Figure skating needs skating prizes. But does the ISU need it?

Me, like a grandfather in front of his grandchildren, I say that it was better before. I remember the end of 2019 – the beginning of 2020, and almost aloud I begin to lament the past splendor. Then it seemed that a wonderful future was soon to come. Yesterday’s trio of juniors dominated the women’s singles, promising us a stellar mochilovo, and the new ISU Skating Awards aspired to be the setting for it. I even remember how it was announced. During the Grand Prix Final in Turin, the ISU management held a press conference, announced the importance of what was happening and showed the trophies that would be awarded to the winners.

I have heard many times that the price in the figure, they say, is not necessary. “Only medals are important, and the rest is garbage”, perhaps such an opinion really has a right to life. Well, at least in a world where people itch at the slightest mention of the word “marketing”.

Indeed, figure skating, whose popularity is not natural, but rather paradoxical, is vital for getting closer to the stars. Miniatures, like a pure sport, are too complex for the masses to master – they need to be simplified in order to attract people to them.

This scheme is not new, it has been used in many sports for over a dozen years. I bet you don’t know what team Michael Jordan played for, but you’ve definitely heard the name. Surely you even know that he is the greatest basketball player in the world, even if you haven’t seen any of his matches live or recorded. But why is he the biggest? Is it possible to become the greatest when you only have 6 championship rings (Bill Russell, for example, has 11)? Or when you’re not very good at throwing 3-pointers? Or when you need some of the best second stars in history to win?

Yes, you certainly do not even distinguish him in the photo of the conventional Charles Barkley. And always for you, he is a symbol of basketball.

The answer to the question “why?” in this case as simple as a free kick: because sometimes the packaging means more than the contents. If you correctly play on people’s emotions and their thirst for life with big stars at the same time, you can organize a news boom without really getting into the specifics of the sport, which most viewers frankly don’t care about.

In basketball, the fusion of the sport and the world of celebrities dates back to the 1980s and has been a common vessel ever since. Movie and music stars come to Lakers games to reminisce once more, and Lakers bosses call them to bring in extra audiences to home games and get a few hundred extra social media mentions. This is beneficial for both. And above all, the two can hardly exist without each other.

The Skating Awards offered a similar design in figure skating. For the first prize, which agent Ari Zakarian wanted to hold at the 2020 World Cup in Montreal, it was planned to call the stars of world show business. In general, it was assumed that it would be a real secular Oscar-type party with all the necessary attributes – a live broadcast, live performances of famous musicians, star figures in luxurious outfits. “It doesn’t matter how she jumps, it matters with what hairstyle she appears in the sector,” said world hurdler Sergey Shubenkov, when Sasha Trusova wanted to try her hand at the long jump.

Can you imagine what the hype would be for our champions’ outfits at the awards ceremony? For this reason, it was essential for the organizers to hold the skating prizes live. The point is not in the award ceremony, but in how it will be done and what resonance it will cause.

As a result, twice – in 2020 and 2021 – the prize was awarded online due to the pandemic. According to , the International Skating Union (ISU) had the opportunity to hold a normal offline broadcast at least in 2021, but the desire to play it safe again pushed everyone into the frame. Naturally, there haven’t been many results – the public outcry is nil, the fans are upset, the skaters are puzzled as to why all this is necessary. I am convinced that similar feelings exist within the ISU itself.

By the way, they have the right to life, especially during the abolition of Russia. The ISU was also going to hold the Skating Awards this year, but then plans changed dramatically and in the spring it was announced that the award would be presented in 2023 following the results of two seasons. There is no logic in that, given that last season was actually an Olympic season and the importance of accomplishments there is much higher than at any other time.

According to , the postponement is directly linked to the ISU’s reluctance to nominate Russians for the awards due to the crisis in Ukraine. Initially, it was assumed that the award would take place, but Russian figure skaters simply would not be included in the nominees in any of the categories. Moreover, according to our information, the ISU has already started to draw up lists of nominees without taking into account the representatives of the Russian team, but it quickly turned out that…

…they just don’t have enough worthy candidates! Yes, yes, ISU is great again, as always. This, in principle, is not new at all.

I believe the union hoped that by next season the crisis in Ukraine would begin to subside and the Russians would be allowed to participate in international competitions at least in some status. Then there will be no reason not to name us in a year – neither legal nor moral. As a result, the suspension of the Russians has been extended, and how they will recruit candidates in a year is a colossal question.

Perhaps a new team of ISU leaders, including President-elect Jae El Kim, will find a way out of the situation. In any case, the organizer of the Skating Awards, Ari Zakarian, hopes so. “We have to organize an award (Skating Awards), which we haven’t been able to organize properly yet due to the pandemic. I hope the new composition will realize that. Because not only me, but many others think it advances figure skating,” he told .

But, according to our information, at present, the management of the ISU is not negotiating the price. Of course, this does not mean that it will certainly not be realized. But the call is no less disturbing.