PHUKET (Thailand) — After a heated debate on Tuesday, the International Skating Union voted in favor of gradually raising the minimum age for senior figure skating competitions to 17.
After Russian figure skater Kamila Vaieva tested positive for banned substances at the Beijing Winter Olympics, February 2015, she made the decision to make it official.
The case of Valieva raised questions about whether it was necessary to raise the age limit for figure skaters to protect minors.
For the 2023-24 season, the minimum age for skating will be 16 years. It will increase to 17 for the 2024-25 season. This is in preparation for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
The proposal was approved by 100 votes to 16, with two abstentions at a congress in Phuket, Thailand. This is well short of the required two-thirds majority.
Jan Dijkema, ISU President, said that “this is very important,” after cheers and applause were given for the outcome. “I consider this a very important decision.”
The governing body stated in a tweet that gradually raising the age limit was necessary for “the sake of protecting physical and mental well-being and the emotional well-being” of Skaters.
Valieva (now 16) had failed a drug test at the Russian National Championships in December. However, the results were only made public on February 8, a day after Valieva had helped the Russian Olympic Committee win the Beijing Games team event.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport cleared her to compete in Beijing’s women’s singles event, but she ended up in fourth place after a sloppy skate.
Tatiana Tarasova, a Russian figure skater coach, suggested that the rule change was directed squarely at Russia.
She told Russia’s Match TV that “they see that there are a lot of girls and boys in the country and they want them to stop competing.”
Supporting a failed amendment to this proposal, the Israeli delegate to Congress argued that the rule changes would have adisproportionate impact on smaller countries with fewer skaters.
Eric Radford, ISU Athletes Commission Member, stated that skaters are in favor of the change in a passionate speech.
The Canadian won a pair gold at the 2018 Olympics.
