A Rough Ride at Euros

By Elena Magalina, The Vesti Newspaper, Israel

Sasha and Roman Zaretsky coached by Galit Chait gave their fans a few nervous moments during the Euros in Helsinki.

Our duo was in 10th place after the compulsory dance (out of 28 participants) with a 30.16 score and moving up to 7th after the original dance with a score of 51.36 points. The leaders after the original dance, Russia's Yana Khokhlova and Sergei Novitski scored 62.17 points. The only segment left was the free dance, with little doubt in the success of our team on the horizon.

By the rule, 24 of the competitors get through to the original dance. The Israelis had prepared a routine packed with  off-beat choreography, which is the signature piece of the legendary Tatiana Tarasova, who took part in putting it together.

But the unexpected happened. The Zaretsky skated their programme well and were supposed to get at least 80 points for it, as many thought so. But when the score came out on the screen, many couldn't hide their astonishment – it was just 73.75! It meant 7 points less than what was expected and a lower final standing.

Sasha and Roman finished 11th overall with a final score of 155.56, which prevented them from cracking into the top 10. The couple was 9th at the 2008 Worlds and 8th in the Europeans the same year!

Boris Chait, president of the Israel Ice Skating Federation, thinks that the team received unfair judgment.

-Boris, what is your impression of the performance the Zaretsky gave at Euros?

-On the one hand, they performed really well. On the other, they were simply robbed and pushed down to the 11th position. The judges say that during a complicated curve lift Roma held his arm above his head for more than 2 seconds. Usually it goes unnoticed, but not at these Euros. So, the lift was marked as "illegal", while another lift, which had previously received level 4, was given level 3 because the judges didn't mark the difficult entry into the lift. This is how our team lost 7 points. After the competition, I asked the technical controller, who was from the US, if he wasn't ashamed of that kind of conduct at a competition of that level. In most countries there's a long line of substitutes, and if a skater or two don't go to a competition, they can be easily replaced. We currently have only one couple in ice dance of the elite level. I'm sure we will not be able to just swallow up this kind of injustice. I'm going to write a letter to the ISU president about what happened in Helsinki.

-Something like that happened back in 2002 when skaters Margarita Drobiazko and Povilas Vanagas wrote an angry letter about the ostensible lobbying of Israeli skaters among the judges, which ostensibly resulted in intentionally higher marks for Galit and Sergei. A lot of sleaze was turned out.

-Indeed. A Canadian TV channel invited me for an interview and I set a term for them – to show everything without any cuts. At first, they were not against it, but then I asked them: "If Galit and Sergei were not from Israel, would the entire conversation be taking place at all?" They immediately backtracked: "Oh, you know, we cannot raise such issues". Of course, the interview was cancelled. Our skaters not only fight for technical results, they represent the Jewish State abroad. Galit and Sergei were named among the 60 Sporting Heroes of the State of Israel over its entire modern history. Doesn't it speak for itself?

-I agree. As far as I know, Galit is now training the Zaretsky. Is she pleased with her students' progress so far?

-Yes, very much. Of course, little things happen here and there, but Galit has never said that the guys are not working well. Roman and Sasha are talented and hardworking skaters with a strong athletic spirit. They are fully aware of being the envoys of their country just like their current coach and of going to the Winter Olympics in 2010.

-What is your lookout for the duo?

-Of course, our goal is to be in the top 10 at the Olympics in Vancouver. If they win a higher placement, it will be a bonus.
-Is it basically possible for Israeli skaters to be in the top 10 at the coming Olympics?

-Let's see: there will be 3 couples representing Russia, two or three representing the US, a couple from Great Britain. We're going to have a real fight! No one said it would be easy.

-Are you sure that the Zaretsky will qualify for the Olympics?

-Absolutely! Under the ISU rules, they have to be in the top 19 at Euros 2010, which will be held in Tallinn. Under the tougher rules of the Israel Olympic Committee, they have to be in the top 14 at Worlds in Los Angeles this March. A lot will be clear in September during an international qualification competition in Germany.

-Please, tell us about the current  Israeli senior team.

-We have skaters in each of the four disciplines – ice dance, men's and ladies' single skating, and pair skating. Maxim Shipov, our single skater, almost made it to the final in Helsinki missing it just by one point. Our ladies had a less successful start of the season. Katya Sokolova, our pair skater with husband Fedor Sokolov, cut her knee during her free programme at Euros and was taken to hospital straight from the rink, while Tamar Katz was not able to compete at Euros due to tendonitis. Tamar is now being treated at the Wingate Sports Institute. But I think our team will be in full gear at the coming Worlds. Galit is coaching a junior team. So, there are skaters to represent Israel on the global ice skating arena.