Training in Champéry
Training camps in Champéry are always exciting and very fruitful. Of course I was waiting for the time to come again. It’s a long drive to get there, and long rides are a pain, because I have to sit for so long, and even with stops in between, I just don’t like being confined in a car. 🙂 On top of that, something else was bugging me the whole time, and I couldn’t distract myself. I knew this particular camp would be special to me. Maybe, hopefully, career changing even.
Champéry is a beautiful, quiet and peaceful little village. The sight of it always makes me happy. When we arrived, it was pretty sunny, but as soon as we settled in the hotel, it started to rain. I looked at the clouds and thought how perfect the timing was, but then I felt kinda confined again.
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The first night I had a surprisingly good sleep. My Training started at 8:20 am, and I was pretty excited to go on the ice after my two weeks of break. First time since the Art On Ice shows.
I started with „Lesson“ which means “on the ice”. We worked on some steps, and then on jumps. Then we had a „Master Class“, and this class I had with Ghislain Briand. It was very interesting, and I learned a lot. He’s very good at teaching, I always feel that I learn a lot from him.
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Days were passing quickly, especially because they were packed with programs. Every day we had different lessons, like normal ice, free ice — which is like I could go on the ice by myself and practice alone, then master class, ballet, cardio off ice, strength off ice and yoga.
This time I worked with Arianna Wroblewska the most. I didn’t know upfront who I was working with, I was only told right on the day, and I loved that, because everyday was like a surprise. 🙂
I was very productive and progressed a lot. The most entertaining and interesting lessons of all were the ones with Ghislain. I really love working with him.
I worked on my new choreography with Arianna, Giulia and Stéphane to add more little details to my programs. With Angelo, Gerli and Ghislain I worked more on technical things like jumps. I had to work a lot on my technique, and there’s still a lot left to refine. I worked on my 3A too, and it was so frustrating, because even though I got better, I could rotate it well enough, landing it clean is a whole new challenge. 🙄
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Then THE topic, which was in the back of my mind the whole time, got more and more pressing. The end of the camp was approaching, and I talked a lot with my mom. Things I do not wish to talk about in detail were bothering me for a long long time, and I had dreams, but my main supporter is still my mom and my family. Finances are bounding our hands all the time. Figure skating is such an expensive sport, an average person would never think of how much everything costs even at junior level. I’m always trying to find sponsors, but it’s really difficult. This is why my mom always tells me to be grateful for everyone who can support me, even with just a small amount. And I know she is right. She always fought for me at BEC too, as best as she could. But now we both thought that the time for a change had come. I wanted to try my luck, and ask Stéphane Lambiel to accept me, and allow me to join CP Champéry. I was very sure that if I could change, it would definitely resolve the local issues me and my mom had in BEC specifically, and I also knew I would progress much faster. Yet, at the same time I didn’t want to leave my coach. I felt I had a very special bond with Ekaterina. She has been coaching me since I was 11, and I felt we were a great team. I just didn’t want to leave. I got very emotional, but my mom said it’s up to me, I have to man it up, and make the decision. She can only support me. Such a change would put a heavy financial burden on her, and I would need to grow up quickly, and learn how to take care of myself like an adult. We had a few serious talks about this before, and at the end we decided that we will give it a try.
The result is not a secret anymore. I announced it on May 1st officially on my social media accounts. My request was accepted.
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Monday afternoon, when we left Champéry for home, the long ride seemed shorter. I was deep in my thoughts almost the whole time. I knew we still had to talk to my coach, and every time I thought about that I had deep emotions. My mom told me to think about the future instead, and focus on the challenges awaiting, that I will have to work even harder if I want to achieve my goals. I tried my best to do so.
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