ISU Statement on Russia's war against Ukraine - Participation in international competitions of Skaters and Officials from Russia and Belarus

[Aussie Willy]

Wow the ISU just got a mention on the news on Triple J in Australia. That is big news.

 

[allezfred]

Who is the ISU?

I thought it was the member federations.

It is. People on here seem to forget that. If you want something changed in the ISU, lobby your national federation. They have a vote to change things.

 

[PRlady]

NPR did a stand-alone story on this, post-Olys skating is more visible than usual.

 

[Icetalavista]

Alyssa and Leona have a medal chance, even though it's likely going to be Sakamoto, Higuchi, and You. And ChockBates have a good medal chance!

 

[Bigbird]

Alyssa and Leona have a medal chance, even though it's likely going to be Sakamoto, Higuchi, and You. And ChockBates have a good medal chance!

Time for the long awaited IAM sweep if it does happen.

 

[overedge]

For some federations, there seems to be a big gap between what the members want and how the federation votes at ISU council meetings. Just saying.

 

[made_in_canada]

Apologies if I’ve missed the answer, but does anyone know if Russian coaches can participate? I’ve seen skaters and officials specifically talked about but nothing about coaches. Can Eteri go with Morisi?

 

[Colonel Green]

Apologies if I’ve missed the answer, but does anyone know if Russian coaches can participate? I’ve seen skaters and officials specifically talked about but nothing about coaches. Can Eteri go with Morisi?

I would guess she could since she’d have accreditation as a Georgian federation coach.

 

[skatingguy]

Apologies if I’ve missed the answer, but does anyone know if Russian coaches can participate? I’ve seen skaters and officials specifically talked about but nothing about coaches. Can Eteri go with Morisi?

France isn't going to grant visas to Russian nationals, so coaches could go if they can get an entry visas through a secondary passport if they have one.

 

[Theatregirl1122]

It doesn’t surprise me that some people are angry about the FSU response. Some people need to be angry about something with their faves not skating but know how bad it would look if they said Russia should compete. So being angry at us for responding imperfectly to Russia not competing is the next best thing.

 

[aka_gerbil]

France isn't going to grant visas to Russian nationals, so coaches could go if they can get an entry visas through a secondary passport if they have one.

Eteri also has US citizenship.

 

[Perky Shae Lynn]

Sad. But the only possible course of action.

 

[Firedancer]

France isn't going to grant visas to Russian nationals, so coaches could go if they can get an entry visas through a secondary passport if they have one.

Anyone coming from Russia is going to have a hard time getting there as well

 

[Andrea82]

I will be interested to see how much difference it makes to not have Russian officials at worlds. No judges. No referees. No one on the technical panel. It will take a lot of work to make the necessary changes over the next 3 weeks. I wonder if or how the protocols may change.

Applying the "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" criteria, there should have not been Russian officials in TP or as Referee at least in Women, Pair and Dance (and actually neither in Men as Kolyada was 5th last year).

Panels of Judges at ISU Championships have 13 people on site for the 9 slots. Russia was drawn for Men, Pair and ID. It will mean less turnover between Short and Free programs as the pool will be reduced to 12 and to 11 for Men as no Belarus judge allowed either. Maybe down to 11 also in Dance as Ukraine was drawn (Israel was drawn for Men, Pair and ID and 2 of their judges are usually based in Ukraine but I am not sure where they are now).

 

[Mme Bovary]

PSA/USFS/ISI could not certify her as a coach. She could then only coach low-level skaters who weren't competitive at local comps.

Could you please clarify? I don't know the US system at all.

 

[skatingguy]

Could you please clarify? I don't know the US system at all.

In order to be a coach at USFS events you have to be accredited by the USFS. That's why, for example, Patrice Lauzon is the official coach for the American teams that train at IAM because he is the coach that is USFS accredited.

 

[mackiecat]

I was a bit puzzled since Sara commented after the pairs free skate broadcast on Eurosport Spain that she (back then) was going to return to resume training

Retiring after worlds. So Sara would return to training for worlds

 

[aka_gerbil]

Retiring after worlds. So Sara would return to training for worlds

But S/D have the only spot for worlds.

 

[skatingguy]

Eteri also has US citizenship.

It will be interesting to see what skaters are able to attend, and whether their coaches make it particularly for the many skaters who train in Moscow. It's not going to be an easy travel itinerary.

 

[mackiecat]

Could you please clarify? I don't know the US system at all.

US figure skating has Safe Sport and since she is named in a current doping allegation, I would hope this would also prevent her from being certified as a coach here.

 

[mackiecat]

But S/D have the only spot for worlds.

Oh true. Me bad

 

[aka_gerbil]

Also, I am pretty sure she is not a US citizen. She was only in the US for 6 years. That's a tight timeline for citizenship. Even if she got married to a US citizen which I don't think she did.

She was here longer than that. She was in ice shows for only 6 years, but lived here longer. She was already in the US sometime before spring 95 because she was living across the street from the Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City when it was bombed. Diana wasn’t born until 2003, and they didn’t move back to Russia until she was 3. That’s at least 11 years.

 

[overedge]

She was here longer than that. She was in ice shows for only 6 years, but lived here longer. She was already in the US sometime before spring 95 because she was living across the street from the Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City when it was bombed.

IIRC she was touring with a Russian ice show that was staying in a hotel across the street from the federal building. I don't think she was living in Oklahoma City.

 

[aka_gerbil]

IIRC she was touring with a Russian ice show that was staying in a hotel across the street from the federal building. I don't think she was living in Omaha.

Oklahoma City.

Regardless, the point is she was in the US over a decade.

 

[Frau Muller]

I would guess she could since she’d have accreditation as a Georgian federation coach.

Because a Worlds without EteriCam (TM) just isn’t Worlds!

By the way, someone mentioned that as a Russian she might not be allowed to enter France as coach of Morisi…but maybe she’ll apply as a US citizen?

 

[Karen-W]

Just because Eteri lived in the US and her daughter was born here does NOT mean she has US citizenship. It just means she had a green card for a long time. I would sooner assume she has Georgian citizenship based on her last name than that she has US citizenship based on how long she lived here.

 

[MacMadame]

Oklahoma City.

Regardless, the point is she was in the US over a decade.

But there is nothing I have been able to find that says she has US citizenship. Also, it looks like she was here during two periods and that would make her have to start over.

Could you please clarify? I don't know the US system at all.

PSA = Professional Skaters Association. They and USFS (US Figure Skating) have an agreement that if one bans a coach, the other honors the ban.

ISI is International Skating Institute. They are an org for recreational skaters. Many rinks use ISI for their beginner programs and they hold ISI competitions. They accredit coaches too, I think. Rinks are members so maybe they let the rinks do it though.

Between these 3 orgs and SafeSport, I don't think Eteri would have much business here. Not enough to live on. IMO.

 

[ilovesalchows]

It would be a real stinker if Eteri shows her mug at Worlds while Valieva can't.

 

[Trillian]

I would sooner assume she has Georgian citizenship based on her last name than that she has US citizenship based on how long she lived here.

If she doesn’t already have Georgian citizenship, she could theoretically get it. From a quick skim of Wikipedia, it looks like the general policy is that citizenship can be granted by decree anytime it’s considered to be in the “national interest,” and ethnic Georgians born elsewhere would typically qualify. That said, how quickly that happens and whether the usual standards would apply right now… who knows. But if she wanted a Georgian passport at some point in the past, she almost certainly could have gotten one.

 

[jiejie]

I have never seen any information that would lead me to believe Eteri has US citizenship. If somebody has a definitive source, please provide. I would not assume she has US citizenship just because she was in the US for an extended period of time.

But for argument's sake, let's say she is. Can you imagine the Russian blowback she'd get if she used a foreign passport (even worse, a US one!) to travel just to accompany a non-Russian skater to a competition?

I really don't think we'll see Eteri at Worlds. The cloud over her with the Valieva doping situation provides even more impetus to lay low right now. Assuming Morisi is going to Worlds, he is a big boy, knows what he is supposed to do, and can go coachless if he has to.