 Skate
Today has teamed up with Barry Mittan to provide you an insight into
the personalities of the people in this wonderful sport and to give
you a more personal connection when you watch them on television or
see them at an event. Mr. Mittan is the author or editor of several
books and hundreds of figure skating articles. All of Barry's stories
are reviewed by the skaters, and their coaches or others if requested,
before publication to ensure the greatest accuracy.
All current
articles and many previous articles may be read in their entirety by
following the links below. Mr. Mittan retains all copyrights for these
articles and they may not be reproduced without permission. Please visit
www.jbmittan.com for more details.
Archived Articles
2008
January - March 2008
2007
2006
2005
2004 |
June 30, 2008
Article by J. Barry Mittan
 Finland has a surplus of excellent ladies competing at the international level, but not as many men. Bela Papp, a 14-year-old who was born in Kuopio, Finland is one of the promising newcomers. Papp won the Nordic Championships in novice men in 2006 and finished first in Finland in junior men this season.
"It was my goal to win Nationals so I could get a place at the Junior Worlds and do two Junior Grand Prixs next season," Papp noted. "I liked competing with all the people and I learned a lot."
He also competed in his first ISU Junior Grand Prix in Lake Placid, New York, where he finished 12th and the World Junior Figure Skating Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, where he placed 28th.
"I started skating when I was five," Papp recalled. "There was a pairs skater living in my house that my mom was coaching and I wanted to try it too." |
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June 25, 2008
Article by J. Barry Mittan
 The 2008 Canadian junior pairs champions were Monica Pisotta, 17 in May, and Michael Stewart, 21 in March. The duo won pre-novice pairs in 2006 and placed fourth in junior pairs in 2007. They finished eighth at the World Junior Figure Skating Championships in Bulgaria at the end of the season.
Pisotta started her athletic career in ballet when she was three, continuing in the genre until she was 14. "My mother put me in skating when I was eight and I liked skating better," she said. She landed her first triple salchow when she was 14 and is now working on her triple loop. Pisotta placed 12th in junior ladies at the Eastern Challenge last season.
"I also started doing pairs at 14," Pisotta noted. "I always wanted to do pairs from when I saw Jamie Sale and David Pelletier on television when I first started skating. Pairs is more of a challenge."
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June 16, 2008
Article by J. Barry Mittan
 Three-time New Zealand senior ladies champion Morgan Figgins made her debut in international senior competition this season when she finished 27th at the 2008 Four Continents Championships in Goyang, Korea. Later in the season, she finished 52nd at Worlds. Figgins was 33rd last year in her international debut at the World Junior Figure Skating Championships in Oberstdorf, Germany.
"That was the first time I smiled at a competition," Figgins said of Four Continents. "My goal was to smile and I did. I had a really bad year last year with injuries. In September 2007, a girl ran into me in practice at Australian Nationals and injured the tendons around my ankle. Then I had a glandular problem and tonsillitis."
The lively 16-year-old began skating when she was six. "My mom used to rollerskate and I wanted to do the same but not the same," she said. "My grandparents mentioned figure skating and I told them that I'd give it a go. I did Learn to Skate for two years, and then started taking private lessons when I was eight. I started in Auckland, but my parents wanted to move to a quiet bay so my family moved to Dunedin five years ago. I started taking lessons from a Russian coach there, Fanis Shakirizianu."
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June 10, 2008
Article by J. Barry Mittan
 Brazil continued to expand its presence in the international figure skating community this year by sending its first man to compete in an ISU Championship. Kevin Alves, 16, accomplished that feat when he finished 19th at the Four Continents Championship in Goyang, Korea in 2008. Alves followed up his debut two weeks later with a 35th place finish at the World Junior Figure Skating Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria.
"My goal for this season was just to get a lot of experience and see what it was like to skate with the best in the world," Alves said. "Next year, I hope to skate even stronger."
Alves used to skate in Canada, placing eighth in pre-novice men in 2006 and sixth in novice at Sectionals in 2007. He was fourth in juniors as a guest at Sectionals this season. He switched to skating for Brazil for the 2007-08 season. "My mom was born in Brazil and we had talked about skating for Brazil for a while," said Alves, who was born in Newmarket, Ontario, Canada. |
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June 03, 2008
Article by J. Barry Mittan
 The number thirteen is unlucky for some but not for Germany's Peter Liebers. Liebers finished 13th in his first European Championships in 2008. It earned him a trip to Worlds, following in the footsteps of his father, Mario, who competed at Worlds from 1976 to 1980. He finished 32nd in his first time at Worlds in Sweden in March. Liebers was also 13th in his only appearance at the World Junior Figure Skating Championships in 2006. He finished second in Germany this season.
The 19-year-old began skating when he was six. "I started because my family skated," he said. "My father was East German champion and my older brother, Martin, also competes now for Germany." He landed his first triple jump, a salchow, by the time he was eleven and his first quad, the toe loop, in September 2007. "I want to land the quad lutz now," he said. "I tried it in 2006 before I broke my leg."
"It was my left leg," he continued. "I was doing a straight line step sequence in training after Junior Worlds in 2006 and hit a hole in the ice and fell. I had to have a metal insert in my leg that finally came out in March 2007. So I didn't get back on to the ice until May. I had to do a lot of weights and riding on the stationary bike while I was off the ice so I wouldn't put too much pressure on my leg."
For the last six years, Viola Striegler has coached Liebers, who trains in his hometown of Berlin most of the year. "Last year in May, I went to a training in camp by the Baltic Sea. In 2002, I went to Alexei Mishin's camp and in 2003, I went to a camp with Viktor Kudriatsev, but mostly I train in Berlin." |
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