2023-09-17 03:45:00
But the fans who came to Megasport tried very hard.
The Russian national team’s open skates are the first important event of the figure skating season. First of all, these are short-term training camps in Novogorsk, where athletes receive feedback and recommendations from judges and the federation. Recently, test screenings have also turned into a real show for viewers who have been looking forward to them for regarding six months.
The start of ticket sales in 2023 led to a lot of outrage regarding the pricing policy. Not everyone can afford good seats, but watching performances from the top tier is still a pleasure – it’s easier to stay at home and watch the online broadcast. A year ago, expensive tickets might be justified by media exposure following Beijing 2022. Now the number of Olympians has sharply decreased, and the new leaders are of interest only to figure skating fans, of whom, in fact, there are not so many. It is not surprising that the occupancy of the huge arena on the day of short programs left much to be desired. Even the singles skaters (let’s take them as the most popular event) collected a little more than half of the lower tier of Megasport. On Sunday the crowd should be better – many decided to go only to the free skate due to the high prices.
However, naturally, there was no silence in the hall. The trend to support athletes has long gone beyond women’s skating. From the very beginning of the performances, banners with dancers, doubles and singles hung in the arena.
Sport24
Ice dancing was especially warmly welcomed Alexander Stepanov and Ivan Bukin. This duo was popular among fans even before the break in their career, and a year without tournaments only added to the emotions of the audience. Moreover, on September 16, Bukin had two important moments happen at once – the skater made his long-awaited return to competitive ice on his birthday. The audience prepared special banners, and the presenter Maxim Trankov invited the stands to loudly congratulate Ivan on his 30th birthday. Very nice!
However, this was not the only story related to the birthday. Dmitry Kozlovsky After leaving the ice, he announced into the microphone that today was also the birthday of the fan of their duet and congratulated him on the holiday. The girl was quickly caught by cameramen and shown on the big screen.
Alexander Mysyakin, Sport24
If popularity is measured by the amount of fan paraphernalia, the clear winner would be Kamila Valieva. It was with Kamila that there were the most flags and banners in the stands, and following her performance, a record number of toys flew onto the ice for the day.
Alexander Mysyakin, Sport24
In fact, many athletes were warmly received. Pair skating received an incredible ovation Alena Kostornaya and Georgy Kunitsawho became a couple less than a year ago. They were cheered loudest during the six-minute warm-up, and each completed element was accompanied by a real explosion of applause.
Even top duets, such as world champions, did not receive such support Anastasia Mishina and Alexander Gallyamov. Kostornaya’s appearance was in doubt until recently – following all, Alena and her husband are practically new to pair skating. But the reaction of the stands only once once more confirmed that the federation’s decision was absolutely correct. At least in media terms.
There were some funny moments too. The audience laughed out loud already during the first warm-up of the dances, when Sam Brown’s composition Stop was performed in two performances in a row. The second wave of repetitions happened already in the rentals of sports couples – Alexandra Boykova/Dmitry Kozlovsky and Elizaveta Osokina/Artem Gritsaenko chose an identical cover version of La boheme. And when at the end of the day Gleb Lutfullin took to the ice with an original performance by Charles Aznavour… Curtain. Interesting coincidences that I wish there were fewer of.
In general, it was hot in the Megasport stands, although deserted. We can only hope that on the day of the free programs there will be more joyful events than reasons for outright laughter.
How was the first day of Test skates?
1694928466
#Test #skates #Russian #figure #skating #team #attendance #ticket #prices #fan #support #report #Megasport #September