Romance of starlings. Roman Skvortsov: The task of the commentator is to awaken interest in any confrontation Skvortsov Roman TV commentator

COMMENTATOR'S MUSE

A week ago, UNICS Kazan played away against Lokomotiv-Kuban from Krasnodar. The game was broadcast on the Russia-2 TV channel, commented on it Roman Skvortsov. The journalist's voice was traditionally loud and cheerful. Skvortsov is now perhaps the best basketball commentator in the country. It was noticeable that he spoke about Kazan with special warmth, and for him, a resident of Moscow, the capital of Tatarstan is not a foreign city. All colleagues said that the already cheerful Skvortsov had changed a lot, the comments became even more interesting, and he himself was in seventh heaven. Although he himself was no longer young, and a year had already passed since his marriage. Last fall, a commentator conducted a small quest on his Twitter account. Reported back. Every day original photographs with numbers appeared on his microblog; the journalist did not explain his motivation in any way, only saying that when the value reaches zero, something special will happen for him. At that time, Skvortsov was seen several times in Kazan, although there were no sporting events in the city.

Soon the cards were revealed. On October 26, the BUSINESS Online newspaper reported that Skvortsov was marrying an employee of the Ak Bars advertising service. Elina Artashina. The commentator himself also confirmed this message with photographs from the registry office. The wedding was held modestly, only the closest friends and relatives were invited. The journalist’s wife left Ak Bars and followed her husband to Moscow, where they recently lived. Roman always called Ellina “squirrel”; he rarely addressed her by her first name. The commentator also often posted on Twitter a request for help with translating Tatar texts for his stepdaughter. Daria Artashina continued to study in Kazan, probably finishing the last academic year in the capital of the republic, but starting in the new year she began studying in Moscow.

MODEL "LARISA"

Ellina Kuklina (Artashina by her first husband and Skvortsova by her second) was one of the models of the first wave of the Larisa modeling agency. The first trains were recruited in the early 90s of the last century. At that time, the agency's models were one of the brightest and most famous representatives of the city's social scene. Ellina was always in the public eye, as her friends and colleagues recall. Cheerful, sociable and quite modest. Despite the special specifics of her profession, she had practically no fleeting romances and a large number of suitors. Kuklina participated in large Moscow shows, and in general her career in the modeling business can be considered successful. One of the reasons for leaving the agency was the model’s marriage to a player from the Strela rugby team. Vyacheslav Artashin, by the way, at that time the current head of the Kazan executive committee also played on the team Alexey Pesoshin.

In the early 2000s, Ellina Artashina gave birth to a daughter, and after returning from maternity leave, she went to work in the advertising department of the Kazan Ak Bars. All journalists who, in one way or another, encountered the work of the club press service, note that Ellina was a special person for them. Kind and responsive. It was hockey itself that introduced her to the Moscow commentator. “Ak Bars” won the Gagarin Cup twice in two years, and the capital’s television crews worked on the final series directly from the scene. Skvortsov came to Kazan for several days, and the club employees met the journalists. Obviously, then the affair began, especially since Ellina, although formally still married, no longer lived with her husband. After the wedding of the journalist and the former model, the local public began to consider the commentator as one of their own. Skvortsov never openly expressed his sympathies for Kazan clubs, more often finding in these stories a reason for self-irony.

PLANNED A TRIP TO REYKJAVIK

A few hours before the disaster, Skvortsov wrote on his Twitter that he was once again invited to the “Big Sport” program on the Russia-2 channel, joked and said that he had found cheap tickets to Reykjavik, where he plans to go in March. The last entries were made an hour before the disaster was reported. As soon as the lists of the dead became known, a commentator left a note: “I have one question: why live now?!” The tweet received more than 1,000 retweets and many replies with words of support, colleagues, famous athletes, official accounts of sports clubs and ordinary people wrote to Roman. Closer to the morning, Roman wrote the following words: “1. I would like to express my sincere condolences to the families and friends of those killed in the Kazan plane crash, 2. I would like to thank all of you: friends, comrades, colleagues and strangers for your words that helped me. 3. I'm as fine as can be. They will have to take me there with a big fight.”

The funeral of Ellina Skvortsova and her daughter Daria Artashina will take place no earlier than in a week, when DNA identification takes place. This was reported by a close friend of the deceased, a Kazan television journalist. Alina Khaidarova.

A well-known television commentator for hockey and basketball battles, a commentator for the 2018 Russian Biathlon Championship races at the stadium, Roman Skvortsov, in an interview with the press service of the YugraMegaSport AU, spoke about the most memorable matches in his career, shared the nuances of oratory and recalled his first commentary experience.

— Roman, how and where did your career as a commentator begin?

— I started working at the VID Television Company on the TV-6 channel. I worked for quite a long time in areas not related to sports in any way. In 2003, I was invited to the “Sport” channel, which had just opened, and was offered to make a program about basketball. The weekly magazine was published for a year, and then the head of the channel, Vasily Aleksandrovich Kiknadze, asked if I had any familiar specialists who could comment on basketball. There were no acquaintances, but I said that I could try it myself. Vasily Alexandrovich was very happy about this. He knew that I was playing, but he laughed for a long time: “You? Basketball? Comment?" Although a month later he still suggested that I try it. Everyone liked everything, since then I have been commentating on basketball and hockey, but my first experience as a commentator was biathlon. In 2000, I came to Khanty-Mansiysk for the Junior World Championships, which was shown on the TV-6 Moscow channel. And these were the first sporting events that I commented on.

— What prompted you to travel to the outback of Siberia then?

— Khanty-Mansiysk at that time was already on the sports map of our homeland. It was the cradle of modern domestic biathlon. I wasn't going into the unknown. TV-6, which at that time was a very progressive phenomenon in domestic television, acquired the rights to broadcast, everyone was well aware that sports and biathlon in particular are capable of attracting viewers, and Khanty-Mansiysk is capable of organizing this competition with dignity. Here I would like to convey a huge greeting to the management of the Ugra television company. The regional channel helped a lot in shaping the picture. We absolutely did not feel like we had arrived at the end of geography.

— What are the differences between television commentating and working at the stadium?

— In relation to my work now, there are practically no differences. I assumed that I would need to do more of the “Hop-hey, la-la-lay!” style. - to entertain the audience, but in the end it turns out to be a commentary on a television race. The only thing is that in Khanty-Mansiysk there is probably no point in burdening the spectators at the stadium with any nuances or excursions into the history of biathlon, because they themselves already know everything about it. My task is to cover the progress of the race in detail, without going into lyrical digressions that are needed on television, so that the viewer does not get bored. Spectators never get bored at the stadium!

— After the victory, Ulyana Kaisheva noted that during shooting she completely concentrates on the biathlon installation and ignores the noise in the stands, but the commentator at the stadium makes his way into her consciousness. Aren't you afraid to jinx someone by giving out a portion of praise before shooting?

— Well done Ulyana, she had a very cool sprint race, a great finishing lap, and I’m very happy for her! I don't really worry about this. Agree, it’s funny when people talk about lucky or not lucky commentators. Then sports could be closed altogether if athletes train, prepare, and then commentators ruin everything.

I try to give pauses to the leaders, give them the opportunity to concentrate, but we must understand that there are many athletes, there is always someone at the shooting range. You won't be able to remain silent all the time. I try to maintain a balance. I want to apologize to everyone I disturbed and jinxed. I promise that during contact races I will pause so that the fans get what they want, can cheer the athletes, and drive them forward along the distance.

— You have many matches behind you, among which there are those that are inscribed in the world history of sports, for example, the final meeting in Quebec between Russia and Canada in 2008. There is a statement that anxiety goes away with experience, is this true?

— Excitement is always present, if you don’t worry, if you don’t care, then you should quit this profession, since it doesn’t evoke any emotions. With experience you get better at dealing with this anxiety, but it cannot disappear. You always feel a huge responsibility in front of a large audience, you challenge yourself every broadcast, and you carefully choose your words.

— In one interview, you said that it is quite difficult to evoke a storm of emotions in the viewer of the match between Ugra and Severstal.

- But we must strive for this, from the point of view of the professional growth of the commentator and in general. Because it’s not the clubs’ fault that they have few fans outside Khanty-Mansiysk and Cherepovets. The commentator’s task is to arouse interest in any confrontation, even if it’s just local teams. And, of course, it’s always better to comment on an event on the spot. Commenting “under the picture” even of the Spartak - CSKA match may not work for me. You have to try hard to comment poorly on the match between Ugra and Severstal while at the stadium.

— HC Ugra has been expelled from the Kontinental Hockey League, how do you feel about this decision?

- It’s very difficult to feel sorry for Ugra here - a team without history, representing not a very large market. Maybe this will be the best step for Ugra. Roughly speaking, the team appeared out of nowhere and rushed through many stages of development, making its debut in the KHL. Recent years have shown that the team does not correspond to this level a little, people did not come to see it, and we understand that the club’s management had the power to change this, but for a number of reasons it did not work out. If Arena-Ugra is filled for every meeting, if the city loves hockey, then it won’t matter where the team plays. Hockey is a holiday at any level, and in the Major Hockey League there are even more chances to compete for something serious. Fans love victories. See seven home wins in the KHL season or win the tower? I think it's more interesting to win. I would not dramatize, look for some kind of universal conspiracy, but would focus on raising interest in hockey and generating resources. Relative to the city's population, the attendance is very good, but there is no full stadium, and collecting one is quite a feasible task.

It is often said that when big hockey leaves a city, interest in training new personnel is lost. In fact, if people from Khanty-Mansiysk appear in the top KHL clubs, then local students will have role models. You need to understand that initially there are few chances to get to the highest level, but the more of these students there are, the higher the chances. In a small city, it is easier to build such a system, and it will produce exhaust, especially since there is someone to play with. Big-time hockey is an expensive pleasure, a lot of expenses, and it is very difficult to get any return. The main thing is that there is a fan base, there is children's and youth hockey. And over time, big hockey may return to Khanty-Mansiysk.

— What is the most important, most important match for you that you were lucky enough to commentate on?

- There is a standard answer here - “the main match is still ahead.” It would be stupid not to highlight the final in Quebec in 2008, the final of the European Championship in Madrid in 2007, five Olympic Games from the event... there were many interesting matches, but I hope that there will be no less in the future.

— Do you review any legendary historical matches? In the wake of the popularity of the film "Moving Up", many decided to reconsider that 1972 ending. When did you watch it?

— I watched the final of the basketball tournament of the 1972 Olympic Games at the turn of the century. I was surprised at how much Sergei Aleksandrovich Belov stood out on the court. This was a basketball god. With such a game, he would not only not get lost, but would be among the best in modern basketball. As for Moving Up, I really hope that many people will reconsider this ending. Many people talk about the historical inaccuracies of this film, they say there were no dunks, etc. And if they claim this, not just by reading somewhere, but by reviewing that ending, then I believe that the filmmakers in this sense have done a very great job for basketball and the memory of these events.

— Who do you like to watch and listen to most among your colleagues in the commentary department?

— Sergey Kurdyukov at Eurosport. Absolutely amazing commentator on cycling sports. Cycling in his performance is space. I am excitedly watching his Tour de France, falling out of life while it is going on. Who would have told me five years ago that I would sit in front of the TV for six hours and watch a bicycle race, I would have laughed, but now this is a harsh reality. I'm slowly getting my friends hooked on this. With my colleague Taras Timoshenko, without fail, we go to watch one or two mountain stages in the bar and wildly cheer for the race participants. Sometimes we are joined by acquaintances who wonder if we are really going to watch the race for six hours. And then they come to laugh at us, but in the end they get involved themselves.

Everything is also clear with Alexey Popov. One gets the impression that this is the man who invented Formula 1. I just can’t imagine who else could comment on the Formula in Russian.

Great snooker commentator Vladimir Sinitsyn. This is a person who plays himself and also judges competitions. By the way, he also commentated on the final of the USSR championship between CSKA and Dynamo Riga. Does his job perfectly. A unique and very recognizable manner, you can’t tear yourself away from the broadcast. They tell you absolutely everything, and this is great art!

— Is there a sport that you would like to try to comment on?

- American football! I really like it, I watch NFL games regularly, and I haven’t missed the Super Bowl in over 20 years. I once came to America to study and got hooked on it there. For the last three years I have been following the regular season. An excellent game, but in the realities of our country it is difficult for American football to compete for the attention of spectators, but it would be interesting. You could say that being at the Super Bowl in the stadium and commentating on it is my dream commentator.

— What is the most difficult thing in the art of commentating?

— Maintain a balance between emotions and information. The important part is to abstract yourself from life circumstances. We are all human, we all have bad days and problems, but you understand that people are not to blame, they don’t have to know about your problems. You must always be cheerful and cheerful.

During the broadcast, in any case, you make some mistakes. In our age of the Internet, it is normal for the viewer to know more than you. In some places you can’t keep track, in others you misrepresent absolutely not out of malice. Gradually, immunity to mistakes appears, but not so much that if you made a mistake, that’s okay. You are always trying to fix something, to do better. I am my own biggest critic and am rarely, or rather never completely satisfied with, the work done.

— How to become a commentator? Where to begin?

- Hard to say. There are no universal recipes. As far as I understand, specialized educational institutions still do not train commentators. Therefore, everyone must find their own path. The main thing is to love sports, it would be very nice to do it, be inquisitive, and not stop developing. It is necessary to pass through the emotions of the participants in this or that action, to believe that everything will work out.

P.S.: Ilya Kovalchuk’s winning goal against Canada in the 2008 World Cup final. Commentators: Roman Skvortsov and Sergey Gimaev.

Roman Skvortsov is a commentator on handball, basketball and football, whom viewers of the Sport TV channel know well. Today he is considered one of the best sports commentators on Russian television. He always takes on the coverage of only those sports himself.

Roman Skvortsov was born in 1975. His father was involved in athletics, and Roman himself preferred basketball and hockey. It was these sports disciplines that became his favorite on television.

In 2003, Skvortsov began working on basketball matches on the Rossiya channel. I got on the TV channel by sending a recording with my comment to the channel management. The young journalist was assessed and hired. And three years later, Roman was already broadcasting live from the World Hockey Championship.

The best partner for Skvortsov was Sergei Gimaev, an honored hockey coach. He often worked with Roman on air at hockey tournaments. And when Gimaev spoke harshly about the producers of sports television programs, for which he was expelled from the air, Skvortsov came to the defense of his friend and colleague.

Sergey Gimaev and Roman Skvortsov

Roman met his future wife thanks to a technical glitch on the display inside the Ak Bars training base. Ellina was giving a tour when a jumping squirrel and the inscription “Ellina Artashina, employee of the Ak Bars hockey club” appeared on one of the screens. Skvortsov could not resist and suggested that Ellina could turn into a squirrel. From then on, Roman only called her Belochka.

2013 was a real tragedy for Roman. His wife and daughter Dasha died in the plane crash. Skvortsov almost immediately wrote on Twitter: “Why live now?”

Later, Sergei Gimaev said in an interview that Roman Skvortsov now wants to work as much as possible in order to take his mind off the death of his family.

Fortunately, in life there is a place not only for bad things. Like most TV commentators, Skvorts has various blunders. For example, in one of the broadcasts from the London Olympics, he mixed it up and said Vaseline instead of validol.

I also remember the episode with Alexander Svitov, the forward of the Russian national team at the 2012 World Cup. In a match against the Danes, Skvortsov accidentally changed his last name to “Sweater” and, assessing the actions of the Danish hockey player, called him “the sweater offender.”

At the Rugby World Cup

On the Internet, of course, Roman Skvortsov is treated differently, just like in sports. They can call you an “amateur” or worse. In real life, Roman does not encounter this and jokes about it: “They are afraid of Gimaev, that’s why they don’t say anything bad at conferences.” It is also known that Petersis Skudra, the coach of Nizhny Novgorod Torpedo, has a certain dislike for the TV commentator.

Video interview with Roman Sorokin

This year, Skvortsov was an expert at the commentator competition, which was organized by Avtomobilist HC. Roman invited the fans to choose the best sports commentator from the three finalists after the completion of the Avtomobilist - Ugra match: “It would probably be right if the fans themselves draw the conclusions, who will have a long and happy life with this commentator on their television sets. I’m not a local artist, I’ll paint and leave, and you can live.”

Well-known TV commentator Roman Skvortsov shared with Life his memories of his almost permanent partner in hockey reporting - Sergei Gimaev, who passed away on March 18.

At some point my phone just exploded. Calls came from all cities of Russia non-stop - from dozens of familiar and unfamiliar numbers. Everyone asked the same question: “Is this true?” I went to Yandex... At first there was nothing there at all. But soon news began to pour in with maximum, irrevocable specificity.

- How many years have you known Sergei Nailievich?

We have been working together since 2006, probably. Well, yes - the first time Nailich and I began commentating as a pair was at the World Hockey Championship in Riga. Of course, we sometimes crossed paths before that, but we became partners in 2006.

-Has he ever complained about his health?

You need to know Nailich... He is the embodiment of love of life and positivity. So nothing foreshadowed the tragedy... Although you asked, and I remembered. A couple of weeks ago, he gave me a lift from a match and for the first time in his life he complained of fatigue. His schedule was crazy: broadcasts, training, games, seminars. And he complained: “For some reason I’m a little over-fed, it’s been a very difficult month...” But this was not a health complaint. So, thinking out loud.

- What are the first associations that come to mind with the name Gimaev?

Extreme specificity, bordering on categoricalness. Inflexibility and firmness. But even when he strongly scolded someone, it was not because he wanted to indiscriminately criticize or even remove the hockey player from the sport. It’s just that every day, every minute his soul ached for hockey. And when he “put pressure” on someone, it meant this: “Boy, you have such talent, you could do something big and good for hockey, but you don’t”... He never set himself The purpose is simply to criticize someone. He wanted to make - and did - Russian hockey better. This was the main business of his life.

- What can you tell us about his hobbies?

NTV once started filming a program about gardening. If they had called Nailich as a consultant, they would have ruined all the ratings. What he didn’t know about plants and flowers, it seems to me, no other professor in the world knows. One day he and I were walking along the embankment in Montreux, where there was an exhibition of plants. So, not only did he know each of them, but he could tell several interesting stories about each.

Quebec 2008. "Russia" - "Canada" - 5:4. "Golden" report by Gimaev and Skvortsov

- And what stories with the participation of Gimaev himself - funny and sad - do you remember first?

It seems like no sad stories happened to him at all. He lived every day with a thirst for new discoveries and sensations. Amazing love of life! He was literally interested in everything. He knew sports thoroughly... And not only hockey, but any kind: football, snooker, American football. Well, except that he was not an expert in small towns and scuba diving. By the way, I called him many times to commentate on basketball. He refused, saying he lacked “specific” knowledge. But, believe me, he understood any sport so deeply that it might seem incredible. I remember when the football derby “Spartak” - CSKA took place last year, it was decided to make a separate page “Himayev about football”. It was very interesting and very professional.

- When was your next joint broadcast supposed to take place?

I don't even know, to be honest. I can’t wrap my head around it: March, the decisive matches of the Gagarin Cup - and without Nailich’s voice...