the great return of the world synchronized figure skating teams in Rouen
They crave competition. Twenty-one European and American teams are competing on February 4 and 5 at the Nathalie Péchalat ice rink, in front of the public. The competition is adapting to comply with health rules.
Arabesques, spirals, majestic intertwinings are back on Ile Lacroix. Four hundred skaters from ten countries (and also a few skaters) will train from February 2.
the Rouen Olympic Club was determined to organize the French Cup. That of 2021 had not taken place because of the pandemic.
He was able to count on the support of Nathalie Péchalat. The president of the French Ice Sports Federation learned ice dancing in Rouen, her hometown.
“The competitions are extremely important for our athletes. This allows them to confront the competition, to give work leads with the judges’ notes and also to fuel their pleasure and their level of performance”
The Coupe de France takes place on February 4 and 5. From February 2, the gauges (maximum limit) will not be no longer in force in sports venues. Timely news.
To pay attend the Coupe de Francethe public must have the vaccination pass and keep their mask.
Around the teams, a “sanitary bubble”. No parade in town or draw in public. Skaters, international judges and volunteers will be tested every day. The device is organized by the federation.
A streaming is planned (details to come) for this competition, an International Skating Union event, qualifier for the world championships, to be widely followed. Several big teams could not make the trip because of the pandemic.
The skating teams live to the rhythm of the vagaries linked to the Covid. Contaminations, contact cases, can contradict them to cancel their commitments at the last moment.
The biggest international competition in Sweden, which was due to start on January 27, had to be cancelled.
At the French Cup, for the first time in 10 years, there will be no Canadian teams (no Russians either). In mid-January, the Nexxice of Ontario announced that they were no longer able to train.
For this winter season, most of the national championships were able to take place.
The programs had been prepared before the “omicron wave”. At the Coupe de France, we will find great Finnish teams (Team Unique, Rockettes) and Americans.
The Haydenettes, the most decorated American team, made a brilliant demonstration in New York in December for the Christmas holidays.
They send to the Coupe de France, their new team who competes in the new Elite 12 category.
In New York, in December the American team of the Haydenettes in demonstration
•
©Youtube/ Perspectives on Ice
The Rouen Olympic Club skaters responded to the challenge of the ISU (international federation). Be part of the first world teams with 12 skaters (instead of 16). A try.
This new composition facilitated the access of this sport at the Olympic games. It also brings “more movement speed, a more athletic sport” explains Nathalie Péchalat. “By lowering the workforce, we enter into the prerogatives of the International Olympic Committee”.
the The Joan of Arc team will present a single program like the other teams in this category (instead of 2) on Friday 4 February.
The Norman team of “Team Jeanne d’Arc” returns to the competitions with pleasure
•
©S. Callier/ P. Cornily/ MC Varin
During the first Coupe de France in 1994, there were 24 skaters. The tricks were more spartan and the movements more lent.
The discipline has evolved a lot over the past 10 years. The power of the Nordic athletes and the sliding speed of the North Americans raised the level. The rules now authorize lifts, “spirals of death”, jumps.
The French Cup, 27 years of an XXL skating competition
•
©S. Callier/ E. Tavennec/ S. Becquet/ F. Lefebvre
This sport who was born in the Great Lakes region in the United States arrived in France in the 90s.
He developed in Louviers, Caen, Rouen and Le Havre thanks to the Norman trainer Edith Ballesterdisappeared in 2021.
