Perelandra

What an athlete!!! Yuzu clearly channeling super strength from living on Planet Hanyu If Earth has g = 9.8m/s/s, what is the guesstimate for Planet Hanyu? Maybe gravity on Planet H = g x 1.3, so Yuzu as the only inhabitant, has increased strength to overcome g on the Planet, therefore, by comparison the lower g on Earth, allows His Imperial Majesty to perform massive triple rotation jumps from standing

Appeal for IJS experts 58th ISU congress took place last week. Conference footage is available on Youtube and material pertaining to ISU council decisions has been posted on social media Summaries of each day - proposals, resolutions and important decisions have been posted on the ISU congress thread, in knick knack sections Hopefully the summaries will save people time and effort from sifting through the hours of conference footage. (I also recognise that some people do not want to give ISU more youtube views, for many understandable reasons) It would be really useful if satellites familiar with scoring systems would be kind enough to share their expertise about the new scoring systems etc and what the implications might be for our Ice Emperor Like many satellites, nobody wants to be overly optimistic nor pessimistic about how Yuzu might be scored under the new system. Mostly though, the majority of people would be really upset to see Yuzu having to cover his disappointment, when he is all too aware that his efforts have, once again, not been rewarded Please, any insights and discussion would be valuable and very much appreciated. Perhaps have the discussions on ISU thread because this chat should be for Yuzu and some satellites may not wish to involve themselves in scoring discussion A thousand thanks in advance

At the end of the day, quad jumps have a high base value. Some skaters feel that it's better to rack up points using jumps. This can translate to spending time on jump practice and not spending time training on skating skills like complex steps and transitions, only jumps and other compulsory movements. In the past some skaters have not seen score deficits with programmes containing few or poorly executed skills and have disjointed programmes, jumps and few linking elements. When time is limited for training, poor quality judging / scoring disincentivises efforts to train skating skills Yuzu carefully crafts his programmes to combine the athletic elements with beautiful aesthetics. His performances really stand out for complexity and his investment in them. That is why fans adore Yuzu and his signature skating. What is strange, saddening and frustrating is that the judges don't reward the efforts put in by Yuzu People worry about any scoring system, because the PCS is based on the judges view point and potentially subject to bias. If the bias is negative, which has often been the case concerning Yuzu's performances, people are concerned that Yuzu will once again be underscored. He will see his efforts unrewarded once again.

Yuzu has a wealth of knowledge regarding the mechanics of movement and his inquiring mind has most likely led him to research about the performing arts. For instance meeting with Mansai Nomura, in order to gain insight into the character Abe no Seimei. It can be clearly seen how Yuzu enriches each of his own performance, exploring and challenging. Truly the mark of a master artist.

Regarding the congress: I completely forgot to include an important message from ISU Director General Fredi Schmidt Some of the congress members had returned positive COVID tests following day 2 routine testing and delegates and council were asked to make sure to perform tests before leaving. Bit of an Oops moment considering the Twitter footage of their party

Hahaha, yes, most probably I'll use my time to find out the best way to get tickets for competitions. Any sage advice would be welcome. June 20th might be first hint about whether Yuzu is going to compete and which comps. I'm pleased to be able to contribute to the Planet I've not had time to join a fan group before so the Planet has been a huge resource, for which I'm grateful. After Beijing Games, I could not find any helpful info about Yuzu which wasn't full of worry ( understandably ) or filled with schadenfreude. I'd encountered the Planet as a guest in the past and had read a few pages, but lurking and reading Then I went to the very beginning from page 1 of General Yuzu thread, yes I actually went to the source ( A bit like Vicotrian explorers searching for the source of the Nile ) Definitely worthwhile exercise because It was like reading the history of everything, without risk of coming across unpleasant reading. Many satellites take a great deal of care to find things out, share the latest news, knowledge and their expert views and knowledge. This is my way showing thanks and hopefully of paying back the efforts of others. Hopefully the summaries will be of help for those who want to find out what went on at the congress and put some of the Twitter and other screen shots and posts into context, without having to sit through the recordings. In addition some people may not have the time nor will to sit through the congress and some people may not want to give ISU views on Youtube. For some people a transcript summary is easiest to digest and it will be in the thread for reference I'm used to attending conferences/ lecture series, in person and on line, taking notes and writing them up. Plus I've had decades of practice digesting journal articles, textbooks etc Happy times eh

The judging panel split will be tested first. PCS reduction to 3 groupings is approved The factor multiplication applied to PCS will be introduced to account for the PCS reducing to 3

Finally, ISU Congress is finished. Summaries of Days 1 to 5 all posted Please, If there are any misinterpretations/ misunderstandings, feel free to correct or update Lots of issues were discussed, rules amended and proposals made. What this means for the future of Figure Skating remains to be seen. Let the analysis begin.

ISU Congress Day 5 - Plenary Session Items pertaining to Speed Skating alone have not been included Summary: D 21 Amendments to Regulations, Speed and Figure` PASSED Proposal 16 re: Trademarks. To Increase advertising space and size of adverts. ( This is really needed due to fiscal challenges especially related to Speed Skating ) Figure Skating - 31 ( Rule 121, para 3 )PASSED Acceptance of proposals which were accepted by Figure Branch - 38 = proposal 161 Qualifying Round for World Champ. PASSED Resolutions -154 : Set up Working Group to Examine Feasibility of Split Judging Panel. ACCEPTED + budget allocation 100000CHF Split panel of judges, one group allocated to Technical Elements and another group to focus on Programme Components. 5 judges each group. This would require testing at events - 163 (Rule 400) : Working Group to Examine Feasibility to Have Several Olympic Qualifying Events Instead of Existing Single Event. ACCEPTED Current constraints, quota of athletes who may qualify and timeline for qualification to Olympics is already set by IOC - 9K 2d 20 ? Election of Auditing Company to serve until next congress. BDO Swiss company currently. BDO elected for another term - 22 Ratification of Actions and Decisions since 2018. CONFIRMED Council, Director General, Directors and Technical Committees - 23 Election of ISU President Outcome: New President - Mr Jae Youl KIM ( Korea - background Speed Skater, involved with Pyeongchang Games ) 4 candidates, each gave 5 min presentation. Vote conducted as anonymous vote, supervised by external auditors - -D 24 Election Vice President Speed Skating Branch Only 1 candidate. Won by default - Mr Tron Espeli ?sp? -D 25 Election Vice President Figure Skating Branch Outcome: Mr Benoit LAVOIE ( Canada ) 3 candidates (A Lakernik unable to run due to age cap, which was reviewed and voted at this congress) -26 Confirmation of Vice President, Speed Skating -27 Election Council Members Speed Skating 5 new council members appointed - 28 Election Council Members Figure Skating 5 new council members Patricia St Peter, Tatsuro Matsumura, Susanna Rakhamo, Gyorgy Elek, Maria Teresa Samaranch - 29 Election of Athlete Representative Outcome: Eric Radford, won congress delegate vote. Rep has vote on council vote and has rights on council Athlete commission expressed preference for Eric Radford. Athlete Rep must be from different branch from ISU president, hence this cycle must be Figure Skater - 30 Election Chair of Disciplinary Committee Elected by default, only 1 candidate : Ms. Susan Petricovic ? sp ? - 31 Election of Members to Disciplinary Council 4 total, 2 from Speed, 2 from Figure - Election for Figure Skating Technical Committee 4 Disciplines: Ice Dance - Chair Shaun Restadt ?sp? members - Hilary Selby, David Molina, Ingrid Charlotte Wolter Synchro - Chair Phillipe Maitrot, members - Petra Tyrbo, Lois Long, Nina Bischoff Singles and Pairs - Chair Fabio Bianchetti, members - Leena Laaksonnen, Yukiko Okabe, Emilie Billow, Susan Lynch - 33 Status Report 2018 to 2022 No Comments - 34 Approval of 4 year plan Approved - 35 Election of Honorary Members to Council Honorary President - Jan Dijkema Honorary Vice President - Aleksander Lakernik Honorary Members - Marie Lundmark, Roland Maier, Volker Waldek, Beatrice Trister -36 ISU Congress 2024 to be held in Las Vegas - 37 Closing of Congress Budget D 19 Budget Expenditure 5,005416 CHF ( 2022 season ) plus 1,905000 CHF ( 2023 ) Property sale worth 1.3M CHF to be placed in emergency contingency fund Decision ACCEPTED Please note: Speed Skating Section not written up Speed Skating branch items are available to view on Youtube End of Congress See you in 2 years "Bye Bye"

All round skater Hanyuconomy Hanyu - inspiration Hanyu - education

@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