ISU Makes Threat To Member Nations Re. Skaters That Pulled Out of GP | Golden Skate

ISU Makes Threat To Member Nations Re. Skaters That Pulled Out of GP

R.D.

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
:eek: :eek:

Lausanne, November 10, 2004



CIRCULAR LETTER No. 592 Total pages transmitted: 2



To: ISU Members

Entries/Withdrawals in ISU Events



Ladies and Gentlemen,



The ISU Council is very concerned and disturbed by the recently created

situation under which certain World top figure skaters are not competing in the

ISU Events, in particular in the Grand Prix Series. Some have claimed serious

injuries and others some other reasons, like need of rest and preparation for the

ISU Championships.



However, some of these skaters perform at the same time shows and/or

participate or have announced participation in other international competitions

during the period when the Grand Prix Series individual events and Final are

held.



All ISU Members know well that the ISU has concluded contracts with a

number of TV companies for the coverage of the Grand Prix Series and Final.

The ISU feels responsible to present top skaters at these Events. Not fulfilling

this might result in reduction of the fees received by the ISU from current

partners and in the future since it jeopardizes the credibility of the ISU and

worsens the ISU position in negotiating future contracts.



It was with due regards to all these aspects that the Members organizing the GP

competitions have made contractual commitments to enter seeded skaters in

accordance with article 2.1 of the GP Announcement and that the ISU Congress

some years ago adopted an amendment to rule 125 paragraph 4 and to rule 136

paragraph 6 of the ISU General Regulations under which :

“Improper conduct by a skater includes refusal, for other than medical or

other justifiable reason, to participate in the ISU Events in accordance with

commitments established by the ISU and Members concerned.” (For

confirmation of illness or injury see rule 104 paragraph 17).



Under rule 104 paragraph 17 and also under the explicit article 11 of the GP

Announcement an injury or illness must be evidenced by a certificate issued by

a Medical Doctor and confirmed by the respective Member and/or the ISU

Medical Advisor.



Of course, in such a case the opinion and advice of the ISU Medical Advisor

must be followed. If the injury requires, in the opinion of the Medical Advisor a

rest from competitions and exhibitions (or sometimes even from practice), then

the skater can not skate in exhibitions or other competitions.



The ISU Council would like to remind all ISU Members that the obligation to

give first priority to ISU Events, when entering or authorizing the participation

of skaters in competitions and/or exhibitions, applies to the seeded skaters of

both the Grand Prix individual events and the Final. The ISU Council

therefore urgently asks all ISU Members with seeded skaters in the GP to take

immediately all available measures in order to be able to comply with their

commitments and to enter those skaters for the remaining GP Series

Competitions and Final (if qualified).



The Council has no other choice than to inform the ISU Members and

through them the skaters that it will make immediate use of rule 125

paragraph 4 and open disciplinary proceedings against those skaters who

violate the ISU rules and file a Disciplinary Complaint with a request that

the skaters be excluded under rule 125 paragraph 4 from participation in

ISU Events (incl. Championships), International Competitions, Olympic

Winter Games and exhibitions for an appropriate period of time.



ISU Members violating their obligations might face financial penalties under

article 17 paragraph 1, u) of the ISU Constitution. The Council hopes that all ISU Members and skaters will understand the serious aspects of the situation and will do their utmost to assist the ISU in avoiding inconveniences.



With kind regards,



Ottavio Cinquanta Fredi Schmid

President General Secretary

______________
 

mpal2

Final Flight
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Every time I read this I still get stuck on one fact. Speedy is mad because the top names have dropped out of the GP series making it hard for him to get money. Therefore, he wants to exclude these skaters from skating in even bigger events that would most likely bring in more money than the GP series. :scratch:

What brain is this?:think: Where can get a thought process just like this one? I mean this is just super smart. :cool: Sign me up right now.

:rofl:
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Mpal, does the ISU actually get any of the money from the cheesefests and exhibitions? Or does it all go to the skaters?
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
If I can play Speedy's Advocate just for once, I can see the ISU's point. If you are trying to run some kind of a sports season, the players have to show up.

I think Sk8m8's right. Cinquanta kicks out all the stars, they form their own thing based on the cheesefest model, and it will be like it was in the early 90s. The best skaters in the world (at that time Kristi Y., Brian B., Kurt B.) were the ones competing in the World Pro and events of that sort.

Nobody bothers to watch the Olympics because no one's there.

Mathman :)
 

mike79

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
I see the ISU's point, but by making it into a money issue they once again get no sympathy from me. It's about time some of the skaters told Speedy to get lost.

This is obviously a snipe at Kwan, Cohen, and Plushenko, with Kwan heading that list. Cohen and Plushenko are injured, while no one knows much about Michelle's back.

Personally I think that the skaters should have the option to not compete if that is what they want, but they should have to give sufficient notice regarding their withdrawal.
 

Eeyora

Final Flight
Joined
Aug 4, 2003
I hope skaters who chose not to do the Grand Prix this season won't be penalized. I think it would be wrong never mind stupid for them to stop any of their top stars from competing at major competions because ratings would be worse.
 

MKbeauty

Rinkside
Joined
Mar 22, 2004
Re. ISU

Well actually, I think Plushy is the one who finally pushed Speedy over the edge. He said he was opting out of the GP because of injury but has been spending the summer doing shows and competitions.

Michelle opted out of the GP just as she has done the past two seasons - never caused a problem before. She also gave 3-weeks notice and was replaced by Alisa Crizzy. The Cheesefests are ISU-sanctioned events, so her competing in them shouldn't be an issue.
 
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anya_angie

Final Flight
Joined
Sep 20, 2003
Unfortunately yes. Maybe if Zhenya turned in his doctor's notes to the president saying that he can't fly much due to sinuses?

LOL reminds me of gym class, when I had to bring notes every time we played gym cause I can't see the ball to play it.
 

ladybug

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
I can understand skaters not wanting to burn themselves out training for so many competitions not to mention all the traveling they have to do.

IMO I think they should do watered down programs with one or two triples and put in double jumps. That way they won't have to do the GPF at least and won't have to train so hard. Most people don't do well when they are forced to do something they don't want to do. Also, pick two countries as Michelle does that are close to their home base. I realize they can't always do that since they have to be invited. Maybe the federations could work more with the seeded skaters in that respect.

Plushy, Michelle and Sasha have been beating their bodies pretty good for quite a few years now and deserve a rest once in awhile. Look at how many skaters have had to turn pro or stop skating alltogether due to injuries.

Sasha is injured so they can't do anything to her. If Plushy and Michelle are out of World's, Nationals and Olympics do they honestly think they will have more viewers. I think the ISU better think this through. Are they cutting off their nose to spite their face!!!

Ladybug
 

Crizzy

Rinkside
Joined
Mar 5, 2004
Wasn't there a quote from the memo that although injured and the skater have provided a note from their personal physician, the designated ISU doctor would still have to approve the doctor's note and injury. What if the ISU doctor is in cohorts with Speedy? Sasha has a doctor's note but I wonder if she was also seen by the ISU doctor?

What pushed Speedy's buttons is the mess that Plushy got himself in. Threats of litigations and lawsuits from the show that Plushy was suppose to do has become troublesome to the ISU.

With Michelle, they are putting the blame on her for low ratings and low attendance. She gave atleast 3 weeks in advance notice however the ratings did hurt a bit because she was not competing. Then again, perhaps more casual fans would watch and buy the tickets if they did aggressive promotion and marketed to untapped potential customers/viewers. I didn't even see any commercials about the GP and FS season starting. I have to go online on these kind of boards to find out. Let's face it, casual fans will not go to online boards.

Why watch a week or two week old program when I can watch it online the same day. Plus no short program in SA. If ISU wants more viewership and tickets sales punishing skaters will not do the job. They need aggressive marketing and a major make over. CoP is so complicated to the casual viewers that some didn't know whether to applaud or boo when the say the scores. Even I find myself :scratch:

Punish skaters- the bread winner of this sport. Punish the corrupt judges and ban them for life that's what the Devil Incarnate needs to do. This letter has no merit because GPs was never mandatory that is why its called "invitational"! It's like getting an invitation for a party, if you feel that you don't want to attend then you have the right to RSVP. Now if ISU want to change that this should have been done towards the end of the season or the very beginning of the season and not midseason because there aren't anymore spots if I'm correct.

Why do Figure Skating have to save the whole entire ISU? Why won't Speedy tell the Speed Skaters to up the ante and contribute more endorsements? Oh I forgot all they do is skate around the rink as fast as they could. But he wants figure skaters to do quads, axels and difficult elements that can result to injuries while forcing them to do grueling competitions for the mighty dollar so he can support HIS sport (Speed skating). Figure skating accounts for 80% of the revenue they bring in for the ISU. The current Executive Council is 6 from SS and 5 from FS. Most money comes from FS and yet SS has the majority of the Exec Council. And supposively, their the ones who are POd. It makes me sick how Figure Skating has become Speedy's wh*re to support his habit which is Speed Skating while ISU continue to be the pimps and pushers. :mad:
 
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Joined
Jul 11, 2003
It could be the loss of revenue for the ISU. As we know, the Skate America was not well attended and the reasons could be the absence of the two stars. I'm not sure about skate Canada attendance.

Joe
 

dr.frog

On the Ice
Joined
Aug 3, 2003
Joesitz said:
It could be the loss of revenue for the ISU. As we know, the Skate America was not well attended and the reasons could be the absence of the two stars.

Skate America is *never* well-attended, even when the "stars" are there. (E.g., think fall 1997 when both Kwan and Lipinski were competing -- attendance was still dismal.) The USFSA has never figured out how to market the event to the general public in whatever city hosts it, and hardcore skatefans who might travel to attend skating events often prefer to use their vacation time on US Nationals or Worlds instead, or to attend events in Canada which are always much less expensive than US events.

In any case, the ISU doesn't make any revenue from ticket sales at Skate America or any of the other Grand Prix events. Their cut of the profits comes strictly from sale of the international TV rights.
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Michelle doesn't seem to be too worried. She was in town yesterday to promote the Marshalls competition. There's a cute picture in the Detroit Free Press (it does not seem to be available on their web site) of Michelle putting on a clinic for children at the Detroit Skating Club.

Mathman
 

MKbeauty

Rinkside
Joined
Mar 22, 2004
re. Marshalls

Mathman:
Are you attending the Marshall's event? If so, please post lots of details. :)
 

mpal2

Final Flight
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Mathman said:
Mpal, does the ISU actually get any of the money from the cheesefests and exhibitions? Or does it all go to the skaters?
I don't know what the ISU gets from the cheesefests and exhibitions. I was thinking more about Worlds and the Olympics. I have no idea what the ISU (more specifically Cinquanta) thinks they have to gain by banning the biggest names in skating from the biggest events. This is probably the most half-baked and poorly thought out temper tantrum from Cinquanta that I've seen yet. How does he keep getting re-elected? When will people get tired of him and throw his butt out the door?

Maybe I'm picking on Cinquanta too much, but that man just has a bad track record of temper tantrums and bullying. I don't think he even knows how to be an adult.
 
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R.D.

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
I've heard that the ISU gets its money from the international TV contracts, not the ticket sales. So I don't think they would care too much about selling tickets (I think that goes to the host federation?) as they would about the sponsors, TV stations, etc. And less viewers= less revenue. I can't see how making a threat like this would make things any better. :sheesh:
 

Fossi

Final Flight
Joined
Aug 23, 2003
Is Sasha really injured? Her latest journal entry says she has been practicing and her program is coming together well and she has a "surprise" for everyone in her LP. If this is a 3/3 or a quad we will know she wasn't' injured at all. I think I read that Sasha had a back sprain, but I remember posters saying that a back sprain isn't really an injury. I dunno.
 

soogar

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 18, 2003
Well I've posted before on this subject so to reiterate, the ISU wants to keep the GP events so that they will benefit ALL the skaters. At first, my thoughts were that Plush and co. should do as they wish. However upon further reflection, I think they should do the GP events. First of all, the skaters who lose out are the Poykkios, Buttles, etc if there are no Grand Prix events. A lot of skaters use the prize money for training. If there were no Grand Prix , these skaters are going to be hurt severely and might not have the means to continue training. There is no doubt in my mind that skating overall has gotten stronger since the inception of prize money. I remember how weak the skating was in the 80's and 90's where once you got out of the top 10, the skaters were really horrible. Now you have really good skaters ranked in the top 20. I'm pretty sure that prize money helped raise the standard of training for the rest of the skaters.

Plus I've read so much as how much MK has given back to the sport. I'm sorry , but what has MK and Plush GIVEN to the sport? They show up when they are supposed to and win their events. I'm sure it helps that MK has reported earnings from endorsements and prize money to the tune of $4mill a year,and that of that money, the USFS reportedly has her under contract for $700G. I'm pretty sure that Plush receives a very generous stipend from his federation as well (Alexei received $327G from the Russian federation after he won OGM). Please don't tell me how they don't need to do Grand Prix events b/c it's their choice. The whole skating situtation is a mess b/c instead of putting the money into GP events,the federations are paying their stars directly to stay eligible. Why should MK care about GP events when she receives so much from the USFS? If she really wanted to give back to the sport, maybe she think about how much better for skating as a whole to have Grand Prix events. She benefitted from those events when she was an up and coming skater, why not participate so these events can continue for the other skaters.

That said, I don't even believe that MK's lack of participation is even an issue , but while I'm a Plush fan, what he's doing is pretty obnoxious. I believe him when he says that he can't travel. However he needs to maintain an appearance of propriety and respect. Don't compete at other events and do two quads when you've pulled out of Grand Prix events. Don't schedule tons of shows when you say you need to rest. At least MK takes the time off to rest and presumably work on her programs. She's always ready for the big events so the ISU doesn't quibble when she doesn't skate the Grand Prix. I don't even believe the directive was even issued with her in mind.
 

gezando

Final Flight
Joined
Jul 30, 2003
Crizzy said:
Wasn't there a quote from the memo that although injured and the skater have provided a note from their personal physician, the designated ISU doctor would still have to approve the doctor's note and injury. What if the ISU doctor is in cohorts with Speedy? Sasha has a doctor's note but I wonder if she was also seen by the ISU doctor?

Not necessarily

evidenced by a certificate issued by

a Medical Doctor and confirmed by the respective Member and/or the ISU

Medical Advisor.

I believe Member medical advisor will do, i.e. the usfsa's doctor.

It does not say when they have to submit the doctor's certificate. As a baseline. most skaters are in pain or have some injuries, how difficult is it to get a doctor's certificate?? or the doctor of their own federation to confirm.

soogar said:
but what has MK and Plush GIVEN to the sport

I think most skaters give back in the local level, e.g. Michelle with the Chevy scholarship program, etc. Since I have been reading all along that fans from other countries, or at an international level don't care for Michelle, they don't particularly like her, I don't see little girls from Russian looking up to her, at least according to what I read here at GS, so what is the point in questioning her not giving back to the sport at an international level???
 
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