Interview with Christopher Boyadji Ice Dome Training Camp Oberstdorf, July 2008 Q: You competed in the Junior Grand Prix' Croatia and Chemnitz last season - how do you rate your performances? A: It was really good, I was happy of with performances in Croatia and in Chemnitz and with my good results. I was 5th in Croatia from 25 competitors and I finished 9th in Chemnitz. So it was really good because I was my first international Junior Grand Prix year. I did two short programms without errors and with clean jumps. I was really happy and I skated both free programs really really clean. I finished 4th in the free program in Croatia, so I was really happy with my performance and my coach was happy, too - it was good! Q: How are your preparations going for the new season? What competitions do you plan to attend? A: As we have a lot of skaters in France, we'll have a lot of tests for the selection for the Junior Grand Prix. We had tests in May and it was a preselection, so I was selected for the next test and the next test is next week. I leave Sunday, the 27th (of July) until Monday 28. We must do the top jumps, we must show each jump four times and, we have to land 3 of the 4 jumps, so it’s very difficult. If we did this and it’s good, we can do the short program the next time, because the top jump part is a kind of selection. So if I do well I will do the short program the next day and after that the free program the next day, so we have to focus for three days and it's very difficult to do two short programs and the free program in the beginning of the season end of July. Q:It’s hard in France! A:Yes, we have a lot of skaters and not so many spots on the Junior Grand Prix. But I hope I will get  a Junior Grand Prix, because I did Chemnitz and Croatia last season and it was good. Q: Will you have new programs? A: No, I keep the same programs. My short and my free are the same, but I completey changed the choreography of the free program. It’s totally new, but it's the same music because I like my programs. My choreographer is from Switzerland and the short programm is the same like last year, so it’s not really changed. But next year I will change. Q:What’s your goal? A:For this year, for this competitions I’d like to do the World Junior Championships. Q: Do you have a role model in skating? A: Daisuke Takahasi! He’s a very good skater...and Tomas Verner Q: What are you doing besides skating? A: I go to school. I’m in university, I start my second year in September at university, so I don’t really have time. From 8.oo o’clock to 13.oo o’clock in the morning I'm going to university and afterwards I  go skating from 14.oo o’clock to 18.oo o’clock. Then I go home. I don’t really have time to enjoy the life. I work a lot because, I’m in school. So I don’t have time to go partying and to do things like that. Q: What are you studying? A: I’m in a University of Management Q: Have you ever been here in Oberstdorf before? A: Last year I was here, I did my short program with my choreographer here. Then I was here again in the beginning of June for choreography. I returned to France for two weeks because there was a club gala. And now I just came back on June 24, and I’ll leave Friday in a week and a half. Q: How does it help you to be here? A: It’s very interesting because you can watch Tomas Verner, who is European Champion, you can see Carolina Kostner, during the Ice Dome. There is Michal Brezina, a very good friend, and Karel Zelenka.... it’s a lot of motivation .You jump and you see the other can jump, so you want to jump, it’s really a good atmosphere, it’s very interesting and I progress a lot here. Q: I think there is a wide difference between Oberstdorf and Paris. Do you like the countryside? A: Yeah! I love it, but it’s all the time raining here (laughs). I love the resort, it’s a big difference to Paris, but it’s very good for relaxing here. I can't stay all year here, I can't live here, because Paris is.... . I live all the time in Paris so I can't move completely to the countryside, where it is very calm and quiet. This place here is very good for relaxing, people are not stressed, in Paris everbody is stressed, everybody is completely stressed, to come here for relaxing and for preparing for the season is really, really good. Q: So continue have a good time here. All the best for the coming season. Thank you for the interview