56th ISU Congress - June 5-10, 2016
SYWTW FS
Things are pretty slow right now (hence the lack of updates on this blog), but the 2016 ISU Congress is currently taking place in Croatia. The ISU will elect a new president for the first time in 22 years. There are also some weird interesting proposals this year. If you’re curious/bored enough to browse through a hundred pages of proposals, here they are:
Agenda of the 56th Ordinary Congress
Urgent Proposals
General proposals start on page 9 of the agenda. Figure skating proposals start on page 98. Jeroen A. Prins, an ISU referee and judge, has been tweeting some updates from the Congress, as well as the ISU figure skating twitter.
(Note: The 2016-17 Grand Prix assignments will not be determined at the ISU Congress; the GP meeting will take place on June 29-30 in New York City.)
A few proposals that caught my eye:
#49 (pg. 24), etc. Establish an Athletes Commission, composed of five skaters elected by their peers, to represent skaters’ interests and opinions to the ISU and promote the popularity of skating. [Passed, effective 2016-17]
#86-90 (pg. 50-51) Changes to eligibility rules for skaters competing for countries of which they are not a citizen; skaters would no longer have to acquire a release from their previous federation, and will only have to sit out from international competitions for a certain length of time. [Rejected]
#239-240 (pg. 98) The first skater to go after the warmup group will have 30 seconds (like all subsequent skaters) to get into their starting position, instead of 1 minute. [Passed, effective 2016-17]
#243 (pg. 99) One throw jump, SBS jump, and lift or twist in the second half of a pairs’ free skate will receive a 10% bonus. If there is more than one of any of those elements in the second half, only the element with the highest base value will receive the bonus. [Rejected]
#245 (pg. 99) Increased deductions for falls in senior singles skating: -1 for first and second fall, -2 for third and fourth fall, -3 for any further falls. [Passed, effective 2016-17]
#247 (pg. 99) Abolish anonymous judging. [Passed, effective 2016-17]
#276 (pg. 107) Shorten program lengths starting from the 2018-2019 season. All short programs to be 2 minutes and 40 seconds. All senior free programs to be 4 minutes, all junior free programs to be 3.5 minutes. [Passed with amendments, effective 2018-19]
#278 (pg. 108) Starting in 2018-2019, increase GOE range from ± 1-3 to ± 1-5. [Passed with amendments, effective 2018-19]
#280 (pg. 108) A few changes to PCS definitions. [Passed with amendments, effective 2016-17]
#281 (pg. 109) Changes to the free skate draw at ISU Championships and the Olympics to ensure that the top 2 or 3 skaters/teams after the SP skate at the end of the last group in the FS. [Passed with amendments, effective 2016-17]
#282 (pg. 109) Starting from 2018-2019, reduce SP/SD warmups to 4 minutes and FS/FD warmups to 5 minutes. [Rejected]
#285 (pg. 112) & #298 (pg. 115) All combination spins in singles and pairs should have 3 basic positions. Combination spins with fewer positions will be marked with a “V” and have lower base value. [Passed with amendments, effective 2016-17]
#287 (pg. 112) Layback spin optional in ladies’ short programs, skater can substitute with a spin in one basic position without change of foot. [Passed, effective 2016-17]
#289 (pg. 113) Singles short programs: If the solo jump is repeated in a jump combination, only the repeated jump will be invalid, not the entire combination. (Eg. If a skater does 3T, 3A and 3Lz3T, the 3T in the combo will be invalid but the 3Lz will still count.) [Passed, effective 2016-17]
#292 (pg. 114) If program lengths are shortened, as proposed in #276: Starting in 2018-2019, reduce the number of both junior and senior men’s jumping passes in the free skate from 8 to 7. [Passed, effective 2018-19]
#293 (pg. 114) Singles free programs: If an invalid jump occurs in a jump combination, only the invalid jump will have no value, not the entire combination. (Eg. If a skater does a 2T and later does 3Lz2T2T, the last 2T in the combo will be invalid, but the other two jumps in the combo will still count.) [Passed, effective 2016-17]
#306 (pg. 118) If program lengths are shortened, as proposed in #276: Starting in 2018-2019, there will be no more choreographic sequence in the pairs free skate. Choreo elements will be marked under Transitions. [Passed, effective 2018-19]
#311 (pg.120) Duration of the Short Lift in the SD increased from 6 to 7 seconds. [Passed, effective 2016-17]
What do you guys think about some of these proposals?