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If you have a
question for Marika and Federico,
click here!
Why did you
decide to make the move to ice figure skating?
Marika: we won everything
in artistic roller skating which is a 'poor' sport you just do
it for passion, we had no more motivations to keep going.
Federico: we wanted to try something new and then in figure
skating you get the chance to attend the olympic games.
What was the most difficult part
of making the move?
Federico: the most
difficult part was reorganizing our lives; we were used to
travel to train together but it was just between Bologna and
Rovigo, our hometowns. Now since there are no ice skating rinks
and no coaches here, we have to travel to Milano and, during the
summer, to the Alps region.
Technically, it was difficult to get the feel of skating on
blades.
Marika:
we didn't have any major problems with the elements, it was
mostly edges and basic skating.
Did you watch any figure
skating competition when you were competing in artistic roller
skating?
Marika: a little bit,
expecially the competitions with Carolina shown on italian tv.
Federico: I've never followed the sport that much but it
happened I watched on tv Carolina and Barbara Fusar-Poli & Maurizio Margaglio.
Artistic roller skating pairs
perform some spectacular lifts. Are you planning to show some of
those lifts on the ice?
Marika: we'd like to but
since only three and a half turns are allowed by the rules, it's
impossible to perform some of those lifts.
Federico:
that's the problem, in artistic roller skating only this season
they set a limit and it's 12 turns! In figure skating with the
current rules you can't perform a lot of different combinations
and pair skaters are forced to do the same lifts. This year we
added a 'reverse' lift to our programs which no other pair has
done. Still you have to consider the marks you can get so you
perform those lifts classified of the highest level in the rule
book. Anyway we're planning to show some of the lifts we used to
perform on rollers in figure skating exhibitions.
Is there any roller skating
program of yours you'd like to show on the ice?
Marika: we choose our best
roller skating programs for our first season on the ice:
Vivaldi's 'Four Seasons', our long program from 2006 has been
adapted as short program, and 'Death and the Maiden' by Schubert,
our long program from 2005.
Federico: and in the future, we'll see, it's possible we
will adapt some other program.
You attended the European Figure
Skating Championships in Zagreb, what is the difference between
figure skating and roller skating competitions? Did you miss
anything from the roller skating events?
Federico: attending the
European Championships in Zagred I realized that ice figure
skating is very much projected towards the audience at home and
in the stands; it's not like that in roller skating where
everything is much smaller. But otherwise there aren't many
differences.
Marika:
what I missed the most were our teammates, after being part of
the national team for so many years we got to know each other
very well, we were used to leaving all together for competitions,
we were very close to each other.
Is there anything you do or do
not do before a competition? Have you got any lucky charm?
Federico: No, only the
training can help you!
Marika: No, not at all, I just warm up and get out there
to compete!
How do you manage to combine job
and sport?
Federico: it's not easy
expecially because we have to travel to other cities to train,
there aren't any ice skating rinks in our hometowns. I was lucky
enough to get a part-time job so I work from Monday to Wednesday
and I can train at weekends.
Marika: I work every day and I need to take days off to
go to Milano to train... and unfortunately I haven't got many
vacation days! We're going to face major problems this summer as
the rink in Ferrara where we can train in week days is open only
in winter...
What was the best moment in your
roller skating career? And the most difficult one?
Marika: the best moment
was winning our first world championship, the most difficult one
was winning again every year!
Federico: for sure our first world title but the other
ones are unforgettable as well for different reasons. The most
difficult part was not only win again but get better and better. Psychologically,
all those experiences helped us a lot in figure skating
competitions.
What is your strenght as a pair?
Federico: we have been
skating together for many years and we understand each other
very well; we've always had a good attitude in practice and
unlike other pairs, we rarely quarrel.
Marika: we go along well and we also have fun in practice;
we have a very good relationship which helps us in competitions
as well.
Have you ever thought about
skating with another partner?
Federico: no never.
Marika: absolutely not, that would mean starting all over
again and getting used to a different pace.
Are you still roller skating or
are you done with that sport?
Federico: I wear
roller skates while coaching, other than that we attended an
exhibition last december and we still get invitations. We'd like
to accept but we can't train on rollers as well so it's not
likely we'll attend any roller skating event in the future.
Marika: of course we'd like to go and see our friends but
most likely it's going to happen; in roller skating we're
introduced as world champions and even if it's just an
exhibition, you have to show a high level performance.
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