After years of palavers, internal struggles and intense lobbying, particularly from Russia, figure skating finally seems determined to make its mark. Four months after Kamila Valieva’s huge meltdown in mondovision, this (very) young Russian skater caught at the center of a new doping scandal, during the free program at the Beijing Olympics which was to take her to the roof of the world, the International Skating Federation (ISU) has taken a “historic decision” according to its president, Jan Dijkema. From now on, skaters will have to wait until they are 17, compared to 15 today, to be able to participate in senior competitions.
Approved by delegates from 100 countries at the ISU Congress in Phuket, Thailand, the reform will be implemented in two phases. The minimum age will first increase to 16 during the 2023-2024 season, then to 17 from 2024-2025. The goal is to put an end to the sordid exploitation of these kids, whose bodies and minds are subjected to workloads and pressure such that their careers stop as soon as they start. In Beijing, we also painted the sad portrait of the famous Russian skating school, Sambo 70, a reflection of this policy of excessive exploitation of young figure skaters.
Loss of Russian influence in sports bodies
Contacted out of bed from Montreal, where he lives, the trainer of Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron learned the news live. “It’s a big step forward, welcomes Romain Haguenauer. It was a debate that had been raging for years in figure skating, many countries were in favor but there was heavy lobbying from Russia to keep this age as low as possible. In 2018, this reform had indeed been rebuffed under pressure from Russia and Japan, two leading nations in figure skating. But the banishment of Russia since the start of the war in Ukraine and the loss of its influence in world bodies have got the better of this heresy.
If the ISU affirms that this proposal was in the drawers before the scandal around Valieva, this one necessarily weighed at the time of the vote. The body’s director general, Fredi Schmid, even called the vote a “moment of truth” before the opening of Congress, adding that “the credibility of the UIS will be tested, the media and the public will be watching us very close “. “Figure skating is a fairly conservative institution so, outside of times of scandal, it’s difficult to get things done. After the Valieva case, not to mention the case of the young Australian [Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya] who committed suicide at the age of 20 two years ago, it had become urgent to act”.
A rating system with perverse effects
Paradoxically, it was the ISU that, by changing the scoring system and placing greater value on risky jumps at the expense of skating technique, pushed some countries like Russia to emphasize quadruples jumps. However, to perform such pirouettes, you need light bodies, not yet fully formed, that only pre-adolescent girls can perform by dint of chain repetition, at the risk of serious injuries that shorten their careers.
“It is your moral obligation and your duty to provide young athletes with the opportunity and time to develop the skills they need to succeed at the senior level,” said Dr. Jane Moran, who leads the medical committee of the ISU, during the Puket congress. They have the right to develop as people during their teenage years and don’t need us to force them to compete”.
“There is still a long way to go”
“We know that the hard way is more effective. We don’t waste time saying “this week you’re tired, you’re going to go and enjoy your family and rest”, it’s not the kind of some houses, advances Romain Haguenauer. We have a totally different, very holistic approach. We are attentive to that and I want my athletes to last over time, there is no question of replacing one with another every year, as is very often the case in Russia. By shifting the age at which seniors begin by two years, this will inevitably improve the situation. »
This reform is a first step towards taking better account of the well-being of athletes, but it will not solve all the problems. For the coach of the Papadakis-Cizeron duo, there is no question of talking about a “miracle solution”. “Beyond this debate, there is still a lot to do, especially for everything that revolves around abuse of all kinds in training, verbal and physical violence, the pressure put on the kids, the charges of senseless work, not to mention doping, he lists. This is gradually changing, especially in the United States, but there is still a long way to go. »