Stephane Lambiel "I want the figure skaters to have more freedom". About the new rules, his students and help for young Ukrainians - sport.ua [English Translation]
The Sport.ua correspondent talked to the famous Swiss coach at his school in Champery.
The previous season was very successful for Stephan Lambiel and his pupils - the figure skater from Latvia Denis Vasiljevs won his first medal of the European Championship (bronze), and Japanese Shoma Uno became the bronze medalist of the Olympics-2022 in Beijing, and later he won the World Championship.
In an interview with our correspondent in Champery, where his skating school of Switzerland is located, the Swiss coach noted that all the disputes and moments, experienced together with his students, are very precious for him - not only the ones that led to medals or success.
"My ultimate goal for all my students is that one day they become self-sufficient," Lambiel added.
In his opinion, they are in the right direction with Shoma Uno, who has been training at Champery for three years.
"Shoma is becoming more and more independent, he has all the time to develop his personality, he knows what he likes, what he wants, What he needs, he is much more aware of himself and that helps him immensely, both technically and artistically", said Stephane.
Lambiel has been working with the 23-year-old Vasilievs for 6 years and he has also remarked on the sportsman's incomparable development and growth.
"I feel that he has grown a lot, he is a very strong man with great ambition and determination, he is so knowledgeable and scrupulous in everything he does and I like that in him. At the same time, I still have to help and guide him, because this perfectionism is often accompanied by a lot of doubts," said Stefan.
Deniss himself also told us what he expects from the next Olympic cycle - and he intends to stay in the sport until the Olympics-2026 in Milan.
"I'm really happy with my summer, I did very well. I want to prove to myself that I can both jump and skating. I am looking for integrity of the performance, for the full dedication - the moments when, for example, you ski at the Olympic Games for fun, you get a real pleasure, being there. Now there will be a new Olympic cycle and I want to enjoy this feeling for the next four years. Because after that I won't have so many opportunities, and I can already call myself one of the old timers in figure skating. Almost all of those, with whom I started my career, have already finished", said the Latvian figure skater.
According to the athlete, he wants to learn by desire to enter that special state during the performance, when you do not think about the ratings, and you fully surrender yourself to the music and the performance, enjoying every second.
"I want to enjoy what I do, otherwise why bother doing it at all. The more I ride, the more I learn about myself and that is the concept of "being in the zone". For me, the perfect rolling of the programme is when you live it completely, feel it, and in the end you may not even remember afterwards what you have done. And this freedom, this "zone", is something I want very much to learn to turn on at will. And I want to figure out how to reach that moment when you let go, but at the same time you are fully present," Vasilievs said.
Of course, we couldn't help but ask Lambiel what he thinks about the major changes in the rules of figure skating, which were adopted at the congress of the International Skating Union (ISU) this summer.
We would like to point out that one of the main innovations was the increase in the age limit for the figure skaters. In order to prolong the career of athletes, as well as raise the minimum age of the participants in adult competitions. It will be done step by step: this season, the qualification will remain unchanged - entry from the juniors will be accessible if the figure skater has reached the age of 15 years before June 1. In a year the bar will be reduced to 16 years, and for the season 2024/2025 age limit is 17 years. They have also changed the scoring system - instead of nine components (skating skills, transition, performance, music interpretation, composition), they have left three - presentation and music interpretation are combined into a 'performance', and transition is simply thrown away.
Well, Stephan has his own idea in this respect - he believes that the whole system has to be changed, not just some of its parts.
"I accept the changes and play by the rules, but, of course, if I think about it, I would do a lot in a different way. I would change everything. I think this system is not good and they are trying to fix some other faults, but if your system is not good, small changes will not make it better, you have to change the whole system," assured Lambiel, who was a successful figure skater himself before he started coaching.
The Swiss would like the athletes to have more freedom to express themselves and their originality on ice, but the current assessment system does not allow for this.
"We must encourage the figure skaters to be more free, but the system does not allow this, and as a result they have less and less freedom with all these specific rules. And the problem lies in the fact that you see everyone doing the same thing, and no one has the opportunity to be original. We talk about originality, artistry and so on, but do not give freedom to do so, but only make the rules more severe. For me too much does not make sense - for example, it must look difficult, but at the same time be easily and without effort. So how to evaluate it? For me, the whole system is faulty in the sense that there is no sense in it - I love the aesthetics of the sport, its creative side, and I would very much like the skaters to have more freedom to be who they are," Stephane said.
In addition, he is in remarkable form and can still jump quad, which he demonstrated during several shows in Japan in which he took part last summer. He admitted he would be delighted to take to the ice again as a figure skater and perform his two new programs. He added with a smile that it was not so difficult for him to maintain his form and continue to perform the difficult elements as he is always teaching others to perform them.
Currently a Ukrainian figure skater is training at the Lambiel’s school in Champery - 11-year-old Liubov Zholobova, who escaped from the war and arrived in Switzerland with her family in February. Stephane and his team are delighted to welcome the young athlete and try hard to make her feel comfortable and able to train fully and dream again. The famous coach told us how the meeting and collaboration began and why it was important for him to help the Ukrainian family.
"We received an e-mail from a friend of the Zholobovy family asking for support, and, of course, I was very concerned about the situation - not only about Liubov, but about everyone else in this crisis. There's not much I can do here, but, of course, when I know that so many lives are being ruined, I feel that I have to do everything I can to help. And so I received this request to relocate Liubov's family, and I thought it would be a good environment for them, that they would be safe here, and that the girl could train, continue to dream and do what she enjoys so much. It was important for me to help her and her family. I wish I could have done more, but I have my limits, and I hope many more people will support me, and that it will end very soon and we will be able to find peace again," Lambiel said.
Of course, it is not without difficulties in adapting to a new place and language, but Stephane understands this and together with his team tries to make this period as easy as possible for Liubov and her family, who are far away from their home, where the war is still going on.
"With Christopher (the director general of the school - editor's note) we tried our best to provide the family with everything, and the city also helped them with housing and the school. It is certainly difficult for Liubov to adapt to a new environment, a new language, new people, a new home and culture, everything new - just like her parents. I have travelled a long way and I know what it is like to be far away from home - at some point you have to flee for it, especially if you are forced to leave and have no other choice. Here in Champery we are trying to make them feel at home and I hope we can do as much as possible. I know that it is incredibly difficult for families to leave everything behind and move on, and I am excited about this moment and want to support them as much as I can," the Swiss said.
Maryna Nastewicz from Champery
Photo by Marina Nastevic, Judith Dombrowski
