#Liza Nugumanova

[certainkoalawombat]

Elizaveta Nugumanova

[zenthizit]

[marinhondas]

Elizaveta Nugumanova ♡ 2020 Russian Nationals SP

[hamonrsa]

Liza! ❤️

[sashas4t]

Flutzes: How Big an Issue are They?

There is a common belief within skating fans that flutzes (or lutz jumps taken off from a flat or inside edge) are most common among Russian ladies. I have always believed the opposite, but as I am currently taking a statistics course, I thought it would be fun to see how my beliefs, and the common belief, hold up against percentages and proportions. Because I don’t have unlimited time on my hands, I will only be looking into every ladies skater at Russian, Japanese and US Nationals and analyzing their lutz edges (I wanted to do the Korean ladies and I might mention a few just for fun but as Korean Nationals was postponed until next week I’ve decided to leave them out of this for now). Next time I might return with a junior edition (since flutzes seem to be rather common amongst the Russian juniors).

To Begin: What is a Lutz?

The lutz jump is one of the six types of figure skating jumps. The ISU defines the lutz as “a toe-pick assisted jump with an entrance from a back outside edge and landing on the back outside edge of the opposite foot”. Here are two textbook examples of what a lutz should look like:

(The landing here isn’t great - see the ice flying, but the takeoff is just perfection)

Both of these jumps, and any good lutz jump, have deep outside edges. Another qualification one may bring up is prerotation, but this post is mostly just analyzing whether or not certain skaters flutz - not whether or not their lutz is textbook overall. So there are a lot of skaters to be mentioned that have good outside edges on their lutzes, but their lutzes can’t be considered “textbook” because they prerotate far more than the acceptable amount. But that is a whole other controversial topic that really deserves a post of its own.

So what is a bad lutz then? 

In this jump, the skater takes off from an inside edge, instead of the outside edge that the other two skaters use. There are some other issues with this particular jump, but the inside edge is the issue which is most glaring. 

The Russian Ladies

Here are my conclusions drawn from Russian Nationals. Interestingly enough, besides Konstantinova, every other skater with an outside edge had a very clear outside edge. Out of the ladies with flat edges, some looked more inside (Samodurova’s namely but also Liza Nugumanova’s), while others looked more outside (Kostina’s), but because they all looked flat more than inside/outside, I grouped them together. 

The Japanese Ladies

I only looked at the 24 ladies who qualified for the free skate, and for many of them I ended up having to use videos from the National Winter Sports because JSF doesn’t post full videos of their skates at Japanese Nationals to YouTube. I also couldn’t find any videos of Natsu Suzuki, so I could not include her in this analysis. 

The American Ladies

Sadly there were a lot of American ladies that I couldn’t find videos of - so this is a rather short list (and probably not very representative).

Analysis:

In the Russian ladies - 47.1% have true lutzes.

In the Japanese ladies - 52.2% have true lutzes.

In the American ladies - 71.4% have true lutzes.

It’s really interesting that so many American ladies have good lutz edges. This is either because I could not find videos of many competitors, or because some competitors who have problematic edges did not jump the lutz (Starr is a good example). However, out of the American ladies, few have “deep” outside edges. Many of them do have “good” outside edges, as in it is very clear that they do, indeed, have outside edges, however few seem to warp the laws of physics like the most textbook examples do. Interestingly, the panel at US Nationals did call out many of the problematic lutzes with lower level skaters, while blatantly ignoring Bradie and Mariah’s clear flat edges. 

Out of the Japanese ladies with outside edges, not that many have “deep” outside edges either. I would say Rika, Tomoe and Honoka have really great deep edges. A few of the ladies I wrote as outside really have iffy edges (Wakaba’s probably the best example - sometimes its outside, sometimes it looks more flat). 

Out of the Russian ladies with outside edges, many have good outside edges. Except for Stanislava, all the ladies with outside edges have very clear outside edges (unlike in the other two countries oddly). I used to assume that coaches played a big part in whether or not a skater had an outside edge, but it appears this data says otherwise. The most interesting thing is that the slow motion replays almost always caught the lutzes in the best angle (the same angle as Boyang’s 4Lz in the first gif), and yet, very few lutzes were called. 

For example, for the Tutberidze Girls, three have unclear edges and 1 has a good outside edge, however, Sasha Trusova used to be an Eteri girl as well, and also has an outside edge. Same goes for Mishin, who was often mistakingly thought to teach good technique based off of Liza Tuktamysheva’s textbook lutz. But as Samodurova and Guliakova are also Mishin’s student, it appears that this technique does not come from his camp. These conclusions make rational sense as Mishin and Eteri usually do not coach skaters since youth, but rather often take in already established skaters. Eteri has been known to only accept students with their triples. If we were to look into some younger juniors, or some retired (switched disciplines) skaters I think I could present one coach who has consistently presented ladies with correct edges - Panova. Besides Frolova who has a problematic lutz edges, many of her other skaters - Tsibinova, Tarakanova, Sotskova, Sinitsyna, Kanysheva, Kostyuk etc - have had correct flip and lutz edges. This would require some more analysis though. 

While it looks like the US ladies clearly have a lead in this category, due to certain circumstances, it is unreasonable to say that overall, American ladies are less prone to flutzing just based off this data. I would do a 1-Prop Z Test but these statistics really do not check any of the assumptions or conditions necessary for such a computation.

Overall, it is really interesting that around 50% of the skaters at Russian Nationals and Japanese Nationals have problematic lutzes. It’s that widespread an issue. No, it’s not just Evgenia Medvedeva or Mao Asada or Anna Shcherbakova that suffer from it. Yes, they aren’t (well, Zhenya and Anya aren’t at least) being punished for it, but neither are a good percentage of the others who have problematic lutzes. 

For reference, at Japanese Nationals, only two lutz calls were given in the SP (! for Yoshida and Uramatsu). The tech panel was much harsher in the FS with flip and lutz calls galore (Kaori got “e”, Rika Hongo got “e” and Uramtaus got “e”). 

At Russian Nationals, in the SP only three edge calls were given - Trusova’s 3F, Guliakova’s 3Lz and Onishchenko’s 3Lz (which got “e”). In the FS, six edge calls were given (two on flips, two !’s for Guliakova’s 3Lz and one ! and one “e” for Onishchenko’s 3Lz). It is true that out of the lutzes at the competition, Onishchenko’s were the most problematic. However, Daria Usacheva’s were also taken off from an inside edge, and she not only was not called for the three lutzes attempted, but was given high positive GOE for many. 

At US Nationals, Ikenishi and Murdock both received “e” calls on their lutzes. Ikenishi receiving one the free skate and Mudock receiving two - one in the SP and one FS. There were no other lutz calls for the event. 

Of course, after watching so many events, assuming that flat edges will get ! calls and inside edges will get “e” calls is dreaming of the impossible. At best, really severe flutzes done by lower level skaters may be called, inside edges will be called “!” and flat edges will often be let go with no call nor deduction whatsoever. And while I looked at National protocols, it is true that these results are paralleled in international protocols as well. 

So, in conclusion - Russian ladies do not flutz any more than Japanese ladies do. And flutzes are becoming quite a severe problem. Several of the skaters at the top have problematic lutz edges, and it seems like this issue will persist given how the rising generation seems to be struggling with lutz edges as well. 

Many use these uncalled Russian flutzes as evidence of Russian overscoring, but in response to those comments I guide you to the PCS section of scoring. That is where the atrocities happen. Most of the top skaters won’t be punished for flutzing, however Russians are gifted extra PCS for existing, while the Japanese, with their excellent skating skills and attention to detail, seem to be getting punished with lower PCS (especially those prone to inconsistency). 

[alenightshade]

After the test skates my thought are the same:

ALENA KOSTORNAIA

Beautiful skater with amazing skating skills. Her short program is meh at best but I’m hoping it will get better as the season goes on.

Her free is better and I can see some elements from her previous choreo but I think she said she forgot a part of it? That would explain why it looked kinda rushed and empty in some parts. Just like her short I think she will grow into the program and perform it much better than today

HER 3A is back!!!

(use other dresses, the ones she used the past season were much more beautiful)

ANNA Sherbakova

I’ve never really liked Anna much but she’s a fighter and I respect that. Her jumps are not very solid (but they’ve never been) still I liked the music for the season

KAMILA VALIEVA

Gorgeous spins, shaky landings, not much expression. I really hope she’s not going to be sent to the Olympic Games cause her career would consist of 5 months and I would hate that, she should get the time to mature and strengthen her jumps instead of burning her out for so short a time. But it’s Eteri and this is just wishful thinking

ALEXANDRA TRUSOVA

What an outing for Sasha! She looks stronger than before which is a sight for sore eyes. However her choreography consists of crossovers and jumps= no choreography at all. She should absolutely get rewarded for her jumps but please don’t give her strong PCS cause just nope

KSENIA

Probably the skater with the most interesting choreo and lovely musicality. Hope her jumps get stronger. Love the girl

LIZA NUGUMANOVA

Those lines! Those skating skills! Uffff love her! Sadge her jumps rarely work but I wish her the absolute best!

LIZA TUKTIK

My sentimental fav. She just keeps fighting, such fortitude. Love that she chose an uplifting beat to finish off her routine, it enhances her showmanship and I love it

PAIRS

Surprise surprise V/M are a mess still, something has been going on with them that doesn’t seem to be solved. Going through so many coaches doesn’t seem to work either

Boikova/Koslovski looked nervous and made some rare mistakes, we’ll see how the pressure gets to them but I’m sad cause they were my unlikely pair that I liked yet they behave so rude sometimes

Mishina/Galiamov another pair that I loved as my underdogs, I’m so surprised by how much they’ve grown in all senses. Working with Tamara certainly brings magic. If they finished behind Sui/Han at the Olympics I wouldn’t complain

MEN

A mess as usual but I liked the music for most of them. Misha chose Schindler’s List which I’ll forever link with Yulia 🙁 but it’s choreographed nicely and he certainly is a nice Schindler for Yulia’s girl in the red dress. Dima my love you need to work on those spins, you need every point you can get your hands on and right now they will be losing you points

[beautifulstorms]

LIZA NUGUMANOVA YES THAT'S RIGHT god she's so beautiful look at those arms and that straight back! love this program it feels so classic

[aprilssschild]

– Zhenya is in the hospital undergoing examinations because of her back

– Liza Nugumanova broke her leg

– Mishina/Galiamov withdrew from Russian Cup because he has covid-19

– Katya withdrew from Skate Canada.

– Steven withdrew from Skate America

[austerlitzborodinoleipzig]

Highlights of the Ladies SP at the Russian Cup finale

Anna Frolova being happy with her score

Liza Nugumanova. She was great today

Maria Talalaikina's wonderful performance (2A what 2A. That skate was perfect)

Liza Tuktamysheva's new costume for her SP.

[lecleastri]

Random RusNats thoughts:

Sasha’s score itself is fine (maybe too high almost), it’s just her score in the context with everyone else’s... robbed tbh. They called her flip but not Anya or Daria’s?

Also, Maiia is a Tutberidze girl but she was underscored in comparison to everyone else too. Hers is definitely the best SP to come out of that camp this year.

Overall, I’m just happy the judges finally decided to accurately score Liza (who even cares about URs when it’s Liza Nugumanova?)

Super upset for Anna Frolova who is such an underrated skater and is usually so consistent. Hopefully she can pull a Kseniia Sinitsyna and bounce back in the free skate.

The last group tomorrow is going to give me so much stress.

[lutzandloop]

Liza Nugumanova is such an underrated skater. She’s such a graceful skater and has beautiful spins. Her 3Lo-3Lo combo also has so much spring to it!

[certainkoalawombat]

Elizaveta Nugumanova

[zenthizit]

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[marinhondas]

Elizaveta Nugumanova ♡ Senior GP Debut 

Congratulations on a 5th place finish!

[birdie02]

Skating prodigy Andrei Kutovoi dreams of the Olympics

You might have noticed him during the Junior Grand Prix event in Courchevel, this August.

We sure did.

The posture, the qualities of his skating, the musicality. You just couldn’t take your eyes off Russia’s Andrei Kutovoi.

He finished the event – his single JGP assignment this season and his first ever international competition – with a bronze medal, and left skating fans in wonder, in amazement: who is this incredibly gifted teenager, debuting on the World stage? Andrei was still 13 this summer.

Well, he’ll tell you that himself, in an interview done in St. Petersburg, his home town, by our very own Natasha Ponarina. Based in St. Petersburg as well, and working as a figure skating photographer, Natasha knew Andrei already – she had been following him for a couple of seasons, eyes glued, lens glued to the talent that he was, practicing at Yubileyny Sports Palace and, since 2017, at Tamara Moskvina’s figure skating sport club.

Cousin of Elizaveta Nugumanova, another skating wunderkind (Elizaveta is three years older), Andrei tried skating as well, when he was 5. And, as everyone expected, he liked it that much that he literally started running on the ice – he’d tell you with a smile.

…and you’ll notice the smile, but also the seriousness, in the numerous photos accompanying this interview.

Work of Ms. Ponarina, the tens of pictures recompose Andrei’s journey and career so far – and we gladly share them with you. Adding, you’ll see, some heartwarming pictures from the family’s archive.

Ladies and gentlemen, there you have him: 14-year-old Andrei Kutovoi, Olympic hopeful.

Natasha Ponarina: Andrei, let’s start from the very beginning – when did you start skating? How old were you?

Andrei Kutovoi: I was almost 5 when I put the skates on for the first time.

And how did that happen? Were you watching skating on TV, were you following your cousin, Elizaveta Nugumanova? What made you decide that you wanted to skate?

By that time, Liza was already training, and they decided to bring me to the rink as well, just to try it, maybe I would like it. I wasn’t following skating then, so it wasn’t my decision.

Who brought you to the rink, remember?

It was my grandmother who brought me to the rink for the first time.

What do you remember from your first day on skates? Did you like it right from the very start?

I think the first day at the rink was exciting and interesting, because it was something new for me. My mom says my first steps on the ice weren’t really steps, but it was running. I was running on ice, so to speak [smiling].

And judging by the fact that we kept going to the rink, I think I really liked it.

Where did you learn to skate and who was your coach back then?

My first coach was Irma Georgievna Bukhartseva, we trained on a small rink of Yubileyny Sports Palace.

And on the practice rink of Yubileyny Palace, Alexei Mishin’s group trained, which I joined later – and it was where I met my current coach, Veronika Anatolyevna Daineko.

When you first started skating was there a skater you wanted to be like? What about now – do you have a skater you admire?

When I first started skating I didn’t know any skaters and I didn’t watch figure skating.

It changed over time, and now I’m watching closely what’s going on in the skating world. I try not to miss any event of junior and senior level.

I admire the Japanese skater Yuzuru Hanyu, his skating skills, musicality, the way he feels every single movement. The ice and Yuzuru are like a single entity, that’s his element. Nathan Chen is also very strong technically, he can do all the quads – it’s the highest level.

“MY FAVORITE JUMP IS THE LUTZ”

Tell us, what do you like to do in your free time? You tried drawing, maybe something else?

There isn’t that much free time, but if there is some outside my studying, then I like recreational activities. Recently, my mother and I have been to the Norwegian ropes course park “Orekh”, that was a lot of fun, all that climbing, I really liked it, and I’ll definitely come back there.

I like to draw, as you mentioned, and I also like dancing and photography.

How does your weekly schedule look like? One has to train a lot to get the result that you have. Do you have time for school?

I train six days a week and I have one day off. Each training day includes two ice practices, two warm-ups, cool-down, stretching, and, on different days, I have specialized physical training, acting classes, choreography, jazz classes.

Unfortunately, I don’t have much time for school, I get to go there infrequently, but I’m being home-schooled, with the help of my mom and online lessons.

You’re 14 now – tell us, which medal/result/competition you are most proud of so far? [Andrei turned 14 on October 4, 2019]

Some of the most important ones are the first places in Championships of Russia (Younger Age) in 2016 and 2017.

Which is your most vivid memory from your career so far? Looking back, what comes to your mind first?

The strongest memory so far is the first Junior Grand Prix in Courchevel [August 2019]. It was my first international competition.

I was also really impressed by a show in Germany I took part a while ago [Media Markt Eisgala – Concert on Ice 2016]. We were touring different cities on a bus, I was surrounded by, and performed with, amazing famous skaters, aerial and ice acrobats, and there were also famous singers and music bands in the show. It was such a memorable experience.

Was it hard to learn the triple Axel? Which jump do you like the most – and the least?

Yeah, triple Axel is an ultra-C jump, like quads, so you can’t equate it to the triples. My favorite jump is the Lutz, and I don’t have jumps that I don’t like.

Can you tell us about your programs this season, how would you describe them? Judging by your inspired performances, you really like them, you are so in character, one-on-one with the music…

Thank you, I’m really glad to hear it.

Most of my SP is to “Fly Me to the Moon”, it’s a love theme. At first, I’m waiting for my beloved, counting the hours, then I see her and I hold out my hand, inviting here to fly with me to the moon, to immerse into the music of the stars. And, in the end, I confess my love to her.

At the end of the program there is a part for the step sequence, and I just dance to the music “I Won’t Dance”, the modern version of it.

My FS is to the music from “Les Misérables”. I represent the character from the times of French Revolution, Jean Valjean, but many people see me as Gavroche, which you can say is also right, since both these characters represent the best ideas of “Les Misérables”: independence, devotion, purity, compassion.

I really like these programs and I’m very grateful for them to Nikita Mikhailov.

You started you first season on junior Grand Prix level with a bronze medal in France. What are you plans and goals for this season, what do you want to achieve?

My plans include two triple Axels and a quad in a program and, of course, to skate clean. My team and I are working towards that.

What is your biggest dream as an athlete, a dream that you can share with the readers? What do you wish for as a skater?

[smiling] My biggest dream? The Olympic Games.

Please check out the rest of Inside Skating’s photo story featuring Andrei! His family has provided many photos from him starting out skating at five and his skating journey 💕

[figureskatingask]

Not sure if you watch the Russian juniors (Nastya Gubanova, Liza Nugumanova, Sasha Trusova, etc.) but I was wondering if you have any favorites? Or any you're particularly excited to see on the JGP series?

Thanks for asking!

I don’t particularly follow the Juniors as closely as I probably should, so all the Russian ladies confuse me because there are so many I can’t keep them straight!

Mostly I will be following the fortunes of the various Australian skaters on the JGP, when I can. I hope Katia and Harley have a strong JGP to build momentum into Nebelhorn…