Lobacheva & Averbukh

Interview after FD - Worlds (March 2003)

Q: We met Irina & Ilia at the hotel for a short interview. They were both understandibly very tired, because they were emotionally drained. So we didn´t keep them too long.

Q: Are you tired of skating and constant practises?
Right now Ilia would kind of like to continue amateur skating. But Irina wants to start a new life, a family. Somehow he just doesn't want to end on a negative feeling. But on the other hand, he is tired of the sports politics, the hard work and constant pressure. You win at times when you don't think you earned to win and you loose when you think you skated well. He has made all experiences there are in the amateur skating world. Winning one more time would be very nice but not a must. He is very sad it didn't work out today but he is also content with the medals already achieved. They did a lot in the sport and were able to gain fame and lots of fans in Russia. They will have to consider what they desire most.

Q: Are you looking forward to skating in shows? Any plans for shows?
They are looking forward to doing some shows but mainly he is looking forward to fullfilling a long time dream. He is organizing a skating tour through 10 Siberian cities mid April to mid May. He wants to invite lots of well-known skaters. There is no official name to the show yet. This year they wanted to use it to saying good-bye. There was a show like it last year at quite big venues of about 5.000 guest.
Since they are trying to start a new life with new jobs, there probably will not be too many shows. Ilia made lots of contacts in Russia for a TV commentating carreer. Their manager Andras Sallay will help them in all ways too.

Q: Is there any music you would have liked to skate to, but were not able yet?
Ilia is looking forward to skating programs without rules. He likes to experiment with music and learn new things. He has lots of ideas already. They hope to have the time to learn new exhibitions after the French tour.

Q: Looking back, which was your favorite program and season?
It is difficult to say which program they liked best. They loved Bach but loved the feeling of the Olympic season despite all the health problems of Irina.

Do you think differenty about the US now, then when you first came?
Yes, the opinion changed a bit, but also the country changed in the 7 years they lived in the States.

Q: Which was your biggest mistake in amateur skating?
Ilia has no regrets at all.

Tell us about your new apartment in Moscow? Is it furnished yet...?
Irina & Ilia wrote a letter to the mayor of Moscow because buying apartments there is more than difficult. There was some prize money for the Olympic medal which they exchanged for a discount on the apartment. Therefore, they were able to buy it but not able to furnish it yet. They are collecting lots of ideas for furnishing right now and also planning to make a little garden on the top of the roof. It has about 120 m², which is a reasonable size for Moscow. They are so much looking forward to having time for all this.

Q: When are you planning on a baby and how many would you like? Will you teach it skating?
They would love to have a baby right now. Especially Irina would love to have had it yesterday. Ilia notes that it might not be so easy because sports takes its toll on the body. So they will see how things go. First, they would be very thankful for one child but maybe would love to have two. Ilia would not like the child to start skating. He thinks that other sports are easier to judge. He will not push the child for any sport, but if it would like to do something, it is no problem. It might learn skating automatically if Irina will teach someday.

Q: What advice would you give young ice-dancers today?
Ilia suggests that only children with very hard work ethics should go into skating. You also need lots of patience because results and success are hard to achieve. There is no instant satisfaction in ice-dance particular.

Ilia thanked all his fans for their support and promised to keep in touch.

Interview after Masters Miko (April 2002)

Thanks to Asli for conducting the interview as I could not be present.

Question: Ilia, congratulations for winning the World Championships. We were very happy to see you here in Paris. What about next season? Which GP events will you ask to compete in?
Ilia: Lalique, Cup of Russia and NHK.

Q: What are your plans right now?
Ilia: Right now we'll go back to Russia. For 4-5 days we must visit the mayor of our town and do many many visits because after the Olympics we are very popular in Russia. After going back to USA, on April 23rd we start the COI Tom Collins tour. We are scheduled to do 10 exhibitions, but maybe more.

Q: Will you receive any honours in Russia for your Olympic and World medals?
Ilia: We will visit many people, receive many awards. Also two days ago a Russian newspaper gave an award to Irina because she is very strong and also for fairplay because in a press conference she said: I feel not too well because all the skaters around us are our good friends and it's difficult for me to be rivals with them.

Q. Tell us about your Olympic experience. Did it feel different from the last Olympics?
Ilia: These Olympics we skated to win a medal, at the last Olympics we could not have won a medal. So in Nagano it was a bit easier to skate. But in SLC, I don't know why, we felt big power. I don't know why, maybe the stars, but we felt good power. I remember all Olympics, all twenty days in Salt Lake City as the best days of my life. It was like this for Irina too.

Q: What direction do you think ice dance will or should take? There was a moment when everybody did dramatic programs.
Ilia: The couples do many different programs: if it's dramatic it's well, smiling dance it's well too. But the problem is doing the dance well. If you take just good smiling music like the Italians it's not enough, you must be doing the dance well too. If you take dramatic music, you must do very good steps with dramatic music.
We think next time we'll change our style. For us last two years we did dramatic programs, Bach and Time for Peace, now we want to change. We want to do a smiling dance. Maybe not like rock'n roll, but a little bit lighter than this year.

Q: What do you think about the new judging system proposed by the ISU? 14 judges will give marks but the computer will randomly choose 7 of them.
Ilia: I think having 14 judges would be good. More judges means less problems of judges voting together. But I think the computer selection is not a good idea. Only 7 judges will count. It's like a lottery - it's not so good I think. Look at this: out of 14 judges, just 4 judges give me 1st place, and 10 judges give me 2nd or 3rd or 4th. But the computer chooses those 4 judges and I'm first, 4 judges to 3. And you know, when I see the judge who gives the mark, he can answer later on, explain his mark. When it's just a computer, they can do anything that they want. Even a hacker can meddle with the computer and change the results.

Q: Another proposal is to introduce a points system as in gymnastics. A given number of points for a double axel etc. But probably this can't be applied to ice dance.
Ilia: No. But I think it would be a good idea to have 7 judges for technique and 7 judges for presentation. Two different panels. If some judges look only for the technique it will be easier. Now many couples are not technically good, but the judges give them big second marks like at the Games.

Q: In your opinion which young couples have potential?
I like the second Italian couple (Faiella/Scali). The French couple - good technique, big potential (Delobel/Scoenfelder). Maybe the Swiss couple. The second Russian couple. The Bulgarians - I like them but if we think about first or second place in the world, it's not probable. But maybe. I know many people like them.

Q: In the beginning of the season, did you think that you would be World Champions?
No. (smile) You know, the season was very difficult for us in the beginning. We thought maybe 3rd in Olympics - that was our dream. And we thought maybe one couple won't go to the Worlds, so we can be maybe second in Worlds.

Q: And 5-6 years ago? Did you dream of being World Champions?
Yes. I think every couple thinks about this.
Q: I'm very happy that it came true for you. Thank you very much, and good luck for next season.

Interview from Russian TV (summer 2001)

Translated and shortened version:

Ira and Ilia are at home in Russia sitting together with their families around a sofa table, which is deliciously set with several cakes and coffee.
Ilia introduces all the family present:
Ilia: My dear little brother Danechka, Ira's mom Antonina Viacheslavovna, my mom Julia Markovna and my dad Viacheslav Naumovich who is our great support.

Question: Do you consider yourselves as professional sportsmen and is skating more sport or art?
Ilia: I would say it is more sport. It is difficult to keep up good physical conditioning all year round. Constant training is a must. Most upscale skaters train twice a day. When you finally win something, you think you can go ahead and party a little. But usually competition takes away lots of energy and you are too tired to party, you just want to sleep.

TV shows a wall full of medals and trophies.
Question: This looks like the house of a war veteran who is decorated with all those medals. Can you tell us a little about your memories when looking at them?
Ira: The little figure reminds me of our first competition together with Ilia. This is where our fate was decided, if we would be skating together, yes or no. This and the Worlds (in Vancouver) were the most difficult competitions ever.
Ilia: Especially I like the medal where our names are engraved and even a picture of us is on it. It was made in Russia. But generally, each and every medal is something special because for each competition you fight like it is your last competition. It is not important where in the world you are, but you always just give your very best.

Question: How did you and Ira meet?
Ilia: This is an old story from our childhood. I was as old as my little brother maybe Ira: Even younger! Ilia: Yes, younger! Dasha, how old are you? Oops, 11, that's right! I was about 7 or 8 years. (TV shows a picture of Ilia in a group of other boys in swimwear) Ira and I were together in one skating group, single-skating. We knew each other for a long time, have been to different training camps together. Ira always was very serious and worked hard. (everyone laughs). Yes, I wasn't working seriously, Ira was always goal oriented. Carefully said, we didn't really love each other (everyone laughs even more)

Question: How can you carefully explain now, how this relationship came to be?
Ira: After meeting the first time as children, we were apart a long time. I was skating singles, Ilia started ice-dance. Yuri called my mother in order to find out if I would be willing to skate couples. I said, I never would skate with anyone, just myself always. Finding each other was a coincidence, or fate rather!

Question: What did you think of becoming partners on the ice?
Ilia: At first I was very scared at the idea because we were partners in life. I was afraid of conflicts in our deep and already quite long partnership. We noticed problems in other teams which were also partners in real life. Work sometimes gets very emotional. It was a test and a challenge for our relationship. But we got full support by Natalia. She was convinced it would work with us and would have future.

Question: Did the dear mothers have the idea of putting the kids on skates?
Ira's mom: Irushka was frequently ill at the age of about 5 years. I thought fresh air would help her.

Question: Why didn't you choose a warmer place rather than an ice rink?
Ira's mom: Oh no, totally wrong, you have to toughen up your child. Her grandmother bought the skates and she was able to skate rather quickly on her own. Later she was chosen to go to Dynamo club and was in the group with Ilia and so on. And surely she got sick even more seldomly.
Ilia's mon: I decided very early, when I would have a child, it would be a son and he would skate. I am a fanatic skating fan, watched everything on TV and knew even about all the rules. I just knew I would have a son which will have to be a skater - no other alternative.

Question: (directed to Ilia's father) Didn't you rather want to buy hockey skates?
Father: No, there was a plan for his life, something like carma. I could not do anything about it.

Question: Was there a special outfit made for the young skaters?
Ira's mom: We put together a red dress out of left over cloth.
Ilia: I remember getting a white outfit which was very nice. My mother embroidered my initials on it. I. A. The kids at the rink teezed me and called me "I A", like the donkey in a children's comic. I hated that suit ever since.

Question: (directed at both mothers) It was not easy for you to work and bring up such devoted children? What did you do?
Ira's mom: I was working as an obstetrician in a hospital.
Ilia's mom: I learned to be an micro-biology engineer but became a housewife to take care of the children. I also worked at the kindergarten.
Ira: It was not easy for my mother. She worked a lot. She took me on the metro to the skating rink and I usually made all my home work on the train.

Question: Are there differences between the ice quality in different countries?
Ira: Yes, most certainly! Ice is different even within Russia and each rink is different. Ilia: It depends on how the water is put on the ice surface. Every ice is different, sometimes ice becomes like concrete.

Question: Are there any old tricks skaters work with?
Ilia: It is funny to watch skaters and their skates. Nobody leaves their skates unattended. We carry them around with us everywhere. You could think we are all nuts.

Question: (directed to Dasha, Ilia's brother) Weren't you scared you had to begin skating too?
Dasha: Nope, not at all, wouldn't have done it anyway. They took me to tennis, then karate but just 1 month, then mom took me to play the guitar, but I was supposed to do some sport too. So I started fencing.
Ilia's mom: Ilia said, he already blocked the way into skating for Dasha. But I could not imagine any other sport at all. But then, why no fencing. There is a good section here for fencing and a nice coach.
Ilia's dad: We had a great appearance, we had 5 fights and lost all five, but he fought good to the end. We taped it all on video and found out mistakes....mistakes at the judges side of course, not on ours (big ironic smile). At this point we understood this sport is for us.

Dasha plays a Russian song on the guitar.
Question: Do all skaters on your level train the same amount?
Ilia: In most parts yes. There are some that work harder which others have naturally.

Question: What about luck?
Ilia: Each sportsman knows about fortune. You can be 100% sure in all your steps but suddenly you get into a rut and everything is over.

Question: What kind of feelings do you have after a performance and does it always mirror the marks given?
Ilia: Often you feel very good and the marks don't reflect it. But we try not to get too focused to the marks. We focus on what people will tell us, particularly our coach.

Question: How is the relation between the coach and the parents?
Ilia's mom: Usually you are not able to even get to the coaches, there is a great distance. There are parents that don't care about this. But we tried to be obedient parents and endured everything. We tried not to work against the coaches, but to stand on their side.

Question: Which tradition of partying do you have after a successful competition?
Ilia: We like to take a drink. It is tradition to put your medal in a glass of champagne and drink all of it. Yes, that is the tradition!

Question: How many medals do you have?
Ilia: I don't know, maybe about 100... for sure.

Question: How is your connection to home and your parents while being in the US?
Ilia: We feel very much connection. It is very important for us to feel their support. The first thing after a competition, we run to the hotel to call our parents. We could not skate without them.

Question: (directed to the mothers) How long does it take before the phone rings?
Ilia's mom: At the worlds he called at 5.30am. Of course I was awake anyhow. I was about to call Gennadi's mom to find out the result. My husband answered the phone right away with the sentence: "Here is the home of the bronze-world-champions" (big laughter)

Question: How do you feel in foreign countries at competitions being Russian?
Ira: Ours are always there anyway. We were brought up in soviet times that the whole Russian country stands behind us. That is always in our heads.

Question: Do you get support at the competition though?
Ira: E.g. even though there were a lot of Canadians at the worlds, we had our own fan section there. It was great to see all the Russian flags and flags with our names. Or even to hear some Russian there.
Ilia: If there are many Russians you hear them, but if there are no Russians there, you hear them even more. They scream soooo loud!

Question: What do they scream?
Ilia: Go Ira, Go Ilia. They really cheer us like in a soccer game. They make pretty banners.
Ira's mom: The Russian fans even scream funny riddles.

The interview ended with scenes of the FD.

Interview with Ilia Saturday night, European Championships 2002, Lausanne

All of us know the story of Irina's injury by now. Anyways we asked about her condition after skating a competition.
She still has pain, but she feels not much more strain on the knee than in regular practises. There is still water collecting in the tissue which is drawn out regulary, about every 4 days after intense training. She definitely will have to undergo surgery. Ilia could not say a date yet, because this will depend on the further development of the injury. They might even consider to have the surgery done between Olympics and Worlds. They do intend to go to Worlds though and would be much more pleased to take care of the problem after the season ended. Ilia said, to our big relief, that he will not allow the knee to be damaged permanently for any competition. The health of Irina is much more important than any success in sports. He would have to think about their future too.

Lots of sportsmen consider the Olympics as a very different and special competition. What difference do you see?

Ilia answered that he tries to forget that it is Olympics and that he only gets the chance to partake every 4 years and that this one will be his last. They try to mentally prepare themselves in this manner. Olympics mainly is a challenge for the readiness of your mind.
In practical terms Ilia explained that he much more appreciates the regular competitions because of the personal conveniences. He talked about his last Olympic experience in Nagano, where the Russians lived all together in a big appartment house. Their room was so little that only one person was able to stand up in it, while the other had to sit on the bed. There was one chair and a little table and the walls were very thin. They shared one tiny bathroom with 8 other people. Each sportsman had a different schedule to follow, therefore it was noisy all the time. The cafeterias served mainly only fast food and were overly crowded. The bus transfers were complicated because busses went to all different sports locations, of course. This Ilia said to just explain about the differences of the venues and definitely he did not want to complain about any of this. He realizes that everyone participating needs to be thankful to be able to partake of this special event. He explained that the feeling and energy of knowing you are one of the many many sportsmen of all the world actually there, is amazing and exhilarating. All nations joining together with the same goal is amazing to think about.
They did not attend the opening ceremony in Nagano because the collecting of sportsman takes about 4-5 hours before entering the stadium. This is very tiring and cold. They do not intend to go this year either. Ilia does not know of any skaters attending so far.

Ilia asured us that he of course has fighting spirit for the Olympics and the competitions to follow. They plan to skate one more year. They strive to be successful in what they do. But they realize that their skating is not everything in life. Ilia talked to Evgeny Platov and Arthur Dimitriev. Both ensured him that winning the Olympics is a great and wonderful feeling. But it is feeling that last for about a month only. Afterwards you start looking for new hurdles to take and to proove yourself over and over again. Ilia said, he sees no use in sitting back into a chair and enjoy an Olympic medal. He needs new challenges in his life. Skating is just a part of it and this part will finish soon. Then they are looking forward to a new life. Ira hardly can wait to have a baby and being a house wife. She is perfectly happy to just take care of a family, while Ilia set himself some other goals already. He would like to be involved with TV in Russia. They hope to be able to move to Russia after finishing skating. Ilia has already talks with Russian TV and Ira has a great offer to be involved in a high class health & fitness club.

Will family be able to attend the Olympics?
There will be no family. It is impossible to get accreditation for them and the fllight and ticket prices are too expensive. Ilia's mother has a ritual before each of their competitions. She goes to church every morning to pray for a clean performance. She believes that this helped them so far and she will not discontinue to do so now.

In the beginning of February I&I will go to Salt Lake and train there to get adjusted to the high altitude. They will not be with the other Russian skaters in the rink in the mountains but train in the competition venue.

About the feelings after this competition:
Ilia said that they were so happy about the standing ovation in the FD, which is the second in their life. Even for the exhibition they got a partial one and they were so surprised about having to do an encore.
Also Natalia Linichuk was touched by the performance because they did not even skate the FD in practice as well as here. She even cried at the ending.
He added that they will have to adjust the OD a bit because there must have been a problem with rules, because of the low marks. They will try to add speed to every program and plan to work on more run throughs.

They had so many problems this season. 2 days before coming to Lausanne, Ilia fell on a lift. He tried to uphold Irina, so she would not get harmed even more. Doing this he hit his head on the ice and was bleeding. He was dizzy for over a day and they were not able to practise before coming. We scolded him for not telling us earlier and he said, he doesn't want to tell about all the trouble they had because he didn't want us to get worried. In Russia the mentality is much different, the public is not interested in your problems and think they are just the skaters' problems alone. We assured him that his fans are interested in everything about them. He was surprised and shook his head in disbelieve.

Ilia would like to greet all the fans. They appreciate their support so much. The cheering notes and remarks, also during the injury, helped them to keep going.

Added remark: Ilia always picks out the fans he personally knows from out of the public in the rink before a performance. He notices exactly where they sit and even will give them little smiles before starting their program. We warned him about the rink in SLC because of the spectators being up so high. Most of his fans will not be able to be present, so they should remember that we all sit in front of our TV's and keep our fingers crossed for them.

Conversation with Ilia at European Championships 2001:

Irina and Ilia made a big step forward this year, especially in the means of presentation. Ilia was asked about his impression and if he discovered any change in his partner and wife.

First of all Ilia mentioned that he doesn´t like it, if people look upon the couple and say, only he is expressive. Ice dancing is a sport with two people and therefore both are evenly important. Ilia feels that Ira is pushing him to work hard and gives him the discipline to do it. Without that they would never be successful.
Ilia thinks that Irina made a huge improvement this year in presentation on and off the ice. She found self-confidence which she was lacking a bit before. The reason might be that they moved out from the Russian-house and finally have their own home and Irina particularly likes that. It is only a little apartment but it is their place to come to and be to themselves. Finally they don´t feel like students but like adults and really discover their marriage. Irina can feel like a wife and therefore developed to be more like a woman. Ilia gives big credit to Natalia Linichuk too because she also helped Ira to find more trust in herself. This feeling comes across on the ice very clear now.

The next question was, who influenced their skating, in terms of other skaters they look and used to look up to.

For Ilia all skaters who win are worth mentioning because they all were good in their own way and in their time they skated in. But in his mind Torvill & Dean stick out because of their own style they created. He admires the pure skating technique of Dean, but for presentation prefers the Russian dancers, like Platov and Uzova & Zhulin. Irina is particularly fond of the last two mentioned.

It was clear that Ilia would answer Moscow, if asked which city is his favorite. So here is the second best, he likes: Paris. For country side, he loves the mountains of Switzerland. The answer for Ira is Prague though.

It is a secret which second LP they will skate for GPF in Japan. They are told different things by the judges and therefore will still have to decide.

They don´t know if they will make any major changes to the OD, but for sure will work hard to increase speed and make the steps more difficult.

Before Ira & Ilia come onto the ice before competition, each of them spreads out their arms and Natalia moves up their spines with her fingers. Why?

Ilia answered that she does that even before and during practices. She says to close the eyes and feel tall and strong and to go out of yourself. In dancing it is important to show good posture all the time. Even dancers in daily live don´t walk upright like they swallowed a broom-stick. Therefore Natalia reminds them often to stretch and skate upright. It also helps to decrease nervousness because you take in the atmosphere and start feeling strong.

Ilia said that Ira had a big problem because her lower hook of her boot (this is a crucial spot for holding the shoe lace in place) broke during the warm-up for the FD. Before every competition Ira puts on her boots 25 minutes before skating. She walks in them to make sure they get warm and fit smoothly around her feet. This gives her a confident feeling for the competition. Most skaters open the laces after the warm-up to keep their feet from getting numb. But Ira keeps her boots tied, even if skating last in the group. After the hook broke she was so excited and totally upset. There was no way of fixing the broken hook, so they taped the shoe shut. With using taping of course, there is no way of adjusting the fit. Anyhow Ira managed well, despite her mental upset just before the FD.

The last question was, what Ilia thinks about using the old Soviet anthem again in Russia.

He doesn´t like that. He grew up with it and he still has the Soviet words of this hymn memorised. Everytime he hears the music, he is reminded of this old political system. He wished the formerly used version of the Russian hymn would have words added and be used instead.

Irina and Ilia always show themselves tremendously friendly and answer all questions asked. I thank you for being so open towards your fans and that you let us peak into your lives. Good luck for the rest of this season!

Interview after Cup of Russia

After the competition at Cup of Russia, Ilia Averbukh took lots of time to answer all the questions asked. He appreciates the interest of fans and thanks everybody for not forgetting them after such a hard season. They both hope not to disappoint the fans. Ilia was very curious what we (Sonja and I ) thought about the new FD.

As already known, Irina and Ilia went to Moscow after Masters Miko. They were trying to decide for themselves whether a coach change would be profitable to their career. The training with Linichuk was like working against each other, not together. They were giving each other the fault for the messy season. When departing from Linichuk the door was kept open though. Natalia said they could do what whey wanted. In Moscow they were not practising except some off-ice training with Sergei Petukov.

Since Nice they were in conversations with Tarassova but she was not able to commit to being their coach. She agreed to coaching them but much later backed out of it and was not giving a final answer. Since time was running away and Tarassova committed to so many couples they got doubts that they would be supported all the way by her.

After no contact with Linichuk, Ilia called her. She immediately asked how they are and was very friendly. She said they could come back any time if they want. They arrived in the US on July 25 without any programs and music. They talked a long time with Linichuk to discuss their future practise with her and they were able to communicate in a good and constructive manner. They are very happy to be back on the ice and train efficiently.

Irina and Ilia had an idea about a Tango program but did not follow that because Natalia bought at least 25 Bach CD's and they chose together the music Toccata in this particular version. Natalia was very very helpful and worked hard to find ideas.Since they missed a lot of time they all worked extra hard in order to make sure to be ready for Skate Canada. They were sorry they were forced to withdraw. She did the choreography of the OD and FD. For the OD they took several ballroom lessons from a Russian ballroom dancer working in the US. Unfortunately, they cannot work with him more because those lessons were very expensive. They might take more lessons just before Euros and Worlds. They chose to make the OD soft and flowing with good dance holds like real ballroom. Ilia already has ideas on how to improve the OD. For the FD Natalia suggested to get help from the former balletdancer from St Petersburg Vitaly Arkadiev in order to improve the presentation and arm positions of the program. He worked off-ice with them. Ilia feels it was good to choose him because this choreographer has never worked with skaters before. Therefore, he brought in a lot of new ideas and especially interesting lifts. Even now he is always with them at the ice to work on details, while Ntalia is making sure the whole picture of the dance is being kept.

The FD portrays a man's life and destiny. Irina is man's fate and forces him to stay in life's path. The first lift shows that life is set in certain and straight ways out of which Ilia tries to free himself and break loose. He is not succeeding while his time of life is drawing to an end. The FD finishes with death of the man and victory of fate.

This season they also want to improve their presentation and appearance to look more professional. They seek advice by stylists. Ilia was happy about the positive response given at Cup of Russia. They were very pleased with how they skated and their late start in the season did not show at all. They even received their first 5,9 in an international competition from the Hungarian judge as Ilia noted.

Irina and Ilia will go from St Petersburg directly to Paris. They only had 2 hours practise time in Jubeljeni-Rink in order to run through the nex compulsory dance Tango Romantica. They shared the ice with Petrova&Tikonov, Obertas&Sokolov and Sokolova. Their Romantica looked great for not having it practised since leaving the US.

Ilia's mother is a great help picking out material for the costumes. She scans the material and mails it Irina and Ilia. This is how they choose the design too. The designer is Julia Popova.

They plan to make another brand new FD for the GPF. They want to work on that between Lalique and Euros. Ilia and Natalia have different ideas about the FD and will have to make a decision on what will work the best. He is always open for suggestions as well.

Ilia is finally able to earn some extra money with coachingkids 2 hours a day, 6 days a week. He has his own little American dance couple (they are 10 and 12 years old). He choreographed a Blues for them and enjoys working with them. About 2 weeks before competitions he concentrates on his own training though to be completely ready for it. In general, they practise 4 hours a day (6 days a week) and still have a very difficult practise schedule because the get free ice time. For the free ice they have to do exhibitions at the University of Delaware. Before the morning practise they have off-ice workouts for one hour.

Again Ilia mentioned how happy they are about their own flat. They have a one bedroom apartement and therefore much more time to themselves than in the "Russian House". Although he has to pay quite a bit of rent, it is much better this way. Irina is a perfect housekeeper and likes everything neat and clean. She even cleans up the hotel room before housekeeping comes in :-). She took English lessons and understands quite a bit now but is still timid to speak.

Their favourite FD is the new one and the OD rhythms they prefer are the waltz and the Jive.

Irina and Ilia very much appreciate the support of the public. It was great to skate in St Petersburg because of the very special fans there. His fans from St Petersburg had little riddles and rhymes to shout for Irina and Ilia.

They both look forward to this season and are already excited about the next competitions.

Interview done by Tanja Brand and Sonja Wendl. Do not use without permission.