ISU trying to modernize, is it working?

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

I came across this Instagram post and thought I would create a new thread to perhaps discuss. What did you think of ISU trying to modernize worlds for their new vision for 2030 from what they did at the Boston worlds?

Everything from the LED boards, to the new individualized introduction, the most memorable being Alysa doing a cartwheel, to the controversial leaders chair, rink side interviews to personal messages from each skater on the Jumbotron…

If you’re able to check out this post do so, I mean, there were a lot of changes I guess in Boston this time around…

Skating Stan on Instagram: "Worlds looked different this year. Let’s talk about it👇 The ISU implemented many changes this year to enhance the experience for fans watching Worlds in person and at home. This work is part of “ISU Vision 2030,” the ISU’

1,121 likes, 110 comments - fs.skatingstan on April 10, 2025: "Worlds looked different this year. Let’s talk about it👇 The ISU implemented many changes this year to enhance the experience for fans watching Worlds in person and at home. This work is part of “ISU Vision 2030,” the ISU’s strategic...

www.instagram.com

 

[On My Own]

No - they should invest more in promoting less terrible skating, and also in making sure there's less abuse in the sport. Surprisingly, no one trusts flashy nonsense all that much.

I also laugh at the word "vision" whenever the ISU uses it. What vision exists for the blind?

 

[caseyedwards]

they can’t do anything because the scoring system killed the whole thing

 

[kwanfan1818]

Ashley Wagner said that she has a meeting with the ISU to discuss her thoughts about what went well, what worked, what didn’t, etc. in Boston

 

[On My Own]

Can't wait for shoulder shimmy transitions being given 9s.

Oh wait the component no longer exists.

 

[Orm Irian]

I came across this Instagram post and thought I would create a new thread to perhaps discuss. What did you think of ISU trying to modernize worlds for their new vision for 2030 from what they did at the Boston worlds?

Everything from the LED boards, to the new individualized introduction, the most memorable being Alysa doing a cartwheel, to the controversial leaders chair, rink side interviews to personal messages from each skater on the Jumbotron…

If you’re able to check out this post do so, I mean, there were a lot of changes I guess in Boston this time around…

Skating Stan on Instagram: "Worlds looked different this year. Let’s talk about it👇 The ISU implemented many changes this year to enhance the experience for fans watching Worlds in person and at home. This work is part of “ISU Vision 2030,” the ISU’

1,121 likes, 110 comments - fs.skatingstan on April 10, 2025: "Worlds looked different this year. Let’s talk about it👇 The ISU implemented many changes this year to enhance the experience for fans watching Worlds in person and at home. This work is part of “ISU Vision 2030,” the ISU’s strategic...

www.instagram.com

The introductions didn't bother me, but they did seem like a bit of a timewaster.

I didn't like the leader's chair. The green room couches are pointless, but that was actively bad. Let the exhausted athletes get out of the audience's sight, wipe their sweat off, have some water and start to recover rather than having to keep on performing for however long it takes for them to be bumped off top spot; it can't be doing them any good. And what if your leader needs medical attention - are they excused the chair, or do they have to get treated in full view of the audience?

The rink-side interviews need to be killed with metaphorical fire. No matter who does them. Just no.

The personalised messages, again, bit pointless but no harm done. They should get the athletes to submit them ahead of time, though, so they don't have to derail their mental preparation to come up with them.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

I'm so old I remember when the six minute warm-up was done in relative silence.

No lining up in a row and waving. No introductions or mini biographies for each skater. No thumping rock music.

Some of the new things that were introduced in Boston seemed very interactive and audience-focused. But my ADHD would kick in if I were a skater trying to compete with so much sensory overload going on around me.

 

[Former Lurve Goddess]

Well the stupid decades RDs seem to be about the ISU’s desire to “modernize” so the answer is no. They can get back to me when they ban all abusive coaches and crooked judges and bring in same sex pairs and dance.

 

[skatfan]

As someone who was in the arena, I appreciated a lot of the changes. Typical competitions have a LOT of dead time, and that kills the engagement with the audience. They kept the new to skating fans totally engaged.

Good:

• elimination of the intro of judges and officials - just dead time
• individual introductions and skate-ons, including the upbeat music
• upbeat new music for the warm-ups
• encouragement by announcers to applaud the skaters - it worked!
• the dreaded leader's chair did work even though I hated the idea - Kaori and Denis were perfect for this.
  • (my seat mate neighbor who teaches skiing thought it was fine - done in skiing all the time).
• Message to the crowd from skaters
• Social media handles visible on boards and kiss n cry

Not so Good:

• immediate interviews - probably need more skilled folks. The third guy (notBen, notAshely) actually did pretty well.

 

[BaileyCatts]

I kinda love the walk outs. We would have never gotten that epic Ilia strut without them. They can keep those please.

Get rid of the leaders chair! Get rid of the damn rink side shove a mic in their face crap!

 

[CassAgain]

The leader chair brought some drama (Charlene), heartwarming moments (Kaori and everyone, Adam and Kevin) and humor (Deniss). I don't think it's going anywhere.

 

[BaileyCatts]

The problem with the leader chair is only the people in the arena see most of it. TV barely utilized it and showed very few interactions among skaters. I didn't know about the Charlene drama until I read it in the PBP thread (still waiting for someone who was in the arena to find out they got that on video and post it ). Yea, NBC got the Kaori/Alysa hug, but she was the last skater and they had all the time in the world for the skaters to do whatever they wanted. I don't remember anything much else being shown to the TV audience regarding interactions with the leader chair person. Most of the skaters hadn't even gotten up from the K&C yet when the camera then went to the next skater on the ice. Same with Ilia, he was last so yeah, they got that interaction with Adam, but who else? So what good is it if no one other than the people in the arena see it?

 

[Karen-W]

Well, it's not a bad thing if the people in the arena get to see that interaction live. The leader's chair got about as much coverage on the stream as the backstage waiting room did, so, clearly, neither exist for the sake of the TV viewer, which leads me to believe the intention was, indeed, to improve the experience for the people who bought tickets to the event & attended in person.

I fail to see the problem with the leader's chair other than the online bitching about it. One skater who sat in the chair has criticized the experience. No one else has spoken up to object and a few have said they enjoyed it.

I fail to see how the leader's chair is really a problem. The problem are the fans who do not like change and could really do with going back and re-reading "Who Moved My Cheese?"

 

[NinjaTurtles]

Leader's Chair concept is present in other Olympic sports, like skiing, it's not a far-fetched idea. And how much it is televised is a solvable problem that will be ironed out once skating TV production comes to expect it, etc.

There is something to be said as well for catering to the arena crowd...if the crowd is hyped up and the skaters feed positively off of it, the good skating and emotions that result benefit the television audience as well.

 

[kwanfan1818]

Gah, more television coverage, no. They can edit in anything that is interesting after it happens. The rest of time, leave it alone, IMO.

 

[Coco]

But in skiing, doesn't the leading skier have their teammates, coaches nearby that they can talk to? They aren't literally imprisoned on a platform at the bottom of a bowl filled with thousands of people.

 

[Vagabond]

The last time I paid attention to the subject, Alpine skiing events began with the highest seeded skiers and ended with the lowest seeded. While "bumps" are common at the beginning, the eventual winner usually does not get bumped by someone with a much lower rank. This exactly the opposite of what happens in figure skating.

I see no point in showing skaters' reaction to a higher-ranked skater's scores.

 

[kwanfan1818]

The leader's chair was limited to the last two groups. While they are in reverse ranking, ranking is by WS, Alpine (and ski jumpers, speed skaters, etc.) are on a circuit, with many more head-to-head contests with top contenders, and mostly judged by a clock or fixed measurments -- ski-jumping has a style component -- with more data points than FS World Standings, which are skewed towards European skaters for the majority of CS and internationals, and the GP hosts when it comes to points generated from GP's.

 

[overedge]

I wouldn't call this "modernizing". Just because other sports are doing something doesn't mean the ISU should do it. TBH a lot of what the ISU seems to think is "modernizing" is an older person's idea of what the hip young kidz are into. And the ISU can try all it wants but it's very unlikely to attract the X Games fans or any of that fan base, because skating isn't like those kinds of sports.

As mentioned above, if the ISU really wants to "modernize", it can start by having some meaningful processes to get rid of abusive coaches and cheating judges.

 

[skateboy]

I came across this Instagram post and thought I would create a new thread to perhaps discuss. What did you think of ISU trying to modernize worlds for their new vision for 2030 from what they did at the Boston worlds?

Everything from the LED boards, to the new individualized introduction, the most memorable being Alysa doing a cartwheel, to the controversial leaders chair, rink side interviews to personal messages from each skater on the Jumbotron…

If you’re able to check out this post do so, I mean, there were a lot of changes I guess in Boston this time around…

Skating Stan on Instagram: "Worlds looked different this year. Let’s talk about it👇 The ISU implemented many changes this year to enhance the experience for fans watching Worlds in person and at home. This work is part of “ISU Vision 2030,” the ISU’

1,121 likes, 110 comments - fs.skatingstan on April 10, 2025: "Worlds looked different this year. Let’s talk about it👇 The ISU implemented many changes this year to enhance the experience for fans watching Worlds in person and at home. This work is part of “ISU Vision 2030,” the ISU’s strategic...

www.instagram.com

I loved most of the changes at the Boston Worlds. Even watching from home, it felt like more of an audience inclusive event -- as with many other sporting events -- which I could feel and really liked. I would love to have more of it.

If it had this effect on a longtime, diehard skating junkie like me, I would imagine it would have a similar effect on potential newcomers to figure skating. All good.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

The leader chair brought some drama (Charlene), heartwarming moments (Kaori and everyone, Adam and Kevin) and humor (Deniss). I don't think it's going anywhere.

Being that there are three medals awarded I think the leader chair is dismissive to the others. It was fine the way it was before in my opinion. Plus in skiing they don’t sit up on a stage on a chair.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

And with skiing they’re just sitting there for a timed sport … one person coming down after the next. In figure skating its a five minute program then another 5–7 minutes of replays and judges dragging their asses lol it’s a lot more time consuming in figure skating, then skiing, which is just a race basically.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

One thing that just came across my mind was remember back in the Michelle and Sasha days we all used to bitch about fluff pieces, do we see any fluff pieces at all anymore? I mean, Alysa had a very strong case for a fluff piece, and there was not far as being presented in a fluff package.

 

[farahfan]

From viewing on TV it looked like a fun and interactive event. the question for me is whether it's reaching the younger audiences. they are the ones who will drive the popularity on social media. maybe if parents and grandparents are willing to attend competitions they will likely bring their kids and grandkids. I hope competition organizers are making the events as family-accessible as possible to make it an event for everyone.

 

[Aussie Willy]

From a grass roots perspective, the introduction of solo dance is a great development for skaters. It has been around for years but now that the ISU have finally developed rules for it, it is getting a profile and respectability that it deserves. It will certainly provide something for skaters who may have given up through injury or having trouble with jumps and keeps them in the sport where they might have left.

The other area that is growing is Theatre on Ice. There is an international committee that has been working hard lately over the last 12 months on rules and development.

 

[Former Lurve Goddess]

From viewing on TV it looked like a fun and interactive event. the question for me is whether it's reaching the younger audiences. they are the ones who will drive the popularity on social media. maybe if parents and grandparents are willing to attend competitions they will likely bring their kids and grandkids. I hope competition organizers are making the events as family-accessible as possible to make it an event for everyone.

Reduced ticket prices for children and youth would go a long way to grow the sport. Some opera companies and orchestras and other performing arts companies have lower prices for those under 30 as a way to increase interest among young people.

 

[Aussie Willy]

Reduced ticket prices for children and youth would go a long way to grow the sport. Some opera companies and orchestras and other performing arts companies have lower prices for those under 30 as a way to increase interest among young people.

There are probably plenty of competitions and events that you can go and see that don't cost much.

It actually cost a lot of money to run an event and the organisers may only do it once in their lifetime (eg Worlds). It is not like a theatre company that does 4 productions are year and multiple performances of that production. Or an orchestra that has a yearly program of concerts.

Does anyone here know how much an organising committee make out of running something like a national championships in say the US or Canada?

 

[overedge]

One thing I'd be interested in knowing is how much all this "modernizing" is costing the ISU. I know the broadcasters have requirements for things like lighting and production space, but it can't be cheap to also have theatrical lighting, the giant screens behind the kiss'n'cry, the "tunnel" onto the ice, etc. Not to mention the extra time that the athletes have to contribute to be photographed and recorded for the displays, giving the "messages to the audience", and so on.

 

[kwanfan1818]

I think the units of currency are first class plane travel, 5-Star hotel room rates.