Charity Ends At Home

Competition is always tougher on foreign turf. Maxim Shipov has just tested it on his own blades. He was recently back from the Golden Spin of Zagreb (November 8-11), placed 23 out of 25 participants

- Maxim, it was your second international competition, wasn't it?
- Chronologically, yes. But the first one was Skate Israel 2005, after which I started thinking about making aliya, and I am not sure if psychologically that counts. I felt like home here.
- So, let’s say it was your first international competition. What was particularly hard?
- I've realized how crucial experience is. I train hard doing all the elements rather well during run-throughs, but I have to adapt to the very different conditions of a sports contest.
- You got a score about 20 points lower than what it was at the Nationals in August. What failed you?
- The jumps. My LP has 6 triples and two double axels. I was able just to land two of the triple jumps.
- How are you going to act on that?
- Just working on the jumps. The next competition is the Israel Nationals in January.
-So, you don’t set oblique goals before yourself.
- I like to set tangible goals and get tangible results.
- Great! I hope it will work for you. The audience gave you a warm welcome in August, and will be happy to see you again.