Perelandra

@Sun_Rise Glad you are fine, clearly a soul made of bravery and strength. Brava Yuzu skating is always sublime. When Yuzu skates to slower musical pieces he flows with the music and his expression is beauty personified. It is no wonder that Yuzu's skating has inspired dance recitals and that musicians want to collaborate with him. I don't remember if the ice show tour with the intended live performance of Notte Stellata and Il Volo ever took place. That would have been magnificent. The Music with Wings concert was wonderful as well ( maybe I'll try to learn Rondo, I can't play the violin now, because post COVID has drastically affected my joints, including small joints of hands ) btw: would love to try to go to comp in Europe, if Yuzu participates

You are welcome. I consider it a small mark of service to the planet. Raising the age limit is an important topic, not just because of the issues of quad jumps. There was discussion around athlete development which included pressures related to senior competition and the mental, emotional and psychological issues for a teenager. The was something mentioned about medical recommendations, so it is possible that there may be a presentation from the medical delegates. The Athlete group were most keen to see changes with regards to lower age limits. Last instalment of ISU congress tomorrow, not quite the blockbuster mini series we hoped for ( probably one star review )

There are a number of problems in ISU, without transparency and fair treatment of all competitors. In the information and technology age everything can be seen and recorded and scrutinised. Nothing is hidden, viewers see everything and can make their own judgements and information is readily available for people to make their own judgements and conclusions. Organisations can be judged. Figure skating fans have become disenfranchised with the system. There has not been the popularity of any other skater on the same scale as Yuzu. There is something phenomenally special about him and if that quality was something that appeared on a regular basis, then there would have been skating stars who generated similar interest like his, but I have not encountered this is last 4 decades, nor heard of it for skaters before that. Yes there will one day be other skaters in the future, but whether they will have that ultra special spark, that cannot be predicted Let's await the gripping debates that are certain to arise from ISU Congress tomorrow. I rather think it's Last Chance Saloon for them.

IIrc, on one occasion, during Yuzu's performance of Chopin Ballade, one of the comments made about Yuzu was that he seemed to be creating the music or that the music was emanating from him. Such was the power of his performance, Yuzu was able to connect utterly with the performance and spectators. Truly amazing. Son of Apollo for sure ( ref. Percy Jackson novels and the half blood demi gods )

Summary of ISU congress Day 4 = figure skating branch posted on ISU thread ( in Knick Knacks ) Posts for day 1,2,3 summaries in separate posts, also in ISU thread

As before, in case of any misunderstanding / misinterpreting of any of the agenda items, please highlight any items which require correction

ISU Congress Day 4 - Figure Skating Branch Summary Please note some of the proposals were discussed in General Meeting Workshop and agreed, to be voted in this session. Please refer back to this post Proposals: - 3 ( Urgent ) Judges age limit to be amended. PASSED Age currently min 24 yo to 50 yo. Difficult for small feds for judges to pass exams and gain accreditation by age 50 - for first appointment. By increasing max age to 60 this will allow more judges to be available for international comps, from smaller feds. Important to promote diversity and fairness in judging panels - 174 Simplifying appointment process for ISU judges PASSED -184 Adding On line webinar learning programmes to facilitate re appointment/ revalidation process for officials. PASSED ( Technical Committees ) - 185 To allow online certification process PASSED ( Technical Committees ) - 187, 188 Parity in recognition of Technical Specialists. Get rid of term assistant PASSED - 189 International Events. PASSED Where there are not enough judges to use marks given by referee for competition score. Minimum number of judges is 5, for international comp. Referee marks should only be considered in exceptional circumstances, in order to ensure that requirement for minimum of 5 judges for ISU events. (less than 5 judges present, but 4 still present). - 190, 191 Lowering minimum age of officials and increasing max age. Difficult for smaller feds to recruit enough officials. PASSED - 196 Novice B, Referee and Technical report not to be mandatory. This will reduce workload for officials. Report only required if needed. PASSED - 197 ( relates to 11 from Gen Assembly) Separate Olympic Qualification Competition PASSED - 198 Improvements to Judging the Programme Components. PASSED PASSED PASSED Speaker Jeroen Prinz(?sp), Netherlands. This delegate had a number of proposals resolutions during conference with sound logic behind each one Currently judged as a cluster of components. Judges felt pressures placed on them and disempowered from expressing true opinion. Currently have averaged scores for components, and feedback for individual components not present. Give judges the ability to have genuine judging opinion and restore judging fairness. Remove 'corridor' of marking and remove fear of judging outside of corridor and risk of facing reprimand, when scores deviate from 'corridor'. Problem, even if judges give scores component by component, OAC gives back average score. (Official Assessment Committee ) (Delegate opinion-System can be changed, but application of any process is most important, no matter which system is being used. Personal opinion, carries same concern as that of this delegate, will changes be put into practice?) First step : have judging of 3 component groups, from current 5. Evaluate this new marking Step 2 : then have individually judged items NB: Corridor refers to mark range for scores. Marks outside this range are highlighted as having deviated from score ranges, which is already been set ( mean, median, mode score and what range is applied - this was not clear, neither was it clear when a deviation is highlighted, e.g above or below inter quartile range, 1 standard deviation, 2, 3 SD's ???) - Technical Rules - 500 block of General Tech Rules, applies all disciplines. PASSED ( 199- 207 ) - 201 - Singles and Pairs Technical Committee Technical Rule Change to amend Programme Component Score, applies to short/rhythm dance and free skate/dance Performance evaluation based on 3 programme components - Composition, Presentation, Skating Skills ( must have equal demonstration of criteria by all skaters in pairs, ice dance and synchro ) Composition: Intentional, developed and/or original arrangement of repertoire of all types of movements into meaningful whole. Points to consider: unity, connection of elements, ice coverage/ pattern, movements using space, choreography reflects music ( there is more detail ) Presentation: demonstrable engagement, commitment, involvement - understanding of movement and composition. Evaluation of expressiveness and projection, variety and contrast of energy/movements, musical sensitivity and timing, unison - oneness and awareness of space pertains to pairs, ice dance, synchro Skating Skills: ability to execute repertoire of steps, turns, movement with control of body and blade. Evaluation of variety of edges, turns, movements and body control, Balance and glide, flow, power and speed ( this replace 5 components ) The merit of this proposal was already discussed and agreed at General Assembly workshop meeting. Further debate at branch session. Objection raised by Finland Figure about lack of testing new judging system, spokesperson for JSF raised valid questions about definitions and removal of specific points, like transitions. Quality assurance is required, testing of new system - 158 Proposal for Factor adjustment for PCS Related to agreement regarding proposal 201 : PCS component change to 3 from 5. PCS scores will now require recalculation to reach an equivalent score (based on the 5 PCS component) PCS scores as equivalent as possible to TES SP. FS Men's 1.67. 3.33 Women's. 1.33. 2.67 Pairs. 1.33. 2.67 Ice Dance. 1.33. 2.00 Pattern dance 1.17 Scores rounded to 2 decimal places 208-249 PASSED en bloc. All were formalities, just agreeing on amended wording. No objections raised by delegates - 208-214 Singles and Pairs Singles - Choreographic sequences definition of movements which contribute to score. Steps and turns may be used to link elements, not counted towards choreo seq Pairs - Definition, as above and includes small lift as well - 215-221 Ice Dance Pertained to change of foot by at least one skater, when performing a Dance Spin - 226-249 Synchronised Skating Special Regulations Synchronised Skating - 222 Inclusion of new category into rule book. PASSED New category has been tested, development proposal for team categories for novice, junior for up to 12 - 16 skater teams, helps smaller feds in particular - 223 drafted to include some rules and remove some others. PASSED - 224 drafting matters, harmonises some rules. PASSED - 225 online courses for officials. PASSED Urgent Proposal 4 ( rule 910 ) PASSED To give more activities to officials. Only 2 ISU activities per year currently. 1 referee, 1 controller, 2 specialists per challenger event. Same officials at most events, reduces potential for development in this sector. Cost implications to have more officials per event - 163 ( rule 400 ) Review Entries to Winter Olympic Games. Proposal postponed from 2020, due to pandemic. Resolution Passed Resolution, to form working group for amendments to qualifications for Oly Principles - 1 Qualification comps to take place in the Olympic season, not before 2 All qualification comp to have same requirements ( sometimes Olys requirements are different to other ISU event requirements ) 3 Increased number of qualifying events to increase opportunity for skaters of member countries to qualify for Oly Serves to harmonise qualification events across ISU sports Can a working group be set up to evaluate feasibility and analyse qualification requirements Concern: Olys spots currently decided from World Championships, from preceding season. Member slots filled by each country's criteria Logistic implications for organising separate events and disregarding Worlds results - 192 Referee, to have assistant ref to help senior referee and would also be able to learn from senior colleague. REJECTED - 176 Improve/Augment numbers of Technical Controllers. Postponed - working group / feasibility study Specialist training programme required + experience Pending resolutions: Split TES and PCS panel, for discussion tomorrow at the Full Congress Meeting Due to poor quality and disorganised chairing, this session moved along at slower pace than some of the continental plates

Regarding the congress summaries Please if anyone needs to correct something that I have misinterpreted go right ahead. It was quite difficult to maintain concentration all the time

Sad to say, but I've attended much more boring conferences. One of the talks was about the medical expedition that went up Everest. Was brilliant at its initial presentation but then the speakers gave same lecture with exact same slides and talk a 5-6 different conferences. Such a shame and even the 6th repeat lecture outing was not even the most dull conference story.

The council were probably young when the. Magna Carta was signed I'm prepared to brave another day at conference catch up tomorrow

ISU Congress Day 3 Figure Skating Branch - Summary Number of proposals 153 - 181 Proposals Passed - 155 Jump sequence / Combinations All jumps within combinations to receive 100% of BV score -156 Clarification about rule 515, pertains to adverse conditions related to skater and equipment - 160/161 New Format for World Championships. PASSED Currently there are not enough entries. Proposal to increase number of entries. Singles, both men's and ladies' : 54 entries allowed. 18 entries selected from members - 2 or 3 entries from countries. Skaters representing countries with direct entries, sent to Worlds based on minimum score, set from European Champ score(or 4CC). Skaters reaching these minimum scores take up the slots allocated to that member., which is based on number of places won from previous Worlds. There are ?6 other direct entry slots. Those skaters perform SP and Free programme. Same as current system New system to be put in place., because some countries do not have direct entries. Qualifying round will be part of World's comp. ?36? skaters would take part in this qualification event. Qualification round will be based on Free Programme score. Top 12 skaters from this qualification competition will progress into the World comp. World Championship competition = 36 skaters ( 24 from selection, 12 from qualification ) skate in SP. The best 24 progress to FP, hence, no change to competition proper. All skaters scores reset to zero at start of World Championship. Numbers slightly different for Pairs and Ice Dance - 24 and 30 competitive teams take part in Worlds SP/rhythm dance respectively with top 16 or 20 moving to free skate/ free dance There will be funding to support this change to the event, which is hoped to improve accessibility for countries, which currently do not automatically have representation at Worlds. Proposed start season 2024-2025 - 162 Minimum Technical Score for qualification to ISU competitions should be set and published at beginning of season. PASSED Small feds find it difficult to know what scores their skaters are aiming for in order to qualify for major comps. Minimum TES for the season, to be published by August 1st at start of each new season - 165 Judges for Pairs needs to be experienced judges. PASSED Judges need to have previously judged pairs competitions and have been assessed to have reached a satisfactory standard before judging high level comp like Worlds or Olys - 31, 166, 178, 179, 180, 181 For Technical Specialists to become Controllers. PASSED Currently tech controllers recruited from judges but not enough. Applies to Ice Dance and Synchronised comps only - 168, 172 Remove Unnecessary Requirements for Referrals. PASSED - ?169, 171,173,175,177, (181 see above ), 182, 183 Same wording but different categories of Officials - Seminar Requirements to be the same across all categories of officials. PASSED Currently different for different officials. Proposal to make seminar requirements 24 months for all, via online platform, easier to keep up with updates and ease of access, e- learning To set up Working group to create Olympic qualifying events to increase access for Olympic Qualification. Proposal withdrawn, turned into Resolution - 170 Requirements for judges who apply to be Referees. PASSED Judges may be sent to comp but are not drawn to sit on judging panel. Activity not valid. This is especially relevant for Ice Dance because less comps per season, therefore not possible for judges to gain enough experience at ISU Championship x3 or Olympic Games, which is required application for referee position. To provide enough experience judging at 3x ISU Grand Prix Senior/Junior events will now be sufficient. Even more problematic for synchro because less comps - 170 Withdrawn - 167 Increase term of Judging Officials from 1 to 5 or 10 seasons. Rejected Costs money and time to train officials. Inefficient to have only 1 term of service (and also set max age for new judges to be trained) ( Personal note: this could be a potential cause of lots of inconsistency if judges only work for 1 season and lack of accountability if judges can just leave after single season ) - 158 will be discussed once vote on moving to 3 PCS components from current 5 - 159 Pertains to removing factor adjustment from rule book into ISU communication. Rejected ( lots of votes yes, not majority ) Adjustment needed, but also needs careful study. Need this to reflect composition of technical part of programme. Corrections and adjustments can be made annually without having to wait for 2 yearly congress There is a move to review scale of value SOV for non jump elements, because some of these elements need higher value - 157 Balancing Technical vs Artistic aspects of Fig Skating. Rejected Really salient points made by New Zealand Figure Technical scores are evolving and increasing, but PCS still has a known maximum based on the 5 judged categories ( current ) Proposal to balance PCS by looking at highest TES so far and applying a factor (PCS x factor) to elevate PCS. Aim would be to ensure skaters are rewarded for PCS and encourage skating focus toward artistic elements. Mentioned that performance of artistic components not so prone to injuries. ( Alternative would be to adjust scale of values for technical elements ) What was really amazing when the PCS was multiplied by a factor of 2.5 for the mens OWG skater 1 and 4 the PCS and TES made up exactly 50% each - Nathan and Yuzu respectively. Not sure if this was the intention but it looked good on the graph % TES and PCS y axis vs placement 1-24 x axis Factorial adjustment of PCS score should improve balance between TES and PCS for the majority of the competitive field. There was a semi invitation to review and revisit this every two years and make further presentation to Technical Panel and then potentially to senior council There is a move to review scale of value SOV for non jump elements, because some of these elements need higher value Proposal 154, altered to Resolution with testing period and budget presentation. Moved to Friday for decision - To Split the judging panels into GOE and PCS. Judges randomly drawn to judge only GOE or PCS, minimum of 5 judges allocated to each in order to allow focus on judging these elements. 5 judges for the groups to ensure trimmed mean. Each panel drawn for each segment of comp, draw for SP then draw for FS, to avoid potential of collusion within group of judges. Draw just before each part of competition. Recommendation that judges seated PCS - GOE- PCS- GOE and so on, so that cannot see what neighbour is doing( i.e not influenced by neighbours scoring!!) This needs to be tested. Test likely to take place 2023 - 2024 season. Special mention at start of session Collaborative project with Canadian company Sportlogiq, tech company headed by former Pairs skater - Craig Bunting. Computer vision technology to evaluate jump rotations and other aspects of figure skating. The project is being currently being evaluated for use in competition The session dragged by so much, I thought that we were all stuck in some time dilation loop...This is what some of the debates were like because they just went round and round over the same material Looking ahead to tomorrow - even more proposals......

I concur. There are huge societal pressures and potential all sorts of damage to young impressionable people, who may due to young age be at risk from manipulation by unscrupulous adults. These can be grouped together under Safeguarding issues. Unfortunately, for wider discussion, there are many over ambitious, pushy adults and organisations who are able to take advantage of other people's talents, not just limited to Figure Skating. Think - child models and celebrities of the past, lots of problems, in rehab for addiction, robbed of childhood etc etc. Tragic

I've tried to summarise the ISU congress discussion in the relevant thread. There were some very thought provoking speeches from Athletes rep and Medical Commission

You are welcome Woohoo Branch meetings tomorrow. Good job I've had plenty of practice attending Professional Interest conferences and governance meetings. Hours and hours of droning , with occasional ear pricking up moments!!!

Day 2 General Session Summary 40 Proposals Luckily quite a number of proposals were duplicates, so some were withdrawn or had already been discussed and voted with earlier proposal by number. Proposals passed pertaining to Figure Skating ( Some proposals for further discussion in Branch meetings Figure and Speed/Short Track respectively, some proposals for Speed/Short Track Skating which have not been included) -Olympic Qualification Event to be ISU sanctioned, with appropriate finding. Aim to give clarity about skaters competing for Olympic qualification and separate event for skaters not attempting to qualify for Olys. These 2 competitive events already occur during run up to Olys, it is not necessarily an additional event. There are still other criteria under which a skater may qualify the Olys, some will be set by skater's own fed ( who qualifies ) and others set by ISU ( how many spots each country has been allocated ) It is my understanding that this will not necessarily add to the ISU event calendar, unless a skater is aiming for Oly selection and has not been selected via National Championship or to gain Oly slot for country outside of WC. Please feel free to comment or correct if this is a misinterpretation* - Age for senior competitions to be raised to 17. There has been a great deal of discussion already, not least about the need to safeguard physical, mental, psychological well being of developing athletes, but also in terms of longevity of career. Raising age limit is only one method of achieving this because older age group athletes may be better at handling some of the pressures of senior competition. There was no discussion about limiting type of jumps or number in junior competition Mr Sergei Severedov ?sp? Rus Figure speaks about this - athletes retire after winning top level competitions, many do this to capitalise on commercial opportunities following their success. He singles out Yuzu for staying in competition despite OGM and WC gold. He asks about what sort of rewards/inducements could be offered to encourage champions to stay in amateur comp circuit. One option might be to provide and or fund higher education during or post career and also look at training methods, which should be aimed at minimising injury There were some very good discussions including recommendations from medical commissions, the findings may impact on types and number of jumps. Some countries were very resistant to raising age limits because they argued that it made their countries less viable in competition. ( I'm stunned that some countries put medal glory ahead of athlete well being, they gave the impression that the athletes are a rather a disposable commodity. Eric Radford from Athletes Commission spoke really well and presented research. ) I'm relieved that the proposal passed. * In the BBC i Player documentary series Freeze - Back on Thin Ice, some of the British skaters from various disciplines attend ISU comps. Ladies skaters are trying to gain a score of 169 points to gain a Oly spot. Team GB has 1 Ladies Oly spot, won at Worlds by Ladies British No1. If one if the other Ladies GB competitors gets to the 169 threshold she will will to Olys instead of the British No1. The Olympic Qualification Event might be used in this manner. Alternatively the Oly Qual Event might be for countries who have only very few skaters and need to score over a threshold mark to qualify for Olympic spot because they do not have enough skaters to hold a National Event

The rink in ice shows is smaller, so for many skaters who need a long 'run up' in order to perform quads, there is not enough ice for them to realistically perform jumps. Some of the performers are ' retired' from amateur competition, they may have physical limitation to perform quads and /or if their career was kind of pre quad era, some may never have had a substantial quad experience. Then there may also be concerns about not risking injury during off season. So there are a variety of reasons that less quad jumps are seen during shows

You are welcome. Someone had to do it The music either side of the congress was a very bizarre choice, quite unsettling

One of the members from the Netherlands ( I think Jeroen ? ) motioned to split the judging panel during competitions. 5 judges allocated to TES and 5 to concentrate on PCS, in theory allowing each group to concentrate on either elements or the performance. I don't know for certain if this was in the planned agenda for this congress. However, the option has been voiced as a potential method of judging. The elephant in the room is how the scores will be allocated in terms of the PCS grades from poor to outstanding. imho even better, invest in high tech - lots of cameras with hi def, slo mo functions, 3D capture and suitable placements for 360 view. Then AI can be used to judge height and distance of jumps, edge recognition, check toe pick/blade take off and rotations + angle of landing for rotation calls then this would be objective and in theory scored as per the set criteria. (Not going to see it instituted before I lose patience and take Mjolnir and smash the whole corrupt system to Niflheim. I'll be able to wield it because I'm performing a worthy labour) Sorry, carried away for a moment

This is my understanding of the main proposals for scoring/judging, having subjected myself to several hours of this interminable congress Proposals to be finalised tomorrow Technical proposals Axel jumps - 3,2,1 revolution can be part of combination jump Combination jump - each element can be recognised for full base value - jump sequence may be 2 or 3 jumps, but only one combination may be 3 jump sequence in free skate Step sequence - unlisted jumps may be part of step sequence but will count towards jump passes, if greater than 2 rev, however, single revolution jump will not be judged as separate jump but will be seen as part of st sq Choreo - must contain at least 2 movements: spiral, Ina Bauer, hydro-blade, arabesques, 2 rev jump, spins. Steps and turns will not be rewarded tas part of choreo score ( not enough to gain score on their own, but will just be linking movements? ) This is likely to be postponed for one year Component Scores Reduction from 27 criteria Improve judging by enhancing accuracy, clarity, simplifying, avoiding overlap, reduce unconscious bias New categories Composition Performance Skating Skills Better guidance for judges Feedback for skaters Still very subjective, for example : blade and body control, unity of programme with music, engagement and commitment to performance. Very subjective Some council members spoke out about PCS scoring used by certain judges used with extreme bias. which effectively is (mis)used to allocate the placements. Judging corridor possibly removed as it is currently too wide to apply algorithm which would identify when a judge had given an outlying(biased) score, aka xxxxflation Unlikely that PCS will be adjusted to reflect high TES, (due to high BV of jumps?). This will not be addressed in this 2 year cycle GB member asked about education for judges, she is quite well known experienced official Some members don't want change or voiced there apprehension about the new judging scoring systems. Some Feds realise that the changes will give winners and losers and they may no longer be on the winning side. Watch and see, some proposals may be out voted, if big feds don't like a proposal and can get allies to vote their way. Really creeeeeeepy music before and after broadcast, weird I remember in Max Ambesi's lecture, he made a very salient comment that there are some skaters where the music could be changed but the programme layout and choreo was exactly same from season to season, same issues highlighting over scored skaters who never challenge themselves or the sport. I inferred from Max's statement that he feels some skaters have no investment or emotional engagement artistically with their programmes, because it's just a music and costume swap as opposed to a creative skate with mastery of the sport and artistry ISU finances are 4.5M CHF in deficit each year for last 3 years ( £3.7 )

Beauty from the heart to shines out to the world through his face It is no wonder that Yuzu is so inspirational I can't think of any other individual skater or many athletes who have had exhibitions dedicated to their costumes, medals/awards combined with a substantial body of photos. Please, please if anyone visited the latest exhibitions, a first hand account would be highly appreciated. With a list of all of the merchandise goodies purchased ( That includes you Toshl, because your media showed you trying to get into the exhibition in stealth mode - just in case you are lurking )

Hello lovely Planetary satellites I was just thinking about how much joy Yuzu brings to the Planet with his skating. He has so many sporting accolades, world records, recognised for sport personality awards, People's Honour Award and had 2 parades attracting 100 000 plus well wishers, philanthropic endeavours. Yuzu is well known for being a kind, considerate, courageous and genuinely lovely person with integrity and many other superb qualities. Many people have found Yuzu's performances mesmerising and on another level to the competitive field Yuzu is a modern muse and inspires huge numbers of creative pieces Yuzu expresses beauty in his performances and there are countless artists and fans, who have painted, drawn, animated, sculpted, photographed him to try and capture those moments There are a multitude of fan made videos, with 1000's of views and positive comments Yuzu has inspired ballet tributes, skating tributes, costume tributes, music concerts Wonderful ice shows There is Hanyuconomy from travel, ticket sales, food and board costs, toys and gifts(Any commercial appearance sees the advertised goods have a massive uptick in sales) Yuzu has book shop sections full of magazines, books, posters, calenders Fans come from all over the world and all walks of life, Yuzu brings people together Yuzu is a quite literally a star around which celestial bodies revolve He is truly phenomenal It is such a privilege to be part of this journey ( albeit remotely for me ) Thank you for allowing me this little indulgence

Thank you, slowly recovering I have posted about the experience in the COVID thread

I would really like to see Yuzu skate irl. if he is maybe considering further competitions. Previously, I had work and family commitments, then pandemic..

Yes, the Nov 25-27 was originally Rostelecom/CoR ISU posted announcement on their site requesting applications from potential venues to take on that event, the earlier Nov 11-13 was CoC. Maybe it is other way around, but either way two GP stages are currently without venues When I last checked it was not clear which hosts had applied and I could not find anything to say that a decision had been made. These are spread sheet downloads so not easy to follow the relevant pages

Hi, Thank you for Planet hanyu Sent donation via paypal. £30 converts automatically to 33.69 euros Hope that's arrived ok