Urgent Proposals for the 57th ISU Congress
SYWTW FS
Additional proposals were submitted for discussion at the 57th ISU Congress, taking place in Seville, Spain, June 4-8, 2018. See this post for a summary of the main Congress agenda.
Notable new proposals:
URGENT PROPOSAL 5. NETHERLANDS (pg. 2): Starting in the 2020-21 season, for senior ISU Championships and the Winter Olympics, raise the minimum age requirement of participants from 15 to 17 years old prior to the July 1st preceding the events. Reasons: 1) Show mature skaters with well-balanced programs at the ISU Championships and Worlds. 2) Improve image of the sport by encouraging skaters to compete for a longer period of time. 3) Discourage older senior skaters from leaving the sport because they feel they cannot compete with younger skaters with difficult elements. 4) Figure skating currently has the youngest senior age limit of all winter sports. 5) Bring figure skating’s age requirements in line with comparable sports such as gymnastics, which has a senior age limit of 16 for women and 18 for men. [Proposal removed from the agenda at the ISU Congress.]
URGENT PROPOSAL 6 (pg. 3): Persons who serve as president of an ISU Member federation during a season cannot act as Judge, Referee, Technical Controller, Technical Specialist, Data and Replay Operator, etc. during the same season. Persons appointed by the ISU or their federation to serve as Officials at the Winter Olympics cannot act as Officials at the national championships of another ISU Member during the Olympic season. Reason: To prevent conflicts of interest. [Proposal removed from the agenda at the ISU Congress.]
URGENT PROPOSAL 15 (pg. 5): Increase the number of pair teams who qualify for the free skate at the ISU World Championships from 16 to 20. Reason: Increased quantity and quality of pairs teams in recent years. [Accepted at the ISU Congress.]