Alla Viktorovna Shekhovtsova (Russian : Алла Викторовна Шеховцова; born 2 November 1964 in Sverdlovsk) is a Russian figure skating judge and ISU Technical Specialist and a former ISU Ice Dance Technical Committee member; [1] a former ice dancer, the wife of Valentin Piseev who used to be the general director of the Figure Skating Federation of Russia. [2] [3] They have a son, Stanislav (born 1989). [4]
Shekhovtsova started skating at age 5. [5] Her father was a hockey player.
Shekhovtsova first competed as an ice dancer. When she realized that she could never compete at the highest level, she left skating. [6] She graduated from the Ural State University of Economics and later from the Russian Academy of Theatre Arts (ice choreography faculty), where she studied in the same class with Zhanna Gromova. [2] [6] At the same time she started coaching at the Sverdlovsk figure skating school, where she trained under Igor Ksenofontov. [6] After a year she became a senior coach of the Sverdlovsk ice dancing school. [5]
Shekhovtsova moved to Moscow and worked as a coach in the class of Natalia Linichuk and Gennadi Karponosov, and took over the class after they decided to leave for the USA. [6] She later became a judge, judging at the Russian Championships, European Figure Skating Championships and World Figure Skating Championships. [5] She judged figure skating at the 2002 Winter Olympics, 2006 Winter Olympics, 2010 Winter Olympics, and 2014 Winter Olympics.
Since 2000, Shekhovtsova has been a deputy general director at the Odintsovo Hockey and Figure Skating Children's Center. [2]
Shekhovtsova and her husband, Valentin Piseev, have been publicly criticized by Russian coaches and skaters. [3] [7] Shekhovtsova has been called "the First Lady" and "grey eminence" due to her influence on Piseev, and therefore on the Figure Skating Federation of Russia. [1] A figure skating coach Elena Tchaikovskaia stated that Piseev only listened "to one adviser", which was his wife. [8] She later criticised Shekhovtsova for becoming an ISU Ice Dance Technical Committee member despite "knowing nothing about ice dancing". [9] When asked about the relationship with her husband in the interview, Shekhovtsova stated that "the talks about my influence are greatly exaggerated" and Piseev "is the one who always makes all the decisions". [1]
At the 2014 Winter Olympics, her appointment as a judge caused a controversy. [10] She judged the ladies' single skating competition and was photographed hugging Russian skater Adelina Sotnikova in the arena after competition. [11] Sotnikova won the gold medal. The Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) filed an official complaint against Shekhovtsova, citing the hug and her marriage to Valentin Piseev as reasons for a conflict of interest. The complaint was, however, dismissed by ISU. [12]
Kira Valentinovna Ivanova was a Soviet Russian figure skater. She was the 1984 Olympic bronze medalist, the 1985 World silver medalist, a four-time European silver medalist, and a three-time Soviet national champion.
Adelina Dmitriyevna Sotnikova is a retired Russian figure skater. She is the 2014 Olympic gold medalist in ladies' singles, a two-time European silver medalist, a two-time Rostelecom Cup bronze medalist, and a four-time Russian national champion.
Polina Sergeyevna Shelepen is a retired Russian figure skater. She is a two-time JGP Final silver medalist and a two-time Russian national junior silver medalist. She competed for Russia through 2012.
Elena Ruslanovna Ilinykh is a Russian former competitive ice dancer. With partner Ruslan Zhiganshin, she is the 2015 Russian national champion.
Ksenia Olegovna Makarova is a retired Russian, later an American, figure skater. She is the 2010 Skate Canada International silver medalist, 2009 Cup of Nice champion, and 2010 Russian national champion. She represented Russia at the 2010 Winter Olympics, where she placed 10th.
Elizaveta Sergeyevna Tuktamysheva is a Russian figure skater. She is the 2015 World champion, the 2021 World silver medalist, the 2015 European champion and the 2013 European bronze medalist. She is a 16-time medalist on the Grand Prix series, including gold at the 2014–15 Grand Prix Final and bronze at the 2018–19 Grand Prix Final. On national level she is a 8-time medalist in the Russian Championships and the 2013 Russian national champion, as well as 4-time medalist in the Russian Cup Finals. On the junior level, she is the 2012 Youth Olympic champion, 2011 World Junior silver medalist, and 2010–11 JGP Final silver medalist.
The 2009–10 figure skating season began on 1 July 2009, and ended on 30 June 2010. During this season, elite skaters competed at the Olympic level at the 2010 Winter Olympics, on the ISU Championship level at the 2010 European, Four Continents, World Junior, and World Championships. They also competed in elite competitions such as the 2009–10 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating.
The 2011 World Junior Figure Skating Championships was an international figure skating competition during the 2010–11 season. Commonly called "World Juniors" and "Junior Worlds", the event crowned the World Junior Champions in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.
Figure skating at the 2014 Winter Olympics was held at the Iceberg Skating Palace in Sochi, Russia. The five events took place between 6–22 February 2014. For the first time at the Winter Olympics, a figure skating team event was held.
The 2011 Russian Figure Skating Championships was held on 26–29 December 2010 in Saransk. The junior competition was held on 2–4 February 2011 in Kazan. Skaters competed in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.
The 2012 Russian Figure Skating Championships was held from December 25–29, 2011 in Saransk. Skaters competed in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing.
Yulia Vyacheslavovna Lipnitskaya is a Russian retired competitive figure skater. She was part of the Russian team that won the 2014 Winter Olympics team trophy. Individually, Lipnitskaya is the 2014 World silver medalist, the 2014 European champion, the 2013–14 Grand Prix Final silver medalist, and a two-time Russian national silver medalist. As a junior, Lipnitskaya won the 2012 World Junior Championships, 2011–12 Junior Grand Prix Final, and 2012 Russian Junior Championships. She retired from the sport in 2017 due to injuries and anorexia nervosa.
Elena Igorevna Radionova is a Russian retired competitive figure skater. She is the 2015 World bronze medalist, a two-time (2015–2016) European silver medalist, a two-time Grand Prix Final medalist, 2017 Winter Universiade champion and the 2015 Russian national champion. On the junior level, she is the first ladies skater to win two World Junior titles and she won the 2012–13 JGP Final as well.
The 2013 Russian Figure Skating Championships was held from 25 to 28 December 2012 in Sochi. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. The results are among the criteria used to select Russia's teams sent to the 2013 World Championships and 2013 European Championships.
The ladies' single skating competition of the 2014 Winter Olympics was held at the Iceberg Skating Palace in Sochi, Russia. The short program took place on 19 February 2014, and the free skating took place on 20 February. Adelina Sotnikova of Russia won the gold medal, generating much controversy over the partiality of the judges and the new scoring system.
The 2014 Russian Figure Skating Championships was held from 24–27 December 2013 in Sochi. Medals were awarded in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. The results were among the criteria used to select Russia's teams sent to the 2014 Winter Olympics, the 2014 World Championships, and the 2014 European Championships.
Valentin Nikolaevich Piseev was a general director of the Figure Skating Federation of Russia and the member of Russian Olympic Committee. He had been the president of the Russian Figure Skating Federation before becoming a director, and the president of the Figure Skating Federation of the USSR.
Alla Andreyevna Loboda is a Russian former competitive ice dancer. With her former skating partner Pavel Drozd, she is a two-time World Junior medalist, a three-time JGP Final silver medalist, and the 2016 Russian junior national champion.
Pavel Igorevich Drozd is a Russian ice dancer who currently competes with Elizaveta Shanaeva. With his former skating partner, Alla Loboda, he is a two-time World Junior medalist, a three-time JGP Final silver medalist, and the 2016 Russian junior national champion. With his former skating partner, Ksenia Konkina, he is the 2019 CS Asian Open Trophy and 2019 CS Warsaw Cup silver medalist.
Adelina Zulfatovna Galyavieva is a Russian-French ice dancer. With her former skating partner, Louis Thauron, she is the 2021 French National Champion, the 2018 Bosphorus Cup bronze medalist and made her Grand Prix debut at the 2018 Internationaux de France.