Four more ISU Communications published

[visaliakid]

ISU Council announces more rule changes made at their March meeting

The International Skating Union's Council led by ISU President Ottavio Cinquanta today published four new communications dealing with a variety of figure skating issues to include:

Decision of ISU Disciplinary Commission reducing Yuri Larionov's original 2-year perod of ineligibility to 18 months - Source ISU Communications No. 1560 @ http://isu.sportcentric.net/db//files/serve.php?id=1433

Tentative Age Limits (subject to final confirmation from the IOC,) for all disciplines at 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games are set and ISU Judging System Working Group members named - Source, ISU communications No. 1561 @ http://isu.sportcentric.net/db//files/serve.php?id=1436

Cost Savings at ISU Events expanded upon; and Rule No. 579: Draws for Competitors ISU Championships Single & Pair Skating results in reduction of number of single skaters from 24 to 20 in Free Skates at Europeans and Four Continents Championships - Source, ISU communications No. 1562 @ http://isu.sportcentric.net/db//files/serve.php?id=1437

Panels of Judges for the Olympic Winter Games: Rule 402 - Source, ISU communications No. 1563 @ http://isu.sportcentric.net/db//files/serve.php?id=1438

 

[sillylionlove]

Thanks for posting the links...they were very interesting.

I wonder if Yuri and Vera will still be skating together and if we will see them next season since he is done with his suspension in July? Are they still even together?

 

[Medusa]

This always reminds me of how much work is involved in all these events, how much needs to be organised and regulated... Incredible.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

ISU 1560
Poor Yuri. How he suffered for what. What did he do wrong? Whatever it was he will soon be able to do it again and this time he will be more careful.

ISU 1561
This one seems to be a setting dates for meeting except fo 4CC which changed its date. No reason given.

ISU 1562
This is most interesting on discussing Draws at competiions with some changes .

1563
Some Directives for the Panel of Judges for the Olys. Don't have time to read it now. Going to Das Rheingold at the Met and I don't want to be late. Hopefully someone can read it and give us the gist of it.

 

[Medusa]

Going to Das Rheingold at the Met and I don't want to be late.

^^Wagner, how interesting! I hope you'll love it and have a great time.

 

[chuckm]

The biggest change of all is

Cost Savings at ISU Events expanded upon; and Rule No. 579: Draws for Competitors ISU Championships Single & Pair Skating results in reduction of number of single skaters from 24 to 20 in Free Skates at Europeans and Four Continents Championships - Source, ISU communications No. 1562 @ http://isu.sportcentric.net/db//files/serve.php?id=1437

Not only are Singles skaters reduced to 20 at Euros and 4CC, but

PAIRS FS - down to 16 at Worlds/JW; 16 at Euros, 12 at 4CC

DANCE FD - down to 20 at Worlds/JW; 16 at Euros, 12 at 4CC

 

[Mathman]

Nothing new in 1563. Repeats the change already announced of reducing the number of judges at the Olympics to 9., with 4 new judges coming into the picture for the long.

The countries that will be invited to send judges will be draw from the list of countries that had top 24 skaters at Worlds (top 16 for pairs, top 19 for dancers). There are some rules for what happens should this prove impossible.

 

[Mathman]

1560. What Yuri Larionov did was: one morning he woke up with a headache and his father gave him a Lasix pill, which the father and grandfather took for headache due to high blood pressure. (Lasix (furosemide) is a diuretic sometimes prescribed for high blood pressure. It flushes excess fluids out of your body. It doesn't help headaches for most young people.)

Larionov claimed that he only took the pill once, did not know that it contained a banned substance, and he did not take it for the purpose of enhancing his performance.

The ISU fiund Larionov's expalnation credible, especially since he had passed several drug tests in the past. But the way the rules were then, the ISU disciplinary committee had no choice but to suspend Larionov for two years.

Changes in the rules since then allow the disciplinary committee a little more flexibility in the case of first-time offenders who ingested a banned substance not intentionally but by carelessness. So they were able to review his case and reduce his suspention to "time served."

 

[merrybari]

ISU 1561
This one seems to be a setting dates for meeting except fo 4CC which changed its date. No reason given.

Original dates listed on ISU for 2010 4Cs were Jan. 25 -31, 2010.

My guess would be to move it further away from 2010 US Nationals (Jan 14-24, 2010) to allow US skaters a chance to compete there. There's no way ANY of them could make it had they left the dates as originally determined.

 

[chuckm]

The date change for is for 2011 4CC, not 2010 4CC.

 

[NatachaHatawa]

Cost Savings at ISU Events expanded upon; and Rule No. 579: Draws for Competitors ISU Championships Single & Pair Skating results in reduction of number of single skaters from 24 to 20 in Free Skates at Europeans and Four Continents Championships - Source, ISU communications No. 1562 @ http://isu.sportcentric.net/db//files/serve.php?id=1437

I'm upset to hear that concerning the men's event. Some of the skaters that tend to be placed 20-24 I really enjoy, like Jamal Othman.

 

[mycelticblessing]

1560. What Yuri Larionov did was: one morning he woke up with a headache and his father gave him a Lasix pill, which the father and grandfather took for headache due to high blood pressure. (Lasix (furosemide) is a diuretic sometimes prescribed for high blood pressure. It flushes excess fluids out of your body. It doesn't help headaches for most young people.)

Larionov claimed that he only took the pill once, did not know that it contained a banned substance, and he did not take it for the purpose of enhancing his performance.

That sounds very much like what happened to Berezhnaya in 2000. Except she was only banned for the competition at Worlds. Does anyone know why Larionov got such a harsh penalty? Did the ISU have stricter rules on drugs as compared to previously?

PAIRS FS - down to 16 at Worlds/JW; 16 at Euros, 12 at 4CC

Only 16 pairs? I'm suprised that they would reduce the number of pairs, considering that it already had the least number of all four disciplines.

 

[merrybari]

The date change for is for 2011 4CC, not 2010 4CC.

Oops - missed that! Guess that there will be few if any US skaters at 4Cs in 2010. Hmmm - strange planning. but what else is new?

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

^^Wagner, how interesting! I hope you'll love it and have a great time.

I am big on Wagner. Das Rheingold has a cast of incredible characters. I do believe Richard wrote Der Ring Des Niebelungen as an alegory of humans.
The performance I saw was ABFAB!! including James Levine, the Conductor.

The Met offered the Ring's four parts in consecutive order, so I spent a fortune to see all four in one week. Tonight I get Die Walkure and a Hojotoho I go.

 

[Medusa]

I am big on Wagner. Das Rheingold has a cast of incredible characters. I do believe Richard wrote Der Ring Des Niebelungen as an alegory of humans.
The performance I saw was ABFAB!! including James Levine, the Conductor.

The Met offered the Ring's four parts in consecutive order, so I spent a fortune to see all four in one week. Tonight I get Die Walkure and a Hojotoho I go.

^^Oh my god, I am so jealous now. James Levine! I hope that you enjoy Walküre just as much (my personal favourite has always been the Götterdämmerung). Have you ever been to Bayreuth? I hope I will never be crazy enough to try to get a ticket, but the town itself is quite beautiful too and the Wagner museum is worth a visit, as is the Liszt museum. Well, have a fantastic time again!

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

^^Oh my god, I am so jealous now. James Levine! I hope that you enjoy Walküre just as much (my personal favourite has always been the Götterdämmerung). Have you ever been to Bayreuth? I hope I will never be crazy enough to try to get a ticket, but the town itself is quite beautiful too and the Wagner museum is worth a visit, as is the Liszt museum. Well, have a fantastic time again!

I did go to Bayreuth once when I was posted to Germany in the US Army. I only saw Siegfried. The audience was soooooo serious, and I left early. Didn't know much about Der Ring in those days. btw, Gotterdammerung is my favorite too.

 

[gsrossano]

Two commentaries

http://www.iceskatingintnl.com/current/content/Sonia Cost Savings.htm

http://www.iceskatingintnl.com/current/content/State of the ISU.htm

 

[Mathman]

Thanks for the interesting article.

To me, this was the most enlightening -- and disconcerting -- part of Mrs. Bianchetti's piece:

Never before have such important decisions been taken outside the Congress, without even consulting the Members.

How can all this occur? At the top of each of these Communications it is written : "The Council, after consultation with the ISU Legal advisors, decided, based on the powers granted to the Council in the Constitution Article 17 paragraph q) (i) ".

Article 17 of the Constitution, " Functions and Powers of the Council" includes paragraph q) (i) which reads: "In case that exceptional circumstances so require and warrant, modification of any rule in the General Regulations, Special Regulations and in all Technical Rules;". The Council, therefore, has the power to adopt any changes to the Regulations if "exceptional circumstances so require". Frankly speaking it seems to me that the conditions under which the Council has acted hardly qualify as exceptional circumstances.

But how could it happen that the Members handed over to the Council all their rights and powers?

This rule was proposed by the ISU Council to the Congress in 2006. The President, Ottavio Cinquanta, reassured the Members that it would be applied only in case of extreme urgency. The Members accordingly approved. The Congress was fooled. And it was not the first time that this has happened. I am sure that the Members this time will react appropriately.

I agree, the rules changes pushed through by Mr. Cinquanta are far, far, far from being so "urgent" that the Council could not consult with the membership.

The only thing about Mrs. B's discussion that I doubt is the very last sentence. I don't think the member federations will do anything much.