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Russian Nationals start in Saransk


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Team Paradise (RUS) will defend its national title. (Credits: S. J. Photos - 2019)

30 teams will compete this weekend in 3 categories: Senior, Junior and Advanced Novice. For the Senior and Junior teams, this event will be the qualifications for the World Championships.

The National Russian Championships start this Friday, January 17th in Saransk. It's the first time that Nationals are held in this city. Many times Russian National Championships took place in Yoshkar-Ola, and in some other cities, but never in Saransk.

Skating in 3 categories (Senior, Junior and Advanced Novice), only the best teams received the opportunity to participate in Nationals. This competition will be really important for the teams because the winners will be qualified for the World Championships.

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Team Junost is the 2019 World Junior Champion. The Russians earned their title in Neuchâtel last March. (Credits: Ville Vairinen - 2019)

No doubt that the big star of this competition will be Team Paradise – 3 times World Champions. Everybody is looking forward to seeing their amazing new programs. However, the competition in other categories also will be interesting to follow.

Indeed, during the last years, the Junior division grew a lot in Russia and present now a very exciting and unpredictable fight. Team Junost and Team Crystal Ice are ready to prove to the panel that they deserve to be the champions. Last year, Team Junost won the title.

Who will win this year? The 3 times World Junior Champion (Junost) from Ekaterinburg or the most ambitious team from Moscow, Team Crystal Ice? Don't forget also Sunrise-1 or Team Idel who could also present extremely difficult programs. No doubt that each of these 4 teams will show interesting performances, difficult elements and a strong desire to win. The fight for the title and for the Worlds will be very thrilling.
In the Advanced Novice division, the same 3 teams are on the podium for a few years: Sunrise-2, Junost Advanced Novice, and Kazanochka. But this year, a new team appeared in Saint-Petersburg: Sunrise-3. The talented team showed very strong skating skills and great performances in the first competitions of the season. For sure the newcomers will try to finish on the podium and probably even dream of a victory.

Will Sunrise-2 defend their champion title again? Or will Junost Advanced Novice take home the gold after a few years? Maybe Russian will find its new champions. Anyway, we will get to know soon!