List of ISU Referees, Judges, Technical Panel officials for season 2022/23

Sylvia

Rino Rocked in Halifax!
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ISU Communication 2502 (10 August 2022) - List of Referees, Judges, Technical Controllers, Technical Specialists, Data & Replay Operators season 2022/23 for Single & Pair Skating, Ice Dance and Synchronized Skating (29 pages): https://www.isu.org/inside-isu/isu-communications/communications/29323-isu-communication-2502/file

Major props to @Andrea82 for analyzing the ice dance officials (bringing over what she posted in the Dance Hall thread - I found the last line especially interesting re. Svetlana Guerreiro):
Now that Cyprus have Ice Dancers....they acquired an ISU judge ;) Valérie Grelet-Lambert switched from France to Cyprus.

Retired judges: Janet Gardner (Australia), Andrea Baldi (Italy), Erica Sonderegger (Switzerland), Kathleen Harmon (USA) and Linda Leaver (USA).

Technical controllers
(ISU qualification needed for JGPs, GPs, ISU Championships. Challengers need to have 2 out of 3 in the technical panel with ISU qualification)

Julia Rey (USA) is the first one using the new rule allowing ISU Technical Specialists to take the examination to become also ISU Technical Controllers (because there is a lack of TCs).

New promotions to ISU status: Christian Bauman (Germany) and Marcin Kozubek (Poland). Marcin won a Junior World Bronze medal back in 1997 (with Agata Błażowska).

Alla Shekhovtseva is listed as only "international". She obviously used to have ISU status also as Technical Controller. Anyway Russian officials are suspend at the moment..

New International: Kathaleen Cutone (USA).

Technical specialists
(ISU qualification needed for JGPs, GPs, ISU Championships. Challengers need to have 2 out of 3 in the technical panel with ISU qualification)

Promoted to ISU level: Benjamin Blum and Stefano Caruso. Both from Germany Fed. Both raised pretty quickly. They become International respectively in 2017 and 2018.

New International:
Bianka Szijgyarto (Hungary). Skated in late 90s. She did a couple of Euros and Worlds. Now based in USA.
Kristy Balkwill (Canada). She was skating in late 90s/early 00s. Mainly at National level.
Marisa Gravino (Canada). First partner of Patrice Lauzon.
Marien de la Asuncion (France). Skated for Japen until 2017.
Amaury Druesne (France)
Anna Cappellini (Italy). Well, I guess no description needed.
Alper Ucar (Turkey). Olympian in 2014 and 2018.
Stephanie Jenkins (USA)

Thomas Rauer (Germany) retired. He hasn't called since 2015 and he was already demoted from ISU to International because of lack of service.

Dorreen Hoppe (Great Britain) is demoted from ISU to International status.

Svetlana Lyapina switched from Russia to Australia. She is Jonathan Guerreiro's mother.
Do officials also have to sit out a year when they switch federation?
If they get the approval of the previous Fed, they can immediately switch to another Fed (if they have the requirements to do so: citizenship and permanent residency).

If they don't get the approval of previous Fed or if they haven't moved residency, they have to wait for a year before switching.
 
Last edited:

Andrea82

Well-Known Member
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904
Thanks Sylvia.

I attempted to go through the Single and Pair names too.

Alert: I may missed something. The format of the document is different from last year's. It makes the cross-checking even more mistake-prone (for me).

Anyway, here we go


Single & Pair

Judges

Promotion from International to ISU qualification:

Examinations will take place during Nebelhorn Trophy

New international Judges

Mai O’Connor Tae, Ms.- Australia
Allinger Yvonne, Ms. - Austria
Schöttl Stefanie, Ms. - Germany
Weinert-Grunewald, Carolin Larissa, Ms. - Germany
Pontremoli Carlotta, Ms. - Italy
Kim Min Ah, Ms. - South Korea
Saadi Albert, Mr. - Monaco
Daros-Pawlyta Joanna, Ms. - Poland
Krusec Ursa, Ms. - Slovenia
Luginbühl Jennifer, Ms. - Switzerland
Miticka Dana, Ms. - Slovakia
Servin Anneli, Ms. - Sweden
Specht Katherine, Ms. - USA
Hartsell-Minnis Danielle, Ms. - USA


Retired
Tabachnikova Helena, Ms. - Belarus (may be a mistake by ISU. She is now listed as an ID judge. Probably they put her name in the wrong column)
Yordanova Zoia, Ms. - Bulgaria
Poulin Jérôme, Mr. - Canada
Grubisic Antica, Ms. - Croatia
Houghton Patricia, Ms. - Great Britain
Bohunicka Lenka, Ms. - Slovakia
Prokop Igor, Mr. Slovakia (he sadly died a couple of months ago)
Podbevsek Jozica, Ms. - Slovenia
Houwing Kristina, Ms. -Sweden
Glenn Roger A., Mr. - USA
Harmon Kathleen, Ms.- USA

Technical Controllers - Single

Promotion from International to ISU qualification

Findlay Ann, Ms. - Great Britain
Grainge Richard, Mr. - Great Britain
Niiniranta Anu Kaarina, Ms - Finland (*may be a typo. She wasn't listed as International last seasons. So it is not possible she immediately jumped to ISU status. Likely that she is a new International)

New International TCs

Rauch Katharina, Ms - Austria
Gosselin Véronique, Ms. - Canada
Sigurthorsdottir Halla Bjorg, Ms. - Iceland
Paretskaya Nadezhda, Ms. - Kazakhstan
Nowak Piotr, Mr - Poland
Kitaeva Natalia, Ms. - Russia
Dolhopolova Oksana, Ms - Ukraine
Bromley Todd, Mr. - USA
Johnson Laurie, Ms. - USA

Retired

Prokop Igor, Mr. Slovakia (he sadly died)

Technical Controllers - Pairs

Promotion to ISU status

Barbacci Levy Diana, Ms. - Switzerland

New International

Okabe Yukiko, Ms. - Japan
Hsu Steven, Mr. - USA

Technical Specialists - Single

Promotion to ISU status

LeBlanc Raoul, Mr. - Canada
Muzikova Lucie, Ms. - Czech Republic
Wood Samuel, Mr. - Great Britain
Raabe Imi Peter, Mr. - Hungary
Vasovic Vojislava, Ms. - Serbia
Bratec Lesjak Anja, Ms. - Slovenia
Pahor Alja, Ms. - Slovenia
Stigant Lisa, Ms. - South Africa
Ozbükücü Timucin, Mr. - Turkey

New International

Abram Sean, Mr. - Australia
Borounov Maria, Ms. - Australia
Frank Kerstin Katharina, Ms. - Austria
Collin-Knoblauch Laurene, Ms. - Canada
Sutherland Ryan, Mr. - Canada
Sandsten Julia, Ms. - Denmark
Wassard Maas, Ms. - Denmark
Kull Karmen, Ms. - Estonia
Harpages Frédéric, Mr. - France
Logie Sarah, Ms. - Great Britain
Payne Samantha, Ms. - Great Britain
Drebes Gloria, Ms. - Germany
Laberny Ivetta, Ms. - Germany
Voth Andrea, Ms. - Germany
Bukareva Svetlana, Ms - Israel
Spampinato Annalisa, Ms - Italy
Arai Marie, Ms. - Japan
Jeon Hyojung, Ms. - South Korea
Park Bun Sun, Ms. - South Korea
Binti Ma Hussin Dian, Ms. - Malaysia
Silvius Marit, Ms - Netherlands
Jastsenjski Simic Ksenija, Ms - Serbia
Rudy Riskova, Diana, Ms - Slovakia
Chen Jui-Shu, Ms - Taipei (ISU lists "Ms" but I am sure he is a man. He skated at 4 Continents some years ago)


Technical Specialists - Pairs

Promotion from International to ISU

Sonnleitner Eva, Ms - Austria
LaFleur Morin Stephanie, Ms - Canada
Wendy Maylin, Ms - Germany
Wendland Scott, Mr. - USA
Ponomareva Natalia, Ms. - Uzbekistan

New International

Hartley David, Mr. - Great Britain
Sheiko Julia, Ms. - Israel
Lorenz Jyrina, Ms. - Italy
McEwen Carolyn, Ms. - Canada
 
Last edited:

Andrea82

Well-Known Member
Messages
904
Some former skaters among the new technical specialists. Also among the judges: one of the new US one won Junior Worlds in Pair in the late 90s.
I see also Kevin Reynolds among the new international Data and Replay Operators

Russian Federation lamented that only 1 of their candidates passed the examinations.
Elena Fomina (attempting to be promoted to ISU Technical Controller for Single), Olga Kozhemyakina (attempting to become an International Technical Controller for Pair) and Sergey Roslyakov (attempting to be promoted to ISU Technical Specialist) didn't pass the exams.
They passed the written exams and the element identificato but didn't pass the practical part. Kogan went for the rout of conspiracy theories on how they corrected the mistakes of others during the practical part but they didn't pass while those with mistakes did.

However, the success rates are at those examinations for technical panel members aren't high. For example, at 2014 Frankfurt Seminar, the success rate was 48% for Technical Controllers and Specialists.
So it is pretty normal to see a considerable number of failings. Some who passed this year did their first attempt in 2014 (you can take the exams 3 times).

The number of judges who took the exams to become new international judges were 23. So it looks like a 60% success-rate for them.

Lastly, the difference between ISU and International refers to type of competitions they can officiate at.

TCI and TSs:
ISU qualification needed for Olympics, ISU Championships, Senior and junior GPs.
Challenger Series should have 2 out of 3 technical panel members with ISU qualification.
International qualification is ok for other international events.

Referees:
ISU qualification needed for Olympics, ISU Championships, GP Final (both Sr and Jr) and Senior GPs
International qualification ok for Junior GPs, Challengers and other events

Judges:
ISU qualification needed for Olympics,ISU Championships, GP Finals (both Sr and Jr).
International qualification enough for Senior GPs, Junior GPs, Challengers and other events
 

clairecloutier

Well-Known Member
Messages
14,586
Thanks so much @Andrea82. Interesting to see some former U.S. pairs skaters—Danielle Hartsell and Scott Wendland—getting credentialed at high levels.

One thing that jumps out from these lists is the absence of names from China. Don’t they already have quite a small pool of international judges? (And possibly no effort/success in extending it?) 🤔
 

Andrea82

Well-Known Member
Messages
904
Thanks so much @Andrea82. Interesting to see some former U.S. pairs skaters—Danielle Hartsell and Scott Wendland—getting credentialed at high levels.

One thing that jumps out from these lists is the absence of names from China. Don’t they already have quite a small pool of international judges? (And possibly no effort/success in extending it?) 🤔

I would say that in terms of number of judges they are ok. However, yes, they seem quite behind in terms of technical specialists.

Germany have lots of judges. Austria also has many of them in Single and Pairs.

Single & Pairs judges

ISUINTTotal
Germany
17​
17​
34​
Canada
17​
12​
29​
USA
18​
9​
27​
Russia
10​
11​
21​
Japan
7​
14​
21​
Australia
12​
8​
20​
Italy
10​
10​
20​
Austria
8​
10​
18​
France
7​
11​
18​
China
10​
6​
16​
Switzerland
8​
7​
15​
Czech Republic
6​
8​
14​
South Korea
6​
8​
14​
Poland
5​
9​
14​
Turkey
3​
10​
13​
Finland
9​
3​
12​
Great Britain
9​
3​
12​
Netherlands
6​
4​
10​
Hungary
6​
3​
9​
Slovenia
6​
3​
9​
Sweden
6​
3​
9​
Norway
4​
4​
8​
Slovakia
4​
3​
7​
Denmark
3​
4​
7​
Serbia
4​
2​
6​
Croatia
3​
3​
6​
Spain
3​
3​
6​
Ukraine
4​
1​
5​
Estonia
3​
2​
5​
Romania
3​
2​
5​
Belarus
2​
3​
5​
Bulgaria
2​
2​
4​
Israel
3​
0​
3​
Taipei
3​
0​
3​
Hong Kong
2​
1​
3​
Kazakhstan
2​
1​
3​
Mexico
2​
1​
3​
Belgium
1​
2​
3​
Lithuania
1​
2​
3​
Greece
2​
0​
2​
New Zealand
2​
0​
2​
Georgia
1​
1​
2​
Latvia
1​
1​
2​
South Africa
1​
1​
2​
Uzbekistan
1​
1​
2​
Iceland
0​
2​
2​
Ireland
0​
2​
2​
Thailand
0​
2​
2​
Azerbajian
1​
0​
1​
Bosnia
1​
0​
1​
Andorra
0​
1​
1​
Luxembourg
0​
1​
1​
Malaysia
0​
1​
1​
Monaco
0​
1​
1​
North Korea
0​
1​
1​


Ice Dance judges

ISUINTTotale
Russia
9​
6​
15​
Canada
10​
4​
14​
USA
10​
3​
13​
Germany
8​
4​
12​
France
4​
6​
10​
Great Britain
7​
2​
9​
Italy
6​
2​
8​
Australia
4​
4​
8​
China
3​
5​
8​
Hungary
6​
0​
6​
Czech Republic
3​
3​
6​
Austria
1​
4​
5​
Poland
4​
0​
4​
Finland
3​
1​
4​
Ukraine
3​
1​
4​
Japan
1​
3​
4​
Switzerland
3​
0​
3​
Israel
2​
1​
3​
Estonia
1​
2​
3​
Georgia
2​
0​
2​
Slovakia
2​
0​
2​
Spain
2​
0​
2​
Kazakhstan
1​
1​
2​
South Korea
1​
1​
2​
Turkey
1​
1​
2​
Belarus
0​
2​
2​
Azerbaijan
1​
0​
1​
Bosnia
1​
0​
1​
Bulgaria
1​
0​
1​
Cyprus
1​
0​
1​
Lithuania
1​
0​
1​
Netherlands
1​
0​
1​
New Zealand
1​
0​
1​
Denmark
0​
1​
1​
Serbia
0​
1​
1​


Technical specialists (ISU+International) by discipline

country​
Ice Dance​
Single​
Pairs​
Australia​
5​
8​
2​
Austria​
5​
1​
Azerbaijan​
1​
Belarus​
2​
1​
Belgium​
2​
Bulgaria​
2​
Canada​
5​
8​
5​
China​
1​
1​
Croatia​
2​
1​
Czech Republic​
2​
Denmark​
3​
Estonia​
3​
Finland​
1​
3​
France​
4​
5​
1​
Germany​
3​
12​
3​
Great Britain​
4​
8​
2​
Hong Kong​
2​
Hungary​
2​
5​
Iceland​
1​
Israel​
1​
3​
1​
Italy​
6​
8​
3​
Japan​
3​
8​
1​
Latvia​
3​
Lithuania​
1​
Malaysia​
1​
Mexico​
3​
Netherlands​
1​
3​
Norway​
3​
Poland​
3​
4​
2​
Romania​
2​
Russia​
3​
8​
5​
Serbia​
2​
Slovakia​
3​
4​
1​
Slovenia​
3​
South Africa​
1​
South Korea​
1​
5​
Spain​
4​
Sweden​
1​
3​
Switzerland​
4​
Taipei​
1​
Turkey​
1​
3​
USA​
4​
9​
8​
Uzbekistan​
2​
2​
Ukraine​
3​
4​
 

clairecloutier

Well-Known Member
Messages
14,586
Thanks so much for this info, @Andrea82! Very interesting. In addition to Germany and Austria, it seems to me that Australia and Italy both have more judges and technical specialists than I might have expected.

I'm curious: How would you describe the difference in expertise level between the ISU and International levels of judging??
 

Andrea82

Well-Known Member
Messages
904
Single & Pair

Judges

Promotion from International to ISU qualification:

Examinations will take place during Nebelhorn Trophy


Promoted from International to ISU (being able to judge in ISU Championships and GP Final)

Single and Pairs

Leah Bates (Australia)* became International in 2017
Tobias Steindl (Austria) * became International in 2019
Saaraliisa Ehalt (Finland)* became International in 2015
Matthew Miller (Great Britain) * became International in 2017
Miriam Palange (Italy) * became International in 2017
Yuko Ogawa (Japan) * became International in 2012
Natalia Kitaeva (Russia) * became International in 2015
Natasa Djokovic (Serbia) * became International in 2017


Ice Dance

Akiko Kobayashi (Japan) * became International in 2014
So Young An (South Korea) * became International in 2019
Elyse Matsumoto (USA) * became International in 2019
Danielle Rey (USA) * became International in 2019
 

Andrea82

Well-Known Member
Messages
904
Judges Draw by number for ISU Figure Skating Championships 2023 took place last week
The outcome has been published:

Rules are

Worlds and Junior Worlds:
For each discipline, the first draw is done among ISU members with a skater in previous edition. If they are less than 13, a second draw is made up among the other ISU members which entered the draw for that discipline.

Europeans:
the same as above but with only Euro ISU members entitled to enter the drawn

The second draw is often needed for Pairs, not for the other disciplines.
For instance, taking Europeans, in 2022 14 countries competed but Russia and Belarus officials can't serve this season. It leaves 12 countries. Georgia have only 1 ISU judge and was drawn for Women panel (judges can't serve in two panels in the same ISU Championship) and so it is taken out of the Pair draw (Pair is always the last one to be drawn). It left 11 countries. So they had a draw among the rest and Denmark and Sweden won it.

4 Continents
Number of judges raised to 10 by a new rule-change. Used to 9 with no turnover between SP and FS.
First priority is the countries with a skater in previous edition. If they are less than 10, a further draw is done among the other 4 Continents members without a skater. If they are not enough, a new draw to complete the panel is done among European Feds willing to serve.
Looks like Kazakhstan didn't enter the draw this year judging by the Euro countries which are in Pair and ID panel and among the alternates in Women and Men.

__

There is a new rule this year about the nomination for Pairs at ISU Championships. If a judge never judged Pairs at ISU Championship level, he/she must have judge in the last 4 years at least 1 ISU event (GPs) and 1 international competition without getting warnings, etc.
I guess it is a response to the situation about the Hungarian judge at 2022 Euros who was put under investigation and came up with "I rarely judge pairs, so I didn't have a clue on how to judge some elements" excuse.
Even though, said judge actually already judged Pairs at Worlds/Euros...so this new amendment wouldn't solve the problem.
 
Last edited:

Andrea82

Well-Known Member
Messages
904
I just noticed that in the last week's update other than switching the newly promoted judges from International to ISU section of the lists, correcting some surnames after marriages, correcting wrong genders (some man were listed as Ms) and delating a Danish judge who hasn't served internationally since 2019, they also delated Alexey Beletsky (representing Israel, used to be based in Ukraine) from both Single & Pairs and Ice Dance lists.
Quite unexpected (to me) as he actually judged at Lake Place International this summer.
 

Andrea82

Well-Known Member
Messages
904
I start with Ice Dance as there is still a Single competition to be held in Latvia next week

The following table shows how many ID judges (ISU and international qualification) have judged in international competition this season so far. I counted also services as referee and technical controller as they count for re-appointment.

country
Judges​
Judges with service (incl. TC)​
Unable to serve​
No service​
Australia
8​
4​
4​
Austria
5​
4​
1​
Azerbaijan
1​
1​
0​
Belarus
2​
0​
2​
0​
Bosnia
1​
1​
0​
Bulgaria
1​
1​
0​
Canada
14​
14​
0​
China
8​
3​
5​
Cyprus
1​
1​
0​
Czech Republic
6​
5​
1​
Denmark
1​
0​
1​
Estonia
3​
3​
0​
Finland
4​
4​
0​
France
10​
8​
2​
Georgia
2​
2​
0​
Germany
12​
8​
4​
Great Britain
9​
5​
4​
Hungary
6​
6​
0​
Israel
2​
1​
1​
Italy
8​
8​
0​
Japan
4​
3​
1​
Kazakhstan
2​
2​
0​
Lithuania
1​
1​
0​
Netherlands
1​
1​
0​
New Zealand
1​
1​
0​
Poland
4​
4​
0​
Russia
15​
0​
15​
0​
Serbia
1​
0​
1​
Slovakia
2​
2​
0​
South Korea
2​
2​
0​
Spain
2​
2​
0​
Switzerland
3​
1​
2​
Turkey
2​
1​
1​
USA
13​
12​
1​
0​
Ukraine
4​
2​
2​
Total
161​
113​
18​
30​


The 30 without service are 15 with ISU level and 15 International status. Not surprised by this even distribution as all competitions held so far (with the exception of GP Final) ca be judged by both ISU and International judges.
The countries with highest number of judges without any competition attended this season aren't unsurprisingly: China (Covid lockdowns), Australia (which has many judges but competitions are held in other continents. This impacts because it is more expensive to fly in judges and it requires more days out of their usual commitments as travels are longer for them), Germany (which has many judges compared to skaters). Actually, I wouldn't have expected Great Britain up with them.

Most assiduous presences: Jeroen Prins and Csaba Balint with 7 competitions each. Leslie Keen, Malgorzata Sobkow and Vladimir Cuchran has 6.
Michela Cesaro was Technical Controller in 5 events + judge in another 2.
Marcin Kozubek was TC in 4 events and judge in another one.

The following table deals with technical specialists, regarding their service in international competition this season.


country
TS​
TS with service​
Unable to serve​
No service​
Australia
5​
3​
2​
Azerbaijan
1​
1​
0​
Belarus
2​
0​
2​
0​
Canada
5​
3​
2​
Finland
1​
1​
0​
France
4​
3​
1​
Germany
3​
2​
1​
Great Britain
4​
2​
2​
Hungary
2​
1​
1​
0​
Israel
1​
1​
0​
Italy
6​
3​
3​
Japan
3​
2​
1​
Netherlands
1​
1​
0​
Poland
3​
3​
0​
Russia
3​
0​
3​
0​
Slovakia
3​
3​
0​
South Korea
1​
1​
0​
Sweden
1​
0​
1​
Turkey
1​
0​
1​
USA
4​
2​
2​
Ukraine
3​
2​
1​
Total
57​
34​
6​
17​

Most assiduous caller:
Marie Louise Gijtenbeek: Britannia Cup, US Classic International, Finlandia Trophy, JGP Egna, IceChallenge, GP Final.
Slavka Grincova: Britannia Cup, JGP Ostrava, Nepala Trophy, Denis Ten Memorial, Warsaw Cup, Sheffield GP.
Thomas Kika: JGP Courchevel, JGP Gdansk#2, Mezzaluna Cup, IceChallenge, Golden Spin.


Out of new 8 international technical specialists, 4 already served:
Marien de la Asuncion (Mezzaluna Cup, Santa Claus Cup)
Amaury Druesne (Nice Trophy)
Bianka Szijgyarto (Lake Placid International) * She represents Hungary but she is based in USA
Anna Cappellini (Lombardia Trophy)
The other 4 are from Canada (2), USA and Turkey (living in US). So it isn't surprising. International Technical Specialist can call in B events and the organizers must pay for their travel expenses...so European competitions naturally prefer to invite European based TS.

Out of the 17 without international service this season: 4 have ISU status (Petition, Margaglio, Baranov and Blumberg) and 13 International status.

34 ISU technical specialists: 26 served in at least one international competition this season, 4 haven't served yet ((Petition, Margaglio, Baranov and Blumberg) + 2 Russians, 1 Belarussian and Elek who can't serve since he joined ISU Council.
21 International technical specialists: 6 with service (the 4 new mentioned above + Jana Vanova from Slovakia who was at Pavel Roman Memorial and Santa Claus Cup and Cedric Pernet from France who was at Open d'Andorra), 13 didn't serve so far + 1 Russian and 1 Belarussian.
 
Last edited:

Andrea82

Well-Known Member
Messages
904
339 judges served in Single and Pair international events this season so far (including those who served as technical controllers or as referee).
95 didn't serve yet this season (+ 21 Russians and 5 from Belarus + Cyr and Lavoie who can't serve because of their role within ISU). Not counting those unable to serve for whatever reason, the quota of the not active (in international competitions) judges is 20.6%, a big higher than in Ice Dance (18.6%).

Most active one is Ms Aniela Hebel-Szmak from Poland who was at JGP Courchevel, Nepela Trophy, JGP Gdansk, Tayside Trophy, Crystal Skate, Tallin Trophy, Warsaw Cup, GP Sheffield and GP Final. 9 events overall
6 competitions as judge for Prins (Netherlands) who also has 3 events at technical controller.
Then 7 events for Miluse Safronkova (Czech Republic) and Slobodan Delic (Serbia).

country
Judges​
Judges with service (incl Referee & TC)​
Unable to serve​
No service​
Andorra
1​
1​
0​
Australia
20​
12​
8​
Austria
18​
14​
4​
Azerbajian
1​
1​
0​
Belarus
5​
0​
5​
0​
Belgium
3​
2​
1​
Bosnia
1​
1​
0​
Bulgaria
4​
4​
0​
Canada
29​
28​
1​
0​
China
16​
7​
9​
Croatia
6​
5​
1​
Czech Republic
14​
14​
0​
Denmark
6​
5​
1​
Estonia
5​
4​
1​
Finland
12​
10​
2​
France
18​
14​
4​
Georgia
2​
2​
0​
Germany
34​
22​
12​
Great Britain
12​
11​
1​
Greece
2​
1​
1​
Hong Kong
3​
0​
3​
Hungary
9​
9​
0​
Iceland
2​
1​
1​
Ireland
2​
2​
0​
Israel
2​
2​
0​
Italy
20​
16​
4​
Japan
21​
16​
5​
Kazakhstan
3​
3​
0​
Latvia
2​
2​
0​
Lithuania
3​
2​
1​
Luxembourg
1​
1​
0​
Malaysia
1​
1​
0​
Mexico
3​
3​
0​
Monaco
1​
1​
0​
Netherlands
10​
10​
0​
New Zealand
2​
2​
0​
North Korea
1​
0​
1​
Norway
8​
5​
3​
Poland
14​
11​
3​
Romania
5​
4​
1​
Russia
21​
0​
21​
0​
Serbia
6​
4​
2​
Slovakia
7​
6​
1​
Slovenia
9​
5​
4​
South Africa
2​
2​
0​
South Korea
14​
10​
4​
Spain
6​
5​
1​
Sweden
9​
9​
0​
Switzerland
15​
11​
4​
Taipei
3​
2​
1​
Thailand
2​
1​
1​
Turkey
13​
7​
6​
USA
26​
24​
1​
1​
Ukraine
5​
3​
2​
Uzbekistan
2​
1​
1​
Total
462​
339​
28​
95​


Out of 165 Single technical specialists, 94 served this season (including those who served in Pairs. Service for Pairs count for re-appointment for Single).
Most active TSs with 5 events: Vera Vandecaveye (Belgium), Grety Marton (Romania), Monika Kustarova (Slovakia) and Artem Knyazev (Uzbekistan).
The 62 without international competitions this season are split: 28 ISU and 34 International.


country
TS​
TS with service​
Unable to serve​
No service​
Australia
8​
5​
3​
Austria
5​
3​
2​
Belarus
1​
0​
1​
0​
Belgium
2​
1​
1​
Bulgaria
2​
1​
1​
Canada
8​
6​
2​
China
1​
0​
1​
Croatia
2​
2​
0​
Czech Republic
2​
1​
1​
Denmark
3​
2​
1​
Estonia
3​
1​
2​
Finland
3​
3​
0​
France
5​
4​
1​
Germany
12​
4​
8​
Great Britain
8​
4​
4​
Hong Kong
2​
1​
1​
Hungary
5​
4​
1​
Iceland
1​
0​
1​
Israel
3​
2​
1​
Italy
8​
4​
4​
Japan
8​
5​
3​
Latvia
3​
3​
0​
Lithuania
1​
0​
1​
Malaysia
1​
0​
1​
Mexico
3​
1​
2​
Netherlands
3​
2​
1​
Norway
3​
2​
1​
Poland
4​
4​
0​
Romania
2​
2​
0​
Russia
8​
0​
8​
0​
Serbia
2​
1​
1​
Slovakia
4​
2​
2​
Slovenia
3​
3​
0​
South Africa
1​
0​
1​
South Korea
5​
2​
3​
Spain
4​
1​
3​
Sweden
3​
2​
1​
Switzerland
4​
4​
0​
Taipei
1​
0​
1​
Turkey
3​
3​
0​
USA
9​
5​
4​
Ukbekistan
2​
2​
0​
Ukraine
4​
2​
2​
Total
165​
94​
9​
62​

Among Pairs Technical Specialists, 23 out of 39 served. Excluding Russians, there are 11 who didn't serve in international competitions this season: 5 ISU (Magri and 4 from USA: Graham, Kirby, Sand and Wendland) and 6 International.

country
TS​
TS with service​
Unable to serve​
No service​
Australia
2​
2​
0​
Austria
1​
1​
0​
Canada
5​
4​
1​
China
1​
1​
0​
Croatia
1​
1​
0​
France
1​
1​
0​
Germany
3​
2​
1​
Great Britain
2​
1​
1​
Israel
1​
1​
0​
Italy
3​
1​
2​
Japan
1​
1​
0​
Poland
2​
2​
0​
Russia
5​
0​
5​
0​
Slovakia
1​
0​
1​
USA
8​
3​
5​
Uzbekistan
2​
2​
0​
Total
39​
23​
5​
11​
 
Last edited:

Andrea82

Well-Known Member
Messages
904
Update on ISU list dated 18th January.

Ubavka Kutinou-Novakovic (Bosnia Herzegovina) is delated from all functions.
This season, she served at Denis Ten Memorial (Referee and Judge; also served in Ice Dance), Denkova-Stavinski Cup (Referee and Judge) and Santa Claus Cup (Referee).

This is the second name to be delated this season after having already served during the season which is not particularly common.
 

Andrea82

Well-Known Member
Messages
904
Communication No. 2265
ISU Code of Ethics – Requirements for acting ISU Officials

1.5 When appointing the members of the Technical Panel and the Referees for ISU Senior Championships, whenever possible, there shall be no appointments of Officials from ISU Members whose Skaters can reasonably be expected to place 1 – 5 in the respective discipline. In case this is not possible, all members of the Technical Panel and the Referee for the respective discipline shall, whenever possible, be from ISU Members whose Skater(s) can reasonably be expected to place 1 – 5 in the respective discipline at the ISU Championships concerned.

At Europeans this week, we had

Pairs: Technical Controller was Fabio Bianchetti (Italy)
Men: Referee was Philippe Meriguet (France)

Factoring Russian absence, results from 2022 ISU Championships would have suggested both Aymoz (7th at Euros, with 3 Russians ahead of him) and Siao (8th at Worlds with 3 Japanese and 2 US men above him) would be expected as top 5 contenders.
And an Italian Pair would be reasonably expected to place in top 5....Ghilardi/Ambrosini were 5th at 2022 Euros with Russian teams competing.

I wouldn't be surprised if some in ISU forgot about these recommendations. Without knowing availability of every single official, it would have been very easy to switch the referees between Men and Women event (Women had Sancho from Spain as referee)
 
Last edited:

Andrea82

Well-Known Member
Messages
904
The now retired (from ISU competitions) Yuri Balkov has been spotted judging the interclub section of the Bellu Memorial today.
Unfortunately the organizers didn't invite Jean Senft. Otherwise we might have benefited from a new sensational recording: the suggested ranking of Chick Boys PCS.
 

Andrea82

Well-Known Member
Messages
904
Communication No. 2265
ISU Code of Ethics – Requirements for acting ISU Officials

1.5 When appointing the members of the Technical Panel and the Referees for ISU Senior Championships, whenever possible, there shall be no appointments of Officials from ISU Members whose Skaters can reasonably be expected to place 1 – 5 in the respective discipline. In case this is not possible, all members of the Technical Panel and the Referee for the respective discipline shall, whenever possible, be from ISU Members whose Skater(s) can reasonably be expected to place 1 – 5 in the respective discipline at the ISU Championships concerned.

At Europeans this week, we had

Pairs: Technical Controller was Fabio Bianchetti (Italy)
Men: Referee was Philippe Meriguet (France)

Looks like they struggle to follow this recommendation for Pairs, whose pool of officials is smaller.
At Worlds, Pairs had Bianchetti again (as referee) and a Canadian Technical Specialist.

Rest was ok

Men: Estonia, Sweden, Belgium and Australia
Women: Great Britain, Canada, Latvia, Germany
Dance: Germany, France, Japan and South Korea
 

Karen-W

Well-Known Member
Messages
43,338
Looks like they struggle to follow this recommendation for Pairs, whose pool of officials is smaller.
At Worlds, Pairs had Bianchetti again (as referee) and a Canadian Technical Specialist.
I call BS...

The following countries have Pairs tech specialists with skaters/teams who had, at best, an outside shot at top 5:
Australia (the Cains)
Austria
China
Croatia
Czech Republic
Spain
Finland
France
Great Britain (Simon Briggs - not eligible since he's VLDigs coach)
Israel
Netherlands (Jeroen Prins)
Poland (Siudek)
Switzerland
Slovak Republic
Uzbekistan

Either some of the more experienced potential pairs tech specialists weren't available to come to Worlds or there wasn't much effort put into finding a team that met the rules.
 

Andrea82

Well-Known Member
Messages
904
I call BS...

The following countries have Pairs tech specialists with skaters/teams who had, at best, an outside shot at top 5:
Australia (the Cains)
Austria
China
Croatia
Czech Republic
Spain
Finland
France
Great Britain (Simon Briggs - not eligible since he's VLDigs coach)
Israel
Netherlands (Jeroen Prins)
Poland (Siudek)
Switzerland
Slovak Republic
Uzbekistan

Either some of the more experienced potential pairs tech specialists weren't available to come to Worlds or there wasn't much effort put into finding a team that met the rules.
Australia had the technical controller (Lynch), so the they couldn't have the technical specialist. And France had the other technical specialist (Fleury).
Israel, Netherlands, Spain, Czech Republic, Switzerland and Slovakia don't have ISU technical specialists. Some of them have ISU controllers for Pairs.

So it would leave

Eva Sonnleitner, Austria (promoted last summer; called GP Finland)
Yang Ding, China (called GP Sheffield)
Ivana Jakupcevic Marinkovic, Ms. Croatia (called GP Sheffield)
Alexander König, Germany (collaborated with Georgian pairs in the fall?; called 4CCs)
Maylin Wende, Germany (promoted last summer)
Mariusz Siudek, Poland
Sarkis Tewanian, Poland (called GP Finland and Euros)
Artem Knyazev, Uzbekistan
Natalia Ponomareva, Uzbekistan (promoted last summer)

So, yes, doable if it wasn't a last-minute withdrawal.

For the referee role, it is a different story. The pool of officials is much larger as referee status is valid for both single and pairs. Just looking at judges on site (so clearly willing to travel to Saitama this week), 8 (excluding Japan, Canada, Italy and USA) were qualified as ISU referee. Ok, some of them don't seem to have much experience in Pairs, but some of them have (for example Margaret Worsfold, Anna Sierocka).
 

Karen-W

Well-Known Member
Messages
43,338
Australia had the technical controller (Lynch), so the they couldn't have the technical specialist. And France had the other technical specialist (Fleury).
Israel, Netherlands, Spain, Czech Republic, Switzerland and Slovakia don't have ISU technical specialists. Some of them have ISU controllers for Pairs.

So it would leave

Eva Sonnleitner, Austria (promoted last summer; called GP Finland)
Yang Ding, China (called GP Sheffield)
Ivana Jakupcevic Marinkovic, Ms. Croatia (called GP Sheffield)
Alexander König, Germany (collaborated with Georgian pairs in the fall?; called 4CCs)
Maylin Wende, Germany (promoted last summer)
Mariusz Siudek, Poland
Sarkis Tewanian, Poland (called GP Finland and Euros)
Artem Knyazev, Uzbekistan
Natalia Ponomareva, Uzbekistan (promoted last summer)

So, yes, doable if it wasn't a last-minute withdrawal.

For the referee role, it is a different story. The pool of officials is much larger as referee status is valid for both single and pairs. Just looking at judges on site (so clearly willing to travel to Saitama this week), 8 (excluding Japan, Canada, Italy and USA) were qualified as ISU referee. Ok, some of them don't seem to have much experience in Pairs, but some of them have (for example Margaret Worsfold, Anna Sierocka).
I would have left the Germans out of the mix since Hocke/Kunkel won Euros bronze and had an outside shot at top 5 here. But, that still left several pretty experienced callers who could have done the job. Most curious.
 

Andrea82

Well-Known Member
Messages
904
I would have left the Germans out of the mix since Hocke/Kunkel won Euros bronze and had an outside shot at top 5 here. But, that still left several pretty experienced callers who could have done the job. Most curious.
indeed, in the previous draft of the my message, I wondered if Germany was to be considered as top 5 material. I can understand not considering China too because when the assignments were made, the status of Peng/Jin was still not defined.
 

Andrea82

Well-Known Member
Messages
904
Recap of service this season in International competitions.

I start with Pairs as there are no competitions left (Hollins Trophy doesn't have entries)
There are 39 Technical Specialists in Pairs: 30 with ISU status (they can call in all competitions) and 9 with International status (they can't call in ISU Championships, GPs, JGPs and they can call in Challenger Series events only if the other TS and the TC have ISU status).
26 have served in at least 1 International competition this season. Specifically, the 13 without services are
  • 5 Russians who are banned from serving
  • 4 technical specialists with ISU Status: Lorenzo Magri (Italy), David Kirby (USA), Todd Sand (USA) and Scott Wendland (USA)
  • 4 technical specialists with International Status: Carolina McEwen (Canada), David Hartley (Great Britain), Diana Riskova (Slovakia) and Jason Dunglen (USA).

The technical specialist with highest number of competitions this season is Eva Sonnleitner (Austria): Britannia Cup, JGP Gdansk1, Ice Challenge, GP Finland, Golden Spin, Challenge Cup
Followed by Raoul LeBlanc (Canada), Simon Briggs (Great Britain) and Troy Goldstein (USA) with 4 events each.

Details by country in the following table:

Country
ISU TS​
INT TS
Total​
With service​
Without service​
Unable to serve​
Total​
With service​
Without service​
Unable to serve​
Australia
2​
2​
0​
0​
0​
0​
Austria
1​
1​
0​
0​
0​
0​
Canada
4​
4​
0​
1​
0​
1​
China
1​
1​
0​
0​
0​
0​
Croatia
1​
1​
0​
0​
0​
0​
France
1​
1​
0​
0​
0​
0​
Germany
2​
2​
0​
1​
1​
0​
Great Britain
1​
1​
0​
1​
0​
1​
Israel
0​
0​
0​
1​
1​
0​
Italy
1​
0​
1​
2​
2​
0​
Japan
1​
1​
0​
0​
0​
0​
Poland
2​
2​
0​
0​
0​
0​
Russia
4​
0​
0​
4​
1​
0​
0​
1​
Slovakia
0​
0​
0​
1​
0​
1​
USA
7​
4​
3​
1​
0​
1​
Uzbekistan
2​
2​
0​
0​
0​
0​
Total​
30​
22​
4​
4​
9​
4​
4​
1​

There are 24 Technical Controllers: 16 ISU and 8 International. 14 have service in international competitions this season.
Among ISU TCs, 12 have services, 2 couldn't serve (1 Russian and 1 ISU Vice-President) and 2 haven't served (Daniel Delfa and Karen Archer).
Among International TCs, 2 out of 8 have services: Elisabetta Bignardi (Italy) and Steven Hsu (USA)
Technical controllers with most service (4 competitions) are Jeroen Print (Netherlands) and Anna Sierocka (Poland).

Country​
ISU TS​
INT TS​
Total​
With service​
Without service​
Unable to serve​
Total​
With service​
Without service​
Unable to serve​
Australia​
2​
2​
0​
0​
0​
0​
Bosnia​
0​
0​
0​
1​
0​
1​
*Delated mid-season​
Canada​
2​
1​
0​
1​
0​
0​
0​
China​
0​
0​
0​
1​
0​
1​
Czech Republic​
1​
1​
0​
0​
0​
0​
Finland​
1​
1​
0​
0​
0​
0​
France​
1​
1​
0​
0​
0​
0​
Germany​
1​
1​
0​
0​
0​
0​
Great Britain​
1​
0​
1​
0​
0​
0​
Italy​
2​
2​
0​
2​
1​
1​
Japan​
0​
0​
0​
1​
0​
1​
Netherlands​
1​
1​
0​
0​
0​
0​
Poland​
1​
1​
0​
0​
0​
0​
Spain​
1​
0​
1​
0​
0​
0​
Switzerland​
1​
1​
0​
0​
0​
0​
USA​
1​
0​
0​
1​
3​
1​
2​
Total​
16​
12​
2​
2​
8​
2​
6​
0​
 

Andrea82

Well-Known Member
Messages
904
I start with Ice Dance as there is still a Single competition to be held in Latvia next week
.....

End of the year update for Ice Dance

76% of the international and ISU judges served this season in international competitions (I counted as active those who didn't serve as judges but as technical controllers or referees). Excluding Russians and Belurisians, 12.4% (20 judges) didn't serve. The 20 split into 7 ISU and 13 International. China had the most of them (5).

countryJudgesJudges with service (incl. TC)Unable to serveNo service
Australia
8​
5​
3​
Austria
5​
4​
1​
Azerbaijan
1​
1​
0​
Belarus
2​
0​
2​
0​
Bosnia
1​
1​
0​
Bulgaria
1​
1​
0​
Canada
14​
14​
0​
China
8​
3​
5​
Cyprus
1​
1​
0​
Czech Republic
6​
5​
1​
Denmark
1​
0​
1​
Estonia
3​
3​
0​
Finland
4​
4​
0​
France
10​
9​
1​
Georgia
2​
2​
0​
Germany
12​
9​
3​
Great Britain
9​
8​
1​
Hungary
6​
6​
0​
Israel
2​
2​
0​
Italy
8​
8​
0​
Japan
4​
3​
1​
Kazakhstan
2​
2​
0​
Lithuania
1​
1​
0​
Netherlands
1​
1​
0​
New Zealand
1​
1​
0​
Poland
4​
4​
0​
Russia
15​
0​
15​
0​
Serbia
1​
0​
1​
Slovakia
2​
2​
0​
South Korea
2​
2​
0​
Spain
2​
2​
0​
Switzerland
3​
3​
0​
Turkey
2​
2​
0​
USA
13​
12​
1​
0​
Ukraine
4​
2​
2​
Total
161​
123​
18​
20​
76,40%​
12,40%​


Looking at Technical Specialists, 37 out of 57 served this season in the international scene. 28% didn't. Those 14 are split as
3 ISU (Petetin, Margaglio and Baronov)
11 International (7 of them are based outside of Europe)

Out of the 8 newly promoted international specialists, 4 served already and 4 not.
The 4 with service are Anna Cappellini (Lombardia Trophy), Marien de l'Asuncion (Mezzaluna Cup and Santa Claus Cup), Amaury Druesne (Nice) and Bianka Szijgyarto (who represents Hungary but she is based in USA and indeed, she was on the panel at Lake Placid International and University Games)
The 4 without service are Kristy Balkwill (Canada), Marisa Gravino (Canada), Alper Ucar (Turkey but based in USA) and Stephanie Jenkins (USA). In general, it is easier for European based international specialists to have opportunities as B events are concentrated there (with often tight budgets, organizers are possibly prone to pay an oversee flight). It is the same for those more veteran. The other international TSs with service this season are all Europeans: Cedric Pernet from France (who called at Open d'Andorra which is next door), Matteo Ballabio from Italy (at Egna Trophy), Matteo Zanni (Egna again) and Jana Vanova from Slovakia (Pavel Roman in Czech Republic, Santa Claus Cup in Hungary, Egna in Italy and Maria Olszewska Memorial in Poland).


country​
TS​
TS with service​
Unable to serve​
No service​
Australia​
5​
3​
2​
Azerbaijan​
1​
1​
0​
Belarus​
2​
0​
2​
0​
Canada​
5​
3​
2​
Finland​
1​
1​
0​
France​
4​
3​
1​
Germany​
3​
2​
1​
Great Britain​
4​
2​
2​
Hungary​
2​
1​
1​
0​
Israel​
1​
1​
0​
Italy​
6​
5​
1​
Japan​
3​
2​
1​
Netherlands​
1​
1​
0​
Poland​
3​
3​
0​
Russia​
3​
0​
3​
0​
Slovakia​
3​
3​
0​
South Korea​
1​
1​
0​
Sweden​
1​
0​
1​
Turkey​
1​
0​
1​
USA​
4​
3​
1​
Ukraine​
3​
2​
1​
Total​
57​
37​
6​
14​
64.9%​
26.3%​
 
Last edited:

Andrea82

Well-Known Member
Messages
904
80% of the Single and Pair judges served this season in international competitions either as judge, referee or technical controller. Not counting those ineligible to serve, only 14% didn't serve in any international competition.

Most of those without services come from China, Germany (many judges and so less opportunities) and Turkey (two competitors to be held there in second half of the season cancelled because of the earthquake. Possibly some of their judges were lined up to serve there)

Most active judge? Aniela Hebel-Szmak (Poland) served in 12 events. Agita Abele (Latvia) in 10, Miluse Safrankova (Czech Republic) Zanna Kulik (Estonia) in 9.
Jeroen Prins (Netherlands) have 8 events as judge and 5 as technical controller.


countryJudgesWith service (incl as Ref and TC)IneligbleNo service
0​
Andorra
1​
1​
0​
Australia
20​
16​
4​
Austria
18​
18​
0​
Azerbajian
1​
1​
0​
Belarus
5​
0​
5​
0​
Belgium
3​
2​
1​
Bosnia
1​
1​
0​
Bulgaria
4​
4​
0​
Canada
29​
28​
1​
0​
China
16​
7​
9​
Croatia
6​
5​
1​
Czech Republic
14​
14​
0​
Denmark
6​
6​
0​
Estonia
5​
4​
1​
Finland
12​
10​
2​
France
18​
15​
3​
Georgia
2​
2​
0​
Germany
34​
24​
10​
Great Britain
12​
11​
1​
Greece
2​
2​
0​
Hong Kong
3​
0​
3​
Hungary
9​
9​
0​
Iceland
2​
2​
0​
Ireland
2​
2​
0​
Israel
2​
2​
0​
Italy
20​
17​
3​
Japan
21​
18​
3​
Kazakhstan
3​
3​
0​
Latvia
2​
2​
0​
Lithuania
3​
2​
1​
Luxembourg
1​
1​
0​
Malaysia
1​
1​
0​
Mexico
3​
3​
0​
Monaco
1​
1​
0​
Netherlands
10​
10​
0​
New Zealand
2​
2​
0​
North Korea
1​
0​
1​
Norway
8​
7​
1​
Poland
14​
13​
1​
Romania
5​
4​
1​
Russia
21​
0​
21​
0​
Serbia
6​
5​
1​
Slovakia
7​
6​
1​
Slovenia
9​
8​
1​
South Africa
2​
2​
0​
South Korea
14​
11​
3​
Spain
6​
5​
1​
Sweden
9​
9​
0​
Switzerland
15​
12​
3​
Taipei
3​
3​
0​
Thailand
2​
1​
1​
Turkey
13​
7​
6​
USA
26​
25​
1​
0​
Ukraine
5​
3​
2​
Uzbekistan
2​
1​
1​
462​
368​
28​
66​
79,7​
14,3​

As for the technical specialists in Single, 116 (including those with service only in Pairs) out of 165 served this season in international competitions.
ISU TSs: 84 out of 110 served this year (76%)
International TSs: 32 out of 55 served this season (58%).

Most active: Artem Knyazev (8 events), Vera Vandecaveye (7), Grety Marton (7), Albena Aladjova (6), Sandra Pavicic (6) and Vojlavava Vasovic (6).



countryTotal TSsWith serviceIneligibleNo service
Australia
8​
6​
2​
Austria
5​
4​
1​
Belarus
1​
0​
1​
0​
Belgium
2​
2​
0​
Bulgaria
2​
1​
1​
Canada
8​
7​
1​
China
1​
0​
1​
Croatia
2​
2​
0​
Czech Republic
2​
1​
1​
Denmark
3​
3​
0​
Estonia
3​
2​
1​
Finland
3​
3​
0​
France
5​
4​
1​
Germany
12​
10​
2​
Great Britain
8​
4​
4​
Hong Kong
2​
1​
1​
Hungary
5​
5​
0​
Iceland
1​
0​
1​
Israel
3​
2​
1​
Italy
8​
7​
1​
Japan
8​
6​
2​
Latvia
3​
3​
0​
Lithuania
1​
0​
1​
Malaysia
1​
0​
1​
Mexico
3​
2​
1​
Netherlands
3​
3​
0​
Norway
3​
3​
0​
Poland
4​
4​
0​
Romania
2​
2​
0​
Russia
8​
0​
8​
0​
Serbia
2​
1​
1​
Slovakia
4​
2​
2​
Slovenia
3​
3​
0​
South Africa
1​
0​
1​
South Korea
5​
3​
2​
Spain
4​
1​
3​
Sweden
3​
2​
1​
Switzerland
4​
4​
0​
Taipei
1​
1​
0​
Turkey
3​
3​
0​
USA
9​
5​
4​
Ukbekistan
2​
2​
0​
Ukraine
4​
2​
2​
165​
116​
9​
41​
70.3%​
24.8%​
 
Last edited:

Andrea82

Well-Known Member
Messages
904
At the Frankfurt ISU Global Seminar this week, they held the exams for new international judges.
Jorge Luis Ormaeche Herrera from Perù passed the exams for Single & Pairs.
He becomes the first international judge from a South American federation.
 
Last edited:

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