sort of like a fat camp thing. It has been renewed for a 2nd season.

Eteri running a weight loss bootcamp is about the most toxic tv idea I think I've heard of

 

[MaryClare]

Eteri running a weight loss bootcamp is about the most toxic tv idea I think I've heard of

It’s on Thursdays, I’ll record a clip for you

 

[Rich]

It’s on Thursdays, I’ll record a clip for you

I guess they dont have ozempic lol

 

[MaryClare]

I guess they dont have ozempic lol

If you think Eteri doesn’t have, personally and professionally, access to weight loss pharmaceuticals then I have a bridge to sell you

 

[KristyJ]

It’s on Thursdays, I’ll record a clip for you

I'm sure that will be great for the me that went into counseling 15 years after quitting the sport to deal with body image, lol. And yet.... I know I will watch it.