November 25 - AbsoluteSkating.com has photos and reports from the SOI Antwerp show available for your viewing pleasure.
November 20 - Titia and Mireille at AbsoluteSkating.com have written a live report on practices at Stars on Ice, Antwerp. Visit AbsoluteSkating.com for other reports and reviews on the event as they become available.
November 14 - J. Barry Mittan has written an article about Margarita and Povilas for SkateToday.com.
October 24 - Why did Rita & Povilas come back?
An article (in Russian) was translated by Velena and posted on her website. The article gives a detailed backstory on Rita & Povilas' career and why they decided to come back to eligible skating for their 5th Olympics.
Margarita Drobiazko, Povilas Vanagas: WHY DID THEY COME BACK?
October 14 - Olympic Spot Secured
In a decisive victory, Margarita and Povilas won the gold medal at Karl Shafer Memorial, securing their spot at the 2006 Olympics. Their score of 184.22 was 28 points higher than the second place finishers.
- Full results from Karl Schaefer Memorial
October - Return at Nebelhorn
Margarita Drobiazko & Povilas Vanagas had a successful return to eligible competition by finishing second at Nebelhorn Trophy. Margarita and Povilas were second in the compulsory dance and original dance and finished first in the free dance portion of the event, ahead of reigning world silver medallists Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto. They will now set their sights on Vienna, Austria, where they hope to earn a spot at the 2006 Olympic games.
June - Lake Placid IDC & Coaching Information
Margarita and Povilas will debut their new free dance at the
Lake Placid Ice Dancing Championships on August 4th. Due to scheduling
commitments at Sun Valley, they will only be able to compete in the
free dance portion of the Lake Placid event. Both Margarita and Povilas
are excited to skate their new program for the public and receive their
marks under the new code of points judging system for the first time.
This will be their first competition since the 2002 World Championships
in Nagano, Japan.
Margarita and Povilas are also pleased to announce their coaches who
have agreed to help them during the upcoming season. In addition to
Elena Maslennikova who is their coach and choreographer, they are also
working with Rostislav Sinitsyn, who has been reviewing their compulsories
(in Dortmund, Germany). Margarita and Povilas have also worked with
Igor Shpilband and Marina Zoueva who have monitored their original and
free programs and made changes accordingly for the new judging system.
April
- Returning to Eligible Skating for the Olympics
Rita and Povilas are pleased to announce that they will return
for the 2005- 2006 season with the hope of representing Lithuania at
the 2006 Olympics in Turino, Italy. This would be Rita and Povilas'
5th consecutive Olympics.
Rita and Povilas will train under Elena Maslennikova, who has a background
in both ice dancing and ballroom dancing and who has coached them for
nine years (prior to Tchaikovskaya). They will also receive training
and coaching from other coaches who will be named shortly.
In order for Lithuania to send a dance team to the Olympics, Rita and
Povilas will try to obtain one of the few remaining spots open, but
competing at the 2005 Karl Shaefer Memorial in Vienna, Austria, in October.
They may also compete in the Grand Prix Series this fall, but must wait
for ISU permission.
February - Our web site has joined Europeonice.com,
which also opened a forum
for Rita & Povilas fans to have discussions. Thanks to Emily Bruines
for her interest and hard work.
|
