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Team Paradise: "Everything went as planned"


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Team Paradise 2020-21: a total of 23 skaters coached by Irina Yakovleva and Alexander Yakovlev. (Credits: Team Paradise)

The Russian senior champion Team Paradise is back on the ice since early July. Even if strict health measures must be respected during the training, the skaters from Saint-Petersburg hopes that they will be able to travel this season.

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"We really hope that competitions and the new season will begin very soon. We are very glad that the world is returning to normal," starts Team Paradise. The multiple national champions of Russia is back on the ice for 2,5 months.

Mid-August, they flew to the Kaliningrad region (between Poland and Lithuania along the Baltic Coast) for a big training camp that finished... on Thursday! "We were very afraid that there would be little time to prepare for the upcoming season, but fortunately everything went as planned."

The building of their programs is now over. "We need to work, work and work again so that judges and viewers will see the high levels of the elements and emotional performance," the team continues.



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During the COVID19 quarantine, the skaters had a training plan to follow. "We were engaged in power exercises, and stretching. There were also online training in classical ballet. We kept in touch with our coaches and each other," explains the team. During the pandemic, the goal was also to look for new ideas for the programs.

"It was a difficult time for everyone, but we think it learned us pay attention to our health, take care of family and relatives, and our planet. We learned to be more disciplined and responsible. Whatever happens, it also taught us not to give up and to support each other in difficult circumstances," says the skaters.

"One of our ice rink can close at any time"
This year, there will be 23 skaters in the team. Five skaters are new to the team. "They are wonderful girls," says the team. At the end of the last season, only one girl ended her career. This year again, the team captain will be Anna Shkurdai.  



About the next months and the competitions' calendar, it's really hard to say what will happen. "We don’t know the final schedule of the season. One day, our coaches tell us that we will go to a place, the next day this competition is cancelled. Plus, in our city of Saint Petersburg now there is still a regime of strict measures and an ice rink in which we are training can close at any time," says the team.

For the next few months, Team Paradise will work according to the usual plan and will wait that the borders open for international competitions. "Now our plans include two national qualifications, and then we will wait for the situation in the world. We hope that this year you will see us and the other of the strongest teams in the world on one same ice," hopes the team that wishes good luck to all teams and wishes everyone to stay healthy.

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