ISU Congress summary~
After a week filled with proposals, elections and more, the ISU Congress concluded on Friday, releasing a brief summary of the changes we can expect to be implemented next season.
Kibosh put on age change proposal for second time
Like in 2008, a proposal to change the ages for junior level skaters was rejected by ISU members. Phew!
Rest in peace CDs
After their impending demise being mentioned in whispers amongst the ice dance community for at least half of the last decade, the compulsory dance "stay or go" debate has come to a conclusion when earlier this week, the International Skating Union eliminated the compulsory dance for junior and senior ice dancers. The International Olympic Committee has been urging the ISU to reduce the number of ice dancing competitive phases from three to two for some time now.
Many were ecstatic when the boom fell, feeling the CDs were an outdated requirement that should be cast aside much like compulsory figures. Those who liked that compulsories gave officials and fans the opportunity to directly compare competitors performing the same steps -- and enjoyed the classic ballroom feel of those dances -- are less than thrilled with their elimination and fear the "frankendance" that looms ahead.
In place of compulsories, the new "short dance" will meld together the current original dance with a few compulsory dance elements. Although the proposal was not approved until this week, coaches and athletes have had some access to information in order to create their programs for this season - an indication that the proposal was expected to pass.
Further short dance details will be available in a new ISU Communication and we'll provide additional comments. At the right, Federica Faiella & Massimo Scali of Italy in their final pose of the Golden Waltz at the 2010 World Championships. The Italians were the final team to perform a compulsory dance at an ISU championship.
Return to qualifying rounds… sort of
Also passed at the ISU Congress were new ISU Championships qualification guidelines. More information will be posted once it is available.
And in politics…
Earlier this month, Alexander Gorshkov, 1976 Olympic ice dance champion and chair of the ISU ice dance technical committee (IDTC), was unanimously elected the new President of the Russian Figure Skating Federation, replacing Valentin Piseyev who had held the post since 1989. Russia decided changes were in order after results at the 2010 Winter Olympics failed to meet the country's expectations. Gorshkov's new post required him to step down from his ISU position, leaving not only a post open, but also the chair position vacant.
Immediately after Gorshkov's RFSF election, speculation abounded that Alla Shekhovtseva, an ISU judge -- and wife of Valentin Piseev -- would run for the vacancy. This week she was elected.
Halina Gordon-Poltorak of Poland will serve as the new chair of the ice dance technical committee which includes Shekhovtseva, Robert Horen of the United States (who is in his second term on the committee), and Gilles Vandenbroeck of France, who was also elected at the Congress. The committee also has an athlete representative (Sylvia Nowak-Trebacka, Poland) and coach representative (Krisztina Regöczy, Hungary).
ETA: follow up from the Globe & Mail article of my previous post
A new qualifying round at world figure skating championships will help cut down on cumbersome numbers of competitors and expenses at the annual event.
It means some Canadian skaters will directly get to the world championships, but others will have to skate an extra routine the previous weekend to make it through.
Under new rules enacted by the International Skating Union in Barcelona Friday, Canada will have two men and two ice dancing teams directly advance to the world championships, while a third from each discipline must qualify. In pairs, two teams have direct entry, and in the women's event, Canada will have only one direct entry, while a second must qualify.
At the worlds in Turin, Italy, last March, the men's event had 48 entries, while the women's event had 55, and not all of them were high quality.
“There was a lot of discussion about it,” said William Thompson, chief executive officer of Skate Canada, who was reached by phone in Barcelona.
“Everyone realizes worlds is too long. There are too many short programs. We're not all 100-per-cent sure it's perfect, so we're testing it for the next two years and evaluating it at the next Congress.”
The top skaters from each discipline at a world championships will directly get spots at the next world championships. The number of direct qualifiers differs for each discipline. Those who don't make the top lists must qualify the previous weekend at the site of the world championships, and the best of these advance to the main event.
Meanwhile, the daughter of Juan Antonio Samaranch failed to get elected to the ISU's powerful Council. Maria Teresa Samaranch, president of the Spanish Ice Sport Federation, did not make the cut for the four-member Council.
Courtney Jones, a long-time member of the Council and a former world ice dancing champion from Britain, lost his post as Council member.
Junko Hiramatsu of Japan, a respected figure skating judge, got onto the Council for the first time.
ISU president Ottavio Cinquanta of Italy and vice-president David Dore of Canada retained their posts by acclamation.
It is Cinquanta's fourth term as president and his last. An age limit of 75 will prevent him from running again in 2014, when he will be 76.
TL;DR SKATE CANADA THINK WORLDS IS TOO LONG~ HATES ON THE BB'S WHO AREN'T AS GOOD.
As usual, JKerr thanks you for your interest in his sport.
yes, I'm a failure~
[sauce]
Kibosh put on age change proposal for second time
Like in 2008, a proposal to change the ages for junior level skaters was rejected by ISU members. Phew!
Rest in peace CDs
After their impending demise being mentioned in whispers amongst the ice dance community for at least half of the last decade, the compulsory dance "stay or go" debate has come to a conclusion when earlier this week, the International Skating Union eliminated the compulsory dance for junior and senior ice dancers. The International Olympic Committee has been urging the ISU to reduce the number of ice dancing competitive phases from three to two for some time now.
Many were ecstatic when the boom fell, feeling the CDs were an outdated requirement that should be cast aside much like compulsory figures. Those who liked that compulsories gave officials and fans the opportunity to directly compare competitors performing the same steps -- and enjoyed the classic ballroom feel of those dances -- are less than thrilled with their elimination and fear the "frankendance" that looms ahead.
In place of compulsories, the new "short dance" will meld together the current original dance with a few compulsory dance elements. Although the proposal was not approved until this week, coaches and athletes have had some access to information in order to create their programs for this season - an indication that the proposal was expected to pass.
Further short dance details will be available in a new ISU Communication and we'll provide additional comments. At the right, Federica Faiella & Massimo Scali of Italy in their final pose of the Golden Waltz at the 2010 World Championships. The Italians were the final team to perform a compulsory dance at an ISU championship.
Return to qualifying rounds… sort of
Also passed at the ISU Congress were new ISU Championships qualification guidelines. More information will be posted once it is available.
And in politics…
Earlier this month, Alexander Gorshkov, 1976 Olympic ice dance champion and chair of the ISU ice dance technical committee (IDTC), was unanimously elected the new President of the Russian Figure Skating Federation, replacing Valentin Piseyev who had held the post since 1989. Russia decided changes were in order after results at the 2010 Winter Olympics failed to meet the country's expectations. Gorshkov's new post required him to step down from his ISU position, leaving not only a post open, but also the chair position vacant.
Immediately after Gorshkov's RFSF election, speculation abounded that Alla Shekhovtseva, an ISU judge -- and wife of Valentin Piseev -- would run for the vacancy. This week she was elected.
Halina Gordon-Poltorak of Poland will serve as the new chair of the ice dance technical committee which includes Shekhovtseva, Robert Horen of the United States (who is in his second term on the committee), and Gilles Vandenbroeck of France, who was also elected at the Congress. The committee also has an athlete representative (Sylvia Nowak-Trebacka, Poland) and coach representative (Krisztina Regöczy, Hungary).
ETA: follow up from the Globe & Mail article of my previous post
A new qualifying round at world figure skating championships will help cut down on cumbersome numbers of competitors and expenses at the annual event.
It means some Canadian skaters will directly get to the world championships, but others will have to skate an extra routine the previous weekend to make it through.
Under new rules enacted by the International Skating Union in Barcelona Friday, Canada will have two men and two ice dancing teams directly advance to the world championships, while a third from each discipline must qualify. In pairs, two teams have direct entry, and in the women's event, Canada will have only one direct entry, while a second must qualify.
At the worlds in Turin, Italy, last March, the men's event had 48 entries, while the women's event had 55, and not all of them were high quality.
“There was a lot of discussion about it,” said William Thompson, chief executive officer of Skate Canada, who was reached by phone in Barcelona.
“Everyone realizes worlds is too long. There are too many short programs. We're not all 100-per-cent sure it's perfect, so we're testing it for the next two years and evaluating it at the next Congress.”
The top skaters from each discipline at a world championships will directly get spots at the next world championships. The number of direct qualifiers differs for each discipline. Those who don't make the top lists must qualify the previous weekend at the site of the world championships, and the best of these advance to the main event.
Meanwhile, the daughter of Juan Antonio Samaranch failed to get elected to the ISU's powerful Council. Maria Teresa Samaranch, president of the Spanish Ice Sport Federation, did not make the cut for the four-member Council.
Courtney Jones, a long-time member of the Council and a former world ice dancing champion from Britain, lost his post as Council member.
Junko Hiramatsu of Japan, a respected figure skating judge, got onto the Council for the first time.
ISU president Ottavio Cinquanta of Italy and vice-president David Dore of Canada retained their posts by acclamation.
It is Cinquanta's fourth term as president and his last. An age limit of 75 will prevent him from running again in 2014, when he will be 76.
TL;DR SKATE CANADA THINK WORLDS IS TOO LONG~ HATES ON THE BB'S WHO AREN'T AS GOOD.
As usual, JKerr thanks you for your interest in his sport.
yes, I'm a failure~
[sauce]