How is the ISU without the Russian figurine? Covid epidemics, Japanese fury, competition under threat

Last March, the International Skating Union (ISU) was resolute and categorical. The banning of Russian and Belarusian athletes is only part of the overall cancellation policy, the tip of the iceberg. In fact, judges and civil servants were also falling for it, and even then, in early spring, union officials began shooting themselves in the foot with stubbornness and concentration.

First, they refused to allow Russian referees at the World Figure Skating Championships in Montpellier, then, as a matter of urgency, they decided to replace the Belarusian women’s singles referee Nadezhda Fedorova the day before the start of the tournament. As connoisseurs told me, at first the ISU “did not notice” that Nadezhda was from Belarus, then, as they say, they understood.

Well, they fired for the first time. To replace a judge at a competition is not at all easy, but if we are talking about a referee (in theory, the chief referee in the form) … They tell me that the officials tried to search a substitute among all the judges in a row, but immediately received several rejections with motivation “on the female We don’t want to work alone.” Result, the candidate was found at the last moment.

The ISU is generally a highly organized federation. In all this history with the withdrawal of our skaters and the attempts to ban them from our federation, only one thing will bother me: what were they even counting on? Yes, the situation in the world against the background of the crisis in Ukraine leaves much to be desired, and the admission of Russians without any ideological conventions would hardly have been painless for the ISU. But like that, on the front, without flaws? And also knowing that there are huge organizational problems in the ISU itself, which will only multiply with the withdrawal of Russia? Maybe only the ISU can do that.

I don’t want to become some kind of religious fanatic and look for signs in the cries of crows, but after the ban in Russia and Belarus, things really got worse for the union. Judge for yourself: the congress in Phuket, which all of the current management have described as wonderful, life-changing and generally wonderful in every possible way, ended with a powerful outbreak of covid, and even the employees of the UIS office in Lausanne suffered. Well, what other reasons do you need to believe and repent?

Okay, now seriously. In fact, the negative consequences of the abolition of Russia actually manifested themselves at the congress, but in a different form. Russia’s Alexander Lakernik, who previously held the position of ISU vice-president in figure skating, could not be re-elected to his position due to his age (the proposal to raise the age bar for officials has was rejected – as I am told, only for political reasons), and the position became vacant.

Under more favorable external circumstances, the probability of Lakernik’s re-election would approach 100%. Alexander Rafailovich is an experienced civil servant and a good diplomat who managed to maintain good relations with people even after well-known events. Without them, there would be little need to change anything. But since he appeared…

The main contenders for the position of vice-president in figure skating were the Japanese Tatsuro Matsumura and the Canadian Benoit Lavoie. Even before the start of the congress, its delegates, in a conversation with me, expressed their confidence that Japan would definitely be represented by numbers in the bodies of the ISU. In fact, now that Russia has been eliminated, the Japanese have become the union’s main and almost sole sponsor in figure skating. Without their money, the ISU simply wouldn’t survive, and that was obvious to everyone.

What changed at the convention itself and how Lavoie managed to bypass Matsumura in the vote is a huge question. But now Japan – with sponsor money, the biggest ice show market and a colossal fan base – has fully flown to the ISU. What other people think, no one understands. But the Japanese federation, according to , is simply furious about it. How that will turn out for the global figure is a mystery, but the forecasts are disappointing. Especially since the Japanese Yuzuru Hanyu (until now the most popular figure skater in the world) will sooner or later leave the sport, and with him many sponsors.

Meanwhile, the UIS budget has been in deficit for several consecutive years.

The Japanese fury matters not only in terms of potential impact on the future, but also in the immediate future. The new president of the ISU, South Korean Jae El Kim (who is also the son-in-law of the president of the Samsung group), I am told, was given the position largely because of his financial capabilities . Many delegates hoped that he would be able to attract sponsors from major Korean companies and resolve a number of organizational issues as soon as possible.

Including concerning the places of the competitions. In the spring, it was learned that the ISU would be transferring the upcoming season’s Grand Prix series stops from Russia (Ukraine conflict) and China (covid). The Russian stage was dealt with quickly – Finland showed interest. But the owner of the Chinese is still nowhere to be found.

wrote that the ISU was counting on the new president’s help in this matter. It was assumed that he would be able to arrange the transfer of the scene to South Korea, but agreements on this have not yet been reached. Most likely, the problem has to do with exactly what should suit Jae El Kim: money. It turns out that his competitive advantage in the elections so far turns into nothing.

Most likely, under other circumstances, Japan could have taken center stage. But considering all the above factors, I wouldn’t be surprised if they now refuse a request for help.

The deadline for the final allocation of stages is July 14. Then, according to , ISU should announce the transfer of the Russian leg to Finland. What they will do with the Chinese, no one knows, I suppose. ” sources have said that the option of canceling the tournament, if no one is willing to hold it in the next few days, is now the most likely. In this case, the Grand Prix series will be reduced to five stages instead of six, and I can hardly imagine what the skater selection rules for the final will be in this case.

“We are waiting for the ISU to announce the transfer of the Russian leg to Finland,” said a representative of one of Europe’s largest national federations in a conversation with me. – Then and only then they will be able to distribute the skaters by stages. So far the deadline is July 14, so right now we’re all waiting.”

I wouldn’t rule out that if the Chinese leg of the ISU is canceled for good measure and the selection procedure for the final is easier, the Russian-Finnish one could also be canceled. Well, it’s convenient. As we have already figured out, ISU knows how to cancel best.