The International Skating Union (ISU) congress, which is responsible for figure skating, speed skating, short track and synchronized skating, started its studies in Phuket, Thailand.
Speaking on the subject before the start of the voting, a representative of the Ukrainian delegation emphasized that the events in his country should not be ignored and emphasized that some Russian athletes participate in political events.
The Ukrainian delegation raised three questions: 1) on the exclusion of Russia and Belarus from this congress; 2) to deprive Russians and Belarusians of the right to be elected to the governing bodies of the ISU; 3) About dismissing Russians and Belarusians who managed to take positions at the ISU.
In order for these decisions to be taken, 2/3 of the votes of the 116 delegates had to be taken.
In response, Sergei Sviridov, a board member of the Russian Figure Skating Federation (FFKKR), stressed that the Russian side came to discuss sports, not political issues.
“We are not responsible for this, we do not have enough knowledge in politics and geopolitics. On the human side, we regret that people are suffering, whether in Ukraine, in the Donbass, or in any country in the world. The list of these conflicts is quite long. It is a pity that politicians cannot solve problems for everyone’s benefit.
Despite this, it never occurred to us to blame any athlete or officer from these countries, because we understand that they are not related to events that are taking place in the modern world, ”says Sviridov, quoted by Sport-express. .
The Belarusian delegation emphasized that it is not a party to the conflict and also reminded that it organizes many international tournaments.
The first issue discussed at the event was the participation of Russia and Belarus in the congress. 48 delegates were in favor of expulsion, 55 against, and 13 abstained. Thus, only 41.4% came out in favor, instead of the required 66.7% (2/3).
For the deprivation of the right to be elected to the governing bodies of the ISU, Russians and Belarusians were given 39.7%.
60 out of 116 votes were cast to dismiss the already elected representatives of Russia and Belarus, which was not enough to meet the demand of the Ukrainian side.
On the first day of the congress, Russia managed to maintain its position, but tomorrow, June 7, the admission of Russian skaters to the international starts in the 2022/23 season will be discussed. And here the situation is much more complicated.
Citing sources, Sport-Express claims that there are practically no chances for athletes to be accepted.
But former skater Katarina Gerboldt, in an interview with a socialbites.ca correspondent, expressed hope that Russian representatives will soon return to international competitions.
“I hope figure skaters are allowed to compete in international competitions. This is a loss not only for us, but for everyone. To exclude Russia means to exclude competition in development figure skating. “I don’t know when we’ll be back, but hopefully from this season,” Gerboldt said.
Another positive news is that ISU has closed all doping cases against Russians based on the database of the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory (LIMS).
“The investigation concerned several Russian athletes. We had to determine if there was sufficient reason to sue.
All cases except one were closed. One case was referred to the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) for performing the tests.
It was decided that the athlete violated the rules, sanction was imposed on him. The ISU participated in it,” he said.