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Skate boss calls for reform
Ottavio Cinquanta, president of the ISU, announced yesterday that he plans to introduce changes to the rules at the ISU Congress in Stockholm this June, giving the skaters and the judges more specific references.
David Dore, president of the Canadian Figure Skating Association called the announcement a major breakthrough.
"This answers the problem for me because it's a start," Dore said. "That's what I was looking for. Initially the ISU was denying there was a problem. To me, this is recognition that there is a problem and we're going to go ahead and do something."
Two skaters who don't need to be told there's a problem are Canadians Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz. The technically superior duo was fourth at the Olympics and led the charges of biased judging that took over the event.
NOT IN TIME FOR WORLDS
"I think the changes they will propose (in June) will be what we've been asking for, which is to make it definable," Dore said. "That has been the complaint. You fall and there are no deductions. One team does one thing. Another team does another and we don't know what's right or wrong."
Dore cautioned skating fans not to look for changes at the world championships in Minneapolis March 31-April 5.
"Rome wasn't built in a day but I think everyone knows they will be on review and they'll be on their best behavior," he said. "We won't have the changes in place we want, but we may have the changes in attitude in place."
Asked if the proposed changes might address the judging aspect of the sport at all, Dore replied, "Not yet ... but it's a start."
Several skating insiders reportedly were told at the Olympics by IOC officials that if ice dance didn't clean up its act, it would be thrown out of the Games.