Youth and Experience

The stars of figure skating are often teenagers, but many of the sport’s officials are in their golden years. Geoff Berkeley explores the debate over age limits.

Just shy of its 130th birthday, the

International Skating Union is the oldest

Olympic winter sport governing body. As they say, with age comes wisdom, but with youth comes energy and willingness to try new ideas.

ISU members are set to face this age-old debate when attending its Congress in June - a meeting that could change the shape of figure skating and the future running of the International Federation.

After six years in office, Jan Dijkema will step down as ISU President, citing age as one of the reasons for his decision not to stand again.

“I'll be 78 this year,” said Dijkema. “That's why the successor has to be arranged.”

Under the ISU’s current age rules, Dijkema would be unable to seek re-election.

But the Dutchman said he had been encouraged to stay due to a proposal to increase the maximum age limit for office holders from 75 to 80.

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are tabling the move which is set to be presented to the ISU Congress, scheduled to be held from June 6 to 10 in Phuket in Thailand.

It is a decision that affects almost a third of the 13-strong ISU Council with Dijkema, vice-president Alexander Lakernik of Russia and long-serving members Marie Lundmark of Finland and Roland Maillard of Switzerland all above the age of 75.

The quartet are all established and influential members, with Maillard and Lundmark serving on the Council for 11 and 20 years respectively. Now, they both look set to be replaced.

Should the ISU Congress vote against the motion, it could lead to a generational shift at the organisation.

Dijkema’s predecessor Ottavio Cinquanta was head of the ISU for 22 years before exiting in 2016, making the Italian the longest-serving President in the organisation’s 129-year history.

Patricia St Peter of the United States, South Korea’s Kim Jae-youl, Finland’s Susanna Rahkamo and Serbia’s Slobodan Delić are now standing to become the next head of the International Federation.

Whoever succeeds Dijkema - who first became a Council member in 1994 - will take over an International Federation that has come under increasing scrutiny following the controversy surrounding Kamila Valieva at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

Valieva was just 15 when she competed in the Chinese capital but was at the centre of a huge scandal when it was confirmed that she had failed a drugs test.

The Russian sensation was cleared to compete in the women’s singles event by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which argued that preventing her from skating could cause “irreparable harm”.

But the teenager, who was favourite to clinch gold, left the ice in tears under the glare of the world’s media after finishing outside the medal places.

The Valieva saga raised fresh questions over whether a girl of such a young age should be exposed to the intense focus that comes with performing on the biggest stage.

The International Olympic Committee has since encouraged IFs to make “appropriate adjustments to their regulations” on minimum age limits in their sports.

Long before Beijing 2022, the age cap had been debated within the ice skating community.

GEOFF BERKELEY SENIOR REPORTER, INSIDETHEGAMES

The ISU raised the minimum age to 15 in the late 1990s after American starlet Tara Lipinski clinched the world title at the age of 14 in 1997, but calls have been made to increase it further in response to concerns over injuries to young skaters.

Dutch figure skating officials launched an “urgent proposal” in 2018 to change the age limit to 17, but the item was removed from the agenda following opposition from 39 countries.

Discussions among the ISU started again in 2020 after 20-year-old figure skater Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya committed suicide.

It was reported that Alexandrovskaya, who represented Australia at Pyeongchang 2018, struggled with a demanding coach and loneliness.

The Norwegian Figure Skating Association tabled another proposal later that year in a bid to increase the minimum age by two years.

But the move faced an immediate backlash from the Russian Figure Skating Federation, with coach Tatiana Tarasova laughing off the idea.

“A Norwegian figure skater - there is no such thing,” said Tarasova.

“How do they know from how many years you cannot perform among adults?”

Despite her dismissive remarks, Tarasova is one of many figure skaters that had their career cut short by injury as she was forced to retire at the age of 18.

Yulia Lipnitskaya made history at Sochi 2014 when she became the youngest ever Olympic figure skating champion at just 15 years and 249 days.

But three years later, Lipnitskaya retired from the sport after three months of treatment for anorexia.

Last December, another Russian figure skater in 22-yearold double world gold medallist Evgenia Medvedeva decided to hang up her skates because of a chronic back problem, while two-time US national champion Alysa Liu retired in April at the age of 16, saying it had been an “insane 11 years” in the sport.

Supporting the argument for an increase in the minimum age limit, the ISU Medical Commission has presented a report to Council members, emphasising the risk attached to competing at elite level under the age of 17.

“It is both the developmental and skeletal age that must be considered when reviewing the age limit to enter the senior category,” the report reads.

“It is conceivable that allowing under-age athletes to compete may subject them to loads and risks that are thought to be inappropriate for their age, not only physically, but in terms of the psychological and social development of the child.

“Increasing the age limit to 17 years of age to qualify for entry to the senior category allows

Jan Dijkema, who will be 78 this year, is due to retire as International Skating Union President. Photo: Getty Images

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GEOFF BERKELEY SENIOR REPORTER, INSIDETHEGAMES

the junior athlete the time necessary to reach skeletal maturity, decreasing risk of epiphyseal injury if training loads are modified during times of rapid growth, and to expand on their social and emotional skills development.

“Most importantly, the ISU has a duty of care to protect the physical and psychological health and safety of all athletes including elite adolescent athletes.”

A survey carried out between December 2020 and January 2021 by the ISU Athletes’ Commission found that 86.2 per cent of respondents were in favour of raising the age limit.

The motion is now set to go before the ISU Congress in June, with a two-thirds majority required for it to be approved.

Under the proposal, the minimum age would stay at 16 for the 2023-2024 season, before moving to 17 for the 2024-2025 campaign and beyond.

The ISU Council claimed that this gradual implementation would stop under-age skaters who had already competed internationally in the senior category from returning to the junior section.

It is hoped that the move will help prolong the careers of figure skaters who previously burst onto the scene before quickly burning out.

Just two of the past eight winners of Olympic gold in the women’s singles have been over the age of 17, with two aged 15 including Lipinski at Nagano 1998 and Russian Alina Zagitova at Pyeongchang 2018.

The Norwegian Figure Skating Association highlighted that many recent teenage Olympic champions walked away from the sport soon after securing gold.

“There is an immense pressure put on the skaters at the top senior level,” the country’s proposal to the ISU Congress read.

“To debut at the senior level, at 15-yearsold, does not seem to motivate the skaters to have a long career in the sport.

“Our sport should facilitate rules and a competition environment that supports the possibility of a long-lasting career.”

Should members vote in favour of the age limit rise, it could result in the end of the quad in women’s skating.

While the men regularly pull off four-revolution jumps, no woman over the age of 17 has managed to complete the quad in competition.

Anna Shcherbakova of the Russian Olympic Committee landed two quads on her way to gold at Beijing 2022 as she achieved the highest artistic marks.

Her team-mate Alexandra Trusova, also aged 17, became the first female skater to execute five quads in one free skate routine but it was only enough for silver.

Shcherbakova, Trusova and Valieva formed part of what was dubbed the Russian “Quad Squad” due to their ability to make the high-scoring and high-risk move.

“More young girls are going to be attempting these quads, even at the cost of them landing wrong and risking themselves injury,” Polina Edmunds, a retired American skater who competed at Sochi 2014, told the Associated Press.

The Russian trio are coached by Eteri Tutberidze who received heavy criticism over her strict coaching methods during this year’s Winter Olympics.

Tutberidze was filmed asking an upset Valieva “why did you stop fighting?” after she left the ice following her free skate programme.

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said he was “very disturbed” after watching Valieva’s struggles and criticised the reception she received from her entourage.

“Rather than try to help her, you could feel this chilling atmosphere, this distance,” said Bach.

“If you interpret the body language, it got even worse.

“All this does not give me much confidence in the entourage of Kamila with regard to the past, nor with regard to the future.

“How to deal, how to treat minor athletes at the age of 15 under such mental stress?”

Tutberidze, who has coached several skaters to success in major competitions, said she was “at a loss” by Bach’s comments, while Alexander Zhulin, who claimed ice dance silver at Lillehammer 1994, leaped to her defence.

“Coach Tutberidze has raised six Olympic medallists and four Olympic champions since 2014, and she probably knows how and what to say to her students after performances,” Zhulin wrote on Instagram.

The “Tutberidze expiration date” - which is said to be 17 years old - has become known as the age when skaters are discarded by the Russian coach as she looks to push the next rising star.

Sofia Akateva and Adeliia Petrosian, both aged 14, are now expected to be the focus of Tutberidze’s attention having already landed quads in competition.

But an increase in the ISU’s minimum age limit will scupper Tutberidze’s plans and throw a spanner in the works of Russia’s production factory.

Russia has also been hit by sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine with the ISU agreeing in March to exclude all Russian athletes from competition.

The ISU’s response to the Ukraine war is another big topic that is expected to be discussed at the long-awaited and muchanticipated Congress in Thailand.

It will be the first time the ISU has staged a Congress since 2018, after postponements in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

All eyes are now set to be on Phuket, and with so much riding on the five-day Congress, it is sure to be one for the ages.

Tara Lipinski won the world title in 1997 at the age of 14.

Photo: Getty Images

Reigning Olympic champion Anna Shcherbakova is a member of the Russian "Quad Squad", but the technique could be seen less.

Photo: Getty Images