◎The 2011 World Youth Championship is about to begin◎
His mentality was unstable for a moment, and his feet slipped, and Ye Yidong fell on the ice. The competition ended suddenly.
The little girl fell on the ice and did not get up immediately. Instead, she lay on the ice and sobbed, and her sobs gradually became louder.
"I... I miss Sister Xiyue so much..." She choked up.
Qian Xiyue has always been her role model, but suddenly one day, this role model disappeared.
She was lonely, lost, and sad about her future. Perhaps one day, she would also leave quietly and be easily replaced.
"It's okay." Ji Tiantian stood up, slid to Ye Yiddong and handed her her hand.
Ye Yiddong stopped crying, sobbed and looked up at Ji Tiantian.
"Like you, I've always remembered Qian Xiyue." Ji Tiantian smiled at her, "I will move forward with her beliefs and the mission she left for me."
"We are not enemies, we are always together."
Ye Yidong suddenly cried even louder. She choked a few times, then got up and stared at Ji Tiantian with red eyes. "You won, I surrender!" She wiped her tears and yelled at Ji Tiantian like a little beast, "But since you took Sister Xiyue's position, you must get good results in the World Youth Championship!"
"I promise you." Ji Tiantian nodded, "I will definitely work hard."
Ji Tiantian turned her head and looked at Tang Yi. Tang Yi received her gaze and slid towards her.
When she first started ice dancing, she would never have thought she could get to this point. After many twists and turns, she came to him again.
Change your identity, change your life.
So this time, the ending will definitely be good, right?
It will be fine. She held his hand, with a burning light in her eyes. They held hands and sped across the ice.
As the competition was approaching, Ji Tiantian hurriedly spent New Year's Eve with her mother in a rented house in the capital.
Ji Tiantian only had time to complete the test for the First Dance School and register, and then spent the whole day in the ice rink or the land training room. Under Clara's guidance, Ji and Tang further improved their choreography for the free dance.
Every time you use the blade, every time you turn, try to achieve perfect coordination.
Ji Tiantian soon discovered that the identity of "partner" was really good. With this identity, she didn't need to pay too much attention to Tang Yi, but only needed to pay attention to herself. Everything became simple and easy.
While they practiced, competitors from other sports would stand by and watch.
The footwork of ice dancing is the most delicate and graceful of the four events in figure skating. Athletes from other events occasionally borrow the footwork of ice dancing and use it in their own programs.
"You came to watch the ice dance too." Yu Sha, who was skating in pairs, smiled and looked at Ye Yidong, who was skating to the side. "I thought you didn't like Tiantian."
"I don't like it." Ye Yidong snorted, "I'm just supervising her to see if she is really completing the task assigned to her by Sister Xiyue."
Ye Yidong stared at Ji Tang who was doing free practice. She couldn't take her eyes off the two of them. Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi maintained a mirror image of face to face without holding each other, sliding in a large circle on the ice, the ice blades cutting through the ice powerfully, making a violent sound.
Ji Tiantian slid backwards facing Tang Yi, while Tang Yi chased her and pushed forward. They both looked so exhausted, their upper bodies tensed.
But they were so restrained, the distance between their feet never changed, and they kept changing their turning steps. They lifted their feet high together, and skimmed across the ice like a pair of young swallows. The wind blew their hair, and they looked at each other with concentration.
"Wow... what a great atmosphere." Yu Sha couldn't help but let out a soft exclamation.
"I feel like there's a kind of...very tense emotion between the two of them." Gao Zhe said hesitantly.
I will no longer be your follower. Ji Tiantian looked at Tang Yi, telling him with her eyes and gesture that in this life, she would not worship anyone, she would become her own god on this piece of ice.
She stretched her hands and feet out to her sides, looked at Tang Yi with a bright smile, and then began to twist forward.
It's okay, I understand. He chased her, telling her with his eyes, you can do whatever you want, leave the rest to me.
The twisting stopped and he held out his hand to her.
She held his hand gently.
Never mind. We are now partners in this journey.
She held his hand with one hand, and with the other hand resting on his upper arm, she leaned back, and the two switched to a waltz and continued gliding.
"They have been practicing skating every day recently." Ning Huai, the men's singles player, also skated over to watch. "It looks like they are working really hard."
"Skating is the most important thing in ice dancing after all." Gao Zhe touched his chin. "I remember that in ice dancing, the basic score of the highest level 4 synchronized twist step is 6 points, and the lift is 4 points. The basic score of the level 4 transition step that can best demonstrate the skating technique can reach 8 points. Counting the execution score, it is very impressive, comparable to two lifts. But currently there are very few players who can get the level 4 transition step, and the judges' scoring is difficult to understand. Maybe the transition step will also take into account the performance style and so on?"
“For a level 4 step sequence, you must complete five turns and three grip changes on the designated sliding track. These movements and steps must be completed 100% without being interrupted by any mistakes. This is quite difficult in itself. Unlike a jump where one move can determine life or death, the step sequence is more like a long breath, and only at the end do you know what level you can get.” Xu Chi joined the conversation with a helpless smile on his face.
"Not to mention, a step sequence is not just about finishing the movements. The whole series of steps must fit the music. At the same time, there is also the issue of ice surface coverage. For example, when skating a circular and serpentine step sequence, whoever skates a larger circle or a larger serpentine curvature will get a higher score for the step sequence. From this point of view, there is no upper limit to step sequences."
"No wonder it's so difficult to pass level 4." Gao Zhe nodded thoughtfully.
Everyone once again looked at Ji Tang who was galloping freely on the ice.
Ice dancing seems to have a relatively low threshold, and conversely, it does not have a clear upper limit.
How to use precise footwork, follow the music, and slide out the longest trajectory is something all dancers need to explore.
"I don't know how strong the opponents in this World Youth Championship are." Ning Huai took a deep breath, "I suddenly became nervous. Tiantian is still so young."
"She's not young anymore." Ye Yidong said with a straight face, "She's old enough to shoulder the responsibility."
"Yes, yes." Ning Huai nodded, "You are all very capable and have great potential at a young age."
Ye Yidong stopped looking at Ji Tiantian and started practicing. Ji Tiantian had just started ice dancing and joined the team late, so although she was about the same age as Ji Tiantian, she could be considered her junior.
As a senior, she cannot be surpassed by the juniors.
Another day of training passed, Ji Tiantian got off the ice to change her shoes. Then a few pieces of paper suddenly appeared in front of her.
"Aren't you here to supervise me studying?" Tang Yi said, "This is the previous mock exam paper, would you like to take a look at it?" Tang Yi was about to take the high school entrance exam, so he had to take time out to take a mock exam before the competition.
Ji Tiantian calmed down, took the test paper, and couldn't help but take a breath. Tang Yi's every subject was close to full marks, and Chinese was no exception!
"How...how can this be possible?" Ji Tiantian turned to Tang Yi's Chinese composition with a suspicious look on her face. Compositions usually have the most points deducted, so she wanted to see how Tang Yi got such a high score!
However, after a closer look, she was immediately convinced. The topic of Tang Yi's school's mock exam essay was: Write about the highlights of your life.
Wouldn't that be a step in Tang Yi's direction? Tang Yi wrote a speech about his participation in the National Championships, which successfully moved the teacher and earned him a high score.
Ji Tiantian's name, replaced by the pronoun "partner", frequently appears in the composition.
"I have always known that my partner is excellent. I am very happy that day, everyone witnessed her excellence. We should be able to go a long way together." - This is what the composition said.
Ji Tiantian felt her face getting hot for some unknown reason.
"What place did you get in the exam?" Ji Tiantian asked with mixed feelings.
"Second in the grade." Tang Yi paused, "Five points behind first."
"So your grades are so good... Then, then you must have been pretty good in your previous life..." Ji Tiantian said in a low voice.
"It's actually useless." Tang Yi lowered his eyes and pondered, "From the perspective of career development, grades don't play any role."
"How can it not work!" Ji Tiantian almost blurted out, "You can get into a very good university! I also want to go to an exam in my lifetime."
Ji Tiantian lowered her head. In her previous life, she didn't take the college entrance examination, but went directly to form a dance troupe with Chen Yusheng. In this life, she also wanted to improve her academic performance.
"After the competition... can you teach me?" Ji Tiantian asked in a low voice. She thought about it and offered a trade condition with a guilty conscience, "I... can teach you to dance."
In fact, she knew that Tang Yi's dancing skills were not bad, and what she could teach was very limited, so it was reasonable for Tang Yi to refuse.
However, after hearing what she said, Tang Yi just nodded slightly and said "OK".
Tang Yi turned around and went to the locker room to change clothes. Ji Tiantian suddenly thought of something and went to find Jiang Lin, "Coach, I think I left my coat on the ice rink yesterday. Have you seen it?"
It would be cold during the training break, so Ji Tiantian prepared a thick coat at the ice rink. Yesterday she wanted to take the coat back to wash, but she forgot. Then she kept training today and didn't feel cold, nor did she forget about the coat.
"Oh, it's there." Jiang Lin pointed to the shelf specially used to store team members' supplies.
Ji Tiantian went over and saw her coat. She took it off happily and suddenly found that the second button that was originally missing from the coat had been repaired and the color was the same as the other buttons.
"Coach Jiang," Ji Tiantian walked up to Jiang Lin and asked in confusion, "Did you sew this button for me?"
"It was Tang Yi who mended it." Jiang Lin said nonchalantly, "His new Costume had a thread break. He stayed behind yesterday and asked me for needle and thread to mend it, so he mended your clothes at the same time."
Ji Tiantian looked at the buttons on her coat silently, gradually remembering some things from her previous life.
Occasionally, she would take the costumes she wore for performances to her home for cleaning before taking them backstage. She would often find that the threads of her costumes were unraveling, and she would fix them when she had some free time, but when she wanted to fix them, she would find that the costumes had already been repaired.
She had always thought that the costume designer who worked with the dance troupe had noticed and fixed it. But now she thought that maybe she had overlooked something.
She covered her head subconsciously.
"Why haven't you changed your clothes yet?" At this time, Tang Yi came out of the locker room, having changed out of his training sweatshirt and was wearing a down jacket, ready to leave. But as always, he would send Ji Tiantian to the subway station she was going to before going home.
"Nothing, I'll go right away." Ji Tiantian came back to her senses and ran into the locker room grabbing her coat.
Don't think too much, don't be distracted. She told herself that in this life, the competition is the most important thing.
She and Tang Yi just need to cooperate well and achieve good results. This is what she wants and what others want.
So that's good.
In the blink of an eye, the 2011 World Youth Championship is about to begin. This game also indicates the end of the 2010-2011 season.
Figure skating competitions usually last from August of one year to March of the following year. There are various large and small competitions during this period. The World Junior Championships is the last competition of the season for the youth group, while the World Championships is the last competition for the adult group.
"Ji Tiantian, you won't forget the things I asked you to bring, right?" On the eve of leaving for Gangneung, South Korea for the competition, Ji Tiantian received a call from Chen Yusheng.
"Remember, facial mask, lipstick, eye shadow," Ji Tiantian said, lying on her back on the bed, picking up the sticky note on the corner of the table, "I will buy them all, don't worry." Dancers have to participate in various performances and competitions from time to time, and cosmetics are a must. When going to Korea, of course, you have to buy, buy, buy.
"I love you!" Chen Yusheng was excited. "I really want to go with you! By the way, do you have ice dance competitions during winter and summer vacations?"
"some."
"Yeah, then I must go during the winter and summer vacations!"
Ji Tiantian sighed. This time, she realized that by choosing this path, she would say goodbye to winter and summer vacations completely.
"Oh, by the way, let me tell you something. My dad and mom just had a fight about my cousin." Chen Yusheng's voice was very cheerful. "My mom has long disliked my cousin, saying that he was trying every way to cheat my dad out of his money. I remembered what you said to me, so I stood on my mom's side. My dad was originally speaking for my cousin, but seeing how intense our attitude was, he became more cautious and looked up what my cousin had done in the past. He found that this person really had some problems, and he has cut off all ties with him."
"Really?" Ji Tiantian rolled over and got up from the bed, a look of disbelief on her face, "Are you really breaking up?"
"Yes. Sister...what's wrong with you? You sound a little excited?"
"I'm happy for you!"
That's great, Yu Sheng. This way you won't encounter financial crises in the future. You must be happy in this life and become the courageous and successful leader you always wanted to be.
Ji Tiantian couldn't help but smile on the other end of the phone.
On the day of departure, Zhang Lilian sent Ji Tiantian to the airport early. The World Youth Championship lasted for a week, and she had to go to class and couldn't leave, so she could only send her daughter here.
Not long after they arrived, the national team members of the four events arrived at the airport one after another, accompanied by their respective coaches. A team of people appeared at the airport wearing the uniforms representing their countries, looking surprisingly imposing.
“Remember, friendship comes first, competition comes second. Keep a calm mind, don’t get stuck in a rut, and play your best.” Some coaches are seriously giving psychological support to their athletes.
Ji Tiantian was fine before she came. All she wanted to do was go shopping after the game. But after hearing what the coach said, she became nervous for no reason.
"Sister Tiantian!" At this moment, a passionate shout rang out. Ji Tiantian looked in the direction of the voice and saw Ni Chuan running over.
Ji Tiantian widened her eyes slightly: "Ni Chuan?"
"Wow, Sister Tiantian, you know me." Ni Chuan looked very proud, and glanced back at Tang Yi who was following closely behind him, "It seems that you have mentioned me to Sister Tiantian a lot, that's really nice of you."
"I didn't expect you to be so handsome." Ji Tiantian almost blurted out.
Ni Chuan was Tang Yi's childhood friend. In her previous life, she had only seen the adult version of Ni Chuan. At that time, Ni Chuan had already started to gain weight and grow sideways. Unlike now, he was thin and tall, a lively young man.
"Yeah, I think this outfit is pretty good too." Ni Chuan was very proud of the compliment. He immediately showed his coat and new shoes to Ji Tiantian, "These shoes are the latest model, look, sister Tiantian..."
Before he could finish his words, Tang Yi pulled him away.
"Your outfit is really nice, don't wear it next time." Tang Yi smiled at Ni Chuan, then turned to look at Ji Tiantian, "Ni Chuan insisted on going to the scene to watch our game, and he wouldn't listen no matter how we persuaded him. He wouldn't get in our way, and just sat in the audience."
"What's wrong with you? Why are you talking to Sister Tian like that?" Ni Chuan was very unhappy, "As if I'm a complete burden!"
"Why do you call me Sister Tiantian? I'm younger than you." When Tang Yi fell silent, Ji Tiantian asked.
"Age is not important, what's important is the technique." Ni Chuan smiled and gave Ji Tiantian a thumbs up. "I watched the replay of your game carefully second by second. In my heart, you are my sister."
Although she knew that the other person was just a child and was just talking casually, Ji Tiantian still couldn't help but smile from the bottom of her heart.
"Then is it okay for you to go to Korea to watch the World Youth Championship and skip classes for a week?" Ji Tiantian asked Ni Chuan.
"What's the big deal about one week?" Ni Chuan patted his chest. "Brother Yi and I skipped classes for a whole semester. We're not afraid!"
Ni Chuan wanted to talk to Ji Tiantian again, but Tang Yi pulled him away.
The plane arrived safely, and Ji Tiantian and Tang Yi boarded the plane accompanied by the coach. After picking up their luggage, they immediately got on the car to the hotel.
After getting on the bus to a foreign country, Ji Tiantian suddenly felt a surge of emotion. Time passed quickly during the day-to-day practice, and in the blink of an eye, she had already gone abroad and was about to start her first overseas competition.
Ji Tiantian and her group checked in the night before the competition.
There were many skaters staying on that day, and the lobby of the hotel designated by the competition was packed with people. Skating athletes from all over the world gathered together, with different skin and hair colors. The whole lobby was filled with the smell of various perfumes, which was a bit pungent.
There will be more than 200 participants in the men's singles, women's singles, pairs and ice dance events in the World Junior Championships. Due to the competition schedule, the arrival of the athletes in each event will be in sequence. Of course, many countries will bring all the athletes here before the competition starts for convenience.
Among the four events, ice dancers are also very easy to identify. They usually have the most colorful expressions and the most emotional ups and downs. After all, they need a high level of perception of music and dance, so their personalities are relatively more delicate and sensitive. Of course, the easiest and quickest way to identify ice dancers is to start with their appearance.
Figure skating is already full of athletes with stunning looks, and ice dancing athletes are even more outstanding, with both men and women sporting excellent facial features and outstanding figures. Because there is no need to jump, male and female ice dancers are not restricted by height like in individual events. Male ice dancers with male model figures of 180 or 190cm can be seen everywhere. And there are also many long-legged female companions who match their height.
Some countries' male and female ice dancers have already made their lover status public, and they were being intimate in the lobby without paying attention to others. Ji Tiantian carried her suitcase and waited in line behind her coach to check in. She was surrounded by the pungent smell of perfume and strong hormones, and silently chanted the name of Sakyamuni in her heart.
"Hey...are those Asian players over there?"
"You look so small, are you really 13?"
Ji Tiantian heard the contestants around her exclaiming in English, they must be looking at her.
The minimum age for ice dancers at the World Junior Championships is 13, the maximum age for female partners is 20, and the maximum age for male partners is 22.
Add to that the racial differences between European and American players and Asian players, and the men and women in the hall form a stark contrast that is almost comical. The small ones are very small, and the big ones are very big.
Although they are all players of the World Youth Championship, some of them look mature enough to be fathers, but some look very immature, like their father's children.
At 15, Tang Yi has started to look mature, but Ji Tiantian hasn't. At 13, she has the tender face of an Asian girl and looks like a pretty little girl. Many male ice dancers look like they could be her father.
Ji Tiantian subconsciously glanced at herself in the hotel mirror. After comparing herself, she realized that she really looked too young now.
It’s okay to be younger if you can achieve results early in men’s and women’s singles, but in ice dancing, which mainly depicts the relationship between men and women, being smaller is not an advantage.
Ji Tiantian just realized this.
She looked around at the sweet ice dancing couples around her, and her eyes gradually became complicated.
"Don't think that the atmosphere is good now. At least one third of these contestants will leave by then." Xu Chi said this as he looked at the ice dance contestants who were discussing intimately around him.
Ji Tiantian knew that the World Junior Ice Dance Championships would first have a preliminaries, then a short dance. Before the final free dance, a wave of people would be screened out in each stage.
Judging from the current situation, it is a remarkable thing for Asian players to enter the free dance and complete the entire competition.
Ji Tiantian took a deep breath and told herself that she must work hard and perform well. She wanted to divert her attention, so she went to the figure skating forum she hadn't visited for a long time.
Now the voting for the group name has ended, which means that the group name Tiantang has been decided.
The World Junior Championships were about to start, and the atmosphere in the figure skating forum naturally became heated. A special discussion thread for ice dancing was opened again.
OP: The schedule for this year's World Youth Championship is out. Has anyone seen it?
1L: I saw it a long time ago, and I’m really looking forward to it this year!
2L: I didn’t watch it. Which day is Tiantang in?
3L: The ice dance preliminaries draw was on the first day of the World Junior Championships, and the ice dance preliminaries were on the second day, so the Sweet Sugar group had to be there on the first day.
4L: I haven’t paid attention to it before, why is there a preliminary round?
5L: It still depends on the performance of the country's athletes in the previous championship. The World Junior Championships are the same as the World Championships. The ranking of a country's athletes in the previous championship determines how many pairs of athletes from that country will participate in this championship. A major ice dance country can have three pairs of athletes participating every year, while a country with unsatisfactory results can only have one pair of athletes. In addition, there is a preliminaries rule: if the athletes sent by country A last year ranked in the top 18 in the singles event, ranked in the top 12 in the pairs event, and ranked in the top 15 in ice dance, then the athletes sent by country A this year can directly advance to the main competition in that event. If a few pairs make it, a few pairs will get a direct ticket this year. Otherwise, they all have to participate in the preliminaries.
6L: Yes, we didn’t make it into the top 15 in ice dancing in the last World Youth Championship, and this is also the first time for Brother Yi to participate. So how many places do you need in the preliminaries to enter the finals?
7L: The top 10 in the preliminary round will qualify for the short dance in the official competition and compete with other big names who are doing direct trains. The top 20 in the short dance will enter the free dance.
8L: Damn, why are there so many levels? It feels so difficult, wuwuwu, hold my sweet girl.
9L: I’m so worried. Will I not even be able to pass the qualifying round?
10L: Tiantang should have no problem performing at the level of the National Championships, but I am afraid that there will be too many big names in the preliminaries. Some ice dance powers have three places for the competition, but not every pair performs well. If one pair did not perform well in the last session, then another pair will have to compete in the preliminaries this year. Although this group of people have to compete in the preliminaries, the technical level of the country is there, and it is not easy to win.
11L: Logically speaking, there shouldn’t be that many big guys. But this is Tiantang’s first competition, and his stability is unknown, so we can only wait and see.
12L: Woohoo, I’m so nervous… go for the sweets!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
