Federica Faiella

Federica Faiella
Faiella/Scali at the 2010 Worlds
Born	(1981-02-01) 1 February 1981 (age 43) Rome
Hometown	Capena, Province of Rome
Height	1.66 m (5 ft 5 in)
Figure skating career
Country	Italy
Partner	Massimo Scali Luciano Milo
Coach	Natalia Linichuk Pasquale Camerlengo Anjelika Krylova Roberto Pelizzola Walter Rizzo Brunhilde Bianchi Paola Mezzadri Ludmila Vlasova Pasquale Camerlengo Anjelika Krylova N. Pregnolato
Skating club	Agora Skating Team
Retired	2011
Medal record
Event World Championships 0 0 1 European Championships 0 2 0 Italian Championships 7 3 0 World Junior Championships 0 2 0 Junior Grand Prix Final 1 1 0 Medal list World Championships 2010 Turin Ice dance European Championships 2009 Helsinki Ice dance 2010 Tallinn Ice dance Italian Championships 2003 Lecco Ice dance 2004 Milan Ice dance 2005 Merano Ice dance 2007 Trento Ice dance 2008 Milan Ice dance 2009 Pinerolo Ice dance 2010 Brescia Ice dance 2000 Merano Ice dance 2002 Collalbo Ice dance 2006 Sesto San Giovanni Ice dance World Junior Championships 1998 Saint John Ice dance 1999 Zagreb Ice dance Junior Grand Prix Final 1997–98 Lausanne Ice dance 1998–99 Detroit Ice dance

Federica Faiella (born 1 February 1981) is an Italian former competitive ice dancer. With partner Massimo Scali, she is the 2010 World bronze medalist, a two-time (2009–2010) European silver medalist, and six-time (2003–2005, 2007–2009) Italian national champion. They also won eleven Grand Prix medals.

Career

Early career

Faiella began skating at the age of ten.^[1] She competed with Luciano Milo, with whom she was the Junior Grand Prix Final champion in the 1997–1998 season. She and Scali trained at the same rink under the same coach.^[2] After Milo quit skating, she briefly partnered with a French skater.^[2]

Partnership with Scali

Faiella/Scali perform a reverse lift

Faiella teamed up with Massimo Scali in 2001.^[3] Despite skating together for only a brief period of time, Faiella/Scali were able to qualify for the 2002 Winter Olympics, where they finished 18th.

In their second season of competition together, Faiella/Scali won Italian nationals for the first time, and placed in the top ten at the European Championships. A year later, they moved into the top ten at Worlds. In the years leading up to the 2006 Winter Olympics, they continued to make steady progress up the ranks. Prior to the 2005–06 Olympic season, Barbara Fusar-Poli / Maurizio Margaglio, who won bronze for Italy at the 2002 Games, returned to the eligible ranks. Faiella/Scali became the second Italian team, and finished outside the top ten at the Olympics after a fall in the original dance.^[4]

Following the season, they made a coaching change and relocated to the United States to work with Pasquale Camerlengo and Anjelika Krylova at the Detroit Skating Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.^[1] They had an up and down season in 2006–07 but enjoyed good results in 2007–08, including a fourth place at the Europeans and a fifth-place finish at Worlds.

In the 2008–09 season, Faiella/Scali finished second at the Trophee Eric Bompard and won their first Grand Prix event, the 2008 NHK Trophy. This qualified them for their first Grand Prix final, where they finished fourth. They won their first European medal, a silver, behind Russians Jana Khokhlova / Sergei Novitski.^[5] At the 2009 World Championships, a fall in the original dance ended their hopes of medal contention, and they finished eighth.

Faiella/Scali in 2008

In the 2009–10 Olympic season, Faiella/Scali began their season with a bronze medal at the 2009 Cup of China. They withdrew from their next Grand Prix event due to Faiella's illness. At the 2010 Europeans, they won both the original dance and the free dance on their way to their second European silver medal. They finished fifth at the Olympics. Faiella became ill after the Olympics and returned to the ice only four days before the World Championships.^[6] The duo won their first world medal, a bronze, in Turin.^[7]

At the 2010 World Championships, Faiella/Scali announced that they would return for another season. Their assigned Grand Prix events were the Cup of China and the Cup of Russia. Visa problems delayed their training in the U.S. and Faiella had recurring back problems.^[8] They again finished third at the 2010 Cup of China after Scali tripped on Faiella's skirts in both programs.^[9] They withdrew from the 2010 Cup of Russia prior to the free dance due to Scali's back injury.^[10] At the 2011 European Championships, they placed ninth in the short dance but moved up to fifth after the free dance.^[11] This was their final competitive event.^[12]

On March 15, 2011, Scali announced on the team's website that they were retiring from competitive skating and that he would work with coach and choreographer Pasquale Camerlengo's team at the Detroit Skating Club.^[12] However, in May 2011, after it became clear that Faiella's healing process was progressing better than expected, they announced through their official website that they would in fact continue to skate competitively.^[13] The comeback attempt ended after Faiella injured her back, and in 2012 Scali confirmed that they would not return to competitive skating.^[14]

Personal life

In 2011, Faiella began working as a policewoman in Italy.^[8]

Programs

Faiella/Scali perform their original dance at the 2010 World Championships

(with Scali)

Season	Short dance	Free dance	Exhibition
2010–2011 [15][16]	My Fair Lady: "On the Street Where You Live" (instrumental) I could have danced all night The rain in Spain	Manolete by Pepe Romero: Que se ven desde el conquero De mi vera te fuistes
	Original dance
2009–2010 [17][18]	Italian folk: Tammurriata nera Tarantella Pizzicata	Gli Emigranti by Nino Rota	Quel posto che non c'è by Negramaro
2008–2009 [19][20]	Follow the Fleet Let's Face the Music and Dance Let Yourself Go	Moonlight Sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven	By Missy Elliott: Past that Duch The Rain Lose Control
2007–2008 [21][22]	Pizzica Salentina Lu Rusciu de lu Mare Santo Poulo by Suono Salento	Yentl composed by Michel Legrand sung by Barbra Streisand
2006–2007 [23][24]	Tanguera performed by Sexteto Mayor	Pantera en Liberta by Mónica Naranjo	Elisa
2005–2006 [25][26]	Cha Cha "Pata Pata" Rhumba Samba	The Mission by Ennio Morricone	The Mission Carmina Burana Elisa La traviata
2004–2005 [27][28]	How Can I Live to Another Day by Frank Sinatra Girls, Girls, Girls	By Aretha Franklin: Spirit in the Dark (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman Think	Ice Cube Carmina Burana Romanza by Andrea Bocelli
2003–2004 [29][30]	Hafanana by Afric Simone Minnie the Moocher (from Blues Brothers soundtrack) Hafanana by Afric Simone	Libertango by Ástor Piazzolla Orchestra disco soledad Uno (from A Passion for Tango) Libertango by Ástor Piazzolla Orchestra disco soledad	Big Spender
2002–2003 [31][32]	Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss II	Ayer by Gloria Estefan Demasiado by Willy Deville Volveras by Gloria Estefan Demasiado by Willy Deville	Big Spender
2001–2002 [33][34]	Scott & Fran's Paso Doble (from Strictly Ballroom OST) by David Hirschfelder & Bogo Pogo Orchestra The Fencing Lesson by Marc Anthony Scott & Fran's Paso Doble (from Strictly Ballroom OST) by David Hirschfelder & Bogo Pogo Orchestra	Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi performed by Boston Pops Orchestra	Por una Cabeza

Competitive highlights

With Scali

Faiella/Scali with their fellow medalists at the 2008 NHK Trophy

Results[35]
International
Event	2001–02	2002–03	2003–04	2004–05	2005–06	2006–07	2007–08	2008–09	2009–10	2010–11
Olympics	18th				13th				5th
Worlds	16th	11th	9th	9th	8th	9th	5th	8th	3rd
Europeans	12th	8th	6th	5th	7th	6th	4th	2nd	2nd	5th
Grand Prix Final								4th
GP Bompard				5th	3rd	3rd		2nd
GP Cup of China					6th		3rd		3rd	3rd
GP Cup of Russia		5th	5th	3rd						WD
GP NHK Trophy								1st
GP Skate America			4th				3rd
GP Skate Canada	7th	5th				3rd
Bofrost Cup			3rd
Karl Schäfer	2nd
Nebelhorn	2nd	1st
National
Italian Champ.	2nd	1st	1st	1st	2nd	1st	1st	1st	1st	WD
GP = Grand Prix; WD = Withdrew

With Milo

Results[33]
International
Event	1996–1997	1997–1998	1998–1999	1999–2000
Worlds				WD
Europeans				11th
GP Sparkassen				5th
Finlandia				2nd
International: Junior
Junior Worlds	7th	2nd	2nd
JGP Final		1st	2nd
JGP Bulgaria		1st
JGP Germany		2nd	2nd
JGP Mexico			1st
St. Gervais	2nd
EYOF	1st
Autumn Trophy	4th
National
Italian Champ.	2nd J.	1st J.	1st J.	2nd
GP = Grand Prix; JGP = Junior Grand Prix J. = Junior level; WD = Withdrew

References

1. Mittan, Barry (3 February 2008). "Faiella and Scali Reach for Top". GoldenSkate.com. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
2. Kempf, Susanne (2006). "Passion on the ice". AbsoluteSkating.com. Retrieved 7 February 2011.
3. Mittan, Barry (19 December 2004). "Hot Young Italian Dancers Wow Skating Fans". Skate Today.
4. Judd, Ron (20 February 2006). "Two to tangle: Chaos reigns in flub-filled ice dance competition". Seattle Times. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
5. Kondakova, Anna (24 January 2009). "Khokhlova and Novitski capture European ice dance title". Goldenskate.com. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
6. Bőd, Titanilla (2010). "Torino 2010 – day four: downgrades, mistakes and the story of an unusual friendship". AbsoluteSkating.com. Retrieved 22 December 2010.
7. Kondakova, Anna (26 March 2010). "Olympic ice dance champs nab first World title". Golden Skate.
8. Kany, Klaus-Reinhold (28 May 2011). "Different Paths for Federica Faiella & Massimo Scali". IFS Magazine. Archived from the original on 15 August 2011. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
9. "Cup of China produces mixed results". CBC Sports. 7 November 2010.
10. Flade, Tatjana (26 January 2011). "Pechalat and Bourzat grab lead in the Short Dance". GoldenSkate.com. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
11. Flade, Tatjana (29 January 2011). "Pechalat and Bourzat dance to first European title". GoldenSkate.com. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
12. Rutherford, Lynn (15 March 2011). "Ice dancers Faiella, Scali announce retirement". icenetwork.com. Archived from the original on 18 March 2011. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
13. "Federica and Massimo... the ice is calling!". May 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-08-16.
14. "Massimo Scali, the challenge continues". Art on Ice. 6 May 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
15. "Federica FAIELLA / Massimo SCALI: 2010/2011". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 18 August 2011.
16. "Programs Season 2010/2011". FaiellaScali.com. Archived from the original on 6 May 2012.
17. "Federica FAIELLA / Massimo SCALI: 2009/2010". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 4 May 2010.
18. "Programs Season 2009/2010". FaiellaScali.com. Archived from the original on 6 May 2012.
19. "Federica FAIELLA / Massimo SCALI: 2008/2009". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 27 June 2009.
20. "Programs Season 2008/2009". FaiellaScali.com. Archived from the original on 6 May 2012.
21. "Federica FAIELLA / Massimo SCALI: 2007/2008". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 26 June 2008.
22. "Programs Season 2007/2008". FaiellaScali.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
23. "Federica FAIELLA / Massimo SCALI: 2006/2007". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 20 June 2007.
24. "Programs Season 2006/2007". FaiellaScali.com. Archived from the original on 21 November 2008.
25. "Federica FAIELLA / Massimo SCALI: 2005/2006". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 2 July 2006.
26. "Programs Season 2005/2006". FaiellaScali.com. Archived from the original on 21 November 2008.
27. "Federica FAIELLA / Massimo SCALI: 2004/2005". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 30 August 2005.
28. "Programs Season 2004/2005". FaiellaScali.com. Archived from the original on 21 November 2008.
29. "Federica FAIELLA / Massimo SCALI: 2003/2004". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 3 June 2004.
30. "Programs Season 2003/2004". FaiellaScali.com. Archived from the original on 21 November 2008.
31. "Federica FAIELLA / Massimo SCALI: 2002/2003". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 17 April 2003.
32. "Programs Season 2002/2003". FaiellaScali.com. Archived from the original on 21 November 2008.
33. "Federica FAIELLA / Massimo SCALI: 2001/2002". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 11 June 2002.
34. "Programs Season 2001/2002". FaiellaScali.com. Archived from the original on 21 November 2008.
35. "Competition Results: Federica FAIELLA / Massimo SCALI". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012.

External links

• Federica Faiella / Massimo Scali at the International Skating Union
• Official website