Alla Viktorovna Shekhovtsova (; born 2 November 1964 in Sverdlovsk) is a Russian

figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the Figure skating at the 1908 Summer Olympi ...

judge and ISU Technical Specialist and a former ISU Ice Dance Technical Committee member; a former

ice dancer Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from ballroom dancing. It joined the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, and became a Winter Olympic Games medal sport in 1976. A ...

, the wife of Valentin Piseev who used to be the

general director A director general, general director or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''general directors'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'') is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer ...

of the

Figure Skating Federation of Russia The Figure Skating Federation of Russia () is the national sport governing body for figure skating in Russia. It is recognized as such by the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) and the International Skating Union (ISU). No individual membership exist ...

. They have a son, Stanislav (born 1989).

Biography

Shekhovtsova started skating at age 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. She graduated from the

Ural State University of Economics Ural may refer to: Physical geography *Ural (region), in Russia and Kazakhstan *Ural Mountains, in Russia and Kazakhstan *Ural (river), in Russia and Kazakhstan * Ural Ocean, an ancient ocean * 14519 Ural, an asteroid Human geography * Ural ...

and later from the

Russian Academy of Theatre Arts The Russian Institute of Theatre Arts (GITIS) () is the largest and oldest independent theatrical arts school in Russia. Located in Moscow, the school was founded on 22 September 1878 as the Shostakovsky Music School. It became the School of Mu ...

(ice choreography faculty), where she studied in the same class with

Zhanna Gromova Zhanna Fyodorovna Gromova (; born 22 January 1949 in Vologda) is a Russian figure skating coach. Among her former and current students are Nikolai Morozov, Ilia Averbukh, Sergei Dobrin, Abzal Rakimgaliev and most notably Irina Slutskaya, who ha ...

. At the same time she started coaching at the Sverdlovsk figure skating school, where she trained under Igor Ksenofontov. After a year she became a senior coach of the Sverdlovsk ice dancing school. Shekhovtsova moved to Moscow and worked as a coach in the class of

Natalia Linichuk Natalya Vladimirovna Linichuk (; born 6 February 1956) is a Russian ice dancing coach and former competitive ice dancer for the Soviet Union. With partner and husband Gennadi Karponosov, she is the 1980 Olympic champion and a two-time World cham ...

and

Gennadi Karponosov Gennadi Mikhailovich Karponosov (; born 21 November 1950) is an ice dancing coach and a former competitive ice dancer for the Soviet Union. With Natalia Linichuk, he is the 1980 Olympic champion and a two-time World champion. Competitive car ...

, and took over the class after they decided to leave for the USA. She later became a judge, judging at the Russian Championships,

European Figure Skating Championships The European Figure Skating Championships are an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU). Medals are awarded in single skating, men's singles, women's singles, pair skating, and ice dance. The ...

and

World Figure Skating Championships The World Figure Skating Championships are an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU). The first World Championships were held in 1896 in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and they have been held e ...

. She judged figure skating at the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 (; Gosiute dialect, Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; ; Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), were an international wi ...

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics (), officially the XX Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February in Turin, Italy. This marked the second time Italy had hosted the Winter O ...

2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

, and

2014 Winter Olympics The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Sochi 2014 (), were an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Opening ro ...

. Since 2000, Shekhovtsova has been a deputy general director at the

Odintsovo Odintsovo ( rus, Одинцово, , ɐdʲɪnˈtsovə) is a city and the administrative center of Odintsovsky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia. Western suburb of Moscow. Population: History The village of Odintsovo was established in the la ...

Hockey and Figure Skating Children's Center.

Criticism

Shekhovtsova and her husband, Valentin Piseev, have been publicly criticized by Russian coaches and skaters. Shekhovtsova has been called "the First Lady" and "

grey eminence ''Grey Eminence: A Study in Religion and Politics'' is a book by Aldous Huxley Aldous Leonard Huxley ( ; 26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. His bibliography spans nearly 50 books, including non-fiction ...

" due to her influence on Piseev, and therefore on the Figure Skating Federation of Russia. A figure skating coach

Elena Tchaikovskaia Elena Anatolyevna Tchaikovskaia, also spelled as Chaykovskaya or Chaikovskaia (, née Osipova (); born 30 December 1939) is a Russian figure skating coach, choreographer, and former competitor for the Soviet Union. She runs a skating school at t ...

stated that Piseev only listened "to one adviser", which was his wife. She later criticised Shekhovtsova for becoming an ISU Ice Dance Technical Committee member despite "knowing nothing about ice dancing". 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". At the

, her appointment as a judge caused a controversy. She judged the ladies' single skating competition and was photographed hugging Russian skater

Adelina Sotnikova Adelina Dmitriyevna Sotnikova ( ; born 1 July 1996) is a retired Russian figure skater. She is the 2014 Olympic gold medalist in ladies' singles, a two-time European silver medalist (2012, 2013), a two-time Rostelecom Cup bronze medalist (20 ...

in the arena after competition. Sotnikova won the gold medal. The

Korean Olympic Committee The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (, KSOC) is the National Olympic Committee of Republic of Korea (competing as Korea) for the Olympic Games movement and inbound sports issue. It is a non-profit organization that selects players and team ...

(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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shekhovtsova, Alla 1964 births Living people Figure skating in Russia Figure skating judges International Skating Union technical specialists Russian figure skating coaches Soviet figure skating coaches Soviet female ice dancers Female sports coaches