Ron Pfenning Running for U.S. Figure Skating President

[Visaliakid]

Ron Pfenning Running for U.S. Figure Skating President

Ron Pfenning announced Thursday he has begun a grass roots effort to run for U.S. Figure Skating President in 2014.

Read more here: Ice Skating International: Online

Official Website Facebook Page

[Sylvia]

Read more here:

Link is: http://www.iceskatingintnl.com/archi...0president.htm

[Visaliakid]

Thanks Sylvia... silly error on my part. The link has been corrected.

[Lutzcy]

[joesk8judg]

I suppose since no one is posting on this thread, that there is little interest in the whole idea. I find this QUITE interesting.

[Sylvia]

Not necessarily. I'm interested, for one. It should be noted that many participants here are from outside the U.S. and have little or no interest in USFS politics.

[Rochelle]

Not necessarily. I'm interested, for one. It should be noted that many participants here are from outside the U.S. and have little or no interest in USFS politics.

I'm interested. I agree with his thoughts on Governing Council, but that's not entirely a new idea as it's been discussed quite a bit over the past couple of years. His WSF involvement is a concern...

I'd be very interested in seeing many more candidates pursuing the presidency... instead of an "oh, I don't want to step on anyone's toes so I'll just wait my turn" approach that appears to be taken by many well-versed, experienced, talented, leaders within our sport.

[overedge]

I'm interested, but as I'm not from the US and don't know how USFS runs its executive elections, I haven't commented.

That being said, I agree with Rochelle's statement about how there should be more candidates. This is a problem in Skate Canada as well. Sometimes "choosing" the executive is more like a coronation.

[caseyedwards]

So I wonder what he would do at the International level as the head of USFS. At the USFS level it seems so much more diffuse and no centralized and the power doesn't seem to be a lot even in regard to US skating!

[Sylvia]

Pfenning has answered/is answering questions on his site:
http://www.ronforus.com/q---a------news--1.html

6/13/13 Question Rec’d - Is there a reason why we shouldn't consider active ISU officials for President of USFS?

It costs at least $100,000.00 to become an ISU Interntional or World Judge or Referee; mostly funded by U.S. Figure Skating. Our judges, working at the international level should be out on the ISU circuit supporting Team USA athletes. It makes no sense to pull them off the playing field and vote them in as USFS President We should put an experienced administrator in the top job and keep our valuable ISU officials judging and/or refereeing. Conflict of interest keeps them from doing both at the same time.

http://www.ronforus.com/q---a-con-t..html

​​6/7/13 - ? received - Has U.S. Figure Skating is presently perceived as an important player in formulating and driving decisions made within the ISU? If not, what needs to be done to improve the USFS position in the future?

Answer - The short answer is no federation has great influence. Our sport is headed by a speed skater and none of the figure skating members of the ISU Council choose to challenge his leadership. I would like to think our council member is working behind the scenes for our interests and that of the sport.
We are in a good position on the technical committees; Bob Horen on Ice Dance, Karen Wolanchuk on Synchronized Skating and the appointed Coach David Kirby on the FSTC.
To improve the USFS positon in the future our federation needs to nominate strong qualified candidates for each of the technical committees and the ISU Council. We need to work closely with other Federations on the election of an ISU President from the figure skating side. Historically candidates for President have come from a Vice President or chair of a technical committee. In the upcoming ISU election is appears individuals outside of these positions may also be in the mix.

[caseyedwards]

I only went to the iceskating link and missed that one! Well that answers a lot!

[Sylvia]

http://www.ronforus.com/q---a------news--1.html

6/11/13 - Question Rec’d - Will you support making modifications to the IJS to bring the component requirements into a better balance with presentation requirements (which many feel are given too little opportunity for expression)?

Answer - I do believe IJS is here to stay. Our skaters get invaluable information on their skating performance from the technical panels. Having said that, I also believe no system is perfect and needs to be modified and hopefully improved from time to time. I agree the components need modification; I believe Skating Skills, Performance and Artistry should be the three key elements. How well does the skater skate? How well did the skater preform their program? How well did the choreography and interpretation of the music selected present the skater in a creative, artistic program. A mathematical formula could be created to insure the total points earned from the three ‘new’ component scores would be equivalent to the techincal panels total; approximately a 50/50 balance.

What absolutely must be modified is our international secret judging panels. I can think of no other sport that blocks the public from knowing what each judge awarded? Transparency should be a basic requirement, together with accountability for marks awarded. Fortunately here in USFS the public can see each judges marks, after the fact, not when the scores are displayed. With 7 or more judges I have no objection with throwing out the high and low marks awarded to each skater. Key to any judging system is the public’s ability to understand how the scores are determined and who is giving these scores. A cumulative total doesn’t mean much when there is no direct relationship between the total scores announced and the individual judge’s marks. Could this be a big reason we have lost our fan base?

[joesk8judg]

ISU Rules 102 and 103 state the problem for Mr. Pfenning if elected and the issues it would cause for the skaters at the elite level which is a major consideration. In April 2005, the ISU Council issued a decision ruling that Ron Pfenning had breached the ISU eligibility rules and that as a consequence of such breach, he lost the ISU eligibility. No appeal was ever filed and the April 2005 decision of the Council was final. Rule 103 specifically provides that an ineligible person may not serve as a delegate to an ISU Congress, unless reinstated as an eligible person by the Council.

[Coco]

Only in USFS circles would someone say in 2013 with a straight face, "IJS is here to stay."

[overedge]

ISU Rules 102 and 103 state the problem for Mr. Pfenning if elected and the issues it would cause for the skaters at the elite level which is a major consideration. In April 2005, the ISU Council issued a decision ruling that Ron Pfenning had breached the ISU eligibility rules and that as a consequence of such breach, he lost the ISU eligibility. No appeal was ever filed and the April 2005 decision of the Council was final. Rule 103 specifically provides that an ineligible person may not serve as a delegate to an ISU Congress, unless reinstated as an eligible person by the Council.

The ISU rules appear to apply to persons serving in ISU roles, and I don't see anything in those rules requiring a national federation's president to be a delegate to ISU congress. Surely there are other USFS executives who could advocate on the skaters' behalf if the ISU refused to deal with an "ineligible person".

As I stated, I am not thoroughly familiar with how USFS elects its officials, but it seems to me to be setting a rather dangerous precedent to apply ISU rules to determine who is or isn't eligible to run for the presidency of a member federation. The ISU should not be dictating to its member federations who they are allowed to choose for their leaders.

[allezfred]

I am the only one who finds the following disturbing:

Our judges, working at the international level should be out on the ISU circuit supporting Team USA athletes.

Surely, judges should not be in the business of supporting any particular skater, but judging fairly what they see in front of them?

[aftershocks]

^^

Whether or not any judges from whatever country should be "in the business of supporting any particular skater," surely you are not surprised at the reality that this clearly is not new(s) in figure skating, and in fact historically and traditionally has always been a huge factor ever present in how the sport is run and judged.

Idealism, fairness and ethics vs politics and quid pro quo. Opposites that have always been debated in this sport. Perhaps some judges aspire and/ or struggle to conduct themselves with the former qualities foremost in mind, but under the complicated rules and political realities that exist (and have always existed), such an aspiration remains an elusive ideal. Somewhat similarly, art vs sport is constantly debated when figure skating at its essence is an amalgam of both. Not to mention 6.0 vs CoP/ IJS is constantly and fruitlessly debated, instead of the parties in power actually trying to figure out what parts of each system along with new approaches might work best in concert for the long term benefit and growth of the athletes and the sport.

[overedge]

It's not exactly a revelation to anyone that figure skating judging can be biased.

If I read Allezfred's post correctly, he was expressing surprise that a high-ranking official (and a judge himself, who just got a USFS award for 50 years of service) would openly say that US international judges should be supporting Team USA skaters.

[gkelly]

But what does he mean by "supporting"?

Does he mean propping them up by overscoring them in competition? Are we so cynical that that's the first meaning that comes to mind?

Could be in the same way that fans support their local team, that skating club members -- including judges, by participation in their own and other clubs' competitions -- support their club members. Whereas disdaining the competitions as less important than staying home and playing politics would be considered lack of support.

[aftershocks]

^^ Thanks for your input, gkelly. Indeed!

And also, I will admit that hard as it is to believe in this sport, there may be some judges who actually achieve the elusive ideal, or at least believe they do, or at least make a hearty effort to be fair against all odds.

It's not exactly a revelation to anyone that figure skating judging can be biased.

If I read Allezfred's post correctly, he was expressing surprise that a high-ranking official (and a judge himself, who just got a USFS award for 50 years of service) would openly say that US international judges should be supporting Team USA skaters.

Hmmm, is being undercover and surreptitious more respectable than being open.