This Week in Skating Interview with Rebecca Ghilardi and Filippo Ambrosini

This Week in Skating Interview with Rebecca Ghilardi and Filippo Ambrosini

[Rebecca Ghilardi] Ciao a tutti! Siamo Rebecca Ghilardi

[Filippo Ambrosini] E Filippo Ambrosini

[Rebeccca] E vi diamo il Benvenuto a

[Filippo] This Week in Skating! 

[Daphne Backman] Hey everyone! Welcome to our podcast. I’m Daphne.

[Gina Cappellazzi] And I am Gina.

[Daphne] And this is This Week in Skating. 

[Gina] As you know, we have talked a lot about the depth of Italian pairs and today we are excited to be joined by one of those pairs teams. 

[Daphne] Rebecca Ghilardi and Filippo Ambrosini are 2-time European Championships medallists, winning bronze this year and silver last year. 

[Gina] This season they became the 2024 Italian National Champions after winning silver at Italian nationals for five consecutive years. They also finished fifth at the Grand Prix Final. Rebecca and Filippo also competed at the 2022 Olympics.

[Daphne] We are also joined by our producer, Matteo Morelli. He is here to help us with any translations that might be needed and ask some questions as well. 

[Gina] We want to welcome Rebecca and Filippo to This Week in Skating! Hi guys!

[Filippo] Hello!

[Rebecca] Thank you for having us here today.

[Gina] And hi Matteo, too. Thanks for being here!

[Matteo Morelli] Nice to be back!

[Daphne] We are glad you could join us. As Gina mentioned, ever since we started our podcasts we have been talking about the growing depth in Italian skating as a whole, but especially how the pairs are developing into such high-level competitors and there are more and more it seems every year. It is very exciting. 

[Gina] We’ll start first from the very beginning. How did you guys team up? I know Rebecca, you did singles before.

[Rebecca] Yes, I was a single skater in 2015 and then I had nationals in Torino as a junior team. I remember after that nationals I was like okay, maybe I need some time to take a break and understand what I want to do if I want to continue skating. It was a period of stress and I needed a break. Then my coach asked me if we wanted to try to do pairs. At the beginning, I was a bit scared because when I was a kid I never liked to skate with other people. I always remember I wanted to skate alone and never liked to share the ice with someone else. So it was like, maybe I can try, because I knew that there was something that I can give to figure skating. I knew that it was not a real end of my career. I tried and then we already had feelings from the first try out, it was a special moment and then I said okay, I can see we can do pairs and we can do a really beautiful work together. So that’s how we started working after nationals, in January of the next year.

[Filippo] For me, I was arriving from a difficult period. Before I started skating with Rebecca, I was working in America for six months as a pair skater with another partner from America, skating for Italy. It was not working so well, so when we come back to Italy, I said “maybe I stop skating. My boss coach, Franca (Bianconi) said “okay, but maybe do you want to do some try out” and I said okay. My first day I had a try with Rebecca and it was working very well. So we started in January like she said. In September we already did our first competition in Lombardia Trophy and were very excited to compete in this competition because it was in our rink, in the new rink. It was the first Lombardia Trophy in Bergamo, in the new rink. It was very special.

[Gina] This is your eighth season as a team. What do you guys like about working with each other? What do you find your strengths are?   

[Rebecca] Before we started skating together, I think we never met, which is strange because we are both from Italy but I was in junior and in different categories, and I was not that high level to compete in Europeans or World Championships. So maybe that’s the reason. We already had a beautiful feeling between us, between our teams, and that was really helpful for us. I think we can say that we are strong when we are together and we can share our emotions when we skate. We love to hear from the public or from the judges or from whoever that they feel what we’re skating on and when people feel it, it’s kind of a magical situation, because they’re skating with you, you can make them feel what you’re talking about, what you’re doing.

[Filippo] For me and Rebi (short for Rebecca), I think the best point is when we skate together. We put energy in every day, from the beginning when we start the day to the end. It’s not our work, it’s a passion. When you do something so special, you don’t feel tired, you don’t feel your body, you just go. That’s the best thing when we skate.

[Daphne] What was the biggest adjustment you had to make when you started skating together?

[Rebecca] We just run through everything, because we started working together in January and we wanted to compete in September, so the season was very close. We just run through everything but probably we never worked really good on technique. For example, I learned the twist so fast, but then we had to do a lot of adjustments and work on it, but now it’s working very well. But we run through all elements, so then we got time to fix all of them. Now we fixed kind of everything.

[Gina] Matteo reminded me of this and maybe you guys can explain this to our listeners from the US:  the system in Italy is with the police force contracts that fund your competitive careers. Can you explain that a little bit more, because that’s not what it’s like here in the US, so talk a little bit about how the police force is involved in your careers.

[Filippo] For Italian athletes, because it’s not just for the skating people, it’s for all the athletes in Italy, when you get inside the police is the best for us. It’s almost a dream, because it’s like you have a job, so this job helps for skating. It’s different from the United States, because in the United States when you are the biggest athletes, the Federation helps the athlete. Here in Italy, there is the Federation but it doesn’t cover everything because we are in the army. So if you are in the army, it helps for our skating, our sport.

[Rebecca] Your dream is your job now, your skate and it’s your work, it’s the best you can do, it’s the best achievement for you.

[Filippo] When you are in the army, you are in a club, but like the same as when you are on the skating club. You are in a different club but you are inside a club with other athletes from other sports, the best athlete in Italy are inside of this club.

[Gina] Okay, that makes sense. Talk a little bit about your training team, who you’re working with. What is it like to train at the IceLab with so many teams around you?

[Rebecca] It’s nice, we are so lucky to have so many teams to share the ice with. We have our supervisor, Franca Bianconi, and then we have our coaches, Rosanna Morante, Ondrej Hotarek, Daniel Aggiano. We have a lot of choreographers, Anna Cappellini, Luca Lanotte. So our teams is very, very big. But it’s nice because in the end it is beautiful to share the ice with other pairs that are at your level. In the end, it’s the same people that you meet in competitions, that you have to compete with, so it’s like every day is a simulation of the competition. Not fighting, but trying to do your best.

[Filippo] We help each other.

[Rebecca] Yes, we help each other, exactly. So it’s very, very beautiful. Even off ice, we have a nice team, a lot of people are working with us even off the ice. And it’s nice. I think we have everything we need for our training session, from the morning to the evening, every day.

[Filippo] We are like a very big family because we share a lot in our day. We share more than in our family, because we live all the day in our rink, so it’s like a very nice and big family. 

[Rebecca] It’s beautiful because then you build the relationships even outside of the ice rink, because you meet them every day, but then sometimes we meet even out on the ice rink and it’s beautiful.

[Matteo] I think you Rebecca made a few really good friends as you are saying: for instance, I’m thinking about Anika (Hocke), Minerva (Hase). You build relationships all over?

[Rebecca] Yeah, of course, it’s so nice. I love to be with them. Annika is here with me, we train together so of course it’s easier, we meet every day. Minerva is far from Italy but I’m so glad and happy when we have competitions together and we share those moments. It’s beautiful. I’m glad for the sport, it brings me to know a lot of different people and some became really, really close friends to me.

[Daphne] So you worked with some recent Italian champions: Ondrej Hotarek, Anna Cappellini, Luca Lanotte. How have they helped your skating?

[Filippo] They help a lot because they know what we need. Every day, they push us a lot because they are athletes from not many years ago, so they know a lot. Every day, they put a lot of energy in, they are very young, they push us a lot, they skate with us. It is the best for us, because I think we take a lot of passion from Ondrej and Anna.

[Gina] Luca did your programmes this season, right?

[Filippo] Yes, he did our short and free skate.

[Gina] You guys have medalled at every Italian nationals in your partnership, but this was the first season that you won the title, you won gold. What was it like to be on top of the podium this year? 

[Filippo] We said “finally”!

[Rebecca] That gold medal that we were looking for many years now is ours, it’s our medal! We were very happy for the national tile. It was the end of a really long period, because in November we stayed out for almost three weeks in Asia for the for two Grand Prix, and then we kept training in Japan between both competitions, so we just came back in Italy and then go back to China for the (Grand Prix) Final, then come back and go to Nationals. We were a bit tired. But then we just worked for that and we reached our beautiful medal.

[Gina] That’s right, because you guys had Asian Grand Prix and then had to go back to the Final. That’s a lot of travelling!

[Filippo] Every competition was so close! 

[Rebecca] And we said “we don’t plan anything for the Final”, because of course if we plan we don’t qualify! So we just said, let the Grand Prix scores and then we go back and if we need to we come back.

[Daphne] At Europeans, you had the second-best free skate. What did you think of your skates at Europeans given that you moved up from fifth to win the bronze medal?

[Filippo] In the end of our short we said, me and Rebi, tomorrow we just need to skate what we do every day, because our performance was just the work that we do every day, so just skate with our passion and heart. That’s why I think it’s working. We see also the public was enjoying it from the beginning to the end, also during our short programme.

[Rebecca] We felt a lot the crowd. It’s a strange feeling because of course it was the first time for us but it was good because we felt the support from the crowd. It was a full arena, so it was really a moment I think we will never forget. We did our job. We were like okay, we did our job in this short programme, we are happy about it. We really loved our skating tonight. And tomorrow we have nothing to lose. It’s our free skate, we know people like it. We tried to do it as best as we can and then we will see. Of course, we didn’t think about the medal after the short programme, as the year before, because we were exactly in the same situation in Finland. We said, we never know, we just do our job in the best way, then let’s see what happens.

[Daphne] That atmosphere at Europeans was so incredible, even watching it on streaming online, on the computer, you could feel the energy. We’re not used to seeing crowds like that all the time. And so to see that, I felt really happy for the athletes, for all of you, that you got to compete in an arena that was packed like that because it had to be amazing. 

[Matteo] I was there and it was great to see that there was such a reception for the pairs event as well, because if you remember it was full at each event, including the pairs events. My memory as well is that when guys skated, you got one of the best cheers from the public, so you really made an impression on them, which is good.I was really pleased to see that. 

[Filippo] The public helps a lot. It was a very nice arena. 

[Rebecca] Before your performance you don’t really think about the crowd, you don’t look how many people are there or not. But then, you want to enjoy your performance and you feel the public clapping your hands for you with the rhythm of the music, so then it’s amazing because you realise how much people are joining you and that gives you a lot of power. We feel it and we love when we feel it. 

[Matteo] The feeling that you are describing exploded at the end after Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri won gold again at the ice dance. I remember that after the podium ceremony, you were all there with team Italia celebrating, hugging everyone on the ice, it was such a good feeling there. I suppose you really enjoyed this at the end. 

[Rebecca] We are a beautiful team and we were very happy. I think it was a way to celebrate all together all the beautiful results that the Italian team got at this Europeans, we got our moment to celebrate!

[Filippo] Before, you put very hard work through so in the end when you are done you say it’s time to have fun, to enjoy the moment.

[Daphne] Something else that we’ve talked about is not just the rise of skating in pairs and also in dance but singles have started to catch up. And so looking ahead to events like the World Team Trophy or the team event at the Olympics, I think Italy is really sneaking in there to be a team that could end up on the podium at one of these events in the near future.

[Rebecca] It would be amazing. Everyone has to work a lot, from pairs to dancers, to singles. Everyone has to put a lot of energy in, but of course we have a good opportunity. It would be a dream to have a team that could compete for a medal at the Olympics in the team event.

[Filippo] Now we are a very nice team, because there are many athletes in Italy now that are strong, in every single (woman and man) and also ice dance. After the last Olympics, there was not a true way to a new team because some people left, so I think for the Italian nation it is nice because the movement started and continued, it didn’t stop after some skaters left. 

[Gina] We have talked a lot on the podcast about the depth of Italian pairs and at Euros two Italian pairs teams were on the podium. What do you think has led to having so many successful Italian pair teams?

[Rebecca] I don’t know! Probably we just work a lot, we push each other every day and we knew we had a big opportunity in this season, so we try to work as much as we can to reach our goals. And we did almost every year, but probably now our work came out. And we reached that. Of course, in Italy there is a very big movement because now IceLab is the centre of excellence till 2026. So of course, it’s a really good opportunity for us. 

[Filippo] We have very good scores right now in Italy for the pairs.

[Rebecca] We have good coaches, we share everything together. We push each other. Everything we need, we can ask for.

[Filippo] The school for pairs in Italy started in 2006 from Ondrej Hotarek and Daniel Aggiano, and many coaches started to do some seminars for pairs and learn, because before there was no coach to teach pairs, because in Italy there wasn’t anything in pairs.

[Rebecca] We are even lucky to have ex athletes working with us, when you do spirals with your coach and he knows what you have to feel and what you have to do. Ondrej knows exactly what we have to do, even Daniel, so I think maybe it’s easier to share it and let athletes understand the work.

[Gina] Do you guys find it motivating you? Does It push you forward knowing that there are so many other pairs teams all striving for that same excellence?

[Rebecca] Yeah. Even from Germany, from Finland, from the Czech Republic, a lot of other countries are training with us, even Spain was there. In summer, maybe even more teams are coming and it’s beautiful because then you just share what we know. We don’t move from home, and that’s the best part!

[Daphne] Now people can’t see this because we’re just doing the audio podcast, but Rebecca has the most adorable dog that keeps making an appearance! 

[Rebecca] …biting me!

[Daphne] What’s his name? 

[Rebecca] Pepe! 

[Daphne] Oh my goodness. So cute!

[Rebecca] He’s not even three months old, so he wants to play a lot. He’s a puppy. 

[Daphne] Yeah, I have a kitten that is still scratching me because he wants to play and attack my hand. It’s so nice.

[Rebecca] The cat is okay, the dog is being too puppy now, but it’s okay!

[Daphne] He’ll grow out of it!

[Gina] Despite the fact that you guys won the bronze medal at Europeans and are the reigning Italian champions, you’ve been left off the world team because Italy only has two spots. How hard is that sitting with you guys right now knowing that you had such a great season and you’re not going to be able to go to the World Championships? 

[Rebecca] Of course, at the beginning probably it was harder because you always hope until the end that the federation gives you the opportunity to go. It’s not our fault, there are only two spots. So there is nothing we can do now. But of course, as you said, we did our best. We had a nice season. We are happy about our competitions this season. We improved, we are happy for that, it’s okay when you do your best and we did it. We are really happy about our results. So we just keep the results to push to the next season and it’s okay. I hope the other teams just take three spots for the next season, so finally we can all go and share everything together.

[Daphne] Are you still training hard just in case you get the call to go to Worlds, if something happens? Because sometimes teams will get sick or injured, or something will happen and someone has to withdraw. Are you still working on your programmes just in case until worlds?

[Rebecca] We are still skating, we had a week and a half rest after Europeans because we said okay now we need to take a break and be back stronger. Then they said about Worlds and we said okay. We continue skating of course to be in shape. We hope that everything’s going to be okay but if there is the opportunity, we will be ready. But we are still thinking even about next season, our next programmes, next changes. So we’re not really on worlds mindset but more working for the next (season).

[Gina] What were you guys most proud of this season? What was the highlight of the season for you?

[Rebecca] The free skating at European Championships!

[Filippo] But we also enjoyed our performance in Japan, at NHK. It was very nice, they are very nice people.

[Rebecca] Again full arena, full of Italian flags, we felt like we were in Italy because there were so many flags from Italy and everyone was cheering for us. It was quiet during the performance and then in the end it was like getting crazy. Everyone was so nice and it was a really magical atmosphere. We love to skate with Japan crowds, it was nice. There was a memory of course we keep in our hearts.

[Daphne] I think that’s what made the audience at Europeans so much cooler. Usually, those types of crowds you see at an NHK Trophy or events held in Japan, because skaters are like rock stars in Japan. I think seeing the crowds so big at Europeans, it’s just not something we’re used to but I think, it was fantastic to see it like that.

[Rebecca] It was amazing. We didn’t expect it, probably no one expected it. Maybe because of their Lithuanian girls and ice dancers, so we said of course there will be more people watching ice dance and ladies. But in all events, the crowd was amazing, always a full arena. I still remember when Alisson (Reed) and Saulius (Ambrulevičius) ended their free skating: it looked like the whole arena went down in a second, it was unbelievable. I was shaking being there! Really amazing.

[Daphne] It was like soccer, it’s like something you would see like at a soccer game. 

[Rebecca] Yeah, like in a soccer game, it’s not our crowd! 

[Gina] And maybe you guys will be heading back to Lithuania again for a Europeans. Lithuania is going to get another event soon.

[Daphne] Whatever they did to promote the event there, they need to replicate it, everywhere.

[Filippo] Yes, they promoted it very well.

[Rebecca] Or move the crowd to other countries! 

[Filippo] We also competed at the Olympics in Beijing, in 2022, and it was strange because of the Covid, with no people. 

[Rebecca] Just a few people at the competition.

[Daphne] It’s so amazing that things have changed so much even in two years, because during the COVID times, you’re right, some events didn’t have any audience at the Olympics. It’s the biggest event every four years and it’s not the same to not have the crowd there, to support and build that energy. 

[Rebecca] It was a bit harder, probably. I was sharing the apartment with Nicole (Della Monica), Charlene (Guignard) and Lara (Naki Gutmann), and Nicole and Charlene had done other Olympics before and I remember I was talking with Nicole and I said “I am at the Olympics, but I don’t feel like I am at the Olympics”, and she said “I know but trust me, you will do another one and you will see the difference”. Everyone was so scared to be close to someone else, maybe had COVID, testing every day. Some people that the goal was maybe to get a medal, were eating with the mask up and just eating and put the mask down and put mask up again and go away. It was a crazy situation.

[Gina] Even though it was strange, I’m sure you guys have memories from that that you remember. Do you have a favourite memory from the 2022 Olympics? 

[Filippo] Yes, of course. We spent three weeks in Beijing in the Olympic village, so I think we have many memories. I shared the apartment with Matteo Rizzo, Marco (Fabbri) and Daniel (Grassl). It was nice to share the apartment with three guys. Also, we enjoyed it because for all the athletes, when they do the Olympics is the best (thing) because it’s like the dream, from the beginning. I think every athlete there has a story and it’s nice because they can get the dream. It’s like seeing the end of your street: if you are walking in the street, it’s like you see the end, it’s the best conclusion.

[Rebecca] Because it’s a dream that you start building some years before, so it’s not from one day to the other, it’s a huge season so like it’s a long travel together for one competition. 

[Matteo] Our listeners cannot see that: Rebecca, you got the Beijing mascot behind you, don’t you?

[Rebecca] Yeah, I have a lot of Olympic memories! It was so hard to get. I was shocked, because we got the small one from the organisation and then there was a shop in the village, I remember a lot of people waiting outside of the shop at 8AM, so I had to get ready one day too, because we were the last to compete and it wasn’t even easy! We were training the whole day and then competition, closing ceremony, go back home. I was like, ok you need to take some days to get the mascot. Then everyone was asking for the mascot and I was like no, it’s impossible, it was hard even to get one for me, I can’t bring more back!

[Daphne] Speaking of mascots, just a couple of weeks ago, the Italian mascots (for the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Games) were unveiled. Have you seen them? What do you think of those? 

[Filippo] Yes, they are nice! Tina and Milo! 

[Daphne] They are so cute.

[Filippo] They were in the in the show in Torino last weekend, it was nice. There was a lot of public and we enjoyed our performance. We skated with the new song from Sanremo (music festival), from Il Volo. All the audience liked our programme. 

[Gina] We are two years away from the Olympics being in Milan. I’m guessing that’s the goal, to be at the Olympics in your home country. What would it mean to compete in an Olympics in your home country? 

[Filippo] It’s another dream, for me and Rebi it’s the last Olympics, in Milano Cortina, so it’s our dream because here we have our families, our friends live close from us, many fans. So we want this spot to go to the Olympics.

[Rebecca] Yeah. I think that would be amazing because it’s nice to have the Olympics in your home town, in our country. We are still not really thinking about the Olympics, we know we are getting closer and closer, but we always say step by step, season by season. We are working for the next goal and then of course the big one is to be there and be in the best shape.

[Daphne] Are you feeling any additional pressure or are you just staying the course and focusing, like you just said step by step?

[Rebecca] Not yet! 

[Filippo] We decide to do this, so it’s not pressure, we work every day for this, in a good way. 

[Gina] Is there excitement surrounding the Olympics in Italy right now? I know we’re still two years away but have you been seeing signs of excitement? People are really getting excited or is there a lot of development going on for the facilities for the Olympics?

[Filippo] Some are working to do these Olympics, they are still in progress. People now speak about these Olympics, they want many people to start doing winter sports, so they provide and improve the promotion of the sport.

[Rebecca] They are promoting the event. And it would be amazing if after the Olympics, a lot of kids want to try to do our sport, if they want to try to do to do figure skating or even other sports competing at the Olympic Games would be good. In Italy we have a lot of football, basketball, volleyball. Winter games are always a good way to share even different sports and to try them. It’s nice. 

[Daphne] Have you thought about what you might like to do once you are done competing?

[Filippo] Right now, no! Just skate, but I don’t know what can I do in my future. Maybe coach, but right now I just see my last two years of my career, and every day do my best.

[Rebecca] I work with little kids now, as a choreographer. I really like it. The time that I have is not a lot, especially during the season. But I really like it. Now maybe that’s what I really would like to do but you never know. I even love to change ideas at short time, so you never know! We are young, we have time!

[Matteo] I’m going to change the topic. In December 2022, if I’m not wrong, you did a commercial for Versace’s winter collection. Could you tell us a bit about that? How did that come about? How did it feel to be in that commercial? Did you actually meet Donatella herself?

[Filippo] We met the child of Donatella.

[Rebecca] Yes, there was the daughter of Donatella on the set with us. It was nice. All the work behind the holiday campaign of the season was really unbelievable. We had a casting in Milano, in Versace studios. We met with them, we talked a bit and they just said okay, we can work together, see you that day, at that time. They got us ready with all the makeup, hair, they dressed us up as top models, it was amazing. There was even, I don’t remember her name, that beautiful girl that does the runway for Versace. I know they tried to dress me and make me look like you, but you are such a “wow”, not even with skates I was that tall!

[Filippo] For two days, we tried a different life, we were like rock stars! It was nice to try and feel this for two days, to see a different job. Every day we are on the rink, so when we try some new things and see other jobs, you need to learn, you need to see other difficult stuff that other people do.

[Rebecca] You never see everything from the outside, but then when you’re there you see how they work. Unbelievable. 

[Filippo] When you see a commercial on TV, for one brand, maybe there is a lot of work behind it to do these 20 seconds!

[Rebecca] We worked for two days, for not even a minute of video! 

[Daphne] That’s why it takes so long to do a movie! When they do movies, it takes weeks and weeks, sometimes months to shoot a movie! 

[Rebecca] Now we know why!

[Daphne] Rebecca, you went to Iceland with your dad. What was that like? 

[Rebecca] Yes! I love the ice, and when I need to take a break I go on the ice! I had the idea to do this travel in July last year and I already asked Franca if maybe, after Europeans, we can take a break because they are close to the beginning of the year, so maybe I think we have time. As she said “you’re already thinking about that period”, I was like “yes, I want to have holidays with my dad, it’s not a thing I can chose the day before”! And she said yes of course. I said ok dad, and he loves to go walking and climbing mountains and I thought Iceland was a good idea. And his dream was to see the aurora borealis. We didn’t see it, so we have to come back or maybe go to Norway or somewhere more north. Next year!

[Gina] We’d like to always ask some fun questions to our skaters on the podcast, so we’re going to ask you a few here. The first question, and we want you both to answer it, is: other than your skates and your costumes and all the other skating related items, what is one thing you pack in your suitcase that you can’t travel without when you go to a competition?

[Rebecca] Red lipstick and hairspray. When I am at home, I never use to do my makeup or do my hair when I practice, and every time in competitions I have red lipstick and do my hair. I cannot live without that! I can buy everything but I need that!

[Filippo] For me, I put a mask for my skincare! I love to do skincare. In the competition I have time to do it during the competition, because at home you have too many staff to do like cooking and cleaning the house. In the competition is more like a vacation, because the training is not very hard, it’s more about mental preparation at competition.

[Gina] Now, you guys have done Freddie Mercury and you did Dracula this year. What is one piece of music that you want to skate to but haven’t skated to yet?

[Rebecca] We just did in the last show, we skated on Il Volo’s “Capolavoro”, that was the same group we skated on “Grande amore” at the Olympics. We heard that song in Sanremo, the live Sanremo Italian music festival, we saw them live singing that song and we were like “ok, we need to skate on that music”. And we did it last week!

[Daphne] The last question: what TV show are you currently binging, which means watching a lot? 

[Filippo] In Italy, the name is “Affari Tuoi”, it’s a programme with the packs. 

[Matteo] There are different boxes and have each one of them has a monetary prize inside. 

[Filippo] There is a prize and the box is from a place in Italy, with money inside, from zero to more. Every time that a place comes out, there is money inside. Sometimes people win, other people don’t win, but it’s nice because it’s 20-25 minutes on tv and when I’m eating I watch this programme. 

[Rebecca] I watched that too and then we talk about it, “did you see, he lost yesterday, he changed the box and he had zero”.

[Gina] It sounds like “Deal or no deal”!

[Filippo] Maybe, sometimes in the end there is a box with zero and in another box there is a lot of money.

[Daphne] Well, we really appreciate both of you coming on and talking with us today. It’s been a lot of fun!

[Filippo] Thanks Daphne and Gina and also Matteo for helping us. 

[Rebecca] Thank you so much.

[Gina] We look forward to seeing you guys next season and wish you all the best in your transition to that, now that your season is over and in working into next season.

[Filippo] Thank you so much for our interview, it was fun.

[Rebecca] Thank you so much.

[Daphne] Gina, can you let folks know where to find us?

[Gina] You can find at our website, it’s thisweekinskating.com; on social media: including the site formerly known as Twitter at thiswkinskating; Facebook, Instagram and threads is thisweekinskating. We’d love your feedback or your questions, you can reach out to us on social media or email us at thisweekinskating@gmail.com. 

[Daphne] And if you’re enjoying our episodes, please join us in our Patreon community at patreon.com/thisweekinskating. We have reached the end of our episode. Thanks for listening. I’m Daphne.

[Gina] And I’m Gina.

[Matteo] And I’m Matteo.

[Daphne] And you’ve been listening to This Week in Skating.

[Gina] Have an ice week!