David Richardson “As long as I enjoy it and I am skating well, I will continue”
July 19, 2011
By Mireille Geurts
Photos © Absolute Skating
It
was a nice surprise to meet the British skater David Richardson again at
Europeans in Bern this year. I got to know him at a show a few years ago
(Kevin van der
Perren’s Ice Fantillusion, which we write about regularly) where
he showcased enormous talent to incorporate humour with quality skating,
as well as being very enthusiastic towards his sport.
Skating since he was 7 years old, he now had his first year in the big international
competitions, first the Europeans in Bern and later Worlds in Russia. This
is because David won Nationals for the first time.
“I was incredibly happy to win British Nationals. It was a childhood
dream of mine and I had to work hard to achieve it. It was even sweeter
to win because I won with a PB total and skated the best I have ever done
to win. It made all the hard work and all the bad times seem invisible in
comparison to 
the
win. I was also happy to give the title to my family who have helped and
supported me throughout my career, both financially and emotionally.
With the National title I also got to go to my first European Championships
which made me extremely excited!!!! I was very nervous on the day of preliminary
rounds and felt it affected my performance. I could have qualified comfortably
but allowed my nerves to take over a little too much. I learned a lot from
the experience and had an amazing time seeing the comparison between an
ordinary international to an ISU championship”.
When qualified through the preliminary, the ISU refunds accommodation plus
a part of the meal costs, which for David unfortunately wasn’t the
case, nevertheless David decided to stay all week and soak up the competition
atmosphere. In the same breath also showing his federation how enthusiastic
he is and hoping he would be sent to the next big competition.
“After Euros it was unclear if I was to be sent to Worlds but in February
I learned I would be Great Britain’s representative for the competition.
I was even more excited for Worlds because, other than Olympics, it is the
most prestigious event to take part in”.
Of
course, then disaster hit Japan and all plans had to change for everyone.
“I was devastated for the people of Japan who the tsunami and earthquake
struck, and my thoughts were with them. Although I would have loved a trip
to Tokyo I was just truly grateful that all the competitors were not there
at the time. On the day the earthquake hit my Mum called me and said I couldn't
go even if the event was still going ahead.
After the postponement of Worlds, the training became very hard and exhausting.
It was a difficult situation to deal with as no-one knew the exact circumstances.
When Worlds was announced for Moscow my motivation became to lift again
and training became easier.
When I got to Worlds I was much more relaxed and felt more at home. Learning
some of the Russian traditions and lifestyle was fun and I spent a lot of
time with Jenna (McCorkell) and Kevin (VDP) which is always nice as we are
great friends! We visited Red Square and explored Moscow.
When it came to my skate I felt I performed much better than in Bern at
the Europeans, and looking back, had I not made such silly mistakes I could
have qualified through to the short program. Although I narrowly missed
out, I left the competition feeling more motivated and enthusiastic than
ever before. I came home from Russia with more energy and love for the sport”.
Enthusiasm
and love for the sport was already very much there at the Movies Extravaganza
show where I first met him. How did he end up in Belgium?
“I do shows regularly in England, but this is the first time I was
in Belgium. I used to train with Jenna many years ago, before she started
to train here with Kevin and we stayed friends ever since. I had seen some
of the previous shows, Jenna showed me DVDs and it looked like a really
good show and it’s a good standard of show. A couple of friends also
had done shows here, like Elliot Hilton (left), Alex Wilde (middle) and
the ice dancers.
I really enjoy doing shows, it is so much fun, and less pressure than at
competition. You can do a jump but if you don’t land it nobody cares.
I love competition but shows are so much more laid back and relaxing. At
competitions there are so many restrictions on what you can and cannot do,
you don’t really get a chance to be an individual with the new rules”.
That
remarks brings us to “Code of Points”, the system that was installed
several years ago and is still undergoing developments like every system
should do as time progresses, is always an interesting topic to discuss.
“I do like the new rules, it works well for the technical score -
if you do the jumps, spins and steps you get the marks, but with the component
scores judges can still be place people where they want them. Maybe this
happens less at internations, but especially at national level. It’s
a catch 22 situation.
It can be so frustrating, when at Euros or Worlds someone in the bottom
groups skates technically great and then someone in the higher group skates
poorly but gets more components marks, just because they are in a higher
group and that’s not fair. It should be more balanced.
With the old system you knew what you had to do, how long your music is
and now you have to wait till July till the new changes come in, and you
have to sit down with your coach and change everything. So it delays the
preparation for the new season, but at least that is the same for everybody.
”
Preparation for the new season also includes improving your technical arsenal.
“When we spoke last time I still had some trouble with the triple Lutz, but since last season the jump is getting much stronger and last season I had it called in a couple of competitions so I need to improve on this in the new season. I also hope to work on the triple Axel in the summer so it will come later in the season...hopefully!!!”
When
asked what his favourite element is, David answers with a longing in his
voice.
“Ahhhhhhh, when it is right, the triple toe – triple toe combination. It feels really nice, but when it feels wrong, it really hurts. Also my spins are pretty strong; I get high levels on my spins. I enjoy spinning.”
We see you do high level spins in the shows as well.
“Yeah that is because I keep hearing my coach’s voice ‘don’t
think you can’t do levels just because it’s shows, try to get
difficult positions and changes’.”
In
aforementioned Ice Fantillusion shows, David had some pretty special programs.
You can see his solo here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfF5JWOTOsA
Next to that, he performed in several group numbers, including a ‘wild
wild west’ routine with Alex Wilde and Elliot Hilton, where they are
cowboys on the ice, having fun, flipping Alex over untill David gets shot
at the end, as well as portraying drunken pirates who get the bright idea
it’s fun to lay on the ice (David and Elliot) while the third (Alex)
jumps over them....
“The group stuff (with Elliot and Alex) we made when we came here. We’ve known each other for a long time, so it wasn’t that hard. We skated together a lot, so we are very used to each other. Yesterday it went a bit wrong. Alex is supposed to stop a little bit before us, but his blades are a bit sharp, he kept going and hit Elliot a little bit. Nobody’s hurt….yet. No need to worry, unless you see blood.”
More pictures of the show you can see here
Luckily, no blood was seen that week. Since I had not seen David in competitions yet I asked him if he has a more classical style in competitions than here at the show.
“Well actually the second part of my solo program is the second part of my short program music.”
Really?
It is? So you do stuff like wobbling your bum? At the judges?
*laughs* “No definitely not, I don’t wobble my bum at the judges… though that would be interesting. Maybe I would get better marks. You never know. No, the second part is my short and it is a real fun program. The long is classical. [the program we discuss here, can be seen on our youtube channel here, as mentioned above]
When we had that talk, he had just made a big change in his training environment.
“I just had a change of coach. I used to train with Yuri Bureiko
in Coventry but I am now with Joy Sutcliffe. I just changed after nationals.
I was getting stuck in a rut, so it was time to make a change, for something
new.
It’s at a training centre, an hour away from home. I go there on Monday
and go home on a Friday. I stay with my coach, I train full-time and I work
a bit as well.”
Work is needed to raise funds to maintain doing this sport. Just recently, David took steps for a bit of help in this area.
“This sport takes a lot of dedication and hard work, along with a
huge bank balance. At the moment I currently fund my skating alone with
significant help from my grandparents. Even though I was fortunate enough
to compete at European and World championships, I footed the majority of
my bill myself. The cost of a season runs into £1,000s and can become
very stressful at busy times in the season. I coach young skaters to help
fund my ambition and find it hard to train and teach...but needs must!
I have entered into a competition to receive a grant to support my skating
which also provides a top athlete to act as a mentor, passing on valuable
experience and knowledge. The program also entails seminars and the possibility
of new equipment. The first stage of the competition requires me to get
as many votes as possible to allow me through to the next stage. I must
finish in the top 10 of the initial applicants to proceed to the following
round. I could really do with your help in getting votes. All I need is
for you to log on to the
link below and enter an e-mail address. It doesn’t cost anything
and it’s easy! And who knows, it may enable me to focus more on my
skating than on my bills! ”
www.bringontomorrowfoundation.com/final.php?id=125
Maybe your vote will help him through next season, for which he started to prepare after a well deserved break after Worlds.
“I took a little break and went back home for a week’s holiday
just to visit family as I spend all my time away from home so took the opportunity
to catch up with my friends and family.
At the moment I am busy planning my new season and preparing new programs.
At the NIC in 
Nottingham,
where I am based, Gurgen Vardanjan joined us last season and I have been
working with him alongside Joy Sutcliffe. In addition to this we have a
new member to the coaching team, Jerana Ipakjan. Jerana has worked with
Julia Sebestyen and Tigran Vardanjan.
We have been working tirelessly on my new routines to try and improve the
component mark in my performances. The programs are extremely demanding
and it has been a pleasure to work with Jerana. Her choreography and vision
has given my routines a new dimension and feel. She will be based in Britain
full time now and I look forward to the input she can give to my skating.
I believe my season will start at the end of August with a domestic event
held in Sheffield. From there I will discuss with the federation my international
allocations and will hopefully try and compete at more international events
in order to gain valuable experience. My Nationals are scheduled for the
end of November.”
We wish David a lot of luck, with the funding competition and of course for the upcoming season! Last but not least, how long do you intend to keep skating David?
“As long as I enjoy it and I am skating well, I will continue.”
