Top skaters, dismayed by proposed rules changes, ask international federation to hear their voices

/
Top skaters, dismayed by proposed rules changes, ask international federation to hear their voices

 Four months after circulating a set of rules modification proposals that would have radically transformed the sport of figure skating as early as the 2027-28 season, the International Skating Union has apparently decided to hold off on trying to implement any such cataclysmic changes until at least after the next Winter Olympics in 2030.

The ISU will go ahead next season with previously approved changes that could be seen as laying some ground work for the proposals that would essentially reinvent the sport.

In the interim, the ISU pooh-bahs would do well by listening on repeat to a recording of answers given by the three men’s medalists at the recent World Championships to a questioner who asked for their thoughts about the changes.

Or maybe the ISU should already have sought their opinions - and those of all other singles skaters at the world meet level – before imposing new rules on the athletes - especially the changes under discussion that would have as much (or more?) impact on the sport as the end of compulsory figures in 1990 and the introduction of the International Judging System in 2004.

Read More

Figure skating officials weigh major changes in rules, schedule

/
Figure skating officials weigh major changes in rules, schedule

nternational figure skating federation officials are weighing changes in competition rules that would alter the sport radically, including a potentially dramatic reduction in jumps in singles events.

And the federation’s governing board, the International Skating Union (ISU) council, has already supported significant changes to the figure skating season schedule and Grand Prix format to take effect in the 2027-28 season.

All this is still in discussion stages but moving forward. Under the new ISU Constitution, the 14-member council (rather than the biennial ISU Congress) has the “ultimate authority to adopt, amend or repeal” competition and event regulations and sports rules.

Read More

Amber Glenn aims to defend Grand Prix Final title, free of fear

/
Amber Glenn aims to defend Grand Prix Final title, free of fear

The old Amber Glenn might have come undone by what happened during the six-minute warmup for the short program at the Finlandia Trophy Grand Prix event.

Glenn competed in Finland just eight days after undergoing a root canal procedure. And she still was getting antibiotics for a sinus infection that had lingered since summer, with the medicine making her feel tired.

And then she popped her two attempts at her most difficult jump, the triple Axel, in the warmup. Popping – doing a single rotation rather than three - can shake any figure skater’s confidence.

About 45 minutes later, Glenn took the ice for her short program, opened by nailing the triple Axel and went on to win that phase of the competition with her season-best score.

“That was 100% the new Amber,” said Damon Allen, her coach, via telephone.

Read More

Jason Brown finds pursuit of perfection a frustrating need

/
Jason Brown finds pursuit of perfection a frustrating need

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. – There are some who would presume that Jason Brown’s universal acclaim as a performer would be enough accolades for him.

That could not be further from the truth.

“I’m competitive, and I really want people to take me seriously,” Brown said.

That means getting good results as well as the loud applause he heard throughout his 2-minute, 45-second short program at Saatva Skate America, the U.S. stop on the sport’s Grand Prix Series.

To do that, Brown cannot have mistakes like those on two flawed triple jumps. They left him in a distant 5th place in a field of 12 heading into the free skate, when those ahead of him will have even more wiggle room because there are more jumping passes to use for quads.

Read More

Oh my quadg0d: Ilia Malinin crushes the Skate Canada field - and even tops himself

/
Oh my quadg0d: Ilia Malinin crushes the Skate Canada field - and even tops himself


 There comes a point in the careers of some extraordinary athletes when they are competing against only themselves and the record books.

And, ipso facto, given that the athlete has to be extraordinary to face such a challenge, he or she finds it harder and harder to top past achievements.

At his best (or near it), two-time reigning world champion Ilia Malinin of the U.S. now is in that position at age 20, competing only against himself in men’s singles figure skating.

That should be clear from his winning margin over runner-up Aleksandr Selevko of Estonia in the Skate Canada Grand Prix that ended Sunday in Regina, Saskatchewan.

Read More