IISF President Boris Chait reflects on his involvement with figure skating, gives an evaluation of the past competitive season, and contours out the future perspective a year and a half before the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver

Where parental love may lead to

-Boris, we have talked about so many subjects in these years, but I have never asked you how you got involved with figure skating. Was it through Galit's skating lessons or before that?
-It started when Galit began skating. But I had been involved with winter sports before, sponsoring hockey events and teams in Russia – the Moscow Spartak Cup competition and a hockey club.

-What did you find particularly attractive about figure skating? It is considered a sport with mostly a female following.
-It is a sport that requires maximal stamina and effort to produce the beauty it is renowned for.
-So, you think it is primarily sport rather than art, don't you?
-Sport comes first. If an element cannot be well performed, there is no art in it. And to perform it, a mammoth athletic effort is needed, which the audience should not be aware of.

Last year's competitive season – the Zaretsky did well, other should catch up with

-How would you evaluate last year's competitive season?
-If you evaluate it by skater achievement, Sasha and Roman Zaretsky had a good season; Tamar Katz did not do so well, other members of the senior team had the placements we expected of them. The short-track team did not achieve any tangible success.

What does the blueprint of the future look like?

-This year's competitions are already under way, and we have a few newcomers to our team. What would be your review of the start of the season?

-It started rather well for the Zaretsky and for Tamar Katz. Alexandra and Roman won a silver medal at a prestigious event in Germany [Nebelhorn Trophy], while Tamar placed 4th at The Karl Schaffer Memorial in Vienna. As for the newcomers, they have a long way to go, but if they work hard, they will be there.

Vancouver on the horizon

-What has been done so far in preparing our team for the Olympics?
-All the competitions that are taking place now are already part of the Olympic programme. Sasha and Roman are having a very tough first Grand Prix assignment in China.  We are also planning a winter camp in Moscow in January, together with the Russian team, as we did this summer. Sasha and Roman will go there, and probably, Ariana and Avidan, our junior ice dancers.

Competitive experience helps bear the mental brunt

-Competition anxiety can slash away a lot from an athlete's performance ability. Are we running any programmes that help our team get mentally prepared for the major events of the season?

-I believe that competitive experience is the key to managing competition fears. A psychologist may not always help.

 

The arithmetic and geography of medal gaining

-What will get us closer to winning another medal at Worlds or Europeans?
-More skating rinks. It means more skaters representing Israel internationally and eventually better placements at competitions.
-Do you mean skaters training in Israel?
-I mean skaters of Jewish origin. Place of birth is incidental; it is neither a privilege nor a disadvantage. If a skater has Jewish roots and therefore, the right to Israeli citizenship, he or she has the right to represent Israel in international sports.

A personal touch

-And the last question for now. You would surely get nervous when Galit was out on the ice competing. Are you more or less nervous now that she is coaching?
-I am more nervous now that her trainees are on the ice. Before it was only about her when she was on the ice competing, or about other skaters of our team, but not at the same time. Now it's both about her and them at the same moment.