What's your opinion of the Russian Nationals controversy?

[K]

So, in case you're out of the loop, the Russian Nationals Men's result was:

1. Evgeni Plushenko (of course)
2. Sergei Voronov
3. Konstantin Menshov
4. Artur Gachinski
5. Maxim Kovtun

However, when selecting the team to go to the European Championships, the committee selected 1. Plushenko, 2. Voronov (as they had to per the rules), and then skipped right to 5. Kovtun.

Their excuse was that they wanted a younger skater on the team (Kovtun is 18, Menshov is 29), but as Alexei Mishin pointed out afterwards, if they wanted a younger skater, shouldn't they have gone to 4. Gachinski (19 years old)?

Maxim Trankov then started a protest on Twitter to support Menshov's selection. Even Kovtun tweeted the hashtag they were using.

Now the Federation is saying that if Voronov and Kovtun don't do well at Euros, there will be a skate off between Gachinski and Menshov for the Worlds spot.

Opinions?

(Personally, I think Menshov earned his place and should have gone. The fact that Kovtun could not beat Gachinski, who is having a rotten season, even when Kovtun's marks were inflated ridiculously, does not speak volumes for Kovtun.)

[agreeableshop895]

In general, I think the national team should correspond with the competition results, i.e. Konstantin Menshov earned it and should get to go. Otherwise why have a national championship if you're going to select the team from a skate off or by trying to predict who's going to have it together by the time Worlds comes around? I understand that they're trying to maximize their chances for the Sochi Olympics, but I would assume that playing these kind of games is distracting for the skaters and adds a whole of heap of pressure that could really compromise their performances.

[cathrl69]

I feel sorry for Kovtun. Imagine being 18 and having that hanging over your head while trying to train for and perform in a big international competition.

If they wanted to give multiple people a shot, then they should have announced the teams for several competitions at the same time. They do have a point to some extent - 29 is too old to have a long future in the sport, and Gachinski has had many opportunities already.

[Riley♥]

I feel bad for Kovtun; it's not his fault the federation is pushing him forward. I'm sure he'd rather earn his spot than have it handed to him on a silver platter.

I'm not going to argue with the federation; it's their right to pick whomever they like. But I do think that, unless there are exceptional circumstances, the top three should be the ones to get the three spots. I am glad that they're giving Gachinski and Menshov a chance if the other two don't do well. It's like what the Skate Canada did with Lacoste and Phaneuf last year.

Honestly, it's unfair, but I'm not really too bothered by this. I don't follow the men's competition that closely.

[Victorian]

I completely agree with you!
I think that Menshov earned his spot and it wasn't fair nor very professional to just boot him because they wanted a younger skater.

[F♥]

I completely agree, Menshov should have got the chance to go to Europeans - it's really unfair.

[Elektra]

I also feel really bad for Kovtun. It's not his fault and he shouldn't be getting any of the blame.

Although I am a huge fan of Max, I still think Menshov should have gone instead. Menshov clearly placed higher than Maxim at RN, and also has a lot more experience at Senior internationals than Kovtun. Off the top of my head, the only Senior international I remember Kovtun doing is WTT last year, where he did not place well. And just because a skater does well in Juniors, doesn't mean they'll repeat that success in Seniors (eg. Adelina Sotnikova, Caroline Zhang).

That being said, I guess I can see the Federation's reasoning. Kovtun has had a great season so far in Juniors, he did win the JGPF, and I read in one article that they thought RN was rather soon after the GPF, which could have been the reason why Kovtun didn't skate too well (not enough time to recover...but somehow I get the feeling it was just his nerves that got to him. Having watched his practice videos, he seems to be skating fine in practice, successfully completing two different quads).

Also, regarding Gachinski, I read somewhere in another article (I would link it, but can't remember where I read it) that they didn't send him because they don't think he's reliable after his performances at his GPs. And fair enough, really - I used to love Artur, but it seems like this season has just been a downward spiral for him. There is also the issue of his health problems (I think I read something somewhere about numb legs??), which may also be a contributing factor in case his condition deteriorates.

But overall, yeah, I do think the decision is really unfair on Menshov. I guess we'll just see what happens - I hope Maxim skates to his full potential anyway.

Oh, and also, you speak of Kovtun's marks being 'inflated' - why do you think this? Having looked at the protocols, I think the scoring was fair.